The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-04
JOHN cH1EAMAw's WAYS.
Worship OF Ancestors and Fear of
the Empress.
FIom ~ h.cago News

| Chinatown L..
| from Boston to San Francisco. are much
excited over the news, from the Flowery
| Kingdom concerning the deadliness of the
measures adopted BY the Empress Dow
| aver against ccrtain refcrmer OF emil
| nence and aggressive conduct. Not con-
| tented with ordering h#n to be killed. put
| ting a reward Of s65. 6e0 on his head, and
\ notifying the provincial governors to pro-
| duce him or forfeit their own lives, the
| Empress has ordered that the graves of his
| ancestors shall be dug up and their bones
widely scattered along the roadways This
\ last step is considered By all Cinnamon
| to be the most vindictive scheme the En-
press could adopt. The average Chinaman
| cares little for his life and much less for
| the life of any other person. But the bones
of his ancestors are different proposition
that is so far as the bones OF his male
| ancestors are concerned.
| Chinaman reveres his ancestors be-
yond all power of the Imagination. For
| ages back his ancestors have buried other
| ancestors, and the soil OF China is SO full
| of generations that the cultivatable land
| has been greatly narrowed, while one of
| the chief difficulties with which railroads
| must contend is the fear Of the natives
| that the constructors will root up some
| body's forefathers.
| One of the deadliest insults that can be
| offered TO a ChinamaD is to hint that his
| father or grandfather was a goat and no
gentleman During life the yellow man
obeys implicitly the slightest order of his
! father and after the old mans death he
cares for his bones as though they were so
many bars OF gold.
An instance of filial devotion was once
shown by a Chinese gentleman. who al
| though seventy-six years old was still
| sprightiy and light-spirited. Noticing that
his father, who was about 100 years
| old, seemed to be worrying ever the ap-
proach of age, the younger man arrayed
himself in the dresses of childhood and
came in trundling a hoop as evidence that
| the father of SO young enid need not
| fret ever the oncoming OF his second CEN
| fury.
Another Chinaman living in San Fran
cisco, was a star highlander, but was very
poor, as the treausry of his tong" was
empty and murder cost $500 cash. This
| man received letter from home inform
ing him that his father had the alternative
of paying $1,000 or losing his head. Co.
ing out in faint hopes of raising the needed
| money by loan, the ,highbiujer saw no.
tice to the effect that rival tong would
give 81 900 for the head of the chief of the
society to which the distracted son belong
ed. His deadly cath, weighed against filial
piety. was as straw; he promptly killed
| his chief, took the head over 10 the hostile
| headquarters, received the money, saved
| his fathers life, and. of course, was him
/ self promptly butchered by the Infatuated
| members OF the tong he had betrayed
| Most of the Clark Street Cinnamon be-
iieve that the hunted reformer, en- hearing
Of the Empress edict concerning his faith
| er's bones, will return and offer himself to
death rather than have such punishme Mt
| intiicted-unless. of course the ideas OF the
white barbarians haze sunk so deeply into
| his nature as to MIKE him forget his duty
II is also believed that II the dreadful
| tidings do not reach him till too late, TIL
after the bones have been dug up, there
will be fierce trouble in the air. The man.
so his countrymen opine. viii either be-
come raving lunatic or will set about
accomplishing the death of the Empress
and every one connected with the digging
II a Chinanan dies in America his bones
are saved with the greatest care and are
ultimately shipped home to be laid in the
family buryinggroun The Six Compa
MES who bring the Celestials over are
obliged to assure them that their bones
will be taken back in case of death while
in the barbarian country. and the item of
bone shipments cuts something of figure
in the books of the big organization. With
about $4,000 Cinnamon in this country,
there are something like 2 900 deaths each
year. and the great majority of these de-
parted Cinnamon must be transported back
to their old home.
Most of the Chinese in Chicago are sup
posed to be members of a secret society.
which is sworn to put down the Manchu
rule and reconquer the yellow land. but
none of them will talk of this body for
spies Of the Empress swarm everywhere.
'Empless got long arm said clerk in
Hip Lungs store today. Think any Chi
naman get away? Not muchee, Anybody
she go kill. she get him; maybe now. may
be ten year; she get him. Talk bout po-
iice China law do more than alice police
in Merica. Catch anyone; don't care how
much hide. Dig UP glaves? That woman
do anything. Bad. bad way to do. Who
know? Maybe man she want kill, if she
dig up his glaves, slip back to Pekin glet
into tombs of kings, dig up her fathers
bones; throw all over. No blame him eth
eri"