i a.w. SUGGESTIONS FOR LEADERS of JUNIOR GROUPS Using The Honorable Crimson Tree (Anita B. Ferris) J. Gertrude Hutton NEW YORK EVERYLAND PRESS 1919 BIBLIOGRAPHY I. For Boys and Girls Brown, C. Campbell. Children of China . 1909. Fleming H. Re veil Co., New York. Hall, Katharine Stanley. Children at Play in Many Lands. 1912. Missionary Education Movement, New York. Headland, Isaac Taylor. The Chinese Boy and Girl. 1901. Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes. 1900. Young China Hunters. 1912. Fleming H. Revell Co., New York. Johnstone, Lena E. Peeps at Many Lands: China. 1909. The Macmillan Co., New York. Lee, Yan Phou. When I Was a Boy in China. 1887. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, Boston. Pitman, Norman H. Chinese Fairy Stories. 1910. Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New York. II. For Teachers Andrews, Roy Chapman. Camps and Trails in China. 1918. D. Appleton & Company, New York. Cochran, Jean Carter. Foreign Magic. 1919. Missionary Edu¬ cation Movement, New York. Ferris, Anita B. Missionary Program Material. 1916. Mission¬ ary Education Movement, New York. Gamewell, Mary Ninde. New Life Currents in China. 1919. Missionary Education Movement, New York. Price, Willard. Ancient Peoples at New Tasks. 1918. Mis¬ sionary Education Movement, New York. III. Magazines Everyland. A magazine of world friendship for boys and girls. 15 cents a copy. $1.50 a year. Published monthly by Everyland, 160 Fifth Avenue, New York. World Outlook. 20 cents a copy. $1.50 a year. Published monthly at 150 Fifth Avenue, New York. The National Geographic Magazine. 25 cents a copy. $2.50 a year. Published by 'National Geographic Society, Wash¬ ington, D. C. Educational Review. A quarterly journal published by The China Christian Educational Association, 5 Quinsan Gardens, Shanghai, China. $1.00 per year. The Chinese Recorder. Published monthly by the American Presbyterian Mission Press, 18 Peking Road, Shanghai, China. $4.00 a year. Millard’s Review of the Far East. Published weekly by Mil¬ lard Publishing Co., Inc., 113 Avenue Edward VII, Shang¬ hai, China. 20 cents a copy. Asia. Journal of the American Asiatic Association. 35 cents a copy. $3.00 a year. Published monthly by Asia Publish¬ ing Co., 627 Lexington Avenue, New York. Missionary magazines of the various denominations for 1919-20 also contain valuable matter on this theme. IV. Pictures Everyland Picture Series. Everyland Press, 160 Fifth Avenue, New York. 15 cents. Sixteen-pnge folders of pictures, each accompanied by a full description; designed especially for note-book and poster work. “Chinese Snap Shots.” “Chinese Boys and Girls.” “Orientals in the United States.” China Picture Stories. Missionary Education Movement, New York. 35 cents. Five pictures, x 12 V2 inches, with a teachers’ manual of stories to tell to primary children and suggestions for hand-work. 3 GENERAL SUGGESTIONS W ORLD friendship, the establishment of a sense of brotherhood, an appreciation of the inter¬ relatedness of all members of the world family, a desire to share in work for the common good of all,— these are the goals which the missionary leader of vision has in mind when planning the year’s program for juniors. To find a point of contact which leads to these results is in most cases comparatively easy; but there may be those who will turn to this year’s study of China with the fear that it will be a very difficult matter to help our boys and girls to any real and vital feeling of friend¬ ship toward their Chinese brothers and sisters. Such a fear may be explained in several ways. In the first place, most of our teaching about the Chinese has been given with the idea that the unusual and the queer are the most interesting. We have forgotten that anything too strange and unfamiliar repels rather than attracts, and we have so emphasized the points in which the Chinese differ from us that all unconsciously perhaps, but none the less surely, we have given our pupils the idea that these people across the seas are totally unlike ourselves. We have overlooked any common ground and have made them seem almost, if not quite, repellent. The difference between their clothes and ours, their strange habits and customs, their poverty and ignorance have been stressed, and little has been done to make our boys and girls able to put themselves in the place of Chinese juniors and to see themselves as they are seen. Such little dramatizations as “Which Land is Topsy- Turvy?” and “In China and America,” from Missionary Program Material, Anita B. Ferris (see Bibliography), contain sound teaching and require little time for prepa- 4 ration. In ‘‘Chinese Boys and Girls” (see Bibliog¬ raphy), is a picture showing how costumes of other lands look to more commonly, with the suggestion that perhaps our ideas of the Chinese are as incorrect as are theirs of an American child. We have regarded the bound feet of the Chinese with a mingled horror and pity that gave never a thought to our own absurd high-heeled and pointed shoes. We have laughed at their cues and ignored the fine reverence of the Chinese for their elders—a custom which most Amer¬ ican children could emulate with profit. We have been shocked at the Chinese term “foreign devils” applied to our missionaries and have never stopped to ask if this had any connection with our own epithets of “Chink, Chink, Chinaman.” In the second place, far too little has been said con¬ cerning China’s contribution to the common welfare. A leader might search long to find a better beginning of the study of China with juniors than that of hunting through encyclopedias and histories, geographical read¬ ers and magazines, and compiling from them a catalog of China’s gifts to the world. From the compass to canals, from paper to silk, from china to tea and rice, the list is a long and interesting one. Even Confucian¬ ism, though falling far short of the standard set by Christianity, is responsible for the beautiful reverence and courtesy of the Chinese, and justice demands that we recognize this. Such a study of the world’s debt to China must surely go far toward annihilating any atti¬ tude of patronage or superiority on the part of our pupils and substituting the more wholesome one of reciprocity. The sense of fair play is natural to children and may be developed into a real desire to pay a just debt by that sharing which lies at the base of all true growth toward world democracy. A third factor that makes difficult the establishment of the right attitude on the part of our juniors toward 5 the Chinese lies in the fact that acquaintance with them is almost wholly confined to the laundryman, and in many cases the attitude of the home, and even of the church school, has been one of either indifference or antipathy. The leader who recognizes the situation clearly at the outset will also realize clearly the way to create a better understanding. The simplest and easiest point of contact is often through one of these humble members of the social order, who frequently come in for much obloquy, name calling, and petty persecution. How naturally Christian and social such contacts may be made was abundantly proved recently by the junior departments of two church schools, when the laundry- men of the neighborhood were asked to come in to settle disputed points concerning their country. So simple, dig¬ nified, and valuable were the explanations in each case that the men were invited to become members of the department; soon they were regarded by the children as their special friends and were looked upon with no small respect. In another instance, the brightest spot in the week for a laundryman was the short time spent in the kitchen of a customer, talking to her three-year-old son. Every week the child saved his choicest treasure—a bright picture card, a bit of candy, or a few crackers— for “my mans,” who in turn brought small gifts of nuts and fed his hungry heart with the child’s society. It would probably be wise to safeguard children in such friendships, as the life which many of the Chinese live here is, of necessity, not quite normal. But after all, an intimate association is not what is needed; what is really sought is a changed attitude on the part of the chil¬ dren, and this may be easily established. Again, in many college towns there are numbers of lonely and homesick Chinese students. No more gracious act could be performed by the home-makers in these towns than to extend to such students an occasional 6 week-end invitation. The resulting mutual interest and understanding would be most valuable. During the last few months a group of young women has been in almost daily association with a Chinese girl student. Her quick mind, her gentle manners, her keen sense of humor, and her merry, bubbling laugh, her sleek hair, her quaint native dress worn with so much dignity and grace, and elegant with its exquisite stitchery, all have given her companions a changed conception of Chinese women that has been most wholesome. Sometimes the contact can be established through a city mission school, where Chinese boys and girls can be seen growing into Americans through their work and play. Last winter a group of American children attended the Christmas exercises of a Chinese Sunday-school in New York City. They listened in delighted wonder to the dainty little play staged by the younger girls; they laughed with the older girls over the clever Red Cross drama prepared by these Chinese pupils; they gazed in admiration at the straight-shouldered, clear-eyed Boy Scouts as they went through a snappy drill. When the leader reported for the year and stated the amount of Liberty Bonds the troop had sold, the American children were just a bit crestfallen. “Why, they’re just like us,” they said, “only ahead in some things!” A very whole¬ some idea to carry home! Another type of contact, not quite so close but still very valuable, comes through the visits and stories of furloughed missionaries, especially those who possess the rather rare ability of getting the juniors’ point of view and telling experiences and needs that win a response from children. If all of the means thus far suggested are quite im¬ possible, it is worth while to try to get the personal touch through correspondence with the pupils of some foreign mission school and through the exchange of pictures, cards, simple games, toys, school work, and perhaps some 7 articles of clothing. This may entail trouble and consid¬ erable correspondence, but the results are so well worth while that they repay the effort. There are still other means for developing that under¬ standing on which real respect for the Chinese may be founded. Some of the possibilities are: 1. Games. In playing the games of the boys and girls of other lands, children enter in some measure into the experiences of the children who originated them, and frequently find their respect for the brothers and sisters across the sea largely increased. For example, the re¬ action to “Man Wheel” is frequently, “Gee, those Chinese fellows must have lots of strength to play that!” “Fish Tail” requires much alertness and swiftness, and “Frog in the Well,” with its dainty rhythm and the gay scram¬ ble at the end, is pretty and amusing and never fails to please the little girls. (Hall, Children at Play in Many Lands. See Bibliography.) 2. Folk Tales and Rhymes. Stories about the Chi¬ nese . 1 Chinese Mother Goose rhymes and many Chinese folk-tales are both quaint and interesting; they often show how like American children the Chinese really are, and how many experiences are common to both groups. Besides these, there have been written for children many stories about the Chinese which help to build up a background of knowledge and develop a desirable familiarity with and understanding of these Oriental friends whom we too often have set down as entirely “queer.” Such stories may be found in public libraries. 3. Pictures. Another tool within the reach of every leader is the picture. Pictures speak a universal lan¬ guage, one that is particularly pleasing to children; they tell a story more quickly than the printed page, and chil¬ dren love to collect and mount them. No leader will fail to make the largest possible use of pictures in creating 1 For lists of tales and stories see Bibliography. 8 and developing an intelligent understanding of the Chinese. Excellent pictures may be obtained from your own mission board; from the Missionary Education Move¬ ment; from the Everyland Picture Series (see Bibli¬ ography) ; from magazines like Everyland, The National Geographic, and the World Outlook (see Bibliography) ; from old geographies and geographical readers; from steamship and railway line folders. The pictures may be cut out and used in the pupils’ note-books, or pasted on cardboard to make posters illustrating the different phases of life in China. A most convenient way of preparing and caring for such posters is the following: First, decide upon a convenient and uniform size; this will be in part determined by the place where the posters are to hang. Usually 22 x 24 inches is a good size. Next, decide on the mounting board; this may be of heavy manila paper or bristol-board; probably the best thing is a regular mounting board of either soft green or gray. A strip of wood should then be finished to match the walls of the room; this wood should be ^4 inch thick, 3 inches wide, and the length of the poster mount. On one edge insert two or three screw-eyes, which should correspond to an equal number of strong hooks placed in the wall. On the flat front face of the strip, screw in three hooks shaped as in Figure i-b. The ordinary long brass hook for holding sash curtains is just the thing, and the correct angle can be obtained by striking a few light blows with a hammer. On each long edge of each poster, holes should be made to correspond to the hooks on the strip, and eyelets should be inserted and fastened with an eyelet set. If this is not easily obtainable, the eyelets may be omitted altogether if the mount is heavy; but much better service will be obtained with the use of the eyelets. A very good substitute for the eyelets and eyelet set 9 10 may, however, be devised. Secure from a shoemaker or cobbler a quantity of the large eyes that are furnished for laced shoes. For a few cents any hardware mer¬ chant will sell a drive punch, the cutting edge of which should be exactly the size of the small end of the eyelet. Place the drive punch in position on the mounts, and with a sharp blow from a hammer on the punch cut holes at the proper place and insert the eye. To start the little prongs down, break over the unfinished edge of the eye on the back of the mount with a small round nail set. Lay the mount on the block of wood or an old table, and hammer the prongs down into place. This makes a very inexpensive and useful finish, and looks almost as well as the work done with the eyelet set. When the mounts are thus finished, the pictures should be pasted in place, care being taken to paste them so that they will show right side up when the poster is reversed. All the posters are then hinged to¬ gether at one edge by a metal ring or a stout cord, and any one of them may be attached by the eyelets to the strip of wood. As need arises, any of those hanging can be also attached to the hooks. Figure i-a shows how the hanger looks, when complete. An artistic arrangement of pictures on the sheet should be sought. It is advisable to show a single sub¬ ject or a single phase of a subject on each sheet, as this greatly increases the usefulness and the convenience of the device. These directions may seem complicated, but the making is really very simple. Three or four juniors, working for two hours, can easily complete a set that will soon prove its worth. Another way of using pictures that would have a special interest for juniors might be called Moving Pictures.” This is on the plan of the old-fashioned roller towel and calls for a bracket exactly like the roller towel holder. Again the junior boys can make this in a short time. Use a y2-‘mch round dowel for the roller. ii The back and ends should be of wood about y 2 inch thick and 3 or 4 inches wide. (See Figure 2.) Paper, or paper muslin, of a width to fit the bracket should then be joined in a continuous piece, and the pictures pasted on it. The best results and the least wrinkling will come from the use of as little paste as will hold, and after the pictures are pasted, they should be dried under a weight for several hours. When the roll is suspended in place, a screen of muslin or cardboard, with an opening just large enough to permit a single picture to show at a time, may be placed in front. The operator pulls the roll down, while the leader or a pupil lectures on the pic¬ tures ; or the captions may be printed and pasted to ac¬ company each picture. A slightly different arrangement, in which the pic¬ tures run horizontally, consists of three vertical rolls arranged as in Figure 3. The rolls are > 4 -inch dowels, 11 inches long. A triangular arrangement of wooden strips, each about l / 2 inch thick, i l / 2 inches or more wide, and 18 inches long, holds each roll upright. Thus a longer reel is accommodated than if only two rolls were used. A large circle of thin wood about i l / 2 inches in diameter, fastened to roll A and provided with a handle, will be found a convenience in turning the pictures. A wire nail may be bent and used as a handle. The strips may be lightly fastened to the top of an old table. A screen similar to the one already suggested may be added, if desired. (See Figure 4.) The opening should be cut at a height corresponding to the table on which the pic¬ tures rest. A novel way of using the pictures is to build up a scene to illustrate the story that has been told. Cut the necessary pictures from post-cards or illustrations, taking care to select those that will compose a good picture, with the proper perspective. Pictures may be traced or drawn by the children, or by some specially gifted member of the class, and then colored. For background use a large 12 sheet of cardboard, or of beaver-board, which any car¬ penter will furnish at small cost. The cardboard should be at least 8 inches by io inches in size. The paper back¬ ground should be colored with crayons or water-color, after a careful study of the text and other books, to make sure of correct tints and placing of objects. At ir¬ regular intervals in the foreground cut a number of slits, either with a half-round chisel, a sharp carving tool, or a penknife. (See Figure 5, a, a.) As the story is told, each figure is inserted in its proper slit. New figures may be added, as the story develops, and they may be moved from slit to slit at will. Figure 5 shows one possi¬ ble “tableau” to illustrate an incident in “The Tiger Hunt.” The advantages of this device are many. It provides an interesting outlet for the activity which juniors crave; it calls for some initiative; it permits cre¬ ative effort. Best of all, it provides for the service ele¬ ment, for any boy or girl, or group of boys and girls, may be inspired to take the little scene home or to another band, a hospital, a shut-in, or a lonesome person, and retell the story while building up the scene. In this way the spirit and enthusiasm of the group may be greatly extended, and the benefit to the pupils of retelling the stories will prove very great. 3. The Honorable Crimson Tree. Here is a book which may be used with juniors in a number of ways. The stories may be told in a story-hour class, and the free and informal discussion that may follow such tell¬ ing while the suggested hand-work is being carried on ought to be most valuable. The book may also be used as the basis of study for a term of weeks in the regular Sunday-school session. It will find a large use by lead¬ ers of mission bands, and each story may be made a center around which to build up a program. It is here that the leader may show the greatest skill and under¬ standing of children. It must never be forgotten for an instant that the ultimate object of the use of the stories 13 is to create a new mental attitude, to lead the pupils to a sense of kinship, of brotherhood with their friends across the seas. This is the very heart of the missionary spirit, a fundamental of Christian living, and nothing must be added to or omitted from the program which will nullify or weaken the attempt to reach this end. It should also be remembered that one of our great¬ est mistakes has been so to teach religion and missions that they have seemed to be quite isolated from every¬ day life. If the most vital and worth-while results are to be reached, the devotional period of a meeting should come as a natural, normal, spontaneous—I had almost said, irrepressible—reaction on the part of the pupils and should never be imposed by the leader merely as a matter of habit or tradition. We are not teaching missions, the Bible, or how to pray; we are striving to establish those conditions under which Christian character can most fully develop. One prime condition for juniors is activ¬ ity; the normal junior is not talking his life; he is too busy living it. His Christian development should be measured, not by what he says, not by the ease with which he prays in the band meeting,—this may be only a well-meant effort to please his leader,—but by what he does. Abundant provision should, therefore, be made for reaction in service and sharing, and so far as may be, in really social, Christian treatment of the Chinese. Since conditions and needs vary with each school, the programs offered are only suggestive; they should be varied freely to suit local situations. Denominational boards will gladly furnish further suggestions for things that boys and girls can do to help their Chinese cousins. H SUGGESTED PROGRAMS The two deepest needs of China to-day are: an education which fits life, and the infusing of the spirit of self-sacrific¬ ing service for the good of others.—C. M. Lacey Sites, in Edu¬ cational Review, October, 1918. There is just a glimmer of something approaching the birth of a national spirit in China. People are beginning to realize what such a thing means. Most of them look upon it as something almost hopeless of realization, but the fact that a national spirit among the people is even recognized as desir¬ able, no matter how hopeless they may be of its spread to a degree that will make it a factor of affairs of China, is in itself a move in the right direction .—The Far East Unveiled, Frederic A. Coleman. Cassell & Co., Ltd.,. London, 1918. I. A Preliminary Meeting The object of this meeting should be to assemble the children and arouse their interest in the subject of China; to make assignments for the next meeting; and to stir up a spirit of eager enthusiasm and anticipation, while laying the first foundation stone of respect for our great neighbor. I. Song service of patriotic hymns, with salute to the flag. II. Free and informal discussion: Why do we call America the “land of the free” ? What does “republic” mean? How many great republics can you name? Which is the largest in size? the newest? the most populous? Would you like to spend a few sessions finding out some things about China? Could the world very well get on without the things China provides ? What does she give the world? (Assign to various members sources in which to find the answers to these questions.) III. Describe the poster hanger and arrange for its making. (See page 9.) 15 Describe the “moving-picture machine” and as¬ sign to various members its construction. (See page ii.) Describe the built-up scene, and assign as many as desired to other members for construction. (See page 12.) IV. Children who do not care for these, or who wish to do extra work, may be given the preparation of individual note-books, or of a composite class note-book. V. “How many pupils can bring any Chinese curios next session?” (If possible, start a loan collec¬ tion.) VI. Tell where to look for pictures, and ask all the children to bring all they can find. Especially needed for the next session: pictures of Chinese men, women, a white man with a gun, a tiger, a goat. VII. Decide whether each pupil shall supply himself weekly with working materials, such as scissors, paste, cardboard, etc. VIII. Arrange for some pupils to come early and pre¬ pare the picture on the sand table, if so desired. IX. Strive to send all the pupils away keenly eager to find out many things about the sister republic and to contribute their share to the class sessions. II. Program for “The Tiger Hunt” While the stories in The Honorable Crimson Tree are fiction, they are true in the larger sense that they are based on fact and are typical of the parts of China in which their scenes are laid. China being such a very large country, it is manifestly impossible that each story should be typical of all sections. The story of the tiger hunt belongs to the wooded southern section, and is so 16 far from the experience of American boys and girls that it requires careful preparation to give it the setting which will make it seem real. Yet many similar stories are told by furloughed missionaries. One missionary now in this country tells of opening the window in a humble Chinese home one morning and looking off across the hills, when she became aware of a form moving under the win¬ dow and looked down to see a huge tiger moving slowly off after his night’s sleep! The same woman tells of a party from the station who went out on a tiger hunt. After several fruitless hours, they returned to a Chinese village bearing as their only trophy a wild boar which they had killed. As it was late at night, this was flung in one corner of the room, and the four men were soon fast asleep on the top of the kang. They were wakened by the sense of some danger, and saw two great green eyes in a corner of the room. One of the men, suddenly realizing what it meant, shot at the space between the eyes, and a great scrambling and scratching followed. When lights were brought, the bloody footprints of a tiger were found; the animal, attracted by the smell of the dead boar, had followed the party from the forest, scratched a hole under the mud wall of the house, and entered the room where the men were asleep. Similar incidents are described by Roy Chapman Andrews in Camps and Trails in China. (See Bibliography.) I. Tell the story. II. Build up the scene on cardboard background. (See page 12.) III. Discussion: “How would you like to live in a place where tigers might come at any time? Why are our conditions so much more comfortable and favorable?” Let the children talk freely, but guide the discussion till it is shown that freedom from such fear is not merely a geographical coin¬ cidence, but a result of the living conditions estab- 1 7 lished through Christian ideals. “Does this sug¬ gest anything we can do? What did Jesus tell us to do?” See The Great Commission, Mat¬ thew 28. IV. Sing: “O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling.” V. Assignment for next session: 1. Find a chapter, or a number of verses, that tells how Jesus treated the sick and crippled when he was on earth. 2. Bring sheets of cardboard or white bristol- board 8x10 inches, bright pictures, gay post¬ cards, paste, and scissors. 3. Bring needle, thread, and pieces of fine cheese¬ cloth about 12 inches square. III. Program for “A New Doctor for China” Dr. Robertson’s scientific lectures preached to non-Christian audiences and Dr. Peters’ sanitation and health campaigns make all see that the church is interested in the community. Young Chinese ministers should be helped to make their preaching con¬ crete. Community service creates good feeling toward Christians. —Educational Review, July, 1918. I. Read the scripture selections called for in Assign¬ ment 1, last session. II. Songs: “What a friend we have in Jesus,” “Savior, like a shepherd lead us.” III. Tell the story. IV. Boys mount the sheets of cardboard with pictures, on both sides; paste two post-cards together to hide the writing. V. Assignment for next session: 1. Bring as many pretty Sunday-school cards or papers as you can to be made up into small parcels and sent to Chinese children. 2. Find in the Bible the story of Jesus and the little children. 18 IV. Program for “Mai-ling’s Adventure” I. Call for Assignment 2 of previous session. II. Song: “The morning light is breaking.” III. Tell the story. IV. Discussion. V. Have the group dramatize the story with a view to giving it in the Sunday-school session, to an¬ other group, or in an old people’s home. VI. Wrap the cards, address, and have children mail them. (Previously, a school where these will be used should have been ascertained by having some pupil write to your mission board.) VII. Assignment for next session: 1. Find in the Bible a story, or stories, of good neighbors. 2. Decide what it means to be a good neighbor. 3. Tell, if you can, the story of some neighborly deed that you have seen. 4. Can you find in the Bible a rule for being a good neighbor? (The Golden Rule.) 5. How do people learn to be good neighbors? 6. Is there any way in which we can be good neighbors ? In acknowledging the receipt of such a package as is here described, a Chinese missionary writes: “The person who planned and packed that package had a real knowl¬ edge of Chinese conditions. The cards made our ap¬ proach to the children so much easier, as they knew we came in friendliness. As for the handkerchiefs, they will be carried up some Chinese sleeve till they change color, smell, and aspect; but they will still be cherished.” 19 V. Program for “The Coming of a Flood” Nanhuschou is a small country city on the Tientsin Pukow Railroad. It is located in a typically agricultural region, and is part of the Great Plains area of this part of China. ... It is a region of famines due to periodic floods, and is probably one of the most backward regions, agriculturally, in China. The farmers seem to be less industrious, and farming is done on a less intensive scale, than in many other parts of China. The big¬ gest problem of the region—floods—is both an agricultural and an engineering problem. —J. L. Buck, in Millard’s Review of the Far East, Septem¬ ber 14, 1918. At Pao Ti Hsien a helper mapped and surveyed his district after a flood. He showed how several villages and districts working together might prevent floods. He went through the district speaking on this subject, giving his tracts, and also show¬ ing how it was feasible only by Christian harmony. This latter was unobtainable, and the scheme fell through, but to this day the church is more honored in that district than before. —Educational Review, July, 1918. I. Songs: “O Master, let me walk with Thee,” “Dare to do right.” II. Read or have the children read or tell the story of “The Good Samaritan,” or other Bible stories they have found on neighborliness. Have the Golden Rule given, if children suggest it; if not, leave the search open for another session. III. Tell the story. IV. Discussion, including 2-6 of previous assignment. V. Construct in sand table, or in a cardboard scene, (See page 12), a picture of the story, and have the children tell it to another group. VI. Assignment for next session: 1. Find out what you can about the corn clubs in America. 20 2. Do you think such clubs would help in China? Why or why not? 3. Try to learn if any such attempts have been made in China, and if so, with what results. VI. Program for “Winning of the Corn Contest” The problem of an economically independent Christian Church in China can in large measure only be solved in the im¬ provement of her agriculture. This direct relationship between the Christian Movement in China and Chinese agriculture has been clearly and forcibly stated by no less an authority in rural matters than Dean Liberty Hyde Bailey in an article by him in the fourth number of the American Museum Journal, 1918, en¬ titled “A Point of View on China.” .... It is estimated that eighty-five per cent, of Chinese popula¬ tion is agricultural.The agricultural mission must be one of the strong movements of the coming years. The South Chihli Mission at Tamingfu have developed con¬ siderable agricultural work in connection with their activities, furnishing work and maintenance for the students and introduc¬ ing foreign cattle, foreign fruits, and many of the general crops, all of which have been available to the people among whom they are laboring. 'Ralph C. Wells of the Northern Presbyterian Mission at Weihsien, Shantung, taught the students of their large middle school how to carry on germination tests of corn, and the selec¬ tion of the best ears for planting. Contests were held among the students to see who could raise the best crop of corn. —J. H. Reisner in Millard’s Review of the Far East, No¬ vember 2, 1918. The Chinese have a very small variety of good vegetables, and I believe it is because many vegetables cannot be grown, owing to the fact that they have no way of successfully combating the insects and plant diseases. —J. L. Buck, in Millard’s Review of the Far East , September 14, 1918. I. Call for reports on assignments. II. Free discussion. Recall the story of “The Good Samaritan.” What is the rule for being a good neighbor? Do you suppose a Chinese boy could 21 and would play the part of a good neighbor? Let me tell you a story, and you may decide for your¬ self. III. Tell the story. IV 1 . What do you think of Shan’s attitude? Was he a real neighbor? V. Song service, pupils choosing songs. VI. Assignment for next session: 1. How do Chinese children regard their parents? Is this the right attitude to take? What does the Bible say about it? Which of the two, the Chinese or the Americans, do you think keeps this Bible rule the better? 2. Make as long a list as you can of the every¬ day good things that are ours because we live in a Christian land. VII. Program for “Precious Flower and the Flies” After a lecture on the relation of flies to the carrying of disease, a report might well be prepared as to the food markets and the sanitation of the eating shops. I think that there are places already where food venders have been induced to screen their supplies from flies, at least where exposed to the public gaze. There are other places where some slight, but more funda¬ mental efforts have been made to abolish the very breeding places of flies and mosquitoes and to clean up the places from which the flies get their infection. This, of course, is going much more to the root of the sanitation problem than mere screens from the ubiquitous insect. —Educational Review, July, 1918. I. Discuss Assignment 1. II. Tell the story. III. Discussion. How did Precious Flower get her friends to see the right way to do? Is it worth while for missionaries to spend their time teach- 22 mg sanitation, protection from flies and other in¬ sect pests? Do not leave this question until the pupils see that Christian missions mean more than Sunday teaching and Sunday living, that the bet¬ terment of all life is included, and that all of this is truly Christian. Mission schools promote so¬ cial service in a spirit of democracy. Many mis¬ sion schools are rendering such service. They organize Sunday-schools and night-schools and support village schools. They sometimes teach games to village children and take part in efforts for public sanitation or adornment. This service is perhaps the most effective means of creating a truly democratic spirit and should have a fine reflex influence on the life of the school. It is especially important for its effect on the life of students after leaving. IV. Assignment for next session: 1. Find out what the Bible says about the blessing of trees. 2. What can you find out about China’s trees? 3. What happened in parts of America when too many trees were cut down? (See accounts of the Johnstown flood; write to the United States Gov¬ ernment for pamphlets on forestation.) 4. What is Arbor Day? Why do we have it? 5. What do you know about China’s Arbor Day? Read the story of it in Ancient Peoples at New Tasks. (See Bibliography.) 6. Ask your grown-up friends (perhaps you may count a real forester among them) if it is prac¬ ticable to gather tree seeds and send them to China. Might it not be worth while to learn what seeds will grow in China and make up some pack¬ ages of these seeds to send the Chinese boys and girls as a sign of your friendship to them? 23 VIII. Program for “The Village of the Crimson Tree” The college of agriculture and forestry (University of Nan¬ king) provides a full five years course in agriculture and forestry, leading to the degree of B.S. and has a staff of six teachers giving full time to the work and nine more devoting part time. —J. H. Reisner, in Millard’s Revieiv of the Far East, No¬ vember 2, 1918. I. Report on Assignments 1-5. II. Tell the story. III. Discussion, leading up to the question, “What can we do to help?” and ending with discussion of Assignment 6. IV. Songs: “For the beauty of the earth,” “Now thank we all our God,” “Fairest Lord Jesus.” V. Assignment for next session: 1. There are several Bible verses that tell about “in honor preferring one another”; find them and learn at least one. 2. If you do not already know it, learn the Golden Rule. 3. Draw the Chinese flag on paper and color it properly. What does each stripe stand for? 4. If you do not already know it, learn the salute to the Christian flag. IX. Program for “As One Big Family” I. Tell the story. II. Call for assignments 1 and 2. Do you think Wei- ping knew these verses ? III. What is your opinion of these young Chinese re¬ publicans? What things about them do you like? Review the list of things China has given the world. Did she give her best? Have we given her our best in return ? Is it fair for us to take her best and give just as little as we can? What is our best? How can we share it? 24