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[[underlined]] Chapter XV. [[/underlined]]     315.

ants. [[superscript]] (276)] [[/superscript]] 
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[[superscript]] (276)] [[/superscript]]   Some of their deeds rivalled in frightfulness the worst actions committed by European troops engaged in the Thirty Years' War in Germany, in the 17th century.
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      On the same day Dr. Paul H. Stevenson (so often mentioned in these pages) gave a luncheon to enable Mr. Tung and Dr. Li and me to meet Mr. H. Wang (Wang Hsien [[2 Chinese characters]]), Gov. Yen Hsi-shan's English-speaking secretary. Mr. Wang, a "returned student" from England, displayed keen interest in our project, and we had an exhaustive talk about conditions and archaeological possibilities in southern---or more exactly, southwestern---Shansi. [[superscript]] (277) [[/superscript]]
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[[superscript]] (277) [[/superscript]]   The region comprising southwestern Shansi has been a focus of human habitation from Late Neolithic times ([[underline]] i.e. [[/underline]], the "Painted Pottery Period") at least---probably something like a thousand years prior to the establishment of the Shang Dynasty's Bronze Age civilization in the great North China plain, shortly before the middle of the 2nd millennium B.C.   The reason is to be found in one word---salt; for the area has extensive and easily worked deposits of that mineral.  
  A similar association of salt-deposits with important culture-areas occurs elsewhere also, as for example at the well known site at Hallstatt, in Upper Austria.  The cultural aspect of the large salt-deposit in southwestern Shansi has not yet received the attention that it merits.
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  Some days later, on January 4th I asked Mr. Wang and Mr. Tung and Dr. Li to lunch with me at the Freer Gallery's Peking headquarters, 19 Ta Yang I-pin Hutung,[[strikethrough]]([[underline]] cf. [[/underline]] page 243), [[/strikethrough]] and we discussed our plan further. On account of the prevailing disorders, we could formulate nothing definite; but we agreed to push our arrangements with^[[|]]the Tsing Hua Institute of Scientific Research, and at the same time open direct negotiations once more with Gov. Yen.  In the latter regard both Mr. Wang, by virtue of his official position, and Dr. Tsao, as the governor's close friend and confidential adviser^[[,]] [[strikethrough]] ([[underline]] cf. [[/underline]] page 250), [[/strikethrough]] were destined to be of great assistance to us, and I take pleasure in expressing my gratitude to them.
  It was my idea, after obtaining the necessary permission from Gov.

Transcription Notes:
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