102 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



spending a few hours with the kindly and energetic Bishop 

 Cassels and certain of his coadjutors, who did all they could 

 to render my stay pleasant. 



Leaving Paoning Fu and following the main road via 

 Tungchuan Fu, by easy stages I entered the city of Chengtu Fu 

 nine days later, having occupied fifty-four days on the journey 

 from Ichang. 



The journey from Tunghsiang Hsien to Paoning Fu fully 

 bore out my expectations. The crowds on market-days were a 

 decided drawback, but not once was I insulted or called (in my 

 hearing) uncomphmentary names. The avaricious greed and 

 cunning of the inhabitants were most marked. They were 

 constantly putting up the prices of food-stuffs on my followers, 

 which led to much argument and high words, and several 

 times I was called upon to settle such disputes. The greed 

 of the Szechuanese peasant and small shopkeeper is a byword 

 among the Chinese of other provinces. The term " Szechuan 

 Lao-ssu " ("Szechuan Rat") is applied derisively to the 

 whole population by the Chinese from other provinces. 

 Niggardly and avaricious they undoubtedly are, but they 

 are great agriculturists, and the question of the " mote 

 and beam " may well be left open. As mentioned before, 

 the province is largely peopled by descendants of immigrants, 

 and these folk almost invariably style themselves men of the 

 provinces their ancestors came from ! 



The outstanding features of this ancient part of Szechuan 

 are : — 



1. The elaborate system of market villages situated at 

 equal distances of 30 li apart, each with its nine market-days 

 per month, and alternating with the markets of neighbouring 

 villages. Each village is situated on the mountain-top and 

 usually on the neck of a divide, with one central more or less 

 covered street. 



2. The rice belt is confined to the mountain slopes and 

 summits, the valleys being ravines, jungle-clad as a rule, with 

 little or no cultivatable bottom-lands. The highly cultivated 

 nature of the region and the presence of cotton in quantity 

 around Yilung Hsien. 



3. The numerous fine mausoleums with remarkably good 



