There are also various games played with chequers, some of great antiquity; and there is chess, that is to say, a game so little differing from our chess as to leave no doubt as to the common origin of both.

In all of these the money element comes in; and it is not too much to say that more homes are broken up, and more misery caused by this truly national vice than can be attributed to any other cause.
For pleasure pure and simple, independent of gains and losses, the theatre occupies the warmest place in every Chinaman's heart.

If gambling is a national vice in China, the drama must be set off as the national recreation.

Life would be unthinkable to the vast majority if its monotony were not broken by the periodical performance of stage-plays.

It is from this source that a certain familiarity with the great historical episodes of the past may be pleasantly picked up over a pipe and a cup of tea; while the farce, occasionally perhaps erring on the side of breadth, affords plenty of merriment to the laughter-loving crowd.
Ability to make Chinamen laugh is a great asset; and a foreigner who carries this about with him will find it stand him in much better stead than a revolver.