AN OFFICIAL'S PALANQUIN.AN OFFICIAL'S PALANQUIN.
"Father says when an official calls upon another official in Peking, his servant sends in his visiting card. The official who is being called upon then sends out to know how his visitor is dressed, and if he hears that it is in full costume, he dresses himself in the same way, and then goes to the entrance of the house, and asks his visitor to get out of his carriage or chair, and come in. As they pass through a door of the gate, the gentleman, to whom the house belongs asks the visitor to go first, but he always says 'No' until he has been asked threetimes, and then he walks first to the reception-hall, when the two stop again, and ask one another to go first. When they have come into the hall, father says, they kneel down, and knock their heads on the ground six times. This is performing the kow-tow. When they get up from this performance, the host arranges a chair for the other, and asks him to sit down, but he must not do this even till he has bowed again. I am sure I should forget when I had to make all these bows, and should be sure to do them at the wrong times."After they have had a little talk, a servant is told to make some tea. I suppose the host would then say 'Yam-cha' to the other, for this means 'Drink tea.' Before either gentleman drinks, both bow again, and soon afterwards the visitor gets up, and says, 'I want to take my leave.' They walk together to the grand entrance, but at every door-way the visitor has to bow, and ask his friend not to come any farther, although of course he must go, or it would not be polite. And then he stands at the entrance door till the carriage has driven off. The Chinese do bow so often, and little children have to do it too."The consul told Leonard that when school-boys go to see their masters, they have to arrange the chair-cushions for their masters and themselves. The boy has to stand outside the visitor's hall till his master comes, and when he has been asked to go in, he gives him for a present a tael of silver, about 2s. 8d., which he holds up with both his hands. Then he looks towards the north, kneels, and knocks his head twice upon the ground, when the master bows. The boy asks how his teacher's parents are, who also asks after the boy's. He then invites his little guest to sit down;but every time the boy is asked a question by his teacher he has to stand up to answer it. When he leaves, he goes to the entrance door by himself. At school, the boys have to make a bow to the schoolmaster whenever they go in and out of the room."You asked me in your letter if people have very many servants in China. Some have a very great number. Ordinary Chinese gentlemen might have a porter, two or three footmen, coolies for house-work, sedan-chair bearers, and a cook. Women servants are often bought by their masters. A rich man will have sometimes twenty or thirty slaves. People called 'go-betweens' generally buy them for the masters. We have very few servants of our own now, as we are on a visit. Mother's maid shows dear little Chu what to do. Female slaves attend upon the ladies and children, and we have often seen them carrying their mistresses with small feet. It does look so funny. In good families, father says, they are very well treated, but some maid-of-all-work slaves often run away because they are so unhappy."Children are sometimes stolen to be slaves. Great-grandsons of slaves can buy their freedom. I am so glad I have my little Chu, because she cannot be bought or sold now: father made that agreement. I should not know nearly so much about the servants and slaves if I had not wanted to know what might have become of little Chu if we had not had her. Sometimes servants stand in the streets to be hired."In a suburb of Canton, in a street called the Taiping Kai, we saw one morning a number of bricklayers, journeymen, and carpenters, waiting to be hired. The carpenters stand in a line on one side, and bricklayerson the other. Father said they had been there since five o'clock."Another day we saw men carrying baskets, in which they were collecting every bit of paper they could find about the streets, which had been written upon. The Chinese have such respect for every little piece of paper, on which have been any Chinese characters, that they will not allow any parcels even to be wrapped up in them. When all these scraps have been collected, they are burnt in a furnace, and the ashes are put into baskets, carried in procession, and emptied into a stream. Slips of paper are pasted on walls, telling people to reverence lettered paper. Chinese characters are called 'eyes of the sage;' and some people think that if they are irreverent to the paper, they are so to the sages who invented them, and they will perhaps, for a punishment, be born blind in the next world.WAITING TO BE HIRED.WAITING TO BE HIRED."Men become famous in China when they write very beautifully. They write with a brush and Indian ink. Father's teacher says there are three styles of writing Chinese characters, and that the literature of China is the first in Asia. A Chinaman writes from right to left, and all the writing consists of signs or characters. I cannot think how Chinese people understand either their writing or their conversation. One word will mean a number of things, and you know which word they mean by the sound of the voice and the stress on the word. Leonard asked the teacher one day what soldier was in Chinese, and he said, 'ping;' but he also told him that 'ping' meant ice, pancake, and other words too. 'Fu' is father, and 'Mu' mother. They think we have no written language."Canton is entered by twelve outer, and four inner, gates. The name means 'City of Perfection.' Leonard and I are now going for a walk, with father, to the Street of Apothecaries, and to-morrow we are to see a bridal procession.
"Father says when an official calls upon another official in Peking, his servant sends in his visiting card. The official who is being called upon then sends out to know how his visitor is dressed, and if he hears that it is in full costume, he dresses himself in the same way, and then goes to the entrance of the house, and asks his visitor to get out of his carriage or chair, and come in. As they pass through a door of the gate, the gentleman, to whom the house belongs asks the visitor to go first, but he always says 'No' until he has been asked threetimes, and then he walks first to the reception-hall, when the two stop again, and ask one another to go first. When they have come into the hall, father says, they kneel down, and knock their heads on the ground six times. This is performing the kow-tow. When they get up from this performance, the host arranges a chair for the other, and asks him to sit down, but he must not do this even till he has bowed again. I am sure I should forget when I had to make all these bows, and should be sure to do them at the wrong times.
"After they have had a little talk, a servant is told to make some tea. I suppose the host would then say 'Yam-cha' to the other, for this means 'Drink tea.' Before either gentleman drinks, both bow again, and soon afterwards the visitor gets up, and says, 'I want to take my leave.' They walk together to the grand entrance, but at every door-way the visitor has to bow, and ask his friend not to come any farther, although of course he must go, or it would not be polite. And then he stands at the entrance door till the carriage has driven off. The Chinese do bow so often, and little children have to do it too.
"The consul told Leonard that when school-boys go to see their masters, they have to arrange the chair-cushions for their masters and themselves. The boy has to stand outside the visitor's hall till his master comes, and when he has been asked to go in, he gives him for a present a tael of silver, about 2s. 8d., which he holds up with both his hands. Then he looks towards the north, kneels, and knocks his head twice upon the ground, when the master bows. The boy asks how his teacher's parents are, who also asks after the boy's. He then invites his little guest to sit down;but every time the boy is asked a question by his teacher he has to stand up to answer it. When he leaves, he goes to the entrance door by himself. At school, the boys have to make a bow to the schoolmaster whenever they go in and out of the room.
"You asked me in your letter if people have very many servants in China. Some have a very great number. Ordinary Chinese gentlemen might have a porter, two or three footmen, coolies for house-work, sedan-chair bearers, and a cook. Women servants are often bought by their masters. A rich man will have sometimes twenty or thirty slaves. People called 'go-betweens' generally buy them for the masters. We have very few servants of our own now, as we are on a visit. Mother's maid shows dear little Chu what to do. Female slaves attend upon the ladies and children, and we have often seen them carrying their mistresses with small feet. It does look so funny. In good families, father says, they are very well treated, but some maid-of-all-work slaves often run away because they are so unhappy.
"Children are sometimes stolen to be slaves. Great-grandsons of slaves can buy their freedom. I am so glad I have my little Chu, because she cannot be bought or sold now: father made that agreement. I should not know nearly so much about the servants and slaves if I had not wanted to know what might have become of little Chu if we had not had her. Sometimes servants stand in the streets to be hired.
"In a suburb of Canton, in a street called the Taiping Kai, we saw one morning a number of bricklayers, journeymen, and carpenters, waiting to be hired. The carpenters stand in a line on one side, and bricklayerson the other. Father said they had been there since five o'clock.
"Another day we saw men carrying baskets, in which they were collecting every bit of paper they could find about the streets, which had been written upon. The Chinese have such respect for every little piece of paper, on which have been any Chinese characters, that they will not allow any parcels even to be wrapped up in them. When all these scraps have been collected, they are burnt in a furnace, and the ashes are put into baskets, carried in procession, and emptied into a stream. Slips of paper are pasted on walls, telling people to reverence lettered paper. Chinese characters are called 'eyes of the sage;' and some people think that if they are irreverent to the paper, they are so to the sages who invented them, and they will perhaps, for a punishment, be born blind in the next world.
WAITING TO BE HIRED.WAITING TO BE HIRED.
"Men become famous in China when they write very beautifully. They write with a brush and Indian ink. Father's teacher says there are three styles of writing Chinese characters, and that the literature of China is the first in Asia. A Chinaman writes from right to left, and all the writing consists of signs or characters. I cannot think how Chinese people understand either their writing or their conversation. One word will mean a number of things, and you know which word they mean by the sound of the voice and the stress on the word. Leonard asked the teacher one day what soldier was in Chinese, and he said, 'ping;' but he also told him that 'ping' meant ice, pancake, and other words too. 'Fu' is father, and 'Mu' mother. They think we have no written language.
"Canton is entered by twelve outer, and four inner, gates. The name means 'City of Perfection.' Leonard and I are now going for a walk, with father, to the Street of Apothecaries, and to-morrow we are to see a bridal procession.
"There are such a number of narrow streets in Canton, and religious worship is carried on in the open streets, in front of shrines; and before the shops lighted sticks, called 'joss-sticks,' are put at dawn and sunset. The natives live in the narrow streets.Those in theEuropeansettlement, where we are, are larger."The ports, which are open to foreign commerce, have European parts where the European inhabitants live."Always your affectionate"Sybil Graham."
"There are such a number of narrow streets in Canton, and religious worship is carried on in the open streets, in front of shrines; and before the shops lighted sticks, called 'joss-sticks,' are put at dawn and sunset. The natives live in the narrow streets.Those in theEuropeansettlement, where we are, are larger.
"The ports, which are open to foreign commerce, have European parts where the European inhabitants live.
"Always your affectionate"Sybil Graham."
A CHINESE WRITERA CHINESE WRITER
CHAPTER X.A BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.
A BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.
T
HE Street of Apothecaries was no exception to the general rule that Sybil had laid down. It also was very narrow, and, like many other streets in Canton, was so covered over at the top that in walking through it the sun did not burn too fiercely, neither did the rain fall upon the passers-by.
The shops opened right upon the street, which was very gay indeed with sign-boards. Just in front of the shops were granite counters, on which goods were shown to purchasers.
Many of the sign-boards rested on granite pedestals. On one side of each shop was a little altar, dedicated to the god of wealth, or the god supposed to preside over the special trade carried on within. Every heathen Chinese merchant and shopkeeper has some little spot set apart for this worship, although all the shops have not an altar, but many only a piece of red paper pasted upon a wall, on which the characters meaning "god of wealth" are written, and before which incense and candles are burnt. Every day, as soon as the shop is opened, worship is paid to this divinity.
THE STREET OF APOTHECARIES, CANTON.THE STREET OF APOTHECARIES, CANTON.
The counters and shelves inside these hongs were very handsome. The accountant's desk was at the end of the hong, and here again the red colour was not absent, for the scales and weights of the shop were covered with cloth of that hue.
Beggars (some miserably and scantily dressed) are very numerous in China, people making quite a profession of begging, when they visit shops in companies, and there make a great disturbance until they receive what they demand. These beggars are often governed by a head-man, who was really first appointed to rule over them by the mandarin, to save himself trouble. A head-man will sometimes make an agreement with a hong proprietor, that if he will pay a sum of money down beggars shall not molest him; and when he agrees to this, a notice on red paper, stating the arrangement made, is hung up in the shop, after which any native beggar applying for aid can be shown this, turned out of the hong, and upon refusing to go, he can be beaten. But unless such an arrangement has been made, beggars may neither be beaten nor turned out of a shop, whatever annoyance they may offer, unless they steal, or break some other law. Therefore it is that poor shop-keepers feel themselves bound to pay money in order to avoid such annoyance. When the head-man is paid a sum of money, he is supposed to divide it amongst his band.
"I never heard such a shame!" Leonard exclaimed, when he saw one of these beggars very troublesome in the Street of Apothecaries, and heard the law with regard to them. "I wish I were a mandarin. I'd very soon put a stop to poor shop-keepers being so persecuted."
A BEGGAR.A BEGGAR.
That evening both Sybil and Leonard, feeling tired, went very early to bed, as they wanted to be up in very good time in the morning, so as to see the whole of the bridal procession, for the bridegroom sends very early indeed in the morning for his bride. The bridal-chair which he sends for her is often painted red. The one which the Grahams saw was of this colour, and over the door were also strips of red paper. Before the bride took her seat in the sedan, which was brought into the reception-room of her home for her, she having eaten nothing that morning, and having kow-towed very often to her parents, they covered her head and face with a thick veil, so that she could not be seen. The floor, from her room to the sedan, was covered with red carpet. When in the sedan, four bread-cakes were tossedinto the air by one of the bridesmaids as an omen of good fortune. In front of the procession two men carried large lighted lanterns, having the family name of the bridegroom, cut in red paper, and pasted onthem. Then came two men bearing the family name of the bride, who were, however, only to go part of the way. Other men followed, some carrying a large red umbrella, others torches, and again some playing a band of music. Near the bridal-chair brothers or friends of the bride walked. Half-way between the two houses the friends of the bridegroom met the bride, and as they approached the procession stopped.
BRIDESMAIDSBRIDESMAIDS
The children were very much interested in watching what happened next. The bride's friends brought out a large red card, on which was written the bride's family name, and the other party produced a similar one, bearing that of the bridegroom. These were exchanged with bows. The two men at the head of the procession then walked, with their lanterns, between the sedan-chair and the lantern-bearers, who carried the bride's family name, and returned to their places in front, when the bride's party turned round and went back to her father's house, carrying home her family name, she being supposed to have now taken that of her husband. Even her brothers went back also, and then the band played a very lively air whilst the rest of the procession took her on.
Fireworks were let off along the road, and a great many outside the bridegroom's door when the bride arrived. Her bridesmaids, who have to keep with her throughout the day, accompanied the procession.
As the sedan-chair was taken into the reception-room, the torch-bearers and musicians stayed near the door, and where it was put down the floor was again covered with red carpet. The bridegroom then came and knocked at the bridal door, but a married woman and a little boy, holding a mirror, asked the bride to getout. Her bridesmaids helped her to alight. The mirror was supposed to ward off evil influences.
BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.
Sometimes, much for the same purpose, a bride is carried over a charcoal fire on a servant's back, but thiswas not done on this occasion. All this time the bride's face was hidden by her veil. She was then taken into a room, where the bridegroom was waiting for her, and here they sat down together for a few minutes, without speaking a word. Sometimes the bridegroom sits on a high stool, while the bride throws herself down before him, to show that she considers man superior to woman.
He then went into the reception-room, where he waited for his bride to come to worship his ancestral tablets with him. A table was put in front of the room, on which were two lighted candles and lighted incense. Two goblets, chop-sticks, white sugar-cocks, and other things were on the table, when the bride and bridegroom both knelt four times, bowing their heads towards the earth. This was called "worshipping heaven and earth." The ancestral tablets were on tables at the back, on which were also lighted candles and incense. Turning round towards the tablets, they worshipped them eight times, and then facing one another, they knelt four times.
Wedding wine was now drunk, and the bride and bridegroom ate a small piece from the same sugar-cock, which was to make them agree.
The thick veil was now taken off the bride, but her face was still partly hidden by strings of pearl hanging from a bridal coronet.
It often happens that the bridegroom now sees his bride for the first time, the two fathers having perhaps planned the marriage, asked a fortune-teller's advice, sent go-betweens to make all the necessary arrangements, chosen a lucky day, without the bride or bridegroom having a voice in the matter. This was the case with the young couple, a great part of whose weddingceremony Sybil and Leonard had witnessed. Both Chinese boys and girls marry sometimes when they are sixteen years of age; these were very little older.
Many other ceremonies had to take place, such as kneeling very often before the bridegroom's parents, when at last it was time for the bride's heavy outer garments to be taken off, together with her head-dress, so that her hair could be well arranged; but she was not allowed to eat anything at all at the wedding dinner. Indeed, on her wedding-day, she is hardly expected to touch food at all.
Many people came in to see her, and on this day she must be quite natural, and wear no rouge at all. She has to stand up quietly to be looked at, blessed, and have remarks made upon her appearance. Presents are sent to the bridegroom's family. For three days the bride's parents send her food, as she may not, during that time, eat what her husband provides. In some districts of the province of Canton the bride leaves her husband, and goes home again for a time after she is married, but after marriage she is generally considered to belong almost entirely to her husband's family, in a wing of whose house she lives with him, and to whose parents she is supposed to help him to be filial. On many other days the ancestral tablets have to be worshipped by the bride and bridegroom, and amongst other gods and goddesses, those of the kitchen have adoration paid to them.
AT A CHINESE FARM.AT A CHINESE FARM.
"Canton, February, 1881."My Dearest Lily.—Father took us to a lovely farm the other day" (Sybil wrote in another letter), "where we saw a little donkey, who was so well cared for that he seemed like one of the family. Leonard andI fed him for some time. We both thought that the farm-house was something like a Swiss cottage. Father said the walls were made of clay, and on these walls were scrolls, which were supposed to have power to keep the fox and wild cat away."There were a few bullocks and cows here, but not many; their stalls were quite near to the house. We liked the village, to which we went, very much, and it was surrounded by high trees. Father says that the stables of the Chinese are like cart-sheds, but each stable has an altar in honour of the ruler of horses. In this city there is a large temple to this god."We saw a number of bean, pea, rice, and cotton-fields, and had some sugar-cane given us to eat. Sugar-cane is grown in Canton, and we had some bean-curds to drink. We liked them very much. Mother says she was told that they were made in Canton overnight, and generally sold very early in the morning. The beans are ground to flour, which is strained, and then boiled slowly for an hour. I wonder if you would like it?"The Chinese are so fond of sugar-cane, and it grew in China before it grew anywhere else. Ever so many fruits and vegetables grow also in China, but there seem to be more rice-fields than any other. I will tell you a few of the vegetables: sweet potatoes, yams, tomatoes, cabbages, lettuces, turnips, and carrots; and some fruits are apricots, custard-apples, rose-apples, dates, oranges, pomegranates, melons, pumpkins, and ever so many others. Canton is in the tropics, but it is not hot here in the winter. There are such pretty water-lilies here, not only white, but also red and red-and-white. The Chinese look upon this lily as a sacredplant. Some shop-keepers use the leaves, in which to wrap up things, instead of paper."Chinese people do very funny things. Because they think that their birds sometimes like change of air, they carry their cages out of doors with them for a walk. But I do so wish that they did not eat dogs! You see them being sold in the shops, and in one district of Canton a fair is held, where they are regularly sold for food. Many people like black dogs best. At the beginning of summer nearly everybody eats dog's flesh, when a ceremony takes place. If people eat it, they think that it will keep them from being ill in the summer. I am glad, for that reason, that I shall not be here in June, as the dogs are cruelly beaten the day before they are killed. Fancy, poor little things! I suppose that is to bring luck too! And yet the Cantonese think that they displease the gods when they eat dog's flesh, and we have seen it written on Buddhist temples that people ought not to eat 'their faithful guardians.'"The Cantonese must not go into a temple to worship till they have been three whole days without eating any dog. One of the 'boys' here—he is a footman; but in China all these sort of people are called 'boys'—eats rats. He says he is getting bald, and if he eats them his hair will grow again. Horses are sometimes eaten too; and worms that spoil the rice-fields, father told me, are sent to the markets and sold to be eaten. Isn't that nasty? And a kind of swallow's nest is eaten even by ladies. It is lined with feathers, which are first removed; then it is scraped, washed, and pulled to pieces, when it looks white. People say it is something like blancmange. I should not like to eat it. Does it notseem greedy, when people have so much to eat, to take poor little birds'-nests which have been made with such pains by their owners?"There is a bird in China that has such a long tail: it is called the Golden Pheasant. The feathers of the cock bird are most beautiful. His throat and breast are like purple velvet, and his back looks like gold. The upper part of his very long tail is scarlet, and the rest yellow. When this pheasant lifts his head and neck-feathers he shows such a tuft!"There are a good many deer in China, which are also supposed to bring good fortune. Some Chinese are very cruel to animals. We have seen them carrying pigs, ducks, and geese fastened to a pole, hanging with their heads downwards; and some of their dogs look so hungry, and their beasts of burden so tired. We saw a dreadful thing one day, almost too dreadful to write about—a poor little dog running yelping through the streets with its tail cut off! A Taouist priest had cut it off, so that it should run screaming through all the house in which evil spirits were supposed to be, because this would drive them out; then the poor little dog rushed into the streets, where we saw it, and, fortunately, father was near enough to have it killed at once.CHINESE LADIES.CHINESE LADIES."The people listen more to father than they do to many missionaries, because he goes to the dispensary and helps to cure them when they are ill."I forgot to tell you that when we first went to the farm nobody saw us, because the farmer, his wife, daughter, and a labourer were all listening to a man reading to them. We thought he must have got hold of some of the Chinese classics. The pigeon-English people talk sometimes is so funny. They are so fondof the word 'piecee.' Instead of 'one child,' they say 'one piecee chilo;' and if they had many children, I expect they would say 'piecee muchee.'"Leonard makes very good shots at pigeon-English, and can talk it much better than I can. What we generally do is to put 'ee' at the end of our words; but when we spoke to the farmer he could not understand, and so said, 'You talkee me. Very good talkee.' When he wanted to tell us that his house was very large, he said, 'Number one largee, handsome howsow;' and for 'There is a child up-stairs,' he said, 'Have got chilo topside.'"You asked me how the Chinese dressed, so I must try to tell you this, although I have written you such a long letter already.
"Canton, February, 1881.
"My Dearest Lily.—Father took us to a lovely farm the other day" (Sybil wrote in another letter), "where we saw a little donkey, who was so well cared for that he seemed like one of the family. Leonard andI fed him for some time. We both thought that the farm-house was something like a Swiss cottage. Father said the walls were made of clay, and on these walls were scrolls, which were supposed to have power to keep the fox and wild cat away.
"There were a few bullocks and cows here, but not many; their stalls were quite near to the house. We liked the village, to which we went, very much, and it was surrounded by high trees. Father says that the stables of the Chinese are like cart-sheds, but each stable has an altar in honour of the ruler of horses. In this city there is a large temple to this god.
"We saw a number of bean, pea, rice, and cotton-fields, and had some sugar-cane given us to eat. Sugar-cane is grown in Canton, and we had some bean-curds to drink. We liked them very much. Mother says she was told that they were made in Canton overnight, and generally sold very early in the morning. The beans are ground to flour, which is strained, and then boiled slowly for an hour. I wonder if you would like it?
"The Chinese are so fond of sugar-cane, and it grew in China before it grew anywhere else. Ever so many fruits and vegetables grow also in China, but there seem to be more rice-fields than any other. I will tell you a few of the vegetables: sweet potatoes, yams, tomatoes, cabbages, lettuces, turnips, and carrots; and some fruits are apricots, custard-apples, rose-apples, dates, oranges, pomegranates, melons, pumpkins, and ever so many others. Canton is in the tropics, but it is not hot here in the winter. There are such pretty water-lilies here, not only white, but also red and red-and-white. The Chinese look upon this lily as a sacredplant. Some shop-keepers use the leaves, in which to wrap up things, instead of paper.
"Chinese people do very funny things. Because they think that their birds sometimes like change of air, they carry their cages out of doors with them for a walk. But I do so wish that they did not eat dogs! You see them being sold in the shops, and in one district of Canton a fair is held, where they are regularly sold for food. Many people like black dogs best. At the beginning of summer nearly everybody eats dog's flesh, when a ceremony takes place. If people eat it, they think that it will keep them from being ill in the summer. I am glad, for that reason, that I shall not be here in June, as the dogs are cruelly beaten the day before they are killed. Fancy, poor little things! I suppose that is to bring luck too! And yet the Cantonese think that they displease the gods when they eat dog's flesh, and we have seen it written on Buddhist temples that people ought not to eat 'their faithful guardians.'
"The Cantonese must not go into a temple to worship till they have been three whole days without eating any dog. One of the 'boys' here—he is a footman; but in China all these sort of people are called 'boys'—eats rats. He says he is getting bald, and if he eats them his hair will grow again. Horses are sometimes eaten too; and worms that spoil the rice-fields, father told me, are sent to the markets and sold to be eaten. Isn't that nasty? And a kind of swallow's nest is eaten even by ladies. It is lined with feathers, which are first removed; then it is scraped, washed, and pulled to pieces, when it looks white. People say it is something like blancmange. I should not like to eat it. Does it notseem greedy, when people have so much to eat, to take poor little birds'-nests which have been made with such pains by their owners?
"There is a bird in China that has such a long tail: it is called the Golden Pheasant. The feathers of the cock bird are most beautiful. His throat and breast are like purple velvet, and his back looks like gold. The upper part of his very long tail is scarlet, and the rest yellow. When this pheasant lifts his head and neck-feathers he shows such a tuft!
"There are a good many deer in China, which are also supposed to bring good fortune. Some Chinese are very cruel to animals. We have seen them carrying pigs, ducks, and geese fastened to a pole, hanging with their heads downwards; and some of their dogs look so hungry, and their beasts of burden so tired. We saw a dreadful thing one day, almost too dreadful to write about—a poor little dog running yelping through the streets with its tail cut off! A Taouist priest had cut it off, so that it should run screaming through all the house in which evil spirits were supposed to be, because this would drive them out; then the poor little dog rushed into the streets, where we saw it, and, fortunately, father was near enough to have it killed at once.
CHINESE LADIES.CHINESE LADIES.
"The people listen more to father than they do to many missionaries, because he goes to the dispensary and helps to cure them when they are ill.
"I forgot to tell you that when we first went to the farm nobody saw us, because the farmer, his wife, daughter, and a labourer were all listening to a man reading to them. We thought he must have got hold of some of the Chinese classics. The pigeon-English people talk sometimes is so funny. They are so fondof the word 'piecee.' Instead of 'one child,' they say 'one piecee chilo;' and if they had many children, I expect they would say 'piecee muchee.'
"Leonard makes very good shots at pigeon-English, and can talk it much better than I can. What we generally do is to put 'ee' at the end of our words; but when we spoke to the farmer he could not understand, and so said, 'You talkee me. Very good talkee.' When he wanted to tell us that his house was very large, he said, 'Number one largee, handsome howsow;' and for 'There is a child up-stairs,' he said, 'Have got chilo topside.'
"You asked me how the Chinese dressed, so I must try to tell you this, although I have written you such a long letter already.
A VILLAGER.A VILLAGER.
A COOLIE.A COOLIE.
"Gentlemen and ladies seem to dress very much alike; and people cannot change their clothes as they choose, because there is a minister of ceremonies, who says of what colour, stuff, and shape things are to be made, and when winter and summer things are to be changed. Even a head-dress may not be altered as people like, or they might be breaking a law. And it is so funny about the nails; some people let some of their nails grow as long as they can, and are so proud when they are very long. No Chinaman wears a beard till he is forty. The outside robe of a gentleman is so long that it reaches to his ankles, and it is fastened with buttons. The sleeves are first broad, and then get narrower and narrower. A sash is tied round his waist, and from this chop-sticks, a tobacco-case, fans, and such-like things hang. The head-dress is a cap with a peak at the top. Men do not take off their hats to bow; indeed, they would put them on if theywere off. In-doors they wear silk slippers, pointed and turned up at the toes. Chinese men are admired when they are stout, and women when they are thin. Women also have two robes, the top one often being made of satin, and reaching from the chin to the ground. Their sleeves are so long that they do instead of gloves. They always wear trousers, and often carry a pipe, for women smoke a great deal in China. Some, I think, are pretty. They have rather large eyes and red lips.Old ladies wear very quiet clothes. Mother says the Chinese are not at all clean people, and ought to change their clothes much oftener than they do. People wear shoes of silk, or cotton, with thick felt soles. The women spend hours having their hair done into all sorts of shapes, such as baskets, bird-cages, or anything they and their amahs can manufacture. Then besides ornaments in their hair, they wear ear-rings and bangles. Even boat-women wear these; and the ladies almost alwayspaint their faces, to do which they have a kind of enamel. Chinese ladies have little useful occupation, and spend a great part of their time, mother says, when they are not doing embroidery, in gambling and adorning themselves."The peasants wear a coarse linen shirt, covered by a cotton tunic, with thin trousers fastened to the ankles. In wet and cold weather they make a useful covering of net-work, into which are plaited rushes, or coarse dry grass, and they put on very large hats, made in the same way. The Chinese are not at all lazy people, for father says after their shutters are shut, and all looks dark from the outside, they are often at work, and they get up early too. When men grow old their tails get so thin. I saw such a wrinkled old man the other day, with hardly any tail at all. I think he must have been very sorry about that; he was an old villager."Coolies wear their tails twisted round their heads. They do all the heavy work, and are porters, common house labourers, and sedan-chair bearers."Leonard says if I write any more stuff he is sure you will not read it; but I hope you will think it interesting stuff, at all events, and, therefore, not mind my letter being so long. There seems to be so much to tell you when you have not been to China, and it seems selfish to keep all the pleasure of seeing such new things to myself. I meant to tell you about the New Year, which we have just kept, but I have not room. I hope you will write to me very soon. Weallsend love to you, and"Believe me,"Your very affectionate friend,"Sybil Graham."
"Gentlemen and ladies seem to dress very much alike; and people cannot change their clothes as they choose, because there is a minister of ceremonies, who says of what colour, stuff, and shape things are to be made, and when winter and summer things are to be changed. Even a head-dress may not be altered as people like, or they might be breaking a law. And it is so funny about the nails; some people let some of their nails grow as long as they can, and are so proud when they are very long. No Chinaman wears a beard till he is forty. The outside robe of a gentleman is so long that it reaches to his ankles, and it is fastened with buttons. The sleeves are first broad, and then get narrower and narrower. A sash is tied round his waist, and from this chop-sticks, a tobacco-case, fans, and such-like things hang. The head-dress is a cap with a peak at the top. Men do not take off their hats to bow; indeed, they would put them on if theywere off. In-doors they wear silk slippers, pointed and turned up at the toes. Chinese men are admired when they are stout, and women when they are thin. Women also have two robes, the top one often being made of satin, and reaching from the chin to the ground. Their sleeves are so long that they do instead of gloves. They always wear trousers, and often carry a pipe, for women smoke a great deal in China. Some, I think, are pretty. They have rather large eyes and red lips.Old ladies wear very quiet clothes. Mother says the Chinese are not at all clean people, and ought to change their clothes much oftener than they do. People wear shoes of silk, or cotton, with thick felt soles. The women spend hours having their hair done into all sorts of shapes, such as baskets, bird-cages, or anything they and their amahs can manufacture. Then besides ornaments in their hair, they wear ear-rings and bangles. Even boat-women wear these; and the ladies almost alwayspaint their faces, to do which they have a kind of enamel. Chinese ladies have little useful occupation, and spend a great part of their time, mother says, when they are not doing embroidery, in gambling and adorning themselves.
"The peasants wear a coarse linen shirt, covered by a cotton tunic, with thin trousers fastened to the ankles. In wet and cold weather they make a useful covering of net-work, into which are plaited rushes, or coarse dry grass, and they put on very large hats, made in the same way. The Chinese are not at all lazy people, for father says after their shutters are shut, and all looks dark from the outside, they are often at work, and they get up early too. When men grow old their tails get so thin. I saw such a wrinkled old man the other day, with hardly any tail at all. I think he must have been very sorry about that; he was an old villager.
"Coolies wear their tails twisted round their heads. They do all the heavy work, and are porters, common house labourers, and sedan-chair bearers.
"Leonard says if I write any more stuff he is sure you will not read it; but I hope you will think it interesting stuff, at all events, and, therefore, not mind my letter being so long. There seems to be so much to tell you when you have not been to China, and it seems selfish to keep all the pleasure of seeing such new things to myself. I meant to tell you about the New Year, which we have just kept, but I have not room. I hope you will write to me very soon. Weallsend love to you, and
"Believe me,"Your very affectionate friend,"Sybil Graham."
Decoration: Between two mountains
PROCESSIONS.
Decoration: Carrying water
A
FORTNIGHT later Mr. Graham saw a large, Leonard a small, portion of a funeral procession, and Sybil was very anxious afterwards to hear all about it, for Leonard had told her that it seemed even grander than the marriage one.
"Please, father," she said, "tell me all that the Chinese do when anybody dies."
"I do not think I could tell you all," was her father's reply, "because it would take too long, and I do not know all myself; but I dare say I can tell you quite enough to satisfy your curiosity. When a Chinese thinks that a relation is likely to die soon, he places him, with his feet towards the door, on a bed of boards, arranging his best robes and a hat, or cap, quite close to him, that he may be dressed inthese just before he dies. It would be considered a dreadful thing if he were to die without putting them on. Soon after he is dead, a priest—usually a priest of Taou—is called in to ask the spirit to make haste to Elysium, and to cast the man's horoscope, so as to see how far the spirit has got on its journey."
"What does casting his horoscope mean?"
"Finding out the hour of a man's birth, and then foretelling events by the appearance of the heavens. More clothes are then put upon the dead man, who, if he be a person of rank, would wear three silk robes. Gongs are beaten, and when the body is placed in its coffin, every corner of the room is beaten with a hammer, to frighten away bad spirits. A crown is also put on any person of rank. Widows and children, to show their grief, sit on the floor instead of on chairs for seven days, and sleep on mats near to the husband and father's coffin. On the seventh day letters are written to friends, informing them of the death, when they send presents of money to help to defray the funeral expenses. I saw a very strange letter of thanks yesterday, a copy of which had been sent to each giver of a present, and besides money, food is sometimes given or priests are sent. The letter, as far as I can remember, ran thus: 'This is to express the thanks of the orphaned son, who weeps tears of blood, and bows his head; of the mourning brother, who weeps and bows his head; of the mourning nephew, who wipes away his tears and bows his head.' Then a letter is also written to the departed, and burnt, that it may reach him, whilst cakes and other presents are also sent to him by means of burning.
MEN ENGAGED TO WALK IN FUNERAL PROCESSIONS.MEN ENGAGED TO WALK IN FUNERAL PROCESSIONS.
"On the twenty-first day after death a banquetis prepared in honour of the spirit, which is supposed, on that day, to come back to his home, when the entrance doors are shut, for fear any one should come in and vex the spirit. On the twenty-third day three large paper birds are put on high poles in front of the house, to carry the soul to Elysium; and for three days Buddhist priests pray to the ten kings of Buddhist hell to hasten the flight of the departed soul to the Western Paradise.
"The coffin is kept in the house for seven weeks, where an altar is set up, near to which the tablet and portrait of the deceased are put. Banners, which are looked upon as letters of condolence, are fixed upon the walls, and on these the merits of the dead man are inscribed.
"Pictures of the three Buddhas are also to be seen in the house. A lucky place and day have then to be fixed, by fortune-tellers, for the burial, and should these not be forthcoming, the coffin would be placed on a hill till they can be found. Burial is considered of so much importance, that should a man be drowned his spirit would be called back into a figure of wood or paper, and buried with pomp. Before the grave-diggers begin their work, members of the family worship the genii of the mountain, and write letters to these gods, asking them to be so kind as to allow the funeral to take place."
"But how are these letters made to 'arrive?'"
"They are set on fire and burnt."
"Leonard says he saw a number of people dressed in white in the procession."
"Those were the relatives in deep mourning, white, you remember, being the deepest, white and blue lesser, mourning."
CHE-YIN.CHE-YIN.
"And he says he is sure he saw his friend Che-Yin among the mourners. You know, father, Che-Yin is really a great friend of Leonard's, though he is so much older than himself, and now he is taking great trouble to teach him to play on the musical instrument which he plays so well himself. I believe if Leonard were going to stay longer here he would really learn to play it quite well. Is it not kind of Che-Yin? But I must not interrupt you any more," Sybil went on, "and this is so interesting. Leonard said he wondered so much what could be happening once when he heard a tremendous noise, and saw people rushing out into the streets screaming."
"I think I know what that meant," was the missionary's answer. "On the day of burial the relatives weep and lament very loudly. They carry a long white streamer, called a soul-cloth, to the ancestral hall, for the spirit to say 'Good-bye' to its ancestors. At three or four o'clock in the morning all decorations, that have been put up in front of the door, are taken down, and a banquet is made ready, of which the spirit is invited to partake. You remember I told you that they believe one spirit is buried with the body. Well, some kind of paper is now again burnt, while the spirit is asked to accompany the body, and the tablet and portrait of the dead man are put in a sedan-chair by his eldest son, over the top of which is a streamer of red satin, on which his name and titles are written.
"Distant relations remain standing out in the streets; but I expect what Leonard saw was people rushing out of the house, dreadfully frightened, for fear that after all the day might not be lucky, and thespirit should be vexed, and send trouble to them, in consequence.
"As the coffin is brought out offerings are also again presented to the spirit. Two men walk first, carrying large lanterns, on which are written the name, title, and age of the man who has died. Then come two other men with a gong, which they beat from time to time."
"Leonard heard that."
"Then follow musicians, and behind these some men walk with flags, others with red boards, on which are inscribed, in golden letters, the titles of the ancestors of the deceased."
"Then Leonard saw some gold canopies and sedan-chairs."
"Offerings made to the dead are carried under gilded canopies, and these canopies also follow the ancestral tablets. The portrait of the dead man is in one sedan-chair, and his wooden tablet in another.
"I believe somewhere about here are more musicians, then comes a man scattering pieces of paper fastened to tinfoil. This is supposed to be mock-money for hungry ghosts, the souls of those people who have died at corners of the streets, and this money is to make peace with them, so that they shall not injure the soul of the man now being buried. The eldest son carries a staff, whilst a person walks on either side to support him."
"But Leonard said he saw a white cock, when he could not help laughing. What could this be for?"
"The cock is also carried to call the soul to go with the body. Behind the eldest son comes the bier, carried by men or drawn by horses.
"Many other persons follow. All the people that can,go in the procession. Women with small feet, unless carried on their slaves' backs, can only go a short way. At the grave, grains of rice are scattered over the coffin, when the priest and all the people lift the cock and bend their bodies forward three times. The tablet is taken out of the chair, on which the nearest relation makes a mark with a red pencil; then the sons kneel down, and a priest, if present, addresses them."
"Then a priest is not obliged to go to the funeral?"
"No; sometimes only a man skilled in geomancy is present. Geomancy is a kind of foretelling things, by means of little dots first made on the ground and then on paper. The tablet is marked, I believe, to bring good luck to the sons, and then every one knocks his head on the ground and does homage to it."
Sybil was looking very serious, though she was smiling too.
"Oh, father!" she said, "how much you, and other missionaries, will have to teach these people! What a pity it is that they cannot know that the soul is never buried, and that they can't learn to worship and pray to God, Who would send them such real happiness in answer to their prayers!"
"It is indeed, my child," was the missionary's answer.
"And is anything more done for the dead after this except worship being paid to them?"
"Yes; for many days feasts are prepared for the departed relative, hot water is carried to him to wash his face and hands, and I have also heard of another way that the Chinese have of 'conveying' spirits to the kingdoms of Buddhistic hell. Little sedan-chairs are made of bamboo splints and paper, with fourlittle paper bearers, and sometimes there is a fifth little paper man, holding an umbrella. These are burnt like the paper mock-money; and sometimes, after the death of another friend, a little paper trunk, full of paper clothes, is supplied for one already dead, and burnt, when the senders believe that the person who died last is conveying this trunk to the other in safety for them."
"They think that people need a great many things in the other world, then," Sybil said. "And do children often worship at their parents' tombs?"
"Yes; at certain seasons of the year they make pilgrimages to the tops of high hills, or to other distant parts, where they prostrate themselves, this being supposed to continue the homage and reverence which they showed to them on earth; and they believe that in a great measure the happiness of the spirits depends upon the adoration and worship which they pay to them, whilst those who render it secure for themselves favour from the gods. Twice a day do children also pay adoration to their dead parents, before a shrine set up in the house to the memory of departed ancestors."
"But what is the use of preparing feasts for the dead?" Sybil asked. "They cannot think that the dead really eat the food?"
"They seem to do so, and not only lay a place for them, but even put chop-sticks for their use."
Another procession Sybil and Leonard saw one day, and this Sybil described in the last letter that she wrote to her friend, before she left China. Some men carried an image of the Dragon King, others carried gongs, drums, and green and black and yellow and white flags, whilst boys, walking in the procession, called out loudly from time to time.
The children could not possibly imagine what this procession could be all about.
Some characters were written on the flags.
One man who, as Leonard thought, had a very happy, smiling face, had a pole slung across his shoulders, from which hung two buckets of water. In his hand he held a green branch of a shrub which, from time to time, he dipped in the water, and then sprinkled the ground; while he also continually called out something. Other men were carrying sticks of lighted incense. Most of the people, in the procession, wore white clothes, and white caps without tassels.
SPRINKLING WATER.SPRINKLING WATER.
Sybil and Leonard were afterwards told that this was praying for rain, because for some time there had been none.
The Dragon King was carried, because he is supposed to be the god of rain. Besides the Dragon King there is a River Dragon, who is both feared and worshipped.His mother, Loong-Moo, is often worshipped by people engaged in river traffic.
The men and boys were calling out "Rain comes!" The yellow and white banners were to represent wind and water, and the green and black, clouds.
The inscription on the flags was, when translated, "Prayer is offered for rain."
Decoration: Building
THE LAST PEEP.
Decoration: Woman
S
YBIL had made several friends amongst Cantonese ladies and children, and some very pleasant afternoons had she spent with them. The girls, she noticed, generally wore cotton tunics and trousers. One little girl, with whom she had spent a few hours, was in mourning, so she wore white, bound with blue. Sybil could not help thinking that this was very pretty mourning, but her brother's was still prettier, for his trousers were of pale blue silk tied round the ankles, and he wore white shoes. His cue was tied with blue. And there were such very pretty gardens belonging to the houses in which they lived, with rockeries, fish-ponds, and summer-houses almost large enough to live in.
One lady, whom Sybil visited, astonished her very much, because she had an only boy, who was very pale-looking and delicate, and she called him all sorts of names, and seemed to treat him so unkindly. When Sybil had been ill herself, her mother had always treated her with such extra love and care, and she fancied that all mothers behaved like this. Then the Chinese love their boys so much, that one would therefore have thought an only boy would be so very precious. The next time that she saw the lady she had given away her child to be adopted by some one else. Mrs. Graham heard the explanation to this unnatural conduct, and gave it to Sybil. The woman really loved her boy most fondly, and would have given anything she had to have him well, but she fancied that the gods were malicious towards him, and that if she pretended to them that she did not care for the child they would let him get well again. All that conduct was to deceive the gods.
Mr. Graham had several times dined out at Chinese houses, and sometimes his wife had accompanied him, but as Cantonese ladies never dine with their husbands in public, where her doing so was likely to give any offence, even though she were invited, she never went; but many Chinese very well understand that there are quite different laws for Europeans than there are for them, and these seemed to be glad to admit English ladies, with their husbands, to be guests at their houses.
When Mr. and Mrs. Graham went to one of these dinners, knives and forks were borrowed for them, and the other English visitors, in place of chop-sticks. A china spoon and a two-pronged fork were set before each person, and there were china wine-glasses. Thetable-napkins were of brown paper. Basins of fruit, from which all helped themselves as they liked, were in the middle of the table. There were a great many soups and other courses. Every now and then the host took something out of a basin with his chop-stick, and offered to put it into the mouths of his guests. Out of politeness they were bound to accept these gifts. There was not any beef, as no Chinaman eats beef. Music was played, and slaves fanned the people during dinner.
Once when Sybil visited some of her young Chinese friends, the tea was brought in to them in covered cups, and when they wanted more, tea-leaves were put into the cups and boiling water was poured upon them. She had learnt now to be able to drink tea without milk or sugar, but she could not like it.
A two months' stay at Canton brought the children to the end of four months and a half of their stay in China, and left but six weeks more before they were to return to England. It was the middle of March when the Grahams said "Good-bye" to their kind friends at the Yamen, and returned to Hong-Kong. Sybil could not bear to say this farewell, as it was the last but one, and she knew how very quickly six weeks would pass.
They had all enjoyed their stay in Canton very much, and often thought about the New Year's Day which had been kept, while they were there, with such grand rejoicings. At midnight, on the last day of the old year, a bell, never used except on this occasion, pealed forth, when, at the signal, people rushed into the streets in crowds to let off fireworks.
Every temple and every pagoda was lighted up, andpeople burnt incense before idols in their own homes. Some streets are lighted in Canton by lanterns, but, as a rule, the smaller streets are in darkness, with the exception of paper lanterns, which hang, every now and then, from before shops or private houses, and even these are put out by half-past nine o'clock. Paraffin lamps are now being introduced along Chinese city streets.
All New Year's night a great noise was to be heard, and in the morning friends dressed in their best to call upon, and salute, one another.
In the streets they were to be seen prostrating themselves upon the ground. Rich and poor alike had great rejoicings on New Year's Day, the rich often keeping up their holiday for ten days.
Latterly Mr. Graham had been several times backwards and forwards to Hong-Kong, where he had made his final arrangements.
The missionary, whose place he was about to fill, would, when he left the island, take with him to England, besides his own family, Sybil and Leonard Graham. Until they sailed, the Grahams would all stay with them at the Mission House, when it would be handed over to Mr. Graham.
The other missionary had three children of his own, two daughters, twelve and ten years old, and a son of nine, but as they had been absent from Hong-Kong when the Grahams had been there before, the children had not yet made one another's acquaintance.
The eldest, Katie, now became Sybil's very useful interpreter, for as she had been born in China and lived there all her life, she could understand, and speak, many Chinese dialects.
Sybil now knew several Chinese words herself."Che-fan," or "Have you eaten your rice?" was "How do you do?" though, as a rule, when people said "How do you do?" to her it was "Chin-chin mississi?"
When she went out visiting, questions such as the following were generally put to her, "What honourable name have you?" "What is the name of your beautiful dwelling?" and "What age have you?" Had she been grown up, this question would probably have been, "What is your venerable age?"
Leonard was often told to "catchee plenty chow-chow," which means "eat a very good dinner," but as somehow he generally seemed able to do this, he hardly needed the kind advice.
Mrs. Graham's amah amused Sybil very much. She had been a great traveller, having visited both England and America, and she liked England much the best. One day she said to Sybil: "Melicā no good countly. Welly bad chow-chow. Appool number one. My hab chow-chow sixty pieces before bleakfast. Any man no got dollar, all hab got paper. Number one foolo pidgin. No good countly. My no likee Melicā. My likee England side more better." This meant: "America is not a good country. It has very bad food, but first-rate apples. I ate sixty before breakfast. No one has any dollars there, all use paper money. Very foolish business. Not a good country. I do not like America. I like England better."
Some pleasure or another was always forthcoming for Sybil and Leonard, and the few last "Peep-shows" were very precious.