Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1885-01-07
What DO the Chinese Eat9

j
When I was at Lake View in August
at the New England Asst ,mbiy, ana
having a ''real nice time telling the
children about China in the headquart-
ers of the C. Y. F. r. u, one day was
accosted by bright little gari VINO
wished to Hknow what people ate in
China, and whether those dreadful
stories about eating rats We're true. l
answered as we'll as few words would
serve me, but did not satisfy the curl
osity of the eager inquirer Later de-
voted half hour to talking about the
s.Daily Food of the Chinese to some
forty boys and girls; and here l repeat
the matter for the sake of others curl
GUS to learn the truth-trusting little
natural Indignation and plain speaking
may be excused me. -,
Americans. are fond Of wonderful
stories. Nothing pleases them more
than to hear something revolving or
strang e about other people. JnE N atoms
and races who resemble themselves are
not worth attention = b. Hence travellers
knowing fellows all of them-possir
bly, find It profitable to startle them en-
with accounts as marvellous as they are
false. Not that these accounts are al
ways wholly untrue, but that sohtary
| instances and occurrences are magnl-
| fed to represent habits and customs OF
a whole people. Belonging to this
| class of accounts are those relative to
the use as food in China of certain ami
mails. find that Americans believe
that dog soup, cat fricassee, and rat a
| la mode are dishes to be found daily on
every table in the Empire. The TACT Is
that there are some peculiar people IN
China as elsewhere, credulous and SUI
| perstitious; and some of these believe
| that the flesh of those animals | have
mentioned possesses medicinal proper
ties. For instance, some silly women
| believe that the flesh of rats restores
the hair. Some believe that dog-meat
and also cat-meat renews the blood, and
quacks often prescribe it. Then it is
| also that there are very poor people
who have no money to buy proper food,
and therefore subsist upon what they
can get rather than starve. But have
lived fifteen years of my life in China,
| and have had experience at public BAN
quets, social dinners and ordinary
meals, and in company with all classes
of people; but have never seen cat,
dog, or rat in any form whatever. .
"What, then, do the Chinese eat?"
Our gardens are prodigal of vegetables;
our ponds, rivers, and lakes swarm
with fish; our farm-yards are crowded
with pigs, land fowls, ducks, and geese;
our fields are gilded three times every
year with ripening rice. In some sec
lions of the Empire wheat and barley
are produced; but rice is our usual sub
stitute for bread. These articles make
up the everyday food of the people,
But there are certain things unknown
to your tables that are considered great
deiicacies by everybody, one of which
l have told you about already-edible
birds nests. Another is sharks fins.
The Chinese keep very few COWS, and
it is true that beef is not esteemed as
good as pork, and that many will not
eat beef on account of religious scru-
pies. Milk. butter, and cheese are al
most unknown articles of diet. The
Chinese think it is robbing the calves to
take the milk from the cows.-Wide
| AtCdke.