l6 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I42 



largest cargo boats have 2 large oars, each worked by many men, 

 while others have from 2 to 20 or more oars, each generally worked 

 by one man, though sometimes by two men. When going upstream 

 and winds are favorable, sails are used ; otherwise the boats are pulled 

 upstream by strong bamboo ropes or cables. In recent decades steamers 

 have appeared on the Yangtse and other large rivers. During high 

 waters ocean steamers can travel as far as I-pin, and small steamers 

 are able to reach that city throughout the year. 



Besides the large rivers, there are many small streams in West 

 China that are navigable by small boats. In some places these streams 

 are crossed by bridges, but generally they are crossed by means of 

 ferryboats. The number of wooden boats that can be seen at Ichang, 

 Chungking, I-pin, Lo-shan, Chengtu, and many other cities and towns 

 on the Yangtse River and its tributaries is evidence of the tremendous 

 amount of travel and traffic on the waterways of West China. 

 Hundreds of thousands of men find employment in this way. 



Overland travel began at least 3,000 years ago. The red neolithic 

 pottery of Kansu dates from 3000 to 500 B. C, and sherds of this 

 pottery have been found at Chiang-wei-ch'eng near Wei-chou, which 

 is on one of the highways going through Sung-p'an to Kansu. The 

 people of Pa and Shu probably had overland contacts with the 

 Chinese as early as 1000 B. C. There have been several main trade 

 routes into West China, and some lesser routes, and from these, 

 roads and footpaths have branched out into all the country, so numer- 

 ous that one is reminded of the arteries, veins, and capillaries of the 

 human body. 



Over these roads men and women walked, rode, or were carried 

 in sedan chairs. The wheelbarrow was used in and near Chengtu, but 

 was not to be seen in most parts of West China. Single workmen 

 carried loads suspended on the two ends of carrying-poles, and two or 

 more men carried heavier loads suspended from large poles. Some 

 pack animals were used in the lower altitudes, and many more were 

 employed in the higher altitudes where the grazing is good. In the 

 western highlands where the altitudes are under 13,000 feet, laborers 

 often carried their loads on their backs. Tea carriers between Ya-an 

 and Tatsienlu have been known to carry in this way as much as 400 

 pounds. In Kansu and Shensi camels and horsecarts are used. 



For over 2,000 years one of the most common Giinese coins was a 

 round coin with a square hole in the middle, generally called a "cash." 

 It was made of bronze, copper, brass, or iron, and varied from a little 

 over half an inch to about an inch and a half in diameter. Most 



