eech and feature. Taller, coarser
in physiognomy, with high cheek-bones and harsh voices, their dialect
is totally unintelligible to people of the neighbouring province.
As an example of the diversity of dialects in China, may be cited
the Chinese word for man. In some parts of Fukien it is _long_;
in Canton, _yan_ or _yin_; at Ningpo, _ning_; and
at Peking, _jin_.

One is left in doubt whether the people or the mountains which
they inhabit were the most prominent factors in determining the
dividing line that separates them from their neighbours on the
south and west. In enterprise and energy they rival the Cantonese.
They are bold navigators; the grand island of Formosa, now ceded
to Japan, was colonised by them; and by
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them also the savage aborigines were driven over to the east coast.
A peculiar sort of black tea is grown on these mountains, and, along
with grass cloth, forms a staple in the trade of Amoy. The harbour
is not wanting in beauty; and a view from one of the hill-tops, from
which hundreds of villages are visible, is highly picturesque.
Of the town of Amoy with its 200,000 people there is not much to
be said except that several missions, British and American, which
opened stations there soon after the first war with Great Britain,
have met with encouraging success. At Swatow, a district in Canton
Province beyond the boundary, the American Baptists have a flourishing
mission.

Entering the Formosan Channel we proceed to the mouth of the Min,
a fine river which leads up to Foochow (Fuchau), some thirty miles
inland. We do not stop to explore the Island of Formosa because,
having been ceded to Japan, it no longer forms a part of the Chinese
Empire. From the river the whole province is sometimes described
as "the country of Min"; but its official name is Fukien. This
name does not signify "happily established," as stated in most
books, but is compounded of the names of its two chief cities by
taking the first syllable of each, somewhat as the pioneer settlers
of Arkansas formed the name of the boundary town of Texarkana.
The names of some other provinces of China are formed in the same
way; e.g. Kiangsu, Kansuh, and that of the viceregal district of
Yuenkwei.

Kushan, a mountain on the bank of the river, is famed for its scenery;
and, as with mountains everywhere else in China, it has been made
the seat of a
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Buddhist monastery, with some scores of monks passing their time
not in co