They made children into sideshow freaks. To succeed
in producing a freak one must get hold of him early; a dwarf must be
started when he is small. They stunted growth, they mangled features.
It was an art/science of inverted orthopedics. Where nature had put a
straight glance, this art put a squint. Where nature had put harmony,
they put deformity and imperfection. The child was not aware of the
mutilation he had suffered. This horrible surgery left traces on his
face, not in his mind. During the operation the little patient was
unconscious by means of a stupefying magic powder.
In China since time immemorial, they have achieved refinement in a
special art and industry: the molding of living man. One takes a child
two or three years old and puts them into a grotesquely shaped
porcelain vase. It is without cover or bottom, so the head and feet
protrude. In the daytime the vase is upright, at night it is laid down
so the child can sleep. Thus the child slowly fills the contours of
the vase with compressed flesh and twisted bones. This bottled
development continues for several years. At a certain point, it
becomes an irreparable monster.
Pages:
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111