| caption: |
Chapter One. The Material Background |
| caption: |
Tanhai village and Longkhai, different again |
| text: |
Turning from Shiong to the northeast he reached, after another hour's walk, the village of Tanhai. The dress of the people of that village resembled his own, but the language differed from the dialects of both Wakching and Shiong. At a distance of less than 3 miles from Tanhai lay the village of Longkhai. Here the visitor from Wakching found himself among a people who spoke yet another dialect, although they dressed in the same way as the Shiong people. He, who was used to living in his own village as an equal among equals, found in Longkhai a chief of aristocratic blood, dominating the community as its undisputed ruler. There, houses were built in a style considerably different from that of Wakching, Shiong, and Tanhai. |
