Arizona republican., 1898-09-30
INTERESTING POINTS
 ABOUT CHINA.

The emperor of China has been the most secluded monarch in the world. He is surrounded by officials whose chief duty seems to be to keep him from coming into touch with the out side world. Before reaching the build ing in which he is practically confined one has to pass through lshree sets Of walls, each set being guarded by a small army Of eunuchs. First there are the great siXty-fOot-thick walls the Tartar city, then the walls of the imperial city, which are six miles in length, and then third set, inclosing what is known as the Purple Forbid den City. Inside of the latter lives the emperor and his family, the ladies of the royal harem, and the thousands of etInuchs who make up the stair of royal servants
 The emperor himsslf lives in the northwestern part Of the inclosure, and the empress dowager has a palace near by. In another part of the inclosure is the hall of literary abyss, or the i'm perial library, and in this the cabinet officers hold their sessions, and it con- tains also q department Of @he royal treasury. No one outside of the fer eign legations has eVer got into the pal aces of the emperor of China, and 10 foreigner is permitted to see him.
 The American minister had an audi ence, but even the Chinese of Pekin do not know how the emperor looks. There are not 5000 men outside of his eunuchs who have ever set eyes on him. He knows absolutely nothing about the actual condition of his peo- pIe. When he gees out into the city mating is hung up in front Of all the houses and strips Of cloth are stretched across the alleys and side streets through which the imperial procession must pass.
 The American minister warns all Americans not to go out at their peril, for the emperor is always accompanied by soldisrs, and the man who peeps around the corner or has his eye fast ened to hole in the mating is liable to be blinded with a bullet or arrow. The streets are fxed up for the Occa- sion All the booths and squatters are driven away and the roads are GOV cred with bright yellow clay. Yellow is the imperial color.
 The young emperor is a decidedly weak character, and doesn't even do his own thinking. The empress dow ager attends to that for him. It is said that he occasionally goes into fits Of rage when he is crossed, but it is the rage of a child, and is over as soon as he has exhausted himself. He has been under the thumb of the empress dow ager since he vas baby. She super vised his education, and picked cut his wives for him. She has him so hem med in with officials and wives who are her sworn allies, that there has never been chance for the young en- Deror to extricate himself from his subservient condition. even if he want ed to. which he apparently doesn't.
 The emperor was r years old at the time Of his marriage, zen years ago, and the empress dowager gave him three wives to start with The selec- tiCn was curious. All the pretty Tar tar girls of the empire, numbering many thousands, were gathered to- gether and sorted, and the best Of them were sent to Pekin. The selection was first made by the governors of the provinces, and no girl was presented who was over IS nor under F years of age.
 The choice lots were dressed in the finest of clothes, and were cartsd from all parts of the empire into (Pekin- They were here submitted to the in spection of the old empress dowager, being brought into her presence in lots Of five She passed upon them as fast as she could and weeded out the poor est and dullest- Those who remained were taken out for the time and brought in in new lots, and so the sort ing went on, until the thousands had dWindled to the hundreds, the hun +1 b1 Qf Cf down to fifteen.
 These fifteen girls were put into training. Their paces were tested and all sor;s cf experiments were made as 10 their tempers and traits After some months the old empress picked cut the three girls she liked, and the eldest of these, who was Is years old, became empress. The two others be- came what are called secondary wives, or chief concubiIes, and theSs two lat ter were sisters, one of whom was 13 and the other 15 years old. The mar Eiage Of the emperor was celebrated in elaborate style, and the magnificence Of the occasion may be imagined from the fact that it cost the government 10000, GOO.
 Every three years new patches of wives are picked out for the emperor. The rrettiest girls in the empire are chosen and the emperor doesn't allow affairs of state to interfere with him i'll l.ls amusements. He is sort Of holy figurehead and his officials kesp mak- ing him more sacred every day, in re- turn for which they get unlimited op- Tsortunities to carry on their plots and cecrlations. The whole Chinese court is made up Of intrigues and intriguers. and the nobles are glad to get their daughters in the royal harem for the political prestige it gives.
 Everything connected with the em- peror is regulated by law. He has i'm perial physicians who watch over his health. The law evsn provides just what he shall eal.- According to the old Chinese books, there must be placed daily before him thirty pounds Of meat in basin and seven pounds boiled into soup. He has a daily al IoWance of about a pound of hogs fat
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