1933-03-16 — Page 6

After all, a man spends one-third of his life in a sleeping suit. Pyjamas are important, therefore. We

specialise in stylish

pyjamas, perfectly tailored out of the right material, to be friendly to sleep.

We think our Dressing Gowns, design- ed so handsomely, give jauntiness to the morning tramp to the bathroom.

We have a wide variety of this kind of undress wear-right in price, too.

MACKINTOSHS TD

MENS WEAR SPECIALISTS

Watch for the

OPENING DATE

of the

EXCELSIOR RESTAURANT

22, Des Voeux Road Central,

(Opposite Government Radio Office)

Hong Kong's Newest and Smartest.

Something new in the way of food

European Management.

ASSETS £13,000,000

BY APPOINTMENT

CLAIMS PAID

£40,000,00

GENERAL

ACCIENT, FIRE & LIFE ASSURANCE CORPN., LTD.

All Classes of INSURANCE

WORLD WIDE.

ORGANISATION

AGENTS

JAMES H. BACKHOUSE

1a, Chater Road. TELL 21738.

HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1933.

A Handful OF Chinese

Street Literature

THE STORY TELLER AND HIS THOUSAND JESTS AND TALES

ing.

[BY DR. O. J. VOSKAMP,]

sotnewhat

BIRD CRUELTY CASE ENDS

DEALERS HEAVILY FINED

The case in which two Chinese bird dealers were charged with overcrowding birds in cages was concluded at Central Magistracy yesterday when Mr. Wynne Jones fined voe dealer $250 and a second man $100.

His Worship suggested that the nspector of the S.P.C.A. make it his business to visit some of the ships in which the birds are trans- ported.

Inflicting the penalty, the Magis trate, said: "The maximum sen tenes which I can give is a fine of $250. I think it is my duty to assess the fine on the basis of the profit whieh has been made by sending these birds in the way dis closed."

We have bonn told here in Court that the freight per cage is one pound, roughly fifteen dollars, We have four boxes, and without in any way committing myself to fixing, the number of birds that should be in a cage, I think every body would agree thone should have been twelve cages. They have sLV- ed 8 on that, which is $120."

tr

A Reflection of the quality of the famous Kohinoor Diamond is to be found among the silks and

satins at the

KOHINOOR

'DIAMOND.

SILK STORE Proprietor

V. Rugchand CHINA BUILDING Tel. 25350

PIONEER - In fact as well as name,

The First Silk Store in Hong Kong

The Largest Stock of Silks

The Lowest Prices always

The Most Popular Store.

Courtesy and Bervice" is our slogan.

THE PIONEER SILK STORE CHINA BUILDING,

BLONDIE OF THE FOLLIES."

MARION DAVIES' FINEST

.. ROLE

ré-

QUEEN'S ROAD, Central”

DEFECTIVE PARTY WALLS HOUSE OWNER SUMMONED

Laa Yuk King, the owner of houses 140 to 154, Third Street' was summoned by the Building Autho rity for alleged non-compliance i with a notice to remedy defective "Blondie of the Follies," the party walls at Central Magistracy

yesterday. latest Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

After Mr. J. H. Bottomley of the tense at the Queen's Theatre PW.D. had informed his Worship example of what this producing the complainant was in hospital, fru can do in the way of combin the case was adjourned sine die. ing excellent story with superb acting and direction.

Marion Davies and Robert

their Montgomery prove

་

Mr. F. H. Loseby who appeared for the defence said:-

Who of us had not ever had a critical remarks on political affairs favourable opportunity opportunity or social mutters, drowned in the to notick and to watch on the Che next moment by the citing af long nese market-places my good friend sections sometimes from the booka the Schuo Schut Di, the Story-teller. of history, at others parts from the You peer over a dense crowd of Three Kingdoms, this divine work spectators and listeners, and then of a literary genius," from the Hills you observe a man, who as it is said and Sea Stories book, from the Lino in the Gospel, "bringeth forth out Chai, the collection of ghest of his treasure new and old." To stories, and the ghastly tales of the the Chineso the old is ever new, and Hung Lu, the Red House. All this the new never fails to be interest, at the market, he is standing there ing. The news of the prescat.civil in some quiet corner, the crowd is war, the latest outrage by the swelling around him to listen and bandits, and especially the hostile laugh. The poor fellow must after Japaneso invasions are all interest, all earn his bowl of rice in the The story-teller has been for South or his bowl of millet-soup in conturies the newspaper-man of the the North. crowded market-places of the vast

Never Falling Memory. empire. During the past Boxer-

Was There is an interesting passage. in times the story-teller often the agent-provocateur, and to-day, the prophet Jeremiah of a forgatten ho may be in the pay of the harlot in the streets or Tyre: take

His Worship said he thought a Soviet. In the most cases, he will a harp, go about the city thou be a literary man gone smash," harlos, that hast been forgotten. finc. of that sum would not be suffi who, as one of them explained to make sweet melody, sing many cient punishment. Defendant whe mo, the battle with the writing songs that thou mayest be remem-fued $2 in 1925 for precisely the brush, which is mightier than the bered." But we may rest assured, zame offence and the penalty ap- sword, has been driven to rear." our old minstrel does not show inpeared to have made no impression Whatever his literary qualities may his struggle for existence the faded on the people responsible. The be, there is one quality, one skill, he and withered beauty. His once so second defendant had one cage but must needs be clever to display, clear and sounding voice may have he also had a previous conviction and and "I don't think I can very well cracked viz., to rivet the attention of his becomie hearers, and to draw the copper- hoarse, from his never failing me let him off under $100. I trust that Scheduled on Sunday is another (Mr. Schofield) that Mr. H.J, Best,"

both of you will see from this that cash out of their pockets, otherwise mory it will well forth with w the poor fellow must die of star-azing inexhaustibleness, and will I very strongly object to the man ner in which these birds were over- vation. He must possess a strong even nail the feet of his audienco to

crowded." never failing memory, a fan which the spot where they are standing. most oftenciously will assist him in his gestures at the culminating points of his narrations, a pair of which there are two intelligent and expectation has reached its summit! bade me some time ago buy for him

street flying book observing eyes, and a clear modulat-Now the plot will be unravelled, the ing voice, combined with it, if this solution must be given! But holiterature, sold by the

Clever Direction Helps. is possible in China, & distinct smilingly cuts short! His collection- seller" at some corner of the street. articulation. These are his neces-plate is going round. If they do was amazed at the big handful not pay, he will not play further bought for one dollar. From this

Edmund Goulding follows his stry implements.

my old friend of the Chinese) so they pay!

But after all, what is the fellow's market place is drawing most of his triumph in Grand Hotel" by an

superlative example line! I admit that for a Western material. I found in it all sorts

girls who graduate to popularity- As far as possible in these level car it is hard to follow him, and of popular literature in rude block direction. His was no mean thek, ling times of the revolutionary if you happen to stand among the printing often mixed with crocked covering a range of action which and luxury in the Broadway show glimpses of New York world. It is the story of their de transition of China, our friend has crowd. some sharp arrow of sarcasm and twisted, oven fulse Chinese included kept his pigtail, which adds to the and wit is aimed at you, and the characters, which only could be de tenement life, backstage episodes parture from the poverty of their picturo a fine interesting stroke of laughing eyes of the multitudo are ciphered by a magnifying glass, partics in night clube, luxurion tenement environment, their

They contained remarkable literary apartments and on board a yacht.

journ inxury, and their return an historical past. that among the wandering people put a ten cents piece on his plate sermons and tracts, full of exhorta- knowledge of comedy as well as story Frances Marion, who com

Small wonder turned towards you Then I have products, Buddhistic and Taoistic His attention to detail and his home. But in the telling of that and minstrels and to me bo has and got a smiling bow in response; tion, and admonitions to the cursed, dramatic values have, in this case, posed it, and Anita Loos, wh become an interesting figure, to Then as a missionary I have asked sinning world, issued by pious tem- bad an aurally happy result. wrote the dialogue, have, imparted whom 1. liked to listen, when long him to allow me to tell a fine storyple societies and benevolent associa

The picture tells the story of the strong drama and moments

humour. Thé picture ago I began to study the language, of the "Holy Classic of the West ❞

of the people.

nbounds in fine entertainment. or as Martin Luther would say, I and told the story of the Prodigal tions to promote the decaying morals adventures of a pair of working high her to get the vernacular idiom. As I have mentioned just before, Still today these wandering folks and vagabonds of China, with their often so skilful conjurers, aerobats, gymnasts et omne gene, are gather ed up under the ominous nune of the Hun. But our friend the story tollor is not a Hiung-Nu an "an evil slave," but there is floating around from the times of tho grand and brilliant epoch of literature of tho Tang emperors, a certain splen dour when then he was playing his de on the princely courts of old Chine

It is wonderful to observe how our friend is able to sharpen to the point of his narratives, so that they

dom-

somewhat dark spectacles behind all gaze at him, spellbound: The cagernese script with remarkable success, petence to head a cast which in fence, if we adjourned sine die.

Keeps His Pigtail.

had to listen to the talk of a cow- Son.

Many Loles,

our Schuo Schu Di is singing the newest couplets which in the fine and fashionable wine-shops of Can- ton, Shanghai, Tientsin and Peiping have last their affect of novelty For the Chinese, like all the Athen- fans of the wide world, prefer to spend their time in nothing else but telling or hearing some new thing. It is witty, often rade, not always indecent, and the Chinese classics, which are free from the obscene, may have some influence on these open-air speakers. Not so the in- decent novels and works of fiction, Let us return to the equipments, written even by the court-ministers of our story-teller. His black well of the famous literary epoch of the kopt pigtail acoms to have grown Tang and Seng Dynasties and other with him into one living being. At dynasties, capecially in their times some pathetic episodes of his nar

of decline and decay. He may go atives, the pigtail is hanging down back into the hoary times of anti- mournfully and respectfully, then quity, when our own advestors still again it seems to rise up somewhat were clad in their bear's skins, but threateningly, and again it is nestl- Chinn already had composed a ing itself tenderly on the shoulders cookery-book of over 190 volumes. of its master, who angrily jerks it And with a sort of salto mortale he back with an energetic push. The is standing amid the vexing prob fun in the hands of the story-teller lems of the present times. scoms almost to be a living object. Someone has mentioned" the art of the language of the fan," and cer- tainly, it is an object which replaces the gestures of a great European actor. Either the fan is a writing brush with which some imaginary Chinese character is written in the air or on the palm of the hand, which seems powerfully to impress the open-mouthed, rustic standing is passing a judgment, and then the close to him, or the fan is a rustic standing there, seems threatening sword or one of those wince, especially when he listens to terrible jagged halberts, with which the moanings of the beaten culprit. in the wars of past the bowels of And soon after that, he draws his an adversary were exposed. On the hearers back to those glorious times, fan is lying in his uplifted hands when the gods were dining on the like the Jade-sceptre of the Son of golden dishes; when they personal- Heaven. And then again it will ly intervened in the miseries of life, contemptuously be fixed behind the when during the night-time doors collar of the man's cont, where it were not closed, because there were will have a confidential, chat with no robbers and kidnappers, and pro- its comrade the pigtail, from whence perty lost on the main road was well in the next moment it will be drawn guarded by the first wanderers pass. out as from a scabbard, in that ing by, till the next newcomer re inimitable attitude of an antique placed him, who with a courteous warrior, for, after all, our friend is gesture of the hand delivered, the a lay-otor, whys on the stage, lost property to the anxiously who is I heard one crying of his searching owner. There can be no hero he had, his head in the doubt, in those olden times people clouds, with his feet standing in were so good-so good and so bor the Ming dynasty.".

ingand I always wonder why the "golden heads" of Chinese history, Yao and Shun, had to introduce such terrible tortures and racks to punish their Vircuous blogia, ant to-day the Wu Shan Movement, the

Classic, and. Other, Taleg.. Our friend is there in the midst of a crowd on the market-pince, standing on a low table as on stage, holding forth with a sonorous voice, the envy of a member of European parliament, above all, he must dispose of a quite inexhaust ible treasure of stories, ballads, coupleta, jokes, indecent jests, never ceasing stream of pointed

Now he tells a tale where virtue is walking on stilts; now as an ad- mirable actor he presents a burles- que; and you are hearing the deep and instructing voice of the Hus- band, mingled with the squabbling screams of his jade-wife; the hard voice of the Mandarin in the court

handful of Chinese

cludes such players as Billie Dove. Jimmy Durante, James Gleason; Zamu Pitts, Sidney Toler and Douglass Dunbrille,

other

*.

(Continued on next Column)

of

Salient Features of 1932 Activities

NEW INSURANCE

INSURANCE IN FORCE

ASSETS

PAYMENTS TO POLICYHOLDERS

"I think it would be beat, nl- though I have a perfectly good de- With a little give-and-take between my client, and the Building Autho rity, we might be able to Bring

about an amicable settlement as the walls were not in danger."

Mr. Bottomley: I don't agres with that, your Worship.

$ 62,445,855 Gold

526,253,121

117,786,626

18,288,741

The Company's Record 1887-1932 (Since its inception)

Death Benefits Päià

$41,842,092

Payments to Living Policyholders

58,330,798

to

23,675,176

twilight of the gods" is weaving its dark veil over the whole nation, and its deep shadows are falling and growing with the might.

One of my friends at home, who in his leisure hours is studying. Chi- (Continued on next kolumas

for Maturities, etc.

Dividends to Policyholders

THE

MANUFACTURERS LIFE

MARICELES

INSURANCE COMPANY

Lii

ESTABLISHED 1897

BRANCH MANAGEÉ, HONG KONG, E. J. R. MITCHELL,

and at Caston, Macao and SWATOW.

AFRICA ASIA