Evening star., 1900-10-06


Tai-Ho-Ten Is the gate leading to the
palace proper.
The palace buildings consist of. four large
| structures and two smaller ones, arranged
around the courtyard within the gate. The
| central building is called the Cheng- -Kung
or the palace. Those which flank 1t on
| either side are called the TungKung and
Si-kung or the eastern and western pal
| aces, while the fourth one, which faces the
| palace proper, is called the Hall of the
Golden Dragon. The smaller buildings are
those reserved for the empress dOwager and
| her suite. The palace building. like the
| great audience hall in the court in front of
| It, Is long and wide, reaching almost across
| the court in which 1t stands, built with red
| bricks, which. according to Chinese law,
/ are reserved for use in the imperial build
| ings, with marble facings ornately carved
| and surmounted with a double roof, the
second one Of which covers gallery sup
ported by pillars. the roofs being covered
| with yellow porcelain tile and all the wood
work covered with a heavy red enamel.
| The Gorgeous Interior.
| According to the native descriptions, the
interior Of the palace is painted with the
famous imperial vermillion. The floors are
covered with priceless yellow silk-velvet
| carpets of native make, and the furniture,
| which follows the designs and shape COM
| mon in China, Is constructed of heavy red
| iron wood and highly polished. In the en-
perors own rooms the frames OF all the
furniture are Of solid gold The Chin
LuanT1en, official reception room, Is
| carpeted with immense rug of rough
velvet worked in with yellow dragons. 1t
| contains no seats or other conveniences ex-
| cept the throne itself, for among the Chi
| nese no one. however high his rank, Is per-
mitted to assume any other than pros
trate position while in the terrifying pres
ence OF his emperor. The throne itself Is
placed on an elevated dais. 1t is ascended
from behind by splendidly carved stair
case and supported by large copper dra-
| gallery for the use Of the orchestra which
plays while official receptions are going on.
This palace ,s considered by the Chinese
as the most important of all the imperial
buildings. It was the scene Of the famous
reception given by the Emperor KangH Hi
| In A. d. 1722, when on the sixtieth ami
versary OF his reign he invited to the pal
ace as his guests all the men Of the empire
who were over sixty years Of age.
This tribute to old age was repeated by
| the Emperor Kien-Lung in AID. 1885, on
the hft1eth anniversary Of his reign. No
living white man has ever before seen the
palaces within this city. The only for
etgners who are known to have been in
them were the Jesuit priests who obtained
such favor in the Manchu court In the lat
| ter part of the seventeenth and the early
| part Of the eighteenth centuries, several of
| whom have left very interesting descrip-
| tions of the life Of those within. Within
the present century the late DR.. 8. Wells
Williams was probably the only foreigner
| who has ever seen enough of them to give
any kind OF q comprehensive account.
Beautiful Gardens.
North beyond this throne building stands
| the Palace Of Earth's Repose." Here
| Heavens Consort," as the empress Is call
| ed. rules over the harem of her imperial
| master. Between the palace and the north
| ern wall Of the forbidden city are the royal
| flower gardens or pleasure grounds OF the
| palaces. The gardens are adorned with
a frtxy ,aryili rrr1i1 orb
| cross the canals and reach out to artificial
| islands which. dotted with temples and
| covered with groves, stand about in minia-
ture lakes Fountains and artificial noun.
tains complete one Of the most beautlful
bits of landscape work in the world.
The forbidden city is divided into three
| parts by two walls running entirely through
| 1t from north to south, and the portion OF
| the city which has just been described Is
| in the central section between the two par
| tition walls. The eastern division Of the
| city Is given over to the officers OF the Chi
| nese boards Of governments. 1t also holds
| the imperial treasury In the northern part
| OF this section stands the Hall of Intense
| Thought temple dedicated to Confucius
and the other great sages OF China
| short distance north of this stands the i'm
| perial library, called by the Chinese the
Hall of Literary Abyss. Near tnese two
stands the Fung-Sien-Tien. or imperial
peror's private devotions. to which he
comes to worship his ancestors. The west
| ern division contains a great variety of
buildings memorial halls dedicated to ia
nous emperors and distinguished states
| men, the government printing office, the
| board of imperial auditors or controllers.
who regulate the assessment and collection
| Of taxes throughout the empire, and the
| Ching g-Hwang- Mao, or Guardian Temple OF
| Pekin.
| A Remarkable Mountain.
| Back Of the Palace of Earth's Repose is
| another gate separated by a courtyard
| from the Shen Wu- Nun, which is the north
| or rear gate Of the forbidden city. With
| out this gate another bridge crosses tie
| moat and enters the inclosure which sur
| rounds the famous Coal HILL This artificial
| mountain, which is also called by the Chi
| nese the "KinG-Shan' or Capitol Hill, stands
| just north Of the forbidden city, within
the area of the Huans- -Cheng or imperial
| city. and is really part Of the imperial
| pleasure grounds. 1t Is built of coal
| brought down on camels' backs from the
| mines In the northern part Of the province.
This remarkable mound Is over 15O feet
| high, covered with earth and planted with
| trees and Towering shrubs. Pavilfons and
| shrines dot its side and crown its summit,
| while paved marble walks wind up around
| 1t. From it's top beautiful view Is OBJ
| tanned over the whole city. 1t has been the
scene OF many a dramatic tragedy. From
| that point the last emperor Of the Ming
| dynasty watched the sack Of his capital by
| the Manchu hordes. who founded the pres
Sul uy udSly, lucL, Ie1uStliS W Seen safety III
| flight. he hung himself with his yellow CIR
die from tree ON the summit, saying,
Better die since the empire is lost
The western part Of the inclosure about
| the hill is occupied by the Si-Yuen West.
| ern Park, which Is one Of the most beautiful
| spots in the Chinese capital. An artificial
| lake. more than mile long. occupies the
| center. 1t is supplied with water from
| the famous Black Dragon Springs. which
| lie ten miles north of Pekin and from
which magnificent aqueduct. called the
Tung-Hwui-Ho, conducts the water to the
| imperial palaces The lake is full of the
| most beautiful and fragrant varieties of the
| Chinese lotus 1t Is crossed by a marble
| bridge Of nine arches. which is architec-
| turaly unsurpassed. At the end Of the
| bridge stands a large tea house, while
gardens, walks and rockeries line the banks
| Of the lake. The proclamation OF their sa-
cred city will have profound effect upon
| the Chinese and go far toward preventing
| their guilty leaders from ever regaining
| their lost face" or prestige.
Most Are Above 1t.
From the Philadelphia Press.
McJigper-ssI never mat opv opa so Frn>