Small piecy bull chilo

Attributed to John Thomson (Scottish, 1837 - 1921)

Dateca. 1870

MediumAlbumen print

DimensionsImage and sheet: 3 7/16 × 2 1/8 inches (8.69 × 5.41 cm)
Mount: 4 1/8 × 2 7/16 inches (10.49 × 6.15 cm)

Credit LineGift of the Hall Family Foundation

Object number2015.67.104

Signednone

InscribedPrinted captions on paper, attached to mount verso, in black type: "Small piecy bull chilo. / The definition of sexes in Chinese / "Pidgin" English is peculiar, a little boy / being always called a "bull chilo" and / a little girl a "cow chilo"! and so per- / severingly do they adhere to their errors / in English, and so pertinaciously do they / object to any alteration in the terms / which they first picked up in their early / intercourse with Foreigners--that Pidg- / in English is now a language printed / and taught in their schools at Canton. / ¶ One sensible peculiarity may be no- / ticed in the dress of the children--they / have not such abomination as the "pina- / fore" (which invariably ties behind), but / the dress fastens at the side."

Markingsnone

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Terms

DescriptionHand colored image of small child wearing oversized layered garments and hat; he's standing in grassy area with rocks and bamboo ladder nearby.

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