University of Nanking - Linguist Yearbook (Nanking, China)

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- n. ix - '..! Il PHYSICAL EDUCATION Ea F C-1- 515.325 C-s ron f ii cm Esc GIRLS UST now as I sat huddling over the lire and figuratively chewing my pencil, the familiar sound of blum-blum-blum stole in from outside. I knew it to be the peddlar who carries a tall cloth-covered ease on his back. The sound brought back memories of childhood thrills at the fascinating things stowed away in that pack. I spoke my thoughts aloud, and our hostess asked the alnnah what sort of things the peddlar carried. The answer included silks, cloth, thread, powder, tooth-powder- Tooth-powder? I asked, incredulous. Yes, the natives use Lyons Dentifrice, and others. Most of them Use plain salt, however. The school girls, when they go home, take their toilet utensils, which include mug, soap. tooth-brush, and powder. I was amazedg the proverbial family tooth-brush would be an im- Provement on none at all, but to find the individual brush and even Powdcrs so commonly used was an agreeable surprise. For this matter of introducing health-habits to a race whose common people have long been accustomed to unsanitary methods is much more of an appalling problem than is that of the more appealing, purely physical side of the Subject. Undoubtedly the physical element oiiers the desired approach in this field. Some years ago when at home in tl1e interior for a brief visit, mother asked me to direct a few exercises and teach a game or two to her Bible-class girls. Very tentatively and stolidly they attempted to do those unheard-of stunts, but the next week their numbers were doubled, and the week after the mob was truly pathetic. 1515

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50 ENGLISH ESSAYS cake set in the centre. On the other tables we found many delicate foods which were abundantly spread. I was happy to find my old friend oil lobster, in the great feast. Though I had not eaten it for a long time and had nearly forgotten the taste, yet I was reminded of it when I saw it. - After we Hnished our feast, we returned to the parlor at which we first arrived. There we talked a little while, and took some fruits and tea. Then we said Good-bye to each other, and returned home in the sedan-chair. A KING OF TANG There looms a lordly pleasure tower o'er yon dim shore, Raised by some king of Tang. Jade pendants at his girdle clashed, and golden bells Around his chariot rang. Strange guests through sounding halls at dawn go trailing by, Gray mists and mocking windsg , And sullen brooding twilights break in rain on rain, To lash the ragged blinds. The slow, sun-dappled clouds lean down o'er waters blue, Clear mirrored, one by oneg Then drift as all the world shall drift. The very stars Their timeless courses run. - How many autumn moons have steeped those palace walls! And paled the shattered beams! Where is their lordly builder n0w? A Lord of dust? An Emperor of dreams? WANG Po, A.D. 648-676.

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52 PHYSICAL EDUCATION In later years when attending a Y. W. C. A. conference in the StateS, I heard that the Chinese girls were very keen 'I about physical education, and were just eating it up. I recalled this earlier experience and forth with decided to add my lot to that of the women who were feeding them this delectable grub. Here in Nanking occasionally I find time to direct a few games among the younger children in one of the schools. The reckless hails of delight that greet me, and the squeals of sheer enjoyment that burst forth during the simple games, give one a tight feeling around the heart, and one realizes the hungry craving of their little bodies. Just one such experience alone repays me a thousanclfold for that horrible trip across the Pacific. In the homeland, the four seasons usher in their own types of play. One sees hop-scotch dia- grams decorating even the New York sidewalks in the spring, and i11 the fall groups of boys tumble all over each other in their serious imitation of the big college football games. S0 too in China, the boys Hy their kites in March, and with the native New Year all sorts of interesting forms of play flock in. But I have noticed into how few of the romping games the girls enter. Old China - Photo by Mission Photo Bureau