Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1896-06-14
THE CITY OF CANTON.
Some Interesting Facts About This Old
and Quaint Chinese Town.
crsroMs TINT ARE PECULIAR.
An Many Names That IL Ii Hard to
Know, What 90 CAN Onc--Narrow,
hot Cool strcets-DwcIiings and
uusincsS Places.

chambers. who. with his wife. left this
ely some months ago 10 engage In mis-
~ work ia China, give some inte-
r..ar facts about the city OF Canton.
... coils o. some OF the pcculiarities OF
GIL. Chinese. Rev. Mr. Chambers writes:
..r Chinese teachers told Us so many
s-arro and interesting things about this
.rlt city that we thought that Il would
p.. us. at least occasionally. TO study
mea and China as well az Chinese.
DBL. People and sights interest me so
much chat I have decided to write some
ta, concerning them Tor the readers Of
u. Dispatch.
want FIRST % introduce our teachers.
o.. lrst. because Oldest age always
cunts FOR great zeal here. is Tsang
u san Air. Titles are always last here.
-e surname. which the Chinese always
ra.a first. ls Tsang. and means double"
vl aaI san mean respectively always"
r-. .uew.' SO I present first, Mr.. AL
r., Sew Double. Literally translated,
OIL. laue Of the second IS M Living
.u Leaf. But you must not suppose
nv y.- hucw taeir names yet Every
....u0u has at least three and generally
t... or lye sofs OF given names. First,
"A. UtGe name" This IS given 10 him
mother when ho il a month old,
. used only By his relatives and in
f.te ac A1lntances, very much as
. and Jack are used IN America.
r.. bis school name" This is given
t. .m wien ho enters school and IS used
teacher and scho0mates. Third.
10. f..fs B.
. .uI is used only by his friends. The
fourth name IS TIE one which is used 10y
generally This is printed on his
. Octcn the friend name" Is printed
NALL characters on the back OF the
r The 9th name Is selected when he
rrts This is put over his door and
u the register and might be called his
f..I name You see 80 Is very difficult 10
mc acquainted with q Chinaman.
IIEE RICHMOND AND MANCHESTER
Ile situation Of Canton, on the north
lt of Pearl river. Is similar to mat Of
n.rl on tho James. with IJouGm
0 tn. opposite side Of the river 10 cor
respond 90 Manchester. The area covered
r..- not much exceed that Of Nirginia's
sister cities The million and a han OF
people are crowded into a space Of about
Twelve square miles. The river front is
srcely SIX miles, and the average width
IS about two miles. The ocean IS some
miles 10 tho east, and the tide rises
-.. about eight feet.
Tre streets of Canton are very much
l.a tho alleys OF American cities. eN-
-gt the former are crowded with people,
Hasd with shops Of every description,
trI well paved with heavy granite slabs
They ara crooked and are laid out with
very little regularity. There is very little
concerted action of an the citizens. Tho
tlterumcnt is very different from that Of
western cities. There IS no general mu-
uripality but tho city IS made up Of
many divisions which correspond 10 the
wards or precincts Of American cities,
so &c S. very much OF a patchwork.
STREETS MARROW. But COOL
The average width Of the streets is
about eight feet. o. few are twelve feet.
hue frequently a person can touch the
walls on both sides as he walks along.
lauy OF the streets are entirely rooted
over with shell screens or light frame
work covered with mating 20 keep out
the hot rays of the tropical sun. Thus
tie narrow streets are rendered much
moro comfortable than wide ones would
D.
Another thing here which strikes the
American is the absence Of all wheeled
vehicles There are only few horses in
tho city. They are very small, poorly
kept and are seldom seen except in some
C#cL procession. Burdens, small and
lar.t are carried by coolies by means OF
r-Il. restin. on their shoulders sedan
chairs on land and boats on water are
Size only accommodations for passenger
traffic
Tlo naming Of the streets IS character
lstc Different sections Of the same
street generally have different names.
I.e following are some OF the multitude
of fieh sounding titles which one has TO
know iu order 20 inquire the way around
!1 tlis celestial city: Peace street. Bright
C...I street, Street Of Early Bestowed
Rle ufs Street Of Everlasting Love,
Street o.. he Ascending Dragon
HOW HOUSES ARE BUILT
Tho houses Of Canton are. almost with
GUS exception, built Of nght-gray brick.
Tta Chinese are very skilful both IN
ermakng and brick-laying. They use
I.r. lime between the bricks The face
81. no war of which the. joints are very
srtN IS usually rubbed smooth, anu
vl finished. the work would compare
ll,trlby. both as 10 appearance ana
tllHuty. with American brick-work
r. roofs arc all male OF tiles, which
en- rel when put on, but they soon be-
come dfrry. and often. owing to the
c-apuess OF the climate, they are covered
N.-a moss.
t. archukxure Of dwellings and busi-
o.. -l.usos is severely simple. The
lts ore nearly all rectangular. one
t-rr.. story and a half, or two stories
..., ana are covered with a plain gable
ro.. with 40 cutters or rain-spOuts.
-.. sewerage IS carried OF by means
O. sewers constructed uuaern 1ath the
granite slabs which form the pavement
- 0fy for the most part Is level, and
often tle stencil of the sewers is well
t. -rb- llb.e. % the foreigner at least
. were 30 not fer heavy rains and the
ana fam Of the tide in the canals
'l thread the city, and with which
small drains communicate, the dis
of this already plague-cursed city
De multiplied many times over
i .eonomy o. the Chinese In collecting
or. Carrying away for fcru'izing pur-
most OF The onal Is another thing
"l helps 20 keep the city wholesome
SHOPS OF ALL SORTS.
ClH.-a stores, or shops. as they are
orally and more appropriately called,
on au Sorts shapes and sizes. There
o. mono Ia This city that at all compare
.a point of size and magnihcence with the
t.t stores OF the United states. and
t t..r- are many large and quite at
iye places OF business.
lh. stop-ro0ms are almost always en-
tF open in front j have not seen a
window ia Canton. and seldom even
rtal front wall. The door" which
c whole front IS put UP and taken
n.eat ana morning. The width,
-. ond height OF the average retail
iaou ore, respectively, u, -. and
-r0'. Many oil the wholesale shops