But In The Bath-Houses They Have Also
Certain Chambers Furnished With Hot Water, For Foreigners Who Are
Unaccustomed To Cold Bathing, And Cannot Bear It.
The people are used to
bathe daily, and do not eat without having done so." This is in
contradiction with the notorious Chinese horror of cold water for any
purpose.
A note from Mr. C. Gardner says: "There are numerous public baths at
Hang-chau, as at every Chinese city I have ever been in. In my experience
natives always take hot baths. But only the poorer classes go to the
public baths; the tradespeople and middle classes are generally supplied by
the bath-houses with hot water at a moderate charge."
NOTE 9. - The estuary of the Ts'ien T'ang, or river of Hang-chau, has
undergone great changes since Polo's day. The sea now comes up much nearer
the city; and the upper part of the Bay of Hang-chau is believed to cover
what was once the site of the port and town of KANP'U, the Ganpu of the
text. A modern representative of the name still subsists, a walled town,
and one of the depots for the salt which is so extensively manufactured on
this coast; but the present port of Hang-chau, and till recently the sole
seat of Chinese trade with Japan, is at Chapu, some 20 miles further
seaward.
It is supposed by Klaproth that KANP'U was the port frequented by the
early Arab voyagers, and of which they speak under the name of Khanfu,
confounding in their details Hang-chau itself with the port.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 379 of 1350
Words from 101351 to 101617
of 370046
