Page:Peking the Beautiful.pdf/24

 "The Wonderful Walls of Peking"

WALLS, walls, walls-nothing but walls ! This is one's first impression of Peking. These walls which at first give one such queer feelings WAV of imprisonment soon become symbols of protection, and give to the A TEX dwellers within the massive gray arms "a soothing sense of security." Bigger and broader and higher than the walls of any other city, the giant battlements that surround the capital are still the chief glory of this grand, old, medieval fortress. During the thousand years which have elapsed since Peking first became master of China the city has existed under many different names, and perhaps has been surrounded by as many different walls. "After each disaster her walls have been changed and her houses rebuilt, so that to-day she stands upon the debris of centuries of buildings." of the very earliest we know little, but fairly accurate accounts have been left us of the more recent walls. The noted Venetian traveler, Marco Polo, in his romantic description of the thirteenth-century Peking, writes thus : "As regards the size of this city, you must know that it hath a compass of twenty-four miles, for each side of it hath a length of six miles, and it is foursquare. And it is all valled round with walls of earth which have a thickness of full ten paces at bottom, and a height of more than ten paces; but they are not so thick at top. for they diminish in thickness as they rise, so that at top they are only about three paces thick And they are provided throughout with loop-holed battlements, which are all whitewashed. "There are twelve gates, and over each gate there is a great and handsome palace, so that there are on each side of the square three gates and five palaces, for (1 ought to mention) there is at each angle also a great and handsome palace, in which are kept the arms of the city garrison." To-day we find the walls just as they were in the time of the Mings. The present north vall was erected by the first Ming emperor, Hung Du, who later transferred his capital to Nanking: and his son, Yung Lê, rebuilt the other three sides in 1419. Towering fifty feet above the streets of the Manchu Tartar City, sixty feet thick at the bottom, and forty feet wide at the top, these roble battlements form what is undoubtedly the "finest wall surrounding any city now extant" Nine gates pierce the walls of the Nei Chiêng, as the Tartar City is called, and each of these is surmounted by an imposing tower. In these were kept the implements of war, and here were stationed the brave garrisons. Our photo shows the famous "Fox Tower," which guards the southeast comer of the wall. The peculiar name has been derived from the popular belief that it is haunted by the spirit of a fox, "for whose ghostly comings and goings its doors are left open." The great fortress is here seen reflected in the waters of the moat, which completely encircles the city. For a further description of the walls and towers, see paqes 24 and 136.