Evening star., 1938-06-21

three days. But the elements were
against us. 1t took US six.
First there was the dust-swirline
clouds, yellow and opaque. which
darkened the Whensi Plain like a
shroud, almost obscuring the sun. II
lifted little as We passed through
the burial grounds Of the Chou en-
perors, northwest of Sian, where pyra-
mids of earth, rivaling the pyramids
OF Egypt in size. rose mountainously
above the yellow plain-monuments
to civilization which flourished more
than 80 centuries ago
Later there was rain. which held us
up for a day-and then snow, which
forced us to spend nearly two days in
a mountain inn. 1t was not until the
night Of the nth day that we reached
the first outpost Of Red China, at q
little village about so miles south OF
here. A red flag hung over the road
and a border patrol of blue-clad SOL
diers stopped and searched all travel
ers. The formalities Of entry into the
territory of the Reds were as compli-
Gated as entry into a foreign land.
Halted Again and Again.
At the arched stone gateway ol
Yenan we were halted again, and
again We were questioned. Our truck
was permitted, finally. to worm its
way through the slim gateway into the
town. The main street resembled out
wardly the busy main stem of many
old Chinese communities-with Its
countless open-front shops, its donkey
caravans and its procession of straw
hated country folk and soldiers. The
difference was the preponderance Of
young faces among the pedestrians
young men and women of the student
type. Walls were thickly plastered
with nationalistic and anti-Japanese
posters. Gay banners bearing patriotic
slogans hung across the street
We drew up in front of low build
ing adorned with particularly vio-
lent and gaudy anti-Japanese paint
ing. A smiling young man in blue uni
form greeted us at the door:
Welcome to Yenan This is our
guesthouse. We have prepared room
for you"
He ushered us through a courtyard
to one Of the rooms which bordered it.
The room was small and simply fur
nished, but Immediately clean. An
attendant brought water for washing
He brought also soap, q towel and even
q toothbrush. On the towel were in
scribed in English the words, Good
morning"
We went for food to a cooperative
restaurant a few doors away. 1t was
well filled with students. Strings of
vari-colored paper pennants suspended
overhead gave the place a festive air.
On the pennants were such slogans as
kill All Traitors" Safeguard the
Central Government" The Fascists
Are the Enemies of Mankind!" "Obey
Gen. Chang Kai-shek!"
Yenan Is Ancient CITY.
Yenan lies snugly in a narrow val
ley, flanked by hillsides Of yellow
chalklike loess. Its stone walls me-
ander over the ridges like a dragon.
A weathered eight-storied pagoda, a
small forest of mushroom shaped
gravestones and the splendid old tenn
Piles clinging to the cliffs and hills at
test Yenan's great antiquity, dating
back to the time of Chin Chih- -huang,
son of the builder Of the Great Wall.
Two years ago, when the Reds came
to Northern Shensi after their aston
ishing march almost around the cir
cumference of China. Yenan was held
by a garrison of Manchurian troops
under the young marshal" Chang
Hseuh-liang. The Reds invested and
laid siege to the citadel. They sent
propagandists among the defenders,
spreading the doctrine that Chinese
should never fight Chinese They even
dispatched food supplies to the sur
rounded garrison, urging them to sur
render peacefully and join the Reds
in war Of resistance against jap
anese aggression. 1t was about this
time that Gen. Chang Kai-shek was
seized at Sian by some of these same
Manchurian troops and that the Man.
churians and the Communists openly
joined forces, with ti-Japanism as
their joint slogan.
People Work Underground.
Yenan is remarkable not alone for
its red face but for the fact that about
one-third Of its population of $4,000
live and work underground. For dis
tance Of miles along both sides of
the canyon in which the walled city
nestles the loess hillsides are pitted
with caves. In these caverns there are
shops, banks, hospitals, schoolrooms
and dormitories. Cave dwelling is