Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-30
CHEATING THE GODS,
The Chinese Are Not Slow When II
Comes to Getting a Rake-On.

The Chinese Are Not Slow When 1t
Comes to Getting a Rake-On.
From the London Times
correspondent of the North China Her
aid, writing from the interior of Kiangsu
province, mentions that one of the indus
tries there is the manufacture of mock
money for offering to the dead. Formerly
the chinese burned sham paper money. but
In these days of enlightenment and foreign
intercourse the natives of Soongkong,
Hangchow and other places have come to
the conclusion that dollars are more handy
to the ghosts than clumsy paper money,
hence they now, to great extent, supply
their ancestors and departed friends with
mock dollars.
These are only half the size of real dol
lars but there appears to be no more harm
In Cheating the dead than there is in cheat
Ing the living. Besides, the deceased are
not supposed to know the difference, for
many OF them departed this life before sill
yer dollars were imported into China A
hundred mock Carolus dollars. done up in
boxes, are sold for S34 cash. The operation
for making this money is interesting First
or all, there are blocks of tin which are
melted down and then poured between
boards lined with Chinese paper and when
the upper board is pressed down on the
lower thickness of tin remains. This is
next cut up into strips four inches long one
inch wide and an eighth of an inch thick
Some ten OF these strips are placed evenly
together, one on top of the other and one
end Is held between the fingers. when the
workman proceeds to hammer them out till
he has beaten them so fine that they are
now three feet long and one foot broad, and
SO thin that they are not thicker than the
thinnest paper. This is next pasted on COM
mon cardboard. which is then cut with a
punching machine to the size of half dol
lars, and. this having been done. boy
takes the cut out pieces in hand and with
the two dies. one representing the one side
and the other the reverse. hammers impress
sions or dollars on them, and the money Is
ready for use.
Another very curious instance of the prac-
tice Of cheating the gods is recorded in the
same country. 1t appears that districts of
the Anhui province have lately been ravaged
by an epidemic, so that in many places the
people were unable to attend to the har-
Vest1ng or the crops. An attempt was then
made to deceive the gods by playing at
New Year day, and pretending that Sep
TENDER 1 was the first day of the new year
Every preparation for celebrating the bogus
new year was made, such as burning fire
crackers and FASTING happy sentences in red
paper on the DOORS
The object was to make the god Of sick
ness think that he had made a mistake in
the seasons and had erred in bringing an
epidemic on the people at a time when no
epidemicS, in the course of nature should
appear. As any action contrary to nature
done by the gods is liable to punishment
by the King of Heaven, the actors in this
farce thought that the god of sickness
would gather his evil spirits back to him
for fear of the displeasure of his superior
divinity. This child play received the per
mission and cooperation of the local au-
thorities, but so far no visible effects for
the better are apparent.