|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| home | help | back | first | fref | pref | prev | next | nref | lref | last | post |
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2016 02:30:12 -0400 From: "Printer Ink" <printer-ink@kneeches.com> To: <mit-talk-mtg@charon.mit.edu> <html> <head>=20 <title>1ink Saves You Money on Printer Ink!</title>=20 </head>=20 <body> 1ink Saves You Money on Printer Ink!=20 <h1>1 Ink</h1>=20 <p>Don't pay a fortune for printer ink. Save with 1ink! Free Shipping Ava= ilable.</p>=20 <a href=3D"http://www.kneeches.com/bound-Fiorello/e9a86rh3N6G0X84zhvVdVKyxdhVtFMuKmji0hvV0ONW2*1">Learn More</a> <br />=20 <a href=3D"http://www.kneeches.com/bound-Fiorello/e9a86rh3N6G0X84zhvVdVKyxdhVtFMuKmji0hvV0ONW2*1"><img src=3D"http://www.kneeches.com/3d1wI7a36O3m84AhvVdVKyxdhVtFMuKmji0hvV0ONWd9a/mortified-recreates" width=3D"663" height=3D"6= 58" border=3D"0" alt=3D"1 Ink" /></a> <br />=20 <a href=3D"http://www.kneeches.com/westward-hideouts/3d2w86.36JZ1kQ84HhvVdVKyxdhVtFMuKmji0hvV0ONWec8"><img src=3D"http://www.kneeches.com/9177kauQ36t4I84.hvVdVKyxdhVtFMuKmji0hvV0ONW819/parole-lamentation" width=3D"664" height=3D"4= 6" border=3D"0" /></a> <br />=20 <div style=3D"font:normal 10px Arial, Times New Roman, sans-serif; col= or:#ffffff; ">=20 <p>1ink Saves You Money on Printer Ink!<br /> In a country where money i= s only obtainable at such an exorbitant rate of interest as in China, it is= but natural that some attempt should be made to obviate the necessity of a= ppealing to a professional money- lender. Three per cent. per month is the = maximum rate permitted by Chinese law, which cannot be regarded as excessiv= e if the full risk of the lender is taken into consideration. He has the se= curity of one or more "middlemen," generally shopkeepers whose so= lvency is unimpeachable; but these gentlemen may, and often do, repudiate t= heir liability without deigning to explain either why or wherefore. His cou= rse is then not so plain as it ought to be under a system of government whi= ch has had some two thousand years to mature. Creditors as well as debtors = shun the painted portals of the magistrate's yamen as they would the gat= es of hell. Above them is traced the same desperate legend that frightened = the soul of Dante when he stood before the entrance to the infernal regions= Truly there is no hope for those who enter here. Both sides are /squeezed= / by the gate-keeper --a very lucrative post in all yamens--before they are= allowed to present their petitions. It then becomes necessary for plaintif= f and defendant alike to go through the process of (in Peking slang) "= making a slit," i.e., making a present of money to the magistrate and = his subordinates proportionate to the interests involved. In many yamens th= ere is a regular scale of charges, answering to our Table of Fees, but this= is almost always exceeded in practice. The case is then heard: occasionall= y, on its merits. We say occasionally, because nine times out of ten one of= the parties bids privately for the benefit of his honour's good opinions. = Sometimes both suitors do this, and then judgment is knocked down to the hi= ghest bidder. The loser departs incontinently cursing the law and its myrmi= dons to the very top of his bent, and perhaps meditating an appeal to a hig= her court, from which he is only deterred by prospects of further expense a= nd repeated failure. As to the successful litigant, he would go on his way = rejoicing, but that he has a duty to perform before which he is not a free = man. The "slit" he made on entering the yamen needs to be repaire= d, and on him devolves the necessity of "sewing it up." The case = is then at an end, and the prophecy fulfilled, which says:-- "The yame= n doors are open wide To those with /money/ on their side." Offici= al and private residence, all in one. Wiser and more determined creditors t= ake the law into their own hands. With a tea-pot, a pipe, and a mattress, t= hey proceed to the shop of the recalcitrant debtor or security as circumsta= nces may dictate, and there take up their abode until the amount is paid. I= f inability to meet the debt has been pleaded, then this self-made bailiff = will insist on taking so much per cent. out of the daily receipts; if it is= a mere case of obstinacy, a desire to shirk a just responsibility, the pla= ce is made so hot for its owner that he is glad to get rid of his visitor a= t any price whatever. Were manual violence resorted to, the interference of= the local officials would be absolutely necessary; and in all cases where = personal injuries are an element, their action is not characterised by the = same tyranny and corruption as where only property is at stake. The chances= are that the aggressor would come off worst. To protect themselves, howeve= r, from such a prohibitive rate of usury as that mentioned above, Chinese m= erchants are in the habit of combining together and forming what are called= Loan Societies for the mutual benefit of all concerned. Such a society may= be started in the first instance by a deposit of so much per member, which= sum, in the absence of a volunteer, is handed over to a manager, elected b= y a throw of dice, whose business it is to lay out the money during the ens= uing month to the best possible advantage. Frequently one of the members, b= eing himself in want of funds, will undertake the job; and he, in common wi= th all managers, is held responsible for the safety of the loan. At the end= of the month there is a meeting at which the past manager is bound to prod= uce the entire sum entrusted to his charge, together with any profits that = may have accrued meanwhile. Another member volunteers, or is elected manage= r, and so the thing goes on, a running fund from which any member may borro= w, paying interest at a very low rate indeed. Dividends are never declared,= and consequently some of these clubs are enormously rich; but any member i= s at liberty to withdraw whenever he likes, and he takes with him his share= of all moneys in the hands of the Society at the moment of his retirement.= To outsiders, the market rate of interest is charged, or perhaps a trifle = less, but loans are only made upon the very best securities. GUILDS In ever= y large Chinese city are to be found several spacious buildings which are g= enerally reckoned among the sights of the place, and are known by foreigner= s under the name of guilds. Globe-trotters visit them, and admire the maxim= um of gold-leaf crowded into the minimum of space, their huge idols, and cu= rious carving; of course passing over those relics which the natives themse= lves prize most highly, namely, sketches and scrolls painted or written by = the hand of some departed celebrity. Foreign merchants regard them with a c= ertain amount of awe, for they are often made to feel keenly enough the inf= luence which these institutions exert over every branch of trade. They come= into being in the following manner. If traders from any given province mus= ter in sufficient numbers at any of the great centres of commerce, they clu= b together and form a guild. A general subscription is first levied, land i= s bought, and the necessary building is erected. Regulations are then drawn= up, and the tariff on goods is fixed, from which the institution is to der= ive its future revenue. For all the staples of trade there are usually sepa= rate guilds, mixed establishments being comparatively rare. It is the busin= ess of the members as a body to see that each individual contributes accord= ing to the amount of merchandise which passes through his hands, and the bo= oks of suspected defaulters are often examined at a moment's notice and wit= hout previous warning. The guild protects its constituents from commercial = frauds by threatening the accused with legal proceedings which an individua= l plaintiff would never have dared to suggest; and the threat is no vain on= e when a mandarin, however tyrannical and rapacious, finds himself opposed = by a body of united and resolute men. On the other hand, these guilds deal = fairly enough with their own members, and not only refuse to support a bad = case, but insist on just and equitable dealings with the outside world. To = them are frequently referred questions involving nice points of law or cust= om, and one of the chief functions of a guild is that of a court of arbitra= tion. In addition to this they fix the market rates of all kinds of produce= , and woe be to any one who dares to undersell or otherwise disobey the inj= unctions of the guild. If recalcitrant, he is expelled at once from the fra= ternity, and should his hour of need arrive he will find no helping hand st= retched out to save him from the clutches of the law. But if he acknowledge= s, as he almost always does, his breach of faith, he is punished according = to the printed rules of the corporation. On a large strip of red paper his = name and address are written, the offence of which he has been convicted, a= nd the fine which the guild has determined to impose. This latter generally= takes the form of a dinner to all members, to be held on some appointed da= y and accompanied by a theatrical entertainment, after which the erring bro= ther is admitted as before to the enjoyment of those rights and privileges = he would otherwise infallibly have lost. On certain occasions, such as the = birthday of a patron saint, the guild spends large sums from the public pur= se in providing a banquet for its members and hiring a theatrical troupe, w= ith their everlasting tom-toms, to perform on the permanent stage to be fou= nd in every one of these establishments. The Anhui men celebrate the birthd= ay of Chu Hsi, the great commentator, whose scholarship has won eternal hon= ours for his native province; Swatow men hold high festival in memory of Ha= n Wen-Kung, whose name is among the brightest on the page of Chinese histor= y. All day long the fun goes on, and as soon as it begins to grow dusk innu= merable paper lanterns are hung in festoons over the whole building. The cr= owd increases, farce succeeds farce without a moment's interval, and many a= kettle of steaming wine warms up the spectators to the proper pitch of ent= husiasm and delight. Before midnight the last song has been sung, a conside= rable number of people have quietly dispersed without accident of any kind,= and the courtyard of the guild is once more deserted and still. It is open= to any trader to join the particular institution which represents his own = province or trade without being either proposed, seconded, or balloted for.= He is expected to make some present to the resources of the guild, in the = shape of a new set of glass lanterns, a pair of valuable scrolls, some new = tables, chairs, or in fact anything that may be needed for either use or or= nament. Should he be in want of money, a loan will generally be issued to h= im even on doubtful security. Should he die in an impoverished condition, a= coffin is always provided, the expenses of burial undertaken, and his wife= and children sent to their distant home, with money voted for that purpose= at a general meeting of the members. Were it not for the action of these g= uilds in regard to fire, life and property in Chinese cities would be more = in danger than is now the case. Each one has its own fire-engine, which is = brought out at the first alarm, no matter where or whose the building attac= ked. If belonging to one of themselves, men are posted round the scene of t= he conflagration to prevent looting on the part of the crowd, and the effor= ts of the brigade are stimulated by the reflection that their position and = that of the present sufferers may at any moment be reversed. Picked men are= appointed to perform the most important task of all, that of rescuing from= the flames relics more precious to a respectable Chinaman than all the jad= e that K'un-kang has produced. For it often happens that an obstructive geo= mancer will reject site after site for the interment of some deceased relat= ive, or perhaps that the day fixed upon as a lucky one for the ceremony of = burial may be several months after death. Meanwhile a fire breaks out in th= e house where the body lies in its massive, air-tight coffin, and all is co= nfusion and uproar. The first thought is for the corpse; but who is to lift= such a heavy weight and carry it to a place of safety without the dreaded = jolting, almost as painful to the survivors as would be cremation itself? S= uch harrowing thoughts are usually cut short by the entrance of six or eigh= t sturdy men from the nearest guild, who, armed with the necessary ropes an= d poles, bear away the coffin through flame and smoke with the utmost gentl= eness and care. PAWNBROKERS Few probably among our readers have had much ex= perience on the subject of the present sketch--a Chinese pawnshop. Indeed, = for others than students of the manners and customs of China, there is not = much that is attractive in these haunts of poverty and vice. The same might= y misery, which is to be seen in England passing in and out of mysterious-l= ooking doors distinguished by a swinging sign of three golden balls, is not= wanting to the pawnshop in China, though the act of pledging personal prop= erty in order to raise money is regarded more in the light of a business tr= ansaction than it is with us, and less as one which it is necessary to conc= eal from the eyes of the world at large. Nothing is more common than for th= e owner of a large wardrobe of furs to pawn them one and all at the beginni= ng of summer and to leave them there until the beginning of the next winter= The pawnbrokers in their own interest take the greatest care of all pledg= es, which, if not redeemed, will become their own property, though they rep= udiate all claims for damage done while in their possession; and the owner = of the goods by payment of the interest charged is released from all troubl= e and annoyance. Pawnshops in China are divided into three classes, one of = which has since the days of the T'ai-p'ings totally disappeared from all pa= rts over which the tide of rebellion passed. This is the /tien tang/, where= property could be left for three years without forfeit, and to establish w= hich it was necessary to obtain special authority from the Board of Revenue= in Peking. At present there are the /chih tang/ and the /ssu ya/, both com= mon to all parts of China, and to these we shall confine our remarks. The f= ormer, which may be considered as the pawnshop proper, is a private institu= tion as far as its business is concerned, but licensed on payment of a smal= l fee by the local officials, and regulated in its workings by certain laws= which emanate from the Emperor himself. A limit of sixteen months is assig= ned, within which pledges must be redeemed or they become the property of t= he pawnbroker; and the interest charged, formerly four per cent., is now fi= xed at three per cent. /per month/. Before the license above- mentioned can= be obtained, security must be provided for the existence of sufficient cap= ital to guard against a sudden or a fraudulent collapse. For any article no= t forthcoming when the owner desires to redeem it, double the amount of the= original loan is recoverable from the pawnbroker. Should any owner of a pl= edge chance to lose his ticket by theft or otherwise, he may proceed to the= pawnshop with two substantial securities, and if he can recollect the numb= er, date, and amount of the transaction, another ticket is issued to him wi= th which he may recover his property at once, or at any time within the ori= ginal sixteen months. Pawn-tickets are not unseldom offered as pledges, and= are readily received, as the loan is never more than half the value of the= deposit; and tickets thus obtained are often sold either to a third person= or perhaps to the pawnbroker who issued them in the first instance. Former= ly, when the interest payable was four per cent. per month, it was a standi= ng rule that during the last three months in every year, i.e., the winter s= eason, pledges might be redeemed at a diminished rate, so that poor people = should have a better chance of getting back their wadded clothes to protect= them from the inclemency of frost and cold. But since the rate of interest= has been reduced to three per cent. this custom has almost passed away; it= s observance is, however, sometimes called for by a special proclamation of= the local magistrate when the necessaries of life are unusually dear, and = the times generally are bad. The following is a translation of a ticket iss= ued by one of these shops, which may often be recognised in a Chinese city = by the character for /pawn/ painted on an enormous scale in some conspicuou= s position:--"In accordance with instructions from the authorities, in= terest will be charged at the rate of three per cent. [per month] for a per= iod of sixteen months, at the expiration of which the pledge, if not redeem= ed, will become the property of the pawnbroker, to be disposed of as he sha= ll think fit. All damages to the deposit arising from war, the operations o= f nature, insects, rats, mildew, &c., to be accepted by both sides as t= he will of Heaven. Deposits will be returned on presentation of the proper = ticket without reference to the possession of it by the applicant." Be= sides this, the name and address of the pawnshop, a number, description of = the article pledged, amount lent, and finally the date, are entered in thei= r proper places upon the ticket, which is stamped as a precaution against f= orgery with the private stamp of the pawnshop. Jewels are not received as p= ledges, and gold and silver only under certain restrictions. The other clas= s is not recognised by the authorities, and its very existence is illegal, = though of course winked at by a venial executive. Shops of this kind, which= may be known by the character for /keep/, are very much frequented by the = poor. A more liberal loan is obtainable than at the licensed pawnbroker's, = but on the other hand the rate of interest charged is very much more severe= Pledges are only received for three months, and on the ticket issued ther= e is no stipulation about damage to the deposit. No satisfaction is to be g= ot in case of fraud or injustice to either side: a magistrate would refuse = to hear a case either for or against one of these unlicensed shops. They ca= rry on their trade in daily fear of the rowdies who infest every Chinese to= wn, granting loans to these ruffians on valueless articles, which in many c= ases are returned without payment either of interest or principal, thereby = securing themselves from the disturbances which "bare poles" who = have nothing to lose are ever ready to create at a moment's notice, and whi= ch would infallibly hand them over to the clutches of hungry and rapacious = officials. The counters over which all business is transacted are from six = to eight feet high, strongly made, and of such a nature that to scale them = would be a very difficult matter, and to grab anything with the view of mak= ing a bolt for the street utterly and entirely impossible. In a Chinese cit= y, where there is no police force to look after the safety of life and prop= erty, and where everybody prefers to let a thief pass rather than risk bein= g called as a witness before the magistrate, it becomes necessary to guard = against such contingencies as these. As things are now, pawnshops may be co= nsidered the most flourishing institutions in the country; and in these est= ablishments many even of the highest officials invest savings squeezed from= the districts entrusted to their paternal care. POSTAL SERVICE Many reside= nts in China are profoundly ignorant of the existence of a native postal se= rvice; and even the few who have heard of such an institution, are not awar= e of the comparative safety and speed with which even a valuable letter may= be forwarded from one end of the Empire to the other. Government despatche= s are conveyed to their destinations by a staff of men specially employed f= or the purpose, and under the control of the Board of War in Peking. They r= ide from station to station at a fair pace, considering the sorry, ill-fed = nags upon which they are mounted; important documents being often carried t= o great distances, at a rate of two hundred miles a-day. The people, howeve= r, are not allowed to avail themselves of this means of communication, but = the necessities of trade have driven them to organise a system of their own= In any Chinese town of any pretensions whatever, there are sure to be sev= eral "letter offices," each monopolising one or more provinces, t= o and from which they make it their special business to convey letters and = small parcels. The safety of whatever is entrusted to their care is guarant= eed, and its value made good if lost; at the same time, the contents of all= packets must be declared at the office where posted, so that a correspondi= ng premium may be charged for their transmission. The letter-carriers trave= l chiefly on foot, sometimes on donkeys, to be found on all the great highw= ays of China, and which run with unerring accuracy from one station to anot= her, unaccompanied by any one except the hirer. There is little danger of t= he donkeys being stolen, unless carried off bodily, for heaven and earth co= uld no more move them from their beaten track than the traveller who, desir= ous of making two stages without halting, could induce them to pass the doo= r of the station they have just arrived at. Carrying about eighty or ninety= pounds weight of mail matter, these men trudge along some five miles an ho= ur till they reach the extent of their tether; there they hand over the bag= to a fresh man, who starts off, no matter at what hour of the day or night= , and regardless of good or bad weather alike, till he too has quitted hims= elf of his responsibility by passing on the bag to a third man. They make a= point of never eating a full meal; they eat themselves, as the Chinese say= , six or seven tenths full, taking food as often as they feel at all hungry= , and thus preserve themselves from getting broken-winded early in life. Re= cruited from the strongest and healthiest of the working-classes, it is abo= ve all indispensable that the Chinese letter-carrier should not be afraid o= f any ghostly enemy, such as bogies or devils. In this respect they must be= tried men before they are entrusted with a mail; for an ordinary Chinaman = is so instinctively afraid of night and darkness, that the slightest rustle= by the wayside would be enough to make him fling down the bag and take to = his heels as if all the spirits of darkness had been loosed upon him at one= and the same moment. The scale of charges is very low. The cost of sending= a letter from Peking to Hankow--650 miles, as the crow flies--being no mor= e than eight cents, or four pence. About thirty per cent. of the postage is= always paid by the sender, to secure the office against imposition and los= s; the balance is recoverable from the person to whom the letter is address= ed. These offices are largely used by merchants in the course of trade, and= bills of exchange are constantly being thus sent, while the banks forward = the foil or other half to the house on which it is drawn, receipt of which = is necessary before the draft can be cashed. Such documents, together with = small packets of sycee, make up a tolerably valuable bag, and would often f= all a prey to the highwaymen which infest many of the provinces, but that m= ost offices anticipate these casualties by compounding for a certain annual= sum which is paid regularly to the leader of the gang. For this blackmail = the robbers of the district not only agree to abstain from pilfering themse= lves, but also to keep all others from doing so too. The arrangement suits = the local officials admirably, as they escape those pains and penalties whi= ch would be exacted if it came to be known that their rule was too weak, an= d their example powerless to keep the district free from the outrages of th= ieves and highwaymen. Large firms, which supply carts to travellers between= given points, are also often in the habit of contracting with the brigands= of the neighbourhood for the safe passage of their customers. In some part= s soldiers are told off by the resident military officials to escort travel= lers who leave the inns before daybreak, until there is enough light to sec= ure them against the dangers of a sudden attack. In others, there are bands= of trained men who hire themselves out in companies of three to five to co= nvey a string of carts with their dozen passengers across some dangerous pa= rt of the country, where it is known that foot-pads are on the look-out for= unwary travellers. The escort consists of this small number only, for the = reason that each man composing it is supposed to be equal to five or six ro= bbers, not in mere strength, but in agility and knowledge of sword-exercise= To accustom themselves to the attacks of numbers, and to acquire the requ= isite skill in fighting more than one adversary at a time, these men practi= se in the following remarkable manner. In a lofty barn heavy bags of sand a= re hung in a circle by long ropes to the roof, and in the middle of these t= he student takes up his position. He then strikes one of the bags a good bl= ow with his fist, sending it flying to a distance from him, another in the = same way, then another, and so on until he has them all swinging about in e= very possible direction. By the time he has hit two or three it is time to = look out for the return of the first, and sometimes two will come down on h= im at once from opposite quarters; his part is to be ready for all emergenc= ies, and keep the whole lot swinging without ever letting one touch him. If= he fails in this, he must not aspire to escort a traveller over a lonesome= plain; and, besides, the ruthless sand-bag will knock him head over heels = into the bargain. SLANG Although native scholars in China have not deemed i= t worth while to compile such a work as the "Slang Dictionary," i= t is no less a fact that slang occupies quite as important a position in Ch= inese as in any language of the West. Thieves have their /argot/, as with u= s, intelligible only to each other; and phrases constantly occur, even in r= efined conversation, the original of which can be traced infallibly to the = kennel. /Why so much paint?/ is the equivalent of /What a swell you are!/ a= nd is specially expressive in China, where beneath a flowered blue silk rob= e there often peeps out a pair of salmon- coloured inexpressibles of the sa= me costly material. /They have put down their barrows/, means that certain = men have struck work, and is peculiarly comprehensible in a country where s= o much transport is effected in this laborious way. Barrows are common all = over the Empire, both for the conveyance of goods and passengers; and where= long distances have to be traversed, donkeys are frequently harnessed in f= ront. The traditional sail is also occasionally used: we ourselves have see= n barrows running before the wind between Tientsin and Taku, of course with= a man pushing behind. /The children have official business/, is understood= to mean they are laid up with the small-pox; the metaphor implying that th= eir /turn/ has come, just as a turn of official duty comes round to every M= anchu in Peking, and in the same inevitable way. Vaccination is gradually d= ispelling this erroneous notion, but the phrase we have given is not likely= to disappear. A magistrate who has /skinned the place clean/, has extorted= every possible cash from the district committed to his charge--a "fat= her and mother" of the people, as his grasping honour is called. /That= horse has a mane/, says the Chinese housebreaker, speaking of a wall well = studded at the top with pieces of broken glass or sharp iron spikes. /You'l= l have to sprinkle so much water/, urges the friend who advises you to keep= clear of law, likening official greed to dust, which requires a liberal ou= tlay of water in the shape of banknotes to make it lie. A /flowery bill/ is= understood from one end of China to the other as that particular kind in w= hich our native servants delight to indulge, namely, an account charging tw= ice as much for everything as was really paid, and containing twice as much= in quantity as was actually supplied. A /flowery suit/ is a case in which = women play a prominent part. /You scorched me yesterday/ is a quiet way of = remarking that an appointment was broken, and implying that the rays of the= sun were unpleasantly hot. /Don't pick out the sugar/ is a very necessary = injunction to a servant sent to market to buy food, &c., the metaphor b= eing taken from a kind of sweet dumpling consumed in great quantities by ri= ch and poor alike. Another phrase is, /Don't ride the donkey/, which may be= explained by the proverbial dislike of Chinamen for walking exercise, and = the temptation to hire a donkey, and squeeze the fare out of the money give= n them for other purposes. /That house is not clean inside/, signifies that= devils and bogies, so dreaded by the Chinese, have taken up their residenc= e therein; in fact, that the house is haunted. /He's all rice-water/, i.e.,= gives one plenty of the water in which rice has been boiled, but none of t= he rice itself, is said of a man who promises much and does nothing. /One l= oad between the two/ is very commonly said of two men who have married two = sisters. In China, a coolie's "load" consists of two baskets or b= undles slung with ropes to the end of a flat bamboo pole about five feet in= length, and thus carried across the shoulder. Hence the expression. Apropo= s of marriage, /the guitar string is broken/, is an elegant periphrasis by = which it is understood that a man's wife is dead, the verb "to die&quo= t; being rarely used in conversation, and never of a relative or friend. He= will not /put a new string to his guitar/ is, of course, a continuation of= the same idea, more coarsely expressed as /putting on a new coat/. His fat= her has been /gathered to the west/--a phrase evidently of Buddhistic impor= t--/is no more, has gone for a stroll, has bid adieu to the world/, may all= be employed to supply the place of the tabooed verb, which is chiefly used= of animals and plants. After a few days' illness /he kicked/, is a vulgar = way of putting it and analogous to the English slang idiom. The Emperor /be= comes a guest on high/, riding up to heaven on the dragon's back, with flow= ers of rhetoric ad nauseam; Buddhist priests /revolve into emptiness/, i.e.= , are annihilated; the soul of the Taoist priest /wings its flight away/. /= Only a candle-end left/ is said of an affair which nears completion; /red/ = and /white matters/ are marriages and deaths, so called from the colour of = the clothes worn on these important occasions. A blushing person /fires up/= , or literally, /ups fire/, according to the Chinese idiom. To be fond of /= blowing/ resembles our modern term /gassing/. A /lose-money-goods/ is a dau= ghter as compared with a son who can go out in the world and earn money, wh= ereas a daughter must be provided with a dowry before any one will marry he= r. A more genuine metaphor is a /thousand ounces of silver/; it expresses t= he real affection Chinese parents have for their daughters as well as their= sons. To /let the dog out/ is the same as our letting the cat out; to /run= against a nail/ is allied to kicking against the pricks. A man of superfic= ial knowledge is called /half a bottle of vinegar/, though why vinegar, in = preference to anything else, we have not been able to discover. He has alwa= ys /got his gun in his hand/ is a reproach launched at the head of some con= firmed opium debauchee, one of those few reckless smokers to whom opium is = indeed a curse. They have /burnt paper together/, makes it clear to a Chine= se mind that the persons spoken of have gone through the marriage service, = part of which ceremony consists in burning silver paper, made up to resembl= e lumps of the pure metal. /We have split/ is one of those happy idioms whi= ch lose nothing in translation, being word for word the same in both langua= ges, and with exactly the same meaning. /A crooked stick/ is a man whose ec= centricities keep people from associating freely with him; he won't lie con= veniently in a bundle with the other sticks. We will bring this short sketc= h to a close with one more example, valuable because it is old, because the= date at which it came into existence can be fixed with unerring certainty,= and because it is commonly used in all parts of China, though hardly one e= ducated man in ten would be able to tell the reason why. A jealous woman is= said /to drink vinegar/, and the origin of the term is as follows:--Fang H= suan- ling was the favourite Minister of the Emperor T'ai Tsung, of the T'a= ng dynasty. He lived A.D. 578-648. One day his master gave him a maid of ho= nour from the palace as second wife, but the first or real wife made the pl= ace too hot for the poor girl to live in. Fang complained to the Emperor, w= ho gave him a bowl of poison, telling him to offer his troublesome wife the= choice between death and peaceable behaviour for the future. The lady inst= antly chose the former, and drank up the bowl of /vinegar/, which the Emper= or had substituted to try her constancy. Subsequently, on his Majesty's rec= ommendation, Fang sent the young lady back to resume her duties as tire-wom= an to the Empress. But the phrase lived, and has survived to this day.</p>= =20 </div>=20 <hr width=3D"50%" />=20 <div style=3D"text-align: center; "> <font size=3D"2">Change your options by visiting <a href=3D"= http://www.kneeches.com/westward-hideouts/846x8Y936s2I84NhvVdVKyxdhVtFMuKmji0hvV0ONW746">here</a><br /> 2220 Meridian Blvd.,Suite #763, Minden, NV 89423</fo= nt> </div> =20 <img src=3D"http://www.kneeches.com/d4f8vp536L5r84yhvVdVKyxdhVtFMuKmji0hvV0ONWe8a/Lorraine-alleyway" alt=3D""/></body> </html>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| home | help | back | first | fref | pref | prev | next | nref | lref | last | post |