Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-03-22

gayety to the thoroughfares. and
SHOPS destinations are often doubled by
It's having beyond the counter an open
division where the article sold is man
ufactured. In full view men are cary
ing wood, painting fans or lanterns.
weaving on hand looms, working In
metals, embroidering, all of which Is
done with marvelously little elbow
room, the Chinese being remarkable
for their ability to work and live in
very small space.
One does not find all these industries
grouped together. Entire streets are de-
voted to the manufacture and sale OF
a special article. There are silk streets.
embroidery streets, fan STREETS, carved
ivory streets, shoe streets, where can
be found all kinds of foot coverings,
ranging from a coolies cheap straw
sandal to the tiny embroidered shoes
with painted heels destined for golden
lilies, as the compressed feet are called.
Ihere are streets all glowing green
with jade The prettiest of all are the
lantern streets. In addition to the
great variety of lanterns used in eyery-
, day life by the Chinese, vast numbers
are made for particular occasions and
festivals. 'hese are sometimes hung
not only beside the shop, but also from
the bamboo trellis work extending
across the street. Besides all the fan
cHully painted lanterns OF continental
shapes, there is a gay confusion OF
flowers, fruits, birds, insects. dragons.
fishes, which combine to make a very
fair imitation Of fairyIand. So beauu-
fully made are these lanterns and so
aosurdly cheap are they, that it re-
quires self-control to refrain from buy
ing them by the hundreds.
One does not soon tire of the shops.
but many other things in these streets
attract ones attention. There are the
wise men, or fortune-tellers with their
assisting trained birds seated on the
corners; the itinerant restaurants CON
tanning such a variety Of queer eata-
! bles; the clever prestidigitators ready
TO squat down and for little cash to
perform wonders; the migratory dent
lst, wearing as necklace a string OF
teeth; the barber whose home is a sea,
on his box, and who. after shaving
customer, brushing out and plating his
pigtail proceeds in the name of mas
sage, numerically to punch and pound
him, winding up the performance by
vigorously driving into his victims
ears long ivory instrument which an
innocent foreign devil almost expects
to see emerge through the opposite orr
fee; the money changers who sit be-
hind tables to which their strings of
cash are chained and the members and
vendors of all kinds Of things, who
walk about with trays containing tools
or goods, as the case may be, slung on
their shoulders.
Then there are the PROFESSIONS, such
as funerals, all white scarfs and bowls:
weddings all ablaze with scarlet and q
crackle of exploding firecrackers; joss
pidgin professions with their roast
pigs, baskets of artificial flowers. un-
| flags, banners and umbrellas All these.
as we'll as the long trains which accom-
pany mandarins' chairs, belong ts
everyday life; but a great many days
during the year have their own special
professions, such, for instance, as the
fisherman characterized by its Ian
terms resembling fish; Paak-ta's, dis
tinguished by stuffed birds borne aIoft
on poles and trays containing wax
| figures representing historical scenes;
| the procession In which red giants and
! black dwarfs are prominent; the drag
on procession, and the lantern parade
Several streets are occupied by the
Kung Yuen, or examination hall This
consists Of thousands of tiny brick
buildings set in rows 81 deep, in which
the competitors for literary degrees.
who every three years flock to the city.
are separately locked. The furniture OF
each little cell consists OF one stool, and
a plank serving as a table by day and
bed by night. The students food is
passed to him through a grated iron
door three times daily; but until his es-
say is handed in, no other communica-
ton with the outside world is permit
ted