The Coolidge examiner., 1937-05-27


w TITHIN the Imperial City OF
! Peiping, on the exact CEN
w ter of all, oriented to the
cardinal points of the COM
pass, is the Forbidden City, tn
Violet Town, which was the resi-
dence of the Dragon emperors. 1t
is an inclosure a little longer than
broad, and lies behind wide moat
and a double wall. The moat, in
the summer time, is full of flower
ing lotus, and white cranes stalk
thoughtfully among the rose-pink
blooms.
Each corner of the wall has its
tower, small, but very richly orna-
mented. There are four gates, one
to each face of the wall, and their
names are notable: East Gate Glori-
Gus; West Gate Glorious; Gate Of
Divine Military Progress, which is
the Shen WI Men. the North Gate,
wherefrom in 1914 the last Ming
emperor went sorrowfully to
strangle himself on Coal Hill across
the way, while the triumphant rebel
soldiers were breaking into the I'M
perial City outside. Through it fled
the Empress Dowager when the In
ternational Column battered down
the southern gates in 1900. On the
south is the WI Men, the Meridian
Gate, the great gate of ceremonies,
not opened since the fall of the
empire.
Only from Coal Hill Immediately
to the north, or from the White
Dagoba in the Pei Hal to the north
west, can you bring the Forbidden
City within the eye at once. From
either height, you see the simple
outline of it's plan. Down the center
line the great pavilionS march.
one behind another, their roofs tiled
with imperial yellow, since all this
was of the throne.
They are audience halls, council
halls devoted to this phase or that
of ancestral veneration, and i'm
perial living quarters. Smaller build
ings lie along the wall to east and
west; houses for the concubines and
eunuchs, and space for stores. Each
pavilion has its courtyard and it's
formal approach. The courts are
threaded by little conventional
moats with white marble balus-
trades; the terraces are balustrad-
ed, as are the ceremonial flights Of
steps.
In the north end are the pavilions
and gardens that the Empress
Dowager used. They are small and
intimate, handicapped, shaded by cy-
press and cedar, and traversed by
narrow walks among flower beds
and fountains. for the old lady loved
such things.
Decoration Is Colorful.
Some of the buildings are used as
museums, displaying much unusual
treasure, although, at the time of
the disturbances in 1882 and 1888,
most of the exhibits were boxed
and shipped south, to the great in
dignation of Peiping.
The Forbidden City displays the
Chinese decorative scheme at its
most extravagant and royal. 1t is
done in reds and yellows and blues
and green's, all most violent. A little
money is spent on its upkeep. and
perhaps the close-set walls save it
from the grinding of the wind-blown
dust that dulls the colors and the
gliding of places in the open.
The proportions of the buildings
are majestic without being vast, for
the Chinese architect knew how to
create his effects without relying
on mere size. The clear sky and
the brilliant sun enter into all con-
ceptions; the secret of their excel
lence lies between the air and light
and just balance in line and mass.
Yet, as for size, there is court
yard in the south section of the
Forbidden City where, at vic
tory celebration in 1918, some 49,
600 troops were arrayed, with
large number of civilian officials
and spectators, and 1t is related
that the courtyard seemed in no
sense crowded.
What now is seen in these palaces
and courts is setting only. stage
from which the players have de-
parted, with their bright robes, their
banners, and their stately process
SionalS.
About the public buildings Of Pei
ping, the shrines. the halls, the
pavilions, and the palaces, there are
many books written. German and
Russian and British savants have
measured, dissected and surveyed,
French scholars have breathed
much life into the dry bones of
architecture, dwelling with ardor,
also, upon the pavilions of pleasure,
and the handicapped wells in
which were filed, head downward.
discarded favorites, male and fe-
male, of not-too-immaculate sover-
eigns.
Many of the structures are jerry
built and flimsy. The Chinese lac
quer with which the surfaces are
faced is cheap stuff, prone to flake
off before it attains age. The fine