University of Nanking - Linguist Yearbook (Nanking, China)

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-L.. J' Us ,gi We i iq' QUARTEPUMILE 7 , OF esta Ami , in 1 jj N , ODORS 4 ff- - .af ST T lggfmfllill-up in the Middle liingdoin when I determined to s-ee .thc all Wag 3-fglc, wearisome awakening of a Chinese street. fat the beginning, forbidhu 1 e ess still. On one side was a row of stone residences, gray and mg. Across the cobbled road and behind clustered straw huts was Zezlrggp depressrion in which reposed an irregular pond twice as large as 3, I court. fhe fog hanging like a pall over the water seemed heavy mth Smells, each of which betokened one of the functions of this com- munity eenter. It would have taken no argument to convince any one 8'f'0uSt0l11ecl to the hygienic conditions of America that this natural iiiixpoirlserved as a drainage not only for the shops 'jammed together a. had rl art ier down the street-, but also for the surrounding homes, Tim ah. thosg uusty tinge as of dead grass that suggested the home economies of clothew onicn who daily congregatcd by the waters edge to pound their heav S On the stones and to souse baskets of rice and vegetables in the .Y green water. Luxuriant gardens, S0 systeinatically laid out that each plant had its OWII place, and so well cultivated that no weeds were visible, thrived on efwll side of the road for a short distance beyond the homes. But I did Fot need long to 'seek thc reason that vegetables grew so profusely 011 Soil flrnied for milleniums. My nose told mc, All night the garden had been xml!! itself-and the lZCI1l1JCl'ZIllll'C had been around freezing-but still G fertilizer used the day before gave off a nauseating stench. This token of Chinese thriftiness seemed to become more impenetrable as I neared the end of the field. There, working easily and patiently, as though totally 0bliVi0llS of his detestable surroundings, was a cooliv flipping loiighandled 1933

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22 CHILD LIFE IN CHINA the left side of his foot, then with one foot behind the other. He catches it on his toe, flips it up again and lands it on his upturned forehead. Wei-ping challenges him to a contest and loses. Just then the little victor notices me watching him, puckers up his mouth, struts about as if to say, You can't do this! The gang joins good naturedly in my laugh and We are all friends. Two cash or a copper, a little bit of cloth, three chicken feathers, a pair of nimble legs and ankles and you have the most universal winter sport of Chinese children, rich and poor. Precious jewels, precious jewels. Siao-san was leaning back and fairly shouting the hymn at the little Community Sunday School. He loved the songs, thc picture-cards, and the stories. .But the long sermon by the superintendent and the prayer were quite tiresome. Two things drew him most strongly to Sunday School, the promise of a fC'oncluded on page 126'j P qv 1'f'0l0 UUJl1SNiunl'I10!r1 Ilurcfm

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24 ODORS Iadlefuls of ripened liquid out of a sunken stone. jar and pouring it into his pail pre- paratory to watering the garden. Then it was that I realized why it is a custom of all natives who can afford it to perfume the clothes, and why even the foreigners ' have resorted to car- rying a scented hand- kerchief clasped over their noses when they pass gardens in the ' summer time. p Now I had reached thc shops, some of them still walled up by good-omen'-plastered Vifashing Vegetables in the Village VVash Tuh boards placed verti- cally, which through the night had guarded the shop-keepers and their wares against prowlers, dogs, and perhaps stray bandits. At other bazaars, the store-fronts were being removed by active little 'apprentices and stooping old eoolies who soon would pass their period of usefulness. From somewhere I caught a scent suspiciously akin to that of Spear- mint gum, and at the same time I heard a strange swish behind me. I turned and saw a fat money changer industriously plying a tooth-brush with one hand and holding a tube of Colgate's in the other. His appearance seemed to be the signal for all the street to make its toilet, for from doors on both sides came boys and men with wash-basins, bowls of tea or hot water for gargling, and occasionally scented soap and razors. ' A tea-house on the right drew my attention. Although the inside was dim and smoky, I could outline numerous square tables. Instead of chairs, the tables were surrounded by benches like earpenter's saw-horses. ' w-1-7. E - i i 4 J 1 1 v i 3 1 - d