scriptions show the author's riinality- Among Inte Qingy- tasty novels, The Travels of Lao Can is, artistically» prominent ok ‘Yong Xiany & Chapter One & {isi owe he at Gt of Deng hy in Shane lng there isa great mousain called Penlai and on the rountan there & a pavlon called the Penglai Pavilion. This pavilion sands with painted roofs and pearly screens amidst, ‘loud and ea Tooks the sty wih its myriad inhabitants weapped in mist, and fn the east it overlooks the ooean with its tumbling waves sHretching fra thousand mile. Soi the afternoon the ity peo- ple often bring wine and food here and spead the night in the ‘vlion, in order fo watch the sun ise over the sea the nxt day st dawn, This san ol established custom; but of this no more. (Our sory is concerned with the year that a traveller came here whose ame was Lao Ca, His family name actualy was Tie and tis personal name Ying, bathe had taken the pen name “Patcher ofthe Derelict” after the monk "Lizy nd Derelict” of the Tang Alyuasty, whose mame fe asoiatd with baked potatoes, Since ceveeyboy liked and respected hm, they just called hi Lao Can (Mr. Derelict), and, without anyoae knowing how it came | surassingly magnificent. On the wes it over= about, Lao Can became his other name. He was litle more than tity years ld and had been boen south of the Yangtze River He had studi some poety aad history, but since he did not know how to wete examination cays he could not pas theaminatins, so no one would invite him to teach; and as for & trade, be fl he was on old ear any, and doomed flare ithe eied. Actually his father was an official of the hid or fourth can, but becawie he was staiaced and did not know how to grasp money, when he retrsed home ater holding office for twenty year he had to pawn hie elotes to pay his aveling ‘expen. Te was obvios then that he had a0 money for his om ‘Now sace Lao Can bdo family portion and no profession to fotlow, naturally cold and hunger gradually overeok him. He teas alvady in «desperate plight when heaven ook ity on his nd a Taoist priest arrived with @ clapper, saying that he had ton tought by skilled men their divine art, and could cure all ucaer; and indeed when people onthe stret asked him to cure them, they were always braled. Lao Can therefore asked him to tor which be is ator, and learned some of his presripsions, the wandered with elapper in hand to make a living by coring people's diseases He wandered some twenty years over the length and breadth of Chino, and this ear he bid ant come toa place in Shandong fated Glansheng, vtere there was @ ich man named Hoang Rie who had a crious diseate, flor hic body was covered with bole, so that overy yea there wou always bea few hoes pero fated, Some might be cred one yest, but the next year more oles would appear in some ater part ofthe body, and although any years hd pased,abody ould core this eases ba it ale trays broke out in summer ad by late autumn was bette agin Tnpring that year when Lao Can passed this place, Mr. Huanp’s steward asked ir if he cold cure tht sickness. “There is fraps” be eeplid, “but you may not Isten co me, 1 will Fy my Capt One 3 smal skill, and if you wish to pt an end to thi scknes it shoukd sot be dificult. fo all you have todo ie fllow an ancient pre scription which s infil. Ror al other disease there ate pre scriptions left bythe Yeliow Emperor. but for this dicate there isa prescription eft by Yur the Pacifier ofthe Flood. Later, in the Tang Dynasty, a certain Wang Jing came into possesion of this prescription, tat after him nobody knew i Today by great, 00d fortune 1 kno the prescription too.” ‘Thereupon Mr. Huang Kept Lao Coa to eure hi nest, and strange to relate, whereas isthe past after one place was cued other would become perforated, tis year although there were all bils, nota single ole appeared. Thus Mr. Hang was ‘overoyed, and presnily midantumn pased, when the danger petiod was over. Bversbody felt that since Me. Huang had suf- fered from these perforations for mote tha Lea yeas, thie wa 8 reat event, and they were all exceedingly happy: s0 they e nged a repertory company and performed plays for tree days to thank the gods. They also made 4 pyramid of chrysanthemum flowers in the western siting-room, and feasted every day, en ioying themselves to thee hears content. ‘One day when L20 Can had finshed his lunch, ecaute he had ‘rank a exp too many he fle drowsy and West to his room to lie down on a sofa and rest. No sooner had he closed his ey, ow: ver than two men came in, one of whom was called Learning nd the other Tnteligence, These were hs two best friends, snd they sid together, “What ate you doing at home on sch a fine ay" ‘Lao Can tay roe to hi oot and asked thes t st down, saying, "These days I have hed too much food and wine, and 1feel rather digrutled." We ae jut of to Dengztou Distrito visit the Peng Pa fon," sid the two men, “and we came specially 10 invite 3OV We have already hired 4 cart for you, so pack uP your bengase suikly and we wil stat.” ‘Tao Can's bagzage was not very bulky. consisting only of few books and some scientific instruments, 50 it was easy 10 PAC, and they were soon seated in their ars. Then passing wind and few it was not lng before they reached Dengzhow, where they ound two gest roms under the pavilion in which they stayed 10 ‘enjoy the mirage at pea. The next day Lao Can remarked. “Ev ‘oybody says the sunrise a Deal sight. Du Fu says in one oom. "The sun rises ike a tall tossed wp by the ocean." Why ‘Shouldn't we stay awake tonight to sce the sunrise?” “it yu fea ket” replied theaters “we wil eran keep you company.” ‘though in autumn aight snd ay ae of equal length still a= ter sunset and before sunrise the light reflected by the atmo phere so that it seems as if the night were shorter. The theee ten opened two boitles of wie, brought out the food they Rad With them, and feasted and talked until gradually the east had rowa quite bright, Asta i€ wat still some time before su le, and this brightness was caused by ight reflected by the at- ‘mosphere. The three men take Kite longer, and the Ine iponee said, “Te is nearly tne ows why not go up to the pavilion to wait frie” You eam ear How strong the wind i,” ad Learing, “and there are big windows on top, 2 that it wil be colder there than in this oom. We had better put on more clothes.” ach did athe suggested. Tsing thee telescopes and earring rugs they climbed the winding staircase a the back of the pals Jon, When they reached the pavilion they sat down at a table by the window and looked toward the east but all hey could se were white waves ike hill in the aca stretching without end, while in the northeast were several islands like wisps of smoke: the nearest was called Long Mouatain Inland and the further ones ‘Great Bamboo and Great Bick. By the puilion the wind ‘hricked as if i would shike the building. Clouds towered one above the other in the sy, and one great elo from the north flew to the ceatee and pressed dows upon the eet, crashing & ‘loud in the cast harder and harder, neither giving way to the ‘other, but forming fantastic shapes. After some time the clonds were sutfsed with red, and Intelligence said, “Well, Lao Can, Judging by this ight, we shat se the sunrise today.” "The wind and the waves are enough for me,” replied Lao Can, “#0 that even if I don't se the sn I shall not consider the ‘wip vin.” who was gazing through his telescope, sd, “Look ‘westwards where there isa black thread rising and sinking with the waves: mus be a steamboat passing.” Thereupon the other two took out thei telescopes and foctaed ‘on that point, and presently they said, "Yes, yes. See, there isa ‘ver hin Black thread on the horizon, which must bea bout." “They watched it for tle while and then the steamboat pasied Intelligence was sill holding his telescope and. scaing all rides very attentively, then suddenly he exclaimed, “Oh! Look a chat junk in great danger ot there among the huge waves.” Where?” asked the others