1926-08-21 — Page 7

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21, 1926.

ON CHINESE WILLS."

Morality the Main Point "Aimed At.

LIVING TO BE 100 YEARS OLD.

More of Autobiography Than Testament.

By T. W. K.J

Morality, and not merely the disposition of wealth is the main object of Chinose wills.

The purposes for which a will le made by a Chinese and by a foreigner are different. The for- eigner's will is made solely for the purpose of legally disposing of his estate after death. The Chinese: makes his wiil primarily to)

acquaint his sons and grandsons | (who may still be in their lafancy) at the time of his death), with thei manner in which he has lived: how! he, has made his fortune, if he be rich; how he expects his dea- cendants to behave! and what accomplishments he exprets thein ti chirve.

A Valonbie Classic. Whether or not one may leave an eslate to zhls sons and grund- sans, he makes his will at the sam. Where the testator is a man of Iturature, expectations are to see his will in the form of a thick salume, to be.joudously preserved. by the members of the fare Ay ns a valle classic.

However, in the will of a well-to- do person, there will be included instructions for the division of his estate amongst his sins, and re- latives. Very often a portion of the state is devoted to donutiongi to various chantuile institutions; | but in almost all cases, a portion of the residual estate is set aside as asaridleiab and, The income! Pom this is to be applied towards the payment of his descendants'j

in their periodical an- cestral "worship during the Tsing. Ming festival of each year.

expenses

Whore the estate comprises lease- Elf property the setting aside of ang, portion thereof for sarrificiable purposes is prohibited by British law, for the supposed rensgn that it! tends to tie up the property In- definitely.

1

THE CHINA MAIL.

HUNGRY GHOSTS.

CHINA'S WARS: A GUIDE TO THE POSITION OF CANTON TO-DAY.

How Europeans Can Cope with the Complications of Names and Places.

IBET

MONGOLIA

SZECHWAN

KWEICHOW

MANCHURIA

KALGAN

SHANTUNG

[100

SHENS!

HONAN

ANHWEI

SHANSI

CHIAL

HUPEH

YUNNAN

HUNAN

CHAMOSH

KWANGSI

KWANTUNGE

14

KOREA

-CHANG WAT

FÜKIEN

CHEKIANG

SKETCH MAP OF CHINA TO SHOW THE TERRITORIES CONTROLLED BY THE DIFFERENT FAC TIONS TO-DAY, AND TO ASSIST NON-CHINESE IN COMPREHENDING WAR TERMS WHICH CROP UP IN CABLES EVERY DAY.

In respect of the above wap, and the accompanying notes, the reference to party menus only the political purty in arendaney. There is no evidence that the people themselves are interested in the disputes,

Names of warlords are used also in the sense of denoting factions. In some provinces, the power is really in the hands of practically actonomous subordmates who professind have practised-loyalty rewards their respec- tive masters.

Only ailways in actual lighting zones are shown,

'CANTON'S DOMAINS.'

possibility of developments there tively as the (in Canton's favour) is based on Hunan field. the fact that other "smaller tack by him generals in the province are try-still

ABOUT THE LOCAL STREET JOSSING.

"OLO" CHINESE CUSTOM.

Have any non-Chinese in Hong- kong been wondering what behind the week of street worship- ping this week?

As was explained last Saturday In the "China Mail,” it is the season for burning offerings to departed sculs. The money thrown at ran- Idom la also 'Intended for needy ghosts but is all picked up by the strect urchins who dive into a rug- ger scrum to fight for the coins.

To-morrow is the 15th, day of the 7th moon according to the "old calendar, it being the Chung Yuan Chieh, the Tostival consecrated to the dead. Here is something on it by a recognised authority:

"On the 1st duy, of the 7th moon the gates of purgatory are opened, and the hungry ghosts troop forth to have a month of enjoyment of the good things provided them by thair pious.

Amogha Not. Buddha,

"It is especially on the 15th day that liberal offerings of food are set out, paper money is barnt for the enrichment of the dead, and masses are said for, the releuse of the unhappy ghosts.

"The festival itself is a Buddhist introduction due to Amogha: though the worship of ancestors did not originate in China with the goming of Buddhism.

"By foreigners this feast is often called 'All Souls' Day! The Chin- ese equivalent is.. Yn aan, which also fails this season. It is the transliteration of Sanskrit word.” Wanting the Lion's Share. Yet another scribe, who writes of observations in North China, Fobservos:-

"The illiterate Chinese people never care to leave their homes on (the evening of this day for fear of encountering one of these wander. ing whosta. They stand in great drend of evil spirits, even of the sparits of their own ancestors, “

Some of these hungry spirits very rowdy, and when the people make offerings or food, they' armies now in the try to get the lion's share, or to Conversely, an at-get at the more delicious dishes by Hongkong being in the south,

on Wa Pei-fu is a forcing the meeker spirits away. more remote possibility. For this reason, we see in connee- she reader will best understand Getting Round chea Law, Owing 4 this prohibition, the Canton, our nearest neighbour.

matters if a start is made from ing to extend their rule-and the This is said in full cognisance of tion with the ceremonies and ser- tacking on of the Kuomintang his sudden challenge, not so many vices for the feeding of the hungry selting aside in: Chinese wills of Kwangtung province is entirely signboard may bring help. Cut- months ago, in Anhui and Kiang- spirits a long array of gods with leasehold properties in Hongkong Kuomintang, the political party ting matters down to a fine point, su, culminating "in the retreat ugly and ferocious faces being The sacrificial purposes has given now running the Nationalist Gov. the greater part of Szechuan northwards of Fengtien divisions brought but in a procession. rier to many u. law suik Sues

Like Dante's Inferno, cases have been known to ingerernment at Canton. Kwangsi, is should be marked "neutral, with which had come down on the flush

These gods are paken out for the for years, by which time the greater} dominated by Kwangtung and pro-Wa tendency." Its size, will of success.

come to the Feng purpose of putting a check upon explain the difficulty of internal part of the estate has gone to the acknowledges Canton's rule.

More than half of Hunan pro-government alone, without the tien party, of which Marshal the rowdy spirits, so that a fairly vaults the lawyers engaged vince (ie., the southern part up complications of sending out ex-Chang Tso-lin is the undisputed even distribution of the good things!

head. He is guarding the home provided may be made. fires of "the three eastern pro- "In Shanghai, Ave gods, attend to vinces" (not counted in China the distribution of food, their names being Sin Kong Chu, Kao Proper) which form Manchuria.

What Fengtien Means, Chang Chu, Say Pah Chu, Zing Chu,

work out a solution

of their families.

Then we

With the experience of bene-to Changsha and thereabouts) ispeditions. ficiaries of Chinese estates during held by General Tang Sang-chee,

Another Big Man. the last two decades, my country whose position is recognised by Kansu is at, present of no im- men now generally have their wills Canton.

portance although the tuchun has made by lawyers sovaš to avoid, this General Chang Kai-shek, the been waging war against a small His two chief, lieutenants are and Chang Sung Chu-all of them kind of litigation between members Nationalist dictator, recently en-section of the Kuominchun Army General Chang Tsung-eniang and were natives of Shanghai, according

tered Hunan by proceeding up (see below) which tried to estab-General Chang Hsueh-liang, the to Chinese tradition. However, where the legal festhe railway from Canton to Shiu-lish a footing there.

"The ceremony of feeding the are considered too heavy, the wills kwan. This is the southern part

A man whose name is constant-flatter being the son of the Mar-

These two command the hungry spirits is very interesting to age then made in Chinese in a form of the Canton-Hankow line, that ly cropping up nowadays is: that is caleniated to be legal by vacant part between Shiukwan Marshal Sun Chuan-fang. Add- Fengtien troops now garrisoning watch. I was originated by Moe the so-called Chinesa “law ex and Changsha being merely "pro-ing to his power by rapid but judi- Shantung and Chihli provinces Lec, a disciple of Buddha, who -184*"!N," *4124fcill. so made arejected."

practically all of the same wording. The following is a specimen of such

a testament. : ----

Polite "Form" of Death,

The appoints his wife, X.V.Z., for vaders.

Reasons for War.

shal

1924 and 6 of 1925.

i,

at saved his mother from Hades. He cious strokes within the last and, of course, the capital

went through all the different re- Peking. three years, he now rules five pro-

Fengtien, by the way, is one of ions, the narrative reminding one Towards the west is Kweichow, vinces along the central China

But that is Manchuria's three provinces and of Dante's Inferno. an understanding with which is seaboard. These are Chekiang

another story."""" claimed by both Canton and Wu (where Shanghai is), Kiangas (to is the name given to the party. From Peking a railway runs to Th maker of this will. Pei-fu. The safest category at the north); Anhui (to the west), "A.B.C., to avcount of his getting the moment is "neutral"

It is notified that the Western This Fukien and Kiangsi (on the Kalgan, along which is the famous Nankow Pass. Independent old, and having contracted applies also to Yunnan, the rulera south).

sources have reported the capture Electric Company. Incorporated. serious illness, baa considered it of both provinces being content Where Differences Exist. of this strategic post by the of 195. Broadway, in the City,! necessary now to make his wilt to hold their ground provided Chekiang, Kiangsu and Anhui

Fenghienites und their allies: County and State of New York, which he hereby does, whereby they are not disturbed by in-are essentially Sun Chuan-fang. Then an official message" from United States of Americs, have Fukien may be slightly less so, Canton (on Thursday) said that by assignment become proprie son, a rulațivedor friend) as his Wu Pei-fu's closest lieutenants but doubt does not exist at pre-the other side was winning and tors of Letter Patents Nos. 7 of executor or executrix, and he lure holding the stretch of rich sent. In Kiangsi (nearest the was threatening Peking! directs that when he attains his country along the Hunan-Hupeh southern war zone) conditions. 10th year (this being a pole boundary, which is really

Canton's Professed Allies. The the are somewhat different.

The other side is the Kuomin-

Record for China. reference to death), the residue heart of the wonderful Yangtze tuchun acknowledges Sun Chuan- of his rette onsisting of valley.

One province has not been dealt fang. But his predecessor, who chun. there is enumerated his pro

Kuo Min, ie. the two charde with in this brief review. It is There is a rival to General Tang was driven out by the Marshal,

mean National. left to the last because of its perties, personal or amovable Sung-chee for the military gov still has a substantial following inters together, after the payment of his funeralernorship of Hunan. He is Chao the province. This expelled gov- Chun means army. As tang unique position, politically and not expenses and debts, is to be Hang-teh. A small army of his ernor is reported to have divided into so many shares, (in has a foothold in the northern admitted into

the Cantor fold. specific numbers) for his wife. part of Hunan. But there are General Chang "Kai-shek's desire sons, and so on, and that his des several other generals who are on to divert his expedition into cendings shall follow his instrue his side because his victory will Kiangsi-in preference to push flons and that there shall be no mean a stoit buffer state between ing north from Hunan-may have disputes between them."

Canton's ambitions and their own been influenced by the assumption A Personal Note.

preserves.

that he will be assisted by those The will is then dated and sign-

Wu Pei-fu's Power. troops already in Kiangsi.

Masterly Inactivity,

British law.

Such a will is merely an instr ment to meet the local legal quirements for the disposal of catate and the "morn!" part of is lacking.

4

||

The

been means, party, Kuomintang means geographically.

Shans is in the north centre: Nationalist Party.

The Kuominehun's head is Feng Since 1911, one man has ruled the Yu-hsiang, the Christian general; province--which can be said of no

be anywhere between other province in China. said to Moscow and Kalgan.

governor has lived his own life! Kalgan is the headquarters of without regard for what goes on the Christian general's armies. elsewhere. The people are satis- Expelled from 'Peking, the Kuo-fied with his diplomacy and can ed by the testator and also by two Hupeh, Honan and Shensi pro-

minchun re-assembled along the genuinely be described as neutral attesting witnesses, as required by vinces can be put down definitely

Mongolian frontier and this pre- Still, Shansi has been embroiled To-day Marshal Sun Chuan- sent campaign around Nankow is in the present war in the North. - there hold office by his pleasure,national politics.

as Wu Pei-fu's as the generala fang is a powerful factor in the result of an attempted "come The Kuominchun also tried to get

Nominally he back."

in here and the governor, who had or because they have always been is pro-Wu. He has done nothing Hopea and Actual Facts, been at peace for over ten years--- in his party and rose with him in to show that he has renounced his Wu Pei-fu's alliance with this is a record for the Chinese the earlier days.

old master. On the other band, Chang Tso-lin has meant genuine Republic was the first to take In Hupeh are the important he has pursued a policy of master-co-operation __in the battlefield the field against the invader. I pray that my countrymen "will adhere to the tradition of cur fore- towns of Hankow and Wuchang ly inactivity while everybody on against the Kuominchun, so that fathers, and make it a rule to pre-(where the 1911 Revolution broke the anti-Canton side is flourish the allies have a clear run from His army, very big for a peace- pare a will that may serve as classi-out) and the Hanyang arsenal, all ing trumpets and brandishing the Yangtze (in Hupeh) up to at-any-price man, is big and atrong. Before the Fengtien- eal guidance for the moral educa- along the Yangtze River, close to swords. tion of the younger generations of the Hunan war zone and therefore With comparative peace in his Canton's hopes are that the cum-Wu Pel-fu allies had launch- the family.

This "classical" will in some danger by reason of the five provinces he has so much to Kuominchun will cut a way in be-ed" their offensive, Shansi had in- may be so worded as to stand en- proximity. Canton propagand-gain-earn is the better wordtween and be able to separate the flicted the first check on the Kuo- tirely separate from the "monetaryists promise the capture of these that even the glamour of success Fengtienites (penning them back minchun. will that has to be proved in Court. places in the near future. The in subduing the south, for himself in Manchuria) from Wu Pel-fü's

Not What of the prospects? northern part of the Canton or for Wu Rei-fu, will hardly be headquarters in central China. Jeven the star actors in this com- Hankow Railway (now in the worth the risk and expense. Then a combined offensive from plicated drama of life and death southern war area) is also shown More territory, even if conquered, North and South will eliminate can make a guess anywhere near in the map.

will make the area too cumber-Wu Pel-fu and leave the National the mark. .some.

Chang Tao-lin.

A Memorial of Re-entry by the Crown on New Kowloon Inland Lot. No. 998 has been registered according to law.

+|

Manchuria.

Not Even a Guess.

न

Why the Neutrals..

Army and Party in control of the Suffice is it to state that a com- Szechuan is another province

whole of China Proper. Ostensi-plete rout for the Kuominchun which has to be set down, to Wu If necessary he will make ges-bly Manchuria will next be sub. will release Wu Pei-fu's allies and ¡Poi-fu. The doubtful element tures against Canton entering his jugated. In no derogatory spirit troops for the war in the south. The cancellation of the Mem- enters in that, the tuchun, there territory. Further he may help is it said that such a vast expanse This will mean a great superiority orial of Re-entry on Inland Lot prefers to hold his own rather Wu Pei-fu with munitions and, of ground cannot be governed by in strength on the side against No. 2439 has been registered than embark on any enterprise possibly, arms. It is difficulty, the. present resources of the self- Canton. The Kuomintang may according to law.

for others. Canton's claim to the however, to see him fighting as ac- styled republicans of Canton.' even be threatened at home then.

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