Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-06-06
CHILDHOOD In CHINA.
1t Is a Dreary Round of Drudgery
and Neglect

ana N08l0CL
Como of tho Hardships Daughters I'm tho
Elowery Kingdom Have to Endure
Forced Into Early BIarriages-Sui-
eide Often Ends the Honeymoon.
The lot of Chinese girl is, on the
whole. a very hard one. From the
cradle to the grave her life is full of
drudgery and hardship, without vari-
ETY. Or relief.
The student of the Chinese people is
surprised at the low estate of the
mothers, wives and daughters. "She
can not be either evil or good''-this
idea forms the basis of the treatment
OF the female sex.
It is generally true that the religion
of any country rather than its civiliza-
ton determines the position of the
women in it. The only native religion
of China - Confucianism organized
and developed more than two thousand
years ago, recognizes only the male
Sex
Another reason for the small esteem
In which women are held in China is
found in the social customs of the peo-
pie In their boys the parents see the
comfort and support of old age, and
what is even of more Importance, the
performance of the sacrifice at their
graves which shall secure them q hap
py future after death.
But when a daughter marries she
parts from her parents and family for
ever. No kinship with them is there
after recognized, and beyond one or
two formal visits all intercourse with
them is at an end.
{ Under this heathenish custom it is
small wonder that a Chinese mother
and father should feel that in rearing
a daughter every thing done for her is
really wasted. or at least done for the
benefit of strangers. She must marry,
because it is disreputable TO remain
single; and in marriage they are forced
to lose her.
Allowed no place or part in the re-
ligion of her country. and forced to
desert her own home for one chosen
by others. without the least reference
60 her own feelings. the Chinese girl
seems to be but stray in her own
land and among her own people.
Dark as the picture seems in reality,
some writers have represented the con-
dition of females in China as worse
than it is, and quite wrong opinions
are the result For instance, in North
China, at least, there is no such extern
sive murder of female infants as has
been asserted. Cases doubtless do &C.
cur in which mothers destroy their
children, as they do in America, but
he crime is rare. and is regarded as a
crime, as it is in other countries.
The birth of a daughter is not made
the occasion of rejoicing as is the birth
of a son. 1t is regarded as a calamity
in any family to have many daughters
and no sons. 1t is even allowed as q
ground for divorce. But when there
is one or more sons in family the
coming OF a daughter is regarded with
satisfaction and even with joy. She
can help the mother look after the
children and be a maid-Of-all-work
about the house.
The Chinese, as people, have
strong natural affections They love
all their children. and while not dar-
ing to set aside and defy long-estab-
Hshed customs and prejudices, many
of them nourish and care for their
daughters as tenderly as their sons
A high Chinese official once said to
me that in his opinion one of the best
things about Western nations was the
care and kindness shown to girls by
their parents and friends; and that
China's greatest shame was in her
treatment of females. For his part he
had always made It a rule to treat his
wife as his equal, and his daughters
with the same care and affection
shown his sons.
The first event in the life of a Chi
anese girl is the binding of her feet,
which is done at two or three years
of age. The four smaller toes are
doubled in under the great toe and
against the ball of the foot and bound
tightly in that position. The heel is
also forced up against the back of the
ankle and held there by bandages
These bandages are never removed
until the foot has become distorted
into the new unnatural shape, and
but seldom afterward.
OF course the process causes the
most intense pain. and sometimes re-
suits in modification of the feet and
death. People in America often re-
fuse to believe that Chinese women,
even with bound feet. can wear the
Tiny shoes that are sometimes shown
80 curiositieS They. however. do
wear just such tiny shoes. The ap-
parent impossibility Il explained away
b tho fact that only the large toe.
Nth the smaller doubled underneath,
= "a q