Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-01-08
What Do the Chinese Eat?

When was at Lake View in August
at the New England Assembly, and
having ''real nice timen telling the
children about China in the headquart-
ers of the c. Y. +. r. IT,, one day was
aecosted by bright little girl who
wished to ''know what people ate in
China, and whether those dreadful
stories about eating rats were true" |
answered as well as few words would
serve me, but die not satisfy the Curl
osity of the eager inquirer. Laterl de-
voted half hour to talking about the
daily Food of the Chinese" to some
forty boys and girls; and here / repeat
the matter for the sake of others curi-
Gus to learn the truth-trusting a 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
strange about other people. Nations
and races who resemble themselves are
not worth attention. Hence travellers
knowing fellows all of them-possi-
bly, find it profitable to startle them
with accounts as marvellous as they are
false. Not that these accounts are al
ways wholly untrue, but that solitary
instances and occurrences are magni-
fled 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 fact 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 i 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 eatp"
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
tions of the Empire wheat and barley
are produced; but rice is our usual SUBJ
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
delieacies 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 viii nat
eat beef on account of religious scra-
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. Vide
Atcdke.