Part 1 (2/2)

Some of them take care of the silk-worms that spin the soft silk.

But they do not work all the time. They play many pretty games.

Chinese boys, too, have many kinds of games and toys. One game is like battledoor and shuttlec.o.c.k. They use their feet to strike the shuttlec.o.c.k. They do this so fast that the shuttlec.o.c.k hardly ever falls to the ground. The Chinese are fond of flying kites. Even old men fly kites. They fly their kites in the spring-time. Chinese kites are of all sizes and shapes. Some are like birds. Some are like fish.

Some are like b.u.t.terflies.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Chinese Kite.]

There is no other such land in all the world for lanterns as China. The lanterns there are made of paper in the shape of b.a.l.l.s, or flowers, or animals. Some of the lanterns have a wheel inside. When the candle is lighted, the draft of air makes the wheel go round very quickly. When the wheel begins to move inside, the figures on the outside of the lantern begin to move. Then men are seen fis.h.i.+ng or fanning. Sometimes children are seen dancing.

The Chinese are so fond of lanterns that every year they have a ”Feast of Lanterns.” On that day and night lanterns are to be seen everywhere. Bridges and houses and trees are covered with lighted lanterns.

They have fireworks, too, that look like stars and trees and flowers.

A Chinese dinner begins in the wrong way. They have fruits and nuts first. After this comes rice. They eat more of rice than of anything else. Then they drink tea without either milk or sugar. They use neither forks nor knives. Instead they eat with small sticks of wood or ivory. These are called ”chopsticks.” They hold them between the thumb and first two fingers. They use them to carry their food to their mouths as you use a fork or a spoon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Chopsticks.]

Do you know how they catch fish in China?

They have a bird which swims and dives into the water. This bird lives on fish. Every time he dives he catches one. He is trained to bring the fish to his master. A tight ring is put round the bird's neck.

This is to keep him from swallowing the fish. When enough fish have been caught, the bird is given some to eat. This bird is called a cormorant.

A Chinese fisherman lives in his fis.h.i.+ng boat. But China is a very crowded country. So other men as well as fishermen live on small flatboats in the rivers near the big towns. Ducks and other fowls are raised on these boats. The people on the water are as busy as the people on the land.

In China houses are one story high. They are built of wood. The roofs slope, and are made of sticks woven together. The churches are called paG.o.das. They are not like our churches, but are tall, like towers.

They are usually nine stories high. They have little bells hung all around the roof. These bells ring when the wind blows them back and forth.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Chinese Boats and PaG.o.da.]

Between the houses are narrow streets without sidewalks. There are no wagons. If a lady goes to make a call, she sends for a sort of covered chair. This has long poles on each side. The chair is set on the ground before her door. After she gets in, men lift the poles to their shoulders. In this way they carry her. Baggage and heavy articles are also carried on the shoulders of men.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Covered Chair with Poles.]

But perhaps the most wonderful thing in China is the Great Wall. It was built by kings a long time ago. They wanted to keep savage people from coming into the country. The wall is built very high and very wide. It is so wide in some places that eight horses can be driven on top of it side by side. It is hundreds of miles long. The people of China think it is very wonderful. They think there is nothing so wonderful in all the rest of the world.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Great Wall.]

China seems a curious country. Boys shout out loud in school. They read and write backward. Men fly kites, like boys. Women have feet as small as babies' feet. At dinner nuts and fruits are eaten first. Men work like animals. There are many ways in which the Chinese are different from the people in our country.

j.a.pAN

[Ill.u.s.tration: j.a.panese Children.]

How would you like to ride in a wagon drawn by a man instead of a horse? That is the way people ride in j.a.pan. j.a.pan is a country a long way off, near China. You would think that a man could not run very fast drawing a wagon. But in j.a.pan some men can run as fast as horses. The wagon is like a buggy, but it has only two wheels. They call this wagon a jin-rik'i-sha.

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