Present-Giving in China
Present-giving is really carried to great excess all over China, and whatever obtains in China obtains at the Palace. The Palace is spoken of in Peking as the “Inside,” that is, the heart of the Empire. From this “Inside,” customs and habits flow and pulse over the rest of China, as the blood does from the heart, by a thousand arteries reaching to the very confines of the Empire, and it also receives the impress of what passes on outside among the people. Whether it be, in the instance of present-giving, that the custom has grown from the “Inside” to the “Outside” or vice versa, I know not, but it is universal in China. However, it probably reaches its greatest excess in the Palace.
Births, marriages, and deaths are all marked by presents, and there is a very riot of present-giving at the New Year! Everyone then exchanges them, from the lowest to the highest. Next comes the anniversary of the birth. This is celebrated with an unheard-of pomp in China. The more exalted the rank and the greater the age, the more splendid is the celebration and the more magnificent the presents. The Emperor’s Birthday was the first I saw celebrated, and I was astonished at the number and elegance of the presents that flowed into the Palace on this occasion. But at the Empress Dowager’s Birthday all this was far surpassed; and her presents exceeded in number and elegance His Majesty’s, for she was celebrating more years than the Emperor, and the number and value of birthday presents increase in proportion to the years. Their elegance and number are also regulated by the rank. The presents the Grand Secretary and the Prime Minister receive on such occasions would quite astonish a Westerner, and, of course, far surpass in number and magnificence what would be offered to the president of a