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0186 The Pulse of Asia : vol.1
アジアの鼓動 : vol.1
The Pulse of Asia : vol.1 / 186 ページ(カラー画像)

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doi: 10.20676/00000233
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CHAPTER VI

THE SLOPE FROM THE PLATEAU TO THE
BASIN FLOOR

On June 18th, our caravan descended from the crest of
the Kwen Lun mountains to the soft grassy moraines at
the head of the Sanju valley. The few Khirghiz of this
delightful region received us hospitably, according to their
wont, but we saw little of them. Living as they do on a fre-
quented caravan route, they have ceased to take special in-
terest in travelers, except as a means of profit. It is a strange
anomaly that people who live on much frequented roads,
in Central Asia at least, tend to become mean and selfish,
with no purpose in life except to exact the last penny from
the traveler; while those who travel on the same roads, like
the many pilgrims whom we met, become relatively open-
minded and generous. The Khirghiz of the Sanju valley
were not so bad as the Chinese innkeepers at the lonely
desert stations farther north, who not only charged ordinary
travelers five-fold for grain, hay, and fuel, but locked up
the beggars and poor people who had bought nothing, and
kept them till they had paid a few "cash" for the water
which they had drunk. It is fitting that men who exact so
much remain so poor as the innkeepers seemed to be. Even
the good-natured, hospitable Khirghiz have been so injured
by proximity to a trade route that though, out of respect to
the orders for our reception sent by the Chinese govern-
ment, they charged us only a fair price for grain, they coolly