he wishes to express approval, should he
clap his hands. Clapping of hands in China (_i.e._ non-Europeanized
China) is used to drive away the _sha ch'i_, or deathly influence of
evil spirits, and to clap the hands at the close of the remarks of a
Chinese host (as I have seen prominent, well-meaning, but ill-guided
men of the West do) is equivalent to disapproval, if not insult. Had
our diplomatists been sociologists instead of only commercial agents,
more than one war might have been avoided.

Habits and Customs

At intervals during the year the Chinese make holiday. Their public
festivals begin with the celebration of the advent of the new
year. They let off innumerable firecrackers, and make much merriment
in their homes, drinking and feasting, and visiting their friends
for several days. Accounts are squared, houses cleaned, fresh paper
'door-gods' pasted on the front doors, strips of red paper with
characters implying happiness, wealth, good fortune, longevity, etc.,
stuck on the doorposts or the lintel, tables, etc., covered with red
cloth, and flowers and decorations displayed everywhere. Business
is suspended, and the merriment, dressing in new clothes, feasting,
visiting, offerings to gods and ancestors, and idling continue pretty
consistently during the first half of the first moon, the vacation
ending with the Feast of Lanterns, which occupies the last three
days. It originated in the Han dynasty 2000 years ago. Innumerable
lanterns of all sizes, shapes, colours (except wholly white, or rather
undyed material, the colour of mourning), and designs are lit in front
of public and private buildings, but the use of these was an addition
about 800 years later, _i.e._ about 1200 years ago. Paper dragons,
hundreds of yards long, are moved along the streets at a slow pace,
supported on the heads of men whose legs only are visible, giving
the impression of huge serpents winding through the thoroughfares.

Of the other chief festivals, about eight in number (not counting the
festivals of the four seasons with their equinoxes and solstices), four
are specially concerned with the propitiation of the spirits--namely,
the Earlier Spirit Festival (fifteenth day of second moon), the
Festival of the Tombs (about the third day of the third moon), when
graves are put in order and special offerings made to the dead, the
Middle Spirit Festival (fifteenth day of seventh moon), and the Later
Spirit Festival (fifteenth day of te