The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-24
SOCIAL CUSTOMS IN CHINA.
DESCRIBED BY 4 MISSIONARY OF
MANY YEARS, EXPERIENCE.
Clubs and Theaters-SOciaI Life OF
Women-DiGnified Chinese Gentle
men-The Homes of the Various
C1asses-DipIomatic Shrewdness.


The Rev. DIR. w. S. Holt, who held serv-
ice in the Chinese language after the reg
ular service at the First Presbyterian
| Church last evening, is one of the best
known American missionaries of those
who have labored in The E'lowery Kingdom.
He has lived and studied among the Chi
nese until he thoroughly understands both
them and their language. He believes that
! the time is approaching when the Chinese
VIII be better understood by the United
! States and a more friendly and closer. at
least, commercial relationship Will exist
| between them.
I'VE are apt to judge the nation by The
few Chinese we see every day" he said,
| when asked 10 speak of the social life of
Celestial life. "The fact is that only the
| more ignorant classes reach America, as
rule OF course, they have the national
characteristics to a large extent, but
through them we see but one side. The
| Cinnamon who come to America are prin-
cipllly from the peasantry of their native
country. They are not the low class as
you would speak of criminals, for they are
law abiding and exceedingly industrio
hui as rule they are Chinese who have
not had the advantages of position or ed
| ucation. The Chinese are queer people.
viewed from our standpoint, and yet in
! their own country they possess grea tness.
But as to your question. The social life
/ OF the Chinese is sui generis There is no
| comminglng with the sexes as with us
Al an early age boys and girls are sepa-
rated IN the family, and do not sit at the
same table except among the poor where
| lack OIL room makes entire separation i'm
| possible. This separate life destroys So
| clety as we know it; for under such a re-
| Sime, parties, receptions, balls sociables
| solrees are unknown. The men have their
! social life, which centers about the library
or the tea house, the mingling in trade and
travel and in literary circles.
The women have a much narrower So
| clal life, always within the home. The in
| ablhty to read cuts the woman off from
| the literary club The absence of the
| church, except a certain centers depriVes
her of the stimulus given by a church life.
For the temples and shrines, although
| found everywhere in Village and town, by
thetWaterWay and the path, are not places
for assemblies, affording opportunity for
visiting and the Interchange of friendly
thought and interest. There are other
places where the gods are always found,
and where the individual seeks advice or
pays homage, as a solitary Individual, and
not as member of a religious society
| whose adherents are drawn to a given
place at a set time. Embroidery, some at
tention to music on the rude stringed in
struments known, adjoining and dressing
the person and the hair listening to the
chatter of servants, or engaging in such
gossip as may reach the inner circle of the
home seem TO be the principal occupations
of those so aptly termed the inner man.
There is no concert, no popular lecture,
in vulgar phrase mo nothin'.' The only ex-
ception is The theater. There are two sorts.
Shanghai has its regular Chinese play
house. Here are to be found the trappings
OF well equipped theater-not so eiabo-
rate nor so handsome as in American or
European houses, but the purpose is serv.
ed well enough. No women except of GER
tain reputation are ever seen at the play
house. The female parts are taken by
men. 1t seems to be considered unbecom-
ing for Chinese women to appear upon the
stage. OF course such theaters as that in
Shanghai have scale of prices as an our
own.
The other class of theater is an one,
door play The company is hired by some
kindly disposed man, the stage is set up in
the open air, admission is free and the
populace enjoys the fun, which, like the
brook. goes on forever Any women who
are allowed outdoors may witness these
performances. But again it is not the
custom of any except the poor people to
be outdoors. Social life for the gentlet.
sex is a barren thing
The educated classes make much of lit
erary pleasures. The composition of coup-
let's in rhyme; antthetical sentences for
which there are definite rules of construc.
tton; matching sentences; word puzzlea
for which the Chinese language is well
adapted; word plays, made the more read
~ because of tonal differences which give
different meanings; double entendre. oc-
cupy and delight the Chinese gentleman
Then there are various games in whic,
cards, dominoes, dice and chess Chinese
chess, of course-hgure largely There is
also drinking game, in which each PLAYER
endeavors 10 make his opponent drink.
rms Is prayed by two men, who sit oppo-
SHE each other. Then, simultaneously
each fhrusCs ont one or more fingers Of
each hand, and the guess is made. The
man who ghesses correctly does not drink
1t is not necessary 10 describe games
particularly adapted to gambling as they
are more or less familiar or may be read
lily learned if one has the curiosity.
THE homes of the people are of all sorts
Tnere Is the humble mat or rude hut
standing under the city wall having but
one room, a dirt floor and rude furniture:
then single room built of brick. with a
PRICK moor and no window, all light com
ing through the door, and then large sDa-
cious houses of those who are more for
tunate. In Central China these larger
homes have as Old wall on the street
pierced by two board door. hung in
sockets painted black provided with a
knocker and fastened with a bar of wood
across the outside Through this door the
visitor passes into a hallway off which
is the ledge of the dooTlSeeper through a
court into The main hail or guest-roon1
Here Is a large room, brick, ioored. with
! windows and doors opening into the court
About the room stand small, square ia
bles known as tea poys, between fine
| large heavy chairs. Sometimes there is a
| table in or near the center of the room
| The visitor sits with his host at the tea
poys Conversation opens, tea and pines
are introduced. Past the man half is am
| ether court, and beyond it the apartments
Wnere the house is two stories, the upper
| story is shut in by high wall so that no
one can see in or out. What windows there
are open into courts. There are no win
dows opening on to streets This would
| admit OF undue exposure of the interior of
the house. The culinary work is done bv
| means Of brick ranges fitted with their
iron utensils so that they may be heated
| with the least possible expenditure of fuel