Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1920-03-28
millions IN CHINA
STILL |LL|TERATEs
tDcspitc Popular Opinion Celestial
Empire Is STEPPED in
ignorance.
ny JOSEpH LUMINOUS

SHANGHAI. March c..--Thc Amer
lean hot water bottle has gained quite
vogue In China. In some cities It
e tho latest fad. In one center Of
"rican missionary influence wcll-to-
'rristian Chinese now come 10
eA.rcli with a filled bottle olaspod
coziiy against tho "tum:ny'
another city where missionary
university is tho center Of culture. a
teacher reccutly gave = suit OF Amor
lean underwear 20 Il Chinese friend,
TO his a&onishmen; the next Sunday
the ENinese marced proudly into the
university church with this suit out
side his own chinese costume.
Awakening China is much interest
, cd in Occidental customs and Il is
becoming quite tho thing to substitute
! inlno- details OF these for some q
s,their own. The result is not always
.fyha; they suppose. For instance,
Eff scrolls Of tulation and good
Wishes to the principals in Il we'd
SPINS. Chinese affected by foreign in
fuence have learned that VIC send low
I hrs instead OF scrolls. and that We
: send flowers for funerals. Often they
Eet the selection mixed, and send
sonbsr funeral wrea,hs for q we'd
ding.
Invitation Breaks Precedent.
An American showed me recently
with some excitement wedding in
Sbrinted in Chinese characters in gold
pm rcd card, and the unusual ching
lN6oui It WAS that II had the name OF
c{he man. My friend. who knows China
Thoroughly. said /; was the first card
he had ever seen that announced the
brides identity.
tartst. my friends turned 70 a card
that had been incloscd with it, written
beautifully, in English by the groom
Chinese. He had added this personal
note, urging his American friend %
attend the happy ceremony, which 10
at tho Presbyterian Church..
White Mourning Color.
White Is he color OF mourning IN
China. and brides wear costumes Of
vermilion red. known as Chinese red.
" is about The reddest thing there Is.
But Chinese girls educated in the mis-
sion schools falling under the infu-
in America and Europe brides Wear
white, so they are compromising now
on piph.
In America we have an idea tina,
tina; ii and the queue went out with
!. the Manchu dynasty and tina both are
unknown under tho republic. Foot
epor,s and regions most directly nnu-
fenced by foreigners. and especially
missionaries. Eut back N tn" in
hice is sim inflicted upon the little
girls OF the wellto-do classes. aud
sometimes even on girls OF the cooiie
class, who viii have 70 ,oddlc AboIt
az hard work on diminutivc feet.
As 10 the queue, many Chinese arc
wcaAne it stil, though few OF the
educated Chinese cling 20 it. Probably
half Of the coolies still wear it. 1t
il a riC'LSha
coolie wearing a dilapidatcd foreign
straw or felt hat TO bring his queue up
acro4s its top and thus tie il on Sc
Even Boxers Can't Box.
Chinese coolies in controversy never
come TO blows, though they quarrel
caily ?, They, do not know how. to use
the lists and only claw AT each. other
dr strike out with the open hand il
inc quarrel becomes very serious
Sometimes one will grasp the other
nrmly by Tho queue, close TO the head,
and lead his whining victim away TO
where there is room for a good swift
Rkick.
!, In. our sympathy for The Chinese
and our desire TO sec China protected
against foreign aggression We arc in
&puhlic in terms OF our own. our sym
Hpathy Will be more wisely directed an!
fmore helpful if we keep in mind the
fSast differences.
No. one knows whether China las
SOC, 900. oO0 people or 4o0.O0o,000 Tina
is 10 say census returns have been
Inaccurate that no one can guess
within a. hundred miliion-which is
approximately tho total population of
INC United States Of me actual popC-
ia4ion OF China.
Bu, il is fairy wei, known that of
this vast total, rhatever Il s, only
about Two million persons can -c2d
or write. -Four hundred million Is
commonly accepted as the populations:
II l, - her.
arc abcu, 3eS, o00,o who can neither
read nor write. Many, many years
Will be required 70 extend education
litil- Aby little 70 this great mass 81
china is no, much s,,vcrutd by laws.
customs gcucrally-- cotIrroi. Though
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