1935-09-21 — Page 7

No. 28

China Mail

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HONG KONG, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1935 »

No. 28

Introducing... A New World For Chinese Women

The Peaceful Meal

THE

NHE hours during which the family are gathered around the meal table should be among· the happiest times of the day, but too often they are just the

reverse.

Sometimes it is the Head of the House who uses this time to dis- cuss his business worries, or to air his grievances about the amount of money which John is spending at college, or to emphasise the neces site of more drastic cconomies in the household expenses.

Cr maybe, it is daughter Joan who revives the heated discussion as to whether she may go to so-and so's week-end party. And there are many other unpleasant discussions and arguments which all seem to be kraght op for inspection at the meal table.

All of which is not only a great -pity, but also a real menace to one's

physical health.

Hot Temper no Condiment

When the mind is labouring un-

·der emotional stress, brought on by these unpleasant quarrels, the digestive organs refuse to do their job properly. Not only is the food badly digested, and therefore un- able to nourish the body, but the digestive, organs themselves suffer, and in time they are quite unable to function properly in any circum- stances.

▾

This statement is not merely a matter of opinion but is a medical fact, to which any doctor will testi- fy, and it was recently brought home to me, very strongly, and rather pathetically.

The "patient" in the case was a middle-aged woman who had suf fered for years from digestive troubles. She also suffered from a husband with a very hot temper and a son who had been "spoilt" from birth. At almost every meal there were long and heated discus- sions between father and son, until the mother was reduced to a quiver- ing pulp. She suffered physica! agony after every meal, in spite of medical treatment.

But, when she went away for a holiday in pleasant, congenial sur- roundings, her digestive troubles

gradually disappeared, until

she

could eat her meals with but little

fear of painful after-effects.

-

Uproot, the Quarrel Habit

There are many other households in a similar position. Usually it is simply due to thoughtlessness and, afterwards, to established habits.

The woman of the house should therefore do everything in Бет power to create peace and happiness

at meal-times by explanation, and persuasion; if necessary, before- hand.. and by much tact during the meals themselves. She has to start a pleasant conversation before any- body else can start an unpleasant .one. She has to.Shooth over dif- cult places and turn the talk deft- ly into other channels.

She has to look her prettiest and brightest and appear with every ex- pectation of being amused or amus- ing. It may be rather difficult, sometimes, but the results are well worth the trouble, and anyhow, every mother exports to work hard for her happiness if she is to get" it in the end

.

Γ.

is not much more than a

decade ago that Chinese

ladies knew little of the world

beyond the walls of their court- yards Had anyone suggested to them that their daughters would be competing in lawn tennis tourneyst breaking field and track athletic records and swimming 100 yards in little

more than even time. these courtyard dignitaries would have regarded the suggestion as a figment of the 'imagination.

Yet all, this has happened, and with dramatic suddenzess. Miss Gem Hoahing, stili in her 'teens, is a well-known figure at Wimbledon and in all the big British tourna- ments. Her fellow-country-women `ran,"swim, jump, throw the javelin, play golf basketball, badminton. volleyball, and a dozen other games,. and, to cap it all they have now begun to hunt with the Shanghai Paper Hunt.

Man's last stronghold, as China was regarded, has thus succumbed to the advance of modern woman. Legally, socially, physically. · and even morally the Chinese man was the superior of the female of the species, according to the belief of his country. Ten years ago women were part of his goods and chattels To-day woman' is challenging the dominant male, and challenging him more than successfully. every walk Chinese women following the trail blazed in the West, but in nothing have they developed so much as in the field of sport. There they have run wild with, a delirious sense of freedom bred by National Government de- cree, which unbound their feet, shattering tradition in one blow, and gave them the right to stride. along with a healthy, free swing. (

Rapid Development

In

are

It is amazing that in a single de- cade crippled, helpless crcatures should have learned the thrill of cutting a fraction of a second off their record for the 100 metres, the exhilaration of smashing a little white ball over 3 net, the joy of team combat.

Miss Gem Hoaking, despite ber tender years, is winning title after

• title in junior lawn tennis-cireles in England. She has an uncle in. Hong Kong.

In making their decrees against binding, the National Government -leaders opened up for the millions of women in China a new world, far greater than the social advant- age it gave them, and as yet it is only partly explored.

ese

No Hockey

women

There are many Western games which will not be played by Chin- to come. for years Hockey is still considered far too rough for womanly occupation. But other team games, such as basker- ball have attracted thousands and there are village, town, city, pro- vincial, and bational leagues, and competitions are held annually throughout the vast nation. Sports: for women have been put on AR organised basis, and now play a great part in the national life of Chiza.

It is in field and track athletics that the Chinese women have made the greatest advance, as though the unbinding of their feet bad also unbound in them a tremendous flow of energy which must be released in some form of activity:

When women's athletics was first made a part of the competition pro- gramme of the National Athletic Meeting, held annually, the innova- tion was greeted, with something of derision As early as 1923 a wo- men's volleyball team had been sent to the Far East Olympies, and in 1924 there were exhibition games for women in the third National games. These, however, were look- ed on as curiosities, and never until seven years ago were women actual- regarded as worthy of a place in the national contests.

Shanghai as Centre

the

Shanghai is the centre of athletic activities in China, and it is from the port on the Whangpoo that the China National Amateur Athletic Federation directs all con- tests. Sports among women are encouraged by the National Govern- ment largely beacuse of the belief that a healthier and stronger race will breed children more capable of resisting the ravages of consump- tion, now the country's greatest peril Athletics have made greater progress in the south than in the north, but the northern provinces are now making great advances.

Tennis Popular

Basketball is more popular with Chinese girls than any other team sport, having thousands of follow- ers, but tennis is its.ksen rival. Ten- nis is one of the few games which the die-hards will accept as being m in keeping with true womanly virtue provided it is not played too strenuously. But the young Miss Hoahing has shown how well and how keenly her countrywomen can. play, and also with considerable skill.

If the Chinese women-of today do not possess the delicate love- liness which fascinated the West a century ago, they possess to-day a beauty of physique which more than compensates for what they have lost. Broad of shoulder, clear of eyes, deep-chested, and firm on their feet, the Chinese women of to-day': are marching on to a new world.. The result of all this change has been tremendous. Chinese women worship health to-day, and many of the younger generation. put it before beauty.

even

Miss Yeung Sau-king is con sidered China's leading lady swimmer for the Berlin Olym piad.

Miss Young San-king, her sister, Miss Yeung Sau-chun, and her tramer-father, taken füst before their departure for Shang- hai last year.

Mrs. Enid Lo-Litton was, until a serious accident, two years ago, the leading lady lawn, tennis, player in the Colony.