(Richthofen, Letter VII. 25; Williamson, I. 69; J.R.G.S.
XLIII. p. 115; Petermann, 1873, pp. 89-91.)
[On 5th January, 1889, Mr. Rockhill coming to the Yellow River from
P'ing-yang, found (Land of the Lamas, p. 17) that "the river was between
500 and 600 yards wide, a sluggish, muddy stream, then covered with
floating ice about a foot thick.... The Yellow River here is shallow, in
the main channel only is it four or five feet deep." The Rev. C. Holcombe,
who crossed in October, says (p. 65): that "it was nowhere more than 6 feet
deep, and on returning, three of the boatmen sprang into the water in
midstream and waded ashore, carrying a line from the ferry-boat to prevent
us from rapidly drifting down with the current. The water was just up to
their hips." - H.C.]
NOTE 2. - It is remarkable that the abundance of silk in Shan-si and
Shen-si is so distinctly mentioned in these chapters, whereas now there is
next to no silk at all grown in these districts. Is this the result of a
change of climate, or only a commercial change? Baron Richthofen, to whom I
have referred the question, believes it to be due to the former cause: "No
tract in China would appear to have suffered so much by a change of climate
as Shen-si and Southern Shan-si." [See pp. 11-12.]
NOTE 3. - The asper or akche (both meaning "white") of the Mongols at
Tana or Azov I have elsewhere calculated, from Pegolotti's data (Cathay,
p. 298), to have contained about 0s. 2.8d. worth of silver, which is
less than the grosso; but the name may have had a loose application to
small silver coins in other countries of Asia. Possibly the money intended
may have been the 50 tsien note. (See note 1, ch. xxiv. supra.)
CHAPTER XLI.
CONCERNING THE CITY OF KENJANFU.
And when you leave the city of Cachanfu of which I have spoken, and travel
eight days westward, you meet with cities and boroughs abounding in trade
and industry, and quantities of beautiful trees, and gardens, and fine
plains planted with mulberries, which are the trees on the leaves of which
the silkworms do feed.[NOTE 1] The people are all Idolaters. There is
also plenty of game of all sorts, both of beasts and birds.
And when you have travelled those eight days' journey, you come to that
great city which I mentioned, called KENJANFU.[NOTE 2] A very great and
fine city it is, and the capital of the kingdom of Kenjanfu, which in old
times was a noble, rich, and powerful realm, and had many great and
wealthy and puissant kings.[NOTE 3] But now the king thereof is a prince
called MANGALAI, the son of the Great Kaan, who hath given him this realm,
and crowned him king thereof.[NOTE 4] It is a city of great trade and
industry. They have great abundance of silk, from which they weave cloths
of silk and gold of divers kinds, and they also manufacture all sorts of
equipments for an army. They have every necessary of man's life very
cheap. The city lies towards the west; the people are Idolaters; and
outside the city is the palace of the Prince Mangalai, crowned king, and
son of the Great Kaan, as I told you before.
This is a fine palace and a great, as I will tell you. It stands in a
great plain abounding in lakes and streams and springs of water. Round
about it is a massive and lofty wall, five miles in compass, well built,
and all garnished with battlements. And within this wall is the king's
palace, so great and fine that no one could imagine a finer. There are in
it many great and splendid halls, and many chambers, all painted and
embellished with work in beaten gold. This Mangalai rules his realm right
well with justice and equity, and is much beloved by his people. The
troops are quartered round about the palace, and enjoy the sport (that the
royal demesne affords).
So now let us quit this kingdom, and I will tell you of a very mountainous
province called Cuncun, which you reach by a road right wearisome to
travel.
NOTE 1. - ["Morus alba is largely grown in North China for feeding
silkworms." (Bretschneider, Hist. of Bot. Disc. I. p. 4.) - H.C.]
NOTE 2. - Having got to sure ground again at Kenjanfu, which is, as we shall
explain presently, the city of SI-NGAN FU, capital of Shen-si, let us look
back at the geography of the route from P'ing-yang fu. Its difficulties are
great.
The traveller carries us two days' journey from P'ing-yang fu to his castle
of the Golden King. This is called in the G. Text and most other MSS.
Caicui, Caytui, or the like, but in Ramusio alone Thaigin. He then
carries us 20 miles further to the Caramoran; he crosses this river,
travels two days further, and reaches the great city Cachanfu; eight days
more (or as in Ramusio seven) bring him to Si-ngan fu.
There seems scarcely room for doubt that CACHANFU is the HO-CHUNG FU [the
ancient capital of Emperor Shun - H.C.] of those days, now called P'U-CHAU
FU, close to the great elbow of the Hwang Ho (Klaproth). But this city,
instead of being two days west of the great river, stands near its
eastern bank.
[The Rev. C. Holcombe writes (pp. 64-65): "P'u-chau fu lies on a level with
the Yellow River, and on the edge of a large extent of worthless marsh
land, full of pools of brackish, and in some places, positively salt
water.... The great road does not pass into the town, having succeeded in
maintaining its position on the high ground from which the town has
backslided.... The great road keeping to the bluff, runs on, turning
first south, and then a trifle to the east of south, until the road, the
bluff, and Shan-si, all end together, making a sudden plunge down a
precipice and being lost in the dirty waters of the Yellow River." - H.C.]
Not maintaining the infallibility of our traveller's memory, we may
conceive confusion here, between the recollections of his journey westward
and those of his return; but this does not remove all the difficulties.
