Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-17
SOCIAL RULES IN CHINA
No One Visits in That Country Until Sent
For
Hostess Always Sends Carriage for
Her Guests-POinted Personal Cues
ti0ns Expected to BE Answered.


| with the Chinese that ceremony may be
| dispensed with. 1t is possible that there
may be informal visiting among very old
| friends and neighbors, but it is hardly con-
| ceivable. With mere acquaintance the
visit cannot be paid until one is sent for;
| then cart arrives more or less splendid
| according to the position of the hostess.
III she happen to be poor the vehicle will
| be shabby in the extreme-the mule by
| which such a cart is drawn, gaunt and
aged, the driver filthy and in rags.
II its owner is a woman of wealth, the
| vehicle will be curtained and cushioned
| with fine blue or purple cloth, and there
| Will be In attendance not only the woman
| servant. but two naughty outriders mount
ed ON Chinese ponies. The woman servant
| is sent Invariably to accompany the guest,
| since no Well-bred woman in China VEN
| lures into the streets alone. One of the
stigmas attached to the reputation of the
present dow tger empress is tradition
that when girl, she once went out upon
the streets alone and bought certain kind
| of cake of which she was very fond.
1t is something of an TT for a foreigner
| to take her seat gracefully and comfort
| ably in Picking cart, and there are those
who do not think that it can be done at all.
| A succinct rule has been given by one who
| should be an authority: Tumble in and
| fold up
All Chinese houses are concealed from
| the street by high, blank walls. On either
/
| the apartments of the gate keeper and the
| other servants. Near the door Of the court
| a stout, well-groomed mule is frequently
| hitched to an iron ring in the wall-the
| animal which the master of the house
| rides, or bitches to his cart, and which,
| throughout China everywhere, takes pre-
| cedence Of the horse.
| If the hostess and her daughter-in-law
are not waiting'to receive the guest, there
| is certain to be half dozen women serv-
| ants, and the family will be waiting in the
1 nd to, %1o;,.
best apparel, gorgeous silks beautifully en-
broidered. the hair deliberately dressed and
| adorned with flowers and gilt and silver
| fins glttering with jewels.
| If they are Manchus their feet will be
| unbound, the hair arranged upon a board
| about fourteen inches in length and four
in width. attached to the back of head;
and the long, loose outer garment, reach
| ing to the knees, will be black, with bands
| about the throat and sleeves Of dark or
| light blue Chinese ladies wear a much
wide drawers of blue or bright green. The
hair is dressed in a queer little curved
| loop, which is thought to accord with their
| dwarfed feet
The guest addresses the mother-in-law
first, then the other ladies, and she is well
coined with the Chinese mode of hand
| shaking-placing one closed hand upon the
| other and moving it up and down. If the
| children have been brought out for inspec-
| tomas usually happens-they are drawn
| up in line and greet the visitor with
pretty, graceful courtesy. AS a rule, chi
| nese children are extremely attractive
| they are SO quantity dressed, in such fasci-
| mating little gowns, jackets and trousers,
| that suit their dark skins and bright eyes
admirably.
| A Chinese household is a community of
which the parents are the head, over which
| the mother rules with an iron rod. Each
son must bring his wife to his mothers
house upon his marriage, and he must re-
| main there with his growing family. Until
| she is fortunate enough to give birth to a
son the position of the daughter-n-law is
that of an upper servant, and frequently it
| is one of the utmost misery. When guests
| are received she must remain quite in the
background; she cannot speak unless she is
| addressed, and cannot sit in the presence
| of her mother-in-law until she is told to
do SO.
The best of the houses front the south,
and these, of course, are occupied by the
| mother-in-law. She has usually a suite of
| several apartments a reception, dining and
! bed room. These are separated by hand
somely carved screens, but the door is SIM
ply paved with brick stone and it is not
| even covered with mating. This is true of
I the emperor's palaces as well as of the
| houses of the common people. The floor IS
seldom clean, and is made the repository
of all manner of rubbish. When visitor
| is expected, however, there is good rid
| ding up and both the floors and the court
! yards are carefully swept.
| In the reception room a handsome table
| is placed against the wall opposite the
| door, with a stiff backed chair on either
| side. and there are cabinets filled with
| costly bronze and porcelain. In the bed
| room a k'any or oven bed takes up fully
| half the space, and upon this, when not re-
| ceiving, the hostess spends much more than
| half her time. She sits on it to sew, to eat
| and to gossip, and at each end Of the k'ang
| are carved wardrobes containing her finery.
The dining room is shut off from the re-
| ception room by a solid wall, although I'M
der the same roof and it must be reached
| by going out of doors, along the tagging
protected by the deep overhanging caves.
| Its furnishings are high, square table,
| with two or more stiff, polished. straight
| backed chairs, side tables for the serving
Of the many dishes which constitute a
feast, and upon the wall inscriptions In
Chinese characters. with other decorations.
At the door the hostess steps aside and
| entreats her guest to enter; to be polite she
| must firmly refuse, entreating her guest to
precede her. This controversy must be pro-
| longed for some time, when, of course, the
| guest enters first. was intended. She is
| then conducted to the honorable place
| the chair at the right of the table, which
I she must refuse, urging the hostess to oc-
| cupy it, another lengthy controversy must
| follow. ending by the guest seating herself
| in 1.-The honorable place."
| Pipes are then brought in and IL, being a
| foreigner, the guest declines to smoke, the
| hostess also foregoes the pleasure of her
accustomed indulgence. Presently tea is
brought-the most exquisite, ethereal bev-
| erase tnat could De imaglned-served with
| out sugar or cream, clear as amber. fla
vored with flowers: it is like slipping the
| breath of June. With the tea are served
| delicate little cakes, ornamented with ver-
million spots, not unlike little round sponge
| cakes. and delicious sweetmeats, candied
fruits. red fruit marmalade pressed into
small squares, or walnuts Drowned in boil
| ing oil and then dipped for an instant into
hot sfrup. If the guest wishes to be very
polite she must make a good deal of noise
with her lips as she sips her tea and eats
her sweetmeats, for this shows that the re-
freshment is appreciated.
Very few Chinese women, even those of
high rank. are educated. The great ma
Jority can neither read nor write Hemmed
in by the walls of the courts which they
seldom leave, their range of ideas is nat
urally very limited. It is difficult, there
fore, for even foreigners who understand
the language to converse with them, they
have SO few topics in common.
The guest will be asked her age, first of
all; for with the Chinese it is not considered
! rude to ask the most pointed, personal
questions. The older she is the more ad-
| mirable will she seem in the eyes of her
entertainers, for youth in China is not en-
titled to much respect. The hostess will
then want to know if her parents are living,
how many brothers she has and how many
sisters. and from this the transition to the