Portraits of China's 'Golden Lilies'

Caryl Nugara

WOMEN AND LILIES: Having read Jung Chang's best-seller, 'Wild Swans three Daughters of China'. What interested me most was the unforgettable portraits of a woman's life in the early 20th century.

A baby girl was considered a "golden little lily." At birth she was dressed in a tiny silk shirt, nursed and bundled away in a bamboo cot. Her feet were bound because as a maiden she was supposed to walk like "tender willow shoots in a spring breeze". They were trained to be concubines to the emperor or wives of war lords.

As a bride she was splendidly dressed, her face covered with a red silk veil and conveyed to her husband's home in an indigo cotton-draped sedan chair. If she was to be the Emperor's concubine she was conveyed grandly in satin covered sedan in procession with lanterns and banners painted with the golden phoenix.

The matriarch would accept her only if she proved to be a virgin and had miniatured feet. After the celebration she entered the wedding chamber taking her trousseau of satin quilts and pillow-cases, decorated bed-pelmets and shoes which she herself had sewn.

The war lord's wife was supposed to be quiet and virtuous. She would spend time at the opera, go to family ancestors' shrines and nurture dwarfed trees alongside flowering plants.

The courtesan's wife lived in a typical Eastern house with a courtyard and a high wall with its moon shaped gate. The windows had rice paper coverings and ornamental red tiles.

She had plenty of quits, scroll paintings on the wall, flower arrangements and porcelain ornaments. She would be taken on visits by her husband to places like Chengdu the 'City of Silk', stroll in the 'Gardens of Hibiscus' where they would walk gently on layers of scarlet petals.

Perhaps she would be even allowed to catch a glimpse of the willow embraced tea-houses (only for men) on the sloping banks of the river Jade. She celebrated festivals.

The new year's eve and mid autumn days were specially for family reunions when red rice cakes were eaten in the moonlight. At the "Town God's Temple" she placed her clay lamp among others which sparkled and hissed against painted statues.

The peasant wife worked hard beside her husband in the paddies clad in rough, black trousers, straw shoes and hat. She carried her baby bundled behind her and together they both got quite accustomed to the hot, wine-red sunshine that beat upon them.

She lived either in a cottage or a stilt house on the borders of a hill. In spring, she would pass by plum blossoms reflected in the streams which meandered down to her paddy field.

As the emperor's concubine, she had to look glamourous. She wore embroidered silk robes, greenish jade jewellery and had gold plated teeth. Her glossy hair in a neat 'bun' was cupped with an ivory coloured magnolia and its two leaves.

She used home made shampoo from the Chinese honey locust and pomelo seeds. The quaint perfume of asmanthus and quince lingered on her body as she remained elegant with charcoal pen painted eye brows and a dab of powder.

The food a Chinese wife prepared differed in areas and visitors. Dates, peanuts and dried fruit had to be served at a wedding feast. There were dishes with names such as 'mandarin duck' and 'honey roast duck'.

Sticky rice with sesame seeds, plums and almonds, melons and pickles and sauce were relished and eaten from lovely lacquered bowls with beautifully designed chop-sticks.

When their work was done and night shadows fell these women of years gone by, as the ancient Chinese poet, Takui Yoshiru in his stanza wrote

"They lowered the rush curtains of
their houses
So they could dream the night's
dreams away".

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Lighten power bill, light up life

Handy tips on reducing electricity consumption:

Dr. Kumudu Perera

CURRENT AFFAIR: At the end of the month your pockets are full and dreams are lined up. Suddenly the door bell screams. Before you open the door, the uninvited and impatient guest slowly slips a nicely folded paper under the door and vanishes in no time.

That's it. The ever dreadful shocking warrant; nothing else than your electricity bill. Open the envelope, the monster pops up draining your pocket and dashing your dreams !

This is a common experience for most of us. It is the wicked consequence of technological breakthroughs. With attractive and wonderful appliances operated by electricity flooding the consumer market rapidly most people living in and around cities are tempted to buy them. Due to busy lifestyles, most people see no other option than easing their household work with those appliances.

On one hand, it is wise to have domestic electrical appliances compared to the soaring wages and demands of servants. Various equipment initially considered as luxury appliances are now in great demand.

Subsequently with the extension of electricity to remote areas the usage of such appliances rose.

The objective of this article is to discuss some ways of saving electricity.

The illumination of houses, workplaces and roads is the oldest application of electricity. In most houses big or small, all rooms and passages are illuminated for no reason.

Even in most workplaces, the situation is the same. Some forget to switch off the lights when they leave office. For security reasons, one or two outdoor lamps can be kept switched on. This may be more effective if energy saving bulbs are used.

Today, it is hard to find a house without hi-fi, audio video equipment. Even though these consume less power, it cannot be ignored at national level.

In most places, hi-fi equipment and televisions are switched on without listeners. It is the same with fans and airconditioners. Irons consume a huge amount of power. Most people when they need to iron do the job, switch off the iron and go. This is repeated. At the end of the day or week a considerable amount of power is lost. If you iron a load of garments in one go avoiding peak times, you can save power to a great extent.

The same theory applies to electric stoves. Stoves as well as blenders and grinders are switched on several times. This can be avoided by preparing the whole set of curries (or any food) without intervals. By switching on and off randomly, a considerable amount of power wastage occurs.

In some houses, refrigerators are switched on and off with the idea of saving electricity. This is wrong. With the advent of new technology, refrigerators are designed in such a way that they automatically switch off upon reaching a set temperature.

There are appliances for which we have to be on alert to switch them off. One example is normal water pumps. If they work more than needed, not only power losses but also water wastage occur. Overheating may damage the motor.

Nowadays, most houses have water geysers. It is another cause for unwanted power loss. In some modern equipment such as radios, televisions and computers, there is an option known as power save/standby mode that can be used when not in use.

At this stage, power is not disconnected from the mains supply resulting in a huge power wastage. Therefore, it is advisable to disconnect power directly from the mains plug point.

We should try to use electrical appliances during non-peak hours as much as possible.

(The writer is a lecturer at the Department of Electronics, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, Kuliyapitiya.)

Slash your bill:

Switch off unnecessary lights, fans and airconditioners

Use electrical appliances during off peak hours

Don't keep computers, radios on off/standby mode

Minimise the use of high power consuming appliances

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Walk long to cut down calories

Dr. Kaleel Cassim, MBBS, MD (Medicine), Consultant Rheumatologist, Sri Jayawardenepura General Hospital

Exercise is very important. Not only does it use up calories which would otherwise end up as fat, but it also increases strength and suppleness. Exercise is good for your general health, especially the heart and circulation.

Of course, arthritis can make exercise difficult and painful, and the wrong kind of exercise can make it worse. But exercise does not have to mean running a marathon! A daily walk for half an hour with the dog, for example, or a walk to the local shops or park is exercise and it will help.

Many people find particular types of exercise suit them: swimming is a good exercise because being in water takes the weight off the joints. Others prefer keep-fit classes, yoga or cycling. The most important thing is that you enjoy it and so do it regularly.

Should I take extra calcium, vitamin D, or iron?

Calcium and vitamin D

Calcium is an important basic nutrient. Not having enough calcium in the diet can make you more likely to get osteoporosis (brittle bones). Women after the menopause are particularly liable to osteoporosis. Many people with arthritis also have a risk of developing this condition. Lack of calcium in the diet can also increase your risk of developing osteomalacia.

The richest sources of calcium are milk, cheese and yogurt and, as shown below, certain types of fish which are eaten with the bones. If you are watching your weight it is worth knowing that skimmed or semi-skimmed milk actually contains more calcium than full-fat milk.

I recommend a daily intake of calcium of 1000 milligrams (mg) or 1500 mg if you are over 60. A pint of milk a day, together with a reasonable amount of other foods which contain calcium, should be sufficient. Vitamin D is needed for the body to absorb calcium and there is some evidence that arthritis (both osteoarthritis and inflammatory types), progresses faster in people who are low in it.

If, for whatever reason, you do not take many dairy products, soya milk is now available in most supermarkets. It can be used in exactly the same way as cow's milk.

Some soya milk is fortified with calcium, so try to use this type. If you are not taking dairy products or a suitable quantity of other calcium-fortified 'milk' or other calcium-fortified products, you may need a calcium supplement. Discuss this with a dietitian or your rheumatologist.

Iron

Iron is important to prevent anaemia. Many people with arthritis are anaemic. The anaemia can be due to different causes. NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen and diclofenac help the pain and stiffness of arthritis but may cause bleeding and stomach ulcers in some people, leading to anaemia.

The other main cause of anaemia in arthritis is anaemia of chronic disease, which often occurs with rheumatoid arthritis and similar conditions, and does not improve with iron supplements.

To be continued