good quarters were obtained in Ycn-an Fii, and we all settled down to spend 

 Christmas and New Year in comfort. 



Yen-an, a city of about three thousand inhabitants, was built, it is 

 believed, early in the Sung dynasty. It has sustained many sieges from time 

 to time, these chiefly at the hands of the Mongols, whose ravaging hordes 

 poured in from the Ordos by the valley of the Yen Shui, on which river 

 Yen-an Fu is situated. During the Ming dynasty the northern part of Shensi 

 was in the hands of the Mongols, from whom it was wrested "by the famous 

 Yang. This intrepid soldier, making his headquarters in Yen-an, drove the 

 intruders back across the border, and there held them successfully at bay. 

 His remains lie in a large cemetery situated in the valley about a mile to the 

 north of the city. In more recent times the city was sacked by Mohammedan 

 rebels, the inhabitants cruelly massacred, and the temples — in part at least — 

 destroyed. It is built under the brow of a high and precipitous hill, and the 

 wall as usual runs up the steep slope taking in the crest, which is divided from 

 the rest of the ridge by a deep chasm cut by the original builders to preclude 

 the possibility of attack from that quarter. Immediately outside the eastern 

 wall flow the muddy waters of the Yen Shui. 



Up the side of a high sandstone cliff, facing the city on the left bank of 

 the river, is built a most beautiful temple — a relic of the Sung dynasty. Its 

 most interesting feature is an enormous hall hewn out of the solid rock, in 

 which sit three colossal Buddhas, each on the sacred lotus lily. These, 

 however, received but little of our attention, as though large and very 

 gorgeously painted they are made only of mud. But the walls of the hall 

 itself are lined with thousands of little Buddhas carved from the rock in 

 strong relief, not one square foot of wall being left blank. Here and there 

 were larger statues of other deities; one of which, a beautifully carved figure 

 of the Goddess of Mercy in a reclining attitude, called forth our special 

 admiration, and considerable pains were taken to obtain a good photograph of 

 this exquisite piece of work. There were evidences that the carvings and 

 statues had been at one time coated with paint ; but that they look far better 

 in their present condition we have no doubt. There were signs of a strong 

 Indian influence in this artistic work. The priest attached to the temple told 

 us, on being questioned, that it was si.x hundred years old. On the crest of a 

 high hill above, and beyond this, there are still visible the remains of what 

 must have been at one time another magnificent temple. It was evidently of 

 very considerable proportions, and is said to have been destroyed by the 

 Mohammedans. Sections of an immense stone stairway are still visible on 



2!) 



