EXTINCT VOLCANO OF HAWSHUENSHAN; FROM SUMMIT OF MOMIEN HILL.
The hills seemed to slope almost to the walls of the city in the centre, but the intervening area was sufficient for an almost unbroken ring of large villages, either in ruins or deserted. To the right rose the Deebay range, beyond which lay the road to Tali-fu, and in the far distance the lofty Tayshan ranges, running north and south, formed a noble background of black rugged mountains. A long narrow valley stretched in a northerly direction, marking the course of the Tahô, from its source in the Sin-hai or Pai-hai watershed, sixty miles distant. Between the foot of the hill and the city wall, a long line of flags of all shapes and colours, and glittering spears, marked the presence of the Tah-sa-kon of Momien. An aide-de-camp presently arrived with a request that we would dismount and greet the governor, who had come out to meet us. We were a motley group, not improved in appearance by twenty-one miles’ march over muddy flats and dusty hills, but, preceded by the most presentable sepoys, with the jemadar carrying a gold sword in front, the three Europeans advanced under the canopy of two gold umbrellas, through a long line of officers and banner men, to the Tah-sa-kon, who, dressed in full mandarin costume, occupied a richly cushioned chair, with three huge red silk umbrellas, fringed with gold lace, held over him. He rose to welcome us with handshaking and courteous greeting, and then escorted us to a large, well-built temple outside the town wall, but close beneath the angle where the governor’s palace stood. Here we took up our quarters with a sense of profound satisfaction at having at last, after so many delays and difficulties, reached a city of Western Yunnan.
CHAPTER VII.
MOMIEN.
Momien—The town of Teng-yue-chow—Aspect and condition—An official reception—Return visit—Government house—A Chinese tragedy—The market—Jade manufacture—Minerals—Mines of Yunnan—Stone celts—Cattle—Climate—Environs—The waterfall—Pagoda hill—Shuayduay—Rock temples—Ruined suburbs—City temples—Four-armed deities—Boys’ school—A grand feast—The loving-cup—The tsawbwa-gadaw of Muangtee—Keenzas—The Chinese poor.
A retrospect of the journey thus far showed that since our departure from the Burmese plain we had been steadily ascending. Although the altitudes could not be taken with accuracy, owing to the inefficiency of the instruments which had been supplied at Rangoon, such observations as it was in our power to make were made; they were subsequently reduced by the surveyor’s department at Calcutta, and the results are approximately correct. Where it was necessary to depend on speculation, care was taken to under-estimate the apparent altitudes. The natives always speak of ascending to Momien and descending from it, and, applied to the western approaches, this expression is fully justified. From Bhamô, four hundred and fifty feet above the sea-level, we had climbed over the Kakhyen hills to the Sanda valley, which, at Manwyne, lies at least two thousand feet above Bhamô. Throughout the forty-eight miles of its length, this valley rises so gradually as to present the appearance of a long level avenue, divided into three stages, till the head of the Muangla division is reached. From this it is requisite to ascend by a detour over the Mawphoo height, to attain the fourth stage, or the valley of Nantin, lying one thousand feet above Manwyne. From the upper extremity of the Nantin valley, the long steps, so to speak, of the Hawshuenshan glen rise fourteen hundred feet to Momien. Thus, the latter city, one hundred and thirty-five miles from Bhamô, occupies a site on a plateau elevated more than five thousand feet above the level of the sea, which is declared by native reports to be the highest inhabited position in the mountainous region of Western Yunnan.
The Chinese city of Teng-yue-chow, better known by its Shan name of Momien, is said to have been built four hundred years ago by a governor of Yung-chang, obeying the king of Mansi or Yunnan, which the Shans call Muangsee. It was probably built as a frontier garrison, to hold in check the recently conquered territories of the Shan kingdom of Pong. It thus became, as it still is, the ruling head-quarters of the tributary Koshanpyi or Nine Shan States, now represented by those of the Sanda and Hotha valleys, with Muangtee, Muang-mo, and Muangmah. We were able to procure a Chinese history of Momien as well as of Tali, though both had become rare, as the rebels had destroyed the woodblocks. These copies were brought by Major Sladen to England, in order to be deposited in the British Museum. It is to be hoped that some one of our Chinese scholars will find leisure to translate these works, which would probably throw valuable light on the little known history of these regions.
The plan and construction of the city show that it was built as a fortress. It occupies an area of five furlongs square, enclosed by a strongly built stone wall, battlemented or crenellated, twenty-five feet high. Twenty yards from the walls a deep moat surrounded the once city; it was still perfect on the eastern and southern faces, but had degenerated into a broad puddle, the favourite wallow for the bazaar pigs, on the western. The masonry is admirable, the well hewn slabs of lavaceous rock, two to four feet long, being laid in mortar, hardened almost to the consistency of the stone, while the moat is faced with stones laid together without mortar, so close and true that a penknife can scarcely be inserted between them. Inside the wall, an earthen rampart, about thirty feet wide and eighteen feet high, serves as a battery, or parade ground, as well as a promenade. There are no bastions, but at intervals turrets rise from the rampart, built of blue burned bricks, the smooth surface and sharp edges of which are uninjured by the wear and tear of centuries. The four gateways, to each of which corresponds a substantial bridge spanning the moat, are lofty and well built; but at the time of our visit, two of these gates had been built up. The south-western or bazaar gate was especially fortified by a semicircular traverse, an entrance in the side of which led into a tunnel-like archway, over which rose a lofty watch-tower, with concave roof, supported by strong pillars. The inner doorway was closed by heavy ironclad wooden valves, which were carefully shut at nightfall. Viewed from a distance, the walls and turrets, with a lofty pagoda and the roof of the watch-tower, seemed to indicate a populous and thriving town; but within the walls was almost emptiness. The broad rectangular streets were comparatively deserted, save by a few Panthay soldiers, who with their families formed the sole intramural population. But few houses remained uninjured, the best of these being the dwellings of the governor and his officers. The numerous temples had been gutted and half demolished. The images and huge stone incense vases had been overthrown and broken, while the ruined walls pitted with bullets showed the fierceness of the struggle which had taken place. The absence of all the wonted bustle and noise of a crowded city was made more striking by the evidence on all sides of the former prosperity and population.
Our stay at Momien extended over six weeks; but the state of the country, combined with the weather, reduced us almost to inaction. The depressing monotony of life under these circumstances was, however, relieved by the unvarying kindness of the hospitable Panthays. Our first day was devoted to arrangement of ourselves and baggage, in which a crowd of curious visitors assisted by uttering astonished “Iyaws!” at everything possessed by the foreigners, whose persons and goods each was anxious to inspect.
