New-York tribune., 1905-07-01
a LAND OF CUSTOMS.
"a Practical Study of Chinese Lac.
Government and Commerce.

IT IS refreshing after having read the many
recently published interpretations and attempted
interpretations of Oriental life and character
to turn to practical a work as TINS OK MI
Jernigan's. The book is obviously written Tor
the guidance of those whose business or other
interests may bring them into relation with the
Chinese, TO give some account of their iegai
procedure their system of government and busi-
ness customs and of the basic principles OF
which they are founded. The inquiry is historl-
cal rather than psychological. but the result is
an exposition of Far Eastern methods of thought
and conduct that is far more illuminating TO the
Occidental mind than most If not any, of the
fine array Of volumes devoted to the minute dis
section of Oriental motives and mental attitudes
BY seeking less to explain the principles OF chi
nese law government and commerce than simply
TO state them and to illustrate their practical
application by concrete instances. the author
succeeds largely eliminating the personal equa-
ton which is so apt to confuse the discussion
The interpretation is left to the reader. who
soon finds that, contradictory Chinese meth
DDS often appear and contrary TO Western prac-
uce they usually are, they are based. in
theory, at least. the same general principles
upon which we Of younger civilization rely Tor
the guidance of human conduct.
In other words, we discover the Chinaman 10
be q human being like ourselves, moved by the
same Impulses. and referring them to the same
fundamental conceptions of right and wrong
The difference is TO lie chiefly in different
sccentuation of standards, due to historical
causes. Chinese civilization has been stationary,
absorptive rather than fmpressonable that
habits have had q greater chance to form and
to harden into customs than in the more un-
stable civilizations of the West The result has
been that custom has come in time to exercise
the dominating influence In the lives of the
people. The laws Of the country have been
made to conform to its customs rather than Its
customs to be modified by its laws. Owing to
the immense size of the empire and the difficulty
OF communication. there have grown UP as many
different customs In regard to important public
and private business there provinces. and
frequently customs differ materially in different
parts of the same province. So strong hold
has custom come to have IN China that, while
the word Of the Emperor is acknowledged to be
absolute few of its rulers have proved bold
enough to persist In disregardng public opinion
In province Thus In its administration the
government combines the apparently trrecon-
cilable elements of democracy and a despot-
ism. But this form Of government has itself
eoIidifed into custom and endures. Not the
empire not the Individual but the family is the
unit; and this fact, with its correlative principle
Of mutual responsibility, accounts for much tnat
at first sight appears Illogical if not fncom-
prehensble in China AS the father is supreme
in the family, SO is the Emperor in his empire,
but his subjects will not necessarily tolerate
tyranny oppression. They confer on the
Emperor absolute power, but argue that when
they are oppressed it does not proceed from the
absolute power of the Emperor. but rather from
want of appreciation Of his high duties, and
that when the Emperor is thus guilty, they are
under no obligation TO countenance obey
him."
Another restraint upon the Emperor is the manner
in which his personal history is written There are
a certain number of who selected for their
learning and npartality. whose duty it IS to write
and acts Of the Emperor and everything that occurs
in his administration These men have no com com
respective duties At the close of each day each one
writes on Ssr s ebsf al Pa%ef of h Wos
Of the Emperor. and the sheets are S deposlted
pose The virtues and faults OF the EnPSFot P e are
daily histories may not be biassed by either fear or
hope in the account they give the ONCE into when
dnTine ns the life q the Emperor while 81 his
oes fsmK into snoter line that the Sheets are gathered
together and compared and from them is GompieG mi @
acted with Virtue and wisdom in his private and
public life ne pe N for Shf his ncsos ei but
negligent Of his own duty and the, the good & OF ms
censure and odium-
While customs and laws may vary in different
rarts of the empire the courts administer JUS
tsce under a code that. with notifications and
yevisions has been in existence for over Two
thousand years. The idea Of the whole system
Of laws is penal. If a man does not pay MS
debts he is punished until he does or until his
family do it for him creditor may not take
the law into his own hands, and If he finds dill
Guilty in recovering his just rights not un-
common mode of revenge is'for the creditor to
A,;-, 6nnr nd IN
get the latter strangled for it. Except for the
merciless doctrine of. mutual responsibility,
which often involves the punishment Of the in
noceut with or for the guilty, the laws accord
remarkably with cur owp ideas of morality and
l,,stice Ditch making much finer distinctions
than we have deemed necessary. Thus, though
TO oath is administered in the courts, perjury
ia severely punished, even If the false statement
is made in regard to matters irrelevant to the
ISSUE Yet a certain latitude is allowed to a
witness IL ie is member of the family Of the
accused. rAs there is mutual responsibility
between relatives. so the law rather releases its
scrutiny OF vigilance when they are giving evil
dence i'm each others behalf" Speculations
in futures are illegal as 'inimical to the public
veal and the directors, not the stockholders,
are held responsible for the debts Of a corpora
tion The rights and persons OF women are
rieidly guarded, in theory at least.
The woman who kills herself rather than survive
a shame she could not prevent is awarded tablet
and is revered by the Chinese sacredly as the
Rouans revered Lucretia. By the standards OF
eoIne Western nations IL could be concluded that
Here was a good deal improperly in China, but
a IoeopIe should be judged by their own customs
nd yhen these opposed TO immoral
ify. and when their courts deal out summary pun
Iebn1enfs to offenders against morality and pro-
,1rietv there IS much to be said on their behalf
Fsnecially valuable to the foreigner having
business dealings or desiring to have them are
the chauters on business customs, guilds, banks.