CHAPTER XI

_RUSTIC PLEASURES_

WALKS AND PILGRIMAGES

The districts in China most favoured by nature are, without doubt, Hang-Tcheou and Sou-Tcheou. The first possesses the lake of Sou-Hou, rich in beautiful surroundings. The river Tchinn-Houai flows through the second.

A very popular Chinese proverb says:

“Heaven is what is most beautiful in the skies, on earth it is Sou and Hang.”

In the evening the lake and the river are covered with illuminated pleasure boats. Songs and laughter echo on every side. The banks are covered with villas glittering with light, where happy faces and charming features may be seen.

These villas are inhabited by the most beautiful women, who come to this wonderful land to admire the beautiful scenery, and to be admired in their turn. It has been said—such is the reputation of this enchanting spot—that at Hang-Tcheou the moon, instead of being sad at times, is always very happy, as if to share in the general gladness. What songs of love has she not inspired, what poems, what music, born of the contemplation of her orb, more beautiful here than anywhere else. I will add that the prettiest women in China are born in these two provinces.

Sou-Tcheou has, besides its river, a lake called Tai-Hou, in which are a number of mountainous islands. The most celebrated of these are the Toung-Ting-Chan group, which are much loftier than the others. In autumn, when the Virginia creepers have turned to red amidst the green of the pine-trees and the bamboo, the aspect is a most picturesque one.

To the west of the town there is a mountain known as the “Magic Rock,” where there is the grotto of Si-Si, the favourite of Prince Ou-Ouang of Sou-Tcheou, the most beautiful woman in China, and quite close to it are the Lake of Flowers, the Pathways of Pleasant Odours, and the King’s Peak. From the top of this peak, a view of the Toung-Ting mountain, rising a mass of green out of the snow-white lake, may be obtained.

There is another mountain to the north-east, called Fou-Kiou, or the Tomb of the Panther. The story is, that when Emperor Tchin-Sse-Houang wanted to break into the tomb of Prince Ou-Ouang, a tiger appeared on the tomb and protected it, whence its name. Lower down is a tomb which has been preserved for over eight centuries, and which contains the body of a young woman renowned for her misfortunes in love. The few poems of hers that have survived are so very sad, that all persons of a romantic turn of mind who have read them never fail to pay a visit to her tomb, and to cover it with flowers.

Here is a short poem written by this heartbroken woman:

“I prostrate myself before the Buddhist Virgin, so full of pity and of charity, To beg her to grant that in my future life I may neither revisit earth nor tarry in Paradise; I pray that she may bless me with a drop of dew at the end of her willow branch, So that I may become a double lotus blossom.”

The third line contains an allusion to the Buddhist ceremony of aspersion. The double lotus-flower is supposed to bear on the same stalk a male and a female blossom. It is the emblem of the union of two hearts and of happy loves.

The marble of the tomb is covered with inscriptions made by the visitors. Most of these are in verse, of the same metre and with the same rhymes used by the dead poetess.

Some way off is another mountain, where Lao-Tse spent a long time in meditation. In the centre of this mountain is a large lake, known as the “Celestial Lake,” where, in summer, lotuses of extraordinary size may be seen in flower. It used to be said that by eating these flowers one attained immortality.

All this district is full of celebrated places and of historical sites. Generally speaking, there is a monastery on the top of each of the mountains. In the middle of the spring all the ladies of the district make offerings to Buddha.

Those who admire pretty women take advantage of this custom to come and stare at the ladies.

The monastery is reached in sedan-chairs. The ladies go down again backwards. I never could understand the reason of this strange custom until chance brought under my notice these two lines, written in the seventeenth century by a woman:

“I go down stepping backwards, and you follow me face to face, So that it is not necessary for me to turn my head round at each step.”

There are even more celebrated places at Hang-Tcheou. In the first place, there is Si-Hou, mentioned above. An avenue of weeping willows surrounds the whole lake, and the branches of the trees droop down into the water. Behind is an immense panorama of mountains—the Phœnix Mountain, the Mountains of the Screen of Stone, the Solitary Mountain, and the Mountain of the Pumpkin, which was the favourite walk of Emperor Tchin-Sse-Houang. This destroyer of books used often to land at the foot of this mountain, leaving his boat on the lake while he made his excursion. Then there are the Mountain of Music, against which the current breaks and is driven back with terrible noise; the Mountain of the White Dragon, the Mountain of Sans-Souci, where may still be found the utensils in which the immortals, according to the legend, used to prepare their magic remedies in the old days. I may also name the Celestial Pillar, the Fist, the Eye of Heaven, and the Marble Mirror, which is formed of a huge round rock so smooth and polished, that one can see his reflection in it as in a mirror. Emperor Tchiao-Tchung, of the Thang family, used often to give dinners on this marble table. The guests used to spread their cloaks out on the rocks which stand around, and on this account the Emperor called these rocks Marechal-I-King, which means the embroidered garment. The following story is told about the Flying Mountain: “An Indian priest, seeing it for the first time, appeared quite dumfounded with astonishment. He was asked what was the matter. ‘This mountain,’ he answered, ‘belongs to my country. I do not know when it can have flown here.’”

Beyond the summit of the Ten Thousand Pine Trees, we see the Mountain of the Red Twilight, so called because in the spring the peach-trees, with which it is covered, blossom with their pink flowers, and give this mountain the appearance of being bathed in the ruddy glow of dawn or twilight.

In this district there are a number of little lakes and merry rivulets, which have poetic names. A part of the shore of Si-Hou is called the Quay of Master Sou, because Sou-Toung-Po had nenuphars and other flowers planted there. Many poets have written about this lake. The most celebrated is the following, which was written by Sou-Toung-Po:

“Compare the lake to Si-Si. It is more simple and prettier, because it is less made up.”

A more modern author says:

“The traveller finds himself in the middle of a picture, and can easily believe that all these picturesque constructions are made of embroidery, so I am no longer surprised that the Choung dynasty Preferred this lake to the half of their empire.”

The following is still more enthusiastic:

“Ten leagues of lotuses and an autumn rich in koue flowers Attract the sovereign to them. The new melody, entitled, ‘Song of the Willows,’ Is sung by every mouth. This is what has changed the capital of the empire, And has caused Pien-Theou to be deserted for Hang-Tcheou.”

Another poem, the last, says:

“The perfumed zephyr embalms the light of the moon, Athwart the twelve stories of the mountain; The Court ascends in the night to the Pavilion of Leisure, Enjoying the panorama from above, Which offers a charming view at the moment when all the houses are lighting up.”

This will suffice to give an idea of these landscapes, the most beautiful in China. The views are of infinite variety, and each point has some natural charm, or has attaching to it some memorable event, historical or legendary. So it is very difficult to represent all there is to be described here, even with the paint-brush. Man is unable to portray all the beauties which Nature, the real artist, so prodigiously displays.