Chapter5- the red diary
Historian's note: "the red diary", the journal of an unknown Chinese maiden first made its appearance in 1915. shortly after its publication, it was banned for its somewhat "obscene" content and all copies were destroyed. the original draft was recently recovered by a solicitor whose name was requested to be withheld for purposes of protection. the following is an excerpt taken from "the red diary". It is translated directly from Cantonese and appears here in its complete form, except where omitted by the author.
("black lace", paris, may 6, 1922)
mistress gave me this notebook for me to practice writing in English; but my spelling is so bad i am embarrassed to look at the words. ( I realize that this is precisely the purpose of PRACTICE, but still...) the pages of this notebook are so clean and white that it makes me want to use it for other things.
I shall strike a deal with myself now. For every entry I write in native tongue, I shall fill two pages practicing vocabulary and spelling. Sounds fair enough, and so I shall practice later...
When I speak in English it is not that bad. I can construct simple sentences ( but with some difficulty) and can now distinguish when to use the words "he/she", "him/her" , "they/them" and "it".
Mistress urges us to read often the American newspapers she buys everyday to familiarize ourselves with proper speech construction. I would rather talk than read or write, but mistress discourages consorting with the boy who brings us the newspaper. ( how come when I read the newspaper, it is different form how that boy speaks?) truly, I still have much to learn.
About that boy. I do not know his name, and he is a white ghost, but I look forward to running down the steps early in the morning to buy the paper. he calls me a funny name, which I didn't understand at first. When I asked mistress what it meant, she said it was "doll- face". Is that bad?
I shall now practice my English.
My nam
My name are
My name am is
My name is xxxxxxxxxxxxx ( omitted by the author )
Historian's note: "the red diary", the journal of an unknown Chinese maiden first made its appearance in 1915. shortly after its publication, it was banned for its somewhat "obscene" content and all copies were destroyed. the original draft was recently recovered by a solicitor whose name was requested to be withheld for purposes of protection. the following is an excerpt taken from "the red diary". It is translated directly from Cantonese and appears here in its complete form, except where omitted by the author.
("black lace", paris, may 6, 1922)
mistress gave me this notebook for me to practice writing in English; but my spelling is so bad i am embarrassed to look at the words. ( I realize that this is precisely the purpose of PRACTICE, but still...) the pages of this notebook are so clean and white that it makes me want to use it for other things.
I shall strike a deal with myself now. For every entry I write in native tongue, I shall fill two pages practicing vocabulary and spelling. Sounds fair enough, and so I shall practice later...
When I speak in English it is not that bad. I can construct simple sentences ( but with some difficulty) and can now distinguish when to use the words "he/she", "him/her" , "they/them" and "it".
Mistress urges us to read often the American newspapers she buys everyday to familiarize ourselves with proper speech construction. I would rather talk than read or write, but mistress discourages consorting with the boy who brings us the newspaper. ( how come when I read the newspaper, it is different form how that boy speaks?) truly, I still have much to learn.
About that boy. I do not know his name, and he is a white ghost, but I look forward to running down the steps early in the morning to buy the paper. he calls me a funny name, which I didn't understand at first. When I asked mistress what it meant, she said it was "doll- face". Is that bad?
I shall now practice my English.
My nam
My name are
My name am is
My name is xxxxxxxxxxxxx ( omitted by the author )