It is a beautiful
scene. The cool breezes of the mountains temper the heat of the sun. The
abundant rains preserve the verdure of the earth.
In ancient times this region was the seat of a Buddhistic kingdom, and
was known as Woo-Chang or "Udyana," which means "the Park," and
proclaims the appreciation which its former possessors had of their
pleasant valley. "The people," says the Chinese pilgrim Fa-hien, who
visited the country in the fifth century, "all use the language of
Central India, 'Central India' being what we should call the 'Middle
Kingdom.' The food and clothes of the common people are the same as in
that Central Kingdom. The law of Buddha is very flourishing in Woo-
Chang." "The Park," which includes all the country on both banks of the
Swat River--then called the Subhavastu--but which perhaps applies more
particularly to the upper end of the valley, was famous for its forests,
flowers and fruit. But though the valley retains much of its beauty, its
forests have been destroyed by the improvidence, and its flowers and
fruit have declined through the ignorance, of the fierce conquerors into
whose hands it fell.
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