'THE 1000 CHARACTERS'

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 57, 4 September 1937, Page 19

'THE 1000 CHARACTERS'

TEACHER'S CHINESE EXPERIENCE

Adult education in country districts of South China does not get much beyond the stage of learning to rsad. An Englishwoman teacher who has lived there over twenty years has been telling friends in England of the fight against illiteracy, states the "Manchester Guardian." Fortnightly schools are arranged in the villages, the teacher travelling out in a springless ox-cart or doing the journ«y in an old bus guarded by two or three soldiers in case of a bandit attack: The' school may meet in a disused temple court or in a little chapel attached to one of the missions. . ' In the school described the scholars were mostly women and girls, who sat on the bare earthen floor. Some twenty of them came, and the teacher had the assistance of an old Chinese preacher. Owing'to the various stages at which the scholars w£re in their ability to read, it was difficult to arrange them into classes. They all liked to be together. Those who could read a little shouted their bit aloud from the lesson sheets containing simple sentences. To tea*ch the others the two teachers went round drilling individuals in "the thousand characters' 'to which Chinese has been, reduced for practical everyday purposes. Some others found the romanised script much easier to follow.

Usually after a week's lessons of two hours each day the beginners managed to read a few simple lessons. Some of the older women do not get beyond a droning recital of the alphabet and they tend to hold tjie class back. In the afternoon, as a change from learning to read, there is a singing lesson. There is no organ or piano in any of the country schools, and the. teacher has to sing a solo over and over again until the tune gets familiar. The most popular story recital is "Pilgrim's Progress," which is given with Chinese characters and is always demanded again.

Evening lessons are riot practicable owing to lighting difficulties. Some of the women bring electric torches, and there is usually an odd lantern or two. The old-fashioned magic lantern is enormously popular, and whatever the story or lecture for the night, the first slides put on are ones about hygiene. There are slides which show the results of flies being allowed to settle on food and why it is not good to throw refuse in the street. In this way a lesson gradually sinks in, and in one village a cleaning-up campaign started after one school had been held.

RHUBARB WITH A DIFFERENCE Before long, rhubarb, the useful standby wiH be plentiful. Here are some recipes that will be a change from the common- everyday stewed dish: STEWED WITH SYRUP. Here is the correct way of stewing young forced rhubarb. Wipe ltt> rhubarb with,a damp cloth—do not remove the skin—then cut it into inch lengths. Boil a small teacupful of water with soz sugar for 5 minutes to make a syrup. Then add the rhubarb > and simmer gently until soft but unbroken. The rind of a lemon or 2 or 3 cloves added when cooking gives a delicious flavour. Another way to cook rhubarb is to put it in a pie dish, pour over the sugar syrup, and leave it in a moderate oven until soft. It is a-good plan to tie a piece of double parchment paper over the top of the dish. RHUBARB JELLY. The children will love this ruhbarb jelly served with junket Cut up Jib of rhubarb, cook it gently with a cupful of water and 2 cupfuls of sugar until soft. Strain through a colander. Dissolve an orange jelly in a pint of the liquid, stir well, then pour into a mould and leave to set. Turn out and decorate with, section of.; mandarin oranges. PARTNERED WITH FIGS. The sweetness of figs combines with tart rhubarb to make this excellent fruit mould. Gently stew 1£ pints of cut-up rhubarb with ilb sugar for twenty minutes. Add Jib cut-up figs, and simmer for half an hour. Dissolve Joz gelatine in a little of the juice, and stir into the pan. Pour into a mould and leave to set. Turn out and serve - with cream or custard, or spike with blanched almonds. RHUBARB CUSTARD FLAN. ' Line a flan tin with short crust pastry, making a raised edge of crust. Prick the bottom> place a piece of buttered paper, on the bottom, then cover with uncooked rice to preserve the shape. Leave in a fairly hot oven until cooked, then remove the rice and paper. . Stew Jib rhubarb until soft,, then rub through a hair sieve. Beat the yolks of 2 eggs, with a tablespoonful of sugar and a teaspoon of cornflower, add the rhubarb and a t«f»cupful of milk, mix well, then pour into the flan. Grate a little'nutmeg over the top, then bake up in a moderate oven for half an hour. ■ If a meringue is liked, whip the white of the eggs to a very stiff froth, fold in loz of sugar; pile up over the top of the pie. Sprinkle with castor sugar. Cook in a slow oven until golden brown. RHUBARB ROLLS. ■ Khubarb rolls are novel and appetising. Make a short crust with Alb flour, Jib lard, half a teaspoonful of baking powder, a pinch of salt, a teaspoonful of castor sugar, and cold water to make a stiff dough. Roll out on a floured board and cut into strips 4 inches long by 2 inches wide. . Wipe and cut the young rhubarb into' slightly shorter lengths and lay them on the strips of pastry. Sprinkle with sugar, damp the edges of the crust, roll up and pinch the edges together. Brush the tops with beaten egg and sugar and bake in a quick oven for fifteen minutes. OLD BUT GOOD. The old-fashioned way of cooking rhubarb is to cut it into inch lengths, put it into a stone jar, sprinkle well with demerara sugar, and then stand the jar in a moderate oven until the rhubarb is soft. Water must not be added as the sugar will extract the juice. This is really the most delicious way of stewing rhubarb. The rhubarb Is unbroken and you have a delicious thick syrup.