Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1902-12-31

, door a mystical sign, and beneath 1t
the words Chung g-sai-Yat-Po, the daily
newspaper; and if curious he may as
cend the narrow stair and reach the
editorial and other rooms Of one Of the
several Chinese papers published i'll
this Chinese-American city, Little Can
ton, as it is sometimes called. This pa
per was first started as weekly, but
was changed to daily, and is now
an influential organ of what might
be termed the .Americanized Chinese,
or tle New Chinaman, as the editor
is Chinese minister Of tie Presby-
terian Church, man of high cultiva-
ton from the American standpoint.
He is the Rev. Ng Poon Chew, and one
Of his literary advisers and aids is
John Fryer, LID, who fills the chair
) Of Chinese literature at the University
Of California; but the typesetters, the
clerks, in fact all the employees, are
Cinnamon, some of whom are gradu-
ates Of American schools. In the busi-
ness Office and editorial room there is
little to attract the attention. Amer
lean desks and chairs and telephone
are the appliances Of The workers; but
when the visitor enters the composing
room, a high, cherries brick-wall-in-
closed room. he is confronted with the
fact that here as well as elsewhere in
China things are upside down. In a
word, the typesetter is quite as I'M
portant O factor as the editor; at least
such is the impression gained by the
seryer who faces the extraordinary
i Seef the Chinese compositors
perican typesetter is obliged
antx-six letters
sfen figures and a few signs and SYM
bols as periods, dollar marks, etc, Out
the Chinese compositor must he IA
miliar with 1000 characters OF TINS
archaic language, ;bout which Profes-
sor r. K. Douglas says: Every root
is a word, every worlds root IL IS
without inflexion or even agglutination;
IFS substantives are indeclinable, ana
Its verbs are not to be corrugated; II
is destitute of an alphabet, and hnds
It's expression Ou ptpSi 49,
of distinct symbols"
IT is needless to go into description
of this marvellous language to explain
the difficulties of the Chinese compos-
itor; but one illustration is sufficient.
Certain sounds often stand for several
hundred words, the difference, OFTEN
vital. to an intelligent presentation OF
an idea, depending on certain dlacrit-
ical marks accompanying each Word.
There are thousands Of these symbols
which are engraved, each one repre-.
senting a type, but a well-resulateo
newspaper will require but 11,O0O char
.ccters: if others are needed they arc
made in the Office. A font OF type N
the Chinese language requires ll,oOl
spaces. and in the large and spaciou:
racks here shown each word insteat
of each letter, as in English, has
place for itself. There is also a pc
culiar grouping or classification OF
symbols into groups to further faclil
tote the mental labors of the typeses
ters. Thus in the immediate vicinlt.
of the symbol for flsn would be founl
the symbols for scales, net, hns' TAI,
gills. This simpllies the labor, whicl
in any event must be so strenuous tina
1T IS evident that the ,composltor's EN-
of the Chinese newspaper should.
perfect Justice ruled, be the hignes
paid. -, At,
The compositor is staid and dig
nified individual, and as he slowl
walks from symbol to symbol, pickli
I up those which he requires with pr'
voking calmness, the American con
positor might well wonder when I'll
work would be completed; and to 81
up the limited type required Tor
81