932 
THROUGH ASIA 
of the articles which have gone amissing, that is five 
thousand tengeh (nearly ^120).” 
Immediately, and in the presence of the culprits, I 
observed, that the amban’s decision was perfectly sound 
and just ; but that I would not take money from the 
thieves, however guilty they were. 
To this Liu Darin replied, with firm decision, that, even 
though the money were a matter of indifference to me, it 
was a matter of the greatest importance to the Chinese 
themselves, to teach their subjects, that they could not 
plunder a European guest with impunity, otherwise the 
same thing would happen again the next time a traveller 
came that way. 
How'ever I did not consider it satisfactorily proved that 
the camel which had been left near the river had also been 
plundered. Moreover the hunters asserted, that some of 
the things had been left behind in the place where they 
found the tent. For these reasons I managed to get the 
fine reduced to a thousand tengeh {£22 ioj'.). If I gained 
nothing else, I gained at least the respect of the culprits 
themselves. 
The quick .sense of justice and the resolute energy which 
Liu Darin showed in protecting the interests of a Euro- 
pean are very unusual qualities in a Chinese mandarin. 
But I have already observed, that Liu Sui Tsai, to give 
him his full name, was an e-xceptionally capable man ; and 
this was proved yet again in another instance. The annual 
tribute which the oasis of Khotan pays collectively to the 
Chinese imperial e.xchequer amounts to about ^000 jmnbaus 
(^33,000). At Khotan, as indeed in most of the towns of 
East Turkestan, the governor is chang'ed every three 
years ; but even in that period he generally finds time to 
“.scrape together” a few thousands, for a large portion of 
the taxes that are levied sticks in his own pocket. Liu 
Darin had been governor of Khotan three years ; but 
every year he had sent the whole of the tribute without 
deduction to Peking. His rare integrity had excited con- 
siderable attention at Urumchi, and he had just been 
promoted to be amban of Yarkand, and was to leave 
