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 THE LIBRARY 
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 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
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 THREE YEARS 
 
 Western China.
 
 THREE YEARS 
 
 WESTERN CHINA; 
 
 A NARRATIVE OF THREE JOURNEYS 
 
 SSO-CH'UAN, KUEI-CHOW, AND YUN-NAN, 
 
 BY 
 
 ALEXANDER HOSIE, M.A., F.R.G.S. 
 
 n.B.M. CONSULAR SERVICE, CHINA. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 GEORGE PHILIP & SON, 32 FLEET STREET. E.G. 
 
 LivEui'uoL: Philip, Son & Nephew, 4.'» to ;'>! South Castle Street 
 
 1897.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The following pages are intended to present a picture 
 of Western China as the writer saw it in 1882, 1883, 
 and 1884. Chapter VII., in a somewhat modified form, 
 was read at a meeting of the Royal Geographical 
 Society on the 22nd of February, and published in the 
 Proceedings for June, 1886 ; Chapter XI. was read at 
 the Aberdeen meeting of the British Association in 
 September, 1885 ; and Chapter XII. was addressed to 
 a special meeting of the Manchester Chamber of Com- 
 merce on the 12th of May, 1886. The remaining 
 Chapters are now published for the first time, and, if 
 they meet with half the favour bestowed upon the 
 Parliamentary Papers in which the journeys were first, 
 and somewhat roughly, described, the writer will con- 
 sider himself amply rewarded for the work which want 
 of leisure has compelled him to neglect so long. 
 
 The Author. 
 
 Wenchoic, China, 
 
 September 6, ISSO. 
 
 861G68
 
 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 Since the publication of the first edition of this book, 
 in 1890, several important changes have taken place in 
 foreimi commercial relations with Western China, and 
 sufficient time has now elapsed to admit of a decision 
 being arrived at as to how far these changes have 
 affected trade. The following Additional Article to the 
 Chefoo Agreement of 1876, which owed its existence to 
 the murder of Margary in the west of Yiin-nan in 
 1875, was signed at Peking on March 31, 1890, and 
 the Ratifications were exchanged on January 18, 1891 : 
 " The Governments of Great Britain and China, 
 ' being desirous of settling in an amicable spirit the 
 ' divergence of opinion whicli has arisen with respect 
 ' to the first clause of the third section of the Agree- 
 ' ment concluded at Chefoo in 1876, which stipulates 
 
 * that — ' The British Government will be free to send 
 ' officers to reside at Ch'ung-k'ing to watch the condi- 
 'tions of British trade in Szechuen [Ssii-ch'uan], that 
 
 * British merchants will not be allowed to reside at 
 ' C'hung-k'ing, or to open establishments or warehouses 
 
 * there, so long as no steamers have access to the port, 
 
 * and that when steamers have succeeded in ascendino-
 
 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. vii 
 
 ' the river so far, further arrangements can be taken 
 ' into consideration,' have agreed upon the following 
 ' Additional Article : 
 
 "I. Ch'ung-k'ing shall forthwith be declared open 
 ' to trade on the same footing as any other Treaty 
 ' port. 
 
 " British subjects shall be at liberty either to 
 
 * charter Chinese vessels, or to provide vessels of the 
 ' Chinese type, for the traffic between Ichang and 
 ' Ch'uno'-k'inof. 
 
 " II. Merchandize conveyed between Ichang and 
 ' Ch'ung-k'ing by the above class of vessels shall be 
 ' placed on the same footing as merchandize carried by 
 ' steamers between Shanghae and Ichang, and shall be 
 'dealt with in accordance with Treaty, Tariff Rules, 
 ' and the Yang-tsze Regulations. 
 
 " III. All Regulations as to the papers and Hags to 
 ' be carried by vessels of the above description, as to the 
 ' cargo certificates with which they shall be provided, 
 
 * as to the re-package of goods for the voyage beyond 
 
 * Ichang, and as to the general procedure to be observed 
 ' by those engaged in the trade between Ichang and 
 ' Ch'ung-k'ing, with a view to ensuring convenience and 
 
 * security, shall be drawn up by the Superintendent of 
 ' Customs at Ichang, the Taotai of the Ch'uan Tung 
 
 * Circuit, who is now stationed at Ch'ung-k'ing, and the 
 'Commissioner of Customs in consultation with tli«; 
 'British Consul, and shall be liable to any modifications 
 ' that may hereafter prove to be desirable and may be 
 ' agreed upon by common consent. 
 
 " IV. Chartered junks sliall pay port dues at Ichang
 
 '" PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 and Ch'unef-k'infr in accordance with the Yancr-tsze 
 Regulations ; vessels of Chinese type, if" and when 
 entitled to carry the British flag, shall pay tonnage 
 (lues in accordance with Treaty Regulations. It is 
 obligatory on both chartered junks and also vessels of 
 Chinese type, even when the latter may be entitled to 
 carry the British flag, to take out the Maritime 
 Custom-house special papers and a special flag when 
 intended to be employed by British subjects in the 
 transport of goods between Ichang and Ch'ung-k'ing, 
 and without such papers and flag no vessel of either 
 class shall be allowed the privileges and immunities 
 granted under this Additional Article. Provided 
 with special papers and flag, vessels of both classes 
 shall be allowed to ply between the two ports, and 
 tliey and their cargoes shall be dealt with in accord- 
 ance with Treaty Rules and the Yang-tsze Regulations. 
 All other vessels shall be dealt with by the Native 
 Customs. The special papers and flag issued by the 
 Maritime Customs must alone be used by the particu- 
 lar vessel for which they were originally issued, and 
 are not transferable from one vessel to another. The 
 use of the British flag by vessels the property of 
 Chinese is strictly prohibited. Infringement of these 
 Regulations will, in the first instance, render the 
 offender liable to the penalties in force at the ports 
 hitherto open under Treaty ; and should the offence be 
 subsequently repeated, the vessel's special papers and 
 flag will be withdrawn, and the vessel herself refused 
 permission thenceforward to trade between Ichang 
 and Ch'ung-k'ing.
 
 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. ix 
 
 " V. When once Chinese steamers carrvinff carfo 
 ' run to Ch'ung-k'ing, British steamers shall in like 
 
 * manner have access to the said port. 
 
 " VI. It is agreed that the present Additional 
 
 * Article shall be considered as forming part of the 
 
 * Chefoo Agi^eement, and as havinof the same lorce and 
 
 * validity as if it were inserted therein word for word. 
 ' It shall be ratified, and the ratifications exchanged at 
 
 * Peking, and it shall come into operation six months 
 
 * after its signature, provided the ratifications have been 
 
 * exchanged, or if they have not, then on the date at 
 ' which such exchange takes place." 
 
 In other words, Ch'ung-k'ing was constituted a 
 Treaty port, but British steamers were denied access to 
 it until Chinese steamers carrying cargo should be 
 pleased to lead the way. No attempt to navigate west 
 of Ichang was ever made, nor, so far as I am aware, 
 was it ever contemplated by the latter, and trade 
 between that port and Ch'ung-k'ing has up to the 
 present been conducted in junks, in accordance with 
 the terms of this Additional Article. But it fell to 
 Japan, after the war of 1894-95, to claim the right of 
 steam navigation to Ch'ung-k'ing, and by Article VT. 
 of the Treaty of Peace, signed at Shimonoseki on Ajiril 
 17, 1895, not only was Ch'ung-k'ing opened to the 
 trade, residence, industries, and manufactures of 
 Japanese subjects, but steam navigation for vessels 
 under the Japanese flag for the conveyance of passen- 
 gers and cargo was extended on the Upper Yang-tsze 
 from Ichang to Ch'ung-k'ing. 
 
 By this most-fivoured-nation clause, therefore,
 
 X PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 Ch'ung-k'ing is now open to foreign trade on the same 
 conditions as the other Treaty ports in China, and it 
 remains to be seen which country will take the initia- 
 tive in still further developing the trade of Western 
 China by steam. The mere opening of Ch'ung-k'ing 
 as a Treaty port, even without the immediate prospect 
 of steam communication, was undoubtedly a step in the 
 right direction, and the establishment there on the 1st 
 of April, 1891, of a British Consulate, and of an office 
 of the Chinese Imperial Maritime Customs, soon ren- 
 dered possible a more exact estimate of the capacity of 
 this great trade emporium of the province of Ssu- 
 ch'uan, and of the west of China generally. In that 
 year, virtually from June to December, 300 junks, of a 
 capacity of 7,332 tons, provided with Customs Charter 
 Certificates and flying the Chinese flag, reported at the 
 Foreign Custom-house at Ch'unof-k'infj: from Ichauir, 
 with foreign goods of the value of Haikwan Taels 
 1,371,027, and native produce of the value of H.T.* 
 94,003 ; while 307 similarly chartered junks, of a 
 capacity of about 4,404 tons, left Ch'ung-k'ing for 
 Ichang, with exports of the value of H.T. 1,389,683, 
 and silver (sycee) valued at H.T. 84,381. In addition 
 to this, foreign goods, of the value of H.T. 2,346,055, 
 and H.T. 643,475, were sent, under transit pass to 
 Ichang and Hankow respectively, to Ssu-ch'uan, and 
 native goods of the value of H.T. 443,269 were brought 
 down under transit pass from that Province to Ichang 
 for shipment. The trade steadily increased, and in 
 1895 as many as 1,200 junks, whereof 878 were 
 
 * H.T. = Haikwau or Customs Taels.
 
 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. xi 
 
 chartered by British, 112 by American, and 210 by 
 Chinese merchants, of a total of 3G,881 tons, carried to 
 Ch'ung-k'ing from Ichang foreign goods valued at 
 H.T. 5,618,213, native goods valued at H.T. 1,238,816; 
 while 917 chartered junks carried away from Ch'ung- 
 k'ing native produce of the value of H.T. 6,396,743 ; a 
 total of imports and exports of the value of H.T. 
 13,253,772. Besides this, goods of the value of H.T. 
 662,679 were sent to Ssu-ch'uan, mostly to Ch'ung- 
 k'ing, under transit pass from Hankow and Ichang. 
 These figures refer only to the trade which comes under 
 the cognizance oF the Imperial Maritime Customs, and 
 Mr. Woodruff, Commissioner of Customs, writing from 
 Ch'ung-k'ing in January, 1896, in reference to the 
 trade of the previous year, says — " Our petty share of 
 ' the trade (^.e., the trade passing through the Foreign 
 ' Custom-house) has prospered ;" and again, " With 
 'prosperity based on such uncertain foundations, it 
 ' would be unwise to draw too definite conclusions, but 
 ' there is enough else in the appended tables to give 
 ' abundant promise : there are the possibilities of a great 
 * trade." The Customs Returns give precise details of 
 this petty share of the trade of Ssu-ch'uan, and an 
 examination of the list of exports reveals a state of 
 things which cannot but ap})ear startling to those 
 unac(|uainted with the Province. In 1895, as stated 
 above, the value of the exports reported at the Foreign 
 Custom-house at Ch'unof-k'ino: was H.T. 6,396,743, and 
 of this amount native opium alone ranked for H.T. 
 2,875,180. When Ch'ung-k'ing was made an oi>en 
 port, Mr. H. E. Hobson, then Commissioner of Customs,
 
 xii PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 despatched to Shant^diai, for analysis, specimens of native 
 opium from the three Provinces of Ssu-ch'uan, Kuei- 
 chovv, and Ylin-nan, and, after embodying the results 
 of this analysis in his Report for 1891, he adds — "The 
 ' above details go to prove that of late years the native 
 ' farmers have paid closer attention to the production 
 ' of unadulterated drug, and have succeeded ; whilst 
 ' there is now but little doubt that, with anything ap- 
 ' preaching a favourable season, the out-turn of the 
 ' poppy fields of Western China alone are ample to the 
 
 * ordinary requirements of pretty nearly the whole 
 ' Empire. It would be idle to attempt an estimate of 
 ' the probable total yield of what is now the favourite 
 ' spring crop of regions vaster in extent than individual 
 
 * European kingdoms ; but the fact is patent that, as 
 
 * regards her opium supply, China is now practically 
 'independent." Next to native opium comes white- 
 wax of the value of H.T. 940,699, A description ot 
 the remarkable industry by which this wax is produced 
 will be found in Chapter XL Silk of all kinds ranks 
 third, Avith a value of H.T. 811,764 ; but this is a mere 
 fraction of the production of, and export from, the 
 Province, for Ssu-ch'uan is an immense silk district, 
 and the production is practically unlimited. Then 
 follow medicines (H.T. 589,472), musk (H.T. 540,662), 
 sheep's wool (H.T. 99,377), bristles (H.T. 96,152), 
 hemp (H.T. 68,806), fungus (H.T. 26,202), brown 
 sugar (H.T. 22,973), feathers (H.T. 15,092), leather 
 (H.T. 13,770), safflower (H.T. 11,696), turmeric (H.T. 
 6,314), and some minor articles which go to make up 
 what is practically a petty share of the export trade of
 
 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. xiii 
 
 Ssu-cli'uan. Moreover, the great and most valualjle 
 salt export from Ssu-ch'uan is under Government con- 
 trol, and is excluded from the supervision of the Imperial 
 Maritime Customs. A glance at the list of imports 
 shows that the principal foreign goods consumed by 
 Ssu-ch'uan are — Indian cotton yarn (H.T. 2,600,037), 
 plain grey shirtings (H.T. 1,169,900), white shirtings 
 (H.T. 162,162), cotton Italians, plain and figured 
 (H.T. 158,803), American clarified ginseng (H.T. 
 131,687), cotton lastings (H.T. 128,292), woollen 
 lastings (H.T. 97,822), analine dyes (H.T. 86,041), 
 long ells (H.T. 63,648), seaweed and agar-agar (H.T. 
 60,917) ; while the principal imports of native goods 
 include raw cotton (H.T. 515,891), silk piece-goods 
 (H.T. 200,776), medicines (H.T. 92,046), cotton yarn 
 from Hankow (H.T. 86,329), China-root (H.T. 42,162), 
 paper (H.T. 28,253), • paper fans (H.T. 24,519), 
 and cuttle-fish (H.T. 22,399). These are exclusive 
 of the goods, mentioned above, sent to Ssu-ch'uan 
 under transit pass from Ichang and Hankow. When 
 the goods have arrived at Ch'ung-k'ing they are 
 distributed over the Province, part going to Kuei-chow 
 and YUn-nan ; but as transit passes are not taken out 
 at the port to cover their further distribution, it is 
 impossible to state with accuracy their ultimate destina- 
 tions. Mr. Ilobson, in his lve})ort for 1891, gives the 
 following reasons why inward transit passes are not 
 availed of He says — " During the December (piarter 
 'documents were taken out to cover parcels of Indian 
 ' yarn to inland marts within the Szechuan borders, but, 
 ' owinn- to a misunderstanding at the barriers, operations
 
 xiv PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 ' quickly came to a conclusion." And in the same 
 place, writing of outward transit, he says — "There were 
 
 * no applications for passes to convey cargo from the 
 ' interior, which is not surprising when it is explained 
 
 * that accumulated tax charges, en route, are slighter 
 
 * than transit dues would amount to." It must be borne 
 in mind that all these figures refer to a fraction of the 
 trade of Ch'ung-k'ing, and, therefore, to a much smaller 
 fraction of the trade of the whole Province of Ssu- 
 ch'uan, conducted between the Upper and Lower 
 Yang-tsze. 
 
 Much has been heard in recent years of the rivalry 
 of the French for the trade of Western China, by way 
 of Tonquin and the Red River (Song-koi) : but we are 
 now in a position to test it by actual results. By Art. 
 II. of the Convention Additionelle de Commerce entre 
 la France et la Chine, signed at Peking on the 26th of 
 June, 1887, the city of Lungchow, in the Province of 
 Kwangzi, and the city of Meng-tzii, in Southern Ylin- 
 nan, as well as Man-hao at the head of navigation of 
 the Red River, and south-west of Meng-tzu, were 
 opened to trade, and by Art. III. the following differen- 
 tial duties were, with a view to a more rapid develop- 
 ment of trade between China and Tonquin, agreed 
 upon : — Foreign goods imported into China through 
 these cities shall pay seven-tenths, and Chinese goods 
 exported to Tonquin by the same routes shall pay six- 
 tenths, of the general tariff in force at the Treaty ports 
 of China. In August, 1889, a Custom-house was 
 established at Meng-tzu, with which I propose to deal 
 more particularly in this place, for the route by way of
 
 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITIOX. xv 
 
 the Bed River, Man-hao, and Meng-tzu is jn-actically 
 the only way of* access from Tonquin to Yiin-nan and 
 the South- Western Provinces of China, and by it the 
 whole trade is conducted; so that the Custoni-hou.se 
 Returns of Meno^-tzu supply complete data as to its 
 value, volume, and distribution. The following table 
 gives the value of the trade from 1890 to 1895 : — 
 
 Imports. 
 
 Foreign ... 
 
 Native 
 
 Exports 
 
 1890. 
 
 ISiH. 1 1892. 
 
 lb93. 
 
 1894. 
 
 1895. 1 C s 
 
 H.T. 
 466,089 
 169,014 
 468,904 
 
 H.T. H.T. 
 
 744,480 887.606 
 202,336 261,459 
 583,275 736,355 
 
 H.T. 
 
 { 1,524,290 
 735,204 
 
 H.T. 
 
 1,241,879 
 943,321 
 
 H.T. ;='5=-? 
 
 1,809.253 |?i.5 
 
 S - > 
 
 1.033,066 -Spa 
 
 Total 
 
 1,104,007 
 
 1,530,007 1,88.^420 
 
 2,259,494 '2.195,200 
 
 2,842,319 < 1 
 
 An analysis of the trade shows that it is composed 
 for the most part of a few articles of considerable value. 
 The year 1895 may be taken as an example. 
 
 Imports. 
 
 Exports. 
 
 Imliaii cotton yarn 
 
 H.T. 
 
 1,303,108 
 
 60,515 
 
 234,995 
 
 46,086 
 
 164,549 
 
 Yiin-nan opium 
 
 H.T. 
 
 160,197 
 
 Raw cotton (Tonquin) 
 
 Tin in slabs 
 
 Other goods 
 
 812,819 
 
 Prepared tobacco (Canton)... 
 
 Coflin wood (Tonquin) 
 
 Other goods 
 
 60,050 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 1,809,253 
 
 Total 
 
 1.033,066 
 
 
 
 
 As the transit pass system is in full working order at 
 Meng tzu, it is possible to describe with accuracy the 
 area which this route supplies. In 1895 — the latest 
 figures available — the value of the imports, as stated 
 above, was H.T. 1,809,253; and all th.sc imports, 
 principally from Hong-kong, are entitled, on payment 
 of seven-tenths of the General Tariff import duty, and 
 of an additional half full imj^ort duty, to be conveyed
 
 XVI PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 under transit pass to any destination in the interior 
 without further taxation. Eighty-four per cent. were, 
 so carried, of the value of H.T. 1,521,021, and of this the 
 Province of Ylin-nan itself consumed H.T. 1,509,491, 
 leaving a balance of H.T. 11,530 for distribution in 
 other Provinces. Of this latter, Ta-ting Fu, in Kuei- 
 chow, took seven piculs of prepared tobacco, of the 
 value of H.T. 210 ; Chang-sha and Ch'ang-te Hupeh, 
 on the opposite bank of the Yang-tsze from Hankow, 
 took 41 catties of cassia lignea, of the value of H.T. 14. 
 There still remains goods of the value of H.T. 10,936 
 to be accounted for. These were sent to three places 
 in the Province of Ssu-ch'uan, namely, Ning-yiian Fu, 
 which is situated in that part of the Province which 
 juts into the north of Yun-nan, and is separated from 
 the highest navigable point on the Yang-tsze by the 
 inaccessible Lolo country. I visited this city on March 
 20, 1883, by the only available mountain road from 
 Ch'eng-tu, the capital of Ssu-ch'uan, and it is not at all 
 surprising, when the difficulties of this route are taken 
 into account, that it draws its supplies from Meng-tzu. 
 Its requirements, however, amounted to the small sum 
 of H.T. 10,085, consisting almost entirely of Indian 
 cotton yarn. The other two places in Ssu-ch'uan 
 which drew from Meng-tzu were Ch'eng-tu, which took 
 25 catties of cinnamon, valued at H.T. 800, and Hsii- 
 chou Fu, at the junction of the Chin-sha Chiang (Upper 
 Yang-tsze) and the Min River, whose requirements 
 consisted of 203 catties of inferior cardamoms, of the 
 value of H.T. 51. While Ning-yiian will in all proba- 
 bility continue to satisfy its wants from Meng-tzu,
 
 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITIOX. xvii 
 
 there is not the remotest likelihood of other parts of 
 Ssu-ch'uan desertinijf tlie Yano:-tsze route and Cli'iTnir- 
 k'ing. Although Kuei-chow drew seven piculs of 
 prepared tohacco, and Chao-t'ung, the northern }>refec- 
 ture of Yiiii-nan, took four pieces of T cloths and 14^ 
 piculs of tobacco from Meng-tzii, I see no reason to 
 alter what I wrote eight years ago in the concluding 
 paragraph of Chapter XII. " The only route to Ssu- 
 ' ch'uan, Kuei-chow, and Northern Ytin-nan is theYano- 
 
 * tsze, on whose upper waters a large trade in foreign 
 'goods is even now conducted, a trade which is capable 
 ' of enormous development when the present burden- 
 'some taxation is reduced. The opening of Ch'ung- 
 'k'ing by the ascent of a steamer — an event anxiously 
 
 * looked forward to by the native merchants of Ssu- 
 ' ch'uan, will, as I have pointed out, reduce that taxa- 
 ' tion, and will enable millions, who at present look 
 'upon foreign goods as articles of luxury, to become 
 
 * themselves consumers ; and I trust the day is not far 
 
 * distant when the British flag will float over entrepots 
 
 * of British manufactvu^es throughout Western China." 
 The unwieldy junk, which, if it succeeds in covering 
 the distance of 400 miles between Ichanfr and Ch'uncr- 
 k'ing in less than a month, is considered to have made 
 a good passage, is still the only means of comnuniica- 
 tion between the Lower Yang- tsze and Ssu-ch'uan. 
 This long passage entails heavy freights, thereby 
 enhancing the retail prices and hindering the free dis- 
 tribution of our manufactures ; and it is sincerely to bo 
 hoped that the permission granted by the Japanese 
 Treaty of Shimonoseki, to employ steam on the Upper
 
 xviii PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 Yang-tsze, will soon bear fruit. The French have suc- 
 ceeded in runninof small steamers on the lied Ptiver 
 from Hanoi to Lao-kai, that is, to the frontier of Yun- 
 nan, and a weekly service is maintained between Yen- 
 bai and Lao-kai ; l)ut in winter the river is too shallow 
 to admit of the passage of even small steamers. In 
 1895 a cargo steamer was placed on the line in summer, 
 for junk navigation, owing to the strong current, vir- 
 tually ceases from the beginning of May until Septem- 
 ber ; but the Chinese, even although freights were as 
 light as by junk, refused to ship by her on the plea that 
 ' the arrival of o-oods could not be recrulated as at 
 ' present, and that prices would consequently fall." 
 The long journey overland from Meng-tzu, or rather 
 Man-hao, to Ssu-ch'uan, Kuei-chow, and Northern Yiin- 
 nan, is, in my opinion, an insuperable barrier to a 
 successful rivalry of tlie Red River with the Yang-tsze. 
 On the 1st of March, 1894, a Convention between 
 Great Britain and China, relative to the boundaries of, 
 and overland trade between, Burmah and China, was 
 signed at London. Art. VIII. of that Convention 
 says — " Subject to the conditions mentioned hereafter 
 ' in Articles X. and XI. , the British Government, wish- 
 ' ing to encourage and develop the land trade of China 
 
 * with Burmah as much as possible, consent, for a 
 ' period of six years from the ratification of the present 
 ' Convention, to allow Chinese produce and manufac- 
 
 * tures, with the exception of salt, to enter Burmah by 
 ' land duty free, and to allow British manufactures and 
 •'Burmese produce, with the exception of rice, to be 
 ' exported to China by land free of duty. The duties
 
 PREFACE TO SECOXD EDITIOX. xix 
 
 on salt and rice Imported and exported shall not be 
 higher than those imposed on their import or export 
 by sea." Art. XL says — " The exportation from 
 Burmah into China of salt is prohibited," and " the 
 exportation from China into Burmah of cash, rice, 
 pulse, and grains of every kind is prohibited ;" and, 
 
 again, " The importation and exportation across the 
 frontier of opium and spirituous liquors is prohi- 
 bited, excepting in small quantities for the per- 
 sonal use of travellers." Art. XL says — " Pending 
 the negotiation of a more complete arrangement, and 
 until the development of the trade shall justify the 
 establishment of other frontier Customs stations, goods 
 imported from Burmah into China, or exported from 
 China into Burmah shall be permitted to cross the 
 f'rnntier by Manwyne and by Sansi. With a view to 
 tlie development of trade between China and Burmah, 
 the Chinese Government consent that for six years 
 from the ratification of the present Convention the 
 duties levied on goods imported into China by these 
 routes shall be those specified in the General Tariff of 
 the Maritime Customs, diminished by three-tenths, 
 and that the duties on goods exported from China by 
 the same route shall be those specified in the same 
 tariff, diminished by four- tenths. Transit passes for 
 imports and exports shall be granted in accordance 
 witli the rules in force at the Treaty ports." Art. 
 
 XIIL says — " It is agreed that His Majesty the 
 Emperor of China may appoint a Consul in Burmah, 
 to reside at Rangoon ; and that Her Britannic Majesty 
 may appoint a Consul to reside at Manwyne." By
 
 XX PREFACE 10 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 this Convention, therefore, the same differential duties 
 have been fixed as in the trade between Tonquin and 
 China ; but it will be observed that while Yun-nan 
 pays for a considerable part of its imports by the Red 
 River with native opium, it is debarred from exporting 
 it to Burmah. What progress trade is making across 
 the Burmah-Ylin-iian frontier under these conditions I 
 am not in a position to say, for I have seen no recent 
 statistics bearing on the subject ; but it labours under 
 the same disadvantages in regard to its area of supply 
 as the Red River route. The overland transit is too 
 long, and therefore too expensive, to admit of the 
 richest parts of Western China being " tapped " by it. 
 
 On the 1st of December, 1888, a Convention be- 
 tween France and China was signed at Chefoo, whereby, 
 inter alia, the junction of the Chinese and French tele- 
 graph lines in Yun-nan and Tonquin respectively was 
 agreed to, and Meng-tzu and Lao-kai, which lies just 
 within the Tonquin frontier, were subsequently united 
 by wire; and on the 6th September, 1894, a similar 
 Convention, respecting the junction of the Chinese 
 and Burmese telegraph lines, was signed at Tient-sin 
 between Great Britain and China, wherein it was 
 stipulated that the junction should be effected between 
 the British station at Bhamo and the Chinese station 
 at Teng-yiieh (Momein), at latest on the 31st May, 
 1895, unless prevented by accident or by/brce majeure. 
 
 By a Supplementary Convention, concluded between 
 France and China at Peking on the 20th of June, 
 1895, and ratified in 1896, Man-hao, the station 
 opened by Art. 11. of the Convention of 1887, at
 
 PREFACE TO SECOiXD EDITIOX. xxi 
 
 the head of navigation of the Red River in Yun-nan, 
 is superseded by Ho-k'ou, a place on the left bank of 
 the same river, and just within the Chinese frontier. 
 
 Of recent years Western China has acted as a 
 magnet, not only to exploring expeditions, but also to 
 more practical commercial missions. In 1890 a French 
 expedition, including Prince Henry of Orleans, passed 
 southwards throucfh Western Ssu-ch'uan and Ylin-nan 
 by way of Ta-li Fu, Meng-tsii, and the Red River, from 
 Tibet to Tonquin ; and in 1895 the Prince was again 
 at Ta-li Fu, whence he proceeded west to the Mekong, 
 ascended the right bank of the latter to Tse-ku, and 
 then struck westwards across the Salwen and Irra- 
 wady to Sadiya in Assam. To show the spirit of 
 rivalry which exists, I may quote from the paper which 
 the Prince read before the Royal Geographical Society 
 on the 18th of May, 189G, and published in the Decem- 
 ber number of the Geographical Journal of that year. 
 He says — " We heard [at SsCi-mao] that two English- 
 ' men had just left the town. This news was not 
 ' calculated to rejoice our hearts. Reconnoitring 
 
 * parties are numerous in Ylin-nan, and there is a race 
 ' between the French and Enoflish, and even amono;st 
 
 * the French themselves. The field of the unknown is 
 ' day b}'- day being reduced with marvellous rapidity, 
 
 * and to find unexplored ground on the ma[i one nmst 
 
 * hasten. At Ta-li Fu we were told that one of these 
 ' Englishmen was Captain Davis, who arriNcd irom 
 ' Bunnah by way of T eng-ylieh and Ta-li, intending to 
 ' return by Mien-ning, Ssu-mao, P'u-crh Fu, and 
 
 * Tamano. We twice crossed the itinerary of these
 
 xxii PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 ' travellers, and were lucky enough only to travel along 
 '120 miles of the same road." 
 
 A French commercial mission (Mission Lyonnaise 
 d'Exploration Commerciale en Chine), consisting of a 
 dozen members, and including several experts, has 
 recently overrun Western China from Tonquin to the 
 borders of Tibet, part of the mission remaining at 
 Ch'ung-k'ing for some considerable time. A Japanese 
 Commercial Mission visited Ch'ung-k'ing in December, 
 1895, and returned in January, 1896, and the United 
 States Mission, which left Tien-tsin overland for Chencr- 
 tu to arrange a settlement, so far as American mis- 
 sionaries were concerned, of the anti-missionary out- 
 rages which occurred there and in other parts of the 
 Province of Ssu-ch'uan in May and June, 1895, 
 returned by way of Ch'ung-k'ing and the Yang-tsze in 
 January, 1896. At the present moment the Blackburn 
 Commercial Mission, headed by Mr. Bourne, of the 
 British Consular Service in China, my successor as 
 Consular Agent at Ch'ung-k'ing in 1884, is traversing 
 the Western Provinces of China; and it is certain that 
 all these missions have collected, and are collecting, 
 information which cannot fail to be of great assistance 
 in developing foreign trade with the West of China. 
 
 Alex. Hosie. 
 
 Newchwang, 
 Fehriianj IS, 1S97.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 UP THE YANG-TSZE TO WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Western China and the interest attaching to it — The way thither — 
 An unsuccessful attempt to reach Ichang — Ichang at hist — 
 DiflBculties of navigation — Commercial importance of Ichang — 
 My native passenger-boat, opium-smoking skipper, and crew— Tlie 
 navigability of the Upper Yang-tsze by steamers — Dangers and 
 difficulties of the Ching T'an Rapid — Up and down the rapid 
 — The poppy — Ch'ung-k'ing. 1 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 CH'UNG-K'ING TO THE CAPITAL OF KUEI-CHOW. 
 
 My overland caravan — Harvesting opium — Field-fishing — Wood-oil 
 — The manufacture of paper — Salt carriers — Silkworms and their 
 food — Rice or Pith paper, and its manufacture — The Kuei-chow 
 frontier — Minerals — First meeting with Miao-tzu — Poetical de- 
 scription of Chinese inns — T'ung-tzti, its poppy valley and 
 tunnelling — Ingenious bamboo water-wheels — Scant population 
 amid ruins of fine houses — Coal-dust as fuel — The Wu Chiang 
 River — Destruction of the iron suspension bridge — Northern 
 Kuei-chow, a Miao-tzii gi-aveyard — Opium-sodden iidialntants — 
 — The capital of the Province — An interview with the Governor 
 of Kuei-cliow 1-1 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 WESTWARD TO Y UN-NAN. 
 
 White wax insects — Terrific liailstorm and its efiects — Miao-tzfi liouses 
 and women — An-shuu Fu — Limestone cave— Pai-shui waterfall —
 
 xxiv CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Reception at Lang-t'ai T'ing — Lang-wang Mountain and the 
 " Cave of the Spirits " — Caught in a thunderstorm — The pebbly 
 strand of the Mao-k'ou River — Pack-animals and their treatment 
 — The Yiin-nan frontier — A cart at last— Exploring a cave— Under- 
 ground rivers — Exceptional courtesy— Goitre — Breeding ground of 
 the Yiin-nan pony — Trade route to Tonquin — Marching knee-deep 
 in mud and water — Poverty of inhabitants — Queen's Burthday 
 dinner in a back yard — Chinese inquisitivcness — The Sung-ming 
 Lake — A local escort — A glorious view — Yiin-nan Fu 35 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 THROUGH NORTH-EASTERN YUN-NAN TO THE 
 YANG-TSZE. 
 
 The city of Yiin-nan Fu — P'u-erh tea — Opium-smoking, chair-bearers, 
 and personal care — Exposure of robbers' heads— Chinese school 
 —Rainbow superstition — Entertainment at Tung-ch'uan Fu — 
 A successful ruse — Stopped by a mountain torrent — Lodged in a 
 byre — On the banks of the Niu-lan River — The Chao-t'ung plain 
 and its lakes — Stories of Lolo bloodshed — Down from the plain 
 — Narrow escape of a porter — Back to Ssu-ch'uan— Descent of 
 the Nan-kuang River — Down the Yang-tsze to Ch'ung-k'ing ... 54 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 FROM CH'UNG-K'ING TO THE CAPITAL OF 
 SStJ-CH'UAN. 
 
 Fu-t'ou-kuan — The country and its products — Chinese New Year — 
 Charcoal from bracken — Ramie fibre and grass-cloth — Down a 
 tributary of the T'o — The T'o and its commercial importance — 
 The salt wells of Tzu-liu-ching — Sugar and safflower — The Ch'eng- 
 tu plain — Beggars — The capital of Ssii-ch'uan 70 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 THROUGH LOLODOM AND THE VALLEY OF 
 OHIEN-CH'ANG. 
 
 A Tibetan criminal In a cage — The armed ruifians of Chiung Chou 
 — A floating bamboo bridge — Brick tea for Tibet — Fraternizing 
 ■with Tibetan pilgrims on the summit of the Flying Dragon Pass 
 —Chinese originality — Over the Ta Hsiang Ling Pass — A non-
 
 COXTENTS. XXV 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chinese race — Across the Ta-tu River under Sifan protection — 
 In the country of the Lolos — Lolo language— Sifan language — 
 Asbestos cloth — A dangerous country — Lolo rogues— Over the 
 Hsiao Hsiang Ling Pass — Lolo women — The valley of Chien- 
 ch'ang — Ning-yuan Fu 88 
 
 Chai'tlr VIL 
 
 THROUGH CAINDU TO CARAJAN. 
 
 Earthquakes — The reception of foreigners at Ning-yuan - i ..e fertility 
 of the Ning-yuan plain — Goitre and the salt supply — Historical 
 hailstorm — A Tibetan caravan — Crossing the Ya-lung River — A 
 riot at Hang-chou— Reception at Yen-jnian and increased pro- 
 tection — Brine wells of Pai-yen-ching — Driven back by mountain 
 barriers — The Yiin-nan frontier — A sight of the Yang-tsze — Results 
 of the Mohammedan rebellion — The Lake of the Black Mist — On 
 the banks of the Gulden River — A deserted town — The phigue — 
 First glimpse of the snow-capped Tsang-shan — A magnificent 
 view— On the shores of the Erli Ilai — Ta-li Fu at hiat. ... 112 
 
 Chaptek VIIL 
 
 TALI FU TO YUN-NAN FU. 
 
 A view from the walls of Ta-li — The Mohammedan rebellion— A dying 
 patriot's prayer — Tibetan dogs — Amherst pheasants — A visit to 
 the marble quarries — False musk — Min-chia maidens — The Ta-li 
 plain — Playful gusts from the Tsang-shan — Good-bye Ta-li— A 
 folklore hunting ground — The Erh Hai and the ^lekong— Trade 
 with Upper Burmah — Canton peddlers — Hsia-kuan, or the "Lower 
 Fortress " — Ruined cities — Wretched roads- Half-starved — The 
 foreigner and the camel — Marked courtesy at Ch'u-hsiung Fu — 
 Yiin-nan salt wells — A sackful of mails — A roadside trial — Across 
 the Yiin-nan lake — Three days in Yiin-nan Fu — Trade with 
 Western China and the introduction of railways. 131 
 
 Chaptku IX. 
 
 THROUGH THE WEST OF KUEI-CHOW TO THE 
 YANG-TSZE. 
 
 The advantages of scholars en route to Examinations— Highroad 
 converted into a reservoir — Quartered in a chimney— Intolerable 
 inquisitiveness— Travellers, beware of T'ang-t'ang !— The Yiiu-nan-
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Kuei-chow border — Lakes and their drainat^e — Again among the 
 Miao-tzu— The valley of the Ch'i-hsing River— Bark i^aper— 
 " Heaven's Bridge" and its mining catastrophe — The copper traffic 
 —Across the Ch'ih-shui River into Ssil-ch'uan— Over the Hsiieh- 
 shan Pass — A child of nature — A refractory roadside deity — Down 
 tlie Yuug-niiig River — A narrow escape — Down the Yang-tsze to 
 Ch'ung-k'ing 147 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 TO THE WHITE WAX COUNTRY, THE SACRED MOUNT 
 
 0-MEI, AND THE HIGHEST NAVIGABLE POINT 
 
 ON THE YANG-TSZE. 
 
 All unfortunate start — North to Ho Chou — Chinese soy — Varnish and 
 its collection — Young trees from the old — Light-hearted peasants 
 — The garden of Ssii-ch'uan — Otter fishing — Mau-tzii caves — A 
 great sugar country — Glimpse of 0-mei — Chief silk country in 
 Western China — Ascent of 0-mei — Sweet tea of 0-mei — The 
 Golden Summit — The Glory of Buddha — Pilgrims and their 
 devotions — 0-mei beggars — A difficult descent — Official obstruc- 
 tion — Sick followers — On the banks of the Ta-tu — Man-tzii raids 
 — Down with fever — Guerilla warfare — Hard-up for food — An 
 exhausting march — The welcome Yang-tsze — Its highest navi- 
 gable point — Down the upper rapids — Death of my horse-boy — 
 Back to Ch'ung-k'ing 161 
 
 Chapter XL 
 
 CHINESE INSECT WHITE WAX. 
 
 References to Insect White Wax in Eiu-ope and China — Area of pro- 
 duction — Chief wax insect producing country — The insect tree 
 — The insect " buffalo " beetle, or parasite — The insect scales — 
 The transport of insects to the wax producing districts — Method of 
 transport — The wax tree — How insects ai'e placed on the wax trees 
 — Wax production — Collection of the wax— An ignominious ending 
 — Insect metamorphosis — Uses of the wax — Quantity and value 189 
 
 Chapter XII. 
 
 THE TRADE OF WESTERN AND SOUTH-WESTERN 
 
 CHINA. 
 
 The waterways, trade-routes, condition, and commercial prospects of 
 Yiiu-uan — Ti'ade-routes to Kuei-chow and the mineral wealth of
 
 COXTEXrS. .^xvii 
 
 FAGE 
 
 the province — The waterways of Ssii-ch'uan — General trade of 
 Ssu-ch'uan — Foreign trade of Ssil-ch'uan and how it is conducted 
 — The defects in the present system and the remedy — The rapids 
 and the difficulties they present — Advantages to be gained from 
 the opening of Ch'ung-k'ing — The Yang-tsze the only route — 
 Trade bouud to the Yang-tsze 202 
 
 Chapter XIII. 
 
 THE PHO. 
 
 Non-Chinese races of Western and South-Western China — Imper- 
 fect knowledge regarding them — A traveller's difficulties — Pho 
 language approaching extinction — The Miao-tzii rebellion — 
 Relationship of the Miao-tzii tribes — Art among the Phij — Music 
 and dancing — Characteristics of the Pho language — English-Phci 
 Exercises and Vocabulary 224 
 
 Note on Opium Cultivation in China and India 287
 
 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 UP THE YANG-TSZE TO WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 Western China and the interest attaching to it — The way thither — An 
 unsuccessful attempt to reach Icliang — Ichang at last — Difficulties of 
 navigation — Commercial importance of Ichang — My native passenger- 
 boat, opium-smoking skipper, and crew— The navigability of the 
 Upper Yang-tsze by steamers— Dangers and difficulties of the Ching 
 T'an Rapid— Up and down the rapid— The poppy— Ch'ung-k'ing. 
 
 The most interesting part of China, from a geo- 
 graphical and ethnological point of view, is the West — 
 geographically, because its recesses have not yet been 
 thoroughly explored, and ethnologically, because a great 
 part of it is peopled by races which are non-Chinese, 
 and one at least of which, though nominally owing 
 allegiance to the Great Khan, is in reality independent. 
 It was my fortune to be stationed in Western China 
 from 1882 to 1884, and, during these three years, I was 
 enabled, in the performance of my duties, to collect 
 information regarding the country and its people ; and 
 it is in the hope that this information may not be un- 
 
 A
 
 a THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 acceptable that I venture to lay the following pages 
 before the public. 
 
 Reports of the journeys which I made in Western 
 China during the above years have already appeared 
 in the shape of Parliamentary Papers* ; but, written as 
 they were without any idea of publication and in- 
 tended as mere trade notes, strung together from day 
 to day on the march, they are not sufficiently connected 
 to present a fair picture of this remote region. 
 
 That part of Western China, with which I am 
 personally acquainted and with which I propose to 
 deal, lies to the south, and embraces the provinces of 
 Ssu-ch'uan, Kuei-chow and Yun-nan, which, interest- 
 ing in themselves, have become of considerable import- 
 ance since the extension of the Indian Empire to the 
 frontier of China and the absorption of Tonquin by the 
 French. 
 
 The great highway to the West is the Kiver Yang- 
 tsze. By the Agreement of Chefoo of September, 1876, 
 the port of Ichang, situated on the north bank of the 
 Yang-tsze about a thousand miles from the sea, was 
 opened to foreign trade and foreign steam navigation ; 
 and, by the same Agreement, the residence of a Con- 
 sular Officer at the city of Ch'ung-k'ing, in Ssu-ch'uan, 
 to watch the conditions of British trade, was provided 
 for. It was to take up this post that I left Wuhu 
 towards the end of October, 1881. On arrival at 
 Hankow, I discovered that the steamer, which had for 
 some years been employed to run to Ichang, w^as under- 
 going extensive repairs at Shanghai, to better fit her 
 
 * China, 'bio. 1 (1883) ; China, Xo. 2 (1884) j and China, Xo. 2 (1885).
 
 THE WAY THITHER. 3 
 
 for the navigation of tlie Upper Yang-tsze, and that 
 another and larger steamer belonging to the same 
 Company had just returned from Ichang with little 
 hope, owing to the sudden fall of the river, of being 
 then able to make another trip. A large quantity of 
 cargo, however, which had accumulated at Hankow, 
 induced the Company, much against the captain's will, 
 to send the steamer forward again ; but, drawing only 
 nine feet, she was unable, after a day's journey, to push 
 her way through six feet of sand and water, and had to 
 return. After about a month's delay, the smaller 
 steamer arrived at Ilankow, and, laden to six feet, 
 reached Ichang with considerable difficulty on the 17th 
 of December, the trip having occupied eight days. On 
 this section of the river, navigation commences at 
 daybreak, and, unless there is good moonlight, ceases 
 at dark. Owing to the shifting sands, which con- 
 stitute the bed of the river, the channel is constantly 
 changing, and it is not uncommon to find the passage, 
 which the steamer took on the up passage, completely 
 barred on the down trip. The consequence is that 
 soundings have constantly to be taken, un^l delay is 
 the result. This refers to the winter months only, 
 when the river is low, as, during high water, little 
 difficulty exists, and the distance has been covered in 
 fifty hours. 
 
 The selection of Ichang as an open port has fre- 
 quently been called in question, and it has been pointed 
 out that Sha-shih, a town farther down the river and 
 one of the six callinof stations for steamers, would have 
 been a preferable choice. Much may be said for Sha-
 
 4 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 shih, which is the principal terminus of the junk traffic 
 between Ssu-cli'uan and the eastern provinces of China, 
 but statistics clearly prove that Ichang has after all 
 been a success. Although it is neither a producing nor 
 a consuming district of any importance itself, the net 
 value of the trade which has gravitated towards it has 
 risen from £18,000 in 1878 to over £1,000,000 in 1888. 
 This, it should be remembered, represents the trade in 
 vessels of foreign build only. 
 
 After a few days bargaining at Ichang — passage by 
 steamer being no longer available— I succeeded in 
 hiring a native passenger-boat to convey myself, ser- 
 vants, and baggage the four hundred miles that still lay 
 between me and my destination for the exorbitant 
 sum of one hundred and eighty taels, or forty-five 
 pounds. A larger sum was at first demanded, and, 
 there being only two or three boats of this class in 
 port, whose owners combined to " squeeze " me, I 
 was ultimately obliged to pay about a third more than 
 the customary price. Travelling boats on the Upper 
 Yang-tsze are, as a rule, very roomy and comfortable. 
 They can usually be divided off into as many as four or 
 five small rooms by wooden partitions ; and, travelling 
 as I was in winter, I had a stove fitted up, regulating 
 the temperature by the windows which run along the 
 sides of what is really an oblong house placed on the 
 boat's deck. In a good boat, the roof is over six feet 
 in height, so that one can walk about comfortably from 
 end to end. A mast is shipped right in front of and 
 against the deckhouse, and this is utilized both for 
 sailing and tracking — the tracking line running through
 
 AN AMUSING EPISODE. 5 
 
 a noose fixed near the top. In front of the mast is a 
 broad deck, contracting towards the bows, accommo- 
 dating from ten to a dozen rowers, and convertible at 
 night into sleeping quarters for the crew. Over a well 
 in the bows, and attachable to the deck by a noose, 
 hangs a long heavy spar by which the boat can be 
 speedily steered in any required direction — an absolute 
 necessity where, tracking being carried on, sunken 
 rocks close in-shore have to be avoided, or the trackincr 
 line gives way in a strong current. 
 
 In the agreement entered into between the skipper 
 of the boat and myself, it was stipulated that tliere 
 should be seven of a crew and fifteen trackers. The 
 crew consisted of the skipper, the bowsman or pilot, who 
 stood at the bows all day long and sounded continu- 
 ally with a long iron-shod bamboo, the steersman, three 
 deck hands, and the cook, who exercised his culinary 
 art in a primitive kitchen constructed in an opening in 
 the deck near the bows. 
 
 The skipper, being a confirmed opium-smoker, proved 
 of little use ; and it was not until the second nifrht from 
 Ichang that I discovered his smoking projDensities. 1 
 lay with my head towards the bows and, being awakened 
 during the night by someone crying, I saw a light shin- 
 ing through the chinks of the partitions. On calling 
 my servant to see what was tlie matter, I learned that 
 the light was the light of an opium lamp, and that the 
 wife of the skipper was crying because her husband 
 would not come to bed. I got up and found him lying 
 at full length alongside his lamp. I bundled him into 
 the little room which he, his wife, and two chiklren 
 occupied over the stern, and blew out his laiii[».
 
 6 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 After this episode, the smoking was never carried 
 on in any place likely to attract my attention, although 
 the sickening odour frequently penetrated to my rooms 
 from deck and stern, several of the crew being also ad- 
 dicted to the drug. I had repeated conversations with 
 the skipper as to the craving he had contracted ; and, 
 one morning, I overtook him on shore walking rapidly 
 and in rather an excited state. I asked him what was 
 the matter, and he replied that the weather was so cold 
 that it was necessary to lay in a supply of coal at once, 
 and that in order not to delay the boat, he was hurry- 
 ing to the next village to make the purchase. I left 
 him there and continued my walk. 
 
 On boarding the boat above the village, I asked my 
 servant where the coals had been stowed, when, to my 
 surprise, he told me that no coals had come aboard, but 
 that the skipper had laid in a fresh supply of opium, 
 that his stock had been exhausted over night, and that 
 he had been dying all morning for a smoke ! He fought 
 shy of me for several days after this, knowing that his 
 tampering with the truth had been discovered. Smok- 
 ing had reduced him to such a state that he had really 
 no command over the boat or crew ; when an accident 
 happened — an event of common occurrence — he used to 
 crawl on to the top of the deckhouse and find fault in 
 a querulous voice, which was quickly suppressed by the 
 bowsman telling him to mind his own business. When 
 high words ensued, the cook, in addition to his own 
 special functions, assumed the part of mediator, and 
 used to groan and plead for silence after each explosion. 
 When the trackers were on shore and the other hands
 
 SKIPPER AND CREW. 7 
 
 were all busy on deck, it likewise devolved on the cook 
 to jump from his lair and signal the trackers, who were 
 nearly always out of calling distance, by beating the 
 small drum which lay at the foot of the mast. The 
 bickerings between the skipper and his crew sometimes 
 reached a climax. On one occasion, after dancing an 
 angry jig on the roof of the deckhouse to a stormy 
 vocal accompaniment, he scrambled on deck and was 
 proceeding on shore to continue his harangue from teri^a 
 ftrma, when the plank gave way and he disappeared 
 amid the boisterous laughter of the crew, quickly re- 
 appearing like a drowned rat, and thoroughly cooled 
 for the rest of the day. 
 
 The trackers, too, deserve a word of mention. 
 They were, with the exception of the musician and the 
 diver, almost all lithe young fellows, always willing to 
 jump on shore, never spending more than a quarter of 
 an hour over their rice and vegetables, and never out 
 of temper. The musician and the diver were somewhat 
 aged. When there was no tracking ground, and the 
 oars had to be called into requisition, the former used 
 to sing his boat songs, the whole crew joining loudly 
 in the choruses, the echoes reverberating trom cliff to 
 cliff in the gorges. If the tracking line got entangled 
 among the rocks off the shore, the diver would doff 
 everything, slip overboard, and swim to the rescue. I 
 pitied this individual very much ; he used to scramble 
 on board chattering with cold, and had no sooner got 
 warm than his services were again in demand. The 
 boat was always moored before dark, and, until supper 
 was ready, tlie crew were busy rigging up the roof-mats
 
 8 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 to form their night quarters. Then the beds with their 
 coir mattresses were produced from under th(3 deck ; 
 and, with the exception of two or three opium-smokers, 
 these hard-working fellows dropped off into well-earned 
 sleep until daybreak, when the same round of toil 
 awaited them. 
 
 Such was the boat and crew with which I ascended 
 from Ichang into Western China, reaching Ch'ung- 
 k'ing on the 24th of January, 1882, after a passage of 
 a month. It is unnecessary for me to describe this 
 journey in detail. Blakiston, Gill, Little, and others 
 have given their experiences ; they have painted living 
 pictures of the grand, majestic gorges ; they have 
 brouofht the world within earshot of the hissino^, seeth- 
 ing rapids ; and it only remains for me to say a few 
 words on a subject which has of late years received no 
 little attention — the navigability of the Upper Yang- 
 tsze by steamers. The question is about to be put to 
 the test in accordance with clauses in the Agreement of 
 Chefoo, which state that " British merchants w^ill not 
 ' be allowed to reside at Ch'ung-k'ing, or to open estab- 
 ' lishments or warehouses there, so long as no steamers 
 
 * have access to the port. When steamers have suc- 
 
 * ceeded in ascending the river so far, further arrange- 
 ' ments can be taken into consideration." 
 
 Ever since I ascended the Upper Yang-tsze, I have 
 not ceased, both in China and England, to advocate the 
 advisability, from a commercial point of view, of steam- 
 ers attempting the navigation of these waters. Diffi- 
 culties have been pointed out, but I have endeavoured 
 to show that these have been greatly exaggerated ; and
 
 NAVIGABILITY OF THE YANG-TSZE. g 
 
 the " Upper Yang-tsze Steam Navigation Company," 
 lately formed, would appear to be of like mind. The 
 obstacles that exist lie between Ichang and the Ssu- 
 ch'uan frontier, a distance of about one hundred miles : 
 beyond the frontier, all is plain sailing, not only as far 
 as Ch'unfT-k'inof but even to lisii-chou Fu, some two 
 hundred miles further west. They consist of a series 
 of rapids, which prove very trying to native craft when 
 the river is low, that is, from the middle of November 
 to the middle of March or a little later — the very time 
 when junks are best able to ascend ; as, during the rest 
 of the year, the increased volume of water, although 
 obliterating the rapids altogether, flows with a strong 
 current, which renders tracking very diflicult and fre- 
 quently impossible. 
 
 The season, then, that proves all but impossible for 
 junks is the very season when steamers could run, and 
 vice versd. During low water, there is, in my opinion, 
 one, and only one, insuperable obstacle to a steamer — 
 the Ch'ing T'an Kapid, the first serious rapid above 
 Ichanof. It lies at the eastern entrance of the Mi-tsant^ 
 or " Granary " Gorge. When I passed down in the end 
 of December, 1884, there were three channels in the 
 rapid — the chief or central channel never attempted by 
 ascending junks, and two side channels separated from 
 the central by masses of rock. The central was the 
 only channel available for a steamer, but it consisted of 
 a clear fall of from six to eiccht feet. The side channels 
 were narrow, with a very much less volume of water 
 and fall. In ascending these, junks could be draggeil 
 over close to the rocks, which would be impossible in the
 
 lo THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 case of a steamer. In the gorge itself, the current was 
 very sluggish, and boats were passing and re-passing 
 just above the rapid. I stood a hundred yards to the 
 west of it, and saw junks disappearing one after the 
 other. As their masts are always unshipped in the 
 down passage, they seemed to me to be passing with 
 their human freight into eternity. The strange sight 
 insensibly drew me to the rapid itself, and I stood facing 
 it to watch the movements of my own boat. It was 
 pulled out into mid-stream, and allowed to float stern 
 down until about to enter the rapid, when it was gently 
 wheeled round and drawn into the fall. It is difficult 
 to describe what happened next : a sudden plunge, con- 
 siderable confusion on board, the junk herself floating 
 helplessly stern down stream, the skipper on the roof 
 of the deck-house frantically waving his arms, one of 
 the three lifeboats, which are always stationed below 
 the rapid, approaching the boat and then rescuing the 
 crew, the deserted junk making for the scattered rocks 
 which jut out from the right bank at the second rapid 
 two hundred yards below the fall, its safe passage 
 through the rocks and rapid, its salvage by our accom- 
 panying gunboat, all presented a picture which will 
 never be efiaced from my memory. The cause of the 
 accident was thus described to me. In shootinof the 
 rapid, several of the crew lost their heads and their 
 oars, and the others, unable to keep the bows down 
 river or to control the boat, and being afraid that she 
 would be dashed against the rocks at the second rapid, 
 called for the lifeboat and abandoned her. Such acci- 
 dents are of frequent occurrence, and are very often
 
 THE CH'IS'G TAX RAPID. n 
 
 accompanied with damage, wreck, and loss of life. 
 We were lucky in beinc;- able to continue our journey 
 after a couple of hours' delay. 
 
 I have described the descent of the Ch'ino- T'an 
 Rapid in this place, in order to show the diflPerent phases 
 which it presents at the same season in different years, 
 for when I ascended it on almost the same day (Decem- 
 ber 29th) in 1881, not a rock was visible above water, 
 and we had little difficulty, with the aid of some fifty 
 additional trackers, in being dragged over it. Were 
 this rapid a race, as it is not, I should have more hesita- 
 tion in describing it as insuperable for a steamer durincr 
 low water; but I consider it extremely doubtful Avhether 
 the slow fall would be sufficiently powerful to raise a 
 steamer's bows off the sunken rocks. It has been said 
 that, if the Upper Yang-tsze were navigated by steam, 
 collisions would be of frequent occurrence, but not more 
 so than in the section between Hankow and Ichantr. 
 
 o 
 
 In ascending, junks are tracked as close to the banks 
 as possible, while in descending, they keep to the middle 
 of the river. In fact, collisions should be of rare occur- 
 rence. West of the Ch'ing T'an Rapid, there is nothing 
 to interfere with the ascent of a steamer for more than 
 five hundred miles. 
 
 It was during my daily rambles along the banks of 
 the river, that I first made aquaintance with the poppy 
 of commerce. Before entering the province of SsQ- 
 ch'uan, I spoke to the boatmen, and asked them to tell 
 me as soon as they saw the plant growing ; and from 
 Wan Hsien westwards to Ch'ung-k'ing there was one 
 continuous yell of Ya-pien-yen, which means the opium !
 
 12 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 It shared the banks of the river with wheat, peas, 
 and beans. The spikelets were from four to five inches 
 above ground, and little did I think, when I looked at 
 these tiny plants, that it would be my lot at no distant 
 date to wander through hundreds of miles of beautiful 
 poppy flowers. On arrival at the district city of 
 Yun-yang, I visited the picturesque temple that peeps 
 through the dense foliage which clings to the steep 
 sides of the hill forming the right bank of the river ; 
 and, in course of conversation with the head priest, I 
 remarked that there seemed to be less poppy here than 
 farther east. Raising his hand and pointing to the 
 opposite hills, he replied, " There is nothing but poppy 
 beyond." 
 
 The city of Ch'ung-k'ing, in lat. 29° 33' 50" N. and 
 long. 107° 2' E., occupies the apex of the peninsula caused 
 by the attempt of the Yang-tsze on its north bank to 
 pierce the sandstone cliffs under the little walled town 
 of Fu-t'ou-Kuan, and join its turbid waters with the 
 clear flow of the Chia-ling Chiang some four miles from 
 the actual junction of the two rivers. It is built on a 
 slope which extends from hill-tops overlooking the Chia- 
 ling to the bed of the Yang-tsze. Outside the walls 
 there are no suburbs of any importance. A bird's-eye 
 view from the opposite hills shows that there is scarcely 
 a patch of ground which is not built upon. One or two 
 plots of vegetables inside the north-west corner of the 
 wall, and a few trees here and there, are the only ex- 
 ceptions to the grey mass of buildings clinging firmly 
 to the hill-side. It contains a population estimated at 
 some 200,000 souls, and may be described as the com-
 
 THE CITY OF CH'USG-K'IXG. 13 
 
 mercial metropolis of Western China. This was the 
 spot chosen for the residence of a Consular Officer, to 
 watch the conditions of British trade in Ssu-ch'uan ; 
 and it was here that I took up residence in January, 
 1882. I do not intend to weary my readers with trade 
 statistics ; those who are interested in commerce will 
 find some of the results of my enquiries and observa- 
 tions in a subsequent chapter specially devoted to that 
 subject. What I propose to do is to carry them with 
 me in my wanderings through Western China, with 
 Ch'ung-k'ing as a base, and endeavour to show them 
 the country and its people as they appeared to my eyes.
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 CH'UNG-K'ING TO THE CAPITAL OF KUEI-CHOW. 
 
 My overlaud caravan — Harvestiug opium — Field-fishing — Wood-oil — The 
 manufacture of paper — Salt carriers — Silk-worms and their food- 
 Rice or Pith paper, and its manufacture — The Kuei-chow frontier — 
 Minerals — Fnst meeting with Miao-Tzii — Poetical description of 
 Chinese inns — T'ung-tzu, its poppy valley and tunnelling — Ingenious 
 bamboo water-wheels — Scant popidation amid ruins of fine houses — 
 Coal-dust as fuel — The Wu Chiang river — Destruction of the iron 
 suspension bridge — Northern Kuei-chow, a Miao-tzu graveyard — 
 Opium-sodden inhabitants — The capital of the Province — An inter- 
 view with the Governor of Kuei-chow. 
 
 Having acquainted myself with my surroundings, 
 perused the records left by my predecessors, and gained 
 an insight into the duties expected of me, I resolved to 
 make a journey into the provinces of Kuei-chow and 
 Yiin-nan. To this end, I obtained a general passport 
 from the Viceroy of Ssu-ch'uan, and a special passport 
 from the authorities of Ch'ung-k'ing covering the 
 ground to be traversed, and proceeded to make arrange- 
 ments for the trip. As the greater part of the journey 
 was to be made overland, it was necessary to organize 
 a caravan of chau"-bearers and porters. However will- 
 ino- one may be to walk, Chinese etiquette demands, in 
 a civil official, the presence of a sedan ; and, in visiting
 
 MY OVERLAND CARAVAN. 15 
 
 the native authorities — a part of my programme — a 
 chair is a sine qud non. Ch'ung-k'ing being well supplied 
 with chair hongs or establishments, I had no difficulty 
 in collecting about a score of coolies to accompany me 
 to Yiin-nan and back. This included a headman, whose 
 duty it was to maintain order, and supply the places of 
 those who, from sickness or other causes, mia'ht fall out 
 on the march. The terms were three hundred larcfe 
 copper cash per man per day, two hundred to be paid 
 while travelling, the balance to be handed over on our 
 return to Ch'ung-k'ing. On resting days, a sum of only 
 one hundred large cash was payable, k. contract to 
 this effect was duly drawn up and signed, and it only 
 remained to adjust the loads and assign the men their 
 respective places. 
 
 Cash being the only currency in China, I had to 
 take with me a large supply of silver ingots, each of the 
 value of about ten taels or Chinese ounces, which had 
 to be sliced, weighed, and exchanged en route. This is 
 one of the many annoyances of Chinese travel, as each 
 place has its own weights and its own exchange. For 
 example, when 1 left Ch'ung-k'ing a tael was worth 
 1,480 large cash ; further south it was equivalent to 
 only 1,200, while on one occasion in Yiin-nan it rose 
 to 1,580 cash. The risk of carrying silver could not, 
 however, be avoided, for it would have required the 
 services of all my men at starting to lift the equivalent 
 in cash of the silver necessary to pay their wages for 
 the journey, not including the balance to be handed 
 over to them on our return. 
 
 Rice and vegetables, supplemented occasionally 1)\- a
 
 i6 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 little fish, or pork and sauce, constitute the daily food 
 of the Chinese ; but they do not commend themselves 
 to the European palate. To ensure a fair measure of 
 comfort, therefore, I took with me some tinned pro- 
 visions, to be broached as necessity demanded. 
 
 April the 19th was the day fixed for our departure, 
 and at daylight we groped our way through the mist 
 which, in Spring, hangs continually over the city, and 
 descended to the Great Kiver — the local name of the 
 Yang-tsze — across which we were ferried in a couple of 
 large flat-bottomed boats. The river at this point is 
 about eight hundred yards in breadth, and flows with 
 a current of from four to five knots. The most con- 
 spicuous objects on the south or right bank, which 
 consists of a range of hills from seven to eight hundred 
 feet in height, are the temple of Lao-chiin Tung, 
 nestling amidst a grove of trees, and Blakiston's " Pin- 
 nacle Pagoda," crowning the highest peak of the range. 
 The high-road to Kuei-chow winds up the bank between 
 them, and, after a slight descent, enters a limestone 
 valley beyond. The bank itself is composed of coal and 
 lime, both of which were being quarried for use in 
 Ch'ung-k'ing. 
 
 In this valley, which extends for miles, I first made 
 acquaintance with the poppy in full bloom. Fields of 
 white and purple equalled in number the patches of 
 wheat, barley, and rape. Where the flowers had fallen, 
 the peasants, principally women and children, Avere 
 busy harvesting the juice. The tools used in the opera- 
 tion are simple but efiective. Towards evening, the 
 peasants may be seen moving in the poppy fields, each
 
 HARVESTING OPIUM. 17 
 
 armed with a short wooden handle, from one of the ends 
 of which protrude three and sometimes four points of 
 brass or copper blades, firmly inserted in the wood. 
 Seizing a capsule with the left hand, the operator, with 
 his right hand, inserts the points of the blades near the 
 top of the capsule, and draws them downwards to the 
 stem of the plant. From the incisions thus made a 
 creamy juice exudes, which gradually becomes of a dark 
 brown colour. This is scraped off in the early morning 
 by means of a short curved knife, and deposited in an 
 earthenware bowl, the contents of which are afterwards 
 fired or left in the sun to dry. In this way, the weight 
 is reduced about one half, and the opium is then ready 
 for boiling. The whole process is simple, and may be 
 accomplished by the women and children of the family, 
 thereby permitting the more able-bodied to attend to 
 the other farm duties, thus reducing the price of labour 
 and consequently the cost of the drug. The bleeding 
 of the capsule is continued until the flow of juice is 
 exhausted. 
 
 The remainder of the valley was occupied by rice 
 fields, submerged in prejDaration for the summer sowing. 
 Sometimes they are allowed to soak for months, their 
 surfaces being frequently covered with floating water- 
 plants, which are afterwards utilized as manure. They 
 are likewise stocked with fish ; in the early spring, reeds 
 and rank grass are cut from the hill sides and made up 
 into small bundles, which are then strung on bamboos, 
 laid down in shallow water in the Yang-tsze, and 
 weighted with stones. Here the fish spawn, and tlie 
 ova adhere to the grass and reeds, which are then taken
 
 iS THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 up and sold. The grass is afterwards scattered in the 
 hirrher fields, between which and the lower, water-corn- 
 munication is kept up by digging small outlets, which 
 can easily be filled up at a moment's notice. Here the 
 ova are hatched, and good fishing may be had after a 
 few months. 
 
 The modus operandi deserves a short description. 
 Neither line nor hook is used, the requisite gear con- 
 sistinof of a long- bamboo and a round wicker basket, 
 open at the bottom with a hole at the top. The fisher- 
 man wades into the field, the water usually reaching to 
 the knee ; grasping the bamboo in his right, he sweeps 
 the surface of the water in front of him with a semi- 
 circular motion until a silver streak and a dash into the 
 mud meet his eye, when he plunges forward and caps 
 the spot with the basket which he has been carrying in 
 his left hand. He then gropes for his prey through tlie 
 basket, and is, I may say, rarely at fault. The fish — 
 some six inches long — is then tossed over the shoulder 
 into a smaller basket strapped to the back, and the 
 farmer recommences his field-fishing. 
 
 The wood-oil tree — Aleurites cordata, M. Arg. — 
 was scattered about among the fields. It seems to 
 prefer thin-soiled, rocky ground, being met with in 
 great abundance on the banks of the Yang-tsze west of 
 Ichang. It grows to a height of about fifteen feet, and 
 has large, beautiful, shady green leaves, which were 
 lighted up as we passed wuth bunches of small pink- 
 white flowers. It produces a large green fi.'uit like an 
 apple, the large pips or seeds of which contain the oil 
 for which the tree is famous. The fruit is g-athered in
 
 THE MANUFACTURE OF PAPER. ip 
 
 August and September. Primitive wooden presses with 
 wedges are used for extracting the oil, which is sent to 
 market in wooden tubs with ticrht-fittinfc hds, and is 
 employed for a variety of purposes, such as the manu- 
 facture of paint, varnish, waterproof paper, umbrellas, as 
 well as for lighting. The seeds, if eaten, cause nausea 
 and vomitino-. 
 
 Between Ch'ung-k'ing and Ch'i-chiang Hsien, the 
 first city of any importance on the southern road to 
 Kuei-chow, there are a number of factories for the manu- 
 facture of the ordinary coarse Chinese paper. Here, 
 too, the process is exceedingly simple. There is an 
 entire absence of machinery for washing and shredding 
 rags ; there are no troughs of pulp, chemicals for bleach- 
 ing, resin for watering, wire moulds for receiving, and 
 drums for firming the paper as it comes from the pulp- 
 troughs. Bamboo stems and paddy straw are steeped 
 with lime in deep concrete pits in the open air, and 
 allowed to soak for months. When nothing but the 
 fibre remains, it is taken out and rolled with a heavy 
 stone roller in a stone well until all the lime has been 
 removed. A small quantity of the fibre is placed in a 
 stone trough full of water and the whole stirred up. A 
 close bamboo mould is then passed through the mixed 
 fibre and water, and the film which adheres to it emerges 
 as a sheet of paper, which is stuck up to dry on the 
 walls of a room kept at a high temperature. The sheets 
 are afterwards collected and made up into bundles for 
 market. 
 
 Ch'i-chiang Hsien is a city somewhat irregularly built 
 alono- the foot and on the slope of a hill which rises
 
 20 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 from the left bank of a river, a tributary of the Yang- 
 tsze and bearing the city's name. It is of very consider- 
 able importance as a trade depot for north-eastern Kuei- 
 chow, and, being in water communication with the 
 Yang-tsze, it is a valuable inlet for the Ssii-ch'uan salt 
 trade with that province. Kuei-chow, unlike Ssii- 
 ch'uan and Ytin-nan, is unprovided with salt wells within 
 its borders, at least they have not yet been discovered, 
 and the Lu Chou junks have their terminus at Ch'i- 
 chiang, whence the mineral is distributed on the backs 
 of bipeds. 
 
 This latter was to me a painful sight. Men and boys 
 (children, I should rather say, many of them being not 
 more than eight years of age) staggered on with enor- 
 mous loads of cake salt packed in small creels and on 
 wooden frameworks projecting above them. Walking 
 in Indian file along the pathway that served as a road, 
 they halted every few yards, resting their loads on a 
 crutch which each carried in his hand, and, uttering 
 that half whistle, half sigh, which proclaims the body's 
 utter weariness and its gratitude for a moment's relief, 
 scraped from their brows and faces, by a ring of split 
 bamboo attached to the load by a string, the sweat 
 that literally gushed from them. Of a surety they 
 earn their bread by the sweat of their brow ! 
 
 One expecting to find amongst such men a splendid 
 development of muscle would be sadly disappomted. 
 Like the brick-tea carriers on their way to Tibet, of 
 whom I shall have occasion to speak hereafter, they 
 were painfully wanting in leg. Yet the maximum load 
 is about two hundred and forty pounds. For carrying
 
 SILKWORMS AND THEIR FOOD. 21 
 
 the salt the distance of one hundred miles between Ch'i- 
 chiang and T'ung-tzu, the first district city across the 
 Kuei-chow border, they were paid at the rate of ten 
 cash a catty, or one and a third pounds. As the jour- 
 ney occupied them ten days, and the return, empty- 
 handed except for their wages in cash, two days, the 
 strongest man earned not more than sixpence a day. 
 But rice and lodging are cheap, and they are more or 
 less happy at the end of each day's weary toil. 
 
 The hills around Ch'i-chiang were thickly clad with 
 scrub-oak, on the leaves of which silkworms had been 
 placed to feed. In Ssu-ch'uan sericulture is a most 
 important industry ; every homestead, where mulberry 
 leaves are procurable, is engaged in it. Small market- 
 towns are thickly dotted over the whole province, and 
 at each place a market is held every five days. Thither 
 agents resort and buy up cocoons and opium at their 
 respective seasons. Besides the mulberry and the oak, 
 the leaves of the Cudrania tHloha, Hance, are much in 
 demand for feeding the young worms ; and near Chia- 
 ting, the very centre of silk culture in Ssu-ch'uan, I 
 was informed that these leaves are particularly suited 
 to the infant palate, and that the silk produced from 
 this diet is superior In quantity and quality. Fre- 
 quently have I seen small wooden tubs filled with white 
 and yellow cocoons — the produce of a single little home- 
 stead — exposed by the roadside for sale. The duty of 
 nursing, rearing and feeding the worms and of collect- 
 intr their food devolves on the women and children, the 
 former hasteninir the hatchintr of the efrtrs by wcarinuf 
 them in their breasts.
 
 22 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 South of Ch'i-chiang, the wood-oil tree was very 
 abundant, and banyan and pumelo trees were dotted 
 about here and there ; firs, cypresses, palms, bamboos, 
 and the mulberry were also to be seen. Of growing 
 crops, wheat, beans, and hemp — Ahutilon avicennae 
 Gaert. — were conspicuous. The small patches of land, 
 into which Chinese crofts are divided, give ample scope 
 for careful agriculture. It is, I believe, an established 
 fact that wheat planted at intervals of from nine to 
 twelve inches produces a heavier crop than wheat sown 
 broadcast. By planting, which is here and in China 
 generally the rule, not only is seed saved but sufficient 
 room is given for tillering, whereas in sowing, the inter- 
 vals are irregular and tillering is cramped. The wild 
 rose, honeysuckle, and strawberry crept along our path. 
 
 It was on leaving Ch'i-chiang on the morning of the 
 22 nd of April that my attention was arrested by a 
 large white bundle on two legs approaching the city. 
 As it neared us, it developed into what a2Jpeared to be 
 a huge mass of long white candles half enveloping a 
 human being, and rising four feet above where, under or- 
 dinary circumstances, the individual's head ought to be. 
 Questioning the bundle, I discovered from a series of 
 sounds that issued from its centre that it was the pith 
 from which the far-famed "rice" paper is manufactured. 
 It is the pith of the large-leaved bush-like Fatsia 
 papyHfera, Benth. s^ndHooL, which grows luxuriantly 
 in the province of Kuei-chow, whence it is brought to 
 Ch'ung-k'ing to be made into sheets. The plant also 
 grows in Ssti-ch'uan, but the stems are not so fully 
 developed as those produced in the more southern
 
 THE PITH WORKER. 23 
 
 province. I may as well now describe the process of 
 manufacture, and save my readers a further reference 
 to the subject. 
 
 On my return to Ch'ung-k'ing from the journey now 
 described, I was invited to visit a worker in pith after 
 nightfall. Although somewhat surprised at the hour 
 named, I accepted the invitation. On arrival, I was 
 ushered into a badly lighted room, where a man was 
 sittinof at a table with his tools in front of him. These 
 consisted of a smooth stone, about a foot square and an 
 inch and a half thick, and a large knife or hatchet with 
 a short wooden handle. The blade was about a foot 
 long, two inches broad, and nearly half an inch thick at 
 the back. It was sharp as a razor. Placing a piece 
 of round pith on the stone and his left hand on the 
 to]3, he rolled the pith backwards and forwards for a 
 moment until he got it into the required position. 
 Then, seizing the knife with his right hand, he held 
 the edge of the blade, after a feint or two, close to the 
 pith, which he kept rolling to the left with his left 
 hand until nothing remained to roll ; for the pith had, 
 by the application of the knife, been jDared into a square 
 white sheet of uniform thickness. All that remained 
 to be done w^as to square the edges. If the reader will 
 roll up a sheet of paper, lay it on the table, place the 
 left hand on the top, and gently unroll it to the left, 
 he will have a good idea of how the feat was accom- 
 j)lished. It seemed so easy that I determined to have 
 a trial. Posing as a professional worker, I succeeded 
 in hacking the pith, and in nearly maiming myself for 
 life. A steady hand and a keen eye are required for
 
 24 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 the work, and hence it is that the so-called " rice " 
 paper is manufactured only at night, when the city is 
 asleep and the makers are not liable to be disturbed. 
 
 The third day from Ch'i-chiang brought us to the 
 Kuei-chow frontier, the road following for the most 
 part the banks of the Ch'i-chiang River. Coal and 
 iron are here found in abundance, and the market town 
 of Kan-shui, which lies within the Ssu-ch'uan border, is 
 famed for the manufacture of the iron pans, without 
 one of which no house can be looked upon as properly 
 furnished. Copper is also found at no great distance, 
 and specimens of the ore, which I forwarded to Shang- 
 hai for analysis, contained thirty per cent, of metal. 
 
 It was near the Kuei-chow border that I first came 
 in contact with the Miao-tzu, the aboriginal inhabitants 
 of that province. I was sauntering along in front of 
 my followers when, at a bend in the road, I was 
 suddenly confronted by a couple of neatly-dressed 
 figures which turned out to be two Miao-tzu girls, about 
 fourteen and sixteen years of age as far as I could guess, 
 arrayed in short jackets and kilts of a greyish-black 
 woollen material, with turbans to match. They were 
 very good looking, and, although somewhat coy, did 
 not show that abject terror which, under similar ch'- 
 cumstances, would have betrayed the Chinese female. 
 With heads erect and black eyes lighted up with 
 astonishment, they passed me by with no uncertain 
 gait. Although the Miao-Tzu are generally supposed 
 to be confined to Kuei-chow, not a few families are 
 settled in this corner of Ssu-ch'uan. Those who are 
 interested in this people will find another chapter 
 specially devoted to them.
 
 CHINESE INNS. 25 
 
 Seas of bare rocky mountains met my eyes as I sat 
 on the borders of Ssu-ch'uan and Kuei-chow, and gazed 
 southwards. It was hke a transformation scene. From 
 smiling fields of poppy, wheat, and beans, we were 
 suddenly brought face to face with hill-side patches of 
 the same crops sadly stunted. The poppy, which to 
 the north was being bled, had not even burst into 
 flower, and the scanty soil looked barren and profitless. 
 The rich valleys were still invisible, and the prospect 
 was very depressing ; nor was the feeling in the least 
 minimised by the appearance of our lodgings for the 
 night. So bad were they, indeed, that I had to ask 
 the local authority of Sung-k'an whether he could not 
 find me more decent quarters. Another room was 
 hunted up, but I failed to discover any great improve- 
 ment, I have occupied hundreds of Chinese inns in 
 the course of my travels, and I think that, on the whole, 
 a Chinaman's own description which I found written 
 on the wall of a room which I once tenanted in Ssu- 
 ch'uan, errs on the side of leniency. In English garb 
 it runs thus — 
 
 " Within this room you'll fiud the rats 
 
 At least a goodly score, 
 Three catties each they're bound to weigh, 
 
 Or e'en a little more ; 
 At night you'll find a myriad bugs 
 
 That stink and crawl and bite ; 
 If doubtful of the truth of this, 
 
 Get up and strike a light." 
 
 It must have been the poet's up-bringing or his being 
 overpowered by other ills that prevented liini from
 
 26 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 finishing the work so well begun. Let me endeavour 
 to complete the picture — 
 
 Witliin, without, vile odours dense 
 
 Assail the unwary nose ; 
 Behind, the grunter squeaks and squeals 
 
 And baffles all repose ; 
 Add clouds of tiny, buzzing things, 
 
 Mosquitoes— if you please ; 
 And if the sum is not enough. 
 
 Why, bless me, there are fleas. 
 
 To reach T'una--tzu, a rano;e of mountains over three 
 thousand feet high had to be crossed. The summit 
 was dotted with smooth, hollowed-out, limestone rocks, 
 between which the scanty soil was being turned over 
 by the peasants. On the south side of the range, a 
 narrow valley, about nine miles in length, down which 
 flows a stream, leads to the district city. As the latter 
 is approached, the valley expands from a quarter to 
 half a mile in breadth, and runs with the stream for 
 another five miles until it is blocked by a low range of 
 hills, through which the stream finds its way by a series 
 of caverns. In the narrower part of the valley, I noticed 
 a very ingenious contrivance for irrigating the fields. 
 The stream flows about ten feet below the surrounding 
 plots, and drains instead of watering them. To utilize 
 it, a large light bamboo wheel, from forty to fifty feet in 
 circumference, and two feet thick, was erected. Lay- 
 ers of split bamboo were inserted at short intervals in 
 the outside edge as float-boards, and the water rushing 
 against them caused the wheel to revolve. Short bam- 
 boos closed at the outer end were fixed on the rim at a
 
 BAMBOO WATER-WHEELS. 27 
 
 slight angle. As the wheel rev^olved, these bamboos 
 were immersed and filled with water, and on reaching 
 the top poured their contents into a wooden trough 
 raised nearly to the height of the wheel. Bamboo 
 pipes led the water from the trough to the fields requir- 
 ing irrigation. No care was required, and wheel after 
 wheel was doing its work silently and alone. 
 
 Rice is hulled by a somewhat similar process. An 
 ordinary water-wheel is fitted with a long axle, through 
 the centre of which two planks at either side of the 
 wheel are inserted at right angles and project several 
 feet. As the wheel revolves, the planks descend, catch, 
 depress, and release a lever, the far end of which is 
 weighted with a heavy blunt stone about two feet long. 
 When the lever is released, the stone descends and 
 plunges into a hollow, usually lined with concrete, into 
 which the paddy is placed. By a single revolution of 
 the wheel the lever is depressed and released four times 
 and, when the hulling is completed, the lever can be 
 drawn aside and the contents of the hole removed and 
 winnowed. 
 
 I took advantage of a day's rest at T'ung-tzu to fol- 
 low up the stream to the point where it enters the 
 range of hills. The whole valley and the hill-sides 
 were one mass of poppies in full bloom — white, mauve, 
 and white tipped with pink being the chief colours. 
 The capsules were less rounded, but more elongated 
 than those of the Ssu-ch'uan plant. The Ku-lu, as the 
 stream is called, enters the hill by three caverns, 
 emerges through a single cavern some distance beyond, 
 crosses another valley a few hundred yards in breadth
 
 28 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 and at right angles to the T'ung-tzu valley, again en- 
 ters the hills and, after leaving by another single cavern, 
 discharges itself into tlie Ch'ih-shui River. As might 
 naturally be expected, both valleys are liable to inun- 
 dation during the rainy season and, at the time of my 
 visit, an attempt was being made to cut a tunnel behind 
 the first range and induce the surplus "waters to seek a 
 nearer passage to the larger river. A mile of tunnel 
 had already been completed, but a part had fallen in 
 and hindered the progress of the work. As it seemed 
 to me, the passage through the first range must always 
 be liable to be choked by an increase in the volume of 
 the stream and by floating debris, and little would ap- 
 pear to have been accomplished beyond scattering to 
 the winds £10,000 to £12,000, and giving employment 
 to a large number of men. 
 
 There is little of interest to attract the eye of the 
 traveller between T'ung-tzu and Tsun-i Fu, the next 
 city of any importance on the way to the provincial 
 capital. The road runs over hills and through valleys, 
 past coal mines and through poppy-fields, until a few 
 miles north of the city the country opens out and shows 
 the usual crops. The population, as everywhere in 
 Kuei-chow, is scant ; and if a field is wanted to relieve 
 the congested provinces of the Empire, Kuei-chow and 
 Yun-nan can easily accommodate millions, and feel all 
 the better for the increase. With the exception of the 
 Miao-tzii, who have been driven into the south of Kuei- 
 chow, the inhabitants consist of immigrants from Ssu- 
 ch'uan, Hupeh and Hunan, who, for the most part, are 
 satisfied with scratching small parts of the ground and
 
 COAL-DUST AS FUEL. 29 
 
 disposing of the opium wUicli tliey themselves are un- 
 able to consume to the eastern province of Hunan, A 
 lazier set of people it would be hard to find anywhere. 
 The mountainous character of the country renders over- 
 land transport excessively difficult, the consequence 
 being that the products of the soil are exceedingly 
 cheap and living inexpensive. Ruins of superior stone 
 buildings are everywhere to be met with, but, instead 
 of repairing these, the inhabitants are content to raise 
 wattle and mud walls on the solid foundations, and turn 
 the floors of the superfluous houses into vegetable gar- 
 dens. The Miao-tzu must, indeed, have had a hot time 
 of it. Where forests of oak once stood, only black 
 charred roots and columns of dressed granite now re- 
 main, to tell the tale of a well-to-do Miao-tzu peasantry 
 in hand to hand conflict with better-armed opponents. 
 
 How to utilize coal-dust as fuel has always been a 
 fruitful topic of discussion where coal mines are worked. 
 I notice that the most recent invention in Entrland is the 
 admixture of pitch with the dust. Here and elsewhere 
 in China, clay is the ingredient used ; and the mixture, 
 after being reduced to the necessary consistency by the 
 addition of water, is placed in moulds, whence it issues, 
 about two pounds in weight, in the shape of the base 
 half of a cone, and is then exposed to the sun to dry. 
 This fuel is fairly tenacious, and will bear considerable 
 rough transit. From personal experience in Peking, I 
 may add that ignition is not a difficult matter, and 
 that a powerful heat results. 
 
 The walls of Tsun-i, which we entered on the after- 
 noon of the 29th of April, are said to contain a popula-
 
 30 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 tion of 45,000 souls. It is a manufacturing city. Wild 
 silk, gathered from the scrub-oak in the neighbourhood, 
 is spun and woven into a coarse fabric, which is largely 
 exported through Ssu-ch'uan to the central and eastern 
 provinces. It is a peculiarity of Kuei-chow towns that 
 there are no suburbs outside the walls ; but, when the 
 struggles that have taken place within the province 
 and the consequent insecurity are considered, their 
 absence is not a matter for surprise. 
 
 About forty miles to the south of Tsun-i, we struck 
 the left bank of the Wu Chiang, which here flows with 
 a swift current through a deep limestone gorge in an 
 east-north-east direction. Looking down into the gorge, 
 I could make out on the opposite bank a solid platform 
 of masonry, over which dangled a row of iron chains or 
 rods into the river. Descending through accumulations 
 of building materials, we soon reached a similar plat- 
 form, where I discovered that a great catastrophe had 
 recently occurred. Seven months before our visit the 
 chains or hooked rods — each about a yard long — for 
 supporting the roadway, had been successfully stretched, 
 built into the masonry on either side and the ends 
 fixed into the solid rock. The side suspension chains, 
 which were carried over stone turrets on either side of 
 the piers, were in process of being stretched, when the 
 whole structure collapsed, carrying with it a large num- 
 ber of workmen, many of whom were droM-ned or 
 fatally injured. Their graves are to be seen on the 
 left bank of the river. The turrets were all carried 
 away, and nothing remained but the piers, the severed 
 chains, and many of the planks which had formed the
 
 THE KUXG-T'AN RIVER. 31 
 
 roadway. In manufacturing the chains, which was 
 
 done on the spot — the workshops were still standino- 
 
 local iron, which appeared to be of an inferior quality 
 and to have been insufficiently malleated, had been 
 used. The bridge was rebuilt in the year of our visit 
 (1882), but ii'on from Ylin-nan was employed. 
 
 The Wu Chiang, or, as it is called near its mouth, 
 the Kung-t'an River, after a course of about five hun- 
 dred miles, enters the Yang-tsze at the city of Fu Chou, 
 seventy-two miles to the east of Ch'ung-k'ing. Owing 
 to rapids, it is unnavigable until it approaches the 
 province of Ssii-ch'uan ; but even in its short navigable 
 course of over a hundred miles above its junction with 
 the Yang-tsze it is an important trade highway. By 
 this route, north-eastern Kuei-chow is supplied with 
 salt from Ssii-ch'uan, sending in return gall-nuts and 
 other minor products. At one time it formed part of 
 the great commercial highway between Canton and 
 Western China, which has practically ceased to exist 
 since the opening of the Yang-tsze to steam navigation. 
 
 A brief orlance across the Wu Chiansf warned me 
 that there was no time to tarry on the left bank, for 
 the road could be seen zig-zagging up a gulley on the 
 opposite shore. Collecting our Ibrces, which had scat- 
 tered on a tour of inspection, we descended to the 
 river, a stream sixty yards in breadth, and were fer- 
 ried across by detachments in a rickety old boat. A 
 weary climb of two hours, past disused iron mines over- 
 grown with brushwood, brought us to the Kuan-ai 
 Customs barrier, perched on the summit of the range. 
 Beyond the barrier we obtained a splendid view of the
 
 32 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 country to the south ; barren, treeless peaks, on the 
 same level as ourselves — three to four thousand feet — 
 lay before us, cheerless, uninhabited, lifeless. What 
 a picture ! Where are the Miao-tzu that used to till 
 these fields and tend their herds on the mountain sides ? 
 They were butchered and their bones are rotting under- 
 neath. Northern Kuei-chow is a huge graveyard, with 
 no monuments to mark the fierce struggle against ex- 
 tortion and oppression, of rude weapons against foreign 
 arms of precision. Justice is a fine thing to talk about 
 and inculcate, but a hard thing to practise. 
 
 Three miles from the river my followers clamoured 
 for a day's rest. Although only a three days' journey 
 from Kuei-yang, the capital of the province, where I 
 proposed to make a short stay, I was compelled to 
 accede to their request. Twenty miles may seem a 
 poor day's work ; but my readers should bear in mind 
 that roads, in the proper sense of the word, do not 
 exist, and that the mountain paths which we have been 
 travelling have been sadly neglected. During the 
 whole of my time in Kuei-chow I never once saw a cart, 
 the entire trade — such as it is — being conducted on the 
 backs of bipeds and quadrupeds. A nearer acquaintance 
 wdth the country between the Wu Chiang and Kuei- 
 yang failed to leave on my mind a livelier impression 
 than that derived from the panorama of desolation as 
 seen from the Kuan-ai barrier. During the day here 
 and there a hut or a poppy-patch was the only sign 
 of human existence, and at night came the miserable 
 village full of lethargic opium-sodden inhabitants. 
 
 Ten miles of grassy downs and fifteen miles of
 
 ARRIVAL AT KUEI-YAXG. 33 
 
 barren mountain sides constitute the approach to the 
 provincial capital. At the village, which lies between, 
 an escort of eight soldiers, two mounted officers, and a 
 host of runners from the Magistrate's Yaraen, awaited 
 us to protect me from the dangers of the wilderness. 
 The occasional huts give place to guard-houses, which 
 would seem to imply that the country is not so safe as 
 it looks. Passing through an archway bridging the 
 road between two steep mountain peaks, where the 
 officer at the receipt of customs glared greedily at our 
 caravan ; and, rounding a mountain side, we soon 
 caught a glimpse of Kuei-yang lying in a plain far 
 below us. On the left is the graveyard of the city, its 
 white stones like glittering specks dotting the hill side. 
 A white wall surrounds the town ; and numerous green 
 trees rising above the house-tops were suggestive of 
 coolness and shade. But all is not gold that glitters, 
 and there was soon revealed to us an ordinary Chinese 
 city containing the usual marks of decay. 
 
 On the morning of the 6th of May — the day after 
 our arrival — I spent a very pleasant half-hour with 
 the Governor of the province, w4io was courtesy itself. 
 His Excellency was deeply interested in the subject of 
 the navigation of the Upper Yang-tsze by steam, and 
 showed complete familiarity with the sayings of the 
 Shanghai vernacular press. He pressed me to stay a 
 few days ; but the heat was oppressive, and I deter- 
 mined to push on to Yiin-nan without delay. To His 
 Excellency I owe much ; he was good enough to send 
 orders along the route that I was to be accommodated 
 in the official rest-houses as much as possible, so that 1
 
 34 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 was enabled to get rid of the crowds which collect and 
 gaze with glassy eyes at the unfortunate foreigner. It 
 is difficult to satisfy a Chinese crowd ; one may sit or 
 stand before one's room-door in an inn for hours, yet 
 the inquisitiveness remains unabated. Enter the room, 
 and every crack in the woodwork of the walls is occu- 
 pied by peering eyes, while the paper windows are 
 quickly converted into sieves by moistened finger-tips, 
 and black glittering orbs are glued to them. A boot 
 deftly aimed gives momentary, but only momentary, 
 relief. Kuei-chow is not a chief sinner in this respect. 
 In Western China, Ssu-ch'uan undoubtedly takes the 
 palm. 
 
 During the afternoon of my stay in Kuei-yang I 
 made a flying perambulation of the city. In the 
 southern part, the shops were large and apparejitly 
 prosperous, and the streets, which were fairly broad, 
 were crowded. Foreign cottons brought from Hankow 
 by way of the Tung-t'ing Lake and the Yuan Biver 
 were plentifully displayed. I shall have occasion to 
 refer again to this route, which was followed by the 
 unfortunate Margary on his way across China to 
 Burmah.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 WESTWARD TO YUN-NAN. 
 
 White wax insects — Terrible hailstorm and its etiects — Miao-tzti houses 
 and women— An-shun Fu — Limestone cave — Pai-shui waterfall — 
 Reception at Lang-t'ai T'ing — Lang-wang IMountain and the " Cave of 
 the .Sjjirits " — Caught in a thunderstorm — The pebbly strand of tlie 
 Mao-k'uu River — Pack-animals and their treatment — The Yiin-nan 
 frontier — A cart at last — Exploring a cave — Underground rivers — 
 Excei)tional courtesey — Goitre — Breeding ground of the Yiin-nan 
 pony — Trade route to Tonquin — ]\Iarching knce-dcep in mud and 
 water — Poverty of inliabitants — Queen's birthday dinner in a back- 
 yard — Chinese inquisitiveness — The Sung-iiiiiig Ijake— A local escort 
 — A glorious view — Yiin-nan Fu. 
 
 On the morning of the 7th of May, we turned our 
 faces westwards towards the province of Yliu-nan, the 
 capital of which I hoped to reach before the end of the 
 month. Soon after leaving the west gate of Kuei-yang, 
 we met a number of carriers with long round l)asket8 
 slung at the ends of poles in the usual Cliinese manner. 
 The exceptional speed at which they were going tempt- 
 ed me to examine their loads, and most unwilhngl}' did 
 they submit, for tViey were bearing eastward to Hunan 
 burdens of living insects of great industrial value. 
 They were Avhite wax insects in their scales, which had 
 been collected in the An-shun prefecture further west,
 
 36 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 packed in layers of trays to ensure a free current of air 
 and thus prevent their escape during their long journey. 
 The lamps which the owners, who accompanied the 
 porters on foot, carried, told me that the tiny insects 
 were being hurried night and day to their destination. 
 The whole subject of white wax insects and their valu- 
 able product will be found detailed in Chapter XI. 
 
 Ten miles west of Kuei-yang is the main coal-field 
 for supplying the provincial capital with fuel. The 
 road winds among and over low hills untouched by the 
 hoe of the peasant ; rank grass and brushwood tell the 
 tale of a meagre population content to exist on the 
 produce of the narrow valleys — patches of barley or 
 wheat, and poppy and rice in their season. Beyond the 
 hills, a valley leads to the district city of Ch'ing-chen, 
 and here a surprising sight met the eye. Up to the 
 very walls of the city stretched an immense poppy-field, 
 the stems fresh and erect, but hardly a capsule remain- 
 ing. Here at last, thought I, have the authorities in a 
 fit of virtuous indignation advanced beyond issuing 
 proclamations laden with threats of punishment ; here 
 surely must be a Magistrate who has a will of his own 
 and the courage to carry it into effect. Alas 1 I wronged 
 him. 'Twas another celestial authority that did the 
 deed. On the night of the 2nd of May, a terrible hail- 
 storm burst over the district, destroying not only the 
 growing crops but even playing havoc within the walls. 
 The streets were full of broken tiles, many of the roofs 
 having succumbed to the hailstones, which were de- 
 scribed to me as weighing as much as seven and even 
 eight ounces. The capsules, which were scattered on
 
 TERRIFIC HAILSTORM. 37 
 
 the ground, had all been collected for the sake of the 
 sweet cooking-oil which is obtained from the seed, and 
 of the cakes which are manufactured from the seed 
 itself. Six miles by six represented the area over which 
 the hail had descended. The stems and branches of the 
 roadside trees, which were all but denuded of leaves, 
 looked as if they had been hacked with a blunt axe. 
 Rapeseed, beans, wheat, and barley, which were grow- 
 ing in scant patches to the west of the city, were 
 flattened with the ground. 
 
 In this part of the country, cultivation is confined to 
 the neighbourhood of towns and villages. The distance 
 between Ch'ing-chen and An-p'ing, the next district 
 city, is twenty miles ; and, if we except the poppy which 
 was growing abundantly near the latter, there was no 
 cultivation worthy of the name. Grass-covered plains, 
 once smiling fields, intercepted by curious conical hills 
 partly clad with brushwood and bracken, are happy 
 hunting grounds for herds of tame bufi:aloes. Truly, 
 the land of the Miao-tzu was devastated, and its inhabi- 
 tants butchered and scattered. Poverty reigns along 
 the highroad. Three miles west of Ch'ing-chen, we 
 stopped for breakfast at a hamlet overlooking a tribu- 
 tary of the Wu Chiang. Neither chair nor table was 
 procurable ; but they were hardly necessary, for it did 
 not take long to put away the remains of my dinner of 
 the previous evening. Here I found that the knowledge 
 possessed by the local escorts is not above suspicion. 
 Sitting on the stone bridge which spans the stream just 
 mentioned, I asked them the name and destination of 
 the latter ; but I failed to receive a satisfactory answer.
 
 38 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 One of the soldiers, however, who volunteered the 
 statement that the bridge on which I was sitting had 
 nine arches, was somewhat non-plussed to find, on being 
 sent to count, that it was two short of the number he 
 gave. 
 
 An-p'ing has not yet recovered from the ravages 
 of the civil war ; the walls are in a state of decay, and 
 many of the houses which they encircle are represented 
 by heaps of ruins. The surrounding country is almost 
 entirely inhabited by Miao-tzu, whose hamlets are 
 perched on inaccessible hill-tops — stone refuges occupy- 
 ing the commanding heights. When hard pressed, they 
 drove their cattle into the latter for safety and, shelter- 
 ing themselves behind the walls, bade defiance to their 
 assailants. 
 
 The villages, through which the road passes between 
 An-p'ing and An-shun, are of a non-Chinese type. The 
 walls of the houses are built of loose stones and are very 
 thick, the roofs being composed of broad stone slabs. 
 The inmates appeared to be of a degraded race, and 
 have, in all probability, a strain of Miao-tzu blood. 
 The men were dressed in sombre Chinese clothes, while 
 the women were inclined to gaudy colours. 
 
 At one of these villages it was market day ; herds 
 of oxen, horses, and pigs were on the ground, and the 
 women, arrayed in all the colours of the rainbow and 
 ornamented with silver earrino^s, banc^les and rino-s, 
 were hurrying in with baskets of eggs and vegetables. 
 In the market were four slender, sinewy Miao-tzii men, 
 somewhat curiously dressed. Black cloth bands encir- 
 cled their foreheads, loose gowns of similar material,
 
 AN SHUN-FU. 39 
 
 fastened with girdles, covered them from neck to ankle, 
 huge silver earrings swung from their left ears and 
 their feet were encased in straw sandals. Bowls of 
 opium were being hawked about the village, and I was 
 told that the Miao-tzu, although extensive cultivators 
 of the poppy, do not themselves smoke the drug. 
 
 An-shun is approached through a long valley, which 
 contracts as the city is neared. At the eastern end, 
 the road, which is lined with memorial stone archways, 
 ascends a gentle slope — the graveyard of the town — to 
 the walls. From the gate we looked down into a broad 
 street, crowded with people engaged in business. On 
 stalls at either side, goods of all kinds were plentifully 
 displayed, and the shops behind them were large and 
 apparently prosperous. Ponies laden with salt jostled 
 us in the gateway, and I found, on enquiry, that An- 
 shun is supplied with this necessity of life by way of 
 the Yunof-ninof Kiver, which enters the Yansf-tsze at the 
 district city of Na-chi, and is the most important trade 
 highway to Western Kuei-chow. This route, which I 
 followed in 1883, will be found described in a subsequent 
 chapter. 
 
 The main roads of China are each divided into 
 stages, only one of which can, with convenience and 
 comfort to the traveller, be acconq)lished in a day. 
 The plan which I followed was invariably as follows. 
 Rising at daybreak, I had a cup of cotiee or tea, pushed 
 on to the first hamlet or village, where we all break- 
 fasted, travelled till noon when we lunched at the most 
 convenient spot, and arrived at the end of the stage 
 about four or five o'clock in the afternoon. Inns were
 
 40 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 not always available during the day, and at our first 
 halting place after leaving An-shun, we took possession 
 of a house which we shared with a couple of carriers, 
 who seemed to prefer a whiff of the opium pipe to eat- 
 ing. On one occasion only, as far as I can recollect, 
 was I refused temporary lodgment, the inmates, as a 
 nile, being only too willing to shelter us for a few cash. 
 As a matter of fact, they had little to fear, for they had 
 nothing to steal. 
 
 Chen-ning Chou, which was the end of the stage on 
 the 10th of May, is a poor city, built on a hill slope, and 
 consists of one decent street and a number of dilapi- 
 dated thoroug'hfares. It lies at the western end of a 
 valley, which was filled with yellow wheat and barley, 
 submerged paddy-land, and poppy-fields. Our landlord 
 told me that, previous to the rebellion, the walls shel- 
 tered from seven to eight thousand families, now, how- 
 ever, reduced to a thousand. A mile to the west of 
 Chdn-ning we came upon a cave close to the highroad. 
 It was formed of a single limestone dome, which has 
 been converted into a temple. To us it presented the 
 appearance of a poorhouse, for our entrance aroused 
 a crowd of squalid beggars, who had taken up their 
 quarters in its cool shade. They did not look as if they 
 had a very close aquaintance with the clear, limpid 
 stream which flows through it and enters a limestone 
 hill fifty yards beyond. We were no longer the only 
 travellers going west ; a number of men were carrying 
 silver to Ylin-nan to purchase opium. The value of 
 the drug, its small bulk and superiority, enable it to be 
 carried across the province of Kuei-chow to Hunan and 
 other provinces at a profit.
 
 THE PAI-SHUI RIVER. 41 
 
 The Pai-shui, or " White Water " river, spanned by 
 a stone bridcre of five arches at the eastern end of the 
 village of Huang-kuo-shu, goes south to join the north- 
 ern section of the Canton or West River. It is a shal- 
 low stream thirty yards in breadth and forms a beauti- 
 ful waterfall in the rear of the village, creeping leisurely 
 over the brov/n rocks and falling about a hundred feet. 
 In the temple of the " Dragon Prince " we spread our 
 mid-day meal, having had to fast since daybreak, the 
 hamlets on the road west of Ch6n-ning being unable 
 to supply us even with a single egg. A series of 
 weary ascents and descents ultimately landed us in the 
 small village of P'o-kung, which had recently been the 
 scene of a conflagration. Ten days before our arrival 
 it was all but consumed, and the inhabitants were 
 huddled together amidst its charred remains, still want- 
 inef in courao^e or in funds to re-erect their homes. 
 
 Is there no level ground anywhere in the province 
 of Kuei-chow ? This was the question that suggested 
 itself to me as I gained the ridge that rises to the west 
 of P'o-kung. The answer lay ahead. Waves of conical 
 hills and mountain ranges beyond seemed to block the 
 passage to Yun-nan. Down and up, and down again, 
 brought us to a valley, extending for miles, at the far 
 end of which rests the prosperous city of Lang-t'ai 
 T'ino", famous for the superiority of its opium. Some 
 miles from its walls we were met by two escorts, one 
 sent by the Sub-prefect, the other by the Colonel. As 
 we approached, they dropped on their knees and bade 
 me welcome. The military escort, which was composed 
 of five soldiers armed with matchlocks and four with
 
 42 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA 
 
 banners, had evidently taken advantage of their excur- 
 sion to do a little shooting. One man had bagged half 
 a dozen pigeons, and a bird of about the same size with 
 a perfect yellow plumage, which I failed to recognize. 
 As every one is aware, the Chinese do many things in 
 a way the exact reverse of what we consider right and 
 proper. How should a soldier carry his musket ? Is it 
 easier to carry the stock or the barrel over the shoulder ? 
 My escort preferred to handle the barrel. 
 
 On arrival at Lang-t'ai, the Colonel, to whom I sent 
 a message of thanks for his foresight and precaution, 
 pressed me to stay and witness a review that was to be 
 held in a couple of days ; but the comparatively cool 
 weather, and the fact that I had already seen enough of 
 his soldiers and their little ways, decided me to decline 
 the kind invitation. 
 
 Lang-t'ai lies low, and by the eastern approach 
 nothing is visible but a part of the wall, the town itself 
 being obscured by dense foliage. A thick mist con- 
 cealed everything from view as we left the following 
 morning. After struggling for two hours among the 
 hills that overlook the city on the north-west, we 
 cleared the mist and entered a coal district where the 
 miners were hard at work. A splendid view was ob- 
 tained from the Wang-shan temple on the ridge where 
 we breakfasted ; the Lang-wang Shan, the highest 
 mountain in the province, towered on our right. Under 
 the summit, which is of bare rock, there is a cave — the 
 " Cave of the Spirits" — which has a very wide reputa- 
 tion, and, as a consequence, is much visited by devotees. 
 As we passed, pilgrims were burning joss-paper far
 
 THE VILLAGE OF MAO-K'OU. 43 
 
 below it. Half-way down on the western side we were 
 overtaken by a terrific thunderstorm, which continued 
 far into the night. When we reached the grass-covered 
 plain that lies below, I took refuge in my chair ; but 
 the violent gusts of wind, which accompanied the sheets 
 of descending water, soon wrenched off' the rain covers 
 and exposed us to the full blast of the storm. 
 
 Wet to the skin we entered the villacre of Mao-k'ou, 
 which consists of one street, with numerous gardens 
 surrounded by hedges of cactus, on the left bank of a 
 stream fifty yards in breadth, which issues from a gorge 
 a few hundred yards above the village. Here there 
 was no resisting the appeal for a day's rest which was 
 at once made to me. A carrier's luo-frag-e is of the 
 lightest possible description ; the single suit of clothes 
 in which he stands is, as a rule, all that he possesses, 
 and when that is reduced to a pulp, it has to be washed 
 and dried before he can aeain venture out. 
 
 o 
 
 I spent the morning of our day of rest on the pebbly 
 strand of the Mao-k'ou river, which goes south to swell 
 the upper waters of the north branch of the West 
 River, in the province of Kwang-si. Numerous fossils 
 are to be found here, and I purchased three different 
 specimens from the landlord of our inn. The current 
 of the river is very rapid. 
 
 On leaving Mao-k'ou on the following morning, we 
 ascended its left bank five hundred yards before at- 
 tempting the crossing ; our boats did not reach the 
 right bank until we were opposite the village. An un- 
 dulating upland stretches westward, covered with rank 
 wild grass, affording excellent cover for game, which was
 
 44 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 plentiful. Pheasants crowed all round us, and took 
 wing- when we approached too close. In the middle of 
 this grassy waste we were caught up by a caravan of 
 twenty ponies, laden with bamboo hats, on their way 
 from Kuei-yang to Yun-nan Fu. They were strong, 
 hardy little animals, game to the very last. Each had 
 a load of three hundred and sixty hats ; and I found, 
 when I afterwards saw them turned loose to graze, 
 that not one had a whole back. One poor beast was a 
 pitiful sight ; it had a sore at least a foot long, and 
 down almost to its ribs. The flies, attracted by the 
 smell in a temperature of 90° F., rendered its life miser- 
 able, and I offered to buy it at a reasonable price and 
 put it out of agony, but the owner was devoid of the 
 least spark of humanity and would not listen to my 
 entreaties. He even grumbled loudly when I made 
 him take off half the load and distribute it amongst 
 the others. The greed of the ordinary Chinese leaves 
 little room for kindness to man's humbler assistants. 
 An instance occurs to me at the moment. I once 
 visited the Great Wall, and, as visitors do, hired a 
 donkey to carry me up the rough Nan-k'ou Pass. I 
 had not jDroceeded far when a horrid stench assailed 
 my nostrils ; its continuance baffled me until a sudden 
 lurch of the saddle revealed a sickening sight. Need- 
 less to say, I walked the rest of the way. 
 
 Towards the western end of the grassy upland, the 
 fir and the oak are dotted about and relieve the mono- 
 tony of the barren undulations, which are succeeded by 
 a coal-producing valley and two mountain ranges follow- 
 ing closely on each other, being separated by only a few
 
 THE YUN-NAN FRONTIER. 45 
 
 rice fields. The village of Kuan-tzd-yao, which lies 
 behind the ranges, marks the boundary of the bare, 
 uncultivated hills, A reddish tilled soil now covers 
 immense carboniferous deposits. If my reader is as 
 tired of hearing of these uninteresting mountain ranges 
 as I was in crossing them, he will be relieved to know 
 that the plateau of Yun-nan will soon be reached. 
 
 A journey of three days and a half from Kuan-tzu- 
 yao along cultivated valleys, and including two more 
 ascents and descents, brought us early in the afternoon 
 of tlie 20th of May to the Yiin-nan frontier. Durino- 
 this time two new crops put in an apj^earance — buck- 
 wheat and oats. I saw, too, a new method of manurino- 
 the fields. For some days I had been puzzled to ac- 
 count for the peculiar growth of certain trees whose 
 branches were very short, and for which I could obtain 
 no satisfactory explanation ; but all at once I came 
 upon a peasant hacking off the branches, and another 
 ploughing them into the rice fields. A barren waste 
 leads up to the frontier town of Shen-ching-kuan, where 
 we were received with the usual Chinese salute of three 
 guns. Stopping for a rest, I discovered that the little 
 town possesses, besides its two memorial archways, 
 four stone lions, two facing Kuei-chow, with imitation 
 scales to represent the rainy character of that province, 
 and two facing west, with imitation scales and dust, 
 indicating the rainy as well as the windy reputation of 
 Yiin-nan. 
 
 My Ssu-ch'uan followers entertained a wholesome 
 dread of the latter province. For some days they had 
 been talking of the miseries that they would have to
 
 46 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 endure in the matter of food and lodging,'-, and they had 
 come to the conclusion that the only possible reason 
 that could have tempted me to travel in that remote 
 region was to chih Yiin-nan h'u, or partake of the bit- 
 terness of Yiin-nan. Often did they discuss, in my 
 hearing, the motive which led me to question every- 
 body and everything, and transfer the answers to my 
 note-book ; but all they seemed able to arrive at was 
 that I was not doing it for nothing. 
 
 The excitement of entering a new province raised 
 the spirits of my bearers, who hurried me along the red 
 sandy road, which slopes past several nullahs to a plain 
 only partly cultivated, because liable to inundation. 
 Could it be possible ? It seemed almost too good to be 
 true. Lumbering towards us came a couple of bullocks, 
 dragging an apology for a cart behind them. The faces 
 of my men were a study ; with one or two exceptions, 
 they had never seen this method of transport, and they 
 stood and gazed at this thing on wheels, which, proud 
 as they were of their province, was not in use among 
 their Ssu-ch'uan hills. Rude though the vehicle was, 
 it was a welcome innovation, for it presaged better 
 roads and a level country. Two low, thick wooden 
 wheels, joined together by a ponderous beam, supported 
 a small platform of planks encircled by a framework 
 about two feet in height, while a single short shaft 
 projected from the platform in front. 
 
 P'ing-i Hsien, the first district city across the Yiin- 
 nan frontier, is built on the south face of a low hill 
 overlooking an extensive well-watered plain, which was 
 covered with wheat, nigh unto harvest, and poppies.
 
 EXPLORING A CAVE. 47 
 
 It is a great wheat country, and the district is one of 
 the chief feeders of the provincial capital. Oats, too, 
 were growing on the hills which bound the plain on the 
 eastern side ; but there was a decided want of straw, 
 for the stalks had only shot a couple of inches above 
 ground. 
 
 Less than a mile beyond the city we came upon the 
 cave mentioned by Margary in his journal. Lighting 
 our lamps, we explored it for a few hundred yards in a 
 straight line, from its mouth to the point where it 
 branches off to the right. Li the far interior, huge 
 stalactites hun<'' from the roof. The utter silence of the 
 cavern, broken only by our stumbling over the rough 
 floor, and the weird appearance of the contorted lime- 
 stone lighted up by our dim lamps, did not tempt us to 
 tarry in the dank and cheerless atmosphere. It had 
 thundered and rained heavily over-night ; and, about a 
 mile and a half to the west of the cave, the high-road 
 was blocked by a deep, raging torrent, twenty yards in 
 breadth. My followers, always intent upon a rest, 
 advocated a return to P'ing-i, until the violence of the 
 torrent had abated ; but to this I would not listen. 
 Fortunately, a native of the place soon came upon the 
 scene, and mildly suggested that there was a path across 
 some hills farther east. Scouting the statement, they 
 clamoured all the more for a return to dry quarters. 
 Seeing, however, that he was in earnest, I resolved to 
 try the hills, and told my men to follow me or remain 
 where they were till able to ford the torrent. As tlie 
 rain increased in violence and the atmosphere became 
 sensibly colder, they agreed to accompany me, stating,
 
 48 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 at the same time, their firm conviction that we were 
 going on a fool's errand. The native proved to be right, 
 however, for we found an excellent pathway, and from 
 the ridge overlooking the other side of the plain I tried 
 to make out the raging stream that had just baffled us. 
 It was nowhere to be seen, and I soon learned that we 
 had already crossed it by a natural bridge, for it entered 
 a cavern only a few hundred yards from the high-road, 
 the entrance being concealed by a bend in the hills. 
 This adventure cost us our breakfast, as it was noon 
 ere we reached the first hamlet. These underground 
 rivers are very numerous in Kuei-chow and Yun-nan ; 
 the composition of the rocks, which are of lime and 
 sandstone, facilitates the drainage of the valleys and 
 plains, which would otherwise be converted into lakes. 
 
 In the hills to the west of the plain, coal is found 
 in abundance, the interstices in the walls of the houses 
 being frequently filled with black lumps instead of 
 stone. The villao-ers told us that snow falls in winter, 
 and that the climate is exceedingly cold. On the bare 
 treeless highlands beyond, potatoes, buckwheat, oats, 
 and a little poppy, were being cultivated. 
 
 As a rule, a Chinese has little to gain by show- 
 ing civility to a foreigner, be he official, merchant, 
 or missionary ; and courtesy, even of the barest de- 
 scription, is thoroughly appreciated in a land where 
 stone-throwing, mobbing, and threatening are too often 
 indulged in with impunity. The marked attention paid 
 to us at Pai-shui, the end of the first sta^-e from P'incr-i 
 Hsien, was a very pleasant surprise. The small local 
 officials, with an escort, met me some miles from their
 
 THE TRANSPORTATION OF COPPER. 49 
 
 village, and hurried on to receive me at the gate. A 
 Taotai, who had been travelling in my company on his 
 way to Western Yiin-nan, and with whom I had after- 
 wards a pleasant chat about those terrible Kuei-chow 
 roads and our struggles to get the best inns, had just 
 preceded me, and taken up his quarters in the official 
 rest-house ; but a comfortable room was quickly pro- 
 cured for me, the authorities, much against my will, hav- 
 ing gone the length of ejecting a number of occupiers. 
 As we left early next morning, the authorities awaited 
 us at the opposite gate of their once-walled village, to 
 speed us on our way. It would greatly lessen the 
 misery of travelling in China if such courtesy were 
 more frequently forthcoming. 
 
 The people in the neighbourhood of Pai-shui are 
 very much afflicted with goitre, especially the women, 
 and the idea is prevalent among them that the impuri- 
 ties contained in the salt wliich they consume is the 
 cause of the malady. Here we came across a consign- 
 ment of red copper for the metropolis, transported on 
 the backs of nearly four hundred mules and ponies from 
 the mines of Tung-ch'uan Fu to Pe-s6 T'ing, the head 
 of navigation of the West Kiver, in the province of 
 K\vaDO"-si. It seemed a roundabout Avay of sending 
 copper north, but I was informed that on one occasion, 
 when shipments used to be despatched by way of the 
 Yansr-tsze, a erreat storm arose and overwhelmed more 
 than a hundred junks and their cargoes. I heard after- 
 wards that peculation had probably more to do with 
 tlie loss than a storm. 
 
 The city of Chan-i Chou, fifteen miles to the west 
 
 D
 
 50 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 of Pai-shui, lies in the north of an immense plain, 
 famous throiichoiit Western China as the breedinnr 
 ground of the sturdy Yun-nan pony. Brood mares and 
 their foals were grazing on the large grass fields, whicli 
 occupied no mean part of the plain. A stream, spanned 
 ])j a good three-arched stone bridge, flows south past 
 the east gate of the city on its way to join the northern 
 branch of the West Kiver. It w^as at one time a section 
 of the route by which lead was carried from the north 
 of Ylin-nan to Tonquin. Consignments were conveyed 
 by boat from Chan-i Chou to Ma-kai, a place fifty miles 
 to the south, and thence overland to Meng-tzu Hsien, 
 on the head waters of the Song-koi, now the residence 
 of a French Consul. 
 
 Rain descended in torrents during the night of our 
 stay in Chan-i, and the dawn of the 23rd of May was 
 not accompanied by the usual movements and noises 
 that betokened an early start. On the contrary, I was 
 soon waited upon by a deputation, which begged me, 
 on account of the rains, to defer my departure for a day ; 
 but the fact that I was almost in the presence of my 
 goal compelled me to resist their demand. After two 
 hours spent in arguing, we trooped sullenly out of the 
 city. The plain, which on the previous afternoon was 
 bright with its golden crops of wheat and barley, was 
 now cold and cheerless ; the road was one mass of mud 
 in which we sank to the knees ; a great part of the 
 surrounding country was under water ; and tlie rain 
 fell in sheets. 
 
 The hamlets in the neighbourhood were poor in the 
 extreme. Stopping for breakfast, we borrowed a room
 
 QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY DINXER. 51 
 
 and despatched a youngster to forage for a table and 
 eggs. The way in which these people live is astound- 
 ing : they occupy rooms begrimed with smoke — chim- 
 neys are considered superfluous — willingly sharing them 
 with dogs, pigs, fowls, and insect pests. 
 
 The unceasing downpour obliged us to abandon the 
 idea of completing a day's stage, which we broke at the 
 market town of Mien-tien, having accomplished only 
 twelve miles, or half the distance necessary to ensure 
 decent accommodation. We were quartered in a loft 
 over a stable, where a dozen ponies, unable like our- 
 selves to proceed farther, were installed. 
 
 As the morrow was the anniversary of Her Majesty's 
 Birthday, I determined to secure a good dinner for the 
 occasion ; my tinned provisions had long since given 
 out, and I was entirely dejjendent on local supplies. I 
 succeeded in purchasing a fowl and a i'ew potatoes, 
 which we carried with us over the plain of yellow-ochre 
 soil which lies between Chan-i and Ma-lung Chou. 
 
 At the latter city, I experienced very considerable 
 civility at the hands of the chief civil official, who jmid 
 me a visit, and, being a native of Ch'ung-k'ing, plied 
 me with many questions regarding his Ssu-ch'uan home. 
 He also added considerably to our larder, which was 
 now in a very prosperous conehtion indeed. He com- 
 plained of the poverty of his jurisdiction, stating that 
 the people over whom he ruled were nearly all poor 
 immigrants from Ssu-ch'uan, who, owing to the barren- 
 ness of the soil, could hardly earn enough to keep 
 clothes on their backs. 
 
 We halted for the niixht at a hamlet ten miles from
 
 52 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 Ma-liinf, where we secured a single room for our whole 
 party. After I had had a corner of it partitioned off 
 by a mat, the cooking of the dinner commenced ; but, 
 there being no chinmey, the interior soon became so 
 thick as to necessitate a removal into the fresh air. 
 A table was brought and placed outside a back door, 
 and the meal spread under Heaven's starry vault. 
 Here my little dog and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves ; 
 and even now, after the lapse of some years, I have 
 very pleasant memories of that sumptuous dinner, pro- 
 bably because I took special care in the catering. If 
 there is a bitterness in the memory, it is that the little, 
 fearless, faithful, intelligent, amusing sharer of that 
 repast, the companion of all my travels, is no more. 
 
 The inquisitiveness of the Chinese is hard to bear 
 with equanimity. I sat down to breakfast the following 
 mornino- in what I took to be an uninhabited house, for 
 it consisted of two gables and a roof without a stick of 
 furniture. The necessary chair and table we had, as 
 usual, borrowed. No sooner was the cloth spread, than 
 all the goitred old women of the village trooped in, 
 each carrying a tub of old garments steeped in water, 
 and proceeded in the most matter of fact way to wash. 
 The splashing and watching were endurable ; but when 
 one of them proceeded to light a fire on the floor, I felt 
 that we had reached the last straw, and bundled them 
 out without ceremony, tubs and all. They looked upon 
 the climax as a good joke. 
 
 Following the road over weary red highlands only 
 partly cultivated, we sighted, on the afternoon of the 
 2Gth of May, a large sheet of water, which, as we ap-
 
 A GLORIOUS VIEW. 53 
 
 proached, we found to be swarming with wild duck. At 
 Yang-lin, which is built on the south-western margin of 
 the Sung-ming Lake, w^e occupied a room in a ne\\' inn, 
 and were reofaled with excellent fish from the clear 
 water we had just passed. How easy it is for a Chinese 
 official to show his contempt for a foreigner. On the 
 way to Yang-lin, I was jDrovided with an escort in the 
 shape of a small boy of thirteen, wearing a sword nearly 
 as long as himself, who turned out to be fonder of bird- 
 nesting than of affording protection and assistance ! 
 
 A broad stone road, in excellent repair, leads from 
 Yang-lin to the rim of the plain in which lies the capital 
 of Yun-nan. Half-way we caught a glimpse of a lake 
 to the south-west ; but it was not till the rim was 
 reached that the glorious expanse of water, backed by 
 a mountain range, burst upon our view. The city itself 
 was still concealed by the north-eastern continuation of 
 the rim, which juts into the plain, dotted with houses 
 and trees. Yun-nan Fu lies near the northern shore 
 of the Lake ; and, after descending the low rim, we 
 Ibllowed the road westward for a short distance, then 
 turned due north, and, after a couple of miles, struck 
 the south-eastern corner of the wall. No escort met 
 us ; no attention was paid to us, beyond a demand for 
 iiiy card, as we entered the south gate.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THROUGH NORTH-EASTERN YUN-NAN TO THE 
 YANG-TSZE. 
 
 The city of Yiin-nan Fu — P'u-erh tea — Opium-smoking chair-bearers and 
 personal care — Exposure of robbers' heads— Chinese school — Rainbow 
 superstition — Entertainment at Tung-ch'uan Fu — A successful ruse — 
 Stojiped by a mountain torrent — Lodged in a bjTC - On the banks of 
 the Niu-lan River— The Chao-t'ung plain and its lakes — Stories of 
 Lolo bloodshed —Down from the plain — Narrow escape of a porter — 
 Back to Ssii-ch'uan — Descent of the Nan-kuang River — Down the 
 Yang-tsze to Ch'ung-k'ing. 
 
 Yiin-nan Fu is a walled city, over three miles in 
 circuit, 6420 feet above the level of the sea and at a 
 short distance from the north-eastern shore of the lake, 
 with which it was formerly connected by a canal. The 
 southern half of the square is thickly populated, while 
 the northern half consists of swamp and vegetable gar- 
 dens. The city was shorn of its ancient glory by the 
 outbreak of the Mohammedan rebellion, which raged 
 for years round it and in the northern part of the pro- 
 vince. The old and extensive suburbs are gradually 
 being rebuilt from their ruins. Outside the south gate 
 (there are six gates) there is now a long street of 
 
 54
 
 COURTESY OF MISSIOXARIES. 55 
 
 depots for the salt, which comes from the wells to the 
 north-west. The city itself is kept decidedly clean ; 
 bullock carts daily go round and collect the garbage 
 from the streets, which are fairly broad for a Chinese 
 town. What strikes the traveller most, in passing 
 through these streets thronged with well-dressed and 
 evidently well-to-do foot-passengers, is the large ad- 
 mixture of non-Chinese features. Here Mohammed- 
 ans, Chinese, Shans, and Lolos, and mixtures of these 
 races, jostle each other in the market place and in the 
 daily business of the world. 
 
 During my two days' stay in the city, I received 
 every possible kindness at the hands of the members of 
 the two missionary bodies at work there — Les Missions 
 Etraiii-cres de Paris and the China Inland Mission. At 
 the handsome palace of the French Bishop, I met a 
 Father from Ta-li Fu, who gave me such a glowing 
 account of Western Yun-nan, that I at once made up 
 my mind to visit that part of the province on a future 
 occasion, a resolution which I was fortunately able to 
 carry out. 
 
 The good Bishop handed me a letter which he had 
 just received from Mr. Colquhoun, from P'u-erh Fu, 
 stating that his funds were all but exhausted, ami 
 requesting a loan to enable him to proceed from Ta-li, 
 whither he was bound, to Bhamo. I at once arranged 
 with the Bishop to despatch a messenger with sixty 
 taels of silver ; but Mr. Colquhoun succeeded in obtain- 
 ing funds from the China Inland Mission at Ta-li, and, 
 ere my messenger reached that city, he and his com- 
 panion, Mr. Wahal), had left on their westward journey.
 
 56 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 To speak of Yiin-nan Fu without a reference to the 
 famous tea, for which it is the entrepot, would be a 
 serious omission. P'u-6rh tea, so named from the 
 department in which it is widely grown, is the leaf of 
 the Camellia thea Link., and for purposes of transit is 
 steamed and made up into cakes, which find their way 
 to the remotest parts of the Empire. Much of the leaf, 
 however, is brought to the city of P'u-erh from the 
 Shan States, beyond the southern frontier of Yiin-nan. 
 It varies in price, according to quality, from tenpence 
 to one shilling and fivepence a pound ; but the cost of 
 overland transit is so great as to virtually exclude it 
 from the foreign market. 
 
 The lake, known in books as the Tien Ch'ih, and 
 colloquially as the K'un-ming — the name of the district 
 in which the city of Yiin-nan is situated — is a fine 
 expanse of water, said to be seventy miles long, and in 
 some places to attain a breadth of twenty miles. These 
 figures are, however, very much exaggerated. The lake 
 drains into the Yano^-tsze, an artificial channel havino* 
 been cut, to prevent flooding, from a point on its south- 
 western shore to the river which flows past xln-ning 
 Chow, a city to the west of the provincial capital 
 Junks and passenger boats of fair size navigate the lake 
 between the cities and villaofes that lie on and near its 
 shores. In 1883 it was my own fate to be a j^assenger 
 on its waters. 
 
 At Yiin-nan Fu a number of trade routes convero-e 
 and connect it with the Yano^-tsze, Burmah, the Sono"- 
 koi, and the West River ; but I will not dwell upon 
 them now. They will be found discussed at some
 
 A PRUDENT CHAIR-DEARER. 57 
 
 length in Chapter XIL, which is specially devoted to 
 the trade of Western and South- Western China. 
 
 I had now reached the place which I had fixed upon 
 as my farthest point, and, having attained the object of 
 my journey, I resolved to strike the Yang-tsze at Hsii- 
 chou Fu, following in the main the route traversed six 
 years before by the Grosvenor Mission on its way to 
 Yun-nan Fu to enquire into the death of Margary. 
 With an au revoir to the city on the morning of the 
 31st of May, we began to retrace our steps to Yang-lin, 
 where the Kuei-yang and Hsli-chou roads to Yiin-nan 
 Fu meet. For some days previous to our arrival in the 
 provincial capital, rain had considerably interfered with 
 our progress, nor, when we proceeded to return to 
 Yang-lin, did the province belie its reputation. 
 
 It was during one of these downpours that an inci- 
 dent occurred which deserves a passing notice. Several 
 of my followers were opium smokers, and one of my 
 bearers had contracted a great craving for the drug. 
 He was somewhat disreputable in appearance, but a 
 willing worker. His baggage consisted of the clothes 
 on his back and a small bundle, containing his opium 
 pipe and the necessary paraphernalia for smoking. 1 
 observed when leavincr Yiln-nan Fu that the bundle 
 
 o 
 
 had assumed larger dimensions ; but certain specula- 
 tions which I had made as to its contents were soon 
 proved to be erroneous and altogether wide of the 
 mark. 
 
 A few miles to the west of Yang-hn, a halt was 
 called for a rest and the cakes on a roadside stall were 
 quickly bought up and devoured. Sitting apai't on the
 
 5S THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 edire of the stone road the oi)ium smoker thus addressed 
 another of my bearers : — " How is it that you are all 
 eating and drinking, and I haven't a single cash to 
 follow your example ? " The other put his thumb to 
 his mouth and, pretending to inhale, pronounced the 
 single word " Opium," at which the smoker smiled and 
 was silent. Next day we were suddenly overtaken by 
 a sharp rainstorm, and, when the other bearers were 
 searching for shelter, the smoker solemnly produced his 
 bundle and, gravely undoing the cover, unfolded and 
 donned a first-class waterproof coat which he had wisely 
 purchased in the capital. The astonishment visible on 
 their faces, and the look of triumph in which the 
 smoker indulged, were a study. The latter, notwith- 
 standing his misfortune, had more respect for his back 
 than his belly. 
 
 An immense plain, beautifully irrigated, stretches 
 north from Yang-lin ; and, as we passed through it 
 northwards on the 2nd of June, it was teeming with 
 life. The numerous villages, nestling among trees 
 which dot the plain, had sent forth their able-bodied 
 men and women to pluck up the paddy shoots from the 
 nurseries, make them into bundles, and carry them 
 to the submerged rice-fields, where they were being 
 planted out in rows. Truly a happy, sunny picture. 
 Not cloudless, however ; for what are those high up- 
 right posts with balance beams near their tops, which 
 occur at somewhat regular intervals along the plain ? 
 They are intended for suspending cages containing the 
 heads of highwaymen, who waylay travellers and trad- 
 ers and rob and murder without mercy. Nor were
 
 INSECURITY AND DISTRUST. 59 
 
 the cages all empty. Two ghastly heads adorned the 
 entrance to the village, which sheltered us at the end 
 of tlie first stao^e from Yanof-lin. 
 
 In the northern part of the plain, which is stony 
 and unsuitable for rice and which ultimatel}'' merges in 
 the red-soiled uplands already so familiar in the west 
 of Kuei-chow and the east of Yun-nan, the potato was 
 growing abundantly between rows of withered poppy 
 stems. Yellow wheat and barley were being plucked 
 up by the roots, for not even the sickle was here in use. 
 Patches of buckwheat and oats completed the culti- 
 vation. Much of the land, however, was covered with 
 wild grass, on which herds of swine, goats, sheep, 
 ponies, and oxen were feeding. The whole country, 
 from the immediate north of Yang-lin to the southern 
 edge of the large plain, wherein lies the prefectural city 
 of Tung-ch'uan Fu, may be described as a series of 
 valleys barred by red uplands, mountain ranges stretch- 
 ing away to the west to the Yang-tsze and the home 
 of the Lolo. The road is frequently the bed of a 
 mountain torrent, which has to be crossed and re- 
 crossed many times a day. 
 
 The people along the route seemed to entertain the 
 greatest distrust of us ; small wonder, when robberies 
 are of sucli frequent occurrence. They even refused us 
 house-room for our meals, which liad often to be spread 
 in the shade of a pine tree. At one village we bor- 
 rowed the public school-room, an act which, I fear, 
 gave a half-holiday to tlie scholars who, five in numl)er, 
 divided their attention for a time between writing 
 their characters and watching the froHcs of my dog.
 
 6o TIIRF.E YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 Tlic mastor liimsulf" disappeared, and the scholars were 
 not slow to follow his example, each, however, prepara- 
 tory to leaving'-, carefully depositing his books, paper, 
 pens, and ink in his own basket hanging from a bamboo 
 partition in the room. A sixth basket was for the 
 discarded written characters. 
 
 It was just before entering this village that I was 
 witness of a curious superstition. We were caught in 
 a drizzle, and, as the shower clouds with a vivid rain- 
 bow approached us, my followers covered their mouths 
 with their hats, fearful of the poisonous vapour which, 
 they saidj are given forth by rainbows. I laughed at 
 their superstition, and, as luck would have it, was 
 seized, a few hundred yards beyond, with a sudden fit 
 of vomiting. I received no sympathy, and my sickness 
 gave strength to their theory. 
 
 The city of Tung-ch'uan lies five miles from the 
 edge of the j^lain, down the west of which, through one 
 of the most fertile fields of Western China, flows the 
 I-li E-iver on its way to join the Yang-tsze. The plain 
 was one mass of green tints, from the light green of the 
 paddy in the nurseries to the dark green of the more 
 matured shoots in the fields. The town, which is 
 nearly eight hundred feet above the Yiin-nan Fu plain, 
 is not at all imposing, consisting, as it does, of one 
 main street ; but the hills to the west impart to it its 
 reputation of being one of the wealthiest prefectures of 
 the province. They contain the most celebrated copper 
 mines in the Empire. 
 
 A French Father, who resided here, welcomed me as 
 if I had been a compatriot, and insisted on ray spend-
 
 A SUCCESSFUL RUSE. 6i 
 
 ing the whole of the 8th of June in his company. He 
 had a regular battery of rifles and fowling pieces, and 
 turned out to be a keen sportsman. He had a stable 
 of two splendid ponies, on whose backs we spent near- 
 ly the whole day careering through the Tung-ch'uan 
 plain. None but those who have spent years in soli- 
 tude in a stranofe land can realize what it is to meet a 
 fellow European. China was entirely forgotten in the 
 discussions of French and British politics, and it Avas 
 with the greatest difficulty that I could tear myself 
 away from his kind hospitality on the following morn- 
 ing. All honour to men of surpassing ability who give 
 up their lives for heart-breaking work in China ! 
 
 On entering the hills which bound the Tung-ch'uan 
 plain on the north, and which were almost devoid of 
 human habitations, we were overtaken by a rainstorm, 
 which continued throughout the day, and compelled us 
 to abandon the hope of reaching the end of the stage 
 that niofht. The road was soon reduced to a mass of 
 pulp, bordering yawning chasms, whose circumvention 
 by chairs was a source of difficulty and delay. The 
 roof of the room in which we huddled together, in the 
 wretched hamlet of Pan-pien-ch'ing, leaked at every 
 tile, and necessitated the erection of a tent with our 
 india-rubber sheeting. My troubles were only begin- 
 ning, however, for, the rain still continuing on the 
 following morning, my men refused to stir. My appeal 
 that they were daily nearing Ssu-ch'uan, and that they 
 had just rested a whole day in Tung-ch'uau, moved 
 them not ; and, seeing that the limit of concessions for 
 their convenience had been reached, I took up the
 
 G2 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 small iron box containing my supply of silver, and, 
 calling my dog, set out alone. Plodding through a 
 shallow mountain torrent, which now occupied the 
 valley, I proceeded until I was out of sight of the 
 hamlet, when I sat down upon a rock to wait the issue 
 of events. The ruse was thoroughly successful ; in half 
 an hour the whole caravan turned up in the sullenest 
 of tempers. 
 
 As luck would have it, our difficulties were just 
 beginning. The torrent was soon blocked by hills, its 
 waters obliterated the high-road, and we had to take to 
 the hills on the left before it could be regained. We 
 had not proceeded a mile, after a late breakfast, when 
 we found the road effectually cut off by a raging 
 torrent thirty yards in breadth and reaching above the 
 waist. A whole hour was wasted in trying to find a 
 shallow crossing-, but in vain. The villaofe of" Natural 
 Bridge" (what a mockery !) lay on the left bank, and 
 we called in eight of its most able-bodied to strip and 
 assist in carrying our chairs across. 
 
 The sensation of fording was not a pleasant one. 
 Twelve men with hands joined shouldered my chair, 
 which rocked about like a boat in a stormy sea, now up, 
 now down, as this or that man was washed off his feet. 
 One of my servant's bearers was carried away for a 
 distance of thirty yards, and was ultimately rescued 
 more dead than alive by a cordon of men from the 
 opposite bank. Several strings of cash which he had 
 round his neck acted as an anchor to his head, and it 
 w^as only when they disappeared in the current that he 
 was able to regain his footing. Another who attempted
 
 CHINESE HOSPITALITY. G3 
 
 to cross with the assistance of a pole had also to be 
 drag-ged ashore. 
 
 On a ridge five miles beyond is the hamlet of Liang- 
 shui-ching, which, as the name implies, is provided 
 with a splendid well of cold, clear water. Here the in- 
 habitants had turned the middle of the road into a 
 kitchen, where sundry messes were being cooked for 
 hungry wayfarers. Sitting round a stove, presided 
 over by a buxom young lady, my followers regained 
 their good humour in recounting the adventures of the 
 day ; and, when a complaint was raised because salt 
 was not forthcoming, the beauty laughingly told them 
 that travellers by this route did not care for salt ! 
 
 It is a trite but true saying, that misfortunes never 
 come singly. Owing to the numerous delays that had 
 occurred during the day, it was late in the afternoon 
 before we reached the hamlet of Shan-hu-shu, where, 
 notwithstanding its uninviting appearance, we found it 
 necessary to put up for the night. There was no inn, 
 and every room was already occupied by its legitimate 
 owners. The quest seemed hopeless when I stepped 
 into a mud hut of two rooms, one tenanted by a crowd 
 of natives, the other by a couple of cows and a pig. 
 After a considerable expenditure of argument and less 
 money, we induced the owners to remove and fraternize 
 with their cattle for the night, and hand over the byre 
 for our accommodation. The pig was the only one who 
 offered any serious objection ] his gruntings over-night 
 and attacks on the intervening door somewhat disturbed 
 our slumbers, while sundry squeals told me that my 
 men found his familiarities too pronounced.
 
 64 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 Trade had now begun to assume formidable dimen- 
 sions ; hundreds of ponies, mules, and donkeys, laden 
 with native cottons from the central provinces and salt 
 from SsLi-ch'uan, were daily hurrying southwards, while 
 P'u-6rh tea and lead kept us company. It was no great 
 surprise to us, when crossing the cultivated hills to 
 the north of Shan-hu-shu, to come upon carcases of 
 beasts of burden that had succumbed to the hardships 
 of the routa Strong as these little ponies are, there 
 comes a time when they are tried beyond their strength 
 by their merciless drivers, and fall down never to rise 
 again. 
 
 The delays that occurred during the first day north 
 of Tung-ch'uan, threw our marches into utter confusion ; 
 instead of striking the Niu-lan E-iver on the 11th June 
 and resting for the night on its left bank, we were com- 
 pelled by darkness to stop at the hamlet of Tu-ke- 
 t'ang, where I occupied an underground mud chamber, 
 certainly not an improvement on the byre of the previous 
 night. This was our consolation after a march of thirty 
 miles, beg-UQ at four o'clock in the morninof and continued 
 till dark. Part of the road was exceedingly precipitous, 
 and had to be accomplished on all fours. Loud were 
 the lamentations of my followers when we attained the 
 ridge overlooking the Niu-lan Kiver ; the road zig- 
 zagged down a deep precipitous valley strewn with huge 
 boulders, while opposite rose an equally steep range of 
 mountains, which had to be overcome during the day. 
 The Niu-lan rushed north-west, hurrying to the Yano-- 
 tsze between two steep mountain ranges, Avhich are 
 connected at the village of Chiang-ti, where we would
 
 CHAIN BRIDGE OVER THE XIU-LAN. 65 
 
 fain have tarried for the day and gazed into the 
 roaring torrent from the windows of a promising inn, 
 by the chain bridge of " Eternal Peace." Ten rows of 
 iron rods Hnked together are built into twenty yards of 
 solid masonry at either end of the bridge and into stone 
 piers, one distant twelve yards from the Chiang-ti, the 
 other twenty yards from the opposite shore, leaving a 
 central span of thirty-five yards. Planks placed on the 
 chains formed a roadway four yards in breadth, and 
 slight iron supports were suspended on either side from 
 a row of thick linked rods stretched over stone supports 
 erected on the piers. Thankful were we for the rest- 
 houses that dotted the opposite bank, which proved the 
 steepest and most difficult ascent we had yet en- 
 countered ; and grateful we were for the beverage 
 compounded of water and brown sugar exposed to allay 
 the thirst of weary wanderers. Talk of railways by 
 this route — as well talk of railways to the moon ! Both 
 are equally feasible. 
 
 To compensate man and beast for their struggles on 
 the banks of the Niu-lan, a spring of deliciously cold 
 water gushes from the highest ridge that separates the 
 river from the Chao-t'ung plain. It rises out of an ex- 
 tensive coal-field. Beyond the spring a glimpse of the 
 plain, with several sheets of water, is obtained, and 
 eagerly did we commence the descent, which is com- 
 paratively easy. The city of Chao-t'ung Fu, which is 
 6580 feet above the level of the sea, lies nearly twenty 
 miles from the southern edge of the plain, which ulti- 
 mately stretches westward and is bounded eight miles 
 to the north of the city by low hills. Flourishing
 
 66 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 villages dotted the plain, and the city itself showed 
 siirns of beins: a o-reat trade centre. Traffic was no 
 longer confined to man and beast, for the level ground 
 had called the cart into requisition. To reach the city 
 with greater despatch we engaged a number of small 
 skiffs and crossed a large lake — shallow, and, to judge 
 from dykes appearing here and there, occupying former 
 paddy land. These lakes are numerous, and well 
 stocked with fish. 
 
 The hills to the north of the plain are inhabited 
 chiefly by Lolos, who have not a very honourable repu- 
 tation. Stories of bloodshed and robbery committed by 
 them poured from the lips of the villagers who dwelt 
 by the roadside, and an idea that I entertained of 
 spending a day with this degenerate branch of the 
 tribe had to be abandoned. There would appear to be 
 some foundation for these roadside statements ; villages, 
 and even single residences, were provided with watch- 
 towers and refuges, and ammunition in the shape of 
 stones was piled on the battlements to resist attacks. 
 
 The descent from the Chao-t'ung plain commences 
 in earnest thirty miles to the north of the city. In 
 company with a caravan, consisting of one hundred 
 ponies laden with P'u-^rh tea and tin, we zigzagged 
 in a dense fog down the northern face of the plateau, 
 over a stone road, rendered all but impassable by over- 
 night rain. In many places it skirts deep chasms, down 
 which mountain torrents were leaping and roaring. On 
 the edge of one of these a carrier narrowly escaped de- 
 struction ; he lost his footing, and was just in the act of 
 falling over with his load, when I succeeded in grasping
 
 CITY OF TA-KUAN TING. 67 
 
 the end of his carrying pole and dragging him back to 
 the pathway. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 1 5th of June, we entered 
 the sub-prefectural city of Ta-kuan T'ing, which is 
 barely 3000 feet below the plateau. The tinkling of 
 many bells, issuing from the inns which we passed on 
 the way to our hostel, announced that several caravans 
 had already taken up their quarters for the night. 
 These bells are fixed in rows on broad leather straps, 
 which run over the necks and down the breasts of the 
 pack animals. In some caravans, only the leader is 
 provided with such a circlet. The head waters of the 
 Heng River, which we had struck soon after our steep 
 descent, flow northwards to the west of the city ; but, 
 the current being very rapid and the bed strewn with 
 boulders, navigation is out of the question. Another 
 descent of 2500 feet had to be made before boat traffic 
 commenced, the river meantime being considerably 
 augmented by an affluent from the west. 
 
 The road, which was execrable, follows the banks of 
 the river to the market- town of Lao-ya-t'an, or Lao- 
 wa-t'an, which lies on the right bank, and is the point 
 of junction of the two trade routes from Hsu-chou Fu, 
 in Ssti-ch'uan, to Yun-nan Fu, by way of the Heng and 
 Nan-kuang E-ivers, which enter the Yang-tsze, the one 
 to the west and the other to the east of the former 
 city, respectively. Lao-wa-t'an is entered over a fine 
 suspension bridge, the road following for about sixty 
 miles the left bank of the river through scenery of con- 
 siderable grandeur, resembling at some spots, tiiougli 
 on a less magnificent scale, the gorges of the mighty
 
 68 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 river it helps to swell. Four, instead of two, suspen- 
 sion chains divide the bridire into a like number of 
 alley-ways, each of sufficient breadth to admit of the 
 passage of a single chair only. As the Grosvenor Mis- 
 sion had followed the land route, by the banks of the 
 Hdng River from the Yang-tsze to Lao-wa-t'an, I re- 
 solved to strike east, cross the Yiin-nan-Ssu-ch'uan 
 fi'ontier and descend the Nan-kuang River. Only one 
 range now lay between us and Ssu-ch'uan, and from the 
 summit we looked north-east on rano^e after rano-e of 
 mountains, which, happily for us, we had not to cross. 
 My men, who for the last few days had been unable 
 to procure rice, and had subsisted for the most part on 
 bean-curd, rejoiced to find themselves in a valley of 
 their own province where paddy, maize, tobacco, hemp, 
 and beans were well advanced, where silk was beinof 
 reeled and tea-plantations abounded. A streamlet flows 
 north-east down the valley, and following its course for 
 two days, we found ourselves on the 24th of June in 
 the village of Huang-shui-k'ou, where we soon engaged 
 a long empty cargo boat ; and, shipping our whole cara- 
 van, sped down the Nan-kuang River. On its upper 
 course it is confined by rocky hills, some eight hundred 
 feet in height, and little wooded, while huge boulders 
 coop up its waters and cause numerous rapids, down 
 which our craft, guided by stern and bow sweeps, 
 dashed four and five feet at a bound. In its lower 
 course the country opens out, and the boulders and 
 rapids disappear. A bed of rocks, over which the river 
 falls, obstructs navigation within a few hundred yards 
 of its mouth, and we landed on the 25th at the market
 
 RETURN TO CH'USG KTXG. 69 
 
 town of Nan-kuang on its left bank, whence the river 
 derives its name. Had my followers known how to 
 cheer they would have made the welkin ring, when, 
 just beyond Nan-kuang, the mighty Yang-tsze in full 
 Hood burst upon us. For the present their work was 
 done ; and, instead of carrying, they were now to be 
 carried back to their homes in Ch'ung-k'ing. Crossing 
 in boats to Hsu-chou Fu, which lies on the north bank 
 at the junction of the Chin-sha Chiang — the up23er 
 waters of the Yang-tsze — and the Min river, we at 
 once proceeded to hire a large travelling boat, and at 
 1 P.M. the following day we were gliding eastwards to 
 Ch'ung-k'ing, which we reached on the evening of the 
 28th of June after an absence of sixty-eight days.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 FROM CH'UNG-K'ING TO THE CAPITAL OF SSU-CH'UAN. 
 
 Fu-t'ou-kuan — The country and its products — Chinese New Year — Char- 
 coal from bracken — Ramie fibre and grass-cloth — Down a tributary of 
 the T'o — The T'o and its commercial importance — The salt wells of 
 Tsu-hu-chins:— Sugar and Safiiower — The Cheng-tu plain — Beggars — 
 The capital of Ssti-ch'uan. 
 
 In February, 1883, I found myself at liberty to 
 carry out the resolution which I had made to visit Ta-li 
 Fu and the west of Yiin-nan — all that remained for me 
 to do was to decide what route I should follow. Mr. 
 Baber's admirable description of that part of Western 
 Ssu-ch'uan which he had explored, induced me to en- 
 deavour to penetrate Ylin-nan through the valley of 
 Chien-ch'ang, and accomplish the journey which Baron 
 von Richthofen had attempted, but, owing to an unfor- 
 tunate accident, had been compelled to relinquish. As 
 a preliminary to the execution of this scheme, it was 
 necessary to reach Cheng-tu, the capital of Ssu-ch'uan, 
 and the present chapter will be devoted to a description 
 of the products and industries of the country lying 
 between Ch'ung-k'ing and that city. 
 
 My caravan was, owing to the length of the pro-
 
 FU-T'OU KUAN. 71 
 
 posed journey, somewhat larger than on the previous 
 expedition. There was one pack animal which, how- 
 ever, succumbed to the hardships of the route. 
 
 The small walled town of Fu-t'ou-kuan, some four 
 miles to the west of Ch'ung-k'ing, is perched on the 
 sandstone shoulders of the peninsula which divides the 
 Yang-tsze from its northern tributary, the Chia-lincr. 
 Midway, and near the entrance to the village of Hsin- 
 p'ai-fang, is a large Mohammedan cemetery, sloping 
 towards the left bank of the Great Biver. In Ch'uno-- 
 
 o 
 
 k'ing, the followers of the Prophet are reckoned by 
 thousands, and it is to their presence that the foreign 
 resident owes one or two of the daily luxuries — in more 
 civilized parts of the world they would be called the 
 necessities — of life. With the exception of a spacious 
 temple, erected in honour of the Goddess of Sericulture, 
 with extensive grounds crowded with mulberry trees, 
 just inside the west gate, Fu-t'ou-kuan has little to 
 boast of in the way of architecture ; but outside the 
 gate a number of fine memorial stone portals arch the 
 roadway, which is also edged at short intervals with 
 stone tablets recounting the virtues of deceased officials, 
 and acts of filial atlection. 
 
 To the west of Fu-t'ou-kuan the country is some- 
 what broken ; low hills alternate with plains dotted 
 with farm-houses, nestling amid clumps of bamboo — a 
 proof that here at least there is security for life and 
 pro})erty. Nor are villages and market- towns wanting. 
 The latter frequently vie with walled cities in com- 
 mercial importance. In the plains, wheat, beans, rape, 
 poppy, and peas were growing luxuriantly, while many
 
 72 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 plots of paddy land were submerged In preparation for 
 the summer sowing. The hill-sides were also covered 
 with beans, which seem to thrive well on a scanty soil. 
 The low, umbrageous wood-oil tree was likewise scat- 
 tered thickly on the rocky ground. Beneath the huge, 
 dark-green, spreading banyans by the road-side, houses 
 and restaurants spring, mushroom-like, and invite the 
 traveller to tarry for a moment and enjoy their cool 
 shade. As pack animals are usually turned loose to for- 
 age for themselves, the peasantry, whose lands adjoin 
 the high-road, have hit upon a novel plan to prevent 
 their depredations. Wheat and beans were thickly 
 sprinkled with feathers, which, as might naturally be 
 supposed, are not a pleasant sauce. 
 
 For some days at the Chinese New Year, business 
 of every description comes to an absolute stand-still ; 
 houses and shops are shut, and in semi-darkness the 
 inmates eat, drink, and make merry. As we started 
 from Ch'ung-k'ing on the fourth day of the first moon 
 (February 11th), we found that the people were still 
 bent on pleasure, and that dice and theatrical perform- 
 ances were dividingf the attention of those who had 
 escaped from their New Year's imjDrisonment. 
 
 Althoug-h coal is found in abundance near the dis- 
 trict city of Yung-ch'uan — some sixty miles to the 
 south-west of Ch'ung-k'ing — I noticed in the streets 
 large quantities of charcoal, prepared from the stems of 
 bracken. These are placed in a pit and covered over, 
 so as to prevent blazing after ignition. 
 
 The district city of Jung-ch'ang Hsien lies on the 
 left bank of a tributary of the T'o River, which enters
 
 CHINESE CLOTH MAKERS. 73 
 
 the Yang-tsze at the city of Lu Chou. It is distant 
 forty miles west by north from Yung-ch'uan, and is 
 approached through the same broken hilly country. It 
 is famous for its breed of pigs, and is noted as a centre 
 for the manufacture of fans and grass-cloth. The bam- 
 boos, of which the framework of the fans is made, are 
 carefully cultivated along the banks of the river, while 
 the cloth is manufactured from Ramie fibre, Boehmeria 
 nivea, grown extensively in the district. The Chinese, 
 unlike the home manufacturers, have not yet been in- 
 flamed with the desire to possess machinery capable of 
 separating the fibre, and at the same time preserving 
 the silky gloss which adds so much to the beauty and 
 value of the cloth. Here it is entirely hand labour. 
 The stems are cut down in the fields and carried home 
 for manipulation. The skin or bark is first removed 
 from the stems by hand and the branches and leaves 
 from the bark, which is steeped for a few minutes in 
 water. The strips are then taken one by one by the 
 operator, who is provided with a thick broad iron 
 thumb ring on which a short blunt blade is fixed and 
 a curved knife equally blunt, and passed rapidly be- 
 tween the two blades, which are held in the left hand. 
 By this means the green or outer bark is removed and 
 the inner white fibre remains. The latter is afterwards 
 handed over to women, who shred and twist it into 
 thread ready for weaving. 
 
 The process of removing the bark from the stem has 
 reached a higher state of development in the seaboard 
 provinces, and merits the attention of cultivators in 
 other countries. In the province of Che-kiang, where
 
 74 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 I am now writing, decortication is effected in the field. 
 The workman grasps the plant between the finger and 
 thumb of his left hand, about six inches above the 
 ground, and drawing it slightly towards him, seizes it 
 two inches or more higher up, between the thumb and 
 forefinger of his right hand. A smart forward push 
 with the right at once causes a compounfl fracture of 
 the stem ; the forefinger of the right hand is inserted 
 at the point of fracture and drawn up to the top of the 
 plant, separating the bark on the left from the bark and 
 broken stem on the right ; the bark on the left is then 
 drawn down and is easily detached at the root, the 
 bark and stem on the right being treated in the same 
 manner. The stem is removed with ease, and the 
 branches and leaves give way when the strips of bark 
 are passed through the right hand. By this means a 
 much lonofer fibre is obtained, and the branches and 
 leaves remain on the field to assist in manuring the 
 second and third crops. Care must be taken not to 
 twist the plant in giving the forward push ; I spoiled 
 at least a dozen stems before I succeeded in causing 
 the necessary compound fracture. In Ch§-kiang, a flat 
 piece of wood takes the place of the blade on the thumb- 
 ring, and the curved knife is supplanted by an instru- 
 ment resembling a shoe-horn made of iron. The cloth, 
 after it leaves the loom, has to undergo a considerable 
 amount of bleaching, before it attains the beautiful 
 white colour which it presents in the piece. It is of 
 various qualities, and ranges from one pound to two 
 shillings and sixpence per piece of forty-six Chinese 
 feet long and eighteen inches broad.
 
 THE CITY OF LUNG-CH'AXG. 75 
 
 Instead of crossino- the handsome stone brido^e of 
 seven arches, the " Lion's Bridge," which spans the river 
 to the west of the city, we took boat and dropped west- 
 ward with the stream for a distance of five miles. The 
 river frequently expands to a breadth of one hundred 
 yards ; but even in the short space it bore us, rocks 
 project into it at two places from the left and right 
 bank respectively, leaving only a very narrow channel 
 just sufiicient for one of these small boats to pass. A 
 little above our landing place on the right bank, a 
 stone bridge of thirty-eight arches runs across the river, 
 rocks showing everywhere. The arches are very low — 
 only one is available for boat traffic — and we slipped 
 through with very little to spare between the roof of 
 the arch and the tops of our chairs. Excellent coal in 
 large quantities was being carried up river to Jung- 
 ch'ang. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 15th of February we en- 
 tered the city of Lung-ch'ang, which presented a picture 
 of business both outside and inside its walls. It is also 
 famed for its grass-cloth. It lies in the centre of a car- 
 boniferous region, about a hundred mines existing in 
 the neighbourhood. Many of them, however, have 
 suffered that fate which attaches to most minini{ Indus- 
 tries in China : they have been flooded, and the work- 
 men are not supplied with the necessary appliances 
 called pumps. 
 
 The immense salt traffic, which we met going east, 
 tempted us to leave the main road to the capital and 
 pay a visit to the celebrated salt wells of TzQ-liu-ching, 
 farther west. Two stages lay between us and the wells,
 
 76 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 and we spent the first night on the left bank of the T'o 
 River, probably the busiest stream of its size in West- 
 ern China. Rising to the north-east of the provincial 
 capital, it flows through the great sugar region of the 
 province, and to the south of the district city of Fu- 
 shun it is joined by a tributary which connects it with 
 the salt wells. In return for its salt and sugar, it ab- 
 sorbs enormous quantities of raw cotton and cotton 
 cloth, so that there is one continuous stream of traffic 
 on its waters. The sugar factories to the west of the 
 river were indeed merry ; the din that came from them 
 resembled very much the music from an iron foundry, 
 only louder. 
 
 On the following day we struck the left bank of the 
 tributary, took boat for a short distance, and again 
 landed on the left bank before ascending the low hill, 
 on the slope of which the town of Tzu-liu-ching is 
 built. 
 
 This great salt belt stretches west to the left bank 
 of the Min River and south towards the Yang-tsze. 
 In the She-hung district, a hundred miles to the north- 
 west, salt beds are also found and worked ; but it is 
 from the former that the greater parts of the provinces 
 of Ssu-ch'uan, Kuei-chow, and the north-east of Yiin- 
 nan are supplied. I spent a whole day in visiting the 
 larger wells, which are situated inside the town, and a 
 short description of one of the greatest industries of 
 Western China cannot fail to be of some interest. 
 
 When I had prevailed on the immense crowd that 
 accompanied me on my round of sight-seeing, to leave 
 an open space, so that I might be observed to greater
 
 SALT WELLS. 77 
 
 advantage, and that I might catch a glimpse of what I 
 had come so far to see, I found myself seated — a settle 
 had been procured for me — beside a square stone em- 
 bedded in the ground, with a central hole a few inches 
 in diameter. From the hole there was issuing a hempen 
 rope, about an inch thick, which, ascending, passed over 
 a movable wheel fixed at the top of a staging some 
 sixty feet high and bearing a striking resemblance to 
 the shears at a dockyard. On leaving the shears, the 
 rope descended and passed under another wheel fixed 
 a few feet above ground, whence for the moment it 
 escaped from our range of vision. After the lapse of a 
 quarter of an hour, the top of a tube, from nine to ten 
 inches in circumference, attached to the rope, made its 
 appearance and was drawn up to within a foot of the 
 wheel. Meantime a workman, stationed at the mouth 
 of the wheel, had thrown a rope round the tube, which 
 was composed of the stems of a number of bamboos fixed 
 together, and, immediately the lower end appeared, he 
 drew it to one side and over a wooden reservoir built 
 into the ground. Embracing the tube with his left 
 arm, he plunged an iron rod which he held in his right 
 hand into the bottom, and raising a leather valve, 
 which was there adjusted, allowed the contents, con- 
 sisting of black, dirty-looking water, to escape into the 
 reservoir. This was the brine. The tube was again 
 placed over the well, and descended with great raj:)idity. 
 Whence the motive power that raised tlie brine ? Fol- 
 lowing the rope after it left the second wheel, I found 
 that it entered a large shed, the floor of which was 
 several feet underground. In the centre of the building
 
 78 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 was an enormous bamboo wheel or drum, twelve feet In 
 height and sixty in circumference, placed on a vertical 
 axis, to which the rope was attached six feet from the 
 ground. As I entered, four huge water-buffaloes were 
 being harnessed, at equal distances, to the circumference 
 of the drum ; each buffalo had a driver, whose duty it 
 seemed to be to belabour the animal with a short, stout 
 hempen rope to induce it to break into a trot. As the 
 drum revolved, the rope coiled round it at a sufficient 
 height not to impede the buffaloes. For a quarter of 
 an hour, that is, until the tube had been again raised, 
 this unmerciful beating went on, when the poor beasts, 
 exhausted and white with froth, were unharnessed and 
 led back to their stable, whence a fresh relay was 
 brought. When the animals were unharnessed and the 
 signal given, the drum reversed with great velocity, 
 creating a violent wind all round. Forty animals were 
 employed at this well, and each relay raised the brine 
 about ten times every twenty-four hours. They are 
 specially selected for the work, and cost from forty to 
 fifty taels apiece. The specimens I saw were fat and 
 in excellent condition ; but, although they are carefully 
 fed and attended to — each costing three hundred cash 
 a day — their staying power does not exceed five years. 
 Many even fail within the first year ; nor is this to be 
 wondered at, for the make of the animal fits it for a 
 slow plodding life only. 
 
 Retracing my steps to the large reservoir by the 
 well, I found that the brine was being carried off in 
 bamboo pipos laid down between it and smaller wooden 
 reservok's in the evaporating sheds, which I next visited.
 
 PROCESS OF EVAPORATION. 79 
 
 On the floors of the latter, rows of brick furnaces with 
 round openings at the tops were built. On each fur- 
 nace rested a round, shallow, iron pan, about four feet 
 in diameter, filled with brine conducted in open bamboo 
 pipes from the reservoirs, which occupy one side of each 
 shed. Where was the fuel? Under each pan was 
 a flame blazing from a bamboo tube coated with lime 
 and fitted with an iron burner, while all round flames 
 burst from smaller upright tubes and lighted the sheds, 
 for there is no cessation, night or day, in the work of 
 evaporation. I was next conducted to the " fire- well " 
 whence the fuel is procured. It was quite close to the 
 brine well, and was carefully built over, bamboo tubes 
 covered with lime to prevent escape ramifying from 
 the cap covering the mouth to the evaporatino- sheds. 
 There can be little doubt that the " fire wells," which 
 are nearly all situated within the town, contain petro- 
 leum from which the vapour or gas arising supplies the 
 natural fuel. They have, however, never been worked 
 for the oil. The stench which permeates the whole 
 town reminds one forcibly of a gasworks, but the gas 
 has not, as in some parts of Ohio, been utilized to light 
 the streets. All the wells, which are worked by 
 private companies, are now under Government control, 
 and there is an office established at Tzti-liu-chinor 
 throujxh which all salt transactions are carried on. The 
 actual cost price of the salt is thirteen to fourteen cash 
 a catty, but the Government manages to extract from 
 buyers twenty- two to twenty- three cash. 
 
 The salt is of two kinds — pan or lump,- and granu- 
 lar salt. The former is from two to three inches in
 
 8o THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 thickness, and is of the same shape and size as the 
 evaporating pans. In preparing the latter, bean flour 
 is used to give it a whiter appearance. The work of 
 evaporation occupies from two to five days, according 
 to the strength of the gas-flame. As the salt wells 
 number over a thousand, and the " fire wells " only 
 about a score, much of the brine is carried into the 
 town for evaporation. Pans are leased by the year, 
 the privilege costing about forty taels each. A con- 
 tractor supplies the pans, which weigh 1600 lbs. apiece, 
 for from thirty to forty taels a year each — the old pans, 
 which are changed about once a fortnight, being the 
 property of the contractor. Brine is found at depths 
 varying from 700 to over 2000 feet, and from a dirty 
 yellow in the shallower, becomes a deep black in the 
 deepest wells. Twice as much salt is evaporated from 
 the black as from the yellow brine — the deeper the 
 well the stronger the solution. As the region in which 
 the wells are situated is of sandstone formation, the 
 difficulties of boring to these great depths, even with 
 primitive machinery, are not very great. A bamboo 
 iever is erected over the spot where the operations are 
 to be carried on ; an h:on jumper over one hundred 
 pounds in weight is attached by a bamboo rope to the 
 thin end of the lever ; on both sides of the thicker 
 end, scaflbldings with plankways are built ; several men 
 jump simultaneously from the planking on one side to 
 the plankmg on the other, using the lever as a step- 
 ping stone; and the jumper is raised, released, and 
 falls crushing the stone, a rotary motion being impart- 
 ed to the weight by a man who stands by the mouth
 
 THE WORKISG OF THE SALT WELLS. Si 
 
 of the well, and twists the bamboo rope as the lever 
 is about to drop. The rope is lengthened as required 
 by adding strips of split bamboo. I have heard doubts 
 expressed as to the depths of these wells ; but the 
 figures given are unim2:)eaehab]e. The well which I 
 visited was over 2000 feet in depth, and I arrived at 
 this result by a very simple calculation. The drum 
 was sixty feet in circumference, and thirty-four coils 
 of rope were wound up before the tube reached the 
 mouth of the well. In boring in the vicinity of the 
 town, at least, it is impossible to predict whether petro- 
 leum or brine will be struck ; but as both are valuable, 
 the result is always satisfactory. 
 
 The workmen presented a very worn and unhealthy 
 appearance, and, to judge from the alarming number of 
 beggars in the town, life at the wells must be very 
 trying and short. Their wages range from 1200 to 
 1300 cash per month, with board — not a large sum for 
 labour amid noxious gases which permeate the whole 
 place. 
 
 The history of this great industry is lost in an- 
 tiquity ; but salt is said to have been worked at Tzu- 
 liu-ching as early as the Minor Han Dynasty, which 
 was established in Ssu-ch'uan, a.d. 221-2G3. 
 
 We had found the inns on the main road compara- 
 tively comfortable ; on the brancli road to TzCi-liu-ching 
 we were confronted with wretched dens specially in- 
 tended for the accommodation of salt carriers. A bed- 
 room is easily described. A trestle framework, two feet 
 high, ran the length of the narrow cell ; on the top 
 was spread a straw mattress, an inch and a half thick,
 
 82 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 covered with a rush mat. During the day the bedding, 
 which consisted of a long bag padded with cotton, was 
 stowed in the office, and was not issued till payment of 
 the few cash necessary to ensure a night's lodging. 
 
 Daylight of the 19th of February found us marching 
 northwards to regain the high-road to the provincial 
 capital. On leaving the salt area the road winds round 
 low hills terraced and cultivated, each terrace rising 
 above the other and faced by a wall of dark, bare sand- 
 stone. So much did they resemble circular forts, that 
 one felt inclined to look for the embrasures and guns. 
 These rocks were, however, fast crumbling into soil, 
 their colour being easily distinguishable in the adjacent 
 fields amid the beans and peas springing up from the 
 old cane-brakes, and the rape and wheat which occupied 
 the rest of the arable land. Farther north the vellow 
 soil showed that liills had been entirely disintegrated 
 by the weather, assisted by the hoe. In other places 
 the hills were partly clad with stunted pines, while 
 clumps of bamboo and an occasional pumelo and banyan 
 were to be seen. The poppy was not at all prominent 
 — it prefers a heavier soil than sandstone. The 20th 
 of February broke dull, and by noon, when we struck 
 the right bank of the T'o River, opposite the city of 
 Tzii Chou, the day had fairly broken down ; and on a 
 vote being taken whether we should proceed or spend 
 the afternoon and night within the walls, my followers 
 to a man — just as I expected — preferred the latter 
 course. The river was of no great depth : a bamboo 
 proved sufficient to guide the movements of the small 
 boats in which we were ferried across.
 
 • SUGAR AXD SAFFLOIVER. .S3 
 
 Tzu Chou is an inviting city ; it possesses broad 
 streets of large, prosperous-looking shops, and its nu- 
 merous blue-brick houses give it an air of substantiality. 
 The district in whicli it is situated is a great producer of 
 sugar ; while the soil, being light and sandy, is likewise 
 favourable to the growth of the ground-nut, Aracliis 
 hypogoea L., whence a sweet cooking-oil is extracted. 
 Coal is also found in the immediate hills. The distance 
 from this city to the provincial capital is reckoned as 
 four stages ; but, although we succeeded in accomplish- 
 ing the first without mishap, rain and snow compelled 
 us to distribute the remainder over four days. Beyond 
 the weather, no other difficulty presented itself. The 
 sandstone country extends a little to the north of the 
 district city of Tz'u-yang Hsien, which, like Tzu Chou, 
 stands on the right bank of the T'o jRiver, whose course 
 the high-road follows in the main. Bare, red hills then 
 put in an appearance, and cultivation, except at their 
 bases, stops. This belt of hills extends for twenty-five 
 miles, when it gives place to a long, wide plain — the 
 plain of Chien Chou — famous for its opium. It is in- 
 terestin-^' to watch the effect which one foreign industry 
 has had on this remote spot. Previous to the intro- 
 duction of aniline dyes into China, the department of 
 Chien Chou was widely famed for its safflower, Cartha- 
 mus tinctorius L., which, with that grown within the 
 Shun-ching prefecture, not only sufficed to meet the 
 wants of the province, but was annually sent eastward 
 in large quantities. All is now changed. Saffiower hius 
 been sup})lanted by " Pure Soluble Scarlet " in bottle, 
 and the plain of Chien Chou has been converted into a
 
 84 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 poppy garden. The plant is still cultivated, but in 
 very small quantities and almost entirely for local use. 
 The plain, which was dotted with farm-houses and 
 homesteads peeping out from bamboos and cypresses, 
 runs due north and south. In the north lies the city 
 of Chien Chou, the approach to which is marked by 
 three pagodas, one of them thirteen storeys high. It 
 occupies the right bank of the river, which is joined to 
 the immediate north of the city by a tributary from the 
 west. Crossing the latter by a five-arched stone bridge, 
 we followed the main river through orange groves and 
 copses of bamboo and cypress, which would have met 
 with admiration but for a low thermometer, a piercing 
 north wind, and a drenching rain. A few salt wells to 
 the north of the city were being worked, charcoal being 
 the fuel used in evaporation. 
 
 Leaving the river we struck west by north through 
 the belt of low hills which separates the Chien Chou 
 and Ch'eng-tu plains. These hills are rocky and little 
 cultivated, the thin poor soil not holding out that in- 
 ducement which even a Chinese expects for his labour. 
 Snow was falling thickly when we reached the rim of 
 the immense plain — the plain pa?' excellence of the pro- 
 vince of Ssu-ch'uan — and the imperfect glimpses which 
 we cauo-ht throuo-h the snow-flakes revealed flooded 
 paddy-fields and the ordinary winter crops, the most 
 prominent of which was the poppy. Over fifteen miles 
 still separated us from the eastern wall of the city, but 
 we were fated, before reaching this centre of wealth 
 and luxury, to be reminded that riches and poverty 
 always go hand in hand. Under a memorial archway
 
 A STARTLIXG CONTRAST. 85 
 
 near the entrance of one of the market-towns in the 
 plain, lay a beggar stark and stiff. The yard of mat- 
 ting, which was the only clothing he possessed and 
 which covered his loins, had proved insufficient to 
 ward off the chill hand of death. A few yards off sat 
 some companions, listless shivering wretches, with faces 
 pinched and worn, outcasts from their kind. Hundreds 
 of beggars crowded the eastern suburb of the city, and 
 it was with difficulty that we pushed our way through 
 the mass of raofs and dirt that held the brido-e, which 
 spans the stream flowing southwards under the eastern 
 wall. They seemed to have just returned from the 
 public soup-kitchens, which open in the large towns of 
 China during winter, and dole out to the most necessi- 
 tous enough to keep them from actual starvation. 
 We had no sooner settled down in a comfortless inn 
 than the underlings of the various officials came to prey 
 upon us. They came laden with offers of assistance ; 
 they departed, each with a handful of cash, satisfied 
 that they had done their duty. We saw none of them 
 again — the key to peace and quietude was cheap at the 
 price. 
 
 Ch'eng-tu, the capital of the largest and probably 
 the richest province in the Empire, is a splendid city, 
 fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea, enclosed 
 by an excellent wall about twelve miles in cu'cum- 
 ference. It is the seat of a Viceroy, or Governor- 
 General, whose jurisdiction extends over the one pro- 
 vince only. With the exception of Chihli, it is the 
 only province in Ciiina which is thus honoured. Of 
 the other sixteen, each is entrusted to the care of a
 
 86 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 Governor ; but with the exception of Sliantunf^, which 
 has no superintending Viceroy, and of the three Pro- 
 vinces of Kiangsu, Kiangs^, and Anhui, which are 
 under one Viceroy, they are divided into groups 
 of two, with a Viceroy over each group. The city 
 is divided into two parts, the quarter occupied 
 by the Tartar garrison and their families, and the 
 Chinese or commercial quarter. It is without ex- 
 ception the finest city I have seen in China ; Peking 
 and Canton will not bear comparison with it. The 
 streets in the Chinese quarter are fairly broad, paved 
 with stone, and slope gently to either side. They were 
 clean and in excellent repair. During my two days' 
 sojourn I traversed many of the streets, and, notwith- 
 standing the fact that it rained heavily the whole time, 
 they were crowded with moving masses of bustling, 
 gaily-dressed, well-to-do people. Chairs with their 
 passengers and ponies with their riders were everywhere 
 on the move. But the prettiest sight of all was the 
 sionboards. The reader must bear in mind that these 
 are not placed horizontally over the shop doors as in 
 Europe ; they hang vertically from iron bars projecting 
 from the walls. In Ch'eng-tu they are one mass of gold 
 and colour, decorating the streets and proclaiming, at 
 the same time, the names of the shops — not the names 
 of the owners — and the wares on sale. It may be that 
 the unfortunate weather prevented me from seeing 
 anything prepossessing or attractive in the Tartar 
 quarter. Here the streets were broad, unpaved, and 
 muddy ; the people, especially the women, were badly, 
 even slovenly, dressed ; everything announced the pres-
 
 A FRESH START MEDITATED. 87 
 
 ence of parasites battening on Government pay, without 
 atlbrcling any adequate return. Much of the land in 
 this quarter, wliicii is thickly wooded, is devoted to 
 gardens ; but I should question whether these slip-shod, 
 doAvn-at-heel, lazy-looking Tartars possessed the energy 
 to grow suflScient vegetables to supplement their govern- 
 ment rice. 
 
 Ch'eng-tu derives considerable importance from be- 
 ing the meeting point of the great high-roads from the 
 Eastern and Northern provinces, from Yiin-nan and 
 Tibet, and it is undoubtedly the place whence the latter 
 may most easily be entered from the Chinese side. 
 
 My aim was now to reach Ta-li Fu, in Western 
 Yiin-nan, by way of Ya-chou Fu, the valley of Chien- 
 ch'ang or Ning-yuan, and Yung-pei T'ing. In under- 
 taking a long and arduous journey such as this, it might 
 have been more advisable to take boat to Chia-ting on 
 the Min River, or even as far as Ch'eng-tu, and then 
 start afresh ; but in that case I would have missed one 
 of the most interestinof sifrhts and industries of the 
 province — the salt wells of Tzii-liu-ching. My men 
 grumbled loudly because I declined to stay longer than 
 two days in Ch'eng-tu. Finding, how^ever, that I was 
 inexorable, they gave in, and on the morning of the 
 28th of February^ we were all ready to penetrate the 
 wilds and backwoods of Western China.
 
 CHAPTER YI 
 
 THROUGH LOLODOM AND THE VALLEY OF CHIEN-CHANG. 
 
 A Tibetau criniiual in a cage — The armed ruffians of Chiung Chou — A 
 floating bamboo bridge — Brick tea for Tibet — Fraternizing with Tibe- 
 tan pilgrims on the summit of the Flying Dragon Pass — Chinese 
 originality — Over the Ta Hsiang Ling Pass — A non-Chinese race — 
 Across the Ta-tu River under Sifan protection — In the country of the 
 Lolos — Lolo language — Sifan language — Asbestos cloth — A dangerous 
 country — Lolo rogues — Over the Hsiao Hsiang Ling Pass— Lolo 
 women — The valley of Chien-ch'ang — Ning-yuan Fu. 
 
 Leaving the city by the south gate and crossing 
 the bridge which spans the river flowing under the 
 wall, we proceeded south-west through the great plain 
 of Ch'eng-tu. Here there is a perfect network of limpid 
 streams and irrigating canals rushing swiftly south- 
 wards, and fitted with sluices to ensure the flooding of 
 the plots which in summer and autumn form one vast 
 rice-field. As might be expected, this water-power is 
 not allowed to run to waste ; tiny mills for hulling rice 
 and srrindino- wheat were to be seen on the banks of 
 many of the streamlets. Clumps of bamboo and plan- 
 tations of fir encircled the farm-houses, and a tree called 
 by the Chinese ching-mu — probably a species of beech
 
 A CAGED CRIMINAL. Sg 
 
 — grew extensively along the narrow waterways. It 
 is a tree of rapid growth ; it is allowed three years to 
 develop, when it is cut down for firewood and sup- 
 planted by a young sapling. The primitive Chinese 
 barrow was much in use in the plain for passenger and 
 other traffic, nor was the squeaking of the wheel absent. 
 
 To the south of the small district city of Shuang- 
 liu, we met a party of Tibetans clad in their long, red- 
 dish, woollen gowns. They were on foot, but each 
 was leading his pony by the bridle. A few hundred 
 yards behind them was a large, wooden, barred cage, 
 slung on a couple of carrying-poles supported by a pair 
 of bearers. In the chair sat an individual heavily 
 chained, and clothed in even a more pronounced red 
 than his guards. Although I was unable to get at the 
 details of the case, beyond the apparent fact that the 
 gentleman in irons was a criminal being escorted to 
 Ch'eng-tu, yet the method of conveyance told me that 
 he was a criminal of no ordinary type. 
 
 Cotton spinning and weaving and the manufacture 
 of looms and iron pans were the chief industries of the 
 plain. At many of the country villages the raw cot- 
 ton, which comes by water from the central provinces, 
 was being handed to the women, who brought in ex- 
 change yarn and cotton cloth of their own spinning 
 and weaving. 
 
 Before entering the district city of Hsin-chiiig, 
 which lies about fifteen miles south by west of Shuang- 
 liu, we had to cross three branches of a river, a tribu- 
 tary of the Min, by wooden bridges of somewhat novel 
 construction. Stones in bamboo baskets were piled on
 
 go THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 both banks of the river, and on these the ends of the 
 bridges rested. On the stages supporting the floors, 
 similar baskets of stones were suspended, to keep them 
 from being washed away by tlie rapid current. Pigs' 
 bristles, which, the western farmer will be somewhat 
 surprised to learn, are highly prized as manure, formed 
 an important item of the trade seen on the plain. 
 
 From Hsin-ching the road runs west over a fine 
 level tract of country as far as the city of Chiung Chou. 
 I must confess that I felt considerable anxiety in ap- 
 proaching this place. Baron von Richthofen has drawn 
 a very dark picture of it. He says : — " All the men 
 * are armed with long knives and use them frequently in 
 ' their rows. I have passed few cities in China in which 
 ' I have suffered so much molestation from the people 
 ' as I did there ; and travellers should avoid making 
 ' night quarters there, as it was my lot to do. The city 
 'is large and overcrowded with people. They are 
 ' badly dressed, and have repulsive features." 
 
 It was with the view of ascertaining whether the 
 morals of the people of Chiung Chou had improved 
 since the Baron's visit, and to impress upon the inhabi- 
 tants, if necessary, the words of their sage Confucius, 
 who preached " How pleasant a thing it is to be able to 
 attract strangers from afar," that I resolved to spend 
 the nififht of the 1st of March within the walls. I was 
 quite prepared to be greeted by a population of armed 
 ruffians ; but, more fortunate than the Baron, I was 
 agreeably disappointed. The people were not more 
 curious than in other towns ; and, as for knives, I fail- 
 ed to see any except in the hands of innocent-looking
 
 CELESTIAL MEDICINES. 91 
 
 butchers. My writer, however, declared that he saw 
 one young fellow with a knife, but he explained that 
 only the young blades carry such dangerous weapons. 
 I did not observe any one particularly well dressed or 
 good looking, nor, on the other hand, did I see any one 
 with repulsive features. There were beggars and dirt 
 as a matter of course. What I did specially notice, how- 
 ever, was that the place had a very sleepy atmosphere ; 
 the whole street of shops, which strikes the main street 
 at right angles and leads to the south gate, remained 
 closed as we left the city early next morning. 
 
 Chiuno^ Chou lies on the south-western edor-e of the 
 Ch'6ng-tu plain. A fine stone bridge of fifteen arches 
 spans the river — the Nan Ho — which flows eastwards 
 to the south of the city. It is two hundred and fifty 
 yards long and twenty-four feet broad ; at either end 
 their is a stone archway, and on the centre stands a 
 pavilion, whence we caught a glimpse of snow-clad 
 mountains to the west. The piers of the bridge are 
 heavily buttressed. To the soutli of the river low up- 
 lands, well covered with pine, succeed the plain, and 
 stretch with two breaks of valleys, wherein lie the 
 market-town of Pai-chang-ch'ang, or Pai-chang-yi, and 
 the district city of Ming-shan, respectively, as far as 
 the left bank of the Ya Ho. In the Pai-chaiig valley 
 a stream flows north-east to join a larger aftiuent of the 
 Min Hiver. Here we met a number of carriers witli 
 medicines from Ylin-nan. The Chinese pharmacopoeia 
 is very comprehensive ; tigers' bones and deer's horns 
 are well-known celestial remedies, but dried armadillo 
 skins as a drug had hitherto escaped our ken. Bundles
 
 92 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 of rush wicks — tlie pith of the Juncus effusus L. — were 
 also going north in large quantities from the Ming- 
 shan district. The road west of Ch'6ng-tu was for the 
 most part unpaved, but to the south of Chiung Chou 
 boulders from the bed of the Nan Ho were laid in glo- 
 rious disorder on the pathway. Even for the Chinese 
 straw sandal they proved impracticable, and one of my 
 bearers slipped and fell forward on his carrying pole, one 
 of the brass spikes of which pierced his temple. Now, 
 thought I, had the time arrived to display my store of 
 foreign medicines, and I was looking forward to the 
 effect which an application of Friar's Balsam would 
 have on the patient and his comrades, when there was 
 a sudden call for tobacco. My pleadings to be allowed 
 to treat the case were in vain — a handful of cut tobacco 
 was placed over the w^ound, and all the assistance I 
 was permitted to give was the loan of my handkerchief 
 to bind the head and keep the narcotic in position. 
 
 From the low, rising ground to the west of Pai- 
 chang-ch'ang we obtained a good view of the country 
 beyond ; dark hills with a snow-clad range in their rear 
 lay before us. The white foamy crest of a huge billow 
 breaking on a darker sea would fairly represent the pic- 
 ture. The Chin-chi pass, two thousand feet above the 
 sea, divides the valley in which Ming-shan is situated 
 from the valley of the Ya Ho. The cultivated terraces 
 on the hill sides which bound the latter were built up 
 with rounded stones and baskets of shingle lying by 
 the left bank indicated that the valley is liable to in- 
 undation. We struck the river, which flows east, five 
 miles from Ya-chou Fu, the city on the riglit bank from
 
 BRICK TEA FOR TIBET. 
 
 93 
 
 which it derives its name. Crossing a tributary by a 
 wooden bridge of seven arches, we were soon face to 
 face with the main river, which we passed over by a 
 floating bridge, the first of its kind I had seen in China. 
 High cones of stones in baskets were piled on both 
 banks, and round these a huge cable of woven split 
 bamboo was wound ; bundles of bamboos firmly tied 
 together, about a foot apart, floated on the surface of the 
 water, each bundle being securely fastened to the cable 
 at its up-river end ; planks were spread on the bundles 
 to form a roadway ; and rails of bamboo ran along both 
 sides of the plankway. The city, which is picturesquely 
 situated on rising ground, has broad streets and pos- 
 sessed, what was indeed a luxury to us, a good inn. 
 It was altogether too tempting, and I determined to 
 take a day's rest, and make some enquiries as to the 
 trade in brick tea, of which it is the centre. 
 
 Within and on the borders of the prefecture of Ya- 
 chou, all the brick tea sent to Tibet is prepared. The 
 tea-growing districts, in their order of production, are 
 Jung-ching, Ya-an, and Ti'en-ch'uan Chou. Chiung 
 Chou produces least. On the Meng-shan Hills, which 
 lie within the Ming-shan district, a tea is grown exclu- 
 sively for use in the Imperial Palace, and is brouglit to 
 Ya-chou for transmission to Pekinof. The estimated 
 total value of the tea grown within the prefecture is 
 one milUon taels, while the duties collected were given 
 as forty thousand taels. The best tea is picked by liaiid 
 in the second moon ; the coarse tea is picked, or rather 
 cut — a knife is used for the piu'pose — during the tliird 
 moon, when leaves and twigs are indiscrimiiiatfly col-
 
 94 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CllISA. 
 
 lected. The growers sell to the tea hongs, fine leaf at 
 from four to five taels per picul (133 J lbs.), coarse leaf 
 at about 1*8 taels for the same quantity. Three quali- 
 ties of tea are prepared, known respectively as " Ku 
 yu," " Mao chien," and " Sui fang," the selling price 
 being two, one and a half, and one mace per catty. 
 Tlie leaf is steamed, and made up into long, narrow, flat 
 packages, having an inner casing of banana leaf, and an 
 outer casing of matting. A package of the finer tea 
 weighs eighteen catties, or twenty-four pounds, while a 
 package of tlie coarser tea frequently weighs only ten 
 catties, or thirteen and a third pounds. The standard 
 of sale at Ya-chou is the sum of fifty taels, the number 
 of packages that can be bought for this sum varying 
 according: to the state of the market. 
 
 The total value of the tea trade with Tibet amounts 
 in round numbers to between £150,000 and £200,000. 
 All this tea is carried on the backs of porters, piled on 
 a wooden framework which curves forward over the 
 head, and is thus conveyed I'rom Ya-chou to the town 
 of Ta-chien-lu, near the Tibetan frontier, the journey 
 usually occupying fifteen days. The number of pack- 
 ages in a load varies, of course, according to the quality 
 of the tea. I have counted as many as fourteen pack- 
 ao-es, but the average load contained from eight to 
 nine. The freight per package between the two places 
 was said to be three hundred cash, but as loads varied 
 as to the number of packages or bricks, and the bricks 
 themselves as to weight, there must be some more 
 satisfactory method of calculation in making payment. 
 Like the salt carriers in Kuei-chow, these porters,
 
 THE FLYING DRAGON PASS. 95 
 
 whom we counted by liundi'eds daily to the south of 
 Ya-chou, were wanting in leg, nothing beyond an 
 ordinary development being observable. During then- 
 arduous mountain journey they rest frequently and 
 lonf]f- 
 
 This tea differs altogether from the brick tea pre- 
 pared in the Ptussian tea hongs at Hankow. The latter 
 is manufactured from the dust and broken leaf of fine 
 teas into hard, solid bricks, or into thin, ridged cakes, 
 an infusion of which is exceedingly palatable. Tlie 
 Tibetans, on the other hand, eat the leaves churned up 
 with butter, not even a twio- beincr lost. 
 
 But the products of the prefecture are not confined 
 to tea ; two varieties of drugs are largely exported. 
 They are called IIou po and Huang lien. The former 
 is the bark of Magnolia hypoleuca, S. et Z, and the 
 latter consists of the rhizomes of Coptis feeta Wall. 
 The bark of the wild Magnolia being thicker, is pre- 
 ferred to the bark of the cultivated tree and fetches a 
 mucli higher price. Coal and iron are also mined and 
 worked. 
 
 We spent the greater part of the 5th of March 
 struo-crlino- in a dense mist alon^r the riirht bank of a 
 small tributary of the Ya Ho. A pass, called the 
 " Flying Dragon," 3580 feet above the sea, lies between 
 this and a larger tributary of the same river. A long 
 pull over a frightful road brought us to the summit, 
 where we sat down and made friends with a number of 
 Tibetans of both sexes, who were engaged in a pilgrim- 
 age to the sacred mountains of Western China. The 
 women were sturdy and good-looking, gaily ornamented
 
 96 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 with ear-rings and brooches, and liad none of that hfe- 
 lessness and insipidity which characterize their ahnond- 
 eyed sisters. No mock-modesty debarred them from 
 chaffing and laughing at my European features and 
 dress. Up the west side of the pass scrambled about 
 twenty ponies and mules, panting and blowing ; not 
 without sufficient cause, for they were carrying heavy 
 loads of copper from Ning-yuan, and, from Yun-nan, 
 the bark of a species of Hhamnus, which is used for 
 making a green dye. 
 
 Are the Chinese wanting in the faculty of invention? 
 It is well known that they will make an exact copy of 
 any pattern that may be supplied to them. A tailor 
 has been known to produce a new coat duly patched to 
 match the exemplar ; but the ability of the race to give 
 an original idea to the world has been hotly disputed. 
 I think the water-wheels of Kuei-chow, which I have 
 described in a previous chapter, are novel and ingenious, 
 and south of Ya-chou I saw the water-wheel turned to 
 two skilful and, at the same time, practical uses. A 
 part of the horizontal axle of the wheel was removed, 
 and an iron elbow inserted ; to the elbow a long iron 
 rod was attached by an eye ; to the lower end of the 
 rod was fixed a polisher, which, as the wheel revolved, 
 was drawn backwards and forwards over the surface of 
 a stone pillar being prepared for building purposes. On 
 exactly the same principle, except that the axle of the 
 wheel was vertical instead of horizontal, the rod was 
 made to blow a blacksmith's bellows. 
 
 Descending from the pass, we took up our head- 
 quarters for the night on the right bank of the Jung-
 
 TRUTH AT A DISCOUNT. 97 
 
 ching River, as this tributary of the Ya Ho is called. 
 Great excitement now beg^an to manifest itself amonrj 
 my followers. We were only a day's journey from the 
 foot of the Ta Hsiang Ling Pass, and carriers from Yiin- 
 nan, who came to our inn, were cramming them with 
 the difficulties that had to be surmounted. Snow, so 
 they said, was lying deep on the passes, and they had 
 only just managed to get through with their lives. 
 Chinese statements have invariably to be heavily dis- 
 counted, and the problem as to how far a Chinese be- 
 lieves his most intimate friend has been present with 
 me for many years, and still remains unsolved. Instead 
 of following the hill road along the right bank of the 
 river to the city of Jung-ching, we crossed to the left 
 bank by a ferry a few miles from our night's quarters, 
 and traversed a plain well watered and cultivated. 
 We saw one or two villages on the plain, but they 
 were miserable places, and scarcely a soul was visible 
 as we passed through them. Recrossing the stream 
 by a plank bridge, we soon caught sight of the low stone 
 walls of the city. The universal clanging of the black- 
 smith's anvil, loudly proclaimed the local industry. 
 Coal and iron are both found in the neicrhbourhood, 
 and agricultural implements, cooking pans, and cram- 
 poons were being hammered into shape. South of Jung- 
 ching the valley contracts, frequently leaving room for 
 the bed of the stream only, and the hills are more pre- 
 cipitous, rocky, and. uncultivated. They were not bare, 
 however, for the tea-tree was everywhere prominent. 
 
 The village of Huang-ni-p'u lies 1400 feet above the 
 city of Jung-ching, and 5G40 feet under the summit of
 
 98 THREE YEARS 7.V WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 the Ta Hsiang Ling, which was clad with snow. When 
 we awoke on the morning of the 7th of March, we found 
 the whole mountain enveloped in a thick mist, which 
 became denser as we ascended. When we reached the 
 Hsiao Kuan, or Lower Pass (4800 feet), the snow lay- 
 thick by the roadside ; but all around was buried in 
 white gloom. Huge icicles hung from rocks projecting 
 over the rugged path, and we frequently heard their 
 crashing as they fell, amid the din of roaring torrents, 
 into the depths below. As we ascended, the snow be- 
 came deeper, increasing from two to three inches above 
 the Lower Pass to a couple of feet. The pathway, 
 which skirts the edges of ravines and precipices, was 
 one continuous mass of slush, snow, and ice — higher 
 up, dry and crisp ; and, starting from Huang-ni-p'u at 
 half-past six in the morning, we stood on the summit 
 (9366 feet) at half-past two in the afternoon, having 
 indulged in two short intervals of rest. A stiff, north 
 wind was blowing over the ridge, and I overheard one 
 of the escort duly warning my followers that shouting 
 on the summit would most certainly provoke a storm. 
 For a time not a sound but that of our own footfalls on 
 the crisp snow broke the stillness of the gloomy scene. 
 It became monotonous, and, when I took to snowballing 
 my dog in sheer desperation, my laughter and his joyous 
 barking made them hurry down the southern face of 
 the Pass. 
 
 On leaving the clouds, we looked down into a plain 
 shut in by lofty ranges and broken by spurs bound- 
 ing ravines washed out by mountain torrents. On a 
 plateau in the plain, stands the district city of Ch'ing-
 
 A NO.\-CHL\ESE RACE. 9J 
 
 ch'i Hsien, nearly four thousand feet below the summit 
 of the Ta Hsiang Ling- Down the plain, which runs 
 ahnost due north and south, flows a stream, nurtured 
 by the melting snows on the surrounding peaks. Tlie 
 city is of no great siz3 ; but it is exceedingly interest- 
 ing, as being the junction where the main high-road 
 from Tibet to China and the road from Yiin-nan by tlie 
 Chien-ch'ang valley meet. Here we parted with the 
 brick-tea carriers, sorry that it was not our fortune to 
 accompany them to Ta-chien-lu, and attempt the coun- 
 try beyond that famous border town. From Ch'ing-ch'i 
 the road goes south, descending to the bases of the 
 precipitous mountain ranges hemming in a valley, which 
 expands and contracts, and is plentifully strewn with 
 stones and pebbles. Fifteen miles to the south of the 
 city, the road suddenly descends about two hundred 
 feet down into a wider valley. Far below us, we could 
 see the hamlet of Lung-tung, encircled by plots of yel- 
 low rape and green wheat and poppy — a real oasis in 
 the white stony valley. This descent leads not only 
 to a new country, but to a new race. 
 
 At Liuicr-tun<x I noticed a marked difference in the 
 features of the people, especially the women. The 
 faces were sharper and more pointed than the ordinary 
 Chinese type, while the foreheads v/ere exceedingly 
 prominent. There was an undoubted mixture of for- 
 eign, probably Si fan, blood. It is a peculiarity of all 
 these non-Chinese races that the women are the last 
 to abandon their national dress, and they cling with 
 tenacity to profuse decoration. The women of Lung- 
 tung backed up their facial distinction with a lavish 
 display of silver ornauients.
 
 loo THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 For some distance south of the hamlet there was 
 no attempt at cultivation in the stony wilderness ; 
 but gradually we found signs of stones having been 
 collected, patches of land dyked, and rivulets diverted 
 for irrigation purposes. Watercress was growing wild 
 in the limpid water. Trees, although not very numer- 
 ous, were not wanting ; the mulberry, orange, red-date, 
 and pear were to be seen. The orange was a tall tree, 
 bearing a small round fruit with a thick wrinkled skin, 
 which reminded me forcibly of a miniature " Buddha's 
 Hand " — Citrus sacrodactylus. Cotton in small quan- 
 tities was also growing in this valley. Many of the 
 houses were roofed with thin boards weiofhted with 
 stones, instead of the usual Chinese tiles, and the graves 
 were covered with mounds of rounded stones carefully 
 whitewashed. 
 
 The garrison town of Fu-lin, whence a bridle-path 
 leads over the mountains to Ta-chien-lu, lies at no 
 great distance from the left bank of the Ta-tu Hiver, 
 the southern boundary of the valley. In the imme- 
 diate neighbourhood of the town were a few cultivated 
 patches ; but agriculture, to judge from the precautions 
 taken ao-ainst inundation from the waters of the Liu- 
 sha, which was hurrying down the valley to join the 
 Ta-tu, would appear to be carried on under difficulties. 
 A line of white shingle, running east and west, backed 
 by rising ground, was the only visible indication of the 
 presence of a watercourse, and it was only on reaching 
 the miserable village of Wa-wa, built on a sandbank 
 held together by bushes of luxuriant cactus, that we 
 were able to espy the green waters of the Ta-tu rushing
 
 AN EXCITING SCENE. loi 
 
 Violently eastward in its pebbly bed, to be quickly lost 
 in a gap in the mountains to the south-east. Several 
 forks, into which the river is divided, unite to the west 
 of Wa-wa. 
 
 Descending to the ferry, we found ourselves face to 
 face with a pure non-Chinese race. The boatmen, who 
 were tall — one was over six feet — wiry fellows, with 
 level grey eyes, at once fraternized with me and took 
 me under their protection. They were Sifans, and 
 spoke Chinese with a decidedly foreign accent. One 
 of them, with a fearlessness impossible in a Chinese, 
 asked me a few questions in a most respectful manner, 
 and answered with readiness and evident pleasure the 
 queries I put to him regarding the river. To a random 
 question as to its breadth, a Chinese by my side at 
 once answered over a hundred cNang, or one thousand 
 Chinese feet, but my protector quietly rebuked him, 
 remarking that one should not answer such a question 
 off-hand, and, after some reflection, said the river was 
 six hundred feet broad. I estimated the breadth at 
 nearly two hundred yards ; but it was ditticult to fix 
 distances with any accuracy in the presence of moun- 
 tains which threw everything else into insignificance. 
 The Sifans smiled when I tried to ascertain the depth 
 by plunging a bamboo over the side of the boat in mid 
 river. 
 
 Owing to numerous falls and rapids, only rafts can 
 be navio-ated the entire distance to Chia-ting Fu, where 
 the Ta-tu, after its junction with the Ya Ho, enters 
 the Min. Once a year there is a busy scene on the 
 banks of the Ta-tu Hiver. In the end of April, thou-
 
 I02 . THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 sands of carriers have to cross the river at this very- 
 spot, with their precious loads of white wax insects from 
 the valley of Chien-ch'ang, on their way to the prefec- 
 ture of Chia-ting. As delay is injurious to their living 
 freight, they haste and race to be first at the ferry. 
 Crossing the Ta-tu as we did on the 9th of March, we 
 were too early to witness the flight of these carriers, 
 which ceases not night or day. Trade, as we saw it, 
 was of a less exciting nature ; copper and pine boards 
 from the south, met cotton and salt from the north. 
 
 In the w^alled town of Ta-shu-pao, less than a mile 
 from the south bank of the river, the fine tall men and 
 sprightly women of an alien race, could, without diffi- 
 culty, be picked out from the Chinese. They wore 
 white turbans jauntily inclined to one side, and carried 
 themselves with a grace that savoured of independence. 
 The Ta-tu River may be looked upon as the southern 
 limit of the region inhabited by Sifan tribes, and the 
 northern boundary of the Lolo country which stretches 
 southM^ards to the Yang-tsze and east from the valley 
 of Chien-ch'ansf towards the rio-ht bank of the Min. I 
 found a few Sifans to the south of the Ta-tu, but they 
 were isolated families who had lost touch with their 
 respective tribes. Amongst the Chinese they have 
 an evil repute for immorality ; yet my experience of 
 them, limited as it necessarily was, proved that they 
 possessed certain traits of character which are alto- 
 gether wanting in the Celestial, or, if not altogether 
 wanting, at least existing in a very rudimentary form 
 only. 
 
 One instance will suffice to explain my meaning. I
 
 A ''TAME WILD MAN." loj 
 
 had expressed a wish for a lengthened interview with 
 a Sifan, and, on arrival at P'ing-pa, the second stage 
 south of the Ta-tu, word was brought to me that there 
 was a " tame wild man " in the villaofe. With some 
 difficulty he was induced to come to our inn, the reason 
 of his hesitancy being, as he explained when alone with 
 me in my room, that the Chinese might treat him 
 badly if they knew that he was talking with me. 
 When I had calmed his fears and elicited from him as 
 much information as I could regarding his language, 1 
 asked him before leaving to accept a couple of hundred 
 cash for the trouble I had caused him, and as a reward 
 for the knowledge which he had imparted. This he 
 absolutely declined, saying that he had rendered me no 
 service deserving of reward. As, in the course of con- 
 versation, he had informed me that his home was in 
 the hills three miles distant, and that he had come to 
 P'ing-pa to make a few purchases, I pointed out to him 
 that, by accepting this trifling sum, he would be able 
 to secure a small present from me to his family. More 
 argument convinced him that there would be no harm 
 in accepting it on this condition, and he left after pro- 
 fuse thanks on behalf of the other members of his 
 household. Would a Chinese have hesitated ? I trow 
 not. 
 
 South of P'ing-pa we found ourselves fairly in Lolo- 
 dom. When we were breakfasting at the hamlet of 
 Sliuan-ma-ts'ao on the mornino; of the llth of March, 
 ten wild-looking fellows suddenly put in an appearance. 
 They were dressed in brown felt woollen cloaks from 
 neck to knee, their legs and feet were tightly bandaged
 
 104 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 with cotton cloth, they wore straw sandals instead of 
 shoes, and their hair was drawn forward in the shape 
 of a horn, projecting above the forehead and bound 
 wijth cloth. Each was armed with a long wooden 
 javelin, fitted with a large broad iron arrow-head. 
 Some snatched a hasty meal, while others sharpened 
 their javelins on a stone by the side of the street. We 
 began to think that they had sinister intentions re- 
 garding ourselves or our property, but they quickly 
 disappeared in Indian file up a narrow path over the 
 hills to the south-west. Sheep were being driven in 
 the same direction, and these men were probably shep- 
 herds preparing to ward off the attacks of wild animals 
 from their flocks. At Hai-t'ang, which we reached after 
 a steep descent, we took up our quarters in a new inn 
 just completed and therefore clean. As the morrow 
 was market-day, we resolved to be present and swell 
 the crowd. Snow fell heavily and somewhat dulled 
 the market, so I induced two out of the living mass of 
 Lolos to come and spend an hour or two with me at the 
 inn. I jotted down their numerals and a few common 
 words, and can thus compare my transcription of the 
 sounds with those taken down by Mr. Baber from Lolos 
 in other parts of the country. 
 Lolos near Wa-shan. Lolos near i\Ia-pien. Lolos of Hai-t'ang. 
 
 
 (Mr. Baber.) 
 
 1. 
 
 Ts'u 
 
 2. 
 
 Ni 
 
 3. 
 
 Su (or Soa) 
 
 4. 
 
 Erh 
 
 5. 
 
 Ngu 
 
 6. 
 
 Fo 
 
 7. 
 
 Shih 
 
 8. 
 
 Sine 
 
 9. 
 
 Gu 
 
 10. 
 
 Tch'ie (or Ts'e) 
 
 (Mr. Baber.) 
 
 
 Tchih 
 
 Tzii 
 
 Ni 
 
 Ni 
 
 Su 
 
 Swa 
 
 Li 
 
 Li 
 
 Ngu 
 
 Ngou 
 
 K'u 
 
 Hu 
 
 Shih 
 
 Shih 
 
 Hei 
 
 Hei 
 
 Gu 
 
 Gu 
 
 Tch'e 
 
 Tsei
 
 LOLO LAS GU AGE. 105 
 
 It will be noticed that, with a very few exceptions, 
 these numerals are almost identical, and it may, with- 
 out any great stretch of the imagination, be taken for 
 granted that the Lolos speak one language with only 
 slight dialectic differences. Unfortunately, the men 
 whom I met were unable to write — that they have a 
 written language has been distinctly proved — so that 1 
 was powerless to assist in deciphering what up to the 
 present moment remains a sealed book. 
 
 It will be appropriate in this place to compare the 
 numerals of the Sifans as taken down by different tra- 
 vellers at different places, and the comparison, I think, 
 shows that, as in the case of the Lolos, the Sifan tribes 
 have also one language, with local dialectic variations. 
 My Sifan told me that their written language resembles 
 Tibetan, which is very probably the case. 
 
 Sifan of Tzii-ta-ti. Sifan of (?) Lu-ku. Sifan of P'ing-pa. 
 
 (Mr. Baber.) (Mr. Hodgson.) 
 
 1. Tu Ta Ta 
 
 2. Nu Na Na 
 
 3. Si Si Hsi 
 
 4. Jro Ee Ro 
 
 5. Xgei Nga Nga 
 
 6. Tch'u Tru Cli'u 
 
 7. Shun Skwi Shiin 
 
 8. Jih Zi Eis 
 
 9. Ngo Gu Aiiga 
 
 10. Tch'i-tch'i Cbe-chi Cliei-chei 
 
 I agree with Mr. Baber that the sound given by Mr. 
 Hodgson for seven is impossible. The former follows 
 Sir Thomas Wade, who, in transliterating Chinese char- 
 acters, uses the letter j to represent a semi-?' sound ; 
 and this will account for the seeming difference, which 
 does not actually exist, in the words for four and ei^dit.
 
 io6 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 To my ear the sound was sufficiently broad to warrant 
 a full r. 
 
 White and brown cloaks appeared to be worn in- 
 discriminately by the Lolos, and during the whole of 
 my passage through their country I noticed only one 
 exception, and that was a blue cloak with red fringes. 
 Of this divergence from the usual custom I was unable 
 to find any satisfactory explanation. "When we were 
 strolling in the market at Hai-t'ang, several loads of 
 China-root — Pachyma cocos — passed us on the way 
 north. This product is found in great abundance in 
 the hills of Ssti-ch'uan, and Ytin-nan and is highly 
 esteemed as a medicine. 
 
 At Hai-t'ang I thought 1 had made a discovery 
 that would revolutionize the whole world ol dress. 
 On returning from the market to my inn, I caught 
 sight of a piece of cloth of somewhat loose texture in 
 the hands of one of the waiters, and, when examining 
 it, was astonished to learn that, instead of being 
 washed w^hen dirty, it was thrown into the fire, which 
 consumed the dirt and left the material itself intact. 
 Shades of angry . washerwomen rose before my men- 
 tal vision and seemed to curse the age of invention. 
 Nothing deterred, I promptly put the statement to the 
 test, and had the pleasure of seeing the cloth extracted 
 from the fire clean and again ready for use. It was 
 described to me as being manufactured from the fibrous 
 roots of a grass which grows in the gullies of the moun- 
 tains in the neighbourhood. With that inconsistency 
 which characterises the Chinese, it was called " fire- 
 consuming," not "fire-proof" cloth. Reader, it is
 
 LOLO MARAUDERS. 107 
 
 sometimes very hard to be rudely undeceived. Must 
 I confess that the only discovery I made was, that as- 
 bestos exists in Western Ssii-ch'uan ? Washerwomen, 
 your career is not yet ended ! 
 
 An additional escort of Lolos joined us at Hai-t'ang. 
 They wore their national dress, and the petty officer in 
 command was further ornamented with a thin oval 
 brass plate, fixed in his left ear by a brass ring. We 
 left our comfortable quarters to face a snowstorm, and 
 plodded all day through snow and slush half a foot 
 in depth. Garrisons, each supposed to be thirty strong, 
 lined the road at intervals of a mile with iruard-houses 
 
 o 
 
 between. This part of the country, skirting as it does 
 the western border of independent Lolodom, is the 
 scene of frequent Lolo raids, whole caravans — goods, 
 animals, and men — being swept off, and carried into 
 the inaccessible mountains to the east. 
 
 Our escorts were now relieved at each garrison, 
 and the men were armed with swords. Just before 
 entering the Ytieh-hsi plain, a soldier pointed out the 
 spot where, a few years previously, an army of five 
 thousand men had invaded Lolodom to. punish maraud- 
 ers, and he added that not a man had returned to tell 
 their fate. The buildings on the plain, which runs 
 north-east and south-west, are more like watch-towers 
 than dwelling houses ; they have two storeys, but no 
 windows on the iri'ound floor. We saw numbers of 
 Lolos in the city of Yueh-hsi T'ing, many of them nom- 
 inally in official employ, though, in reality, salaried 
 hostacres for the ofood behaviour of their tribes. Here 
 our escort was a;:^ain strengthened, and, when we left
 
 io8 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 the city on the morning of the 15th of March, we were 
 preceded by an army of gaily-dressed soldiers armed 
 with flags, pikes, and halberts. The south of the plain 
 is divided into two valleys by a range of hills ; that to 
 the south-east leads to independent Lolodom, where no 
 Chinese dare venture ; through the other to the south- 
 west runs the road to Ning-yuan Fu and Ytin-nan. 
 
 The latter gradually narrows, being bounded on the 
 east by precipitous rocky cliffs, and on the west by 
 sloping heights to a certain extent amenable to culti- 
 vation. In the bed of the valley, which is rough and 
 stony, were garrisons and guardhouses fuUy tenanted. 
 Treble stockades of wooden piles were thrown up round 
 them, but they would be perfectly useless against a 
 determined raid, there being no escape in case of defeat 
 except by steep paths leading up the mountain sides 
 into the country of the Lolos. 
 
 During our stay at the small town of Hsiao-shao, 
 which lies at the end of the valley and at the northern 
 entrance of a narrow pass, many of my followers w^ere 
 struck down by fever, and I passed a most uncom- 
 fortable night amidst their groans — hardly a suitable 
 preparation for the morrow, when the Hsiao Hsiang 
 Lino- Pass had to be surmounted. Here I found that 
 there were rogues even among the Lolos. Soon after 
 our arrival, four ruffian-looking fellows turned up, and 
 announced that they had been deputed to form my Lolo 
 escort next day. I told them that I was much gratified 
 at the forethought of their officials, and asked them to 
 come on the morrow ; but they were persistent in their 
 demands for a gratuity beforehand. This I declined,
 
 ASCENT OF THE HSIAO HSIAXG LIXG. 109 
 
 until their persistence became an absolute nuisance, 
 when I was weak enough to make them a small present 
 and trust to their word. Needless to say, they broke 
 it. 
 
 Having mounted my sick on ponies, we passed 
 through the south gate of Hsiao-shao and entered the 
 pass, our approach being heralded by a musket-shot 
 from the sentry of the Chinese and Lolo guardhouses, 
 which mark the entrance. A couple of guardhouses 
 could be made out on rocky heights up the pass to the 
 south-west, and their sentries, warned by the report of 
 the musket-shot, could be seen standing out darkly 
 against the snowy mountain behind. The same signal 
 was given by each sentry as we advanced. 
 
 Turning south-west, we soon began the actual ascent 
 of the Hsiao Hsiang Ling, which, though less precipi- 
 tous than the Ta Hsiang Ling, was somewhat trouble- 
 some, owing to the greater depth of snow. On the 
 summit, which is 9800 feet above the level of the sea, 
 we were shrouded by a white gloom which entirely hid 
 the surrounding country from our view. The southern 
 slope is gentle, the path, after a short descent, entering 
 a gorge which leads to the garrison town of Tcng- 
 hsiang, lying at the feet of lofty mountains and occupy- 
 ing the head of a narrow valley running north and 
 south. Here the soldiery were busy strengthening 
 the walls at the north gate. When we left by the south 
 gate next morning, accompanied by an additional escort 
 of bearers of flags, spears, swords, tridents, and muskets, 
 the peaks of the mountains bounding the valley on the 
 west side were lit by the rising sun, throwing the steeji
 
 no THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 pine-clad sides of the eastern range into gloom. The 
 bed of the valley was wild and uncultivated, but the 
 full bloom of some wild fruit trees helped to brighten 
 the scene and the silence was broken only by the hum- 
 ming of bees in search of food. A range running east 
 and west soon blocks the valley, and the road goes 
 west through the sub-district of Mien-shan till again 
 intercepted, when it turns south-west along the left 
 bank of a branch of the An-ning Eiver. A rocky gorge, 
 with just sufficient room for the stream, then super- 
 venes, and the road is cut out of the solid rock to within 
 a short distance of the town of Lu-ku, which lies close 
 to the north-eastern corner of the great plain of Ning- 
 yuan. 
 
 While we were watchino^ the cormorant fishers at 
 the point where the stream leaves the gorge, a bevy 
 of Lolo women, who had been marketing at Lu-ku, came 
 up, and afforded us the rare opportunity of a close in- 
 spection. They were chatting and laughing on the way 
 back to their mountain homes. They wore large round 
 caps of black cloth, a la "Tarn 0' Shanter," short 
 jackets, and petticoats just long enough not to conceal 
 their bare feet. A pink strip let into the skirt in front 
 from waist to foot seemed to be the fashion. Their 
 bodices were fastened at the neck by embroidered col- 
 lars decked with silver ornaments and clasps. Most of 
 them were pretty, but some sutiered from loss and 
 decay of the front teeth. They might, without any 
 great stretch of the imagination, have been taken for a 
 group of Italian peasant women. 
 
 On the morning of the 18th of March we left Lu-ku,
 
 ENTRY INTO NING-YUAN. iii 
 
 and, ascending a low plateau, found ourselves on an 
 immense plain stretching southwards. The stream 
 which flows by the town is joined, a little to the west, 
 by another from the north, and the two combined form 
 the An-ning River, which goes south down the plain 
 and enters the Ta-ch'ung or Ya-lung, a large tributary 
 of the Yang-tsze, or, as it is here called, the Chin 
 Chiang — the " Golden E,iver." Only about twenty 
 miles now separated us from the prefectural city, but, 
 owing to the sickness of my followers, who were happily 
 becjiniiinof to recover in the face of the southern breezes 
 blowing the very breath of life into their fevered and 
 toil-worn frames, we had to divide the distance over a 
 couple of days. Early in the afternoon of the 19th of 
 March, we crossed the last spur which projects into 
 the plain from the hills which form its eastern bound- 
 ary and, passing through the beautifully cultivated 
 and well-wooded orardens in the suburbs and then 
 through a busy thoroughfare alive with pack-animals 
 laden with loncj- hollow cones of salt, we entered the 
 west gate of Ning-yuan, more generally known in 
 Western China as Chien-ch'anof Fu.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THROUGH CAINDU TO CARAJAN. 
 
 Earthquakes— The reception of foreigners at Ning-yuan— The fertility of 
 the Ning-yuan plain — Goitre and the salt supply — Historical hailstorm 
 — A Tibetan caravan — Crossing the Ya-lung River — A riot at Hang- 
 chou— Reception at Yen-yuan and increased protection — Brine wells 
 of Pai-yen-chhig — Driven back by mountain barriers — The Yiin-nan 
 frontier — A sight of the Yang-tsze — Results of the Mohammedan Re- 
 bellion — The Lake of the Black Mist — On the banks of the Golden River 
 — A deserted town — The plague — First glimpse of the snow-capped 
 Tsang-shan — A magnificent view — On the shores of the Erh Hai — 
 Ta-U Fu at last. 
 
 History records that a terrible earthquake visited 
 the plain of Chien-ch'ang in the early years of the 
 Ming Dynasty, and that the old city of Ning-yuan 
 sank bodily into the ground, and gave place to the 
 large lake which lies to the south-east of the present 
 city. In 1850, again, according to the information 
 supplied to ]\Ir. Baber, Ning-yuan was reduced to ruins 
 by a similar catastrophe. If the former tradition be 
 true, the lake had no existence when Marco Polo passed 
 throuo-h Caindu, and yet we find him mentioning a lake 
 in the country in which pearls were found. Curiously 
 enough, although I had not then read the Venetian's
 
 RECEPTION OF FOREIGNERS AT NING-YUAN. 113 
 
 nanative, one of the many things told me regarding 
 the lake was that pearls are found in it, and speci- 
 mens were brought to me for inspection. 
 
 Previous to my arrival only two foreigners had vis- 
 ited Ning-yuan, and that, too, both in 1877. The first, 
 a Roman Catholic French Father, was stoned and driven 
 from the city. Two months later came Mr. Baber, 
 who, fortified with instructions issued by a new Viceroy, 
 commanded the respect of the very official who had in- 
 cited the attack on the unfortunate missionary. When 
 I appeared upon the scene, I had the greatest difficulty 
 in securing quarters, and, while search was being 
 made, spent an hour the target for thousands of black 
 eyes. But fortune did not forsake me. As soon as 
 I reached the inn, which was at last found, a thunder- 
 storm burst over the town, and brought nourish- 
 ment to the plain which had been athirst for a month. 
 The arrival of a foreigner and a copious rainfall were 
 two events which, to their superstitious minds, could 
 only be cause and effi3ct, and I was soon waited upon 
 by a deputation of townspeople, who came to thank me 
 for my timely visit. From an intruder, I was suddenly 
 raised to the rank of a benefactor. 
 
 I took advantage of the presence of the deputation 
 to gather information regarding the products of the 
 plain and the mineral resources of the prefecture, 
 nice, poppy, cotton, safflower, a variety of fruits, medi- 
 cines and dyes, cassia, beans, wheat and maize are 
 grown in their respective seasons, while copper, zinc, 
 and iron are found in the neighbouring hills. Mulberry 
 trees abound, and silk is produced and exported to
 
 TT4 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 Yun-nan. But the chief product of the jnain is white- 
 wax insects, to which allusion has already been made 
 and which will be found treated at length in Chapter 
 XI. Pine boards are also a special export from this 
 region. Immense trees are found deeply embedded in 
 the soil on the hills, their positions being discovered 
 from lines of pine sprouts. They are dug up, sawn, and 
 sent north in large quantities. 
 
 When I made it known that, instead of proceeding 
 south through Hui-li Chou to Ytin-nan Fu, I was about 
 to attempt the road through Yen-yuan Hsien to north- 
 western Yiin-nan and Ta-li Fu, hundreds of objections 
 were at once forthcoming. The road was a mere bridle- 
 path impassable for chairs, there were no inns, no rice, 
 nothing but wilderness. A very little experience in an 
 Eastern land teaches the traveller to discount native 
 statements, and I told my men that one of the objects 
 of my journey was to establish facts, and that I con- 
 sidered it my duty to go and test the validity of the 
 objections raised. 
 
 Leaving Ning-yuan on the 21st of March, we skirted 
 the western edo-e of the lake, which is some eiMit miles 
 lonof and two to three broad, and made for the low hills 
 which bound the plain to the south-west. Eight miles 
 from the city we struck the left bank of the An-ning 
 River, and having effected a passage at the ferry, we 
 proceeded south over a sandy waste, whereon close reed 
 fences were erected to keep the sand from being blown 
 over the cultivated ground. Farther south, the plain 
 was dotted with mud houses and villages, and the plots 
 of arable land by which they were surrounded were 
 thickly edged with mulberry trees.
 
 FERTILITY OF THE NIXG-YUAN PLAIN. 115 
 
 The plain from Lu-ku southwards is noted through- 
 out Western China for its fertiUty ; but from that 
 point until south of Ning-yuan, the river flows along 
 the base of the lofty hills bounding the western edge 
 of the plain, which slopes gently from east to west, 
 and its waters are little available for purposes of irriga- 
 tion. The plain, therefore, depends for the most part 
 upon the rainfall for its water supply, and, owing as 
 we have seen to the fact that rain had not fallen for 
 a month previous to our arrival, the cracked and arid 
 ground, with its stunted crops of poppy, wheat, and 
 beans, presented a striking contrast to the glowing 
 description we had received of this happy Eldorado. 
 South of Ning-yuan, however, the plain is perfectly 
 level anil the river winding about in it is extensively 
 utilised for irriorating^ the fields. 
 
 Although fortune usually smiles upon the valley of 
 Chien-ch'ang, the inhabitants of its many villages are 
 not to outward appearances a happy race. What 
 strikes the traveller most with regard to tliem is the 
 prevalence of the unsightly goitre, from which neither 
 sex nor age is exempt. The natives attribute it to the 
 impure salt from the brine wells of Pai-yen-ching, with- 
 in the jurisdiction of Yen-yuan Hsien, and their belief 
 is, that north of Ning-yuan Fu the salt supply comes 
 from the northern salt springs, and that where this salt 
 is consumed, goitre is exceedingly rare, while south of 
 Ning-yuan only local salt is used and goitre is exces- 
 sively common. This can hardly be reconciled with 
 the statements made to me by the inhabitants of the 
 mountainous regions of the province of Kuci-chow,
 
 iiG THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 where goitre is likewise remarkal^ly prevalent. They 
 were unanimously of opinion that the disease is due to 
 tlie salt from the northern scorings of Ssu-ch'uan, which 
 supply the entire province of Kuei-chow. But the true 
 orififin of the disease is doubtless to be ascribed to cal- 
 careous and other substances held in solution in the 
 water supply of the districts. 
 
 The small town of Ho-hsi, " West of the River," 
 the first stage from Ning-yuan, lies in a bend at the 
 foot of a mountain range, which forms the divide of the 
 An-ning and Ya-lung rivers. It, too, has its story of 
 war with nature. A small stream from the western 
 mountains flows through the town on its way to join 
 the river in the plain. In 1881, a terrific hailstorm 
 swept over mountain and plain ; the stream became a 
 roaring torrent and annihilated nearly the whole town 
 — the number of killed and drowned being: estimated 
 at a thousand souls. 
 
 Following up the stream towards its source, we 
 attained, after a few hours' climb, the ridofe of the 
 mountain, where the roads are worn out of the solid 
 limestone to a depth of twelve feet by the constant 
 traffic between the salt springs to the south-west and 
 Ning-yuan Fu. The steep eastern slope of the moun- 
 tain was covered with rank coarse grass, nor did culti- 
 vation appear until the ridge was crossed. Even then 
 there were only a few clearings here and there, and 
 these were occupied by the large-leaved privet, the pear 
 and other fruit trees, while the uncultivated o-i'ound 
 was clad with stunted pine. Beyond the ridge, the 
 road, a mere bridle-path, runs west by south along
 
 A TIBETAN CARAVAN. 117 
 
 the mountain side, whence we could make out to tlie 
 south the green waters of the Ya-lung River flowing 
 north-east and suddenly bending southwards, its pro- 
 gress in the former direction being obstructed by a 
 mountain barrier. As might be expected in such a 
 country, the population is very scant, and only an oc- 
 casional hut for the refreshment of the traveller was to 
 be seen during a day's journey. 
 
 While restmg at a solitary tea-house on the moun- 
 tain side, and speculating on the advisability and wis- 
 dom of attempting this route in chairs, I perceived in 
 the far south-west a long line of moving objects com- 
 ing towards us. Red flags and gaily-caparisoned mules 
 and ponies warned me that something more than ordi- 
 nary was approaching. . The red-clad muleteers, armed 
 with swords and spears, and the large powerful dogs 
 trotting at the heads of the pack-animals, told us that 
 we were face to face with a Tibetan caravan. It con- 
 sisted of some fifty animals laden with medicines, 
 musk, and sundries. Our spirits rose as we heard that 
 the road was open for pack-animals. 
 
 Our resting-place during the night of our second 
 stage from Ning-yuan was the village of Tei-li-pao, 
 overlooking the Ya-lung River, which we reached by 
 a steep descent on the following morning. Ascending 
 its left bank for four miles throucjh dense hedo-es oi 
 prickly pear, growing with a profusion I have not seen 
 elsewhere in Western China, we crossed it at the ferry 
 of Ho-pien Hslin, a customs station on its right bank. 
 The river itself, which is about two hundred yards in 
 breadth, is deep, and Hows with an even current until
 
 ii8 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 it reaches the sharp bend which I have already men- 
 tioned, when it lashes itself into foamy billows against 
 submerged rocks. The Ya-lung is unnavigable, and the 
 only craft on its green waters were three ferry boats, 
 each about thirty feet long. From the bed of shingle 
 which lies below the customs station, we followed for a 
 short distance the right bank, which is here lined with 
 huge boulders, and then turned south-west up a gully, 
 down which flows a streamlet to the main river. The 
 country gradually opens out, and cultivation, which 
 had practically ceased since we left the Ning-yuan 
 plain, began to reappear on the gentler slopes of the 
 mountain sides to the south-east. 
 
 Our struggles through the day on the precipitous 
 banks of the Ya-lung had, we imagined, earned a good 
 night's repose at the little town of Hang-chou, which 
 lies on the left bank of the streamlet. In this, however, 
 we were sadly disappointed. Surmounting a low emi- 
 nence we beheld, to our surprise, little but its charred 
 remains, the town having been destroyed by fire only 
 a few days before. On entering, we found, as might 
 have been expected, wretched accommodation. The 
 homeless inhabitants were huddled together in the few 
 houses that had escaped the ravages of the fire. The 
 mass of idlers seemed to require some outlet for the 
 superfluous energy which had not yet been expended 
 in the rebuilding of their homes. Our arrival was their 
 opportunity. No sooner had we settled down in the 
 apartment which we had the greatest difficulty in pro- 
 curino", than we were surrounded by a gaping and 
 insolent crowd. So insolent and threatening indeed
 
 INHOSPITABLE HANG-CHOU. 119 
 
 did they become, that we had to soHcit the intervention 
 of the local authority in suppressing what, to every 
 appearance, was fast becoming a riot. He came, but 
 his presence was powerless and his commands were 
 unheeded. He left, and matters assumed a still more 
 serious aspect. A free fight thereupon resulted between 
 the rioters and my followers. At this point my inter- 
 vention became necessary, and, for the first and only 
 time during my wanderings in China, I was compelled 
 to show my revolver. Happily for all, the sight of the 
 weapon was sufficient, and, under its awe-inspiring 
 muzzle, four of the ringleaders, who had threatened me 
 with death, were arrested. This quelled the riot for 
 the niofht, but threats were thrown out of vengreance 
 on the morrow. The local authority was duly warned, 
 and he was good enough to promise us all available 
 protection, and to accompany us on the next stage. 
 When day dawned he was duly present, and we were 
 glad to shake the dust of inhospitable Hang-chou and 
 its riotous inhabitants from our feet. 
 
 The valley in which Hang-chou lies contracts to- 
 wards the south-west. Kecrossing the stream, the 
 road runs alono; the mountain side for some distance ; 
 but the mountains soon recede, leaving an undulating 
 stretch of country rising as we advanced. This we 
 ascended amid low pines and dense underwood, past 
 numerous unworked copper-mines, until at its lilghest 
 point the road is at an elevation little below the moun- 
 tain peaks on both sides, now white with snow. Here a 
 thunderstorm delayed our progress ; the brilliancy of 
 the lightning, and the roar of the thunder echoed and
 
 120 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 re-echoed from the surrounding mountains, reflecting 
 credit on the forgers of Zeus. But the chilly hail and 
 the rude mud hut in which we were compelled to seek 
 shelter for the night, speedily turned our thoughts 
 from the dreams of classical romance to the stern 
 actualities of a wanderer's life. The local authority 
 of Hang-chou, however, pressed on with his prisoners 
 to the city of Yen-yuan Hsien, where our non-arrival 
 excited no little consternation among the authorities, 
 who, anxious as to our safety, sent messengers and 
 soldiers to ascertain the cause. 
 
 With the exception of a short distance where the 
 road zigzags, the descent to Yen-yuan is easy. We 
 followed a small mountain stream down a valley for 
 some time, leaving it by a fine level road to the west, 
 and soon entered the city, which lies on the north-east 
 side of a plain, backed by a range of high hills running 
 east and west. Here due satisfaction was given to 
 us for the outrage at Hang-chou, whose inhabitants, 
 through their unwilling representatives, were taught a 
 practical, if a painful, lesson as to the treatment of 
 strangers from the West. The officials were profuse in 
 their apologies and in their attention to our wants, 
 promising absolute protection as far as the first city 
 across the Yiin-nan frontier — a promise which was 
 faithfully carried out. 
 
 The city of Yen-yuan, though small, is the capital 
 of the district which borders on the province of Yiin- 
 nan, a district rich in copper and salt, and one of the 
 chief habitats of that industrious and interesting crea- 
 ture, the white wax insect, which is propagated on the
 
 SALT MAKING. 121 
 
 branches of the Ligustrum lucidum, or large-leaved 
 privet. The brine wells from which the salt is derived 
 lie at Pai-yen-ching, fourteen miles to the south-west 
 of the city, which we reached by a good road across 
 the plain, down which one or two rivulets flow north- 
 westwards. The way in which the farmers manipulate 
 these rivulets for purposes of irrigation is truly wonder- 
 ful—here the water ripples in one direction, there in 
 exactly the opposite. This plain is one of the very few 
 places in the province of Ssti-ch'uan where carts can be 
 utilised for transport. 
 
 The brine wells of Pai-yen-ching, mentioned above, 
 are only two in number, and comparatively shallow, 
 being only fifty feet in depth. Bamboo tubes, ropes 
 and buffaloes are here dispensed with, and small wooden 
 tubs, with bamboos fixed to their sides as handles for 
 raising, are considered sufficient. At one of the wells 
 a staging was erected half way down, and from it the 
 tubs of brine were passed up to the workmen above. 
 Passing from the wells to the evaporating sheds, we 
 found a series of mud furnaces with round holes at the 
 top, into which cone-shaped pans, manufactured from 
 iron obtained in the neighbourhood, and vary in o- in 
 height from one to two and a half feet, were looselv 
 fitted. When a pan has been sufficiently heated, a 
 ladleful of the brine is poured into it, and, bubbling up 
 to the surface, it sinks, leaving a saline deposit on the 
 inside of the pan. This process is repeated until a layer, 
 some four inches thick and corresponding to the shape of 
 the pan, is formed, when the salt is removed as a Iioliow 
 cone ready for market. Care must be taken to keep
 
 122 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 the bottom of the pan moist ; otherwise the salt cone 
 would crack, and be rendered unfit for the rough car- 
 riage which it experiences on the backs of pack animals. 
 A soft coal, which is found just under the surface of the 
 yellow-soiled hills seven miles to the west of Pai-yen- 
 ching, is the fuel used in the furnaces. The total daily 
 output of salt at these wells does not exceed two tons 
 a day, and the cost at the wells, including the .Govern- 
 ment tax, amounts to about three-halfpence a pound. 
 The area of supply, owing to the country being sparsely 
 populated, is greater than the output would lead one 
 to expect. 
 
 At the time when Marco Polo passed through Cain- 
 du, this country was in the possession of the Sifans, 
 and there can be little doubt that the salt cakes, which 
 then constituted the currency, were evaporated at these 
 very wells. Nor are the Sifans wanting at the present 
 day ; they occupy the country to the west, and are 
 known under the generic name of Man-tzu. 
 
 Our progress — I hardly like to use the word — 
 during the five days from the brine wells of Pai-yen- 
 ching to the frontier of the province of Ylin-nan, a 
 distance of less than forty miles as the crow flies, is one 
 long story of mountain travelling. Several times did 
 we approach the frontier, but as often were we driven 
 back, south and south-east, by impenetrable mountain 
 barriers covered with pine forests. To the south, the 
 ranges run east and west, and a day's work, sometimes 
 lastinof as long- as thirteen hours, consisted in climbinor 
 and descending steep mountain sides, and in endeavour- 
 ing, with but poor success, to circumvent the huge
 
 CLOSE PROXIMITY OF ALIEN RACES. 123 
 
 boulders which lay in the beds of streams in the 
 bottom lands between the mountain ranges, where the 
 road should have been. Cultivation, as can readily be 
 imagined, was not conspicuous in such a country ; but 
 here we found in abundance the animal best suited to 
 rugged mountains, the goat. Its flesh, too, was greatly 
 appreciated where rice could not be procured, and where 
 our supplies had long since run short. To the west of 
 our route, we found many places inhabited by Man-tzu 
 tribes, whose districts, however, lie principally beyond 
 the frontier. 
 
 At Shao-shanof, on the last rido-e which has to be 
 crossed before reaching Ytln-nan, six Lolos, deputed 
 by their chief, who had been apprised of our approach 
 by the Chinese authorities, awaited us to pay their 
 respects, and as we stood looking at the mountain 
 ranges within the southern province, one of them, tall 
 and powerful, every inch a king, stepped forth and did 
 us homage. Here, then, on the very borders of Ssu- 
 ch'uan and Yiin-nan, we find the Lolo from the east, 
 the Man-tzu from the west, and the Chinese holdins: 
 the narrow strip of land which separates these alien 
 races. Alien races, and what a contrast ! On the east 
 the Lolo, still retaining his distinctive costume, one of a 
 nation hemmed in, but not absorbed, by the Chinese— 
 on the contrary, able to raid and carry off into slavery 
 the people of the country bordering on his territories ; 
 on the west the Man-tzu, clad in a garb differing little 
 from that of his conquerors, timid, and ready to flee at 
 the approach of a stranger. The Man-tzii women, 
 however, like the women of all these diilorent tribes
 
 124 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 scattered through Western China, retain the costume 
 of their race, and, though on a less elaborate scale, 
 dress very much like their European sisters. But the 
 latter have not yet donned the turban, nor do they care 
 to walk about with unshod feet. The turbans, which 
 were mostly of brown cloth, were in many cases adorned 
 with circlets of hogs' tusks. As among the Lolo women, 
 strings of beads were the favourite ear-rings. 
 
 The little border town of Hui-lung-ch'ang, or Mien- 
 hua-ti as it is locally called, lies at the base of a high 
 mountain range running east and west. From the 
 summit of the range, which was attained after a five 
 hours' climb, we could make out to the south-west 
 seven other ranges with similar directions, and in the 
 far south a clear glittering ribbon marked the position 
 of the Chin Chiang, the head-waters of the mighty 
 Yang-tsze. The tops of these sandstone ranges were 
 clad with dark pines, while the slopes were covered 
 with rank grass and shrubbery, among which herds of 
 ponies and water buffaloes and flocks of sheep and goats 
 were feeding. From Chiu-ya-p'ing, a mud-walled town 
 of some five thousand inhabitants, surrounded by the 
 two Man-tzu tribes — the Li-su and the Pai-yi — two 
 stao-es to the south of the Ssii-ch'uan-Ytin-nan fron- 
 tier, where I was most hospitably entertained by a 
 French missionary on the 3rd of April, two roads lead 
 to Yuno--pei T'ing, the first departmental city within 
 the latter province. Although we selected what was 
 described to us as the easier road, we were obliged to 
 make a long detour, and, instead of entering the city 
 from the north, we actually approached it from the
 
 YUSG-PEI T'lXG. 125 
 
 south. It lies in the centre of a plain some five miles 
 long and two broad, bounded on the north by a semi- 
 circle of mountains, on the east by a lofty range running 
 north and south, on the west by gentle hills, and on 
 the south by low sandstone ridges, fast disintegrating 
 and drifting into the plain. To the south and east of 
 these ridges were numerous pools of water and a rivulet, 
 whose edofes and banks were covered with thin coat- 
 ings of soda. The sturdy little Yiin-nan pony which I 
 rode, champed at the bitterness of the water. Yung- 
 pei itself is a city of very little importance. The plain 
 on which it stands has a stiff clayey soil, and the beans 
 and poppy were decidedly below the average of Ssu- 
 ch'uan crops. It is, however, the point where the 
 Burmese trade with Yiin-nan by way of Ta-li Fu stops, 
 and as such deserves mention. 
 
 From Yung-pei the road runs south-west to the 
 edge of the plain, and then over hills clad with pine 
 and oak, until a large expanse of water lying in a plain 
 running north and south comes into view. On the 
 hill-side east of the plain we saw the first traces of the 
 great highway which, prior to the Mohammedan rebel- 
 lion, is said to have connected Ta-li with Ssu-ch'uan ; 
 but wild grass and brushwood have all but obliterated 
 the remains of the broad paved roadway. The lake, a 
 fine sheet of clear water, is ten miles long, and at its 
 broadest part about five miles across, and the road, here 
 also paved, skirts its eastern shore. On Chinese maps 
 the lake is called the Ch'eng Hai ; but the only name 
 known to the villaQ-ers livinir on its shores is the Hei- 
 wu Hai-tzu, the " Lake of the Black Mist." . Numerous
 
 126 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 mud villages and houses dot the plain, but they are all 
 in an advanced stage of decay, and their inhabitants 
 are evidently well acquainted with poverty, and are 
 miserably clad even for a hot climate. 
 
 We crossed and re-crossed the plain to the south of 
 the lake in search of the river, which is represented on 
 all maps of China that I have seen as connecting the 
 lake with the Chin Chiang, the Brius of Marco Polo. 
 We searched in vain ; we crossed one or two deep nul- 
 lahs containing a little water, trickling not from, but to 
 the lake. Further south, however, a brooklet rising in 
 the east of the plain, and strengthened by another from 
 the west, flows down to the Chin Chiang. As the river 
 ■is approached, the plain, a great part of which was 
 lying waste, while the remainder was growing crops of 
 sugar-cane, cotton, poppy, and beans, contracts, and is 
 blocked to the south by low hills, on reaching which 
 the road turns west and south-west to the market-town 
 of Chin-chiang-kai, on the left bank of the Golden 
 River. 
 
 At this point the river presents a strikino- con- 
 trast to its appearance as it flows through the central 
 and eastern provinces of China. About three hundi'ed 
 yards in breadth, its clear waters flow gently east over 
 a bed of shingle, soon, however, to be cooped up in wild 
 mountain gorges, and ultimately to issue as a turbid, 
 muddy river, to become more turbid and muddy as it 
 nears the sea. The river was still low ; the melted 
 snows from the Tibetan Mountains had not yet de- 
 scended to stir the quietude of its crystal waters ; but 
 the granite foundations on which the houses of Chin-
 
 DEVASTATION AND DISEASE. izj 
 
 chiang-kai are built, strongly shored as they are with 
 wooden planks at a height of fifty feet above the 
 shingle-bed, indicate the addition which the present 
 waters may annually expect. 
 
 Mr. Baber has already disposed of the question of 
 the navigability of the river at a point very much far- 
 ther east, and I need only remark that the queries put 
 by me to the ferrymen on this subject were met with 
 the answer " impossible." A few hundred yards to the 
 west of the town of Chin-chianor-kai, where we had 
 been warmly received by the local authorities on the 
 previous evening (April 10th), and where we enjoyed a 
 good night's repose undisturbed by the low murniurings 
 of the waters on the pebbly strand, we crossed the river . 
 at a point where, flowing northwards, it bends sharply 
 to the east. The road runs south along- the soft shinn^le 
 forming the right bank of the river, which is frequently 
 concealed in its deep sandy bed as it skirts the western 
 edge of the plain. Anon it touches the eastern edge, 
 and at this point we looked up a long reach of the river 
 as it flows from the west eastward, till, blocked by bold 
 rocky heights which have repulsed its attacks, it has 
 been compelled to seek a northern course. The road- 
 way crosses these rocky heights and descends to the 
 right bank of a stream, which is lost in the mighty 
 river at the bend. 
 
 The plain or valley down which the stream flows 
 has a most unenviable notoriety. Little can be seen in 
 it but the ruins caused by the Mohammedan rebellion. 
 Here a town enclosed by four walls, with open gates 
 and streets covered with wild grass, deserted, desolate ;
 
 128 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 there, the remains of houses and villages concealed 
 under a luxuriant growth of shrubbery and cactus. 
 Notice, too, the blackened walls which have been licked 
 by the flames that accompanied the sword of the 
 Moliammedans or their conquerors. Sad enough truly, 
 but not all. A dreadful plague annually sweeps down 
 the valley and mows down its inhabitants. Can it be 
 wondered that few people care to risk their existence 
 in the plague-stricken hollow, and that accommodation 
 unworthy of the name is all that can be obtained ? I 
 managed to distribute my followers over the small 
 village of Huang- chia-p'ing ; but I was unfortunate 
 enough to be laid up with an attack of fever, which 
 compelled us to remain for a couple of days in a small 
 mud stable without door or window. 
 
 But we were within three days' journey of Ta-li Fu, 
 and the hope of reaching a state of comparative com- 
 fort spurred us on in spite of our enfeebled condition. 
 From Huang-chia-p'ing the road at first runs west 
 through uncultivated ground. Stone dykes peeping 
 out here and there through rank grass and cactus, were 
 the only traces of former cultivation ; but as the road 
 turns south-west, patches of poppy and wheat began 
 to appear along the banks of the stream flowing north- 
 east down the valley, and the farther we advanced 
 the more numerous became the sio^ns of tillaofe, while 
 the slopes of the mountains flanking the valley were 
 covered with tall ofrass and dwarf fir and oak. As we 
 approached Ta-wang-miao, our eyes were gladdened, 
 though the picture was blurred and imperfect, by the 
 first glimpse, through the white-hot haze of the after-
 
 PICTURESQUE SCENERY. 129 
 
 noon sun, of the summits of the Tsancf-shan ranfre 
 capped with snow, at the base of which lies Ta-li Fu, 
 the capital of Marco Polo's Western Carajan. 
 
 Dense hedgerows of sweet briar and bramble in full 
 bloom lined the pathway to the north and south of Ta- 
 wang'-miao and greatly impeded our advance. At a dis- 
 tance from the pathway, patches of ground were bright 
 with the purple and white flowers of the poppy, 
 while high up, white shining gravestones peeped out 
 from the tall grass with which the hills on both sides 
 of the valley were covered. A ridge still hid all but 
 the summits of the Tsang-shan from our view ; but 
 when we had traversed the reddish flat which stretches 
 north-west from the brow, a magnificent panorama of 
 plain, mountain, and lake lay before us. We struck 
 the eastern rim of the plain near the northern shore of 
 the Erh Hai, in whose crystal waters, stretching south- 
 wards, the snow-capped summits of the range bounding 
 the western edge of the plain were clearly reflected. 
 We felt, as we gazed on the brilliant picture, that we 
 were more than rewarded for our toilsome journey. 
 Descending the eastern rim, we soon reached the 
 northern marofin of the lake, in skirtino- which we 
 crossed a couple of streams which enter it from the 
 north. A small temple, perched on a rocky height, 
 stands clear out of the waters in the northern part of 
 the lake. Than such a spot it would have been hard 
 to find a better vantage ground from which to view the 
 picture. The valleys to the north were full of poppies, 
 and the white fields, which stretched along the western 
 shore, confused the eye as they merged and were lost 
 in the irlitter of the lake.
 
 I30 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 The villages to the north of Shang-kuun — the 
 " Upper Fortress " — are inhabited by a race called the 
 Min-chia, no doubt Shans, who differ in manners, lan- 
 guage, and, to a certain extent, in dress from the 
 Chinese. Like the Man-tzu, they are timid in the ex- 
 treme, and afraid that by fraternizing with a stranger 
 they might compromise themselves with the Chinese. 
 As we entered the gates of Shang-kuan on the 15th of 
 April, I thought of the members of the French Com- 
 mission, who, in 1868, narrowly escaped from it with 
 their lives, and of the stout-hearted missionary who 
 braved the anofer of the Sultan on their behalf. Pere 
 Leguilcher still lives ; he no longer hides in caves and 
 woods, but spends a peaceful life within the very walls 
 of Ta-li itself. At Shang-kuan we made the acquaint- 
 ance of several Ku-tsung, a Tibetan tribe inhabiting 
 the country to the north-west of Li-chiang Fu ; but 
 the term Ku-tsung is also applied by the people of Ta-li 
 to Tibetans generally, and is synonymous with the Hsi- 
 tsang of other parts of China. The road from Shang- 
 kuan runs south along the plain, dividing the cultivated 
 land, which stretches east to the edge of the lake, from 
 the stony and rougher ground, which stretches west to 
 the bases of the Tsang-shan, near which it is covered 
 with mounds — the resting-places of the Mohammedan 
 dead. Passing through the ruins wdiich line the ap- 
 proach to the city, we entered the north gate of the 
 capital of Western Carajan, and were welcomed by the 
 Chinese authorities and no less heartily by the French 
 and English missionaries withm its walls.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TA-LI FU TO YtJN-NxiN FU. 
 
 A view from the walls of Ta-li— The IMohammcdau Rebellion— A dyinp 
 patriot's prayer— Tibetan dogs — Amherst i)heasants — A visit tu the 
 marble quarries — False musk — Min-chia maidens — The Ta-li plain — 
 Playi'ul gusts from the Tsang-shan— Good-bye, Ta-li— A iblklore 
 hunting gi'ound- The Erh Hai and the Mekong— Trade with Upper 
 Burmah — Canton peddlers — Hsia-kuan, or the "Lower Fortress"— 
 Ruined cities — Wretched roads — Half-starved — The foreigner and the 
 camel — Marked courtesy at Ch'u-hsiung Fu— Yiin-nan salt wells — A 
 sackful of mails — A roadside trial — Across the Yiin-nan lake— Three 
 days in Yiin-nan Fu — Trade with Western China, and the introduction 
 of railways. 
 
 " The pen is mightier than the sword." But the 
 pen has not yet been manufactured which is able to 
 present a living picture of Ta-li Fu and its environs. 
 I have read the few published descriptions of the 
 scene, and, good though some of them undoubtedly are, 
 how short, how far short they all fall of the reality ! 
 I would fain throw down this worthless, halting pen, 
 and leave the grandeur to the imafrination of the 
 reader, and, if I venture to daub a few rough outlines 
 on the canvas, I must beg that full play be given to 
 the imaofination in addinrr the linishintr touches. 
 
 On the afternoon of a day towards the end of April 
 1883, I stood on the north-west angle of tliu walls of
 
 132 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 the city of Ta-li, Overhead, white fleecy clouds were 
 floating eastward across the azure blue, veiling, at 
 short intervals, the warm glow of the declining sun. 
 To the north stretched a plain studded with villages 
 peeping through the light green of encircling trees, 
 beginning to array themselves in the garb of summer. 
 Three miles to the west the Tsang-shan range, ser- 
 rated, capped with snow, towered seven thousand feet 
 above the plain, itself nearly seven thousand feet above 
 the level of the sea. Three miles to the east, the western 
 shore of a fine sheet of water, which runs the whole 
 length of the plain and is backed by high hills which 
 rise from its eastern margin, was lost among the glisten- 
 ing white poppy fields, which seemed to merge in the 
 silver beyond ; and specks of white, favoured by the cool 
 breezes from the snows, were skimming over the bosom 
 of the glorious lake. Wait a moment. The sun is 
 now half hidden by the white belt of snow. He is 
 gone. Darker and yet darker grows the face of the 
 giant range, throwing into still greater prominence the 
 numerous gullies down which flow the icy rills to nur- 
 ture the plain and then lose themselves in the waters 
 of the Erh Hai. How calm, how peaceful ! 
 
 From these I am loth to turn to the city itself and 
 account for its ruined condition. Within this walled 
 square of about four miles in circumference there are 
 only two good streets, which cross each other at right 
 ano-les and terminate at the four 2fates. What of the 
 rest? It consists of ruined and dilapidated houses 
 and cultivated plots of land. During the Mohammedan 
 rebellion, Ta-li was the centre round which the fiercest
 
 A DYING PATRIOT'S PRAYER. 133 
 
 struggle raged. AVhen the rebellion broke out, it was 
 seized by the insurgents and held by them until they 
 surrendered to the Imperialist forces which beleaguered 
 the city. Then occurred that scene of bloodshed, 
 butchery, and destruction, the like of which, happily, 
 is to be witnessed in uncivilised countries only. Exter- 
 mination was the order passed along the ranks of the 
 besiegers, and the streets of Ta-li were quickly turned 
 into shambles ankle-deep in blood. Men, women, and 
 children who manaofed to elude the murderers fled into 
 the fields bordering on the lake, into which they were 
 ultimately hunted like wild beasts, preferring death by 
 disowning to mutilation, defi.lement, and massacre. 
 
 This, then, was the answer to the prayer of the Mo- 
 hammedan leader, Tu Wen-hsiu, when he surrendered 
 to the besiegers. The interview is graphically described 
 by Mr. Baber : — " When the Mohammedans had sur- 
 
 * rendered and given up then- arms, Tu Wen-hsiu, the 
 
 * so-called ' Sultan,' came into the camp of the besiegers, 
 
 * borne in a sedan chair, and inquired for Ma, the Im- 
 ' perialist commander. Being introduced into his pre- 
 ' sence, he begged for a cup of water, which being given 
 
 * him, he said, ' I have nothing to ask but this — spare 
 *the people.' He then drank the water and almost im- 
 
 * mediately expired. It appears that he had taken poison, 
 'which was suddenly brought into action by the water. 
 ' His head was immediately cut off and exposed, and, 
 ' heedless of his prayer — probably the most impressive 
 ' and pathetic ever uttered by a dying patriot — the vic- 
 
 * tors proceeded to massacre the helpless garrison and 
 'townsfolk."
 
 134 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 More fortunate than the members of the Grosvenor 
 Mission, who were lodo^ed in an inn Avhere a thousand 
 Mohammedans were cooped up and butchered in cold 
 blood, I was, through the kindness and hospitality of 
 Mr. George Andrew, of the China Inland Mission, pro- 
 vided with a comfortable room in his house, where I 
 rested a fortnight before turning my face toward Ch'ung- 
 k'ing. During my stay I visited the lake, the marble 
 quarries in the Tsang-shan, and the annual fair which 
 was being held outside the west gate. I was also 
 fortunate in being able to witness a review of about five 
 thousand troops, which took place on the parade ground 
 close to the Mission House. I was most courteously 
 received by the Commander-in-chief of Western Yiin- 
 nan, and the Taotai, who claimed to be an old friend — 
 having travelled in my company to Yun-nan Fu the 
 previous year — was kindness itself. 
 
 As to the fair, I can add little to the description of 
 it given by Mr. Baber. The Ku-tsung, or Tibetan men 
 and women, were present with their encampments and 
 wares in .great numbers, and I was so charmed with 
 their fine powerful dogs that I endeavoured to procure 
 one. The idea had, however, to be abandoned, for 
 the animal brought to me for inspection required the 
 whole strength of a Tibetan to keep him in check. 
 Had I bought the dog, which was offered for ten taels, 
 I should have had to engage his keeper also. I suc- 
 ceeded in purchasing a tiger and two leopard skins, 
 unprepared of course, for a sum equivalent to a little over 
 two guineas, and, for several hundred cash, a couple of 
 live Amherst pheasants, which I carried in baskets to
 
 MARBLE QUARRIES. 135 
 
 Ch'ung-k'ing. This beautiful variety of phasianidae , 
 now common enough in Europe, is very abundant in 
 Western Yiin-nan, where its tail-feathers are highl}' 
 prized for decking pack-animals. They are inserted, 
 several together, in the brow of the bridle, and wave 
 over the animal's head. Trade is dear to the Chinese 
 heart. I found that, while I was buying, my followers 
 were rapidly disposing, at an immense profit, of a bundle 
 of razors which they had carried all the way from 
 Ch'ung-k'ing. 
 
 Small slabs of white marble streaked with dark 
 green, and supposed to represent trees, mountains, and 
 lakes, were extensively exposed for sale in the shops 
 and on street stalls. Their abundance pointed to a very 
 considerable industry, the working of which I resolved 
 to see for myself. One morning, taking a few men with 
 me and a guide, I left the city by the north gate, and, 
 proceeding over the plain in a north-westerly direction, 
 struck, in a couple of hours, the base of the mountains 
 where the ascent to the quarries begins. A stiff climb 
 of over three thousand feet through a botanist's para- 
 dise landed us at the mouth of a quarry, where a 
 number of men were bringing out blocks of pure white 
 marble. I told the workmen that I w\^s anxious to see 
 streaked marble in the rough ; but they innocently 
 replied that such marble was rare indeed, and that 
 they considered themselves lucky if they came across 
 such a block in the course of a year. Whence, then, 
 all the streaked marble ? The villagers on the plain 
 can answer the question, for to them is coniided the 
 polishing, painting, and. baking of the slabs, and the
 
 T3f5 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 filling up of inequalities with bees' wax. A scene to 
 suit a purchasers taste can be ordered in advance. 
 The inhabitants of the Ta-Ii plain are not behind their 
 brothers on the eastern seaboard. A couple of pods of 
 musk, which had been purchased for a trifle at the fair, 
 were brought to me to look at ; although to outward 
 appearances they were intact, a close inspection revealed 
 that they had been opened, and again carefully closed 
 by means of a needle and thread. Their buyer probably 
 paid a high price for all the musk which they contained. 
 
 From the quarries a splendid panorama of plain and 
 lake stretched below us. To the north lay Shang-kuan, 
 with its extended southern wall connectinof the lake 
 with the western mountains — the northern defence of 
 the city and plain. Hsia-kuan — the " Lower Pass or 
 Fortress " — was concealed by mountain spurs, which 
 creep into the plain to the south of the city. The two 
 pagodas, each of thirteen storeys, which grace the plain 
 between the city and the Tsang-shan, and which are 
 built of bricks stamped with Tibetan characters, looked 
 in the distance like inverted clubs. As we sat drinkinor 
 in this never-to-be-forgotten scene, a number of Min- 
 chia maidens, with bundles of pine branches on their 
 backs, passed swiftly down the mountain side. The 
 most striking part of their dress was a close-fitting 
 black cloth cap, shaped very like a fii'eman's helmet, and 
 adorned with rows of white beads. Our appearance, I 
 regret to say, somewhat hastened their movements. 
 
 As might naturally be expected, the half of the 
 Ta-li plain which lies near the foot of the Tsang-shan 
 range, is less fertile than the eastern half. It consists
 
 CHINESE PREJUDICE. 137 
 
 of stones, pebbles, and gravel, which have been quickly 
 dropped by the mountain streams, while the finer par- 
 ticles of mud have been carried along to add to the soil 
 of the half bordering on the lake. The shores of the 
 lake itself are composed of fine yellow sand thickly 
 scattered with a variety of large shells. Cold water, 
 whether for drinkino^ or washino^ is abhorrent to the 
 Chinese ; and when, on reaching the lake one day, I 
 expressed my desire to engage a small boat at a fishing 
 hamlet to take me out for a swim, my local escort stood 
 aghast and tried to dissuade me with all sorts of imagi- 
 nary dangers. The end of it was that we were soon, 
 escort included, at a distance from the shore ; and my 
 little dog and I, followed by our guardians in the boat, 
 disported ourselves for a quarter of an hour, chasing 
 each other in the clear cool lake. The fish in the lake, 
 to judge from the specimens I saw caught, belong to the 
 carp family. 
 
 As a general rule, the Chinese, as I have just re- 
 marked, abhor to eat or drink anything cold ; but in 
 Ta-li, snow mixed with sugar is eagerly devoured by 
 the people in summer. This brings me to the question 
 of perpetual snow on the Tsang-shan range, and, al- 
 though snow is visible on the plain for only ten months, 
 yet there can be no doubt that it is found during the 
 other two months in the crevices near the summit, and 
 can be bought in the streets throughout the whole year. 
 The temperature even in summer is delightful ; the 
 wind sweeps down from the snows in sudden gusts and 
 cools the atmosphere of the plain. Of these sudden 
 gusts I had myself a somewhat startling experience.
 
 138 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 As we neared the city on the day of our arrival, the 
 large heavy top of my official chair, weighted though it 
 was with pens, ink, paper, and thermometers, was lifted 
 up bodily and carried into an adjacent field. Another 
 effi^ct of the presence of the Tsang-shan is that the 
 crops are always late, the early setting of the sun 
 behind the range depriving the plain of two hours' daily 
 sunshine. 
 
 So pleasant had been our stay in Ta-li that I was 
 troubled with a heavy heart when, on the morning of 
 the 2nd of May, everything was ready for a fresh start, 
 and I had to bid good-bye to my kind host, who worked 
 at his remote station with a heartiness and a will that 
 I have not seen surpassed. To me, Ta-li and its sur- 
 roundings had become a kind of paradise, and had it 
 not been that duty called me back to my post, I would 
 fain have lingered there during the summer months. 
 Passing through the south gate we entered a long- 
 ruined suburb, which in former years must have been 
 very extensive. Streets and cross streets are numerous ; 
 but the floors of the fallen houses have been converted 
 into vegetable gardens. There is, indeed, a legend that 
 in palmier days this suburb ran as far as Hsia-kuan, a 
 busy town on the high-road which connects China and 
 Upper Burmah, ten miles to the south of Ta-li. Fron- 
 tier towns are noted, however, as the cradle of romance, 
 and, if I could remember half the myths which were 
 related to me about the White Prince of the " Country 
 of the Golden Teeth," of which Ta-li is a part, they 
 would make a very interesting volume. The object of 
 my journey was, fortunately or unfortunately, to collect
 
 CHINESE TRADE WITH BURMAH. 139 
 
 facts, not fables ; but to the student of folklore, un- 
 trammelled with trade statistics, I can confidently 
 recommend the Ta-li plain as a happy hunting-ground. 
 The lake is drained by a river which, leaving its south- 
 western corner, divides Hsla-kuan into two parts, and 
 then goes west and south to join the Mekong, or, as it 
 is called in China, the Lan-tsang Chiang. 
 
 Some days previous to my departure from Ta-li, 
 I despatched my writer to Hsia-kuan to collect all 
 available information on the subject of Chinese trade 
 with Burmah ; and, on my arrival there, I spent some 
 time in overhauling the statistics which he had amassed, 
 and in obtaining corroborative evidence. This, added 
 to valuable information which I subsequently obtained 
 from a gentleman in Bhamo, led me to the conclusion 
 that the total annual value of the trade between West- 
 ern China and Burmah amounted at that time to about 
 half a million sterling^. As we were discussinof trade 
 matters in the inn, a crowd of Canton peddlers turned 
 up, and grinned from ear to ear at the strange appari- 
 tion of a foreigner so far from the seaboard. They were 
 a rough-looking lot ; instead of the usual carrying pole, 
 at the ends of which the loads are swuns-, each was 
 provided with a wooden spear fitted with a long iron 
 blade, from which dangled an antiquated horse-pistol. 
 They were on their way to Ta-li to exchange their 
 wares for new opium. Hsia-kuan lies much nearer to 
 the nearest point on the Burmese frontier than to Yun- 
 nan Fu, and, had I possessed the necessary authority, 
 how gladly would I have gone west to Bliamo. It was 
 not to be, and I had to content myself with walking to
 
 140 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 the western end of the town, and looking longingly in 
 the direction of our Indian Empire, so near, and yet to 
 remain unvisited. 
 
 There is little for me to add to the descriptions 
 given by Margary, and by Messrs. Baber and Davenport 
 of the Grosvenor Mission, of the country between Ta-li 
 Fu and Ytln-nan Fu. After our experiences of the Chien- 
 ch'ang valley, it was so tame and monotonous that I 
 resolved to push on with all despatch, and we succeeded 
 in covering the distance of two hundred odd miles in 
 thirteen days without resting. Of the six cities which 
 lie on the high-road, the only one that may be singled 
 out for special mention is Ch'ao Chou, the end of the 
 first stage from Ta-li. It showed more promising signs 
 of revival than any of the others. Ch^n-nan Chou, 
 Ch'u-hsiung Fu, Kuang-t'ung Hsien, Lu-feng Hsien, 
 and An-ning Chou were in a very dilapidated condition. 
 In most of them the walls, which were breached, had 
 not been repaired ; nor within the walls was there any 
 marked indication of returning prosperity. ' In many of 
 the villages, however, building operations were going 
 forward apace. To say that the road was best where 
 there was no road may seen paradoxical. It is never- 
 theless true, for, where the paving had disappeared, 
 fine battened sand or clay gave an excellent foothold 
 except when it rained. In many places paved mounds 
 rose in the middle of the roadway, and these were care- 
 fully avoided by man and beast. Not unfrequently, 
 too, so distorted was the paving that it had every 
 appearance of having been convulsed by an earthquake. 
 
 East of Ch'ao Chou the cities occupy valleys drained
 
 CURIOSITY DOM IX A NT. i_ji 
 
 by streams, which go north to join the Yang-tsze. 
 Between the valleys are hill ranges covered with pine, 
 oak, and brushwood, affording excellent cover for game. 
 It was no uncommon occurrence for half a dozen pheas- 
 ants to rise from the cover by the roadside, startled at 
 oiir approach, and drop within easy range. Poppy, 
 wheat, and beans occupied the few patches of ground 
 under cultivation among the hills. On the third day 
 from Ta-li we skirted the southern shore of a laro-e lake, 
 called the Ch'ing-lung Hai, which was literally covered 
 with duck. An incident which occurred , the same 
 evening photographed that picture on my mind. We 
 lodcred for the nio;ht in the miserable villao^e of Yun- 
 nan-yi, where, with an exhausted larder, I could get 
 nothing to eat for love or money. It is not a very 
 pleasant position to be stranded in the dark without 
 food, and to know that only a few miles off there are 
 thousands of duck cackling^ to their hearts' content. 
 On the whole, I thought it as well to take the matter 
 philosophically, so I smoked vigorously for an hour to 
 ward off hunger, and then went to bed. Next day 
 at noon, while I sat in my chair in the street which 
 constitutes the village of Shui-p'ang-p'u, breaking my 
 fast by devouring a couple of hard boiled eggs, I found 
 myself the object of intense attraction to the inhabi- 
 tants, who were parading backwards and forwards with 
 a business air that seemed somewhat out of harmon}'- 
 with their wretched surroundings. Their curiosity was 
 still unsatisfied when the head, and gradually the pon- 
 derous body, of a camel appeared at the other end of the 
 street. In a moment we were deserted, and as we left
 
 142 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 the village we looked back, and saw the whole population 
 following the camel westwards. 
 
 On the seventh day from Ta-li we reached the 
 remains of the prefectural city of Ch'u-hsiung, where 
 we were received with marked attention and courtesy 
 at the hands of the local authorities. A mile from the 
 city a temporary reception room was erected, and a 
 captain, with a file of soldiers, awaited our arrival, and 
 conducted us to a spacious inn outside the west gate ; 
 and early next morning the same ceremony was re- 
 peated outside the east gate. On the 10th of May we 
 lodged for the night in the village of She-tz'u, to the 
 immediate west of which branches a road to the chief 
 salt wells in the province, about fifty miles to the north. 
 Up to this point, nothing of commercial importance had 
 been noticed going eastward ; but from She-tz'u to 
 Ylin-nan Fu there was one long string of caravans laden 
 with pan salt. From the east came caravans of cut 
 tobacco from Chao-chou Fu, in the Canton province, 
 straw hats, and tin from the Kuo-chiu-ch'ang mines in 
 the district of Meng-tzu, in the south of the province. 
 They were bound for Ta-li and the west of Ylin-nan. 
 The tobacco was said to be in exchange for tin exported 
 from the above-named mines to Tonquin. Soon after 
 leaving Shd-tz'u we came upon a man carrying a sack, 
 the contents of which — seven bundles of despatches, 
 letters, and papers forwarded to me from Ch'ung-k'ing 
 — were soon emptied by the road-side. At Ta-li, Pere 
 Leguilcher favoured me with a perusal of the latest 
 telegrams which he had received by native post from 
 Ch'ung-k'ing, where all the important items of news
 
 A ROADSIDE TRIAL. i43 
 
 appearing in the Shanghai papers are translated by, 
 and printed under the superintendence of, my friend 
 Pere Vin9ot, and forwarded to the various Mission 
 Stations throughout the West of China. 
 
 While I was deep in the middle of my letters, my 
 escort came up with a man they had made a prisoner, 
 and I at once proceeded to hold a roadside investigation. 
 The charge brought against him was that he had al- 
 lowed one of the animals of his caravan to push one of 
 my baggage waggons, with a bearer, down a gully 
 which the road skirted, much to the damage of the 
 baggage and the injury of the bearer. An examination 
 of the former failed to prove any damage, while the 
 latter had escaped with a few skin-deep bruises about 
 the face. After a prolonged inquiry, I found that both 
 parties were to blame ; but I added a rider that I was 
 of opinion that the chief blame lay with the local 
 authorities, who allowed the road to remain in such a 
 frightful condition. My own men grumbled at the 
 decision ; but I ordered the immediate release of the 
 driver, and advised him to hurry back to his caravan 
 as fast as his legs could carry him — which he did. 
 
 A noble stone bridcre of seven arches — the most sub- 
 stantial and artistic I have seen in Western China — 
 spans a stream which flows southwards to the west of 
 the district city of Lu-fong, on its way to swell the 
 Song-koi. The city itself is badly ruined ; but the 
 plain in which it lies contrasts very favourably in an 
 agricultural point of view with the valley occui)ied by 
 the next city to the east — An-ning Chou. The latter 
 suffered severely during the rebellion. The walls lie
 
 144 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 where they fell, the gates are wanting, and the whole 
 scene was dreary, desolate, and dead. There is, indeed, 
 a local industry of inconsiderable proportions. In the 
 eastern part of the city are three wells, about a hundred 
 feet deep, containing weak brine, which, on being 
 passed through earth, leaves a saline deposit. From 
 this, which is collected and j)laced in water, salt is 
 evaporated and consumed locally. The river which 
 drains the Yiin-nan Fu lake flows north under the 
 eastern wall of the ruined city to the Yang-tsze. The 
 villasre and tax-station of Pi-chi-kuan crowns the last 
 ridofe that has to be crossed before descendinof into the 
 large plain, wherein lie the provincial capital and the 
 lake. Instead of foUowinof the hiofh-road we made for 
 the north-western margin of the lake, and at the fishing 
 village of Kao-ch'iao engaged a couple of junks, which 
 bore us eastward, with the aid of a stiff breeze, past 
 beds of tall reeds sheltering teal, duck, and geese, to 
 within a short distance of the western wall of the 
 capital. 
 
 In Ytin-nan Fu I found Mr. Mesny, of the Chinese 
 Military Service, whom I had met eleven weeks before 
 in Ch'6ng-tu. He had now made up his mind to proceed 
 to Canton by way of the West River, and he was good 
 enough to give me the first ofier of his horse and mule, 
 which he could easily have disposed of to Chinese. I 
 closed with his offer, and a bargain was soon struck. 
 The same kind hospitality was held out to me by the 
 members of the French and China Inland Missions as 
 on my previous visit, and I spent three very pleasant 
 days with old and new friends.
 
 PROSPECTIVE TRADE OUTLOOK. 145 
 
 Three roads lead from Yun-nan Fu to Ch'uncc-k'inff • 
 there is the road by way of Tung-ch'uan and Chao-t'ung 
 to the Yang-tsze, and the road by way of Kuei-yang, 
 the capital of the province of Kuei-chow. Both of these 
 routes I traversed in 1882. But there is an interme- 
 diate road which, leaving the high-road to Kuei-yang 
 at Chan-i Chou, oroes north and east throuofh the north- 
 west corner of Kuei-chow to the Yunnr-ninof River and 
 the Yang-tsze, and this route I now decided to follow. 
 Before giving a description of this country, how- 
 ever, I must say a word about the West of Yun-nan, 
 and the prospects of trade across the Burmese frontier. 
 The most casual reader will have observed that the pro- 
 vince of Ylln-nan is covered with ruined cities, towns, 
 and villages ; that its soil, fruitful without h doubt, is 
 only partly cultivated ; and that its population is ex- 
 ceedingl}'" scant. True it is, immigration is taking place 
 from the northern province of Ssii-ch'uan, and lands 
 laid waste by the rebellion are being taken up ; but the 
 process is very slow, for, among the hardy Ssu-ch'uanese, 
 Yiin-nan has an evil name, and they are loth to ([uit 
 their own productive fields to till what is at present 
 inferior land. Room must, however, be found for the 
 ever-increasing population of Ssii-ch'uan, which is surely 
 destined to develo23 both Kuei-chow and Yiin-nan ; yet 
 many years must elapse before such a happy consum- 
 mation can be effected. Until that time comes, no great 
 development of our trade with Western China through 
 Burmah need be looked for. It will be said that these 
 are the views of a pessimist, and that the introduc- 
 tion of railways would put new life into the country.
 
 146 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 Granted that there are people foolish enough to furnish 
 capital for the construction of railways through an im- 
 possible country — that is, supposing the necessary per- 
 mission to have been obtained — I have yet to learn 
 that there can be trade without trade-products, and 
 that shareholders would expect no remuneration from 
 their capital. It will be time enough to think of rail- 
 ways when half the province of Ytin-nan is under cul- 
 tivation and some of its dead industries have been 
 revived.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 THROUGH THE WEST OF KUEI-CHOW TO THE YANG-TSZE 
 
 The advantages of scholars en mute for examiuation — High-road convcrteil 
 into a reservoir — Quartered in a chimney — Intolerable inquisitivcness 
 — Travellers, beware of T'ang-t'ang !— The Yiin-nan— Kuei-chow bor- 
 der — Lakes and their drainage — Again among the Mian-tzii — The val- 
 ley of the Ch'i-hsing River — Bark paper — " Heaven's Bridge " and its 
 mining catastrophe — The copper traffic — Across the Ch'ih-slmi River 
 into Ssii-ch'uan — Over the Hsiieh-shan Pass— A child of nature— A 
 refractory roadside deity — Down the Yung-ning River— A narrow 
 escape — Down the Yang-tsze to Ch'ung-k'ing. 
 
 Having in a previous chapter described the country 
 between Kuei-yang Fu and the capital of Yiin-nan, I 
 need offer no apology for requesting my reader to ac- 
 company me once more into the plain of Chan-i Chou, 
 now yellow with golden wheat, and thus obviate the 
 necessity of describing another weary ride over the 
 red uplands of Eastern Yiin-nan. Yet I would fain 
 impart that confidence which was placed in me by 
 some scholars who were my companions during these 
 five stages ; and, to this end, I must first say a few 
 words on the subject of competitive examinations in 
 China. 
 
 With few exceptions, these examinations are open 
 to any candidate who thinks he possesses sufiiciunt
 
 148 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 ability to pass. The lowest degree is that of licentiate, 
 and the examination takes place at the capital of the 
 prefecture within which the candidate's district hap- 
 pens to be. The next degree is that of provincial 
 graduate, the examination for which is also triennial, 
 and is held in the capital of the province. The candi- 
 dates for this second degree are mostly those who have 
 taken the degree of licentiate in open competition. The 
 competition for the highest degree, that of metropolitan 
 graduate, takes place at Peking in the year following 
 the examinations for provincial graduates throughout 
 the Empire, to whom alone it is open. Success in this 
 final examination is always a certain stepping-stone to 
 official employment. I speak of the civil, not of the 
 military service. To provincial graduates proceeding 
 to compete at the metropolis, passes are issued on appli- 
 cation, and these, pasted on their cases, exempt their 
 baofcrao'e from examination and taxation en route. This 
 is no small matter, for a graduate's effscts usually con- 
 sist of some of the products or manufactures of his pro- 
 vince, for which he can find a ready market in Peking. 
 My companions were three in number, and they were 
 jointly interested in a caravan of seventeen pack-animals 
 laden with protected cases, which they unhesitatingly 
 told me contained opium and marble from Ta-li. It 
 would be a consideration to many a Scotch student if, 
 in going up to London to compete in the Civil Service 
 Examinations, they were allowed to carry with them as 
 baggage a few kegs of duty-free whiskey ! 
 
 In parts of the Chan-i plain, which we entered on 
 the afternoon of the 22nd of May, some little anxiety
 
 QUARTERED IN A CHIMXEY. 149 
 
 was being manifested as to the supply of water for irri- 
 gation purposes. At one spot we found the high-road 
 dammed, and my followers had to doff their netlier 
 garments before they could get through. The luckless 
 peasants did not escape considerable abuse. " How 
 dare you," rose the angry shouts, " turn the roads into 
 reservoirs ? " A low undulating plateau, only partly 
 cultivated, succeeds the plain to the north-east. The 
 few villages dotted about were partly concealed in 
 groves of walnut trees, and the encircling crops of oats, 
 potatoes, beans, buckwheat, Indian corn, wheat, and 
 po{)py were decidedly inferior. What else could be 
 expected of a light clay soil ? There was one redeemint^ 
 feature about this plateau, however, which should not 
 be passed over. The roads were available for cart- 
 traffic. Would our quarters be sufficiently comfortable 
 to detain us over the 24th of May ? was the question 
 that occupied my mind as I rode into the villao-e of 
 Lai-yuan-p'u on the evening of the 23rd, drenched to 
 the skin, and far in advance of my followers. We had 
 been overtaken in the open by a tremendous rain-storm, 
 and I left the caravan and pushed on for shelter. I 
 immediately selected the loft as my share of the inn, 
 and everytliing promised well until my men turned up, 
 when a fire had to be lit to dry tlieir clothes and cook 
 our food. It was only then that I discovered that the 
 smoke had no outlet except through the loft, that I 
 had, in fact, taken up my quarters in tlie chimney of 
 the inn. Tlie loft had to be abandoned for a mud cell 
 on the ground floor, and the morrow's holiday had to 
 be dispensed with.
 
 150 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 To the north of Lai-yuan-p'u the road passes through 
 a short barrier of rocky heights, and enters a small plain 
 containing a village and a lakelet to the north-east of it. 
 To this succeeds an undulating, all but uncultivated, 
 rain-washed plateau, where the road was in many places 
 swept away — deep nullahs showing the direction the 
 torrents had taken. This plateau was not altogether 
 without value, for it contained numerous wells or pits 
 whence coloured clays for the manufacture of earthen- 
 ware were being extracted. 
 
 Here the people were of a very inquisitive turn of 
 mind. To have to take one's meals in a chair is bad 
 enough — infinitely preferable, nevertheless, to a smoky, 
 dirty, mud cell ; but to be surrounded by a mob of 
 gaping men, women, and children, watching every 
 mouthful, does not tend to the preservation of temper, 
 and it required all the banter I could command to make 
 even a temporary impression and keep the peace. This 
 was our experience a few miles to the south of Hsiian- 
 wei Chou, the last city through which we had to pass 
 before entering the province of Kuei-chow. 
 
 This city, which is of very little importance, lies on 
 the left bank of a stream flowino- south-east to swell 
 
 o 
 
 the West River, and not the Yang-tsze, as some map- 
 makers would try to make us believe. Coal and iron 
 are both found in the neighbourhood, and a coolie, with 
 a load of the latter on his back, asked us whether it was 
 the case, as he had heard, that the Governor-General 
 of Ylin-nan and Kuei-chow was in want of all the avail- 
 able metal for the manufacture of guns. I regretted 
 my inability to satisfy the curiosity of this would-be
 
 TRAVELLERS, BEWARE OF T'ANG-T'ANG! 151 
 
 trader. Lime is also found and was being extensively 
 used as manure. 
 
 T'anof-t'anof, the terminus of the first staofe from and 
 to the north-east of Hsiian-wei, is approached through 
 a series of narrow valleys separated by precipitous 
 hills. It lies on a hill-side near the meetinc" of two 
 streams. How well I remember the miserable village ! 
 Travellers, beware of T'ang-t'ang ! Its bugs were ra- 
 venous, and a sorry figure we all cut next day as we 
 hurried to the Kuei-chow frontier. 
 
 From T'ang-t'ang the road ascends northwards to 
 the hamlet of Mu-kua-shao, whence commences a 
 steep descent to a narrow valley which leads to the 
 K'o-tu River flowing east. On the way down, we 
 passed through the hamlet of Shui-t'ang-p'u, insig- 
 nificant in itself, but destined at some future time to be 
 of greater importance. 
 
 A few hundred yards to the south-east of the hamlet 
 there is a silver mine, which may some day prove pro- 
 ductive. The owners bewailed to me their inability to 
 make the mine do more than pay the expenses of work- 
 ing. Yet what could be expected from the ordinary 
 Chinese furnace which was employed to smelt the ore ? 
 
 Although a narrow strip of land on the north bank 
 of the river is within the jurisdiction of Yun-nan, the 
 K'o-tu may, for all practical purposes, be considered 
 the boundary at this point of the Yiin-nau and Kuei- 
 chow provinces. 
 
 A plaited bamboo rope was stretched across the 
 river — about sixty feet broad — and used by the ferry- 
 men for hauling their boat backwards and forwards.
 
 152 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 High clIfTs, up which the road zigzags, form the north 
 bank and tower above the river. This borderland is 
 very rich in metals ; silver, as I have just said, is found 
 to the south of the river, and to the immediate north 
 copper and lead are both worked. The copper reefs 
 would appear to run right across Southern Ssu-ch'uan 
 and north-eastern Yun-nan into the west of Kuei-chow. 
 Wei-ning Chou, the first city within the Kuei-chow 
 borders, is picturesquely situated on rising ground, a 
 few hundred yards from the northern margin of the 
 eastern portion of a large lake, which, like the smaller 
 basins a few miles to the north, would appear to have 
 no outlet. The same phenomenon, if it may be called 
 a phenomenon, is observable in the Chao-t'ung plain in 
 north-eastern Ytin-nan. We have already seen, how- 
 ever, that underground rivers are very common in 
 Kuei-chow and Ytin-nan, and it is not impossible that 
 the surplus waters of the lake may find their way by 
 underground channels into the head- waters of the K'o- 
 tu Kiver, which is over a thousand feet below the level 
 of the Wei-ning plain. To reach the city we skirted 
 the eastern shore of the lake, crossing a small three- 
 arched stone bridge which spans a rivulet draining 
 a valley to the south-east and entering the lake. To 
 the north-east of Wei-ning, the paved road, which 
 runs through small basins full of coal, was in such an 
 excellent state of repair that our animals fought shy of 
 it, preferring the rough grassy ground through which 
 it passes. Here we found ourselves again among 
 Miao-tzu, busy tilling their fields. The women were 
 as usual clad in their native dress, while the men 
 wore coarse hempen clothes in Chinese style.
 
 ''LEATHER" PAPER. 153 
 
 Twenty miles north of Wei-ning, the road goes east 
 for four days through rough mountainous country to 
 the busy city of Pi-chieh Hsien, on the left bank of a 
 tributary of the Wu Chiang, and nearly 5000 feet 
 above the level of the sea. Twenty-five miles to the 
 east of the city is the second depression of any import- 
 ance on the road from Yun-nan Fu to the Yang-tsze. 
 This depression forms the bed of the Ch'i-hsing River, 
 one of the two main branches of the Wu Chiang, and 
 is little more than four thousand feet above the level 
 of the sea. The river is crossed by a stone bridge of 
 two arches, with spans of eighteen and fifteen yards 
 respectively, with a centre pier five yards broad, so 
 that the total breadth of the Ch'i-hsmg at this point 
 is tliirty-eight yards. The bridge is roofed and adorned 
 with three pavilions, one at either end and one on the 
 centre pier. Although the wooden floor is tliirty feet 
 above the river, I was told that it was by no means 
 safe during floods, and that the water frequently 
 swept over it. Fifty yards to the north of the present 
 structure are the two piers of a former stone bridge, 
 which came to grief during a flood. Pi-chieh is a 
 great depot for Ssu-ch'uan salt, which finds its way 
 to Western Kuei-chow by the Yung-ning liiver as far 
 as Yung-ning Hsien, and thence overland by pack 
 animals and carriers. In Pi-chieh I saw a quantity 
 of that famous tough paper which is manufactured in 
 the province of Kuei-chow, and which is wrongly called 
 " leather " paper. The mistake is pardonable, for the 
 character which means "leather" also means "bark;" 
 and the paper is made from the fibrous inner bark of 
 the Broussonetia papyri/era, Vent.
 
 154 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 There is considerable romance in the names wliich 
 the Chinese apply to their ciijies and villages. At the 
 end of the first stage from Pi-chieh is the village of 
 Chin-yin-shan, the characters for which, literally trans- 
 lated, mean " Gold-silver-mountain." True, the street 
 occupies the face of a hill ; but the precious metals, to 
 judge from the surroundings, were conspicuous by their 
 absence. 
 
 It not unfrequently happens, however, that the 
 name is in strict accordance with actual facts. On our 
 second stage from Wei-ning Chou we passed through 
 a village called T'ien-ch'iao, or T'ien-shong-ch'iao — 
 " Heaven's Bridge," " Heaven-born Bridge," or " Natu- 
 ral Brido-e " — which is really built on the top of a lime- 
 stone cavern through which a stream has pushed its 
 way. Some twenty years ago this latter village was 
 the scene of a dreadful catastrophe. Gold and silver, 
 so runs the story, were both found in a mountain a little 
 to the east of the high-road, and one day, when the 
 miners were all at work, the tunnelling collapsed and 
 buried every soul. Since that time all attempts to find 
 the ore have failed. 
 
 Squalid though the villages were, evident signs of 
 improvement were manifesting themselves, and the 
 following proclamation, which had lately been issued by 
 the Financial Commissioner of the province of Ytln-nan, 
 and which was widely posted along the whole route, 
 may have accounted for the unwonted energy which we 
 observed : — " The copper, which the mines in Yiin-nan 
 ' are bound to supply annually for use in Peking, was in 
 * former years conveyed to Lu Chou for export, and at
 
 A PLEASURE IN STORE. 155 
 
 * that time there was a flourishinof trade alono: the route. 
 ' Within recent years the sea route has been attempted, 
 ' with the result that this trade has dwindled into in- 
 
 * significance. The Board of Revenue has now decided 
 ' that the copper shall be carried by the old route, so 
 'that people and traders* of Yiin-nan and Kuei-chow 
 ' may look forward to more prosperous times. The 
 ' copper from the prefectures of Tung-ch'uan and Chao- 
 ' t'ung will go to Hsii-chou Fu [Sui Fu], and from the 
 ' district of K'un-ming [within which the capital of 
 ' Ylln-nan lies] to Hsil-yung T'ing [the highest navi- 
 ' gable point on the Yung-ning River, which enters the 
 
 * Yang-tsze to the west of Lu Chou]. On these two 
 
 * important routes, by which the copper is to be con- 
 ' veyed into Ssu-ch'uan, make all haste to open hostel- 
 ' ries for the accommodation of these consiofnments of 
 ' copper and their carriers. This will cause a develop- 
 ' ment of trade generally, and traders and people along 
 ' these roads may depend on a profitable business." 
 
 In many places to the north of Pi-chieh the high- 
 road reminded me of a country lane at home. It was 
 frequently hedged with dense bushes of s\yeetbriar and 
 hawthorn laden with blossom, and had it not been for 
 the universal poppy, the resemblance would have been 
 far more complete. 
 
 The 6 th of June was a day of great excitement 
 amongst my followers, as we were to cross the Kuei- 
 chow frontier and rest for the night within the SsQ- 
 ch'uan border. A dense mist obscured everything at 
 the start, and it was not till the great event of the day 
 — the descent to the Ch'ih-shui River — began, that we
 
 156 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 were enabled to get a view of the country that lay 
 before us. The village of Kao-shan-p'u stands on the 
 southern rim of the third great depression between 
 Yiin-nan Fu and the Yang-tsze. Beyond the deep de- 
 file lies the Hsileh-shan ranofe runninor east and west, 
 over 5000 feet above the level of the sea and at least a 
 thousand feet higher than the southern rim. Up its 
 face zio-zags the narrow stone road, visible almost to 
 the summit of the range. Down from the southern 
 rim runs the roadway for a distance of ten li — equal to 
 nearly three miles — to the right bank of the river flow- 
 ing swiftly eastward. The river, which is eighty yards 
 broad, is about two thousand feet above the level of the 
 sea, and, as it enters the Yang-tsze at the city Ho-' 
 chiang Hsien ninety-five miles to the south-west of 
 Ch'ung-k'ing, it is not navigable in its upper waters, 
 there being- a fall of about thirteen hundred feet. 
 Few facilities are provided for the passage of the im- 
 mense traffic which exists between the province of Ssii- 
 ch'uan and the provmces of Kuei-chow and Yiin-nan ; 
 a couple of ferry-boats, each sixty feet long, and cap- 
 able of carrying ten pack-animals and their di'ivers, 
 afibrd the only means of crossing. 
 
 The white-washed houses of the village of Ch'ih- 
 shui Hslln or Ho-pei Hsun, as it is also called, on the 
 north bank strasfo'le from the mountain foot a short 
 distance up, and here we found shelter for the night. 
 Next morning, we ascended by a series of steps for a 
 distance of twenty-five li — nearly eight miles — to a 
 solitary temple crowning a ridge which the road sur- 
 mounts.
 
 A CHILD OF NATURE. 157 
 
 If I assume — and it is no great assumption — that 
 the river forms the apex of a right-angled triangle with 
 sides three and eight miles long respectively, a simple 
 mathematical calculation will give the distance in a 
 straiofht line from rim to rim. Now, this is the route 
 by which it has been proj^osed to carry a railway from 
 Burmah throuofh the Shan States and Ytin-nan to Ssu- 
 ch'uan, and, granting that the necessary permission 
 could be obtained, who will undertake to bridefc the 
 chasm and who will pay the piper ? 
 
 The descent of the Hsueh-shan on the north side is 
 very precipitous, the road winding downwards to the 
 hamlet and coal mines of Lan-ma-lu, where a somewhat 
 curious spectacle attracted my attention. Seated near 
 the mouth of one of the t\vo tunnels was a begrimed 
 and dirty miner clad in the garb of Eden prior td the 
 Fall, and in his hands clasping a tiny red flower, which 
 he was caressingly aj^plying from time to time to his 
 olfactory organ. Here, surely, was a case in which a 
 man was to be judged not by his exterior, but by his 
 inclinations and actions. 
 
 It was on the following day, when we were making 
 our way through the ridges which bar the path to the 
 north of the Hsueh-shan, that we came up with a 
 refractory roadside deity. His tongue, which slightly 
 protruded, had been lavishly smeared with opium, and, 
 as might naturally be supposed, he appeared to object 
 strongly to the drug in its crude form, for it had 
 trickled down and disfigured his neck and breast ! 
 
 From the market-town of Mo-ni-ch'ang, our resting 
 place for the night after the passage of the Hsueh-shan,
 
 158 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 the road runs northwards for two days through valleys 
 and hilly country to the Yung-ning- River and the city 
 of Yung-ning Hsien, from which the river derives its 
 name. In one or two of the valleys there was no natu- 
 ral outlet for the streams to which the encirclino" hills 
 gave birth, and exits had been cut through the solid 
 rocky heights. Yung-ning Hsien and Hsli-yung T'ing 
 occupy the right and left banks of the river respec- 
 tively, a stone bridge connecting the two cities. Here 
 we found ourselves in the centre of bustle and business, 
 and, what delighted us more than anything else, in 
 direct water communication with the Yang-tsze and 
 Ch'ung-k'ing. Our overland journeying was, for the 
 present, at an end. 
 
 In Chapter IV., I referred to the Heng River and 
 described our descent of the Nan-kuang River, which is 
 blocked near its entrance to the Yang-tsze by a rocky 
 reef barring navigation. On reaching the district city 
 on the 9 th of June, I immediately proceeded to make 
 arrangements for our conveyance to Lu Chou, a great 
 trade centre on the north bank of the Yang-tsze, a few 
 miles to the east of its junction with the Yung-ning. 
 I had little difficulty in engaging for a small sum a boat 
 which had just discharged its cargo of salt and was 
 about to descend. It lay with a number of others of 
 the same class under the walls of the city, and on the 
 morning of the 10th of June we embarked, leaving our 
 animals to be walked overland to Ch'uno^-k'incr in charo;e 
 of the horse-boy. Although our boat, which was narrow 
 and about fifty feet in length, drew little water, we had 
 no sooner got her bows down stream than she grounded
 
 A PERILOUS POSITION. 159 
 
 in mid-rlver, necessitating several of the crew jumping 
 overboard and pushing her off the shallows. 
 
 For some miles north of Yung-ning Hsien the river 
 retains its breadth of fifty yards, flowing between 
 low hills which were well cultivated. These give place 
 to a rocky country, huge boulders lining the banks and 
 encroaching on the river's bed to such an extent as to 
 leave only sufficient breadth for one boat to pass. This 
 cooping-up of the waters and declivity in the bed give 
 rise to a series of rapids, two of which are really dan- 
 gerous. In this, what may be called, mid-section of the 
 river, oars were abandoned (there not being room to use 
 them), and the navigation was conducted by means of a 
 long spar which projected over the bows, and had often 
 as many as six of the crew hanging on to its butt end. 
 At one of the dangerous rapids we narrowly escaped 
 being dashed to pieces. The boat was rushing down at 
 full speed through huge boulders to a four foot fall, 
 when the bow spar snapped in two, the projecting part 
 falling into the river, the butt end rolling on deck 
 and the crew sprawling over and under it. Amid their 
 frantic yells the steersman, fortunately, did not lose his 
 head, and succeeded in bringing us up alongside the 
 rocks just above the fall. We were now perfectly help- 
 less, and the greater part of the afternoon of the 11th 
 was spent by the skipper in visiting adjacent villages 
 in search of a new spar. He was at length successful, 
 and over the fall we went, the planks of the boat 
 quivering under us. 
 
 To the north of the rocky section the country opens 
 out, gently undulating and cultivated ; the sloping
 
 i6o THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 banks of the river, which here attains a breadth of a 
 hundred yards, were fringed with feathery Ijamboos, 
 the current became actually sluggish, and trackers were 
 sent on shore to exjoedite the descent. The Yung- 
 ning loses itself peacefully in the Yang-tsze at the dis- 
 trict city of Na-ch'i Hsien, which lies on the right 
 bank of both rivers. Under the busy market-town of 
 Lien-ch'ien-tzu, which occupies the bend opposite Na- 
 ch'i, lay a fleet of about fifty salt junks ready to ascend 
 to Yung-ning Hsien. They were summoning their 
 crews by beat of gong, when we issued from the river 
 on the morning- of the 12th of June. 
 
 I must not leave the Yung-ning River without say- 
 ing a few words as to its importance as a trade route. 
 By it, Western Kuei-chow is supplied with salt from 
 Ssu-ch'uan, principally from the Tzu-liu-ching wells, 
 and it is the main thoroughfare for the distribution of 
 native cottons, manufactured in Ssu-ch'uan from raw 
 cotton from the Central Provinces of China, required 
 by Western Kuei-chow and Eastern Yiin-nan. Foreign 
 cottons go as far as Sui Fu, and thence by way of the 
 Heng and Nan-kuang Rivers to Northern and Eastern 
 Yiin-nan. 
 
 At noon we lay under the walls of Lu Chou, and 
 soon found a comfortable passenger boat, into which 
 I forthwith transhipped all my followei's, and early 
 next morninsr we were off. The swollen waters of the 
 Yang-tsze carried us swiftly eastward, and, on the after- 
 noon of the 14th of June, we moored under the south- 
 ern wall of Ch'ung-k'ing, after an absence of one hun- 
 dred and twenty-four days.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 TO THE WHITE WAX COUNTRY, THE SACRED MOUNT 
 O-MEI, AND THE HIGHEST NAVIGABLE POINT ON THE 
 YANG-TSZE. 
 
 An unfortunate start — North to Ho Cliou — Chinese Soy — VarnLsh and its 
 collection — Young trees from the old — Light-liearted peasants — The 
 garden of Ssii-ch'uan — Otter fishing — Man-tzu caves — A great sugar 
 country — Glimpse of 0-mei — Chief silk country in Western China — 
 Ascent of 0-mei — Sweet tea of Omei — The Golden Summit — The 
 Glory of Buddha— Pilginms and their devotions — 0-mei beggars — A 
 difficult descent — Official obstruction — Sick followers — On the banks 
 of the Ta-tu — Man-tzu raids — Down with fever — Guerilla warfiire — 
 Hard up for food — An exhausting march — The welcome Yang-tsze — 
 Its highest navigable point— Down the upper rapids — Death of my 
 horse-boy— Back to Ch'ung-k'ing. 
 
 In the spring of 1884, I received instructions from 
 the Foreign Office to report fully, for the information 
 of the Director of the Royal Gardens at Kew, on the 
 subject of Chinese Insect White Wax, and to collect 
 and transmit specimens illustrative of this remarkable 
 industry. In China, so much of the marvellous is 
 always mixed up with fact tliat, in order to gain trust- 
 worthy information on anything that savours of obscu- 
 rity, personal observation is essential. To comply with 
 my instructions, therefore, I found it necessary to pay a 
 visit to the centre of this wax culture in the province 
 of SsQ-ch'uan, and I resolved to combine with my
 
 1 62 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 researches the ascent of the Sacred Mount 0-mei, 
 from whose summit the famous Glory of Buddha is to 
 be seen, and to strike on my way back the highest 
 navigable point on the Yang-tsze. I was, fortunately, 
 able to carry out this programme, and the present and 
 subsequent chapters are devoted to an account of the 
 journey and its results. 
 
 In the two preceding years, I had been able so to 
 regulate my departure from Ch'ung-k'ing as to enjoy 
 comparatively cool weather during my journeys, but 
 the fact that the white wax industry is carried on and 
 completed during the summer months, compelled me to 
 delay starting till June. My caravan was much the 
 same as on previous occasions. Had I so willed, I might 
 have ascended the Yang-tsze by boat to Sui Fu and its 
 tributary the Min to Chia-ting, and thus saved myself 
 much overland toil ; but, as every explorer knows, the 
 thirst for new fields becomes after a time n-resistible 
 and must be satisfied. Boat-travellings would have been 
 altogether too monotonous and uninteresting. My plan, 
 briefly, was to make for Ho Chou, a trade centre on the 
 Chia-ling, which enters the Yang-tsze at Ch'ung-k'ing, 
 strike west in as direct a line as possible to the Min 
 River and Chia-ting, go west to Mount 0-mei, then 
 proceed south along the eastern borders of Lolodom to 
 the Yang-tsze, and return, if possible, by water. 
 
 The evenino' of the 1st of June, Avhich was an ex- 
 cessively hot day even for Ch'ung-k'ing, saw all our 
 arrangements completed for a start the following morn- 
 ino-. Overnio-ht, thunder and rain raised some doubts 
 whether my followers would be willing to proceed until
 
 A FERTILE DISTRICT. 163 
 
 the weather had settled, and when the rain was still 
 descending heavily at daylight, my doubts became 
 almost a certainty. They turned up, however, and 
 begged for delay ; but I succeeded in persuading them, 
 by a series of rather doubtful arguments, that the 
 heavens had all but exhausted themselves, and that 
 the sun would show his face before noon. Unfortu- 
 nately, my prognostications did not come true, and by 
 the time we reached Fu-to'u-kuan we were all drenched. 
 But a start had been effected, and there was no turninor 
 back. 
 
 At Fu-to'u-kuan the road to Ho Cliou leaves the 
 highway to the capital, and goes north by west through 
 broken country to avoid the windings of the Chia-ling, 
 which twists and turns from east to west and west to 
 east in its hurry to reach the Yang-tsze. In the bottom 
 lands, on terraced hill-sides, and wherever water could 
 be retained, paddy was planted out ; Indian corn, tall 
 millet, [Sorghum vulgare], tobacco, melons, ginger, taros 
 [Arum aquaticum,^, indigo, beans, and hemp or China 
 grass were everywhere growing luxuriantly. Amid these 
 plots were the farm-houses, the homesteads nestling in 
 clumps of bamboo and fir. Here and there rose a fan- 
 palm and a banyan, and the wood-oil tree was at home 
 on rocky ground. Bushes of scrub-oak occupied uncul- 
 tivated hill-sides, and plantations of mulberry trees and 
 orange groves were occasionally to be seen. Coal and 
 lime were everywhere abundant. Several small streams 
 flow through this country and swell the Chia-ling. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 4th of June, we stood on 
 the northern brink of this broken country, to the north-
 
 164 THREE YEARS 7.V WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 east and not far below us stretched a plain, wliile four 
 miles to the north rose a thirteen-storied pagoda, which 
 marks the approach to the city of Ho Chou. On reach- 
 ing the pagoda, we found ourselves near the right bank 
 of the Fu Chiang, one of the chief tributaries of the 
 Chia-ling. The busy market town of Nan-ching-kai, 
 which stands on the right bank, seemed to be almost 
 entirely devoted to cotton- weaving ; the click-clack of 
 the loom was heard in every street through which we 
 passed to the ferry. Ho Chou occupies low rising 
 ground just above the junction of the two rivers ; to it 
 come for distribution the rich and varied products of 
 north-eastern Ssu-ch'uan — salt, silk, safflower, lumber, 
 rape-oil, tobacco, grass-cloth, vegetables, spirits, and a 
 whole catalogue of medicines. 
 
 A special industry of the city is the manufacture of 
 a soy, which is famous, not only in Ssu-ch'uan, but in 
 other provinces. Chinese soy, as is well known, is im- 
 ported into England in large quantities, and is, I believe, 
 used in the manufacture of sauces. In China itself 
 there is amongst foreigners a decided prejudice against 
 soy, and a fresh arrival is often solemnly assured that 
 it is made of boiled down cockroaches ; yet, to the best 
 of my information, it contains nothing more deleterious 
 than the juice of a bean. 
 
 On leavinof Ho Chou we were afrain ferried across 
 the Fu Chiang, and soon reached the western rim of 
 the plain. Beyond stretches the same broken hilly 
 country, where I noticed, besides the trees already men- 
 tioned, the varnish tree — Rhus vernicifera — growing 
 to a height of about twenty feet. To obtain the
 
 THE VARNISH TREE. 165 
 
 varnish, incisions are made in the bark near the foot of 
 the tree in July and Aug-ust and shps of bamboo in- 
 serted. As in the case of the poppy, the incisions are 
 made at night and the sap collected next morning. On 
 exposure to the air, it quickly assumes a dark brown 
 and ultimately a jet-black colour, and becomes very 
 sticky. It is used for a great variety of purposes, and 
 I may state for the information of those interested in 
 the subject that pure varnish is an excellent natural 
 cement. The chief objection to its employment for 
 this purpose is its black colour ; but chemical science 
 might come to the rescue and make it white or colourless. 
 
 In this fertile land every available s>i^ot is utihsed ; 
 even on the low dykes which divide the paddy fields, 
 mulberry trees and beans spring up. Great though the 
 quantity of silk produced in the province of Ssu-ch'uan 
 is, the output might be quadrupled if some means could 
 be devised for delaying the hatching of the silkworm 
 eggs. The silk season is over, and the trees are still 
 laden w^ith leaves. Here I observed an ino^enious device 
 for obtaining young trees from the old ; round a pro- 
 mising branch of a tree a piece of bamboo about a foot 
 in length, which has previously been divided into two 
 parts along its length, is tied, and the hollow between 
 the branch and the interior of the bamboo filled with 
 mould. In a short time suckers leave the branch and 
 descend into the mould, and, when they are sufticiently 
 developed, the branch is cut off and planted, the suckers 
 forming the roots of the young tree. 
 
 The Ssu-ch'uanese are essentially a light-hrarted 
 and merry race. I have already mentioned how the
 
 i6fi THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 boatmen on the Upper Yanf,^-tsze give vent to their 
 feeHngs in song as they toil upwards through the 
 gorges. In the paddy fields I frequently noticed as 
 many as twenty men and boys advancing in line, 
 nearly knee-deep in mud and water, removing with 
 their toes the weeds from the roots of the young 
 shoots, and firming the latter in the ground. A song 
 with a rousing chorus invariably accompanied the work. 
 Six miles to the south of T'uner-lianw- Hsien, the 
 first district city through which we passed to the west 
 of Ho Chou, there is a range of hills, about two thou- 
 sand feet above the surrounding country, where tea is 
 grown in considerable quantities. The summits of the 
 range, in which coal, iron, and lime are all found, were 
 fringed with firs. On leaving T'ung-liang, which is a 
 centre of cotton- weaving, we succeeded in accomplishing 
 a stage of about twenty miles in a burning temperature, 
 which towards night culminated in a thunder and rain 
 storm, bringing down the thermometer from 90° F., at 
 which it stood at 9 p.m. on the 6th, to 69° F. at noon 
 the following day. So pitilessly did the rain continue 
 to descend on the 7th of June, that we had to break 
 the day's march at eleven o'clock at the city of Ta- 
 tsu Hsien, having only covered ten miles. We were 
 all wet, cold, and dispirited ; the only living things that 
 seemed to be positively enjoying themselves were the 
 ducks flapping their wings and wagging their tails on 
 the edges, the bull frogs croaking in the centres, and 
 the swallows skimming low over the surfaces of the 
 flooded paddy-fields. To the east of Ta-tsu we crossed, 
 by a fine stone bridge of five arches, that tributary of
 
 A CHARMIXG SPOT. 167 
 
 the T'o River on which we took boat for a short distance 
 last year at the city of Jung-ch'ang farther south. 
 
 A long march of nearly thirty miles from Ta-tsu, 
 through a beautiful country, brought us on the evening 
 of the 8th of June to the market-town of Hsinf^'-lunor- 
 ch'ang, on the left bank of the Ching-liu, another tribu- 
 tary of the T'o. A slight sketch of this splendid country 
 is applicable to the whole of eastern Ssu-ch'uan. On 
 the slope of a red-soiled hill is a clump of bamboos 
 bending their feathery heads before the breeze. Creep- 
 inof down the bank is the melon with its mottled leaves 
 and large yellow star-shaped flower ; and on the edge 
 is a framework supporting ripe cucumbers. Beneath is 
 a plot of tares, with their graceful heart-shaped leaves 
 lowering their tips to the water which half covers their 
 stems, while underneath, terrace after terrace of flooded 
 plots of young paddy, divided by fringes of beans, 
 stretches into the valley, and miniature foamy cascades 
 dash from terrace to terrace to join the gurgling brook 
 below. Frame the picture with tall flrs, straight young 
 water-oaks, low umbrageous wood-oil trees, and the 
 palm with fan-shaped leaves, and, if the peasantry of 
 this part of Ssu-ch'uan are not content with all this 
 beauty, we will add a rich and fertile soil, and an 
 abundant water supply. 
 
 At the western end of Hsino^-lunsr-ch'anof a lartjfe 
 stone bridge of seven arches spans the river, here sixty 
 yards in breadth. Instead of crossing the bridge, we 
 hired four small boats, and dropped down stream for a 
 distance of ten miles, where a waterfall, with a drop of 
 from fifteen to twenty feet, obstructs navigation. The
 
 i68 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 river teemed with fish, and otter-fishing was in full 
 swing. The net was circular and fringed with sinkers, 
 and the fisherman, standing in the bows of the boat, 
 cast his net with a semicircular sweep, covering a large 
 surface of water. The net disappeared, the fisherman 
 holding on to a rope attached to the centre of the net, 
 where there was also a small circular opening. Drawing 
 the rope gently until the centre of the net appeared 
 above the surface, he seized the otter, which was chained 
 to the boat, and drojjped it into the opening. After 
 allowinor the otter a short time to rout out the fish from 
 
 o 
 
 the bottom and drive them upwards, net, fish, and otter 
 were all drawn up together into the boat. The results 
 were fairly successful. 
 
 Two miles south-west of the waterfall we ao^ain took 
 boat, and descended for seven miles between boulders 
 backed by clifis full of Man-tzu caves. I had already 
 explored similar caves on the right bank of the Chia- 
 ling above Ch'ung-k'ing ; but my followers, who had 
 never previously heard of their existence, listened 
 breathlessly to the boatman, who described them as the 
 ancient dwelling-places of the aborigines of the country. 
 These cave-dwellings extend westward to the Min 
 River, along the banks of which they are particularly 
 numerous. Landing on the right bank, we proceeded 
 westward, and soon entered a busy market-town on the 
 left bank of the T'o River, opposite the important dis- 
 trict city of Nei-chiang Hsien. This city lies on the 
 high-road from Ch'ung-k'ing to the capital of the pro- 
 vince, but, as last year I made a detour in order to 
 visit the salt wells of Tzu-liu-ching, it did not at that
 
 AN EXTENSIVE SUGAR REGION. 169 
 
 time come within our ken. Before striking the river, 
 I noticed a few patches of a plant very much resembling 
 Ahutilon Avicennae, or Ssu-ch'uan hemp. There was 
 this important distinction, however, the stems were 
 dark brown, almost black. It was locally called Timg- 
 ma. Ptopes and sacking are manufactured from its 
 disintegrated bark. 
 
 Nei-chiang, where we rested for a day, is the centre 
 of an extensive sugar region, and, being in water com- 
 munication with the Yang-tsze, it has the great advan- 
 tage of being able to distribute its produce speedily and 
 cheaply. It also exports opium, a little cotton, excellent 
 grass-cloth, silk, wood-oil, and bean-sauce. To the 
 west of the T'o, the soil is lighter than to the east, and 
 there was the necessary adjustment of crops ; paddy, of 
 course, filled the valleys, while sugar-cane, ground-nuts, 
 tall millet, buckwheat, and sweet potatoes — Batatcc^ 
 edulis, Chois — covered the hill slopes. Tobacco was also 
 prominent and growing luxuriantly ; the tops of the 
 stems had recently been plucked to cause a greater 
 development of the large under leaves. 
 
 It took us six days to cross from the T'o to the Min ; 
 the country is very similar throughout, the existence of 
 reservoirs showing, however, that the water supply is 
 not so good to the west as to the east of the former 
 river. The crops were the same ; but a nuuiber of new 
 trees put in an appearance, including the tallow tree — 
 Stillingia sehifera, or Sapium sehiferum, Roxb., a bushy 
 thorn some fifteen feet in height — Cudrania triloba 
 Ilance, and the wax tree — Fraxinus Chincnsis — a spe-
 
 lyo THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 cies of ash. A belt of salt wells extends for some miles 
 to the east of the left bank of the Min, where the brine 
 was being raised much in the same way as at Tzu-liu- 
 chino:. 
 
 Two days before reaching the Min, we caught sight 
 of Mount 0-mei towering away to the westward. As 
 the river is neared, the road winds between stone cliffs 
 full of ancient cave-dwellings, which are still more 
 numerous on the left bank of the Min itself. Beautiful 
 relief carvings adorned the entrances of many of them. 
 The city of Chia-ting Fu stands on the right bank of 
 the Min at its junction with the Tung, which consists 
 of the waters of the Ya Ho and Ta-tu, both of which 
 I crossed in their upper reaches last year, and which 
 unite a little to the west of the city. It is the greatest 
 centre of sericulture and silk-weaving in the province, 
 and it marks the eastern boundary of the white wax 
 industry. I spent the 17th of June among the wax 
 trees to the north-east of the city ; but, finding that I 
 could conduct my investigations with greater ease and 
 quietude farther west, I resolved to proceed at once to 
 the district city of 0-mei Hsien, some twenty miles 
 distant and near to the base of the Sacred Mountain. 
 
 We passed through the west gate of Chia-ting soon 
 after daybreak of the 18 th of June, accompanied by 
 hundreds of pilgrims of both sexes from all parts of 
 Ssu-ch'uan on their way to visit the sacred shrines of 
 0-mei. The road follows the left bank of the Ya Ho 
 till the latter bends southwards, when it crosses a mile 
 of sand and shino-le, and ao^ain strikes the river at the 
 ferry. From the right bank we entered one of the
 
 PILGRIMS TO MOUNT 0-MEI. 171 
 
 prettiest and most fertile plains in Western China, 
 watered by streamlets which, rising in the mountains 
 to the west, go to join the Ya and Ta-tu Kivers, are 
 easily available for purposes of irrigation, and fill a 
 perfect network of canals surrounding the plots of land 
 into which the plain Is divided. On the divisions of the 
 plots rows of wax trees grew thickly. In the city of 
 0-mei Hsien I spent four days, pursuing my investiga- 
 tions into the subject of wax culture and the general 
 trade of the whole district ; and at da3dlght on the 
 morning of the 23rd, I left with a few of my followers to 
 ascend the mountain. As it was impossible to obtain 
 meat in the sacred precincts of Buddha, we purchased 
 and killed a goat and carried the carcase with us. A 
 stream of pilgrims, each provided with a bundle of joss- 
 sticks, candles in baskets, and small pieces of sandal- 
 wood slung in a yellow bag over the shoulder, bore us 
 company. The mountain lies to the south-west of the 
 city ; and, issuing from the west gate, we proceeded 
 under the western wall to the south gate, which, at 
 the time of our visit, was closed as^alnst a lenofthened 
 drought. The road then runs south-west over the 
 plain. Banyans — some of tliem of Immense size — lined 
 the road, and, farther west, wax trees took their place. 
 Shrines and temples were thickly dotted on both sides, 
 and at each of these the pilgrims made obeisance, light- 
 ed joss-sticks or candles, and passed on. There was an 
 impressive solenmity In the worship which I have not 
 observed elsewhere in Clilna. No levity broke the 
 living cord of gravity which stretched from shrine to 
 shrine and temple to temple. The wax trees increased
 
 172 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 in numbers as we advanced, and the under sides of the 
 boufdis and twio^s were here and there silvered with 
 the wax ; they appeared as if a gentle snowstorm had 
 recently passed over and scattered its flakes on the 
 branches. But trees and temples were not the only 
 things that lined the roadway ; beggars, mostly women 
 and girls, were obstinate in their demands for alms, and 
 no sooner had one gone than another appeared. Mount 
 0-mei towered above the other ranges that bound the 
 plain to the south-west, itself the highest point in a 
 range which descends southwards with giant strides and 
 blocks the plain. The gray, rocky, rugged, precipitous 
 face lit up by the morning sun seemed to bid defiance to 
 the pilgrim, while the lower slopes that hid the giant's 
 feet were dark with pine, broken occasionally by bare 
 patches where cultivation had encroached. Gradually 
 the plain began to undulate, and we soon entered the 
 mountains under pine woods, through patches of tall 
 millet, beans, and Indian corn, and up stone steps — 
 ladders would be a more appropriate term — until at a 
 distance of nearly twenty miles from the city we reached 
 Wan-nien-ssu — the " Temple of a Myriad Ages " — 
 where we spent the night. 
 
 No sooner had we settled down in the fine clean 
 quarters which the temple affords than the priests came 
 to pay their respects, and regaled me with the " sweet 
 tea," which the discovery of Mr. Baber has rendered 
 famous. All the way up the mountain side, I had been 
 making enquiries regarding this tea and its preparation, 
 but the evidence was decidedly conflicting. Some said 
 that it was prepared in the ordinary way ; others, that
 
 ASCENT OF MOUXT 0-MEI. 173 
 
 the leaves were first steeped in molasses. Although 
 the infusion was extremely sweet, I must confess that 
 I failed to detect any flavour of tea. Be it remembered 
 that the Chinese never take sucj-ar in their tea. The 
 priests told me that the plant, whence the leaves are 
 picked, grows in only one gorge in the mountain. The 
 leaves are large and do not bear the slightest resem- 
 blance to the tea-leaf I subsequently forwarded a 
 packet of this " tea " to Hankow to be tasted, and the 
 reply of an exj^ert came back prompt and concise, " I 
 never tasted such muck in all my life ! " But all doubts 
 have recently been set at rest, for the plant which pro- 
 vides the leaves has been identified as the Viburnum 
 phlehotrichum. 
 
 A glance at a map showing the comparative heights 
 of mountains, will give a good idea of how the top of 
 the giant has to be reached. Peak rises behind peak, 
 and each of these has to be surmounted on the way to 
 the summit. Beyond AVan-nien-ssu, which is more 
 than 3000 feet above the plain, the road is so steep 
 that no means of conveyance is possible and cultivation 
 soon ceases. Startincr at five o'clock on the mornino- 
 of the 24th, we ascended this steep Avinding ladder and 
 gained the summit in twelve hours after many a weary 
 step and many a rest. In fact, had it not been that 
 British pluck was in the balance, I should have given in 
 long before. As it was, drenched with perspiration and 
 mist, I just succeeded in dragging my weary aching 
 limbs into the temple that crowns tlie summit, 11,100 
 feet above the sea. 
 
 A few hundred yards above Wan-nien-ssu we en-
 
 174 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 tered the clouds, and from that point upward nothing 
 but impenetrable whiteness was visible. The road, if I 
 may use the word, ascends through dense pine and 
 brushwood, and here and there a gulf of whiteness 
 warned us that we stood on the verge of a precipice. 
 
 At the rear of the temple on the " Golden Summit " 
 is the terrible precipice which is seen from even beyond 
 the Min. On its very brink once stood a temple of 
 bronze, which has twice succumbed to lio^htnin"' shafts 
 and fire. It was built during the Ming Dynasty, and 
 rebuilt after its first fall ; but on the second occasion 
 portions of it fell over the precipice, and the only parts 
 still in their original positions are three small bronze 
 pagodas, bearing unmistakable traces of fire. Their tops 
 have been melted and twisted. Beautifully carved 
 bronze doors, pillars, tiles, and other pieces of what 
 must have been a magnificent building, lay about in 
 heaps. It is from the terrace on which the three pago- 
 das stand that the celebrated " Glory of Buddha" is to 
 be seen. A low fence of boulders of iron ore prevents 
 the too anxious sightseer from precipitating himself into 
 the terrible abyss. If the future traveller should be as 
 unfortunate as I was, he will stand by this fence with 
 white clouds overhead and around him, and gaze down 
 eastwards into impenetrable whiteness, in the vain hope 
 of seeing the sun burst through the clouds overhead, 
 and reveal his image on the clouds below. Not once 
 did this occur during the day of the 25th of June, and 
 we left the spot in the belief that the " Glory of 
 Buddha" was not for us. But a single gaze into 
 this impenetrable white gloom was to me as impressive
 
 PRIESTLY RAPACITY. 175 
 
 as a thousand " Glories of Buddha " could possibly have 
 been. 
 
 The pilgrims in their penance — for it is a penance 
 to ascend the mountain — frequently appealed to the 
 Great Buddha of 0-mei as they scrambled up the steep 
 steps polished by the feet of myriads. On the summit 
 they paid their devotions to Buddha, lighted their joss- 
 sticks and candles, prostrated themselves on long stools 
 covered with palm-coir, threw their incense into the 
 flames, and gazed to see the " Glory of Buddha." This 
 ceremony over, they took from their pockets a few cash 
 and polished them on the bronze pagodas and doors. 
 These they carry back to their homes as charms and 
 souvenirs of their visit to the Golden Summit of 0-mei. 
 The pilgrims come from their native places in groups, 
 accompanied by one who can read. The latter is the 
 mouthpiece of his comrades, and recites their prayers to 
 the Great Buddha. 
 
 I have already said that beggars lined the road to 
 the mountain ; but greater and still more importunate 
 betrixars dwell on the mountain side and on the summit. 
 The priests, smooth-tongued and polite, draw from the 
 pockets of the pilgrims money to repair the temples 
 and the road. I did not escape their rapacity. The 
 appeal was, however, made in such a pleasant way that 
 it could not be resisted. A few j^otatoes grown on the 
 acre which forms the summit were presented to me, and 
 had to be paid for by a sum much in excess of their 
 value. The workmanship of the temples, which are 
 numerous and built of pine from the forests by which 
 they are surrounded, is often excellent, the artificers
 
 i-jb THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 being the priests themselves. The mountain is credited 
 as being the home of various kinds of wild animals — 
 among them the tiger. Fortunately for us, he did not 
 put in an appearance, and we saw nothing more deadly 
 than a couple of large monkeys, one of which had just 
 leaped from a tree on one side of a chasm to a tree on 
 the other, while the second was arrested in his pursuit 
 by our sudden appearance. Medicines of several sorts, 
 including a species of wild ginseng, were exposed for 
 sale on the stalls which clung to the mountain side. 
 As the day of the 26th of June broke as gloomy as its 
 predecessor, and there was no hope of catching even a 
 glimpse of the " Glory of Buddha," I resolved to delay 
 no longer on the chance of a struggle with the unseen. 
 The descent was more difficult than the ascent, and I 
 must confess to three fair falls on the slippery steps, 
 rendered still more slippery by mist and rain, which 
 accompanied us half-way down to Wan-nien-ssu. Two 
 hundred yards above the temple, I succeeded in placing 
 my right foot between two stones forming a step, and 
 so twisting it that a tendon behind the knee refused to 
 perform its duty and, with excruciating pain, I managed 
 to crawl down a hundred yards of precipitous steps, 
 where a small chair could reach me from below. 
 
 On the morninof of the 27th we continued the 
 descent by a different road from tha,t by which we 
 ascended, previously, however, purchasing a couple of 
 curiously-carved alpenstocks from the priests, their 
 makers. A snake in relief twined upwards round the 
 stock, ending in a head surmounted by a couple of 
 horns.
 
 CHIXESE DUPLICITY. 177 
 
 The road wound eastward down a gorge between 
 high precipices, from which numerous cascades leaped 
 and bounded into a stream flowing eastward, over a 
 narrow bridge of iron rods spanning the stream near 
 the end of the gorge, and, after crossing several small 
 plains, joined the high-road to 0-mei Hsien. 
 
 On my return to the city, I found that every possible 
 obstacle was being raised to prevent the completion of 
 my journey. The magistrate sent his secretary to 
 inform me that there was no road southwards to the 
 Yang-tsze, and even those of my own men who had 
 been left behind were unwilling to proceed. It was 
 suggested that I should return to Chia-ting, take boat 
 to a point farther south, and then strike inland. I 
 thereupon sent in search of a trader, who quickly ap- 
 peared, and gave me the names of the different stages 
 to the next city of Ma-pien T'ing. Arming my writer 
 with the list, I packed him off post haste to the magis- 
 trate with a demand for a double escort to enable me to 
 penetrate this unknown country. He at once complied 
 with my demand. Had I been told, what the magis- 
 trate himself probably did not know, that a desultory 
 warfare was beinof waofed with the aborifrines to the 
 west near Ma-pien, I should have reconsidered my route, 
 so as not to embroil responsible officers in case of any 
 accident to my party ; but so palpable was the untruth 
 told me that I did not hesitate for a moment about 
 proceeding. The unwillingness of my own men, as I 
 subsequently learned, was due to the fact that two of 
 my bearers were struck down by typhoid fever durino- 
 my absence ; and, on my return, they had to be sent
 
 178 Til R HE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 back to Chia-ting, and thence shipped to Ch'ung-k'ing. 
 It is well that the future is not revealed to us, for, had 
 I known then that one human life was to be sacrificed 
 to the privations of the route, I should at once have 
 relinquished further exploration, and left to others the 
 honour of descending the Yang-tsze from its highest 
 navigable point. 
 
 The 0-mei plain stretches south and south-east for 
 some fifteen miles to within a short distance of the left 
 bank of the Ta-tu River, when it is bounded by a spur 
 which projects south-east from a low range of hills 
 which lies to the south and east of the chief 0-mei 
 range. The southern half of the plain was in as high a 
 state of cultivation as the northern, while the wax tree 
 was still more thickly grown. On descending to the 
 river we found it in full flood ; junks and rafts were 
 being hurried along by the current at lightning speed, 
 and on the right bank trackers were dragging their 
 craft up river at snail's pace. The road followed for 
 two days first the left and then the right bank of the 
 Ta-tu — which we crossed at the market-town of Fu-lu- 
 ch'ang — till, baulked in its eastern course by hilly 
 ground to the south of the walled village of Tung-kai- 
 ch'ang, the river flows northwards under precipitous 
 rocky heights forming its left bank. 
 
 Leaving the Ta-tu at the bend, we struck south over 
 the mountains to Tz'u-chu-p'ing, which, like every other 
 town and village, is surrounded by a wall and provided 
 with a garrison. Great excitement was visible every- 
 where ; the defences of even the meanest hamlet were 
 conspicuously displayed ; rusty gingalls, mounted on
 
 PRECAUTIONS AGAINST A SURPRISE. 179 
 
 tripod stands and loaded, were placed within the gates 
 ready to resist attack. But why all this excitement ? 
 A raid by Lolos — Man-tzti they were called — was re- 
 cently successfully organised and carried out, a village 
 was burned to the ground, and many of its male inhabi- 
 tants carried off into the mountains to the west, to be 
 utilised as shepherds or to await ransom. What the 
 Chinese greatly resented, however, was the slaughter 
 of a harmless blind man. The Lolos had swept him off 
 with the crowd ; but, finding after a time that he was 
 sightless, they did him to death. " Might it not be 
 that they mistook his blindness for unwillingness to be 
 a slave ? " "No," said the Chinese, "the Lolos have 
 no mercy." 
 
 There must be something very unhealthy about this 
 part of the country. At the end of the first stage from 
 0-mei Hsien, two more of my men were struck down 
 with fever ; one of them had to be left behind, the 
 other determined not to leave us and soon recovered 
 under repeated doses of quinine. Little did I think 
 when I was acting the role of physician that I was to 
 be the fifth victim. 
 
 When we left Tz'u-chu-p'ing on the morning of the 
 1st of July, I observed that my escort had been very 
 materially strengthened, and that the soldiers, instead 
 of straggling hither and thither, kept close to our cara- 
 van. Humours were current that a band of Lolos, some 
 two. hundred strong, were in"the immediate hills ready 
 to raid, but undecided as to their ultimate point of 
 attack, and extra precautions were taken against our 
 being made unwilling visitors to Lolodom.
 
 i8o THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 Proceeding south-east we crossed a low range, and 
 dropped into a narrow valley between low rocky heights 
 clad with brushwood. Beyond the valley, waves of 
 terraced hills crowned with fir and oak had to be sur- 
 mounted, and early in the afternoon we looked down 
 into a deep narrow gorge, wherein a stream flowing 
 northwards suddenly turns east. On the north bank, 
 on the only piece of level ground to be seen, stands 
 the walled town of Chou-pa-ch'ang, facing precipitous 
 cliffs on the opposite shore. Most of the houses were 
 furnished with watch-towers on their roofs, and in these, 
 round smooth stones from the stream's shingly bed were 
 piled to resist attack. 
 
 Here very poor quarters were available ; my room 
 was over a tenanted pig-sty, and the floor was full of 
 holes. I awoke next morning, after a restless night, 
 burning with fever, and scarcely able to leave my bed. 
 In this wretched inn I lay five whole days, and had 
 ample time to ponder over the discomforts which the 
 traveller, who has been brought up under sanitary laws, 
 has to endure in this land of dirt. Confinement ulti- 
 mately became so irksome and depressing that, although 
 unable to walk to my chair without assistance, on the 
 morning of the 7 th of July I determined to proceed, 
 and trust to the invigorating influence of fresh air to 
 effect a cure. 
 
 Chou-pa-ch'ang is the highest navigable point for 
 small craft on the river which is kno\\Ti on Chinese 
 maps as the Ching-shui, but is locally called the Ma- 
 pien River, from the city of that name near its source. 
 Two rapids to the south of the town obstruct navi-
 
 GUERILLA WARFARE. i8i 
 
 gation, except for descending rafts. Crossing a stream- 
 let, which enters the Ma-pien four miles to the south 
 of Chou-pa-ch'ang, by a narrow chain bridge, the road 
 leaves the main river, where it makes an eastern bend 
 and goes south through broken country fairly wooded 
 with the mulberry, wood-oil, and tallow trees, and, after 
 ascending some low heights, descends into a large basin, 
 at the southern end of which we again struck the left 
 bank of the river at the town of Ni-tien-ch'ang, with 
 the usual miserable accommodation. Next morning we 
 crossed the river, and after two days' winding west and 
 south-west along its right bank, reached the depart- 
 mental city of Ma-pien T'ing. Our approach had been 
 announced by one of the escort who had preceded us in 
 search of an inn, and half the population lined the left 
 bank, on which the city stands, and blocked the streets 
 through which we had to pass to our quarters. 
 
 A s'uerilla warfare had been watred with the Lolo 
 mountaineers some time previous to the date of our 
 arrival ; detachments of fifty soldiers had been repeat- 
 edly sent to carry on the work of extermination, but 
 had not returned to announce their success. Prepara- 
 tions were being ms^de to conduct operations on a larger 
 scale, and fifteen hundred troops were quartered in the 
 city and its neighbourhood. It was forbidden to kill or 
 dispose of cattle and live stock generally, except for the 
 use of the soldiery, and we had considerable difficulty 
 in procuring supplies of any sort. 
 
 My escort was now strengthened by a dozen men, 
 mostly Hunan braves, armed M'ith swords, to conduct 
 me in safety to the Yang-tsze. To the south-east of
 
 i82 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 the city the road enters the mountains, where not a 
 single Lolo was to be seen ; the few houses visible were 
 in reality forts, built on most inaccessible heights. A 
 solid square of masonry, ten to twelve feet in height, 
 with only one opening to serve as a doorway, supported 
 a storey with windows and frequently a watch-tower. 
 On this stage there was great trouble about food ; rice 
 could not be had for money, and, when I was partaking 
 of my frugal breakfast, which I had taken the precau- 
 tion to carry with me from Ma-pien, I saw my writer 
 triumphantly waving in his hand, to the envy of all my 
 other followers, an egg which he had either purloined 
 or purchased, and off which he was about to make as 
 hearty a meal as circumstances w^ould allow. 
 
 During the day I was told that we should be able 
 to buy an ox at Ting-nan-pa, the end of the stage, and 
 we hurried on to prepare the feast of which we w^ere 
 all so much in need ~ On arrival, it was sug-o-ested in 
 answer to our enquiries that an ox might be had some 
 miles further on ; but this was little satisfaction to 
 hungry men. A Good Samaritan at length came to the 
 rescue, and sold us, at a fabulous price, a leg of some 
 animal or other — to this day I have no idea what it 
 was — which made an excellent repast. 
 
 According to the record of stages which I had pro- 
 cured in Ma-pien, we were still a three days' journey 
 from the Yang-tsze ; but so many difficulties were 
 crowding around us — no food, and my horse-boy very 
 sick — that I determined to make a forced march and 
 avoid at least one day of misery. When we left Ting- 
 nan-pa on the morning of the 11th of July, I at once
 
 A FATIGUING JOURNEY, 1S3 
 
 abandoned my chair, proceeded with my escort on foot, 
 and, after a brisk walk of four hours, reached the 
 hamlet which was marked on my list as the end of the 
 stage. It was a dismal place, and without waiting for 
 my followers, who were still miles in our rear, I pushed 
 on to the next stage. I was duly warned that the 
 road was difficult, but the traveller in this land is 
 accustomed to prevarication, and invariably finds it 
 hard to elicit the truth. 
 
 For some distance east and south-east, the road was 
 all that could be desired for a Chinese road, and I was 
 beginning to chuckle to myself at the exposure of the 
 imaginary difficulties, when it descended to the right 
 • bank of a stream which we had struck and crossed early 
 in the morning. Here it was studded with huge bould- 
 ers, over which we had literally to crawl. After an 
 hour of this work, I stopped to allow my men to catch 
 us up. When they arrived they were bursting with 
 anger. 
 
 Having breakfasted off a couple of boiled Indian 
 corn cobs, I followed my tactics of the morning and 
 went ahead w^ith my escort. There is no language 
 stronir enouo-h to describe the road that we had then 
 
 o o 
 
 to follow ; it wound with the right bank of the stream 
 through a mountain gorge and ultimately descended 
 into a stony plain, through which we made our way to 
 the market- town of Chung-tu-ch'ang, the end of the 
 stao-e. I arrived, dead beat, at five o'clock in the after- 
 noon, after a walk of thirty miles over a frightful road 
 and under a broiling sun. The whole caravan did not 
 turn up till long after dark ; my chair was battered,
 
 i84 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 torn, and tattered ; and my horse and mule were hope- 
 lessly lame. The only thing that saved us from utter 
 collapse was the knowledge that we were only one short 
 stage from the left bank of the" Yang-tsze, where our 
 overland journeying would probably be at an end. 
 
 With as light hearts as we could muster, on the 
 morning of the 12th of July we left Chung- tu-ch'ang 
 and the stream which flows behind it, and struck south- 
 east and south over high hills. To the north towered 
 confused mountain ranges, peak rising behind peak, 
 dark and cloud-capped as we passed. On reaching the 
 southern edge of an undulating plateau we looked into 
 a deep ravine, down which flowed the stream ; and far 
 away to the south-east a yellow spot could be made out 
 at the base of a dark mountain range. " What is that 
 yellow spot ? " I asked the keeper of a solitary inn 
 shaded by a large banyan, just under the brow of the 
 plateau. " That is the Chin Chiang," was the welcome 
 reply — the Golden Eiver, the upper waters of the Yang- 
 tsze. For a long time we sat under that shady banyan, 
 indulging recklessly in rice-broth to strengthen and 
 cheer us in our hour of joy. There was no laggard 
 now ; down the steep mountain side we hurried to the 
 stream, and followed its right bank for four miles to 
 the town of Man-i-ssu, which clings to the steep face 
 of the left bank of the Golden Eiver, and is about fifty 
 miles higher than the highest point reached by the 
 Upper Yang-tsze Expedition in 1861. Here, after a 
 vain search for suitable night quarters, we engaged 
 three small boats which were moored under the town, 
 and dropped down river for a distance of twelve miies
 
 PREPARING TO SHOOT THE RAPIDS. .185 
 
 to the town of Fu-kuan-ts'un on the ri^^^it bank and 
 within the province of Yun-nan. 
 
 To my surprise, I found that the Yang-tsze is the 
 boundary of the provinces of Ssu-ch'uan and Yiin-nan 
 to within a short distance of the mouth of the Heng 
 River, which enters it opposite the town of An-pien, on 
 the left bank, sixteen miles west of Sui Fu. Fu-kuan- 
 ts'un was crowded with agents buying up native opium, 
 and it was only with the assistance of the local authori- 
 ties that I was able to secure a small room in an inn. 
 At the back, however, I soon discovered an outhouse 
 which I much preferred to the room, and where I was 
 removed from the glassy eyes of crowds. 
 
 Two courses were now open to me — to proceed over- 
 land to P'ing-shan Hsien and there take junk to Sui 
 Fu and Ch'ung-k'ing, or to risk the descent of two 
 dangerous rapids in a boat from Fu-kuan-ts'un. I de- 
 cided to adopt the latter alternative ; but, as trade so 
 far west is insignificant and boats do not attempt the 
 descent unless heavily laden, I had to wait three days 
 till sufficient cargo had been collected for the craft 
 which I had engaged. It was so hot on shore that I 
 spent the night of the 15th on board, for the double 
 purpose of catching any stray breeze on the river, and 
 of being able to start at daylight on the morrow. 
 
 Our boat was of considerable length, deeply laden, 
 and fitted with long sweeps at both ends, weighted 
 with large stones to balance the outlying portions. At 
 daylight we shipped a special crew of ten men, includ- 
 ing a pilot, to help us down the rapids. They took 
 entire possession of the fore part of the boat, while the
 
 i86 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 regular crew, also numbering ten, were relegated to the 
 stern, to work the sweep and a side spar which four 
 men kept pumping up and down in front of the sweep. 
 The pilot was a small wizened man of about sixty, with 
 grizzled beard and moustache, and a keen piercing eye. 
 His crew of nine — all young active fellows — at first 
 took to the oars, the bow sweep being fastened to the 
 deck by a noose. Six men hung on the stern sweep, 
 and four worked the side spar. The descent was com- 
 paratively easy for twelve miles as far as Shih-ch'i- 
 ch'ang, a market-town on the Yun-nan side, where we 
 moored above a rapid, and my followers, with the ex- 
 ception of my writer, personal servant, and one of the 
 soldiers who had special instructions never to lose sight 
 of me, took eager advantage of the skipper's order to 
 go on shore. I also landed my horse and mule. 
 
 Castinof off our moorino^s, we soon slid into the Chi- 
 kan-shih, which is a long confused mass of water stretch- 
 ing across the whole breadth of the river. Currents 
 rush in all directions, causing waves and whirlpools. 
 The moment we entered the rapid, the pilot shouted 
 out the order, " To the bow sweep ! " Seven of the 
 oars were quickly thrown aside, and the seven rowers 
 with the pilot clung round the sweep. With his left 
 hand on its butt end, the pilot gave his orders to 
 the steersmen by means of an old fan which he carried 
 in his rio-ht, for the noise and hissing^ of the waters 
 drowned his shrill voice. The difficulty was to keep 
 the boat's bows with the stream through the currents 
 and whirlpools. This we accomplished, shipping only a 
 little water.
 
 A SKILFUL PILOT. 1S7 
 
 From this rapid the river rushes with considerable 
 force south-east and south, till it is Barred in the latter 
 direction by a mountain whose bare cliffs, which have 
 successfully resisted the attacks of the current, rise 
 sheer from the angry waters. Foiled in its southern 
 onset, it rushes east and at rio-ht antrles to its former 
 course, causing the most dangerous of all the rapids 
 — of which the boatmen enumerate twenty — on this 
 section of the river. It is called the Wan-wan Tan, 
 or " Winding Rapid," and well does it deserve the name. 
 The river rushes swiftly to the cliffs, seemingly bent on 
 carrying all with it. The confusion caused by the rush, 
 the sharp bend and the sudden contraction is terrible, 
 and we were, to all appearances, being swiftly hurried 
 to destruction. But the eye of the pilot wavered not. 
 His crew on the bow sweep and his old fan saved us 
 from the cliffs. Once, however, the steersmen were 
 slow in obeying an order, when the old man threw his 
 fan on the deck, and with his clenched ricrht hand 
 repeatedly struck his left palm. The boat's stern was 
 within arm's length of the cliffs ! Our soldier fired a 
 shot from a horse-pistol as we entered each rapid, 
 whether in its honour or in its defiance I know not. 
 The rapifls passed, the pilot and his crew left us, and we 
 re-shipped our men, escort, and animals, and proceeded 
 to Sui Fu, which we did not reach till dark. 
 
 We spent the greater part of the 17th of July in 
 hirino- and inspecting a passenger, boat to convey us to 
 Ch'ung-k'ing, and in the afternoon everything was ar- 
 ranged tor a start next morning. Towards night, word 
 was brought to me that my horse-boy, who occupied a
 
 i88 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 room in the inn immediately underneath my own, and 
 who, I noticed, left the boat very much exhausted the 
 previous night, was dangerously ill with dysentery, 
 brought on by the hardships of the route. I at once 
 consulted his wishes as to proceeding or remaining to 
 recruit with one of my servants, who was a relative, to 
 attend to him. He expressed a desire to proceed, and 
 I ordered a chair to be in waiting next morning to take 
 him on board. At two o'clock in the morning I was 
 roused from my sleep by what appeared to be a shout 
 in Chinese, "Your horse-boy is dead." I got up and 
 lit my candle ; but there was neither sound nor move- 
 ment anywhere. I went to bed again, and at daybreak 
 my servant announced the poor man's death. After the 
 funeral — I buried him at Sui Fu — we embarked, and 
 before noon of the 21st of July we lay off Ch'ung-k'ing, 
 glad that our overland struggles were at an end.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 CHINESE INSECT WHITE WAX. 
 
 References to insect white wax in Europe and China — Area of production 
 — Chief wax-insect producing country — The insect tree — The insect 
 " buffalo " beetle, or parasite— The insect scales — The transport of 
 insects to the wax-producing districts— Method of transport — The 
 wax tree — How insects are placed on the wax trees — Wax production 
 — Collection of the wax — An ignominious ending — Insect metamor- 
 phosis — Uses of the wax — Quantity and value. 
 
 Althoun^h the substance called Chinese Insect White 
 Wax has long been known in Europe, it is only witliin 
 recent years that the mystery which has surrounded 
 this remarkable industry has been cleared up. Amongst 
 Europeans, we find Martini in his Novus Atlas Sinensis 
 — a work descriptive of the Chinese Empire, published 
 in 1G55 — mentioning alba cera as a product of the 
 Hu-kwang provinces, and of the province of Kwangsi. 
 Again, Gabriel de Magalhaes, in his " Nouvelle Relation 
 de la Chine," published in 1668, states that white wax 
 is produced in the provinces of Hunan, Hupeh, and 
 Shantung; while in the " Lettres Edificantes," pul)- 
 lished in 1752, P5re Chanseaume has a " Memoire sur 
 la cire d'arbre," or tree wax. In the " Comptes liendus 
 de I'Acaddmie des Sciences" of 1840, Stanislas Julien
 
 igo THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 adds some notes on tree wax and the insects which 
 produce it, and quotes from Chinese authors on the 
 same subject; and in volume XII. of the Pharmaceutical 
 Journal, published in 1853, there is an article by Daniel 
 Hanbury entitled " The Insect White Wax of China." 
 More recently, Fortune, the two delegates of the Shang- 
 hai Generai Chamber of Commerce who ascended the 
 River Yang-tsze into Western China in 1868, Baron 
 von Richthofen, and Gill, have all alluded to the sub- 
 ject ; and Mr, Baber, while he held the post of Her 
 Majesty's Agent in Western China, wrote a special 
 and very interesting report on Insect White Wax, to 
 which, as his successor, I had free access. In 1880, 
 Pere Rathouis published at Shanghai a short memoir 
 on the white wax insect. 
 
 As early as 1522, this wax is mentioned in Chinese 
 books ; but at that time the idea seems to have been 
 prevalent that the insects, by some mysterious process 
 of metamorphosis, were themselves converted into a 
 white substance and did not excrete the wax. 
 
 Although the province of Ssu-ch'uan has always 
 been recognized as the chief breeding country of the 
 white wax insect, and the great field for the production 
 and manufacture of the white wax of commerce, the wax 
 is found and manufactured in several other provinces, 
 notably in Kuei-chow, Hu-nan, Fuh-kien, Ch6-kiang, 
 and An-hui, and in reality exists in small quantities 
 from Chih-li in the north to the island of Hainan in the 
 south of China. 
 
 In the spring of the year 1884, I received instruc- 
 tions li'om the Foreign Office to procure for Su' Joseph
 
 INSECT WHITE WAX. 191 
 
 Hooker dried specimens of the foliage and flowers of the 
 trees on which the insects are propagated and excrete 
 the wax ; specimens of the twigs incrusted with the 
 wax ; samples of the cakes in the form in which the wax 
 occurs in commerce ; and Chinese candles made from 
 the wax. I was also instructed to obtain, if possible, 
 information on the whole subject of wax production, in 
 addition to that furnished in Mr. Baber's Report. My 
 report on this interesting subject was published as an 
 Appendix to a Parliamentary Paper in February, 1885 ; 
 but at the time that that Paper was written and de- 
 spatched I had not completed my investigations, and, 
 unfortunately, some further notes which I sent to the 
 Foreign OfSce were too late for j)ublication with the 
 Parliamentary Paper. As, therefore, the information 
 already made public is but fragmentary, and as there 
 are some mistakes into which, owing to my distance 
 from scientific advice, I have fallen, I think it right 
 that I should take the first opportunity that has offered 
 since my arrival in England of supplying details and 
 correctino- mistakes. 
 
 If we glance at a map of China, we will find that 
 the upper Yang-tsze, or Golden River as it is there 
 called, is joined by a river called the Ya-lung or Ta- 
 ch'ung, a little to the west of the one hundred and 
 second degree of longitude, and that the united waters 
 flow south-east below the twenty-sixth degree of lati- 
 tude, and aijain turn north, forminir, as it were, a loon 
 towards the province of Yiin-nan. Between these two 
 rivers flows another smaller river called the An-ning, 
 which joins the Ya-lung before the latter unites with
 
 192 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 the Golden River. The An-ning flows down a valley 
 called the valley of Chien-ch'ang, the local name of 
 Ning-yuan Fu, the principal town within the river loop. 
 This valley, the northern boundary of which is lat. 
 29° 20', and southern boundary, lat. 27° 11', is the great 
 breedinir m-ound of the white wax insect. In the 
 valley, which is about 5000 feet above the level of the 
 sea, and on the hills which bound it, there is one very 
 prominent tree, called by the Chinese of that region 
 the Cliung shu, or " Insect Tree." It is known under 
 different names in the same province of Ssu-ch'uan ; it 
 is called the Tung-ching shu, or " Evergreen Tree," and 
 the Pao-ke-ts ao shu, or " Crackling-flea Tree," from the 
 sputtering of the wood when burning. It is an ever- 
 green with leaves springing in pairs from the branches. 
 They are thick, dark-green, glossy, ovate, and pointed. 
 In the end of May and beginning of June, the tree 
 bears clusters of small white flowers, which are suc- 
 ceeded by fruit of a dark purple colour. From the 
 Specimens of the tree which I forwarded to Kew 
 Gardens, the authorities there have come to the con- 
 clusion that it is Ligustrum lucidum, or large-leaved 
 privet. 
 
 In the month of March 1883, I passed through the 
 Chien-chang valley ; but, knowing that Mr. Baber had 
 already furnished a report on the subject of white wax, 
 I confined myself to a mere cursory examination of the 
 insect tree. In that month, however, I found attached 
 to the bark of the boughs and twigs, numerous brown 
 pea-shaped excrescences. The larger excrescences or 
 scales were readily detachable, and, when opened, pre-
 
 THE WHITE WAX IS SECT. 193 
 
 sented either a whitey-brown pulpy mass, or a crowd 
 of minute animals like flour, whose movements were 
 only just perceptible to the naked eye. 
 
 In the months of May and June 1884, when I 
 was called upon for more detailed information on the 
 subject, I had the opportunity of examining these scales 
 and their contents with some minuteness in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Ch'ung-k'ing, and also within the jurisdic- 
 tion of Chia-ting Fu, the chief wax producing country 
 in the province of Ssti-ch'uan. Ten miles to the east of 
 Ch'ung-k'ing, I plucked the scales from the trees — the 
 Ligustrum lucidum — and on opening them (they are 
 very brittle) I found a swarm of brown creatures, crawl- 
 ing about, each provided with six legs and a pair of 
 antennae. Each of these moving creatures was a white 
 wax insect — the coccus jpe-la of Westwood. Many of 
 the scales also contained either a small white bao* or 
 cocoon covering a pupa, or a perfect imago in the shape 
 of a small black beetle. This beetle is a species of 
 Brachytarsus. For this information I am indebted to 
 Mr. McLachlan, to whom the insects forwarded by me 
 to Kew were submitted for examination. 
 
 If left undisturbed in the broken scale, the beetle, 
 which, from his ungainly appearance, is called by the 
 Chinese the niu-erh, or *' buffixlo," will, heedless of the 
 cocci which begin to crawl outside and inside the scale, 
 continue to burrow in the inner lininof of the scale, which 
 is apparently his food. The Chinese declare that the 
 beetle eats his minute companions in the scale, or at 
 least injures them by the pressure of his comparatively 
 heavy body ; and it is true that the scales from Cliien-
 
 194 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 ch'ang in which the beetles are numerous are cheaper 
 than those in which they are absent. But, although 
 Chinese entomology is not to be trusted, there is, after 
 all, a grain of truth in the statement. The genus 
 hrachytarSiis is parasitic on coccus, and the grub, not 
 the imago, is the enemy of the white wax insect. The 
 Chinese, therefore, are not far wrong when they pay a 
 lower price for the beetle-infested scales. 
 
 When a scale is plucked from the tree, an orifice 
 where it was attached to the bark is disclosed. By 
 this orifice the cocci are enabled to escape from the de- 
 tached scales. If the scales are not detached, but 
 remain fixed to the bark, it may be asked, " How are 
 the cocci to find their way out ? " It has been stated 
 by entomologists that they know not of any species of 
 the family Coccidae that cannot find their way from 
 underneath the mother-scale without assistance. This 
 may also hold good in the present case ; but all I con- 
 tend for is, that the cocci pe-la take eager advantage of 
 the opening pierced from inside the scale by the beetle 
 to escape from their imprisonment. In addition to the 
 branches with intact scales, which I carried home with 
 me for examination, I closely observed the scales that 
 had been left undetached on the ligustrum, and found 
 only one orifice in each scale — a circular hole similar in 
 every respect to the orifice pierced by the beetles in 
 the scales which I had beside me. At Chia-ting I 
 examined scales that had been brouo^ht from the Chien- 
 ch'ang valley. They were suspended on the wax trees 
 and were for the most part empty. They had only 
 one orifice — that by which they had been attached to
 
 TRANSPORT OF THE INSECTS. 195 
 
 the bark of the ligustrum, and by which the cocci had 
 no doubt escaped. In the very first scale I opened there, 
 however, I found a solitary beetle. 
 
 The Chien-ch'ang valley is the great insect-produc- 
 ing country ; but the insects may be, and are, pro- 
 pagated elsewhere, as in Chien-wei Hsien to the south 
 of Cliia-tinc]f Fu, and even as far east as Ch'unof-k'inof. 
 These insects are, however, declared by the Chinese to 
 be inferior, and they fetch a lower price. 
 
 Two hundred miles to the north-east of Chien- 
 ch'ang, and separated from it by a series of mountain 
 ranges, is the prefecture of Chia-ting, within which 
 insect white wax as an article of commerce is produced. 
 In the end of April, the scales are gathered from the 
 ligustrum in the Chien-ch'ang valley, and collected for 
 the most part at the town of Te-ch'ang, on the right 
 bank of the An-ning River, which I have already men- 
 tioned, in latitude 27° 24' 
 
 To this town porters from Chia-ting annually resort 
 in great numbers — in former years they are said to have 
 numbered as many as ten thousand — to carry the scales 
 across the mountains to Chia-tincr. The scales are made 
 
 o 
 
 up into paper packets, each weighing about sixteen 
 ounces, and a load usually consists of about sixty 
 packets. Great care lias to be taken in the transit of 
 the scales. The porters between the Chien-ch'ang 
 valley and Chia-ting travel only during the night, for, 
 at the season of transit, the temperature is already 
 high during the day, and would tend to the rapid de- 
 velopment of the insects and their escape from the 
 scales. At their resting places, the porters open and
 
 iq6 three years IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 spread out the packets in cool places. Notwithstand- 
 ing all these precautions, however, each packet, on 
 arrival at Chia-ting-, is found to be more than an ounce 
 lighter than when it started from Chien-ch'ang. In 
 years of plenty, a pound of scales laid down in Chia- 
 ting costs about half-a-crown ; but in years of scarcity, 
 such as last year, when only a thousand loads are said 
 to have reached Chia-ting from Chien-ch'ang, the price 
 is doubled. 
 
 In favourable years, a pound of Chien-ch'ang scales 
 is calculated to produce from four to five pounds of wax ; 
 in bad years, little more than a pound may be expected, 
 so that, taken as a whole, white wax culture has in it 
 a considerable element of risk. 
 
 West from the right bank of the Min River, on 
 which the city of Chia-ting lies, stretches a plain to the 
 foot of the sacred 0-mei range of mountains. This 
 plain, which runs south to the left bank of the Ta-tu 
 River, which forms the northern boundary of the Chien- 
 chang valley farther west, is an immense rice-field, being 
 well-watered by streams from the western mountains. 
 Almost every plot of ground on this plain, as well as the 
 bases of the mountains, are thickly edged with stumps, 
 varying from three or four to a dozen feet in height, 
 with numerous sprouts rising from their gnarled heads. 
 These stumps resemble, at a distance, our own pollard 
 willows. The leaves spring in pairs from the branches ; 
 they are light green, ovate, pointed, serrated, and de- 
 ciduous. In June, 1884, when I visited this part of 
 the country, some of the trees were bearing bunches 
 apparently of fruit in small pods ; but, as no flowering
 
 THE WHITE WAX TREE. 197 
 
 specimens were then procurable, there still exists a little 
 uncertainty as to this tree. I am informed, however, 
 that it is, in all probability, the Fraxinus Chinensis, a 
 species of ash. The tree is known to the Chinese as 
 the Pai-la shu, or " white wax tree." 
 
 It is to this, the great home of the wax tree, that 
 the scales are carried from the Chien-ch'ang valley. 
 On their arrival, about the beginning of May, they are 
 made up into small packets of from twenty to thirty 
 scales, which are enclosed in a leaf of the wood-oil tree. 
 The edges of the leaf are tied together with a rice-straw, 
 by which the packet is also suspended close under the 
 branches of the wax tree. A few rough holes are drilled 
 in the leaf with a blunt needle, so that the insects may 
 find their way through them to the branches. 
 
 On emerging from the scales, the insects creep rapidly 
 up the branches to the leaves, among which they nestle 
 for a period of thirteen days. They then descend to 
 the branches and twigs, on which they take up their 
 positions, the females, doubtless, to provide for a con- 
 tinuation of the race by developing scales in which 
 to deposit their eggs, and the males to excrete the 
 substance known as white wax. Whether or not the 
 wax is intended as a protection to the scales, I am not 
 prepared to say. I have frequently observed, however, 
 scales far removed from any deposit of white wax, and 
 it may be asked whether or not it is in these scales at 
 a distance from the wax that the female beetles, cuckoo- 
 like, deposit their eggs. The Chinese in Chia-ting 
 have learned to distinguish the wax-producing from 
 the non- wax-producing insects. Tliey divide them into
 
 198 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 two classes, called respectively, the la-sha, or " wax 
 sand," and the huany-sha, or " brown sand." The 
 former, which are of a reddish-white colour, are declared 
 to be the wax producers, while the latter, which are of 
 a brownish colour, are said to produce no wax. These 
 are, without doubt, the males and females respectively. 
 During the thirteen days after their escape from the 
 scales, and their future life when studded on the bark, 
 the insects must derive their nourishment from the sap 
 of the tree, although to the unaided eye there is no 
 visible impression on leaves or bark. From the absence 
 of any such marks, the Chinese declare that the insects 
 live on dew, and that the wax perspires from their 
 bodies. 
 
 The wax first appears as a white coating on the 
 under sides of the boughs and twigs, and resembles 
 very much sulphate of quinine, or a covering of snow. 
 It gradually spreads over the whole branch, and attains, 
 after three months, a thickness of about a quarter of 
 an inch. When the white deposit becomes visible on 
 the branches, the farmer may be seen going the round 
 of his trees, carefully belabouring each stump with a 
 heavy wooden club, in order, as he says, to bring to 
 ground the la-kou, or *' Avax dog," a declared enemy of 
 the wax insect. This probably refers to the beetle- 
 mother. This clubbing of the stumps was done during 
 the heat of the day, when the wax insects are said to 
 have a firm hold of the bark. 
 
 After the lapse of a hundred days frcm the placing 
 of the insects on the wax tree, the deposit is complete. 
 The branches are then lopped off, and as much of the
 
 WAX IXSECT METAMORPHOSIS. 19^ 
 
 wax as possible removed by hand. This is placed in an 
 iron pot of boiling water, and the wax, melting, rises 
 to the surface, is skimmed off and placed in a round 
 mould, whence it emerges as the white wax of commerce. 
 Where it is found impossible to remove the wax by 
 hand, twigs and branches are thrown into the pot, so 
 that this wax is darker and inferior. Finally, not 
 eatisJSed that all the wax has been collected, the opera- 
 tor takes the insects, which have meantime sunk to the 
 bottom of the pot, and placing them in a bag, squeezes 
 them until they have given up the last drop of their 
 valuable product. They are then — an ignominious 
 endincr to their short and industrious career — thrown 
 
 o 
 
 to the pigs ! 
 
 On the 27th of August, 1884, branches of the 
 ligustrwn coated with wax were brought to me. On 
 removing the wax I found, close to the bark, a number 
 of minute brown bags, evidently the male cocci in a 
 state of metamorphosis. 1 examined the undisturbed 
 branches from day to day, and on the 4th September I 
 observed quite a number of white hair-like substances 
 rising above the surface of the wax deposit. These 
 ultimately proved to be the white forked tails of the 
 male insects forcing their way up from the bark, and 
 dislodging, as they emerged, small quantities of the 
 wax. They were now provided with long wings, and, 
 after tarrying for a time on the branches, flew away. 
 By the 13th of September they had all disappeared, 
 leaving visible the tunnels from the bark, upwards, by 
 which they had escaped. 
 
 It will be seen from the above remarks that, as the
 
 200 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 branches of the wax tree are boiled with the wax, the 
 scales are destroyed, and hence it is necessary, to have 
 recourse annually to the Chien-ch'ang valley for fresh 
 scales with eggs or insects. 
 
 When the branches are lopped off a wax tree, a 
 period of three years is allowed to elapse before the 
 scales are suspended under the new branches of the 
 same tree. Wind and rain are greatly dreaded at the 
 season of suspending the insects, and the sprouts of one 
 and two years' growth are considered too weak to resist 
 a gale. 
 
 So much for the wax insect and its product. I 
 come now to the subject of the quantity produced, its 
 value and uses. 
 
 Since the introduction of kerosene oil into China, 
 and its almost universal use in the remotest provinces 
 of the Empire, the demand for white wax has declined 
 considerably, and the supply has decreased in a corres- 
 ponding ratio. Not many years ago, as I have already 
 stated, ten thousand porters were required to carry 
 the scales from the Chien-ch'ang valley to the wax tree 
 country, and in 1884 we find that a thousand porters 
 were able to transport the Chien-ch'ang supply. In 
 many homesteads in Ssu-ch'uan, where candles were 
 formerly the only lights, kerosene has been introduced, 
 and it is now only when lighting is required outside — ■ 
 for there is no public lighting in China worthy of the 
 name — that candles are employed by those who find it 
 necessary to leave their homes after nightfall. I find, 
 however, from the returns of the Chinese Imperial 
 Maritime Customs for 1884, that the quantity of
 
 USES OF INSECT WAX. 201 
 
 Insect White Wax imported into Shanghai in foreign 
 vessels from the ports on the Yang-tsze, amounted to 
 7,628 piculs, or 454 tons, valued at 381,440 taels, or 
 about £95,000 — say on an average £200 a ton. 
 
 The value, like the demand, has also declined. Not 
 many years ago it was quoted at double the prices 
 realized at present. 
 
 Various uses are ascribed to this wax ; but in West- 
 ern China, as far as I have been able to gather, its sole 
 use is for coatinsf the exteriors of animal and veofetable 
 tallow candles, and for giving a greater consistency to 
 these tallows before they are manufactured into candles. 
 Insect White Wax melts at 160° F., whereas animal 
 tallow melts at about 95° F. Veofetable and animal 
 tallow candles are therefore dipped into melted white 
 wax ; a coating is given to them, and prevents them 
 guttering when lighted. It is also said to be used in 
 other parts of China as a sizing for paper and cotton 
 goods, for imparting a gloss to silk, and as a furniture 
 polish. Chemists are likewise declared to utilize it for 
 coating their pills ; but, being in all probability of more 
 value than the pills, the coating is removed before the 
 latter are administered. In the Fuh-kien and Chu- 
 kiang provinces it is employed to impart a polish to 
 steatite, or soapstone ornaments, after the carving is 
 completed. 
 
 Such, then, is a brief history of the production, 
 manufacture, and uses of Chinese Insect White Wax — 
 a substance interesting from a biological, as well as 
 from a commercial, point of view.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THP] TRADE OF WESTERN AND SOUTH-WESTERN CHINA- 
 
 The waterways, trade-routes, condition, and commercial prosiDccts of Yiin- 
 nan — Trade-routes to Kuei-chow, and the mineral wealth of the 
 province — The waterways of Ssii-ch'uan— General trade of Ssu-ch'uan 
 — Foreign trade of Ssii-ch'uan and how it is conducted — The defects 
 in the present system and the remedy — The rapids and the difficulties 
 they present — Advantages to be gained from the opening of Ch'ung- 
 k'ing — The Yang-tsze the only route — Trade bound to the Yang-tsze. 
 
 I felt very highly honoured by a recent invitation, 
 which was addressed to me by the Chamber of Com- 
 merce of the great manufacturing city of Manchester, 
 to speak on the subject of trade with China ; but I 
 confess that I had the greatest diffidence in appearing 
 before a commercial audience, before men who make 
 trade the business of their lives. A residence of ten 
 years in a country like China does not necessarily imply 
 an acquaintance with its trade, and, were this the only 
 qualification that I possessed, I should have hesitated 
 to accept the invitation. The trade of China, like the 
 Empire itself, is vast and varied, and to examine and 
 discuss it in anything like an exhaustive manner would 
 have occupied far too much time. Instead, therefore, 
 of speaking of the general trade of China, I drew their
 
 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 203 
 
 attention to that part of the country which has of late 
 attracted considerable notice from its proximity to 
 Upper Burmah, now incorporated in our Indian Empire. 
 
 South-western China was not unfamiliar to the 
 audience I then addressed, its trade and trading capa- 
 bilities having been brought before the principal 
 Chambers of Commerce in Great Britain by Mr. Col- 
 quhoun and Mr. Hallett, two gentlemen who took great 
 interest in the subject — an interest, too, which they 
 tried to instil into the commercial world. The part of 
 China, then, of which I spoke embraced Ssu-ch'uan, 
 Yiin-nan, and Kuei-chow, and the observations I made 
 were based on a three years' residence and recent jour- 
 neys, covering some five thousand miles in these three 
 provinces. 
 
 It is impossible to arrive at any definite conclusion 
 regarding the trade of a country without some know- 
 ledge of the geography of that country ; it is therefore 
 necessary, at the outset, to note the physical charac- 
 teristics of Western China. The hundred and tenth 
 degree of longitude divides China Proper into two 
 almost equal parts. It does more ; it divides the level 
 from the mountainous half Yiin-nan, Kuei-chow, and 
 Ssu-ch'uan, constitute the southern section of the latter 
 or mountainous half. Let us, then, deal with these 
 three provinces in the above order. 
 
 Yiin-nan is bounded on the north by the province 
 of Ssu-ch'uan, on the west by Upper Burmah and the 
 Shan States, on the south by the Shan States and 
 Tonquin, and on the east by the provinces of Kwang-si 
 and Kuei-cliow. It is the birth-place of several well-
 
 204 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 known rivers. On the west are the Ta-plng and 
 Shweh, tributaries of the Irrawady ; the Salwen and 
 Mekong flow through its whole length ; the Song-koi, 
 or Red River, and the Hsi Chiang, or West River, 
 take their rise in the south and east of the province 
 respectively. The Chin Chiang, or Chin-sha Chiang, 
 as the upper waters of the Yang-tsze are called, flows 
 through the north-western corner, and for a consider- 
 able distance divides Ylin-nan from Ssu-ch'uan. In 
 the north-east there is one small river, the Ta-kuan, 
 or Heng Chiang, a tributary of the Yang-tsze. Of all 
 these rivers, the only two that are navigable into Ylin- 
 nan are the Song-koi and the Yang-tsze, with its 
 tributary the Ta-kuan, and these not without some 
 difiiculty. 
 
 Here, then, we have two water-routes into Ylin-nan, 
 one in the south and the other in the north. But the 
 West River is navio-ated from Canton to Pe-sd, close 
 to the south-eastern frontier of the province, and is a 
 very important trade highway to southern and eastern 
 Ylin-nan. In default of a waterway in the west, com- 
 munication is kept up by the Bhamo-Ta-li Fu route, 
 which, being now partly within our Indian Empire, has 
 attracted no little attention, and raised considerable 
 expectations for British trade. 
 
 It is indeed a pity that these expectations are 
 doomed to disappointment. The total import and ex- 
 port trade by this route three years ago did not exceed 
 half a million sterling. I entered very minutely into 
 the question of this trade when I visited Ta-li Fu in 
 1883, and I am thus well acquainted with the area
 
 CONDITION OF YUNNAN. 205 
 
 which this route suppHes. Ta-U Fu and Yang-pei 
 T'ing form its eastern and northern boundary respect- 
 ively, and it is from it that the Ta-ping valley draws 
 its requirements. The country east of Ta-li Fu is sup- 
 plied from Yun-nan Fu, the capital of the province, 
 which again draws both from Canton by the West River, 
 and from Shanghai by the Yang-tsze. The difficulties of 
 the Bhamo route are so great that no great improve- 
 ment is possible, and no great development of trade 
 can result. Yiin-nan has been described as a rich pro- 
 vince. I have no hesitation in saying that it is ; but 
 it contains a poor population, and, until the condition 
 of the latter is improved, no great development of 
 trade need be looked for in that direction. It is esti- 
 mated to contain a population of from five to six 
 millions, the great mass of which is engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits. True, there are copper mines in the 
 north and east, and tin and lead mines in the south of 
 the province ; but mining industries are so hampered 
 by official interference as to profit little the owners or 
 the workmen. Aofriculture, too, is carried on under a 
 system of small farms, and the absence of good roads 
 and the impossibility of greatly improving those that 
 exist, owing to the mountainous character of the pro- 
 vince, do not tend to the enrichment of the peasantry. 
 Nor is this all ; immense tracts in the north and west 
 of the province have lain waste since the Mohammedan 
 rebellion, and owing to the antipathy of the Chinese to 
 settle on lands which they look upon as the property 
 of people who may still be Uving, or whose descendants 
 may still be living, it must be many years before the
 
 2o6 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 agriculture of the province is properly developed. It 
 will be said that I take a gloomy view of the south- 
 western corner of China ; and I am indeed sorry, for 
 the sake of our own commerce, that I cannot present a 
 brighter picture. 
 
 I turn now to the province of Kuei-chow, which, 
 owing to its proximity to the great waterway of China, 
 is better situated for trade than Ylin-nan, but which, 
 from causes which I shall presently describe, is even 
 less developed than that province. Kuei-chow has not 
 inaptly been called the " Switzerland " of China. The 
 greater part of the province, which is exceedingly 
 mountainous, was formerly peopled by a non-Chinese 
 race, called by the Chinese, Miao-tzu ; but some twenty 
 years ago a struggle arose between the aboriginal tribes 
 and the Chinese, in which the latter from their superior 
 equipment proved victorious, and drove the conquered 
 into the southern half of the province, although even 
 in the northern half scattered families may still be 
 found. The struggle, which lasted for years, was a 
 desperate one ; and, at the present time, traces are 
 everywhere to be seen in the shape of ruined towns 
 and villages and lands lying waste and desolate. The 
 waterways that lead to the province of Kuei-chow, with 
 one exception, flow through Ssii-ch'uan. That excep- 
 tion is the Yuan E,iver, which, rising in the east of the 
 province, flows east and north-east into the Tung-t'ing 
 Lake, which debouches into the Yang-tsze, one hundred 
 and twenty-three miles to the west of Hankow. This 
 river, which, although obstructed by numerous rapids, 
 is navigated to within one hundred and thirty miles of
 
 A PROSPEROUS PROVINCE. 207 
 
 Kuel-yang Fu, the capital of the province, is the trade 
 highway to Eastern Kuei-chow. 
 
 The trade of the rest of the province is intimately 
 bound up with that of Ssu-ch'uan, through which, owing 
 to its remaining waterways, it naturally passes. The 
 population of Kuei-chow is estimated to equal that of 
 Yiin-nan. It consists of immigrants from other neigh- 
 bouring provinces, who seem to have left behind them 
 whatever energy they may have at one time possessed. 
 Like Yiin-nan, Kuei-chow is rich in the variety of its 
 mineral wealth. Coal, iron, copper, and quicksilver 
 exist in large quantities ; but they are very imperfectly 
 worked. What it lacks is salt, a necessary which binds 
 it and its trade to Ssu-ch'uan, which is able to supply 
 not only its own wants, but those of the southern pro- 
 vince, tho north of Yiin-nan, and parts of other eastern 
 provinces. 
 
 I am happy to be able to pass from these two pro- 
 vinces, half depopulated by internecine struggles, only 
 partly cultivated and partly developed, to a brighter 
 picture. Ssu-ch'uan is really a picture of what peace, 
 contentment, industry, and consequent trade are able 
 to accomplish. When Yiin-nan and Kuei-chow were 
 convulsed by civil wars, the Ssu-ch'uanese were peace- 
 fully journeying up and down the Great River, as the 
 section of the Yang-tsze in the east of the province is 
 called, disposing of their surplus produce, apd bringing 
 back not only what they required to satisfy their actual 
 wants, but also luxuries in the shape of goods of foreign 
 manufacture. There have been, and still are, skirmish- 
 ings in the far west of the province ; but rebellions
 
 2o8 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 have been short-lived, and have little affected the com- 
 mercial section which lies to the east of the Min River. 
 It is of the trade of this province, itself as large as 
 France, and as populous, that I Avish particularly to 
 draw attention. I shall endeavour to point out the' 
 value of that trade, the conditions under which it is 
 carried on, and the means that should be taken for its 
 development. 
 
 Although Ssu-ch'uan is hilly in the east and centre 
 and mountainous in the west, cultivation has been 
 carried to a state bordering on perfection. The dense 
 population of the province has no doubt largely con- 
 tributed to this end ; but its fine waterways have 
 greatly helped the energy of the people. The river 
 Yang-tsze, which flows through the province, is the 
 great trunk, having for its northern branches the Min 
 with its tributaries, the T'o, and the Chia-linof with its 
 afiiuents. On the south are the Ta-kuan, the Nan- 
 kuang, the Yung-ning, the J§n-huai or Ch'ih-shui, the 
 Ch'i-chiang, and the Kung-t'an Kivers. 
 
 On all these rivers there is one constant stream of 
 traffic, and it will be asked, in what does that traffic 
 consist ? No other province in China can vie with 
 Ssu-ch'uan in the richness and variety of its products, 
 and I will refer only to those of them which constitute 
 the chief articles of eastern export. They are, in the 
 order of their value, opium, silk, salt, sugar, and medi- 
 cines. Of these, silk is the only article that reaches 
 Europe ; but, amongst the minor exports, tobacco, 
 hides, musk, and rhubarb are well-known in this 
 country. The total value of the export trade of
 
 THE COTTON TRADE. 209 
 
 Ch'uncr-k'inef, which is situated on the north bank of 
 the Yang-tsze, at the mouth of the Chia-hng River, 
 and is the great trade emporium of the province of 
 Ssu-ch'uan, amounts to more than five million sterHng 
 annually. This must not be assumed to represent the 
 total value of the surplus produce of the province. 
 There are several important trade centres that lie 
 between Ch'unof-k'inof and the western frontier of the 
 province of Hupeh, such as Fu Chou, Feng-tu Hsien, 
 Wan Hsien, and K'uei Fu, each of which contributes 
 its quota to the large export trade of Ssti-ch'uan. 
 Moreover, the west of the province supplies Tibet 
 with brick-tea, and the south-western corner, known as 
 the valley of Chien-ch'ang, sends its silk into Yiln-nan 
 and even into Burmah. 
 
 What, then, does Ssu-ch'uan purchase with these 
 surplus millions ? What does this rich province lack ? 
 The answer is easy. Cotton will not flourish in Ssu- 
 ch'uan, and the greater part of her surplus wealth is 
 consumed in the purchase of raw cotton, native cot- 
 tons, and, what is of great importance to British com- 
 merce, foreign cotton and woollen goods. But what 
 proportion do these imports bear to each other ? Baw 
 cotton exceeds, while native cottons and foreign piece 
 goods range, each about one million sterling. I should 
 state, however, that all this cotton is not consumed in 
 the province of Ssti-ch'uan. The Ssu-ch'uanese are a 
 great manufacturing people, and cottons manuflictured 
 from the imported raw material form an important ex- 
 port from Ssu-ch'uan to Yun-nan and Western Kuei- 
 chow.
 
 210 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 But it is tlie import of foreign goods into Western 
 Cliina that is of paramount interest to the people of this 
 country. Let us, then, look back for a period of years 
 and see how this branch of trade has been conducted- 
 In the various treaties concluded between this country 
 and China, it is agreed tliat goods of British manufacture 
 may, on payment of the tarifi" import duty and of a 
 transit duty, be carried into the interior for sale ; but 
 the transit certificates which were issued to the owners 
 of the goods on payment of the transit duty were by no 
 means respected. Not only were these certificates not 
 respected, but the rules and conditions under which they 
 were issued differed at each port, and this want of 
 uniformity proved a great hindrance to the develojDment 
 of the trade. It was not till 1876 that the transit pass 
 system was placed upon a solid footing. 
 
 In the Agreement of Chefoo concluded in that year, 
 the following clause occurs : — " The Chinese Govern- 
 ' ment agrees that Transit Duty Certificates shall be 
 ' framed under one rule at all the ports, no difierence 
 ' being made in the conditions set forth therein ; and 
 'that so far as imports are concerned, the nationality 
 ' of the person possessing and carrying these is imma- 
 * terial." This has proved a new epoch for the transit 
 import trade of China, and I will now point out its 
 effect on Western China, and on the province of Ssu- 
 ch'uan in particular. Before entering into the details 
 of this trade, however, I should mention that Ichang, 
 the nearest port to Ssii-ch'uan, was opened to foreign 
 trade by the Agreement of Chefoo in 1876, and that, 
 previous to that year, Ssu-ch'uan drew its supplies from
 
 TRADE STATISTICS. 211 
 
 Hankow, which is four hundred miles to the east of 
 Ichang and six hundred miles from Shanghai. 
 
 In 1875, that is to say, when Ichang was not an 
 open port, foreign goods to the value of £40,000 were 
 . sent under transit pass from Hankow to Ssu-ch'uan ; 
 in 1876, the year in which the Agreement of Chefoo 
 was signed, they rose in •value to £160,000, and in 1877 
 to £290,000. 
 
 In the spring of 1877, Ichang was opened; but, 
 owing to defective steamer communication between that 
 port and Hankow, it was not till 1878 that it began to 
 take its share in the transit trade to Ssu-ch'uan. In 
 that year, it sent up goods of the modest value of 
 scarcely £4,000, against the still increasing transit trade 
 of Hankow of the value of nearly £400,000. It was 
 naturally supposed that the opening of Ichang would 
 attract a considerable share of the transit trade of Han- 
 kow ; but, curiously enough, the transit trade of both 
 ports with Ssu-ch'uan went on concurrently increasing. 
 In 1879, Hankow sent up £600,000, and Ichang 
 £50,000, a total of £650,000 ; in 1880, Hankow sent up 
 £500,000, and Ichang £250,000, a total of £750,000 ! 
 in 1881, Hankow figured for £800,000, and Ichang for 
 £200,000, a total of one million; in 1882, Hankow 
 figured for £350,000, and Ichang for £200,000, a total 
 of £550,000 ; in 1883, Hankow figured for half a mil- 
 lion, and Ichang for £350,000, a total of £850,000 ; and 
 in 1884, Hankow figured for £340,000, and Ichang for 
 £260,000, or a total of £600,000. 
 
 The decline of 1884 was due to several causes, the 
 chief of which were a local drought and the comj[)lica-
 
 212 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 tions with France. The averaofe annual value of the 
 foreign goods sent under transit pass to Ssu-ch'uan for 
 the five years ended the 31st December, 1884, thus 
 amounted to £750,000, a sum in striking contrast to 
 the forty thousand pounds' worth forwarded to the 
 same destination in 1875. 
 
 The folio win o- are the fio;'ures for 1885-88 : — 
 1885— Ichang, £412,000; Hankow, £491,000. 1886 
 — Ichang, £342,000; Hankow, £379,000. 1887— 
 Ichang, £465,000 ; Hankow, £255,000. 1888— Ichang, 
 £547,000 ; Hankow, £250,000. 
 
 The enormous increase in trade since 1875 says 
 much for the transit pass clauses in the Agreement of 
 Chefoo ; but I will endeavour to show that, so far as 
 Western China is concerned, these transit regulations 
 are by no means perfect. Everyone is aware of the 
 conservative character of the Chinese, and of the diffi- 
 culties that have to be met in inducing- them to leave 
 an established groove. The groove in the present in- 
 stance is the city of Ch'ung-k'ing, where the native 
 merchants of Shanghai and Hankow have established 
 agencies, to which their foreign goods are consigned 
 for sale and distribution throughout the province of 
 Ssii-ch'uan. These goods, having paid the tariff im- 
 port duty at Shanghai, are carried to Hankow and 
 Ichang, whence, on payment of a transit duty equal to 
 half the tariff import duty, they are conveyed to the 
 province of Ssu-ch'uan. The destination of the goods 
 must be expressly stated in the transit duty certifi- 
 cate under which they are carried, and for Ssu-ch'uan 
 that destination is Ch'ung-k'ing, where, as I have said,
 
 GRL\DL\G TAXATION. 213 
 
 the mercantile agencies are established. So rooted is 
 this custom, that goods are frequently carried past 
 their ultimate destination a distance of more than one 
 hundred miles, thus necessitating their paying an up- 
 freiMit to Ch'uno^-k'ino; and a down-freio'ht to their 
 destination, and, owing to their being no longer 
 covered by a transit duty certificate, the usual local 
 taxation. 
 
 Foreign goods, therefore, when landed at Ch'ung- 
 k'ing, have paid an import duty and a transit duty, 
 and, immediately they leave the duty-free area in the 
 hands of the country buyers, they are liable to payment 
 of likin and not unfrequently to additional local taxa- 
 tion. It will naturally be asked, is there no remedy 
 for this grinding taxation, which seriously affects the 
 development of trade and limits the consumption of 
 our manufactures ? There is a remedy ; but before I 
 touch on it, let us note how the vast trade of Ssu-ch'uan, 
 including the trade in foreign goods, is carried on. 
 
 Tlie import and export trade of Ssti-ch'uan, with the 
 exception of the greater part of the export opium trade, 
 is conducted on the great water highway — the Yang- 
 tsze. This river is navigated by steamers for one 
 thousand miles, as far as Ichang ; but west of that port 
 the total trade, with the above exception, is carried on 
 by a fleet of native boats, numbering from five to seven 
 thousand. Few of these native boats or junks have a 
 carrying capacity exceeding one hundred tons, and it 
 will be more intelligible to commercial people if I en- 
 deavour to convert this river trade value into tonnage. 
 It is estimated that, on an average, thirty junks arrive
 
 214 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 at or pass Ichang daily from Ssti-ch'uan, and that a like 
 number ascends ; and if twelve tons be taken as the 
 average capacity of these junks — a low estimate — it will 
 be found that over twenty thousand tons of cargo are 
 monthly carried to and from Ssu-ch'uan. The junks 
 also carry a considerable number of passengers, in 
 addition to the regular passenger traffic which is con- 
 ducted between Ssu-ch'uan and the Lower Yano^-tsze 
 in specially-constructed boats. But the conditions 
 under which the navigation of the four hundred miles 
 that separate Ichang from Ch'ung-k'ing is carried on 
 are deserving of special examination, 
 
 Ichang lies at the eastern end of a series of gorges, 
 which, with extensive breaks, stretches for a distance of 
 one hundred miles as far as the city of K'uei-chou Fu. 
 It is within this hundred miles that native boats en- 
 counter difficulties. These difficulties, which are of two 
 kinds, vary according to the season and according to the 
 state of the river. At low water, that is to say, during 
 the months of December, January, February, and 
 March, the volume of the Yang-tsze, which owing to the 
 contraction of the channel is cooped up in the Gorges, 
 on emerging from them pours into the wider bed of the 
 river, forming races, and in one place a rapid of con- 
 siderable importance. 
 
 This rapid lies at the eastern end of the Mi-tsang 
 Gorge, thirty-three miles from Ichang, and is caused by 
 a sudden declivity of the bed of the river, in the centre 
 of which, at very low water, two ridges of rock appear, 
 leaving a narrow channel between. Besides this narrow 
 passage, however, there are two channels, one on each
 
 DIFFICULTIES ATTENDING NAVIGATION. 215 
 
 side, between the central rocks and the banks. Fortu- 
 nately, at low water the current in the gorges, where 
 there is no possible tracking ground, is sluggish, and the 
 unwieldy native craft are either rowed or sail through 
 them. When the river is high, that is, during the 
 remaining eight months of the year, the races and rapid 
 are altogether obliterated, being covered to a depth of 
 thirty or more feet. The effect of this rise, on the other 
 hand, is to strengthen the current in the gorges, against 
 which the junks, there being no towing path, find it 
 very difficult to make headway. The section of three 
 hundred miles of river that lies between the gorges 
 and Ch'ung-k'ing presents no difficulty to navigation. 
 
 The time required to navigate a junk between 
 Ichang and Ch'ung-k'ing depends upon the state of the 
 river. In winter, twenty-five to thirty days are usually 
 required, while at high water, in July for example, six 
 tQ eight weeks are considered fair passages. The down 
 journey occu|)ies from six to twelve days. The time 
 required, the labour employed, and the risks incurred 
 in navigating a junk on the Upper Yang-tsze, ensure 
 very heavy freights. The sum of seventy shillings is 
 a low estimate for a ton of up-cargo between Ichang 
 and Ch'unof-k'in":, and I notice in the most recent trade 
 report from the former place, that ten to twelve shil- 
 lings were charged as freight on a bale of piece goods 
 weiffhino; about a hundredweight and a half. It will 
 hardly be matter of surprise, therefore, that trade in 
 British goods is heavily handicapped in the compara- 
 tively wealthy province of SsCi-ch'uan, when it is borne 
 in mind that these goods, before they reach the hands
 
 2i6 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 of the consumer, have paid an import duty, a transit 
 duty, a heavy freight, likin taxes, and in many instances 
 other local exactions. 
 
 I come now to the remedy, which, under our exist- 
 ing treaties and engagements with China, can, so far as 
 I am able to judge, afford the only relief to British 
 trade. That remedy is the opening of a port in the 
 province of Ssu-ch'uan, on the same conditions as any 
 one of the nineteen ports at present open to foreign 
 trade. This is no new scheme. It has been before the 
 mercantile world for some years, and it has received 
 the sanction of the Chinese Government, subject to 
 a condition which has not attracted the attention it 
 deserves. I quote from the Agreement of Chefoo : — 
 " The British Government will further be free to send 
 
 * officers to reside at Ch'ung-k'ing to watch the con- 
 
 * ditions of British trade in Ssti-ch'uan. British mer- 
 ' chants will not be allowed to reside at Ch'uno;-k'ingr 
 
 * or to open establishments or warehouses there so long 
 
 * as no steamers have access to the port. When steam- 
 *ers have succeeded in ascending the river so far, 
 
 * further arrangements can be taken into consideration." 
 The opening of Ch'ung-k'ing, therefore, is contingent on 
 steamers reaching that place ; in other words, on the 
 navigability of the Upper Yang-tsze. 
 
 This, then, is the point upon which the question of 
 the development of British trade with Western China 
 turns, and it is one on which it would be too much to 
 expect unanimity. The great majority of those who 
 have ascended in native boats are of opinion that the 
 river could be navigated by powerful light-draught
 
 NAVAL REPORT ON THE RAPIDS. 217 
 
 steamers, and nowhere have I seen an ophiion which 
 declares the passage by steamers as impossible. The 
 successive British Agents at Ch'ung-k'ing have repeat- 
 edly urged the claims of the Upper Yang-tsze on the 
 attention of British shipbuilders and merchants ; but it 
 is to be feared that Blue Books are not perused with 
 that care which they sometimes deserve. 
 
 There is one opinion, however, which, because it is 
 the only published nautical opinion, and because it is 
 somewhat adverse, cannot be passed over without com- 
 ment. In 1869, the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce 
 sent two delegates up the Yang-tsze to Ch'ung-k'ing, 
 to collect information on all points bearing on the trade 
 of Western China, and two naval officers were, at the 
 request of the Chamber, deputed by Admiral Keppel, 
 then Commander-in-chief on the China Station, to 
 accompany the expedition. These officers ascended to 
 K'uei-chou Fu, which, as I have already stated, lies at 
 the western end of the gorge and rapid section, and I 
 will now quote from the report of Lieutenant Dawson 
 so far as it concerns this part of the river. He says : — 
 " Having made as detailed a survey between the en- 
 ' trance to the Upper River and Ichang as the nature of 
 ' the river demanded, and sufficient examination above 
 
 * that port to satisfy me as to the navigability or other- 
 
 * wise of the rapids, I conclude the following : — 
 
 " (1) — That the river to Ichang is navigable for 
 ' steamers of 7 feet draught and powerful steering ap- 
 
 * paratus, from the beginning of April to the end of 
 ' September, and probably, if native report is to be 
 ' believed, for the winter months also.
 
 2i8 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 " (2) — That the rapids and other difficulties of the 
 
 * River above Ichang, as at present known, are so 
 
 * numerous as -to preclude the possibility of steamers of 
 ' any description navigating this part until a thorough 
 ' detailed survey is made, and the changes of the river 
 
 * at the different seasons watched and noted by com- 
 ' petent persons. 
 
 " (3) — That such survey could only be made in the 
 
 * winter months when the river is at its lowest, and 
 ' would, if carried as far as Ch'ung-k'ing, in all proba- 
 
 * bility, occupy two surveyors for two winters. 
 
 " (4) — To particularise or describe any one rapid 
 
 * from the month's changes, under which I saw them, 
 ' would be useless, as they are continually altering in 
 ' danger, as rocks cover and uncover, and doubtless 
 ' what would be a dangerous rapid in summer, would be 
 
 * dangerless in winter, and vice versd. In the month of 
 
 * April, the rapids of Tsing-tan and Shan-tou-pien were 
 ' the worst. 
 
 " (5) — As far as my experience on the upper part 
 *of the river above Ichang extended, the depth of 
 ' water is not a difficulty to be apprehended at any time 
 ' of the year, as the average was seldom less than ten 
 
 * fathoms. Velocity of current, want of anchoring 
 ' ground, and inti^icacy of navigation, are the difficulties 
 ' previously alluded to." 
 
 Since 1869, our knowledge of the upper waters of 
 the Yang-tsze has very much improved. We know 
 that the section between Hankow and Ichang is navi- 
 gable by steamers all the year round, and we know that 
 the annual rise of the river is not to increase the diffi-
 
 CirUXG-K'IXG AS AN OPEN PORT. 219 
 
 culties of the rapids, but to obliterate them altogether^ 
 With respect to the current, it no doubt runs stron(,^er 
 at high water ; but, regarding the matter in a practical 
 light, we may say that, if a large heavily-laden junk 
 can be tracked against the strongest current by a hun- 
 dred men, is it impossible for a full-powered light- 
 drauofht steamer to follow in its wake ? There is one 
 advantage, too, which the upper section of the river 
 has over the lower ; its channel never shifts, and, once 
 navigated by a steamer, there is no chance of its being 
 lost. It is not too much to say that, during the winter 
 months, the masters of the steamers runuinof between 
 Hankow and Ichang have to conduct surveying opera- 
 tions every trip, and I have found no one more anxious 
 than these very masters to navigate the river from 
 Ichang to Oh'ung-k'ing, so confident are they of success. 
 I pass now to the advantages which the opening of 
 Ch'uno'-k'ingf would afford to British trade. Our manu- 
 factures could then be laid down in Ch'ung-k'ing on 
 payment of the tariff duty, and from that point the 
 buyers from the chief cities of the province, as well as 
 from Kuei-chow and Yiin-nan, would be able" to carry 
 their purchases under transit pass to their ultimate 
 destination, on payment of the transit duty only. No 
 other tax or duty, likin or octroi, would add to the price 
 which the consumer has to pay, and I have no hesitation 
 in stating that, under such an improved system, Ssii- 
 ch'uan would soon take a very high place in the markets 
 of the world as a consumer of British manufactures- 
 The improvement of comminiication would cause an 
 enormous development of the products and industries of
 
 220 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 the province. I need only mention silk as an example. 
 There is really no limit to the possible development of 
 this valuable product. In almost every homestead in 
 the centre and east of the province, silk-culture is car- 
 ried on by the women and children of the family, and 
 the development of this and other exports, which would 
 arise from the safer, speedier, and cheaper means of 
 communication between the Upper and Lower Yang- 
 tsze, would greatly raise the buying capacity of the 
 peaceful, industrious, and well-to-do Ssu-ch'uanese. 
 
 Nor is Ch'ung-k'ing the head of navigation of the 
 Yancr-tsze. The section of the river between Ch'ung- 
 k'ing and Hsli-chou Fu, usually called Sui Fu, a distance 
 of two hundred miles, is as suited to steamer navigation 
 as between K'uei-chou Fu and Ch'ung-k'ing, and it is 
 by this stretch of the river that the trade of Northern 
 and Western Kuei-chow and Northern Ytin-nan is 
 conducted. West of Sui Fu the trade on the upper 
 waters of the Yanof-tsze, which I have descended from 
 a point fifty miles higher than P'ing-shan Hsien — the 
 farthest point reached by the Upper Yang-tsze Expedi- 
 tion in 1861 — is insiofnificant, and above P'ino^-shan 
 there are several rapids which would present serious 
 obstacles to a steamer, but the trade is insignificant, 
 and steamers will never be required to run west of Sui 
 Fu. 
 
 I may state here that, in Western China, coal is 
 abundant and is found close to the Yang-tsze. 
 
 I have thus endeavoured to point out the amount 
 and value of the trade of Western China, the conditions 
 under which it is carried on, and the means which
 
 ROUTES TO WESTERX CHIXA. 221 
 
 should be taken for its development. I propose now. 
 to show that, so far as Ssu-ch'uan, Kuei-chow, and 
 Northern Yiln-naii are concerned, there is no possible 
 rival to the Yang-tsze route. The fact that there are 
 half a dozen trade routes to Yun-nan affords a proof of 
 the inaccessibility of the province. I agree with Mr. 
 Colquhoun when he says : — " The configuration of Yiin- 
 
 * nan is such that no single route can reach or ' tap ' the 
 
 * whole trade of the province. To propose one route for 
 'the whole country is like advocating some quack 
 
 * medicine for a patient who lies ill with half a dozen 
 
 * ailments." What, then, are we to think of the pro- 
 posed route, which is to pass through Yiin-nan from 
 south to north, and " tap " Ssu-ch'uan ? It is as absurd 
 as the proposal of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce to 
 reach Ssu-ch'uan from the city of Li-chiang Fu in 
 North-western Yiin-nan. Ssti-ch'uan is hemmed in on 
 the west and south by range after range of mountains, 
 which will remain formidable barriers to any feasible 
 trade route until the science of engineering has ad- 
 vanced far beyond its present stage. Writing of the 
 Yang-tsze route to Yiin-nan, Mr. Colquhoun says : — 
 " The Yang-tsze route, there can be no doubt, can only 
 
 * deal with the northern part of the province. The 
 
 * physical features of the northern portion of the 
 
 * country preclude the possibility of trade penetrating 
 'beyond that mountainous and barren region." I am 
 sorry that Mr Colquhoun has designated the part of 
 Yiin-nan, which I claim for the Yang-tsze route, barren. 
 It is exceedingly rich in copper, and contains some of 
 the most fertile plains in the west of China. Tlie
 
 222 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 plains of T'ung-ch'uan and Chao-t'ung are famous. 
 The admission, however, that Northern Yun-nan will 
 continue to belong to the Yang-tsze route is important, 
 because, to reach that part of the country, goods are 
 carried through the province of Ssu-ch'uan. There can 
 be no question, therefore, as to the trade-route to Ssu- 
 ch'uan. But I need not rest my argument on the 
 opinions or admissions of others. I have traversed all 
 the existing trade-routes between Ylin-nan and Ssu- 
 ch'uan, and between Ylin-nan and Kuei-chow, and I 
 have very vivid and bitter recollections connected with 
 them. In proof of the difficulties that exist, 1 may 
 state that it is a common occurrence to see pack animals 
 lying dead on the mountain sides, and this recollection 
 is all the more deeply impressed on my mind by the 
 fact that one of my own horses fell a victim to a vain 
 search after a practicable trade-route. 
 
 But, in addition to the physical features of the 
 country, there is another consideration that binds the 
 trade of Western China to the River Yang-tsze. I 
 have already said that the cotton j^lant does not 
 flourish in Ssu-ch'uan, and that raw cotton and native 
 cottons are largely imported by the province. Whence 
 are they imported ? From the Central Provinces of 
 China, throuo^h which the Yano;--tsze flows. 
 
 The only route to Ssu-ch'uan, Kuei-chow, and 
 Northern Ylin-nan, is the Yang-tsze, on whose upper 
 waters a large trade in foreign goods is even now con- 
 ducted, a trade which is capable of enormous develop- 
 ment when the present burdensome taxation is reduced. 
 The opening of Ch'ung-k'ing by the ascent of a steamer
 
 PROBABLE REDUCTION OF TAXES. 223 
 
 — an event anxiously looked for by the native mer- 
 chants of Ssu-ch'uan — will, as I have pointed out, 
 reduce that taxation, and will enable millions, who at 
 present look upon foreign goods as articles of luxury, 
 to become themselves consumers ; and I trust the day 
 is not far distant when the British flaof will float over 
 entrepots of British manufactures throughout Western 
 China.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE PHO. 
 
 Non-Chinese races of Western and South-western China — Imperfect 
 knowledge regarding them— A traveller's difficulties — Pho language 
 approaching extinction — The.Miao-tzti rebellion— Relationship of the 
 Miao-tzu tribes — Art among the Pho— Music and dancing— Character- 
 istics of the language — Exercises — English- Pho vocabulary. 
 
 The very imperfect nature of our knowledge regard- 
 mo^ the non-Chinese races of Western and South-west- 
 ern China, constitutes the great impediment to their 
 exact scientific classification. Notwithstanding this, 
 however, there are certain well-marked distinctions 
 that cannot fail to attract the eye and the ear of the 
 traveller. So great a contrast do the Lolos bear to the 
 Chinese, that not for a single moment can any idea of 
 affinity be entertained. And the same holds good with 
 the Miao-tzu of Kuei-chow and the Shans of Yiin-nan 
 who, with the Lolos, form the three great distinctive 
 races of Kuei-chow, Yiin-nan, and Ssu-ch'uan. With 
 reofard to the Ku-tsuno' of North-western Yiin-nan 
 and the Sifan of North-western Ssu-ch'uan, the former, 
 from their physique, dress and language, are undoubt- 
 ed Tibetans, while the latter are in all probability a
 
 THE NOX-CIII.\ESE RACES. 225 
 
 branch of the same stock. The term Man-tzu, although 
 apphed by the Ssii-ch'uanese to the inhabitants of the 
 region to the west of Lolodom and often to the Lolos 
 themselves, is generically used to designate the non- 
 Chinese races of Western China. 
 
 Our knowledge of these races is defective, for the 
 simple reason that no foreigner has ever paid them a 
 lengthened visit, which is essential to a thorough grasp 
 of their ethnolocjical characteristics. Nor is this a mat- 
 ter for surprise, as the opportunities, which foreigners 
 possess of visiting these tribes, whose haunts' are re- 
 moved from beaten tracks, are few and far between ; 
 and those few who have had such opportunities have 
 been too much occupied with other work to study ethno- 
 logical details or acquire a new language. 
 
 As recorded in the preceding pages, I passed through 
 the countries of most of these tribes ; but, like others, 
 I found myself wanting in leisure to cultivate a closer 
 intimacy with them. I need only appeal to travellers 
 in Western China as to the facilities afforded for under- 
 taking such a task. In what does the traveller's day 
 usually consist ? He gets up at daybreak, hurries on 
 to the end of the stage, writes up an account of the 
 day's journey, endeavours to get something to eat, and 
 tries to enjoy a few hours' sleep ere the labours of 
 another day begin. The miseries of travel, too, breed 
 a feeling of restlessness and a hankering after some- 
 thing more comfortable than his present experiences. 
 But all the comfort the traveller in these regions 
 may expect, and too frequently gets, is shelter in a 
 miserable mud hovel without chair or table — hardlv
 
 226 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 a promising spot in which to commence ethnological 
 studies. 
 
 Nor is this all ; given a chair and a table, the next 
 difficulty is to find the man whose characteristics it is 
 intended to study. The treatment which these abori- 
 gines receive at the hands of the Chinese, and the con- 
 tempt in which they are held by them, ha.ve induced a 
 timidity which is hard to overcome, and they have 
 often expressed to me their fears that they would get 
 into trouble through accepting my invitation to visit 
 me. 
 
 In traversing the country between the Ta-tu River 
 in Western Ssu-ch'uan and the north-west frontier of 
 Yiin-nan, I have frequently seen so-called Man-tzu sud- 
 denly quit the roadway and conceal themselves in the 
 bordering brushwood and tall reeds until we had passed. 
 And even when an interview has with difficulty been 
 obtained, my visitors were always anxious to get away 
 as soon as possible, so that the most the traveller can 
 do is to note down a few of their more common words, 
 without attempting the analysis of even a few simple 
 sentences. 
 
 A few short vocabularies are all that I was able to 
 collect during my journeys ; but, towards the end of 
 1884, chance threw in my way an opportunity of enter- 
 ing more fully into the language of the principal branch 
 of the aborigines of Kuei-chow, known to the Chinese 
 as the Hei or Black Miao, or, as they call themselves, 
 the Pho. 
 
 In that year Mr. Broumton, who was then in charge 
 of the China Inland Mission station at Kuei-yang,
 
 SUBJUGATION OF THE PHU. Z2^ 
 
 came to Ch'unjx-k'inofj brinofino: with him a man beloiif?- 
 ing to this tribe from the south-east of Kuei-chow, and 
 he was good enough to place the services of this indi- 
 vidual at my disposal. He was fairly well versed in 
 Chinese, and I endeavoured to learn something of his 
 language, and, with his assistance, to translate a few of 
 the easy exercises of Sir Tiiomas Wade's Chinese Collo- 
 quial Course into Pho. 
 
 I should state that, according to my teacher, there 
 is no written character, and my aim was to preserve a 
 specimen of a tongue which must sooner or later become 
 extinct. Of late years, the authorities of the province 
 of Kuei-chow have been endeavouring to compel the 
 Miao-tzu to adopt the Chinese dress and learn the 
 Chinese language. Their efforts, too, are meeting with 
 considerable success, and it is safe to j^redict that the 
 Pho tongue is within a measurable distance of ex- 
 tinction. 
 
 About twenty years ago a desperate struggle com- 
 menced between the Chinese and the Pho, the alleged 
 origin being attempted extortion on the part of the 
 former. The struggle lasted for five years, and had it 
 not been, so say the Pho, that the Chinese obtained a 
 supply of foreign rifles, it would 'not have ended so 
 disastrously for the aborigines. In bright clear weather 
 no advantage was gained by the Chinese ; but the Pho 
 were pressed hard in rainy weather, when they were 
 unable to keep the powder of their matchlocks dry. In 
 this connection I may state that the Pho manufacture 
 their own guns and ammunition — their powder, which 
 is of a brown colour, being famous for its strength and 
 superiority even among the Chinese.
 
 228 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 The result of the struij^ffle was that the Pho were 
 terribly decimated ; and the population of the tribe is 
 now estimated not to exceed seventy thousand souls. 
 The Chinese were assisted in the war against the Pho 
 by the Ka-tou, generally called the Hua, or Coloured 
 Miao, and so named because they wear fancy-coloured 
 garments, just as the Pho are called Black Miao because 
 they affect dark clothes. 
 
 There can be no doubt that the Miao-tzu are a race 
 altogether different from the Chinese. In physique 
 they are decidedly inferior ; in dress, manners, and 
 customs they stand alone ; and their language, although 
 it contains a considerable number of borrowed Chinese 
 words, is undoubtedly distinct. The problem that pre- 
 sents itself to the traveller in Kuei-chow is not the 
 affinity between the Miao-tzu and the Chinese, but the 
 relationship of the Miao-tzii to each other. They are 
 divided into a number of tribes whose traits are recog- 
 nized not only by the Chinese, but even amongst them- 
 selves ; and, as I have already observed, one tribe 
 is prepared to go to war with the other. In phy- 
 sique they are the same, but in dress they differ. Do 
 they speak the same language ? The following is a 
 comparative table of the numerals of three different 
 tribes dwelling in South-east, Central, and North-west 
 Kuei-chow, respectively : —
 
 ASSIMILARITY OF DIALECTS. 
 
 229 
 
 I. 
 
 11. 
 
 III. 
 
 IV. 
 
 Numerals. 
 
 S. E. Kuei-chow 
 
 Central 
 
 N. W. Kuei-chow 
 
 Pho. 
 
 Kuei-chow. 
 
 Ka-tou. 
 
 1 
 
 Yi 
 
 Yi 
 
 Yi 
 
 2 
 
 Au 
 
 Ou 
 
 Ou 
 
 3 
 
 Pieh 
 
 Peh 
 
 Pu 
 
 4 
 
 Hlao 
 
 Plou 
 
 Pi 
 
 5 
 
 Chia 
 
 Psti 
 
 Pa 
 
 6 
 
 Tiu 
 
 Tsou 
 
 Chou 
 
 7 
 
 Hsiung 
 
 Hsiang 
 
 Chiung 
 
 8 
 
 Ya 
 
 Yi 
 
 Yi 
 
 9 
 
 CIiu 
 
 Chia 
 
 Chu 
 
 10 
 
 Chiu 
 
 Ku 
 
 Ko 
 
 A glance at the above will show that there is a great 
 resemblance ; and, as the difficulty of transcribing the 
 living sounds is great, I have no hesitation in saying 
 that a more careful study will evolve a still more marked 
 resemblance. The transcription of the Pho sounds in 
 column II. may be taken as fairly accurate, for they 
 have been repeated and repeated by me in many hun- 
 dreds of combinations without leading to a single mis- 
 take. Nor is the comparison limited to the numerals. 
 I have transcribed hundreds of words of different tribes, 
 and the resemblance is equally evident. 
 
 The conclusion I have arrived at, after careful com- 
 parison and research, is that the Miao-tzu tribes of 
 Kuei-chow are branches of the same stem, speaking 
 somewhat different dialects of the same language. This 
 conclusion, I must not omit to mention, is at variance 
 with the statements of my Pho teacher, who insisted 
 that the Ka-tou tongue is totally unintelligible to a 
 Pho ; but I am inclined to think that he was more than 
 anxious to disclaim all affinity with his quondam enemy.
 
 230 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 But there is another proof that they are of the same 
 stock. At a gathering of the Pho held once a year, 
 representatives of the otlier tribes are present and take 
 part in the proceedings. This gathering, which takes 
 placa at full moon of the third Chinese month, is of a 
 character altogether different from the annual fair held 
 during the third month at Ta-li Fu, where many differ- 
 ent races meet. The latter is a market pure and simple, 
 whereas the former appears to partake of a religious 
 nature, and to be connected with the cominof harvests. 
 
 What the religious aspect is, it is difficult to say, 
 for deep potations would seem to be the order of the 
 day. The Miao-tzu, like the Lolos, are great drinkers, 
 the wine being a native spirit. Art is not wanting 
 among them ; the women are exceedingly skilful at 
 embroidery, and the beautiful silver ornaments — rings, 
 clasps, bracelets, ear-rings, brooches, and necklaces — 
 which they wear on fete days, are highly finished. 
 Some of the sterner sex also affect one larije silver ear- 
 ring in, if my memory is not at fault, the left ear. 
 
 The dress of the Pho male consists of black loose 
 trousers surmounted by a short jacket with tight 
 sleeves. The garments of the female are far more 
 striking. They consist, to begin at the top, of a black 
 turban, short jacket and kilt reaching almost to the 
 feet,, the wrists and backs of the sleeves and the hem 
 of the kilt being ornamented with embroidery, usually 
 with silk. At the gathering in question, music and 
 dancinof are much indulc^ed in. 
 
 The musical instruments are manufactured from 
 bamboos of different sizes, some of them from twelve to
 
 MUSIC AND DANCING. 231 
 
 fifteen feet long, fitted with a mouth-piece, their lower 
 ends being inserted in a large hollow cylinder (the hol- 
 lowed out trunk of a tree), while the upper end of the 
 longest reed is usually surmounted by a cone made of 
 the sheath which grows at the joints of large bamboos. 
 This instrument is called the ki, and from it a loud 
 booming noise is, owing to the presence of tlie cylinder, 
 extracted. The musicians move round in a circle as 
 they play, followed on the outskirts by the young 
 women, who dance in a slow, solemn manner. Of course 
 the ladies, like their Lolo and Shan sisters, do not bind 
 their feet. They lead altogether a freer life than the 
 Chinese, both sexes sitting down to meals at the same 
 table, and entering fully into the conversation even in 
 the presence of a foreigner. 
 
 The language of the Pho, while following to a great 
 extent the Chinese idiom, exhibits at the same time 
 considerable divergence. A " cart-before-the-horse " 
 principle is very marked throughout. An example or 
 two will suffice to explain ray meaning. The Chinese 
 for "beef" and "mutton" is "niu jou" and "yang 
 jou" — that is, "ox-meat" and "sheep-meat." The 
 Pho, on the other hand, say " ngi lia " and " ngi li," 
 which, literally translated, mean " meat-ox " and 
 " meat-sheep." Again, for " good man " the Chinese 
 say " hao jen," where " good man " is the subject of the 
 sentence ; the Pho say " nai ghou " — " man good," and 
 "very good man" is "nai ghou kuai," that is, the ad- 
 jective follows the noun and the adverb the adjective. 
 There are eight tones readily distinguishable, but tliey 
 are not so marked as in Chinese, where a false tone
 
 232 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 may lead to endless confusion. I have read over sen- 
 tence after sentence to my teacher, carefully avoiding 
 to distinguish tones, and, as a rule, he has interpreted 
 in Chinese the exact meaning intended to be conveyed. 
 With these brief remarks I leave the language to the 
 student of philology. Appended are a few exercises 
 and a short vocabulary in English and Pho. Those 
 conversant with Chinese will at once detect the large 
 admixture of Chinese words, which are for the most 
 part only slightly modified ; but the two most striking 
 peculiarities of the language are the aspirated I and the 
 V sound.
 
 EXERCISES 
 
 THE PHO LANGUAGE
 
 234 
 
 Exercise I.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. One. 
 
 2. Two. 
 
 3. Three. 
 
 4. Four. 
 
 5. Five. 
 
 6. Six. 
 
 7. Seven. 
 
 8. Eight. 
 
 9. Nine. 
 
 10. Ten. 
 
 11. Some. 
 
 12. A thousand. 
 
 13. SevcraL 
 
 14. A hundred. 
 
 15. Ten thousand. 
 
 16. Not. 
 
 17. To come. 
 
 18. Many. 
 
 19. Few. 
 
 20. To be ; have. 
 
 21. Good. 
 
 22. Some ; few. 
 
 23. Numerative. 
 
 24. To rettim. 
 
 25. Odd ; more. 
 
 26. Man ; men. 
 
 27. Long. 
 
 28. Inch. 
 
 29. Share ; part. 
 
 30. Single. 
 
 31. Catty. 
 
 32. Flesh ; meat. 
 
 33. Cow. 
 
 34. Sheep. 
 
 35. Fish. 
 30. Bushel. 
 
 37. Wheat. 
 
 38. Rice. 
 
 39. Buckwheat. 
 
 40. Door. 
 
 41. Tooth ; teeth. 
 
 42. Li-a measure. 
 
 43. Mountain. 
 
 44. High. 
 
 2 or 3. 3 or 
 
 60,507. 100,000. 
 8367. 10,006. 103. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1.— 16. 19. 20. 34. 57. 68. 
 
 2. — 17. Two or three hundred. 2 or 3 thousand. 
 
 5. Five or seven hundred men. 
 3._0ne. 27. 1865. 
 4.-^1,000,300. 570,610. 700,020. 
 5.-1,000,000. 350,000. 5,000,001. 
 6.-70,191. 10,000,000. 461,000. 
 7.-50,088. 98,402. 1005. 4072. 
 8.— 118. 254. 9,993,000. 
 9. — A number of people have come. There are some people. How 
 
 many people are there ? There are several people come. Up- 
 wards of 30,000. 
 10.^ — Some score. Several score. Ten and more. Two. Some. 
 
 Over ten. Eight or nine. Ten and more. Nine or ten. Two 
 
 hundred and more. 5000 and more. 
 11. — 3^*77 inches. A single one. Five catties of beef. Six catties 
 
 of mutton. Some catties of fish. 
 12. — Seven bushels of wheat. Nine bushels of rice. One bushel of 
 
 buckwheat. 
 13. — Some teeth. Several myriads of li in length. Forty thousand 
 
 li. There is a mountain full two hundred li high.
 
 235 
 
 Exercise I.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Yi. 
 
 2. Au. 
 
 3. Pieh. 
 
 4. 'Hlao. 
 
 5. Chia. 
 
 6. Tiu. 
 
 7. Hsiung. 
 
 8. Ya. 
 
 9. Chu. 
 
 10. Chill. 
 
 11. Nao hsiu. 
 
 12. Yi say. 
 
 13. Hao nao. 
 
 14. Yi pa. 
 
 15. Yi ver.- 
 
 16. A. 
 
 17. Ta. 
 
 18. Nao. 
 
 19. Hsiu. 
 
 20. Mai. 
 
 21. Ghou. 
 
 22. Pa. 
 
 2.3. Lai. 
 
 24. Loh. 
 
 25. Ka. 
 
 26. Nai. 
 
 27. Ta. 
 
 28. Sai. 
 
 29. Fai. 
 
 30. Chiang. 
 
 31. Chiang. 
 
 32. Ngi. 
 
 33. Lia. 
 
 34. Li. 
 
 35. Nieh. 
 
 36. Toh. 
 
 37. Ka mieh. 
 
 38. Sai ; Kah. 
 
 39. Chiu. 
 
 40. Tiu. 
 
 41. Mpi. 
 
 42. Li. 
 
 43. Pieh. 
 
 44. 'Hi. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — Chiu tiu. Chiu chu. Au chiu. Pieh chiu 'hhxo. Chia chiu 
 
 hsiung. Tiu chiu ya. 
 2. — Chiu hsiung. Au pieh pa. Au pieh say. Pieh au lai. Pieh 
 
 chia lai. Chia hsiung pa nai. 
 3. — Yi. Au chiu hsiung. Yi say ya pa tiu chiu chia. 
 4. — Yi pa ver pieh pa lai. Chia chiu hsiung ver tiu pa ka. Hsiung 
 
 chiu ver au chiu. 
 5. — Y'i pa ver. Pieh chiu chia ver. Chia pa ver yi. Tiu ver chia 
 
 pa hsiung. CMu ver. 
 6. — Hsiung ver yi pa chu chiu yi. Yi say ver. 'Hlao chiu tiu ver 
 
 yi say. 
 7. — Chia ver ya chiu ya. Chu ver ya say 'hlao pa au. Yi say chia. 
 
 'Hlao say hsiung chiu au. Ya say pieh pa tiu chiu hsiung. Yi 
 
 ver tiu. Yi pa pieh. 
 8. — Y^i pa chiu ya. Au pa chia chiu 'hlao. Chu pa chu chiu chu 
 
 ver pieh say. 
 9. — Mai pa lai nai t>i. Mai pa lai. Mai hao nao nai. Mai nao 
 
 hsiu nai ta. Pieh ver nao. 
 10. — Pa chiu lai. Pa chiu lai. Cliiu nao lai. Au lai. Pa lai. 
 
 Chiu lai nao. Y''a chu lai. Chiu lai nao. Chu lai chiu lai. 
 
 Au pa nao. Chia say. 
 11. — Pieh sai 'hlao fai ta. Chiang lai. Cliia chiang ngi lia. Tiu 
 
 chiang ngi li. Pa chiang nieh. 
 12. — Hsiung toh ka mieh. Chu toh sai. Yi toh chiu. 
 13. — Pa tiu mpi. Pa ver li ta. Mai 'hlao ver li. ^Lai pieh 'hi au 
 
 pa nao li.
 
 236 
 
 Exercise II.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Tliou. 8. At. 15. To get. 22. Things. 
 
 2. I. 9. That. 16. Very. 23. Large ; great. 
 
 3. He. 10. That. 17. Who? 24. Small. 
 
 4. They. 11. Son. 18. To want. 25. Sign of poss. case. 
 
 5. You. 12. What. 19. To be. 2G. As. 
 
 6. We. 13. To buy. 20. East. 27. That. 
 
 7. This. 14, To sell. 21. Dauditer. 28. Whence. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — Thine. Mine. His. 
 
 2.— You. We. They. 
 
 3. — Your. Our. Their. 
 
 4. — We two men. 
 
 5.— This. That. 
 
 6. — Here. There. 
 
 7. — As large as this. As small as that. 
 
 8.— What mail ? 
 
 9. — What thing or things 1 
 10. — Who is that man ? That man is a good man. 
 11. — To buy things. To sell things. 
 12. — He is a trader. What does he sell? He sells a good many 
 
 things. 
 13. — I want good ones. Have you any ? None. 
 14. — This is very good. That is bad. 
 15. — Who is it that has come ? There is no one come. 
 16. — What place is he from ? He is not of this place. 
 17. — How many peoplQ have come ? A good number. 
 18. — I do not want this one. They want it. 
 19. — This is ours. That is theirs. 
 20. — Have you got this thing ? We do not want it. 
 21. — How many people are there there ? Ten people and more. 
 22. — Is he come ? He is not come. 
 23. — This man is very good. That man is very bad. 
 24. — Whose, is this thing ? It is ours. How many have you of 
 these ? Not many. 
 
 25. Have you got any very good ones there ? None good. Unless 
 
 you -have some very good, we do not want any.
 
 237 
 Exercise II.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Moung. 8. Niang hang. 15. Tao. 22. Keli nung keh ai. 
 
 2. Vai. 9. Moung. 16. Kuai ; va. 23. 'Hlioh. 
 
 3. Ngi. 10. Ai. 17. Teshi. 24. Niu. 
 
 4. Ngi Tau. 11. Pu tia. 18. Ou. 25. Pieh. 
 
 5. Mich. 12. Kaishi. 19. Tiao. 26. Liu. 
 
 6. Pieh. 13. Mai. 20. Keh nich. 27. Tieh. 
 
 7. Nung. 14. Mei. 21. Po a. 28. Keng hang. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — Moung pieh. Vai pieh. Ngi pieh. 
 
 2.— Mieh. Pieh. Ngi tau. 
 
 3. — Mieh pieh. Pieh pieh. Ngi tau pieh. 
 
 4. — Au au lai nai or Vai au lai nai. 
 
 5. — Tieh nung. Tieh ai. 
 
 6. — Niang hang nung. Niang hang ai. 
 
 7. — 'Hlioh liu nung. Niu liu moung. 
 
 8. — Kai shi nai. 
 
 9. — Kai shi keh nung keh ai. 
 10. — Tieh nai tiao te shi. Tieh nai tiao lai nai ghou. 
 11. — Mai keh nung keh ai. Mei keh nung keh ai. 
 12. — Ngi tiao mai mei nai. Mei kai shi.- Mei hao nao keh nung 
 
 keh ai. 
 13. — Vai ou ghou ti. Mai a mai. A mai. 
 14. — Tieh nung ghou kuai. Tieh moung a ghou. 
 15. — Mai kai shi nai ta. A mai nai ta. 
 1(). — Ngi keng hang to ta. Ngi a tiao hang nung nai. 
 17. — Ngi tau ta nao hsiu nai. Ngi tau ta hao nao nai. 
 18. — Vai a ou lai nung. Ngi tau ou lai nung. 
 19. — Tieh nung tiao pieh pieh. Tieh nung tiao ngi tau pieh. 
 20. — Mieh mai tieh nung a mai. Pieh a ou tieh nung. 
 21. — Mai nao hsiu nai moung. Mai chiu nao nai. 
 22. — Ngi ta a pa. Ngi a pa ta. 
 
 23. — Tieh nai nung ghou kuai. Tieh nai moung kuai a ghou. 
 24. — Tieh nung te shi nai pieh. Pieh nai pieh. Moung mai nao 
 
 hsiu lai tieh nung. A mai nao. 
 25. — Mieh hang moung ghou kuai a mai. A iii.ii glmu. Mieh a 
 mai ghou kuai pieh a ou.
 
 238 
 
 Exercise III.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. To enter. 
 
 9. 
 
 A room. 
 
 17. 
 
 To go towards. 
 
 2. Wall of a city. 
 
 10. 
 
 Inside. 
 
 18. 
 
 Outside. 
 
 3. House, home. 
 
 11. 
 
 To open. 
 
 19. 
 
 The head. 
 
 4. Inhabit, dwell. 
 
 12. 
 
 A shop. 
 
 20. 
 
 To know. 
 
 5. Dust. 
 
 13. 
 
 To shut. 
 
 21. 
 
 Road. 
 
 6. Street. 
 
 14. 
 
 Window. 
 
 22. 
 
 To do. 
 
 1 Up, ascend. 
 
 15. 
 
 To go out. 
 
 23. 
 
 To pass. 
 
 8. Numerative of houses. 
 
 16. 
 
 To go away. 
 
 24. 
 
 Trade. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED 
 1.— To live in a house. 2. — To live at home. 3. — Inside the city 
 
 walls. Outside the city walls. 4. — Inside. Outside. 
 5. — In a room. 6. — Three houses. 7. — Eighteen rooms. 8. — 
 
 Eour shops. 9. — Shut the door. 10. — Open the window. 
 
 11. — To go out. To come in. 12. — To pass, to go past. 
 13. — Going or walking. 14. — To go up the street. 15. — Walking 
 
 in the street. 16. — To go east. To go west. 17. — The 
 
 eastern and western divisions of the city. 18. — To know. 
 
 19. — What doing ? or, why ? 20. — Where do you live 1 I am 
 
 in the city. 21. — How many buildings have you over there ? 
 
 Thirty-five. 
 22. — Is the house you live in large or smaU ? I live in three small 
 
 rooms. 23. — This house is a great deal better than that one. 
 
 24. — Open the door. Shut the window. 25. — To come into 
 
 the room. 
 26. — There is a great deal of dust outside. 27. — What is he doing 
 
 at home ? He is not at home. Do you know where he is 
 
 gone ? He is gone up the street. 
 28. — That man keeps seven shops. Dealing in what 1 And where 
 • are they all ? 
 
 29. — They are inside the city. Three in. the east division and four 
 
 in the w^est. We liave no such thriving business here. 
 30. — Those shops have a large number of customers. 
 31. — There are five or six people come out. Who are they 1 I do 
 
 not know. 32. — No one lives in this room. 33. — That shop 
 
 is mine. 34. — He did not come in. He went past westwards. 
 
 What has he gone out to do 1 He is gone up the street to buy 
 
 something. 
 35. — There are a great number of people in the street.
 
 239 
 
 
 Exercise III.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 
 1. Pou. 
 
 9. Ch'ung. 
 
 17. Moung. 
 
 2. Hao. 
 
 10. Keh tiung. 
 
 18. Keh koi 
 
 3. Chieh. 
 
 11. Pu. 
 
 19. Koh. 
 
 4. Xiang. 
 
 12. P'au. 
 
 20. Pang. 
 
 5. Ka pai. 
 
 13. Su. 
 
 21. Keh. 
 
 6. Ka. 
 
 14. Kantlong. 
 
 22. Ai. 
 
 7. Chieh. 
 
 15. 'Hliu kou. 
 
 23. Tioh. 
 
 8. Say. 
 
 16. Moung. 
 
 24. Chiang. 
 
 
 WORDS COMBIiTED. 
 
 
 1. — Niang chieh. 2. — Niang chieh. 3. — Hao keh tiung. Hao 
 
 keh kou. i. — Keh tiung. Keh kou. 
 5. — Ch'ung chieh keh tiung. 6. — Pieh lai chieh. 7. — Chiu ya 
 
 ch'ung chieh. 8. — 'Hlao lai p'au. 9. — Su tiu. 10. — Pu 
 
 kantlong. 11. — 'Hliu kou. Pou chieh. 12. — Tioh moung. 
 13.— 'Hei keh. 14.— Chieh ka. 15.— Tioli ka 'hei keh. 16.— 
 
 Moung keh nieh. Moung keh chioh. 17. — Hao keh nieh. 
 
 Hao keh chioh. 18. — Pang. 19. — Ai kai shi. 20. — Moung 
 
 niang hang to. Vai niang hao keh tiung. 21. — Mieh niang 
 
 ai mai hao nao chieh. Mai pieh chiu chia chieh. 
 22. — Moung niang lai chieh 'hlioh niu. Vai niang pieh ch'ung chieh 
 
 niu. 23.' — Lai chieh nung pi lai chieh ai ghou kuai. 24. — 
 
 Tiu pu yeh or Pu tiu kantlong su yoh or Su kantlong. 25. — 
 
 Pou chieh ta. 
 26. — Keh kou 'hlioh ka pai. 27. — Ngi chieh keh tiung ai kai shi. 
 
 A niang chieh. Moung hang to, moung pang a pang. Chieh 
 
 ka moung. 
 28. — Tai lai nai mai hsiung lai p'au. Ngi lai p'au mai mei kai shi. 
 
 Pu niang hang to. 
 29. — Niang hao keh tiung. Hao keh nieh mai pieh lai. Hao keh 
 
 chioh mai 'hlao lai. Pieh niang hang nung a mai tieh nai 
 
 chiang 'hlioh. 
 30. — Lai p'au mai keh nung keh ai nao nai. 
 31. — Keh kou ta chia tiu lai nai. Kai slii nai. Vai a pang. 32. — 
 
 Lai ch'ung chieh nung a mai nai niang. 33. — Lai p'au tiao 
 
 vai pieh. 34. — Ngi a pou ta. Tioh moung chioh. Ngi moung 
 
 ai kai shi. Chieh ka mai keh nung keh ai. 
 35.- — Tiu ka nai nao.
 
 240 
 
 Exercise IV.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Before. 
 
 2. Behind. 
 
 3. To call ; bid. 
 
 4. To stand up. 
 
 5. To rise. 
 
 6. To recline. 
 
 7. Earth ; ground. 
 
 8. Fast. 
 
 9. Slow. 
 10. All. 
 
 11. To love. 
 
 12. To sit. 
 
 13. Chair (sedan). 
 
 14. Storey (upper). 
 
 15. Below ; down. 
 
 16. To return. 
 
 17. To arrive at. 
 
 18. Donkey. 
 
 19. Mule. 
 
 20. Numerative of horses, &c. 
 
 21. Numerative of carts, &c. 
 
 22. A pace. 
 
 23. Lan,^iage. 
 
 24. Public ofl&ce. 
 
 25. To speak. 
 
 26. Horse. 
 
 27. Cart. 
 
 28. Fast (of animals). 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 To sit. To rise. To stand up. 
 
 To walk. To <'0 
 
 9. 
 10. 
 11. 
 12: 
 13. 
 14. 
 
 15. 
 16. 
 
 17. 
 
 Two mules. Four 
 
 -To recline. 
 
 on foot. 
 
 -To go fast. To go slow. 
 -In front. In rear. 
 -To come back. To have arrived. 
 -Do you like it or not ? Not at all. 
 -To call somebody. Call some one here. 
 -A public office. Upstairs. On the ground. 
 -A cart. A sedan chair. Three horses. 
 
 donkeys. 
 -He is lying down on the road. Tell him to get up. 
 -I am, or was, sitting upstairs. He is, or was, sitting down below. 
 -He was on foot. I came in a cart. He came on foot. 
 -I walk fast. He walks slow. 
 -I was walking in front. He was behind. 
 -Is that man come back or not ? He is not back, but he soon 
 
 will be. Where is he gone to 1 He has gone to the public 
 
 office. Did he go in a chair or in a carriage ? In a small 
 
 chair. He does not like being in a carriage. 
 -Do you like that man ? I do not like any of those men. 
 -Has he been buying horses 1 No. Mules and donkeys. If 
 
 he wanted to buy horses, there is not a horse to be had. How 
 
 many mules or donkeys has he bought 1 Three mules and 
 
 seven donkeys. 
 -Which are the better, the mules from this place or those from 
 
 that ? The mules here are not so good as those there. The 
 
 mules here are slower than what you get there. Both the 
 
 mules and donkeys from that place are fast.
 
 4. Hsiu. 
 
 5. Fa. 
 
 6. Pancr. 
 
 241 
 
 ExEKciss IV.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Kch tang. 11. A. 20. Tci. 
 
 2. Keh kai. 12. Niang. 21. Lai. 
 3- K<^li- 13. Cho. 22. Tuoh. 
 
 14. Pang, 23. Si. 
 
 15. Nga. 24. Ngah. 
 7_ TaL 16. Loh. 25. Kang. 
 
 8. 'Hi. 17. Leh. 26. Ma. 
 
 9. A 'hi. 18. Lui. 27. Lioh. 
 10. Ton. 19. Lull. 28. Hang. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. Pang. Niang. Fa lo. Ilsiu. 'Hei moung. 'Hei Keh. 
 
 2. 'Hei 'hi. 'Hei a 'hi. 
 3. — Keh tang. Keh kai. 
 4. — Loh. Leh yeh. 
 
 5. — A a a. Tou a a. 
 
 6. — Koh nai. Koh nai loh. 
 
 7. — Ngah. Ku pang. Ka tah. 
 
 8. — Lai lioh. Yi lai cho. Pieh tei ma. Au tei luh. 'Hlao tei 
 
 lui. 
 9. — Ngi niang tiu keh pang. Koh ngi fa loh. 
 10. — Vai niang ku pang niang. Ngi ka tah niang. 
 11. — Ngi yi tuoh yi tuoh 'hei. Vai niang lioh loh. Ngi 'hei 
 
 keh loh. 
 12.— Vai 'hei 'hi. Ngi 'hei a 'hi. 
 13. — Vai keh tang 'hei. Ngi keh kai 'hei. 
 
 14. — Ngi tieh nai loh a pa. Ngi a pa loh. Ngi l<>li 'iii. Ngi 
 moung hang to. Chieh ngah moung yeh. Ngi niang cho 
 mouiig, ngi niang lioh moung. Niang yi lai cho niu. Ngi a 
 a niang lioh. 
 15. — Ngi tieli nai moung a a a. Ngi tau au pieh nai vai tou a a. 
 16. — Ngi niai tiao ma a tiao. Ngi mai luh hii. Ngi ou mai ma yi 
 tei ma tou a mai. Luh hii mai hao nao tei. Mai pieh tei hih 
 hsiung tei lui. 
 17. — Hang nung pieli luh ghou hang ai pieh hih ghou. Hang nung 
 pieh luh a mai hang ai pieh luh ghou. Hang nung pieh luh pi 
 hang ai pieh hang. Hang ai ]iioli hih lui tou hang.
 
 242 
 
 Exercise Y.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. True. 
 
 2. Upright. 
 
 3. To copy. 
 
 4. To Avrite. 
 
 5. To teach. 
 
 6. To leara. 
 
 7. To request. 
 
 8. To see. 
 
 9. To lay hold of. 
 
 10. AVritten words. 
 
 11. Before (in time). 
 
 12. To recognize. 
 
 13. To seek. 
 
 14. To repay. 
 
 1.5. To wish. 
 
 16. To tell ; inform. 
 
 17. To remember. 
 
 18. To ask. 
 
 19. To ride. 
 
 20. To run ; gallop. 
 
 21. Like ; similar. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 1. — Teacher. 2. To teach. 3. A pupil. 4. To take hold of a 
 
 book. To read. 5. To look out characters. To recognize 
 
 characters. 6. To copy. To write. 
 7 — To look out for a teacher. To engage a teacher. Be so good 
 
 as to inform me. 
 8. — I ask you. Be so good as to tell me. 
 9. — Do you remember. 
 10. — Correct pronunciation. Intelligible diction. 
 11. — To see. Have you seen it or not ? Have you not seen it yet ? 
 
 I have seen it. 
 12. — To ride. To run. Did you come on foot or on horseback ? I 
 
 came on horseback. That horse gallops fast. 
 13. — Have you found a teacher ? I have. 
 14. — Teacher, please teach me to talk. 
 15. — Teacher, please look out a word for me in the book. What 
 
 word ? I want to find the word Xgieh, to see. 
 16. — Have you ever met with this word? I have. TeU me what 
 
 word it is. I do not remember the word. Are there any 
 
 other words that you do not remember 1 Of course there are. 
 
 I remember but few compared with the number I forget. 
 17. — Your pronunciation is correct. So is your diction. 
 18. — I will ask you whether you know this word or not. I have 
 
 never seen this word. 
 19. — I have requested a teacher to come and teach me. He will not 
 
 come. What is it you requested him to teach ? I asked him 
 
 to teach us the spoken language. He says he objects to come 
 
 on account of the large number of pupils. 
 20. — Tell me, is that man's pronunciation as good as yours ? My 
 
 pronunciation is not very good. He knows more words than 
 
 I do.
 
 243 
 
 Exercise V.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Tei. 8. Ngieh. 15. Hang. 
 
 2. Tati. 9. Tieh. 16. Hsk-li. 
 3 Cha. 10. Li 17. Nieli. 
 
 4. Sei. 11. Hsueh. 18. NaL 
 
 5. Chiao. 12. Hsiaug 19. Chieh. 
 
 6. Liu. 13. Hao. 20. Yeh. 
 
 7. Sai. 14. Poh. 21. Toh. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1.— Hsiang li. 2.— Tung tu. 3.— Chu tai. 4.— Tieh pai tu. 
 
 Ngieh li, 5. — Chau li. Hsiang li. 6. — Chia lo. Sei li. 
 7. — Chau hsiang li. Hla hsiang li. 'Hla chiao. 
 8. — Vai nai moung. 'Hla moung hsieh. 
 9. — Nieh a nieh. 
 10. — Ghou ho shay. Kau si toh a. 
 11. — Pang yeh. Moung ngieh ku a pa. Moung a pa ngieh ku. 
 
 Ngieh yeh. 
 12. — Chieh yeh. Moung 'hei keh ta kai chieh ma ta. Vai chieh 
 
 ma ta. Tieh ma yeh hang. 
 13. — Moung hao hsiang li a pa. Hao yeh. 
 14. — 'Hla hsiang li chiao si. 
 15. — 'Hla hsiang ta pai tu [tou vai] hao lai li. Hao lai li toh. Ou 
 
 hao ngieh lai li. 
 16. — Lai li moung ngieh ku a pa. Ngieh ku yeh. Moung hsieh 
 
 vai lai li tiao kai shi. Vai a nieh lai li. Niang mai nieh lai 
 
 li a mai. Kai shi a mai. Ngieh hsiu a ngieh nao. 
 17. — Moving ghou ho. Kang si toh. 
 18. — Vai nai moung lai li nung moung hsiang a lisiang. Lai li 
 
 nung vai a pa pang ku. 
 19. — Vai 'hla hsiang li chiao vai. Ngi a hang ta 'hla ngi chiao 
 
 moung kai shi. 'Hla ngi chiao pieh kang si. Ngi chiu chu 
 
 tai nao a hang ta. 
 20. — Moung hsieh vai, tieh lai nai ai pieh ho mai moung pieh ghou 
 
 a mai, Vai pieh ho a mai ghou. Ngi hsiang li pi vai 
 
 hsiang nao.
 
 244 
 
 Exercise VI.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. 
 
 Paper. 
 
 10. 
 
 To study. 
 
 
 19. 
 
 Also. 
 
 2. 
 
 Sheet. 
 
 11. 
 
 To end ; finish. 
 
 20. 
 
 Understand. 
 
 3. 
 
 4. 
 5. 
 
 Peu. 
 
 Numerative of pen. 
 
 Ink. 
 
 12. 
 13. 
 14. 
 
 To be right j 
 To give. 
 Officer. 
 
 able. 
 
 21. 
 22. 
 
 Peaceful. 
 A sound. 
 
 6. 
 
 Numerative of ink. 
 
 15. 
 
 To meet. 
 
 
 23. 
 
 To forget. 
 
 7. 
 
 To take hold of. 
 
 16. 
 
 To divide. 
 
 
 24. 
 
 To err. 
 
 8. 
 
 Numerative of book. 
 
 17. 
 
 To hear. 
 
 
 25. 
 
 To be able. 
 
 9. 
 
 Book. 
 
 18. 
 
 Clear. 
 
 
 26. 
 
 A mouth. 
 
 WORDS CO:\IBINED. 
 
 1- — A sheet of paper, A volume. Two cakes of ink. Five pens. 
 
 2- — To understand. To hear. To have forgotten. 
 
 3. — Quite right. To have finished. Not to be able to. It will do 
 well enough. 
 
 4. — Bring that volume here for me. Show me that sheet of paper. 
 Bring me ten pens and two cakes of ink. 
 
 5. — I hear that you are learning a language, and getting on very 
 well. Can you distinguish four dialects ? I can distinguish 
 them aU. 
 
 6. — Have you read that book yet ? I have read four-fifths of it. 
 Do you understand it ? There are portions of it that I do not 
 understand. There are also some words that I do not know. 
 
 7. — How long have you been studying ? I have been studying ten 
 months. Do you remember all the words in the book you 
 have been studying ? Not all. I have forgotten a good num- 
 ber, and there are some I do not remember accurately. 
 
 8. — Does that man understand the language 1 I have heard people 
 say that he does not. Does he know the written characters 1 
 That he does. He knows four or five thousand. How do you 
 know ? Last month we read together. If I tell him to copy, 
 will he be able to ? There is no reason why he should not. 
 
 9. — Tell me, do you understand him when he speaks ? 
 10. — You must on no account forget the books you read. Certainly 
 not. You are quite right.
 
 245 
 
 
 Exercise VI.— SINGLE 
 
 WORDS. 
 
 1. Tu. 
 
 10. Ngi. 
 
 19. Nung. 
 
 2. Lieh. 
 
 11. Chiu. 
 
 20. Tang. 
 
 3. Chieh. 
 
 12. Ku-i. 
 
 21. Pi. 
 
 4. Kai. 
 
 13. PaL 
 
 
 5. Mo. 
 
 14. Kuei lieh. 
 
 22. Poh. 
 
 6. 'Hll 
 
 15. Hui. 
 
 23. Tung. 
 
 7. Wa. 
 
 16. Fai. 
 
 24. Sa. 
 
 8. Pai. 
 
 17. Tang. 
 
 25. Pang. 
 
 9. Tu. 
 
 18. Ka. 
 
 26. Pu. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — Yi lieh tu. Yi pai tu. Au 'hli mo. Chia kai chieh. 
 2.— Tang. Tang. Tun" keh. 
 
 o o o 
 
 3. — Ya sa. Chiu yeh. A pang. Ku-i. 
 
 4. — Moung ta pai tu tiao vai. Lieh tu moung vai nieh. Moung 
 
 tou vai mai chiu kai chieh, au 'hli mo. 
 5. — "Vai tang moung liu si, liu si ghou kuai. 'Hlao tiu si moung 
 
 pang keh fai a pang. 'Hlao tiu tou fai lu. 
 6. — Yi pai tu moung nieh chiu a pa. Chiu fai vai ngieh chiu ya 
 
 fai. Ming pai a ming pai. Mai pa fai a ming pai. INIai au 
 
 pieh lai li a hsiang. 
 7. — Moung tung li hao nao tai. Vai tung chiu ta pieh tu. Tieh 
 
 tu li moung tou nieh a nieh. Nieh a chiu. Tung keh pa lai. 
 
 Tu nieh sa yeh. 
 8. — Ngi tieh nai tang si a tang. Vai tang chiu ngi a tang tau. 
 
 Ngi hsiang li a hsiang. Li si hsiang. Hsiang chiu 'hlao chia 
 
 say li. Moung hsieh pang. 'Hla vai pieh niang yi tiao ngieh 
 
 li. Vai koh ngi sei li, ngi pang a pang. A mai a pang. 
 9. — Vai nai moung, ngi pieh si moung tang loh kai tang a loh. 
 10. — Moung tung ku li, a keh tung keh. A sa. Moung chiu tiao 
 
 a sa.
 
 246 
 
 Exercise VII.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 I. Mat. 
 •2. Bed. 
 
 3. Curtain. 
 
 4. To spread. 
 6. Cover, lid. 
 
 6. Table. 
 
 7. Chair. 
 
 8. Wax. 
 
 9. Lamp. 
 
 10. Xumerative of lamp. 
 
 11. Numerative of boat. 
 
 12. Wine. 
 
 13. Cup. 
 
 14. Tea. 
 
 15. Bowl. 
 
 16. Kitchen. 
 
 17. ToboU. 
 
 18. Rice. 
 
 19. Cooking pan. 
 
 20. Fork. 
 
 21. Spoon. 
 
 22. To spoil. 
 
 23. Fire. 
 24 To use. 
 
 25. Difficult. 
 
 26. To driuk. 
 
 27. Boat. 
 
 28. Beddins. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — A bed. 2. — Curtains. Mats. Bedding. 
 
 3. — A table. A chair. 4. — A lamp. A candlestick. 
 
 5. — Kitchen. A knife. A fork. A spoon. A cooking pan. A 
 
 cooking-pan lid. A tea cup. A wine cup. 
 6. — To boil rice. 7. — It is spoiled. 8. — He spread a mat on the 
 
 bed. 9. — I want to lie down on this bed. Be quick and make 
 
 the bed. 10. — Are there curtains upon the bed ? 
 11. — He is lying on the bed. I was sitting on a chair. 
 12. — It is very dark in the room, bring a lamp. 
 13. — Some one has taken the lamp away. 
 14. — Who took away the candlestick that was on the table ? It was 
 
 I that took it to the kitchen. 
 15. — There is no fire in the kitchen. 
 16. — A vi ka is a pan for boiling rice. A vi mo is the Kd of a rice 
 
 pan. Tea cups may have covers. 
 17. — There is no great difierence between a wine cup (0 chu) and a 
 
 wine bowl {ti chu). 
 18. — The chairs and tables in that room are aU spoiled. 
 19. — Have you bought those tea cups I told you to buy? I have. 
 
 Have you bought several ? Twenty. Where did you buy 
 
 them ? They were bought in a shop outside the city. 
 20 — Have you mats in your apartments ? There are mats on all 
 
 the beds in our apartments.
 
 247 
 Exercise VII.— SINGLE WOKDS. 
 
 1. Tieh. 
 
 2. Ch'u. 
 
 3. Hsiao. 
 
 4. Pou. 
 
 5. Mo. 
 
 6. Tang. 
 
 7. Kiiei yiieh. 
 
 8. La. 
 
 9. Tai. 
 10. Lai. 
 
 11. Chao. 
 
 20. Tia. 
 
 12. Chu. 
 
 21. Tiao Keu. 
 
 13. 0. 
 
 22. P'a. 
 
 14. Chiaug. 
 
 23. Tu. 
 
 15. Ti. 
 
 24. Hsia. 
 
 16. Kau sao. 
 
 25. Hsia. 
 
 17. Hao. 
 
 26. Hou. 
 
 18. Ka. 
 
 27. Niang. 
 
 19. Vi. 
 
 28. Pang pung. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — Yi lai ch'u. 2. — Hsiao. Peng tieli. Pang pung. 
 
 3. — Yi tieh tang. Yi lai Kuei yiieh. 4. — Yi lai tai. La tai. 
 
 5. — Kau sao. Yi ti tiu. Yi lai tia. Yi lai tiao kOn. Yi lai vi 
 
 ka. Yi lai ka mo vi. Yi lai o chiang. Yi lai o chu. 
 6. — Hao ka. 7. — P'a yeh. 8. — Ngi niang ku ch'u pou tieh. 
 9. — Vai ou niang lai ch'u nung pang yeh. Moung hang tai ta 
 pung pou tiao. 10. — Lai ch'u mai hsiao a mai. 
 11. — Ngi niang ku ch'u pang yeh. Vai niang kuei yiieh. 
 12. — Chung chieh 'hui tieh tai ta. 
 13. — Mai nai tieh lai tai moung yeh. 
 14. — Tieh tang keh vai lai la tai, te shi tieh moung yeh. Tiao vai 
 
 ta tiao kau sao tieh moung yeh. 
 15. — Kau sao a mai tu. 
 16. — Vi ka tiao hao ka hsia. Vi mo tiao vi ka mo. cliiang tou 
 
 ku i mai mo. 
 17. — O chu ti chu au lai nung hsia fai. 
 18. — Chung chieh tang kuei yiieh tou p'a yeh. 
 
 19. — Vai koh moung mai o chiang moung mai a pa. Mai ycli. Mai 
 tao pa lai. Mai tao au chiu lai. Niang hang to mai lo. Tou 
 niang hao keh kou tiu pau mai lo. 
 
 20. — ^lieh pieh tiu chieh mai tieh a mai. Pieh pieh tiu chieh ku 
 ch'u tou mai tioh.
 
 24^ 
 
 Exercise VIII.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Furniture. 11. Plate. 21. Witli. 
 
 2. Stool. 12. Saucer. 22. To reckon. 
 
 3. Numerative of stool. 13. To eat. 23 In fraoTnents. 
 
 4. To upset. 14. A little. ^ ' ^ jj^" 
 
 5. Pot. 15. To blow. i, ° 
 
 6. Flower. 16. Extinguish. ^^- "^^ P^"""- 
 
 7. Vase. 17. To burn. 26. To pour (as tea). 
 
 8. To break. 18. A stove. 27. To take. 
 
 9. To receive. 19. Empty. 28. lu. 
 
 10. To repair. 20. Full. 29. Is ; to be. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 1. — Furniture. 2. — A stool. 3. — A stove. 
 4. — Flower vase. Wine pot. Tea pot. Dishes. Plates. 
 5. — Light the lamp. Blow out the lamp. Light the fire. Blow 
 
 out the fire. 
 6. — To pour or upset water. 7. — Empty pot. The pot is full. 
 8. — ^To spoil by breaking. To mend. 
 9. — Everything that is used in a house is furniture. 
 10. — Beds, tables, chairs, stools, are all room furniture. 
 11. — Table furniture consists of knives, forks, spoons, plates, rice 
 
 bowls and wine cups. 
 12. — Stoves are of difierent sizes. The house stove for cooking rice 
 is large. Bedrooms have all small stoves. The stove used to 
 warm a room is a small stove. 
 13. — May flower vases also be considered furniture? They may 
 
 be so considered. 
 14. — Wine pots, tea pots, and tea cups are all miscellaneous furniture. 
 15. — The water in the cup is poured into the pan. 
 16. — Chia chiang means to ask some one to pour tea into the cups. 
 17. — Have you lit the lamp? I lit it ; but he blew it out. 
 18. — To blow out a lamp is to extinguish the flame oi the lamp. 
 
 To extinguish fire is to put out a fire (as) in a fireplace. 
 19. — Is there water in these two kettles ? One is full, the other is 
 
 empty. Fill the empty one with water. 
 20. — Who is it that has broken the flower vase ? I do not know 
 who it was. Had I not better get some one to mend it at 
 once ? Yes, you had much better tell some one to mend it.
 
 249 
 Exercise VIII.- SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Chia shih. 
 
 11. Pieh. 
 
 2. Tang. 
 
 12. Pieh niu. 
 
 3. Lai. 
 
 13. :Nang. 
 
 4. Koh. 
 
 14. Nang. 
 
 5. Chieh. 
 
 15. Choh. 
 
 G. Pieh. 
 
 16. Ta. 
 
 7. To. 
 
 17. Pieh. 
 
 8. Tu. 
 
 18. Sao. 
 
 9. Shou. 
 
 19. Kuiig. 
 
 10. Hsiieh. 
 
 20. Pai. 
 
 21. Xa, 
 
 22. Sui. 
 
 23. Sai. 
 
 24. Tiao; tou. 
 
 25. Liang. 
 
 26. Chia. 
 
 27. Tieh. 
 
 28. Till. 
 
 29. Si. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 1. — Chia shih. 2. — Yi lai tang. 3. Yi lai sao. 
 4. — To pieh. Chieh chu. Chieh chiang. Pieh. Pieh iiiu. 
 5. — Tou tai. Ch -h tai.. Tiao tu. Ta tu. 
 6. — Liang ou. 7. — Kung chieh. Chieh pai. 
 8. — T'u p'a yeh. Hsiieh hsiieh. 
 
 9. — Tiu chieh hsia keh nung keh ai tou tiao chia shili. 
 10. — Ch'u, tang, kuei yiieh, tang tou tiao tiu chieh chia shih. 
 11. — Nang ka pieh chia shih tiao tu, tia, tiao ken, pieh niu, ti ka, 
 
 o chu. 
 12. — Lai sao mai 'hlioh mai niu a toh. Chieh sao hao ka tiao sao 
 'hlioh. Chieh ch'u keh tiung tou mai sao niu. Tiu chieh hsia 
 sao tiao tu tiao sao niu. 
 
 13. — Lai to pieh tou sui tiao chia shih a tiao. To pieh tou sui tiao 
 chia shih. 
 
 14. — Chieh chu, chieh chiang, o cliiang tou si hsia cliia shih. 
 
 15. — Ti ou Hang tiao tiu vi. 
 
 16. — Chia chiang koh nai pa chiang chia tiao tiu o. 
 
 17. — Moung tou tai a pa. Vai tou ku tai. Tiao ngi choh ta ych. 
 
 18. — Choh tai tiao ta tai tu. Ta tu tiao ta sao pieh tu. 
 
 19. — Au lai chieh keh tiung mai ou a mai. Yi lai pai yi lai kung. 
 
 Moung pa lai kung liang pai ou. 
 20. — Lai to pieh to shi tui tu. Vai a pang to shi. Jiang moung 
 
 koh nai hsiieh hsiieh, ku i a ku i. Koh nai hsiieh hsiieh ghou 
 
 kuai.
 
 250 
 
 Exercise IX.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Theprcscut. 8. To fix. 15. Cold. 
 
 2. Year. 9. Day-time. 16. Snow. 
 
 3. Time. 10. Light. 17. Cool ; cold. 
 
 4. Warm. 11. Half. 18. Hurricane. 
 T). Yesterday. 12. To engrave. 19. To return. 
 
 6. Heaven ; day. 13. Air ; breath. 20. To rise ; get up. 
 
 7. Consequently. 14. Section of time. 21. Ram. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — The year before last. Last year. This year. Next year. 
 
 The year after next. 2. — Last moon. This moon. Next 
 
 moon. 
 3. — The weather may be distinguished as cold, hot, cool, warm 
 
 windy, clear, snowy. 
 
 4. — Time. Day-break. Day-time. Night-time. A short space 
 
 of time. 
 5. — That man there has studied upwards of twenty years, and has 
 
 been a teacher five or six months. 
 6. — I am going to-day, and I may be back next moon. 
 7. — You were not up at eight o'clock to-day. 
 8. — ^Hniu tang and Sai yang 'hniii are the terms used for the year 
 
 before last and the year after next ; 'HJa tang and ^Illa kai 
 
 for the moon before last and the moon after next. 
 9. — At this place it rains in the hot weather and snows in the cold. 
 10. — It blew hard last night, and at daybreak it was very cold. 
 
 11. — It is his habit to go out riding in the daytime, and to go home 
 
 at night and read. 
 12. — It rained last night, but it is fine to-day. 
 13. — This is a clear day. 
 
 14. — The weather is very mild this year ; not so cold as it was last 
 year. 
 
 15. — ^You and I have been here a good many years. 
 16. — He came last year. I arrived last moon. They two were 
 over here last year.
 
 251 
 
 Exercise IX.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Nimg. 8. Ting. 15. Si. 
 
 2. 'Hniu. 9. Fieh. 16. 'HUu. 
 
 3. Shih. 10. Ka. 17. HuL 
 
 4. Hsioh. 11. Tang. 18. 'Hlioh chiang. 
 
 5. Tai nung. 12. Tioh. 19. Tiang. 
 
 6. Vai. 13. Poung. 20. Fa. 
 
 7. Chiu. 14. Shau. 21. Nung. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — 'Hniu tang. 'Hniu fa. 'Hniu nung. Pu 'hniu. Sai yang 
 'hniu. 2.— Nga 'hla. 'Hla nung. Chieh 'iila. 
 
 3. — Lai vai ku i fai, vai si, vai hsioh, vai hui, vai hsioh, 'hHoh 
 chiang, ka vai, ta 'hliu. 
 
 4. — Shih hou. Fieh vai. Yai 'hliu. Yi shau. 
 
 5. — Tai lai nai ngieh ku au chiu nao 'hniu pieh tu, tang chia tiu 
 'hla pieh hsiang tu. 
 
 6. — Vai tai nung moung. Chieh 'hla ku i tiang loh. 
 
 7. — Moung ya tien chung a f.i loh. 
 
 8. — 'Hniu tang, sai yang 'hniu ku i ch'iu. 'Hla tang 'hla kai ku i 
 
 ch iu. 
 9. — Niang hang nung vai hsioh pieh shih hou ta nung, vai si pieh 
 
 shih hou ta 'hliu. 
 10. — Tai nung nung cliiu 'hlioh chiang. Pieh vai pieh shih liou 
 
 si va. 
 11. — Ngi a vai 'hlu 'hliu kou chieh ma, chiu vai tiang chieh ngieh tu. 
 12. — Tai nung chiu vai ta nung. Tai nung ka yeh. 
 13. — Tai nung ka vai. 
 
 14. — 'Hniu nung hsioh kuai, a mai 'hniu ta si. 
 15. — Au au lai lei hang nung mai hao nao 'hniu 
 16. — Ngi si 'hniu fa ta. Vai si nga 'hla ta. Ngi au lai si 'hniu fa 
 
 ta ku yeh.
 
 Exercise X.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Night watch. 9. Noon. 16. Short. 
 
 2. Working man. jq. Length of time. 17. Clou.ls. 
 
 3. Night. jj_ ^gP^.^_ 18. Dark. 
 
 4. Must. ^ ,^. 
 
 5. To strike; beat. ^2. Circumstances. 19. Mist. 
 
 6. To end. 13- P^t ; place. 20. Leisure. 
 
 7. Early. 14. Each ; every. 21. To do. 
 
 8. Late. 15. Kind. 22. Black. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — Every yeai% Every moon. Every day. 2. — Each kind. 
 
 3. — Early in the morning. Noon. In the evening. Forenoon. 
 
 Afternoon. 
 4. — By night. Before midnight. After midnight. 
 5. — To set the watch. To strike the watch. A watchman. 
 6. — The days are long. The days are short. The nights are long. 
 
 The nights are short. 
 7. — At what time 1 8. — Time for work. 9. — A dull day. Cloud.s. 
 There is a mist. 10. — There must be one or some. 11. — Affairs. 
 12. — To place. 13. — It is ended. 
 14. — He rises early ; goes for a walk at noon ; comes home in the 
 evening and reads ; and in the third watch of the night he 
 goes to bed. He does the same every day. 
 15. — One's self. You must go yourself to settle the business. He 
 
 lives by himself in that house. 
 IG. — It rained in the forenoon. The afternoon was fine. 
 17. — It was warm before midnight, but cold after. 
 18. — The third watch is midnight. 
 
 19. — As regards the watches which a watchman strikes during the 
 night, the night is divided into five. The beginning of the 
 first is the watch-setting. 
 20. — When the days are long there is more time to do things. 
 When they are short one has no leisure for them, and they 
 must just wait. 
 21. — ^When will he be back ? Possibly to-morrow. 
 22. — Where is the tea-pot put ? On the table in the room. 
 23. — ^Wlien the sky is overcast, the day is duU. 
 
 24. — There was a thick mist this morning ; and the mountains were 
 invisible.
 
 253 
 Exercise X.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Keng. 
 
 9. Tiung-tai. 
 
 16. Lai. 
 
 2. 'Hou. 
 
 10. Tail pang. 
 
 17. Taug-aug. 
 
 3. Pang. 
 
 11. Shih. 
 
 18. Hui. 
 
 4. Tao. 
 
 
 
 5. Tiieh. 
 
 12. Ch'ing. 
 
 19. Ngioh. 
 
 6. Chiu. 
 
 13. 'Hlia. 
 
 20. K'ung. 
 
 7. Sob. 
 
 14. Ka. 
 
 21. Pieh. 
 
 8. Pang. 
 
 15. Tiu. 
 
 22. 'Hlai. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 L— 'Huiu 'Hniu. 'Hla 'hla. Tai tai. 2.— Ka tiu. 
 
 3. — Tiung tah. Hsing tiung tai. Tiling pang. Chieh tai. 
 
 Tiung nga tai. 
 4. — Tiung pang. Tang pang tang. Tang pang keh. 
 5. — Ting keng. Tiieh keng. 'Hou keng. 
 6. — Ta tai. Lai tai. Ta pang. Lai pang. 
 
 7. — Kai shi sliih hou. 8. — Ai kou. 9. — 'Hui tai. Tang-ang. Ta 
 ngioh. 10. — Sung ou mai. IL — Shih ch'ing. 12. — 'HHa. 
 13.— Chiu yeh. 
 14. — Ngi tiung tah fa lo ; Hsing tiung tai chieh ka hei ; Tiung 
 pang moung chieh ngieh tu ; Lei pieh keng ngi pieh chiu yeh. 
 Ngi tai tai tou si tiu. 
 15. — Vai chiang lai. Moung chiang lai sung ou moung pieh shih. 
 
 Lai chieh tiao ngi chiang hii niang. 
 16. — Nga tai ta nung. Chieh tai ka yeh. 
 17. — Tang pang tang hsioh, tang pang keh si. 
 18. — Pieh keng tiao tang pang. 
 19. — ^Tiung pang keng 'hou tiieh keng, yi pang fai chia keng. Tou 
 
 keng tou tiao ting keng. 
 20. — ^Ta tai pieh shih ai kou nao. Lai tai a inai k'uiig, shih cliing 
 
 sung ou 'hlia nioh. 
 21. — Ngi kai shi shih 'hou loh. Fu fa kai loh. 
 22. — Chieh chiang 'hlia tiao hang to. 'Hlia tiao chieh keh tiung 
 
 tang keh vai. 
 23. — Keh vai tang ang pai yeh tiao vai hui. 
 
 24. — Tai nung tiung ta ta ngitjh 'hlioh kuai; Pieh 'hlioh tou ngieh 
 a pang.
 
 ^54 
 
 Exercise XL— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. To fear. 
 
 2. Clothes. 
 
 3. Dirty. 
 
 4. To exchange. 
 
 5. Dry. 
 
 6. Clean. 
 
 7. To brush. 
 
 8. To wash. 
 
 9. Face. 
 
 10. Cold. 
 
 11. Leather. 
 
 12. Hands. 
 
 13. Basin. 
 
 14. To stitch. 
 
 15. To patch. 
 
 16. To put on. 
 
 17. Shoes. 
 
 18. To take off. 
 
 19. A pair. 
 
 20. Stockings. 
 
 21. To change (as water). 
 
 22. Tom or broken. 
 
 23. Long (in time). 
 
 24. To wear. 
 
 25. Numerative of clothes. 
 
 26. Water. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — To brush and wash. 2. — Dirty. Clean. 3. — Clothes. Boots. 
 
 Shoes. Stockings. 
 4. — To put on clothes. To take them off. To change clothes. 
 5. — To mend by stitching. 6. — A pair of shoes. Two pair of 
 shoes. Ten pair of stockings. A handkerchief. Eight articles 
 of dress. A wash-hand basin. 
 7. — The water in this basin is dirty. Change it and bring me 
 
 some clean water instead to wash my face. 
 8. — These clothes are dirty ; take a brush and brush them. This 
 
 article of dress is torn, call some one here to mend it. 
 9. — Get up quick and dress. 
 10. — He has taken off his clothes and is lying down, 
 n. — He has had that thing on for several days without changing it. 
 12. — It is cold to-day ; you must put on something more. 
 13. — Has he got on boots or shoes ? He has on boots. 
 14. — This handkerchief is dirty ; put it in the basin and wash it. 
 15. — Are you in the habit of wearing boots or shoes 1 In the house 
 
 I wear shoes. When I go to the office I wear boots. 
 16. — These leather boots of yours have been lying by a long time ; 
 they must be brushed and washed. 
 
 17. When you wash your hands, do you prefer cold water or 
 
 boiling water ? Both are bad. Cold water is too cold ; boiling 
 water is too hot. Warm water is the best. 
 18. — Be quick and pour this water into the pan and warm it. 
 19. — This fire is out. This water has been on some time and will 
 
 not boil. 
 20. — To wash clothes it is best to use hot water. The water used to 
 clean boots must be cold.
 
 255 
 Exercise XL— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 21. Vai. 
 
 22. Ni. 
 
 1. Hsi. 10. Sang. 19. Niu. 
 
 2. Uh. 11. Ka U. 20. Wa, 
 
 3. Va. 12. Pieh. 
 
 4. Tioh. 13. Keh. 
 
 5. Nga. 14. Ngang. 
 
 6. Sang niang. 15. Hsi. ^^- ^^ 
 
 7. Shua. 16. Nieh. 24. Tiao. 
 
 8. So ; sa. 17. Ha. 25. P'ang. 
 
 9. Mai. 18. Ta. 26. Ou. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — Shua so. 2. — Va. Sang niang. 3. — Uh. Ha. Ha. Wa. 
 
 4. — Nieh uh. Ta nga loh. Vai uh. 
 
 5. — Ngang hsi. 6. — Yi niu ha. Au niu ha. Chiu niu wa. Yi 
 
 liu chang. Ya p'ang uh. Yi lai keh sa mai. 
 7. — Keh ou nung va yeh. Vai sang niang tieh ta vai sa mai. 
 8. — P'ang uh nung va tieh shua shua i shua. Yi pang uh nung 
 
 ni yeh, koh lai nai ta ngang hsi. 
 9. — Moung hang fa loh nieh uh. 
 10. — Ngi ta uh pieh. 
 
 11. — Yi p'ang uh nung ngi nieh hao la a vai. 
 12. — Tai nung si, moung sung ou nao nieh yi p'ang uh. 
 13. — Ngi tiao ha ngi tiao hsiich. Ngi tiao tiao ha. 
 14. — Liu chang nung va 'hlia tiu keh so i so. 
 15. — Moung a tiao ha kai a tiao hsiieh. Vai tiu chieh niang tiao 
 
 ha, chieh ngah tiao hsiieh. 
 16. — Moung pieh niu ka li hsiieh 'hlia la, sung ou shua so. 
 17. — Moung sa pieh, a hsia ou sang a hsia ou kai. Ou tiu a ghou. 
 
 Ou sang sang va, ou kai kui va. Tou ghou ou hsioh. 
 18. — jNIoung hang tieh ou nung Hang tao tiu vi t'oh hsioh. 
 19. — Lai tu nung ta yeh. Tieh ou nung t'oh yi tang tai t'oh a k.ii. 
 20. — Ou so uh hsia ou hsioh tou ghou. So shua hsiieh sung ou hsia 
 ou sansr.
 
 256 
 
 Exercise XII.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Farthest. 
 
 2. To uncap. 
 
 3. To wear. 
 
 4. To dust. 
 
 5. Cap. 
 
 6. To cut. 
 
 7. Shoulders. 
 
 8. Sweat. 
 
 9. Shu-t. 
 
 10. Single. 
 
 11. Lined. 
 
 12. Wadded. 
 
 13. Cotton. 
 
 14. Trousers. 
 
 15. To cut (as clothes). 
 
 16. Coat. 
 
 17. Sleeve. 
 
 18. Comb. 
 
 19. Hair (of the head). 
 
 20. Needle. 
 
 21. Body. 
 
 22. To mend. 
 
 23. Must. 
 
 24. A thread. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 -Wadded clothes. Lined clothes. Clothes not lined. 
 
 2. — Waistcoat. Shirt. Coat. Trousers. 
 3. — Cap. To have the cap on. To take the cap off. 
 4. — To sew. A needle. A thread. 
 
 5. — A tailor. To cut out clothes. To make up clothes. 
 6. — A duster. To dust clothes. 7. — To bathe. 
 8. — The hair of the head. To comb the hair (head). 
 9. — Clothes not lined are such as have an outside with nothing 
 inside it. Clothes lined are such as have both a hning and an 
 outside. Wadded clothes are clothes with cotton between the 
 outside and the hning. 
 10. — A waistcoat is that article of dress which has a back and 
 front but no sleeves. The shirt is the garment without lining 
 worn innermost of all. The coat is the garment worn outer- 
 most of all. When short it is called a riding jacket. 
 11. — Is this pair of trousers wadded or hned ? 
 
 12. — Caps are distinguished as small caps and official caps. Official 
 
 caps are of two sorts, winter and summer caps. Out of doors 
 
 one must have a cap on ; when one returns one may take it off. 
 
 13. — Do you know how to sew ? I do not. Then call a tailor here 
 
 to mend my shirt. 
 14. — The waistcoat is cut out but not made up yet. 
 15. — The riding jacket is torn, it must be mended. 
 16. — Tap the dust off the clothes with a duster. 
 
 17. Who is it that combs his hair with that wooden comb ? 
 
 18. — The expression sa chieh means to bathe the whole body. It is 
 a good thing to bathe every day.
 
 257 
 
 Exercise XII.— SIXGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Chiung. 
 
 9. Uh lai. 
 
 17. Mu. 
 
 2. 'Hliieh. 
 
 10. Tei. 
 
 18. Gah. 
 
 3. Tou. 
 
 11. Tang. 
 
 19. Ka ailiang. 
 
 4. Ma. 
 
 12. Pong. 
 
 20. Chiu. 
 
 5. Mau. 
 
 13. Meng. 
 
 21. Chieh. 
 
 6. I\Ia. 
 
 14. K'au. 
 
 22. P'ai. 
 
 7. Hang chieh. 
 
 15. Keng. 
 
 23. Sung ou. 
 
 8. Tiang. 
 
 16. Kua. 
 
 24. Foh. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — Uh pong. Uh tang. Uh tei. 
 2. — Uh Hang chieh. Uh lai. Kua. K'au. 
 3. — Mau. Tou mau. 'Hliieh mau. 
 4. — Chiu foh (Ngang). Yi tieh chiu. Yi chiao foh. 
 5. — Hsiang ngang. Keng uh. Ngang uh. 
 6. — Ka 'hliang kei. Ma uh. 7.— Sa chieh. 
 8. — Ka 'hliang. Hsia koh. 
 
 9. — Uh tei chiu mai yi tang a mai au tang. Uh tang mai pi kou 
 pi tiung. Uh pong tiao uh tang keh tiung mai meng sang. 
 10. — Uh liang chieh mai keh kai keh mai a mai mu yi p'ang uh. 
 Uh lai tiao keh tiung nieh pieh uh tei. Kua tiao keh kou nieh 
 pieh uh. Uh lai kua koh ma kua. 
 11. — Yi lai k'au nung mai meng sang kai mai tang. 
 12. — Mau fai au tiu mai mau niu mai mau ka lai. Mau ka lai mai 
 au tiu mai mau hui mai mau hsioh. Nai niaiig tiu ka sung 
 ou tou mau, pou chieh loh ku i 'hliieh mau. 
 13. — Moung pang chiu foh a pang. Vai a pang. Moung koh 
 
 hsiang keng ta tieh vai pieh pang uh lai ai p'ai. 
 14. — Pang uh liang chieh moung keng yeh a pa ngang. 
 15. — Pang ma kua ai ngi sung ou ngang p'ai. 
 16. — Ta kah 'hliang kei ma i ma uh chieh ka pai 
 17. — Lai gah tou ai, tiao te shi hsia koh. 
 18. — Sa chieh tiao yi chieh tou sa. Tai tai sa chiiii ghou kuai.
 
 2^3 
 
 Exercise XIII.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Silver. 
 
 2. Copper. 
 
 3. Iron. 
 
 4. Coin. 
 
 5. String of cash. 
 
 6. A note. 
 
 7. Numerative of guns, &c. 
 
 8. A balance. 
 
 9. To weigh. 
 
 10. Price. 
 
 11. To be worth. 
 
 12. Dear. 
 
 13. Cheap. 
 
 14. Suitable. 
 
 15. Light (weight). 
 
 16. Heavy. 
 
 1 7. To borrow. 
 
 18. An account. 
 
 19. To owe. 
 
 20. To expend. 
 
 21. Represent. 
 
 22. To be fond of. 
 
 23. Weight. 
 
 24. Yet. 
 
 25. To lend. 
 
 26. Ounce. 
 
 27. Gold. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 1 . — To owe bills. To borrow money. To lend money. To owe money. 
 2. — A bill or an account. 3. — To spend. 4. — Value. Cost. 
 5. — Of very small value. Not dear. Cheap. 6. — Silver money. 
 
 Copper money. Iron coin. Bank notes. 7. — An ounce of 
 
 silver. A thousand cash. A 4000 cash note. 
 8. — This is light ; that is heavy. Weigh it in the balance if you 
 
 do not know its weight. 
 9. — He owes different people a good deal of money. 
 10. — The expression vai hsi pei si means that I get other people's 
 
 money for my own use. Vai tu pei si means that I let other 
 
 people have my money for their use. 
 11. — His debts do not amount to less than one thousand ounces of 
 
 silver. 
 12. — Hsia fai vaeans to expend money. Our daily expenditure is 
 
 not very large. 
 13. — He loves to spend money. He is fond of spending money. 
 
 He spends too much money. 
 14. — That is not a dear house. The price asked for this fur coat is 
 
 very small. That flower vase is worth nothing. Cotton is 
 
 very low this year. 
 15. — He has not a cash to live on. 
 
 16. — Seven-tenths of these ten-cash pieces are copper, and three- 
 tenths iron. 
 17. — A. p)iao is a paper note on which is written the number of cash 
 
 it is worth {lit., its buying value). It is the same as coin. 
 18. — Gold is heavier than silver. Iron is lighter than silver. 
 19. — If one wants to weigh things that one is buying, one must use 
 
 the balance. 
 20. — What weight are these balances equal to weighing ? The 
 
 largest will weigh 300 catties.
 
 259 
 
 Exercise XIII. -SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Ngi. 10. Ka. 19. K'eh. 
 
 2. Tou. 11. HsL 20. Fal 
 
 3. 'Hlou. 12. Kuei. 21. Tang. 
 
 4. Peisi. 13. Chien-i. 22. Ghou. 
 
 5. Tioh. 14. Pi-i. 23. Tiung fa. 
 
 6. Piao. 15. Fa, 24. Niang. 
 
 7. Ka. 16. Tiung. 25. T'u. 
 
 8. Tai. 17. Hsi. 26. Liang. 
 
 9. 'Hlia. -18. Hang. 27. Chieh. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 L — Hsioh hang. Hsi pei si. Tu pei si. K'eh pei si. 
 
 2. — Hang. 3. — Hsia fai. 4. — Hsi ka. Ka pei si. 
 
 5. — Chien-i kuai. A kuei. Chien-i. 6. — Pei si ngi. Pei si tou. 
 
 Pei si 'hlou. Piao. 7. — Yi liang ngi. Yi tioh pei si. 'Hlao 
 
 tioh pei si piao. 
 8. — Lai nung fa, lai moung tiung. A pang tiung fa ta tieh tai 
 
 'hlia i 'hlia. 
 9. — Ngi hsioh nai pieh hang a hsiu. 
 10. — Vai hsi pei si tiao vai ta toh nai pieh pei si vai hsia. Vai tu 
 
 pei si tiao nai tiao ta vai pieh pei si ta tiao nai hsia. 
 11. — Ngi hsioh hang a ngah yi say liang ngi. 
 12. — Hsia fai tiao ta pei si hsia chiu yeh. Pieh pieh tiu cliieh tai 
 
 tai hsia fai a nao kuai. 
 13. — Ngi a hsia pei si. Ngi ghou hsia pei si. Ngi ku yiieh hsia pei 
 
 si nao. 
 14. — Lai chieh moung ka pei si a kuei. Yi p'ang nung ka 'hliang 
 
 kua ka pei si chien-i kuai. Lai pieh to moung a hsi pei si. 
 
 'Hniu nung meng sang chien-i kuai. 
 15. — Ngi tiu chieh yi lai pei si tou a mai. 
 16. — Lai pei si 'hlioh moung tang chiu lai pei si niu keh tiung mai 
 
 hsiung fai tou pieh fai 'hlou. 
 17. — Piao tiao yi lieh tu keh vai si pei si suh mai keli tiung keh ai. 
 
 Pei si ngi piao si chiang tioh. 
 18. — Chieh pi ngi tiung. 'Hlou i)i ngi fa. 
 19. — Mai keh tiung keh ai ou 'hlia tiung fa sung ou hsia tai. 
 ?iO. — Au pieh ti tai ku i 'hlia liao nao chiang liang. Tou 'hlioh ku 
 
 i 'hUa pieh pa chiang.
 
 2Go 
 
 ExEUCisK XIV.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Cual. 
 
 2. Charcoal. 
 
 3. Firewood. 
 
 4. Flour. 
 
 5. Oil. 
 
 6. Egg. 
 
 7. Sugar. 
 
 8. Salt. 
 
 9. Coarse. 
 
 10. Fine. 
 
 11. Broth. 
 
 12. Chicken. 
 
 13. To eat. 
 
 14. Milk. 
 
 15. Fruit. 
 
 16. Vegetables. 
 
 17. To drink. 
 
 18. Prepare. 
 
 19. Arrange. 
 
 20. Remove. 
 
 21. Ripe. 
 
 22. Discuss. 
 
 23. Picul (133J lbs.) 
 
 24. Soup. 
 
 25. Rice. 
 
 26. To make. 
 
 27. Grow. 
 
 28. Here. 
 
 29. There. 
 
 30. Raw. 
 
 31. As well ; also. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 1. — Firewood. Coal and charcoal. 2. — Rice and flour. White 
 sugar. Fowl's eggs. Cow's milk. Fruit. 3. — Lamp oil. 
 4. — Coarse salt. Fine salt. 5. — To cook food. To put food 
 on the table. To clear away, remove (as food). 
 6. — To eat one's meals. To drink soup. 7. — I bought yesterday 
 300 catties of coal, 50 catties of charcoal, 80 catties of fire- 
 wood, four piculs of rice, and two hundred catties of flour. 
 8. — Lamp oil is made from the bean. Sweet oil is made from sesame. 
 Lamp oil costs less than sweet oil. 9. — Tiao fu means to 
 light a fire. 
 
 10. — When the weather is cold, the consumption of coal and 
 charcoal is larger. 
 
 11. — In a stove one uses coal. In a chafing dish charcoal. A 
 chafing dish is for use in a room. One carmot cook food or heat 
 water with it. 
 
 12. — Food is either raw or cooked. When prepared over a fire it is 
 cooked. It is raw when it can be eaten in the natural state. 
 
 13. — You go and buy me a small chicken, and three or four eggs. 
 Do you want any milk as well 1 I should like some catties of 
 milk if it is cheap. In this part of the world we do not buy 
 milk by the catty, but by the cup or bottle. Fruit is not 
 bought by the catty either, but by the piece. 
 
 14. — Do you prefer flour or rice? Neither. I like soup. What 
 soup ? Either meat soup or chicken soup suits me. 
 
 15. — Go and get the food ready directly. As soon as it is ready 
 put it on the table. 
 
 16. — What does hsiou mean? The removal of the things when 
 you have done eating.
 
 4. Pai. 
 
 5. Tiang. 
 
 6. Keh. 
 
 7. T'ang. 
 
 8. Hsieh. 
 
 261 
 Exercise XIV.— SINGLE WOKDS. 
 
 1. Mai. 12. Kei. 22. Lai. 
 
 2. T'aL 13. Neng. 23. Tan. 
 3- T'u. 14 yol^_ 24. Cli'ia. 
 
 15. Chiang. 25. Sai. 
 
 16. Ngau. 2G. Ai. 
 
 17. 'Hou. 27. Lai. 
 
 18. Hao. 28. Hanung. 
 9, Sa 19- Shu. 29. Ha mouug. 
 
 10. Moung. 20. Hsiou. 30. Niu. 
 
 11. Ou. 21. Hsieh. 31. Niang. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — T'u. Mai t'ai. 2. — Ka pai. Hsia tang or Tang 'hlou. Keh 
 
 kei. Voh lia. Chiang. 3. — Tiang tai. 4. — Sa hsieh. Moung 
 
 hsieh. 5. — Hao ngau. Shu ngau. Hsiou nioh. 
 6. — Neng ka. 'Hou ch'ia. 7. — Vai tai nung mai pieh pa chiang 
 
 mai ; Chia chiu chiang t'ai ; ya chiu chiang t'u ; 'Hlao tan sai ; 
 
 au pa chiang ka pai. 
 8. — Tiang tai tiao tou ai. Ou yu tiao yu mi ai. Tiang tai pi ou 
 
 yu chien i. 9. — Tiao t'u tiao tiao t'u. 
 10. — Tai si pieh shih 'hou hsia mai t'ai nao. 
 11. — Keh sao tiao mai. Hu pai tiao t'ai. Hu pai tiu chieh tiao. 
 
 A pang hao ka hao ou. 
 12. — Ngau mai niu mai hsieh. Niang t'u keh vai hao tou tiao ngau 
 
 hsieh. Ngau niu tiao ka ta lai ta ku i neng tao. 
 13. — Moung moung tou vai mai yi tai kei niu ; Pieh chia lai keh kei. 
 
 Niang ou voh lia a ou. Voh lia chien i vai ku i ou hsiu 
 
 chiang pieh ha nung mai voh lia a lai chiang chiang, tou tiao 
 
 lai ti lai to. Mai chiang si a lai chiang chiang, tou tiao lai 
 
 ka lai. 
 14. — Moung a keng ka pai a neng ka. Au tiu tou a a. Vai a 'hou 
 
 ch'ia. A 'hou kai shi ch'ia. Ngi ch'ia kei ch'ia tou ghou. 
 15. — Moung hang hao ka mi»ung. Iva hsieh hsiu ta. 
 16. — Kai shi tiao hsiou. ^loung n iig chiu ka tou tieh ngah muuag 
 
 tou tiao hsiou yeh.
 
 262 
 
 Exercise XV.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. A capital. 
 
 2. Far. 
 
 3. Near. 
 
 4. South. 
 
 5. North. 
 
 6. Road. 
 
 7. Straight. 
 
 8. Wiudino:. 
 
 9. River. 17. Innkeeper; Landlord. 
 
 10. Sea. 18. To reckon. 
 
 11. Side. 19. To receive. 
 
 12. Deep. ■ 20. Trouble. 
 
 13. Shallow. 21. Bitterness. 
 
 14. Boat. 22. To join. 
 
 15. Guest. 23. A province. 
 
 16. Inn. 24. To live at. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — To go to the capital. It will do to go straight or go round. 
 
 2. — In reckoning distance, the straight road is the shortest. 
 
 3.— The south. The north. 4.— A ship. 
 
 5. — To be on board a ship. To cross a river. To go by sea. The 
 water is deep. The water is shallow. 6. — An inn. The inn- 
 keeper. 7. — Trouble. Sorrow. To be in trouble. To be resting. 
 
 8. — When you went to the capital last year, where did you live 1 
 At an inn. I have heard it said that the inns outside the 
 city are some of them not very good to stay at. That is all 
 as the innkeeper is a good or a bad one. In my opinion, when 
 one is tired, any inn is good. All you go to it for is to rest 
 yourself. 
 
 9. — When you go travelling, do you prefer a cart or a ship 1 That 
 all depends upon the country. There are no carts in the south, 
 and travellers all go by water. The vessels used in river- 
 travelling are small. Sea-going vessels are larger. 
 10. — The water in rivers is shallow, not so deep as in the sea. 
 11. — In the voyage you made by sea the year before last, you had a 
 hard time of it, hadn't you ? I had. It blew hard, and the 
 ship got ashore on the coast of Shan-tung. AJl of us who 
 were on board suffered dreadfully. 
 
 12. — Who looks after the messing on board ship 1 The people of the 
 ship look after it. 
 
 13. — What costs most, travelling by water or travelling in a cart ? 
 One spends more travelling in a cart. What ! Does the fare 
 of a cart come to more than one's passage on board a vessel ? 
 The cart costs more, the reason being that the people we hire 
 our carts of in the north have also their money to make 
 out of it.
 
 263 
 Exercise XV.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Chich. 
 
 9. Tiang. 
 
 17. Kuei p'au. 
 
 2. T'o. 
 
 10. Hai. 
 
 18. Ngieh. 
 
 3. Kgeh. 
 
 11. Pau. 
 
 19. Hshou. 
 
 4. Nan. 
 
 12. To. 
 
 20. Goh. 
 
 5. Pei. 
 
 13. Nieh. 
 
 21. I. 
 
 6. Keh. 
 
 14. Niang. 
 
 22. 'Ha. 
 
 7. Tei. 
 
 15. K'a. 
 
 23. Sai. 
 
 8. Koh. 
 
 16. P'au. 
 
 24. Ai. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — Chieh chieh. Tei 'hei, koh 'hei, ton ku i. 
 
 2. — Ngeh sui keh t'o ngeh, tei 'hei ngeh koh 'hei t'o. 
 
 3. — Nan pau, pei pau. 4. — Yi chiao niang. 
 
 5. — Niang niang. Tioh tiang. 'Hei 'hai. Ou to. Ou nieh. 
 
 6. — P'au k'a. Kuei p'au. 7. — 'Hi i. Hshou goh. Hsioh goh. 
 8. — Moung 'hniu fa chieh chieh niang hang to ai. Niang p'au k'a. 
 
 Vai tang chiu hao keh kou p'au k'a mai a ghou kuai ai. Tou 
 
 ngieh kuei p'au ghou a ghou. Sai vai chiu nai koh hang to tou 
 
 ghou. Lei p'au keh tiung a ku hsioh goh. 
 9. — Moung 'hei keh a niang lioh a niang niang. Tou tiao ngieh 
 
 fieh. Nan pau a mai lioh, 'hei keh pieh k'a tou tiao ni.mg 
 
 niang. 'Hei keh tiang tou tiao niang niu. 'Hei hai pieh tiao 
 
 niang 'hlioh. . 
 
 10. — Tiang keh tiung ou nioh a mai hai ou to. 
 
 11. — Moung 'hniu tang niang hai niang hshou goh a hshou. A sa. 
 
 Tiao 'hlioh chiang niang niang Shan-tung pau chieh 'hlia nieh ; 
 
 l)ieh ku nai 'hi i fi a chiu. 
 12. — Niang chich nong ka kai slii nai kuei. Tiao niang chich kuei. 
 13. — Sui ngieh pieh chieh tiao niang niang kuei tiao niang lioh kuei. 
 
 Niang lioh pi niang niang hsia pei si nao. Hang to. Lioh ka 
 
 pi niang ka kuei. Lioh ka kuei tiao pieh pieh pei pau keli 
 
 tiung kuei pau ou hsia hsiu lai pei si.
 
 264 
 
 Exercise XVI.— SINGLE WOKDS. 
 
 1. 
 
 2. Box. 
 
 3. Bundle. 
 
 4. Bag. 
 
 5. Felt. 
 
 6. Cotton fabric. 
 
 7. To feed. 
 
 8. Camel (one hump). 
 
 9. Camel (two humps). 
 10. Animals. 
 
 11. Heel. 
 
 12. A set. 
 
 13. Contain ; pack. 
 
 14. Girdle. 
 
 15. Load. 
 
 16. Pursue. 
 
 17. Follow. 
 
 18. Wrap up. 
 
 19. Interest. 
 
 20. To haiTQ. 
 
 21. Injurious. 
 
 22. Spring. 
 
 23. Summer. 
 
 24. Autunm. 
 
 25. Winter. 
 
 26. Early. 
 
 27. Carry. 
 
 28. Wood. 
 
 29. Care for. 
 
 30. On. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 1. Baggage. Trunk. Bundle. Bag. Blanket or Felt. 
 2. — A bale of cotton cloth. 3. — To feed beasts. The camel. 
 Beast of burden. 4. — To put in a box. To carry things with 
 one. To lead animals. 
 6. — To pursue. 6. — Very dreadful, injurious. 
 7. — Spring. Summer. Autumn. W^inter. 
 
 8. — 'i/i means whatever a traveller carries with him. 9. — Trunks 
 are made some of leather, some of wood, and will hold all sorts 
 of things. A kuei is a bundle of things wrapped up in anything. 
 He has wrapped up that small box in. a rug. A tui is a bag 
 to hold odds and ends. Those bags we use are made of cotton. 
 — On a journey the beasts have to be fed as soon as one arrives 
 
 at an inn. 
 — Camels all come from other places. 
 
 — The beast which bears a load is called a t'u. One may speak 
 of an ass, a mule, or a horse as a t'u. 
 
 10. 
 
 11 
 12.. 
 
 13.- 
 
 14.- 
 15.- 
 16.- 
 
 .17.— 
 
 -Take care of the baggage. It will be all right if the baggage 
 is all there. 
 
 -The gatekeeper is a servant. He called him to put his boxes 
 into the cart. 
 
 -As I came out his gatekeeper came after me, but did not over- 
 take me. 
 
 -W^here is that man 1 He has gone out. If you run fast 
 enough you may overtake him. He went out early, .1 fear it 
 will not be possible to overtake him. W^hether he is to be 
 overtaken or not, you just run after him as hard as you can. 
 Winter is very cold ; summer very hot ; spring is not so cold 
 as winter ; nor is autumn so hot as summer.
 
 265 
 Exercise XVI.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. 'Hi. 11. Lia. 21. Nia ; tiu. 
 
 2. Tiang. 12. Pang. 22. Ch'iin. 
 
 3. Kuei. 13. Chi. 23. Hsia. 
 
 4. Tui. 14. Hsioh. 24. Ch'iu. 
 
 5. Hsi. 15. Tu. 25. Tung. 
 
 6. Hsi. 16. Ngong ; t'ou. 26. So. 
 
 7. I. 17. Hang. 27. Tiang. 
 
 8. Lu. 18. KueL 28. Tou. 
 
 9. T'u. 19. Liang. 29. Yeou. 
 10. Tieh 111. . 20. Ha. 30. Vai. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 L— 'Hi. Tiang. Kuei. Tui. Hsi. 
 
 2.— Yi lai hsi. 3.— I tieh 'hi. Lu t'u. Tu. 4.— Chi tiang. 
 
 Tiang chia shih. Tioh tieh 'hi. 
 5. — Ngong t'ou. 6. — Nia tiu kuai. 
 7. — Ch'un. Hsia. Ch'iu. Tung. 
 
 8. — 'Hi tiao 'hei keh pieh ka nai tiang chia shih. 9. — Tiang mai 
 ka U ai mai tou ai, kai shi chia shih tou ku i chi. Kuei tiao ta 
 chia shih hsia kai shi kuei loh. Ngi ta hsi kuei lai tiang niu 
 moung loh. Tui tiao chi ka sai. Pieh hsia tou tiao tui hsi. 
 10. — Chieh keh lei p'au keh tiung sung ou i tieh 'hi. 
 11. — Lu t'u tou tiao kang 'hi ta. 
 12. — Tieh 'hi chiao chieh a chia shih koh t'u. Lui t'u, lu t'u, ma tu 
 
 tou ku i ch'iu. 
 13. — ]\Ioung yeou 'hi. Tu tou tiao chieh chiu ghou. 
 14. — Ngo tiu tiao hsia nai. Ngi koh ngo tiu ta tiang chi tioh lioh 
 
 vai. 
 15. — Vai 'hliu kou moung ngi pieh ngo tiu niang keli kai ngong t'ou 
 
 vai ; ngong yi tang tai t'ou a t'ou chia. 
 16. — Tai lai nai moung niang hang to. Ngi 'hliu moung yeh. 
 Moung hang yeh ku i t'ou chia ngi. Ngi so moung, lisi t'ou a 
 chia. A lai t'ou chia a t'ou chia, moung hang yeh ngong ngi, 
 chiu tiao yeh. 
 17. — Tung t'ien si va; hsia t'ien hsijh va; ch'iiu a mai tung si; 
 ch'iu a mai hsia hsioh.
 
 266 
 
 EXERCJ 
 
 [SE XVIL— SINGLE 
 
 WORDS. 
 
 1, Brains. 
 
 11. Finger. 
 
 21. Pain. 
 
 2. Pigtail. 
 
 12. Fingernail. 
 
 22. Strange. 
 
 3. Ear. 
 
 13. To clutch. 
 
 23. Monstrous. 
 
 4. Eye. 
 
 14. Loins ; waist. 
 
 24. Nose. 
 
 5. Puijil of eye. 
 
 15. Legs ; thigh. 
 
 25. Old. 
 
 6. Mouth. 
 
 16. Strong ; robust. 
 
 26. Tongue. 
 
 7. Lips. 
 
 17. Weak. 
 
 27. Strength. 
 
 8. Beard. 
 
 18. To pull. 
 
 28. Woman. 
 
 9. Armpit. 
 
 19. To haul. 
 
 29. Close; tight. 
 
 10. Arm. 
 
 20. Disease. 
 
 30. Hands. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 L — Head. Queue. Ear. Eye. Nose. Mouth. In the mouth. 
 The lips. The beard. Arm. Finger. Nail. Back and legs. 
 2. — Robust. W^eak. 3. — Pulling. Hauling at. To haul 
 with great effort. To tear or injure in clutching hold of. 4. — 
 Connected, consecutively. 5. — To be ill. Very sore. Strange. 
 6. — A man's head has brains inside it, and is therefore called a 
 
 head-bag. 
 7. — This tail of yours wants combing. 
 
 8 — W-'hen a man is old, he can neither see well nor see clearly. 
 9. — That man has a very odd-looking nose. 10. — This man is 
 very strong. That man is very weak. 
 
 11. — Have you anything the matter with you ? I am weak, but not 
 ill. 12. — In these five or six years that you and I have not 
 met, your beard has turned quite white. I have been sadly 
 ailing for some years. 
 
 13. — That man who is lying on the road has both legs broken. 14. — 
 To have something the matter with the back that makes it 
 impossible for one to stand upright. 15. — Do you move so 
 slowly because you have something the matter with you ? No ; 
 it is age which makes me weak in the back and limbs. 
 
 16. — He has something the matter with his tongue, and his mouth 
 and lips are broken out. 
 
 17. — It may be said that eating and speaking both are of the mouth. 
 18. — That woman's nails were so long -that when she clutched 
 hold of his arm they tore it. 19. — My finger is sore. 20. — 
 What animals are used to draw carts ? They may be drawn 
 by mules, donkeys, or horses. 
 
 2L — Toh means to puU hard with the hand. Pull the door fast to. 
 He pulled and hauled at me.
 
 267 
 
 Exercise XVII. —SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. 'Hlui. 
 
 11. Ta pi. 
 
 21. Mang. 
 
 2. Cliiao mi. 
 
 12. Kan^,' pi. 
 
 22. Lo. 
 
 3. Ngi. 
 
 13. Wa.' 
 
 23. ILsueh. 
 
 4. Mai. 
 
 14. 'HIa. 
 
 24. Pao niieh. 
 
 5. Chiu chi. 
 
 1.5. Pa. 
 
 25. Lu. 
 
 6. Lo. 
 
 16. Mai' go. 
 
 26. Ni. 
 
 7. Poulo. 
 
 17. Mai' go. 
 
 27. Go. 
 
 8. Hsieh nieh. 
 
 18. 'Hlioh. 
 
 28. Mi. 
 
 9. Ka sho. 
 
 19. Toll. 
 
 29. Koh. 
 
 10. Kou. 
 
 20. Mang. 
 
 30. Pi. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 L — Koh. Mi. Ngi. Mai. Pao niieh. Lo. Lo keh tiung. Pou 
 lo. Hsieh nieh. Kou. Ta pi. Kang pi. 'Ilia pa. 2. — Mai^ 
 go. Mai* go. 3.— 'Hlioh. Toh. 'Hlioh toh. Wa ni. 4.— 
 'Ha. 5. — Mai mang. Mang kuai. Lo hsiieh. 
 
 6. — Nai koh keh tiung mai 'hlui, chiu koh koh tou. 
 
 7. — Moung pieh chiao mi nung sung ou hsia. 
 
 8. — Nai lu, ngi tang a ghou, mai tou ngieh a vai. 9. — Tai nai 
 moung pieh pao iliieh mai lo hsiieh. 10. — Tai nai nung mai^ 
 go. Tai nai ai mai* go kuai. 
 IL — Moung chiao chieh mai mang a mai. A mai mang. Vai chiao 
 chieh mai* go. 12. — Pieh chia tiu 'hniu a pang, moung pieh 
 hsieh nieh tou 'hluh yeh. Vai pieh chiao chieh mai mang nia 
 tiu. 
 
 13. — Tiu ka keh vai lai nai pang ai au pa tou ni yeh. 14. — Ka 'hla 
 mai mang fa a lei loh. 15. — Moung kai shi keh keh *hei, chiao 
 chieh mang a mang. A tiao ; tiao nai lu yeli, 'lila pa tou a 
 ghou. 
 
 16. — Ngi chiao ni mai mang, lo pao niieh tou ni yeh. 
 
 17. — Lo keh tiung neng ka, lo keh tiung ch'iu si, tou ku i ch'iu. 
 18. — Tai mi moung kang pi ta, li ngi pi kou wa ni yeli. 19. — 
 Vai pieh ta pi mang. 20. — 'Hlioh lioh hsia kai shi tieh 'hi. 
 Hsia lu, lui, ma, tou ku i 'hlioh tau. 
 
 21. — Toh tiao nai pieh pi hsia go 'hlioh. Lai tiu 'hlioh koli. Mgi 
 'hlioh toh vai.
 
 268 
 
 Exercise XVIII.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Eyebrows. 
 
 2. Jaws. 
 
 3. Capture. 
 
 4. Chin. 
 
 5. To build. 
 
 6. Neck. 
 
 7. Throat, 
 
 8. Joiut. 
 
 9. To scrape. 
 10. To shave. 
 
 11. Breast. 
 
 12. The back. 
 
 13. Spine. 
 
 14. Foot. 
 
 15. Belly. 
 
 16. Wave. 
 
 17. Respectable. 
 
 18. Ankle. 
 
 19. Heart. 
 
 20. Conduct. 
 
 21. To behead. 
 
 22. Robbers. 
 
 23. Heads (of criminals). 
 
 24. The brow. 
 
 25. Knee-cap. 
 
 26. Above. 
 
 27. Below. 
 
 28. Bone. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 1. — The eyebrows. The hair. The jaws. The chin. The nostrils. 
 
 The neck. The gullet. 2.— The shoulders. The spine. The 
 
 breast. The belly. 
 3. — The knee-cap. The ankle-bone. The joints. 4. — To scrape 
 
 the face. To shave the head. To behead. 
 6. — Respectable. 6.-^The eyebrows are the hair above the eyes. 
 
 Ki koh means the hair on either side of the forehead. 7. — The 
 
 jaws are the flesh on either side of the mouth. 8. — The bone 
 
 below the mouth is the chin. 9. — The shoulders are at the top 
 
 of the back. 
 10. — The space behind the shoulders is called the tiu koh and the 
 
 tiu kou. 
 11. — What is behind the head is called the neck. 
 12. — The breast is below the throat and above the belly. 13. — The 
 
 knee-cap is the joint in the middle of the leg. The joint above 
 
 the foot is called the ankle. 14. — When people are too young 
 
 to have beards their faces have to be scraped. 
 15. — In shaving, what is shaved ofi" is the short hair growing outside 
 
 the queue. Outlaws who do not shave the head are called 
 
 long-haired rebels. 
 16. — Wlien a rebel is captured he is beheaded, and the head cut off 
 
 is called a kohji. 
 17. — When you say a man is respectable, you mean that his conduct 
 
 has nothing bad about it. When you say that that man lai 
 
 tax> lah, you mean that he is good-looking. 
 18. — You may also say that his house is respectable — that it is a 
 
 line house.
 
 269 
 Exercise XVIII.— SINGLE WORDS. 
 
 1. Keh nang. 11. Kang. 20. 'Hi. 
 
 2. Mang. 12. Kou. 21. Sai. 
 
 3. Yl k'a. j3 ^.^^ 22. Tsui. 
 
 4. Ka kang. 
 
 5. Poh. 1*- ^^'- 23. Fi. 
 
 6. Ka 'hlieh. 1^- ^^ Chiang. 24. Yen tieh. 
 
 7. Kakimg. 16. Lang. 25. Koh chiang. 
 
 8. Yeh. 17. Lah. 26. Keh vai. 
 
 9. Kieh. 18. Tiu ngeng. 27. Keh ta. 
 10. T'i. 19. 'Hlu. 28. Sung. 
 
 WORDS COMBINED. 
 
 L — Keh nang. Ka 'hliang. Mang. Ka kang. Kang niieh. Ka 
 
 kung. Tiung kung. 2. — Chieh. Tiu. Kang. Ka chiang. 
 3. — Koh chiang. Sung ngeng. Yeh. 4. — Kieh niai. Ti koh 
 
 Sai koh. 
 5. — Lah. G. — Keh nang tiao mai keh vai ka 'hliang. Ki koh tiau 
 yen tieh au p'i pieh ka 'hliang. 7. — Mang tiau lo au p'i j>ieh 
 ngi. 8. — Lo pi ta pieh sung tiao ka kang. 9. — Chieh tiao 
 kou keh vai. 
 10. — Au chieh keh kai pieh 'hli koh tiu koh tiu kou. 
 11. — Lai koh keh ta koli ka kung. 
 
 12. — Kang tiao ka kung keh ta ka chiang keli vai. 13. — Koli 
 chiang tiao tou ka tiung pieh sung yeh. Lao keh vai pieli sung 
 yeh chiu koh tiu ngeng. 14. — Nai i a mai hsieh nieli pieh 
 shih 'hou sung ou kieh mai. 
 
 15. — T'i koh ; Ti pieh tiao chiao mi pieh pi kou pieh ka 'hliang lai. 
 
 A t'i koh tiao tsui moung koh ta 'hliang tsui. 
 16. — Vi k'a tsui chiu sai. Sai lo pieh koh chiu koh fi. 
 17. — Ch'iu lai nai lah tiao ch'iu lai nai moung pieh 'hi a mai kai shi 
 
 a ghou. Ch'iu lai nai moung lai tao lah tiao chiu ngi lai 
 
 tao ghou ngieh. 
 18. — Ngi pieh lai chieh poh tao lah tou chiu tao.
 
 ENGLISH-PHO VOCABULARY.
 
 273 
 
 ENGLISH-PHO VOCABULARY. 
 
 English. 
 
 Pho. 
 
 English. 
 
 Pno. 
 
 Able, to be 
 
 Pang; Hang; 
 
 Attend to 
 
 Kuei 
 
 
 Ku-i 
 
 Authorise 
 
 Chun 
 
 About to 
 
 Nung 
 
 Autumn 
 
 Ch'iu 
 
 Above 
 
 Keh vai 
 
 Avoid 
 
 Vieh 
 
 According to 
 
 Sai 
 
 Back, the 
 
 Kou 
 
 Account (bill) 
 
 Hang 
 
 Bag 
 
 Tui 
 
 Add, to — to 
 
 Lai 
 
 Baggage 
 
 'Hi 
 
 Advantage 
 
 Liang 
 
 Balance, a 
 
 Tai 
 
 Affair 
 
 Shih 
 
 Ball 
 
 Poh 
 
 Again 
 
 Niang 
 
 Bamboo 
 
 Touki 
 
 Ago, a moment 
 
 Fa 
 
 Basin 
 
 Keh 
 
 Air 
 
 Poung 
 
 Be, to 
 
 Mai; Tiao; Si 
 
 AU 
 
 Tou 
 
 Beans 
 
 Tou pang 
 
 Alley 
 
 Ka 
 
 Beard 
 
 Hsieh nieh 
 
 Allow- 
 
 ILsiieh 
 
 Beasts 
 
 Tieh 'hi 
 
 Also 
 
 NuiiLT : niang 
 
 Beat, to 
 
 Tueh 
 
 Ancestor 
 
 Kau 
 
 „ (theground) 
 
 Pieli 
 
 Animals 
 
 Tieh 'hi 
 
 Because 
 
 Yi vai 
 
 Ankle 
 
 Tiu ngeng 
 
 Bed 
 
 Ch'u 
 
 Arm 
 
 Kou 
 
 Bedding 
 
 Pang pung 
 
 Armpit 
 
 Ka sho 
 
 Bee 
 
 Keh vah 
 
 Arrange 
 
 Shu 
 
 Beeswax 
 
 Chieh 
 
 Arrive at 
 
 Leh 
 
 Before (place) 
 
 Keh tang 
 
 As 
 
 Liu 
 
 „ (time) 
 
 Hsiieh 
 
 As well 
 
 Niang 
 
 Beginning, in 
 
 Tang tang 
 
 Ascend 
 
 Chich 
 
 the 
 
 
 Ashamed 
 
 Shi sa 
 
 Behave, to 
 
 Ta 
 
 Ask 
 
 Tou ; Nai 
 
 Behead 
 
 Sai 
 
 At 
 
 Niang hang 
 
 Behind 
 
 Keh kai
 
 274 
 
 ENGLTSH-PHO VOCABULARY. 
 
 English. 
 
 Pno. 
 
 E\(JLI.SII. 
 
 Puo. 
 
 Belly 
 
 Ka chiang 
 
 Brother (elder) 
 
 Tiah 
 
 Below 
 
 Nga ; Keh ta 
 
 „ (younger) 
 
 Tei uh 
 
 Bend, a 
 
 Kung 
 
 Brow, the 
 
 Yen tieh 
 
 Bestow 
 
 Hsiang pai 
 
 Brush, to 
 
 Shua 
 
 Bid, to 
 
 Koh 
 
 Buckwheat 
 
 Chiu 
 
 Bind 
 
 Suh 
 
 Bufiiilo 
 
 Niang 
 
 Bitterness 
 
 I 
 
 Build 
 
 Poh 
 
 Black 
 
 'Hlai 
 
 Bundle, a 
 
 Kuei 
 
 Blow, to 
 
 Choh 
 
 Burn, to 
 
 Pieh 
 
 Blue 
 
 Lieh 
 
 Bury 
 
 Liang 
 
 Boar, wild 
 
 Pa ghou 
 
 Bushel 
 
 Toh 
 
 Boat 
 
 Niang 
 
 Busy 
 
 Niah 
 
 Body (person) 
 
 Chieh 
 
 Button 
 
 Koh 
 
 Boil, to 
 
 Hao 
 
 Button-hole 
 
 Niang 
 
 Bone 
 
 Sung 
 
 Buy 
 
 Mai 
 
 Book 
 
 Tu 
 
 Cabbage 
 
 Go 'hlou 
 
 Borrow 
 
 Hsi 
 
 Cage 
 
 Nguh 
 
 Bowl, a 
 
 Ti 
 
 Call, to 
 
 Koh 
 
 Box 
 
 Tiang 
 
 Camel 
 
 Lu; T'u 
 
 Brains 
 
 'Hlui 
 
 Cap 
 
 Mau 
 
 Break, to 
 
 T'u 
 
 Capital (of a 
 
 Chieh 
 
 Breast, the 
 
 Kang 
 
 province) 
 
 
 Breath 
 
 Poung 
 
 Capture 
 
 Vik'a 
 
 Brick 
 
 Hsiieh 
 
 Care fur 
 
 Yeou 
 
 Bridge, a 
 
 Luh 
 
 Carpenter 
 
 Hsiang tou 
 
 Bright 
 
 Ka 
 
 Carpet 
 
 Ch'i ta 
 
 Brightness 
 
 Ka 
 
 Carrot 
 
 Go pang bsia 
 
 Brisk 
 
 Niang 'hui 
 
 Carry, to 
 
 Tiang 
 
 Broad 
 
 Pieh 
 
 „ on shoulder 
 
 Keh 
 
 Broken 
 
 Ni 
 
 Cart 
 
 Lioh 
 
 Broom 
 
 Tioh 
 
 Cast, to 
 
 Yoh 
 
 Broth 
 
 Ou 
 
 Catty 
 
 Chiang
 
 275 
 
 ENGLISH-PHO VOCABULARY. 
 
 Englisu. 
 
 Puo. 
 
 English. 
 
 Puo. 
 
 Certainly 
 
 A sa 
 
 Communicate 
 
 Ch'ueh 
 
 Chair 
 
 Kuei yiieh 
 
 Company, to 
 
 Pai 
 
 „ (Sedan) 
 
 Cho 
 
 bear one 
 
 
 Change, to 
 
 Kieh 
 
 Complete 
 
 Yeh 
 
 „ (as water) 
 
 Vai 
 
 Conduct 
 
 'Hi 
 
 Charcoal 
 
 T'ai 
 
 Confused 
 
 Nioh 
 
 Cheap 
 
 Chien-i 
 
 Consequently 
 
 Chiu 
 
 Chicken 
 
 Kei 
 
 Constant 
 
 Ka ka 
 
 Child 
 
 Ka-tai 
 
 Consult 
 
 Hsiang 
 
 Chikh'cn 
 
 Ngang a 
 
 Contain 
 
 Chi 
 
 Chin 
 
 Ka kang 
 
 Continual 
 
 Ka ka 
 
 Choose 
 
 Tioh 
 
 Cool 
 
 'Hui 
 
 Circumstances 
 
 Ch'ing 
 
 Copper 
 
 Tou 
 
 Clean 
 
 Sang niang 
 
 Copy, to 
 
 Cha 
 
 Clear 
 
 Ka 
 
 Coi'rect, to 
 
 Kieh 
 
 Close (tight) 
 
 Koh 
 
 Cotton (raw) 
 
 Meng 
 
 Cloth 
 
 Hsi 
 
 ,, (fabric) 
 
 Hsi 
 
 Clothes 
 
 Uh 
 
 Cover, a 
 
 Mo 
 
 Clouds 
 
 Tang ang 
 
 Cow 
 
 Lia 
 
 Clutch 
 
 Wa 
 
 Crack, to 
 
 'Hlah 
 
 Coal 
 
 Mai 
 
 Crape 
 
 Hsiah 
 
 Coarse 
 
 Sa 
 
 Crow, a 
 
 Au vuh 
 
 Coat 
 
 Kua 
 
 Cup 
 
 
 
 Coin, a 
 
 Pei si 
 
 Curtain 
 
 Hsiao 
 
 Cold 
 
 'Hui ; Si 
 
 Cut open 
 
 P'a 
 
 Collar, a 
 
 'Hlieh 
 
 ,, (clothes) 
 
 Kung 
 
 Colour 
 
 Ka mai 
 
 Cypress 
 
 Tou hsiang 
 
 Comb 
 
 Gah 
 
 Damp 
 
 Hsiu 
 
 Comb, to 
 
 Hsia 
 
 Dark 
 
 'Hui 
 
 Come, to 
 
 Ta 
 
 Daughter 
 
 Poa 
 
 Comfortable 
 
 'Ilia 
 
 Day 
 
 Vai 
 
 Commission, to 
 
 Sai 
 
 Daytime 
 
 Fieh
 
 276 
 
 ENGLISH-PHO VOCABULARY. 
 
 English. 
 
 Piio. 
 
 English. 
 
 Piio. 
 
 Dear 
 
 Kuei 
 
 Dwell 
 
 Niang 
 
 Deceive 
 
 'Hla 
 
 Dye, to 
 
 Tou 
 
 Deck (of a boat) 
 
 Pi niang 
 
 Each 
 
 Ka 
 
 Deep 
 
 To 
 
 Ear 
 
 Ngi 
 
 Dense (wood) 
 
 Toh 
 
 Early 
 
 So 
 
 Depressed 
 
 Mang 'hi 
 
 Earth 
 
 Tah 
 
 Detain 
 
 «Hlia 
 
 East 
 
 Keh nieh 
 
 Die, to 
 
 Ta 
 
 Eat 
 
 Neng 
 
 Difficult 
 
 Hsia 
 
 Egg 
 
 Keh 
 
 Dilly-dally 
 
 'Hliao ta 
 
 Eight 
 
 Ya 
 
 Dirty 
 
 Va 
 
 Empty 
 
 Kung 
 
 Discuss 
 
 Lai 
 
 End 
 
 T'i 
 
 Disease 
 
 Mang 
 
 End, to 
 
 Chiu 
 
 Disorder 
 
 Lui 
 
 Enemy 
 
 Hsi 
 
 Dispense with 
 
 Vieh 
 
 Engrave 
 
 Tioh 
 
 Disperse 
 
 Say 
 
 Enough 
 
 Ko 
 
 Divide 
 
 Fai 
 
 Enter 
 
 Pou 
 
 Do 
 
 Pieh ; ai 
 
 Envelope 
 
 Ku 
 
 Dog 
 
 Koh 
 
 Err 
 
 Sa 
 
 Donkey 
 
 Lui 
 
 Escape, to 
 
 Chu 
 
 Door 
 
 Tiu 
 
 Eternal 
 
 Sang sanrr 
 
 Down 
 
 Nga 
 
 Every 
 
 Ka 
 
 Draw out 
 
 'Hlia 
 
 Examine 
 
 Cha ; kau 
 
 Dreadful 
 
 Nia tiu 
 
 Exchange 
 
 T'ioh 
 
 Dream 
 
 Pang 
 
 Expect 
 
 Sang nieh 
 
 Dream, to 
 
 'Hlieh 
 
 Expend 
 
 Fai 
 
 Drink, to 
 
 Hou 
 
 Extinguish 
 
 Ta 
 
 Drum 
 
 Li 
 
 Extreme 
 
 Chiang 
 
 Dry 
 
 Nga 
 
 Eye 
 
 Mai 
 
 Duck 
 
 Kah 
 
 Eyebrow 
 
 Keh nang 
 
 Dust 
 
 Ka pai 
 
 Face, the 
 
 Mai 
 
 Dust, to 
 
 Ma 
 
 Far 
 
 T'o
 
 277 
 
 ENGLISH-PHO VOCABULARY. 
 
 English. 
 
 PlIO. 
 
 ExGLisn. 
 
 PlIO. 
 
 Farthest 
 
 Chiuncc 
 
 Forget 
 
 Tung 
 
 Fast 
 
 'Hi; Hang 
 
 Fork, a 
 
 Tia 
 
 Fear, to 
 
 Hsi 
 
 Four 
 
 'Hlao 
 
 Feed, to 
 
 I 
 
 Fowl 
 
 Kei 
 
 Feel (touch), to 
 
 Sang 
 
 Fragments, in 
 
 Sai 
 
 Felt (fabric) 
 
 Hsi 
 
 Frank 
 
 Niang 'hui 
 
 Female 
 
 A 
 
 Friend 
 
 Ka pou 
 
 Fern 
 
 Ho chiang 
 
 Fruit 
 
 Chiang 
 
 Fetch 
 
 'Hlioh 
 
 Full 
 
 Pai 
 
 Few 
 
 Hsiu ; Pa 
 
 Furniture 
 
 Chia shih 
 
 Fight, to 
 
 Tiieh 
 
 Gain, to 
 
 Hsiieh 
 
 Fine 
 
 Moung 
 
 Gallop, to 
 
 Yeh 
 
 Finger 
 
 Tapi 
 
 Generation 
 
 Pai 
 
 Fir 
 
 Tou kei 
 
 Get, to 
 
 Tao 
 
 Fire 
 
 T'u 
 
 Girdle, a 
 
 Hsioh 
 
 Firewood 
 
 T'u 
 
 Give 
 
 Pai 
 
 First 
 
 Tang tang 
 
 Go away 
 
 Moung 
 
 Fish 
 
 Nieh 
 
 „ out 
 
 'Hliu kou 
 
 Five 
 
 Chia 
 
 „ towards 
 
 Moung 
 
 Fix, to 
 
 Ting 
 
 Goat 
 
 Li ghou 
 
 Flat 
 
 P'i 
 
 Gold 
 
 Chich 
 
 Flesh 
 
 Ngi 
 
 Gong 
 
 Nioh 
 
 Float, to 
 
 Ch'a 
 
 Good 
 
 Ghou 
 
 Flour 
 
 Pal 
 
 Good-looking 
 
 Niang 
 
 Flow, to 
 
 'Hlao 
 
 Goods 
 
 Ku 
 
 Flower 
 
 Pieh 
 
 Goosft 
 
 Ngieh 
 
 Follow 
 
 Hang 
 
 Granary 
 
 Niung 
 
 Fond of 
 
 Ghou 
 
 Grandson 
 
 'IlhVh 
 
 Foolish 
 
 Niah 
 
 Grasp, to 
 
 Wa 
 
 Foot, the 
 
 Lao 
 
 Grass 
 
 Niang 
 
 „ (a measure) 
 
 Ch'i 
 
 Grasshopper 
 
 Kr>U 
 
 Forest 
 
 (ihou 
 
 Grave, a 
 
 Pa lian::
 
 278 
 
 ENGLTSH-PHO VOCABULARY. 
 
 English. 
 
 PlIO. 
 
 English. 
 
 Pno. 
 
 Gray 
 
 Hsiang 
 
 Home 
 
 Chieh 
 
 Great 
 
 'Hlioh 
 
 Hope, to 
 
 Sang nieh 
 
 Green 
 
 Kioh 
 
 Horn 
 
 Ki 
 
 Grief 
 
 A shi 
 
 Horse 
 
 Ma 
 
 Ground, the 
 
 Tah 
 
 Hot 
 
 Hsioh 
 
 Grow 
 
 Lai 
 
 House 
 
 Chieh 
 
 Guest 
 
 K'a 
 
 Hundred 
 
 Pa 
 
 Hair 
 
 Ha 'hliang 
 
 I 
 
 Vai 
 
 Half 
 
 Tang 
 
 Idle 
 
 Ngai 
 
 Hand 
 
 Pi 
 
 In 
 
 Tiu 
 
 Hang, to 
 
 Tioh 
 
 Inch 
 
 Sai 
 
 „ up 
 
 Fi 
 
 Inform 
 
 Hsieh 
 
 Hard 
 
 Koh 
 
 Inhabit 
 
 Niang 
 
 Hare 
 
 Lo 
 
 Injure 
 
 'Ha 
 
 Harm, to 
 
 'Ha 
 
 Injurious 
 
 Nia tiu 
 
 Haul, to 
 
 Toh 
 
 Ink 
 
 Mo 
 
 Have 
 
 Mai 
 
 Inn 
 
 P'au 
 
 He 
 
 Ngi 
 
 Insect 
 
 Ai tiou 
 
 Head 
 
 Koh 
 
 Inside 
 
 Keh tiung 
 
 „ of criminal 
 
 Fi 
 
 Interest 
 
 Liang 
 
 Hear 
 
 Tang 
 
 Iron 
 
 «Hlou 
 
 Heart 
 
 'Hlu 
 
 Jaws 
 
 Mang 
 
 Heavens 
 
 Vai 
 
 Join, to 
 
 'Ha 
 
 Heavy 
 
 Tiung 
 
 Joint (of body) 
 
 Yeh 
 
 Heel 
 
 Lia 
 
 Jump 
 
 Ti; Shu 
 
 Helm 
 
 Tui niang 
 
 Kill 
 
 Ma 
 
 Here 
 
 Ha nung 
 
 Kind (sort) 
 
 Tiu 
 
 High 
 
 'Hi 
 
 Kitchen 
 
 Kau sac 
 
 Hold (ship's) 
 
 Niang nung 
 
 Kite (bird) 
 
 'HKeh 
 
 Hold (in hand), to 
 
 Luh 
 
 Kneecap 
 
 Koh chiang 
 
 „ (of), to lay 
 
 Tieh 
 
 Know 
 
 Pang 
 
 „ (of), to clutch 
 
 Wa 
 
 Lake 
 
 Ung
 
 279 
 
 EXGLISH-PHO VOCABULARY. 
 
 English. 
 
 Puo. 
 
 English. 
 
 PlIO. 
 
 Lamp 
 
 Tai 
 
 Love, to 
 
 A 
 
 Language 
 
 Si 
 
 Magpie 
 
 Au kah 
 
 Large 
 
 'Hlioh 
 
 Make 
 
 Ai 
 
 Late 
 
 Pang 
 
 Male 
 
 Tia 
 
 Laugh, to 
 
 Tioh 
 
 Man 
 
 Nai 
 
 Layer 
 
 Lang 
 
 Many 
 
 ISTao 
 
 Leaf 
 
 Nou 
 
 Market, a 
 
 Hsiang 
 
 Learn 
 
 Liu 
 
 Mast 
 
 Tou iiiang 
 
 Leather 
 
 Kali 
 
 Master 
 
 Ka 
 
 Leg 
 
 Pa 
 
 Mat 
 
 Tieh 
 
 Leisure 
 
 K'ung 
 
 Meat 
 
 Ngi 
 
 Lend 
 
 T'u 
 
 Medicine 
 
 Chia 
 
 Length (time) 
 
 Tah pang 
 
 Meet, to 
 
 Hui 
 
 Leopard 
 
 Mpieh 
 
 Mend 
 
 P'ai 
 
 Letter 
 
 Sai 
 
 Method 
 
 Hsiang 
 
 Lie, to tell a 
 
 'Hli si 
 
 Milk 
 
 Voh 
 
 Light 
 
 Ka 
 
 Miserly 
 
 K'ei 
 
 „ (weight) 
 
 Fa 
 
 Miss, to 
 
 Fa 
 
 „ to 
 
 Tiao 
 
 Mist 
 
 Ngioh 
 
 Lightning 
 
 Lifoh 
 
 Moist 
 
 Li 
 
 Like 
 
 Toh 
 
 Monstrous 
 
 Lo hsiieh 
 
 Lime 
 
 Gi 'hui 
 
 Month 
 
 Tu 
 
 Lined 
 
 Tang 
 
 Moon 
 
 'Hla 
 
 Lips 
 
 Pou lo 
 
 Mountain 
 
 Pieh 
 
 Little, a 
 
 Nang 
 
 Mouth 
 
 Lo 
 
 Live at, to 
 
 Ai 
 
 Move (act), to 
 
 Tioh 
 
 Load (pack) 
 
 Tu 
 
 Mulberry 
 
 Chieh 
 
 Loins 
 
 'Hla 
 
 Mule 
 
 Luh 
 
 Long 
 
 Ta 
 
 Musket 
 
 Hsiung 
 
 Lose 
 
 Fa; Fieh 
 
 Must 
 
 Tao ; Sung ou 
 
 Louse 
 
 Keh hsiang 
 
 Nail 
 
 Tiang 
 
 Loutish 
 
 Niah 
 
 1 „ (finger) 
 
 Kang pi
 
 28o 
 
 ENGLISH-PHO VOCABULATIY. 
 
 English. 
 
 Pho. 
 
 English. 
 
 PlIO. 
 
 Name 
 
 Pieh 
 
 Officer 
 
 Kuei lieh 
 
 Narrow 
 
 Ngi 
 
 (military) 
 
 
 Nation 
 
 Kuei 
 
 Oil 
 
 Tiang 
 
 Near 
 
 Ngeh 
 
 Old (years) 
 
 Lu 
 
 Neck 
 
 Ka 'hlieh 
 
 „ (not new) 
 
 Koh 
 
 Needle 
 
 Chiu 
 
 On 
 
 Vai 
 
 New- 
 
 'Hi 
 
 One 
 
 Yi 
 
 Niggardly 
 
 K'ei 
 
 Onion 
 
 Gha sung 
 
 Night 
 
 Pang 
 
 Open, to 
 
 Pu 
 
 Nine 
 
 Chu 
 
 Or 
 
 Hu 
 
 Noon 
 
 Tiung tai 
 
 Order (in series) 
 
 Ka 
 
 North 
 
 Pei 
 
 Ounce 
 
 Liang 
 
 Nose 
 
 Pao niieh 
 
 Outside 
 
 Keh kou 
 
 Not 
 
 A 
 
 Owe (money) 
 
 K'eh 
 
 Note (bank) 
 
 P'iao 
 
 Ox 
 
 Lia 
 
 Numerative of 
 
 
 Place, a 
 
 Tuoh 
 
 boats 
 
 Chao 
 
 Pack, to 
 
 Chi 
 
 „ books 
 
 Pai 
 
 Pain 
 
 Mang 
 
 
 , carts 
 
 Lai 
 
 Paint, to 
 
 'Ha 
 
 
 , clothes 
 
 P'ang 
 
 Pair, a 
 
 Niu 
 
 
 , guns 
 
 Ka 
 
 Pan, cooking 
 
 Yi 
 
 
 , horses 
 
 Tei 
 
 Paper 
 
 Tu 
 
 
 , houses 
 
 Say 
 
 Part 
 
 Fai 
 
 
 , ink 
 
 'Hli 
 
 Pass, to 
 
 Tioh 
 
 
 , lamps 
 
 Lai 
 
 Paste 
 
 'Hnieh 
 
 
 , men 
 
 Lai 
 
 Patch, to 
 
 Hsi 
 
 
 , pens 
 
 Kai 
 
 Peaceful 
 
 Pi 
 
 
 , stools 
 
 Lai 
 
 Peas 
 
 Yieh chioh 
 
 Oak 
 
 Tou kau 
 
 Pen 
 
 Chieh 
 
 Oar 
 
 'Hliu niang 
 
 Pheasant 
 
 Niung 
 
 Odd (over) 
 
 Ka 
 
 Picul 
 
 Tan 
 
 Office 
 
 i (public) 
 
 Ngah 
 
 Pig 
 
 Pa
 
 2Sr 
 
 ENGLISH-PHO VOCABULARY. 
 
 English. 
 
 PlIO. 
 
 English. 
 
 Pno. 
 
 Pigeon 
 
 Koh ghoa 
 
 Quick (temper) 
 
 'Hi 
 
 Pipe (tobacco) 
 
 Tiung yeh 
 
 „ (speed) 
 
 Hang 
 
 Pit, a 
 
 Kang 
 
 Quiet 
 
 T'ieh 
 
 Pity, to 
 
 Ch'i kuei 
 
 Rage, to be in 
 
 Toh 
 
 Place, to 
 
 'Hlia 
 
 a 
 
 
 „ a 
 
 Tiao 
 
 Rain 
 
 Nung 
 
 „ in a serie.'^ 
 
 Ka 
 
 Raise 
 
 Sai 
 
 Plates 
 
 P'ich 
 
 Rat 
 
 Nieh 
 
 Play, to 
 
 A chieh 
 
 Raw 
 
 Niu 
 
 Plough 
 
 Kah 
 
 Rebel, to 
 
 Fieh 
 
 Point, a 
 
 Ngah 
 
 Receive 
 
 Ilshou 
 
 Poor 
 
 llsia 
 
 „ (a guest) 
 
 Sei 
 
 Possessive 
 
 Pieli 
 
 Reckon 
 
 Sui; Ngieli 
 
 particle 
 
 
 Recline 
 
 Pang 
 
 Pot 
 
 Chich 
 
 Recognise 
 
 Hsiang 
 
 Pour, to 
 
 Chia ; Li.uig 
 
 Red 
 
 Hsiau 
 
 Powder 
 
 Chia pa 
 
 Rejoice 
 
 Ka 'hi 
 
 Prepare 
 
 Hao 
 
 Relatives 
 
 Hsiu ka 
 
 Present, the 
 
 Nung 
 
 Release, to 
 
 Hsiang 
 
 „ to 
 
 Pai 
 
 Remember 
 
 Nieh 
 
 Price 
 
 Ka 
 
 Remove 
 
 Hsiou 
 
 Prohibit 
 
 A hsiieh 
 
 Repair 
 
 Hsiieh 
 
 Prompt 
 
 Niang 'hui 
 
 Repay 
 
 Poh 
 
 Proud 
 
 Au 
 
 Repeatedly 
 
 Chi chiang 
 
 Province, a 
 
 Sai 
 
 Repose, to 
 
 Hui 
 
 Pull 
 
 'Pllioh 
 
 Represent 
 
 Tang 
 
 Pupil 
 
 Chu tai 
 
 Request, to 
 
 Sai ; Tou 
 
 ,, of eye 
 
 Chiu chi 
 
 Resemble 
 
 Tung 
 
 Pursue 
 
 Ngong ; T'ou 
 
 Respectable 
 
 Lah 
 
 Put, to 
 
 'Hlia 
 
 Return, to 
 
 Loh ; Tiang 
 
 „ on 
 
 Nieh 
 
 Rico 
 
 Kaj Sai 
 
 Queue 
 
 Chi;io lui 
 
 Hide, to 
 
 Chieh
 
 j82 
 
 ENGLISH-PHO VOCABULARY. 
 
 English. 
 
 Ridge 
 
 (mountain) 
 Right, to be 
 Ripe 
 Rise, to 
 River 
 Road 
 Robber 
 Room, a 
 Root (tree) 
 Round 
 
 Rounds, to go the 
 Rub, to 
 Run, to 
 
 ,, against 
 Sad 
 Salt 
 Saucers 
 Scatter 
 Scrape, to 
 Sea 
 See, to 
 Seek 
 
 Select, to 
 Sell 
 
 Sentence (words) 
 Set, a 
 Seven 
 Several 
 Shallow- 
 Shame 
 Share 
 
 Piio. 
 
 Fai 'hlong 
 
 Ku-i 
 
 Hsieh 
 
 Fa 
 
 Tiang 
 
 Keh 
 
 Tsui ; Nieh lei 
 
 Ch'ung 
 
 Chiung 
 
 'Hlui 
 
 'Ha 
 
 Mang 
 
 Yeh 
 
 Luh 
 
 Mang 'hi 
 
 Hsieh 
 
 P'ieh niu 
 
 Tiang 
 
 Kieh 
 
 'Hai 
 
 Ngieh 
 
 Hao 
 
 Tioh 
 
 ]Mei 
 
 Ho 
 
 Pang 
 
 Hsiung 
 
 Hao nao 
 
 Nieh 
 
 Sa 
 
 Fai 
 
 EXGLISII. 
 
 Shave 
 
 Sheep 
 
 Sheet (paper) 
 
 Shine 
 
 Shirt 
 
 Shoes 
 
 Shop 
 
 Short 
 
 Shoulders 
 
 Shut 
 
 Side 
 
 Sides (body) 
 
 Silk 
 
 Silly 
 
 Silver 
 
 Similar 
 
 Sing 
 
 Single 
 
 Sit 
 
 Six 
 
 Sleep, to 
 
 Sleeve 
 
 Slow 
 
 Small 
 
 Snow 
 
 Soft 
 
 Soldier 
 
 Some 
 
 Son 
 
 Sound, a 
 
 Soup 
 
 South 
 
 Piio. 
 
 T'i 
 
 Li 
 
 Lieh 
 
 Chieli 
 
 Uh lai 
 
 'Ha 
 
 P'au 
 
 Lai 
 
 Hang chieh 
 
 Suh 
 
 Pau; P'i 
 
 Hang 
 
 Hsieh 
 
 Niah 
 
 Ngi 
 
 Toh 
 
 Tiao 
 
 Tei ; Chiang 
 
 Niang 
 
 Tiu 
 
 Pieh 'hlai 
 
 Mu 
 
 A 'hi 
 
 Niu 
 
 'Hliu 
 
 Mai 
 
 Lieh 
 
 Nao hsiu ; Pa 
 
 Pu tai 
 
 Poh 
 
 Ch'ia 
 
 Nan
 
 283 
 
 ENGLISH-PHO VOCABULARY. 
 
 English. 
 
 PlIO. 
 
 English. 
 
 PniJ. 
 
 Sovereign 
 
 Vang 
 
 Study, to 
 
 Ngi 
 
 Sow, to 
 
 Tiang 
 
 Stupid 
 
 Chiu niu 
 
 Spacious 
 
 Fieh 
 
 Stutterer 
 
 La 
 
 Sparrow 
 
 Nau tioh 
 
 Subscribe 
 
 Chiang 
 
 Speak 
 
 Kang 
 
 Suddenly 
 
 Ngai 
 
 Spicier 
 
 Keh gah 
 
 Sugar 
 
 T'ang 
 
 Spine, the 
 
 Tiu 
 
 Suitable 
 
 Pi-i 
 
 Spirit, a 
 
 Sai 
 
 Summer 
 
 Hsia 
 
 Spoil, to 
 
 P'a 
 
 Sun 
 
 Tai 
 
 Spoon 
 
 Tiao ken 
 
 Surname 
 
 Sai 
 
 Spread 
 
 Pou 
 
 Swallow, to 
 
 Kuai 
 
 Spring 
 
 Ch'iin 
 
 Sweat 
 
 Tiang 
 
 Sprinkle 
 
 Tia 
 
 Sweep, to 
 
 Ch'ieh 
 
 Sprouts 
 
 I 
 
 Swim, to 
 
 Ch'a 
 
 Staff, a 
 
 Pang 
 
 Table 
 
 Tang 
 
 Stand up 
 
 Hsiu 
 
 Take, to 
 
 Tieh 
 
 Stars 
 
 Tai kai 
 
 „ off 
 
 Ta; 'Hlueh 
 
 Steal 
 
 Nieh 
 
 Tea 
 
 Chiang 
 
 Still (quiet) 
 
 T'ieh 
 
 Teach 
 
 Chiao 
 
 Stitch 
 
 Ngang 
 
 Teacher 
 
 Hsiang li 
 
 Stockings 
 
 Wa 
 
 Tell 
 
 Hsieh 
 
 Stone, a 
 
 Gi 
 
 Temple 
 
 Nioh 
 
 Stool, a 
 
 Tang 
 
 Ten 
 
 Chiu 
 
 Storey, upper 
 
 Pang 
 
 Tender 
 
 Igi 
 
 Stove, a 
 
 Sao 
 
 Terrace, a 
 
 Tiang 
 
 Straight 
 
 Tei 
 
 That 
 
 Ai ; Moung ; 
 
 Strange 
 
 Lo 
 
 
 Tieh 
 
 Street 
 
 Ka 
 
 There 
 
 Ha moung 
 
 Strength 
 
 Go 
 
 They 
 
 Ngi tau 
 
 Strike, to 
 
 Tiieh 
 
 Thick 
 
 Ta 
 
 String (of casli) 
 
 Tioh 
 
 Thigh 
 
 Pa 
 
 Strong 
 
 Mai^ go 
 
 Thin 
 
 Ngieli
 
 284 
 
 ENGLISH-PHO VOCABULARY. 
 
 English. 
 
 Pho. 
 
 EnGLIoII. 
 
 PlIO. 
 
 Thing 
 
 Kehnungkehai 
 
 Typhoon 
 
 'Hlioh chiang 
 
 Think 
 
 Niah 
 
 Ugly 
 
 Hsia ka 
 
 This 
 
 Nung 
 
 Uncap, to 
 
 'Hlueh 
 
 Thou 
 
 Moung 
 
 Understand 
 
 Tang 
 
 Thousand 
 
 Say 
 
 Up 
 
 Chieh 
 
 Thousand, ten 
 
 Ver 
 
 Up, to get 
 
 Fa 
 
 Thread 
 
 Foh 
 
 Upright 
 
 Ta ti 
 
 Three 
 
 Pieh 
 
 Upset, to 
 
 Koh 
 
 Throat 
 
 Ka kung 
 
 Urge 
 
 Sui 
 
 Throw, to 
 
 Yoh 
 
 Use, to 
 
 Hsia 
 
 Thunder, to 
 
 Poh foh 
 
 Vase 
 
 To 
 
 Tie up 
 
 Chiah 
 
 Vegetables 
 
 Ngau 
 
 Tiger 
 
 Hsioh 
 
 Very 
 
 Kuai ; Va 
 
 Tile, a 
 
 Ngai 
 
 Village 
 
 Yueh 
 
 Time 
 
 Shih 
 
 Visit, to 
 
 Ch'iu 
 
 Time, a long 
 
 La 
 
 Wadded 
 
 Pong 
 
 Tin 
 
 Say 
 
 Wait 
 
 Tang 
 
 Tobacco 
 
 Yeh 
 
 Waist 
 
 'Hla 
 
 Together with 
 
 'Ha 
 
 Wall, city 
 
 Hao 
 
 Tonirue 
 
 
 
 Ni 
 
 Want, to 
 
 Ou 
 
 Tooth 
 
 Mpi 
 
 Warm 
 
 Hsioh 
 
 Torn 
 
 Ni 
 
 Wash 
 
 So; Sa 
 
 Towards 
 
 Sang 
 
 Watch (night) 
 
 Keng 
 
 Trade 
 
 Chiang 
 
 Wave, a 
 
 Lang 
 
 Treat, to 
 
 Ta 
 
 Wax 
 
 La 
 
 Tree 
 
 Tou 
 
 We 
 
 Pieh 
 
 Trifle 
 
 A chieh 
 
 Weak 
 
 Mai •^go 
 
 Trouble 
 
 Goh 
 
 Wear, to 
 
 Tou; Tiao 
 
 Trousers 
 
 K'au 
 
 Weigh 
 
 'Hlia 
 
 True 
 
 Tei 
 
 Weight 
 
 Tiung fa 
 
 Turnip 
 
 Go pang 'hluh 
 
 Well, a 
 
 Mai 
 
 Two 
 
 Au 
 
 Wet 
 
 Hsiu
 
 28 = 
 
 ENGLISH-PHO VOCABULARY. 
 
 English. 
 
 Puo. 
 
 English. 
 
 Pnd 
 
 What? 
 
 Kai shi 
 
 Wooden 
 
 Tou 
 
 Wheat 
 
 Ka mieh 
 
 Wool 
 
 'llliang li 
 
 Whence 
 
 Keng hang 
 
 Words 
 
 Li 
 
 White 
 
 'Hluh 
 
 Worth, to hii 
 
 Hsi 
 
 Who? 
 
 Te shi 
 
 Wrap, to 
 
 Kuei 
 
 Wild 
 
 Ghou 
 
 Write 
 
 Sei 
 
 Wind 
 
 Chiang 
 
 Yam 
 
 Nah 
 
 Winding 
 
 Koh 
 
 
 
 
 
 Year 
 
 'Hniu 
 
 Window 
 
 Kantlong 
 
 
 
 
 
 Yellow 
 
 Fieh 
 
 Wine 
 
 Cliu 
 
 
 
 Winter 
 
 Tung 
 
 Yesterday 
 
 Tai nung 
 
 Wish, to 
 
 Ilang 
 
 Yet 
 
 Niang 
 
 With 
 
 'Ha; Na 
 
 You 
 
 Moung 
 
 Woman 
 
 Mi 
 
 You (pi.) 
 
 j\Iieh 
 
 Wood, u 
 
 Oliou 
 
 Youth 
 
 Yi
 
 2S7 
 
 NOTE ON OPIUM CULTIVATION IN CHINA 
 AND INDIA. 
 
 In Chapter 11. I made special reference to the culti- 
 vation of the poppy and to the method of harvesting 
 opium in Western China ; but subsequent personal 
 observation in the eastern provinces has taught me 
 that the process, employed in the west, of collecting 
 the juice is not the only system practised in China. 
 At Wenchow, in the province of Chekiang-, where the 
 poppy is extensively grown, a small instrument re- 
 sembling a carpenter's plane takes the place of the 
 multi-bladed wooden handle, and the workman planes 
 the skin of the capsule from the top downwards, leaving 
 a thin shaving adhering to the lower end of the poppy- 
 head. This is repeated four or five times round the 
 same capsule at due intervals. A dry cloudy day is 
 selected lor harvesting- the druo^, for sunshine and rain 
 are said to be inimical to a good collection. In the 
 former, the sap will not flow freely, while the latter 
 dilutes the drug. As soon as the side of the capsule 
 has been planed, the sap exudes from the exposed 
 surface — sometimes so rapidly as to drop down on the 
 leaves and stem and be lost — and the collector, pro- 
 vided with only a hollow bamboo wherewith he roughly 
 scrapes off the juice, follows close on the heels of the 
 workman with the |)lane. 
 
 That the system in use in Western China ap[)roxi- 
 mates very nearly to the Indian method will be seen
 
 283 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 from the ioUowing remarks on opium cultivation in 
 Western Malwa, for which I am indebted to my 
 brother, Andrew Hosie, CM., M.D., Army Medical 
 Staff, Mhow :— 
 
 " Opium cultivation in Western Malwa is carried on 
 entirely by the subjects of the native princes who rule 
 in this part of India. The seasons in Malwa are three, 
 the hot, the rainy, and the cold ; the hot prevailing 
 from the middle of March to the middle of June, the 
 rainy from the middle of June to the end of September, 
 and the cold from that onwards to the middle of 
 March. The average rainfall is about thirty inches, 
 and the extremes of heat and cold experienced in 
 Northern India are wanting; in this re2:ion. The soil 
 is of the cotton variety, resting on disintegrating trap 
 rock. It is well watered by numerous small streams, 
 which ultimately find their way into the Jumna. Along 
 the banks of these streams, towards the end of the rainy 
 season, the industrious ryot and his family set about 
 preparing the fields for the poppy planting. They 
 are first carefully manured with the village refuse, 
 ploughed and rolled after a most primitive fashion, 
 and then divided into rectangfular plots about five feet 
 by four, with a raised border of earth some four inches 
 high all round. These plots are so arranged as to allow 
 of their being watered with the greatest facilit}^ from 
 the stream or wells in the immediate vicinity. The 
 seed having been sown in the plots, the watering com- 
 mences, the poppy, like the sugar cane, being one of 
 the thirstiest of plants. Morning and evening, the 
 ' ryot with his bullocks may be seen at the wells
 
 HARVESTING THE CROP. 289 
 
 * dragging up the big skins of water, which is run by a 
 ' series of gutters into the plots all over the thirsty 
 ' fields. This watering is carried out every third day. 
 ' The seeds having germinated and reached a few inches 
 ' in height, the superfluous plants are carefully weeded 
 ' out, leaving ample space for every individual plant 
 
 * remaining. About the beginning of January they 
 ' burst into beautiful red and white flowers, and the 
 ' odour of the poppy pervades the land. Towards the 
 ' end of February, when the petals begin to fall, and 
 ' the capsules are still unripe and filled with milky 
 ' juice, the collection of the crop begins. In the eveninof, 
 
 * the opium collector goes round and with a sharp knife 
 
 * scarifies each capsule on one side in three parallel 
 
 * perpendicular cuts. He is careful that these cuts are 
 
 * only superficial, for, if they penetrated into the interior 
 ' of the capsule, a loss of opium would take place and 
 ' the oil-bearing seed be spoiled. Next morning the 
 ' collector goes round and collects the tears of opium 
 ' which have exuded during the night ; these, as he 
 ' collects them, he either places in the palm of his hand 
 ' or in a small flat dish. The morninof collection havini*- 
 
 * been made, it is placed in an earthenware vessel con- 
 ' taining linseed oil. After this the process of scratching 
 ' and collecting is repeated three times on opposite 
 ' sides of the same capsule. It takes about a month to 
 ' collect the whole crop. Here the ryot's dealing with 
 ' the opium ends ; it is conveyed to the opium mer- 
 
 * chants at such centres as Indore, the capital of the 
 ' Maharajah Hoi kar, where it is made up i'm uxport- 
 ' ation.
 
 290 THREE YEARS IN WESTERN CHINA. 
 
 " Malwa opium is found in many varieties, the 
 
 * principal of which are Hat circular cakes of about 
 
 * 4 to 8 and 16 ounces in weight, without any external 
 
 * covering, soft blackish brown, with a heavy odour, and 
 ' pungent, bitter taste. Another variety occurs in balls 
 ' about 10 ounces in weight, covered with broken poppy 
 ' petals, dry, hard, and brittle, and of a reddish colour. 
 ' The yield of morphia — the true test of quality — varies 
 ' from 3 to 8 per cent. , a very good percentage, so that 
 
 * Malwa opium is looked upon in the medical world as 
 ' being a very reliable drug. 
 
 " After the opium crop has been obtained, the cap- 
 ' sules are collected, crushed, and the seed gathered. 
 ' From this a yellowish oil is extracted, much used by 
 ' the natives for burning and cooking purposes. The 
 
 * seeds themselves have no narcotic properties, and enter 
 ' into the ingredients of curries, and in some parts a 
 ' sort of bread is made from them. 
 
 " Opium in its crude form is largely consumed by 
 ' the cultivators themselves, but not, as far as I am 
 ' aware, to much excess. I have often asked why they 
 ' took it, and the answer has invariably been that it 
 ' made them feel happy, and that they were only by it 
 
 * able to do their day's work. 
 
 " Opium has been called the gift of God to man, 
 ' and its many uses in alleviating human suffering 
 ' justify the expression ; but the miserable wrecks of 
 ' humanity one sees from its abuse remind one forcibly 
 ' how a cT-ood may be turned to an evil, a blessing to a 
 ' curse. 
 
 '•'Mhow, May 8, 1889."
 
 INDEX.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ahutilon avicenna;, 22, 169 
 
 Agencies at Ch'ung-k'ing, Mercantile, 
 
 213 
 Agents at Cli'ungk'ing, Britisli, 217 
 Agriculture in Ylin-nan, 205 
 Alba cera, 1S9 
 Aleurites conlata, 18 
 Alien races, 123 
 Alpenstocks, Buddhist, 176 
 Amherst pheasants, 134 
 Ammunition, 8tone, 66 ; Pho, 227 
 Andrew, Mr. George, 134 
 Anliui, 190 
 Aniline dyes, 83 
 
 Animals, Cliiuese cruelty to, 44, 64 
 An-ning Chou, 56, 140, 143 
 An-ning River, no, iii, 114, 116, 191, 
 
 192, 195 
 An-pien, 1S5 
 An-p'ing Ilsien, 37, 38 
 An-shun Fu, 35, 3S, 39, 40 
 Aquatic plants, 1 7 
 A rachis hypogoea, 83 
 Arbre, Meinoire sur la cire d', iSo 
 Archways, Memorial, 39, 45, 71, 84 
 Armadillo skins, 91 
 Arum aquaticwii, 163 
 Asbestos cloth, 106 
 Ash, 170, 197 
 Atlas Sinensis, Novus, 189 
 
 Baber, Mr., 70, 104, 105, 112, 113, ivj, 
 
 133, '34, 140, 172, 190, 19', 192 
 Bamboo, 22, 87, 73, 82, 84, 88, 89, 160, 
 
 16 !, 165, 167 ; hats, 44 ; paper, 19 
 Bangles, 38 
 
 Banyan, 22, 72, 82, 163, 171, 184 
 Bark paper, 153 
 Barley, 16, 36, 37, 40, 50, 59 
 Barrow, Chinese, 89 
 Batatas edulis, 169 
 Beads, 124, 136 
 
 J5ean-c\uxl, 68 ; bcan-sanco, 169 
 Beans, 12, 22, 25, 37,68, 71, 72, S2, 113, 
 
 115, 125, 126, 141, 149, 163, 165, 
 
 167, 172 
 Bedroom, Description of a Chinese, Si 
 Beech, 88 
 Bees, no 
 Bees' wax, 136 
 
 Beetle, Wax insect, 193, 197 
 
 Beggars, 40, 85, 91, 172, 175 
 
 Bells of pack-animals, 67 
 
 Bhamo, 55, 139, 204, 205 
 
 ]}irthday, Queen's, 51 
 
 lilakiston. Captain, 8, 16 
 
 Blue Books, 217 
 
 Boehmeria nivea, 73 
 
 Botanist's paradise. A, 135 
 
 Bracelets, 230 
 
 Brachijtarsus, 193, 194 
 
 Bracken, 37, 72 
 
 Bramble, 129 
 
 Brick tea, 93, 95, 209 ; its picking, 
 value and carriage, 93-95 ; cjvrriors, 
 20, 94, 99 ; preparatiiin, 93 ; Rus- 
 sian, 95 ; standard of sale, 94 ; 
 three qualities of brick tea, 94 ; 
 transport, 94, 209 
 
 Bridges, 48, 62, 67, 84, 90, 91, 93, 97, 
 143, '.'^2, 153, 158, 166, 167, 177, 
 181 ; lloating, 93 ; natural, 48, 62, 
 154 ; plank, 97 j suspension, 67 
 
 Bristles, Pigs', 90 
 
 I5riu.s, 125 
 
 J ironze pagodas, 174, 175 ; temple, 17} 
 
 Brooches, 96, 230 
 
 Broumton, Mr., 226 
 
 lirouAsonetia jnipyrifera, 1 5 3 
 
 Buckwheat, 45, 48, 59, 149, 169 
 
 Buddha, 171, 175 
 
 IJudtlha. Glory of, 162, 174-175, 177 
 
 Buddha s hand, 32 ; tree, 100 
 
 Buddhist alpenstocks, 176 ; priests, 172, 
 175 ; temples, 173, 175 
 
 BufTalo, White wax, 193 
 
 Bud'aloes, 37, 124 
 
 Bugs, 151 
 
 Burmah, 34, 56, 138, 145, 157, 296. 
 Upper, 138, 203 ; trade with China, 
 125, 139, '45 
 
 Caotos, 43, 100, 128 
 Caindu, 112, 122 
 Cakes, Insect- wax, 191 
 Cakes, Poppy-soed, 37 
 Camel, 140 
 Canii'llia (hea, 56 
 Canals, Irrigating, SS, 171 
 Candles, Wax, 191
 
 294 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Cane-brakes, 82 
 
 Canton, ^i, 86, 144, 204, 205 ; Canton 
 
 peddlers, 139; Can ton province, 
 
 142 ; Canton lliver, 41 
 Carajan, Western, 129, 130 
 Caravan, 14, 67, 68, 70, 142, 148. 14V7, 
 
 162, 179, 183 
 Carcases of pack-animals, 64 
 Carp, 137 
 
 Cartlunnus tinciorius, 83 
 
 Carts, 32, 46, 55,66, 121, 149 
 
 Cash cnrrency, 1 5 
 
 Cassia, 113 
 
 Catastrophe, A mining, 154 
 
 Cave dwellings, 168, 170 ; exploring, 
 47 ; limestone, 40, 154 ; ]Man-tzii 
 caves, 16S ; of the spirits, 42 
 
 Cement, A natural, 165 
 
 Central Provinces of China, 160, 222 
 
 Cereals : — 
 Barley, 16, 36, 40, 50, 59 
 Buckwheat, 45, 48, 59, 149, 169 
 Indian corn, or maize, 68, 113, 149, 
 
 163, 172 
 Millet, 163 
 
 Oats, 45, 47, 48, 59, 149 
 Rice, 15, 36, 68, 113, 163, 224 
 Wheat, 12, 22, 25, 36, 37, 40, 46, 50, 
 59, 71, 82, 99, 113, 115, 128, 141, 
 147, 149 
 Chair coohes, 14; Hongs, 15 
 Chambers of Commerce :— Bengal, 22 • ; 
 Manchester, 202; Shanghai, 190, 
 217 
 Ch'ang— a Chinese measure of distance, 
 
 lOI 
 
 Chan-i Chou, 40, 5°, 5i, H5, H7 
 Chan-i-Chou Plain, 147, 14^-149 
 Chanseaume, Pere, 1S9 
 Chao-t'ung Fu, 65, 145, 155, 222; 
 
 Lake, 65 ; Plain, 65, 66, 152, 222 
 Ch'ao Chou, 140 
 Chao-chou Fu, 142 
 Charcoal, 78, 84 
 Chef 00 Agreement, 2, 8, 210, 211, 212, 
 
 216 
 Che-kiang, 73, ^9'=>, 287 
 Chen-nan Chou, 140 
 Chen-ning Chou, 40, 41 
 Ch'eng Hal, 125 
 
 Ch'eng-tu Fu, 70, 85-87, 89, 92, 144 
 Ch'eng-tu Plain, 84, 88 
 Ch'i-chiang Hsien, 19, 20, 21, 22 
 Ch'i-chiang River, 20, 24, 208 
 Ch'i-hsmg River, 153 ; Bridge, 153 
 Clii-kan-shih, 186 
 Chia-ling River, 12, 71, 162, 163, 164, 
 
 168, 208, 209 
 Chiang-ti, 64, 65 
 
 Chia-ting Fu, 2r, 87, 10 1, 102, 162, 170, 
 177, 178, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197 
 
 Chien-ch'ang, 70, 87, 99, 102, iii, 112, 
 192, 193, 195, 196; Valley, 115, 140, 
 192, 194, 195, 197, 200, 209 
 
 Chien Chou, 83 ; Plain, 83, 84 
 
 Chien-wei ILsien, 195 
 
 "Chih Yiin-nan K'u," 46 
 
 Chihli, 85, 190 
 
 Ch'ih-shui Ilslin, 156 
 
 Ch'ih-shui River, 28, 155, 208 
 
 Chimneyless houses, 51, 52 
 
 Chin-chi Pass, 92 
 'Chin Chiang, iii, 124, 126, 184, 20/1 
 
 'Chiu-chiani:-kai, 126, 127 
 
 Chin-sha Chiang, 69, 204 
 
 Chin-yin-shan, 154 
 
 China, Commercial Metropolis of, 13 ; 
 grass, 163 ; Inland Mission, 5^;, 
 
 144, 226; "Nouvelle Relation de 
 la Chine," 189; Old Commercial 
 Highway in, 31 ; root, 106 ; South 
 Western, 57, 203, 224 ; trade, 203 ; 
 Western, i, 2, 8, 57, 60, 76, 87, 95, 
 iir, 114, 117, 139, 143, 145, 171, 
 190, 201, 203, 210, 212, 216, 217, 
 22c, 22 r, 223, 224, 225, 287. 
 
 Ch'ing-chen Hsien, 36, 37 
 
 Ch'ing-ch'i Hsien, 9S-99 
 . Ching-liu River, 167 
 
 Ch'mg-lung Hai, 141 
 
 Ching-mu tree, 88 
 
 Ching-shui River, i So 
 
 Ch'ing T'an Rapid, Descent of the, 
 9-11 
 
 Chiu-ya-p'ing, 124 
 
 Chiung Chou, 90, 91, 92, 93 
 
 Chou-pa-ch'ang, iSo, 181 
 
 Ch'u-lisiung Fu, 142 
 
 Ch'ung-kmg, 2, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 
 16, 22, 31, 51, 69, 70, 7:, 72, 134, 
 135, 142, 145, 156, 15S, 160, 162, 
 168, 178, 185, 187, iSS, 193, 195, 
 209, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 
 
 218, 219, 220, 222, 220 
 
 Ch'ung-shu (or "Insect Tree") 192 
 
 Ch'ung-tu-ch'ang, 1S3, 184 
 
 Citrus sacrodact ylus, 100 
 
 Civility, Chinese, 48 
 
 Civil War, Ravages of, 38, 1 27-1 28, 
 
 145, 205 
 Clays, Coloured, 150 
 
 Coal, 6, 16, 24, 28, 36, 42, 44, 48, 65, 
 72, 75, 83, 95, 97, 122, 150, 152, 
 157, 163, 166, 207, 220; di-st as 
 fuel, 29 
 
 Coccus pe-la, 193, 194, I99 
 
 Cocoons, 21, 193 
 
 Coir, 8, 175
 
 INDEX. 
 
 295 
 
 C<jlquhoun, Mr., 55, 203, 221 
 Commerce, Bengal Clmmber of, 221 ; 
 
 iMaiicliester Chaiiil)er of, 202 ; 
 
 Shanghai Clianiber of, 190, 217 
 Commissioner, Financial, 154 
 Competitive Examinations in Ciiina, 
 
 147-14S 
 " Co7nptes Rendus,' 189 
 Confucius, 90 
 Conservative character of the Chinese, 
 
 212 
 Consular Otticer at Ch'ung-k'ing, 2, 13 
 Contempt for foreigners, Chinese olli- 
 
 cial, 53 
 Copper, 24, 49, 60, 96, 102, 113, 119, 
 
 120, 152, 154, 205, 207, 221 
 Coptis teeta, 95 
 Cormorant fishing, no 
 Cotton, 76, 89, 100, 102, 113, 126, iCo 
 
 164, 166, 169, 209, 222 ; foroign 
 
 cottons, 34, 160, 209 ; native cot- 
 tons, 64, 76, 160, 209 
 "Country of the Golden Teeth," 138 
 Courtesy, 134; marked Chinese, 142 
 " Crackling-llea Tree," 192 
 Crampoons, 97 
 Cucumbers, 167 
 Cudrania triloba, 21, 169 
 Customs, Chinese Imperial Maritime, 
 
 200 
 Cypress, 22, 84 
 
 Date tuke, ico 
 
 Davenpt)rt, Mr., 140 
 
 Daw.son, Lieutenant, 217 
 
 Dcers' horns, 91 
 
 Defences, Native, 66 
 
 Degrees, Chinese, 148 
 
 Deity, A roadside, 157 
 
 Devotees, 42 
 
 Dice, 72 
 
 Diet, Chinese, 20 
 
 Dinner, A sumptuous, 52 
 
 Discomforts of travel, 15, 39, 61, 63, 64, 
 
 114, iiS, 128, 141, 149, 163, 180, 
 
 1S2, 183, 1 84, 225 
 Dog, Tribute to my, 52 
 Dogs, Tibetan, 134 
 "Dragon-Prince" temple, 41 
 Duck, Wild, 53, 141, 144, 166 
 Dyes, 83,96, 113 
 Dysentery, 188 
 
 Eak-iiinos, 38, 39, 96, 124, 230 
 •Earthquake in the IMain of Chien- 
 ch'ang, 112 
 Eastei'n export. Chief articles of, 208 
 El Dorado, A Chine.se, 115 
 Entomology, Chinese, 194 
 
 Erli Ilai, 129, 132 
 
 Escorts, 33, 37, 41, 48, S3, 98, 107, 109, 
 
 143, 177, 170, i8t, 183 
 " Eternal Peace " Bridge, 65 
 Ethnology of non-Chinese races, 225 
 Europe, 208 
 
 Evaporation (salt) shed.s, 78 
 " Evergreen Tree," 192 
 Examinations in China, Competitive, 
 
 147-148 
 Exchange in China, 13 
 Expedition (1861), Upper Yaug-tszo, 
 
 184, 220 
 
 Fair at Ta-li Fu, 134, 230 
 
 Fan i)alm, 163, 167 
 
 Fans, 73 
 
 Father, A sporting French 3Iissionary, 
 
 60-6 1 
 Fatsia papyrifera, 22 
 Feathers, Novel use of, 72 
 Feng-tu lisien, 209 
 F(M-ry-boats, 1 56 
 Fever, io8, 12!^, 177, 179, 180 
 Financial Commissioner of Viin-nan, 
 
 154 
 
 Fir, 22, 44, 88, 128, 163, 166, 167, 180 
 
 Fire-wells, 80 
 
 Fish, 17, 53, 66, 137, 168 
 
 Fishing in the Yang-t.sze, Method of, 18 
 
 Floating bridge, 93 
 
 " Flying Dragon " Pa.ss, 95 
 
 Folklore, 139 
 
 Food of the Cliinese, Daily, 1 5 
 
 Fording a torrent, 62 
 
 Foreign Otiicc, 161, 190, 191 
 
 Fortune, 11., 190 
 
 Fossils, 43 
 
 France, 20S, 212 
 
 Fraxinus Chinensi.% 169, 197 
 
 French Bishop, 55 ; Conuuission, 130 ; 
 Consul. 50; liospitality, 60-61, 
 124 ; the French in Toniiuin, 2 
 
 Friar's fialsam, 92 
 
 Frogs, Bull, 166 
 
 Fruit trees, 116; Wild, no 
 
 Fruits :— date, 94, 100 ; melon.s, 163, 
 167 ; orange, 94 ; orange gruvcs, 
 84, 163 ; pear, 94, 100, 1 16 ; straw- 
 berry, 22 ; walnut, 149 
 
 Fu Chiang River, 164 
 
 Fu Clmu, 31, 209 
 
 Fu-kuan-ts'un, 185 
 
 Fu-lin, 100 
 
 Fu-lu-rhang, 178 
 
 Fu-shuii lisien, 76 
 
 Fu t'ou-kuaii, 12, 24, 163 
 
 Fuel, Coal-dust, 29 
 
 Fuhkien, 190, 201
 
 296 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Gall-nuts, 31 
 
 Geese, 144 
 
 Gill, Captain, 8, 190 
 
 Ginijalls, 178 
 
 Ginger, 163 
 
 Ginseng, 176 
 
 Glory of JJiiddlia, 162, 174-175, 177 
 
 Goats, 59, 123, 124 
 
 Goitre, 49, 52, 115, 116 
 
 Gold, 154 
 
 Gold-silver- Mountain, 1 54 
 
 "Golden River" {Oliin-Ohiang), iii, 
 
 126, 184, 191, 192 
 "Golden Summit," 174, 175 
 " Golden Teeth," Country of the, 13S 
 Gorges of the Yang-tsze, 7, 8, 9, 30, 
 
 214,215,217 
 Governor - Generals, or Viceroys, in 
 
 China, 8, 
 Governor of Kuei-chow, 33 
 Graduates, Chinese, 148 
 " Granary " Gorge, 9 
 Granite, 29 ; granite foundations of 
 
 houses, 126 
 Grass, China, 163 ; cloth, 73, 75, 164, 
 
 169; plains, ^7, 43 
 Gravestones, 129 
 Great Khan, The, i 
 Great River (Upper Yang-tsze), The, 
 
 16, 71, 207 
 Great Wall, The, 44 
 Greed, Chinese, 44 
 Grooves, Trade, 212 
 Grosvenor Mission, 57, 68, 134, 140 
 Ground-nuts, S3, 169 ; ground-nut oil,83 
 Guard-houses, 33, 107, loS, 109 
 Guerilla warfare against the Lolos, iSi 
 
 Hailstorm, Terrific, 36, 1 16 
 
 Hainan, 190 
 
 Hai-t'ang, 104, 106 
 
 Hallett, Mr., 203 
 
 Han Dynasty, Minor, Si 
 
 Hanbury, Daniel, 190 
 
 Hang-chou, iiS, 119, 120 ; Valley, 119 
 
 Hankow, 2, 3, 1 1, 34, 95, 173, 206, 211, 
 
 212, 218, 219 
 Harpies, Official, 85 
 Hats, Bamboo, 44 ; Straw, 142 
 Hawthorn, 155 
 Heads, Exposed, 58 
 " Heaven-born-bridge," 1 54 
 " Heaven's Bridge," 154 
 Hei (or Black) Miao, 226 
 Hei-wu Hai-tzu, 125 
 Hemp, 22, 68, 163, 169 ; hen)pen 
 
 clothes, 152 
 Heng River, 67, 68, 15S, 160, 1S5, 204 
 Hides, 20S 
 
 Highwaymen's punishment, 58 
 
 llo-cliiang llsieu, 156 
 
 Ho Chou, 162, 163, 164, 166 ; Plain, 164 
 
 Ho-hsi, 116 
 
 Ho-pei Hsiin, 156 
 
 Ho-pien Hsiin, 117 
 
 Hodgson, Mr., 105 
 
 Hogs' tusks, 1 24 
 
 Holkar, The Maharajah, 289 
 
 Honeysuckle, 22 
 
 Hooker, Sir Joseph, 191 
 
 Horse-boy's death, 18S 
 
 Horse-pistol, 139, 187 
 
 Horses, 38 
 
 Hosie, Dr., 288 
 
 Hou-p'o, The drug, 95 
 
 Hsi Chiang (or West River), 204 
 
 Hsi-tsang, 130 
 
 Hsia-kuan, 136, 138, 139 
 
 Hsiao HsiangLing Pass, 108, 109 
 
 Hsiao-kuan, 97 
 
 Hsiao-shao, 108, 109 
 
 Hsin-ching Hsien, 89, 90 
 
 Hsin-p'ai-fang, 71 
 
 Hsing-lung-ch'ang, 167 
 
 Hsii-chou Fu (or Sui Fu), 9, 57, 67, 69, 
 
 155, 160, 162, 185, 187, 18S, 220 
 Hsli-yung T'ing, 155, 15S 
 Hsiian-wei Chou, 150, 15c 
 Hsiieh-shan range, 156, 157 
 Hua (or Coloured) Miao, 228 
 Hu-kwang, 189 
 Huang-chia-p'ing, 128 
 Huang-kuo-shu, 41 
 Huang-hen, The drug, 95 
 Huang-ni-p'u, 97, 98 
 Huang-sha, 198 
 Huang-shui-k'ou, 68 
 Hui-li Chou, 114 
 Hui-lung-ch'ang, 124 
 Hunan, 28, 35, 40, 1S9, 190 ; brave.?, iSi 
 Hung River, 67 
 Hupeh, 28, 189, 209 
 
 IcHANG, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8,9, II, 18, 210, 2ir, 
 212, 213, 214, 2x5, 217, 218, 219 
 
 I-li River, 60 
 
 Immigrants, Chinese, 28, 145, 207 
 
 Imperial Palace, Tea for the, 93 
 
 Indian Corn, or iruiize, 68, 113, 149, 
 163. 172 
 
 Indian Empire, 2, 140, 203, 204 ; Opium 
 cultivation in Western Malwa, In- 
 dia, 288- 290 
 
 Indigo, 163 
 
 Indore, 289 
 
 Inns, 85, 92, 97, 104, 106, 113, 139, 
 142, 149, 180, 184, r85 ; poetical 
 description of, 25
 
 I\DEX. 
 
 297 
 
 Inquisitiveness, Cliinese, 34, 52, M'. 
 150 
 
 Insect White Wax :— 35, 102, 1 14, 120, 
 141, 161, 170, 195, 261 ; tree, 16 >, 
 170, 171, 17^, '9'> 192; culture, 
 trees, insects, uses and value, J S j- 
 201 
 
 Inventiveness, Cliinese, 96 
 
 Iron, 24,31,95, 97, 1 13, '21, 15°, '66, 
 174, 207 ; briik^es, 30-31 ; pans, 
 
 24, S9, 97 
 Irrawaildy, River, 204 
 Irrigation, Ingeu'.jus, 26, 121 
 
 Jen-iiuai River, 208 
 Julien, Stanislaus, 189 
 Jumna, River, 2SS 
 Juncus effasua, 92 
 Jung-ch'ang ILsien, 72, 75, 167 
 Jung-ching llsien, 93, 97 
 Jung-ching River, 97 
 
 Ka-tou tiube, 22S ; tongue, 229 
 
 Kan-shui, 24 
 
 Kao-cli'iao, 144 
 
 Kao-shan-p'u, 156 
 
 Keppel, Admiral, 217 
 
 Kerosene oil, 200 
 
 Kew, Royal Gardens at, 161, 192, 193 
 
 Khan, The Great, i 
 
 Ki— a masical instrument of the Plio, 
 
 231 
 Kilts, J^Iiao-tzii, 24, 230 
 K'o-tu River, 151, 152 
 Ku-lu Rivor, 27 
 Ku-tsung tribe, 130, 134, 224 
 Ku-yii tea, 93-94 
 Kiian-ai Customs barrier, 31 
 Kiiau-tzu-yaa, 45 
 Kuang-t'ung llsien, 140 
 Kuei-chow, 2, 14, 16, 19, 20, 2r, 22, 24, 
 
 28, 31, 32, 39, 40, 41. 45. 48, 59. 
 
 76, 94, 96, 115, 145, 150, 151, 152, 
 
 153. 155, 156, J 60, 190, 203, 206, 
 
 207, 219, 220, 221, 222, 224, 226, 
 
 227, 228 
 E'uei-chow Fu (K'uei Fu), 209, 214, 
 
 217, 220 
 Kuei-yang Fu, 32, 33, 34, 36, 44, 145, 
 
 147, 207, 226 
 K'un ming llsien, 56, 155 
 K'lni-niing Lake, 56 
 l\.uu;,'-t'an River, 31, 208 
 Kuo-chin-ch'ang, 142 
 • Kwang-si, 43, 49, '^9- 203 
 
 La-kou, 198 
 La sha, 198 
 Laiyuan-p'u, 149, 15^ 
 
 hakes :— Chao-fuuLS 65 ; Ching-lung, 
 141 ; Sung-ming, 53 ; Yiin nan, 
 53, 56 ; Lake of the lilack Mist, 
 125 
 
 Lau-ma-lu, 157 
 
 Lan-tsang River, 139 
 
 Lang-t'ai T'ing, 41, 42 
 
 Lang-wang-.sli:i)i, 42 
 
 Lao-chiin-tung, Temple of, 16 
 
 Lao- wa- tan or Lao-ya-t'an, 67, 6S 
 
 Lead, 50, 64, 1 52, 205 
 
 Leguilcher, Pere, 130, 142 
 
 " Leather " paper, wrongly called, 153 
 
 " Lettres Kdijicantea" 1JJ9 
 
 Li — a Chinese measure of distance, 1 56 
 
 Li-clnangFu, 130, 221 
 
 Li-su— a Man-tzu tribe, 1 24 
 
 Liang-shui-ching, 63 
 
 Licentiates, Chinese, 148 
 
 Lien-ch'ieu-tzu, 160 
 
 Life-boats, 10 
 
 Liguslrmnlucidum, 121, 192, 193, 194, 
 
 195, 199 
 
 Likin, 213, 216, 219 
 
 Limestone, 16, 28,48, 151, 163, 166 
 
 " Lion's Bridge," 75 
 
 Lions, Stone, 45 
 
 Little, Mr., 8 
 
 Liu-sha River, ico 
 
 Lolos, 55, 59, 66, 1C2, 103, IC4, 105, 
 106, loS, no, 123, 162, 179, iSi, 
 182,224, 225, 2jO ; a Chinese army 
 destroyed by the, 107 ; deputation 
 of, I2'3; dress of tlie, 106, no; 
 frequent raids of the, 107 ; orna- 
 mentsof the, 107 ; weapons of the, 
 104 
 
 London, 14S 
 
 Looms, 89, 164 
 
 Lu Choii, 20, 72, 154, 155, 158, i6q 
 
 Lu-feng llsien, 140, 143 
 
 Lu-feng Rridge, 143 
 
 Lu-feng Plain, 143 
 
 Lu-ku, no, 115 
 
 Lumber, 164 
 
 Lung-ch'ang llsien, 75 
 
 Lung-ch'ang, Mines nejir, 75 
 
 Lung-tung, 99 
 
 Ma, Imperialist Commanuei;, 133 
 Ma-kai, qo 
 Ma-lung\'liou, 51, 52 
 Ma-pien River, 180, 181 
 Ma-picn T ing, 177, 180, 181, 182 
 Magalhaes, Gabriel do, 189 
 Md'jnolid up., 95 
 
 Maize (or Indian corn), 68, 113. ivh 
 163. 172 
 I Mahva, Western. 288
 
 298 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Man-i-ssu, 184 
 
 M.au-tzii, 122, 130, 179, 225, 226; 
 cuves, 168 ; ornaments, 124 ; tribes, 
 123, 124; turbans, 124; women, 
 123-124 
 
 Manchester Chaml)cr of Commerce, 202 
 
 Manuring, A new method of, 45 
 
 Mao-cliien tea, 94 
 
 Mao-ii'ou, 43 ; River, 43 
 
 Marble quarries, 134, 135, 148 
 
 March, A forced, 182 
 
 I\lar.£?ary, A. 11., 34, 47, 57, 140 
 
 Maritime Customs, Chinese Imperial, 
 
 200 
 
 Market- towns, 21, 71 
 
 Martini, 1S9 
 
 Marvellous, Fact mixed with the, 161 
 
 McLachlan, Mr., 193 
 
 Medicines, 91, 92, 113, 117, 164, 176, 
 208 ; Chinese distrust of foreign, 92 
 
 Mekong, 139, 204 
 
 Melons, 163, 167 
 
 Memorial portals, 7 1 
 
 " Memoire sur la cire d'arbre," 1S9 
 
 Meng-shan Hills, 93 
 
 ]Meng-tzii Hsien, 50, 142 
 
 Mesny, Mr., 144 
 
 Metals : — copper, 24, 49, 60, 96, 102, 
 113, 119, 120, 152, 154, 205, 207, 
 221 ; gold, 154 ; iron, 24, 31, 95, 
 97, 113, 121, 150, 166, 174, 207 ; 
 lead, 50, 64, 152, 205 ; quicksilver, 
 207 ; silver, 15, 151, 152, 154 ; 
 tin, 66. 142, 205 ; zinc, 113 
 
 Metamorphosis, Wax insect, 190, 199 
 
 Mhow, 28S 
 
 Mi-tsang (or "Granary ") Gorge, 9, 214 
 
 Miao, Hei (or black), 226 
 
 Miao, Hua (or coloured), 22S 
 
 Miao-tzu, 24, 28, 29, 32, 37, 3S, 152, 
 206, 224, 227, 228, 229, 230 ; dress, 
 152, 230 ; ornaments, 230 
 
 Mien-lma-ti, 124 
 
 Mien-shan, no 
 
 Mien-tien, 51 
 
 Millet, 163, 169, 172 
 
 M ills. Water, 88 
 
 Miri River, 69, 76, 87, 89, 91, loi, 102, 
 162, 168, 169, 170, 174, 196, 208 
 
 Min-chia tribe, 130 ; maidens, 136 
 
 Ming Dynasty, 112, 174 
 
 Ming-shan District, 92 
 
 Ming-shan Hsien, 91, 92, 93 
 
 Mining in China, 75, 154, 205 
 
 Missionaries and Mission Stations : — 
 55, 60, 113, 124, 130, 134, 142, 
 143, 144, 190, 226 ; Les Missions 
 Etiangeres de I'aris, 55; China 
 Inland Mission, 55, 144, 226 
 
 Mo-ni-cii'ang, 157 
 
 Mohanunedan Rebellion. 54, 125, 127, 
 
 132, 205 ; cemetery, 71, 130 ; 
 
 leailer, Tu Wen-hsiu, 133 
 MohanHuedan.s, 55, 134 
 Monkeys, 176 
 Morphia, 290 
 Mu-kua-shao, 151 
 Mulberry, 21, 22, 71, 100, 113, 114, 
 
 163, 165, 181 
 Mules, 49, 96, 117 
 
 Musical Instruments of the Phij, 230- 
 , 231 
 Musk, 117, 20S ; false, 136 
 
 Na-cii'i-Hsien, 39, 160 
 
 Nan-ching-kai, 104 
 
 Nan Ho River, 91, 92 
 
 Nan-k'ou Pass, 44 
 
 Nan-kuang, 69 ; River, 67, CS, 15S, 
 160, 208 
 
 Nationalities, Diflerent, 55 
 
 " Natural Bridge," 62, 154 
 
 Nature, A child of, 157 
 
 Nei-chiang Hsien, 168, 169 
 
 New Year, The Chinese, 72 
 
 Ni-tien-ch'ang, iSi 
 
 Ning-yuau Fu, 87, 96, 108, iii, 112, 
 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, iiS, 192 ; 
 Lake of, 112 ; Plain, no, 115 
 
 Niu-erh (or white wax beetle), 193 
 
 Niu-lan River, 64, 65 
 
 Non-Chinese Villages, 38 
 
 Novel plan to prevent animal depreda- 
 tions, A, 72 
 
 0-ME[ Hsien, 170, 171, 177, 179 
 
 0-mei, jMount, 162, 170, 172, 175, 196 ; 
 Excursion to, 171-177 ; Plain, 178 
 
 Oak, 28, 29, 30, 44, 125, 12S, 140, 163, 
 167, 180 
 
 Oats, 45, 47, 48, 59, 149 
 
 Obstruction, Otlicial, 177 
 
 Octroi, 219 
 
 Ohio, Petroleum used for street-lighting 
 in, 79 
 
 Open ports in China, 216 
 
 Opium, 5, 6, 8, II, 16, 17, 21, 29, 32, 
 39, 40, 41, 57, 83, 139, 148, 157, 
 169, 185, 208, 213, 287 ; oil from 
 opium capsules, 293 ; Note on 
 oinum cultivation iu Western Mal- 
 wa, India, 28S-290 
 
 Orange groves, 84, 163 
 
 Originality, Chinese, 96 
 
 Ornaments, Silver, 99, no 
 
 Otter-fishing, 16S 
 
 Oxen, 38
 
 IXDEX. 
 
 299 
 
 Pa-:hijma cocos, 106 
 
 Pack-animals, Ornaments of, 135 
 
 Paddy-land, 40, 72, 84, 163, 165, 166, 
 167, 169 ; planting, 58 
 
 Pagodas, 84, 136, 164, "174, 175 
 
 Pai-chang-ch'ang (or Pai-chang-yi), 91, 
 92 
 
 Pai-cliang valley, 91 
 
 Pai-la-shu (or white wax tree), 197 
 
 l*ai-shui, 48, 49, 50 ; River, 41 
 
 Pai-yen-ching, 115, 122 ; salt wells, 
 121-122 
 
 Pai-yi (a Man-tzii tribe), 124 
 
 Palace, Tea for the Imperial, 93 
 
 Palm, 22, 163, 167 ; palm-coir, 175 
 
 Pan-pien-ch'ing, 61 
 
 Panorama, A magnificent, 129, 136 
 
 Pans, Iron, 24, 79 
 
 Pao-ke-ts'ao-slui, 192 
 
 Paper, bamboo, 19; bark, 153; straw, 
 25 ; factories, 19 
 
 Parasites, Soldier, 86 
 
 Parliamentary Papci-.s on China, 2 ; 
 on Insect White Wax, 191 
 
 Passports, 18 
 
 Pear, Prickly, 117 
 
 Pear trees, 94, 100, 116 
 
 Pearls, 112, 113 
 
 Peas, 12, 71, 82 
 
 Peculation, Ollicial, 49 
 
 Peking, 29, 86, 93, 148, 154 
 
 Pe-so T'ing, 49, 204 
 
 Petroleum, 79 
 
 Pharni'iceiitical Jourivil, 190 
 
 Pharmacoptjeia, The Chinese, 91 
 
 Pheasants, 44 ; Amherst, 134, 141 
 
 Ph5 : — 224, 226-231 ; amnuinition of 
 the, 227 ; annual religious gather- 
 ing of the, 230 ; dress of the, 230 ; 
 language, 22S-229 ; language and 
 vocabularies, 231-2S5 ; language • 
 dying out, 227 ; music and (hincing, 
 231 ; musical instruments, 230- 
 231 ; ornaments of the, 230 ; 
 struggle between the Chinese and 
 the, 227 ; women, 231 
 
 Pi-chi-kuan, 144 
 
 Pi-chieh Ilsien, 153, 1^4, i55 
 
 Pictuios on white marble, 135-136 
 Pig, A familiar, 63 
 Pigeons, 42 
 
 Pilgrims, 170, 171, 175 ; at their devo- 
 tions, 175 
 Pilot, A river, 186 
 
 Pines, 59, 82, 91, no, 116. 119, 124, 
 125, 136, 140, 172, 173; iioards. 
 102, 114; forests, 122, 175 ; sprouts, 
 114 
 
 P'ing-i Ilsien, 46, 47, 48 
 
 P'ing-pa, 103 
 
 P'ing-shan Ilsien, 185, 220 
 
 " Pinnacle Pagoda," IJlakiston's, 16 
 
 I'ith jiajier, 22 ; plant, 22 
 
 Pits, Clay, 150 
 
 Plague, Yun-nan, 12S 
 
 P"o-kung, 41 
 
 Polo, Marco, 112, 122, 126, 129 
 
 Ponies, 39, 44, 49, 50, 51, 59, 61, 66, 85, 
 89, 96, 109, 117, 124 
 
 Pony, The Yiin-nan, 50 
 
 P(ippy, II, 12, 16, 25, 27, 28, 32, 36, 
 37, 40, 46, 48, 59, 71, 84, 99, 113, 
 115, 125, 126, 128, 129, 132, 141, 
 149, 155, 165, 287, 288 ; extractioi\ 
 of the juice, 17 
 
 Potatoes, 48, 51, 59, 149, 169, 175 
 
 Poverty around Ch'ing-cheii, 37 
 
 Poverty and riches always hand in 
 hand, 84 
 
 Powder, Miao-tzu, 227 
 
 Prayer, A dying patriot's, 133 
 
 Press, Native. 33 
 
 Prince, The White, 138 
 
 Prisoner, A distinguished, 89 
 
 Privet, 116, 121, 192 
 
 Proclamation, A Chinese, 154-15', 
 
 Provisions, Tinned, 16 
 
 Public street-lighting in China, 200 
 
 P'u-Orh Fu, 55, 56 ; tea, 56, 64, 66 
 
 Pumelo, 22, 82 
 
 " Pure soluble scarlet," 83 
 
 Quarters. Stranok, 149 
 Queen's Birthday, Tiie, 51, 149 
 Quicksilver, 207 
 
 Races, Non-Chinese, 224, 225 
 
 Railways, 65, 146, 157 
 
 Rain-coat incident, 58 
 
 Rainstorm, A tremendous, 149 
 
 Ramie fibre, 73 
 
 Rai)e, 16, 37, 71, 82, 99 ; oil, 164 
 
 Rapids, 8, 9, n, 159, 180, 185, 187, 
 
 206, 214, 217, 2:8, 219, 220 
 Ilathonis, V\-vq, 190 
 Jled River, The, 204 
 Reed fences, 114 
 Refuges, Stune, 38, 66 
 Rest-iiouse-;, Utlicial, 33 
 Revenue, Board of, 155 
 Review of Chinese troops, 134 
 Revolver, AilvanUigo of being armed 
 
 with a, 119 
 Uh'iminis .y)., 96 
 Rhubarb, 208 
 lihus vernici/era, 164
 
 300 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Rico, 1=;, 36, 68, 11;, 123 ; Ijiotli, 184 ; 
 
 field?, 17, 45, 58, 88, 163, 196, 224 ; 
 
 hulling, 27, 88 ; niills, 88 ; paper, 
 
 22 ; paper manufacture, 23 
 Richtliofen, liaron von, 70, 90, 190 
 Rings, 38, 230 
 Riot at Ilang-chou, 119 
 Rivers, Underground, 48, 152 
 Roads, 32, 140, 149, 183 
 Rocks, Fortress-shaped, 82 
 Romance in . Chinese topograph iral 
 
 names, 154 
 Roofs, Chinese, 100 
 Rose, Wild, 22 
 Ruins in Kuei-chow, 29 
 Rush wicks, 92 , 
 
 Saobed Mountain of Western 
 
 China, 95, 162, 170 
 Safflower, 8;^, 113, 164 
 Salt, 20, 39, 55, 64, 75, 76, 102, 115, 
 
 120, 121, 142, 144, 153, 160, 164, 
 
 207, 20S ; brine, 80 ; carriers, 20 ; 
 
 cones. III, 122; currency, 122; 
 
 evaporation, 121 ; Government 
 
 control of, 79 ; granular, 79 ; 
 
 junks, 160 ; pan, 79 ; wells, 75, 
 
 8c, 84, 87, 121, 142, 144, 168, 170 
 Salutes, Chinese, 45 
 Salweii, River, 204 
 Samaritan, A good, 182 
 Sandals, Straw, 39, 92, 104 
 Sandalwood, 171 
 Sandstone, 48, 125 
 Sapi2i7n aebiferum, 169 
 Scales, Wax insect, 192, 193, 195. 197, 
 
 200 
 School, A Chinese, 59 
 Sentries, Chinese, 109 
 Sericulture, 21, 170 ; Goddess of, 71 
 Slia-shih, 3 
 Shan States, 56, 157, 203 ; the Shans, 
 
 55, 130, 224 
 Shan-hu-shu, 63, 64 
 Slian-tung, 189 
 
 Shang-kuan, 130, 136 ; Plain, 130 
 Shanghai, 2, 24, 201, 205, 211, 212 ; 
 
 Chamber of Commerce-, 190. 217 ; 
 
 native press, ZZ 5 papers, 143 
 Shao-shang, 123 
 She-hung llsien, 73 
 She-tzix, 142 
 Sheep, 59, 124 
 Shells, I'resh-water, 137 
 Shen-ching-knan, 45 
 Shifting sands in the Yang-fsze, 3 
 Shih-ch'i-ch'ang, 186 
 Shuan-ma-ts'an, 103 
 Shuang-liu llsien, 89 
 
 Shui-p'ang-p'u, 141 
 
 Shui-t'ang-p'u, 151 ; silverniine of, 151 
 
 Shun oiling Fu, 83 
 
 Shweli River, 204 
 
 Sifans, 99, loi, 122, 222 ; reputed im- 
 morality, 102 ; language, 104-105 ; 
 modesty of the, 103 ; ornaments, 
 99 ; probably Tibetans, 1 24 ; tribes, 
 102 
 
 Signboards, Shop, 86 
 
 Silk, 30, 68, 113, 165, 169, 208, 2C9, 
 220 ; embroidery, 230 ; weaving, 
 170 
 
 Silkworm, 21 ; diet, 21 ; eggs, 21, 165 
 
 Silver, 152, 154; ingots, 15 ; mine, 151, 
 152 
 
 Sincerity, Chinese, 97 
 
 Sinensis, Novus ^Itlas, 189 
 
 Skiffs, 66 
 
 Skins, Tiger and leopard, 134 
 
 Snow, 48^ 83, 84, 97, 104, 119, 129, 132, 
 137 ; storm, 107 
 
 Soda, 125 
 
 Songkoi River, 50, 56, 143, 204 
 
 Song.s, Boat, 7, 166 
 
 Sorghum vubjare, 163 
 
 Soup-kitchens, 85 
 
 Soy, 164 
 
 Spring, A fine water, 65 
 
 Spirits, 164 
 
 Ssu-ch'uan : — 2, 3, 4, 11, 20, 28, 30, 3'i, 
 51, 61, 64, 67, 68, 70, 76, 81, 106, 
 107, 116, 121, 123, 125, 145, 155, 
 156, 157, 160, 161, 164, 167, 185, 
 190, 192, 193, 200, 203, 204, 206, 
 207, 208, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 
 215, 216, 219, 221, 222, 223, 224, 
 226 ; fertility of, 167 ; frontier, 9, 
 1 1 ; hemp, 169 ; import and export 
 trade of, 213; people, 165-166; 
 Plain, 84 ; products of, 164, 20S ; 
 Viceroy of, 14 ; waterways, 208 
 
 Stalactites, 47 
 
 Statements unreliable, Chinese, 97, 183 
 
 Steatite (or soapstone) ornaments, 201 
 
 Sterc alia platanifolia, 1 69 
 
 Stillingia sehifera, 169 
 
 Stockades, loS 
 
 Stone tablets, 71 
 
 Straw hats, 142 ; straw paper, 19 ; 
 straw sandals, 39 
 
 Strawberry, 22 
 
 Suburbs, Absence of, 30 
 
 Sugar, 76 ; factories, 75, 83 ; cane, 126, 
 169, 20S 
 
 Sui-fang tea, 94 
 
 Sui Fu, i.e., Hsii-chou Fu, 9, 57, 67, 
 69, 155, 160, 162, 185, 187, 18S, 
 220
 
 INDEX. 
 
 3<3i 
 
 Sultan at Ta-li-Fu, The so-called, 130, 
 
 133 
 Slimmer drink, A Chinese, 137 , 
 Sung-k'an, 25 
 Sung-ming Lake, 53 
 Superstition, 60, 98, 1 1 3 
 Swallows, 166 
 Sweet-briar, 129, 155 
 Sweet oil, Poppy, 37 
 Sweet potatoes, 169 
 Sweet-tea, 172-173 
 *' Switzerland," The Chinese, 206 
 
 Ta-chien-lu, 94, 99, 100 
 Ta-cli'uiig River, iii, 191 
 Ta-IIsiang-Ling Pass, 97, 99, 109 ; 
 
 ascent of the, 98 
 Ta-kuau River, 204, 208 
 Ta-kuan T'ing, 67 
 Ta-li Fu, 55, 70, 87, 114, 125, 128, 129, 
 
 130, 131, 132, 137, '38, 139,. 141, 
 142, 204, 205, 230 ; annual fair at, 
 134 ; Lake, 132, 134, 136, 137, 139, 
 140; marble quarries of, 135; 
 Plain, 132, 136, 139; ruins at, 
 138 ; siege of, 133 ; the so-called 
 "Sultan " at, 130, 133 
 
 Ta-ping River, 204 ; Valley, 205 
 
 Ta-shu-pao, 102 
 
 Ta-tsu llsien, 166, 167 
 
 Ta-tu River, iod, ioi, 103, 170, 171, 
 178, 196, 226 
 
 Ta-wang-miao, 128, 129 
 
 Taels, 4, 1 5 
 
 Tallow tree, The, 169, 181 
 
 " Tam 0' Shanters," 1 10 
 
 T'ang-t'ang, 151 
 
 Tariff Import Duty, 210 
 
 Taros, 163, 167 
 
 Tartar garrisons, 86 ; quarter at Ch'en.,'- 
 tu, 84 
 
 Taxation of foreign goods, Grinding. 
 213, 216 
 
 Tea : — Brick tea, 93, 95, 209 ; picking, 
 value, and carriage of brick tea, 
 93-95 ; brick tea carriers, 20, 94, 
 99 ; preparation of brick tea, 93 : 
 Russian l)rick tea, 95 ; standard 
 of sale of brick tea, 94 ; three 
 qualities of brick tea, 94 ; te;i fur 
 tlie Imperial palace, 93 ; tia- 
 growing districts and plantation.s, 
 68, 93. 97, 166 ; tea hongs, 94, 95 ; 
 P'u-ei ii tea, 56, 64, 66 ; sweet tea, 
 .172-173; Tibetan way of eating 
 tea, 95 
 
 Teal. 144 
 
 Te-ch'ang, 195 
 
 Tei-li-pao, 117 
 
 Temples, 15. 40, 41, 42, 71, 120, 156, 
 171, 172, 173, '74. '75; "Temple 
 of a Myriad Ages," 1 72 ; temple 
 of the Goddess of Sericulture, 71 
 
 Teng-hsian, 109 
 
 Theatrical performances, 72 
 
 Thunderstorm, A terrible, 43 
 
 Tibet, 20, 87, 93, 94, 99, 209 ; caravan, 
 117; criminal, 89; luountaius, 
 126; ornaments, 96 ; pilgrims, 95; 
 travellers, 89, 134 ; way uf eatuig 
 tea, 95 
 
 T'ien-ch'iao, 154 
 
 Tien Cli'ih Lake, 56 
 
 T'ien-ch'iian Chou, 93 
 
 T'ien-shOng-ch'iao, 154- 
 
 Tigers, t76 ; bones of, 91 
 
 Tin, 66, 142, 205 
 
 Tin^nan-pa, 182 
 
 T'o River, 72, 76, 82, 83, 167, 168, 169, 
 208 
 
 Tobacco, 68, 92, 142, 163, 164, 208 
 
 Tonquin, 2. 50, 142, 203 
 
 Torrents, MounUiin, 47, 62 
 
 Town, A deserted, 127-128 
 
 Trackers, Boat, 7-8 
 
 Trau-sit, certificates, 210, 212, 213 : 
 duty, 210 ; pass system, 210 ; regu- 
 lations, 212 ; trade, 210 
 
 Travelling :— boat, 4, 5, 7 ; discomforts, 
 15,39,61,63, 64, 114, iiS, 128, 
 141, 149, 163, 180, 182, 183, 184, 
 225 ; in China, 39 
 
 Tree-planting, Ingenious plan for, 165 
 
 Trees, Deeply embedded immense, 114 
 
 Trial, A roadside, 143 
 
 Tsang-shan range, 129. 132, 136, 137, 
 138 ; Marble quarries of the, 134 
 
 Tsuu-i Fu, 28, 29, 30 
 
 Tu-ke-t'ang. 64 
 
 Tu Wen - hsiu, The Mohammediui 
 leader, 133 
 
 Tung-ching-shu;or " Evergreen Tree "), 
 192 
 
 Tung-ch'uan Fu, 49, 59. 60, 64, 145, 
 
 155 
 Tung-ch'uan Plain, 6t, 222 
 Tung-kai-ch'ang, 178 
 T'ung-liang lisien, 166 
 T'ung-ma, 169 
 T'ung River, 170 
 Tung-t'ing Lake, 34, 206 
 T'ung-tzii IKsien, 21, zn ; valley. 26, 
 
 "28 ; tunnelling on tiie T'ling-tzu 
 
 River, 28 ; inundations, 28 
 Turbans, Man-tzu, 124 ; Miao-tzu, 
 
 24, 23c ; Sifan, 102 
 Typlioiil fever, 177 
 Tzu Chou. 82. 83
 
 302 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 T/.u-flui-n"iiig, 178, 179 
 Tzu-liu-cliiii^S 75, 76 ; salt wells, 76- 
 
 81, 87, 160, 168 
 Tz'u-yang Hsien, 83 
 
 Undehokouxd lltvKiis, 48, 152 
 '•Upper Fortress" (Shang-k'uan), 130 
 Upper Yaug-tsze Expedition (1861), 
 The, 184, 220 
 
 Vaunish tree, Tue, 164-165 
 Vegetables, 164 
 Viburnum jMebotrichicm, 1 73 
 Viceroys, or Governor - Generals, in 
 
 China, 85 
 Vin^ot, Pere, 143 
 Vocabulary, English-Pho, 273-2S5 
 
 Wa-wa, 100, ioi 
 
 Wade, Sir Thomas, 105, 227 
 
 Wahab, Mr., 55 
 
 Walnut trees, 149 
 
 Wan llsieuj 11, 209 
 
 Wan-nien-ssu, Temple of, 1 72, 1 73 
 
 Wan-wan T'an, 187 
 
 Wang-shan Temple, 42 
 
 Watch-towers, 66, 180 
 
 Water, Chinese ajjhorrence of cold, 137 
 
 Watercress, 100 
 
 Waterfall, Pai-shui, 41 
 
 Waterproof coat, A bearer and his, 58 
 
 Water-wheels, 26, 96 
 
 Wax, Insect White, 35, 102, 114, 120, 
 141, i6i, 170, 195, 261 ; tree, 169, 
 170, 171, 178, 191, 192 ; culture, 
 trees, insects, uses, and value, 189- 
 201 
 
 Weapons of the Lolos, 104 
 
 Wei-ning Chou, 152, 153, 154 ; Lake, 
 152 ; Plain, 152 
 
 Weights in China, 15 
 
 Wenchow, 287 
 
 " West of the River " (Ho-hsi), 116 
 
 West River (Canton River), 41, 43, 49, 
 50, 56, 144, 150, 204, 205 
 
 Westwood, 193 
 
 Wheat, 12, 22, 25, 36, 37, 40, 46, 47, 
 50, 59, 71, «2, 99, 113, 115, 12S, 
 141, 147, 149 ; mills, 88 ; planting 
 and tillering, 22 
 
 Whirlpools, 257 
 
 " White Prince," The, 138 
 
 White wax. Insect, 35, 102, 114, 120, 
 141, 161, 170, 195, 261 ; tree, 169, 
 170, 171, 17S, 191, 192; cultm-e, 
 trees, insects, uses, and value, 1S9- 
 201 
 
 " Winding Rapid," The, 1S7 
 Wood-oil tree, 18, 21, 72, 163, 167, 169, 
 
 181, 197 
 Woollen goods, 209 
 Wu Chiang River, 30, 31, 32, 37, 153 ; 
 
 suspension bridge, 30, 31 
 Wuhu, 2 
 
 Ya-ax IIsiex, 93 
 
 Ya- chou Fu, 87, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96 
 
 Ya IIo (River), 91, 92, 93, 95, loi. 170, 
 171 
 
 Ya-lmig River, in, 116, 117, 118, 191 
 
 Ya-pien-yen (Opium), 1 1 
 
 Yang-hn, 53, 57, 58, 59 
 
 Yang-tsze River, 2, 3, 4, 8, 11, 12, 16, 
 18, 20, 31, 33, 39, 49, 56, 57, 59, 
 60, 64, 68, 69, 71, 73, 76, 102, III, 
 140, 144, 145, 150, 153, 15s, 156, 
 158, 160, 162, 163, 166, 169, 177, 
 178, 181, 182, 184, 185, 191, 201, 
 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 213, 
 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 220, 221, 
 222 ; Head waters of the, 124 ; 
 Upper Yang - tsze Expedition 
 (1861), 184, 220; Upper Yang- 
 tsze Steam Navigation Co., 9 
 
 Yarn, Cotton, 89 
 
 Year, The Ciiina New, 72 
 
 Yen-yuan Hsien, 114, 115, 120 
 
 Yuan River. 34, 2c6 ; rapids on, 206 
 
 Yiieh-hsi Plain, 107 
 
 Yiieh-hsi T'ing, 107 
 
 Yiin-nan, 2, 14, 15, 20, 28, 31, 33, 35, 
 4c, 41, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 53, 
 55. 56, 57, 59, 70, 76, 87, 91, 96, 
 97, 99, 106, 108, 114, 120, 122, 
 123, 125, 134, 135, 142, 145, 146, 
 147, 151, 152, 154, 156, 157, 160, 
 185, 191, 203, 204, 206, 207, 219, 
 220, 221, 224, 226; population, 
 205 
 
 Yiin-nan Fu, 53, 54, 56, 57, 67, 1 14, 
 
 134, 139, 140, 142, 145 153, 156, 
 
 205 ; Lake, 53, 144 ; Pkin, 60 
 Yiin-nan -yi, 141 
 Yiin-yang Hsien, 12 
 Yung-ch'uan Hsien, 72, 73 
 Y^'ung-ning Hsien, 153, 158, i6o 
 Yimg-ning River, 39. 145, 153, 155, 158, 
 
 159, 1-60,208 ; descent of, 158-159 ; 
 
 its importance as a trade route, 
 
 160 
 Yimtr-pei T'ing, 87, 124, 126, 205 ; 
 
 Plain, 125, 126 
 
 Zixc, 1 13
 
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