Page:A wandering student in the Far East vol.1 - Zetland.djvu/203

Rh mint, which is in the same compound as the arsenal, likewise reflects the spirit of the times, for here I saw the new Chinese rupee—the first coin upon which the head of any Chinese emperor has ever been struck—being turned out in large numbers. Its origin is due to the fact that considerable numbers of Indian rupees have for many years filtered through from Tibet to Western China. That a coin bearing the features of an alien monarch should find favour with the subjects of the "Son of Heaven" was not to be borne by an official inspired by the new creed, which preaches the practice of modern methods for asserting the ancient doctrine of China for the Chinese. A memorial to the throne met with a favourable reply, and now coins the exact copy of the Indian rupee, but bearing the portrait of the occupant of the Dragon throne, were being despatched to Ta-Chien-lu at the rate of one and three-quarter millions a-year. We lunched sumptuously and at length, dishes from the cookery-books of Europe alternating with bird's-nest soup, sharks' fins, sea-slugs,