. An American engineer in China . this partof Kwang-tung, however, is very mountainous,and the population is quite scant. The differencefrom Hu-nan conditions was quite foreigners rarely visited Ping-shih, theywere not entirely unknown, and therefore wewere not quite the same object of intense curi-osity. The most striking thing of all was the pawn-shops. These singular buildings, which are aparticularly Kwang-tung institution—althoughthe pawnshop is known everywhere in China—are built of masonry, in huge square towers, sixtyto eighty feet on a side, and with a height of onehu
. An American engineer in China . this partof Kwang-tung, however, is very mountainous,and the population is quite scant. The differencefrom Hu-nan conditions was quite foreigners rarely visited Ping-shih, theywere not entirely unknown, and therefore wewere not quite the same object of intense curi-osity. The most striking thing of all was the pawn-shops. These singular buildings, which are aparticularly Kwang-tung institution—althoughthe pawnshop is known everywhere in China—are built of masonry, in huge square towers, sixtyto eighty feet on a side, and with a height of onehundred feet or more, presenting a most impos-ing appearance, suggestive rather of an ancientfeudal castle, with the comparatively tiny houseshuddling about the base, than of anything so es-sentially practical and commercial as a construction and shape of the building arefor protective purposes. The material of whichit is composed presents a safeguard against f^re,while itssolidity, its great height, and fewness of. Chapter III: Hu-nan, the Closed Province m windows or other openings offer the greatestobstacle to successful assault by robbers. Withinare numerous floors, on which the pawned goodsare carefully stored after being neatly ordinary practice of the pawnbroker in thewa} of high interest charges is the same here asin other lands, but the calling is regarded quitedifferently ; in fact, the pawnshop is looked uponas a blessing, the broker as a benefactor, and thepresence of a high tower the indication of goodbusiness. If a town possesses more than one, itis taken as a sign that it is particularly prosper-ous, and places are described as being one, two,three pawnshop towns, as the case may be. Thepawnshop partakes of the nature of a bank, theChinese arguing that no one would borrow un-less he can employ the capital with profit, andas the pawnshops are the means of furnishingcapital, therefore the greater the number thegreater the prosperity. As t
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectrailroa, bookyear1900
