National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

PEKING CHANGES MASTERS

That martial law had been proclaimed in Peking on September 21st was explained by the fact that just on that day Marshal CHANG HSÜEH-I,IANG had sent his Mukden troops to the Tientsin-Peking region. It was said to be a force of 100,000 men that came through The Great Wall from Manchuria on this occasion. YEN HSI-SHAN, who had so far had his troops garrisoned in this area, was now obliged to retire with them to Shansi. Railway communications for civil traffic were now cut off in all directions. The surrender of the whole area took place, however, without bloodshed, and no resistance was offered by the Shansi troops. It was said that both civil and military officials remained at their posts until the arrival of the successors appointed by Mukden. The political situation, that had been equivocal ever since the spring, was thus peacefully resolved. But there were many who considered that by next spring the truce between CHANG HSÜEHLIANG and CruANG KAI-SHEK would have come to an end, and that their latent differences would then break out in armed conflict.

THE RELATIONS WITH OUR CHINESE

As has been mentioned already, the number of our Chinese members working in the field had shrunk to two, as against nine Swedes. At a meeting held by our Chinese committee in the beginning of October they desired a prolongation of the expedition by two years! This was a very different tone from that we had heard in the spring of 1927, when it had at first looked as if the Chinese academic world was determined to nip the whole enterprise in the bud.

At the end of October Liu Fu gracefully received a loan of 3,000 Mexican dollars to enable the committee to repair a compound where the collections of the Chinese members were to be stored, and where HUANG and TING were to work on their collections. HUANG was even to be quartered there.

The scientific collections made in Sinkiang by YUAN, HUANG and TING had to be brought down to Peking with camel caravans. The shortest way from Urumchi to the railhead at Kuei-hua was about 2,100 kilometers. A first consignment of eighty-four chests arrived in the summer under the supervision of BERG-MAN'S digger CHIN. Another caravan with collections was led by the digger PAI. In all, three such transports arrived, and altogether they cost many thousand dollars.

RETURN OF MONTELL AND SÖDERBOM

November 4th was a glad and lively day for us, for on this day MoNTEIJ.. and SÖDERBOM returned from their 5,50o kilometer car-trip to the Edsen-gol, on which they had set out on August 15th. They were, thank God, in excellent

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