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CHAP. XXII.

STREETS OF PEKING.

357

CHAPTER XXII.

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The streets of Peking - Imperial palaces- Lama mosque - Western side of the city - Portuguese cemetery Marble tablets-Tombs of Catholic priests - Ricci and Verries - Visits to the Chinese city-Scenes at the gates-The cabs of Peking - Shops and merchandise Vegetables and fruits "Paternoster Row"Jade-stone and bronzes - Ancient porcelain - Temple of Agriculture-South side of Chinese city - Nursery gardens and plantsCountry people-South-west side of Chinese city--Waste lands Royal ladies expected - A September morning in Peking

Northern

part of the Tartar city - The An-ting gate - Graves of English officers - The Lama temple - Chief features of Peking.

HAVING obtained a bird's-eye view of Peking from the top of the Observatory, we set out on the following day to visit the Imperial city, the outside of the palaces, the little hill named King-shan, and other objects of interest to the westward. The streets of the capital differ much from those of the other towns in China which I have visited. They are very wide, straight, and generally run at right angles with each other, so that a stranger has little difficulty in finding his way from one point to another; but they are, for the most part, in wretched condition. When the weather is wet they are full of puddles and almost impassable, and when it is dry and windy the dust is blinding

and intolerable.

Our way led us along the eastern walls of the palace, and we soon reached one of the gates which led into the Imperial city. Entering this gate, we found ourselves close upon the Royal palace, which was surrounded by an inner wall and had its gate strictly guarded by soldiers. Into this sanctum sanctorum we did not attempt to penetrate. Passing onwards, we soon reached the northern end of the palace, and were then close upon King-shan or "Prospect Hill." And very pretty this little hill looked, crowned as it is with temples, summerhouses, and trees. Rounding it, we turned to the south and went along the outside of the western wall of the palace. This is perhaps the most interesting part of Peking, and is well worth a visit. The roofs of the different palaces and temples, with their quaint forms and yellow tiles glittering in the sun, were particularly striking and interesting. Here we also found the Lama Mosque, surrounded by trees, and giving an Indian character to the scenery. Although we could not enter the sacred enclosures, we got glimpses of pretty gardens with rock-work and artistic bridges, which gave us very favourable impressions of its internal beauties and made us long for a nearer view. But, as already stated, although foreigners have liberty to wander all over the Imperial city, they cannot enter the grounds of the palace, nor King-shan, nor the enclosures in which the Lama temples and mosques are situated.

Leaving the walls of the Emperor's palace be

CHAP. XXII.

PORTUGUESE CEMETERY.

359

hind us, we took a westerly course, and, passing over a broad bridge, were soon out of the Imperial city and again in the Tartar one. Here were some wide streets with shops crowded inside and out with all sorts of wares, and looking somewhat like a bazaar. Passing out of the city by the Fowching gate, we rode on in a northerly direction to pay a visit to the Portuguese cemetery. This very ancient place is in the form of a parallelogram, and is surrounded with walls. A broad, straight, paved walk leads up its centre. It is divided into two parts by a cross wall with a gateway in the middle of it. The outer department is used as a garden, and has rows of pillars on each side of the centre walk for the cultivation of vines. Passing up between these and through the gate in the cross wall, we found ourselves in the place of burial, in which lie the remains of some hundred of the early Catholic missionaries and their followers. Two marble tablets of massive size, beautifully carved and surmounted by the cross, stand on each side of this inner gateway. As we walked up the centre pathway we observed rows of tombs at right angles with the walk, one row behind the other in succession, all the way up to the further end of the cemetery. In front of each tomb there is a square slab of marble, carved with dragons on the top in high relief, and below this carving there are inscriptions in Chinese and Latin giving the name of the occupant of the tomb and the year in which he died. At the upper end of the walk there is a row of carved stones, in

imitation of vases, and behind them, on a raised platform, a stone cross completes the arrangement.

The high state of preservation in which these tombstones are at the present day is very remarkable. Many of them, from the dates carved on them, must have been placed there more than two centuries and a half ago, and they show no signs of decay. I noted that of the well-known Father Ricci, with "P. Matthew Ricci, A.D. 1610," carved upon it. The tomb of the celebrated P. Fernandez Verries, who taught the Chinese the art of casting cannon, is also here. Some of these marble stones rest upon the back of a tortoise carved in the same material. This form of stone denotes that it was a gift from the Emperor of the time, who took this mode of showing his esteem for the deceased and his desire to honour his memory.

Pines, junipers, and other trees grow all over the cemetery, and throw a pleasing shade over the last resting-places of the ancient fathers. The Chinese seem to have charged themselves with the duty of keeping the place in order, and they have performed it well. When we left the cemetery we rode southwards along the side of the western wall until we came to the Chinese city. There was nothing in this part to attract our attention except the high walls and ramparts of the city and pleasant gardens in the suburbs. In our way from this point to the English Legation we passed the Roman Catholic cathedral, in which there are some foreign priests, who dress in the costume of the

CHAP. XXII.

THE CHINESE CITY.

361

country, and are, no doubt, worthy successors of old Father Ripa.

My next excursion was through the Chinese city to some gardens which I had been informed were to be found in its southern suburbs. I passed out of the Tartar city by the Ching-wang-mun, the centre gate of its south wall. Inside and outside of this gate I observed carts in great numbers waiting to be hired, just as we see the cabs in London. Like them, the carts of Peking have their stands in the public thoroughfare. The noise and bustle ahout this gate was perfectly deafening. Carts were going to and fro, rumbling along on the rough stone road, and now and then sinking deeply into the broken pavement. Donkeys, horses, and long trains of camels laden with the productions of the country, were toiling along; a perfect Babel of noisy tongues was heard in all directions; and the dust was flying in clouds and literally filling the air. Stalls of fruit, hawkers of all kinds of wares, beggars ragged, filthy, and in many instances apparently insane, crowded the approaches to this gate.

When I had passed through I entered a straight and wide street which led through the centre of the Chinese city from north to south. The northern portion appeared to be densely populated. Each side of the main street was lined with shops and stalls, and a much more active trade was carried on here than in the Tartar city. The shopfronts in Peking are rather striking, and differ in

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