Book-bot.com - read famous books online for free

The Chinese Boy and Girl by Isaac Taylor Headland
page 73 of 129 (56%)
that emit sounds as much to their satisfaction, as anything
that ministered to the childish tastes of our grandfathers;
and these become as much a part of their business and their
life as if they were living, talking beings. Furthermore,
their dolls are as much their children as they themselves are
the offspring of their parents.

Chinese toys embrace only those which involve no intricate
scientific principles. The music boxes of the West are
unknown in China except as they are imported. The
Chinese know nothing about dolls which open and shut
their eyes, simple as this principle is, nor of toys which are
self-propelling by some mysterious spring secreted within,
because, forsooth, they know nothing about making the spring.

There are some principles, however, which, though they
may not understand, they are nevertheless able to utilize;
such, for instance, as the expansion of air by heat, and the
creation of air currents. This principle is utilized in
lanterns. In the top of these is a paper wheel attached to a
cross-bar on the ends of which are suspended paper men
and women together with animals of all kinds making a
very interesting merry-go-round. These lantern-figures
correspond to the sawyers, borers, blacksmiths, washers
and others which twenty or more years ago were on top of
the stove of every corner grocery or country post-office.

When we began the study of Chinese toys our first move
was to call in a Chinese friend whom we thought we could
trust, and who could buy toys at a very reasonable rate,
DigitalOcean Referral Badge