Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1907-04-13
HOW THE CHIUK
OBSERVES new YEaR
Continued from FIRST Pdge)


debts. Some are not so conscientious
however, and many shutters are put
up at this time and are never taken
down again. The page is turned and
the past is forgotten, and presume
many good resolutions are made, to be
broken, as in the Occidental countries.
The foreigners call this the arson
season, as so many fires occur for some
unexplainable reason.
The spirit of good will and good
time is abroad in the land. Free vent
is given to the natural inclination of
the Chinese to play practical jokes.
Down in the business part of town
three young Chinese were scuffling to-
gether and finally two of them took
the third and tied him to a telephone
pole by his cue, and took the shoes off
of his feet. When it is explained that
on that morning we had our first snow
one can appreciate how comfortable it
must have been. AS a race, it seems
to me that the Chinese are very good
natured and the victim of a joke
seems to appreciate it Just as keenly
as the perpetrators.
The air is filled with the odor of
burning joss paper, and the sound of
firecrackers and Chinese bombs. Not
only during the day but all night long,
is the sound of revelry heard. Music
(?) is in the air, and all sorts of jug
glers make the rounds from house to
house, giving exhibitions of their
skill while beggars are out in full
force showing every form of hideous-
ness. The Chinaman is born gamb
eler, and the games are running full
blast, but contrary to the accepted be-
lief, fan-fan is not the exclusive game,
for in Shanghai, chuck-a-luck, domi-
noes, and native card game divides
the honors equally. The lotteries do
big business, for the possibility of
winning large sum of money cannot
be resisted. This is great time for
giving presents, and all the coolies and
employees expect "kumsha", from
their employers. One old fellow came
to our door and asked for kumsha, and
as l did not know him, / asked why
should give him kumsha. He care
fully explained to me that he was the
Waterman, who looked after us at
night. Will suggested that l pay him
to leave us alone so we could sleep at
nights. Every night about 8 100 o'clock
he starts on his rounds, striking at
regular intervals two pieces of BAN
boo together. The resulting noise is
such that any one who is light sleep
er, has sleep completely driven out of
his mind, and if there were any burg
lars in the neighborhood, they would
have plenty of warning of the approach
of the laws representative.
A visit to the old city found nearly
every one out in the street dressed in
their best on their way to make New
Years calls. The gentlemen in sedan
chairs as befitted their rank. 1t is
almost impossible to get through the
streets, the crowd is so dense, but all
are good natured and by little tact we
managed to get some excellent photo
graphs.
Every one has heard of the fact that
the Chinese father thinks only of his
son, and does no consider his daughter
at all. This fact is clearly proven
at this time of year. When one small
boy was photographed the pride of
the father could not contain itself, and
he said to US: 'Velly fine boy, two
and half year DID," He was dressed
in what at home we would consider
girls clothes, but according to Orien-
tai ideas they were very proper mas
culine attire. On his head was a gor-
geous head dress, while his que was
carefully braided and tied with a cord,
whose tassel reached almost to the
ground. Another fond papa had three
sons with him and to keep them from
getting lost in the crowd he had each
hold to the que of the one in front.
1t is only by living among the Chin
csc and learning more of their every
day life that one can understand what
a large place religion has with them,
and one cannot help having respect for
the loyalty with which they serve their
gods. In this one respect they are, |
think. far ahead of the Occidental,
and l for one cannot blame them for
refusing to accept Christianity as ex-
emplified in the lives of the'foreigners
living in Shanghai.
The New Year season is past now,
and the countless millions have re-
turned to the humdrum round of their
daily life, and not until another year
rolls around, will they have a respite
from their labor for a bare subsist-