The material and cultural life of modern society is greatly enriched, and what children eat, wear, use, and play can be said to be surprisingly new and dazzling. What kind of life did children live in the late Qing Dynasty more than 100 years ago? We present you with a set of old photos and a glimpse of them.
"Cat and Mouse" game.
American Isaac Taylor Headland came to Beijing in October 1890 and lived there for nearly 20 years. He paid special attention to the lives of children in Beijing and conducted meticulous observation and in-depth research.
Children singing ballads.
Many people may think that the life of children in the late Qing Dynasty is lonely and boring, but He Delan will not agree with this view. He found that street children always had endless children's songs in their mouths, such as "Little Mouse on the Lampstand":
Little mice, on the lampstand, stealing oil to eat, can't come down, crying and clamoring for Grandma, who is still outside.
The little mouse scratched his cheeks in a hurry, and in a hurry, he slapped the table and shook and fled quickly.
This children's song is catchy and funny, perfect for children to sing, and is still circulated in some rural areas of the north (in different versions) today.
"Snake Skin" game.
The game children play is an inexhaustible treasure, too many to count how many. Children gathered at the mouth of the alley, using only simple props such as sticks, stones, braids on the top of their heads, or even nothing, they could play with excitement and laughter.
"Eagle Catches Chicks" game.
Cats catch mice, eagles catch chickens, hit blocks, find gold, Runaway City... These game projects, which now sound familiar or unfamiliar, often bring endless joy to the children in the alley.
"Stick-hitting" game.
Will today's children still play similar and very participatory games? Mobile phones and online games have robbed a lot of childhood time, right?
"Happy Horse City" game.
Regardless of the era, toys occupy an important place in children's lives. There is no Ultraman, no Transformers, no Snow White, but the children's toys of the late Qing Dynasty are not poor at all.
Late Qing Dynasty children's toys.
Slingshots, empty bamboo, gyroscopes, windmills, sheep abductors, clay men, rabbits, rattles, marquees, rag dolls... There are many tricks! There are also countless gadgets made from leaves, grass stems, and scrap pieces.
Shake the bamboo.
Circuses and juggling performances on the streets also attract children's attention. He Delan often saw entertainers carrying flat burdens or pulling carts through the streets and alleys, performing in places where children gathered.
Magic show.
The children watched the show and saw a lot of doorways, and they knew the difficulty factor of each action. They were intrigued to see the bear turn over, because it was too easy; when the bear stood and turned the knife nearly two meters long back and forth with its paws, they began to cheer: "Great! "It's not easy!"
The bear performs upright.
Of course, the pain brought to children by social backwardness cannot be ignored.
When He Delan wrote the book "Family Life in Chinese", he began by mentioning people's different attitudes towards boys and girls. Whoever gave birth to a son, relatives and friends congratulated: "Great joy and great joy!" If a daughter is born, the festive atmosphere becomes weak, and relatives and friends no longer congratulate each other with great fanfare, because this is "small joy.".
Families with a little wealth are willing to spend money on their sons to study and build houses for him to marry. Girls can only learn to be female red, and then marry in the year of Kazuka.
Children with eggs in hand.
If the child of a poor family is sick, he or she can only lie on the kang of the hard state and resign himself to his fate. The food brought by the parents was very rough, and the doctor invited was poorly skilled. There is a nursery rhyme that sings:
The little girl is very ill, please come to Ichiro.
Lang Zhong prescribed the medicine, and the prescription was really strange.
Mosquito liver, fleas hearts, fly wings do medicinal induction.
After more than 100 years of history, it is necessary to restore the picture of children's lives in the late Qing Dynasty according to historical materials. Tracing back to the roots can make people realize that a life with abundant food and clothing and full of entertainment is not easy to come by.