Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1884-10-02
China at Homo.

China is the country of long tresses
and short feet; a country where tea is
drank without milk or sugar. and
where two little ivory sticks, skillfully
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 n
bootmaker his address it is necessary
TO ask ''wnat noble palace he inhab-
its; country where the creditor has
the right to make any iusolvent debtor
pay his bill with piece of his flesh,
and where the debtor by way of re-
venge, hangs himself at his creditor 5
door; q country where the son ruins
himself TO buy coffin for his dead
father. and, covered with n hempen
garment, walks backward as he fol-
lows his sumptuous funeral; 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. rs in other coun-
tries, the husband loves his wife, and
the orange-colored mother loves her
slant-eyed children.
Ns
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 q
uper-abundanee of gestures, some of
which, though derived from the obser-
walton OF reality, have at last acquired
4 purely conventional value. An actor
who, pivoting on his left foot, makes q
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, n galloping pace.
The exhibition OF pieces of gold cloth
with wheels painted on them has al
most an arbitrary meaning, and signi-
des 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 n 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
affairs. Men ought never to talk of
domestic matters, while women should
never talk of anything else. When Il
NlS4fOA 10 az tilt W .sN oblAs NV istNA
of the house should not be heard rails
ing her voice in The kitchen. Women
are not to paint their faces and wear
striking co,ors, Tor the insufficient rea-
son that if they do men will look ut
them. Young women, rs well rs
young men, are to be dutiful TO their
parents, and always in a good humor
even when their father and mother are
not.
China is, in short, country of
primitive manners and primitive nor
ais, very simple, tranquil, and picmr-
asque.