The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-04-28

considered TO be one of divine origin. n,
last word in architecture, which mortal.
can only slavishly initiate. Certainly
| there is nothing in existence so mon.
! strously moaOtOnous- Those appaIlins
| Bloomsbury red brick boxes, which
cheek by jowl, make an eighteenth cen.
fury London street, or tdose drearv rows
Of brownstone houses to tire right aud
| left OF Fifth avenue. below the I.Iaza, in
| New York, are minor artistic crimes
| They were admittedly built for Utility.
/ But here we have the aloha and omega OF
/ Chinese architectural expesslcn. through
changing dynasties AMI succeeding cen
turtles. the Chinese architeceuaI iceal
seems to have remained as hxcd as the
! stars, as unalterable as heaven There
is no evidence of growth. 1t seems to
have arrived in its fuuness, u have teen
! accepted as finality, and ever afterwards
TO have been slavishly initiated.
To describe each throne room would be
as monotonous as to visit them. one is
more gorgeous, another Is less. The clock
room is inteesting above the Others, net
for any novel architectural features, hut
simply because it IS the outcome Of a
quaint imperial custom and has the IA
vor Of Orientalism n iCs solemn a'apta-
ton to half religious idea. At the bae K
and on each side Of the throne, surround
ing the dais and forming three sides Of
a square, are rows of locked cabinets
each on its own stand. During his life
time, when the emperor conceives a wish
or is seized with some inspiration. he
writes 1t and, saying never word, locks
it away in cabinet. Not until his death
are these pearls OF thought revealed 10
the amazed court. They are treated as
sacred, the wishes of the dead. The rea-
son for the enormous clocks. out OF all
proportion to the room, is not apparent.
Perhaps the imperial mind could better
consider mundane matters with this sol
enln eminder of man mortality Ginning
out the ever-feeting moments.
To the west from the great enclosure
Of the imperial audience chambers, across
a walled alleyway, are the separate build
ings in which the emperor and empress
dowager lived for part Of the year. In
the rooms where Kwang Su is said to
have spent his hours are certain evil
dences of his taste for matters foreign.
There is the usual plethora Of clocks;
clocks plain and clocks ornamental. gid
diamonds, clocks with professions of al
legorical figures, clocks as lighthouses or
monumental buildings; clocks on wheels
like toy trains, which suggest an absurd
picture of the heir apparent trundling
them about the floor for his celectial
highness's amusement, while court at
tendants play bad Chinese music on the
several European pianos which stand in
adjoining rooms. There are great shelves
of Chinese yeIow-covered paper volumes
in one of the rooms. Not far off is a tiny
chamber with window seat, where but
one person could sit cross-legged, and in
this the great man is said to have studied
nd developed those tendencies to reform
which have shaken the complacent king
dom to its core.
The rooms are similar to those IN the
houses of many princes--the aoors cf
square bricks, papered walls, handsome
carved doorways of twining boughs. The
lower windows are glass, while the up
per parts are Opaque paper. The beds
is not a separate piece of furniture
standing alone In the room, but is built |
against the outer wall an denclosed by |
an inner wall. which, but for the open |
space over the bed, is really the wall of |
the room. It is exactly like the beds in /
Scotch cottages and similar to the built |
In beds of Holland. The Dutch beds. |
however. were built very high. as high /
as the breast OF a mano standing. but /
the Chinese beds are barely as high as 4
the modern brass bedsteads of today.
Across a beautiful court yard with /
evergreen trees. finely carved griffins. and |
handsome bronzes are the aptrments of |
he empress dowager. The woodwork is
superb. Enormous cupboards of almost
black hardwood stand about the rooms.
They are exquisitely proportional. mas
;ive. rich. and imposing. ] have seen
nothing finer in Chinese art than these
pieces Of furniture. covered as they are
With the most perfect carving. The de-
signs are chaste and powerful. There is
10 cheap, discordant colOring or tawdry
)rasswork; nothing but the strong rich
,olor of the hardwood and the perfectly J
balanced whole The portals between
'ooms. which have no doors, are richly
.nclosed, with heavy wo0d-carving in the
ame dark tone. out OF the bulk of a
leavy treetrunk the cunning artist has
made a bower of twining stems. Of bios
oms and dropping fruit. Standing on
ables and sills is a strange medley Of
he finest porcelain and the poorest rub
,ish. Excellent pieces Of Aling ware
TODD side by side with cheap Japanese
asses which one might buy in a New
York ten cent store. 1t was striking
roof that outside Of things Chinese, this
TRANCE people have little understand
ng and less Judgment.
Ia the Sacred City there are endless
ide buildings, inner compounds, store
ouses and secret chambers that few,
erhaps none have yet seen It is city
D reality as well as in name. and after a
ears residence one would yet find cor
ers TO explore and fresh secrets 70 dis
over. The old eunuChs who followed Us
aaIously from room 10 room, and watch
q our straying fingers with angry eyes.
ould lead US 10 rooms where jade and
treasures are stored. For the loss of
be imperial possessions the price may
e their heads. and who can blame man
Of watching fingers which in footing
hight steel his very life?