The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-03
FATHER IS SUPREME l IN CHINESE FAMILY
Has More Power Over Chil-
 dren Than Even State
CONDITIONS CHANGING
Due to Infusion of Western Ideas Children of China, However, Live
 in Nothing Like Slavery. Example of Authority

Picking, August 20.-(correspondenc f the Associated Press.)-The Picking axette gives tI.e following interest ng description of family life in China, ommenting that these conditions are ast changing as a result of the ab- ofption of foreign ideas
 The Chinese family in its old aehioned organism is small Kingdom Fith the head of the family as the ling and ruler of all under his roof. Except for the Jaw of the country. his rcrds are law In certain cases the Ford of the family chief is even reater than the law of the country. Fhe absolute power of control an1 punishment of the former over his daughters and sons,, the former before heir marriage. and the latter even Efter marriage, is universal throughout he land. proverb says: If king Wishes his subjects to die, he must te; if father wishes his son to be destroyed he must be destroyed Such
 the severity os the family law. A ypical case of this sort came under he notice of the writer some 10 years lgo, even in such a modern city as Dhanghai.
 Typical Case
 "A certain Li family had only one son etween two broth CTS. and naturally, house. At the age of Is the boy was ent to mission school to study and b due course he decided to become a Christian. This was strongly opposed Py the whole family, especially the grandfather. But at first they smiled Rt the carefully advanced hint by the ,oy. believing that he would never are to make the change. They were nistaken, for the boy not long after lnounced that he had applied for bap- ism at the mission but made 1t plain hat unless their consent was secured be could not be baptized. This so kroused his parents that they shut him ID in a small room and for fear that Fe would escape, took every particle Pf decent clothing from him and flothed him in. ola rags Undaunted, he boy crept through a window and Interviewed the missionary. who of Fourse. counselled him to be patient Ind told him to return home to be an Dbedient son. The boy took the advice but not until he had secured a lot Pf Christian literature, which he said he would read and distribute among bis relatives at his native place, to which his parents. had threatened to |end him if szhe refused to give up bis new faith Finally the boy was lent to his country home in Ningpo to Feoeive disciplinary lessons to counter bet the Christian doctrine. The boy promised to write after his arrival at lis native place. but no word has como Althns1urh x , x1y{11 k what sort of lessons the boy received 4t the hands of his family elders, it ould not have been easy; for 1t was he custom of the Ningpo elders even to bury people alive for crimes unpunish- lble by state law This, of course. was kn exceptional case, but such excep- Ions were not by any means rare.
 ''On the other hand. 1t must not bs Imagined that the sons and daughters of
 family live under anything like con- itions of slavery: for If the father feels
 his duty to look after every detail of his family affairs and sees to 1t that Every member of the house obeys his Instructions without any feeling of dis ontent or painful effort.
 Relations of Family
 'sfhe plain principle of living between ather and son Is. therefore. this: The ather should see to the needs of his fam ly. sons. daughters and all, direct what they should do and how they should act, lecide how they should be trained and aught, whom to marry or wed, what pro- essions, if sons. to adopt, see that they re obedient and happy. and decide what o do in case of disobedience or insubordi- nation. For the son. as well as the laughter. 1t is duty to be obedent and kood humored under all circumstances knd do what he or she can to make the parents as we'll as the whole family happy; the son is not to decide anything without the previous consent of his Father or other elderly member of the household. and, as Confucius has said, is hot to go too far away from home while lis father Is still living; and if he does. 10 give the name of the locality to which lie Journeys The sacrifice of self Is ab- oluteiy necessary for dutiful son. Con- ucius says, while the father Is living, ook to his ambitlon:. when his father Is cad, look at his sdeeds.' r As to the duty Sf | son after his fathers death, the Sage says, "a man may be called filiRl 2 he does not depart from the principle |his late father has laid down for three Iears' (after the death of the iatter) s.The principles summarized above can Q accepted as typical of truly Chinese Some, although in middle and lower so- fial life, 1t Is modified to some extent The modification. however, is due moro 0 peculiar conditions of life than to hck of principle. for 1t is obvious that vhen every member of the house has to lo the best he can in the struggle for a lying there is very little room for elabo- l ate application of Confucian principles. .)ne principle. however, Is universal; that ', the father Is supreme in his house and l he son must yield unswerWng 1 bedience."