University of Nanking - Linguist Yearbook (Nanking, China)

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THE LINGUIST 101 of I-Iwa Yien Hsieh Tang formed a Hu-Tzi Hwei, swore theyid let their razors rest until the first of May. Ah, what expectation filled the heart of Womeldorf 5 time grew long, but not his whiskers-so he cut them off. Oh perfidy, what tragedy, with Pete our leader gone! And yet we feel he's prettier than with rose-red Hu-Tzi on. And can it be that Hsih Fen Willie too has fallen for lace, that he should call the cat to lick the whiskers from his face? And Plummer feared a buffalo would take his Hoot for hay, so he could not keep the thing until the first of May. And Gordon Curtis cut his off, but this by our choice, lest at Easter through his Hu-Tlfzi he should strain his voice. All the other Brother- Hooters acted on thc level, and let the hairs run riot, till they looked just like Robinson Crusoe. OUR WORK OUT OF SCHOOL The permanent residents in Nanking must sometimes wonder whether the privilege of being an Educational Center and the proud possessors of a Language School is not one for which they have to pay rather dearly. When every year a crowd of young and exuberant wouldfbe missionaries descends upon them and almost every home is invaded by one, two, or even more unknown quantities, missionaries in Nanking must sigh, I Should think, for some more obscure and humble Sp0fl3 though if they do feel this way, no hint of it ever escapes them. And Yet every Cloud has its silver lining, and even the swarm of new and exclusively English- speaking missionaries has it-s uses, as the many and various 11C'0iVities of the Language School Students out of school bear WHGHGSS- The sole accomplishment of being able to speak 01155 native tongue has its uses, and many teach classes in English at the M. C. A. and Y. W. C A, and elsewhere, while the fact of being unable to sing Chinese hymns does not prevent one from being able t0 Play the piano while others sing. Other services too can be rendered in some fashien without a very extensive knowledge of the Language, as those Wh0 have flttfiflded the Scissor's Alley and other Clinics have diS00Ve1'ed, while dlllllh Show is not the least effective way of conducting 8' Class in hyslcal -ECh1C'li3i011, which lends itself more easily to this method than to the more Pli10SOphi- cal studies.

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100 9:00- 9:40 9:40-10:25 10:25-l0:40 10:40-11:20 11:20-I I 159 I I :59-12:00 I 2:00-2:00 2:00 2:00-2:03 2:50 3:10 3 : I 0-4:00 THE YEAR Mr. Chia gives the day's new words, explaining their mean- ings with words already in our vocabulary, accompanied by illustrations and many comical actions. - ' A . Half the class reviews the new words with Mr. Lee while the other half reviews with a private teacher. Many polite phrases are interehangecl, and our tones and sentence constructions are corrected. Recess. You may play baseball, volleyball, or ping pong, or merely sit and think. Marked reluctance in beginning the next period. The 9:40 period groups are reversed. Conversation classes in groups of ten meet with one teacher. Laughter, elaborate politeness, and remarkable illustrations are in evidence. Much looking at watches and listening for tl1e Drum Tower gun announcing release and food. This period may be omitted or extended several minutes for no American watch has ever been able to keep 'Drum Tower gun time for a period of 24 hours. Luncheon and naps, or review for that character writing test which materializes every few weeks. The bell rings. Students arrive. Mr. Wang has review with first section. Your private teacher asks whether you've eaten lunch and is greatly pleased if you ate Chinese food Recess as in the morning. 2:00 period groups are reversed. We'1l call it a day! After Christmas three afternoons a week are devoted to character writing instead of review of the new words. THE HU TZI HWEl q'rHE MUSTACHE CLUBQ In the spring a 'young mans fancy lightly turns to his mustache, fthe blooming thing is useful too for straining soup and hashl: so the men

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102 THE YEAR Then again there are a good many Chinese in Nanking in the various schools Whose English is sufficiently good to attend Bible classes taught in English, which gives us another opportunity of helping to justify our existence. The demands for all these and other kinds of work have not been infrequent at the Language school which acts in some measure as a recruiting station for those who have a job a-begging. We learn much from these first opportunities of service in the land wc have come to serve, and are glad to feel that we can render some small service to the city that gave us such a warm welcome and treated us so kindly during our first year in China.