admit. They do not shy away from work, no matter how troublesome or strenuous it may be. They are not ashamed of any kind of labour, not even if it is as lowly or debased as may be, so long as they can make money.
I should like to make a few remarks about the physique of the Chinese, before I continue with my description of their customs and way of life. The Chinese are the same size as Europeans, but they have less muscle power. They are slender and well-proportioned. The features of the face are in between those of a Negro and those of a European. The face is more angular than a European's, and comes closer to a right-angle than does a Negro's. The cheek-bone protrudes less than does that of a Negro, and the lips are less thick and protruding. The nose, as a rule, is flat and thick, the eyebrows and eyes are black, and the eyes are set obliquely, which means that they lie lower towards the nose than to the outside of the face. The hair is black, rough, and thick, but the growth of the beard is very slight. The colour of the face varies according to the different longitudes. In this region, the colour is mostly a pale ochre, which turns brown in people who live mostly in the open, and are exposed to the sun. No Chinese would be browner than a Portuguese who lives in Hong Kong — at least I have not seen any such.
The face of a Chinese shows little animation, or freshness. Partly, this is, surely, due to physical reasons, but, partly the reason is also that the places where they live are so dark, musty, and smoky. Besides, there is the fact that they never wash themselves in cold, but only in warm water. Furthermore, the rag with which they wash themselves is always grubby, or even dirty. After they have washed themselves, they always hang the rag in any odd place — very often in front of their house-door — and leave it there until they next need it. As soon as a child is born, it is straightaway washed in hot water. Later they do not seem to be washed in either warm water or cold water, because all the small children I have seen were, without exception, dirty and unclean.
I should also remark that Chinese ladies are smaller than
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admit. They do not shy away from work, no matter how troublesome or strenuous it may be. They are not ashamed of any kind of labour, not even if it is as lowly or debased as may be, so long as they can make money.
I should like to make a few remarks about the physique of the Chinese, before I continue with my description of their customs and way of life. The Chinese are the same size as Europeans, but they have less musclepower. They are slender and well-proportioned. The features of the face are in between those of a Negro and those of a European. The face is more angular than a European's, and comes closer to a right-angle than does a Negro's. The cheek-bone protrudes less than does that of a Negro, and the lips are less thick and protruding. The nose, as a rule, is flat and thick, the eyebrows and eyes are black, and the eyes are set obliquely, which means that they lie lower towards the nose than to the outside of the face. The hair is black, rough, and thick, but the growth of the beard is very slight. The colour of the face varies according to the different longitudes. In this region, the colour is mostly a pale ochre, which turns brown in people who live mostly in the open, and are exposed to the sun. No Chinese would be browner than a Portuguese who lives in Hong Kong at least I have not seen any such.
The face of a Chinese shows little animation, or freshness. Partly, this is, surely, due to physical reasons, but, partly the reason is also that the places where they live are so dark, musty, and smoky. Besides, there is the fact that they never wash themselves in cold, but only in warm water. Furthermore, the rag with which they wash themselves is always grubby, or even dirty. After they have washed themselves, they always hang the rag in any odd place very often in front of their house-door and leave it there until they next need it. As soon as a child is born, it is straightaway washed in hot water. Later they do not seem to be washed in either warm water or cold water, because all the small children I have seen were, without exception, dirty and unclean.
L
I should also remark that Chinese ladies are smaller than
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