[Read June 1, 1758.]
IN this plan are the inclosures of walls, which form as it were three
cities.
[Kong tching, Tse kin.]
The first is the imperial palace, or imperial city. It is called _Kong
tching_ or _Tse kin_. The numbers 11, 17, 21, 24, mark the great gates
of this inclosure.
[Hoang tching.]
The second inclosure is _Hoang tching_. The numbers 3, 18, 30, 86, mark
four great gates of this inclosure.
[King tching.]
The third inclosure is _King tching_, or Royal City. The numbers 235,
1, 99, 146, 173, 183, 188, 109, 211, mark nine gates of this inclosure.
At the four angles east and west of the north and south walls is a
large pavillion in the form of a fortress. It is a kind of arsenal
or magazine of arrows, bows, guns, bucklers, cuirasses, pikes, small
cannon, _&c._
Observe the angle made by the inclosure _Hoang tching_ on the south of
the gate Nº. 84, to the north of Nº. 260. The inclosure extends to the
east, then to the south, and continues to the east, passing by Nº. 3.
[Illustration: _Philos. Trans. Vol. L._ TAB. XXIV. _p. 704_.
_J. Mynde sc._ ]
[Illustration: _Philos. Trans. Vol. L._ TAB. XXV. _p. 704_.
_J. Mynde sc._]
1. is the great gate _Hien men_. As you go on to the north, 2, 143,
214, are three gates of a great court with magnificent walls. Thro’ the
gate 3 you enter into a court, where is the _Tay miao_ Nº. 7. There are
reposited the tablets of the ancestors of the reigning emperor, and of
the illustrious subjects deceased, who have served the dynasty. This
_miao_ or palace is a vast one, and well kept. At regular times the
emperor, princes, and great men, go thither to perform ceremonies.
Nº. 9 is the _Che tsi tan_, where are performed, at regular times, the
ceremonies to the ancients, who have taught the art of agriculture.
This palace is a very beautiful one. 4, 5, 6, are the gates of a court,
where the _reguli_ and princes go frequently to receive the emperor’s
orders. There are halls for their reception. The mandarins give them
tea to drink, and mark their names in a register. When upon the fixed
days they cannot attend, they are required to give notice of it. It is
in this court, that the tributary princes, or their envoys, do homage,
and receive the presents of the emperor; which presents are considered
as rewards.
Nº. 11 is _Ou men_, the great gate with a beautiful pavillion of a
considerable height, in which is a large bell[145]. This gate, with
those marked Nº. 12, 13, are those of the great court; whence going
to the north, you enter into the beautiful and vast court _Tay ho
tien_, the gates and galleries of which, with the balconies, make a
fine appearance. In this court, on the first day of the year, and on
other fixed days, the mandarins, according to their ranks, perform the
ceremony to the emperor, who is seated on his throne in the hall called
_Tay ho tien_. This hall is a vast and magnificent one. The princes,
ministers, and great men of the first order, place themselves there
by the emperor. It is in this hall, that the emperor gives audience
to foreign princes and their ambassadors. You go up to this hall by
magnificent steps.
To the north of _Tay ho tien_ is a large court, whither the princes,
great men, ministers, and principal mandarins, go in turns every day,
to receive the emperor’s orders, or to present their petitions. To the
north of this court are the apartments of the emperor, the empress, the
queens, and ladies. The great gate of the place, where these apartments
are, is Nº. 23. All these apartments are in the space contained within
the walls, which have this figure
+----- -----+
| 23 |.
+----- A -----+
At A is a beautiful gate to the south. The walls of the inclosure of
the apartments of the emperor and empress are higher than those of the
inclosures of the queens and ladies. In them are orchards, jets d’eau,
flowering shrubs, and a great number of small chambers for the eunuchs.
To the west of the court _Tay ho tien_ is the fine palace _Tsi ning
kong_. The empress-mother lives there at present. Every thing in this
palace is beautiful. There are little gardens very neat and well kept.
At the east of the _Tay ho tien_ is likewise a fine palace, where
the prince heir, with his court, resided in the time of the emperor
_Kanghi_. It is a very beautiful palace, and highly ornamented.
In the inclosure of _Kong tching_, or _Tse kin_, there are tribunals, a
great number of magazines, manufactures, the imperial apothecary’s shop
and printing-house; schools for the Chinese and Tartar languages; and
several temples of idols, one of which, lately made for the lamas, cost
immense sums.
Nº. 26, 28, 29, are the gates of the great inclosure called _Kin chan_.
It is properly a beautiful pleasure-house, which the present emperor
has caused to be extremely embellished. There are in it fine gardens
with walks of trees, very rich and elegant apartments, halls for the
musicians and comedians. From the mountain _m_, the last emperor of the
dynasty _Ming_, seeing the city taken by the rebels, hanged himself
on the morning of the 15th of April of the year of our Lord 1644. On
the day before, the 14th of April, the empress hanged herself in the
evening in the palace. The mountain in _Kin chan_ was made by art a
long time ago.
At the west of the inclosure _Kin chan_ and _Tse kin_ observe the
great laos. 54 is the _peta_, or white pyramid. This pyramid stands
on a small mountain, which makes an island. The present emperor has
built there, in the form of an amphitheatre, I do not know how many
apartments with covered and open galleries, well built, and in a good
taste: the point of view is charming, and the galleries, which run
over the lake, are extremely beautiful. There are two or three temples
of idols. 53 is a fine building with a temple of idols; and in it a
statue of _Fo_ of an extraordinary height. It is of copper, gilt, and
cost great sums. 76 is a very beautiful palace called _Yng tay_, with
fine gardens, fine halls, and fine walks.
55 is the palace, in which is placed the tablet of the emperor _Kang
hi_, grandfather to the present emperor, who at regular times goes
thither, in order to honour the memory of that great prince, one of the
most illustrious and fortunate sovereigns of the empire of China.
81 is the house and church of the French Jesuits. The house stands in
39° 55´ of northern latitude, or possibly some seconds more, and 114°
to the east of the observatory of Paris. This situation, with regard
to latitude and longitude, is founded upon a considerable number of
astronomical observations. By means of a scale, which may be made, we
have the distance between this house and the other parts of the city,
north and south, east and west; as likewise the latitude and longitude
of all the places in the city of Peking. 248 is the house and church
of the Portuguese Jesuits; 170 the house and church of the Portuguese
Jesuits[146]; 131 the house and church of the Russians. A little to the
east of Nº. 176 is a small house and chapel for the Russians settled at
Peking for above seventy years past.
31 is _Kou leou_[147], the Tower of the Drum; 32 is _Tchong leou_, the
Tower of the Bell; in which is a very large bell[148].
179 was formerly the palace of the fourth son of the emperor _Kang hi_
after the death of _Kang hi_. This prince reigned under the name of
_Yong tching_. His son the present emperor caused this palace to be
demolished, and to be rebuilt with an extraordinary magnificence. In
the hall is the tablet of _Yong tching_; and there are in this palace
grand apartments for the emperor, when he goes thither to honour the
memory of his father. The emperor has erected here a temple of idols
for the lama of Thibet; and there are apartments for above three
hundred lama’s. These have Chinese and Tartar disciples to the number
of two hundred. Here are taught, in the Thibetan language, called here
_Tan gout_, the sciences, arts, mathematics, physic, spirituality, and
the pagan religion. In this beautiful inclosure there are statuaries
and painters. This building is not at all inferior in beauty and
magnificence to those of the palace of Peking, or to those, which the
present emperor is going on to erect in his pleasure-houses.
180 _Koue he kien_ is the imperial college. The great hall, where
Confucius is honoured, is a very beautiful one. There are likewise
halls for honouring the disciples of this philosopher and several
eminent Chinese learned men, who have followed his doctrine with
success. The emperor goes thither sometimes to perform the ceremony to
Confucius as master and instructor to the empire. The avenues, courts,
and apartments, of _Koue he kien_ have a most majestic appearance.