The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-03-27
L.. China and Its CAPITAL.

- The following is from Pekin letter in a
San Francisco paper:
The walls of. Pekin arc sixty feet high
and forty feet wide OF the top, forming q
nice promenade of nearly twenty-five miles
around the city. A partition wall divides
the Tartar from the Chinese city; and four
gates, ut the north, south, east, and west,
afford the only means for passing the walls,
and these are opened and closed with the
sun. Inside the great wall Of the Tartar
city is another wall, made Of yellow bricks
and covered, with enamelled yellow tiles,
called the wall Of the imperial city, which
Is inhabited mostly by Tartars and persons
connected with the Government. Inside Of
the imperial city is still another wall, Of red
bricks, surrounded by moat enclosing the
prohibited city, in which the palace, trea-
sury. and public buildings Immediately
connected with the Emperor's household, ore
located, ,,7.a..,
In these sacred precincts of majesty no
foreign foot has ever trod, and the mystic
sries Of the palace are only known to a few
of the most faithful and honored servants
Of the Manchu dynasty. The colored roofs
(made of enamelled titles Of blue, green,
red, and Yellow are seen amid the dense
foliage of the forest which ornaments the
palace grounds. Here the Emperor of
China holds his court, counselling only
with the regent mother, his teachers,
end the few high officers who are ad-
mitted,to his presence. ! He is revered by
the people as the Son Of Heaven, and
in theory is supreme, but in practice
only so far as the people please to obey,
as the right of petition to the throne is
recognized as enc of the most sacred GUS
toms Of the Chinese Empire. / was stand
ing by gate over moat one day, in the
vicinity Of a venerable-looking mandarin
wearing button of high rank, and sought
to engage his attention by comparing the
2time Of day, but he had the advantage of
me, as he had two watches in his girdle, and
! had only one. intimated o desire to
view the palace grounds, and, astonished OF
my ignorance and impudence, he pointed to
the sacred enclosure and then to Heaven,
'signifying that. it was inhabited by the
Son. of Heaven. The inmates of the pro-
Shibited city arc not supposed to number
more than thousand, including men, wo-
men, children, eunuchs, and the little EN-
.pcror. His ajesty is not quite thirteen
years Of age, and has not yet assumed the
,reins Of government. During his minority
the actual regents of the Empire are his
mothers, as he is blessed with several. The
first wife Of the late Emperor having failed
tofurnish an heir to the throne, the present
Emperor is the son Of one of the auxiliary
wives of tho deceased ,Hienfung. AS il
would be an Infringement Of Chinese GUS
tom for women to attend to any public bu-
siness, tho affairs of State, at least with
foreigners, are conducted by the Prince Of
Kung, uncle Of the Emperor, and recog-
nized head Of the government during his
minority.
The winter in Pekin is severe, and the
question Of fuel may properly be asked.
Coal is known to exist in great quantities in
tho vicinity, and was used by the Chinese
aethousand years ago as fuel; but they have
never opened the mines by any under
ground workings for fear they would de-
stroy the equilibrium Of the earth, and turn
the Celestial Empire upside down. The
question Of allowing the coal mines to be
opened is now being discussed ); and If their
prejudice and superstitions could be over
come, o great resource would be created,
and employment given to an over-crowded
population. The use Of gas is as yet mys-
terry to the Celestials, lanterns, lamps, and
candles answering their purposes as well as
they did their ancestors.