Asia - Carpenter's New Geographical Reader

PREFACE. THIS reader aims to give a simple description of the people and countries of Asia as they are to-day. It is not intended as a complete geography or a summary of the geographical knowledge of the lands described, but as a supplement to the study of the geographies in use, and for reading in connection with them. The text-book on geography may in this respect be called the skeleton, and this reader the flesh and blood which clothes the bones and makes the countries a living whole in the minds of the pupils. Instead of the title chosen, the book might be called A Trip through Asia with the Children. Leaving America by the northern route across the Pacific, the pupils are taken from Vancouver to Japan, where they make their first acquaintance with Asiatic life. Then they sail northward, visiting Korea and eastern Siberia, and then back around the Korean peninsula to the great Em- pire of China. After noticing the strange features of life and work among the Chinese, they sail southward from Hongkong to Siam, and via the Straits of Malacca to Burma and India, making short visits to Siam, Singapore, and Burma, and a longer stay in the wonderful country of the Hindus. Tibet and the Tibetans form the subject of the next chapter, and then, after travels through Persia and Arabia, the pupils are taken to Palestine and Tur- key, and end their tour at the western terminus of the Trans-Siberian railroad, in the Ural Mountains. The book, however, is more than an ordinary diary of travel. It pictures the Asiatic peoples as they are found in their homes, on their farms, and in their factories. It also describes in simple language the civilization of the various nations, telling how they aregoverned, and showing the queer features of their educational systems. The changes now going on in the various countries are pointed out, and also the influence that these changes may have upon the future of Asia in connection with us. In the description of each country the author has aimed to leave a complete whole in the mind of the pupil, giving him the things that he should know concerning it. This Asiatic reader is, to a large extent, the result of the original researches of the author during a two years stay in different parts of Asia, whence he has recently returned. Many of the descriptions in the book were written on the ground, amid the scenes described, and a large part of the illustrations are from photographs taken by the author. To make the text easier to read, the pronunciation of the more difficult geographical names and foreign words is indicated, using Websters diacritical marks. CONTENTS. I. From America to Japan on a Big Ocean Steamer . . 9 II. The Island Empire ofJapan General View . . 15 III. The Wonderful City of Tokyo 24 IV. Home Life in Japan V. The Emperor and his Palaces 43 VI. Japanese Children at School and at Play ... 50 VII. Japanese Farms and Farmers ..... 59 VIII. Commercial and Industrial Japan 69 IX. The Hermit Nation 76 X. Travels among the Koreans 85 XI. Siberia and the Trans-Siberian Railroad ... 93 XII. China A Trip to Peking XIII. The Great Capital of China in XIV. The Emperor, and how China is governed . . .120 XV. The Great Wall ofChina XVI. Chinese Boats and the Boat People . . . .134 XVII. Chinese Farms and Farming 143 XVIII. Curious Chinese Customs 154 XIX. Siam and the Siamese 162 XX...