Field sketch by James Burton. York, Daley, and Arnett,
They Write Their Dreams on the Rocks Forever, p. 66.
When confronted with the claims of the epigraphy enthusiasts in rock art studies one of the accusations that us epigraphy non-believers hurl at them is that they try to make every abstract shape into an old world inscription. Since the heyday of Barry Fell abstract symbols have been proclaimed to be inscriptions by ancient Basque, Semitic, Celtic, even Chinese, visitors to Pre-Columbian North America. I was therefore quite pleased to find this published example of an authentic Chinese inscription in British Columbia, with the backstory that explains it.
“Rock Writing at
EbRj62, Annie Zetco York.
In addition to the
aboriginal rock writings, this site is noteworthy for the presence of Chinese
calligraphy and drawings made with black ink. These Chinese writings and
drawings, some of which have been executed on top of the aboriginal writings,
are probably the work of Chinese placer miners, who came to the Lytton area in
1859, a year after the start of the Fraser River gold rush. The Chinese are
known to have worked the gravel terraces above this site and at least one man,
Ah Chung, homesteaded nearby.
Most of the Chinese
drawings and calligraphy (including the drawing of a human figure and what
looks like a serpent) are located to the right of the recessed alcove with its
aboriginal writings at the downstream edge of the site. In August, 1988, I
visited this site with my brother-in-law James Burton who, after having lived
and worked near Beijing for several years, is fluent in the Chinese language.
He found many of the inked characters too eroded to decipher, particularly
where sections of calligraphy had disappeared due to the spalling off of
certain areas. However, he was able to determine that the Chinese writing
recorded the names of men, presumably the gold prospectors themselves, and the
names of women – probably their mothers, fiancées or wives back in China. The
best preserved character, isolated from the other short texts, is the Chinese
character for “clear/clean water” or “spring.”
Another group of
characters, superimposed on the rock writings of Fig. 46, is a date which
reads” In the tenth year of the ruling emperor.” Unfortunately the emperor’s
name is obliterated, but it is possible to identify the approximate date of the
Chinese characters by reference to the imperial genealogy.
The first Chinese
arrived in 1859 which was the beginning of the tenth year of reign of Shen
Fung. He was succeeded in 1861 by Tung Chi, who reigned until 1875 when he in
turn was succeeded by Guang Xu. Guang Xu reigned until 1908 and was succeeded
by a child, the last emperor who was deposed three years later during the
social revolution. The descriptive date written here refers either to the tenth
year (of the) reign of Shen Fung, being 1859-60, the tenth year (of the) reign
of Tung Chi, 1871-72, or the tenth year of the reign of Guang Xu, 1885-86. The
Chinese writing thus dates between 1859 and 1886.” (York 1993:65-66)
I have to give the epigraphers this one, and it appeals to my sense of justice and fair play that I can write a posting about an inscription that actually is in readable and interpretable Chinese. 路 要 走 (way to go) epigraphers.
REFERENCE:
York, Annie, Richard Daley, and Chris Arnett,
1993 They
Write Their Dreams on the Rocks Forever, Rock Writings in the Stein River
Valley of British Columbia, Talonbooks, Vancouver, B.C.
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