University of Nanking - Linguist Yearbook (Nanking, China)

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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

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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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THE LINGUIST ' 25 At first I thought the floor was of dirt, but on closer scrutiny I concluded that underneath were boards. The room for the diners was separated from the street only by a massive brick and mo1'tar stove, which made me wonder lf American restauranteurs brought from China. the idea of made-beforcn your-eyes griddle-cakes. Doubtless there is a powerful gastronomic appeal, 7110111 the Chinese point of view, in giving passers-by an olfactory sample of Strong cabbage flavored with garlic, a tantalizing whiff of endless Chinese 'Spaghetti boiled with fat mutton, or of huge cheese-like cakes of drying 1701111-curd. It is just as doubtless that this arrangement does not contribute materially to the number of foreign patrons of the Chinese restaurants. About the time I had come to the conclusion that for a longtime .I Should not be hungry, something in the air rich and poignant reminded 1ne Of doughnuts Mother used to make. My mouth watered as I caught sight of 21 pile of' rich brown crullers, hot from a portable stove at one side of the street. A kindly appearing old woman bent over thc pan of hot fat 118 she watched her long, twisted fried cakes turn golden brown. New ilnd then she looked up and shrilly called out her wares, which l afterward 1Garned she designated as oil tails. A man sauntering by threw down a 00Dper and picked out a fragrant, fiuiiiy doughnut, and a little child scam- Pered from out ill' door-way withia coin to claim his delicious breakfast 11'0iLt. Instinctiveiy I drew nearer tl1e crisp brown crullers, and my hand b1'gf1I1 searching for a copper. But just then the vapor from the sinnnering grease enveloped my head, and I stopped astounded. T0 be Sure the odor WSIS rich, but it was also rank: and while the oil tails were a deep Sfllden color, the oil was thick and black. Quickly lJOW111g to the smiling Old woman, I turned on my way, wondering whether ill that 1101110 might remain dregs of the dust-laden, smoking fat which fried the oil tailsl' Confucius ate. Before the air had cleared of the Chinese anibresia, 1 walked into a whirling cloud of blinding, burning smoke. It 01111111 110111 0f101'1S to Start 51 fire in a Hiar Dresing Sloon so that foreiS11 l11111'1111S 11113111 11011110 uncomfortable. The faggots and weeds that WCPO 111'111t!111111'110f1011111100 ll pungent, annnonia laden smoke that dipped down to the street from the Glbow of stove-pipe protruding over the door. Inside three wizened, benumbed-looking old barbers sat. smoking W1111 111011' CZYOS 501111111011 311115. and two servants were engaged ehiefiy in rubbing their eyes. One held a 111'e'P01i0l' in his left hand, while the other lllGCi1i'llilCfl11.V 51111111011 11101101108