Page:The Chinese Empire. A General & Missionary Survey.djvu/401

Rh about the size of a hen's egg, and is attached to the abdomen of the male deer. It contains less than half an ounce of this highly scented and exceedingly penetrating substance. It is in great demand by the Chinese, and fetches a high price.

Of imports, the largest is tea, and is exclusively from China. This tea is for the most part grown in the neighbourhood of Yachow in the province of Szechwan. After being sun-dried, the larger and smaller leaves, with the coarse stalks, are manufactured into large bricks of various qualities. These are carried on the backs of coolies to Tachienlu, where they are sold to the Tibetan agents through some twelve or fifteen firms; they are then forwarded in continuous streams of caravans to Lhasa and other destinations in.

Up to the present our Indian tea estates have not, with all their art and effort, been able to produce that peculiar taste which the Tibetan consumer alone values and will drink.

The Tibetans claim they are descended from the monkey! They belong to the Mongolian family, but are less civilised than the Chinese, being more like simple country folk compared with townsmen. The men of Lhasa are generally short in stature, those of Kham being tall and powerful. They are long-lived, strong, and active, and their women are able to carry burdens of great weight over the mountain passes. The women generally are good-looking and able, and frequently manage the home and farm, while the men hunt and shoot, or look after the sheep. The Tibetans have round faces, prominent cheek-bones, flat noses, wide mouths, thin lips, and black eyes, larger and less slanting than the Chinese, and black hair. Their skin is of a brownish yellow tint which is often increased in darkness by a plentiful anointing of butter. The men usually plait their hair in a queue á la Chinois, while the women have sixty or more small plaits fastened to broad bands, to which are attached shells and coins.

Red is the chief dress colour worn by the Tibetans.