The Mantzŭ are an aboriginal tribe still living in the far Southwest of China. It was here that Li T'ai-po was to have been exiled had not the sentence been commuted. (See Introduction.)
Note 118.
Instead, for me, the "long" rest-houses alternate with the "short" rest-houses.
On the "great roads," which we should speak of as paths, rest-houses for the convenience of travellers are erected every five li (a li is one-third of a mile). These are called "short road rest-houses" and are simply shelters. There are also "long road rest-houses" every ten li, where the care-takers serve travellers with tea and food, and which are equipped with altars and idols for the convenience of the pious.
[AT THE YELLOW CRANE TOWER, TAKING LEAVE OF MÊNG HAO JAN]
Note 119.
I take leave of my dear old friend at the Yellow Crane Tower.
Mêng Hao Jan (A.D. 689-740) was a very famous poet, one of whose idiosyncrasies was riding a donkey through the snow in a search for inspiration.
The Yellow Crane Tower is still standing at Wuchang.