This article presents a childhood beyond the Confucian shadow by studying children at play. It looks at the Confucian image of the ideal child and its association with the traditional Chinese perceptions of play and the education of children. Against this conceptual and historical discussion, children's games and toys are analysed to provide an insight into some crucial, unstated elements in a child's daily life in traditional Chinese society. This may also be meaningful to our understanding of childhood and children's education in contemporary China.