Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-01-23
CHINESE GIRLS NEGLECTED.
Education Denied Them because They
will Get Married.

|
A writer in the North China Herald.
In an ESSAY on The National History
of the Chinese Girl" has some inter-
esting remarks on the lack of educa-
ton of Chinese women. When the
child grows up 10 what we should call
a young school girl her friends begin
to be very uneasy about her. This has
not the smallest connection with her
intellectual nature. which. so far as
any culture which it receives is con-
cerned, might rs well be non-existent.
Unless her father happens to be a
schoolmaster aud at home with moth
ing TO do he never thinks of teaching
his daughter to read; it would be pre-
posterous. 1t is like wedding the field
for some other man, or putting "A gold
chain around the neck OF some one
else's puppy. which may at any mo-
ment be whistled off. Rad then what
becomes of the chan9 One of the un-
DERIVING assumptions Of Chinese So
ciety is that it is the body of the girl
for which the parents are responsible.
and not the mind. To almost any
Chinese it would probably appear
self-evdent proposition that to spend
time, strength, and, much more, money
in educating the daughter-in-lsyv Of
some one else is a sheer waste. But"
you say to him. ''she is your daugh-
ter" Not after she is married." he
replies; "she is theirs; let them edu-
cate her themselves if they want her
educated. Why should teach her
how to read, write and reckon when it
will never do me any good?" With
which utilitaran inquiry the education
of most Chinese girls has been banish-
ed from human thought for the space
of some millenniums.
The anxiety which all her friends be-
gin to feel about Chinese girl as soon
as she attains any considerable size is
exhibited in the inquiries which are
made about her whenever she happens
to be spoken of. These inquiries do
not concern her character or her do
mestic accomplishments. much less
her intellectual capacity. of which she
has. theoretically. none 10 speak of;
but they may all be summed up in the
single phrase: as she sadp" mean
ing by the term said" betrothed If
the reply should be in the negative the
intelligence is received in much the
same way as we should receive the in
formation that a European child had
by some strange neglect been allowed
to grow TO the age of 16 without hav-
ing been taught anything whatever out
of books. The instructive feeling of q
Chinese in regard to girl is that she
should be betrothed as soon as posi-
Bile. This is one of the many points in
regard TO which it is almost impossible
for the Chinese and the Anglo-Saxon TO
come to terms. As soon as Chinese
giri is once betrothed she is placed in
different relations TO the universe gen.
orally. She is no longer allowed such
freedom as hitherto, although that may
have been little enough. She can not
20 anywhere. because it would be lin
She might be seen by
some member OF the family into which /
she is 10 marrr-than which it is
hardly possible TO think of anything /
more horrible. "Why?" the irrepress- |
ible occidental inquiries, and is quench-
ed by the information that lit would .
not be proper" Why it would not be
proper no one can ever tell. except /
that 1t never was proper. and therefore
It is not so now. and therefore never
will be. The imminent risk that the
girl might at some unguarded moment
be actually seen by the family of the
future mother-in-law is reason why
- few engagements for girls are made
IN the town in which the girl ives-an
which would seem to be
ior the convenience of all parties in
great variety of ways.