King-chow and its Pagoda 27 



Two miles inland, and above Shasze, lies the prefectural city 

 of King-chow, the seat of a Taotai, whose jurisdiction ex- 

 tends westwards as far as Ichang, a walled city of which 

 Shasze forms the trading suburb. This portion of the 

 Great River, called throughout its whole course by Westerns 

 the Yang-tse, is known locally as the King River or River 

 of King-chow. The Yang-tse is known to the Chinese 

 indifferently as the Ta-kiang (Great River) or Chang-kiang 

 (Long River) ; if spoken of as the Yang-tse, it would be 

 totally unrecognizable to the natives of the land. But the 

 term Ta-kiang or Chang-kiang applies generally to the main 

 stream which takes its origin in the nine streams flowing 

 into the great Tung-ting Lake, whence the main volume of 

 its waters are derived. The river we are now on is an 

 affluent which flows into the Ta-kiang a few miles below 

 the Tung-ting Lake, and at right angles to its course, at a 

 village called King ho kou, literally, King River mouth — 

 the terms Ho and Kiang being analogous to the Fluss and 

 Strom of the Germans. The name King-ho, however, only 

 applies to the distance' covered by the stream as far as it 

 flows through the district of " King " or King-chow ; above 

 Ichang, where it passes out of the district of King, it is 

 commonly called the Chuan Ho or River of Szechuan. 

 The western extremity of Shasze is marked by a very 

 ancient pagoda of seven stories, up which I mounted, 

 followed by a noisy rabble, which the entrance fee of two 

 cash (half a farthing) did not deter. This pagoda adjoins 

 a monastery which is built behind and below the embank- 

 ment, so that the lowest story of the pagoda is entirely 

 hidden from the river. On the outside, each story contains 

 a recess on each side of its eight faces, and in each recess 

 is a stone Buddha. The interior is adorned with tiles, on 

 which are embossed Buddhas in various positions, some 



