The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1882-04-07
A DAZZLING PAGEANT.


conslt with the imperial astronomers
.,eiect an suspicious day for the cele-
hretion Of the funeral rites" So ran
the official announcement OF the death
OF the widow OF the Emperor Hsien
Feng, in the Pekin Gazette of the 10th
Of April last. The late empress was
the consort Of Hsien Teng, but not his
first wife, that lady having gone on
high previous to the elevation Of her
husband to the Chinese throne. When,
in 1861, Hsien Feng died, Tsa' An was.
conjointly with the mother Of the late
Emperor Fupg Chib, appointed empress
regent. Again, after Fung Gibbs death,
she continued to WELD power during
the authority OF the present emperor,
Kwang Su. This power she exercised
with considerable skill. On momen.
tous occasions, more especially during
the recent imbroglio with Russia, her
diplomatic talents were used to great
advantage. Owing to her residing in
that portion of the imperial quarters
designated rs the eastern palace, che
became known as the eastern empress,
in contradistinction to her co-regent,
who, living in the western palace, is
known as the western empress.
TIE snspicious day selected for the
imperial obsequies by the grave scien-
lists who form the board Of astronomy
at the Chinese capital, was on the Goth
Of October last.
Ever since the empress died her re.
mains had been deposited in the mortu.
ary chapel situated in the inclosurs
surrounding the coal hill OF May Shan
in the grounds OF the palace. This hill
wss constructed in the year 1886, and
the coal OF which it il composed was
brought from tho mines of Chitong.
which lie TO the westward of Pekipp.
AT it's summit beautiful summer-house
is built, and its slopes ate decora ed
with trees and shrubs of various de-
scriptions. In the construction il serves
q double purpose--to enable the impe-
iial denizens of the palace to obtain a
view OF the city, and also as magazine
of fuel in case. Peking should at any
lime be in state of siege, Fer e.vAn
months the body of the empress reposed
on this hill. Every day delegations OF
high mandarins visited the shrine to
offer sacrifices and prayers, while
legion of Buddhist lamas and Tanis
priests lived in little huts around the
garden, whose duty was to offer prayers
for the repose of the soul of her majesty.
The kwan Tsh Tien, for such Is the
name Of the mortuary chapel, was
sacredly guarded from common ken by
mat shed erection. Tho king of Corea,
the khans and sultans of Thibet, Tur-
kestans and KashGSria, the chiefs and
princes Of the Mongolian and Manchu.
rian domains, all sent deputations to
offer prayers on their account at the
shrine. Two years previous to the date
fixed for the funeral the roads leading
to the imperial tombs- which ara styled
lang agdn sien ht (abidiug hall Of the
dragon) were under process of renova-
tion.
To imagine street in Peking is diff.
cult. A thoroughfar5 in the Chinese
capital can not be equsled for dirt 10
any other city in the world. Peking is
a city of magnificent distances bnt its
roadways, though broad and long, are
vile. The heavy dust of the plains
accumulates and is kept from rising by
liberal showers of dirty water, which is
ladled in buckets y scavengers from
holes in tho side palks. The method
adopted to patch up the roadway CON-
sists in raking the mud from the sides
to the middle and leveling it down with
trowels. After the roadway was re-
paired traffic on the portion renovated
is entirely suspended. As it is an es.
sential feature in Chinese imperial
funeral that the coffin must be carried
steady and without the least swaying,
for some twenty days previous to the
obsequies, the men who were destined
to bear the corpse were drilled under
the eye Of officials to proficiency. Two
imme1so = beams. raintad yellow. sup
ported lofty canopy and stand, where
the coffin was to rest. Upon this stand
the presiding official was seated, hold
ing cup of water in his hands. The
desired point was achieved when the
bearers could step together and not
spill drop Of the fluid.
On the appointed morning, at early
dawn, the procession left the palace and
proceeded ON its way through the hou-
men, or back gate. The catafalque
was carried from the shrine to outside
the gate by 1913 bearers. In q yellow
canvas tent situated on the plateau out
side the city the coffin was deposited by
the bearers, there to wait the arrival
of the boy emperor and the western
empress. There were some 10000
soldiers of the imperial bodyguard as an
escort and guard for his majesty and
the empress, who arrived at o A. N. to
pay their last farewell to the dead ruler.
During the passage OF the processicn
along the street tho ends OF the laiies
abntting on the main thoroughfares were
screened by blue cloth, and every house
and shop was tightly closed. Any one
caught gazing at the imperial cortege
was arrested and severely punished.
The emperor and empress, after per-
forming number Of prostrations and
offering libations to the departed soul.
returnea 10 u.o paiaoe. In vluer 20
give rest to the bearers OF the enormous
catafalque, there were no less than a
thousand men detailed to act as relays.
The procession then moved in the
following order First came a number
OF musicians with drums, trumpets,
cymbals and flutes, bpt playing no
music, these instruments being sounded
at various points and intervals. Next,
three imperial carts. the bodies and
y t,., "a ,. ii',-i 'iei yellow With cov-
"a. s. a. / ru - &c. 81 shaw-colored
sa'i., th~ tops " '.'o"ut-d by gilded
or1'sui n'-' spi drawn by two white
horses with ~h,i" trappipgs. Then
=. 4e Lund,ed white ponies with red
trappinRs, led by spearmen. Next ap.
peared three sedan chairs, covered with
yellow silk, two carried by eight men
in scarlet robes. while tho third was
richly decorated with gilded ornaments \
and borne by sixteen men. These
chairs we're the ones used by the late
empress. Following In order came
on borsahacL sttendsnts ca,rv;rr ,s~~s