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126

attached part might not rest firmly on original rock.
     When I have had an opportunity to examine the complete set of ink rubbings, photographs, and measured drawings from these caves, I am confident that fresh material of value will appear, and plan to include it in the special appendix on Kung Hsien that I intend to add to this report before the end of the year 1915.
     In the courtyard of the more modern temple, now used for a school house, in front of the grottos at Kung Hsien, I saw a carved stone pillar base which was evidently T'ang in spite of the teacher's statement that it belonged to the North Wei period. I have seldom seen more spirited decoration in Chinese art than the four demons' masks holding in their mouths garlands and beribboned rings. A few days after seeing this base I found nearby an octagonal basalt pillar carved with a dated T'ang inscription, which fitted exactly on the decorated base just described.