The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-12-28
FEATURES
OF MUKDEN
The Most Sacred City in the
Chinese Empire
STREETS FULL OF CARVINGS
Capital Of Manchuria, Japan's Objective
Point, Is Surrounded BY a Great
Wall With Picturesque High
Towers
STREETS FULL OF CARVINGS

Mukden- the Japanese objective. IL
the most important Of an the noted
cities fl Manchuria, says the New York
Times, it is the capital ana the wealth
lest city Of this great territory.
The veneration Of the Chinese for
Mukden can perhaps hardly be realized
by occidental peoples The feeling Of
the English for Westminster abbey, Of
the Italians for Rome, may serve to
give an idea OF it, But in the far east
the veneration for the past, as express
ed III the worship Of ancestors, is actu
ally an important part Of religious be-
lief, and for this reason Mukden Is the
most sacred city in the whole great
Chinese empire
Mukden Is the ancient capital of the
present dynasty Of China. 1t was there
that In the year 1925 Nnrhachu, the fa-
NOUS founder Of that dynasty, estab
lished himself. 1t was there that the
ancestors Of the Mantcboo emperors
were buried
Mukden stands In the middle OF q
great aIluvial plata about 800 feet
above the level Of the sea. All the soil
around 1t Is rich and highly cultivated.
1t ii reputed TO have population Of
100000 chiefly Chinese. The houses,
both those Of the Chinese mandarins
and merchants and those Of new Rus
sian construction, are built on mag
nifcent scale
There Ii forbidden city IN Muk-
den ike the one in Peking, but while
the Boxer outbreak Of 1900 was fol-
lowed by the entry Of the allies into
the hitherto mysterious palaces within
the inner walls Of Picking 90 far as is
known no European or American has
ever penetrated into the forbidden city
Of Mukden. 1t ii believed TO contain
wonderful treasures of ancient art and
buildings which surpass Ia beauty and
elaborateness even those at Picking.
Judging from The portions Of tile city
Y
which foreigners are allowed g see
the place must Ike very treasure
house 1T The art Of the old Chinese
Even the streets are full Of carvings
/ of il delicaey unattainable In modern
| work. while the folnhs Of tile emperors
combine i purity Of design with az
elaboration II detail which show how
far the art Of China has deteriorated
from the old standards.
The city Is surrounded by q great
brick wall. with picturesque high tow
ers at the eight gates and the angles
Outside are the suburbs, inelosed BIZ
d mud wall, while in the middle of The
city are the ancient palaces Of the
Afantehoo enaperors inside third wall
/ The streets Of Afukden are broad and
straight. Like Feking. the city pos.
sesses Il drum tower and huge bell
The administration buildings and thu
/ hall of examinations are within the
precincts 81 the forbidden city
Tie earIv history 81 the warlikt
monarchs whose chief city was Mnl
den, and who III the seventeenth cen
| fury became the rulers Of the whole
| Chinese empire. is yelled iii legend
Three heaven horn maidens. so tue
story runs, were bathing one day IN i
! lake near the Shanalin mountains wheT
| n passing maybe dropped ripe rec
fruit into tho lap OF one of them. The
| maiden ate tbe fruit. and IN due course
child was horn to her whom shs
named Aisin Gioro, or the Golden
When Aisin Gioro was d lad ne wa:
elected chief over three cuntendine
clans, Ills reign was moi II long dura
tion. for his subjects rose against hin
| ana murdered him, together With al
his sons except the youngest, Fancha
who was mifaculously saved from biz
lpursuers.
/ IT was Alsin t;ioro who named hii
people Mangehoo, which means pure.
His descendants, through the rescued
Faneha, fell into obseurity until th'
middle Of the sixteenth century. whei
one of them, Nurhaehi born in 1853
the seventh iii descent from Alsin Clio
10. welded the Mantchoo tribes int,
one great kingdom The emperor. Muir
hachi. toward the close Of bis long ane
illustrions reign transferred his capita
to Mukden, and Ills tomb there is tn
! most yeneratea % alb the royal tombi
Of the city
III 1917 Nurhachi drew up list q
"seyen hates against the Chinese ant
: declared war on them. The Chines'
were defeated with great slaughter AIR
seventy cities were captured. The wa
. was followed by an alliance between
the Mautchoos and the Chinese, wh'
were then ruled over by the Ming dy
! nasty. Tic later enperors pf this az
. nasty we're weak and eowardly ans
China was continually invaded by tn
Tartars, IN the end the Manteboo
. were begged 20 save the country The,
consented with great alacrity to sent
an army. and the result 90 Il al Wa
that tn 1914 the grandson of Nurhaeh
assembled the dragon throne wlthou
serious opposition on the part Of til