University of Nanking - Linguist Yearbook (Nanking, China)

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THE LINGUIST 53 Nature, in the girl, has for years been thwarted. She has been kept bllsy most of the day caring for the little brothers and sisters. When she has been free to play, her feet have pained her too much to allow much really vigorous sport. But one has only to note how eagerly she hovers about the peep-shows at New Year time, or with what delight she parades her pretty lantern, to realize that the spirit of play is yet strong within her. It takes only a visit to the schools wl1ere the girls are given illstruction in play, to appreciate from their rapturous yells how the instinct of play longs for expression. The girls of China who have been S0 cramped physically by their bound feet, and mentally and morally by the general attitude toward their sex, remind one of a child who samples the contents of the jam jar with a grimy linger, and upon finding the taste good, puts his whole fist to diligent work. . Yes, the approach is easy, for they are ready for us. The handicaps are not to be found, as one might suppose, in a mental inability to grasp the point of a game, nor in the lack of true sportsmanship, and certainly not in lack of zeal. Perhaps you would guess that one handicap in winter is those wads and wads and wads of clothes! But just watch a while! That little girl with the impossible name. starts to run her lap in the Photo by lllflssion Photo Bureau and the New

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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

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.54 PHYSICAL EDUCATION team-race. The others are waving arms and legs in frantic excitement when suddenly she stumbles headiirst, and rolls there in a helpless attempt to rise. At last o11e violent roll accomplishes its purpose, she struggles to her feet, and pants her way to her goal. The others only howl with glee, and most cheerfully accept their gain or loss through the mishap- These wads and wads do not seem to detract from the enjoyment, and at times they really add to the output of physical exertion. The actual drawback is, of course, that there are no other clothes into which to change, and no shower-baths to cleanse the little heated bodies. This is a fault that can be remedied only in school where a uniform and gymnasium facilities are to bc had. Many of our own day schools at home can not boast of these, so we should not reckon these as drawbacks peculiar to China. The slow hard pull in this WOI'k will come when one tries, little by little, to change the health-habits of these girls. They do not know that i' Some little germ will get them someday, if they donit watch out, That in itself- is perhaps not important, but the truth is that there is a total lack of healthy habits in their lives. I need not emphasize P, V to those wl1o live in China the need of instruction in such habits, for daily before our eyes the appalling results of its lack are paraded. One wonders where to begin. Yet, when one learns that tooth-brushing is fairly well established among school girls, and when one fears the little ones will burst in their earnest attempt to obey the command to ffgtgmd tall, one takes hope. The very fact that the task is so stupendous makes it well worth one's best efforts. The field is ready, the task is inspiring, yet the laborers-they are so few: . . ,RMT 3 w. I ii.-I in 557' ta