138 Thj'ough the Yang-tse Gorges 



CHAPTER VII. 



CHUNG-KING. 



The weather — Morning calls — Visit to a Chinese country house — A 

 fine road — A tedious meal — Personal uncleanliness — The Tung 

 family — "Feng Shui" again — A tough yarn — An inscription. 



SzECHUAN is noted among the Chinese for its overcast 

 skies and showery climate. During the month of April that 

 I spent there, we had heavy showers regularly every night. 

 The province seems to lie beneath a cloud-belt, a peculiarity 

 depicted from ancient times in the name of the adjoining 

 province of Yiin-nan, which means, " To the south of the 

 clouds." 



Since the murder of Margary at Teng-yiieh, in Yiinnan, in 

 1875, British consular agents have been successively de- 

 puted from Peking to reside and travel in Western China, 

 with their head-quarters in Chung-king. These officials have 

 been appointed, under the Chefoo Convention of 1876, to 

 see that the promised proclamation, stating the rights of 

 British subjects to travel unmolested throughout the 

 Empire, was duly posted in all the large towns, and 

 generally to report on the capacity of these remote regions 

 for trade. Much most interesting and valuable information 

 has been thus collected, and issued to the public in the form 

 of consular reports, where they lie buried. Baber the 



