there onward steadily rises till it reaches an altitude of nearly 9000 feet at the 

 summit of the Yung-yao Pass to the west of P'ing-liang Fu (Kansu). These 

 mountains make a formidable barrier and can only be negotiated with great 

 difficulty. The eastern slope is about three miles in length, in which distance 

 it rises about 3000 feet. To accomplish this ascent, each cart needs about 

 treble its usual number of mules, and several carters have to combine to help 

 one another, their wretched animals being forced to make the heart-breaking 

 journey two or even three times during the day. Not infrequently a caravan 

 will spend the whole day in getting across this difficult pass. The severity of 

 the strain on the animals may be gathered from the innumerable skeletons 

 that litter the slopes close to the road. The difference in temperature 

 between the eastern and western slopes of these mountains was very 

 noticeable. On the eastern side foliage was well advanced ; the valleys and 

 ravines were filled with dense bushes already in full leaf; the slopes were 

 covered with scrub in an equally advanced condition ; whilst the trees that 

 lined the roads had assumed their summer livery. The western side presented 

 a very different aspect ; the slopes, valleys, and ravines were almost nude ; no 

 green was to be seen ; a few straggling trees stood bare and brown in the 

 bottoms of the hollows. In crossing the pass the travellers had stepped from 

 a beautiful country, rich in animal life and sylvan scenery, into a dry, cold, 

 and barren wilderness. 



At a small village about five days journey from Hsi-an, we came across a 

 temple of the T'ang dynasty, Ta-fu-ssii (Great Sage Temple). This consists 

 of a cave close upon seventy feet high, and proportionately wide and deep, 

 in which sits a colossal Buddha placidly contemplating the eternal cycle of 

 things, and supported on either side by gigantic attendant deities. The 

 figures, as well as the cave itself, have all been hewn with infinite labour out 

 of the solid cliff. This temple had been repaired recently, and the figures 

 were covered with plaster and gorgeously painted. It is possible to view this 

 Buddha from three different points ; the ground floor, a balcony at about half 

 the height of the figure, and a second balcony on a level with the face. From 

 this last a photograph of the face was obtained, and is reproduced in this 

 volume. 



It may not be out of place here to mention another temple of the same 

 dynasty lying some six miles south of Ho-nan Fu, and known as Lung-k'ou 

 Miao (Dragon's Mouth Temple). This consists of a series of large caves in 

 the side of a deep gorge cutting through a range of low, rocky mountains. 

 Within the caves are large images of Buddha, and attendant sages, all hewn 



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