BOOK REVIEWS: "Les Derniers Barbares: Chine, Tibet, Mongolie," par le Commandant d'Ollone. Pierre Lafitte et Cie., Paris. By H. Alexander Fussell
IN the preface to this most interesting and readable book of exploration Commandant d'Ollone reminds us that within or about the confines of the Chinese Empire there still exist "those races which conquered Cyrus, stopped Alexander, ravaged the Roman Empire, conquered Asia and half of Europe," that they are still the same, "unconquered and untamable." And he asks the question: "Will they succumb under the pressure of civilization; or shall we see them, armed with our own weapons, with modern artillery, utilizing the railways we have constructed, to begin again their terrible incursions?"
The names of these barbarians are familiar enough: Scythians, Huns, Turks, Mongols; to these must be added the Lolos, a race, according to some theorists, more nearly allied to our own, the Indo-European, than to the so-called Mongolian or Yellow race. To study the Lolos and their characteristics was one of the principal objects of the expedition d'Ollone.
Inhabiting the high mountainous plateau, about 11,000 square miles in extent, on the left bank of the Blue River, to the north of the province of Yunnan, they have maintained their independence at the price of continual war with the Chinese. Theirs is "the forbidden land," "the country where the Chinese never go"; for the latter, if found in the country of the Lolos, are either massacred or reduced to slavery. Nevertheless, they are admitted at certain seasons to gather the much coveted "insect-wax," a source of riches to the neighboring province of Sseu-Tch'ouan, which is found only in "the Great Cold Mountains" of the Lolo country. To do this they must get the protection of some Lolo chief and pay an indemnity to each of the frontier clans. The Lolos, on the other hand, go freely in times of peace into Chinese territory to buy weapons and firearms.
The expedition had some difficulty in finding Lolo chiefs to be their introducers or "sponsors"; not only was it impossible to proceed without them, but with them they would be treated more as guests than travelers. However, three Lolo chiefs were induced to undertake this office. D'Ollone describes them as
tall, magnificent men, with nothing of the Asiatic. One of them, Ma-Yola, having one of the finest heads that could be imagined, not yellow in complexion, but tanned like the inhabitants of Southern Europe, straight large eyes, arched eyebrows, aquiline nose, well-formed mouth, and an open, frank, martial expression. Truly, a European head, with a touch of the Red Indian.
The Lolo woman, too, is quasi-European in appearance and attire—a high bodice, a long pleated skirt with flounces, a cloak of fine wool, and turban. Describing the wife of Ma-Djédjé, another of their "sponsors" from a different clan, d'Ollone says, "of stately and noble beauty, she at once compels attention, and all her movements are graceful and dignified."
Among many customs which testify to the high moral development of the Lolos is that of dividing property equally among the heirs of both sexes; as an unmarried woman, however, cannot inherit, her share is held over till her marriage, when it forms her dowry—and until her marriage her brothers must provide for her maintenance. If there is any inequality in the division of property, the youngest is favored. The Lolos appear to be Theists, but have no temples or religious ceremonies.
Who are the Lolos, and to what race do they belong? Hardy mountaineers, good horsemen, fond of war and violent exercise, of proud bearing, noble and often beautiful in countenance, they show all the signs of an energetic race well fitted to develop. What statues, monuments, or architecture have they to tell of their past? None, much to d'Ollone's disappointment. Though their system of government reminded him strongly of the feudal system, yet noble and serf would sleep together on the ground wrapped in their long cloaks, or in cabins without a scrap of furniture. What is the explanation of this anomaly? The real home of the Lolos is not the mountainous country where they have maintained their independence, but on the other bank of the Blue River, where the semi-independent Lolos (and the Miao-Tseu) live under their hereditary chiefs, who, however, acknowledge Chinese authority. But even here no traces of their ancient civilization are to be found, for the Chinese conquerors destroyed everything that reminded them of the Lolo supremacy.