The uncivilized races of men in all countries of the world; vol. 2 of 2 / Being a comprehensive account of their manners and customs, and of their physical, social, mental, moral and religious characteristics

by J. G. Wood

In connection with this subject, the celebrated Feast of Lanterns must not be omitted. In this remarkable ceremony, every lantern that can be lighted seems to be used, and the Chinese on this occasion bring out the complicated “stalking-horse lantern” which has just been described. The chief object, however, is the Great Dragon. The body of the Dragon is made of a number of lanterns, each as large as a beer barrel, and having large candles fastened within it. Nearly a hundred of these joints are sometimes used in the construction of a single Dragon, each joint being tied to its neighbor, so as to keep them at the same distance from each other. At one end is an enormous head with gaping jaws, and at the other is a tail of proportionate dimensions.

This Dragon is carried through the streets and villages, and has a most picturesque effect as it goes winding along its course, the bearers contriving to give it an undulating movement by means of the sticks to which the different joints are attached. A similar festival is held in the autumn. Accompanying the Dragon are a number of men dressed in various fantastic ways, as representations of the attendants of the gods. Some of them have heads like oxen, others like horses, and they are all armed with curious pronged weapons. Then there are simulated giants and dwarfs, the former being carried on the shoulders of men whose legs are concealed by the robes of the image, and the latter by boys whose heads are received into the hats which the images wear. In neither instance do the bearers trouble themselves to conceal their faces.

Various ceremonies of a like nature are enacted, of which no description can be given for want of space.

Of the Chinaman’s social habits none has been more widely known than the use of the “chopsticks,” or the two little rods by means of which the solid food is eaten. This is not the Chinese name, but is one invented by foreigners, who have employed the term as a sort of equivalent for the “kwai-tsze,” or nimble-lads, as they are very appropriately termed by the Chinese. Originally they were simply two slips of bamboo, but now they are of wood, bone, ivory, or sometimes silver. Two pairs of chopsticks in my collection are nearly ten inches in length, and about as thick at the base as a small goose-quill, tapering gradually to half the thickness at the tip.

Much misunderstanding prevails as to the use of the chopsticks, many persons supposing that they are held one in each hand, after the manner of knives and forks in Europe. These curious implements are both held in the right hand after the following manner: One of them is taken much as a pen is held, except that, instead of being held by the thumb and forefinger, it passes between the tips of the second and third fingers. This chopstick is always kept stationary. The second chopstick is held lightly between the thumb and forefinger, and can be worked so as to press with its tip against the point of the other, and act after the manner of pincers.

The adroitness displayed by the Chinese in the use of these implements is worthy of all admiration. I have seen them pick up single grains of rice with the chopsticks, dip them in soy, and carry them to the mouth with perfect precision; and, indeed, after some few lessons, I could do it tolerably well myself. In eating rice after the usual manner, the tips of the chopsticks are crossed, and the rice lifted with them as if on a spoon. If, however, the man be very hungry, he does not trouble himself about such refinement, but holds the bowl to his lips, and scoops the rice into his mouth with a celerity that must be seen to be believed. In point of speed a spoon would be nothing compared with the chopstick.

The reader must understand that the Chinese never carve at table, thinking that to do so is an utterly barbarous and disgusting custom. The meat is brought to table ready cut up into small morsels, which can be taken up with the chopsticks. The only use made of a knife at table is to separate any small pieces of meat that may adhere together; and for this purpose, a narrow, long-bladed knife is generally kept in the same sheath with the chopstick.

As a rule, every Chinaman who can afford so cheap a luxury has his chopstick-case hanging from his girdle. The case is made of different materials, such as shagreen, tortoise shell, and ivory. Specimens of the two latter kinds of case are in my collection. The ordinary case contains the two chopsticks, the knife, and a flat ivory toothpick. Sometimes, however, a wealthy man will carry a much more complicated set of table apparatus. Besides the usual chopsticks, the knife, and the toothpick, there is a spoon for eating soup, a neat little quatrefoil saucer for soy, and a peculiar two-pronged fork, with its prongs united in the middle by a floriated ornament.

As to the food of the Chinese, it varies according to the wealth of the individual, so that a man of property would not think of eating the food which the poor man thinks luxurious. In fact, it is much the same as with ourselves, so that it is impossible to make the dietary of one station the sample for that of the nation in general. There are, perhaps, one or two articles of food which ought to be casually mentioned. One, which is not generally known, is rather graphically described by Mr. Milne: “Like other Chinese, he” (i. e. a Chinese officer named Le) “invited me to dine with him on an early day after our acquaintance was formed. On this occasion I met at his table with a peculiar dish, which I had never seen under the roof of any other host, though I was informed that it was not a monopoly of Mr. Le’s taste.

“When our party of six had seated themselves at the centre table, my attention was attracted by a covered dish, something unusual at a Chinese meal. On a certain signal, the cover was removed, and presently the face of the table was covered with juvenile crabs, which made their exodus from the dish with all possible rapidity. The crablets had been thrown into a plate of vinegar just as the company sat down, such an immersion making them more brisk and lively than usual. But the sprightly sport of the infant crabs was soon checked by each guest seizing which he could, dashing it into his mouth, and swallowing the whole morsel without ceremony.