The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-10-13

All Chinese houses are concealed
from the street by high, blank walls
On either side Of the entrance are the
stables and the apartments Of the gate
keeper and the other servants. Nea,
the door Of the court a stout, well.
groomed mule Is frequently hitched tc
an iron ring In the wall--the anlma
which the master of the house rides
or bitches to his cart, and which
throughout China everywhere, takes
precedence Of the horse.
IL the hostess and her daughter-in
law are not waiting to receive the
guest, there Is certain to be half
dozen women servants. and the family
| VIII be waiting in the court bevond
They are arrayed in their best apparel
gorgeous silks beautifully embroidered
the hair elaborately dressed and
adorned with flowers and gilt and sill
yer pins glittering with Jewels.
III they are Manchus their feet will
be unbound. the hair arranged upon a
| poard about fourteen inches in length
ana four In width, attached to the back
or head; and the long, loose iouter gar
ment, reaching to the knees, will be
black. with bands about the throat and
| sleeves of dark or light blue. Chinese
ladies' wear a much shorter outer gar
ment. gayer in color, with wide draw.
ers of blue or bright green The hair
Is dressed in queer little curved loop,
which Is thought to accord with their
dwarfed feet.
The guest actresses the mother in
law first then the other ladies. and she
is welcomed with the Chinese mode of
handshaking--placing one closed hand
upon the other and moving 1t up and
down. If the children have been
brought out for inspection-as usually
happens-they are drawn up in line
and greet the visitor with pretty.
graceful courtesy. AS a rule, Chinese
children are extremely attractive
they are so quantity dressed. in such
fascinating little gowns, Jackets and
trousers. that suit their dark skins and
bright eyes admirably.
Chinese household is a community
or 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 remain there
with his growing family. Until she is
fortunate enough to give birth to a son
the position Of the daughter in-law Is
that OF an upper servant, and fire.
quently it is one of the utmost misery.
When guests are received she must re-
main quite in the background; she cam
not 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 occu-
pied by the mother-in-law. She has
usua ly suite of several partments,
reception, dining and bed room.
These are separated by handsomely
carved screens but the door Is simply
paved with brick or stone, and it Is
not even covered with mating. This
is TRUE of the emperor's palaces as
we'll as Of the houses of the common
people. The floor is seldom clean and
is made the repository of all manner
of rubbish. When a visitor is expect
ed, however, there is a good "ridding
up" and both the floors and the court
yard are carefully swept.
In the reception room a handsome
table is placed against the wall oppo-
site the door, with ff-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 up
on this, when not receiving, the host
ess 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'any
are carved wardrobes containing her
tinery.
The dining room is shut off from the
reception room by a solid wall, al
though under the same roof and it
must be reached by going out of doors,
along the tagging protected by the deep
overhanging caves. It's furnishings are
high, square table, with two or more
stiff, polished. STRAIGHTFORWARD chairs.
side tables for the serving of the many
dishes which constitute 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, entreat-
ing her guest to precede her. This
controversy must be prolonged for
some time, when, of course, the guest
enters first, as was intended. She is
then conducted to the honorable
place." the chair at the right of the
table, which she must refuse, urging
the hostess to occup it; another lengthy
must follow, ending by the
guest seating herself in the "honorab BILE
place."
Pipes are then brought in, and II.
being foreigner the guest declines
to smoke, the hostess also foregoes
the pleasure of her accustomed indul-
gence. Presently tea is brought-the
most exquisite, ethereal beverage that
could be imagined-served without
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, orna-
mented with vermillion spots. not un-
like little round sponge cakes. and
delicious sweetmeats. candied fruits.
red fruit marmalade pressed into hot
sirup. IF the guest wishes to be very
polite she must make Il good deal of
noise with her lips as she sips her tea
and eats her sweetmeats, for this
shows that the refreshment Is ap-
preciated.
Very few Chinese women, even those
Of high rank. are educated. The great
can neither read nor write.
Hemmed in by the walls of the courts
which they seldom leave, their range
Of ideas is naturally very limited. 1t
Is difficult, therefore, for even foreign
ers who understand the language to
with them, they have so few
topics In common.
The guest will be asked her age first |
Of all; for with the Chinese 1t Is not
considered rude to ask the most point
ed, personal questions. The older she |
[s thu mora admira bile will she snen in |