The Beatrice Daily Express

LANTERNS AND UMBRELLAS.
How and Why They Are So Generally Used In China.

Chinese lanterns are made of paper, silk, horn, crystal and many other materials. Those made of silk are usually richly embroidered with figures of animals, birds or flowers.
Those of horn are prettily decorated with paintings. Some of the most ornamental and expensive lanterns are mounted on beautifully carved frames of wood and ivory.
If a Chinese leaves his home after night without taking with him a lantern, such as is assigned to the use of the class to which he belongs, he is liable to arrest by the police.
As soon as it is dark every city seems ablaze with lanterns. They light up the homes of the rich and poor; they are attached to the angles of the pagoda; they are seen at every port and on every river. In fact, they make their appearance everywhere, and to call China the "land of lanterns" is by no means a misnomer.
Umbrellas, too, are of much importance in China, because there the umbrella is a mark of rank. Two large red silk umbrellas signal the approach of the governor general of a province. A red silk umbrella with three ruffles on it is the kind assigned to the four highest ranks of mandarin. The nobility of lower rank are entitled to an umbrella of red silk, but may have only two ruffles.
The two highest ranks of gentlemen commoners are entitled to a red state umbrella surmounted by a knob of tin. The third and fourth ranks have the knob of wood instead of tin, but it is always painted red.
An umbrella of blue cloth with two ruffles and surmounted by a red painted wooden knob distinguishes the fifth rank.