The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-03-04
FOREIGNERS THROUGH CHINESE
EYES.


1t is a trite remark that each nat:o..
regards itself as the proper exponent
! OF the highest civilization, yet such is
the fact. But the manners and GUS
| tens OF what are usually termed the
civilized nations so nearly assimilate
themselves to each other that differ
erces are regarded rather as accidents
than as essentials. 1t is almost impos-
sible for a Caucasian TO imagine that
he can be regarded as an uncivilized
being; he naturally and complacently
regards all peoples who have not eau
casian civilization as barbarous, or
semi-civilized, at best; to be himself
regarded as uncivilized is a new and
decidedly novel sensation to him The
Frankfurter Zeitung of recent date
gives the opinions of a Chinaman who
lives near Shanghai. of foreigners. and
tlom which the Literary Digest trans
lates the following extracts:
We are always told that the coun-
tries OF the foreign devils are grand
ana rich, but that cannot be true else
what co they all come here for? 1t is
mere that they grow rich. But you can
not clvilize them; they are beyond re-
dempton. They viii live weeks and
months without touching a mouthful of
rice, but they eat the flesh of bullocks
and sheep in enormous quantities. That
IS why they smell so badly: they smell
IKE sheep themselves. Every day they
take bath to rid themselves of their
dlsagreeable doors, but they do not sue
ceed- Nor Go they eat their meat cooked
IN small pieces 1t is carried into the
room in large chunks, often half raw,
and then they cut and slash and tear ii
apart They eat with knives and
prongs; it makes a civilized being per-
Iectly nervous. One fancies himself in
the presence of sword-swallowers The |
opium poison, which they have brought |
US, they do not use themselves. But /
they take enormous quantities of ives |
hchu and shang- ping-chu (whisky and ,
champagne). The latter is very good. |
They know what is good, the rascals. |
II IS because they eat and drink SO /
much that they never rest. A sensible |
civilized person does nothing without t
due consideration, but the barbarians
hurry with everything. Their anger.
however, is only a fire of straw; if you
wait long enough they get tired of be
lEg angry. l worked for two of them.
The one we used to call the, Crazy
Flea, because he was always jumping
about; the other we named the
Wooden Gun" because he never went
on, though he was always at full cock.
They certainly do not know how to
amuse themselves. You never see them
enjoy themselves by sitting quietly on
their ancestors grave. They jump
around and kick balls as if they were
paid to do it. Again, you will find them
making long tramps into the country.
but that is probably a religious duty,
Tor when they tramp they wave sticks
n the air, nobody knows why They
have no sense of dignity, for they may
De found walking with women. They
even sit down at the same table with
women, and the latter are served first.
Yet the women are to be pitied. too
IN festive occasions they are COM
1elled to appear almost naked before
very man who likes to look at them,
md then they are dragged around a :
DOM to the accompaniment of the most |
Relish music.
This Chinaman says that the cham {
'agne is good; and the Chinaman is {
light. Finding champagne good, he I
would eventually say whisky is good '
properly educated with mint juleps
nd the like. {
He says the barbarians do not know I
ow to amuse themselves; that they L
re never seen enjoying themselves by G
ttlng quietly on their ancestors grave. f
the barbarians were to give them c
elves up to enjoyment of this kind a
hey would much prefer to sit on the S
rave of an enemy to that of an an
estor. One could feel that the world S
'ould be better place if all ones 0
nemies were six feet under the sod. .
leine expressed this thought when he o
aid that if God would fill his cup of n
to overlooking he would hang T
is (Heine's) enemies in front of his t
ouse. Was there ever such a descrip- n
on of society ball as this Chinaman o
ives Think of a lovely woman, in a n
oud of soft and lovely lace, moving C
the sounds of sweet music. the
rains of a waltz by Strauss or one in
le minor key by Chopin, one of those II
hich, when heard, cause the eyes o
voluntarily to close and the soul to n
l with thoughts that lie too deep for u
and then think of this China IL
an speaking of this divine creature u
ling dragged around a room to the
of hellish music" s.
But enough. How strange it is some N
mes to see ourselves as others see US! IL