The mandarin at Ta-li Fu was good-natured but dissipated and corrupt.  He called upon us the evening of our arrival and almost immediately asked if we had any shotgun cartridges.  He remarked that he had a gun but no shells, and as we did not offer to give him any he continued to hint broadly at every opportunity.

The mandarins of lower rank often buy their posts and depend upon what they can make in “squeeze” from the natives of their district for reimbursement and a profit on their investment.  In almost every case which is brought to them for adjustment the decision is withheld until the magistrate has learned which of the parties is prepared to offer the highest price for a settlement in his favor.  The Chinese peasant, accepting this as the established custom, pays the bribe without a murmur if it is not too exorbitant and, in fact, would be exceedingly surprised if “justice” were dispensed in any other way.

My personal relations with the various mandarins whom I was constantly required to visit officially were always of the pleasantest and I was treated with great courtesy.  It was apparent wherever we were in China that there was a total lack of antiforeign feeling in both the peasant and official classes and except for the brigands, who are beyond the law, undoubtedly white men can travel in perfect safety anywhere in the republic.  Before my first official visit Wu gave me a lesson in etiquette.  The Chinese are exceedingly punctilious and it is necessary to conform to their standards of politeness for they do not realize, or accept in excuse, the fact that Western customs differ from their own.

At the end of the reception room in every yamen is a raised platform on which the visitor sits at the left hand of the mandarin; it would be exceedingly rude for a magistrate to seat the caller on his right hand.  Tea is always served immediately but is not supposed to be tasted until the official does so himself; the cup must then be lifted to the lips with both hands.  Usually when the magistrate sips his tea it is a sign that the interview is ended.  When leaving, the mandarin follows his visitor to the doorway of the outer court, while the latter continually bows and protests asking him not to come so far.

Ta-li Fu and Hsia-kuan are important fur markets and we spent some time investigating the shops.  One important find was the panda (Aelurus fulgens).  The panda is an aberrant member of the raccoon family but looks rather like a fox; in fact the Chinese call it the “fire fox” because of its beautiful, red fur.  Pandas were supposed to be exceedingly rare and we could hardly believe it possible when we saw dozens of coats made from their skins hanging in the fur shops.

Skins of the huge red-brown flying squirrel, Petaruista yunnanensis, were also used for clothing and the abundance of this animal was almost as great a surprise as the finding of the pandas.  This is often true in the case of supposedly rare species.  A few specimens may be obtained from the extreme limits of its range, or from a locality where it really is rare, and for years it may be almost unique in museum collections but eventually the proper locality may be visited and the animals found to be abundant.