LANGUAGE-PEOPLE-MONEY 9 



native of north China did not indicate the 

 section from which he hailed his dress, 

 bearing and manner would locate his 

 nativity. Whatever direction one may 

 travel in China, whether north, south, east, 

 or west he will find that the inhabitants of 

 each geographical division have their 

 special customs to which they strictly 

 adhere as the guide of their daily in- 

 tercourse. And these customs are more 

 restricted in area than would appear implied 

 by the term geographical division. As 

 different dialects are spoken by the in- 

 habitants of the same province, so in the 

 same province customs materially different 

 may be found to prevail. The residents 

 of the same city are sometimes divided like 

 unto separate principalities, each princi- 

 pality being governed by its own particular 

 customs. And so deeply grounded is the 

 pride of provincial nationality, that a 

 resident of one province visiting another 

 is regarded almost in the same light as if he 

 were a foreigner. If the provinces should 

 adjoin, a similar reticence marks the in- 

 tercourse as if the provinces bounded 

 distant parts of the Empire. 



