National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1872-06-21
A Chapter on Chinese Walls.

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until he secs them. The walls surround
ing the city Of Pckin are from twenty
two to twenty-five miles In length, ant
on an average fifty feet high. This wal
Ia sixty-six feet thick at the bottom, ant
iiity-four at tho top, and once in a few
yards there are immense buttrcsses I,
give it still greater strength. AT ever,
fifth buttress the wall, for the space o
one hundred and twenty'six icet II
length, Is two hundred and ilty-siy feet
in thickness. In several places the iounda
ton Of this wall is Of malblc, and wher
the ground is uneven immense quantities
of cement, as durable nearly as granite
and about as hard, have been used to leyc
up the ground. The main body Of this
wall is made oi bricks, each twenty inche'
long, ten inches wide and five inchc'
thick. These bricks arc burned very hard
and have precisely the appearance OF stone
On the inside OF this wall, as well as on
Others in other cities, there are esplanades
or stalrways, with gates 10 them for as
cending them. And,oyer all the gateway
there are immense towers, as large rs
great churches, and much higher, con.
structed OF these great burnt bricks. On
the top Of this Immense wall there is Il
railing, both ON the outside and INSIDE
coming up TO n mans waist, which railing
itself is a wall, thus giving sense OF
security to person walking on the top.
The outside railing is made into turrets,
Tor the use of cannon, in ease of attack.
The entire top of the wall is covered with
strong burn. brick, twenty inches square,
resembling the tagging Of our sidewalks,
in large citics-Ouy, as | have said. these
walks are iIty-four feet wide.
There is no way OF getting into the city
only 10 20 through this immense wall
And wherever there is a gate for the pur,
pose of getting through there is another
wall built incIoslng a square space, COM
peling all persons who 90 into the city to
go through tteo ecals, by passages at right
angles to each other. The walls are so
immensely thick, that these passages
through them, arcbed over with cut stone
remind one exactly of our railroad tun-
nels in the United States. At each OF
these gleat archways there is an enormous
gate made of strong timbers, everywhere
as much a. ten inches thick, and covered
on both sides with plates Of iron, like the
sides Of our war ships. These gates are
shut early in the evening, generally before
shutdown, and not sllowel to be opened
during the night for any purpose. They
are fastened on the inside By means OF
strong beams Of timber.
| have been somewhat PARTICULAR in
describing this wall, because the genera
construction of al walls in China are SINH
lar to th- one, although they are net all
so high nor 50 thick. But there are proba-
bly, a thousand walled cities in China,
whose walls will average twenty-five feet
high and twenty feet thick, and another
thousand whose walls may be somewhat
less. Then there is the great Iartar wall.
little north of Pckn, one thousand five
hundred mile, long and older than the
Christian era, thicker and higher than any
of the rest, There are said to be one thou
sand five hundred pertectural cities in
China. All these are surrounded BY
walls built by the government, besides
the great number of cities whose walls are
made at the expense d the city gorern-
ment alone. And when we have spoken
Of the walls surrounding the cities, we
have by no means done with the subject.
For example, IN Pekin, inside the inclos-
ing wall, there is another OF miles in eX
tent, surrounding what is called the Ial-
Perjal city. II IN, again, inside of this is
another immense wall, surrounding what
is called the PrOhtbUed Citv. Within
this inner inclo>ure i, the residence of the
Emperor, and al the ether buildings con-
ne2tcd with royalty. And so the Altar
aud Temple OF Heaven are surrounded by
two concentrc walls, of great extent and
magnitude, which must be passed bv
means Of immense gates. Then there Is
the great wall covered with dry thorn
brush, surrounding what is called the
Place Of Punishment, where criminals are
beheaded, and their heads exposed in cages
for terror to evil doers, and where other
criminals are crucitied, and vet Others
starved to death, amid the most piteous
meanings and insane rawlings for food.
Again, the Hall OF Literary Examination,
where forty thousand men compete for
literary degrees, and whore the longest
purse is more successful than the hardest
study, is surrounded byanother wall and
entered by gates. Then all places of idol
atrous worship, and they are legonf in
these great cities, are surrounded 10y high
walls. The old CITY Of Nankin. on the
south banks of the Yanctze Kianp. is sur
rounded by a wall eighteen miles long.
The city OF Tienslng, in the northerly por-
ton of China, has a wall fifteen or sixteen
miles in length. The CITY of FnocLow
with one side exposed to the river Min
is surrounded by a high wall. Wherever
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