Evening star., 1901-12-19
UNDERWRITERS.
OLD CHINESE CAPITAL.
Kaifong, an Ancient City Where the
Court Will Rest,

KaifOng, an Ancient City Where the
Court Will Rest,
From the London Chronicle.
At Kaifong, residences of a permanent
description have been prepared at conSid-
erable cost for the imperial party. AL
though it is given out that Kaifong will
only only be a hating place on the road to
Peking, the belief is held in well-informed
quarters that the stay Of the emperor and
empress dowager in this ancient but much
neglected city of China may be more pro-
tracted than is at present supposed. At any
rate, the history of kaifong, which lies
about 400 miles due east of Singanfu, and
at a distance of ten miles south of the
description.
Kaifong was the first capital of the rulers
of the Sung dynasty, which governed first
the whole and afterward the southern half
of China from the tenth to the end of the
thirteenth century. 1t was for over go
years a very magnificent city, and some
idea of this may be gathered from the fact
that when the northern kinS first beSieged
1t they were bought off by a promise to
pay ten million small gold nuggets, twen-
ty million small silver nuggets and ten mil
lion pieces Of silk" 1t is quite true that
this ransom was never paid, the Kins hay-
ing to content themselves with the persons
of two emperors. whom they carried off
into captivity. AS a consequence of this
raid. the Sungs withdrew from Kaifong
and established their capital at Marking.
This was in or about the year 1927. Eighty
six years later the Kins, pressed in their
turn by more formidable opponent from
the north, in the redoubtable Mongols
moved their capital from Yenking, at or
near the modern Peking, to Kaifong. The
Kin ruler Utubu availed himself of the re-
treat of Genghis, whom he had bought off
with costly presents, to effect the removal
of his capital and government to a less ex-
posed situation. The wisdom of this step
was shown by the early capture of Yenking
and the failure of a Mongol general named
Samuka to reach Kaifong by a forced
march.
The Mongols were only baff1ed for few
years. as, returning in 1892. with increased
forces, they defeated the Kin forces, and
laid siege to Kaifong. The city was said to
possess then walls thirty-six miles in cir
cumference, and population of 400, 900
families, or seven millions of people, The
Mongols were led by Subutai, one of their
most daring commanders. They employed
formidable engines, catapults hurting i'm
mense stones and mortars ejecting explo-
sives and combustibles. Although aban-
doned by their emperor the citizens held
out for twelve months, and then yielded to
starvation. Subutai wished to massacre
the inhabitants. but the Great Khan Ogo-
tai. Influenced by a Chinese official who
had entered the Mongol service, prevented
his lieutenant from carrying out his wish
Kaifong never recovered from the blow it
received during this siege in the years
1232-3. Many European travellers have yis-
ited 1t from time to time, although 1t lies
out of the beaten track. In their eyes 1t
was chiefly interesting as the abode of a
Jewish colony, which seems to have come
from India in the sixth century, Even this
attraction no longer exists, for the colony
has disappeared. It is supposed to have
become merged IN the Mohammedan COM
munity which exists in the province of Ho-
nan.