El Nuevo mexicano., 1916-07-20
Pekiin


christian Science Monltor)
Like many eastern cities, Pekin is most
satisfying when viewed from a distance.
Seen from the top of the great walls, with
which it is surrounded, it appears to be a
city of gardens. A crowded district does not
obtrude itself on the view at any point;
whilst, in strange contrast with the gen
eral monotony so characteristic Of China,
the view over Pekin presents a varied pic
Iture in color contrast, On all hands,
amongst the groves with which the city
abounds, are to be seen the roofs of tenn
pies and palaces and mansions with their
glazed tiles glittering in all the glory of
blue and green and yellow.
For nine centuries, under various names,
with a few short intervals, Pekin has re-
manned an imperial city. It's history is to
a large extent a microcosm of the history
of China. It shared in the long-drawn-Out
struggle between the Chinese and the Tar
ltars, and it was largely because of its po-
sition close to the Monaghan frontier that
the Tartar invaders regarded 1t as specially
valuable as a center for their powers. Chin
ese history moves slowly. 1t takes cen
turtles for its development where other eoun-
tries would take decades. Thus we find an
invading force Of Khitan Tartars adopting
the city as their headquarters in A.. d.
$50, and naming 1t Marking, or "the south
ern capital" and then, a century later, we
find the Chinese recapturing ii, reducing it
to the rank of a provincial city of the first
grade and calling it Yen-shan Flu. Some
fifty years later on still, it was back again
In Tartar hands, and the Tartars not only
restored it, to its former rank, but made it
chief amongst capitals under the title of
Chung tn, which interpreted is central
fcapital."
When Jenghiz Khan began to extend his
borders in that great conquest which car
ried him through Afghanistan, over the In
dus into the Punjab and over the Urals into
Russia, Pekin, along with northern China,
was an early victim. The main interests Of
the perfect warrior" were, however, cen
tered in the steppes Of Mongolia, and so
Pekin, once again, lost its imperial status.
iJenghiz Khan's successor, however, the ia
nous Kublai Khan, towards the closelof the
thirteenth century, rebuilt the city and cal
led it Yenkin, During the reign of the
first emperor of the dynasty which succeed
ed that founded by Jenghiz Khan, tne court
resided at the great city now 61awr as
Marking, but with the accessltr eT Jung
10 in 1403, the vacillatiop Of ..,trns, in this
respect, finally ceased. sae rom that day
until this Pekin has reaaai!sed the capital Of
China.
IL is NOT d BFdGsJAf CITY 10 Walk ABOUT III,
Nm some respects. at any rate, to the west
erner. In recent years, to be sure, the
authorities have wrestled valiantly with
many questions which scarcely two decades
ago had never entered into the Chinese con
|cept Of a city's unkeep; but those who have
been to Pekin still carry away with them
many vivid recollections OF many miles Of
many streets, destitute of pavement, and In
a condition reminiscent Of nothing so much
as Captain Burt's famous description of the
streets of Edinburg in the early days of the
eighteenth century. Pekin is composed of
cities within cities. Within the Tartar city
is the. Hwang ch'eng, or Imperial City,
and this in turn ~incloses the famous Tsze.
kin ch'eng, or Forbidden City, about which
so much has been heard lately. Beyond the
Forbidden City, separated from it by a
moat, is the great artificial mound called
King shan or the Prospect Hill" and with
its five submits and a temple on each, II
forms one Of the landmarks in the city.
Another such landmark Is the residence Of
the Titu or Governor OF the city, with its
Bell and Drum towers. In the former is the
great bell OF the Emperor Yunglo, fourteen
feet high, thirtyzfour feet in circumference
and Weighing 120,0 600 pounds; whilst in the
Drum tower are the famous sticks of in
'cence, specially prepared by the astronomi-
cal board, and kept forever burning to mark
the passage OF time. Then there is the
Temple Of the -Four Seasons, the famous
Confucian temple known as Kwo-tse-kien,
and many other sbrines Of greater OF less
importance.
The walls of the city are perhaps its
greatest wonder and, unlike the walls OF
other Chinese cities, they are still kept in
perfect order. Where they run round the
Tartar city, they are fifty feet high, sixty
feet wide at the base and forty at the top;