The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-01-30
The Famous Porcelain Tower.

The celebrated Porcelain Tower, near
Wanting, China, is described by a tray
eler, who says: In the quiet evening
we made our way out of the city by the
south gate, through q well-constructed
tunnel, and shortly stood upon an
eminence over whose surface was a mass
of debris consisting of broken bricks,
tiles and plaster several feet thick. This
was all-all that was left Of that which,
for it's historic beauty, the ingenuity Of
its construction and it's great cost, took
rank with the wonders of the world-the
famous Porcelain Tower. It must have
been very beautiful in it's perfection, If
we accept the statements of its various
historians, who differ 20 little in their
accounts that one does for all. From
them we learn it's form was octagonal,
nine stories high, tapering as it rose to
the height of PSI feet from the ground,
the circumference of the lower story
being 12O feet. The body of the pagoda
was Of brick, but its face was composed
of porcelain tiles of many colors. Each
story formed a kind of salon, through
which ran the spiral staircase leading to
the summit, and whose walls were COW
cred With small gilded idols resting in
inches, the entire apartment being richly
painted and gilded. Each story was
defined by o projecting cornice of green
tiles, from whose points gilded bells
' we're hung. The roof was overlaid with
L, copper, and above it rose a mast thirty
feet high, capped by a golden ball and
coiIed about by an immense band OF
iron, appearing like rings from below.
The base of this shaft was an iron ball
formed of two halves, the outer surface
of which is m~agnifcently embossed. 1
say is, for one-half rests where it fell,
the only tangible thing in the mass of
ruin. The other half, weighing twelve
tons, being broken by the fall, was recast
into a temple bell. Standing before the
half which is left, We query who were
they that fashioned this beautiful cast
ing, worthy the hand of a master?
Whose writing and inscription embel.
ishes it's face, unlike any Chinese work.
manship2 Whose skill was great enough
in A. D. 1880 to place q ball Of iron
thirty-six feet in circumference, weigh
ing twenty four tons, upon a pedestal
PSI feet high? This ball was the recep-
tacle for various treasures calculated to
ward off evil influences, among which
we're "night-shining Jewels" pearls,
books, gold, silver, thousands of strings
of cash, satin, silk, ard priceless medi-
cines. The number of bells On the struc-
ture was 1852, and the interior was illu-
minated by several hundreds of lamps,
while the exterior required 1913 to light
it. It took nineteen years to build it,
and cost 50, 313, 078. Of all this, not one
story rests on the other ; lightning, fire
and war have laid their hands upon it
and it fell, its final destroyers being the
Tapping rebels about twenty years ago.
It stood in the grounds of a large
Buddhist monastery, which fell at the
same time a prey to the fanaticism and
rapacity of the invaders. One work Of
art within the grounds escaped destruc-
ton, a pure white marble tortoise, bear
ing upon his back a perpendicular tablet
with an inscription. This, with n
solitary priest, keeps watch and ward
over the ruins of bygone glory.