The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-04
JOHN cH1I.AMAu's WAYS.
Worship OF Ancestors and Fear of
the Empress
Crrom ibrFa.csgo News

| Chinatown and Cinnamon in general
from Boston to San Francisco. are much
excited over the news from the Flowery
Kingdom concerning the deadliness of the
! measures adopted ~ Fhe Empress Dow
| aver against q CersSin reformer of emf
nence and aggressive conduct Not con-
| tented with ordering hsn to he killed. put
| ting a reward Of S65. cen 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 Chinsmau
cares little for his life and much less for
| the life of any other person. But the bonel
of his ancestors are a different proposition
that is. so far as the bones OF his male
| ancestors are concerned.
| 4 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 ChinamaB is to hint that his
| father or grandfather was 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 Tor 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. vas still
sprightly and light-spirited Noticing that
| his father, VINO was aboGt 100 years
old, seemed to be worrying ever the ap-
proach Of age the younger man arraye d
himself in the dresses of childhood and
| came in trundling hoop as evidence that
the father of so young a 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 a letter from home inform
ing him that his father had the alternative
of paying 81 600 or losing his head. Co
ing out in faint hopes of raising the needed
money by loan, the shighbiuder 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 TO 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-
ieye that the hunted reformer, On 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 have sunk so deeply into
his nature as to make 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. will either be-
come a raving lunatio or will set about
accomplishing the death of the Empress
and every one connected with the digging
II Chinaman dies in America his bones
are saved with the greatest care and are
ultimately shipped home to be laid in the
family burying- ground. The Six Compa-
MES who bring the Celestials over are
obliged to assure them that their bones
will be taken back ia case of death while
in the barbarian country, aud the item OF
bone shipments cuts something of a figure
RRPAAtN
about 600 Cinnamon in this country.
there are something like 2. 1000 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 a clerk in
Hip Lungs store today. Think any Chi
naman get away? Not muchee, Anybody
she 90 kill she get him; maybe now. may
be ten year; she get him. Talk bout po-
Ice! 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
er!''