The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-08-26

the world in scientific and material de-
velorment, but that they were acquaint-
ed with the principles of good engineer
Ing design is not so familiar TO the pul-
Ilc At the s. aports whe c foreigners have
resided, or even in those orti rs of the
empire into which foreign id as might
nave penetrated, it was expected to see
structures bearing the imprint of modern
skill in design or construction; but it was
not expected to find such things in the
uneXploited Interior remotely or entirely
removed from outside influences, ard Of
| such seif-evident age as to stamp them
as genuinely Chinese both in workman
ship and plan.
The arch is of most widespread and
general apple i'm, and examination
shows that the principles Involved are
| thoroughly understood. as The arches are
composed of a complete ring of voussoirs,
radially jointed and of proper proportions.
Moreover, the arch ring is always con-
| tlnred Gown 10 the spring, and no. built
| in injection with the spandrels, as is
commonly done sewhere The general
use of the sign in all parts of the coun-
try and the undoubtei antiquity of so
many OF the existing, examples cleary
demonstrate that it long antedates any
possible foreign suggestions, ard go along
way to establish it as of Chinese orig
"a development. however which, like
| printing and gunpowder and so many 9TH
er inventions and discoveries. never pass
ed beyond the national borders.
The largest application of the arch Tr.n-
cipe is in the building of bridges, where
81 ans of thirty to forty feet are com
mon, while single spans of fifty feet are
seen and larger ones probably exist Long
er spans than these are not usually re
quire1 those streams which can be
brideed do not, as a rule, call for single
openings larger than will suffice to pass
small boats. The arches are usually of
the full half-circle with the spring above
the ordinary flow line. The arch joints are
cut close ard hltd with hard firm NOR
tar, while the spandrels are always built
! Independently of the arch, and usually of
inferior workmanship, indicating clearly
that the designer un ierstoo1 the theory.
From the point of view Ct ar istic a~d
essentially Orie ntal design the pagoda
possesses the most interest. The singu-
lar constructions, at least one of which
nearly every city possesses, fairly dot the
surface of the country. Their purpose APP
pears TO be tWo-fold-either as monu-
ments concentrating the virtues or the
muniicence of some departed benefactor,
or as agents of "feng shui' literally
wind and water'), the spirit genius of
SOOl ana evil, winch, II properly ITOpl-
tiated, will ward off pest lence and ia
mine and permit only prosperity and hap
pness 10. visit the neighborhood. These
very curious towers are Of great antiqui-
ty, Chinese records authenticating their
origin at least as far back as the early
part of The Christian era. Chinese houses
conform to certain general types; there
fore, in its wide range OF size and of
decorations, from the severely plain stone
fr1ra IN ba NIT nnln
tiles. the uagoda marks one of the few
breaks in the charac erisu a ly national
rule of uniformity and furnishes as well
an interesting construction study.
If the arches display a knowledge of
theory, the houses are ingenious applica-
tons of practice, and the pagodas an ap-
probation of the beautiful. The walls,
without which no large city in China ex-
lists, and which reach their maximum in
Pekin or in the even more famous Great
Wall, are an evidence that our Oriental
friend was equally at home with large
construction These great structure
with their massive proportions (as in the
Great Wall, with its length Of 1900 miles
a ross wild hills and desert Valleys, with
their keeps aud arched gateways, with
their palap IS and meats, fill the observer
with admiral ton The engineering pro-
gress of the Chinaman has been along
static ra, her than dynamic lines-that l.,
he has learned how to construct bridges,
erect pagodas and concentrate his forces
to build a bridge 1,50) miles long, but
not how to construct a machine, nor 10
do any of the things the basal principle
of which is movement This marks the
cleavage line along which foreign inspi-
ration in the art of construction will find
an outlet for development. In soId, sta
tionary structures. the Chnaman can
demands Dnai6p1. hlt
the field for producing those aggrega-
tons Of engineering and mechanical skill
based on the theory or Application OF
movement, lies unbroken, and the soil IS
rich The idea Of economy of movement
is absolutely lacking in the Chines5-a
singular circumstance, as there is no
her nationality so strongly economical,
even 20 the point of parsimony. This trait
is shown in his dwellings, in his clothes,
and in all his details Of living, except in
those where movement is the main
theme The development that is to come
viii be. therefore, a ong this Line, and
will show itself primarily in methois of
moving people and soods-namely, in
mems of transportation; secondly. in the
IN thods of moving the great untouched
mineral wealth from its existing subter-
ranean hiding-places to the surface, that
is in mining; and thirdly, in all matters
Of construction whose parts are moving
namely machines.
-S-1-S---
Mrs. Esau-"What is the matter with