The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1922-10-05
Man TO Be ENv|ED
Follower of Confucius Has Many
Advantages.
Both at Home and Abroad, Writer
Points Out, He is Favored Over
Other NationaIities.

Wherever the Chinaman may be-
and he is found in every part Of the
world-he has certain advantages
which, for instance, the Americaman
or Englandman does not have. Let
US first mention the advantages Of be-
ing Chinaman in his homeland, Cha
ing Chaolin writes in the New York
Evening Post. For one thing; he never
has to be bored by political speeches.
Chinese politicians hardly make any
speeches; the few speeches they make
are more refreshing and more reveal
ing, for they tell in few phrases the
full tragedy Of the politician. For ex-
ample, a Chinese politician is likely
to begin his remarks, be they oral or
written, in some such way as this:
II, unworthy Chenling, who have
neither upheld the honor Of my illus
triQus ancestors nor met the expecta-
lions Of the honorable people of this
land, who am without both ability and
learning-' How much more educative
political meetings in America would be
If tradition compelled the speakers
to make such frank revelations about
themselves! -~., .<-,,' 49, ~~-
Another of the inestimable advan-
tages of being Chinaman in his home"
land ia the careful way in which the
Illusion Of life's drama is maintained
for him. This drama, as is commonly
known, has only two actors-man and
woman. And the elementary require
ment Of any drama is that the
mechanics of it should be hidden, that
the property man should not get on
the stage when the curtain Is still up.
Now in China, the heroine Of life's
drama never spoils the show, as Is done
in some other countries, by exhibiting
the mechanical processes Of makeup
right on the stage; she would never
think Of powdering her nose in
restaurant scene, nor would she inter-
rupt the action to puff out her curls
whenever the exigencies Of the drama
should require that she take off her
hat. These are trifles but then the
illusion is thin enough as it is.
Another advantage which the China
man shares with the Chinawoman, in
a country where marriages are always
romantic and must always remain ro-
mantle, acting Economically toward the
husband or the wife is part of good
manners. In China, romance may or
may not co-exist with marriage; if it
does, we'll and good. The Chinaman
and the Chinawoman are under no
circumstances compelled to recall the
expressions Of endearment as soon as
company enters the home. If the
Americaman and the Americawoman
shared this advantage how much suf-
fering could be spared!
Abroad, as at home being a China
man has advantages. Let it suffice to
mention the general advantage of be-
ing Chinaman in America. We are
anxious to tell this advantage be-
cause We have enormously profted by.
it. The language which the America
men use may be hard and perverse, yet
Chinaman, by making the subject
agree-sometimes disagree-with the
predicate in three successive SEN
fences, acquires instantly the reputa-
ton Of speaking excellent English.
Again, every Chinaman in America
who can make any kind Of speech or
write any kind Of composition be-
comes Immediately an authority on
China. The thirty American intellect
uals, in view Of the many criticisms
they have suffered, must envy
the ease of the Chinaman in becom-
ing an authority on his own country.
If life is so drab, so materialistic in
America, mayn't the solution be in all
Americamen becoming Cinnamon?