Early first morning, people and wild life outside our building: "A familiar scene at our front gate, the barber at work, the dog, the chicken, always a part of the landscape... {OC}" {OC} = ORIGINAL CAPTIONS
Then there she was, the Pagoda of Kiukiang in sight....
Walking toward - "'The Pagoda Lodge', where we would be renting a room in this two-story building near the Pagoda {OC}"
"Approaching the city harbour, {OC}"
First sight of Kiukiang people by the dock–on the shore at last...
Here on this trip, Mrs. Perkins attended Nanking University Chinese Language School (南京金陵大學華言學堂) - to study Chinese for Two Years - from 1916 to 1918! Nanking University or The Private University of Nanking (originally 汇文书院, and later 金陵大學 after various mergers) was first established by Methodist Episcopal Mission in 1888 (C. H. Folwer/John Calvin Ferguson).
Departing from Soochow (苏州) by boat traveling north on the Grand Canal (大運河) – heading toward the town of Chinkiang (Zhenjiang, 镇江). Chinkiang, a gateway to Nanking (南京), is where the Grand Canal meets the Great Yangtze.... "crowded places on the canal through small city and towns, and going under bridges.... {OC}"
Found a small woods nearby, and finding solace...
The scent of wide open rice fields...
watching "a woman washing clothes in pond {OC}" near the fields...
The year was 1916. After months on a transpacific ocean steam liner that made stops at Honolulu and Yokohama Bay, Shanghai (see the above photo of Bund: 上海外滩, 浦西), essentially a westernized metropolis, was the very first introduction to the storied "Middle Kingdom" (中国). From there, traveling by land, Soochow (Suzhou, 苏州) was the next impression.
Passing by the city of Anking (Anqing, 安庆)...
"A view of our supply boat, and our 'kitchen boat', {OC}"
A child riding on a water buffalo passing through the country, and farmers were up long ago...
"...planting and care of rice fields... {OC}"
"Sailing around the bent, the City Gate came into view, and a close view of the Pagoda {OC}"
Gathering around news post...
The river was ever so busy.... thinking of the one by Yonkers, when there was a peaceful moment.... "只有滔滔浪浪往东流去的江水才知道一个人的心...."
Arriving in Nanking (南京)...
I was inspired to create a page with the theme of "First Time Coming to Kiukiang <第一次来到九江>" when I spotted a few dozen photos well stacked together in the Collection. In particular, there seemed to be more captions on the back of these photos, and the words thereof distinctly capture one's inner feelings – and awestruck emotions when being confronted by an alien world. The handwriting belonged to Mrs. Perkins (Chinese Name: Pei Jia-Ji, 裴家紀), and many of the photos were dated 1918. As I examined these photos, my feelings encircled one reflection: "What was she thinking, seeing China, sailing on the Yangtze River, and finally landing in the rural Kiukiang for the very first time after spending much of her life in Yonkers, NY, on the Hudson River; is the experience anything like an immigrant seeing the first sight of Statue of Liberty shimmering on the Hudson Bay.”
I can only imagine the magnitude of her culture shock...
"A temple near us down the street.... {OC}"
Seeing Wuhu (芜湖): "Wuhu General Hospital (芜湖总医院) - just on the other side of the wall {OC}." The Hospital is yet another accomplishment of the Methodist Mission...
"A fund raising and devil chasing Buddhist boat with gongs - making much noises {OC}"
– TO VISIT –
Danforth Hospital // Rulison Girls High // William Nast // Gracey Center // Knowles // WFMS Primary // Day School
BACK TO: "A Thousand and More" – Page 1 // Page 2 // Page 3
TO VISIT: Nanking Experience // China in 1900s // BACK TO: The Great Flood // Old Kiukiang
The Pagoda from WLH...
The proud symbol of the city...
The town of Chinkiang, monks gathering at a temple, and where we stayed overnight...
The First Time Coming to Kiukiang <第一次来到九江>
Now it was 1918. Continuing on with our journey on the Yangtze, "no rest for the wicked–yet a long ways from Kiukiang..."
"...We could see the cook is about to prepare our dinner... {OC}"
Constructions of the Grant Canal, at least fragments of it, might have commenced as early as in the 5th Century BC. Still, Sui Dynasty (隋朝, ca. 6th Century AD) was when this murderous exercise formally began on record. It is over eleven hundred miles in total length that begins in Hangchow (Hangzhou, 杭州), snaking its way northward through Provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Shandong (江苏–安徽–山东省). By the time it meanders pass Tientsin (天津) with the "big dig" finally ending in Peking (北京) another seventy miles northwest, it would have cut through hundreds of rivers and streams including both the Great Yellow River (黄河) and the Yangtze River (扬子江). With the brutality of the process aside, it was a human wonder that modernized north-south transportation, alleviated flood damages, and transformed the ancient economy.
Soochow (Suzhou, 苏州): Soochow (苏州), a charming beauty, has been a paradise for poets and artists for many centuries roughly from Tang Dynasty (唐朝, ca. 7th Century AD): "上有天堂, 下有苏杭 ("杭" stands for Hangchow or 杭州)." Checkered canals are her main streets with tented "gondolas" jostling forward just inches apart in a romantic traffic jam. This ancient city is also nestled right along The Grand Canal (大運河), which represents yet another testimony to China's ingenuity. This entirely man-made canal is an engineering feat no less than The Great Wall, though much less talked about.
10,000 miles later, "our first home in Kiukiang {OC}"....
Sailing on - Nanking (南京) would be the next stop – and a rough midway point...
Huchow (Huzhou, 湖州): the journey might have started further down south on the canal "An island temple on the canal near Huchow {OC}" {OC} = ORIGINAL CAPTIONS
Exiting out the Canal at Chinkiang (镇江) - at last - the wide open river...