Confucian temples throughout China; the hall is eighty-four feet long
and the teakwood pillars forty feet high. In front there is a marble
terrace, twenty-eight yards long and fifteen feet wide, reached on three
sides by seventeen steps. The inscription on the Confucius tablet,
written in Chinese and Manchu dialects, says: "The tablet of the soul of
the most holy ancestral teacher, Confucius." Other tablets to noted
teachers hang on either side. There are rows of cypresses in front of
the hall said to have been planted one thousand years ago; and on each
side of the court are buildings containing tablets to over one hundred
celebrated scholars. A temple court extends in front, with six monuments
which record foreign conquests by emperors. In the court of the
Triennial Examinations there is a stone tablet to commemorate each
session, on which are engraved the names and homes of all students who
receive the title of Doctor of Literature.
Another unique building, west of the Confucius Temple, is the Hall of
the Classics. Here there is a richly decorated pailow, with encaustic
tiles, chiefly green and yellow; the three archways are lined with white
marble. This hall was designed by the Emperor, Chien Lung, to complete
the Confucius Temple, in which till then the classics had been
expounded. It is lofty and square, with double eaves, yellow tiles,
surmounted by a specially large gilt ball, and encircled by a fringe
carried to the roof and supported by massive wooden pillars. In the
centre is a circular pool of water, edged by marble balustrades, with a
bridge spanning it. There is also a remarkable sun-dial. Two hundred
upright stone monuments engraved on both sides contain the complete text
of the nine classics, very finely executed; it was thought thus to
preserve the purity of the text. There are also more lists of successful
students on stone monoliths.
The Drum Tower was another point visited, one of the most striking
objects in Peking; it is oblong and quite Chinese in character, the
upper story being of wood, the lower of brick. It is one hundred feet
high and about the same in length toward the base. It was built under
the Mongol dynasty; a very large drum stands in the middle of the last
story, and a climb of sixty-eight steps up a steep Chinese staircase
gave us a fine view of the entire city. A short distance from the Drum
Tower is the Bell Tower. This is built of brick and stone, ninety feet
high, and is also Mongol in origin; the bell weighs twenty thousand
pounds and is still used to tell the watches of the night; the drum in
the tower is struck at the same time.
[Illustration: _A Peking cart_]
[Illustration: _The Confucius Temple_]
[Illustration: _Temple of Classics_]
Some Chinese authority states that there are ten thousand temples in
Peking, all built under the Mongol dynasty (thirteenth century), or the
Ming dynasty (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries). Of these, the most
striking is the Temple or Altar of Heaven in the southern part of the
Chinese City, erected by the Ming Emperor, Yung-loh, in 1421; the
enclosure, a fine park, measures about six thousand feet around. There
are three large, imposing gates,--south, east, and west. To the north,
the wall is crescent shaped and is without an entrance. The Altar or
Temple of Heaven, open to the sky, is circular and of white marble. It
is three stories high; the base measures two hundred and ten feet
across, the second story one hundred and fifty feet, the third ninety
feet. One large marble slab is in the centre. The white marble
balustrades are richly carved to represent clouds. In the upper story,
there are seventy-two pillars; in the middle, one hundred and eight; and
in the lower, one hundred and eighty; thus making, in all, three hundred
and sixty, the number of degrees in a circle. It is on the central
marble slab that the Emperor stands and prostrates himself, worshipping
under the blue arch of heaven. He goes three times a year to this
temple, praying before daybreak, and having spent the previous night in
the Grand Hall of Abstinence close by.
Between this and the closed Altar of Heaven, there is the small Temple
of Prayer, where the ancestral tablets are kept, capped by one of the
most remarkable roofs in Peking. This temple is a gem; its bricks and
tiles are of the finest porcelain, and everything dates from the best
period of Chinese art. The northern Temple of Heaven has a three-fold
roof of blue tiles, recently rebuilt, the early one having been burned
down. There are magnificent columns in this, and the ceiling is very
elaborate. Before leaving the enclosure at the left of the gateway, we
went through a large palace not in use at the present time, except on
rare occasions; this was not in the itinerary, but our guide secured
admission by paying a generous fee. Only a few rooms were furnished, but
these were in excellent taste.
[Illustration: _The Inner Temple of Heaven_]
We next drove to the Altar or Temple of Agriculture. This is where
General Chaffee and the American troops were quartered after the relief
of Peking in 1900. The hall is the largest in the city, but there is
nothing special to see in it. The rites observed here are nearly as
important as those at the Temple of Heaven. The enclosure is two miles
in circumference. The first two altars are rectangular; that of the
Spirits of Heaven, on the east, is fifty feet long and four and one-half
feet high; and the marble tablets therein contain the names of the
celebrated mountains, lakes, and seas of China. On the first day of the
second period of Spring, the Emperor goes there with three princes, nine
great men, and a numerous following, all of them understood to be
fasting. After they have worshipped, they proceed to the field which has
been prepared; the bullock, the plough, and other accessories are all of
Imperial yellow. The Emperor traces a furrow from east to west;
returning four times, he thus makes eight furrows. The First Minister of
the Treasury stands on the right with a whip, the Viceroy of the
Province on the left with the grain, while a third official scatters the
seed behind the Emperor. The three Princes each plough ten furrows, and
so the work proceeds through all the dignitaries, according to their
rank. The afternoon was one of the most interesting we spent in Peking,
the temperature being perfect like our own June at home; all Nature was
in harmony with the scene.
The Observatory was formerly one of the most distinctive sights in
Peking. It affords a magnificent view towards the south of the wall of
the Tartar City. The wonderful bronze instruments therein have outlived
their usefulness, but their artistic merit makes them a glory and a joy.
The Examination Hall was formerly situated close by the site of the
Observatory, but when we were there it was being dismantled. The old
method of examination is being given up, and the reform is one of the
progressive changes in Peking, upsetting the precedent of ages. The
examination of students is now carried on very much as it is in other
countries.
Leaving the city, we drove some miles along the outskirts to the Yellow
Temple. There are two temples, the eastern and the western; and, in
front, are two very beautiful pavilions. Chien Lung repaired the western
temple and changed it into a dwelling for Mongol princes, who arrived
each year to pay their tribute. This is one of the finest buildings in
China; it has great size, beautiful proportions, and a square entrance
porch; but, since its occupation in 1900 by some of the Allied Forces,
it has begun to fall into ruins. The eastern temple is in good
condition, and critics claim that its proportions surpass those of any
temple in Japan. The magnificent white marble monument or pagoda was
erected by Chien Lung over the grave of the Teshu Llama who died of
small-pox while on a visit there. On the eight sides of the memorial
are engraved scenes in the Llama's life; these bas-reliefs are very
interesting. The great White Temple is the most beautiful monument in
the environs of Peking, and it is well worth the long drive to see it.
On our return, we passed through the usual number of gates, from the
Chinese to the Tartar, and from the Tartar to the Imperial; only a small
portion of this latter section can be seen, but we caught glimpses of
the many lovely buildings in the Forbidden City, and it was most
tantalizing not to be able to enter the sacred precincts. From a sketch
taken in 1900, we can form an idea of the many interesting points in
this Forbidden City. The Imperial City, enclosing the Forbidden City, is
over five miles in circumference; its walls are eighteen feet high, with
four entrances about seventy feet wide. There are three gates, the
central one of which is reserved for the Emperor. People are allowed to
look in, but not to enter by this southern gate; the northern and
eastern gates are open to the public.
[Illustration: _Outer Heaven, Temple of Heaven, Peking_]
One view in the Forbidden City is that of the Coal Hall, two hundred and
ten feet high. It dates from the Mongol dynasty, when coal is said to
have been piled up there as a provision in case of siege, the Ming
Emperor having covered it all with beautiful pavilions.
Beyond the wall to the north is the Hall of Longevity, where the
Emperor's coffin remains after his death and until his funeral.
The White Dagoba is conspicuous in all Peking views; it is within the
gardens which are reserved for the court, and was built by the first
emperor of the present dynasty as a shrine for a very fine Buddha. The
White Dagoba is regarded as the palladium of the Empire, and stands at
the very centre of the loveliest part of the palace grounds. A little
farther to the west is found the finest pailow in Peking, made of very
beautiful encaustic tiles; and behind a neighboring hillock rests the
celebrated dragon screen, sixty feet long and twenty feet high; it was
built to protect the library, which was unfortunately burned during the
occupation of the allied forces in 1900.
A noticeable feature is the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas, all of
glittering Imperial yellow, the walls covered with animals and small
images of Buddha. The three lakes, northern, middle, and southern, are a
little over two miles long; a beautiful marble bridge connects the
northern with the middle lake.
[Illustration: _The White Pagoda of the Yellow Temple_]
The Winter or Skating Palace was distinctive for the finest wood
carvings in China; these were also burned by accident in 1900. A large
pavilion, surrounded by a circular wall, is near the marble bridge. In
this pavilion is the throne, and it was there audience was given to
several European ambassadors in 1893; there also the Emperor puts on
mourning garments,--when, for instance, he had to grieve for his father,
Prince Chan. At the northeast corner of the palace stands the fine
yellow-tiled temple, with an imposing entrance; it has large gates,
within the outer of which are two very quaint pavilions. Four or five
roofs are piled, one on the other, and these can be distinctly seen from
outside the walls of the Forbidden City. This brief outline may give one
a little idea of what the public are deprived of seeing. Most of the
buildings of the Forbidden City are yellow-tiled, as are also the walls.
The Summer Palace is the only one of the Peking buildings that dates
from the present Manchu dynasty. There had previously been a palace
there, but it had a long while since fallen into decay. It is said to
have had lovely gardens, and many canals winding in and out, while in
other places little miniature lakes are formed. The principal palace is
attractive and rises on an eminence, but there are pavilions and lesser
buildings scattered about. The present palace is, however, very inferior
to those royal residences of olden times; it suffered greatly in 1900;
the Russian soldiers seemed to take delight in destroying works of art
and historic buildings. Some of the marble bridges are very effective,
and there is a marble boat, not in itself very beautiful, but a
picturesque feature as it lay anchored by the lake. We saw it from a
high hill beyond the Emperor's palace, where is located a Buddhist
pagoda. We had a view of the palace with its enclosure and its minor
buildings.
This was one feature seen during an excursion which a friend and I took,
escorted by a guide and a picnic luncheon basket on Saturday, May 25th.
We left the hotel early for a six-mile drive, passing first through the
crowded streets, again noting the dusty way of the Imperial City, which
wound around near the walls of the Forbidden City, every pinnacle and
roof gleaming in the morning light. Leaving the outskirts of the town,
the country view was the pleasantest we had seen. Our road lay alongside
of the canal, where there were more trees and less dust.
On the way we first visited the Five Pagoda Buddhist Temple, which seems
to belong to a different world from that of to-day. It is a square mass
of masonry fifty feet high, covered with old colored tiles and with
beautiful reliefs of camels. On its flat top there are five pagodas,
each eleven stories high; also, adjacent to it, a very elegant square
pagoda, and, in front of it, what seems like the top of another large
pagoda. Farther on, we saw the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple; it is not
remarkable architecturally, and there are two large spacious
buildings with a court between them. One of them consists of two
stories, in both of which is a large room lined with little compartments
containing small gilt Buddhas. The guide said there was a total of nine
hundred and ninety-nine already, and the thousandth place was reserved
for the Dowager Empress when she died.
[Illustration: _The Winter Palace of the Forbidden City_]
[Illustration: _View from the Forbidden City_]
We drove on to the village, adjacent to the Summer Palace, where we took
jinrikishas for a ride of about two miles, following along the outskirts
of the Summer Palace. Here were some temples, evidently not now used as
places of worship, since the guide informed us that our luncheon would
be served in the open court of one of them. After our impromptu meal we
proceeded to walk about half a mile farther and then ascended an
eminence with several flights of stairs leading to the pagoda which I
have previously alluded to. We obtained, not only a view of the Summer
Palace, but of the surrounding country. The little pagoda was several
stories high, and very tasteful in all its appointments; it is said to
have been built in commemoration of some event, but the guide could give
us no exact information. We retraced our way to the city, and then drove
through certain streets in order to enjoy the peculiar life around us.
The three or four miles stretching between the Chien-men and Hata-men
gates on that Saturday afternoon surpass description. The Emperor's
middle gate barred out the crowds; this opened on a somewhat discolored
bridge, with fine carving and artistic balustrades, but the eye does not
like to linger here long on account of the crowds of beggars everywhere
visible; indeed, the hordes of women, children, vehicles, and
processions of every variety seemed incredible. Funeral cortèges in
particular were very doleful; discordant music preceded the funeral car,
and the crowds of paid mourners in motley dress, many of them picked up
off the street for the occasion, were a new and distasteful feature. We
saw on that trip three of these funerals, all similarly arranged, but
only one modest wedding procession. The bride sat in a red silk-covered
chair or palanquin, surrounded by friends; the usual attempts were made
at music. Whether the happy lady was Manchu or Chinese we were unable to
determine, the curtains being carefully drawn.
This thoroughfare, between the two gates alluded to, is famous for its
gayly decorated shops with long, ornamented signs and banners flying in
every direction. There are many such streets in Peking, and a few shady
residence thoroughfares, but our way usually led through the congested
sections. Pailows, where streets are crossed at right angles, are
interesting, and they have usually commemorative arches; and
sometimes the business houses of the locality bear their name, as the
Four Pailow Shop.
[Illustration: _Marble Terrace of the Summer Palace_]
[Illustration: _Marble Bridge of the Summer Palace_]
Legation Street is the home for ambassadors and ministers, and is a
decided contrast to the majority of native streets. Many of the foreign
buildings are fine, the grounds large, with imposing gateways, over
which may be seen the coat of arms of the country which is represented.
The British Legation was formerly a palace. In the grounds is the
English Chapel; here we attended service on Sunday. Our hotel was nearly
opposite the British Embassy; hence, in going in or out, we usually
touched Legation Street.
A notable excursion from Peking is to the Great Wall and the Ming tombs.
The Wall we were to see was not the original one, built in 215 B.C., but
an inner wall of the seventh century, which had still later been rebuilt
by the Ming emperors. We left in the morning for the Nankow Hotel, where
we were to pass the night. On our way to the Peking station, we saw the
Emperor, _en route_ from his Summer Palace to the city, in a yellow silk
sedan chair, numerously attended by persons also robed in yellow. After
luncheon at Nankow, we took sedan chairs ourselves for a twenty-six-mile
ride to the Great Wall through the Nankow Pass. The long processions of
guides and chairs were very picturesque, and there were also extra
attendants as a necessary relay. The road was rather rough and very
dusty, and our progress was therefore slow. Our roadway wound along,
sometimes near a mountain, which lay on one side, with the valley on the
other. The first gateway or arch we passed through was profusely
decorated, having as a frieze a row of six Buddhas to right and left,
and large Chinese figures below. Farther on, we came to another gateway,
and then to another, the Pa-ta-ling, thirteen miles from Nankow and the
top of the Nankow Pass. From every side long vistas could be seen; then
portions of the Wall winding in and out, and ever and anon a massive
watch tower looming forth.
We left our chairs and walked a considerable way up the mountain side to
the ruined watch towers; the one I entered was a large oblong building,
with six windows and two doorways; farther on was another similar watch
tower, and, at a greater distance, another. These add greatly to the
picturesqueness of the wide massive wall--wide enough for two or three
persons to ride abreast. Taken altogether, the view from the Nankow Pass
is one of the most magnificent I have ever seen, and, of course,
entirely unlike any other. It was a glorious day, and all the elements
seemed to conspire to make it a perfect occasion.
[Illustration: _Nankow Pass_]
Resuming our chairs, we proceeded to retrace our steps; and in about an
hour we stopped at a little hamlet for an afternoon collation furnished
by our very thoughtful Director. The shades of night were beginning to
fall when we resumed our journey, and erelong darkness overtook us. We
were all more or less separated, as the guides made no attempt to keep
together; and the sensation of being propelled by natives who did not
speak one word of English was very peculiar and uncomfortable.
We arrived at the hotel about nine in the evening; a late dinner
followed, and we separated with the expectation of meeting in the
morning at five, for the departure to the Ming tombs. This is a distance
of eight miles, or sixteen there and back to Nankow. The cavalcade left
in the same fashion as on the day previous. Our way led us over the
hills,--an irregular roadway, first through a field and past two little
villages. We then came to a magnificently carved pailow of white marble,
fifty feet high, eighty feet wide, and divided into five openings by
square pillars. Half a mile farther on stands the Red Gate; and there
was formerly a beautiful pavilion of white marble, supported on four
carved columns. It may be well to state before proceeding, that there
are in this vicinity, within a few miles of each other, thirteen Ming
tombs, the Ming dynasty preceding the present one. Yung-lohi is
considered the finest of the group, and this was now to be our objective
point. Half a mile beyond the pailow already alluded to is the Red Gate.
Next is the Holy Way. From here on for about half a mile, there is a
regular procession of animals and persons, all cut out of bluish marble
monoliths, remarkable for their workmanship and for their great size,
which causes one to speculate how they could have been brought from the
quarry. First, there are two columns decorated with sculptured clouds,
two lions couchant, two lions rampant. Then, in similar manner, four
camels, four elephants, and so on. After this come four military
officials, four civil officials, four celebrated men, each made from a
single block of marble, standing on opposite sides of the way, and all
wearing the old Ming dress used by the Chinese before the Manchus
introduced their own costumes.
Leaving the Holy Way, we passed through another arch, and came out on a
street formerly paved with marble slabs. At some distance to one side,
we saw two of the Ming tombs alluded to. We passed three marble bridges,
one of seven arches, very much broken down. Two miles farther on, there
is the principal enclosure around Yung-loh's tomb; it has a pavilion
protecting a huge tablet with white marble steps and railings carved
to represent clouds, phoenix, and dragons. Beyond lies the great hall,
seventy yards long by thirty yards wide, and supported upon eight rows
of teakwood pillars, four in each row, measuring twelve feet in
circumference and sixty feet high. This is a typical ancestral hall. Our
luncheon was served to us here.
[Illustration: _A tower of the Great Wall_]
[Illustration: _Five Arch: First pailow of the Ming Tomb_]
Passing through another great yard planted with cypresses and oaks, a
way cut into solid masonry leads up to the carefully closed door of the
tomb. This passage divides into two branches, both leading to a long
flight of steps which mount to the top of the terrace, where,
immediately above the coffin passage, is an immense upright slab bearing
an inscription. The mound on which this tomb is placed is half a mile in
circuit, and, though artificial, looks natural, being planted with
cypresses and oaks to the very top. The emperors used to come in the
Spring and Autumn to sacrifice at these ancient graves, but for two
centuries this duty has been left to a descendant of the Ming emperors.
There were different features to each of the Ming tombs, but, having
seen the representative one, we were content to return to Nankow, as we
were to take the afternoon train for Peking. While the trip to the Great
Wall and the Ming tombs is somewhat fatiguing, the interest is so great
as to reward one for the exertion.
We went our individual ways the last day in Peking, I to the Chinese
City in pursuit of a mandarin coat for a friend. After passing through
block after block in a chaotic condition, dirt and debris of all kinds
flung everywhere, I left the chair and walked quite a distance through
lane-like passages to the place designated, where I found that the
dealer had transferred all his embroideries to the hotel in which we
were staying, and that the said coat was probably in the collection I
had looked at the previous evening. Having devoted two hours to the
pursuit, I was somewhat discomfited. I then hurried to some of the
streets leading off from Beggars' Bridge, a place which is, as its name
suggests, the headquarters for beggars. Strange as it may seem, there is
a guild of beggars in Peking, with an acknowledged king; their
profession in the East is a fine art. There are interesting
thoroughfares leading out from this bridge,--one, a Curio Street, where
every conceivable article can be found, and the other, Bookseller
Street. This last was a disappointment, as I was told that rare editions
could be had; but through the interpreter, I learned that the conditions
of the city had been altered since the Boxer Rebellion in 1890. Indeed,
that fearful event was the cause of many changes in Peking and of great
suffering as well. The story of the conflict as related by an eyewitness
was very thrilling. Certain portions of the city at the present time
consist of naught but ruins, such as the foreign mission buildings and
the eastern and southern cathedrals, one of which was in process of
renovation. The Legation quarter has been mostly rebuilt.
[Illustration: _Emperor Yunglo's tomb_]