THE BIG ROAD
INDICATING THE SITUATION OF HWOCHOW IN THE PROVINCE OF SHANSI
THE city of Hwochow is situated on the main road which connects
Taiyueanfu with Sianfu, the direct route from Peking to the northwestern
provinces. Along this road pass strings of camels, laden with the
merchandise of Mongolia; thousands of donkeys, carrying bags of flour
from the more luxuriant southern plains; cartloads of tobacco and paper
from the large cities in the south of the province, and caravans of
travellers; whole families packed into large carts moving to some new
home; mat-covered litters swung between two mules and heavily curtained,
in which the wives of an official are transported to their new abode;
pedestrians, clad in sky-blue cotton, "yamen runners" yelling as they
ride at furious speed to clear the way before them, and bearers of
burdens combine to form a moving picture of interest and beauty upon the
_Big Road_, as it is called.
Not least interesting among the wayfarers are the Lhamas from distant
Thibet nearing the end of their long pilgrimage to the famous holy
mountain Wutai, where each one hopes to be granted the vision of the
famous opening lotus. For many months, stretching into years, this hope
has sustained them through the weary pilgrimage. From the threshold of
their Lhama home they have walked every step of the thousand and more
miles, some at every tenth, some at every fifth step, touching the
ground with their forehead, and some measuring the whole length of the
way with their outstretched body on the road.
As the traveller enters Hwochow from the north, he crosses a bridge,
passing on his right a large metal cow. Beyond, flows the Fen River, and
before him is the city gate. To this brazen image is committed the
important function of guarding Hwochow from flood, and so successfully
does it accomplish its task that dryness and drought are the normal
condition of the countryside!
Turning to the east he faces the magnificent range of the Ho Mountains,
in winter covered with snow, and in warmer seasons touched with the
beauty of ever-changing colour. These mountains are part of the range
which, farther north, is traversed by the famous Lingshih Pass.
Excepting in the early summer months when patches of vivid green
indicate the fields of growing wheat, the landscape is of a uniform
shade which is best described as _khaki_. Owing to the friable nature of
the soil formation known as _loess_, the traveller, whether journeying
from north or south, finds himself in a succession of deep gullies.
This wheat-growing land was formerly given over to the cultivation of
the opium poppy, and for miles over the plain the wonderful iridescent
bloom gave the appearance of a sea of changing light and shade as the
wind passed over it.
In the year 1908 a proclamation was issued forbidding the growth of
opium under penalty of death, and so vigorously has the law been
enforced that the poppy has completely disappeared from view, and no man
is bold enough to openly grow that which has been forbidden by the
authorities.
For ten months in the year brilliant sunshine can be counted upon, and
during that time, except for dust combined with heat or cold, the
physical condition of a journey may be comparatively easy. Ease of mind,
however, can only be attained by the philosopher who, putting away all
thought of unseemly haste, shares the Easterner's pleasures of
observation, contemplation, and wayside intercourse.
The journey from Taiyueanfu to Hwochow is accomplished in five stages,
and nothing will induce the carter to shorten or change them, though
hours may have been wasted in some narrow gully where, spite his warning
yells, his cart met another at a point where advance or retreat on
either side were alike impossible. After fierce recriminations the two
men each produce a pipe, and it is good practice for the impatient
Westerner to see them sit on their heels and talk the matter over. Time
passes, but the carter is untrammelled by any artificial measure
thereof, and after endless discussion, amid comforting whiffs of
tobacco, he proceeds to think of a plan whereby the deadlock may be
overcome. How they manage to extricate themselves, one never knows! Some
of the bank comes down, yells and shouts do their part, and at last the
traffic, which may now amount to fifty waiting carts, slowly passes by.
It is an everyday occurrence, and you ask, "Why do they not widen the
road?" "Nobody's business," is the reply. "Who would spend the money?"
It is, however, the rainy season that reveals to the full the horrors of
Chinese travelling. The _loess_ is slippery beyond description, and the
litter or cart in which you travel may be stuck for hours in a pit of
greasy mud, black by reason of the coal dust so plentiful throughout the
district, so deep that nothing but the mule's head is visible, the
plunging body being hidden in the black mass. Your only hope at such a
moment is to throw yourself with the grace of an expert gymnast on to
the bank, thankful if you escape unhurt and only bespattered by mud.
These pits are carefully kept in condition by a small group of men who
appear, as by magic, to offer assistance at the suitable moment. No
plight, however, excites their pity sufficiently to induce them to
render help apart from a pecuniary reward of an exorbitant nature. Once
within the city gates there is hope that you will soon find a shelter.
You will have accomplished "the stage" which has been allotted from time
immemorial. Marco Polo himself followed these stages in the year 1280 as
we do to-day in the twentieth century.
The main road runs through the city of Hwochow from north to south, and
many inns invite the traveller to rest, the red scrolls at the door
assuring him that "From the four seas men all gather to this great
hotel," and that the fame of its food is far-reaching.
Crossing this road from east to west is another important street where
the official residence is situated. Here, most of the large shops are to
be found and in the centre of the city is a fine tower, but all the
smaller streets are alike, running between blank walls, from which
access to as many as twelve courtyards may be through one small door.
Numerous pigs walk unhindered up and down, acting as scavengers, and as
such are not unneeded, for every one throws the refuse of the household
out of the court door, caring nothing for the convenience of the public.
Parallel with the Yamen street is another important thoroughfare known
as Prospect Hill. Here stands the largest and most important temple in
the city, and almost next door to this, with the money given by his
wife, Mr. Hsi secured small premises and announced that he was opening
an opium refuge, and was willing to receive patients. Particulars as to
rules and expenses were widely published, and in this place the first
results of the love and self-sacrifice of Mrs. Hsi were seen.
A NEW VENTURE
"Love has a hem to its garment
That touches the very dust:
It can reach the stains of the streets and the lanes,
And because it can it must.
It dares not rest on the mountain;
It is bound to come to the vale;
For it cannot find its fulness of mind
Till it kindles the lives that fail."
GEORGE MATHESON.
"The world had begun to stare, she half
apprehended the fact, but she was in the presence
of the irresistible. In the presence of the
irresistible the conventional is a crazy
structure, swept away with very little creaking of
its timbers on the flood."--GEORGE MEREDITH.