Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-06

-
lW lEEAIl journey to the modern city
In EzEs4l of Peking and there be con-
4Az9N99 vinced Not only is there re-
form in spirit, but there is actual prog
ress in adaptation of western ways ana
the old order is rapidly giving way
to the new. Go to the Arcade in the
evening and see the cinematograph
show. The moving picture machine
has accomplished what generations OF
teachers have failed to dot has IN
troduced the western idea of men and
women appearing in public together on
plane of equality. The Chinese
ladies have been secluded from the
gaze of all men other than their hus-
bands for centuries. The moving pic
ture show has broken the purdah, and
the tourist from New Jersey devours
the face of the Chinese lady of high
degree the while she looks on the
antics of a wonderful made-in-Fran
magician.
Go to the Grand Hotel des Wagon
Lifts at o'clock in the afternoon.
There in the center of the hotel lobby,
enduring the critical inspection of rude
foreign ladies from America ana
Europe sits a group of Manchu
princesses, gossiping over their after
noon tea. The tea is poured from
pot with a spout on 1t into cup
which has a saucer, and the dainty
fingers toy with an alien spoon and
try to like the tea which they have
spoiled with an alien lump of sugar.
Their faces are painted as thick as
ever Hamlet saw, and redder with
rouge than ever Hamlet dreamed of.
Their long tight-fltting silken gowns
suggest the fashions yclept "directoire'
and Sheath" yet their style has not
changed for centuries. Their jewels
are pearls and jade, modestly mag
nificent. Each wears her national
head-dress a curious contraption con-
sisting of board fastened on the
head over which the hair, or black silk
yarn if the hair is not long enough, is
enormous butterfly bow. Under and
around this bow are gay and gaudy
artificial flowers.
Spectacular as they are, these Man
chu women of noble birth were never
to be seen by profane foreign and
until within the last two or three
years. That they come now to for
eign hotel to take tea for recreation is
a sign of the times.
Just outside of the city is brand
new agricultural experiment station
with public geological and botanical
gardens attached. 1t is, like many
things in Peking, so glaringly new
that there is neither beauty nor in
terest intrinsicallv, but it has at
ITdClIOllS peculiarly It's OWu' I1SlS lS
another place where one may see high
class Chinese ladies walking about in
the open, to be gazed upon by the
world. The moving picture show, s.
o'clock tea and the ZOO" are RESPONSE
BILE for the beginning of the emancipa-
ton of women in Peking.
The agricultural and horticultural
experiment station is doing a great
deal of good in an educational way,
1,,,A &c finxy
wisps of trees hardly strong enough to
support the Latin names on their
labels and the amateurish collection
of animals in the 200" are almost
laughable. Imagine western zoolo-
gist admitting to his scientific col
lection an eight-hoofed horse and
f1ve-legged calf The ZOO" has two
or three tea houses and refreshment
booths, and Peking fashionables are
learning to take the air in the park in
true English style.
The streets of Picking, that is the
main thoroughfares, are as wide as the
avenues in Washington-in startling
contrast to the streets of other Chinese
cities, where one may touch both sides
with extended arms. The Manchu
Tartars, who lived in the wide, free
plains, planned Peking, and they used
plenty of space. Even off the main
avenues, where the streets are quite
narrow, each house has an enormous
compound and there is always wide
breathing room. But centuries OF
Chinese influence caused the Manchu
rulers to forget their love of the open,
and the booths of the petty merchants
encroached upon the wide streets until
it was difficult to define their outlines.
The streets were built with high
raised road in the middle, which was
used by the officials and the gentry,
and the lower roads on each side We're
for the common people, The merchants
"suuatted" on the sides Of the raised
road and practically divided the wide
street into three narrow ones.
About four years ago the city decided
this was all wrong. The "souatter
merchants were driven away the road
was leveled, and sometimes paved;
stone guttering was provided, and rows
of trees were set along each side. The
streets are kept clean by an army of
workmen. who take tender care of the
growing trees. the number of carriages
and automobiles is increasing, and
there is much agitation over the ques-
tion of the proposed electric trolley car
system. The streets are lighted by