— 228 — 



now, facts are " much more in favour of this displacement! I refer to tlie 

 eminent geographer of China, Ferdinand von Richthofen, who already 

 has pointed ont ') the significance of tlie radial structure of S. E. Asia 

 and its peculiar deep valleys with regard to the history of traffic between 

 the tribes in that area. In fact, communication between the valleys of the 

 Irawaddy, Salwin, Me-khong, Song-koi, Hsi-kiang and Yang-tse-kiang is 

 very difficult, both up- and down-stream, and this has of old acted as a 

 hindrance for political conflicts. But the sheer valleys of the upper course 

 of thèse rivers in the Yun-nan plateau were likewise scarcely accessible 

 for the down-stream populations. 1 cannot refrain from quoting this most 

 interesting statement^): 



,,Kein einziger der alten Flussmiiiidungs-Staaten hat daher vermocht, 

 ,, seine Herrschaft auch nur an dem eigenen Strom bis an dessen Oberlauf 

 ,,auszudehnen; viel weniger, benachbarte Stromgebiete in seinen Machtbereich 

 „einzubeziehen. Unabhangige VcHkerschaften nehmen den Kern von Hin- 

 „terindien ein. So ist es geschehen, dass die centrifugalen Bestrebungen 

 ,,viel mehr zur Geltung kamen. Die Geschichte der peripherischen Ciiltiir- 

 „staaten an den vielgestaltigen ostasiatisc/ien K liste n vom Brahmaputra bis 

 ,,zum Hsikiang deutet aiif die friihe iind furtgesetzte Tendenz langsamer 

 ,,centri/ugaler Vôlkerbewegungen von innen nach aiissen. '^) Aber stets sind 

 ,,TheiIe der Stamme im Innern geblieben, uiid es mag daher kommen, 

 ,,dass sich in keinem andern Theil von Ostasien so zahlreiche durch 

 „besondere Sprachen und Idiome ausgezeichnete, zum Theil unabhângig 

 ,,gebliebene Vôlkerreste finden wie in der siidlichen Raiidzone des innerasia- 

 „tischen Hochlandes entlang der ganzen Strecke von Assam bis Kwéitshôu. 

 „Besonders zusammengedrângt scheinen sie in der vorgeschobenen Bastion 

 ,,von Yunnan zu sein." 



it appears from the above that the probability of the tribes in the 

 inaccessible central portion having carried a crop plant towards the coast, 

 is greater than that the reverse process took place ^). We do not know, 

 to be sure, whether tea is cultivated in the Ante-Tibetan mountains now, 

 but this is not important, because of the immense periods involved; 

 according to Bretschneider ^), 3000 years ago tea was already cultivated 

 in Sze-chuen, and this industry might hâve corne from the highlands at a 

 much earlier period. But hère we get into the realm of pure hypothesis, 

 and we ought to feel satisfied with the knowledge that very ancient 

 Chinese records point to a tea culture exlstlng in Southwestern China. 

 Perhaps we may imagine the cws^om of tea-drinking to hâve pushed on, from 



') F. VON Richthofen 1912, p. 17. 

 -) F. VON Richthofen 1912, p. 18. 

 ^) It-alics are mine. — Niimerous instances of the truth of tiiis thesis, relating to the 



Burmese tribes, are to be found in the interesting work of J. G. ScOTT 1906. 

 *) The utrnost scrupnlousness shouid, however, be bestowed an appiying this Une of 



argument. It is known, indeed, that the cotton plant has, according to ail authoritative 



Chinese classics, been importcd into China from Central Asia and Cochincliina in 



the 9'ii-10<'' ccntury A. D. (Bretschneider 1870, p. 7.) 

 ") We saw that hjs statements are refuted by prof. DE Groot. 



