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Prolific women
Montesquieu - the spirit of laws
... in China, the women are so prolific, and the human species multiplies so fast, that the lands, though never so much cultivated, are scarcely sufficient to support the inhabitants. Here, therefore, luxury is pernicious, and the spirit of industry and economy is as requisite as in any republic. They are obliged to pursue the necessary arts, and to shun those of luxury and pleasure.
Attempted Explanations
H. Smith Chinese Characteristics, 1894
The history of foreign diplomacy with China is largely a history of attempted explanations of matters which have been deliberately misunderstood.
The Taipan's Creed
A trader to the British consul in Shanghai
In two or three years at farthest I hope to realize a fortune and get away. And what can it matter to me if all Shanghai disappear afterwards in fire or flood? You must not expect men in my position to condemn themselves to prolonged exile in an unhealthy climate for the benefit of posterity. We are money-making, practical men. Our business is to make money, as much and as fast as we can - and for this end all modes or means are good which the law permits.
Service and Necessities
J.O.P. Bland Houseboat Days in China
I know that there exists a theory, widely held, that a native can sleep anywhere, and that to concern oneself for his comfort is foolishness; many good people quarter their Chinese servants worse than their dogs. No doubt that the Oriental survives bad treatment and that he accepts it, like other sublunary happenings, with stolid patience; at the same time, there is an old saying about the merciful man which comes to mind when one sees the "boy" sleeping en pelotte in a cupboard five feet by three, while the cook lies uneasily curled between his stove and the water-kong. Humanity apart, these people would better appreciate our excursions and sorties, and render us, therefore, a better, because a more willing, service if their necessities were a matter of more concern to us.
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