The Chinese at home

Front matter

Cornell University Library Dthaca, New Pork

CHARLES WILLIAM WASON

COLLECTION CHINA AND THE CHINESE

Preface

Tuis Italian proverb should ever be kept in mind by those persons who make a study of the manners and customs of a people. After a sojourn of four years in China, during which time I travelled, read, and observed widely, I venture to offer to the public the results of my observation and research. At a time when the great East, the land of mystery, claims the attention of the whole civilised world, I feel confident that the exposition I present will not be devoid of interest. I have seen China and the Chinese with the eyes of a man of affairs; I have attempted to avoid, within the limits of the possible, the exaggerated optimism of certain writers on this country— chiefly travellers and missionaries—and I also have been careful not to fall into the spirit of systematic depreciation common to most Europeans in referring to the Celestial Empire and its inhabitants.

1 All the world is like one’s own family. v

PREFACE

Certain of the customs of these strange people in contrast with ours, shock and repel us; still, many of their shortcomings exist in kind among those European nations who are proudest of their civilisation. It is quite natural to condemn practices we ourselves do not follow, but that does not prove that we are right and others wrong. For instance, we drink iced beverages in summer, and the Chinese like theirs hot. We write from left to right horizontally; they write from right to left vertically ; with us, the colour of mourning is black; with them, it is white. We begin dinner with soup and end with dessert ; they reverse this order of procedure. We visit with our friends after the meal; they visit beforehand, and as soon as the repast is over, invited guests are expected to take their leave. It would be difficult to decide which customs are really preferable.

Instead of being barbarians, as many suppose, the Chinese possess a very complete civilisation which has sustained their national life for thousands of years, enabling them to assimilate even their conquerors. Abbé Huc wrote, in 1862:

“The Manchu race succeeded, it is true, in imposing its yoke upon China, but its influence upon the spirit of the people was slight. The most it was able to accomplish was to introduce some slight modifications in the national costume, and to compel the conquered people to shave vi

PREFACE their heads and wear queues. After the conquest, as before, the Chinese were under the dominance of their own institutions, and they have ever remained faithful to the traditions of their ancestors. Furthermore, they have in a sense absorbed the Tartar race, imposing upon it their own civilisation. They have succeeded in almost suppressing the Manchu language, replacing it by their own.”

What a source of pride it must be to Chinese sages to reflect that the vast empires of Babylon, Nineveh, Macedonia, and Rome crumbled into dust, to be succeeded by ages of barbarism, while their own country has maintained itself for thousands of years in the setting of its old institutions, a monument of superior civilisation, when compared with the systems of government in existence in many parts of Europe less than a century ago.

These institutions are based upon ideals of justice, which the founders seemed to grasp at the very outset: namely, that governors were made for the governed; that the weak must be protected; that no one comes into the world booted and spurred, master of his fellow-men; that honours are for the most worthy, without regard to condition or origin. All this compares advantageously with the feudal oppression which for centuries crushed the people of Europe. Why is it, then, we hear some one ask, that the Chinese vii

PREFACE government is so corrupt, since its ideals are so lofty ? Many of the reasons will be held up to view in the pages which follow. Unfortunately, men are made of clay, and their heads may tower above the clouds while their feet remain solidly attached to the earth.

My purpose in preparing this volume is to picture the Chinese as I know them, leaving to the reader the task of making comparisons with other nations. This done, perhaps he will say with the Italian author, “ Zutto il mondo € fatte comme la nostra familgia.”

EB:

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Contents

CHAP.

I, CHINESE TRAITS .

II. DisREGARD FOR SINCERITY AND EXACTNESS III. Misuse oF TIME IV. INDIFFERENCE TO COMFORT . ‘ : V. WOMEN VI. AncesToR-WoRsHIP .

Chapter I Chinese Traits

Jupcine by outward manifestations, the Chinese are undeniably the most courteous nation on the face of the earth. The code of politeness is so complicated, however, and its requirements are so extravagant that, in most cases, form replaces substance. For instance, Chinese of the middle and upper classes rarely go about on foot; they ride in wheelbarrows, litters, or otherwise. When two of them meet, the rules of etiquette require them to exchange greetings standing on the ground ; afterwards, each one must insist upon the other’s resuming his place first, although the order of precedence, as determined by age or social standing, may be perfectly well known to both parties.

As a consequence of this custom, they often turn their heads, pretending not to see their very best friends, in order to avoid the tediousness of

I A all these ceremonies, while they do not hesitate to greet a European, as a mere nod will suffice for him. The same wearisome forms are observed when several persons enter a room or sit down at table. It is who shall be first, without infringing upon the law of precedence, for should one be guilty of that offence he would for ever afterwards be classed as a man of inferior attainments. In business relations with foreigners, the natives offer their hands to be shaken, instead of clasping them, raising them to the level of their faces and shaking them themselves, as they must do when greeting one of their own countrymen.

Matters of etiquette have added many a note of difficulty to the diplomatic relations between the Chinese and foreigners. For instance, official buildings have large double doors in front and single doors at the side. Only those of a rank equal or superior to that of the receiving functionary may be admitted at the front entrance. For years the consular body was not received by the viceroy of Canton, because the gentlemen composing it refused to enter the official building through the side door. Personally they were all of a rank inferior to that of the viceroy, but they objected on the ground that it would be derogatory to the dignity of the several countries they represented if they were to enter through

CHINESE TRAITS the small doors. We may add that, in the course of time, the viceroy was induced to yield the point.

Interviews with the Emperor were still more difficult of arrangement. These did not take place until 1873, and then after an almost daily discussion for a period of six months. The Chinese were willing to consent to the interview, but they insisted upon the performance of the kotow, which even the princes of the blood never omit. This consists of prostrating oneself three times, striking the floor with the forehead three times at each prostration.

The foreign ministers absolutely refused to perform this ceremony, insisting that the governments they represented were the equals of China, and that, in their own countries, no such formalities were required of them on approaching their rulers. The Chinese yielded only after being threatened with a severance of all diplomatic relations. It was finally decided that three bows before the dais on which the Emperor sat should replace the £o/ow, and, in 1898, the French minister walked up on the platform and addressed the Emperor directly, an example afterwards followed by Prince Henry of Prussia.

To appreciate the importance the Chinese attach to these prostrations, which the missionaries have never refused to perform, one needs only to know that the Emperor himself is not exempt from them. The ceremonial to which he is subjected when he presents himself before the Empress Dowager, as prescribed by a decree of February 1, 1894, is as follows :

“We, Empress Dowager, will give a banquet on the second day of the coming March to the Emperor and his Court at the Tzening palace. Before seating himself the Emperor shall advance to the foot of the throne, and shall make the £o/ow three times. When refreshments are served, the head eunuch, acting for us, shall offer the Emperor a cup of tea with cream. The cup shall be presented in this manner: the head officer of the guard of the Imperial Dairy shall bring it to the door of the throne-room; here he shall deliver it to the chief eunuch, and the Emperor shall receive it at the foot of the dais, where he shall drink it on his knees after having made the Zotow. He shall then thank us by another ofow. Afterwards tea shall be offered, in order of precedence, to the members of the court by guards of the servant body.”

We shall pass over the wine, which was to be served according to the same ceremonial, and quote the close of the decree.

‘ When the entertainment is over, the Emperor, standing in the centre of the apartment, before the throne, shall tender us his thanks by making

CHINESE TRAITS the £otow three times ; after which, the courtiers shall perform the same ceremony.”

The dress-sword worn with diplomatic uniforms was also the subject of a lengthy discussion. It remained, but foreigners were obliged to yield on the question of eye-glasses and spectacles. Those of the diplomats who have defective eyesight are obliged to rely upon some obliging colleague to guide them about during official receptions.

Etiquette often seriously interferes with business as well as official relations. Mr. Holcombe tells us of an American who, having an affair with a mandarin, called upon the latter at his home. He was most courteously received, and a servant immediately brought in tea. The mandarin took a cup in both hands, lifted it as high as his forehead, and ceremoniously presented it to his visitor. The latter, being thirsty, took the cup and drained it. His host’s manner instantly changed. Instead of being respectful, he became insolent. He would hear nothing of business and the luckless visitor was fairly chased out of the house.

The American had committed two infractions of the laws of Chinese politeness. He should have received the cup standing, and, more important still, he should not have tasted a drop or tea until his host had set the example, which would also have been the signal for his own departure. If he had been the mandarin’s known equal or superior, he could have drunk any number of cups of tea, but being a stranger, the host took this way of discovering his station, as revealed by his knowledge or ignorance of social usages.

Ignorance on these points is unknown among educated Chinamen. Etiquette is taught in the schoolroom and constitutes an integral part of the native education. Hence the contempt felt by the Chinese for foreigners who consider such matters of little importance.

The ceremonious forms of expression used in ordinary conversation seem very amusing to the European listener. It is a fixed rule that one must speak of himself and of all belonging to him in the humblest of terms, and use the most exalted language in referring to the person or property of another. Whether two mandarins or two beggars meet and accost each other, this is a sample of their conversation :

“What is your honourable name?”

“Your insignificant brother’s name is Wang.”

‘Where is your noble dwelling?”

‘“ The hovel in which I hide myself is in designating the place.

‘How many precious sons have you?”

“T have only five stupid little pigs.”

It is a gross offence to call a native by his name. À superior may do this, but he becomes furious if even a twin brother thus addresses him.

LE

CHINESE TRAITS

It must be either “honourable older brother” or “honourable younger brother,” or some such form of expression. Foreigners usually solve the difficulty by applying to their servants the names of their functions, as boy, coolie, gardener, cook, mafoo (coachman), and so on.

The following anecdote serves to illustrate the self-effacing phase of Chinese politeness :

A Chinaman, wearing his finest gown of silk, called at a house where he happened to disturb a rat, which was regaling itself out of a jar of oil, standing on a beam over the door. In its sudden flight, the rat upset the oil over the luckless visitor, ruining his fine raiment. While the man was still pale with rage, his host appeared, and after the customary greetings, the visitor accounted for his appearance in this wise :

‘As I was entering your honourable dwelling, I frightened your honourable rat ; while it was trying to escape, it upset your honourable jar of oil over my poor and insignificant clothing. This explains the contemptible condition in which I find myself in your honourable presence.”

I found in this maxim of Chinese politeness the explanation of the strange behaviour of our comprador during the illness of one of his children. Knowing the child to be in a dangerous condition, I inquired after him with much solicitude. The father replied in a smiling, careless manner that the boy would probably die. Considerably shocked by this absence of sensibility, I referred to it in conversation with a person who knows the Chinese better than I do.

‘You are wrong in your judgment,” he assured me. ‘‘ The father might be suffering his very utmost, still it would be his duty, according to Chinese etiquette, not to sadden you and hold your attention to a thing of so little importance as his sorrow. The same etiquette requires you to offer him consolation, in spite of his apparent indifference.”

I had to confess that I had been so shocked at the man’s heartlessness that I had not thought him in need of consolation.

With these people, a refusal or disagreeable truth of any kind must always be expressed in more or less evasive circumlocutions. Our habit of saying just what we mean is extremely shocking to them. On the other hand, we consider the subterfuges with which they cloak their real thoughts as proof of their spirit of hypocrisy and dissimulation. This is but another of the many causes of the lack of sympathy between them and foreigners.

A domestic, desiring an increase of salary, or smarting under his loss of “ face” because of a reproval, will never tell his master that he wishes to leave his service for these reasons. He will 8

CHINESE TRAITS instead invent the illness or death of some of his relatives, or claim that he himself is sick. If the master really values the servant and wishes to retain him, he can inquire of others as to the real cause of his discontent. After learning what the trouble is, if he desires to redress the grievance, he must do so while pretending to believe in the invented pretext, otherwise his servant would lose his “face,” and the master’s concessions would not prevent his departure.

If a native desires to borrow anything of a neighbour who does not wish to lend, the latter never gives the true reason for his refusal, as that would be discourteous in the extreme. He gives some other reason, joining to it the most expansive regrets at being obliged to deny anything to such a deserving person as the would-be borrower, and all this when it is perfectly obvious that he has an abundance of what he was asked to lend.

The custom, in case of dispute, of not insulting one’s antagonist directly, but his family instead, proceeds from the native’s love of devious ways. Nothing can more effectively wound an enemy than to pretend that his ancestors were criminals, prevaricators, or something equally unworthy. He will feel such accusations much more deeply than if the same opprobrious terms were applied to himself.

The following anecdote serves asan illustration of the pains taken by domestics to preserve their “face,” that is, appearances. One of our friends struck his doy for provocations he himself knew to be insufficient. He hastened to soothe the injured servant's feelings by means of the gift of a few dollars, which the latter accepted. Some hours later he was astonished at hearing the explosion of fireworks in front of his house, and, on looking out, he saw a crowd collected there. Upon inquiry, he learned that the doy had given the money to another domestic to buy fireworks. The explosion of these proclaimed to all that the master had committed an error. Not being able to exact a public apology, the servant took this way to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of those who had witnessed the blow.

Chapter II Disregard For Sincerity And Exactness

From the national disregard for sincerity and exactness emanate the exasperating practices of fraud, dissimulation, trickery, and squeezing, which are the cause of so much of the antipathy existing between the Chinese and foreigners. We speak on this subject from positive knowledge. An association of several years with natives of all ranks—merchants, domestics, artisans, and mandarins—authorises us to assert that the bent of their minds is such that they absolutely refuse to admit that two and two make four. They will try to persuade one that it makes three or five ; and as all disputes invariably lead to the intervention of the obliging arbiter, who is disposed to conciliate both parties, he will decide that it makes three and a half. In the chapter on “Money,” we shall see the bewildering effects of this lack of exactness in the financial system. The postal service is often severely taxed by this absence of precision. It is quite common for letters to bear this address: “To my Grand- 11 mother,” or ‘“ To my Uncle,” and nothing more. Abbé Huc relates the following incident :

‘“Having something to send to Peking, I informed a teacher whom I employed that he might profit by the occasion to enclose a letter to his mother, from whom he had not heard for four years. He thereupon called up one of his pupils, gave him a sheet of paper, and said: ‘ Write to my mother, and be quick about it, as the courier is waiting.’

“Much astonished, I asked if the child was acquainted with his mother. I was told that he was not. ‘How can he know what you have to say to her?’ I inquired. To this question I received the following convincing reply : ‘ Why should he not know? He has studied literary composition for two years, and is familiar with elegant forms of expression. Do you think he does not know how a son should address a mother?’ The pupil soon returned with the letter not only written but sealed, and the master solemnly addressed it. The missive would be suited to any mother whatever in the Empire, and all would have experienced the same pleasure in hearing it read to them.”

It has been our experience in more than one business transaction, after a long discussion over the price of merchandise sold, as we supposed, by the Chinese pound of sixteen ounces, to discover

DISREGARD FOR SINCERITY at the last moment that it was to be weighed by the pound of twelve ounces. Then the bargaining had to be begun all over again.

In travelling, if the distance is indicated in miles, one must find out whether they are long or short ones. That will depend upon the diffculties to be overcome. On adown grade, it may be forty miles from one point to another, but the return will be sixty miles, according to the statement of the native. This enables him to gauge his charges.

Measures of length and area, although having the same name, differ in value according to their application. Thus, the foot for measuring wood is not the foot for measuring stone ; those who have had occasion to build houses in this land of uncertainties realise the confusion consequent upon this variety of values. The jar, chan, and mow, agrarian measures, vary to infinity in different localities.

Census-taking is accomplished with such extraordinary approximation that no one really knows the population of the country, the government least of all. Here, it is true, there are strong financial reasons for dissimulation. In making bargains—we speak from actual experience—the natives will use every effort to leave matters in an unsettled, equivocal condition, and it is exceedingly difficult to entrap them in a dilemma from which they cannot extricate themselves. Any method that can be employed to subvert their trickery may be resorted to without scruples, it seems.

During the war with Japan, ambassadors were sent bearing a letter from the Emperor to the Mikado, looking towards preliminaries for peace. The missive deplored in grandiloquent phrases the misunderstanding which divided the two nations. As for power to arbitrate, none was conferred upon the messengers beyond that of approving of the arguments advanced if they were advantageous, and of rejecting them if they were not. The Japanese, Orientals themselves, sent the messengers back at once, and it finally became necessary to despatch Li Hung-Chang himself with explicit powers to arrange terms of peace.

During our residence in China, we had a daily experience of this mode of procedure on a much more modest theatre of action. As soon as there arose the slightest difficulty in business matters, we received visits from the friends of the interested party. He did not appear in person, for fear that he would be forced into a decision on the spot by the summary arguments of the European, who does not care to waste time. The employment of an intermediary served to prolong the chicanery.

With such a mental bent, the practice of downright fraud becomes perfectly easy and natural.

DISREGARD FOR SINCERITY

As we have had material proof, there is not a single article of Chinese merchandise that is honestly handled by the native. We shall treat of this subject at greater length in the chapter on ‘“ Merchants.”

A writer on China relates the following anecdote :

“On one occasion, the Secretary of the American Legation was to receive from a native magistrate several hundred ounces of silver, as an indemnity for the annoyance of American citizens by the populace. A written contract stipulated the purity and weight of the metal. The sum was sent in small packages, each claiming by its label to contain fifty ounces.

“Knowing the predisposition of certain mandarins, the American procured a correct balance, and, selecting a package at random, weighed it. The balance marked forty-seven ounces. Other packages were weighed with the same result. The whole was then sent back to the mandarin with the message that unless silver of the proper purity and weight was forthcoming within an hour, the agreement would be considered null, and a report sent in to Peking. In reply, the correct sum in ingots was despatched.

‘On the afternoon of the same day, the American accepted an invitation to dine at the mandarin’s home. The latter came forward to greet him, and said, laughing heartily : ‘I tried to palm off some inferior silver on you this morning, as I thought you would not know the difference, being a foreigner; but it seems that you know more about such things than I do.’ He then proceeded to relate that he had prepared two packages of ingots, holding himself in readiness to send the good ones in case his little trick should be discovered.’

Although the love of truth is taught in theory in the Chinese sacred books, lying is not considered dishonourable in practice. On the contrary, it is considered a proof of finesse and mental acuteness. It forms a part of the native education, and no one is at all offended when told that he is not speaking the truth. He merely laughs and remarks that you are shrewder than he is. The mysterious code of honour that proscribes untruthfulness has no existence for him. He recognises only “face,” its counterfeit. To lose or keep his “face” is the all-important thing, and he can lie and not lose his “face” if he can find a skilful way of extricating himself in case he is detected.

The squeeze harmonises very well with the care taken to preserve the face. This English word is the term applied to all commissions more or less clandestine, levied on the transactions of daily life. It occupies the supreme place in China ;

LUVO ONINAd ¥

DISREGARD FOR SINCERITY nothing escapes it. The underpaid mandarin and all his subordinates systematically squeeze the people. <A definite régime would increase official salaries and thus remove the necessity of adding to them by irregular practices of which every one knows and which every one tolerates.

The squeezing system is as old as the Empire itself. It is said to date back to the epoch when servants and hired persons in general were given only their board and clothing for their services. However true this may be, it is certain that the squeeze is firmly established everywhere at the present time, and it seems quite impossible to eradicate the evil.

In a general way, Chinese servants are honest ; that is, they will steal nothing belonging to their employers. The head one, the doy, is responsible for the linen, silver, furniture, clothing, and even

the jewellery, and it is rare that any of these articles are missing. Formerly, native servants could even be entrusted with the master’s purse ; at present, the number of foreigners employed makes this impossible. Still, honest though they may be, they do not hesitate to squeeze everybody. They never complain of an increase of labour, even preferring employment in houses where much entertaining is done, the squeeze being more important.

Foreigners have vainly attempted to put an end to these extortions in their households by making their purchases themselves. In such cases the servant, in nowise disconcerted, calmly follows his master about, collecting his commissions from all the shopkeepers patronised. He is expected, and the dealer covers this risk so generously by extra charges that, in general, the foreigner would profit by permitting his servant to do the purchasing in the first place and pocket his squeeze. We may add that the domestic usually informs himself as to what point he may squeeze his master with impunity.

If the latter seeks to escape from this questionable impost, there is no limit to the trickery to which he is liable to be exposed, all tending towards the re-establishment of the practice he fancies he has suppressed. He may buy scales and think he thus secures himself against false weights, only to discover that they are marked according to the scale of fourteen instead of sixteen ounces. He may get a true balance and keep it under lock and key. His provisions will then be correctly weighed, but his cook will manage to return a portion to the dealer, and keep the money he receives in payment.

Neither will the dismissal of the servant suppress the practice. His successor may be even worse, for he will not only appropriate his own squeeze, but also enough more to compensate 18

DISREGARD FOR SINCERITY his predecessor. We are told of a Minister of one of the Legations in Peking who, desiring to put an end to squeezing among his servants, dismissed his porter, the principal agent in levying it. Yearsafterwards, he discovered that his corps of domestics, headed by the new porter, had paid the discharged man his regular wages until his death, and had even defrayed his funeral expenses. They also had an account at the bank, the income from which was divided among them three times a year.

It is useless to argue with the Chinese concerning the immorality of the time-honoured custom, practised by every one in authority, in every social grade. All know of its existence, and it is held to be legitimate, at least by those who profit by it.

Chapter III Misuse Of Time

TIME, either his own or that of others, has absolutely no value to the Chinaman. We never knew a native to be prompt in keeping an appointment. Those who aimed to be exact arrived at least half an hour late; others came at any hour of the day excepting the one fixed, and no one ever offered the least apology for his tardiness. He did not consider that necessary.

In the performance of their daily tasks, the simplest time-saving devices are entirely ignored. The idea of using a cart to transport material from one part of a building-yard to another seems never to have entered their minds. Instead, they make innumerable trips to carry only a few bricks. The ground around a building in course of construction exactly resembles a beehive ; the lookeron is simply confounded by the great number of useless comings and goings. The tools used are wretched and ineffective, but no power on earth could induce them to adopt others. Happening

MISUSE OF TIME one day to notice our gardener digging up weeds with a little knife, we purchased a hoe and demonstrated to him that by its use he could uproot more weeds in a few minutes than in an hour by using his knife. He took the tool, examined it with admiration, and the very next day, while taking a morning walk in the garden, we found him industriously digging up weeds with his little knife.