The farmer and mechanic., 1915-04-13
CHINESE BEGGARs !,
Of THIRTY KINDS
Many Mendicarts Make Life
Miserable in Celestial
Kingdom

in China, and the various sort- ..
supplicants have been classifej r,.,
now 1t is known that there are -,
least thirty classes Of travauir,.
mendicants. The passenger hoa+s
know them and do not attemnr ~
collect passage money, for they sla.r.
on tho open deck, and. curious.
enough, pay for whatever rice thav
require. This being the case rat}as
than have any trouble with them ana
gain their enmity, the boatmen sllow
them passage. When they reach The
city they put up at the beggar hotal
near the Big Pagoda and let the be-.
gar headman know Of their arrival
Soon the regular allowance is forth
coming. and the men spend few
days in pursuit of pleasure ana rhan
move on to another place, to repeal
the same proceeding. says This
Argona ut
There is one particularly obnr1siya
and diSagreeable class traired 10 b.l-
ance various objects on the nos.
which usually selects q victim -
means. These fellows may walk into
a house and pick up chairs and bal
ance them on their noses as they
prance around the room. They than
take these and place them just out
| side of the door, possibly on the
! street, much to the satisfaction of tins
| large crowd which has followed them.
| as they have possibly just done ths
| same thing down the street Il biz
If the money is immediately forth
coming, the show may soon stop and
the things will be returned to their
proper places. II, on the other hand
| the residents refuse to comply wth
their demands, they pick up one ar
| ticle Of furniture after another. ski
| fully balance each upon their nose-
| and, amid the roar of satisfaction
| from the street rabble, they carry
them outside to the street. This may
continue until the whole Of the
! rooms contents have been piled upon
the street, and then the beggars walk
off amid the bursts Of applause that
follow their action. and leave the
victim to move his belongings bach
into the house.
Again there are others who arc
beggars pure and simple, who walk
in the middle Of the street. beating
the pavement with 4 small bamboo
stick. They turn neither to the right
nor to the left to beg. but keep their
eyes fixed ahead OF them and taxa
only what is thrown to them. In
quite another class Is the wretch who
shams ailment or physical defect, ana
who is a clever actor willing to go
to considerable physical discomfort
in his efforts to arouse sympathy. He
makes a practice Of cutting himself
when his demands are refused. Hs
will appear before a. family and de
. mand a fee; If this is refused, he
draws a knife and cuts his forehead
and the blood begins to flow, much
to the horror and confusion Of those
in the house, especially II they ara
only women.
The sight OF blood quickly changes
the matter, and the beggar begins 10
n oof ic,f~ 4rCy "a
same time, attracting a crowd. II Is
now easy with so many witnesses 10
open negotiations for a much larger
fee and he is usually paid consider
ably more than was at first demano
ed. Having carried his point, the
beggar now tours the entire stree
where the news Of his actions mas
3 preceded him, and he finds no trouble
z IN collecting a handsome little sun
I from his one cut, for the blood, Stll
fresh on his face, strikes terror Il
the chicken-hearted. There is also
t | class OF criminals which is sent lntt
1 exile and sentenced to beg for Ger
tain period of time in a province
Y long distance from their natice places
4 rms does away with the necessity o
c the governments feeding the crlrnlna
and puts him out upon public char
] ty.
OF very different class are tn
AIoA WHO nave d plIlLui Tale VA 0Oo-
e vatlon to tell, which, they beWai
e compels them to sell their wives o
: sons. Few, indeed. would think o
e making purchase Of this nature
a and the story almost invariably r.
{ suits in the bestOWal OF money o
r the unfortunate' man. However,
: he finds some one who is willing I
s make the bargain and take the chilc
e he is inwardly delighted for IN
8 means a full bag for him when u
4 finally hauls in his net The 50
S goes with the new master and prove
: himself an unusually satisfactory lac
n doing his work with his whole hear
III it, and thereby gazing his master
Q approval and entire confidence as n
II had planned. III due time the dut!tl
lt son slips the latch and allows his fon
81 father to enter and secure all tn
q goods possible, and together fathe
a and son leave with all the puma
e thew can DOSSihlv carry