Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-05
PEDDL1Na BREAD IN CHINA.
One Of the Many Curious Sights to Be
Seen in Picking.

From the Living Church.
Among the many curious sights in China.
none present stranger aspect to our Ameri-
can eyes than the bread peddlers and their
methods Of disposing of their wares. They
carry their stock in trade about with them,
either In oval boxes strapped to their
backs. or in two boxes depending from a
yoke across the shoulders. or on trays held
by strap hung from the neck and carried
In front Of them. after the manner in which
the pieman of Simple Simon fame is inva-
riably pictured by all orthodox illustrators
OF Mother Goose" In the city of Tien-
Tsin these street vendors offer three differ
ent 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 re-
calls TO our minds the wonderful tale of All
Baba and the forty thieves. How little we
ever dreamed, when we listened, spell
bound, in our childhood days to the thrill
Ing account Of Ali Baba's adventures, that
we should ever behold, far less taste. the
Hateful sesame, the name of which proved
30 Elusive to our hero at the crucial mo-
ment when he was confronted by the rock
of difficulty. But the peddlers bread is not
more curious than his method of selling 1t,
for 1t is frequently disposed of by rattle
Tor which purpose he carries three dice,
held in little dish.
In Picking, the capital of the celestial
from the province mostly from Shan-Tung
They are called po-po sellers. Their street
cry, Yao-chin- mantoa' (can I sell you a
pound Of breadO is often heard until late
In the evening. Their bread is made of
wheat -four and baked in hot vapors dis
tnguished from another kind which is
baked In hot pans. They also sell several
varieties of po-po, or baked goods. a special
cake made of the very best flour and
usually eaten with pork sausage or liver
The Mahometans in China have reputa-
ton for good bread, and evidently wish to
be known as pure food advocates for in
order to enable customers to disting us h
their wares from those of other vendors
they ornament their carts or boxes with
the Moslem emblem. This consists of a
vase containing d branch of the olive tree,
on the top of which is perched the Mahome-
tan cap. On each side of this design is in
scrfbed the motto, Pure and true Islam -
These Mahometan peddlers also sell kind
OF patty filled with mixture of meat,
vegetables, oil and sage. Another of their
products. which is called ia shouting va
chakuei, is large roasted cake or dump
ling baked In Oil. Many of these Chinese
CONNECTIONS are much more appetizing than
one would Imagine from the description,
but, like many foreign dishes the taste for
them must be acquired by cultivation be-
fore they can be thoroughly appreciated.
Inc average Chinaman eats very little
bread prepared according to our American
formulas. Consequently the bakery and
confectionery shops are few and far be-
tween. Like all other stores in China they
are open in front, with no partition to pro-
tect them from the heat or cold or the dust
or the streets. Wooden shutters are used
to close them up al night. One finds prac-
tlcally the same wares at the bakers as
the bread peddlers offer for sale Among
them Is one special kind of cake having the
inquire OF hare imprinted on it, which is
eaten by the Chinese in honor of the birth
day Of the moon AS soon as the festivi-
ties celebrating this anniversary are over
the cakes are withdrawn from sale and
are not again displayed until the next moon
birthday which corresponds in season to
our Easter.