The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1920-06-03
Chinese Manners and Cheer.
From Asia Magazine.

The weak points If a people, like those of In individual ae the defects
of theirq qualities. Vices are @ far removed from virtues; they are their
reverse sid The Chinese believe themselves the poitest people on earth.
hey are probab right in their belief In comparison event n bst of western
manners often appear either crude or else overdone, affected. Nothing al
exceed the anenty oft HI Japanese in personal intercourse tut they learned
THERE tquet is well as so much else from China, IN it remains somewhat
formal a cultivated art In Chinat the ages have toned down AM menowed
ne forms of ntercour tilt they n o longer seem forms. High n low are.
80 ay n nconstraine din their bearing toward n another. that is
tempted in spite offs scientific authority to believe in the Inheritance by later
generation of the manners acquired by previous generations Cheerfulness.
ad ontentment mid the most trying conditions are a part of good nan
nes. ct there is N of tha rightly, to say nothing Of guinness n
fanahcism, which VIZ ordinarily associate with stoicism OF fataHsm. There
is n flourish Of self control which betrays that the self control is main
tanned with diffculty Fate is weRomed with a smile, perhaps a Jest not
with a frown, o vet with heroics. Such courtesy and cheerfuInes are
undoubted products of long continued close face o face crowded existence.
The unremittng impact of a thick civilization has impressed the folly Of
adding % the burdens of life by friction or repning. PoHteness n cheer
tuness arr the lubricants b. which, he closeness and constancy of per-
tives; either ruthless competition, war to the bone, OF a easy going peace.
Having chosent the latter va out the Chinese have carried it to its logical
conclusion.
Yeti personal consideration FOR others in direct face to face Intercourse.
Is quite compatible with what in the western world would b e regarded as
unfeeing cruelty lack off active aid % others. The other day in Picking
a passing carriage knocked Town a man lin the street, and rolled by n
needing. The mar was sc badly injured that he was unable tt rise. No
passerby made a move; ali literally passed by Oh the other sde until some
by bandits in Nanchuria- The other persons present not only offered n O
aid. but they RAJ aside and shut their Eyes 20 that they could not be called
upon to te-dfy. The furtherp point of this incident lies In HI fact that Mr.
Bailie hu taken POO and miserable persons IRON the more crowded parts
them had greatly improved their conditions. These lei who closed their
eyes that they might OF know what was going o n were men whom he had
aided; they were personal friends 10
This doesn t mean that Chinese habtual poHteness is insincere T have
never heard the Chinese accused ofh hypocrisy, though I W. heardo of nanv
bitter complaints Q their unwiiHnsness % carry things through, T have
neyer seen nyo who did lot regard genuine friendHness a one oft the
chief Chinese rats. But where there is a complete manifestation OFT h
Mathusian theory of population, friendHness develops with great difficulty
o the point of active efort to relieve suffering. Where furtheri increase in
population means Increase in severity of the struggle fr subsistence ae-
gre@ive benevolence is lot likely to assume large proportions