Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills/Book 2/Cries
Cries 口號 k‘ou hao.
The cry used to call a pig when at large is liu, liu, liu, 𠺕. A pig is also called a liu, and a man is cursed by being so called.
The call for chickens is chu, chu, chu, 祝. Formerly 喌雞翁 Chu chi wêng was a famous chicken fancier and breeder, and the chickens are called after him.
Liao, liao, liao, 嘹, is the call used to call the ducks from the pond. It is said to be an abbreviation of lai-a, 來啊.
Wa-êrh, wa-êrh, 娃兒, is the cry used to call in the goose. Some say it is wo-êrh, 鵝兒. Others think the call is an imitation of the bird's own cry.
The call to the dog when there is any scavenging to be done is oh ngo, oh ngo, 啊哦. In driving the dog away the common "hist, hist" is used.
The cry used to call the sheep is mieh, mieh, mieh, 咩. This is spoken in a low tone and is believed to be like the bleat of a sheep. Sometimes it is "meh, meh," like the bleat of a lamb. The call used to frighten the sheep, t‘u êrh, 吐爾, is also used to frighten birds from the grain, and is likened to the whizzing of a stone through the air at a great speed. When the cry is uttered a stone or a whip very often accompanies the sound. This t‘u êrh is very freely called after foreigners, and is not a good omen. The connection is in the sound of the two characters, yang 羊 sheep, and yang 洋 of the sea, foreigner.
Sun êrh 猻兒 is the call used for a monkey. It means a small monkey.
Mi, mi, 咪, is the call used to bring the cat to eat its food.
Wa, wa, 㗏, is the call used to make mules and oxen stand still. The aboriginal tribes have names for each mule in the caravan.
Ch‘a, ch‘a, 吒, is the sound used when driving an ox or mule. Horses do not seem to be so addressed.
When ploughing the following are the cries used to the ox; chuan ying 轉英 turn round; shang 上 ying go on the sward, and hsia 下 ying go in the furrow; ts‘ai kou 跴溝 go along the furrow.
Noises made by hawkers, etc., are as follows; the oilseller beats a small gong, ch‘iao tang tang 敲鐺; the bean-curd seller strikes a hollow bamboo pang pang 梆; the condiment seller strikes a brass mirror yün pan 雲板; the tinker or scissor-grinder shakes clappers of iron yao ching kuei 搖驚閨 'to arouse the women-folk'; the castrater strikes a gong ma lo 馬鑼 of the same size as the tang tang, but with a stronger sound; the itinerant fortune-teller beats two pieces of bamboo together, san ts‘ai pan 三才板; the pedlar rings a bell, p‘eng tang ku 弸鐺鼓, and the vendor of sticking-plaster sounds a fish drum, ta yü ku 打漁鼓.