As part of her research for a book about Esther Nelson, my friend Noel stumbled upon a digitized version of a Chinese language textbook used by foreign missionaries working in Sichuan Province in the 1920’s. It’s titled Chinese Lessons for First Year Students in West China, by Omar L. Kilborn.
Besides the fact that the romanization is obviously not Pinyin, and that some of the pronunciations seem to be based on Sichuan dialect, a glance at the table of contents reveals just how much things have changed:
Lesson 1: Conversation with a Teacher
Lesson 2: Hiring a Cook
Lesson 3: Hiring a Coolie
Lesson 4: Hiring a Woman Servant
Lesson 5: Giving the Cook his Orders
Lesson 6: Sweeping the Floor
Lesson 7: Washing the Floor
Lesson 8: Dusting
Lesson 9: Arranging the Furniture
Lesson 10: Piling Boxes
Lesson 11: Buying a Sedan Chair
Lesson 12: Sedan Chair Riding
Lesson 13: Travelling by Sedan Chair
Lesson 14: On the Road
Lesson 15: Changing Dollars
Lesson 16: Changing Silver
Lesson 17: Cleaning the Lamp
Lesson 18: Washing Dishes
Lesson 19: The Kitchen
Lesson 20: Setting the Table
Lesson 21: Putting the Food on the Table
Lesson 22: Cooking Eggs
Lesson 23: Cooking the Porridge
Lesson 24: Carrying a Letter
Lesson 25: Carrying a Lantern
Lesson 26: Buying Firewood
Lesson 27: Buying Coal
Lesson 28: Washing Clothes
Lesson 29: Ironing
Lesson 30: The Bedroom
Lesson 31: The Bathrooom
And last, but not least….
Lesson 32: Keeping a Cow
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