August 6, 1886.] 



SCIENCE. 



115 



Long Branch was considered a very successful 

 one, both for the character of the papers read 

 and the interesting discussion which they 

 aroused. 



COREA BY NATIVE ARTISTS. 



The testimony of recent explorers in Corea is 

 to the effect that we have there a human exem- 

 phfication of the survival of whole genera of in- 

 dustries and customs, while in surrounding 

 regions these have been swept away or trans- 

 formed. Half-a-dozen charming books on Corea, 

 notably those of Griffis and Lowell, have lately 

 portrayed portions of the inner life of a land 

 hitherto closed to our gaze. No small curiosity 

 has been manifested to ascertain how far these 

 gentlemen have told the truth, whether they have 

 faithfully interpreted what they narrate, and 

 whether they are dealing with normal life or with 

 monstrosities. 



Ensign Bernadou, U. S. N., has just sent to the 

 national museum a small but wisely chosen col- 

 lection of art products to illustrate social and in- 

 dustrial life in Corea. Among his specimens is a 

 series of old screens painted in oil on silk, and 

 depicting the paying of tribute by sm-rounding 

 nations to the emperor of China. An outer court 

 is filled with attendants, beasts of burden, palan- 

 quins, and gifts in endless variety from every part 

 of eastern Asia. Coreans, of course, hold a 

 prominent place. A long procession of ambassa- 

 dors from these various countries marches through 

 massive gateways, along narrow courts, and over 

 elevated bridges to the throne. There sit the 

 reigning sovereign and his family, guarded by 

 soldiers and attended by nobles. In front of the 

 throne kneel the tribute-bearers with their gifts. 

 The faces, costumes, and postm-es are accurately 

 drawn, but the perspective is thoroughly Chinese 

 in the method of taking advantage of the whole 

 space. 



This work of art introduces us to the high life of 

 Corea ; but Ensign Bernadou has also had the 

 good fortune to obtain nearly a hundred old water- 

 color sketches by native artists, portraying in- 

 dustrial life and natural scenery. Eight of these 

 paintings are presented in the accompanying plates. 

 They are rather studies in real life than finished 

 paintings, the latter usually partaking of the 

 grotesqueness characteristic of both Chinese and 

 Japanese. 



Corean women washing clothes (fig. 1). — Wo- 

 men are not seen abroad, says Mr. Lowell, except- 

 ing servants at the wells, and washerwomen. In 

 •Corea, garments are taken apart to be washed, 

 both the cleansing and the subsequent mangling 



being effected by means of clubs. When the gar- 

 ment is restored, the seams are pressed close with 

 a very narrow smoothing-iron. 



House-builders at work (fig. 2). — Mr. Lowell 

 also describes minutely the work of the joiner and 

 the tiler. Hod-carriers are unknown, and un- 

 necessary, because the attendant can easily throw 

 his tiles to the workman while the balls of mud 

 are passed up in netting. The ' chalk line ' is 

 blackened with ink. Plane, saw, square, and 

 adze are of the most primitive type. The pres- 

 ence of ' the all-seeing eye ' also seems necessary. 

 Spinning and weaving (fig. 3). — The textile 

 practices of Corea exhibit the most primitive 

 tjpes of Chinese weaving. The loom for matting 

 is very rude, although the work is excellent. The 

 warp is held in place by a stone tied to the end of 

 each thread. Half of these rest on one side, and 

 half on the other side, of the upper beam. After 

 the insertion of a weft straw, each of these stones 

 is shifted to the opposite side. 



Shoeing a refractory horse (fig. 4). — The black- 

 smiths and other metal-workers of Corea are quite 

 clever. Some of their silver and copper inlaying 

 done on jewelry boxes and furniture contrasts 

 favorably with similar work by their neighbors. 

 The bellows consists of a square box, in wliich 

 a plunger of wood packed with paper passes up 

 and down. 



A lesson in archery (fig. 5). — Archery is still a 

 favorite amusement among the Coreans, and their 

 soldiers are obliged to compete in yearly practice 

 for prizes. Men of straw are set up in boats as 

 marks. Great care is bestowed both on bows and 

 arrows, and the junior members of the corps are 

 carefully instructed in the precedents of practice. 

 Bonzes selling charms (fig. 6). — Mr. Lowell 

 characterizes Corea as a land devoid of religion, 

 Confucianism swaying the upper classes, and old 

 superstitions the lower. Sorcerers and fortune- 

 tellers sell their charms to men and women, often 

 parading them in public, and announcing their 

 presence with rude music. Mr. GriflBs's ' man of 

 straw ' plays an important part, even now being 

 sold and kicked to pieces as a scape-goat for the 

 man's former self. In the drawing of the sorcerer 

 is exhibited the quaint custom among Corean 

 women of wearing on the top of the head a gar- 

 ment which they may draw over the face on the 

 appearance of a man. 



A wedding procession (fig. 7.) — In the wedding 

 procession we see the lantern-men preceding ; the 

 bearer of a wild duck or goose or a model, sym- 

 bol of domestic felicity ; the happy bridegroom 

 seated on a horse led by a man and attended by 

 another ; last of all, the bride, attended by a 

 young boy. Her garment, ready to cover her 



