THE EDEX OF THE FLOWERY REPUBLIC 



3»55 



Photograph from Joseph Beech 



HAYSTACKS TIED TO TREES IN THE PADDY ElEED OF A SZE-CHUAN FARM 



As the farmer needs hay he takes it from the bottom of the stack, permitting the 

 weathered portion to remain. The embankment paths separating the paddy fields are 

 bordered with bean plants. 



small party easily becomes a regiment, 

 and if an armed escort accompanies it, as 

 is usual, the party resembles an army. 



Beyond the walls of Chung-king we 

 enter the city of the dead. We pass 

 square-built tombs of the Ming period ; 

 near by are the crowded lines of public 

 graves for beggars and the very poor ; 

 and then, far away to the top of the hill, 

 about four miles distant, are the regula- 

 tion mounds of Chinese graves, with 

 here and there beautifully carved, ter- 

 raced mausoleums. 



A more orderly section of broad ex- 

 tent, reserved for Mohammedan graves, 

 shows that the followers of the Crescent 

 are no mean or inconsiderable company 

 among the city's population. 



Over these sleeping camps the tele- 



graph lines are now strung and the 

 Cheng-tu Railway will tunnel beneath 

 them. Factories and homes are pushing 

 them farther from the city, which is a 

 sure indication that the hand of super- 

 stition is losing its grip, for a quarter 

 century ago this would have spelled 

 r-i-o-t. 



The Sze-chuanese from of old have 

 been expert workers in stone, as is evi- 

 denced by the many tombs, homes, and 

 places of defense carved deep into the 

 rocky cliffs along the rivers. Their Chi- 

 nese conquerors have inherited this art 

 along with their land, for the country 

 abounds with artistically carved stone 

 bridges and memorial arches of massive 

 proportions ornately wrought in stone. 



One never sees a monument dedicated 



