OCR Text |
Show ' PEON LEGATION . 'hm-:f: it; fill ;;M , ? .,m !l l TVf -f, ' ' 3 OLD U 5. LEGATION TJN THE heart of Peking, close to ' the gates of the Imperial palace, ; the legation quarter stretches ltl along the huge wall of the Inner or Tartar city and covers an area a mile long by a half a mile wide. Before Be-fore the Boxer uprising of 1900 there was no legation quarter distinct and separate from the rest of the city. The legations were then scattered in and about Chinese shops and houses in that part of the city now definitely set r.part for the residences of foreign for-eign envoys. After the siege of the' legations by the boxers the foreign powers decided that it was necessary to fortify the legations and to maintain permanent guards for their protection. The Chinese buildings In the area set apart for the legations were demolished and Qe grounds of the respective legations were enlarged. A high fortified wall was built on three sides of the legation lega-tion quarter, wjiile on the fourth the wall of the Tartar city was occupied by soldiers of the American and German Ger-man legation guards. In order to render the corner more defensible a deep moat was dug out-Bide out-Bide the fortified wall and outside of this a large space was cleared of houses. This open space, which surrounds sur-rounds the quarter on three sides, is called the glacis and Is used as a drill ground by the troops of the various legation guards. Viewed from the wall of the Tartar city the legation quarter with its palatial buildings, all erected In western style, presents a striking contrast to the rest of Peking, with Its curved roofs, pylos and pagodas. pago-das. Eleven of the fourteen nations represented rep-resented in Peking have their legations lega-tions "located inside of the legation Quarter. Each legation has a spacious compound in which there Is a group of large, modern buildings. Besides the residences of the minister, each legation has houses for the legation secretaries, interpreters and clerks. Attached to each legation, excepting the Spanish, there the barracks for the soldiers of the legation guard and houses for their officers. Besides the legation the quarter also contains the offices of Jhe Chinese customs service, serv-ice, which 1b managed by foreigners, seven foreign banks, representing the financial Interests of European and American capitalists doing business in China, several commercial establishments, establish-ments, and a large European hotel. There are few communities In the world more cosmopolitan than the legation quarter of Peking. In the course of an hour one may hear most of the languages of Europe and Asia spoken. There is, however, no contusion con-tusion of tongues, as everybody speaks English, which is the "Lengua. Franca" of the far east. One is impressed by the international character of the place more by the uniforms of the military than by anything else. Simply Sim-ply by walking down Legation street ind observing the sentries at the various vari-ous legation gates one may see the uniforms of the world's greatest armies. arm-ies. By taking a promenade around the glacis one may observe the military tactics of many nations. Near the front gate of the imperial palace one Bees a company of Uncle Sara's soldiers sol-diers of the marine corps drilling; across the street on the Russian glacis there are cossacks performing wonderful feats of horsemanship; further up toward the pink wall of the Imperial cit some of King George's royal fusiliers are engaged in signal sig-nal practice, to the north of the legation lega-tion wall the Japanese, Italians and Austrians are drilling furiously; on the east glacis the celebrated French Infanterle Colleoniale are performing evolutions, while to the south, near the Tartar wall, the Germans are maneuvering huge field guns. In Peking, as In the far east gen erally, the social customs are dictated by the English. This accounts for the formality which characterizes most of the social functions in the legations. The custom of dressing for dinner is very generally observed. During the social season there are balls and dinners din-ners in the legations almost ever night At these functions great cart is exercised to seat people according to their rank and dignity. In order to facilitate this rather ticklish task a book is Issued by the diplomatic corps giving the rank and station of every official, foreign and Chinese, In Peking. In case of officials having the same rank the one who has stayed longest in Peking takes precedence. Every woman receives callers and serves tea on a certain day of each week. Most of these teaB are delightfully delight-fully Informal, but many have a stiffness stiff-ness which makes them a social duty rather than a pleasure. . The legation balls In Peking are brilliant affairs, sugesting the splendor of European courts. The bright uniforms uni-forms of the military officers and the Parisians gowns of the women give color and elegance to the scene. The ministers and secretaries do not wear their diplomatic uniforms at legation functions, but there is usually a great display of royal decorations. The military mili-tary orchestra, half hidden behind palms and ferns, besides rendering the necessary music, also furnishes Its quota of color, especially If it is composed com-posed of British redcoats. Under the Manchu regime the color scheme of the legation functions" was further enhanced en-hanced by the embroidered silk gowns of the Manchu princes and the Chinese Chi-nese mandarins. For recreation, however, one does not have to depend on the formal functions func-tions of society. Almost everybody keeps horses and there are frequent excursions Into the country to temples and places of historic Interest On such excursions formality Is banished and hilarity reigns supreme. Then there Is the Peking club, where all the men gather from seven to eight in the evening. In the winter there Is a skating rink at the club, which is, of course, open to the women. This is the scene of many band concerts and carnivals. In the summer the tennis courts at the club become the centers of interest inter-est for Peking society. Outside the city walls the club maintains a racetrack, race-track, where the spring and autumn races are held. The racecourse is also the scene of the Epring and autumn gymkanas, which are burlesqued bur-lesqued athletic meets. At the gymkanas gym-kanas the principal events are the camel races and the donkey polo games. |