The herald., 1897-04-25
THE ROYAL EQUIPAGE

and at night the huge beast is made
superlatively ugly by the reflection of the
| light from a myriad Of lanterns and
torches
In time of pestilence or famine the
procession of the dragon is regarded as
efficacious in affording relief, but in Cal
ifornia 1t has been simply as matter Of
display, albeit at the same time the en-
bodiment of all that the Chinaman rev.
erences in that wonderful empire where
filial affection IL the foundation stone OF
the religious system.
A company of twenty-five warriors
followed the dragon yesterday, carry
ing murderous looking spears and bat
tie axes. fac SMILES of implements used
in Chinese wars centuries ago.
The new feature Of the Chinese d.
vision of the procession this year was
the big lion. Tt was a grotesque crea-
ton of bamboo, covered with silk and
requires quite flight Of the imagina-
tion to trace any resemblance to the
king Of beasts. 1t had a remarkably
fierce looking head, huge eyes. enormous
teeth, and a big horn in the middle Of
the head The internal machinery was
so contrived that the huge jaws worked.
the eyes rolled, the eyelids dropped and
lifted, and the big ears tapped accc ID
ing to the ideas of the maniuplator in
side. The lion is supposed to be very
fond of playing with a ball, much the
the same as a kitten does, and to repre-
sent this prediction of this curious
king of beasts a large ornamental ball
was carried before him. A little Chi
nese lad dressed in yellow silk k.ld two
balls of yellow worsted in front Of him
and affected to taunt him with them
Before the throne the boy turned Sc
ries of somersaults. and the lion was put
through the evolutions consistent with
his historic functions, in the Oriental
mind.
In addition to his powers as a har-
binger of good luck. the lion is also
symbol of justice in Chinese mythology.
A carved representation Is always
placed at the entrance of Chinese courts
of justice, to admonish the judge to
, render his decisions without fear or
favor of any man. Over the head are
characters which translated read:
wealth and high rank may oppress
you; justice is not respecter Of per-
sons"
When he appears before a house and
bows 1t as a sign Of especial favor to the
inmates and firecrackers are exploded
in his honor.
A band in a handsomely decorated
wagon followed the lion, and then came
the military company in beautiful cos
tunes; black silk coats over blue elk
trousers and black turbans on the head,
carrying wooden ornamental shields
and brown hats swinging over their
shoulders. After a beautiful pink silk
flag and banners the members of the
Chinese board Of trade followed in decor
ated carriages, wearing elegant cos
tunes.
No mere description can convey an
adequate idea of the picturesque effect of
the Chinese display in the procession.
Their soft, beautiful colors cheaper
everything in contrast, and their ele-
CANT gold embroideriee. their banners
and flags, their graceful silk clothes,
make modern attempts at festal displays
look garish and commonplace.
Among the prominent merchants in
the carriages were Wong Fun, secre.
tary and interpreter Of board of trade;
All Now, leader of the Hop Sing Tong;
Wan Yuke and others. The families
in the procession were the Wongs, the
Wong Juke and others. The companies
Soon Kongs, Yuen Wos and the Kong
elbows. The large silk flags upon which
were Chinese characters indicated the
different companies represented.