the soul of the far east-第12部分

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d　extensively　known　at　the　time　the　adoption　takes　place；　his　change　of　cognomen　occasions　at　first　some　slight　confusion　among　his　acquaintance。　　This　would　be　no　worse；　however；　than　the　change　with　us　from　the　maid　to　the　matron；　and　intercourse　would　soon　proceed　smoothly　again　if　people　would　only　rest　content　with　one　such　domestic　migration。　　But　they　do　not。　　The　fatal　facility　of　the　process　tempts　them　to　repeat　it。　　The　result　is　bewildering：　a　people　as　nomadic　now　in　the　property　of　their　persons　as　their　forefathers　were　in　their　real　estate。　　A　man　adopts　another　to…day　to　unadopt　him　to…morrow　and　replace　him　by　somebody　else　the　day　after。　So　profoundly　unimportant　to　them　is　their　social　identity；　that　they　bandy　it　about　with　almost　farcical　freedom。　　Perhaps　it　is　fitting　that　there　should　be　some　slight　preparation　in　this　world　for　a　future　transmigration　of　souls。　　Still　one　fails　to　conceive　that　the　practice　can　be　devoid　of　disadvantages　even　to　its　beneficiaries。　To　foreigners　it　proves　disastrously　perplexing。　　For　if　you　chance　upon　a　man　whom　you　have　not　met　for　some　time；　you　can　never　be　quite　sure　how　to　accost　him。　If　you　begin；　〃Well　met；　Green；　how　goes　it？〃　as　likely　as　not　he　replies；　〃Finely。　　But　I　am　no　longer　Green；　I　have　become　Brown。　　I　was　adopted　last　month　by　my　maternal　grandfather。〃　You　of　course　apologize　for　your　unfortunate　mistake；　carefully　note　his　change　of　hue　for　a　future　occasion；　and　behold；　on　meeting　him　the　next　time　you　find　he　has　turned　Black。　　Such　a　chameleon…like　cognomen　is　very　unsettling　to　your　idea　of　his　identity；　and　can　hardly　prove　reassuring　to　his　own。　　The　only　persons　who　reap　any　benefit　from　the　doubt　are　those；　with　us　unhappy；　individuals　who　possess　the　futile　faculty　of　remembering　faces　without　recalling　their　accompanying　names。

Girls；　as　a　rule；　are　not　adopted；　being　valueless　genealogically。　　A　niece　or　grandniece　to　whom　one　has　taken　a　great　fancy　might　of　course　be　adopted　there　as　elsewhere；　but　it　would　be　distinctly　out　of　the　every…day　run；　as　she　could　never　be　included　in　the　household　on　strict　business　principles。

The　practice　of　adopting　is　not　confined　to　childless　couples。　　Others　may　find　themselves　in　quite　as　unfortunate　a　predicament。　A　man　may　be　the　father　of　a　large　and　thriving　family　and　yet　be　as　destitute　patriarchally　as　if　he　had　not　a　child　to　his　name。　His　offspring　may　be　of　the　wrong　sex；　they　may　all　be　girls。　In　this　untoward　event　the　father　has　something　more　on　his　hands　than　merely　a　houseful　of　daughters　to　dispose　of。　In　addition　to　securing　sons…in…law；　he　must；　unless　he　would　have　his　ancestral　line　become　extinct；　provide　himself　with　a　son。　　The　simplest　procedure　in　such　a　case　is　to　combine　relationships　in　a　single　individual；　and　the　most　self…evident　person　to　select　for　the　dual　capacity　is　the　husband　of　the　eldest　daughter。　　This　is　the　course　pursued。　　Some　worthy　young　man　is　secured　as　spouse　for　the　senior　sister；　he　is　at　the　same　time　formally　taken　in　as　a　son　by　the　family　whose　cognomen　he　assumes；　and　eventually　becomes　the　head　of　the　house。　　Strange　to　say；　this　vista　of　gradually　unfolding　honors　does　not　seem　to　prove　inviting。　　Perhaps　the　new…comer　objects　to　marrying　the　whole　family；　a　prejudice　not　without　parallel　elsewhere。　　Certainly　the　opportunity　is　not　appreciated。　Indeed；　to　〃go　out　as　a　son…in…law；〃　as　the　Japanese　idiom　hath　it；　is　considered　demeaning　to　the　matrimonial　domestic。　　Like　other　household　help　he　wears　too　patently　the　badge　of　servitude。　〃If　you　have　three　koku　of　rice　to　your　name；　don't　do　it；〃　is　the　advice　of　the　local　proverba　proverb　whose　warning　against　marrying　for　money　is　the　more　suggestive　for　being　launched　in　a　land　where　marrying　for　love　is　beyond　the　pale　of　respectability。　　To　barter　one's　name　in　this　mercenary　manner　is　looked　upon　as　derogatory　to　one's　self…respect；　although；　as　we　have　seen；　to　part　with　it　for　any　less　direct　remuneration　is　not　attended　with　the　slightest　loss　of　personal　prestige。　　As　practically　the　unfortunate　had　none　to　lose　in　either　event；　it　would　seem　to　be　a　case　of　taking　away　from　a　man　that　which　he　hath　not。　　So　contumacious　a　thing　is　custom。　　It　is　indeed　lucky　that　popular　prejudice　interposes　some　limit　to　this　fictitious　method　of　acquiring　children。　　A　trifling　predilection　for　the　real　thing　in　sonships　is　absolutely　vital；　even　to　the　continuance　of　the　artificial　variety。　　For　if　one　generation　ever　went　in　exclusively　for　adoption；　there　would　be　no　subsequent　generation　to　adopt。

As　it　to　give　the　finishing　touch　to　so　conventional　a　system　of　society；　a　man　can　leave　it　under　certain　circumstances　with　even　greater　ease　than　he　entered　it。　　He　can　become　as　good　as　dead　without　the　necessity　of　making　way　with　himself。　　Theoretically；　he　can　cease　to　live　while　still　practically　existing；　for　it　is　always　open　to　the　head　of　a　family　to　abdicate。

The　word　abdicate　has　to　our　ears　a　certain　regal　sound。　We　instinctively　associate　the　act　with　a　king。　　Even　the　more　democratic　expression　resign　suggests　at　once　an　office　of　public　or　quasi　public　character。　　To　talk　of　abdicating　one's　private　relationships　sounds　absurd；　one　might　as　well　talk　of　electing　his　parents；　it　would　seem　to　us。　　Such　misunderstanding　of　far…eastern　social　possibilities　comes　from　our　having　indulged　in　digressions　from　our　more　simple　nomadic　habits。　　If　in　imagination　we　will　return　to　our　ancestral　muttons　and　the　then　existing　order　of　things；　the　idea　will　not　strike　us　as　so　strange；　for　in　those　early　bucolic　days　every　father　was　a　king。　　Family　economics　were　the　only　political　questions　in　existence　then。　　The　clan　was　the　unit。　　Domestic　disputes　were　state　disturbances；　and　clan…claims　the　only　kind　of　international　quarrels。　　The　patriarch　was　both　father　to　his　people　and　king。

As　time　widened　the　family　circle　it　eventually　reached　a　point　where　cohesion　ceased　to　be　possible。　　The　centrifugal　tendency　could　no　longer　be　controlled　by　the　centripetal　force。　　It　split　up　into　separate　bodies；　each　of　them　a　family　by　itself。　　In　their　turn　these　again　divided；　and　so　the　process　went　on。　　This　principle　has　worked　universally；　the　only　difference　in　its　action　among　different　races　being　the　greater　or　less　degree　of　the　evolving　motion。　　With　us　the　social　system　has　been　turning　more　and　more　rapidly　with　time。　　In　the　Far　East　its　force；　instead　of　increasing；　would　seem　to　have　decreased；　enabling　the　nebula　of　its　original　condition　to　keep　together　as　a　single　mass；　so　that　to…day　a　whole　nation；　resembling　a　nebula　indeed　in　homogeneity；　is　swayed　by　a　single　patriarchal　principle。　　Here；　on　the　contrary；　so　rapid　has　the　motion　become　that　even　brethren　find　themselves　scattered　to　the　four　winds。

An　Occidental　father　and　an　Oriental　head　of　a　family　are　no　longer　really　correlative　terms。　　The　latter　more　closely　resembles　a　king　in　his　duties；　responsibilities；　and　functions　generally。　　Now；　in　the　Middle　Ages　in　Europe；　when　a　king　grew　tired　of　affairs　of　state；　he　abdicated。　　So　in　the　Far　East；　when　the　head　of　a　family　has　had　enough　of　active　life；　he　a