546 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1911. 



Priests and pilgrims, Buddhists and Taoists, are met on the road 

 throughout the empire. They wander from temple to temple, staying 

 for a time here and there, and there is scarcely an old and experienced 

 priest who has not visited all or at least most of the holy mountains 

 and the famous religious places. Finally, scholars, poets, painters, 

 and other artists (frequently combined in one individual) all travel. 

 There is no one among the famous men of China of the past or pres- 

 ent who has not traveled over the whole country. This is still the 

 case. On Omeishan, 3,300 meters high, I met a certain Han-lin, who 

 had climbed up there to meditate, study, and compose poetry. In 

 Szech'uan I visited the memorial temples of the most famous poets 

 of the T'ang dynasty in the eighth century, Li T'ai-po and Su 

 Tung-po. I was shown the place where the former of these had 

 lain drunk on the road, and later I sailed on the Tungt'ing Lake 

 and the Yangtze River, where the latter poet had sailed alone and 

 fished and composed poems. The memory of these great men of the 

 past is as fresh as ever. The smallest boy learns their stories in 

 school. Stories in regard to them are recited at home and among 

 friends. Professional story tellers choose their deeds for their 

 themes. In the theaters the known pieces are acted. In this way 

 the tales and events become the common property of the nation, from 

 the coolie to the highest personage. The classics are learned by 

 everyone who goes to school almost by heart. The paintings repre- 

 sent well-known things. The temples and houses teem with carvings 

 and inscriptions which refer to famous deeds, men, and thoughts; 

 and everybody feels everywhere at home. 



An important item is the fact that until quite recently the daily 

 newspaper was unknown in China. Almost all information was com- 

 municated orally. In comparison with us, the Chinese seem to talk 

 incessantly. A rumor or report spreads most rapidly in everybody's 

 mouth, and he who is convinced that the spoken word is more alive 

 than the written word will appreciate the culture of this folk in their 

 lively intercourse, in contrast to ours, which more and more emanates 

 from the study desk. 



China has thus been developed to that uniform individuality in 

 which we find it to-day, not that there is a dead uniformity in all parts 

 of the Empire. There is a proverb : " Go a mile and speech changes ; go 

 10 miles and the customs change." These changes are first noticed in 

 the styles of buildings, then in the dispositions of the people, their 

 mode of life, their agriculture, clothing, and food. Differences in cul- 

 ture are found prevailing in different regions, the north with six Prov- 

 inces, the Yangtze Valley with five, and the south with six, including 

 the seacoast Provinces of Fukien and Chekiang. Szech'uan is in a 

 class by itself. This Province is by nature divided off by mountains, 

 and has developed its own peculiar culture, imaginative as the in- 



