WHAT THE CHINESE THINK OF US.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4794, 21 May 1884, Page 2

WHAT THE CHINESE THINK OF US.

(To the Editor of the 1 voning Star.)

Sib, —I have a Chinaman who comes weekiy to my house called Ho Ti, and for some unaccountable reason he allowed his account for vegetables to reach the sum of 9s 9d. Now, this debt did nottrouble me, but a week ago I found a couple of strips of paper in Chinese, and such a great desire to know the contents filled me that I went to Ho-Ti and paid him his 9s 9d, and then asked him as a favor to read what was on the strips of paper. He smiled a celestial smile, looked at the paper for a time, and then said it was a printed account of the place and people which had been sent by one of the educated Chinamen to bis schoolmaster. I asked him to skip ell the private business but to translate for me what referred to the place, and I send you the translation, still rather crude, but intelligible I think :

—" The people with whom we Hire work pretty well, and are, fond of learning, or at least they (alk a lot about their cleverness because they can read and writs. They boast very much, and in their eyes the Chinese can only grow vegetables, and are not so learned as the people here. It will take many hundred years before they become educated people like' the Chinese. The more ignorant the people, the less they respect the Chinese, and I hear that some new kind of^ priests from here are going to teach in the Flowery Land. They are a very superstitious people, but they do not agree together about the .way to please the Deity. Some ask the great spirit in a loud voice for rain or fine weather or new clothes, others think he hates music, others try to please him by drinking each as much tea at a meal as four Chinamen. The most curious belief they have is common to all the sects. They say a good spirit made everything and among the things made was a bad spirit, who openly defies the good one, and in* creases in power every day: but that these men and their priests unite to drive him away. In all English countries a body of men have formed themselves into an army, as they call it, to help the good spirit. Some oftbemcame to this country a short time ago, and now the people in every town flock together to fight the bad spirit. The men and women wear curiously shaped clothes, and some of them make a noise with bones, trumpets, and all shout songs very loud to drive off the evil one. At - night they get lanterns, as in China, and carry them on poles, shouting threats against the evil one, and some very honest people follow these men,—others think these men impostors, as they really are, and follow them about and throw filthy things at them, such as dead animals and rotten eggs and rotten apples, but the leading priests call out, ' We are clean,'. 'We are washed,' although there is a horrid stench from their clothes. Their mind is no less foul than their clothes at such a time for a short while ago they were very bad men. They Stole other people's goods, they cheated honest men, they beat inoffensive Chinese if they found one alone, and were in prison verj often; but now they say the good spirit has taken them into this Army. It is strange people do not see that a good spirit would tako instead honest men. They say the evil spirit did not pay well, as they were only low slates, but now\ they are well fed, well clothed, ride on horses, and live like mandarins. You would wonder at the strange things those low priests do to show their goodness. They wear red coats, walk backwards ia thastreets, and toss their arms about as if they had drunk much arrock; but lam told all this is done to drive away the evil spirit and to help the good spirit. The other priests are quiet men, who walk very stately, like-a rich Chinaman; but now they have to follow their people and help to fight the bad genius. We have asked the natives if they had a bad spirit before the Englishyoame here, and they say that this was first told to them by English priests." A large omission must be made here, for John deals too lightly with other points of belief which he thinks will astonish his brethren in the flowery land. " I have been studying the history of their superstitions as you ad> vised me, but it is not possible to obtain an impartial account, as each priest praises his own order and sect and filifies all the others : but I find that this present custom of priests clad in queer clothes, rushing madly Shrough the streets to fight the had spirit'is a very old custom—per* haps it can be traced back 800 years. They always began with-the rabble whom they roused up to fighfc the bad spirit; they then collected money and built houses a.nd <?vew rich. These priests^ then became such bad men that the : movement died away everywhere only to start again under -another name. The most wonderful thing about these soldiers who are going to fight the bad spirit is that they have not become better in their lives. They dotoot work so much as before; wives leave their houses to follow the priests from place to place, and also young men and joung women do the same ; fathers also neglect their houses to wait on these men. You would wonder much at these things to see honest men and women neglect their work and their - home duties—to march through the streets shouting songs against the bad spirit, or to sit in a room doing the same or listening to bad men telling all the wicked things they had done : some so bad that I dare not write them to you. It is well no one can read Chineso in these islands, or the people would find out what we think of their belief, and then-they would be angry, although they are in other things very good and very just. If these priests go to China you may hare trouble, for they listen to no reason; they are very ignorant, and will try to get all the very low people to help them. They may bring about a great war with England, but we can trust to the great wisdom of our rulers, who will know how fo deal with such men." I feel sure that many of the goodpoints are lost in the translation, as Ho-Ti and his friend Ah-who laughed over and over again as tfiey read the account. —lam.&c, A,B t