96 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 



123 



Answers. — Chengtu was burnt in the year 

 ?.^^ The fire started near the East Gate. 

 The smoke went out at the South Gate. When 

 the fire comes, die pigeons fly to the sky. 

 When the fire burns, the rats run along the 

 wall. When it is burnt, the cat's tail curves. 

 When die idols are burnt, their mouths are 

 held wide open. (Some are that way at first, 

 others look that way after they are burnt.) 



16. I sang about die palace in heaven, and 

 I saw the palace in heaven. How many 

 brothers has the thunder god in heaven? 

 Whose daughter is the emperor's wife.? How 

 old was the emperor before he came to be 

 emperor.'' 



Answers. — The thunder god in the sky has 

 five brothers. The queen is the daughter 

 of ? . The emperor was 17 years old before 

 he became emperor. 



17. Songs are good to sing, but it is hard 

 to begin. The carpenter finds it hard to build 

 a pavilion with nine stories. The stone mason 

 finds it hard to carve a stone lion. The black- 

 smith finds it hard to make an iron ball. 

 Songs are good to sing, but it is hard to open 

 one's mouth. The fruit of young trees is good 

 to eat, but the trees are hard to plant. White 

 rice is good to eat, but the ricefield is hard 

 to make. Fresh fish are good to eat, but it is 

 hard for us to catch them. 



Who taught you that songs are good (easy) 

 to sing, but that it is hard to open one's 

 mouth.? Who taught that the fruit of young 

 trees is good to eat but the trees are hard to 

 plant? Who taught you that white rice is 

 good to eat but the ricefield hard to make? 



The teacher of songs taught me that songs 

 are hard to sing. The woman who plants 

 flowers taught me that the fruit of young trees 

 is good to eat, but that it is hard to plant the 

 trees. The farmer taught me that the white 

 rice is good to eat, but that the rice paddies 

 are hard to make. The fisherman taught 

 me that fresh fish are good to eat, but that 

 the fish are hard to catch. 



Where did you meet the person who sings 

 songs? Where did you meet the woman who 

 plants flowers? Where did you meet the 

 farmer? Where did you meet the fisherman? 



On the mountain I met the person who 

 sings songs. In the garden I met the woman 

 who plants flowers. In the field I met the 

 farmer. In the creek I met the fisherman. 



What is the name of the singer? What is 



^5 The year name used here was a Chinese year 

 name, which repeats itself every 60 years. The 

 writer did not obtain the name or the Chinese 

 character for it. The exact year therefore cannot 

 be determined. 



the name of the woman who plants flowers? 

 What is the name of the farmer? What is 

 the name of the fisherman? 



The oriole is the singer. The magpie plants 

 the flowers. The steer is the farmer. The 

 The water rat (mink) is the fisherman. 



What do you give as a present to the 

 singer? What do you give to the one who 

 plants flowers? What do you give to the 

 farmer? What do you give to the fisherman? 



I buy a book to give the singer. I buy a 

 hoe to give to the woman who plants flow- 

 ers. I make a plow to give the farmer. I 

 braid a net to present to the fisherman. 



How many pages has the book? How many 

 ounces of iron has the hoe? How many kinds 

 of things make one plow? How many knots 

 make one net? 



There are 40 pages in the book. One hoe 

 has two ounces (catties?) of steel. A plow 

 is made of three things (the iron point, the 

 crooked tree, and the handle). One net has 

 60 pairs of hemp diread. 



What clothes does a singer wear? What 

 clothing does the woman who plants flowers 

 wear? What clothing does the farmer wear? 

 What clothing does the fisherman wear? 



The singer wears yellow clothing (no 

 longer true, unless this refers to the oriole). 

 The person who plants flowers wears em- 

 broidered clothing. The farmer wears short 

 clothing. The fisherman wears a palm-fiber 

 garment. 



What kind of a hat does the singer wear? 

 What kind of a hat does the woman who 

 plants flowers wear? What kind of a hat does 

 the farmer wear? What kind of a hat does 

 the fisherman wear? 



The singer wears a small hat. The planter 

 of flowers wears an embroidered hat. The 

 farmer wears a pointed hat (made of bamboo 

 and pointed at the top) . The fisherman wears 

 a palm-fiber hat. 



What kind of shoes does the singer wear? 

 What kind of shoes does the person who 

 plants flowers wear? What kind of shoes does 

 the farmer wear? What kind of shoes does 

 the fisherman wear? 



The singer wears a pair of round-toed cloth 

 shoes. The planter of flowers wears em- 

 broidered shoes. The farmer goes barefooted. 

 The fisherman wears straw sandals. 



How does the singer die? How does the 

 planter of flowers die? How does the farmer 

 die? How does the fisherman die. 



The singer dies shouting. The planter of 

 flowers is smothered to death by flowers. The 

 farmer dies from being tired. The fisherman 

 falls into the water and is drowned. 



