the official, to
the explorer, and to the merchant:--

"It would be unfair," he says, "not to point out that when a large body
of Occidentals, imperfectly acquainted with the Chinese language,
etiquette, modes of thought, and intellectual presuppositions, begins on
a large and universal scale the preaching of an uncompromising system of
morals and doctrines like Christianity, there must be much which,
unconsciously to themselves, rouses Chinese prejudices."

The following maxim comes from Confucius:--

"If you visit a foreign State, ask what the prohibitions are; if you go
into a strange neighbourhood, enquire what the manners and customs are."
Certainly it is altogether desirable that a foreigner going to China,
whether in an official capacity, or as merchant, missionary, or
traveller, should have some acquaintance with the ordinary rules and
ceremonial of Chinese social life. Such knowledge will often go far to
smooth away Chinese prejudices against the barbarian, and on occasions
might conceivably aid in averting a catastrophe.

It is true that Lao Tzu said, "Ceremonies are but the veneer of loyalty
and good faith." His words, however, have not prevailed against the
teaching of Confucius, who was an ardent believer in the value of
ceremonial. One of the latter's disciples wished, as a humanitarian, to
abolish the sacrifice of a sheep upon the first day of every month; but
Confucius rebuked him, saying, "My son, you love the sheep; I love the
ceremony."

When, during his last visit to England, Li Hung-chang made remarks
about Mr. Chamberlain's eyeglass, he was considered by many to be
wanting in common politeness. But from the Chinese point of view it was
Mr. Chamberlain who was offending--quite unwittingly, of course--against
an important canon of good taste. It is a distinct breach of Chinese
etiquette to wear spectacles while speaking to an equal. The Chinese
invariably remove their glasses when conversing; for what reason I have
never been able to discover. One thing is quite certain: they do not
like being looked at through a medium of glass or crystal, and it costs
the foreigner nothing to fall in with their harmless prejudice.

Chinese street etiquette is also quite different from our own, a fact
usually ignored by blustering foreigners, who march through a Chinese
town as if the place belonged to them, and not infrequently complain
that coolies and others will not "get out of their way." Now there is
a