Hole Falling History

I'm delighted to learn that falling down holes is a long established China tradition and not unique to Liuzhou (although perhaps Liuzhou takes it more seriously than other locations).

I am sent a quote from Simon Winchester's biography of Joseph Needham, the "Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom".

“Walking swiftly away from (an acquaintance, Needham) fell into a hole in the road, up to his neck, a feat which he later said greatly amused everyone, particularly the women. He took himself off to a neighbor’s verandah to restore his bruised dignity, lit his evening cigar, and spent an hour gazing in rapture over the blue hills of Fujian, the masses of rhododendrons trembling in the cooling breeze, the scent of gardenia in the air.

He wrote down, quite simply, that China, at moments like this, was surely the loveliest place on earth.” 

Know what he means.

(Thanks, Jim.) 

tags: liuzhou  simon winchester  joseph needham  holes  

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