Suicide

is extremely common in China as compared with western lands. Of course there are no statistics of the subject for the whole country. Five mi ionaries in five cities of four different provinces once reported the number of attempted suicides where their help had been called in to rescue the persons. The number in one year was 1,200 in a city population estimated at 580,000. This gives one attempt at self-murder in every 480 people each year, and if extended to the whole country would give a total of over 800,000 cases per annum. 543 prove that the evil is very great. It must be borne in mind that these were attempts only, not completed suicides; on the other hand, they are only those cases where the mi ionaries' help was sought, and cannot be the full tale. As to the causes of suicide, they differ much from those acting in the West, Wearine of existence, fear of suffering as in incurable disease, or of dishonour as in bankruptcy, or misery and starvation as in times of famine, do not prompt the Chinese to seek death. The causes are more often anger and revenge; and the low value placed on all life (as seen in wholesale executions, etc.), must also be considered. Women are the more common self-murderers, v/hich is largely due to the marriage system, combined, of course* with the narrow outlook on life, due to lack of education. A wife slighted on account of a concubine, a concubine oppre ed by a wife, a daughter-in-law ill-treated by her mother in-law, lightly destroy themselves, whether in a fit of anger or for the sake of revenge. Men are le prone to such merely angry motives, but often commit suicide deliberately to bring an enemy or oppre or into trouble with the law. One cla of suicides, more excusable from the foreign point of view, is that of beaten generals. A defeated general can hardly do anything else than commit IMG:p543_1.png:Chinese characters for otherwise he may be almost sure of being degraded and condemned to death, while his whole family may suffer with him; by killing himself he may be praised as a faithful servant. There are innumerable instances of suicides of this kind, one late and well-known example being that of Admiral Ting, after he had surrendered Weihai wei to the Japanese in 1895. Women who destroy themselves rather than lose their chastity, or widows who kill themselves to escape a re-marriage forced on them, are held in much honour. Officials condemned to death were often allowed, as an act of imperial clemency, to commit suicide instead of dying under ihe hands of the executioner. Formerly opium was the usual means of self destruction, or women would throw themselves into a well; now, amongst the poorer cla es, the easily procured lucifer-matches or kerosene oil are often used to end life. SUID/E. The probable number of species of the pig Family in China is five; with their distribution they are as follows: — Sus paludosus, the Yangtze Valley; S. gigas, Manchuria; S. core an us, South Corea; S. melts, Kuangsi, S. China; S. moup in ens is, N.W. Ssiich'uan, Kansu, Tibet, S. Shensi. SwiNHOE names S. leucomyHax (Shanghai) and IMG:p543_2.png:Chinese characters taivanxis (Formosa). SwiNHOE: Cat. of Chinese, Mammals, P.Z.S., 1870: SowERBY: Journal, N.C.B.R.A.S., vol. xlvii.