The Long White Mountain : or, A journey in Manchuria; with some account of the history, people, administration and religion of that country . y of acquiringManchu distinguishes it strikingly from the successive emperors of the Manchu dynasty havetaken care to have every Chinese book of value trans-lated into Manchu, and valuable dictionaries and otherelementary works have been compiled in Manchu and K 2 132 THE LONG WHITE MOUNTAIN Chinese. Yet, so wonderful are the ways of men, theCourt and the people alike are now abandoning Manchufor the cumbrous and barbarous Chinese. If they h
The Long White Mountain : or, A journey in Manchuria; with some account of the history, people, administration and religion of that country . y of acquiringManchu distinguishes it strikingly from the successive emperors of the Manchu dynasty havetaken care to have every Chinese book of value trans-lated into Manchu, and valuable dictionaries and otherelementary works have been compiled in Manchu and K 2 132 THE LONG WHITE MOUNTAIN Chinese. Yet, so wonderful are the ways of men, theCourt and the people alike are now abandoning Manchufor the cumbrous and barbarous Chinese. If they hadimposed their language rather than their pigtails ontheir conquered foes, how much better it would havebeen. Chinamen, Mongols, and Manchus in Manchuria, alldress pretty much alike, mostly in cotton clothing dyedwith indigo, loose trousers, and over the trousers a pairof breeches cut like a pair of fishing boots, long flowingsmocks or coats with tight sleeves, and over the coatsa large waistcoat, sometimes prolonged into an women wear long loose gowns, and their hair isdressed as wonderfully as that of English ladies at the. A RU-I, OR SCEPTRE. beginning of the century—in marvellous bows andfrills, pierced by silver arrows and combs decoratedwith the blue feathers of the kingfisher. This is Chinesefashion; in former times, Manchu ladies used to wear theirhair hanging down loose behind, not even plaited liketheir husbands. On state occasions old ladies carry a ru-i, a veritable sceptre, made of wood ornamentedwith jade, and they display it when receiving guests ofceremony. The ru-i is a favourite present to make,as the two characters which compose the word mean Selon votre desir,— May your wish be accomplished,so that people give it to their friends just as one wouldenclose a forget-me-not in a letter in England. (One ofthe presents made by the Emperor to Her Majesty the THE PEOPLE 133 Queen on the occasion of her jubilee was a ru-i madeof jade.) As winter conies
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1888
