University of Nanking - Linguist Yearbook (Nanking, China)

Page 13 text:

THE LINGUIST 11 gods are pasted in order to keep out evil spirits who might enter when the gate is ajar. On the door posts of newly married couples another sort of P10ture is pasted. It invites a healthy baby to enter there on the back of the CIFIT lin, a sacred animal. For the same purpose people Sometimes hang twigs of cedar on the bed posts. The little Chinese children eagerly wait- for the new year You will be interested in hearing them say Go nice, go nien lo, Money is given them by their parents to put under their pillow. It means that each child has added one year to his age. Not only the children and grown people arc made IWPPY, but also the spirits of their ancestors. The s a l101'traits of their ancestors are hung in the parlor, and P109 and vegetables are given them to eat. If on the eighteenth day when the riee is l'GlllOV6Cl any water is left in the bowl, Hoods are expected in the district. If ,.- ,,,, h m,,m,,,,m, 110 water is left, there will be a drought during the year. On the first two days of the new year most men stay at home. On the third day they may go to their friends and relatives to say Kon .sl1,'i, lcon shi as you say Happy New Year. Everyone, man or woman, glrl or boy, wears handsome clothes and shoes. Money is given to the children by all visitors. It is called Ta ho ts'-ian. Callers are welcomed, and the best fruits and tea are served. The servants also receive money f1'0Il1 the visitors. It is called lcon shi ts'1ien. In north China the custom 13 Somewhat different. Instead of personally going to U10 11011105 of their friends and relatives. they send a cart with nothing in it but a pair of shoes or boots, placed in the front of the cart. 'l'he driver leaves the card of his employer at each door he visits. At midnight of the fourth day the family worships the money god, in the hope that he will send them much money. It is Said that he will leave all the money he carries with him at the first house in which he is WCl00ll10Cl- This is the reason why some people stay awake- until midnight of the fourth day, It is also said f,ha,t he will take all the money from the other houses to the last house in W1 some people offer him candles on the morning of the mth day- lieh he is welcomed. Thereore

Page 12 text:

I0 lCHINA'S New YEAR young. guards his speech lest he use unkind words. for the gods will punish his fault by sending distress and poverty. The interesting name for the last day of the twelfth month is San .sliih zvon .slum On this day business men are especially busy, checking their accounts, and collecting or paying debts. The streets are lighted I . vw-f. 1 ..'.-, , .. -r ia 1 x .41 v- ' ' , .aa than 1. Y l'h0In by .1Msslon Photo Ilrlrcull linntern l'iu'ade at New X our all night. The clerks of shops. carrying lanterns, go from place to place soliciting payment. Even at dayhrealc their lights burn, for if the lantern is put out they must say Kon. shi, lcon. shi, which means Happy New Year. After this greeting no word of paying debts may be spoken. Scm slvih won .chan is a happy night, for the people eat a dinner which is far richer than the dinners of other days. Many people watch the night through, for they fear that an evil dream may prove an ill Omen. A day or two before San Shih won Shan people decorate their doors with pieces of red paper on which verses or inaxims are written in large characters. These words indicate the wishes of the householder: they are not words of superstition. Over the gateways hang five or three pieces of red paper in which words and figures are eut. On the back door pictures of the door

Page 14 text:

12 CH1NA'S NEW YEAR The business men of China have eustoms different from those of the Europeans and Amerieans. O11 the fifth day of the mouth all clerks are invited to dine with their employers. The clerk who is going to be discharged is quietly given a cup of tea. In certain trades, if the manager is to be discharged, the fish is put on the table with the hr-ad pointing toward him. No word is spoken. l'llvlo IAN .lllsxiuu Vlmln lfIlil'I71lH ln the Lund of Lanterns Of all the festivities. perhaps the buying of lanterns is most enjoyed. The eighth, the thirteenth, the fifteenth and the eighteenth are set aside for their display. The lanterns are made of paper in the shape of horses, rabbits or fish. A street full of them is a gay sight indeed. After the fifteenth. work is resumed. An old Chinese saying is, After New Year, no man playsfl V lVritlvn. jbr 'l'nlc LING u1s'r by WANG YAo-T'1N1:, .-Al.9s1'sllII1l 1i1f'!lfl Tmclz er.