Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/240

 230 PEKING " gate of extensive peace." Here the emperor, on New Year's day, his birthday, and other occasions, receives the homage of his courtiers assembled in the court below ; five flights of stairs decorated with balustrades and sculp- tures lead up to it, and five gates open through it into the next Courtyard. Beyond it are two halls, one where his majesty examines the im- plements used in the annual ploughing, and the other where he feasts guests and other dis- tinguished persons on New Year's day. After ascending a stairway and passing another gate, the Kien-tsing-kung, or the " tranquil palace " of heaven, is reached, into which no one can enter without special permission. In it is the council chamber, and here candidates for oifice are presented to the sovereign. It is the most magnificent of all the palaces. Beyond it stands the " palace of earth's repose," where the em- press rules her miniature court in the imperial harem ; and between this and the N. wall is the imperial garden, adorned with elegant pa- vilions, temples, and groves, and interspersed with canals, fountains, artificial lakes, and flow- er beds. In the E. division are the offices of the cabinet and the treasury. North of these is the "hall of intense thought," where sacri- fices are offered to Confucius and other sages ; and near this is the library. At the N. end of the E. division are numerous palaces and build- ings occupied by princes of the blood and their connections; and in this quarter is situated the Fung-sien-tien, a small temple where the emperor comes to bless his ancestors. The W. division contains a great variety of edifices devoted to public and private purposes, among which may be mentioned the hall of distin- guished sovereigns, statesmen, and literati, the printing office, the court of comptrollers for regulating the receipts and disbursements of the court, and the Ching-hwang-mian, or guar- dian temple of the city. The number of peo- ple within the prohibited city is not very great, and most of them are Mantchoos. The second enclosure, Hwang-ching or imperial city, which surrounds the prohibited city, is about 6 m. in circuit. It is enclosed by a wall about 20 ft. high, entered by four gates, through which none may pass without special permission. From the " gate of heavenly rest " a broad avenue leads up to the prohibited city ; in front of it, outside the wall, is an extensive enclosure hav- ing an entrance from the south through which no one is permitted to pass except on foot. On the right of the avenue is a large collection of buildings surrounded by a wall, where offer- ings are presented before the tablets of de- ceased emperors and empresses, and worship is performed by the members of the imperial family and clan to their forefathers. Upon the opposite side of the avenue is the altar of the gods of the land and grain, where in spring and autumn the emperor alone makes offer- ings to these divinities, who are supposed to have been originally men. On the E. side is a depository of military stores, with workshops for their manufacture. The establishment of the Russian college lies N. of this gate ; and in the N. E. part of this side are the residences of the lamas, with numerous temples, monas- teries, and other religious edifices. Much of this quarter is occupied by dwelling houses and by temples dedicated to various inferior gods in Chinese mythology. On the N. side, surrounded by a wall, is the King-shan, or ar- tificial mountain, about 150 ft. high, with five summits, each of which is crowned by a pavil- ion. Various kinds of trees border its base and line the paths leading to the tops, and the enclosure contains numerous animals and birds. The W. part is chiefly occupied by a park, with an artificial lake, more than a mile long and with an average breadth of 220 yards, in the centre, which is crossed by a marble bridge of nine arches, and its banks are shaded by groves of trees under which are well paved walks. There are many artificial hills of rock work, groves, gardens, and parterres. On the S. E. side of the lake is a large summer house con- sisting of several edifices, partly in or over the water. On the W. side is the hall for the examination of military candidates, where the emperor in person witnesses their exhibitions of equestrian archery. At the N. end of the lake is a bridge leading to an islet, the centre of which presents the aspect of a hill of gentle ascent covered with groves, temples, and sum- mer houses, and surmounted with a tower from which an extensive view of the metropolis is obtained. Near the N. E. end of the park is a temple dedicated to Yuen-fi, the reputed dis- coverer of the silkworm, near which a planta- tion of mulberry trees and a cocoonery are maintained. In the neighborhood of the " tem- ple of great happiness," on the borders of the lake, is a gilded copper statue of Buddha, 60 ft. high, with 100 arms. The third or outer en- closure surrounding the imperial city is the Tartar city, and consists of several wide streets crossing each other at right angles. The prin- cipal government offices are situated along the avenue leading S. from the imperial city to the Chinese city. The board of punishments, with its subordinate departments, the censorate, the astronomical board, the medical college, the national academy, and the colonial office are also on this avenue. Near the colonial office is the temple where the nearest ancestors of the reigning family are worshipped by his ma- jesty and the princes of his family on the first day of every month. The observatory, or "hall of science," erected in 1680, is in the S. E. portion, partly upon the wall. It was originally superintended by the Roman Catho- lic missionaries, but is now under the care of Chinese astronomers, and is entirely neglected. Close to it is the hall of literary examinations. The Russian church of the Assumption is in the N. E. corner, and near it is the splendid "temple of eternal peace" belonging to the lamas who teach Chinese and Mantchoo pupils the Thibetan language ; and there is a similar