Children of China (1937)

This delightful little volume by Stella M. Rudy was published in 1937 by Rand McNally, and is one of my favorites. The left pages are text, and the right pages are full-sized accompanying photos.

Below is a bit of the text, and some of the 30+ photos.

View more texts and photos on the Amoy Mission Project or Amoymagic.com

Enjoy Amoy!

Dr. Bill

Children of China

The fertile land of China-sometimes called the Flowery Kingdom-
is the home of one of the oldest nations in the world.

For centuries the Chinese people lived in peace, protected on the east by the ocean; on the south and southwest by high mountains and on the west by still higher mountams, great deserts. and high wide plains. Only the northern side was open to the attack of wild tribes, and there the Chmese built their Great Wall.

The Yangtze River which flows across central China is one of the great rivers of the world. The Yellow River in the north, and the West River in the south, are also important. The Grand Canal connects Hangchow and Tientjin. Three of China's greatest cities Shanghai, Canton, and Nankmg-are river ports. Beiping. an inland city, is the gateway for trade with northern Asia.

In northern China the winter are cold and the summers are hot; in southern China the climate is moist and warm.

Long, long ago there was a great and powerful gIant, called Chung Kuo, who knew how to do a great many wonderful things. But he made the mistake of thinking that he knew everything there was to learn, and he was not willing to share his ecrets with others. He shut himself in his house, locked the door, and went to sleep. Chung Ktuo~ means China, or the Middle Kingdom.

At last the great sleeping giant, Chung Kwo, began to stir. He unlocked his doors and looked around. Then he made a discovery. There were other countrie and other people as wise as he!

And when people of other countries peeped into this mysterious land they made discoveries. too. They found that long before the kings of other countries knew anything about silk the Chinese people were wearing gorgeous silk robes. They discovered that the Chinese people were eating out of beautiful porcelain dishes when people of other lands were using dishes of coarse clay. They learned that long before the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, there were great cities and towns in China, the Middle Kingdom.


A GLIMPSE INTO CHINA

When one friend meets another in China, he bows and shakes his own hand instead of his friend's. Chinese family names come first instead of last. To read a book, the Chinese begin at the back and read from right to left, and from top to bottom.

Chinese people wear fur on the inside of their coats instead of on the outside. Mourners wear white instead of black, and brides wear red instead of white. The bride goes to the home of the groom for the wedding instead of being married at her home. The Chinese push their needles away from them instead of toward them when they sew, and do the same with a knife when peeling fruit or vegetables.

In China, fruit is eaten at the beginning of the meal and soup near the end. Chinese people do not think it impolite to make a noise when eating soup or sipping tea.

It would seem to us like a topsy-turvy land, but to the Chinese it is our ways that are strange.

WRITING PROM RIGHT TO LEPT
There are more people in China than in any other country -- one-fourth of all the people in the world. They live in big walled cities with narrow streets, in villages far back in the mountains, along rIvers. on boats, and in caves. The Chinese have yellow kin, straight black hair, and bright black. almond-haped eyes. The people of the south are smaller than those of the north. There are so many different languages spoken in China that it is difficult for people from different parts of the country to understand one another. The people of northern and central China speak the Mandarin language, the official language of China. Those of the south speak Cantonese. a gay and musical language.

The Chinese people are wise, patient, and industrious. They have gIven the world many things--paper, tea, silk, lacquer ware, fine porcelain. umbrellas, carved jade, fine needlework, gunpowder, and the compass. They wore silk gowns, carried umbrellas, shot off firecrackers, and printed books hundreds of years before Columbus discovered America.