Page:Peking the Beautiful.pdf/40

 "A Palace That Has Lost Its Soul" O PILGRIMAGE to Peking is complete without a visit to the ruins of the Yüan Ming yvan, the once beautiful summer home of the emperors. For two centuries the pride of the whole empire, this paradise of pleas ure is to-day a heap of ruins. On every hand are mute evidences of the PAROL tragedly that war has wrought Exquisitely formed artificial hills are na row crowned by wrecked pagodas, picturesque valleys are filled with shattered pavilions, and lovely lotus lakes are spanned by broken bridges. Of the far famed island palace of a hundred rooms—"once the jewel of the domain"-naught remains save tottering walls and leaning balustrades. Were it not for the delightful pen pictures left us by Father Benoist and others who visited the palace grounds and assisted in the building of the five "yang lou" or foreign pavilions, we would know little of the former grandeur of the Yuan Ming Yian. Writing from Peking in the year 1767, Father Benoist gives a vivid picture of the Imperial surtimer home in the following words: "Six miles from the capital, the emperor (Ch'ien Lung) has a country house where he passes the greater part of the year, and he works day and night to further beautify it. To form any idea of it one must recall those enchanted gardens which authors of vivid imagination have described so beautifully. Canals winding between artificial mountains form a network through the grounds, in some places passing over rocks, then forming lovely lakes bordered by marble terraces. Devious paths lead to enchanting dwelling pavilions and spacious halls of audience, some on the water's edge, others on the slopes of hills or in pleasant valleys, fragrant with flowering trees which are here very common. Each maison de plaisance, though small in comparison with the whole inclosure, is large enough to lodge one of our European grandees with all his suite. That destined for the emperor himself is immense, and within may be found all that the whole world contains of the curious and rare a great and rich collection of furniture, omaments, pictures, precious woods, porcelains, silks, and gold and silver stuffs." It was in the year 1737 that Chien Lung commanded Father Castiglione to build the five foreign palaces. These charming pavilions, built of the purest white marble and richly decorated, were the pride and delight of the emperor. In order to further beautify these costly mansions he thought of adorning them both inside and out with fountains. The talented and versatile Father Benoist was called upon to construct these fountains in spite of all his representations as to "want of knowledge." The sketck below shows all that remains of the celebrated fountain and water clock, which was once a masterpiece of sculpture and engineering. Many there are, of every nation, who mour the loss of this wonderful palace which was laid in ruins by the guns of the British and French in the war of 1860.