Ir, Yangtze River flows from Minshan to the sea in a course of about 2,000 miles in length. Chinese accounts do not recognise the claim of the " River of golden sand" to be the true Yangtze. his tributary stream is much larger and longer than the Min, but it is with the Yangtze as with the Mississippi, the smaller stream rules, If a large river like the Missouri comes into another, a smaller one like the Mississippi, at a right angle, it does not on account of its being larger give its name to that other on its way down to the sea. It isa separate river and keeps its proper name. Local usage determines these matters. There 1s no doubt on Chineseusage in this case for Confuciusis reported to have said the great river has its source in the Min mountain, and there it is as small as a wine cup, but when it reaches Kiang-chin, near Chungking, unless you have square-built boat and a day" without wind you carnot cross it." The Chinese have always been fond of enriching their literature with topographical works; and oncof the oldest of these, the Book of Hills and Rivers, describes this river as commencing on two outliers of the Min mountain on its north-east side. This river flows south from the north border of Szechuan for 150 miles till it reaches the Chengtu plain, known as the garden of China and deservedly called so on account of its marvellous fertility. Thus the river does not pass through any part of Tibet and is entirely a Szechuan river till it leaves Szechuan at the gorges. This is as Chinese maps trace the river, The Minshan range runs out to the east, gradually takes a south-east direction, and assumes other names while continuing to divide the province from Shensi, The two pro-yinces have a common boundary till Shensi reaches its southernmost "point at about fifty miles north of the gores. The Minshan river and the augtze proper must, taken together, have flowed at this point for nearly a thousand ailes through the viceroyalty of the Governor-General of Szechuan. Although the Yangtze is a Szechuan river, flowing first south from 33° latitude to 29° and then north-east through six degrees of longitude to the gorges, it is receiving all the way the rainfall of Tibet through its aflents, and in fact drains the Tibetan provinces of Katshi, Kham, and Minyak. Szechuan became am empire in the third century after Christ, and the first capital city built near the Yangtze river was Chengtu. But after forty years it was again absorbed by the empire of North China. The river in arriving at Stichow at its most southern point receives the River of golden sand and the Yiimman trafic, and the union of the trade of two provinces greatly increases the number of sailing boats on the river. It turns to the north-east to proceed to Chungking, where the Pao river enters it,! such flooding in seasons of heavy rain bringing with it the produce of northern as takes place at Hankow. Every July Szechuan and rendering this prefectural the river is at the highest, and at that city the greatest centre of trade in the time the flood at Hankow is several province. The gorges occupy a hundred feet higher than at any other part of miles in extent. They have made the the river. This seems to show the Yangtze celebrated as a poetic river, need at that port of artificial reservoirs for the poets of China have been wud into which a portion of the flood waters irred by them and those who disbecould be drawn off. At Kiukiang the lieve in the existence of imagination scenery and historical recollections of amongst the Chinese should visit the the Lushan impart a special charm to gorges before they decide whether it is this portion of the river. We next pass possible for a literary nation to avoid Wuhu, the centre of an immense rice becoming endowed with poetic creativerade, in the province of Anhui. Ki ness, when nature herself compels them Kiang is the hottest among all the cities to this by her grandeur and solemnity. where Europeans reside in China, he Issuing from its narrow channel the river river at Anching and Wuhu has become flows now a mighty stream through five bent to the north-east and the atmos-hundred miles of the province of Hupeh phere is slightly cooler. Entering the to Hankow, a country all under the province of Kiangsu the river reaches control of the Wuchang viceroy. Its Nanking, the capital of several dynasty course is south-east while it bathes the Sun Chi-nan was the first who selected walls of cities which were once the it, and he removed to this spot from successive capitals of ancient kingdoms.
Wuchang. It remained the capital of The rainfall of Hunan province reaches South China for about four centuries, the Tungting lake and contributes to with the occasional intermission of a feed the river. No scholarly native few years. After its long wanderings passes the mouth of the lake without the river reaches Chinkiang where the thinking of the great poet who two Grand Canal, constructed to convey thousand years ago committed suicide the grain of the south to the capital, here because he had fallen on evil times meets it. Here, too, the full force and was not allowed by his sovereign of the tide is felt, and the river soon and cousin to conduct the government becomes many miles wide. This en-of the country in times of peculiar larged breadth and the tide together danger. After this the river trends to render the mighty stream so. much the the north-east till it reaches Wuchang more efficient in forming new Jand. It and Hankow, where the Han river {has more sea room and it spreads its enters it. It is at this point that the burden of mud and sand more widely floods are highest and are an annual and evenly. Islands form quickly in danger. I'he rise of water at Hankow is the embouchure, Tsingming was not often fifty feet. he greatest danger is known before the Ming dynasty, and when rain has extended at one time new islands are now in course of rapid over hupeh represented by theban river, formation. The tide carries every day Hunan, represented by the Tungting a new supply of deposit up every creek, lake, and Szechuan and Tibet, repre-which contributes to raise the land on sented by the Yangtze. 'I'he natural which the farmer labours. lo this is relief for floods is found in the 'Tung- added all the decaying vegetable matter ting lake, which affords a broad sur-which gives to the soil beneath the face, and' in the scouring power of the whole of those constituent: parts which river which adds depth. At Hankow|it does not breathe back into the more lake surface is needed. It is an atmosphere. Its work of land making souual uty of thes veer {o-inspect leone, we 7 i. returns at lat to the bouks both of the Sangtse and sea, from w hich it originally came.
fan.
China, and the river here presents to the eye a scene of wonderful activity.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.