Celebrating the 129th birthday of modern Chinese writer Lin Yutang with a reflection on “My Country and My People” and its insights into the roots of Chinese society
“Given extensive leisure, what do not the Chinese do? They eat crabs, drink tea, taste spring water, sing operatic airs, fly kites, play shuttlecock, match grass blades, make paper boxes, solve complicated wire puzzles, play mahjong, gamble and pawn clothing, stew ginseng, watch cockfights, romp with the children, water flowers, plant vegetables, graft fruits, play chess, take baths, hold conversations, keep cage-birds, take afternoon naps, have three meals in one, guess fingers, play at palmistry, gossip about fox spirits, go to operas, beat drums and gongs, play the flute, practice on calligraphy, munch duck gizzards, salt carrots, fondle walnuts, fly eagles, feed carrier pigeons, quarrel with their tailors, go on pilgrimages, visit temples, climb mountains, watch boat races, hold bullfights, take aphrodisiacs, smoke opium, gather at street corners, shout at airplanes, fulminate against the Japanese, wonder at the white people, criticize their politicians, read Buddhist classics, practice deep breathing, hold Buddhist séances, consult fortune tellers, catch crickets, eat melon seeds, gamble for moon cakes, hold lantern competitions, burn rare incense, eat noodles, solve literary riddles, train pot flowers, send one another birthday presents, kowtow to one another, produce children and sleep.”
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