Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-15
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supposed to pretend that they do. I
shall never forget one such announce
ment that greeted me on visit to a
temple aquarium in celebrated 500
chow. 1t read:
See these fine FISH! In the pond
on purpose to preserve the lives Of fish
Of West Garden!"
The astonishing fact was that there
was not q single fish in the entire pisca-
torial retreat, all Of them having been
removed long since by the Kiangsu SOL
diers ostensibly placed there. to prevent
others from doing that very thing!
There Is nothing new in witnessing
the early stages Of decadence at an ex-
capital of China. Looking back through
Chinese history, one Is reminded that
numerous and glorious though the cap
itals OF this former empire have been.
today little remains to identify any Of
them. Marking. for instance, faded and
waned after It had been abandoned by
the Mings. Its royal palaces swooneo
and finally were obliterated altogether
by the scourge Of the TAPPING rebels.
Tomb on Purple Hill Only Reminder.
And when, after q lapse of six cen
turtles, the Kuomintang recently restored
Marking as the national city, nothing
but an ancient tomb on purple hill
suggested that this struggling city
might have held the dragon throne in
another era. Likewise In SoochoW,
Sianfu and Hangchow only o few bits
Of archaic broken masonry testify to
the fact that in those places, too. at one
time blossomed the Forbidden City.
Regarded separately from the general
alAr N,a Nal atv AXNfFfn0
objets dart, there are many indications
that the Ming -Manchu capital Is on the
path Of repression. Though to the tour
ist it is still by far the most interesting
city In the Orient, the animation that
once made 1t also the most fascinating
place to observe Chinese life at its best
is no longer there The vessel still has
It's old curves of beauty, but its content,
It's meaning has been lost.
Three things. more important than
numerous other conditions which also
are contributing causes, have combined
to bring about the beginning OF Pc
kings decline. First-And BY lar the
most significant, Of course-is the re-
moval of the capital. Never an indus
trial city, Peking's prosperity has been
due largely to the commerce attracted
to IL because 1t was the national seat
Of government. It Is almost 100 miles
from the seacoast and it has no water
Ways affording communication with the
rest Of the country. Once the Grand
Canal was the principal thoroughfare
between 1t and the socth, but this mas
been allowed to silt up till 1t no. longer
is available at the northern END.
Railway Connections Ample.
Fortunately. Picking has good railway
connections: lines enter 1t from three
directions. But it has few other indus
trial or commercial Neutrality-suspicious.
it's asset as capital alone 1t always has
depended for its popularity in trade.
The presence Of the official departments
furnished ample stimulus to business.
Thousands of clerks were required to
manipulate. the machinery Of govern
ment; purchasing offices bought millions
of dollars worth Of materials annually.
Prior to the revolution In 1911 the
wealthy mandarins and Manchu princes
maintained large establishments. 70
provision the elaborate banquets held
in their expansive dining halls numbers
of servants were employed and pros
uerity assured to hundreds OF Chinese
merchants. ..-
Even after the Manchus were expelled
and the dragon emperor became an I'M
potent nonentity, so long Is the capital
remained at Peking, through all the
vicissitudes Of the republic, there were
politicians and militarists to empty their
fortunes into the local market ana to
b,lv expensive homes and furnishings
and provide for households equally as
extfavaRant as those Of the u1seAted
ROYALTY. Foreign diplomats brought more
wealth. and their stats and attaches,
together with their friends and rela-
tives. encouraged Sino.foreign trade.
The removal of the capital to Marking
not only robbed peking Of its most i'm
portant business accelerant, but 1t also
put thousands out Of work, made their
dependents destitute and generally low
cred the standard Of living.
The loss of the Mongol trade was the
second blow to Peking. Formerly 1t
was o frequent sight to witness camel
caravans coming in frtlnn the plateaus
laden with furs and hides, with wool
and amber and jade and other rich
products of. the outlands. After the
Picking Suiyuan Railway had been
thrust into the northwest, passing
through Kalgan, Suiyuan and Paotao,
much Of this trafic was handled by rail,
and It steadily Increased the prosperity
OF the capital But since the Russian
influence became dominant in UrgA and
other cities under the Mongol banners,
most Of this trade has been diverted
through Soviet Siberia. Particularly
within the last two or three years Mon
0ols have routed their caravans almost
exclusively toward Soviet trading posts.
Reasons for this change are quite ape
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