The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1897-10-30
Graves In China.

MT. Juilan halph, who has been traY-
cling In China, contributes to Hnrper'a
Magazine an account of the astonIsh.
ing number Of graves to be seen In that
country, and Of the peculiar places
selected for them. He says:
The face OF all nature Is pImpled with
graves. No farm Is 50 small that Il
cannot afford ut least one; no hill 80
hlgh-I speak of the garden provinces
Of China-that IL Is not dotted with
them to the top. No city lacks them
within and without Its walls. only
the eompactest parts OF the compact
cities are without them.
They vary in shape and form, as ev-
erythlng varies in China. The saying
Is that I'm ten miles everything Is ilr.
ferent," and II certainly Is so with the
graves. Near Shanghai this eruption
On the face Of nature took the form Of
shapeless mounds OF earth, perhaps 81
feet long by three feet wide. ami three
or four feet high. There the collins
had been put ON the ground and rOI.
cred over with dirt.
Farther along. toward SoochOw and
the Grand Canal, the graves werr pri"k
affairs, Handicapped, and square 1T the
ends. In the other direction. NJ aud
near Chapu, on the coast. they were
often vaults of earth faced with stone
and surrounded by a horseshoe or
broken circle Of earthwork.
Some OF them had three doJrways.
and looked Ike triple cake ovens: but
down Chapu way many of the graves
were perfect little houses Of brick, with
tile roofs. and even with roofs whose
corners were D"nt In grand style.
There are graveyarls In China-fam,
lily or village graveyagds-thatlO look like
mere disturbances Of the earth. where
acres have been turned up into mounds
or covered with brick ovens, and there
are graveyards that are solemnly plant
ed with rows Of trees: but rs rule. the
farmers bury their dead in their rice or
cotton fields or among their mulberry
trees. and the poor buy or lease rest.
Ing place for their departed upon the
acres Of sGme weather. man.
don't know whether II. b. true or
not, but was told that the graves are
kept, or let alone, until n change %
dynasty occurs, when they are raZrd,
and China begins over again to pre-
empt great fraction OF her surface for
her dead. II so, It Is time for a change
Of dynasty, because a vast portion ot
the soil Is lost to the farmers. who
otherwise cultivate every foot Of II;
and the graves are in all stages Of
rack and ruin and disorder
At one time you see scores Of tombs
whose ends lave been worn down by
the elements. or have fallen out 40 as
to show the cotfin-ends or an outbreak
Of skulls and bones. There Il noth.n:
that Is possible that you do not see,
even to disclosures OF great Opeu Jars
full OF bones, where the original graves
and collins have worn away. You see
bare collins set out In the rice. fields he.
cause the mOurners were too poor 10
brick them over. and you see tens Of
thousands Of collins merely covered
over with matched straw.
You see the grand tOmbs Of IMAM
uhIlhs 'hhlHB up nHlI n mlle OF me
earth. First there are the granite steps
leading to a splendid triple arch all
beautifully carved. Then follows tie
stately approach to the tomb wide
avenue bOrdered by trees. and set with
lions and warriors, horses and sages,
all hewn out Of stone.
Finally the tomb itself. on n hillside
II possible. stares down the avenue Mt
all these costly ornaments; but II must
be that most Of these monuments are to
men long dead-perhaps to men Of dis
iant ages. Therefore most Of them are
falling to pieces. Some nre merely be
ginning to crumble, some are waste
places with broken suggestions OF what /
hey were, and some have been invaded
BY farmers and by the pOpuIace. with .
lie result that you see portions Of the
'nce grand arch set In a nearby bridge /
n used as steps to a waterslde tea
rouse.