Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1904-11-24
pEpDLINo BREAD IN CHINA.
Street Vendors Garry Various Kinda
About on Trays Suspended
About Their Necls.

Among the many curious sights 1
China, none presents stranger as
pect to our American eyes than tn
bread peddlers and their method o
disposing Of their wares. They carr
their stock In trade about with them
says the Living Church, either In ova
boxes strapped to their backs, or Il
two boxes depending from a yok'
across the shoulders. or on trays hel'
by a. strap hung from the neck, ant
carried in front of them, after tn,
manner In which the pieman Of Sim
pie Simon fame Is invariably pic
tured by all orthodox illustrators o.
Mother Goose. In the city of Tien.
tsin these street vendors offer three
different kinds of bread for sale. Two
of these are twisted in oval shape, and
the third is thin, crisp cake
sprinkled with seeds of sesame, that
magic word which at once recalls to
our minds the wonderful tale of All
Bahia and the 40 thieves. How little
we ever dreamed, when we listened,
spellbound, In our childhood days to
the thrilling account of Ali Baba's adj
ventures, that We should ever behold,
far less taste, the fateful sesame, the
name of which proved so Elusive to
our hero at the crucial moment when
he was confronted by the rock of diff
Guilty. But the peddler's bread is not
more curious than his method Of SELL
ing 1t, for 1t is frequently disposed Of
by rattle, for which purpose he car
ries three dice, held In little dish.
In Picking, the capital Of the celes-
tial empire, the bread peddlers gener-
ally come from the provinces, mostly
from Shantung. They are called po-
pc sellers. Their street cry, "Yao-
chin-mantoa" (Can l sell you a pound
of bread?) is often heard until late
in the evening. Their bread is made
Of wheat -four and baked in hot
vapors, distinguished from another
kind which is baked in hot pans They
also sell several varieties of po-po, or
baked goods, special favorite with
the Chinese being an oval oil cake
made Of the very best -four and usual
ly eaten with pork, sausage or liver.
Thine Mohammedans In China have
a reputation for good bread, and evil
IDENTIFY wish to be known as pure food
a dunn fao for In ordar RI an ohIa ONO.
toners to distinguish their wares from
those of other vendors they ornament
their carts or boxes with the Moslem
This consists of vase, con-
tanning branch Of the olive tree, on
the top of which is perched the Mo-
cap. On either side Of this
design is inscribed the motto: Pure
and true. Islam" These Moham-
medan peddlers also sell a kind Of |
patty filled with a mixture Of meat,
oil and sage. Another of
their products, which is called ia
shouping, va chakuei," is large
roasted cake or dumping baked Ia
Dill. Many of these Chinese CONNECTIONS
Ire much more appetizing than one
would imagine from the description,
,ut like many foreign dishes, the taste
or them must be acquired by cultiva-
ion before they can be thoroughly
appreciated.
The average Chinaman eats very lit
lie bread prepared according to our
american formulas, consequently the
'akery and confectionery shops are
ew and far between. Like all other
torres in China, they are open in
ront, with no partition to protect
hem from the heat or cold, or the
ust of the streets, Wooden shutters
re used to close them up at night
me finds practically the same wares
t the bakers as the bread peddlers ,
fer for sale. Among them is one !
pecial kind of cake having the figure ,
I hare imprinted on 1t, which is /
aten by the Chinese in honor Of the
lrthday Of the moon. As soon as the [
celebrating this anniversary i
70 over, the cakes are withdrawn
ON sale and are not again displayed a
ntil the next moon birthday, which
,rresponds In season to our Easter. @