One of the most striking defects in the civilisation of China is the absence of anything that can be traly called @ road. seems, strange that so vast, 30 populous and, in many ways, so highly civilised a State should have held together longer than any other empire in history in default of any decent means of intercummunication. The wonder is that China did not remain the congeries of independent States that it practically was in the time of Confucius and such as Europe is now. Too few details have come down to us of the events of the third century before Christ, which led to the union of the whole empire under the despotism of Chin-tse-hoang, the "First. Emperor" so called, for us to understand how the Napoleon of China succeeded where a similar attempt, and by a more consummate genius, in Europe, two thousand years later, utterly broke down. We known that China again broke up into "Three Kingdoms" four hundred years afterwards and was not finally reunited until after another century of internecine strife. Since then, amidst the many struggles that have accompanied the several changes of dynasties, no attempt at separation has taken place, although did any province desire to set up for itself, nothing would seem to be easier than to hold any invading troops at bay in, the road-less mountains which generally form the boundaries.* The vast mountain-girdled province of Szechuan is one that possesses the strongest natural frontiers, and as the Kingdom of "Shu" itchd succeed in maintaining for a time an independent dynasty, during the
invading forces from Hupeh ultimately years, of th Three Kingdoms. How the overthrow the Szechuan army of defence Kuctkuan, is pointed out to the traveller jested at the head of the gorges below
in the remains of walls and camps and in the marvellous steps cut across the face of the cliff, that forms the south wall of the "Bellows" Gorge, by means of which, tradition asserts, the supposed impregnable position of the defenders was turned, their camp surprised, and the rival Em-peter Killed, and 90 the temporary autonominy of Soechuan extinguished for, ever. This historical spot is now crowned by a beautifully situated temple known as the Pai Ti Cheng, or Citadel of the White Emperor.
plausible explanation of the evil condition into which the means of intercommunication in China have fallen, while traces of better roads having existed in former times are still everywhere visi-Die, is the intentional neglect of the present dynasty in view of their precarious jold on the country after the successful dash on Peking made by their founder in the early part of the seventeenth century. Being so few in number and with an immense hostile population which it needed the space of two reigns completely to subdue, the Manchus, it is, said, purposely allowed the fine roads which the country owed to the previous dynasty, the Mings, to fall into utter decay. Be this as it may, no system of maintaining the upkeep of roads exists in modern China and hence they necessarily suffer from neglect and aggression to an extent that in many places leads to their complete disappearance.
The range of not very lofty but extremely rugged and precipitous mountains, roughly some two hundred miles in diameter, that No motive for any such separation existe now however, the welding of the many regions that com jin' proper being thorough and complete and the intercommunication most active, though carried on under difficulties which Would repel ¢ less patient people. separates the basin of Szechuan from the plains of Hupeh is, as' most people "are aware, pierced alone by the thread of the Yangtze river, which has found or cut for itself a comparatively level road, walled in by lofty cliffs nearly the whole distance. This road forms the main channel of communication between Eastern and Western China. But it is, and always will remain, a dangerous road as long as the vessels that navigate its foaming torrent are confined to the weak power of human muscle for their means of propulsion and are dependent for their safety on the strength of a plaited tow-Tine. Accidents ure consequently of frequent occurrence, and though the loss of life amongst passengers may not be serious, that amongst the trackers is truly appalling, a "slip" fromthe almost vertical or from the huge jagged rocks amidst which they painfully climb their way, harnessed to five-hundred-yard tow-line, proving seldom other than fatal to life or limb, as we have not seldom ourselves had occasion to notice. Owing to the vast and rapid changes that occur in the level of the river, the extremes being as much as 200 feet, no permanent towing path can be built, and thus, hereabouts in the summer season, when the current runs strong, eight to ten miles is a good day's journey; and such day's journeys as these are not seldom interrupted by a fortnight's rest, when the vessel, having grazed a sunken rock, is hauled aside for repair before she is able to resume her voyage The Chinese authorities, with whom of course rests the initiative of any change, would doubtless have resisted any improvement as keenly and as successfully as they did the recent proposed introduction of steam on this route, but for the unfortunate drowning some ten years ago of two of the sons of one of their number. As for England the immolation of a Ruilway Director was said to be necessary in order to compel the introduction of an improved brake, so the wreck and loss of 'a mandarin junk with its occupants, was the least that could turn the attention of the local officials to the improvement of means of communication in China, The late General Pao, or. Pao-chao-as he was generally called, was one of the celebrities of the Taiping rebellion, in the suppression of which he filled one of the leading parts. He had been rewarded with the command at Kueichow Fu or, as it is commonly termed, to distinguish it from the Kueichow in a ueikuan, the great frontier city of Szechuan, where his spacious yamen is still conspicuous feature in the landscape. The loss of his family, which, however, he did not. long servi led to the resuscitation of the old proj a land road through the gorges, in the construction of which there were no insuperable natural difficulties to be surmounted, although the, in China, more formidable question of how to provide the ways and means still remained to be met. Ultimately the Governors of the two provinces concerned, Szechuan and Hupeh, appear to have agreed to make the road, each province building its own portion. The total distance from Ichang to Kueichow Fu is in actual longitude 100 miles, which with the windings round the ravines probably makes the distance to be traversed by the new road little less than 200 miles, Of this about sixty miles makes up the distance from Kueichow to the frontier, and falls to the charge of Szechuan; leavin; the balance of 140 miles to be constructs by the Hupeh authorities.
The Szechuan portion of the road was successfully completed two years ago (1890), but no beginning has yet been made on the> Hupeh portion, and thus the road terminates on the brink of the almost inaccessible ravine which marks the boundary. Down this ravine passes a mountain, burn, named Pien Ue Chi (Bream Stream) which breaks the north side of the wild: Wushan Gorge abotit 20 miles from its: upper: (western)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.