THE CHINESE IN FLANDERS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 293, 6 September 1919, Page 7

THE CHINESE IN FLANDERS

—— STORIES OF THE BLUE-QUILTED LEGION AMUSING IMPRESSIONS During tho war (writes an ex-private of tho I'.A.V. in the "Manchester Guardian") a certain town ill I'reneh Flanders ,was invaded by a horde of Chinese labourers. They wore blue quilted clothing, army boots, and conical fur-lined caps. A. raw wind was blowing tho fine rain into their~tunned faces. They all looked cold and hungry. Outside the town was a great assembly of bell tents, newly erected on a muddy field fenced in with barbed wire. A. dozen Chinamen were shown into each tent by an English corporal and then left to do as they pleased. It was too wet and unpleasant to be in the open, so they lust sat down oil their haunches, forlorn and miserable. For a time nothing could l>a heard except a. few brief snatches of wliispered conversation. Then there was a sniff, and sniff was followed by sniff— sonio of them were actually weeping over their hard lot. Suddenly, however, a blending of low, discordant wails enmo from one of tho tentv. Voices from other tents joined in and the sound increased in volume.- It; was vaguely mournful, alMiough it did not seem to correspond with any definite human emotion. It varied greatly iii pitch', it rose and fell, and it even had a kind of rhythm. At first we wei'o puzzled by the weird noise, and then we realised that it must be song. Wo were, indeed, .listening to Chinose music—music that authorities on Eaftarn' culture have praised as subtle and beautiful, though quite unintelligible to tho uninitiated. It certainly was unintelligible. So tho poor exiles found consolation' in song, nnd hi time they got so used to their .new existence that, in later days they seemed to be always cheerful and miniated. For several months our company apd i Chinese labour company worked totetlier at a wood-yard and saff-mill on ;he Belgian frontier. We called them '.'hinks and they called lis Ingaleesba. jVimdly relations were soon established, ilthough there was on our side a small lostile //element consisting of men wlio larbonred an. unreasoning prejudice igainst the yellow people, and-considered t degrading to work with a so-called 'inferior race." Those who took, this ittitude lost much of the little fun and nterest that- relieved the dreary moiiotiny of our own army life. Easy Familiarity. At-first the easy familiarity of the thinks was qui to startling. I happened:o be leaning against a wooden Bhed wnen inejof them came im tonie in the usual huff-ling manner. l\o intention of any rind was expressed on his face, and, vithout savin? a word, he unbuttoned ny tunic pocket, took out .my pocketiook, and examined my papers. Apparrctly he found nothing of any interest, o put the book back again, buttoned u> the pocket, and shuffled off. Komo ime tifienvards another Chink approachid me in the same delightfullv informal v.iy. He toolc my glasses off my nostt nd put them on his own. He seemed o find them satisfactory, and evidently fishing to buv them, he .asked me, "How nany flancs?" But I did not want to invt' with them for any nuniber oi flancs." and conveyed as much to him. fe looked at them for a moment, then arefnlly put them back on my nose, "-led "t 'in, ami walked off willi ITocted unconcern. , The Chinks and'ourselves would often oll'eet in little g-ronns and converse as est we coiu'd. One of the questions thev u'variabl.v nut was "How manv year?" leaning, "How old are you?" We would nswer either in the fow words of Chinese e had picked up or. more commonly,, by ldicating the number with our fingers, 'he Chinks seemed to attach great imoiiance to the information, supplied to liem; they would discuss' it amongst heniselves in l their rapid, sibilant uat?r, and then they would telf us their ivn aaes in return. ■' Another question ley often asked was "How many madn?" leaning, "How many wives (madams) avo you got?" We, of course, had either ;n; or hone at all, wliila they sometimes id "thlee," to their'obvious prido and itisfaction. ■' Whether consciously or unconsciously, hey assumed that all men wcro equal, nd that other men were just other men nd nothing more. Thus the artificial lequality due to army conditions fill- ; 1 them with hostility, a hostility they' t'ten -expressed with great frankness, ne day wo were talking lo somo Chinks hen one of them tapped mo on (ho licst and said, with an emphatic shako f his head, "You gooda." [ was a rivate, and he meant to say that there ns nothing wrong with privates. Then e laid his two hngers llat on my uper anu lo indicate the two stripes oi corporal, and said "No gooda." Finalr he pointed to my shouidefr to indicate lie pip of an otkeer, and said with ilemn convic.ion "No gooda." A United Family.

Their solidarity .was astonishing. Tliey were veil treated, bo that they lisid lew grievances. Nevertheless, wlien they did liavo n gricyanco tlioy noted as oiiu mau, and tnero was never a blackleg. 0110 morning, when wo were'beginning our daily task in tho woodyaril, thu Cbiuks arrived, a disorderly rabble, shouting and gesticulating. They were supposed to march in columns 01 fours, and as a i-ulo that formation was just recognisable when they were 011 thu road, though only just. This morning, however, there was 110 formation of any kind. They came oil, a blue, seething mass, and pn|red into the yard,- Wo wondered wmit was the .'natter, 'i'heit English' corporal told us that they, hud received no • bread for breakfast, and this wns'tiio trouole. When they were all inside liie yard_tliey -were ordered to g.i to work. Aeifiiei' commands bawled at them in the fiercest regimental man'ner nor threats of punishment jior promises of days off were of any avail. Instead of goiug to their work they formed little groups and ran about in wild agitation. Tho Chinese word for food is "chow-chow," and amid tho babel of excited talk wo could continu'-, ouslv hear tlio defiant shout of "Wo flliow-chow. 110 work!" thus reversing the modern eeonomie dictum, ".No ivorJc, 110 food." At length the hubbub died down, and .they dispersed or nut oil. their haunches and smoked. Another attempt ivas made to compel them to go ,to work, but sin a moment they, came running in from ull quarters, and all was noise and con-, fusion. Then they subsided once again and finished their cigarettes whilo two of their cooks mado tea, which was duly handed round. After an hour or two a G.S. wagon laden with loaves of bread urrived. These wero cut up into quarters and a quarter was given (0 each Ohink. When every man had eaten ins share they all went off quietly to their alottcd tasks. • Sometimes when -we wore working with UlO Chinks the spirit of rivalry manifested itself. Onco wo wero unloading a train of short, thick wooden plunks and stacking them 111 the yard. We carrjj-d them in on our shoulders, two at a time. Suddenly ono of our men appeared willi threo planks 011 his shoulder shouting "Chinese 110 gooda." . Tho challengo was accepted with alacrity, for a Chink appeared with four planks and shouted "Chincesha gooda, Ingaleeslia no gooda." Ifo was followed by 011 c of us 'with five planks 011 his .shoulder, and it was "Chiuese 110 gooda" onco again. Then dime a Chink with six planks, but immediately afterwards a soldier eumo along witli seven, looking very hot and uncomfortable beneath such a heavy load. We oil shouted derisively, "Chinese no gooda," and there wag a long pause, and we thought (be victory was ours. Hut suddenly tho Cflinks burst into gleeful laughter and clapped their hands in mud excitement. "\Ve did not know what had happoned until wo suw a Chink staggering under a kind of pagoda which his comrades had erected 011 his stalwart shoulders. It was built of sixteen planks! Perspiring, breathing hard, and | taking short, rapid steps, his pagoda o» the verge of toppling over every instant, he reached the stack and then allowed the structure to collapse amid wild shouts of "Chineeshw goodu, Ingaleeslia 110 gooda!" It was.ft warm day, and nono of us felt inclined to dispute tho linnl verdict at this meeting of East and West. !