Dr. Arthur Smith fas referred to the immense waste of mental effort, involved in the production every China New Year of sufficient mottoes and classical quotations to sapply the front doors of all the homes in the land. A visitor cannot go into a village school without secing tables and floor and bed. practically covered with the familiar: Fed strips on which the teacher has written specimens of his literary talent. The style of writing is very important, but what is of greater weight inthe judgment of the critical observer is the degree of appropriateness between the characters which face one another. Each side of the scroll or "tui-tza" (lit: opposite characters, in position, not in meaning), must have the same number of characters. A very common example may be roughly translated:—"The one who si Solitade treqeently thinking of his own faults, will not in his ordinary conversation mention the shortcomings of others." (Ching-tao chang [on chi Kuo hsien tan mo tun jen fei).
'A visitor on first becoming acquainted with this feature of Chin-life might think that with so much moral instruction, the people fought to be very nearly perfect. The actual influence however of these thousands of moral sayings on the character of the people is slight. Their significance lies more in the fact that they are a large-scale Mustration of the Chinese liking for a pleasing exterior. The emphasis {s placed rather on what the eye sees than on what the mind ought to receive. Chinese every: day life contains many examples of what might be called the philosophy of the scroll, Tt is not only true that language began as a series of Pictographs, but the habit of speak ing in pictures has continued and developed with the many new additions to the language.
An English lady explains a morn-Ing's activity by the one word hopping," but a Chinese provides a series of word-pictures to describe his marketing. He does not speak of "buying" the different articles he requires. He goes to igh bread," oF to "cut "bread" (crith a knife) or to. "measure rain," of to "cut cloth" (with scissors). He does not do the weighing or cutting himself, but in mind he sees the picture of these things being done. His side of the scroll is to see that he gets the full weight or full measure and the shopkeeper's vide of the scroll is to see that he gets paid in good money.
When times are hard and stocks of grain are used up, those who can afford it go to market to get a litle and cary it home ina basket. All this is covered by one word to "ti Kiang-shih." 'The more pleasing picture when the former has an excess of grain which he wants to sell, is described in one word "tian," meaning to carry suspended on the' two ends of a pole, or the word "yun" may be used, meaning tw boat. transport by cart of by rail oF
A shopkeepers clerk enters the item "ta-fa yas-fon-tt ie. "sending away the beggars so much." It is not put down as given to charity, but the essential picture of the long stream of beggars unwilling to past the shop front until their wants have been met is portrayed. The name the cles newly introduced Bieyeles were first called sing che." ie. "the cart going by self," but when more Chinese began to ride-them they gave name "Chiao cha che," i. "the foot-pressing cart." Gramaphones are called "Lin showg chi." "the machine which retains the sound," or "Chu sheng hi," which sends forth the sound."
Travellers in China have often noticed a finely built imposing entrance to a house, and been disappointed by the contrast within. Here again is the philosophy of the scroll, the desire for a pleasing exterior, and too often a cessation of effort' after that need is met.
We are getting fairly familiar' with proclamations, promises and slogans, all of which are excellent on the surface. Beautifully composed codes of law are issued, and sometimes the foreigner in reading
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.