Page:Ling-Nam; or, Interior views of southern China, including explorations in the hitherto untraversed island of Hainan (IA cu31924023225307).pdf/104

 100 Ling-Nam.

to represent the lost spouse, who, detained by some magic spell, returns not to his home. This pass is six miles in length, a good tracking-path furnishing facilities for navigation when tide and wind are adverse.

Above the pass the river widens beyond its normal breadth, becoming almost a lake in appearance, A short sail brings us abreast of the city of Shiu-hing, the former capital of the province. Several pagodas, ou sites specially chosen, adjust the geomantic influences, so that the people may dwell in peace and comfort. For two miles along the bank the city extends, showing temples, official residences, examination halls, and other public buildings inside the city walls. It was the scene of great carnage at the time of the Tartar Conquest, one narrative stating that the slaughter of the people in the capture of the city was so great that their blood ran in streams down to the river, and tinged the water crimson. This city was the point where the first Roman Catholic missionaries, Matteo, Ricci, and others gained a foothold in 1582, and has always been one of the strongholds of the Rowanists in the south of China. The Baptist and Church of England Missions have churches and schools here, with stations in several towns and villages adjacent.

The most striking objects in the immediate vicinity of the city are the groups of rock pinnacles that rise abruptly from the plains a mile or more back from the river. In these peculiar rocky cliffs are the “marble caves” so widely known, and called by the natives ‘ Tsat- sing-ngam,” “The Caves of the Seven Stars.” These cliffs, which vary in height from one to several hundred feet, and spring up almost perpendicularly from the