The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1891-04-15
China New Year.
From an English paper publish in
Shanghai

yet any sleep on Old J ear Night IN
a Chinese city; the whole popula-
ton watches the Old Year out. Ask
them what they do all the time,
they will say they enjoy themselves
again ask them how, they viii tell
you that they sit and chat all night
long No doubt the opium-pipe and
game of chance help to while away
the time. Certainly, firing crackers
seems to be a large part of the
watch-night service. From dark to
dawn and everywhere they bang,
bang, bang, on the startled air of
night, being intended as a sort of
greeting to the New Year. All the
first half of the night hurry and
scurry fill the streets; the city gates
are left open so that belated credi-
tors may not be hampered i'm the
collection of their debts. Then to-
wards midnight the last door is shut
and the last lucky inscription
pasted up. This is a very impor-
tant phase of the new year. Every
house in the Empire that can aeord
1t buys antithetical inscriptions for
the two lintels of the door and for the
various other places of prominence
on the walls. The vocabulary of
polite ornament is ransacked, and
the five happinesses, the points of
the compass, rains, SHOWS, winds,
sunshine, country and home, wealth
and longevity are woven into the
garlands of elegant phrases III every
possible combination. On the. doors
themselves are pasted new pictures
of the "Door Gods" who once in the
tabled past delivered their monarch
from the nightly visits of wander
ing bogeys and whose pictures have
been found ever since sufficient
Tor a similar purpose throughout
the Empire. Across the winaows
are pasted strips of paper-"Chieh,
the Supreme Duke, is here gd
spirits, get you gone" for Ch Sd
his day, some two thousand
ago, gained great power over 81. its,
and to-day though they have silt
enough to read characters taev
haven't wit to know that thes arc
being taken in, and therefore III
away abashed when they find aIr
old controller is within Owe. he
door front is fixed a little mirro so
that any foul fend who wants TO
enter, seeing his own ugly face re-
Elected viii think another there be-
fore him and viii fear the couse-
quences of poaching. The "door of
wealth" is then closed and lei
transactions of the year are ended.
The door viii be i'm due time opened
once more with great ceremony and
with proper precautions to ensure
that wealth shall flow in. AS he
night passes on, the guests refresh
themselves with the food cooke i'm
preparation, for cooking mus not
90 ON during the first day or So of
the year. A banquet is prepared.
and with the first glimmer OF The
dawn the head of the household
goes out beneath the sky, and
a carpet and offering he
viands, bows down with head 90 he
ground towards the direction OF Che
spirit ofhappiHess. This spi~i s.
changeable he alters his direction
every year, and the high author les
in Picking kindly act as his mouth
piece, giving notice beforehand ia
the people i'm which direction TO.
bow. This year the dawn O bel
year saw many pigtailed head .
bowed TO the southwest, then foil
lowed the worship of ance tors
by tine whole household, while
crackers and incense comp d .
he welcome. AT The same ue
.he high officials from the Vice.
roy downwards, assemble wi.l-|
i'm the red and yellow walls O. be
Emperor's Temple Great heap off
reeds are stacked through the nee
elected courts which have been
hastily weeded and as the man
larlns approach The whole scene is I
made ruddy with huge bonfgas. I
The great chair of state-somewbat .
.ickotty and Of simple local manu-
.acture-acts as deputy for fbe
all the officials toov iuI
unison, and then for moment +.
squat jim the peculiar fashion OBJ .
served i'm the actual presence of
heir sovereign The temples Of.
Jonfucius and the God of War are
also visited for similar brief acts of
reverence.
by This time the day has we'll .
lawned and shortly lhe round of .
calls begins Everybody dons his F..