The Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1893-1901, 1894-02-26
THECHINESEATH HOME
MANY OF THEIR CUSTOMS ARE THE
REVERSE OF OURS.

How They Compare with the Japanese.
what Constitutes an Educstion-No He
reditary Aristocracy In China-TheP Poo
pie Vary In Different Sections.
The samples we get of China in our
country give us very inadequate ideas
of the people. We have here to conteIn-
plate a civilization entirely unlike our
own. but in itself much more complete
than ours. In the presence of the Chi
nese, all Europeans and Americans are
parvenus. These people burned coal
before the Christian era. They invent
ed printing 1000 years before Guten-
berg and Faust fourished, and they
knew the use of gunpowder when our
forefathers were using bows and ar
rows. In most things which appear on
the surface they are our antipodes.
They mount a horse from the right side
instead of the left, read from left to
right. say west south instead of south
west. their mariners needle points to
the south, the men wear petticoats and
the women trousers, thy shave the
fronts os their heads and not their faces.
shake their own hands instead of each
others rs a greeting, wr re their family
names first and their gwen names att
erward, have their III rginal notes at
the top OF their books place a distin-
guished guest on the 1T and are care
full not to uncover in lie presence, wear
white for mourning, he men sew and
the women work in ne fields, and so on
to the end of the ch pier.
We shall find in China the origin of
much hat We nave seen in Japan. The
position of woman IN the family and So
ciety is about the anne, except that the
Japanese women do not cramp their
feet, and therefore can go about more
freely. The domestic architecture is
similar. so far as external construction
goes. but the Chinese houses have no
mats, and the people do not squat on
the floor. Both wear loose, flowing
robes. which the Chinese button, but
the japanese do not. In the converse
ton of the people the Chinese indulge
in honorifics as much as the Japanese.
1t is the correct thing TO ask your friend
TO condescend to come from his elegant
house to your miserable novel. or to al
low his distinguished cup OF tea to de-
scend 10 your unworthy self. The Chi
nese classics ure also the classics in ia
pan. and the Chinese iira-ral n ar.
used by japanese writers. L,.u"atIuu
is mainly etiquette. The Chinese have
5000 rules Of behavior. winch -" 'ia-
Gated nan must know. IL d man have
bad manners. they say IA. l. not edu-
Gated.
The Chinese sages. like ConfucIus.
Mencius and others whose works ale
classics, Enumerated 4 high grad" of
ethics. Confucius stated the golden
rule. though negatively, thus: If there
j. anything | do not want done 10 me, !
will not do it unto another. His eth
ical teachings take rank with those of
the Greek and Roman moralists and
the Hebrew prophets, but are without
reference to a Supreme Being who re-
quires us to keep his commandments.
The family customs are similar TO the
japanese. Society is ~patriarchal. The
family. not the individual. is consid-
cred. Marriages are arranged as in ia
pan TO perpetuate the family, and 60 be-
tweens are employed to settle the terms.
There is only one wife, but concubines
are taken into the house at will. The
wife finds life b~urdensome when she is
the servant of the household, especially
of her father-in-law and mother-in-law,
but when she becomes a mother-in-law
she gets her W innings and makes it
warm for hen daughter-in-law.
The Chinese have as many ~genufex-
ions as the japanese aQd numerous
grades of obeisances to be employed ac-
cording TO circumstances. Three prostra-
tons, each with three knockings of the
head against the floor, are supposed to be
about the extreme exhibition of respect.
The people vary a good deal in the diff
fereDt sections. The south Of China is
mountainous, and the people there are
smaller, more volatile and brighter
than in the north, where the crowded
jewellers IN the plains and paddy fields
are heavier. less excitable, not so quick
to see or act. There is no hereditary
a~ristocracy in China. All the people
are bound to obey. the will of the en-
peror and have no rights be Is bound
to respect. There is no caste, as in India.
The people are classified as natives and
aliens, the latter being subdued peo-
pie in the provinoes; conquerors and
conquered, with special reference to
the prohibition of marriages between
the Mantchoo and Chinese, and freemen
and slaves. There are ne laws against
slavery. Every native is allowed to
purchase slaves and retain their chill
dreo in servitude, but the number Of
slaves 10 small. and their condition is
oouparativeIy easy. Probably there are
~ batter hammered people in the world
to- the educated Chinese. They are
- very competent business men, and
ssuch enjoy an excellent reputation
Or. Boston Herald.
Marriage PROPOSAL Reform.
A suggestion Is made tor a legal re-