![]() ![]() The Yangs were Han, ethnic Chinese, and had ventured north of the Great Wall in search of opportunity. The imperial family were Manchus who had conquered China in 1644 from Manchuria, which was their base. My great-grandfather, Yang Ru-shan, was born in 1894, when the whole of China was ruled by an emperor who resided in Peking. In the grassland areas and in the hills to the west, farmers grazed sheep and cattle. The plains around produced cotton, maize, sorghum, soybeans, sesame, pears, apples, and grapes. Every night the bell was rung to signal the time, and the tower also functioned as a fire and flood alarm. ![]() The town’s most conspicuous feature was a tall, richly decorated bell tower of dark brown stone, which had originally been built in the sixth century when Buddhism had been introduced to the area. ![]()
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