. A'Chu and other stories. lf to listenmore carefully and to fix my attention on the strange-looking characters lined up and down the page. But the teacher, too, seemed to be thinking of otherthings. More than once, while trying to say a long, hardsentence after him, I caught his eyes wandering to theother side of the river where the bank looked green. Madam, you know, or not know, today is Tang-mans [a favorite term for the Chinese] Feast of theTombs? Not know, I replied, and went on saying thewords as if very much interested in the lesson , those strange words kept coming back t
. A'Chu and other stories. lf to listenmore carefully and to fix my attention on the strange-looking characters lined up and down the page. But the teacher, too, seemed to be thinking of otherthings. More than once, while trying to say a long, hardsentence after him, I caught his eyes wandering to theother side of the river where the bank looked green. Madam, you know, or not know, today is Tang-mans [a favorite term for the Chinese] Feast of theTombs? Not know, I replied, and went on saying thewords as if very much interested in the lesson , those strange words kept coming back to Feast of Tombs—what could it mean? I re-called the story of the demoniac who lived among the18 273 274 AChu and Other Stories tombs and cut himself with stones. But would any onethink of going to the graveyard for a picnic, or whatthe Chinese might call a feast? From my seat by the window it was easy to see thingswere not going on in everyday fashion in the streetbelow. Fewer men were carrying burdens. More peo-. STONE ELEPHANT One of the Sacred Stone Elephants Which Guard theEntrance to the Ming Tombs, Nanking. pie wore dress-up clothes. They walked more leisurely,and greeted each other more friendly than usual. Men and boys carrying spades, rakes, and hoes, mor-tar and trowels, were going in the same direction withwomen and girls carrying baskets filled to the brim withthe eatables the Chinese like best. They seemed tomove in groups, men and boys leading the way andwomen and girls in bright new clothes following in long robes of silk walked with coolies in The Worship of Ancestors 275 blue cotton clothes. Women of wealth and their daugh-ters in sedan chairs were followed by family hired serv-ants or slave girls carrying baskets. All appeared tobe going in one general direction toward the green-covered hills. Is there a picnic today? I inquired, in the midstof a sentence, then instantly thought, What a foolish ques-
Size: 1851px × 1350px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookidachuothersto, bookyear1920
