CHINESE LABOR IN AGRICULTURE. 578 
of arrivals of Chinese immigrants, male and female, during the last half 
century, is but about one twenty-fifth of the arrivals from Ireland and 
Germany alone during the same period. 
In the character.of these immigrants, and in the motives which are 
‘known to have generally prompted them to seek our shores, is found an 
ample quietus to the exaggerated alarm which this movement at first 
excited. Scarcely one can be found among these coolie immigrants 
who come hither with any purpose of permanent settlement. The Chi- 
naman expects to return to the “ Flowery Land” with a competence for 
life, the result of a few years of patient industry and self-denial in this 
land of high wages. It is stated that a capital of $500 is ample to ena- 
ble the coolie, upon his return home, to live in comparative ease and in- 
dependence, to enjoy among his untraveled countrymen the considera- 
tion of a great adventurer, and to move in a higher circle of society. 
But these worldly considerations are by no means the most powerful of 
the motives urging his return to his native land. His great desire isto 
be buried with his ancestors. ‘To secure this point he stipulates with 
his employers, or with the Chinese associations with which he affiliates 
after his arrival in America, that, in case of his death in this country, 
his body shall be sent back to his native village for interment. 
The carrying trade in dead Chinamen has already attracted attention, 
and is increasing as the tide of immigration rises. 
The feeling which prompts these stipulations is not a mere exag- 
gerated patriotism ; it is the outgrowth of religious faith. Though the 
Buddhist system, as explained by its authoritative expounders to the in- 
telligent and educated classes, seems to be very deficient and intangible . 
in its dogmatic basis, the common people have ingrafted upon it a pop- 
ular mythology which secures the most unquestioning faith. The influ- 
ence of this popular belief upon the family organization of this singular 
‘people deserves especial mention. Deceased relatives are always buried 
in a locality supposed to be under the care of an imaginary spirit of 
good luck, generally called “Fung Sehuy.” Under the inspiration and 
protection of this divinity it is believed that the spirits of departed an- 
cestors will be able to exert a favorable influence upon the worldly affairs 
of their descendants. Hence the coolie desires to return to the locality 
around which these ancestral influences play. Again, the ancestor him- 
self is dependent upon the offerings of mock money upon his grave by 
his descendants to enable him to purchase exemption from the tortures 
of the Buddhist purgatory. The coolie expects the same services from 
his descendants, This association of the interests of different genera- 
tions gives the family organization a controlling influence in Chinese 
society. The practical effect is to destroy almost all desire of perma- 
nent expatriation. The law of the empire further makes this a capital 
offense ; but under the diplomatic pressure of European governments in- 
terested in the coolie trade this law is now a dead letter. 
The Chinese coolie seldom or never removes his wife or family from 
his original domicile. They are left to represent his home interest with 
his ancestral divinities. The women are still less inclined to travel than 
the men. Without any education or mental development, Chinese 
females cherish exaggerated terrors of the fierce “ outside barbarians,” and 
of the tempestuous seas. A number of higher-class females have arrived | 
in this country, the wives of intelligent merchants and business men, 
whose belief in the popular creed is not more profound than that which 
the anciext philosophers cherished for the classic mythology ; but of the 
laboring classes it is believed that not a single instance of this character 
has yet been reported. In regard to the recent remarkable increase in 
