The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-12-14

for the living these men are cd1'eo
in to pick out the sites.
In such work the geomancers oo
their best to find a spot connected
u,;th a dragon. Of all the animals
the chinese consider this the most
lucky. It forms the imper1a! coat
of arms, it is seen upon the tfldnsu,
lar imperial flags and It brings soou
fortune or bad to every dynasty or
ruler. According to Celect!al De.
lief the dragon can do anything. 1t
can swell itself into an OF
shrink to a gnat. When an ecllpse
is expected the astrolOgers tell the
neople that the dravon is about to
attenn+ to swallow the moon, and
the emperor thereupon sends forth an
edict commanding all good citizens to
turn out and beat drums and pans TO
scare him away. This was actually the
case a few months s during my stay
in Picking.
And what has all this to do with
Nanking? A great deal. The ground on
which the city stands is shaped like a
dragon. and the emperor VINO Ounde
it said: IF 1 can build my capital
here on the dragons back 1t Will last
forever"
Markings Mighty Walls.
That was many generations ago,
and his city is alive today. me
mighty walls which he constructed are
still solid; they are as wide as a
country road, are from forty to ninety
feet high and twenty-five miles in
length.
The Marking Of today, with its half
million people, lies in their center,
and / drove through them on my way
to the town. The walls are made Of
bricks Of about the same size as those
used in the great wall of China, laid
up in two parallel lines of solid
masonry, the space being filled in with
earth and stone. They are paved at
the top, and upon them are still piles
Of stones, placed there long thu
they might be thrown down upon the
nenlie beSleglng the city. These
walls surround a great space which
is now devoted to farming. The build
ings of the city cover considerable
ground, but there is enough still va
cant to contain another city the size
Of Boston, Baltimore or ST. Louis
But | want to tell O about the
Marking of today. [ am writing Of
the awakening of China. and this old
town has its eyes open. 1t has jumped
from it's couch Of the ages, and i
prin1ping and adjoining itself for the
modern civilization. 1t is paving it
streets. The filthy conditions of four
teen years 6 have vanished. The
ruts have disappeared, and one can
now drive through the town in a car
rage. There are some passenger
wheelbarrows still. but they are fast
being displaced by iinrikishas. [ I'M
derstand that he ~beggars, who were
SO numerous in the past, have
changed their occupation and becom,
human horses. They have taken tc
pulling the 'rikishas. and they will
take you anywhere in the town for
five or ten cents a ride. The build
ings are improving. There are glass
windows in many of the shops, and
the weather. citizens are putting up
| residences Of European style. The for
eign consuls live in two-story bricks,
the American consulate being one Of
the best houses in the city.
Marking has always been a great
educational center. When I was last
here | visited it's examination halls
and saw 10000 Chinese boys writing
essays. Each sat in a little brick cell,
watched by policemen, and it took
them three days and three nights to
go through their tests. Such as passed
expected to go to further examinations
at Picking, where, if successful, they
would be given appointments to Of
ice. Those cells cover fifteen or more
acres. They are still standing, but
the viceroy has decreed that they are
to be demolished, and he will build
the same space. Such structures are
needed no longer. The new educa-
ton demands modern school buildings,
and the old Chinese classics must take
q back seat.
Today modern schoolhouses are
springing up in different parts Of Nan
king. The city has already eighty
schools run by the government. 1t
has several large kindergartens and
many primary and secondary schools.
1t has a normal college with 500 stu
dents, a polytechnic school with 22o
and industrial schools of various
kinds. In all the schools symnasiums
have been established, and the boys
drill several days every week. The
vicerOy has planned an athletic park.
where school meets will be held or
a year, and the various teams will
compete in sprinting, jumping. pole