The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-07-01
10 Che City OF Pskjng, *;

London Daily Telegraph.
Picking lends itself to nickname and al
liberation. An English minister decribed
it as the place of dirt, dust and disdain."
Others hcve found it, like Lord Amherst,
a city of Despair. Henry Norman says
that the two moments when one appre-
ciates it are the first sight of it's frown-
ing gates and the last Whatever it is or
is not to the ''men of long views" it must
always be one of the nerve centers of hu-
man interest and international relations
During the dynasty of those Mings whose
name was the war cry of the Taipings,
and is today in the mouths Of many of
the secret societies that form the great
difficulty of Chinese rule and manage
ment, it was a city of but second rate
importance Their attention was given to
the establishment of the now half wasted
city Of Marking, often called 1.-The ma
tiOnal capital" but Picking has been the
imperial capital since the Ia Tsings
seized the throne. and those who are
qualified to speak are of opinion that any
notion of degrading it from it's pride of
place to suit the convenience Of Euro
pean diplomacy is foredoomed to failure
It is not only the capital of the Manchus.
it is the capital of the mandarins. The Of
fetal world is of the Pekingese stamp, and
Pekingese is the official language, the
tongue Of the graduate and educated man.
To the ear 1t has a pleasanter and softer
sound than the rough dialects of the
provinces, and it has been developed and
nodded to the elaborate and ornate
phrases of polite society. The ssh is
often heard instead Of harder and more
uncouth conjunctions.
In the four cities which make up the
capital. and particularly in the imperial
city, live most of the leading and opulent
class, and therefore the houses are of a
more important and solid appearance
than is the rule elsewhere. High brick
walls, with single stone entrance sur
round a multitude of courts, fanked by
tile rooted dwelling rooms. 1t is a curious
and universal custom among the Chinese
to put up Immediately facing the outer
door a stone or brick screen, bearing tab
lets or painted Scrolls inscribed with the
names of ancestors or classical texts The
object, according to time honored SUPER
Stition, Is to ward off evil spirits, for the
demon on entering knocks his head
against the obstacle, and, being devoid of
all sense but an elementary hatred of
rowful. Why the aforesaid demon should
have the cleverness to turn in at the gate,
yet not sufficient to wheel round the
screen, is difficult for the uninitiated ia
understand There is no attempt at os-
tentation, or even Of decent comfort about
these dwelling places.
CITIES WITHIN THE CITY.
The four cities Of Picking are the Chinese,
the Tartar. the Imperial the Forbidden.
Each is quadrilateral and marked off by
wall, from outside to center, in the or
der given, save that the Chinese CITY is
an excresence, and joins. but does not en-
circle, the remainder. Originally the CHI
nese had to be kept at a safe distance in
subsection to the Manchu conqueror, but
such precaution is now superfiueus, al
though there survives a perceptible va
rlety Of type, in spite of the mixture of
blood, and the Manchu women dress their
hair in different fashion, secured at the
back by a long bar that is turned down
after marriage. Within the Chinese city