Monday 2 May 2022

William Edgar Geil's Eighteen capitals of China (1911)

William Edgar Geil's Eighteen capitals of China (Philadelphia; London: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1911). with 139 illustrations.

Hangchow, Foochow, Canton, Kweilin, Kweiyang, Yunnanfu, Soochow, Nanking, Anking, Nanchang, Wuchang, Changsha, Chengtu, Lanchow, Sian, Kaifeng, Taiyuanfu, Tsinan, and finally Peking. 

上有天堂,下有蘇杭 Heaven is sway in the sky, but Soochow and Hangchow are here below. (p. 3)
對牛彈琴 Play music in front of a chow (p. 23)
舌頭底下壓煞人 You can curse people with the weight of the tongue (p. 33)
雪地裡葬人 Burying one in the snow - won't last (p. 45)
油嘴刺心刀 Oily words, but a knife heart (p. 65)
少莫走廣 When young don't go to Canton (p. 79)
針無兩頭利 No needle has a point at both ends (p. 81)
大雞唔食細米 A big chicken does not eat small rice (p. 95)
大富由命,小富由勤 Great wealth comes from fortune; small wealth comes from diligence. (p. 127)