New-York tribune., 1900-12-02
NEW CAPITAL OF CHINA.
sI-NGAN-FU ONE OF THE MOST ANCIENT
AND INTERESTING CITIES.
From The london Globe.

From The London Globe.
s-Ngan- Fu-whither the Empress Dowager and
ana the seat of government-is one of the most in
teresting and ancient of the cities of China IL Is
more exact dIeTent ways Of spelling the same
b nam sm9s a9 Hssns banf sanf et Tey ss Of Of
the WeiHo. at a distance of some eight hundred
be told that Court and officai business can be
transacted moro expedtiously there than at Tai
tance. It Is true. however. that si-Ngan-Fu is In
peter & tnsn hencs op
telegraph wire passes via Tai-Yuen-Fu. to Peking:
Kansu. While third communicates. via Kingchaw,
with all the southern southeastsrp and SoT5n tbns
becomes q heart as IT Is the true strategic cen
The first view of si-Ngan-Fu after crossing the
mountains Of Shen-Se, with their dangerous and
three miles distant from the city Thence II is
seen sloping up gradually from the banks OF s tns
tIper so as to exhibit It's imposing wals anu iTSs @
towers TOW its houses and palaces at one VIEW sr nTe
some thirtyslx feet in height and its total circuit
Of each vail and thence wide street leads to
centre OF the city where the Iamen or se4s OF OF
the ancient palace OF the emperors Of China; the Tne
sents a Heterogeneous collection of Thibetans.
Mongols and Tartars. The houses are mostly pull pull
the southern gate Of the city is kept shut ordi-
nariy. There are more life and movement in the
ing largely occupied by parks and gardens lens Miles
OF IdubourgS extend along the ROADS ana CahaIs
OF convergence of the trade routes between Central
earth si-Ngan-Fu for two or three thousand years
has been q city Of the first Importance both com
stores are filled with precious merchandise. 1t pos
sesses also government arsenal. whence modern
weapons Of war are turned out.
si-Ngan-Fu has been taken and retaken. rebuilt
and DESTROYED since it's foundation in the twelfth
century, B, G. by WI Wang, the 'AIastraI King .
put us Positon mas assured Tor X always tne con-
trol OF trade passing between the EaS6 ana ana .ne @
West When Slang kwan, in e. c IO. had re-
Emperor Ping. and for his courage had been made
King of Tsin-CAaw si-Ngan-Fu went by the name
o Ine Ism 1yas; Is ene tbose ng his contena
nasty the city attained the summit of its splendor
Ra 1pd Teae t6e6 Of I Tsng she one Of
leaders Of the barbaric Huns who maintained fneir
magnificent palace at Chang-An and having SH T'Tnd
moned al the cnler supJects OF ms On GINA
He possessed a bodyguard of Amazons. elegantly
accompanied him wherever he went. When the
House OF Tang had firmly establishes ltsem s1no,,a IN
the Greek Emperor Theodosus sent an Ambassa,
emeralds HISTORIAN missionaries also presented
themselves at this monarch's court and Were
leading tenets of their doctrines. ordered temple
to be erected in his capital, and caused some OF
brated bilinguaI tablet at si-Ngan-F'u in syriac
tian writing yet discovered in Eastern Asia-dates
from the time Of the Tang dynasty, and shows that
the Chinese at that early date.
During the first periods of the Mongol sovereigns
OF China Si-Ngan-Fu went by the name Of King
Tchao-Fu q name which Marco Polo corrupted
into Kenjamfu and under which name he describes
the city in terms that generally would apply 10
n al the present day. Notwithstanding its an
tiuuity Si-Ngan-Fu possesses no very ancient
buildings. The site of the famous palace OF the
Tang dynasty, whose sovereigns reigned frorn the
seventh century to the beginning of the tenth, is
still shown The city possesses, however, a price.
less archaeological museum containing a mass OF
designs tablets and inscriptions some or them
being twenty centuries old. To sagacious anti
quarry and explorer the neighborhood OF this an
Gent city offers a better field than any other por-
ton of China Almost the only actual known rel
ics OF the three great dynasties of Chinathe Ela,
Shang and Chaw-are now In the Temple OF Con-
Si-Ngan-Fu in A D. 1126. They consist of a num-
her OF frreg1llarly shaped drums, with Inscriptions
coumemorating great hunt of 6nen Wang In the
neighborhood of Si-Ngan-Fu about B. C 2I AT
some little distance from Si-Ngan-Fu is a curious
temple dating from the time Of the Tang en-
perors containing a colossal figure of the Buddha
ffty-six feet in height Both temple and figure are
cut solid rock
In 1Ssl-'s2 Si-Ngan-Fu nearly shared the same
fate as Nanking and other cities OF the yell
low Empire. A large force OF Mahometan rebels
appeared before fits walls and endeavored 10 erect
the liberation OF some thousands OF their corehg-
ionists within the city who had been thrown INTO
prison. The high and strongly built walls or the
CITY were however, too strong for them ana they
retired after laying waste and burning the SUB
urbs, The total population OF Si-Ngan-tu is esu-
mated at 1,00O,O 600 souls