All classes of women in China pay much attention to the cultivation
and arrangement of the hair, and often display much taste in their
picturesque styles of wearing and ornamenting it. In some of the
Northern provinces the women of every class are at all times seen
with beautiful flowers in their hair; but at Canton, and at the South
generally, we observed that this tasteful fashion was confined to the
ladies. Among the flowers used to ornament the hair of the few Chinese
ladies we met at Canton, the rose was conspicuous, and we learned that
it was as great a favorite among the Chinese as it is with us. There
are twenty native species of the rose in China, besides a good many
varieties, and it is very extensively cultivated.
The women very seriously injure their skin by the free use of
cosmetics. A Chinese lady, when making her toilette for any grand
occasion, blackens her eyebrows so as to form an arch; and after making
a free use of white paint upon her face, finishes by deeply rouging
her cheeks and lips. To avoid tottering, the women of small feet step
quickly, and swing their arms in order to keep their equilibrium. At
the same time they have a mincing gait, peculiarly their own, which
is doubtless considered very elegant; as I frequently observed that
the large-footed, but smartly dressed, women of the common classes
endeavored to imitate it.
A descendant, and the representative of the noted hong merchant,
Mingqua, of Canton, was, with one exception, the only Chinese gentleman
we met who could speak English with fluency, and some degree of
correctness. He is a man of very _suave_ and courtly address, which,
combined with elaborate manners, make up a gentleman well suited to his
Oriental style, and in fine keeping with his character and conversation.
For several years before the Allies obliged the Chinese to open the
gates of the Old City of Canton to foreigners, the wife of Mingqua
occasionally received and returned the visits of some of the foreign
ladies then residing at the old factories. The wife of Howqua also
occasionally received such visits; but at that time the opportunities
of coming in contact with the Chinese ladies were not common, nor have
they become so since. On the contrary, the inner apartments, (as the
rooms occupied by the women of a Chinese family of rank are called)
are guarded as carefully as ever; and up to this time a woman from
the West, when invited to enter their tabooed precincts, receives a
distinguished favor. Mingqua, however, on account of his knowledge of
our language, and from his having had a great deal of intercourse with
foreigners, has in some respects become an exception to this rule.
Seeming not to dislike our modes, but to rather approve of ladies
having more liberty than they are allowed in China, he not only invites
foreign ladies to visit his family, but, as will be seen, occasionally
permits the gentlemen accompanying them to see the women of the
household. He had frequently expressed a wish that I should visit the
ladies of his family; therefore at our last visit to Canton,--notes and
cards having been exchanged, and all the forms, according to Chinese
etiquette, being complied with,--at the appointed time we took chairs
and proceeded to his residence.
In making this visit, (besides being attended by Mr. G---- and Mr.
W----,) we were accompanied by an English gentleman,--who was also
in the employ of the Imperial Customs. To this gentleman--who was a
Chinese scholar--I was indebted for the translation of a note from
Mingqua, in which the latter, after the fashion of Orientals, affects
great humility, and in language of the most extravagant hyperbole,
speaks of my visiting at his “humble abode.” This note was written
upon paper of an India-pink tint, and the elegant card accompanying
it was also of the same color, being over nine inches in length by
four in width. Mingqua’s humility, however, was not of a character to
induce him to live anywhere but in the western suburbs; therefore we
not only found his residence in Howqua Street, but in the aristocratic
and wealthy neighborhood of Pun-Tingqua, and Howqua. A few people were
gathered in the street, near the great doorway, when we arrived; but
as our coming had been expected, the portal was directly opened, when
we passed quickly through the porch to a little court, where we were
welcomed by Mingqua with elegant politeness, and then led with Oriental
ease and grace to a reception-room in the rear of the court. This
room communicated with the inner apartments by two doors, near which
the women and children of the household were congregated to receive
us. Their dresses were of some dark material, and very simple and
unpretending in style; although the faces of the ladies showed the free
use of white paint, while their cheeks and lips were deeply rouged.
Their hair was also elegantly arranged, and tastefully ornamented with
flowers.
The gentlemen of our party--who had expected that I alone would be
admitted into the presence of the ladies--were both surprised and
gratified with the arrangement which Mingqua had made, in order to
allow them to see the whole of the family; and although his disposing
of them in this manner prevented my visiting the inner apartments, the
fact of a Chinese admitting foreign gentlemen to the presence of his
women was so unlooked-for and agreeable to my escort that I was soon
oblivious of disappointment. A slight entertainment, consisting of
candied fruits, sweetmeats, and cakes, was already waiting on a little
table in the reception-room when we entered; and soon after we had
been presented to the family, tea was brought in and served with these
refreshments.
Fearing to appear too inquisitive, we did not ask any questions in
reference to the daughters of the family; and no allusion being made to
them, we presumed that Mingqua, like all his countrymen, regarded them
of but little consequence. On the contrary, presenting his sons in due
form, he first introduced the eldest, who, being a young gentleman,
spoke English very well, and was not unlike his father in the elegance
and polish of his manners. We were the most interested, however, in the
youngest,--a fine, bright lad of only six years,--whom Mingqua said
he desired to send to England, or America, to be educated. The higher
classes of Chinese who are not exposed to the sun are whiter than
those in the common walks of life; and this boy having a remarkably
fair complexion, one of our party remarked to his father,--“Why,
Mingqua, this is a fine little fellow, and has a remarkably fair
complexion.” The father evidently pleased with the compliment, giving
one of his courtly bows, replied,--“Yes, high-born always whiter.” The
house was exceedingly plain and simple in all its appointments; but
we were informed that, in consequence of some business difficulties,
Mingqua affected a parsimonious style of living, and it was therefore
difficult to pronounce upon his true condition.
Chinese etiquette does not permit them to shake each other’s hands;
on the contrary, politely bowing when they meet, they shake their own
while clasping them before them. Mingqua, however, in his intercourse
with foreigners, adopts our mode of greeting; and on our taking leave
the ladies, holding out their little hands in a very polite manner to
me, made their adieus, Western fashion.
When about taking our leave, Mingqua informed us that his cousin,
living only a few doors from him, wished us to make a call at his
house. Being aware that the well-bred Chinese regard any breach of
etiquette as an unpardonable offence, and fearing that by making
so unceremonious a visit we might compromise ourselves in their
estimation, we hesitated. The gentlemen, however, learning from Mingqua
that his cousin,--who was a wealthy member of the Pun family, and
belonged to the class of Mandarins,--having been aware that we were
about to leave Canton, had already arranged the matter of etiquette in
such a way that it would be _comme il faut_ for us to go there at once,
we gladly assented. This Chinese gentleman had at one time filled the
office of Taou-tai, at the North, whence, after amassing a handsome
fortune, he returned to Canton, and built a splendid mansion on Howqua
Street, which is said to be the finest residence in the western suburbs.
A servant having been despatched to apprise the Taou-tai of our coming,
accompanied by Mingqua we were again in our chairs, and following
our _avant courier_. The spacious portal of the Taou-tai’s residence
opening on our approach, we were conveyed through a fine large porch,
into an inner court. Beautiful lanterns were hanging in the porch,
and the guardians of the household, in the shape of two brilliantly
ornamented images, stood one on each side of the door leading into the
court. Leaving our chairs, we were met at a door entrance, connecting
with one of the apartments of the house, by the Taou-tai himself,
who, without raising his eyes[30] towards me, bowed, and waving his
hand, without a word, and almost without volition, I moved on in the
direction indicated, to a door that opened apparently without aid
from any one, and which, as I passed through it, closed in the same
unaccountable manner. The spacious porch, the inner court, and the
apartment where the Taou-tai first received us, being in construction,
arrangement, and ornament very much superior to anything I had seen,
my surprise and admiration increased at every step until I reached the
rooms occupied by the ladies. But these Inner Apartments--as they are
termed--as far exceeded the rest of the house, in the superb brilliancy
and beauty of their adornments, as the finest china in Ushing’s shop,
in the elegance of its design and painting, surpasses the common and
cheap article which is sold at the little stands by the way-side.
Recovering a little from the maze into which the peculiarity of
my position and the fairy-like appearance of its surroundings had
thrown me, I perceived a middle-aged lady, handsomely dressed in dark
material, standing on a dais at the further end of the room; who, as I
looked towards her, directly bowed, and with a quiet dignity, shaking
her hands before her, greeted me with the Chinese salutation--“Tsing!
Tsing!”--i. e. Hail! Hail! Drawing near, I also bowed while saluting
her in the same manner; but with the exception of these words of
salutation, and a few simple phrases, I knew nothing of the language,
and our intercourse was consequently continued in pantomime. This
lady led me through a door opening back of the dais into another
apartment, at the further end of which there was again another dais,
with a broad passage leading from it to the rooms beyond. On each side
of this passage tasteful boudoirs led to richly furnished bedrooms,
near which we observed two very pretty and elegantly dressed young
women standing one on each side of the entrance. They were leaning in
graceful attitudes against the corners of the boudoirs, and as both
continued to bow and repeat their salutations during our approach,
in order to return them properly I was obliged to advance bowing and
shaking my hands, first to one and then to the other, until we reached
and ascended the dais. They then led me into one of the boudoirs,
where, standing a little back of a table, on which was lying their
embroidery, chairs were placed, and I was motioned to be seated. The
middle-aged lady,--who evidently occupied a position of honor in the
household,--took the chair next to mine, while the two younger ladies
stood, one on our right and the other on our left, during the whole
interview. With their small feet this must have been fatiguing to them,
but if etiquette demanded it they were obliged to endure the discomfort
without complaining. They were in costumes of rich silk fabrics
ornamented in gay colors, and their hair was elaborately arranged and
dressed with flowers. They also wore elegant ornaments of gold and
precious stones, and had their cheeks and lips rouged; their gentle and
lady-like manners, as well as their entire demeanor, being of that cast
which belongs only to the most delicate refinement. We were scarcely
seated when not only the room was filled, but there was also a group
about the door of the apartment, and I soon found myself not only a
curiosity to the ladies and children, but also to the servants, which
last stood in the outer circle, and were very respectable-looking women
and girls.
Tea having been brought in by a sprightly and laughing serving-woman,
one of the young ladies receiving the cup designed for me, and
observing that the tea was very hot, lifted the delicate china cover,
and fanning the steaming liquid until it was cooled, proceeded, with
inimitable ease and grace, to hold the cup to my lips while I drank the
beverage. This ceremony being over, my dress was next closely inspected
and commented upon by the whole group; while, amid smiles and an
occasional merry laugh, we carried on a pantomimic conversation, which
afforded infinite amusement to all. My bonnet, with its trimmings,
attracted particular attention, but a delicate _mouchoir_ was their
especial delight. The ladies then displayed their beautiful embroidery,
which was done in silk floss, and fastened in the same sort of frames
as those used by us.
The furniture of the boudoir, and bedroom leading out of it, was of
black wood, ornamented with carvings. The bedroom was small, but
the bedstead was a massive piece of furniture, elaborately carved,
with a highly ornamental tester, from which hung mosquito-curtains
of green silk gauze. In addition to the rooms through which I was
first conducted, I was shown several brilliant apartments, and an
open court finished in the same style, which contained a variety of
beautiful plants in bloom. The partitions of the rooms were of fanciful
lattice-work, and were painted in delicate shades of stone-color, and
brilliantly ornamented in gilt, with red, blue, and different shades of
green. Every room was supplied with little stands of curious design,
upon which were beautiful porcelain vases and jars, while screens and
other ornamental articles completed the furniture. There were also a
variety of beautiful Chinese lanterns suspended from the ceilings, and
some of the rooms were provided with handsome European chandeliers.
The latticed partitions with their embellishments, the ornamental
furniture, and the general arrangement of the whole, as seen in the
soft radiance admitted through the skylight, had an air of superb
elegance. Each room, however, was a gem of itself, and of so unique a
character that the place was invested with an Arabian Night-like charm.
Finally, on taking leave, my middle-aged friend politely accompanied me
to the door at which I entered, and I once more joined the gentlemen of
our party, who, not having been as highly entertained, were becoming a
little impatient for my return. Having made our formal adieus to the
Taou-tai and the courteous Mingqua, we then took our departure, greatly
pleased and gratified with this our first peep at high life in China.
These visits were made on Saturday, and while at Mingqua’s house he
politely invited me to dine with the ladies of his family on the Monday
following. Having, however, not forgotten our visit to the dog and
cat market, and also not having any assurance that the better classes
of the people were not fond of cat meat, but rather the reverse, I
felicitated myself on being able to say that we intended to leave
for the North on that day, and could not accept the invitation. The
excellent tea, together with the delicious sweetmeats and candied
fruits which are served when on visits of ceremony among this people,
are always acceptable and agreeable entertainments; but when it comes
to the question of a formal dinner, it is not quite so pleasant to
fancy the possibility of being served to a cat ragout or a dish of
kitten cutlet! A ceremonious dinner would have greatly gratified
our curiosity, and doubtless given us some further insight into the
secluded mode of life led by the Chinese ladies; but in view of these
considerations we felt little regret in being obliged to decline
Mingqua’s polite invitation.
FOOTNOTE:
[30] According to Chinese etiquette it is very impolite, if not highly
indecorous for a gentleman to look at a lady. The Taou-tai, therefore,
treated me with marked respect.