The Oskaloosa herald., 1885-07-09
GIRLS AND WOMEN
IS THEY ARE ESTIMATED AND Eou-
GATED ~ CHINA
Daughters More Profitable Than Sons
ztiQossts. Marriage Laws and Cus-
toms-He'Altk - the Average
ChInsse GIrl-At Home.
fBrooklyn Eagle I

lhrooktyn EaEte-i
From q financial standpoint raising
daughters in china is far more profitable
than raising soniA There Is almost q sure
return for every dollar invested and fire.
ouently heavy interest in the former,
while the latter are often accompanied
with loss. Wives are not bought In
China The young husband simply makes
q sort of genteel redemption In presents
10 the good mother in law for the trouble
incurred in bringing up her daughter.
These iRnumerHble cOuTteSies and fre.
quent redemptiOns often cost the unfor.
tunate husband 100 per cent more than
the wife would bring If put up At suc-
ton Even then there are many who
would pay double the amount expended
10 return their wives without comment
on the bargain
Most American writers labor under the
erroneous impression as TO Chinese social
life, suggested in the trite remark the
Chinese are partial 20 male infants and
that the females are not much thought
of. These | quote from Gutzcaif
There is, perhaps, no nation except Tur-
key In which The females are less seen
and less known than [ hinA Their sb.
solute secluSion from the public gaze,
both in the street and at home, makes
them strangers 10 their own race. This
is so true that | can safely say that
married men in China do not know the
opposite sen. except through their own
wives WomanhOod Is so sacred that IL
is shut in and begirt by prejudicss and
customs more completely than by q hi-
nese wall
Women associate with women and men
with men upon all occasions and under
IL tasr - 9gr 1.s
riei out in all we'll regulated Chinese
families Even brothers and sisters are
not allowed 70 eat at the same table, but
have their separate servants and meals.
In hina private dwellings are built in
such q manner as 10 prevent yisitors of
the opposite sex from meeting or even
seeing the women of family. Under
these circumstances IL might seem difficult
70 describe the condition of the Chinese
women and their treatment But the con
dition and treatment are formulated by
the common law Of china They have
been taught, generation after generation,
al school and fireside, and have become
the public and private law of the land
Exceptions are treated as miSdemeanorS
and are punished accordingly. The girl
Of he hi Ii Is brought up on the same
basis g. her sisters in Shanghai.
With all due respect to the demagogues
and bigots. | am certain that the health of
the average Chinese girl and woman Is su-
periOr 10 that of their Occidental sister.
The fashionable doctor Of the great cities
Of Christendom would starye in the popu-
lous capitals Of the Middle Kingdom In re.
speCt 10 domestic comfort and happiness
the hinese aterfamiliss stands head and
shoulders over the American. While
in the store and Office the husband rules
supreme, in the house the wife is lady
paramount From babyhoOd she has
been trained in household duties The
government Of servants, the rearing of
children and the management of the home
are to her household words From the
wedding day she is. TO combine the slang
of the orient and Occident. both boss and
Joss Of the family. Ii may. there
the woman's rights organization 10 know
In all domestic relations While women
are educated. and well educated, they can
not gain literary honors like men. Their
culture is what is required by and for the
family. In cooking marketing. medi'
cine, music, art decorations and bellies let
ters they are universally well informed.
In science. business. politics and state
craft they are ignorant to the last degree
Their education is practical as well as
theoretical The educated girl paints,
embroiders, raises silk worms. makes,
spins and weaves silk. carves. ensmels,
grows fine vegetables or breeds animals
for the markets, and thus frequently
makes q good liyir z for both herself and
her parents Many of the handsomesi
robes and most beautiful tissues in the
New York market are from the hands Of
young girls Of good families IN china
Where in America a thousand women
have mastered the Jacquard loom a mill-
ion have in hina
The mosi ippoTtant part Of her educa
tios u that which cOnCSsI--- T5s7coISaa Son-
iuci NeaiDess, courtesy and cleanliness
the arts OF holding the tongue still an m
known art il would seem in the New
World. of preparing sn enjoyable meal
and of managing 9 home-theSe are the
first requisites of feminine culture Her
knowledge of medicine is aptly repre-
sented by that gained by the lectures
given in this land on the first aid TO the
fniused. and Is rather the knowledge of
q professional nurse than that of physf
clan. Her savoir faire is developed partly
by home experience and partly by visits
% her grandmothers auDts and sisters
Manners are broader term In China than
in America They include aft sction,
elf-sacrifce, devotion and forthought as
well as that Of address and good language
The recognition and appreciation of all of
them is a religious IS well as a social and
personal duly. A Chinese wife and
mother fulfills the functions of her office
both from the fear and awe of Buddha,
and from the love she hears her husband,
chilhren and family