GAMES AND PASTIMES.
The active sports of Chinese boys are few.
There are hardly any sports, so-called, that develop the muscles and
render a lad graceful and agile. The Chinese boy at sixteen is as grave
and staid as an American grandfather; and if he happens to be married
soon after, he throws aside most games as being childish. At the
best, he has nothing corresponding to base-ball, foot-ball, cricket,
bicycle-riding, skating, sliding, or tennis. Nor is he fond of exerting
himself. He would rather sit for hours talking and joking than waste
time in running or jumping. He thinks it work if his play entails
much perspiration. His elders, too, frown upon boisterous games. They
approve quiet, meditative lads who are given to study.
But you must not suppose that the Chinese boy never plays at all. In
spite of many obstacles, he proves that he is a boy still, and I will
describe the outdoor amusements in which he does indulge.
Kite-flying is a national recreation. Young and old take part in it
and it is not unusual to see a gray-haired man enjoying it in company
with a ten-year-old youngster. Kites are of all sizes. I have seen
kites that were six or seven feet from wing to wing. The frame is made
of bamboo slips which can be easily bent. Over this is pasted very
stout rice-paper, upon which strong figures are painted—sometimes the
face of a man, sometimes a bird. On the larger kites a bow is fastened
at the top, with a reed instead of a string, and when the wind blows
upon this reed, a melodious sound will be heard through the air, that
greatly delights everybody; it seems to the spectators a mysterious
voice from a different sphere.
Kite-flying in America can be much improved. Kites should be
constructed of the Chinese shape.
The rib that runs through both wings should bulge out so that the paper
on both sides may cave in. This is for the purpose of catching and
retaining the wind as well as of steadying the kite. To a kite of this
shape a tail is needless.
[Illustration: FRAME OF A CHINESE KITE.]
To fly such a kite, the cord must be very strong, and often it requires
two or three men to hold it. When it gets among the clouds, and
the flyer’s enthusiasm is at its boiling-point, a paper butterfly,
beautifully colored, is fastened on the cord and the wind sends it up
with a whizzing sound to the kite itself. But when it touches the kite,
the butterfly’s wings come together, and down it returns, by its own
weight, bringing a message from the skies, and its graceful approach is
watched breathlessly.
The ninth day of the ninth month, which comes in October, is “Kites’
Day.” On that day it is the fashion to go up high hills and hold
communion with heavenly zephyrs. Such a scene is inspiring. Men and
boys, of all ranks, sizes and ages, are seen with cords in their hands,
pulling, yanking and jerking, or letting loose, all sorts of agile
rice-paper monsters in the azure sky. The fun consists in making the
kites fight—in entangling them and cutting one another’s strings by
sudden jerks.
There is a story to account for the origin of the Kites’ Day. Back in
the world’s history, when Time was yet a boy, a man, while working in
the field, was told by a passing stranger with an august mien, that
a terrible plague was about to visit his house on the ninth day of
the ninth month, and that the only way to escape was to hie to a high
hill near by. After giving this warning, the stranger disappeared
mysteriously. This man, who was, by the way, a good man, went home, and
getting his whole family together before the fatal day arrived, set
out with them to the hill designated and remained there all day. To
while away the time probably, his children flew their kites. Hence the
custom. After sunset, they went home and found that all their cattle,
chickens and ducks had died. This proved that they themselves had been
saved by the intervention of some deity. Ever since, people have made
the day a national holiday.
Kicking the shuttlecock is a favorite outdoor amusement with both boys
and gentlemen. The shuttlecock consists of a bunch of feathers stuck
in small, round pieces of leather, or pasteboard, and tied together
by a string. The game is to kick it when it is served to you and not
allow it to drop on the ground. When one muffs, he has to serve some
one else. From two to six persons can play. Skilful players will keep
the shuttlecock above ground for some time. We also have something
which is a feeble apology for the manly sport of base-ball. A piece
of snake-skin is wound around with yarn till it attains the size of a
billiard ball. Boys in China toss it, or make it bound, as American
boys do their rubber balls.
Penny-tossing, or rolling, carries out the idea of marbles. But it is
not considered a nice game, and only bad boys indulge in it. Swimming
is not popular, although many Chinese boys learn to swim.
Fishing means work with the Chinese. A man, or boy, goes a-fishing
simply for the fish, and not for the fun; and I am of the opinion that
my countrymen are right.
Of indoor games and pastimes there is only a small list. Since young
ladies and gentlemen are not allowed, in China, to enjoy one another’s
society, dancing is, of course, out of the question. A Chinese
gentleman would consider it foolishness and an insensate waste of time
to hop about and twirl around for a whole night. Amusements requiring
so much exertion are not to his taste; and as for throwing his arm
around a girl’s waist in the whirl of the waltz, a Chinese gentleman
would not permit himself such an indecorum. Accordingly, gentlemen’s
indoor pastimes are cricket-fighting and quail-fighting.
Cricket-fighting is a sort of passion, or craze, with some Chinese. In
the cricket season, men and boys hunt for them by the wayside, or among
thickets on the mountains. When caught they are fed and afterwards
tested as to their fighting qualities. A good fighter will fetch quite
a large sum.
Dominoes is a game played by men and women as well as children. It is
different from the American game, being more like the card game of
whist.
Guessing Pennies always furnishes much amusement to little boys and
girls. Chinese coins are made of brass and copper, with a square hole
in the middle for convenience in carrying. On one side is a legend
in Chinese giving the name of the emperor’s reign and the words
“_Tung-pao_,” i. e., _currency_. The game is to guess the
name of the reign, when the coin is turned upside down. Another game
is played around fruit-stand; it is to guess the number of seeds in an
orange. The loser pays for the orange while the winner eats it.
There are not many games in which boys and girls play together. If
they do play together it is only while they are children, under ten or
twelve. Growing-up girls will have nothing whatever to do with boys,
though Chinese boys and girls are very sociable, each with friends of
their own sex.