The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1891-08-29
CHINESE URBANlTY,
THEY DISPLAY IN
LETTER WRITING,

rhe Educated Chiuaman Can Give the
American Points on rolitcncss aud RE
ancmrnts In the Conduct of Epistoiary
Correspondence,
1t has probably fallen to the lot of
most of us to have met people who,
without the excuse of an unconscious
habit, have the kuack of asserting un.
lleasant truths, and who value the un-
gracious practice rs u sign ot honesty,
There are others, such as the Quakcrs of
bygone days, who regard every express
sion which may not be in strict accord
auce with absolute truth as u sin against
their consciences, 10 such people the
idea Of subscribing themselves yours
truly" or of beginning letter TO n
casual acquaintance, Dear 80 and So
is abhorrent, But public opinion has
been too strong for them, and we con-
tinue, and shall continue SO long rs so
ciety holds together, to address one an.
other in terms of endearment and respect
which are not required to correspond
with our sentiments.
Orientals have surpassed us in this re-
gard as much as the brilliant sunshine
to which they are accustomed excels the
murky atmosphere of Europe, The de
scriptions of ourselves and of our CORE
spoadents pale before the glowing ex-
preSsions of objective admiration and
subjective self abasement which adorn
eastern epistles. We are content to con
| fine our wishes and compliments to the
present life; but such limit is far too
narrow for an Asiatic, who delights in
wishing that his friends may live for
ever and ever, and that the ancestors OF
his enemies may be condemned to ever
lasting disgrace,
We are satisfied to speak of 81" and
You" but an oriental loves to heap nd.
jectives of contempt upon himself and
of glorifcation upon his correspondents
ELEvATING AND DEMEANING SMILES.
In all cases he avoids the use of the
personal pronouns BY system of cir
cumlocution necessitated by this omis-
sion, he describes himself as Your
younger brother" the character repre-
senting his expression being written
small, and partly at the side of the col
umns of words, and he designates him
self and others conjointly rs I'VE ants.
But the person he is addressing figures
as Your excellency," My benevolent
elder brother. or Your honor" liter
ally, you who are at the steps of the
council chamber" His own house is "a
mean dwelling" or, as the parts of the
character signify, "a stricken and broken
dwelling;" but he is unable to think OF
his correspondents habitation as any.
thing but IAN honorable" literally
"basket-of-pearls palace" In the same
spirit of self abasement he feels obliged
to wind up his epistle with the phrase
Your stupid younger brother, So-and
So, bows his head to the ground" The
character for stupid is drawn for Us
by two hieroglyphics, meaning mon
key hearted" To bow to his friends is
Falso pictorially expressed by colloca
ton of IA head" and turf, - suggesting
the act of bowling the head to the earth.
If his correspondent proposes to call
upon him he hastens to assure him that
lat the appointed hour, with bowling
hands, be will await the time when his
excellency shall abase himself by driving
his chariot to his Office His friends
letter is 1.-The revelation of his hand,
aud he takes pains to make him aware
that holding it with washed hands he
had chanted" its contents.
On expressions of thanks particular
emphasis is laid by the Chinese, and
with true Oriental instinct, in their effor
after hyperbole, they are accustomed tC
give a physical Interpretation to theiI
mental feelings.
POWERFUL HYPERBOLE.
For instance, correspondent whC
wishes to say that he profoundly CRATE
full, writes, Your kindness is very deeply
engraved and enveined in my heart" L
he hears of the illness Of friend "h'
cannot help being hung up in suspense,
and the symbol he uses shows to the eye
the heart of the writer tied up, while a
the same time he urges him "to take carr
of his person as a pearl" And on thu
receipt of better news he breaks out
"How shall bear the JOY and pleasurel'
Having finished expressing the object o
his letter, he winds up by "availing him
self of the opportunity to wish his CORE
spondent all the blessings of the season
and" if he is on the road to honor, "al
the promotion he deserves"
But, if not ferocious, a sufficient lati
tude still remains to Chinaman for th'
development of much plain speaking. |
is as possible to "slit the thin spun life
with a stiletto as with u brOadsword, ant
in the most finished periods Cninamal
finds himself quite able to express eitheI
whitening contempt or remorseless hate