Evening star., 1901-08-10
WOMEN OF THE WORLD
Position of the Chinese Wife and
Mother
ARE USUALLY Held IN SUBJECfION
Ii Hung Chang's Opinion on Foot
Binding.
WHOLESALE SUICIDES.
IRE USUALLY HELD IN SUBJECflON
WHOLESALE SUICIDES

Written for The Evening Star by Mary n. Kront.
To the foreigner, the standardization Of
China, from beginning to end, is mass Of
contradictions. With their excessively for
NAL etiquette, the Chinese can be brutally
rude; with their classic exhortations to
honesty, the bribe is potent force with
the coolie and the mandarin alike. Women
and their position partake largely of these
contradictions. and, while the mother OF
sons literally rules the empire. while she
is reverenced and obeyed as long as she
lives, yet for woman In the abstract the
Chinese have little respect
The female children are not desired In
any oriental country and, as in India, Chi
nese wives offer sacrifices to the Goddess
Of Mercy that sons may be vouchsafed
them. Infanticide-the destruction Of fe-
male children-is rather encouraged than
punished, and among the hundreds of girls
in the orphan asylum of the Franciscan
nuns in Pekin, the greater number who
were rescued had been exposed In the
streets and fields to perish. While In the
capital in the autumn of 1899 saw girl
of eight that had been brought to one OF
the missions for protection. She had been
starved and beaten by her father and then
turned into the street to die. The explana-
tion which the heartless parent gave was
that he had been born under the dragon,
and the girl under the tiger The two AMI
mails fought and he had lost his health In
consequences; he would never be any better
so long the child remained In his house,
so he turned her out. The poor child could
not be received at the mission, as 1t would
have been known Immediately, and the
ladies would have been overwhelmed with
abandoned girls! The superintendent, how
ever. placed the little creature in the house
of native Christian, became responsible
for her maintenance, and, when she reacn-
ed the proper age. she was to be admitted
to the school.
Boys Are Welcome.
There Is one exception to the general
disfavor with which girls are regarded. and
this is where male children only have been
born. When this is the case daughter is
desired. and she Is pretty apt to be very
much indulged and spoiled In the better
families tutors are employed, who are
treated with the utmost respect. Inc
children are taught in school room with
in the court, and occasionally the children
of poorer families are instructed as an
act of charity. School houses may be seen
here and there in the provinces, by the
roadside the school supported by the the fami- ami
study together until the latter are ten
years of age, when they are taught sepa-
rately. A girls education Is very meager,
ending at her marriage, which occurs at
the age Of fourteen or fifteen. after which
the cares Of her household are supposed
to be sufficient occupation. There nave
been examples, however, Where AMBITIOUS
and clever girls continue their studies II
after years, and it Is said that In the mis-
sion schools there are prodigies OF inteli'
gence-many of the girl students showing
remarkable aptitude. strangely enough, In
mathematics and the natural sciences.
When a child is born the friends and
relatives are notified, and gifts are pre-
sented. The sex OF the child determines
the value Of the presents, which are of
much less value should 1t be daughter.
Four weeks after birth the child receives
her milk name,'' which she retains Until
marriage. The milk name may be that
OF flower or jewel, while the name ac-
quired at marriage may be some fancifui
term like Delicate Perfume"
Girls are taught to sew and embroider,
and, among the poor. to cook, to wad the
garments with cotton for winter, to re-
move the wadding in the spring and wash
the clothing for summer. Millions OF the
poorer classes have but one, or, at most,
two suits of clothes. so that the problem
Of personal cleanliness Is one with Which
they do not concern themselves Girls
also work in the fields, help gather the
rear ducks and fowls, and, OF evenings,
by the feeble light OF a smoky oil lamp.
make the cloth-soled shoes which ore worn
summer and winter.
The women of the richer classes pay
much attention to their toilet, painting the
face with thick, opaque coat OF bismuth,
tinting the cheeks and lips vivid red with
carmine. They also pay much attention to
their eyebrows, which, delicately arched
and pointed and shaped like the willow
leaf, the Chinese consider mark OF espe-
cial beauty. They also play upon musical
instruments, and, as In the days Of the
Arabian Nights, are entertained by pro-
fessional story tellers, readers Of romance,
and by theatrical performances In their
private theaters. They visit only on state
occasions, especially at the New Year. and
then set out in cart OF sedan chair. loaded
down with rich garments Of silk. brocade
and fur, which they must be urged to re-
move, one after the other, until the proper
underdress is revealed. In addition to this.
the woman attendant brings other gar
ments Of great richness. which are be-
slowed about upon chairs and stools Tor IN
the visitor returns home. At these cere-
monious visits large quantities OF tea are
drunk and sweetmeats consumed
The two dreaded ordeals to which CHI
nese girls look forward, with more or less
apprehension, are foot-binding and mar
riage. Foot-binding is not so universal as
is generally supposed; nor Is 1t confined to
the daughters of the higher classes. The
Manchus to which race the empress dowa-
ger and the court officials and banner
men"-the military classes-belong, have
never observed the senseless custom. 1T Is
Of an antiquity so hoary that It's origin Is
lost But it is supposed that it was gradu-
ally brought about by Tightening the cot
ton ligatures, which are worn as a substt-
tute for hose, until in the course OF time,
the feet were purposely dwarfed and Grip
pied. To fix the custom more firmly, poets
and novelists have praised the stunted
feet, comparing them to golden lilies"
and the 'hobbling. gait which follows the
crippling to 'the swaying of lilies upon
their stems" It is extremely difficult for
Chinese Of the higher classes to find hus-
bands for their daughters whose feet have
attained the natural size. 1t Is thought
that women who desire UNNAMED feet are
actuated by no honorable motive; the Grip
pling making 1t difficult for them to go
about, and keeping them more closely at
home than would be the case IL they had
full use Of the stunted members.
Painting and Playing.
At the same time bound-foot women may
be seen toiling in the fields, carrying heavy
burdens-poor, oppressed drudges, who fire.
quently end their lives by opium, or leaping
into the wells.
The binding process begins at the age Of
six or seven; the heel is drawn forward.
the toes turned under. protruding at the
outer edge Of the sole. so that the victim
walks, at length. upon the great toe and
the back Of the heel. The feet occasionally
mortify and drop off in the process. and II
this does not happen they become deadened
and benumbed. lifelong source Of suffer