The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1882-1884, 1883-04-26

wv o''SsAt W ACiuciAUcIs Wucu we CHI
them peculiar people. that they
call US the same. and say that we are
the ones that do things contrariwise.
Still, to US they are very odd peo-
Iple.
We shake hands as ealutation
a Chinaman sh axes hands with him
self; that is. he stands at a distance,
and, clasping both hands together.
he shakes them mp and down at you
"a good idea when one thinks or
the numerous skin diseases among
them. Instead Of saying. Good
morning" or "How do YOU do ?'' they
say, "How old are you p or "Have
you eaten your rice ?" We uncover
the head as mark of respect; they
keep their heads covered, but take
of their shoes is matter of polite
ness. We shave the face they sh.
the head and eyebrows. We have
the patriarchal beard before: they
have the long "pig tall behind. We
cut our finger nails they consider it
quite aristocratic to have nails from
three to fiv inches long, which they
are obliged to protect in silver cases.
When broken off, they are used as
medicine.
In matt RS of dress John China
man finishes where the rest Of nan,
kind b gin. His waistcoat is out
side his coat, and his drawers outside
his pants, We blacken our shoes j;
he whitens them. Our ladies COM
press the waist; theirs the feet. Our
women ,ear long dresses; theirs
long sleeves. In China the men
carry the fans, and the women wear
the trousers.
In eating, their customs are in
striking contrast with ours. We
have soup as first course. and des.
sert at last; they have dessert at
first. and soup at last. They ignore
knife and fork and spoon, and eat
with two "chop. sticks" both held in
the right hand. They ahominate
beef, milk, butter. and cheese; but
eat puppies, cats, rats. birds nests.
sharks fins, and snails. Americans
want their wines ice-cold; the
a Chinese drink theirs scalding hot. In
t our land We drink our beautifully
/. colored "Young Hyson;'' in the land
: of tea they leave out the indigo and
e prussian blue, and wonder at the de
e praved taste that demands ''doctoreo
l tea They not only leave off the
= coloring, but always leave out the
milk and sugar.
Their looks are also quite dissimi
5 lar to ours. Theirs begin just where
ours end. We read in lines; they
Ill COLUMNS we lcdN hoA iApite"'A' y
from left TO right; they perpendicu
Il larly, from top to bottom. Our foot
u notes are ON the bottom Of the page
/ theirs on the top. We print on bot
e sides of the leaf; they on only one
= but their leaves are always donbl.
II We set our volumes up on end in Ol'
libraries; they lay th:irs down. w
III print with metal type; tie wit
3 wooden blocks. In writing we use
al pen; they a brush. We hold ou
(. pen obliquely they perpendicular,
~ Our ink is fluid; theirs har
cake. Their language has no alph'
a. bet. Tne written language Is III
ie spoken. and the spoken language
not written. Two men can convers
m in writing when they cannot unde
CT stand a word OF each other in speal
IN ing A Chinese school Is a perfe'
ia Babel. The pupils study out lou
o. each one at the top OF his voice, an
~ all at once. When scholar recite
)" he turns his back to the teache
ne This they call packing the lesson
= In America, young people pref
~ to do their own counting. AMI II
~ gagements for marriage are made /
!" the parties most concerned.
A0 China, the parents. with the help
- .uo.hetweens," select husbands ar
nc wives for their chlldren, and tt
' parties often never see each 9TH
Ltill the wedding is over. After ma
riaye, instead of wedding trip, tt
l bride is shut up as priso Ter Ill Il
husbands home, and does not go o
for q month. In China, wives a
always sold in America, somstlm
"a the husband gets sold
lie In China. the funeral customs a
in often directly the reverse of ours.
Ter our country, colin would not
lot considered very appropriate pre-
ire emf; in the ..Flowery Kingdom"