Evening star., 1905-05-09
QUEER CHINESE IDEAS
HOMES HAVE NO WINDOWS IN
OUTER WALLS.
The Difficulties of the Language
Kitchen in Front of the
House.

From the Chicago Chronicle.
"China is essentially a land of home
steads. for the sons, contrary to the gen.
eral rule in western countries, always live
with their fathers" said missionary who
has just returned from China. Sometimes
many four generations will be found
in one habitation, and as many as fifty hu-
man beings. In order to accommodate the
ever-inereasing family additions are built
on to the rear of the houses, and sometimes
the houses attain length of 100 feet The
majority of the houses Of China are bulit
around an open court and have no windows
in the outside walls, for according to the
Chinese way of thinking. to put an aper-
ture In an outside wall is to invite the dep
relations of thieves and robbers. In ku-
cheng, in which the Methodist mission or
which have charge is located, the houses
of the poorer classes among whom l work
are made of mud. The very poor of the city
are huddled together in a couple of rooms,
while the better classes have houses COM
posed of succession of rooms butt about
open courts.
Whenever son marries he always
brings his bride to the house of his father,
and IL there should be no accommodation
for the new family in the old house an ad-
dition is erected in the rear. This addition
will be an exact replica of the original por-
tfon of the house, as will be any others that
may be built In the future to accommodate
the sons of sons. In China everything seems
to US to go by contrary, and the front part
OF the house is devoted to the kitchen. Upon
entering the house at the front door one is
introduced into the culinary department.,
and so important an adjunct to household
Is the kitchen that the population of towns
and cities throughout the empire is reck-
oned by the number of kitchens within the
walls Brick chimneys in China are a thing
unheard Of, and the smoke from the fire is
allowed to roll lazily along the ceiling out
into the court or through an aperture made
In the roof. The kitchen fire Is usually built
in a mud stove for any other kind of a
stove is unheard of among the poor classes.
No Dining Table.
''The dining room is usually in the center
of the open court. Rice is the principal
article of diet, with perhaps a couple of
side dishes of vegetables. No table is used,
the food being set upon the ground. The
members of the family gather around the
dishes in the center, and, provided with a
pair of chop sticks, start in to help them
selves. No napkins, spoons, knives or forks
are used. IrIeed, although the Chinaman
has seen these necessary adjuncts of a
Europeans table, he does not care to use
them. He has an aversion for them. Once
when was travelling from Kucheng to the
coast l stopped at native inn, and when
my luncheon was brought in to me L
brought out my knife, fork and spoon.
which it was necessary to carry about with
one. When the natives saw them and
learned to what use l was putting them
they exclaimed in horror, See the foreign
devil eating with things she might kill peo-
pie With The better classes of Chinese eat
three meals day, but the poverty-stricken
ccolie often has to be satisfied with but
one. for his average pay amounts to but 10
cents a day.
THE various living and sleeping rooms
of the family are located about the court
on both sides and in the rear, and pas
sageways connect with apartments that
have been built in the rear of the original
building. These rooms usually are utterly
void of any furnishing decorations.
There is no paper on the walls, no pic
lures nor bric-a-brac other than the an
cestral tables and few idols. There is
no carpet on the floor any mating
and, of course, no chairs or beds. An apol-
ogy for the latter is afforded by bamboo
mating stretched in one corner of the
room. The majority of the inhabitants of
Kucheng are farmers. They have small
farms on the outskirts of ,the town beyond
the walls, and some of these farms are
models. You know, the Chinese are the
finest gardeners in the world. At night,
however, all of the stock and farm uten +.
sils, such as they use, are taken into town.
Chinese farmers never live by themselves
on their holdings, but always within the
walls of a town. Kucheng has about 5000
kitchens or $4,000 people.
Three Glasses of Officials