CHINA AND HER PEOPLE ' 313 



his eighteenth 3'ear, did not designate his successor, and it was in 

 consequence of palace intrigue, directed b}^ the Empress Dowager, in 

 concert with Prince Ch'un, that the infant son of the hitter was de- 

 clared Emperor. The Emperor Kuangsii, now in his twent^'-nintli 

 year, nominalh' assumed the reins of government in March, 1887. 

 He married Ye-ho-na-la, niece of the Empress Dowager, Februar}' 

 26, 1889, and was enthroned in IMarch, 1890. 



The Emperor is the spiritual as well as temporal sovereign, and as 

 higli priest of the empire can alone perform the great religious cere- 

 monies. No religious hierarchy is maintained at public exj)ense, nor 

 is any priesthood attached to the Confucian or state religion. 



A characteristic of the Chinaman is his desire for education. So 

 thoroughly imbued is the national s[)irit with the thirst for knowledge 

 that it is safe to sa}'^ that no other people are so generally and so well 

 educated as the Chinese. Ever}' hoy is compelled })y law to attend 

 school a certain jieriod of the year. Among the poorest classes, where 

 the struggle for existence is fierce and unrelenting, among what are 

 known as tlie coolie class, scarcely an individual can be found who 

 cannot read and write, and this, too, not iialtingl}' and with difficult}', 

 but freely and, so far as can be understood by an observer, accuratel}' 

 and understandingly. The word " coolie " is not a term of reproach, 

 ijut signifies laborer or workman, and is used among the Chinese them- 

 selves with this meaning. As in other parts of the world, tlie coolies 

 or laborers are recruited from the lowest strata of the body ])olitic ; 

 but, as has been pointed out, practically without excefition tliey read 

 and write their own complicated language. 



During a recent cruise in Chinese waters I became much interested 

 in noting tiie manner in which tiie lowest chisses acquired their ability 

 to read and write, and the result of several years of observation is that 

 their education comes largely througii the steady and persistent use 

 of the stray minutes of life. As soon as a piece of work is done, while 

 waiting for a fresh job, or even standing in line, waiting his turn to 

 <leposit his package, Inile, or cask, the coolie plays with a stick or bit 

 of bamlxx), writing a character over and over, or studies a few charac- 

 ters written on a bit of paper l)r()Ugbt from a pocket. 'I'hus the 

 minutes of waiting are employed in the acquisition ol one more tiny 

 Jiit of knowledge. 



in physical appearance the natives of China vary wi(h;iy from ex- 

 treme nortli to south. While our experience in the United States 

 leads us to think the race is small and undersized, a brief residence 



