NO. 2 FOLK RELIGION IN SOUTHWEST CHINA — GRAHAM 3I 



present to be in a good humor and to like the person who tells the 

 joke and causes them to laugh. For this reason I told many more 

 jokes among the Chinese than I do among Occidentals. 



Second, the Chinese are a very polite people. In the course of their 

 long history they have developed many forms of decorum that it be- 

 hooves the foreigner to know about. At a feast and on similar occa- 

 sions the guest is always offered the seat of honor. It is good form 

 for him to decline this invitation, at least for a short time, saying "pu 

 kan tang." or "I am unworthy." When the guest leaves, the host 

 escorts him to the door or to the gate saying "go slowly, go slowly," 

 and the guest replies, "pu sung," or "do not escort me out." When a 

 friend informs you that he is coming to your home to visit you, he 

 will say that he is coming to "pai wang" or to look at you very re- 

 spectfully, meaning to visit you. If he invites you to visit him, he 

 will request you to come to his unworthy dwelling to play or to have 

 a little chat. 



A third important characteristic of the Chinese is gratitude. Giles 

 has noted this and stated that gratitude is a virtue which the Chinese 

 possess to an eminent degree, and that a Chinese never forgets a kind 

 act or loses a sense of obligation and gratitude to his benefactor. I 

 have had many experiences that verify these statements. Sometimes 

 one will do a Chinese a small favor and forget about it. Later the 

 Chinese may do him a big favor in return. 



Closely related to these characteristics is a fourth — the fact that the 

 Chinese respond favorably to and reciprocate friendship, kindness, 

 and humane behavior. If they are convinced that you respect them, 

 appreciate them, see good in them, and have a friendly regard for 

 them, they respond in kind. Here again I speak from experience, for 

 many of my best friends have been Chinese. 



In 1894 Dr. Arthur H. Smith published a book, "Chinese Char- 

 acteristics." In it are chapters dealing with face, economy, industry, 

 politeness, the disregard of time, the disregard of accuracy, the talent 

 of misunderstanding, the talent for indirection, flexile inflexibility, 

 intellectual turbidity, the absence of nerves, contempt for foreigners, 

 the absence of public spirit, conservatism, indifference to comfort and 

 convenience, physical vitality, patience and perseverance, contentment 

 and cheerfulness, filial piety, benevolence, the absence of sympathy, 

 social typhoons, mutual responsibility and respect for law, mutual sus- 

 picion, the absence of sincerity, polytheism, pantheism, atheism. One 

 can now see that in some of his interpretations Dr. Smith was right, 

 while in other important respects he partially or completely misunder- 

 stood the Chinese people. 



