s to the Si-fan."

[Illustration: Road descending from the Table-Land of Yun-nan into the
Valley of the Kin-sha Kiang (the _Brius_ of Polo).

(After Garnier.)]

Deveria (_Front._ p. 146 note) says that Kien-ch'ang is the ancient
territory of Kiung-tu which, under the Han Dynasty, fell into the hands of
the Tibetans, and was made by the Mongols the march of Kien-ch'ang
(_Che-Kong-t'u_); it is the _Caindu_ of Marco Polo; under the Han Dynasty
it was the Kiun or division of Yueh-sui or Yueh-hsi. Deveria quotes from
the _Yuen-shi-lei pien_ the following passage relating to the year 1284:
"The twelve tribes of the Barbarians to the south-west of _Kien-tou_ and
_Kin-Chi_ submitted; Kien-tou was administered by Mien (Burma); Kien-tou
submits because the Kingdom of Mien has been vanquished." Kien-tou is the
_Chien-t'ou_ of Baber, the Caindu of Marco Polo. (_Melanges de Harlez_, p.
97.) According to Mr. E.H. Parker (_China Review_, xix. p. 69), Yueh-hsi
or Yueh-sui "is the modern Kien-ch'ang Valley, the Caindu of Marco Polo,
between the Yalung and Yang-tzu Rivers; the only non-Chinese races found
there now are the Si-fan and Lolos."--H.C.]

Turning to minor particulars, the Lake of Caindu in which the pearls were
found is doubtless one lying near Ning-yuan, whose beauty Richthofen heard
greatly extolled, though nothing of the pearls. [Mr. Hosie writes (_Three
Years_, 112-113): "If the former tradition be true (the old city of
Ning-yuan having given place to a large lake in the early years of the Ming
Dynasty), the lake had no existence when Marco Polo passed through Caindu,
and yet we find him mentioning a lake in the country in which pearls were
found. Curiously enough, although I had not then read the Venetian's
narrative, one of the many things told me regarding the lake was that
pearls are found in it, and specimens were brought to me for inspection."
The lake lies to the south-east of the present city.--H.C.] A small lake
is marked by D'Anville, close to Kien-ch'ang, under the name of
_Gechoui-tang_. The large quantities of gold derived from the Kin-sha
Kiang, and the abundance of musk in that vicinity, are testified to by
Martini. The Lake mentioned by Polo as existing in the territory of Yachi
is no doubt the _Tien-chi_, the Great Lake on the shore of which the city
of Yun-nan stands, and from which boats make their way by canals along the
walls and streets. Its circumference, according to Martini, is 500 _li_.
The cut