The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-09-17
UP IN A CHINESE PAGODA.
Viewing n Once Great city from nm Outlook n
thousand Years Old.

Fam NE Frenipg Pos,
SoOcuow China July 2s.-Now that the
Porcelain Tower ut Marking exists no more.
ha,i fallen 4, victim 70 the madness OF the
the distinction Of being tho largest pagoda in
China. II is n fine specimen Of this curious
species Of edllcr. and. OF course. a magnet to
thr traveller IN ,his part oi the world. T..
situated. Is about sevcnty-ilve miles distant in
norhwcstcry direction from Shanghai and is
reached after twrnty-four or thirty hours
sail along the many canals that intcrscct the
whole region hercanouts. and form the uniyer-
sal means Of communication. The city has
long been famous for It's wealth and splcndOr,
the people having II prOvnrb that Heaven il
above and socchow and Hangchow beneath"
II was deprived. however. of much Of its pros
p"rtv and beauty 10y the rebels. who laid per-
hnps ihc largrr part in ruins Known among
as severely as Paris has the savagcry of fanati-
cism and mob misrulc. The population has de-
clincd from . rspuled two millions to barely
onr-fourth % that number. and weed-grown
mounds. breaking the mono,onous level in
every direction. Nre mute hut significant testi
monies to the horrors Of the Tapping occu-
pancy. The ground il sowcd with RUNS, So that
IN" proprietor who wishes TO improve his plot
II land has first 10 remove the debris OF tiles.
There are five pagodas within the walls Of
Soochow, but the glory Of the town + the great
Pin shp-tah which raises its ambitious top IA
IT, needless of Babel and her late. it was striving
to reach the heaven overhead.
Arrived at the goal OF our pilgrimage nm
ardu9us t.sk stu rrmained-to get into the
nagodn without the payment OF such a fee as
would entail the loss oi our sclf-rcspcct rs we'll
us oar com. Ih" nutiVe PAYS generally seven
cash. or u little moro than half cent. for adj
mission. but tourists. who occasionally pence
tritr u- far inland rs Soorhow and rXrursion-
lists from shanghai have 80 spoiit the cu~todi-
ans " the ialodu that Foreigners now run the
chnnc" cd AN outrageous squeeze. In the pres:
rut instance a dollar WIS demanded for cnch of
th" party. twenty minutes parlcy. in the
midst Of gaping. rude. insulting crowd.
brought the chnr-c down To n dollar for the
whole group. but further than this he Of the
KEYS would not retreat until our spokesman
n ai r''f'lrsr 10 uINl'" luuicrous, nhi auda-
" We are in no hurry. We have nothing TO do
all day. Consi dor cur offer. and meanwhile we
viii rest ourselves in your temple" No sooner
said than done. We entered the sanctuary and
srnicd ourselves in the chief seats. the whole
ralhlr az our heels The 1Tic-ts were at their
wits ends. Tutoring about like birds whose
nest il mcnaced by snake. Too polite to for
bid our invasion. and too feeble to prevent the
vulgar herd from following and overrunning
the pacc. they soon showed a disposition to
c9mpromse. and ultimately let us in for fee
which, though stu cNorhitant. was only one
tenth of the original demand
We were now ushercd into the octaGonal
tower and LETT free t1"Nplorc 4; The internal
plan is simple and effective. The structure is
double, the inner column being filled with
inches where IDOLS sit and accept the incense Of
TIA" devout The stairca~cs wind, in easy and
comfortable stages. between the two divisions.
and opening ~ every story To the galleries
AFFORD light and arr The floors. Ike the walls
are " large lila X brick. very hard and service
able, ana, IN the moro ireuucntrd passages,
taking n glossy and almost porcelain polish
I
le'tng from the tower, at every floor. Is n
wooden gallery shaded bv the peaked roofs,
bell hung. which distinguish this curiosity Of
AREN'T turr. From these Nernndas extensive
viows 81 the city md environs are obtained
some very beautiful
But the galleries are shaky things. and II Is
safer To- leave them and their views and content
ourselves with further examination of the pa
Eodn Arrived at the eighth story-thcr" are
nine In alive notice the immense beam that
founded in tho solid masonry. rises tar ahov"
the tent-shaped roof. The spaces on the upper
story mr." occupied by the names of some II our
predecessors. this scribhlng habit being IA
popular. il seems. with the Chinese as with us.
From the ninth story TO the pavement of the
court we counted two hundred and thirty-fiVc
steps Estimating those AT an average height
of eight inches. W. get an elevation OF one hun
dred and iiity-srv"n feet to the floor 81 this
story. which. With the dome-like roof and the
spir. which Surmounts It. must add from iiity
10 seventy feet more. So that the total height
cannot differ murh from that " the Porcelain
Tower at Marking. which measures two hun
dred and thirtv-siX feet. The diameter rs
paced on the first floor. few feet above the
level OF the court. was found TO be about sixty
feet THIS dimension gradually and -ymmctrl-
cally lessons rs we ascend, until at tho ninth
story II Is scarcely half OF that distance. The
built very solid Of brick and coarse cement.
The only pieces Of woodwork apparent are
strong braces connecting the double towers.
and forming a foundation for the floors and the
ornamental galleries. The stability of the -truc-
ture IL yOuehei Tor sufficiently 10y the fact that
II has stood thousand years in land OF ty-
pnOOu-,