Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms: Volume 32

Page Three

On every auspicious day, the men gather to drink together. When they are intoxicated, they recite poetry and dance. The women do not avoid guests; they compete with one another to display their fine ornaments and play games in groups, singing as they walk along the roads.

Those of lowly status, upon seeing a person of honor, remove their hats and stand upon the ground to perform a bow 叩, kou. Those of high noble rank do not remove their hats. When equals meet, both remove their hats and bow while standing. When a man and a woman meet, the man removes his hat, and the woman stands and bows. They consider the removal of felt boots to be a sign of refinement original: qu zhan xie. This likely refers to the etiquette of removing outdoor footwear or a specific style of Russian boot, and curly hair is regarded as beautiful.

For marriages, they also utilize matchmakers. On the day of the wedding, the couple goes to pay their respects at the "Church of the Lord of Heaven" As noted previously, this refers to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Only after the recitation of scriptures is complete do they perform the ceremony of the nuptial cup 合巹, hejin. For funerals, coffins are used, and the deceased are all taken inside the church for burial.

They do not drink tea. They clothe themselves in felt, coarse wool, and ramie cloth. They use wheat and leaven to make cakes and bread; they do not prepare rice. For every meal, they use spoons and small forks; they have no chopsticks 筯, zhu.

Their customs place a high value on trade, and those who labor in agriculture are few. They understand how to sow seeds, but they do not understand the practice of weeding or cultivating the soil. They do not use oxen for plowing. Those who live along the riverbanks are skilled at swimming. They plant melons. Their silver coins, both large and small, have values of three, ten, fifty, and one hundred wen The author is equating Russian currency—likely kopecks—to the wen, the standard Chinese copper cash, to explain their relative value to the reader.