Ancient Chinese account of the Grand Canyon, or course of the ColoradoMcAllan, Alexander
History
Ancient Chinese account of the Grand Canyon, or course of the Colorado
McAllan, Alexander
America -- Discovery and exploration -- Chinese; Colorado River (Colo.-Mexico)
One visitor entered the Grand Canyon "in the morning while darkness yet
covered the scene, but even then it was oppressively hot, and as the sun
got higher I felt as though I had been thrust into a dutch =oven= and
the mouth stopped up.... But, despite the terrible heat ... I was
compelled to wonder and admire ... the gorgeous cliffs and rock walls
showing all those varied colorings," etc. (n. 58).
It was the "terrible heat" which compelled the Ancients to resort to
irrigation in order to raise some food for themselves and little ones.
Destitute of water, the soil is scorched and barren.
It is said that "there are about 700 square miles of arable land between
the mouth of the Gila and the 35th parallel of N. latitude," along the
Colorado. And "in the valley" of this stream, where it is joined by the
Gila, "are traces of ancient irrigating canals, which show that it has
once been cultivated." And along the connected Gila are irrigating works
of remarkable construction and undoubted antiquity--antedating the
arrival of the Spaniards by centuries.
Where the soil is actually irrigated or cultivated the response of
nature is most gratifying and encouraging. We learn with regard to the
Colorado valley, that "portions are cultivated by the numerous tribes of
Indians who live along its banks, affording them an abundance of wheat,
maize, beans, melons, squashes," etc. (n. 59).
Such ground would be well worthy of attention; but the attitude of "the
numerous tribes of Indians" along the Colorado might interfere with the
plans of newcomers and even compel the latter to live in caves or on
ledges easily defended. And it is certain that soil insufficiently
watered presents a distressingly sterile aspect in the neighborhood of
the Colorado.
One traveler, already quoted, says with regard to a wide section, that
"the whole scene presented the most perfect picture of desolation I
have ever beheld, as if some Sirocco had passed over the land,
=withering= and =scorching= everything to crispness" (n. 60.)
Notice this word "crispness" used by our author. Turned into Chinese it
becomes =han= (crisp)--the very term applied in the ancient record to
the condition of the soil unwatered within the Canyon. It is curious how
the old and new visitors agree in their descriptions of the interior of
the mighty gorge, where vegetation is withered or dead.
Scorched and Crisp! say the Ancients.
Scorched and Crisp! say the Moderns.
The Canyon should be hot, and one of our own visitors says: "The sun
shone directly up the Canyon, and the glare =reflected from the walls=
made the heat intolerable (n. 61.)
The word =han= has, unfortunately enough, a perfect right to appear in
the old record. Following it we find additional terms:
15. A compound character consisting of the signs for "Sun" (=Jih=) and
"People" (=Min=.)
16. =lung= ("used for =nagas= or snake gods;" "a dragon," "imperial."
"It is often used for a man.")
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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