Chinese horrors and persecutions of the Christians; containing a full account of the great insurrection in China; atrocities of the "Boxers" ..together with the complete history of China down to the present time .. . sequalities in which they are deficient, and onsomewhat the same principle Chinese legis-lators delight to hold up to opprobriumthose social misdemeanors to which theyare most prone. If an impartial observer of Chinese man-ners and customs were to name the twomost prominent civil vices of the Chinese, hewould probably give his decision in favor ofbribery and gambling. Against both
Chinese horrors and persecutions of the Christians; containing a full account of the great insurrection in China; atrocities of the "Boxers" ..together with the complete history of China down to the present time .. . sequalities in which they are deficient, and onsomewhat the same principle Chinese legis-lators delight to hold up to opprobriumthose social misdemeanors to which theyare most prone. If an impartial observer of Chinese man-ners and customs were to name the twomost prominent civil vices of the Chinese, hewould probably give his decision in favor ofbribery and gambling. Against both thesevices the code speaks with no uncertainsound. The mandarin who accepts a bribeof one hundred and twenty taels of silverand upwards, when the object is in itself 190 CHINA: PAST AND PRESENT. lawful, or eighty taels and upwards whenthe object is unlawful, is pronounced guiltyof death by strangulation. It is no exaggera-tion to say that if this law were enforced itwould make a clean sweep of ninety-nine outof every hundred officials in the Empire. Gambling also is denounced with equalfervor, and eighty blows is the punishmentfor any person found playing at any game ofchance for money or for goods. The same. FIGHTING QUAILS. penalty awaits, in theory, the owner of agaming-house, with the additional fine ofthe loss of the house to Government. Theexistence of such a law, side by side with theopen and palpable violation of it in streetsand alleys, as well as on country roads andin village lanes, reduces it to an breakfast-time workmen stream out oftheir places of employment, and throw diceor lots for their meal at the nearest itinerantcookshop. Coolies, in moments of leisure, while awaythe time with cards and dice as they sit atthe sides of the streets, and the gaming-houses are always full of eager excitedcrowds, who are willing to lose everythingthey possess, and more also, in satisfactionof the national craving. Like opium, gamesof chance have a peculiar fascinat
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