Viewing page 125 of 187

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

122

Thursday November 5, 1925.

This is a day to go on record, to remember for a long time, fortoday I gave my first public lecture on Chinese Art, a lecture which I hope may be a fore-runner of many more. It is a keen delight to be doing work of this kind, work that appeals to me so much more than teaching English or running a Library. I had the younger Fu with me for over an hour in the
morning and then after lunch Dorothy and I walked up to the School together. She stayed there in my office until time for the lecture when Frieda Miles and Louise joined her to attend it.

There were about firty people there, and they seemed intelligent and interested. I spoke on the materials and technique of Chinese Painting, the philosophy and canons of criticism, and the early history of Chinese Painting through the Tang dynasty.

At first I was a little ill at ease but soon lost myself completely in what I was saying and had a fine time.

We came home for tea and to talk about how the lecture went. Denny came in, then Mary and Mrs Ferguson called and before they left I had to go to the Wen Yu Hui meeting where I assumed for the first time the job of secretary. I had to see about the food, collect the price of the dinner and see that things went as they should.

Friday, November 6,

Today my friend of Paotingfu days, Paul Liu was married. We sent him a red basket of red and pink flowers which is a custom gaining in repute among Chinese, and about three thirty Dorothy and I called at the home to offer our congratulations. It was amusing and a little disheartening to find Paul in full, formal evening dress, silk hat and white gloves, with a giant red paper flower in his button hole, in the midst of completely Chinese surroundings  The ceremony had been strictly old fashioned Chinese and he was the only one out of keeping. We were shown the apartment which the bride and groom are to occupy and then taken into the bedroom where the poor, terrified bride sat while a multitude looked
at her and commented on her as they saw fit. She was all in pink with a white tulle veil, and continued to look fixedly and miserably at her feet. We stayed only a short time and wlking home in the sunshine together decided that we liked our kind of wedding best.