New Year's Day. The Chinese, following an old and respectable tradition invented by a confectioner, never fail to begin the year by offering to all their acquaintances chestnuts and other small presents. They kiss each other with pursed lips, but would rather tear each other apart. On this memorable day in Beijing alone 300'000 kilos of sweets and 200'000 kilos of gingerbread will be devoured. No wonder that on January 2nd all the little Chinese have a colic. But who cares.... next year they'll be again filled up with the same colic enhancing stuff always under the pretext of "traditional duty", plate 25 from Voyage En Chine

New Year's Day in a Village at Stone Lake

Cleveland Museum of Art

Young Lovers at the New Year, from Selections from the Brocade Quarter (E-awase kingaishō)

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Greeting the New Year

Minneapolis Institute of Art

(New Year's Decorations)

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Happy New Year

Cleveland Museum of Art

Presentation Banner for a Birthday

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Mice on Rice-cake Flowers

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Happy New Year

Getty Museum

A Present for an Artist. The Chinese adore music, but they are also passionately fond of musicians. Their infatuation of this attitude is carried to extremes which are not easily understood in our civilized regions. Thus it is quite normal to see Chinese harnessed like horses to a cab and drive their idol around town. An when a pianist has improvised variations more or less brilliant of the "air of moonlight", "Ah!... you will say... Mama" or "King Dagobert", they find nothing better to bestow on him than a sword of honour which is accepted with a coolness equally laughable, plate 23 from Voyage En Chine

Art Institute of Chicago

New Year's Celebration

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Presentation Hanging for a Birthday

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Family Gathering on New Year's Morning

Cleveland Museum of Art