The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-28
MODERNIZED SHANGHAI
A CITY SHOWING INFLUENCES OF
WESTERN CIVILIZATION.
Clearly Habits OF Foreigners Cause
wonder-Trades Unions Are Strong
"A Tailor Worth Having.

Correspondence of the Indianapolis Journal
SHANGHAI, Nov. 25.-Leaving its many
moral obliquities out of the question
and the Chinese like other semi-civilized
people. acquire the vices OF the foreigner
with surprising alacrity-Shanghai is "A
very fair example OF what a westernized
Chinese city may become. In the English
settlement it resembles the newer parts of
London-Sloane street. South Kensington.
Hempstead-with a fascinating touch of
| Orientalism. The English. who understand
municipal government better than any peo-
| pie in the world. doing their work more
| thoroughly than the French and with more
regard for individual liberty than the Ger
mans. have here made the same fine
streets-which they still call roads" just
as they do in England. with substantial
curbing and sidewalks, that are TO be
| found i'm every English town and city.
There is no mud, although the natural
drainage is exceptionally bad. difficulty
! overcome by admirable engineering: there
| is no waste paper no straw or other litter
| blowing about, and the sidewalks are as
clean as with a thronged and much-ex-
pectorating Chinese population they can
be kept. AS have said in former letter,
| the police are Chinese and Sikhs-the lat
| ter employed in the English quarter ex-
clusivey-swarthy, black-bearded black
| eyed men, tall, slender, muscular, with the
| beautiful, regular features OF all the In
dian types. In their dark-blue uniforms,
with their towering scarlet turbans. they
are most picturesque. but upon their amaz-
ingly large feet one sees the heavy, thick
soled boots that American and English
police seem to wear the world over.
| The carriages, with the gay liveries OF
| the MANU-" or Chinese coachman. and
little MANU." the footman are constant
delight to a lover OF color. The Chinese
| hat, with its upturned brim, covered with
| strands of scarlet cord, and edged with yell
low, purple, blue. green or gold. the many
capes of the coat, decorated In the same
| way, have the effect of a moving rainbow;
| the garments themselves, edged with their
| contrasting hues. at this season dark
green, dark blue or yellow; in summer
they white. yellow green. The Amer
| lean consul general has chosen the national
| colors. of subdued shade, with shield
| upon the sleeve-one OF the most striking
of all the liveries. and yet not in the least
| gaudy.
THE USEFUL wHEELBARROw
| Among the Chinese the wheelharrow Is
extensively used-an awkward continuance,
| with a large wheel in the middle of the
bed with kind Of narrow platform on
/ either side In the north it is a vehicle
used only for carrying merchandise, and
| IL is piled, frequently. with towering loads.
| under which the painting cooie that
| trundles it must be helped by men in
front, harnessed to the vehicle by ropes. or
| by donkeys ponies. They are not so
| dependent upon the wheelbarrow I'm the
north as I'm the south, since there
roads-or tracks that serve as such, over
which carts can be drawn by stout mules.
| or wagons with teams OF from three TO
| eight Enthusiastically medley OF
| horses, donkeys, cows and oxen. In the
south. outside the European settlements.
| there are no roads-only the narrowest
paths across the fields, and this has neces-
| STATED the use of the wheelbarrow-
| In Shanghai, however, as family yehi-
| Gle it fairly divides native patronage with
| the comfortable jinrikisha. One may see
| along the Bund dozens of these Wheel
| barrows, upon which sit three and even
| four persons-women, young and old; men
and boys, wheeled by one barrow-man,
tottering under a load which a humane
person would not sinfict upon OK. No
| Chinaman ever walks who can find few
cash to pay for the privilege of riding; and
| frequently the man perched upon the bar
row is only one degree less dirty and rag
| ged than the man who is trundling him:
and the fraternal spirit between the two
is still further evinced by the cheerful and
unembarrassed conversation which is car
| ried on between them. In Bubbling Well
road, the fashionable thoroughfare par ex-
| cellence, the democratic wheelbarrow does
not intrude, and here the wealthy native
merchants in the bedizened sing-sing girl,
drives in a spick-and-span victoria or
| brougham, the latter almost hearselike In
| the amount of glass which IL displays.
| These more aristocratic turnouts are not
surpassed by Europeans in the elegance OF
their groom and coachman. the sleek
ness of the well-groomed Chinese ponies.
The mandarin still clings to his sedan
chair covered with fine blue cloth and cur.
tanned with fringed silk. but this is evident
ly only for moral effect-to set an ex-
ample in fidelity to time-honored institu.
| lions which the people are fast losing
FOREIGN INFLUENCE FELT.
In the Chinese city one finds the same
| rNitNNSs tlOndtu viii ntpI3it NOV
| ing TO and fro-the multitudes of China
that cover the face of the land from the
| western frontier TO the sea. There are the
| same shops, with heaps OF many kinds OF
greasy cakes fried in oil. butchers stall
| loaded with beef and mutton cut with no
science in chunks, and good, bad or in
| different sold for the same price ar
1 t!ficers in brass and iron work at their little
| furnaces, the clink-clink OF their ham,
mers adding a cheerful note 10 the babel
| of high-pitched voices. Foreign influence
or example. however, has made itself felt,
| and denominations openly practiced i'm
Shanghai or in Canton are here prohibited.
The Chinese shops In the European quar-
| ter. of which there are many. illustrate
| what the modernized trade may become,
and this without losing any OF its native
| attractiveness. The shops are clean. TO
! begin with, and the silks and muslines are
| arranged upon shelves I'm orderly piles.
From pegs are suspended wonderful gar
| ments OF raln-hued satins long coats
of blue, green. brown. cardinal lined with
| contrasting hues, or with fine clostly furs.
In others there are beguiling arrays OF
porcelain. OF carved wood from Ningpo.