[2] The raised brick or mud platform, heated by a fire, used as a bed in North China. THE BIG ROAD "Allons! whoever you are, come travel with me! Travelling with me you find what never tires. Whoever you are, come forth! a man or a woman, come forth! You must not stay sleeping or dallying there in the house, though you built it, or though it has been built for you." WALT WHITMAN. "The Master said: With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my bended arm for a pillow;--I have still joy in the midst of these things."--_Confucian Analects._ CHAPTER II THE BIG ROAD INDICATING THE SITUATION OF HWOCHOW IN THE PROVINCE OF SHANSI THE city of Hwochow is situated on the main road which connects Taiyueanfu with Sianfu, the direct route from Peking to the northwestern provinces. Along this road pass strings of camels, laden with the merchandise of Mongolia; thousands of donkeys, carrying bags of flour from the more luxuriant southern plains; cartloads of tobacco and paper from the large cities in the south of the province, and caravans of travellers; whole families packed into large carts moving to some new home; mat-covered litters swung between two mules and heavily curtained, in which the wives of an official are transported to their new abode; pedestrians, clad in sky-blue cotton, "yamen runners" yelling as they ride at furious speed to clear the way before them, and bearers of burdens combine to form a moving picture of interest and beauty upon the _Big Road_, as it is called. Not least interesting among the wayfarers are the Lhamas from distant Thibet nearing the end of their long pilgrimage to the famous holy mountain Wutai, where each one hopes to be granted the vision of the famous opening lotus. For many months, stretching into years, this hope has sustained them through the weary pilgrimage. From the threshold of their Lhama home they have walked every step of the thousand and more miles, some at every tenth, some at every fifth step, touching the ground with their forehead, and some measuring the whole length of the way with their outstretched body on the road. As the traveller enters Hwochow from the north, he crosses a bridge, passing on his right a large metal cow. Beyond, flows the Fen River, and before him is the city gate. To this brazen image is committed the important function of guarding Hwochow from flood, and so successfully does it accomplish its task that dryness and drought are the normal condition of the countryside! Turning to the east he faces the magnificent range of the Ho Mountains, in winter covered with snow, and in warmer seasons touched with the beauty of ever-changing colour. These mountains are part of the range which, farther north, is traversed by the famous Lingshih Pass.