An Archceologkal Find l8i 



the aid of a wooded gully, now diy, we sat down on a stone 

 seat overlooking the ravine, and situated scarcely a hundred 

 yards from the walls of Sha-ping Pa, and enjoyed the magnifi- 

 cent prospect before us. The Chinese, in their love of 

 privacy and retirement, never enjoy a view from the windows 

 of their own dwelling, except it be that of the miniature en- 

 closed gardens surrounding them, hence partly the oppressive 

 dulness with which they afflict a foreigner. The view 

 embraces the steep sandstone cliffs of the opposite bank of 

 the Kia-ling Ho, commonly called the Siao or Small River, 

 and in which were apparent some of the square openings of 

 the cave dwellings which abound throughout the rivers of 

 this province, and the exploration of which has been so 

 interestingly described by Mr. Baber. Behind us, from a 

 green, tree-covered mound, projects the corner of a huge 

 stone sarcophagus. This, my companion informed me, had 

 been opened in the night by the indefatigable " Be-te-la " 

 (Baber), on the occasion of a visit he had made to Shaping 

 Pa. Mr. Baber was rewarded for his exertions by finding 

 nothing better inside than a layer of wet mould ; but a short 

 time previously the landlord of the place (my host) had 

 picked out from under the head of the lid a polished stone 

 axe-head of serpentine. This was handed over to Mr. Baber, 

 but in a damaged state, owing to the greed of the finder, who 

 had tried to break it open in expectation of finding gold 

 inside, the only possible object that, in the eyes of the Chinese, 

 can justify archaeological research. 



The country house in which we were resting was the finest 

 example of a Chinese residence I had yet visited, and merits 

 a short description. It was built in the last century by a 

 retired Fantai, or Provincial Treasurer, at a cost, I was told, 

 of ten thousand pounds. The enclosure occupies little over 

 four acres, and is surrounded by a stone wall ten feet high 



