Evening star., 1896-07-25
CHILD LIFE IN CHINATOWN.
The WiIes and Ways of the Youthful
CeIestinls.
From the San Francisco Wave.

From the San Francisco Wave.
1t sounds very grand to have breakfast
at 10 or half-past every day. as the Chinese
children do, but when you find out that the
dinner at 4 is their only other meal, and
that they have to get up just as early as il
the bell rang at half-past sharp, it doesn't
seem so luxurious. Indeed, there is very
little in Chinese childs life that Chris
tian kid need envy. unless it's having
queue to jump rope with. But down in
Chinatown they don't iunapsrope. or Fol-
low My Leader, and King William is utterly
unknown. No little MongoIian ever drags
rattling train of cars. after him. playing
he's the Southern Pacific, or whZzes down
hill with his feet on the front axle of a
coaster. They don't know a game when
they see il. Sometimes you see one boy
give another push, and the other pushes
him back, and they both laugh. which is
perhaps a rudimentary attempt at tag, but
anything really complicated like tag or
squat tag would be utterly beyond them
They'r bright enough, and amazing quick
to learn. bu: it just isn't in them to play.
Their athletics consist of toddling run
ming or joS-trotting, according to age up
and down the street. If you invite them in
TO Christmas tree, good people do,
they sit around it in stolid silence, staring
at everything, but without uttering
single whoop. They take their toys with
respectful fingers, never offering to get
down on the floor and try them, and as for
the candy, they want to stuff il into their
big red handkerchiefs and run home with
ii before they've touched piece.
Perhaps the conditions under which they
live help to make them unchidlike. The
DoyS can go to the Chinese public school,
and are rather encouraged to grow up but
the girls, They are shut up in stuffy
rooms. forlorn little women hermits with
bandage1 feet and souls that have even
less chance to grow. Or they are sold as
slaves, even when mere babies, and nobody
cares whether their feet are big or little
so long as they never get too tired to work
The government tolerates slavery in China
town, provided the slaves are not i'll
treated-that is, beaten with sticks and
burned with irons and forced to work from
dawn till ii is nearly dawn again. Then it
lets the Suppression of Cruelty Society res
cue them and take them to the mission,
and finish their bringing up on a Christian
basis The Chinese resent these rescues
Very much, a slave girl will always
bring a good price, and sometimes they
fight it out bitterly in court. Once dyna-
mite was found in front of the Mission
House. and on another occasion the follow
ing letter of warning received, written in
Chinese: -
Your religion is vain it costs too much
money By what authority do you rescue
girls? III there is any more of this work
there VIII be contest. and blood may flow;
tnen We Will see who is the strongest We
SEND you this warning. To all Christian
teachers
and tactful women work their way into
chinese homes and give a little teaching
10 the shut-in women and children, who
have no other chance for education.
1t is very amusing to see the little China
boys In school on the afternoons their
native language is taught. They all study
at the top of their lungs, and the teacher
can tell by the sound if even one stops.
Each learns something by heart-a passage
out of Confucius, perhapS-then comes up
and stands with his back to the teacher
while he recites, very trying position, for
mistakes are promptly and forcibly cor
rected Children are never spoilt in China
Town. and their personal dignity gets little
consideration. No China boy ever "sassed
his pa" and they do what they're told like
little automatons- The mothers are often
strangely apathetic, and don't know what
II is to make a motherly fuss over a baby.
Bumped heads get small consideration in
Chinatown. When baby Is so i'll that 1t
is not expected to recover it is often taken
down to the undertaker's and left there to
die as best 1t can, while the mother goes
etolidly back to her household duties. What
else can you expect when you know the
way she Is brought up and the way she is
married? If a Chinaman wants a partic-
ularly nice wife. he applies at the mission,
and, III his character Is found all that could
be expected, half a dozen girls are shown
to him. He looks them over, and ''spots
his girl" as they say in Pescadero, who
generally accepts him on the spot. Once a
girl caught some OF tine American ideas
and refused several suitors, much to their
astonishment. After persisting in her