Arthur W. Hummel Sr., notebooks, Fenchow, China 1914-1924

right use of them, coupled with the appropriate gestures, mannerisms and intonations, that the secret of succesful speaking lies. -Ibid p 21

If a Chinese were called upon to read a conversation he (would not write down colloguial Chinese but) would inevitably transpose it into literary form. - Ibid p 22

There is no living European who can turn out unaided an original Chinese composition of sufficient elegance to command the respect of a Chinese scholar. ...... The late M. Stanislaus Julien might, perhaps, alone of Chinese students have laid claim to this distinction, and he curiously enough, was unable to speak intelligbly, had never been in China in his life, and was entirely self-taught. Hillres - Ibid p 22.

One golden rule should always be borne in mind in connection with the tones: the second and third tones must almost invariably be emphasized, and the syllable never clipped. Indeed, speaking in general terms, it may be said that if the second and third tones are looked after, the first and fourth will more or less take care of themselves ....... It should be noted that when two words in the third tone come together the first almost always takes the second tone as the first Ibid p 36.

Mistakes in Dictionaries

In Goodrich mistake in meaning of 川 and 亙 Giles has mistake in meaning of 川. It means river bottom land. cf. 平川 a plain or 川子

Peculiar Engilish Idioms

Get up., get there in the country, F. country government.

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China "has never experienced the great barbarian invasions which transformed the languages of Spain, its words being so few in number, and as it were, chained to the characters used in writing them -

- Mein Conc. les. Ch. VIII IX2 Werner Orientilis Sc. p 235.

The Famine of 1879-1880.

Kuang Hsü 3d year fall and in spring of Kuang Hsü 4th year most terrible.

Human flesh sold freely on streets of Fenchow and called dog's meat.

A well near Chiang Chiey north of Wen Shuin was filled with bones of of which the human flesh was cut off and sold for food.

It was [?] to eat flesh of human dead.

At Wen Han Thien 5 li south of Fenchow a 14 yr old girl returned from school was enticed into a courtyard, killed. When the parents looked for her the people were actively eating her flesh and the rest was boiling in a kettle on the fire.

If one offered food to a child the child would not leave him.

If one ate anything on the street it was snatched away by force.

None dared to go out at night.

The old block cutter Kus Ching Hai whom Mr. Stinman knew gave a 17 yr old girl in a village something to eat by the way. She insisted on following him, to serve him in any way.

Once Kus Ching Hai went to Chi T'su where he ate a little stew with flesh. Later he was told it was human flesh.

Men fell over dead on the street.

When members of a family died of starvation the living relatives did not dare to weep for than neighbors would come to cut up the flesh and eat.