Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1883-07-18

There Is much natural beauty in
Corea, the beauty of mountain, forest.
and prairie, of profuse vegetation, and
plentiful rivers and cataracts. And the
people are not indifferent to. these beau
ties; they are a SEEING race. and
proud (among themselves) of their ma
rlne and mountain views. The country
Is fertile, but the climate has great eX-
tremeS of heat and cold. The Indian
story OF 1.-THE tiger that owns nv vii
lage" would be thoroughly appreciated
In Corea, where very large and fierce
species OF that terrible animal abounds.
and the idea of it pervades all works of
art. To japanese children, Chosen is
known as ''the land of the tiger Leo
pards, bears and wolves are also very
numerous, the wild deer and the wild
hog abound, monkeys are found in the
southern provinces, and alligators and
salamanders in the rivers. The people
are large eaters, especially of meat:
small oxen i'll great numbers supply
them IN the south, and dogs are eaten
commonly. Tea and rice are rare lux
urles, and fish is chiefly davoured raw.
Altogether, the diet chapter is an
uncomfortable one. Sheep are i'm
ported from China for sacrifcial pur-
poses only, and goats are rare. The
poorer classes are meagrely fed: they
live like the Japanese, on miilet and
beans. All classes use tobacco very
much. We may take it that the man
ners and customs which Mr.. Griffis de-
scIibeS us existing now are Just the
same as they have been for ages; do
mestic slavery in its mildeSt form. for
instance, the position of women, the
frlternal principles on which trades and
industries are conducted. and the curl
Gus ceremonies of marriage, burial and
mourning.
Women are not so i'll off in Corea as
in many other less secluded heathen
countries. They have no rights, and
are disposed of like the other animals;
but they are not ill-treated by their
owners, and though their personal in
significance actually extends to their
having no names, they receive titles of
honor in public, their apartments are
secure from intrusion, they cannot be
punished for any crime, the males of the
family being responsible for them, and
they are free land Safe) to 20 about at
all hours. Widows of position are not
supposed to marry again, and are eX-
pected to mourn all their lives, but a
man whose wife dies wears half mourn
ing for very short time. II is breach
of good manners to be vehemently sorry
for ones wife, and the sex that makes
every law finds that one easy to keep.
ACorean king is a rather absurd per-
Sonage; nobody must touch him unbid- |
den, and any one who accidentally does
so has henceforth to wear red cord
round the neck. Metal, also. must |
never approach the royal person. The |
King has deSpotic power, but it is tenn
pered by many kindly customs; he hears |
the complaints of his subjects, and is in |
constant communication with the popu- |
lace, by means of commissioners. The |
royal outings are tremendous affairs, |
with caparisoned horses, dragon flags. |
and the sacred fan and umbrella. The |
mobiles are bad and cruel class. accord |
ing to all accounts of them; the officials |
and magistrates are literary" Liter
ature has from time immemorial been |
held in honor in Corea, from whence |
the japanese adopted printing III the |
twelfth century, when a work of the
Buddhist canon was printed from wooden
blocks. "a Corean book is known |
which dates authentieally from the |
period 13l1-1324, over century before
the earliest printed book known in
Europe" The Coreans are Budhists,
but Shamanism has never lost its hold |
upon them, and the old gods are rever
enced still, just as the old myths remain
in modern Greece. The air is not |
empty for a Corean, and every month |
has its three unlucky days, the 9Th, the
18th and the 18th. The worship of |
ancestors and the Chinese system of |
ethics, or Confucianism, are their rul
ing principles, and the fulfilment of the |
parental and filial relations in an ad-
manner Is the distinguishing |
virtue of the hermit race.