IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Across Asia : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
C. G. MANNERHEIM
left, in order to obtain some information from him, and was received by a man of aristocratic appearance, though rather the worse for wear, arrayed in a short Japanese kimono. A faint light penetrated the drawn sun-blinds, there was a pretty collection of picturesque images in a cupboard, a couple of bottles on a table, some silver tumblers decorated with chased Chinese dragons and, by way of contrast, a collection of red signalling flags arranged on a shelf with as much care as he probably devoted formerly to his riding
whips and walking sticks.
The sarai, in which Lukanin had.hired rooms, was pleasant and clean. Prices, however, had become »civilised», for I had to pay 2 1/2 dollars for 2 rooms, which would have
been robbery in Kan Su.
The town lies to the E of a tributary of the Feng ho, flowing from the N, on a plain at some distance from the mountains that enclose it on the E, W and N. In the S the horizon is open. Two slender towers of a Buddhist temple stand out high above their surroundings in the SSE. Towards the river especially the neighbourhood is wooded, cultivated and populated. With its numerous towers, and tall pagodas, the shady crowns of many trees protruding high above the old wall, the town looks pretty in its verdant surroundings against the grey background of the mountains. The first impression is confirmed when you are inside the town walls after passing through two of the old arched gateways, built in a row. Excellent macadamised streets, the beginnings of a public garden with a pond and many well cared for buildings give an unusually attractive appearance to the town, embedded in its green trees with its rich yamens and old temples, the glazed green and red roofs of which sparkle in the sun. The number of policemen is enormous. A great many of the shop fronts are beautiful, decorated with designs in bright colours.
The Cheng hwa miao temple is one of the most beautiful I have seen. Its imposing entrance and large courtyards are embellished with many »peilu», heraldic statues of men and beasts, rich ornamentation in green glazed tiles etc. There is another large temple close to the S gate, called Liu i tsu miao. It is visited by invalids who wish to have a prescription for medicine from the gods themselves. The sick person receives a goblet from the priest with a bundle of wooden sticks stuck into it. Kneeling before the altar, he shakes the goblet until one of the sticks falls out. The priest reads the inscription on it, tears off one of the leaves of the numerous packets of yellow prescriptions fastened to the wall on either side of the image of the god and gives it to the supplicant. With this valuable document in his pocket the sufferer wends his way to the chemist's.
There is much in the town to remind one of the terrible tragedy that took place about a month before the combined troops of the European powers and Japan put an end to the licence of the Boxers' instincts by the occupation of Peiping. Treacherously lured into a trap by the promise of protection by the governor of that time, 35 Protestant missionaries, male and female, and 12 Roman Catholic nuns and monks, including two bishops, were put to death in a single day after horrifying tortures in the governor's own lawcourt. It seems as though the seed of this innocent blood had borne fruit, for from the ashes of the victims' houses schools, hospitals and churches have arisen, to contribute, each in its own
) 676 (
June r 2th. Tai-yuan-fu.
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