The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1883-11-08
CHINAMEN AT DINNER.
How the Ceiestinls Eat-A Queer Measure
of Xisdom

of Wisdom.
Have you eaten?" (Che lao fan nina
may youO is as common greeting
among the Cinnamon as our How do
you do?" In their opinion, he who is
able to eat is surely well, happy and all
right in every respect. Eating is the
most common subject of conversation
among them. "How many meals day
have your" "How many bowls of rice
do YOU eat in day." In answer to
such questions, the Celestials always
name a larger number of meals than
they really have, and when, with their
hands, they show you the size of their
bowls, you must understand that they
usually hyperbolize. They often adj
dress foreigners such questions as these:
"Have you rice in your country ?" How
many meals a day do your countrymen
eat?" 1t is common opinion among
Cinnamon that foreigners come to China
because they have nothing, or not
enough, to eat at home.
Cinnamon hold that the stomach is
the source of intellectual life, and,
therefore, the more portly man is the
wiser he must be. In their language
the sentence, "He eats much" is syn
onymous with, HE is wise man."
To treat guest or visitor to a meal
at any time of the day is considered
here as mark of refined politeness.
Cinnamon eating is the most familiar
scene here, and it can be witnessed in
the streets and yards, as well as in
the eating houses, hotels and private
houses.
Only Cinnamon who have families
take their meals at home; the rest eat
at hotels. Usually they have two sub
stantial meals day-in the morning,
an hour after they get up. and between
3 and o'clock p. m. Well-to-do China
men have three or four meals day.
The head Of the family gets the best
articles of food. Often only the father
eats meat, while the rest OF the family
must be satisfied with rice. In olden
times the children, although they might
be married, were not allowed to either
eat, sit or talk while their father ate;
they served him as servants. Nowadays,
even in the Celestial empire, such VEN
Grafton for age is gone; it is observed
only as a meaningless ceremony in the
presence of guests.
Poor families usually get their meals
from street vendors. These carry pro-
visions along with small stove on a
wheelbarrow. Well-to-do families usual
ly employ cooks. The guild of cooks
is very numerous here, and the cooks
get their degrees and diplomas like
men of science. A learned Chinese
cook can prepare pork and mutton in
fifty different styles. All cooks here
pocket certain percentage on the pro-
visions they buy for their masters.
The Celestials use no table-cloth, nap
kins, knives, forks, spoons, dishes,
plates or glassware. The European
style of eating with knives and forks
they criticise as being rather work than
pleasure. They do not use white
table-cloth, because it reminds them of
deep mourning Instead of napkins
they use packages of thin. soft paper,
which serve them also for handker
chiefs. They throw away the sheets of
paper after they have been once used,
and scorn Europeans for using the
same handkerchief several times. Since
1920, when the Chinese thoroughly
made the acquaintance of Europeans,
the napkin has come into use among
them, particularly in Canton, but they
modified its use. In corner of the
napkin they make q hole and hang it
from button on q servants dress. The
servant with the napkin goes from one
guest to another, and thus score of
Celestials may use the same napkin.
Each guest has q saucer, q pair of sticks
(kudytzO, q package of paper, and a
minute cup with salt sauce. Neither
sticks nor saucer are changed during
whisky are served many times during
the dinner.
When Chinaman gives formal din
ner he invites his guests either person
ally or by cards. Those who accept
the invitation inform the host and send
him money, provisions and presents, at
the cost of from half dollar up to
hundreds of dollars. The money and
presents are entered in a special book
which is carefully preserved for refer
ence. On the appointed day the guests
appear, and the host with numberless
ceremonies receives them and leads
them to the tents which are put up in
the yard. These contain rows of tables,
each table seating eight persons. "The
tables of the eight sages," they call
them, for, according to tradition, the
great Confucius with his disciples used
such tables. The Chinese women never
dine with the men. For the amuse-
ment of the guests they improvise a
stage and perform play in which boys
take the female roles. 1t is considered,
however. bad taste to pay much atten-
ton to the play.
L must say that the Chinese dinners
are very tiresome. No topic of general
interest is ever discussed at them. A
gastronomist who knows everything
about various articles of food commands
the most attention. Everybody smokes
during the dinner When the Celes-
tials feel about satisfied they amuse
each other with homespun puns or
childish pranks, such as guessing
whether one of the eight sages" has
an odd or even number of watermelon
seeds. The dinner is crowned by q
story or legend narrated by some more
or less known orator.-Letter from
Pekin.
l D...J:tr Urlo...ht