The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-10
Another Book About China.

IAN American Engineer in China by
William Barclay Parsons, is a small but
very interesting book, containing, as may
be supposed, the record of the authors
personal experience. 1t is illustrated from
photographs taken during his travels, and
presenting various phases of actual Chi
nese life.
One of the most fascinating chapters Is
that which deals with Human, that sec
ton of the country known as the Closed
Province. There are various queer eX-
periences in it. among them horse-trade,
in which an empty Apollinaris bottle and
an orange-rind were part of the consider
alton given by the "foreign-devil" The
author grimly adds that had the orange
rind been the whole of the consideration
he thought his party would still have been
the losers.
a specimen of the kind of information
contained in this collection of reminis-
cences and Of the authors style may be
found in the following extract from the
chapter on Human:
1t is surprising how closely the people in one
section of the country pattern after those else
where, when remembers the lack, almost
absolute lack, of INSTRUMENTATION. But in
spite Of the general sameness, which perhaps
appears greater than it is account of the uni
touTity in physiognomy Of the people, with tho
Monaghan coloring and jet-black hair, there
were many peculiar customs which appeared to
be localized many Of them were found only
IN small districts, and Travelled Chinese who ac-
cOmpanied me, said that they had never before
seen similar things elsewhere in the Empire.
OF these the most singular was the carving
Of small bamboo baskets lin with sheet metal
and filed with hot wood ashes. Such baskets
the wc:ren in one locality suspend from belt
| beneath their short blouses. Sometimes the
| baskets worn in front, sometimes behind, and
occasionally in both places. according, apparent
| ly. 70 the fancy of the wearer. Children also
made use of the heating apparatus, but men only
| rarely. No matter how worn, the effect in all
cases was both extraordinary and comical. To
| get photograph of Chinese is almost
as difficult as to photograph herd Of wild
| deer
In farming methods the Chinaman in the in
| terror is OF course centuries behind His grain
| he is accustomed TO spread on the ground and
| drive over It his beast Of burden, the water
buffalo, drawing stone roller, in order to thresh
| il, while in some places / hay ricks built
| around trees as a centre support. Apparently
| the method Of constructing them was to begin
| at the top and work down. instead OF up, as
| do farmers elsewhere. Farming and boating
are the Chinamsn's great occupations. in which
| he most excels.
| The horse is little used in China, As has been
1 stated before. but when he is and he needs shoe
| ing. the eStensiyeness Of the ceremony makes up
| for any deficiency resulting from infrequent occur
| renee Of the operation. Two straight poles are
| firmly planted in the ground with 4 cross-arm at
/ the top. Suspended rom the latter and fastened
head and tail to the first two, the horse is final
! L. secured and then the farrier is ready e begin
| his work 10 the delight Of an audience usually
! OF no dimensions.
| But for the ingenuity OF adapting means to an
I end his fishing arrangements excel all Others.
/ Instead Of bothering with nets, which are apt
! 10 break and call for repairs, with hooks
| and lines which may not be easy TO procure. the
| fisherman most of the rivers in the interior
makes use Of corIn9rants-large black birds which
are by nature fish hunters, and which become by
/ tuition very docile. He will start out his
| piscatorial quest in small boat with from six
| 10 a dozen OF his feathered helpers, 10 whom
he has omitted probably to give a breakfast.
! Once on the fishing grounds, the birds begin to
( dive for fish, which, as their owner has tied a
string around each neck, they cannot swallow.
/ As each fish is brought to the surface the boat
| man relieves the bird OF its prey, and there
upon according to the dictates Of nature, u
| dives again. When the boat is full the fisherman
removes the strings about the necks, rewards each
! bird with fish, and returns home.
This last performance is sufficiently
! quaint to deserve a place in ''GulIiver's
Travels"
Aside from the humorous and pict-
uresque descriptions Of the book, 1t con-
| tains considerable Information as 10 the
J possibilities of improvement in Chinese
commercial and Industrial conditions In
/ his conclusions the author agrees in the
| main with others who have written on this
| subject He thinks that no internal move
ment for their betterment may be expect
| ed from the Chinese people themselves,
| and that the first cause of progress In that
! country will have to be from the outside.
/ Again. he expresses the conviction, COM
mon to other writers on the subject, that
| the way to a Chinaman's heart is through
| his cketbook-ln which he is not very diff
ferent from the rest of the world-and
that If he can be made TO see that West