1935: Field workers

Hindered by Rain Song by Qing dynasty poet Kong Xianyi

No rain, pity the field workers,
With rain, fret about visitors;
Don't mind difficult travel,
For the farmer to be happy.


1935 - age 34 Part 1

This year, on February 24, Shudong turned one year old. According to a general custom called Zuazou, we did the following ritual. In this ritual, you set the baby on a flat surface. In front of him, and to his left, right, front, and back, you display articles: some are for literature, some for craft, antiques, and daily household objects. When you put the baby among these objects, you let the baby pick up whatever. Whatever he picks up, you figure out his interests and the potential of the baby. We were told it's kind of scientific. Shudong's temperament was active. He picked up something craft related, an instrument. This might explain why he later on went to Taiwan University and Minnesota University to study agricultural engineering and got a PhD in that field, as if it correctly correlated from when he turned one. In those days, there were very few toys for children's development. I had a little alarm clock made in Germany. I bought it in Tokyo and it was very sturdy and accurate. I had been using it for many years. This alarm clock was his toy. When he was a little older, he took apart this clock and examined all the pieces as if doing some kind of mechanical research.

At that time, there were many warlords occupying the whole country. Jiang Jieshi wanted to unite the country. The government of the republic was established and everybody wanted to improve the country in all areas. In the economy and commerce areas, the most crucial urgent problem was to establish currency because at that time our country had no currency system. The mint and bill press was a big power. Usually, this power fell to the warlords, whoever had the most power in an area, and there was no united system or standard. Every province had their own currency and bills. It was a big mess. There were lots of counterfeit and much confusion with multiple exchange rates. It needed a lot of improvement except for two banks, one called China Bank and the other Transportation-Communication Bank. Because they were established for a long time and large, most people trusted these two banks. Besides these, there was Four Banks and Zhejiang.

Women's work

Seedling Planting Maids by Ching dynasty poet Chen Wensu (1771-1843)

Morning, see the seedling planting maids,
Dusk, see the seedling planting maids.
Rain fall, don't think cold,
Sun strong, don't think hot.
Two legs like duck gull,
All day in the wet lands.
Seedlings from one acre wide,
Spaced into ten acres about.
Water low, worry seedling whither,
Water high, fear seedlings rot.
Highland already threshing wheat,
Lowland still growing millet.
April gives way to May,
More prayers for dragon rain.
Infant set on the roadside,
Have kid, no time to nurse.
Now believe, plate's food,
Grain by grain, hard work and suffering.