The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-07-22

a whole nation In mourningi Twelve
millions of mon, women and children
wearing sackclothi All business sus-
pended, all festivities stopped CONVEX
sotion itself at q stantlstul
This is the condition Of the Kingdom
Of Korea to-day, says Once q Week, and
1t Is question as to whether this will
not continue to be It's condition for the
next three years to come.
Korea is In mourning for the queen
dowager. There Is no land tn the world
where 6lial piety prevails TO 80 large
ON extent, and there is no country
where mourning Is so terrible as here.
Tho law requires that every man shall
put on mourning for three yeers when
his father dies, and the law prescribcs
be worn The mourning curb is q
gown of straw-colored sackcioth, bound
around the waist with greet straw
rope The mourner must wcor hat as
big around as u parasol, aud he must
hold screen up before his fncc, so that
no one may look upon hts sorrowful
countenance- White is the mourning
color of Korea, and this gown of I'M
bleached cotton is supposed to DO white.
The screen Is of the Same material, and
II he smokes his pipe must be wrapped
with white The mourner must wear
this costume for three years, and during
that time he can engage in 10 work or
pleasure. When o king or quoc,l dies,
the whole nation is expected to go into
HsOurn!ng-Ht least this hos been the
custom of the past and it is said that
once Korea had thrco different kings
who died within period of ten years,
thus keeping the whole nation inactive
and IN mourning during that time.
This custom OF mourning thurs be-
comes very serious national issue, and
ii 1t Is not changed Korea CON never
take her place as one of the smart, &c
tive and progressive business people Of
the cost No business will st0nd being
neglected for three years at time, and
it is due to this custom that the hermit
kingdom is as poor to-day as it Is It is
n serious thing as respects tho other re-
lntions Of life outside that of business.
A lover may be about to ulnrry his
sweetheart and his father dies during
the tendency of the engagement The
wedding day must then DO put off for
at least three years, and if at tho end of
this time the young mans mother dies,
he has to wait another three ycops be-
fore he con get married During my
stay in Korea year or two ngo l was
shown man whom death kept out of
his matrimonial rights for period OF
twelve years at about tho time that
was set for his wedding day his father
died. and ut the end of the threo years
mourning his mother died, thus compel
ling him to wait three years moro.
This time death left his family and
went into that Of his betrothed. and two
deaths moro kept him out of his bride
for another six years
The mourning het Of Korca complete
ly hides the head of the mourncr. 1t is
not etiquette TO peep under it nor to
speak to the man who wears it It is,
in fact, the most perfect disguise that n
man can have in Korea, for the officers
will not arrest o mourner, and some
years ago the French missioner RIGS trav-
eled all over the country in this dis
guisc; and though the police were after
them, they for long time escaped de-
lection. Many of the mourncrs carry u
long staff In connection with the hat,
and they bind their fans and ornament
everything connected with their dress
with white They get their mourning
customs from China, but they carry
them to much greater cxtremes than do
the Chinese of to-day.
The Chinese have mourning costumes,
but these do not extend to the hat. The
mourners dress In white and they braid
white thread into their cues, and vcar
even white shoes They pretend to
mourn for u parent for at least three
years but this period is cut down TO
twenty-scven months. For thirty DAYS
otter the death of near relative they
arc not expected to shave their heads or
change their clothes, and there IS pen
atty for the non-observation of mourn
ing. When Ii Hung Changes mother
died q year or so ago, he asked TO be al
lowed TO resign from his Office of viceroy
Of China, and go into mourning for her
for three years. He was too valuable o
man, however, for the emperor to lose,
and he was told that his period Of mourn
ing must be restricted to three months.
The Chinese have rules of mourning
for tho. nation in case of the death OF an
emperor or empress When an empress
dies, the officers take off their gay col
ored silks and put on white, They tear
the buttons and fringcs from their caps,
and do not shave their heads for one
hundred days The people dare not
shave for o month, and in thecasc of an
emperor they must let their hair grow
for hundred days, and no marriages
must take place during this timo. Red
Is the lucky color and the festal color OF
China, and when the last emperor Of
China died. everything red was taken
out of the streets of RelSin md whit,