Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-09

/ AN@AAN SAeSB 10 OlAG VI ln6 CnleI pearl
markets of the world. The proprietor
of this particular shop, Mohamme-
dan ChlneSe whose ancestors have
| been pearl merchants for centuries
has his own agents in the pearl fish,
cries of Ceylon and the South Sea is
lands and is reckoned a magnate in
the business.
You are ushered into a small room
furnished with the table-and-chair
combination which is the feature of
every Chinese house. There is no. dis
play of wares. You are seated and
served with a dish of scalding tea. You
gossip awhile, or rather your Chinese
speaking friend does, about nothing in
particular. After nearly an hour of
dilly-dallying 1t suddenly occurs to the
merchant that he is d business man.
Would you like to see some pearls
You would. Very well, a salesman
leaves the room and after a minute
returns with a bit of white paper,
folded, in his hand. He unfolds 1t on
the table at your elbow and within is
discovered a bit of blue silk cloth. He
turns back its corners and. there Is the
pearl in all its beauty. He knows per-
fectly we'll that a pearl is at its best
on blue surface with a white back
ground for the sake of contrast. He
also knows that confusion and annoy
ance attend the display of too many
jewels at once. So he brings in his
pearls one at time. If you buy, he is
delighted; if not, he expresses the
deepest gratitude for the favor of your
call.
If you are lucky enough to be in
vited to visit the home of this same
millionaire pearl merchant you will
have an opportunity to steal a glimpse
at the inside wealth and luxury of old
China. The severely plain outer wall
gives no hint of the beauties which lie
within. The several courtyards testi-
fy to the artistic skill of the Chinese
gardener, the equal, if not
the superior, of his much-praised Jap
anese fellow craftsman. The large re-
ception, rooms which the visitor sees
fairly stagger the fancy with their
treasures of carved wood furniture,
jeweled screens and wall hangings,
lacquered rafters and porcelain CELL
ings. This merchant has graciously
permitted one or two wealthy Amer
leans to have the furniture of his chief
reception room copied by Soochow ar
tisans, but that is u souvenir of China
which is beyond the power Of the av-
erage man to purchase.
You wander into temples, of course.
ones you will find the Chinese equiva-
lent of an occidental circus crowd. The
crowd is mostly made up of country
people; men, women and children who
have come in from rural village homes
to see the wonders of the great city.
They are being feeced by the toy mer-
chants, the candy hawkers and, alas
for the monotony of human sin, by the
chuck-a-luck gamester and the three
shell artist. Within the temple suave
priests are selling crude wall decora-
tions to the gaping yokels, with exactly
the same smile and wink which used to
so with Chrome" in the earlier days
Of the history of American "art" vend-
ing.
Most of all you will be interested,
however in the things to be seen about
the university. The hospital which for
nearly a score of years has been the
source of mercy to this whole city,
glories in the Chinese name of the
Heaven -Given-Place. Until this mis-
sionary hospital was erected here there
was no physician in this city or section
except the native doctors" who know
nothing whatever of science and depend
altogether upon superstition and luck
for their results. Surgery was wholly
unknown. The gate of the hospital is
honored by group of Chinese soldiers
who guard it. Inside the entrance are
hung a score of huge lacquered boards
with gilt letters upon them, the testi-
monials of various high officials and
rich merchants. In this hospital more
than 10000 surgical operations have
beep performed: The rich, pay hand
somely, the Well-to-do as they can af-
ford, and the poor are treated for moth
ing. After you have seen this place you
are amazed to find your missionary
friend sending for a Chinese doctor to
see his sick child Then you are told
that the hospital is also a medical col
lege and that it's Chinese graduates are
skilled surgeons and physicians worthy
of the confidence of anyone.
The university itself with its hun
dred and fifty young men from the
higher classes of Chinese society, is
equally interesting. You are impressed
with the fact that in the heart of real
ly, truly China the American mission
ary is doing good to the bodies and
minds of the Chinese people, good
which will result ultimately in the re-
generation of this whole nation. When
the time comes for you to go you walk
out of the university compound down
fight of stone steps to q boat waiting
in the. canal. A boatwoman rows you
along miles and miles of canals to the
railroad station outside the city walls
where you await your train to Shang-
hal AS she works the boat along she
tells your missionary friend that 1t is
the one ambition of her life to make
enough money to enable her son to
learn to read and write. And when tho
gold rings on her fingers are indicated
she lies brazenly to swear that they are
brass. You leave Soochow with regret.
You do not know China-no white man
may hope to learn it in a lifetime
but you have seen China.
TomOrrOw-In Modern China: XXI-The
Trade Gate of HongkOng.