The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-09-21

upon the far
east is that the would be missionaries
of higher civilization will do well to
look before they leap. Wisely or not,
China Is self sufficient. In habits,
manners. belief and learning the Chi
nese are widely separated from the
western people, but this is not due to
lack of knowledge of the worlds prog
ress. They have come in contact with
the more advanced nations of the earth
from ancient times down to the pres
ent. The attitude of China today is
but repetition of the past. She will
learn of the outsider and use him when
it is to her advantage. When the Chi
nese borrow, they do so by adapting,
not by wholesale appropriation.
1t is we'll known principle that in
order to ingraft new civilization upon
a people the reformation must begin
with the young. But the young Chi
nese mind is incrusted with layer upon
layer of inherited traditions and SUPER
stitions and is entirely free from aspi-
rations for change and progress, the
universal unrest and discomfort which
stir the young westerners to venture
into the unknown.
In the matter of life vocation the
young Chinese have no choice, but
must follow the footsteps Of their
elders. Thus generation after genera
ton pursues the same trade or calling,
and there is no infusion of fresh blood.
Since the Chinese father has absolute
mastery over his sons so long as he
lives, he can compel the apprentices
to attain to his own standard of per-
lection, and no one will dispute the
assertion that whatever the Chinese
do they do well. No race has mastered
so thoroughly the art of making much
out of little. And in this custom or
tradition is all powerful The worship
of ancestors. the power of public opin-
ion and the influence of the authori-
ties combine to keep the young CHI
nese close to thes ancestral hearth.
Whole villages comprise but one fami-
", and the name of Jonesboro, Smith
vile and Browntown in China means
more than respect for some prominent
settler. Not alone a village, but a
group of villages is populated by the
family of the Chengs, the Wangs or
the Wahs.
The Chinese travelling artisan has
boundaries to his beat which he must
not cross and the purveyor of goods
and provisions his circle Of custom
ers which no spirit of enterprise can
| enlarge. There is no such thing for
the young and ventursome as emigra-
ton to fresh fields and richer pastures
| to relieve the pressure upon the family
or to send back the wealth of Ell Dora
do.
Since the same piece of land, the
same fishing ground and the same
sphere of trade must support the fami-
ly from generation to generation, neg
lect or waste would be fatal Herein
is doubtless the key to Chinese thrift
question of how little the individual
need consume to maintain life and
working vigor.
1t might be supposed that life so
circumscribed would end in hopeless
ness and decay, that people would set
tie down in squalor to subsist on what
the gods gave them. But this state
of things has lasted from time i'm
memorial, and Chinese thrift and Chi
nese virility hold their own. 1t is the
same with all unusual and obnoxious
features of Chinese life.' They have
lasted so long that their champions
may claim one thing at least-namely,
that if they do not lift up they do not
pull down.
1t would seem that the Chinese need
take no thought for the morrow, for
the little they require in the way of
food and clothing is not matter to
worry over Yet they are the most
Industrious people on earth. They rise
at dawn and work until dark, have
no Sundays nor rest days and but
three established holidays. Funerals
and weddings are the chief social ex-
element, and to the mass luxury
is a small allowance of meat combined
with the unvarying diet Of rice and
vegetables. After closing his shop the
merchant works far into the night over
his accounts. Strange to say, public
officials in that land of reputed off,
cial corruption and extortion actually
die from overwork. Functionaries close
to the throne are on duty from a. n.
! until 6 p. m.
At least one evil denounced by west
ern mOralists has no place in China, and
that is social excitement. The ladies
do not roam the shops, for the shop
keeper carries his wares to their
homes. They toll not, neither do they
spin. since they leave that to servants.
but they indulge in no designations be-
yond afternoon teas, on which occa-
sions they may smoke opium; but no
preacher can prove the fact.
Women Of the lower classes drudge
and toll, exchanging gossip between
whiles. but they have no dances nor