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0187 Sand-Buried Ruins of Khotan : vol.1
Sand-Buried Ruins of Khotan : vol.1 / Page 187 (Color Image)

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doi: 10.20676/00000234
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old Hiuen-Tsiang's account of the fearful 'Nagas' which guard
the Pamir heights with their winds and icy showers. Chinese
eyes seem still to see the powers of nature as they saw them
then. The royal tiger drawn on the opposite side of the wall
is no match for this noble dragon, and bears in his half-human
face an expression of such utter dejection that we were unable
to withhold our mirth. I wondered whether it was the inten-
tion of the artist to show the noble beast in a mood of hopeless
resignation at its own wickedness.
The attending priest who greeted
"Ma-shao-yieh," as Mr. Macartney is
called in Chinese, with unfeigned reve-
rence, seemed a shy and modest specimen
of his class. His ways and dress re-
minded me of a Lama, freshly emerged
from some forlorn little monastery.
He talked glibly enough of the benefits
which the temple enjoys owing to the
generosity of the high officials of the
province, who look to Liu-Kin-tang
as a patron saint watching over their
interests. But when it came to being
photographed—an operation to which
the average Chinaman in these parts
submits with relish—he grew hope-
lessly nervous and looked as if he
were preparing himself for the worst.
The operation passed off all the same,
and a good douceur revived the spirits
of this humble devotee.
The little suburb, through which we
had to ride on our way to the north
gate of the Yangi-Shahr, presented a
markedly Chinese appearance. There were groups of Chinese
soldiers everywhere with the strangely mixed womenfolk they