The daily sentinel., 1901-01-09
"HEATHEN CHINESE"
PECULIAR TRAITS OF THE AL
MOND-EYED CELESTIAL.
His Compass Points South, He Dresses
In White to Express Sorrow, Shakes
His Own Hands and Distrusts Every
ons-His Etiquette


For Europeans or Americans to un-
derstand the mind of China is hopeless
ly impossible. That ocean which is the
physical separation between her ant
America IL but narrow gorge COM
pared to the gulf between her mental
life and ours. Japan knows her. but
the white man does not and never oan.
She is beyond the pale. For thousands
upon thousands of years her people
have lived apart from the rest of the
world, sufficient unto themselves. They
might as we'll have been upon another
planet, or in a realm of the fourth d.
mensions. so different has their envi-
ronment been to that of other peoples
on this earth today.
One cannot prognosticate what a
Chinaman will do, but one can be sure
that whatever he does he will do 1t
differently than would an American or
European.
His politeness is impertinent to us,
for whether you are man or woman, his
first question is "How old are you?" II
you are advanced in years he congrat-
ulates you. Then he will ask your in
come and many other questions as to
your private affairs. This is Chinese
etiquette; but, if you would show a
friendly interest in his welfare and the
prosperity of his family be sure not to
say wife" To ask after Chinaman's
wife or to refer to her at all is serious
breach OF good manners. Do not speak
of his daughters, either, but you may
congratulate him on having sons. Do
not praise them, however, for if one
should fall sick at any time after he
would lay it to your evil eye.
When you enter a Chinaman's house
you take your hat off. while he, as he
hears you coming, puts his on. He
would not receive guest otherwise. By
way of greeting he shakes hands with
himself instead of with you, and offers
you seat on his left rather than on
the right; for the left Is the honorable
side in China.
The book he ,has laid down as you
came in has its title on the lower left
hand corner of the back cover. Its
pages read from right to left. in COL
umns instead of in lines. The foot
notes" are at the top Of the page, and
he has inserted his bookmark at the
bottom. If he is a merchant and keeps
accounts he will enter the debts on the
upper half and the credits on the lower
half of the same page.
Instead of blacking he uses whiting
for his shoes. and If he is in mourning
he robes himself in white. If he is a
af ha hao yxyifa vui
dwarfed feet, too small to walk on; so
small, indeed. that in the process Of
compression some of the bones were
crowded out. The nurse carries his
children on her back instead of against
her breast. But all these things are of
a kind with the Chinese compass,
which points south instead of north
and reads west-north, west-south, east
south, east-north, as the Chinaman
boxes it. He also says thirds-two in
stead of two-thirds, and in writing a
date his order is year, month, day.
He writes his family name first and
his given name follows. If he mounts
a horse he Chambers up on the right
side: If he shores a boat he does 1t
stern first; if he marches in company
or works at a paddle he "breaks" in
stead Of keeping time. He laughs when
telling you of the death of relative or
friend
II he is i'll his doctor" prods for the
pain with long needle, often piercing
the stomach walls in the endeayor to
find it. If he is lame he takes ashes OF
frogs legs; for rheumatism dragon S
bones;" and among other remedies in
the Chinese pharmacopoeia are as
bestos, rhinoceros horns, the new tops
of stag horns, tortoise shell, human
milk and various stalactites ground to
powder.
His names for villages are as various
as his medicines. Here are few:
Horse-Wor Village, Female-Dog Vii
lage, e-Without-a-Hoof, Wang
Family, Great-Melon Village, Sun
Family-Bull Village, Look-at-the
Grave, Market-Town-of-the Grows,
Duck -Nest-of-t f-the-Chou-Family, VII
lage-of -of-the-Iron-Mouth, The
Village Where-They-Wear- Pug-Noses.
In China there are two reasons for
distrusting folk (the Chinese distrust
each other only little less than they
distrust foreigners; in one case they
distrust folk because they do not know
them, and in the other because they do.
II you would find the house of person
whose address you have, it's not much
H. hi