[277] There are two roads from Shang Kuan to Tali-fu: one lying near the lake, the other near the mountain. My road was the latter.

[278] Marco Polo's description of Tali-fu and the district of which it was capital (Carajan) is well worth reading. The terrifying serpents which he mentions as having "eyes bigger than a great loaf of bread," are said to have been crocodiles. (See Cordier's edition of Yule's Marco Polo, vol. ii. pp. 76-84.)

[279] See [Note 39] (p. 435).

[280] In his valuable work La Province Chinoise du Yunnan (Paris, 1880).

[281] The Chinese name for the lofty mountains behind Tali-fu is Ts'ang Shan (蒼山), "Azure Hills."

[282] Two young children survived the catastrophe. Yang Wei was the Sultan's son-in-law and principal general of his army.

[283] 楊玉科, an imperialist general.

[284] China: Her History, Diplomacy and Commerce, p. 9.

[285] 西番 and 土番.

[286] See Rockhill's Life of the Buddha, pp. 215-216, and T. W. Kingsmill's article in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (China Branch), vol. xxxvii. pp. 26-27.