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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books
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On Ancient Central-Asian Tracks : vol.1 |
Citation Information
OCR Text
It was easier to become familiar on the spot with the
stationery aspect of these miscellaneous 'papers', to use
an anachronism. The most usual form was that of thin
wooden slips (Fig. 45), always measuring about nine and
a half inches in length and from a quarter to half an inch
wide. The fact that a single vertical line often contained
over thirty Chinese ideograms, i.e. words, illustrates the
remarkable neatness of the writing which prevails. Besides
the carefully smoothed slips of wood or bamboo, use had
been made also for less formal communications of that
abundant, if rougher, local writing material, tamarisk wood.
Cut into fancy shapes, it was obviously good enough for
mere copy-writing. With such the soldiers stationed at
these desolate posts had evidently been used to beguile
their time.
Plenty of 'shavings' showed that the supply of proper
wooden stationery had its value and was used over and
over again. There was other evidence also among the
miscellaneous relics recovered from the refuse of the
straits which seem to have beset the guardians of these
remote posts in the desert. It could scarcely have been
otherwise, since the records deciphered make it probable
that the rank and file was composed mainly of convicts
deported from distant parts of the Empire for service on
this forbidding border.
By April 1 we had completed the search of all watch-
posts which a succession of icy sand-storms raising a thick
dust haze allowed us for the time being to trace eastwards.
The exhaustion of our small band of Chinese diggers would
have in any case necessitated a return to our base at Tun-
huang. After a day's halt there I set out with a fresh set of
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168
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178
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189
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200
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212
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273
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284
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291
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295
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306
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317
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327
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337
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352
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442
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466
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477
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491
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502
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513
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525
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537
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550
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561
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571
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578
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