The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-22
BY CHINAMEN.
pARTIALITY FOR DEATH By
GHSt maTER, ROPE AND OPIUM.

Nsfl'0 Instance of the Family.
Dss'I Nv Swallowing aold-The
suicide Devil -;..s
0u'' r,or the Nep York Times.
Il ava CHINA, May 16.-En the en-
noIV rh,na there are more suicides shan
pire u o J portion Of the inhabited globe.
IN any 80 ,..pn 20 look upon se6-destruu-
l Lus N many instances as moss lauaaole
'loD D,arminasing ones earthly extsssne q
way var any Chinese man or woman Do
tangled in a serious trouble OF
co'O ''r.r oature, it seems that his or Der
.horzbt Of means OF es-
nr'' 80 nv suicide. The two prevailing
caP'us ~ China, Buddhifm aud Confu-
s 1i'e,n, both teach against self'destruction'
ISL Isal Of the awful miseries which await
Au U in the Hades of the Bud
s ,,9a ~ and the people look upon him as one
uu'', ,,,.t have sinned deeply In former
state Of existence.
''@ 1So nsusl methods Of suicide are chiefly
Il 4n.pirg opiun, hanging or drowning, and
4 ~ 'rratohed beings who are guilty OF THIS
Tue va generally, as among other races,
s 80 10 it either willingly or torolbly by
Morality or restitution; or oVermastered
il n iaslonsy, anger or disappointment. Sui
eide by cutting the throat, shootlng or any
~ - means means which tend to mutilate
ooIsbodv are seldom ever resorted to, as the
E VIC balieye that to destroy the in
Cu,ri Of the human body will
odJ 10 the misery OF death or de-
+roct from the happiness OF the soul.
TPsv also believe that in the world
b bao5 the grave the resurrected are Glad
O. garments similar to those worn at the
zine Of death hence it is usual for all at
tempting suicide 20 array tnepselVes 10
~ hast clothing before committing the
osb act The places chosen for committing
s,icide vary with the circumstances under
Svbich the act is done. Some choose retired
sro,s for from the haunts Of men, while
others choose the most frequented thor
oughfares and there DESTROY themselves be-
fore the ewes Of hundreds or even thousands
OF their fellow beings.
The number of suicides is supposed to be
about equally divided between the sexes,
enough as women in China are taken no
note Of, it is a very difficult matter to get at
tina truth Of any statistics concerning them.
Women usually commit suicide in their
houses. though they do not confine them
selves to this by any means; quite fire.
ouently they choose some place as public as
POSSIBLE, and instances have been know n
where widows would give public
notice some days ahead of
their intended suicide, and large
crowds would collect at the hour appoint d
70 view the horrible scene. Gambling is a
frequent cause of self murder among women,
particularly so when, by severe losses, they
lear their husbands displeasure. Again,
wives who are i'll treated by their husbands
or masters, or who are not supplied with
w0at they consider a sufficiency of money
and other worldly goods, are very prone to
suicide. In such cases the object is gem
orally solely for the purpose of bringing re-
morse to the heart of the cruel husband in
order that succeeding wives or concubines
may not be treated in similar manner.
Whenever this is the cause, the place chosen
for committing the act is always in the
husbands room or in the public hallway,
where she is surely to be seen by the object
which she declares has driven her to the
rash deep. But no sooner is the certainty
of death insured, than the husband orders
the attendants to remove the dying woman
from the dwelling into the open yard or an
clubhouse, this being in keeping with the
inhumsn belief that it is a sign Of i'll luck
should au inferior wife or concubine be
allowed to die IN the house OF the master.
Jealousy is another fruitful cause Of sui
eide among Chinese women. This of
course is to be expected in a land in which
polygamy and concubinage is practiced to
the extent to which it prevails in China.
Hundreds Of instances resulting from this
cause are known aud almost daily the
newspapers chronicle still others Jealousy
seems more rampant in Chinese households
than among other races, but whether this is
Que to fancied or real reasons cannot be de-
cIded. immortality is by no means wide
spread among the Chinese; in fact, it may
be said with considerable truth that this
vice is much less practiced than in any other
nation Of which We have statistics.
Another very prevalent reason for the
great number of Chinese suicides is the fire.
quency with which friends and relatives
force others to commit the act. Upon a
nature so credulous as the Chinaman's it is
much elsIer matter to force a person to
believe tnat be or she has been disgraced in
the eyes of their family or friends, and the
best course to pursue is to put an end to life,
tnan one would suppose without a previous
study Of the people.
20 greatly has this power been exerted
That Chinese laws for ages have forbidden
all further suicides on this score and
threaten severe punishment to all who assist
IN driving Others to take this step. This
law, however, is seldom enforced, public
opinion completely overriding all attem pts
70 carry Its provisions into effect. Accord
lnk TO these laws it is capital
ohense to drive another to commit suicide,
pH4 TO be acquitted of a
Sapl'at charge is almost as bad as
DeIng convicted, so ruinously expensive are
tne squeeze" moneys to be paid to the
mandarins and court officials, and besides.
tne charge, even though not proved 10 suf-
Aclent 70 cause the accused 70 lose caste
among his fellow men, and this blow Ia 90
savage That In the vast majority OF cases
tne victim will end by committing suicida
himself,
uplum is deservedly popular ss a means
u suicide, as it is easily procured, compar.
uNely painless, not too quick in its effects
Suu does not deform the body. Its merits
~ In's last respect will be best appreciated
wnen We consider that in fully ons-third of
tas number of the Chinese suicides ths
oylect OF The actor Is to make things I'm.
peasant for somebody else, and that the
slosI elective way OF doing this Is to die in
Ilat somebody's house under Suspicious
circumstances. In a case Of that sort, when
sue uylng person is found, the proprietor of
~ soe mouse Is arrested by the authorities and
telu as the cause of the death, and, unless
80 can prove that such was not the true
SSa'e OF affairs, he is punishable according
W Tue laws covering this point
CNi o'u Is also very often used In suicides.
Any Any lew years since the scientific world
a@cuSsed with much fervor whethsr gold
etIG Dc Used as poison, and the weight OF
tplulon seemed generally against it, but
I'd. .Sat ene Chinese find frequent use for it is
Suo"u almost every day. The ChiDaman,
,' eI committing suicide by this means
EQUALLY takes several sheets Of gold foil ar