THE THIBETAN BORDER
FoLiN — Chien Chang Valley — Tung River — Coffins promised before Starting — Shih Ta Kai's Mistake — His Army's Destruction — Szechuan saved from Tai-pings — No Ponies ! — Vegetation — Damage done by Rains — Cataracts of Stones — Dragons' Eggs not destroyed — PackMule killed on the Spot — River of Purple Mud — Steep Rock Staircase — Pleasant Resting-place — Mud River — ■ Thinking of turning back — Twenty Bags — Crossing a Stream in Spate — Girls gathering Wax — Pony and Mule at last — Dangerous Washout — Itu : old Frontier City — Gorgeous Inn.
第十章
西藏邊境
富林（FoLiN）——建昌谷地（Chien Chang Valley）——銅河（Tung River）——啟程前許諾的棺材——石達開（Shih Ta Kai）的失誤——他的軍隊被殲滅——四川免於太平軍之災——沒有馬！——植被——雨水造成的破壞——石塊瀑布——「龍蛋」未被摧毀——一頭負重騾當場喪命——紫色泥流之河——險峻的石階——愉悅的歇腳之地——泥濘之河——打算折返——二十個袋子——橫渡湍流——採集蠟的女孩們——終於找到馬和騾子——危險的滑坡——舊邊城伊圖（Itu）——華麗的客棧。
此章描述了從**富林（FoLiN）至建昌谷地（Chien Chang Valley）**沿途的險峻地形、氣候影響以及旅途中遇到的多樣景觀。重點涉及歷史事件（如石達開的戰略失誤導致太平軍的失敗及四川的幸存）、植被的獨特性、雨季造成的嚴重破壞（如山崩和泥石流）、以及當地生活方式的細節（如採集蠟和邊境城鎮的情況）。這一章節不僅勾勒出邊境地區的地理與文化，還展現了旅者面對自然和人文挑戰時的應對策略與感受。
August 31. — After our long ninety li of yesterday and the drawback of making a start in heavy rain, all our bedding and packages having to be carefully enveloped in oiled paper, it was nearly seven before we were under way. The ascent was very steep, but the land on either side richly cultivated and the path well shaded by the tung, orange and other fruit trees. Crossing the narrow summit, we descended on the other side by very rough rock-hewn steps, covered with slippery red mud, down which it was wonderful how our laden coolies made their way at all — until at nine, after passing some rich suburban gardens, we trudged into the long wide main street of the notable frontier town and wide distributing centre, Fulin. The rich valley in which it stands and its comparatively large transit trade combine to make Fulin one of the most prosperous towns in China. The shops were good, the people well dressed, and even the wa-warh (children) not uncivil. We enjoyed a good breakfast here in a clean, much-frequented tea-shop and sent
146 MOUNT OMI AND BEYOND
out to hire ponies, as the weather was too hot for walking. Fulin stands on the banks of the Liu-sha Ho, "Flowing Sand River," well named, as it is a broad, shallow stream of liquid red mud and sand, in character not unlike the Platte river below Denver, in Colorado. This curious-looking stream, wide and shallow, falls into the deep, narrow and pellucid Tung a couple of miles below the city; and beyond the Tung, to the west, lies Thibet. To the south is a cleft in the mountains giving access to the renowned Chienchang valley, Marco Polo's "Ciandu," through which runs the fortified highway — the Lolos on one side and the Menia tribes on the other, which connects Western Szechuan with Tali Fu, the western capital of the province of Yunnan. Here we have a narrow strip of richly cultivated land, running 150 miles north and south, occupied by peaceable Chinese agriculturists and soldier colonists, hemmed in on either side by wild aborigines leading a pastoral life, and to whom the timid prosperous Chinaman affords a natural prey. Petty warfare a la Chinoise appears to be constantly going on here, and our soldier coolie tells us how, five years ago, his General's wife was carried off and held captive two years before she was ransomed and returned, he says, unhurt. The men whom they kidnap, if able-bodied, are made to work at what little agriculture they care to pursue, and, if past work, are left to starve. This Chienchang valley is additionally famous as the breeding-place of the wax insect, whence the larvae are transported annually by running couriers, travelling only by night, to their rearing homes on the ash trees round Kiating. That delightful explorer Baber, who, coming from the north-west, traversed Fulin at right angles to our course, thus describes the Tung river at this spot : —
8月31日——經歷了昨天漫長的九十里旅程，再加上今天清晨出發時的瓢潑大雨，我們不得不小心翼翼地用油紙包裹好所有的鋪蓋和行李，直到將近七點才啟程。上坡非常陡峭，但兩旁土地卻得到了精心耕作，路徑也被桐樹（tung）、橙樹及其他果樹遮蔽。翻越狹窄的山頂後，我們沿著另一側由岩石雕鑿而成、覆滿滑溜紅泥的崎嶇台階下行。令人驚嘆的是，負重的挑夫們居然也能安全通過。大約在九點，我們穿過一些富饒的郊外園圃，步入了著名邊境城鎮**富林（Fulin）**的長而寬的主街。
富林所在的富饒山谷及其相對較大的過境貿易，使其成為中國最繁榮的城鎮之一。當地的商店規模不錯，人們衣著整潔，甚至連**娃娃（wa-warh，兒童）**也沒有表現出無禮。我們在一家乾淨且常有客人光顧的茶館享用了一頓豐盛的早餐，並派人去租馬，因為天氣太熱，不適合步行。
富林位於流沙河（Liu-sha Ho, “Flowing Sand River”）的河岸，這條河的名字非常貼切，它是一條寬淺的紅泥沙流，性質與美國科羅拉多州丹佛下游的普拉特河相似。這條奇特的河流寬而淺，在城市下游兩英里處匯入了狹窄而清澈的銅河（Tung River）；銅河的西邊便是西藏（Thibet）。南面，一道山谷裂縫通向著名的建昌谷地（Chienchang Valley），這是馬可波羅提到的「Ciandu」。谷地中有一條設防的主要道路穿過，兩側分別是**羅羅人（Lolos）和棉崖人（Menia tribes）的居地，這條道路將四川西部與雲南省的西部省會大理府（Tali Fu）**相連。
這裡是一條狹長的富饒土地，長達150英里，南北延伸，主要由和平的中國農民和駐兵移民耕種。然而，這片土地兩側卻是以游牧為生的野蠻土著居民，他們將膽小且富庶的中國人視為天然的掠奪對象。據說，這裡總是有小規模的**中國式戰爭（petty warfare a la Chinoise）**在進行。我們的士兵挑夫告訴我們，五年前，他的將軍夫人被俘虜，被關押了兩年後才被贖回，且據他所說，「毫髮無傷」。
他還說，這些土著居民會強迫身體健壯的俘虜從事一些有限的農業勞動，若俘虜無法工作，就會被遺棄餓死。建昌谷地因為是**蠟蟲（wax insect）**的繁殖地而聞名。每年，蠟蟲幼蟲會被快遞員在夜間運送到嘉定（Kiating）附近的梣樹上飼養。
那位可敬的探險家巴伯（Baber）從西北方向經過富林，他的路徑與我們的路線交叉。他對此處的銅河曾有如下描述：
「銅河在此地區展示了驚人的壯麗景觀。這條河流深而狹，水清如鏡，兩岸陡峭的懸崖巍然聳立，令人不禁感到敬畏。順著河谷延伸，野生植被與精心耕作的農田相得益彰，散布著數個小村落，彷彿人類生活與自然的和諧共存。」
A mile or so further (beyond Fulin) we came upon the Ta-tu river, at this point 2200 feet above the sea level, running in a very rapid stream, about i8o yards broad. The Liu-sha enters it through a wide shingle flat, not much less than a square mile in extent. The main river sweeps in a grand curve from beneath a line of precipices 3000 feet above its waters, and after clearing the shingle, plunges
THE THIBETAN BORDER 147
into a narrow gorge and makes its way eastward, past bluffs whicli ultimately rise, at Mount Wa, to not much less than the height of the Suicides' Cliff of Mount Omi.