Washington sentinel., 1898-04-16
Ii Hung ChAnR's Furs.
Spectator.


belief certainly gains credit from
a glimpse at one portion Of his in
vested capital which has recently
made its appearance in the city Of
London. Among other sources Of
income, the great Chinese satrap
draws an annual tribute Of precious
furs from one OF the northern
provinces. This is said to be the
mountain and forest district Of
northwest Manchuria, whose
natural commodities" offur bear
ing animals are mentioned by the
Emperor Kien Lung in the pious
work in which the imperial au hor
describes the country Otill held
sacred as the dwelling place ofthe
spirits of his ancestors. Part of
the tribute OF the Russian Tartar
tribes is also collected in the form
Of saoles, and it is known that
while the poor Tartars send in the
finest skins in true loyalty to the
Gar, dishonest officials substitute
inferior furs, and the choice skins
in the imperial wardrobe come not
from tribute, but from purchase.
They manage these things b. tier in
China. Ii Hung Chang has i'm.
mense warehouses in Pekin cram
med with precious furs from top to
bottom, and no mIddleman pliers
the choice skins on their way to
this repository. II has been done,
but Ii Hung Chang is a watchful
ruler and il is rumored the punish
ment inflicted was so appropriate
and diverting that no one has ever
meddled with LIS tribute sables
since. There is an immense de-
mand for rare furs in China. A
nation in which neither men nor
women wear jewels, but which has
an exquisite taste for personal lux
uries, finds a substitute tor Jewels
in costume. An Indian or Afghan
Prince will perhaps dress in white
cotton, provided this be set of by
some priceless gem on his sword,
daggar and turban. A Chinese
Mancarin's sole jewels may be a
few bits ot jade or carnelian, but
he makes up for this in summer by
the richness OF his silks, and in
winter by wearing robes of Iurs so
splendid that it needs a certain
education to appreciate the full
beauty of the costume.
1t has long been known that the
Chinese furriers were the best in
the world; and that except in the
dyeing Of sealskins, their treatment
Of the fur itself, especially in Im
proving its tint and lustre, was un-
riYalled. 1t was not. however,
suspected that they could improve
on the work of nature. An in
spection Of some Of LIS furs re-
Gently sent to London showed
that this was a task not beyond
the art OF the ancient civiliza
ton OF the Far East. There were
three or four robes which raised a
certain excitement OF admiration,
even among the purely commercial
experts OF the Wholesale fur trade.
One Cfthese robes " as constructed
with special object. The aim OF
the Chinese furrier had been to
make skin of sable magnified to
the size of a skin Of a bear. In
addition to creating a gigantic
sable, this genius also wished that
the animal should have iur with
the haIr all lying parallel; whereas
in nearly every fur except that of
the seal, when the long hairs are
removed the grain and direction
follow the anatomy Of the
body, and give an uneven
ness to the whole. To effect these
objects the artist had cut out the
I'll bits" from an inch to half an
inch in length. These strips were
all from the same part Of the
sable's body, and were covered with
fur Of even length. lustre and
thickness. They were then sewn
together with minute art, so that
at the back the fur looked like a
patchwork oi tiny parallelograms
like the squares on a irItillary
flower, averaging from three to
four in the square inch. In front
the fur was absolutely uniform,
homogeneous, and apparently
without seam or joining--the kind
of giant sable skin which might
appear in dreams as the ideal OF a
Russian brides trousseau. But
Ii Hung Changes furriers had pro-
duced something better than this
"a fur robe which can Justly
claim to be an improvement on
anything that nature has given US
in the rarest furs oi beasts. Sable
was again the material used. In
this roOe also the skins were
divided and rejoined so as to Sc
cure uniformity Of tint, fur and
setting, But IN the robe so made
the artist had inserted at intervals
the skin of the sable's shoulder
and iorepaw. This, when cut out.
laid fiat and sewn together, with a
little addition to the cures, forms
an "ocellus" like a peacock's eye
in sable damask, for the tint Of the
robe was uniform, and only the
difference in the lie and texture OF
the fur produced the ornament.
The result was the creation Of a
sable skin, adorned at regular in
tervals with an apparently natural
ornament OF peacock's eyes, such
as one sees in the tail Of the white
peacock, indicated by the same al
formations Of reflection and lights
as in damask. The magniicence
Of this conception needs no COM
ment.