Primary Sources 1A.06—Playing Ball 玩皮球

Click here for the introduction to the Round and Square series "Primary Sources."
One year ago on Round and Square (7 May 2011)—Remembering Mr. Shawn's New Yorker
Click here to access Round and Square's "Primary Sources" Resource Center  

[a] Play ball RF

Over the course of the next year or so, Round and Square will take readers step-by-step through a very particular kind of primary source—the elementary school readers used in the mid-1980s in the Republic of China educational system. Every schoolchild on the island of Taiwan read these texts back then, and they are the foundation for understanding matters of education, acculturation, language acquisition, and translation. They were also the source of a very large chunk of my early anthropological and historical education. 

I encourage readers of Round and Square to follow these posts whether or not they read Chinese. It is clear enough where I begin speaking to language learners (the section called "Language Notes" at the end). Everything else, with the exception of the actual Chinese text, can be understood by anyone who takes the time to think about what an entire education from the ground up might be like. The introduction to this series explains these matters thoroughly, and will be posted soon. In the meantime, take a look at how first-graders (for that is where we begin) started to read their world in Taiwan a generation ago. This is "textbooks from history," and there is much to learn.

School's out—at least for the day. It's time to play, and out comes the equipment. Here again, we see the ubiquitous (leather) sphere (皮球). The play that we see in this text (and the 1985 pictures of energetic youth)...is gendered. The girls bounce the ball. The boys kick the ball. In at least a nod toward athletic equity or parallelism, "you" bounce the ball more times; "I" kick it farther. As we wrap up lesson six, you will notice that three texts have been narrated—such as it they are—by a little girl, and three more by a little boy. Three have focused on home and family, while three more have dealt with life in and around school. I point out these matters now so that you will begin to notice how gender dynamics interact with life inside and outside the household, even in the first semester of first grade.

By the way, I have tried to reproduce the text as children read it in 1985. There is no way to render the English this way without being obtuse. If you read Chinese, though, you will start on the right and read down...then left.

6-Playing Ball
The school day is over. Come, come, come!
Everyone come and play ball!
You bounce the ball. I kick the ball.
Bouncing the ball—you bounce it more times than I do.
Kicking the ball—I kick it farther than you. 

六   玩皮球

我     踢     你     拍     我     你     大     來     下     
比     皮     比     皮     踢     拍     家     來     課     
你     球     我     球     皮     皮     來     來     了     
踢              拍             球     球     玩                       
得              得                              皮                       
遠              多                              球

_____________________________________
  遠     多     拍     家     大     下     球     皮     六

                                                     踢     課

Text in Simplified Chinese (简体字)*

六  玩皮球
下课了     来来来
大家来玩皮球
你拍皮球
我踢皮球
拍皮球    你比我拍得多
踢皮球    我比你踢得远

*A simplified text is unthinkable in an ROC worldview. I don't "work" for them, though, and am including it for two reasons. First, an almost disturbingly large number of my students these days can't read traditional characters. This is problematic, but I acknowledge (grudgingly) the reality. Second, it should be an eye-opener for students on either side of the "simplified/traditional" divide. Just look. Finally, if you want to read anything written before 1950, you need to learn traditional forms. Get over it. It's not political. It's literature...and politics and history. If you can only read simplified forms, you can read what (Mao) wrote, but not what he read (unless it has been edited and adapted). Think about it.

[b] Bear ball RF

History and Culture Notes

No more pencils...or book (bags). At least until tomorrow morning. After seven or so hours of structured learning, rambunctious (yet exceedingly polite) little 1985 school children get to play ball. I lived near a school when I was in Taiwan from 1985-1987, and I can attest that the school day begins with the playing of the Republic of China national anthem. The end of the day is somewhat less structured, but no less momentous. 

Back then, as now, many children rushed off after school to various "cram schools" to shore up English, mathematics, and other skills. This is what, for me, makes this text especially interesting. The text seems to cry out that kids like to play. The time for that is after school. To many Americans, this will seem so basic that it does not require mentioning. If you feel that way, you've probably never spent much time with Chinese students. To be sure, the pressure does not ratchet up in too serious a fashion in first-grade, but I certainly noticed all of the little preschoolers and first-graders when I taught English in a cram school...in the 4:00-6:00 slot before dinner.

[c] Bite ball RF

The combined message from my perspective in 1985? Play ball!...

...unless you plan to get high test scores. In that case, leave the ball in your book bag and repeat after me: "a b c d e f g..."

Translation Notes

This text is straightforward in most respects, even for first-grade. I have already noted that "leather ball" for 皮球 would be ridiculous. The two-character phrase has taken root, and it is the generic term for "ball." It should be obvious that the translation of the title should not be "playing leather ball."

Language Notes

Note the use of 比 for comparison in the text. This character figures prominently in all sorts of phrases, ranging from basic comparison ("I kick the ball farther than you") to "nothing can compare." Finally, note again the adverbial use of 得. "Bounce more (times)" and "kick farther" both use 得 after the verb. If you have studied Chinese for even a few weeks, you know the pattern. If memory serves me well, however, it takes even native speaker children (and American college students) a little while to get comfortable with it. The character's use in these first days of elementary education shows how important it is to the Ministry of Education. 

As we say back home, "得 ain't 的, and if you think it is, you need to go back to the 的rawing boar得.

[d] Bounce-kick RF