CHARACTERS. 
morality. The Cochinchinese are, 
like the French, always gay and for 
ever talking; the Chinese always 
grave, and affect to be thinking: the 
former are open aud familiar, the 
latter close and reserved. A Chi- 
hese would consider it as disgraceful 
to commit any affair of importance 
toa woman. Women, in the esti- 
mation of the Cochinchinese, are 
best suited for, and are accordingly 
entrusted with, the chief concerns 
of thofamily. The Chinese code of 
politeness forbids a woman to talk 
unless by way of reply, to laugh 
beyond a smile, to sing unless desir- 
ed, and, as to dancing, she labours 
under a physical restriction which 
makes this kind of movement impos- 
sible. In Cochinchina the women 
are quite as gay and unrestrained 
as the men. And as a tolerably ac- 
curate conclusion may be drawn of 
the state of their society, from the 
condition in which the female part 
of it is placed, and the consideration 
in which the female character is 
held among them, [ shall be more 
particular in describing the situation 
here assigned to them, in so far at 
least as our limited means afforded 
as the opportunity of observing, 
than on other points. 
In some of the provinces of China 
women are condemned to the de- 
grading and laborious task of drag- 
ging the plough, and otherwise em- 
ployed in various kinds of heavy 
drudgery. In Cochinchina it would 
appear likewise to be the fate of the 
weaker sex to be doomed to those 
occupations which require, if not 
the greatest exertions of bodily 
strength, at least the most persever- 
ing industry. We observed them, 
day after day, and from morning 
till night, standing in the midst of 
pools of water, up to the knees, 
869 
occupied in the transplanting of 
rice. Jn fact, all the labours of 
tillage, aud the various employments 
connected with agriculture, seem fo - 
fall to the share of the female pea- 
santry ; whilst those in Turon, to 
the management of domestic con- 
cerns, and the superintendance of 
all the details of commerce. They 
even assist in constructing and keep- 
ing in repair their mud-built cot- 
tages; theyconduct the manufacture 
of coarse earthen ware vessels ; 
they manage the boats on rivers and 
in harbours ; they bear their articles 
of produce to market; they draw 
the cotton wool from the pod, free 
it from the seeds, spin it into 
thread, weave it into cloth, dye it 
of its proper colour, and make it 
up into dresses for themselves and 
their families. Almost all the 
younger part of the males are com- 
pelled to enrol themselves in the 
army ; and such as are exempt from 
military service employ themselves 
occasionally in fishing, in collecting 
swallow’s nests and the biches de 
mer among the neighbouring islands, 
as luxuries for the use of their own 
great men, but more particularly as 
articles of export for the China 
market; in felling timber ; building 
and repairing ships and boats, and 
a few other occupations which, how- 
ever, they take care shall not engross 
their whole time, but contrive to 
leave.a considerable pertion of it 
unemployed, or employed only in 
the pursuit of some favourite amuse- 
ment: for they are not by any means 
of an idle disposition. But the 
activity and the industry of the 
women are so unabating, their pur- 
suits so varied, and the fatigue they 
undergo so harassing, that thé Co- 
chinchinese apply to them the same 
proverbial expression which we 
$e 3 confer 
