The Portland daily press., 1900-11-27
CHINESE SPORTS AND GAMEs
How the xou,hral sschink." Enjoy
Themselves.

(Isaao Taylor HeadIand In Outing)
The games played by Chinese children
are In many csses Interesting, bus In few
are they complicated. Tney have nothing
which corresponds 10 ths more intricate
games Of the West, such, for instance, as
cricket, football. baseball, croquet, golf
and a hund red others. Chinese play life,
Is however. probably as rich ns was the
play-Iifs OF European children few CEN
turtles ago. 1t is confined more complete
~ 20 children and youth, and lacks the
enthusiastic element OF the West, which
gathers large crowds OF men 10 watch
trained teams or couples putting Into
public operation the skill they have ac-
quIred through months OF training.
One OF the toughest and. consequently,
one Of the most manly sports OF the
Chinese is called pitching the stone
look" This may be played By two or by
half a dozen young men who have the
requisite daring, muscle and skull. lie Is
played with large stone in the shape OF
a Chinese paddock. In private practice
these stones are used much as dumbbelis,
and often weigh 80 to 65 pounds, fsome-
times more. When designed to be pitched
they are lighter, weighing not more than
from 10 to 30 pounds apiece. The game
Is played by young men from 20 to 30
years OF age, who usually strip to the
waist. They arrange themselves In a
ring, IL there are more than two. and one
Of them pitches the stone up into the air
from 10 to 30 or more feet, whiri!ng it at
times as rapidly as he can make tt whiri,
In the direction OF she second man, who
catches It by the handle as it comes down.
10 the iooker-on 1T is q risky-not to
say dangerous-game, but 1t Ia the ele-
ment OF risk or danger that makes It at
tractive The person who catches IL
pitches 1t In the same manner to his next
neighbor, and so 1t goes around the ring.
Another exercise, Gale d throwing the
sand bag Is played In the same way,
except that bag is filled with small bits
of iron made round by pouring molten
metal through sieve into water, The
sand-bag Is equal to the stone lock In
weight. but It lacks Its danger and risk,
and, as o consequence, its interest and
popularity, for there Is not one person
who pitches the sand-bag where there
are a score who pitch the stone lock.
Neither of these games is calculated to
develop all the muscles OF the body, as
tzu, or "1irting the stone dumbbells. ="
The dumbell is made by fastening two
stone wheels, varying in weighs from
40 to 100 pounds, to the two ends OF
pole or iron bar four or i've feet long
The practitioner takes the pole In his
hands, raises IL 10 his knees, then to his
body, his breast, his face, and finally
above his head. he pushes 1t out In front
at arms length, and often uses it in per-
forming various feats OF skill, such as
resting 1t on his neck or shoulders an d
wnirling 1t round. This exercise IL par
ticularly common among students and
men Of leisure.
Another game played by boys and young
men which Is strong argument against
the Cninese-do-not-lov e-vigorous-exeroi Sc
theory, Is called the 'man-wheel." 1t
requires five persons. The largest stands
in the middle with two others on his
right aud left, Zone facing the direction
he faces, and the other the opposite direc-
ton, each having an arm over his shout
der and clasping each the hand OF the one
on the other side OF The center player.
The center one then takes one hand OF
each OF the two outsiders, who are the
smallest boys. They. with their other
hands, clutch the girdle OF the other two
boys, who also ia ke hold of their girdles.
Thus they are all bound firmly together.
The wheel then begins to revolve. The
email boys are gradually lifted from the
ground, swung in the air and go whirl-
ing around in an almost horizontal POSI-
ton, 1t is very pretty game.