The Coolidge examiner., 1931-07-17


Society. Washington. d. Cl
EIGHTING, which has swept
pretty much over China, has
lately turned south to the prov
ince of Kwangtung. This is China S
southernmost province. Of which
Canton is the capital. 1t is moth
erland to a majority of the 10000
Chinese now resident in the United
States. Canton was the first Chinese
seaport to come in contact with the
outside world Her people in the
earliest times became sailors. trad
ers and adventurers, so ii is natu-
raj that from this southern city
should have started that Chinese
exodus which has populated the
shores of the Pacific.
From this same region some 50,
900 Chinese have gone to the Phil
ippines, about 25.000 to Hawaii, and
more than a million each to Java,
Siam, FOrmOsa and Singapore. For
most of these emigrants Canton
was the port of departure on their
great adventure, and most of them
came from the surrounding district.
Arabs traded extensively by sea
with Canton in the Middle ages.
Portuguese traders arrived at the
mouth Of the river during the first
quarter of the Sixteenth century.
bringing a cargo Of pepper. Eng
lish ships and traders did not come
upon the scene till more than
hundred years later, but from that
time until after the opium war
treaty of 1S42 Canton was the only
Chinese port permitting foreign
trade. 1t is said that the Manchu
dynasty favored this arrangement
since Canton was the farthest great
seaport from their capital
Thus, for more than 300 years
Canton alone of Chinese cities came
in touch with western lands. Her
people grew accustomed TO foreign
ers and their methods and were the
first to emi"rate in large numbers.
Chinese emigration to America
began with the discovery of gold in
California in 1S4S and Chinese la
Dor was in further demand on the
transcOntinental railroads. By 1880
there were 105,465 Chinese in the
United States. Then came the first
of the eXclusiO measures in 1882.
Since that time Americas Chinese
population has decreased some 40
per cent More than half of Ameri-
can Chinese live on the Pacific
coast In all the United States there
are fewer than 5000 Chinese
women.
Canton's Dialect.
Coming from the neighborhood of
Canton, American Chinese largely
use the Canton dialect, which so
differs from the spoken language of
the rest Of China as to be totally
unintelligible to native of Peiping
(Peking). Cantonese speech has a
range of eight tones while in Pc
king but four tones are used. Writ
ten symbols are, however, the same
and can be readily cOmprehended
in any part of China. as the same
musical score can be played in
Italy and Russia. The American
sojourner in China. who. as a rule
learns the Peiping or Mandarin dia-
lect. finds upon his return to the
United States that he cannot con.
verse with the Cantonese laundry
man or restaurant waiter. but if he
has learned to write Chinese char
acters communication can be car.
ried on in this medium
The waters of the Pearl river off
Canton have reflected the cOlors of
many western nations in the past.
The first American ship arriving
there, the Empress of China. from
New York in 1884. was greeted by
traders from Holland, Portugal and
England who already had an estab-
Iished trade with the Cantonese.
In late years the Pearl river has
been silted up, condition which
American engineers plan to remedy.
But even without large ships Can.
ton now ranks with the great in
land ports of the East. Travellers
approaching the city by boat are
bewildered by the shipping in the
harbOr. Thousands of sampaps
junks and other small river craft
nearly obliteratc the surface of the
water while the wharves bristle
with activity.
The boats in the channel move
here and there with small. short
haul cargOes. but along the sea