﻿'WHERE 
  THE 
  MOUNTAINS 
  WALKED' 
  

  

  453 
  

  

  LOOKING 
  INTO 
  THE 
  RUINED 
  TOWN 
  OF 
  WATING 
  THROUGH 
  A 
  HOLE 
  SHAKEN 
  THROUGH 
  

  

  THE 
  CITY 
  WALL 
  BUILT 
  OE 
  LOESS 
  

  

  This 
  was 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  freaks 
  of 
  the 
  disaster. 
  Some 
  of 
  the 
  buildings 
  in 
  the 
  foreground 
  have 
  

  

  been 
  repaired. 
  

  

  undoubtedly 
  the 
  great 
  Kansu 
  earthquake 
  

   of 
  the 
  late 
  evening 
  of 
  December 
  16. 
  

  

  Owing 
  to 
  the 
  unusual 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  

   loess, 
  under 
  the 
  immense 
  deposits 
  of 
  

   which 
  the 
  rockslip 
  occurred, 
  fantastic 
  

   effects 
  were 
  produced 
  upon 
  the 
  surface 
  

   of 
  the 
  earth 
  which 
  give 
  the 
  observer 
  the 
  

   weird 
  feeling 
  that 
  he 
  is 
  on 
  some 
  planet 
  

   still 
  in 
  the 
  formative 
  stage. 
  

  

  The 
  subterranean 
  dragon 
  of 
  Chinese 
  

   cosmology 
  who, 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  north- 
  

   west 
  China 
  tradition, 
  waggles 
  his 
  tail 
  

   every 
  three 
  hundred 
  years, 
  this 
  time 
  

   played 
  havoc, 
  such 
  as 
  was 
  never 
  before 
  

   recorded 
  with 
  the 
  face 
  of 
  the 
  earth 
  and 
  

   the 
  habitations 
  of 
  men. 
  Likely 
  no 
  other 
  

   earthquake 
  in 
  scientific 
  annals 
  ever 
  

   changed 
  the 
  physical 
  geography 
  of 
  the 
  

   affected 
  region 
  to 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  the 
  Kansu 
  

   cataclysm. 
  

  

  The 
  region 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  seismic 
  disturb- 
  

   ance, 
  but 
  local 
  archives, 
  purporting 
  to 
  

   register 
  the 
  events 
  of 
  the 
  past 
  four 
  thou- 
  

   sand 
  years, 
  record 
  only 
  two 
  earthquakes 
  

   approximating 
  the 
  recent 
  calamity 
  in 
  de- 
  

   structiveness. 
  One 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  Tang 
  

   dynasty, 
  1,200 
  years 
  ago, 
  affecting 
  most 
  

  

  severely 
  an 
  area 
  in 
  the 
  north 
  of 
  Shensi 
  

   Province, 
  200 
  miles 
  to 
  the 
  east 
  of 
  that 
  

   now 
  in 
  ruins 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  under 
  the 
  

   Mings, 
  three 
  hundred 
  years 
  ago, 
  which 
  

   struck 
  southeast, 
  from 
  the 
  Kansu 
  border 
  

   to 
  Sianfu. 
  Ancient 
  monuments 
  and 
  

   works 
  of 
  sculpture 
  still 
  bear 
  mute 
  evi- 
  

   dence 
  to 
  these 
  two 
  disturbances. 
  

  

  The 
  area 
  most 
  heavily 
  affected 
  by 
  the 
  

   recent 
  disaster 
  — 
  what 
  one 
  might 
  call 
  the 
  

   area 
  of 
  supreme 
  destruction, 
  where 
  no 
  

   brick-and-mud 
  building 
  was 
  left 
  in 
  a 
  hab- 
  

   itable 
  condition 
  — 
  is, 
  as 
  shown 
  by 
  the 
  ac- 
  

   companying 
  map 
  (page 
  448), 
  an 
  oblong- 
  

   lying 
  between 
  the 
  Wei 
  and 
  Yellow 
  rivers, 
  

   170 
  miles 
  long 
  and 
  150 
  miles 
  wide. 
  It 
  

   comprises 
  two 
  distinct 
  types 
  of 
  geolog- 
  

   ical 
  formation, 
  at 
  least 
  on 
  the 
  surface, 
  

   which 
  fact 
  adds 
  great 
  variety 
  and 
  inter- 
  

   est 
  to 
  the 
  occurrence. 
  

  

  "the 
  eootsteps 
  oe 
  the 
  gods" 
  

  

  The 
  southern 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  oval, 
  stretch- 
  

   ing 
  from 
  the 
  northern 
  bank 
  of 
  the 
  Wei 
  

   River 
  to 
  Kuyuan, 
  is, 
  with 
  the 
  exception 
  

   of 
  the 
  precipitous 
  mountain 
  range 
  cutting 
  

   it 
  from 
  north 
  to 
  south 
  not 
  far 
  from 
  its 
  

  

  