New-York tribune., 1900-08-05
T. ss (tIILDPI[1S
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BOYS AND GIRLS or CHINA.

1t is considered time for him go to school
The occasion is looked upon as one of such i'm
pOrtance that fortune teller is usually consulted,
and lucky day. fixed upon by the wise man.
the little Chinaman makes his first appearance at
school.
He looks very fresh and tidy; his hair has been
neatly shaved from his forehead and the of it
is pleated up into long. black queue-a 'pen-tsz.'
he calls (which hangs down behind. When any
of his school fellows want TO torment him they will
tie his pgtail the appendage another
boys head. which is very uncomfortable for them
both
If it is summer time the boy wears nothing upon
his head, and is only clothed in jacket or vest
of loose cotton grass cloth, with small. baggy
trousers of the material But if the weather
is cold he wears half dozen vests and coats, one
above another and some OF them padded with
cotton wool Upon his head he small skull
cap of black blue silk. with little scarlet twist
the top and very likely thick tassel OF silken
threads falling down behind.
His shoes have thick. white soles. and often the
toes are embroidered with fancfu; little designs of
flowers butterflies by his proud mother.
Sometimes he wears in his girdle little purse,
which mas also been embroidered by his mother.
HIS SCHOOL LIFE.
Having reached the schoolhouse, the boy enters,
carrying in his hand some small present for the
grave looking elderly person who is to be his
teacher. and his first act Is to do reverence and
burn incense before the tablet which has the name
The furniture of the consists OF a number
of little desks or tables, with high stools behind
them, which frequently provided by the pa
rents. Before the master stands larger table
and upon it lying not only books and papers
but the indispensable pipe Upon each little desk
will not pens and ink such use. but
inkstones. upon which the boys rub the cake of
Indian rather Chinese, ink, dipping it in little
water
For his pen he has brush not unlike large
- 6ofr EIA hold
pendicularly in his hand pointing to the ceiling. as
he traces the ths1, soft paper the queer looking
characters the copy slips.
There is no alphabet of the Chinese language for
him to learn but instead 2l4 radicals or root words.
which enter into the formation OF all the other
characters The words all of one syllable and
are written down. one beneath the other in col
umns instead Of across the page. and the begin
ming of their books is at the end of ours
The first book of all to be studied is the San
Tsz- King" or '"Trimetrical Classic" because, to
make it more easily remembered. it is written in
lines of three words EACH The teacher repeats the
first few lines and the scholars, holding their
books in their hands and swinging their small
bodies backward and forward follow his pro-
nunciation of the words. They then return to their
seats and commit the words to memory.
In order to be each small boy is attending to
his lessons he is expected to shout out the passage
he is learning at the top Of his voice. The con-
tinual din caused by this arrangement can be bet
ter imagined than described. and to pass school,
house in China is more likely to suspect the
existence OF Bedlam than place of learning. The
Importance of study is enlarged upon. and sem
tence occurs to the effect that Ito educate without
severity shows teachers Incidence" The sight
of the bamboo rod, which is found in every school
close TO the masters hand. and IN very con-
use is a proof that this maxim of the sage Of
old c0mmends itself to the teachers Of the present
day.
Chinese boys are taught that there three
great powers-heaven. earth and man; that
there are three lghts-the sun. moon and stars
They are further informed that rice millet pulse
wheat. rye and barley the six kinds OF grain
on which men subsist Various other matters Of
a similar kind touched upon followed by a
summary of Chinese history.
Chinese boys know something of arithmetic and
calculate rapidly, but they do this with their little
ahaCus or counting board
Among other books studied the classic Of 'Fial
riety' is largely used reading book and gives
graphic gEfnpaes of Chinese life and exemplary
character. favorite Chinese pcoyerb teaches
tha9 of the hundred virtues The ch'ef i5 nlal
p!ety" aod no other duty il carefully and con-
stanty :rsted into the chidren's minds as this.
KITE TLY1N.3.
K.,e flying is the great delight of the Chinese
boys though OF boys alone but also Of their
fathers and grandfather; And what famous kites
they have tool Some In the form of beauti-
ft,! birds or butterflies with wings ceaving the
air others are the shape of meE or various AMI
mails dragons and centipedes.
Occasionally a tiny paper lantern is fastened 10
the tai! OF kite, and. being lighted, It has a
rret;v effect as II rises shining like staT In the
twilight Sometimes number OF bird kites are
fastened by short lines to the principal cord ana
when flying in the air look like a flight OF olrds
clustering round one common centre.
When Chinese children want more active amuse-
nents, they play battledore and shuttlecock, only
the battledore is usually the thick sole OF the
shoe OF the instep OF the foot They manage it
so cleverly that It is quite common to see the
shuttlecock struck two three hundred
times without a single miss.
TIA chiau" hitting the ball." is another
favorite game Most boys would, no doubt, con-
slider 1t rather monotonous, since 1t is simply
played by striking the ball 10 the ground with the
.1Ta -teh-Io' Is whipping the top" Chinese
top is made of bamboo with a piece OF wood going
which makes it have fine humming sound as II
spins ut, - ,,,,
blind mans bLT' child having his eyes
blinded and trying to catch the others. who es
care from him in all directions
OTHER AMUSEMENTs.
Catching shrirnrs is another game. in which all
the boys have their eyes covered and try to catch
each other
TIA Pan" IL rot unlike hopseotch Every child
has small fiat stone copper cash and stand
ing on a marked line. tries 70 strike the stone
which has been S 6T0wn sy the he ny5rs s5 R9y
of Chinese boys in the springtime and. like most
az their pleasures II has a religious super
stitious sgnihcator,. The passage OF this fabulous
Ifsved 10 be very etfectual in dispeng ali evil In
duences especially a tendency to various sick
nesses thought to exist IN inc nrst month or the
large number OF lanterns fastened together and