The morning news., 1894-07-28
ooREA's KING AND CASH.
Ii Houi's Subjects May Not Even
Speak His Name-He is a Prisoner.

SPEAK his N ame-de Is Prisoner.
From the New York World
Ii Houi, king of Corea, is the twenty
eighth sovereign of the dynasty of Han.
Though only 43 years old, he has been on
the throne thirty years.
He has variety of titles, such as "Son
of Heaven" and king of Ten Thousand
Isles yet his hereditary claim and all
his gradeur did not save him the humilia-
tlOn of being obliged to ask China's per
mission to assume rulershlp or pay heavy
annual dues. The Chinese emperor re-
CARDS him as a vassal, but the king of
Corea is so holy parsonage in his own
country that it is a sacrilege to even men
tion his name. He literally has no name
to speak of until he dies. Then his sue
cessor allows him one.
To touch him with an iron weapon is
high treason. One of his predecessors,
Tieng-tseng-tsi-oung,d died from an abscess
in the neck in 1900 rather than have it
lanced. His present majesty presumably
shaves himself.
On the her hand, any subject touched
by the kings hand has to ALWAYS wear
brass plate to commemorate the fact.
The king is now the Mikado's prisoner
in his own capital. Seoul, though his sub
jects may not know it, for this ruler of
the Hermit kingdom is a veritable hermit
to the outside world, as invisible to his
people as the Chinese emperor.
His queen, who belongs TO the noble
Min family, is nearly year older than
he.
Their son, Ii Tchok, the hereditary or
crown prince, was born Feb. 4, 1878.
The kings father Khoal Khong, is still
living.
Lii Houi has a few ideas of modern
ways, such as introducing the electric
light into his palace. His time is largely
occupied in religious ceremonies.
The Coreans are tall, well formed men,
very like the Chinese of the better class.
Indeed, Corea in many ways, is a replica
of China.
A Corean's great weakness is hats. His
imagination runs wild on hats, and he
wears a vast variety of them The ordi-
nary rain hat, made of oiled paper, looks
like a folded fan The common hat is so
made of bamboo and hair cloth as to let
in the rain in winter and the sun in sum-
mer The upper classes always wear
Overcoats; the poor only wear them by
way of evening dress.
The principal moral virtue of the Corean
is that he loves his children so dearly
that he neither Stays nor exposes them.
In return if a son meets his father in the
street he makes obeisance, and if his
father is Imprisoned, it is a sacred duty
to hang the whole time about the prison
door.
There is no division of labor to speak
of each peasant makes everything he
wants. Paper is the one manufacture.
The national shoe is made of straw, with
an aperture for the great toe to peep out
of
The Corean money, called cash" is
made of the basest and cheapest compo-
sition. IL takes ]. 900 cash" to equal a
Mexican dollar. fl is all Corean pony
can do to carry S15 in cash" In the
country districts coins of greater value
than cash" are of no use; one cannot get
change for them.
The causes of the present trouble over
Corea are thus enumerated in an inter
view in London with Henry Norman, an
Englishman who has spent some time in
that country:
First of all comes permanent ill-feel-
ing between Chinese and japanese, who
have a rooted dislike for one another.
Second, their mutual jealousy as the two
great far eastern powers. Third, there
are JapaMs vastly preponderant interests
population, shipping, trade-in Corea,
against China's ancient suzeraiuty and
her modern political control of Corean
affairs Fourth, the rebellion in Corea,
threatening all foreigners, including jap
anese, stands for something, but not so
much as has been made out, for Corean
rebellions are not very serious
affairs. Fifth. Japan is exasperated
by the decoying of the pro-Japanese- |
Corean rebel kim-Ok-kyun, from his
refuge in Toxic, and his brutal murder in
Shanghai, winked at by the Chinese gov
ernment. SIKH. Japan is afraid, not
without reason, that China is about TO
settle her difficulties with Russia, by
allowing the latter to occupy port on
fhe east coast of Corea. Finally, both
Lol +har,caIy-ac fn
powerful forces of the European kind
and are not sorry 10 have an opportunity
of showing what they can do with them
This is much truer of Japan than OF
China
Mr.. Norman has high opinion of the
Japanese army. Up to the time Of the
Franco Ierman war the instructors or
this army were Frenchmen. The result
of the war was sufficient, in japanese
opinion, to make a change desirable, and
the French instructors were changed for
English, German ana Italian Few OF
these remain, as the japanese now think
they know enough about the art OF war
TO prosecute il without foreign assistance:
In fight between the Japanese ana
the Chinese the former, in Mr.. Norman's
opiniou. win surely win, as the Japalese
army is equipped according 10 the most
modern ideas. and is OF conhderable
size while the number Of troops that
China can put into the field is known 70
none outside Of the "t'lowery Kingdom.
and 10 few within the realm. Their
equipment. too rs good deal OF a mys-
terry
The japanese. Mr. Norman SAYS, are
moi only well drilled and well armed, bat
taey are brave and tney are painting for
6gbt. one with China preferred, as they
hste the Chinese with whole.souled ran
cour ..,.,..-....-