Country Life (1924-1936) - Recreation

Words of my uncle:

For adults, gambling was the most popular pastime. Men played mah-jong, dominoes, and poker. Women played mainly poker. No big money was involved. Gambling produced a very important side benefit - education in arithmetic. Players were compelled to learn Arabic numerals, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and fractions. That proved to be very useful in the mid-1930's, when paper money gradually replaced the silver coin as common currency.

For kids, we played all sorts of games. On the ground, we made our own toys, games and balls. We used a piece of rock as the nucleus, then wrapped around it with waste papers and tied it with strings. That was a ball, any size. We used it as volleyball, baseball, etc. where bouncing was not required. Any rope tied between two trees could be used as volleyball net. Any stick could be used as baseball bat. Any flat surface could be used as ping pong table. Jump-rope was also popular. Any game that cost no money would be popular.

For the air, we made our own kites: butterfly, eagle, snake, caterpillar, etc. We also invented some sort of musical instrument attached to the kite. It was a very thin and fine piece of bamboo-bark string, stretched tightly on a bow, which was then attached to the top of the kite. When the kite flew high up in the sky, the wind blew on the string and produced a smooth beautiful sound, almost like a trumpet. When the kite danced up and down, that sound also waved up and down in tempo and scale. With a little imagination, that was like an orchestra.

For the water, we had very little water sports except swimming for boys. After a heavy rain when the nearby streams were swollen, we made tiny wooden sailing boats, less than one foot long, for racing.

For the whole family, monthly festivals were important events, which will be described in another chapter.

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In conclusion, country life in China was harsh and slow paced. It was also peaceful and harmonious. People of all ages had to work hard for a living. Men did most of the hard work. Women did most of the domestic work. Kids pitched in wherever capable. Elderly did the babysitting and lighter chores. People lived off the land. There was very little industry, service or jobs. People also were attached to the land. There was very little traveling or moving. The country life was remarkably stagnant and conservative; it remained essentially unchanged generation after generation.