About the Book
Based on first-hand experience, this entrancing narrative of daily life in Peking in the first decades of this century makes vivid the milieu of a fictional family--the traditionally-minded, lower middle- class family of Wu. The author uses experiences of the Wu family's son from birth to marriage to convey in rich detail a vanished way of life, including children's games, nursery rhymes, and education; flowers and foods; street entertainers, folk amusements, and acrobatics; religions; jokes and poems; and a great deal more. Originally published in 1983. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Table of Contents:
*FrontMatter, pg. i*ORIGINAL PUBLISHER'S NOTE, pg. v*CONTENTS, pg. vii*INTRODUCTION, pg. xiii*FOREWORD, pg. xxi*INTRODUCING THE WU FAMILY, pg. 1*A SON IS BORN, pg. 11*THE THIRD DAY BATH, pg. 18*THE FULL MONTH CELEBRATION, pg. 26*THE VISIT TO THE GRANDPARENTS, pg. 43*THE FIRST YEAR PASSES, pg. 52*A DOCTOR IS CONSULTED, pg. 68*THE MIAO FENG SHAN PILGRIMAGE, pg. 79*CHINESE NURSERY RHYMES, pg. 96*FAMOUS FLOWERS OF PEKING, pg. 103*THREE PICTURESQUE TEMPLES, pg. 111*AMUSEMENTS IN SEASON, pg. 118*HOME GARDENS, pg. 127*GAMES FOR CHILDREN, pg. 134*THE DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL, pg. 141*THE TEMPLE OUTSIDE HATA MEN, pg. 149*TEASHOP STORYTELLERS, pg. 154*A POPULAR FAIR, pg. 159*SUMMER PASTIMES, pg. 169*FIRST STEPS TO KNOWLEDGE, pg. 182*A FISHING EXPEDITION, pg. 187*LITTLE BALD HEAD GOES TO SCHOOL, pg. 198*OLD MR, WU'S BIRTHDAY, pg. 209*THE SEVENTH DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH, pg. 221*ANCESTOR WORSHIP, pg. 232*WATER PLANTS AND DRAGONS, pg. 1*THE WAYS OF PEKING PIGEONS, pg. 6*THE IMPORTANCE OF FRIENDSHIP, pg. 16*THE COMING OF AUTUMN, pg. 22*THE MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL, pg. 31*IN SEARCH OF A PEKINGESE, pg. 42*YELLOW WINE AND WHITE WINE, pg. 50*HUNTING IN ANCIENT CHINA, pg. 56*THE FESTIVAL OF THE DOUBLE YANG, pg. 63*OLD MR. WU BECOMES ILL, pg. 75*DEATH PROCEDURES, pg. 85*FUNERAL CEREMONIES, pg. 94*THE FUNERAL IS HELD, pg. 110*SKATES, CHESS AND PORRIDGE, pg. 131*PREPARING FOR THE NEW YEAR, pg. 140*THE LUNAR NEW YEAR, pg. 155*VISITING THE TEMPLES, pg. 162*THE CHANG TIEN-ERH FAIR, pg. 174*THE BETROTHAL OF YOUNG WU, pg. 190*YOUNG WU IS MARRIED, pg. 207*INDEX, pg. 229*ERRATA, pg. 251
