Summary

Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes

Let it be understood that these rhymes make no pretentions to literary merit, nor has the translator made any attempt at regularity in the meter, because neither the original nor our own "Mother Goose" is regular. Our desire has been to make a translation which is fairly true to the original, and which will please English-speaking children. The child, not the critic, has always been kept in view.
Source: Gutenberg

Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes

In most of the rhymes there are features common to those of our own "Mother Goose," among which are those referring (1) to insects, (2) animals, (3) birds, (4) persons, (5) children, (6) food, (7) parts of the body, (8) actions, such as patting, grabbing, tickling, etc., (9) professions, trades and business.
Source: Gutenberg

Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes

There is no language in the world, we venture to believe, which contains children's songs expressive of more keen and tender affection than those we have mentioned. This fact, more than any other, has stimulated us in the preparation of these rhymes. They have been prepared with the hope that they will present a new phase of Chinese home life, and lead the children of the West to have some measure of sympathy and affection for the children of the East.
The compilation was much facilitated by the work done by Baron Vitali, of the Italian Legation in Peking
Source: Gutenberg

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