The morning news., 1889-03-15
THE RICHEST MAN IN CHINA.
How a Celestial Millionaire Enjoy
Life at Canton.
From the Neto York World,


Life at Cantor.
From the Neto York World.
CANTON, CHINA, Feb. 81 visited, this
afternoon, the Vanderbilt OF China. He is
relative of the Chinese minister at Wash
ington, and his grandfather died less than q
generation ago, leaving an estate wortt
fifty million hard gold dollars His name
is now How Qua, and he has acres of houses
in the busiest part Of Canton, his OWE
residence occupies the site of good
sized farm, and he has diamonds and pearls
bv the cupful. One of his diamonds, ring
which cost $50, 900, was sent to England to
be sold not long ago, and it is probably now
in the jewel casket of one of the monarchs
of Europe. He has plantations of rice fields
and many acres Of the choicest tea gardens.
His money is we'll invested, and he would
approach the wealth of Jay Gould were it
not that the officials every now and then
come down upon him for a gift of from
$4,000 to 100000, and he dare not re-
fuse. This rich man Is now AZ years
old, though he does not look over 35. He is
a typical Chinaman Of the literary class,
has broad, high forehead, thin yellow
cheeks and eyes that shine as brightly as
his choicest diamonds. His hair is like jet
and his cue reaches to his ankles He was
dressed in silks and furs when he received
me, and he had tight, round black silk
skull-cap on the top of his head. He shook
his own hands before his breast in Chinese
salutation when our American consul, Mr..
Seymour, introduced me to him, and then
he reached out his long-nailed fingers and
grasped my hand la Americana.
1t was in his grand residence on the banks
of the Pearl river in the heart of Canton.
We walked through a wilderness of build
ings dev ted to the servants and relative ;
l. 49, 81.
ton room. How Qua supports about 400 of
his poor relatives, and wnen man makes
fortune in China his whole clan settles
down upon him. In the various ourts all
kinds of work seemed to be going on. Here
servants were cleaning the fish for the
family. The rice was being ground into
-four and dried in great baskets, and just
next the reception room we heard the buzz
ing of babel. 1t was How Quas children
being taught by their tutor, and like all
Chinese children, they studied out loud,
singing their lessons out at the tops of their
voices. Now aud then the sharp clatter of
the ruler could be heard when one of the
boys made a mistake, and the father told
me he intended to have his boys educated
at the Hong Kong foreign college to
finish them off in America and England
He talked English himself, and he is among
the progressive of the Chinese.
AS we sat and chatted the choicest of For
mosa tea was brought in, the leaves of
which were, | judge, worth about $40 a
pound. and we seated ourselves in black
ebony chairs, which in couples we're ranged
on the sides of small tables, and slipped The
tea from covered china cups without
saucers. There are no easy chairs in the
Chinese gentleman's house, and this palace
in China had uncarpeted floors of stone, and
its walls between the rooms were of colored
glass framed in ebony. Some of the curious
shaped panels had pictures painted on them
by Chinese artists, and the effect of the
whole was the finish of fancy stOreroom
vet unoccupied, rather than that of a COM
Portable home.
Some of the finest rooms looked out upon
a little lake of lotus plants of perhaps an
acre in extent, and there was glaSS-covered
corridors which ran around this. The
chairs sat against the wall, and their un-
bending backs were straight up and down.
There were no cosy hooks such as you find
in our American homes, and the soft tints
of our family life were not found il
the picture. Nearly every room contained
an American clock, and some were hung
with glass chandeliers. | went into his
mothers bedroom, the best in the house, l
doubt not, and where How Qua pointed as
he said, "There my mamma sleeps" was a
platform between four posts, which was
covered with straw mating and upon
which was piece of porcelain of about the
shape aud size of a Scent loaf of bread,
and this was the pillow of this rich Chimes
lady.
In no country in the world have mothers
more power than in China, and in no place
Is filial affection more shown. How Qua,
though 40 years old, Obeys his mother a.
well as when he was 10, and he would not
think of going out at night without asking
her permission. Not long ago he was in
vited to our consulate for dinner. He
replied 81 would like to come but / can
not tell till l ask my mamma" Still How
Qua is nearly SO and his mother 90. The
Chinese mother lects the bride for her
son, and How Qua, during his visit, seemed
much prouder of his mother than his vile.
WOMEN WITH sHOCKINGLY SMALL FEET.
He introduced us to the old lady. who
was sitting in chair wrapped in furs and
powdered and painted. Her seat looked out
upon her flower garden and she had two
maids beside her. Upon her cloth cap was
a great button of diamonds as la ge as the
biggest full-blown rose and of about the
same shape. 1t was made Of numerous
stones, and the central one was as large
as the egg of a robin. Pearls hung in
her ears, and what interested
us most were the golden lilies
which shone out beneath her
embroidered petticoat 'Golden lilies" i
the Chinese expression for the smallest Of
ladies feet, and Nine. How Qua had shoes
not more than two inches in diameter.
Their soles were round rather than oblong
and their tops were embroidered in silver
and silk. They were so small that she
could not walk alone, and this old lady
who has for years controlled a fortune
greater than that possessed by Miss Mary
Garrett or Mrs. Mark Hopkins, cannot
move from one room to another without the
aSxiatauca of her maids