The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1889-07-12

INTO i-2rly AarT1ases-Su1-
eide Often Ends the Honeymoon.
The lot Of a 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.
1t is generally true that the religion
of any country rather than its civiliza-
tion 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 i
found in the social customs OF the peo-
pie. In their boys the parents see the
comfort and support of old age, and
what j. even Cf more Importance, the
performance of the sacrifice at their
graves which shall secure them hap
py future after death
But when daughter marrics she
parts from her parents and family for
ever. No lyinship 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
10 lose her.
Allowed no place or part in the re-
igion of her country, and forced TO
desert her own home for one chosen
by Others, without the least reference
to her own feelings, the Chinese girl
seems to be but a stray in her own
land and among her own people
Dark as the picture seems in reality,
some writer's have represented the con-
dition OF females in China rs worse
than it is, and quite wrong opinions
are the result For instance, in North
China, at least, there is no such exten-
sive murder OF female infants as has
been asserted. Cases doubtless do oc-
cur in which mothers destroy their
children. as they do in America, but
the crime is rare, and is regarded as
crime, Is ii is N other countries.
The birth of a daughter is not made
the occasion Of rejoicing rs is the birth
of n son. 1t is regarded as a calamity
in any family to have many daughters
and no sons 1t is even allowed as a
ground for divorce. But when there
is one or more sons IN = family the
coming OF 4 daughter is regarded with
satisfaction and even with JOY. She
can help the mother LOOK after the
children and be Il maid-ot-all-work
about the house. 49, -
The Chinese, as a people. have
strong natural affections. They love
all their children, and while not dar-
ing to set aside and defy long-estab-
lished customs and prejudices, many
Of them nourish and care for their
daughters as tendcrly 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
nese 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
NCdNl- III <Aliltl OALth It-
fuse to believe that Chinese women,
even with bound feet, can wear the
tiny shoes that are sometimes shown
as curiosities They, however, do
wear just such tiny shoes. The APP
parent impossibility is explained away
by the fact that only the large toe,
with the smaller doubled underneath.
is put within the shoe. the heel oi
which comes just underneath the ball
of the foot The shoe of full
grown woman may have sole only
three and half inches long.
Sometimes not only the small toes,
but the entire ball of the foot is
twisted and doubled into the arch oi
the foot
Fortunately this cruel practice is de-
creasing in North China through the