ABSTRACT
Politeness and the small rules of etiquette were so ingrained in every Chinese that he despised those who were ignorant of his normal conventions. The usual term of abuse was the epithet describing the tortoise, the creature which has forgotten the eight laws of politeness, abbreviated to "Forgotten eight", or the spawn of such a reptile. Inability to conform to Chinese ideals in ceremony, as well as in more important matters, is partly responsible for their superiority complex towards races who, they think, will not or cannot be made to understand propriety.
