| "Jiayu Guan marks one of the ancient passes between China proper and the Western world. Hsuan Tsang would have passed through here as a clandestine voyager, being hunted by the imperial authorities who had banned travel beyond this point to all Chinese. He recounts his own brushes with the law in the biography of him written by his acolyte the Shaman Hui Li. I describe an unpleasant encounter with a nut-case of a restaurant owner who suddenly began accusing me of being an American spy and warning me against messing in China's affairs. We made our escape and visited Jiayu Guan's two main cites: one is the westernmost fragment of China's Great Wall; the other is the gate itself, outside of which was a bicycle and, beyond it, the trackless desert. As Hui Li put it: 'There were no traces of either man or horse, and in the night the demons and goblins raised fire-lights as many as the stars; and in the daytime the driving wind blew the sand before it as in the season of rain.' " |
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