Chiang Mai

“ Oh! Chiang Nan's a hundred miles, yet in a moment's space
I've flown away to Chiang Nan and touched a dreaming face.
Tu Fu
A.D. 712-770 Tu Fu, whom his countrymen called the God of Verse, was born in the province of Hu-Kuang, and this was his portrait from contemporaries:
He was tall and slightly built, yet robust with finely chiselled features; his manners were exquisite, and his appearance distinguished. He came of a literary family, and, as he says of himself, from his seventh to his fortieth year study and letter occupied all his available time. ”

“ A native of Lo-yang, and comrade in arms in early youth of Li Shih-min, who married his sister. When Li Shih-min came to the throne in 627 as second Emperor of the T'ang dynasty, Chiang-sun was made President of the Board of Civil Office, and was entrusted with revision of the criminal code. In 633 he was appointed to the Board of Works, and in 643 was made Senior Preceptor to his nephew, the Heir Apparent, whose guardian he became, conjointly with Ch'u Sui-liang, upon the Emperor's death in 649. ”

“ After flowing a long distance 105northward of the Mongolian desert, to the northern limit of Shen-hsi, it then turns directly south for a distance of five hundred miles. A right angle turns its course again to the eastward and finally north-eastward, when it flows into the Gulf of Pechili in the province of Shan-tung. The Chiang on the contrary turns south where the Ho turns north, and then after a general course to the eastward and northward, roughly parallelparallel with its fellow, flows into the Eastern Sea, not far from Shanghai. ”

“ She helped him to his feet and hand in hand they walked off toward the moon. Pu Chiang and his companions gazed upon them entranced. They marveled that they had ever thought the little Frog-man ugly. On that clear night on the hilltop they saw the real man which the gargoyle shell of his body had always hidden. For one brief interlude their sight was as keen as that of flowers. He was straight and handsome, like a young tree, and his beauty matched hers in perfectness. Like beaten mice Pu Chiang and his friends crept down from the hilltop. ”

“ It did not matter that we were acting according to the Prince’s expressed wishes.
“Mai Lo must have suspected why we wanted to go to Kai-Nong, and so have put in that dangerous clause,” I said to the doctor.
“True; the fellow has entrapped us very cleverly,” replied Doctor Gaylord. “Yet he may be innocent of any intent to do so.”
“I’m not going to bank on that,” said I. “The consul knows the Chinese, and he says they are crafty. Mai Lo seems to have no more intelligence than a lump of putty, but for that reason he’s doubly dangerous. You can’t tell how much he knows, or what he thinks.” ”

“ Chia Chen lost no time in bidding some one write the statement on red paper, which Tai Ch'üan found, on perusal, to record that Chia Jung was a graduate, by purchase, of the District of Chiang Ning, of the Ying T'ien Prefecture, in Chiang Nan; that Chia Tai-hua, his great grandfather, had been Commander-in-Chief of the Metropolitan Camp, and an hereditary general of the first class, with the prefix of Spiritual Majesty; that his grandfather Chia Ching was a metropolitan graduate of the tripos in the Ping Ch'en year ”

“ The headquarters of an army division are also situated here. A British consul resides at Chieng Mai, where, in addition to the ordinary law courts, there is an international court having jurisdiction in all cases in which British subjects are parties. The population, about 20,000, consists mainly of Laos, with many Shans, a few Burmese, Chinese and Siamese and some fifty Europeans. Hill tribes (Ka) inhabit the neighbouring mountains in large numbers. ”

“ Among men there are very many who seek for the genuine Sung, but refined and beautiful specimens are exceedingly few.... Ts ́ao Chiung, a man of high birth, secured an incense burner, in height about two inches and in width proportionate. The cover was beautiful jade carved with a pattern of sea waves of Tung ch ́ing [153] colour, with a handle in form of a crane, a genuine piece, and exceedingly beautiful. It came to the ears of the eunuch Mai, governor of the district, and he put Chiung in prison and subjected him to the inquisition. His son had no choice but to offer the vessel as a gift. ”

“ He was therefore unable to say goodbye to her, and sent her three poems instead. This is the last of the three.
Solemn, solemn the coachman gets ready to go:
"Chiang, chiang" the harness bells ring.
At break of dawn I must start on my long journey:
At cock-crow I must gird on my belt.
I turn back and look at the empty room:
For a moment I almost think I see you there.
One parting, but ten thousand regrets:
As I take my seat, my heart is unquiet. ”

“ Without doubt Mai Lo had been astounded by the discovery he had made that morning: that we were able to penetrate to the sacred chih of the Ancestors of Kai. If he was human, he must have been stirred to the very depths of his nature. But here he stood, as passionless and cold as a statue, his glassy stare wandering from one to another of us in turn, but no word passing his thin, compressed lips. ”

“ For, mark you, Wi-to, we are important people in our own country.”
“I am sure of that,” was the reply. “And if you have a contract with Mai Lo, he must pay to send you back to Shanghai.”
“If he is alive. But he ought to commit suicide before long.”
“Oh, I see!” exclaimed the eunuch. “You intend to compel him to do this?”
201
“We intend to see that he doesn’t rob the Ancestral Halls and run away with the treasure. For that reason we may remain your guests longer than would be required to execute the orders of Prince Kai, who greatly feared that Mai Lo would rob his ancestors.” ”

“ AH MEE'S INVENTION
"A shamelessly rainy day, my honorable Brother Chi."
"That is truth, esteemed Brother Cha. It rains perfectly hard. There will be plenty of leisure in which to beat the children."
Ching Chi was merely quoting an old Swa Tou saying. Every one knows that on rainy days old and young are crowded, arm against elbow, in the house; often to get in each the other's way—and misunderstandings are likely to arise. ”

“ The plaques were beautifully decorated flat pieces of wood, somewhat larger than dinner plates. They made reasonably good dishes for the stiff jam. Surrounded by little mountains of jam, Ah Mee sat on the floor and . . . how the mountains disappeared. Really, it was fairish tasting jam.
When Ching Chi came home and discovered his carvings smeared with black and sticky jam, that good soul fell into a passion. First he screamed. Next he howled. Then he seized the plaques and flung them from him, flung them with all his strength. Flinging seems to have been a family failing. ”

“ Much as I dislike the practise of my profession, much as I dread the long, tedious journey, much as I desire just now to stay with my interesting and most dearly loved flock [the church over which the doctor had just been made pastor] I have felt it would be wrong for me to decline the invitation I have received to visit Chiengmai at the critical time.
“But I cannot afford to waste three months on the journey there, when by boat to Raheng in twenty-three days Chiengmai from there can be reached by elephant in eight to ten days more.” ”

“ Chiang was a man of inherited literary tastes and of great learning. In the above treatise he made the "Shuo-wên" his standard of authority (主) , and he seems to have read with care all the good literature bearing on the characters. It was to these rather than to the spoken sounds that he devoted his thoughts and reading. [28]
A much more famous author, however, was Ku Ye-wang (顧野王) al. Ku Hsi-fêng (希馮) . This man was a native of K'un-shan (崑山) , in the Soochow Prefecture of Kiangsu, and lived from 519 to 581. ”

“ The Generalissimo’s gallant stand against the modern war machines and trappings of the Japanese added shining pages to the history of China. History will record a full realization of the importance of his contributions to the United States in World War II. After Pearl Harbor, while the Japanese won many military successes against the Americans and the British, Chiang’s determination to stay in the fight saved countless American lives. ”

“ When Pu Chiang grew tired one of his companions took up the delectable task. It was extremely pleasant to beat the helpless little Frog-man with bamboo. But not long did he continue without interruption for there suddenly appeared a maiden of jewel-like beauty upon the silent hilltop. The rays of the moon spun about her like a web, making her slender body fairly glow. ”

“ And this Mai Lo shall do as soon as the foreign guests shall together or separately make request to return to Shanghai, and all of the expenses of guards and of food and of transportation shall be defrayed from the private purse of Mai Lo, as a part of his contract and obligations.
“So Mai Lo, promising to be faithful in the names of his greatly worshipped ancestors, agrees to do and will do, or forfeit his life, his rank and his fortune. And that all men may know his intentions he has here signed his name in witness. ”

“ Chiang Tzŭ-ya conferred on him the kingdom of the Blue Dragon Star.
The Spirit of the White Tiger Star is Yin Ch’êng-hsiu. His father, Yin P’o-pai, a high courtier of the tyrant Chou Wang, was sent to negotiate peace with Chiang Tzŭ-ya, but was seized and put to death by Marquis Chiang Wên-huan. His son, attempting to avenge his father’s murder, was pierced by a spear, and his head was cut off and carried in triumph to Chiang Tzŭ-ya. ”

“ Ta-nan next met a gentleman named Chiang, from Lu-chou, who was returning home after having failed at the examination; and this Mr. Chiang was so pleased with the story of his filial piety that he took him to his own home at Lu-chou. There he remained for a month and more, asking everybody he saw for news of his father, until one day he was told that there was a man named Hsi among the Fokien traders. So he bade good-by to Mr. Chiang, and set off for Fokien, his patron providing him with clothes and shoes, and the people of the place making up a subscription for him. ”

“ He didn’t play dragon again. Oh, no. Not at all. He was very careful not even to think of a dragon. He was a weighty elephant—amid the cabbages.
Ching Chi, the fond parent, lived with his wife—her name is forgotten—and the son, Ah Mee, and a little daughter, in a neat house that stood in the Street of The Hill Where The Monkey Bit Mang. Ching Chi was a carver of wood, and ivory, and jade. His bachelor brother Ching Cha who lived next door, did scrivening—wrote things with a blackened brush upon parchment and paper—and the wall, when he had no paper. ”

“ The venerable shook his head reprovingly.
"It is imprudent to be fanciful in matters of business," he remarked. "Lo Chiu, her father, is certainly the possessor of many bars of silver, and, as it is truly written: 'With wealth one may command demons; without it one cannot summon even a slave.'"
"It is also said, 'When the tree is full the doubtful fruit remains upon the branch,'" retorted Chang Tao. "Are not maidens in this city as the sand upon a broad seashore? ”

“ The infant PLA managed with difficulty to survive the first four “bandit suppression campaigns” waged by Chiang Kai-shek. When he launched his fifth in 1933, the Chinese Reds planned the celebrated “Long March” which has become one of their most cherished traditions. Breaking out of Chiang’s encirclement in October, 1934, they took a circuitous, 6000-mile route to avoid Nationalist armies. ”

“ For six months Ching Chi worked to carve a dragon. When finished, the loong was a thing of beauty. In the bazaar it would, perhaps, have fetched a bar of silver from some rich mandarin. But fond Ching Chi gave it to Ah Mee. And Ah Mee, tiring of it after five minutes of play, hurled it through the paper-covered window.
Are windows made to be broken? Are toys fashioned only to be thrown away? Certainly not. Papa Chi wagged a finger at Ah Mee and he spoke thus, “Ah Mee, most wonderful son in the world, you must not throw your dragon through the window into the back yard again. ”

“ Here, again, one might refer to the disputes as to the orthodoxy and integrity of the present leadership. The preëminence of Generalissimo Chiang Chieh-shih, which cannot be doubted, is seen by persons friendly to him as a strong and beneficent influence upon the C. E. C. Persons hostile to him charge that he has packed the C. E. C. with his adherents, and controls it as he chooses. 215. An interesting piece of research could deal with the method of recruitment and registration in the Kuomintang before the coming of the Communist advisers. ”

“ Above all, the Chinese seemed to muster strongly—those busy, patient, plodding people, who are ready to squeeze themselves into any vacant hole, round or square, and to make themselves fit therein. Barbers, carriers, purveyors of fruit, washers of clothes, shampooers, tailors, cooks, waiters, domestic servants, always ready, patient and willing, childlike and bland—John Chinaman swarms in Singapore, and can be found there as the meanest workman or artisan, up to the wealthiest merchant or banker, like the late Mr Whampoa, whose gardens were one of the lions of the place. ”

“ A few superficial improvements, such as a new garden for the town to stroll and gamble in, to impress the people with their lord’s importance and his love for them, are all that distinguish this from any large old Chinese walled city.
The chief impression of the broad flatlands of Chihli in May is the windlassing of water for irrigation out of wells dotting the landscape everywhere, by a man or two with bare brown torso or by a blindfolded mule. The railway cuts ruthlessly across graveyards, perhaps because if it did not it could find no place to run at all ”