Note 1 — Chapter XXIX · CHILD LIFE.

Besides a game of patting and dabbling in the water—chal-pak, chal-pak—boys amuse themselves by fishing with hook and line or net. One method is to catch fish by means of the yek-kui. This is a plant of peppery taste, which poisons or stupefies the fish that bite the tempting tip, making them easy prey. More serious indoor games played by women and children are pa-tok, or backgammon; sang-pi-yen, dominoes; siu-tu-chen, game of eighty cards; and chang-keui, or chess. All these pastimes are quite different from ours of the same name, yet enough like them to be recognized as belonging to the species named. The festivals most intensely enjoyed by the children are those of “Treading the Bridges,” “The Meeting of the Star Lovers,” and the “Mouse Fire.” There is one evening in the year in which men and children, as well as women, are allowed to be out in the streets of the capital. The people spend the greater part of the night in passing and repassing upon the little bridges of stone. It is a general “night out” for all the people. Comedians, singers, harlequins, and merry-makers of all kinds are abroad, and it being moonlight, all have a good time in “treading the bridges.” On the seventh day of the seventh month, the festival honored in China, Corea, and Japan takes place, for which children wait, in expectation, many days in advance. Sweetmeats are prepared, and bamboos strung with strips of colored paper are the symbols of rejoicing. On this night the two stars Capricornus and Alpha Lyra (or the Herd-boy and Spinning Maiden) are in conjunction in the milky way1 (or the River of Heaven), and wishes made at this time are supposed to come true.