Rocky Mountain Cities

West, Ray B.; McWilliams, Carey

doi:10.2307/1496617

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…When quarrels arose, after the principals have emptied themselves of all the abuse they can deliver, they are hurried off to a tea-shop or perhaps invited each other to go, and there the grievances are gone into before a crowd of people who sip tea while listening, and in the end, the one who is in the wrong must pay the score. 56 As a result, some people became professional teahouse mediators. These positions were usually taken by local powerful men, such as leaders of secret societies.…”

Section: A Civil Courtmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Idle and the Busy

Wang

2000

Journal of Urban History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In a doggerel verse about his tour of Chengdu, 1 Huang Yanpei, Republican China's preeminent educator, wrote, "One idle person wanders the street, counting paving stones; two idle persons go to a teahouse to spend the whole day." 2 This verse presents a vivid picture of the determinedly leisurely style of life Chengdu people once lived. Similarly for Shu Xincheng, another famous educator who visited Chengdu in the 1930s, the strongest impression the city gave him was that of the local culture's prizing of leisure time. He expressed surprise at the huge number of teahouse-goers and their long stay there each day: "Every teahouse is crowded from sunrise to sunset; there is often no room to sit." 3 Still another Chinese visitor noted that in Chengdu, "to eat a meal takes no time at all, but to drink tea in a teahouse takes at least three to four hours." 4 Foreign travelers noticed this widespread culture of leisure as well. According to the geographer George Hubbard, many people had "little else to do on the street but wander and chat." 5 This was the landscape of early twentieth-century Chengdu's streets and public life. The hectic rhythm usually associated with big-city life was hardly in evidence.It is understandable that visitors had such reactions. The leisure culture permeated everywhere and was even actively promoted by the people of Chengdu. As a matched couplet posted by a tea and wine shop advised, "Work hard for reputation and work hard for profit, but find leisure time to drink a cup of tea; work hard for thinking and think hard for working, but seek happiness to sip a little wine."6 A song sung by gambling stall keepers on the sidewalks told a similar story: "Don't hurry and don't be busy. What busy man has a good fate?" 7 Local people joked about their hometown as a city of the "Three Plenties"-plenty of idle people, plenty of teahouses, and plenty of lavatories. 8 411 AUTHOR'S NOTE: My special thanks go to William Rowe for his generous help with this article. I would also like to express my gratitude to Elaine Parsons and Karen Fang for their comments on earlier drafts. I am also grateful to the participants of the general seminar at the Institute of Global Studies in

show abstract

Section: A Civil Courtmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…53 Western travelers also noticed the function of commerce at the teahouse, and they found that a teahouse was not only a place for public chat, but "a large proportion of the business is also done there." 54…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Idle and the Busy

Wang

2000

Journal of Urban History

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Rocky Mountain Cities

Cited by 1 publication

References 0 publications

The Idle and the Busy

The Idle and the Busy

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About