Ever since the Original Hundred Families wandered eastward from Central Asia into the land now known as China, and settled in the broad and fertile valley of the Wei River in the present province of Shensi, forming the nucleus of the Flowery Kingdom, its people have been harassed continually by the ravaging hordes of Tartary.

The frontiers between the two races, one peaceful and addicted to the practice of the Arts, the other warlike, and caring only for plunder, rapine and conquest, have always been marked by scenes of bloody conflicts, ruthless raids and brutal massacres; yet, strange though it may seem, it has been the peaceful nation which has won in the end, and continually the Sino-Mongolian boundary has been pushed further to the north.

The Chinese have repeatedly been conquered by the Tartars, and subjected to a rule of tyranny and oppression; but it has always ended in the same way—either the absorption or the ejection of the Tartar conquerors, and a further advance of the Chinese upon the acknowledged territories of these predatory Nomads.

From the Wei valley, occupied twenty centuries before the Christian era, the Chinese, themselves an invading race, driving out or exterminating the aborigines, spread steadily eastward and northward, till, in the reign of the illustrious Shih Huang-ti, the boundaries of the Empire were marked by the Great Wall. This for many centuries divided the actual territories of the Chinese from those of the Mongols, in spite of further invasions and conquests on the part of the latter; that is to say, the dwellers on the south side of the Wall remained Chinese and those on the north Mongol, regardless of the nationality of the ruling Emperor.

This state of affairs was maintained up to the middle of the nineteenth century, when as the Tartar Power, both Manchu and Mongol, Eastern and Western, gradually declined, the Chinese pushed beyond the Wall, settling further and further out on the Mongolian Plateau. This was not done by force of arms, but by intrigue and purchase, and it has led to much bitterness and ill-feeling on the part of the Mongols.

To-day, we again have before us the old drama, being played in much the same old way. The Chinese have risen, have shaken off the enfeebled Tartar yoke, and are endeavouring to add yet another portion of Mongolia to the ever-increasing domains of the Middle Kingdom.

The aggression of the New Republic, whose rights over Mongolia are only such as she may maintain by force—Mongolia having been tributary to the Manchu and never to the Chinese—is naturally resented by the Mongolians. Thus we see armed bands of both nations lining the present frontier, in many places far beyond the Great Wall, while we hear of depredations and incursions made by wild undisciplined horsemen, who swoop down from the grassy plain or sandy desert to burn, plunder and kill, returning whence they came before the slow-moving Chinese troops can offer resistance, or strike an effective blow in return.

The most recent political boundary between Mongolia and China, that is the one extant before the declaration of Mongolian Independence in September 1911 and the present ensuing complications, extended from the border of Manchuria near Liao-chou in the province of Fêng-t’ien in a west-south-westerly direction north of Lama Miao (Dolon Nor) to the north-eastern corner of Shansi province. Thence bearing more to the south, it kept north and west of K’uei-hua-ch’êng, till it reached the Yellow River near He-k’ou. From here it followed the course of that river, running due south as far as the north-eastern corner of Shensi province. From this point on it coincided with the course of the Great Wall, extending into the heart of Asia, and terminating only with the western boundary of Chinese Turkestan.

Westward from the point where it strikes the Yellow River near He-k’ou this boundary is the natural one, being marked, first by a section of the river, then by the sandy edges of the Ordos Desert, next by a second stretch of the Yellow River, and finally by the southern border of the Gobi Desert.

Eastward from He-k’ou it is more difficult to trace a natural boundary, as the whole country is broken up by irregular ranges of hills and mountains interspersed with wide river valleys, which in some instances assume the dimensions of plains.

On the whole the course of the outer loop of the Great Wall may be said to define most satisfactorily the natural boundary. Especially is this the case immediately north and north-west of Kalgan, where a line of high cliffs of volcanic origin marks the edge of what is generally known as the Mongolian Plateau.

From Kalgan the Wall runs first east and then, after making a big loop to enclose the valley of Pei Ho, turns south-east, following the crests of the mountain ranges, finally ending abruptly on the sea coast at Shan-hai-kuan (lit. Mountain-sea pass).

The line of demarcation between the land actually occupied by the Mongols on the one hand and the Chinese on the other follows the political boundary, but, so far as the writer has been able to observe, the floral and faunistic, as well as the geologic boundaries coincide with the natural one, excepting only that part extending from Kalgan to Shan-hai-kuan. Here the faunistic and floral boundaries undoubtedly lie far more to the north, coinciding rather with the political boundary.

In the present volume the term “Sino-Mongolian Frontier” indicates not so much the political boundary as here set forth, but rather the boundary marked out by Shih Huang-ti when he built the Great Wall, which as already stated defines to a great extent the natural boundary.

The subject of this book is a series of explorations, carried out by the author accompanied in each case by at least one other European, through districts, which, lying in close proximity to the Great Wall, may be included in the title as already defined.

The work carried out on these explorations was in the nature of scientific and geographical research, including the collection of biological specimens, the making of geological notes, the carrying out of compass traverses, and the general investigation into the lives, customs and conditions of the natives.

These explorations were as follows:—

1. A journey through North Shensi, the Ordos Desert and Western Shansi, by Malcolm P. Anderson and the author in connexion with the Duke of Bedford’s Exploration of Eastern Asia; Spring and Summer 1908.

2. An expedition through the upper basin of the Fên River in Western Shansi, by the author and his wife; Winter, 1909–10.

3. Short collecting trips round T’ai-yüan Fu, Shansi; Autumn 1911.

4. A shooting trip in the mountains north-east of Kalgan; February 1912.

5. A journey from Kalgan to K’uei-hua-ch’êng in North Shansi; Spring, 1912.

6. A journey in Inner Mongolia; Summer, 1912.

It may be noted that the Clark Expedition, which forms the subject of _Through Shên-Kan_, took place between the first and second of the explorations enumerated above, and the present book may be considered supplementary to that work.

Chapters dealing with the scientific aspects of the work of the several expeditions are given at the end of this book. An itinerary, which, it is hoped, will be found useful by future travellers in these parts is also given.

The results of the compass traverses have been carefully reduced to a convenient scale (1/1,000,000), and maps will be found in the cover-pocket at the end of the book.

I am indebted to Mr. Malcolm P. Anderson for photographs illustrating the first of the series of explorations, to Mr. Robert S. Clark for others of North Shensi, and to Dr. P. H. Atwood, who is the best big game shot in North China, for those of the wild boar and the leopard.

My best thanks and appreciation are due to Mr. Frederick W. Warrington, who at his own expense accompanied me on the last two expeditions, rendering the ablest assistance.

ARTHUR DE C. SOWERBY.

NOTE

This book was written in 1913, but on account of conditions brought about by the European War, which broke out on the eve of publication, it was thought advisable not to issue it till now.

On the whole conditions in China and Mongolia are much the same to-day as they were in 1913, with the exception, perhaps, that the suzerainty of China over Mongolia has been re-established, while the threat of annexation by Russia has, for the time at least, been removed. Intermittent fighting still takes place between the Mongols and Chinese, but this partakes more of the nature of raids by lawless bands than direct military conflict between the two countries.

The railway from Kalgan westward has been completed as far as Fên-chêng (see page 105) on its way to K’uei-hua-ch’êng, thus reducing the journey a day’s march.

The effect of the recent outbreak of pneumonic plague in this region has not yet been made known, but since the whole of the area from Fên-chêng westward was affected, it is certain that the population, already sparse enough, has been further reduced. It has been reported that whole villages have been wiped out by this terrible disease.

1918. A. DE C. S.