Section of Unsigned Letter to the Brainerd Society, March 13, 1874

Section of Unsigned Letter to the Brainerd Society, March 13, 1874

Chinese New Year; Debtor and creditor--China; Robbery; Learned institutions and societies

This letter describes the Chinese New Year environment to the Brainerd Society of Wooster University. The holiday lasts for two weeks, with many business owners closing shop. Debtors try to pay their dues before the year is past and are advertised as in debt on their doors if they are late. Robberies become more common and many soldiers return home. The author then begins to describe the progress of the mission schools.

Unknown

The College of Wooster, Special Collections, Noyes Collection, Box #3

Unpublished

1873-03-13

Council on Library and Information Resources Hidden Special Collections Grant

PDF

eng (English)

Text

noyes_c_cor_748

Canton March 13th 1874
To the
Members of the Brainerd Society
Wooster University
[u]Ohio[/u].
My dear Friends -
I sit down, this
rainy afternoon, to fulfill a
promise I made to you, some-
time since, to write occasionally
giving some information in
regard to [u]this part[/u] of that great
field, the world, in which christian
men and women are sowing,
planting, watering, and gathering
harvests.-- I presume you will
also hear from time to time
from one of your own members
who worthily represents you here.
We have Entered upon
a New Year, according to the Chinese
reckoning. The first day of their year

occurred on the 17th of Feb although
their New Year's holiday is some
two weeks instead of one day
as with us. Those who can
afford it shut up their shops
until the middle of the
month. Those who are in
less prosperous circumstances
begin business again sooner,
and then go on day after day,
without a single break, until
the beginning of another year.
It almost makes one tried to
think of this constant labor
relieved by no Sabbath rest.
During these New Years holidays
friends are Expected to Exchange
calls and congratulations on
all hands.
There is one custom
that might perhaps be profitably
adopted by other countries than
China. It is that in business

matters Every thing begins anew
with a New Year. This makes
the closing of the old year a
busy time, as all accounts must
be made square, debts paid, and
Every man know whether his head
is above water before he Enters
another year. In case a man
cannot pay his debts, the night
before New Years, his creditors come
and stick their bills upon his
closed doors, so that New Years
Every body can see what his
debts are. It is considered a
great disgrace to have one's
shop doors thus posted over with
bills.-- Beyond that, neither he
nor anyone Else can open the
shop for business until these debts
are paid and so it is not
only a disgrace but a serious
trouble.
At this time robberies are
much more numerous than

usual as Every body is need of
money to pay their debts, and
also to meet the Expense of
the New Year's festivities. Travelling
on the rivers is less safe as the
soldiers who are on the guard boats
are allowed to go home to
visit their relatives and friends.
It is the time for family gatherings.
Everybody is anxious to return at
that time, if possible to his native
village.
It is also the only time
in the year for school vacations
It thus happens that in our
Mission work we generally
lay our plans for the year at
the time of Chinese New Year.
Our schools are now just getting
started + I will tell you a little
about them in this letter.



广州 1874 年 3 月 13 日
到
布雷纳德协会成员
伍斯特大学
俄亥俄州。
我亲爱的朋友 -
我坐下，这个
下雨的午后，完成一个
我向你保证，从那时起，偶尔写信
提供一些信息
关于那个伟大的这一部分
领域，世界，其中基督教
男人和女人在播种，
种植、浇水和采集
收获.-我想你会的
也时不时听到
来自您自己的一位成员
谁配得上在这里代表你。
我们已经进入
根据中国人的说法，新年
清算。他们一年的第一天

虽然发生在 2 月 17 日
他们的新年假期有些
两周而不是一天
和我们一样。那些能够
负担得起关闭他们的商店
直到中间
月。那些在
不太繁荣的情况
早点重新开始营业，
然后日复一日地继续，
没有一次休息，直到
又一年的开始。
它几乎让人试图
想想这种不断的劳动
安息日没有休息而松了一口气。
在这些元旦假期
期待朋友交流
来电和祝贺
全手。
有一种习俗
这可能是有利可图的
被其他国家采用
中国。在商业上就是这样

事事每件事都重新开始
与新年。这使得
旧年的结束
忙碌的时间，因为所有帐户都必须
平息，偿还债务，以及
每个人都知道他的头是否
在他进入之前在水面之上
另一年。万一男人
无法偿还他的债务，夜晚
过年之前，债主来了
把他们的账单贴在他的
关门，让新年
每个人都可以看到他的
债务是。它被认为是
拥有一个人的耻辱
店门因此贴在上面
账单--除此之外，他也没有
也没有其他人可以打开
购物直到这些债务
支付，所以它不是
不仅是耻辱，而且是严重的
麻烦。
这时候抢劫是
数量多于

像每个人都需要的那样
偿还债务的钱，以及
也为了满足费用
新年庆祝活动。旅行
在河流上不太安全，因为
守卫船上的士兵
被允许回家
拜访他们的亲戚和朋友。
这是家庭聚会的时间。
每个人都急于返回
那个时候，如果可能的话，他的家乡
村庄。
也是唯一一次
在学校假期的一年
因此，在我们的
任务工作我们一般
将我们今年的计划安排在
中国新年的时间。
我们的学校现在刚刚
开始了，我会告诉你一点
在这封信中关于他们。

Letter