From Pekin to Sikkim through the Ordos, the Gobi Desert, and Tibet

Front matter

TO'SIICKiM:

■rMTM^T.^n-

CHARLES WILLIAM WASON

Preface

As the sheets of this book are finally passing through the press the author has been unexpectedly called away to South America, and has asked me to write a preface for it.

The journey performed by the Comte and Comtesse de Lesdain was a remarkable one, all the more so from its having been their wedding tour. That a lady of nineteen should have faced and sustained the hardships of travel in a wild and unknown region described in these pages, can hardly fail to arouse a feeling of admiration and surprise in the mind of the reader.

The journey took place in 1904 - 1905, and lasted seventeen months. It "was undertaken to gratify our wish to cross country hitherto unknown, and if possible to increase the geographical knowledge of our day."

Starting from Pekin, Count de Lesdain struck

west to the Hoang-Ho, in order to explore the

little known region of the Ordos Desert, which

hes in the almost rectangular bend of that mighty

vii viii PREFACE

river. The region is governed by a number of kinglets, forming the Confederation of the Ordos,

Amongst other spots visited in this part of the journey was Edchen Koro, which contains the tomb of Jenghis Khan, so jealously guarded by its custodians that no European has hitherto been able to discover its actual site, much less to see it.

After traversing the districts of Shansi and Kansu and the Alashan Mountains, the party skirted the Gobi Desert and the Zaidam district, crossing a part of the Kuen-lun range into Tibet, and then travelled over the Dangla (where they encamped at a height of 19,300 feet), past the Tengri-nor Lake, to the Lhasa high road.

It will be seen that the route taken, generally, lies parallel to that traversed by Captain Younghusband on the North, and that taken by Mr R. F. Johnston on the South, and that it touches on many regions which are unknown or scarcely known to Europeans.

JOHN MURRAY.

January, 1908.

Contents

CHAP. PAGE

1. FROM PEKIN TO KWEI-HUA-CHENG .... 1

II. THE OBDOS ...... 23

Chapter I From Pekin To Kwei-hua-cheng

All departures from Pekin are alike. I had left the capital of the Celestial Empire two years before to make a journey of exploration for some months across the north of Shansi and Central Mongolia. There was then the same scene of animation and bustle in the streets and at the main gates, with a touch of colour here and there to relieve the eyes. Pekin, one of the dirtiest towns on earth, is usually only worth seeing just after dawn, when the rising sun imparts a look of freshness to all things, or in the evening, when on the occasion of some feast thousands of paper lanterns are lighted on all sides.

On the morning of 20th June 1904 the heat was overpowering. Not a breath of wind stirred the still and heavy air. The road, well known to tourists, which runs to the Tombs of the Mings and the Great Wall, and which also leads to Kalgan, was, at eight o'clock in the morning, already hidden under a dense cloud of dust.

1 A

2 TEMPLE OF HANG-LING-TSE [chi

We took with us only three Chinese springless carts at the beginning of this expedition, which were amply sufficient for our baggage. As a long journey lay before us we had had to give up the comforts which can be taken in an expedition lasting for a few weeks, or only two or three months. We had decided to hve on the resources of the countries through which we proposed to pass, and a few bottles of champagne, for the due celebration of supreme events, were almost the whole stock of our provisions. In Chinese travel, moreover, one can always obtain beef, mutton, chickens, an occasional duck, eggs, flour, and a sufficient supply of vegetables. The explorer is consequently not to be pitied overmuch. The main point is to have with one a good cook. The cook, whom we had with much difficulty recruited in Pekin, was an Annamite. Very clever at his own business, he proved eventually to be a hopeless drunkard. The other servants were a mafou, to look after the horses, and some coohes.

I shall not weary the reader with a detailed account of the five days' journey between Pekin and SUen-hua-fu. Many authors have described it. For years diplomatists and tea merchants travelUng from Europe to Pekin have gone by Urga, Kalgan, and Siien - hua - fu. However, I should advise those who use this road hereafter to stop at the little town of Hang-ling-tse. A temple on the top of a comparatively high mountain commands the whole vast plain, and from its stony

A CHINESE GIANT 3

platform one enjoys a magnificent view. In spite of our long day's march we resolved to climb up to it, and with this object sent our men to commandeer donkeys. The temple itself is extremely small, and contains only unimportant statues, but to reach it a wonderful httle stony bridge has to be crossed, ornamented with inscriptions and spanning a cleft in the rock. The custodian offered us tea, and refused the small tip which I proffered for his kindness, an experience new to me after Pekin. On our way down we stopped for a few minutes at another temple, larger and newer, where forty lamas at prayer made a great noise in the dimness of the chUl and lofty hall of worship.

I must not omit to record that the evening before we chanced upon an exhibition worthy of Bamum's circus. In broad noonday our carters, overcome by the heat, had begged for a short rest, and while they lay stretched under the shade of a tree I had made my way towards a group of Chinese peasants at no great distance off. As I approached I saw one of the tallest men conceivable. He was then seated surrounded by a gi-oup of laughing and jesting children, but when he saw me he rose, and I could see that he outtopped aU present by some two feet in height. I went and fetched my bag of anthropological instruments, and when I returned began to take the measurements of this colossus. But his mother, a wrinkled old lady, intervened. She said she feared that I should cast an evil spell over

4 AT siJEN-HUA-FU [ch'-

her son. The sight of a small ingot of sUver, however, successfully calmed her and banished her fears, and I was allowed to proceed with my measurement of her son. His height was fully 8 feet, and a hump detracted from his full measurement in this direction. The circumference of his chest, including the hump, was 58 inches, and the length of his foot 15 inches. Although only twenty-eight years old he had thick white hair, and his whole outward appearance was that of a being whose muscular force and bodily weight were not in proportion.

We reached Suen-hua-fu on the 26th June, and did not stay there long. The town itself has no objects of interest, and the heat had developed in it smells worse than those of Pekin itself, and this fact alone was reason enough to hurry on. We had been well received at the Kon-kuan, or yamen, reserved for Mandarins on tour, but as our arrival was wholly unexpected, we had the pleasure of finding in each of our sleeping rooms beggars, wrapped in noisome rags, who were smoking opium, with the tacit approval of the keepers of the house.

On leaving this prefectoral city, instead of making for Kalgan, we branched off slightly to the left and crossed the river Yung-ting-ho or (Hun-ho), nearly dry at this season, with a bed of enormous extent, and made of fine sand yielding here and there beneath our tread. The country that we now reached, west of the river, has the desolate appearance of a bare plain, in which, however, thanks to

CULTURE OF OPIUM 5

a constant struggle against bad soil, small villages have struck root and relieve the monotony of the district. Moreover, this wretched appearance does not extend far, and after recrossing the river and reaching Chai-ku-pu one is struck with wonder at the magnificent cultivation which meets the eye. An island in the centre of the river is specially fertile. On aU sides there are to be seen fields of poppies of varied colour, richly tinted, pure mauve and deep red, white and cream-coloured. The island looks hke fairyland. The irrigation of these fields circled by trees has been devised with much practical skill, and I greatly admire its results. These unlearned Chinese cultivators have taken advantage of almost imperceptible differences of level to flood their fields with a productive supply of water. Opium costs money, and the town of Chai-ku-pu prospers accordingly. The population, perfectly orderly, consists of about five thousand souls.

Our object being to reach Mongolia at Or-tan-ho by the shortest road, I ordered the caravan to leave the beaten track, and to enter upon a mountainous district bounded on the north-east by the Yung-yang-ho. To do this we crossed the Great Wall, not that in the neighbourhood of Pekin, always visited by tourists, but that which is almost endless in extent, since it is met with in Manchuria and on the border of Kansu, and which traces the limits of the northern frontier of the great empire. This is now hardly a causeway.

6 DISAPPEARED OLD CITIES [ch.i.

It has lost all its splendour and importance. It now retains only the value of a relic of history, but it served through centuries as a sturdy defence. At every pass through which a Mongol invasion might break a way for itself the Great Wall reinforced by a fort stood against the invaders. Thus at the issue of the river Yung-yang on Chinese territory rose five or six hundred years ago the fortified city of Shin-ping-fu, of which we could only recognise the lamentable ruins. Opposite this city the old maps mark a fortress with the name of Ping-yuen-fu. This has entirely disappeared. We could hardly identify the remains of its walls. The general appearance of the country, after leaving the fertile valley of the Yung-yang, is again gloomy and poverty-stricken, and the caravan climbed the mountainous district referred to above, over ground made up of loose stones and dried clay. Through low hills crowned by little deserted temples we reached the top of the funnel facing north-east, at the bottom of which hes Or-tan-ho, reached by a gentle slope. The road has no point worth mentioning, but cultivation prospers again, and is able to support an adequate population.

We reached Or-tan-ho about midday, in great heat, and much to our surprise, in spite of its Mongol name, no single Mongol could be found in the whole of the little town. On the other hand, I observed a large number of persons, more or less in rags, bearing on their back or chest the distinctive insignia of the Boxers. This

TROUBLES WITH THE BOXERS 7

little centre was, four or five years before, a retreat for brigands during the troubles, and a nursery of the insurrection. From here started the bands which attacked Shi - ying - tse, Or - shi - san - ho, Tai-hai, and several other mission centres. However, thanks to the bravery of certain missionaries possessed of common sense, the brigands were driven back with loss. They had certainly heard of the approaching arrival of our little caravan, and the Boxers of the town had consequently arranged for us a somewhat discouraging reception. In the narrow road which led to the river curses were showered upon us from both sides, the most common being Yang-qui-tye, which means "foreign devils." This is not specially emphatic when standing alone, but the victims of it find this compliment, when too often repeated, very trying to the nerves. We hoped to find peace by closing our doors at the inn, and we were in fact undisturbed at our meal. But as soon as we proceeded to pay our bill a discussion arose, for our host did not hesitate to a;sk an exorbitant price for the use of his inn and kitchen, I naturally dechned to pay anything out of the common, and, perceiving that he could not attain his end unaided, the man threw open the door and showed us, with a view to intimidation, that the courtyard was full of Boxers, whose attitude was unquestionably hostile. Realising the need of haste, I wanted to break a way through the crowd and get our caravan away from the inn.

8 OR-SHI-SAN-HO [oh.i.

Unluckily the great gate had been securely closed and we were immediately surrounded by all the people present, who, with the Chinaman's customary treachery, began to press us against a wall till we could no longer stir in any direction. As the situation was becoming serious I drew my revolver and threatened to fire upon the men nearest to me. This produced an absurd commotion and a rapid flight of the whole company. Some, since the exit was closed, climbed over the walls, others took refuge in the rooms. My men opened the gates, and the carts crossed the stone threshold. The incident had ended happily. I must say that this was the only occasion on which we met with definite hostility fi-om the inhabitants of a Chinese town.

From Or-tan-ho we made for Or-shi-san-ho, a prosperous mission station in an oasis of verdure surrounded with skilfully cultivated fields and growing woods, a large portion of which have been planted by the missionaries. All this district, like Or-tan-ho and Uke Shi-ying-tse, has been won by the toiling Chinaman from the indolent Mongol. It is partly the triumph of progress over savagery, and if the Chinaman, rich and poor, were not in the thrall of many vices, and specially of opium, there would be no limit to his activity which would extend the success that a frugal and patient people can always command.

Leaving Or-shi-san-ho on 1st July, we made our way southwards to Ta-tung-fu, one of the

ANCIENT FORTIFICATIONS 9

largest towns of Shansi. None of the intervening country had yet heen visited by a European explorer, but, thanks to the old maps of the Jesuits, a German publisher had been able to publish a practically accurate sketch of it. From the beginning of the day the road ran through mountains and valleys, across low hills and shallow dechvities ; very numerous but nearly dried up streams aU ran towards the Yung-yang-ho. The people seemed poor, and the land very barren. Towards evening we rose about 2,000 feet, and in a narrow little valley discovered the insignificant temple of Lan-ye-miao. As it offered no accommodation for the night we decided to pitch our tent near a group of cottages on the right, a little below the temple.

The road continuing southwards next day merged in the bed of the river Yutto, which is a tributary of the Sang-kan-ho, itself a tributary of the Yung-ting-ho. The volume of the Yutto is considerable, and must, in the rainy season, reach a high level, judging from the marks it leaves on the rocks, between which it forces its way. Early on the 3rd July we reached some very interesting ruins of the Great Wall. Clearly, the Chinese strategists apprehended here more than elsewhere an invasion from the Yutto Valley, for they multiphed defences at this point. Over a stretch of 4 miles I counted the remains of eighty bastions, some built up against the wall, while others stood out in front like pickets.

10 THE TOWN OF TA-TUNG-FU [oh'-

and could take the enemy in the rear, if, after passing the first line of defence, they should reach the wall. The wall itself must have reached a great height, and, as I noticed here alone, it is perpendicular on the Mongol side, and gently sloping on the Chinese. By the irony of fate the inhabitants of the district have dug out of the mounds of earth that form the slope stables for their cattle. Three miles away from the wall rise the ruins of an old fortified city, which are remarkable only for an ancient triumphal arch, and a gate in the ramparts, made of hewn stone, and strikingly well built. Still following the bed of the same river we reached Ta-tung-fu on the following day. This important place deserves special mention.

Ta-tung-fu was very strongly fortified, and its defences are still imposing. Its shape is rectangular, and it has four gates strengthened by double walls. The northern gate, in old days the point of danger, does not communicate directly with the plain, but opens into a strong citadel, a miniature copy of the city itself. In this are the parade ground and the barracks of the troops, recognisable from the number of small flags that surmount them. I think I may assert that the Chinese forces retain ancient forms not yet Westernised; for example, there is one flag to every ten men.

The interior of the city contains some triumphal arches, in the purest Chinese style, and great main

GROTTOES AT YUNG-YANG-MIAO 11

streets comprising shops well furnished for the interior of a Chinese province. Particularly weU preserved also is a great wall covered with coloured tUes representing a dragon. The tint of these tiles is very fine, and no European factory can produce richer work.

We did not stay long at Ta-tung-fu, for we wished to reach the desert of the Ordos as soon as possible, and purely Chinese towns did not interest us overmuch. If it is true to assert that aU the cities of the Celestial Empire are alike, it is a different story with the temples, for we visited on the day after our departure from Ta-tung-fu the most interesting and curious temples that we ever had the fortune to see — I mean the grottoes of Yung-yang-miao.

To reach them one must travel along the picturesque valley of the Shi-M-ho for some dozen miles, and pass before a small but very striking temple whose entrance gate is guarded from the wrong-doing of the ill-affected by a wall covered with tiles in a style similar to those I described at Ta-tung-fii. Its roof is also coated with coloured tiles. Soon after, the village of Che-kon-han-chu is reached, where two chapels, which call for notice, are cut out of the rock. They consist of two square chambers, the vault above being supported by a central rectangular piUar. I concluded that they existed first as natural grottoes caused by the passage of water, and that the Chinese had only enlarged them and shaped them as they

12 BUDDHAS IN THE ROCK [oh.i.

are to-day. In one of them a spring which rises with a weak flow supports this theory. They show otherwise clear traces of water action. To a height of some 3 feet the friable rock has crumbled, and the ceiUngs of both chambers are entirely mildewed. Though now in poor preservation, they remain a proof of some considerable sculptural achievement. Each room contains over a thousand figures, some nearly 6 feet high, others only a few inches. The ceilings especially are a maze of painted dragons. The statues also were painted, but are now discoloured by the effects of the water. However, Buddhist piety has succeeded in repairing some of the figures, especially the statue of a Turk, in a turban crowned with an aureole, in the first room, whose presence seems a tasteless anachronism. I concluded that gates, which have perished, originally closed the entry. As to the inscription in the interior of these grottoes goodwill alone could not suffice to decipher them.

A little further on are the village and temple of Yung-yang, made up of grottoes all cut out by human hand in a great wall of limestone reaching for three-quarters of a mile on the bank of the Chi-li-ho. They are many hundreds in number, and all contain a seated Buddha carved in the living rock. The nearest to Ta-tung-fu are the only important ones. They are very lofty and adorned on the outside with wooden temples three and four stories in height. These

"S

LEGEND OF YUNG-YANG-MIAO 13

stories are connected by staircases cut in the rock, and are composed of platforms of which the highest are on a level with the eyes of the Buddha. These Buddhas are huge, and are surrounded by smaU figures like the angels round the central figure over the altar of a Roman Catholic Church. The general appearance of the temple is not unlike a theatre, of which the grotto serves as the stage. In one of these grottoes a Buddha 50 feet high is entirely gilded, and wears on his forehead a crown of coloured glass. His eyes also are made of glass. The wooden temples were repainted twenty years ago, and are consequently very conspicuous and picturesque. Unluckily money was apparently lacking to renew the platforms and raihngs, and I should not advise any one to approach too near to the abyss to get a close view of the statue, which is very striking as seen either from above or below.

The other grottoes have no temples in front, and the largest, which contain some gilded statues adorned with imitation gems, are simply divided from the outside by wooden bars. The smaller grottoes have not even these. Legend, in the mouth of the old lama in charge, insists that all once had their temples in front, but some thousand years ago, he avers, a deluge of twelve days' rain loosened the foundations of the temples, even then ancient, and reduced them practically to ruins. Seven days after the rain, an unknown man stood before the temples, and with uplifted

14 WE REACH SO-PING-FU [ch'-

arm gave them the order to fall. All fell together, exposing the grottoes as they may be seen to-day. The truth is, that, if these porticos ever existed, they feU one after another for the all-sufficient reason that the Chinese, who occasionally repaint, never restore or rebuild.

After a four days' march we reached So-ping-fu on 9th July, having followed from the temples of Yung-yang, a high road wholly without interest, and only remarkable for the large number of old towns and fortified villages, completely deserted and abandoned, teUing the sad story of the real China of to-day, infinitely less populous and industrious, whatever may be said, than it was three hundred years ago. So-ping-fii hardly deserves to be called a prefecture. It is a dead city. Its empty streets form a melancholy contrast to the activity of Ta-tung-fu. We stayed there one night only, and spent it in the house of a tea merchant, the inns being too repulsive.

The next day we set out with an escort of six grotesque soldiers, armed with absurd knives and with sticks. Having drawn one of these terrible swords from its sheath I found the blade to be made of wood, and the warrior quite shamelessly explained to me that he had sold the steel that he might buy opium.

Our purpose was to go from So-ping-fu to the Ordos by way of Cha-ber-noor, where lived a missionary friend of ours, a man of enlightenment. We had travelled together two years

THE RIVER ULAN-MUREN 15

before, and I was looking forward to seeing him again. There is no direct road from So-ping-fu to Cha-ber-noor. We had either to take the high road to Kwei-hua-cheng, or, having reached the Httle town of Shakolo, to try to make a way along the river Ulan-muren, which has a bad repute, amply justified by its quicksands. We decided for the latter course, which was more difficult, but more novel, and started for Shakolo, a very pretty little town at the opening of a defile. In older days the river Ulan-muren, which washes its walls and is a tributary of the YeUow River, was defended by a fortified bridge with very narrow stone arches, which, spanning the stream here and there, prevented the passage of troops in the shallow water. Only the ruins of this interesting work now remain on the left bank of the river.

We arrived at Cha-ber-noor after a march along the Ulan-muren, which was not without incidents. It was not easy to get our baggage carts along the banks which were strewn with large boulders, and when we had overcome this trouble we found ourselves encountered by treacherous quicksands. I nearly disappeared myself in one of these deceptive spots while searching for a place at which we could cross the river. Taken in by the colour of the ground, I forced my horse forward against his wish, and found myself about 3 feet deep in mud. LuckUy, I was riding an exceptionally vigorous pony. Roused and inspired by the instinct of self-preservation more

16 MANDARINS OF KWEI-HUA-CHENG [ch.i.

than by my riding -whip, he managed, after a series of struggles, to get clear of the quicksand.

The first 20 or 30 miles of the course of the Ulan-muren are very thinly populated, and almost given up to the pasturage of sheep and goats. An incalculable number of hares are also to be found here. As they are not wild they are easily killed. Near a hamlet called San - chou - long I remember knocking over a dozen of these animals in the little clearings between the scanty bushes in less than ten minutes. It proved to be a waste of powder and shot, for our men refused to eat their flesh. A deep-rooted superstition convinces them that the souls of their grandparents reside after death in the bodies of hares.

After leaving the Ulan-muren we crossed a small hilly district 1,200 feet in height, and debouched upon the huge plain of Tumet, in which are Cha-ber-noor, a number of flourishing villages, and the great city of Kwei-hua-cheng.

Hardly had the Mandarins of this last place, with whom I had often been brought into contact two years before, heard of our presence at Cha-ber-noor, than they sent us pressing invitations to come to Kwei-hua-cheng. Although this digression did not quite suit our plans, I decided to comply with their request, hoping to obtain from them letters of recommendation, and greater facilities for crossing the Ordos. One of these Mandarins, who rejoices in the title of the Tartar

THE FIRST CARAVAN OF CAMELS 17

Marshal, is the real head of the Ordos, of Tumet, and of Northern Mongolia. pCe represents the Pekin Government among the Mongol princes, and exercises great influence from this fact.

But before starting for the Blue Town I had been obliged to make some changes on the staff of our caravan. Having obtained clear evidence of the thefts of which the mqfou had been guilty, I had dismissed this gentleman, not without having recovered, quite by chance, some of the stolen property, among which was a bottle of mercury which I had brought for astronomical observations.

Furthermore, all the information which I had received latterly about travel in the Ordos, and about the condition of the roads there, had made it clear to me that I should only be able to use my Pekin carts for a very short time, and accordingly I had decided to send them back at once and to buy some camels. At Kwei-hua-cheng in the summer good camels can be bought in the market for a sum varying from 40 to 50 taeU. For the kind of work which the animals had to do it was important that they should be very fat, and not too young. In fact, instead of traveUing by night to avoid the heat, as the Chinese and Mongols always do, we had decided that we would cover our stages by day- Ught, preferring to sacrifice the animals rather than our sleep. Mongolian camels do not bear heat well, and the hot sun is sometimes actually overwhelming when reflected from the sand and

18 FESTIVITIES AT KWEI-HUA-CHENG [ch.i.

beating on the Ordos in August. The chief cause is that the long hair of the camels induce an abnormal perspiration, which rapidly makes them thin, and then their loads produce huge abscesses, which render them useless. On the other hand, they are not accustomed to eat at night, but only during the day, and when they halt after a hot stage they are so wearied by the heat that they stretch themselves on the sand and rest rather than eat the grass close by.

In such circumstances their health fails quickly, but in spite of these drawbacks, provided that their feet do not sink in the sand or the mud, they are the best animals for crossing the Ordos with.

We started then for Kwei-hua-cheng with a small troop of camels and a new staff. The road from Cha-ber-noor is flat, and very easy, and we met with no difficulty. We were accordingly perfectly fit and not at aU tired when we established ourselves in the Kon-kuan, which had been reserved for us. We started almost at once upon a series of sumptuous dinners, at which the dishes were as numerous as they were indigestible, while the feast was heralded, interrupted, and followed, by performances of Chinese minstrels and jugglers, which were very entertaining.

I remember especially a Uttle man, friU of activity and good humour, who swallowed a fiery ball somewhat larger than his fist, and made grotesque gestures while his deeply impressed

REVIEW OF TROOPS 19

audience watched the ball gradually descend to the level of his stomach. After a few minutes he made the solid mass rise to his mouth again apparently with consummate ease. Another man swung on a trapeze made of swords between two trees, and managed not to cut his hands on the sharp blades.