The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-09-19
China at Home.

and short feet; country where tea is
drank without milk or sugar, anc
where two little ivory sticks, skillfnlly
handled between the fingers and thumb,
replace the fork and spoon; country
where you call the first man you meet
your elder brother; where to ask
bootmaker his address it is necessary
to ask what noble palace" he inhab-
its; country where the creditor has
the right to make any insolvent debtor
pay his bill with a piece of his flesh,
and where the debtor by way of re-
venge, hangs himself at his creditors
door; a country where the son ruins
himself to buy coffin for his dead
father, and, covered with hempen
garment walks backward as he fol-
lows his sumptuous funeral; a country
where people work for their rice in.
stead Of their bread, but which is OF
earth and not of lacquer-work and por-
celain; and where, as in other coun-
tries, the husband loves his wife, and
the orangecolored mother loves her
slant-eyed children.
1t is country, moreover, where the
bride attaches great Importance to the
personal appearance of the bridegroom.
and the bridegroom equal Importance
to the moral qualities OF the bride; and
the basis of many Chinese dramas, as
OF dramas in other parts of the world,
is the passion of love. Women have
been forbidden to appear on the stage
since the day when celebrated actress
inspired the emperor with fatal ca
price. The men, who undertake fe-
male as well as male parts, play
with good expression. and use
super-abundance Of gestures, some OF
which, though derived from the obser-
walton of reality, have at last acquired
purely conventional value. An actor
who, pivoting on his left foot, makes
circular movement with his right, is
understood TO be getting on horseback.
To cut the air with riding-whip is to
indicate. through the connection Of
cause with effect, a galloping' pace.
The exhibition OF pieces of gold cloth
with wheels painted on them has al
most an arbitrary meaning, and signi-
ties that the emperor is coming.
Etiquette is rigidly observed. A
young girl walking in the street must
not turn her head round; nor at home
is she allowed to glance slyly at visitors.
She is to remember, moreover, that
girls who are always laughing and
talking are not esteemed, and that vir-
tuous women have been honored from
the earliest times. The philosopher
Mendze grieved when he saw his moth
er break her shuttle; the woman Tsoun
threw herself on q sword in order to
save her husbands life; the mother of
40, being so poor that she could not
buy writing materials, taught her son
to read by tracing characters in the
sand. Women should be able to read,
write, and use the counting machine,
so as to be in position to direct a
household. They should read books of
piety and stories of morality in action,
while avoiding love poetry, songs, and
anecdotes. Women should be reserved;
and they are cruelty enjoined never to
occupy themselves with other peoples
duaIIS. Men ought never 10 Talk OF
domestic matters, while women should
never talk of anything else. When q
visitor is in the drawing-room, the lady
of the house should not be heard rails
ing her voice in the kitchen. Women
are not to paint their faces and wear
striking colors, for the insufficient rea-
son that if they do men will look at
them. Young women, as well as
young men, are TO BIO dutifui to their
parents, and always in good humor,
even when their father and mother are
not.
China is, in short, a country of
primitive manners and primitive NOR
ais. very simple, tranquil, and pictur
esque.