We also used to play hide-and-seek, blind-man's-bluff and other games that are familiar in this country.
Later in my school days the government underwent great changes, and it adopted the common school system of the West. My father was to pay a school-tax and I to attend a new school, where instruction was not in penmanship alone but extended over various subjects. Text-books on arithmetic, Japanese geography and history had been compiled after the American pattern, but no grammar appeared; the educational department left the language to be taught by the purely6 inductive method. The fact is that the Japanese language has not been systematized; should one attempt it he would find it a tremendous task.
When I was on the point of leaving for America my brother put into my hand a Japanese grammar in two thin volumes, written by a literary man in Tokio, and said that it was being used in schools. I have them still by me and privately7 consider the attempt not a very great success. The gentleman tries to follow the steps of the European grammarian; he cleverly makes out "noun" and "pronoun," "verb" and "adverb"—even "article," (which, in good faith, I never in the slightest suspected our language was guilty of possessing) from the chaos8. Upon the whole, the book has the effect of confusing instead of enlightening me; after my dabbling9 in languages, in Japanese I prefer to be taught like a babe.
Japanese dictionaries are for the purpose of hunting up Japanese meanings of Chinese letters, answering to your Latin and Greek lexicons10. So much of Chinese has been introduced into our language in the course of centuries, that it is now impossible to read one line in a Japanese newspaper, for instance, without coming across Chinese characters. In books for women and children and in popular novels Japanese equivalents are written beside Chinese words. In getting lessons we made little use of the dictionaries; once learned by dictation from the teacher we relied on our memory and that of others; hence frequent review was needed to retain them. As the new school system took root, the school books began to have vocabularies and keys; and the Chinese classics pursued by advanced students their "pony11."
Just at present a movement is on foot to simplify our tongue in its complication with Chinese. People generally suppose the two languages are alike; many of them have asked me if I could interpret to them what the down-town "washees" were so merrily babbling12 about over their flat-irons. It is a mistake; Japanese and Chinese are totally different, strange as it may appear. And yet I had to learn my Chinese in order to read our standard works. If the common people could understand Chinese as well as the learned persons, I believe we could get along very well with our language as it is; but they do not. It would be very inconvenient13 indeed if, for instance, in this country the "educated" people should use long words all the while, or employ French expressions freely in talking and writing. Just such a pedantry14 exists in my native country, and truly educated men are crying out for reformation. There are two parties. One party thinks it can do it by using unadulterated Japanese, while the other deems nothing short of the Romanization of the whole fabric—that is, the adoption15 of the Roman alphabet in spelling Japanese words—could accomplish the end. Opinion is equally divided between them; the second party may appear slightly stronger on account of its members for the greater part being students of other languages beside their own. Both these parties issue periodicals to advocate their theories and at the same time to carry their ideas into practice. These are worthy16 efforts; as yet they are experiments. We are told that the growth of a language is a matter of generations, that language has life like everything else, and that it must undergo changes despite feeble human efforts.
But to return. Happily our former schoolmaster was hired by the new organization and still took charge of us. He was a gifted young gentleman, a writer of lucid17 sentences and also something of a poet. He encouraged us greatly in polishing our Japanese-Chinese composition. It was his custom to select the best composition from the class, on a given subject, copy it on the blackboard and point out before the class what elegant epithets18 could be substituted for vulgar ones. It was a pleasure with him to do this, whereas in mathematics he did not show much zeal19. Above all, he inherited from his father the art of fine penmanship. His brother, too, had a well-formed hand quite like our teacher's; evidently it was a case of hereditary20 genius.
At times our beloved master voluntarily offered to recite to us records of famous battles and heroes that adorn21 the pages of Japanese history. He did this from the love of telling them; the boys were as fond of hearing as he was of telling. He had in hand no book to help him; the gallant22 exploits of the brave and handsome, the rescuing of the virtuous23 fair, the crash, dash and rush of horses, lances and swords he called up from memory and decked with his teeming24 imagination. On such an occasion his language was prolific25, his voice modulated26 according to the shifting shades of the subject matter; in short, his whole man, heart and soul, went to the making of the story. His eyes and expression! they often told half his story. Many a time the bells surprised us at the midst of his soul-stirring recital27, and suddenly called us back to the unromantic light of modern day and to the homely28 exercises of school. The stories were told to us serially29, in the hours of intermission and were a sort of optional course. They were so popular that very few were found playing about the grounds when the eloquent30 romancer proceeded in his narrative31.
Yet he was not a man of weak indulgence toward the boys; his sense of duty was equally strong. If a youngster was seen undertaking32 to do anything naughty he would give him a stern look, his cheeks were inflated33, his eyes showed the white plainly. The whole room was then silent as a tomb. But if a fun-loving fellow ventured, perhaps, to thrust out his little tongue roguishly or let out a giggle34 behind his hand, then the teacher irresistibly35 relaxed the corners of his mouth, and in another moment the hall rang with the hilarious36 laughter of reconciliation37 and good-fellowship.
Later I came under the instruction of different masters, but he it was who led me in infancy38 so carefully by the hand, as it were, to the first step of the ladder of knowledge, and he it will be who shall remain the longest in my memory.
At school the common mode of punishment was to let the culprit stand erect39 a whole hour together, facing his own class or a class in an adjoining room. Although no dunce-cap was on his head, a roomful of staring eyes struck a burning shame into his soul. Nevertheless, urchins40 there were who considered it a supreme41 delight to be taken off the troublesome exercises and carried to the next room on a visit, where they had made many acquaintances at a previous banishment42. Indeed, they had become so inured43 to it that they thought nothing of it afterward44.
Once the whole school, except a few good children, incurred45 the teachers' displeasure. I have forgotten what the offence was; all were prevented from going home after school and ordered to stand up till dark, each with a bowl full of water. There they stood like a regiment46 of begging saints with the bowls in the outstretched arms, which if they moved the water ran over the brim, and the delinquents47 would have been whipped. At first we thought it capital fun, because so many were in company to commiserate48; we laughed aloud, bobbed and courtesied to the teachers in mockery; but in time we had to change our minds. The result of standing49 still like a statue began to tell upon us; our limbs began to ache and feel stiff; the jolliest member gave a cowardly sob50; and the patient fellow in the corner, hitherto unnoticed, attracted public attention by dropping the burden. The china went to pieces. He blubbered out, as if that was sufficient apology. Through the intercession of some kindly51 folk we finally came home to supper and comfort.
We were continually threatened with another method of punishment, though I doubt if the teachers would have inflicted52 it on its. It was an intolerably cruel one: the offender53 was compelled to stand up with a lighted bundle of senkoes until it burned down close to his hand. The senko is a slender incense54 stick burned before the shrine55 of Buddha56 and of our ancestors, and manufactured by kneading a certain aromatic57 powder to a paste and squeezing it out into innumerable very slim, extremely fragile, brownish rods. When dry, these are gathered into good-sized bundles and put in the market. A few cents will buy you more senkoes than you need. As the bundle burns away slowly—slowly to prolong the agony, the fire encroaches on the skin and the flesh. Unless the offender surrenders himself to the heartless will of his pedagogue58 he must suffer injury from the heat. This punishment was actually in practice in old days when the tyrannical masters had their way, but went out of fashion at the dawn of civilization.
Our teachers carried flexible sticks, which they played with while teaching, or used in pointing at the maps; they never whipped anybody with them to my knowledge; but in going their rounds among the pupils, if any were engaged in conversation or in any way inattentive, flogged the table before them in such a manner as to cause the poor fellows to jump into the air.
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1
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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modification
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| n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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chaos
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| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
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dabbling
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| v.涉猎( dabble的现在分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资 | |
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lexicons
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| n.词典( lexicon的名词复数 )；专门词汇 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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inconvenient
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| adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的 | |
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pedantry
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| n.迂腐，卖弄学问 | |
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adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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lucid
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| adj.明白易懂的，清晰的，头脑清楚的 | |
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epithets
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| n.（表示性质、特征等的）词语( epithet的名词复数 ) | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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adorn
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| vt.使美化，装饰 | |
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gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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teeming
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| adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注 | |
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prolific
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| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
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modulated
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| 已调整[制]的，被调的 | |
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recital
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| n.朗诵，独奏会，独唱会 | |
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homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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serially
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| adv.连续地，连续刊载地 | |
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eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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33
inflated
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| adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨 | |
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34
giggle
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| n.痴笑，咯咯地笑；v.咯咯地笑着说 | |
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irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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hilarious
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| adj.充满笑声的，欢闹的；[反]depressed | |
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reconciliation
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| n.和解，和谐，一致 | |
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infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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39
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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40
urchins
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| n.顽童( urchin的名词复数 )；淘气鬼；猬；海胆 | |
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41
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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42
banishment
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| n.放逐，驱逐 | |
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43
inured
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| adj.坚强的，习惯的 | |
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44
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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45
incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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46
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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47
delinquents
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| n.（尤指青少年）有过失的人，违法的人( delinquent的名词复数 ) | |
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48
commiserate
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| v.怜悯，同情 | |
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49
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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50
sob
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| n.空间轨道的轰炸机；呜咽，哭泣 | |
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51
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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52
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
offender
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| n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者 | |
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54
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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55
shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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56
Buddha
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| n.佛；佛像；佛陀 | |
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57
aromatic
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| adj.芳香的，有香味的 | |
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58
pedagogue
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| n.教师 | |
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