Big People and Little People of Other Lands — John Shaqi
Big People and Little People of Other LandsShaw, Edward R. (Edward Richard)
General
Big People and Little People of Other Lands
Shaw, Edward R. (Edward Richard)
Children's literature; Readers -- Geography
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 shuttlecock. They use their feet to strike the
shuttlecock. They do this so fast that the shuttlecock 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 butterflies.
[Illustration: 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 balls, 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
fishing 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.
[Illustration: 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 fishing 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
pagodas. 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.
[Illustration: Chinese Boats and Pagoda.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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