Peiping, Feb, 28.
ITE Chinese New Year passed off much as usual.
The casual visitor would scarcely have noticed that Peiping was in the occupation of a foreign invader, The famous fair at the Liulichang and those at the various temples were as full as ever with the usual crowds, dressed in their best clothes, bent on enjoying themselves, Fireworks were permitted this year, and the New Year's Eve fusillade was almost as noisy as ever.
The only people who may possibly have noticed the presence of the Japanese were those professional writers who make out the lucky red strips that are pasted up at the house doors: two vertical and one horizontal.
For in certain parts of the city the Hsinminhui had been entering into competition with them and had been issuing these strips free of charge.
'The perpendicular ones contained a variety of statements as to the happy effect the new government would have for China in the coming year, while the horizontal strip made ihe interesting and optimistic assertion: Chung' Jih 1" Chia (China Japan one family.) Many Chinese assured me privately that the police had brought these strips round to their houses and ordered them, under threats of dire consequences, {0 paste them up.
Tam, however, not quite convinced this, and am' inclined to believe that the thrifty Chinese householder, never at any time given to wasting hhis money, if he can get something. for nothing, was not at all so loathe, fas he would have one believe, to accept these free gifts, and thus save himself a few' coppers. However satisfactory this "all. one. family" slogan may sound in theory, one certainly does not notice much of it in practice, even in pacified and quies~ Gent "Peiping. Each of the two "families" keeps very much to itself, New Japanese Quarter Nevertheless, Peiping is undoubted~ ly changing its appearance, and the other family is beginning to make its presence quite markedly felt The southeastern quarter of the Tartar or Inner City, that is the dis tricts immediately adjoining the Lega. tion Quarter, has fact scot in name, quarter. say that in this port of the city one sees more Japanese in the streets than Chinese, On the main streets about every third shop is Japanese, while in all the hutungs (side Janes) running east from Hatamen Street to the wall ai drinking-places Walking down these lanes, with the red neon lights adi in Japanese script the names charms of these various haunts of amusement, one would im: Self in some side street in Tokyo rather than in Peiping.
however, be said that these Japanese shops and places of amusement seem {to cater solely to their ly sees 9 or other places. Up to now, Jo ese business would seem to partake fof the nature of those famous South 'Sea islands where the natives live by toking in each others' washing 'And a8 Is so often the case in a boot this kind, it seems that this class of Japanese business is already overcrowded, and no longer a very' profable concern, Universities are now open, and in those that are, the proportion students from outside provinces "has been reduced toa minimum. For who were placed in detention, when the Japanese took over the city. Most of the retired families have also left Peiping, either on account. their connections with the Kuomintang, or alternatively because, "al though opponents of that party, they were afraid of being offered by the Javanese the doubtful and. perilous honour of a post in the provisional government, For all these reasons, Peiping today, more than at any time during. Its lengthy existence, has a really homogeneous northern population and has now the air of a purely pro-vinelet city.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.