The San Francisco call., 1895-08-02

Nobody can read Julian Ralph's articles on
China In Harper's Magazine without increased
August number, which he calls Everyday
Scenes in China" gives an account of the
water life of the country, and describes some
Oh the odd customs OF the common people.l
The farther we travelled in China the more
we were amazed and delighted by the boats
and the water-life on the inland canals and
ways. Every day noted new extravagances
and eccentricitles of form and color in the
floating vehicles around me, and every day
Mr.. Weldon caught up his colors and his
brushes and copied some extraordinary boat
or sail that we met 1 have several times re-
ferred to this subject in these papers, but the
boats of China have not been described here or
elsewhere. The hack-artist of the world at
large treats their sails-the most picturesque
bits of China-as if they were Venetian blinds,
made of big bamboo Stats backed by canvas.
That is not at all how they look. The bamboo
Stats are in them, but they are very small and
are only seen when near at hand. Otherwise
do not think it would be easy to say anything
of them that is not true-they are SO dissimi.
lar and varied and peculiar. One towers like
a great white steeple or cloud above houses,
trees and everything. The next may be made
OF woman's apron or a little mat One is
composed of single blue shirt, and the next is
craZyquilt of 100 gorgeous flags. In days
journey we saw white ones, red ones, black
ones, and others that were splotched, patched,
tattered or rent. We saw sails made of mat
ting, made of old coats, made of trousers and
of banners. We saw sails with prayers printed
upon them, others with notices, others with
pictures, and what might be called heraldic
devices. Most OF them were mere parallelo-
grams of cotton, but some were like schooner
sails at home, and some were lateen-Shaped.
There is no rule as to the number of sails
boat may carry, and one often sees five spread
on the larger junks, upon three regular masts
and two smaller ones fastened to the vessels
sides, one forward and one aft.
great part of the din that beats upon the
air of China comes of the raising and lowering
OF these masts and sails, for on all except the
sea-going craft the masts are hinged and are
forever being pulled up or let down. To do
this work the Chinese crews are punched to-
gether on each deck, where they shout with
each output of strength. "Hee-tah, hee-tah
whenever two or twenty or two hundred
Cinnamon work together at anything. A COM
mon sight in the cities is to see fifty of them
pounding the earth for the foundation of a
new building. Every man, upon high scat
fold, tugs at rope, and all the ropes meet at
one big rock that is lifted and dropped inces-
sanity upon the ground to harden it. say
"eyery man. but there are always boys, and
even baby boys, at some of the ropes. All
shout together, beginning at daybreak, when
all work begins, after which sleep can only be
courted with chloroform. Whenever two men
work at anything they chant, whether it is at
the work of carrying a coffin in a funeral or q
bedstead out of a house. / have known one
man to sing in that way while carrying my
children practicing the chant as they shoul-
dered burdenless sticks at play in the street.
From Everyday Scenes in China" by Julian
Ralph, in Harper's Magazine for August.