The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-08
THE CHINEE IS PECULIAR.
sovE OF THE WAYS OF THE ODD
ORIENTALs.

IudicinIIy-The Execut1Oner Does
che Work with a BrOad-bIaded
knife. Single Stroke SeverinE
tbe Head From the Body-RObbers
rrcnted Somewhat Differently.
rho Manner in Which Courts Are
coDducted-The Prisoner Has No
ooportunity to Plead Personally
or Through Counsel, and the
Wost AtrociOus fortunes Are In
aicted-The FoOd-Agriculture In
tbe Immense Empire.
From the Boston Herald
china is one of the most interesting
oorntries in the world aside from the
,act that International complications have
NOW fastened the worlds attention upon
., Within the next century the ancient
empire will probably become so far mod
ernized as to lose much of the pictuI-
esoueness which belongs to its antiquity.
The traveller who visits the Middle King
Ann at the present time is taken back, in
effect many thousands of years in the
history Of the world; ne sees things as
they were ages ago-the manners, customs
and queer ways OF HNlHS tndt DelOng TO
a vanished people.
For example, what is there in the world
more strange than the famous road to the
Ming tombs-the burial places of the Ming
emperors, who were the last native rulers
Of China? This family governed the en-
plre from 1868 to 1914 A. D., and the ave-
nue. leading to their private cemetery
may fairly be regarded as one of the
wonders of the world, being lined on eth
er side with statuary, the like of which
is not to be found anywhere else-a series
Of colossal figures of human beings and
animals sculptured in gray granite. The
avenue, proceeding from one of the gates
Of Nsnking, is a mile in length, and ends
at a marble gate. which is by far the
most stately and beautiful structure of
Its kind in all China.
The statues comprise pair of elephants
standing ana pair kneeling, four pairs
Of civilians and two pairs of warriors, a
pair of horses erect and two lying down.
also camels, lions and tigers in pairs.
They are arranged at intervals on oppo-
ute sides of a paved, but neglected and
grass grown, road leading from the gate
10 the tombs They bear witness to the
far greater and more powerful than she
is to-day Passers-by throw a pebble at
each elephant if it lodges on the back
Of the sculptured beast, good luck is in
dcated. The elephants in this series are
really admirable works of art, with no
suggestion of the grotesque treatment so
commonly exhibited in Chinese sculpture
DccapitatinE Rebels.
About $1,000 rebels were condemned to
death and disposed of by the summary pro-
cess Of decaptation at the close of the
last great revolutionary movement. When
prisoners in China are to be judicially
slaughtered, they are fetched to the kill
ing place, and list of their names is
read aloud and compared with tickets at
tached to the victims. The hands of the
latter are pinoned and they are obliged
TO kneel on the ground to receive the
blow Of the eXecutioner. which is, delivered
with broad bladed knife like a cleaver
a single stroke severing the head from
the body.
The headless bodies are usually left
where they have fallen until night, when,
if their friends do not remove them, the
authorities take them away and bury them
at the public cost. When notorious robbers
are executed it is a common thing to cut
out the gall-badder an organ in which.
according to the Chinese belief, the cour-
age of a man resides-and TO sell it, the
purchaser ina ginning that in this way lie
acquires I quality in question.
In a Chinese court the magistrate sits
behind desk, on which are writing ma
terals, the official seal and cups con-
tanning tallies, which are thrown down to
Indicate the number of blows ordered for
n culprit On either side are secretaries,
aud one or more assistants are present
with instruments of torture. Inscriptions
are hung on the walls, one of which eX-
hortS the judge to be merciful. The ac-
oused kneel in front of the tribunal. 1t is
10 be feared that there is little justice to
be had in Chinese courts. the prisoner hav-
ing no opportunity to plead either person
ally or through counsel, while the most
atrOcious fortunes are inflicted even upon
witnesses to compel confessions. As might
be imagined, the jails are horrible.
one of the most common of criminal
punishments in China consists in fasten-
ing about the neck of the offender square
frame made of boards, which has a hole
through the middle of it for the purpose.
his is called a "cangue;" it weighs from
twenty to thirty pounds, and the name,
residence and crime of the delinquent are
written upon il in large characters for
the information of passers-by. The dis
tress suffered by the wearer is much more
glance, for he cannot feed himself or even
drink cup of water. He cannot scratch
MS own nose or drive away the flies, and
sometimes his face is smeared with sweet
ened water to attract insects. Sleep is al
most out of the question. A soldier is al
ways put on guard over a victim of this
ingenious form of cruelty, who may starve
10 Death or die of thirst if the myrmidon
Ui the law refuses 20 permit the mans
trends to help him. Women. when con
uemned to the cangue. are nearly always
mixed together by twos or threes in a
single frame
Food of the Chinese.
contrary to the popular supposition in
inns country. rice is not abe chief diet Of
the poorer classes in China; il is a luxury
from their point Of view, because too
silly fer everyday consump ion. They
cat much pork, which costs little. for
hoSs Of raZor-back breed are plentiful
everywhere and the pig is the domestic
Hhlmal par excellence. She sleeps in the
Nlng room. recognizes her name and
SSrlays in her intelligence The inherited
results of centuries of training. She lit
lers twice a year, and of her offsprings
the males are fattened while the females
are sold or kept for breeding. The house
nold porker is a pet; she is fed at every
meal of the family, foraging for herself
AZ other times in the streefs and fields
AND il should be RENE mberCd that the pig
is decidedly a clean animal when proper
ly kent
The Rev. DR. Williams, in his Middle
Alngdom" says that the Chinese in the