P. 504, c. 1—“Sparrow’s tongue,” “dragon’s pellet.” Translations of common names used by the natives for the Souchong or Peccho tea.
P. 504, c. 1—“Firing pan.” The quality of tea depends almost as much upon the drying and rolling as upon the age and condition of the leaf. The leaves are carefully assorted after gathering. Hot pans being ready they are thrown upon them, and kept in constant motion to prevent burning. As soon as the oil is forced from the leaves and they begin to crack they are put upon the table for rolling. The tables are made of split bamboo, with the rounded side up. The workman takes a handful of the hot leaves in his hand kneading them until the green oil is forced out. This is followed by drying in the sun, the leaves being spread thinly on trays. They must be cured as gently as possible that they may not lose their brittleness nor become crisp in the sun. Of course this process is varied with different varieties of tea. With the finer kinds not more than a handful is used in the firing pan at once.
P. 504, c. 1—“Flag.” The name given to the leaflets when they first begin to unroll.
P. 504, c. 1—“Awl.” By this term they designate the leaves which are still rolled up and somewhat sharp.
P. 504, c. 1—“Dramatis personæ.” Characters of the drama.
P. 504, c. 2—“Mace.” The Chinese arrange their monetary system on the principle of weight. The names for the chief divisions are “tael,” “mace,” “candareen,” and “cash.” The table runs: ten cash make one candareen, ten candareen one mace, ten mace one tael. The cash is the only native coin now in circulation.
P. 504, c. 2—“Dragon’s head tuft.” One of the most common objects in the decorative art of the Chinese is the dragon. It has been taken as the imperial coat of arms, and is reverenced by every devout Chinaman. The throne of the emperor is the dragon’s throne, his face the dragon’s face. Styles of dress and the arrangement of the hair are, of course, named after the dragon. This “tuft” is very simple: the hair is twisted in a large puff, high on the head, and a little to the right, and fastened by two large pins; a tube inserted under the coil receives the stems of flowers—an ornament almost universal with Chinese ladies.
P. 505, c. 1—“Phœnix,” fē-niks. Not the phœnix of the Arabian story, but one of the four fabulous animals of the Chinese, the emperor of birds. It is of wonderful beauty, appears only when the kingdom is ruled by a man of perfect justice, or in the time of some sage; has not been seen since the days of Confucius.
P. 505, c. 1—“Golden-lilies.” See Text-Book 34, page 36.