Explore "China" by Harry Alverson Franck on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
We should always be interested in the language of any country we travel in. If we take the trouble to learn a little of it we shall get much more pleasure as well as more learning out of our travels. Interpreters often fool us even when they have no intention of doing so, for it is not easy to translate so strange a language as Chinese. It is not simply that the words are different from ours, but the Chinese mind often works differently. For instance, if you ask a Chinese waiter, "Is there no bread? " he will answer "Yes" if there is _none_ and "No" if there is _some_. What he means is "Yes, you are right; there is no bread," or "No, you are wrong, there is bread. " This is really just as sensible as our way, isn't it?
It is not very hard to learn enough of a language, even as strange a language as Chinese, to get around alone. If you study it a little and listen to the people all the time, you will be surprised to find how soon you can talk to them on simple matters. It is a good idea to take along a few picture books when you travel in China, or in any other foreign country. The pictures interest the boys who gather around you, and you will learn the names of the things in the pictures by hearing the boys pronounce them.