The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-07-20
CELESTIAL s VIEW OF us
HOW THE CHiNAMAN REGARDS
AMERICAN WOMEN
He Thinks They Are Very OAR
ing and Not Over Modest-Sensibie
Criticism of Slang Used by Young
Women

There is no doubt about it that. as
people we are very well satisfied with
ourselves and seldom see anything that
causes us to lower our opinion. There
fore an outside view of ourselves, writ
ten by an alien. is of curious interest.
and perhaps a sharp criticism once in
a while does US no harm.
1 have just been reading a book writ
ten by Chinaman relating, to his eX-
periences over here, and it is most in
teresting to note what difference 1t
makes upon which side of the fence
you are when considering the ways and
manners of a people. The Chinaman
found us so curious that he wrote a
series of lei tiers TO friend at home In
which he did not attempt to- describe
the country. but merely to note what
he regarded as our peculiarities. There
is much that is valuable in the book,
but / will merely touch here upon
what he said of American women
Now it seems to US that CUR women,
when they appear at dinners and public
functions, are the best dressed and
most charming in the world. To this
Chinanan they were terribly immodest
and altogether queer. He does not
know what to make of them. He says
they are modest and absolutely proper
except upon two occasions; when they
wear evening dress and when they go
in bathing. One hates to admit it, but
alas, there is much truth in this crit
icism. He says that the costume
which a woman dons to go into the
ocean, she will wear sitting on the
beach talking to a man and think
nothing of it. At any other time she
would be Mortified to appear SO uncov-
cred. AT dinner she wears low-necked
gowns, which shocked the Oriental to
DEATH in his own country he says one
could always place a woman who would
thus dress.
Another thing which annoyed this
Chinaman very much was that he could
not find a woman who took him seri-
ously. Mind you. he speaks only of
the upper classes; he has a title and
was dined and wined by people of
position and wealth over here and had
exceptional opportunities of meeting
what are, regarded as the best people
in this country. He does not altogether
admire the daring Of American girls;
he has a good deal the Oriental idea
that woman should be kept in the back
ground, hence he was much shocked at
many things. Slang was an unknown
language to him; also the American
funny story. He laughed when the
others laughed. but only out of polite
ness. One can but agree with him in
his structures upon the use of slang
by young women.
He gives very good example of the
latter habit: he was driving one day at
a fashionable summer resort with a
young woman who attended a high
priced school, and the following con-
VersatiOn took place:
Heather Chinee-It is very dull this
Young Lady-Bum.
Heather Chinee-I hope it will be
less bum soon.
Young Lady-Its all off with me- all
right. if it don't change soon, and don't
you forget it.
something.
Young Lady-Wen. you'll have to
get move on you, as L go back to
school tomorrow; then there'Il be some
thing doing.
Heather Chinee-Have you seen -
lately?
Young Lady-Yes, and isn't he
YOU forget it. (Then as she passed a
friend) All. there, Why so toppy?
Isn't she a Jim dandy? Say, have you
any girls in China that can top her?
Now is it any wonder that the
heather Chinee'' was shocked? A
young woman who would talk in that
manner to a stranger and a man older
than herself, would certainly give the
foreigner a very poor impression of
American manners. One young woman
asked him to go into a dark corner OF
the veranda and smoke cigarette with
her, another treated him as if he was
a laundryman on a holiday and one
and all evinCed a profound ignorance
of China, its people and their Gus
toms.
With all the boosted higher education
of American women, this Chinaman
found them superficial and ready to
guy" everything. particularly coun-
tries of which they knew but little He
described the corset they wear as an
instrument of torture. and says the
very ones who wear it have the audac-
ity to criticise the Chinese custom of
COMPRISING the feet. The American
habit of playing jokes on everybody
even the stranger within their gates
he constantly deplores. Indeed, Amer
lean humor is entirely lost upon him,