A BOOK OF TRAVEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 26 August 1908, Page 77

A BOOK OF TRAVEL.

FROItriPEEIN TO MANDALAT. 2Ln'VccW&Ncrf-;5 journey, from North' CbW -'-to through Tibetan S6uch'uan~a'nd Yunnan, by, JR. F. "Johnston, M. A, 111.1 11., 1 . -F/.R'JGLS. ,, ', district ' officer " . uds. magistral^ WeibAJLwei, with map- ' iftnd iUu^rat-ions. "*- London: John • Murray, *_lAJbemarl© street* Price, 15s n*fc "> v -- " - ■ -;_"_: This is a most interesting ~, ancL informa£ live volume, well worthy' %c of "those who have any desire to seriously Study the problems likely to .arise in the near future -through the awakening of the ■ great Chinese Empire The author writes\with a knowledge attained but by the very few, and the fact of his acquaintance with -the language enabling him ; to ■ dispense" -with the services of interpreters duringhie"-' journey lends • additional weight to' what he has to cay. At the outset Mr Johnston remarks :— 1 Events are now making it clearer ' «yery day that a true spirit of national feeling is Vising among the people and -I that 'the best minds in- China are de-, " voting "themselves 'to the problem of their _ country's ' salvation. Nowhere is, this state of things more obvious than in. Pekin, but "It is not only in - the capital that the new spirit is working strange ~ wonders among* the Chinese people. China- is, indeed, rapidly growing to^be more than a mere geo"graphical term. The racial solidarity that, is the underlying cause of her wonderful power of passive resistance shows no "eigns of disintegration at- the present time, and it will form the best possible foundation for a new national patriotism. In his introduction the author says': — From the ethnological "point of view the Chinese Far West — to' which the greater part' of this book is devoted — is one of the most inter-esting regions in the world, and presents problems* the solution of which would settle many of ' the vexed questions relating to the "origin and inter-relations of the Asiatic' peoples. As far as., its 1 geographical interest it may be sufficient to say here, that the principalities of Chala and „ -Muli - contain what are . probably, the highest spots inhabited by, man on the' face of, the globe, and that- several of the passes crossed by niy little caravan are loftLer-ihaii the highest of the passes existing, along the route traversed f^tilje' British expedition to _ Lhasa. _-. .*.. * . .. Tibetan Ssuck'uan and Western Yunnan are worth visiting, be it only for the glory of their mountain scenery.. There can be no country in the world more full- of charm than some of the and less-peopled regions of the Chinese Empire. There are enormous areas in that country covered with primeval forests in which man's foot -has never trod,' lofty mountains who&e peaks are crowned with sparkling diadems of eternal snow, grand savage gorges in which Nature has-ycarved for herself in indelible letters the story of the -.world's youth, the gloomy chasms through which ru3h the mighty rivers -that carry to the Indian Ocean "and the p]P t {jeifie e snow,s that melted on the white 'joof' J 6r the world. And amid all this ' magnificence -and desolation are lovely iv-klleyst- and stretches of garden land ,, T that might have b&zn chosen as the a^ hundred mythologies, and which in 'historic times' bave been the homes of religjious recluses and poets, who,-, like others Df their kind in Western lands, found in silence and solitude a refuge from the bitterness and pain ot the world, or a hermitage in which amid scenes of perennial beauty they cculn weave their nowert, of thought into immortal garlands of • human words. The journey to Hankow, on the Yangtse River, 600 miles up from Shanghai, was made by the author by steamer and train. Hankow he thinks can hardly fail to become a commercial capital of preeminent importance. In this connection ' reference is made to the "rapidly growing national hostility to the monopolisation of Chinese industrial enterprises by foreign capital." And it must be borne in mind that this monopoly is followed by the interference of foreign powers in the -internal affairs of the Empire, the light to do so being based on their subjects', pecuniary stake in the country. At Ichang, which was reached by steamer, the gorges of the Yangtse with their dangerous rapids check steam traffic. Cargoes have to be transhipped into river junks, an&' if takes, quite a month to traverse the 4'os^mile^'! to Chung-King. But for these rapids the Yangtse would be navigable foj^a-distance of 1800 miles from Shanghai. The author was permitted to travel by a lifeboat through the rapids. From "Waajhsien.he journeyed by land, his caravan|s<Bon£sistiiig of ' three coolies to carry a-^iiedjin chair, thxee to carry luggage, a p^ypnal^eervant; and "twe or three scfoiers,^"wno always travel with foreigners. Mr * Johnston lived ' entirely .on -Chinese food. This not, only reduced the' baggage. but serveef'to bring him n>ore into contact ■with the people.^ Of this portion of the journey he writes : — -- ' - The * journey ' from " Wan-hsien to Ch'eng-tu consisted of fourteen long stages, the total distance ■ being nearly 400 miles. The road lies through one ,of the *lairest and most fertile portions ,of the, great province of Ssuch'uan, and is one of the -Best I have met with in the v interior of China: a circumstance which is partly due to the fact that Chinese ■ officials generally use this road in, travelling from the east of China to the" provincial capital. The inns are numerous, and, from the Oriental point of- view, fairly ' comfortable. - Of the country through^ •which he passed he writes:.

'Un.'dulatmg hills, generally cultivated almost to the summits with rice, rape, - wheat, maize, and many other crops", and" rich and densely-populated plains. The -scenery is always picturesque, and sometimes — among the hills — exceedingly beautiful. The villages, farm houses, and temples aTe generally situated amid little forests of feathery > bamboo. Th© hillsides are studded with charming little chalets, and very often the submerged rice fields in their immediate vicinity give the appearance ' of artificial lakes 'in an English park, especially when the banks or balks are lined with graceful vegetation. Ch'eng-tu is a town situated in a plain about 90 miles long by 70 in width. It is -irrigated from the Mm Biver, and produces three or four crops a year. It is estimated to support a population of - 4,0Q0,000. - In the town -resides " the Governor-General of Ssu<ih'uah, .who con-" trols * the Thibetan princes and tribal chiefs of the extreme west. The people are the most progressive and enlightened in China, and- there, is "a -provincial col-1-ege where some 300 -young men are being, educated in Western as well as Chineee branches of learning. Proceeding down the Mm. River Mr- Johnston visited thesacred mountain of Omei, 11.000 ft above the sea. This portion of the work is. particularly interesting. Many legendsreferring' to pluuses of Chineee religions, some dating back to the twenty-sixth century b.c, are outlined. Descriptions of the lamaeeries or monasteries which abound on the. mountain are given, and the author deals at length with the history of Buddhism in China and its gradual corruption. ..... t THE MISSIONARIES. This leads the author naturally to make reference to the missionaries and their work. He says: As soon as a reformed China has earned for herself — by the reform of her legal codes and judicial procedure — the right to demand the total abolition of foreign consular jurisdiction within. .Chinese territory, missionaries will cease to be a thorn in the flesh of Chinese officialdom. They may obtain fewer converts, but they will at leasthave the satisfaction of knowing that euch converts a-s they may then, gain will not be actuated by the desire to secure foreign protection against the laws of their own country, whereas the official classes will no longer have cause <to regard missionaries as a political danger. There is no doubt that many ' of the outbreaks of fanatical hatred against foreigners are directly or indirectly traceable to the missionary question. . . The Chineee are in I purely religious matters inclined to I>3 extremely tolerant, far more so, needless to say, than Western peoples usually are. Mr Johnston has a few words to say as to the ultimate relijgion of China : To-day the only vigorous element in the lißterogeneous religious system of China consists in that expansion of the ideal of filial piety which takes the form of the cult of ancestors ; a cult which has done co much in the past to preserve, consolidate, and multiply the Cliineee people and make 'them peaceful, law-abiding, and home-Joying, and I which has, nevertheless, been condemned as idolatrous by the two great branches of the Christian faith. It was this work of Chineee orthodoxy that shattered the power of the Church of Rome in China, and that rock is still a danger and an obstruction in the troubled waters through which glide the frail barks of the Christian missions. On the whole, it seems improbable that the dogmas, at least of any of the Christian churches, will over find general acceptance on Chinese soil. | . . . 'Vh:- lnmai and spiritual regenra- j tion oi L'hin.i is more likely to b-e | brought about by the growth of a Xeo- j Confucianism frankly accepting euch f adaptations as the social and political conditions of modern tiin-es may reii'ler necessary ; ancl if this is uneufficieut j to satisfy the spiritual aspirations of i the people there may arise a reformed j " Buddhism drawing ifs inspiration either | from the simple faith of Burmah. .Skm, [ and Gevlon, or — far mare probably — fiom one oi the complex systems (near in kinship to thasa of China, but v.-ith a vitality of their own) that have ■ evolve-d themselves upon the soil of Japan. The journey through Chinese Thibet took the traveller to come of the highest places on earth inhabited by man. The various race<> which inhabit these regions are rated by trib-.il chiefs, who pay* a yearly tribute to China. The jaravan routes followed sometimes led over mountain* 17,500 ft high, with a wall of frozen eiiow on tli-e summit, through which a way had to be cut. Approaching the province of Yunnan beautiful valleys, many •of them very fertile, and in places highly cultivated, were traversed. Mr Johnston claims that hs> was the first British sub- ! ject to travel through the Yalung Valley route to Li-chiang. Though warned by the authorities that the route was dangerous, and that they would accept no responsibility, he was not interfered with j in any way. He lived on the food of the natives and, as a- rule, slept in their houses. UPPER BURMAH. Mr Johnston at length arrived at Bhamo, in*Upp«T Burma. To the student this portion of the book probably prove most attractive. Civilisation j and progress in the West are contrasted, with the life of the Burmese : its happiness, good taste, charity, and gentleness. The Burmese appear to have realised the dream of the Socialist. Mr Johnston remarks that '' if by civilisation »ye mean an enlightened prcigresf towards the realisation of the happiness of mankind . , there can be no doubt -the Burmese people are very high indeed in the scale of civilised races." This is how Burmese life is described.:.