CHAPTER II.
THE CHINAMAN ABROAD AND AT HOME
Chinese Guilds—Hongkong Native Boats—Shopkeepers—Artists—Music Halls.
My experience of the Chinese was not wholly confined to their native land. Before travelling through China I obtained some knowledge of the people in the Straits of Malacca, Siam, Cambodia and Cochin China. Although it forms no part of my scheme to recount in detail my impressions of the Chinaman abroad, yet a brief outline of his condition and prospects as one finds him outside the limits of his own land may assist the reader in forming a fair estimate of his character and capacity. He has been regarded as a non-progressive type, moving like a planet in an orbit of his own, from which he may not diverge without disaster to the political and social system of his nation. The conclusion is not without reason, as in his own country he is fettered by ancient tradition and the stern rule of a despotic government. His sacred books are the classics of antiquity in which are stored the tests of all human knowledge; there he must find the light of his life to guide him in his career from birth to burial. He may not, and seemingly cannot,
