Show I SO o RR tl f 8 S SY Y q w Jt k et e. e t L s The Carts Cart of Peking pr Prepared b by the tho National Geographic Society Washington D D. C C. Peking Chinas China's capital which after otter many months of a leisurely civil war 1 seems the definite goal of the southern southern southern south south- ern Chinese rebels Is a Tatar rather I than a n Chinese city To this fact Is lt traceable its marked difference In ap appearance appearance when compared to other cities in China As one passes posses within the walls ot of Peking he expects to t find aid as in other Chinese cities the signs ot of shopkeepers throwing gay canopies across narrow narro tortuous huddled streets but behold broad avenues n three miles long crossed by other I broad avenues n three miles s long making mak mak- ing squares as regular as those of ot ofa a a checkerboard The visitor wonders whether the builders of this city saw in prophetic vision the streets of Chicago Denver and Philadelphia Then he begins to realize that Peking Is the one spacious Chinese city because it was built bunt b by bythe bythe I the adventurous barbarians of th the north men who lived in the saddle upon steppes and plains whose feet were set in a large room Wonder does not stop with the length breadth and regularity of the streets The traffic upon them is equally equal equal- Iy ly unexpected In the cities of southern southern south south- ern China sedan chairs chait's edge their wa way with difficulty through the crowds of p pedestrians and carrying coolies who Jostle each other In the time narrow lanes In Peking every street Is alive e with b bm blasts and vehicles Down the smooth tree lined macadam macadam ma ma- cadam center roads autos cabs rickshaws rickshaws rick rick- shaws and bicycles cles speed past lIast slow- slow moving catafalques and crimson wedding wed ding processions On each si side l between be Le- between tween n sidewalk and trees alon along a highway of ot turf go mule mounted equestrians soldiers on sturdy Manchurian Manchurian Man Man- chUlIan ponies triplets of donkeys onlie s 's hauling lumber brick coal and crockery crockery crock crock- ery portly old gentlemen en straddling diminutive asses canopied blue-canopied Peking eking carts and caravans of camels out of or orthe the north Queer Carts Carte and Animals Almost as us fascinating as the time camels are the carts of ot Peking or rather rathel the little beasts which pull them them pontes ponies donkeys donke's mules and nondescript elusive elu elu- she sive creatures that are ale neither e mule nor ass but subtle Indistinguishable n- n mixtures On first si sight ht one Is sure SUle the they are horses on the second he Is sure they Ules are mules on the third he lie Is equally eQuall sure the they are zebras with the time stripes worn off One hIstorIan historian his hIs- torian of Chinn China t speaks of the ancient as ns vo possessing horses ses asses mules and other othel peculiar breeds of lit the time equine family These ancient other oilier breeds still trot about the Tatar city ctr If It streets and traffic C carts and camels camels' are unexpected no less so are ule the buildings Time The tra traveler eler who has seen pictures of the time majestic temples and palaces of Peking enters the tile Imposing Imposing imposing Im Im- posing South Gate prepared for architectural archi bl- bl raptures nut But he lie fin finds s the broad straight highways of ot the city lined with insignificant one one- story one tor shops or wl whim h equally Insignificant gray wIndow lees leEs story one house walls or long unlovely stretches of ot red dull plastered fence feme walls As soon however as us the time traveler enters enters enters en en- a gateway my through one of oC the gray or dingy red brick walls he comes suddenly and un unexpectedly Ulon upon upon up up- on a palace silent In the sun yet Jet shouting aloud 11 In the barbaric brilliance bril liance Nance of ot its color crimson color crimson columns friezes of flashing gold on green wide wide- flaring roofs of ot resplendent nt yellow ello all ull above e a triple-terraced triple platform of ot marble white while like snow Or r It maybe ma may maybe be a Ii many courted d temple where a It hundred llamas drone chants before an un Inscrutable Buddha or a n wooded park where whew emperors once took tool their pleasure where old century cedars shade pathways path 8 and find pleasant lakes 11 Shrines n nestle III in mulberry groves s and hillocks nr are crowned b by Buddhist topes from marble buses one looks out nut over o the time roofs of the city miles city mlles miles mind and miles It seems of ot sra gray roofs roots roofs and ond In the time center of ot nil aU a great reat splotch of Imperial yellow flow the time once mice forbidden forbidden forbidden forbid den cit city where dwelt tho the emperor his sons and und his ills daughters his Ws wives I cd hi My concubines i 1 1 r ij L Unexpected in Architecture Indeed th th unexpected Is the essence essence essence es es- es- es sence of Chinese architecture One can never ne get a n complete view of ot a Q temple or a n yamen amen unless there be some adjacent hill or tower or city wall from which to view It On level ground only the outer wall walland walland walland and the entrance are arc seen and amid when these are ure passer passed one sees only the th first court with its more elaborate entrance to the time second and so on through three four five six it ma may be seven sc court courtyards courtyard each complete In Itself each with a n central building through which one passes to the court beyond each bulling ng larger higher or more decorative than Mian the last each breaking upon the beholder with afresh u a fresh surprise This Is especially true true of or the Imperial ImperIal Imperial Im Im- palace which is perhaps the most effectively eI arranged gro group p of ot buildings In all China Chinn Gateway after neter gateway gute each gate a palace In itself pillared roofed and buttressed leads lends into a I wide lying court courtyard ard whose placid expanse dwarfs ancient ancient ancient an an- trees around Its edges Into seeming seeming seeming seem seem- ing shrubs Each court Is a n unit of grandeur and md magnificence In Itself and at the same some time an nn Integral member of a series series series se se- ries leading lending up to the marble ter raced rated courtyard of the great throne hall Althou Although h the Imperial palace is the finest st architectural ensemble in the capital It t is In the Temple of Heaven or as the Chinese call It The Happy Year Hall lIall where the emperor emperor em em- perol used to offer annual supplication tion to Heaven for a prosperous new year eal that we find a single building In which the simple dignity of Chinese Chinese Chinese Chi Chi- nese architecture Is at Its best The Happy Year Hall T This is Is perhaps the most frequently pictured of all ull Chinese buildings Eury J. cr Chinese photographer displays s 's sIt it in his window ever every vender ot of cards postcards features It ever every book hook on China reproduces it It is probably the one view of things Chinese which l e every westerner who knows an anything at nt all about China has see seen Yet there are few buildings which chichi most pictures fail tall PO so pitifully to portray In the tine usual print or photograph ItIs Itis It U UIs Is squat plump and heavy like me a aGerman aGerman German wedding cake e. e In reality It Is strung strong and gracious and mighty and und when the visitor comes Into Its presence pres pres- presence presence ence he lie comes Into th the presence of ofa ofa ofa a great reat peace There jt stands on a vast platform Its base above the time tree Above the Ue platform is a threefold marble terrace ter tel race white and circular then red columns gold green gold friezes and three tine fine flaring circular roofs with shadows and HUll mst mystery l under the eaves and tumid the roof root tiles not yellow crying ellow like those of the Imperial palace but deep deep de ll blue But limit it is Just In this Its chief r masterpiece mas that Chinese architecture In Its Insistence on the unexpected has hag gone one farthest astra astray The temple I is in iii the midst of a n huge park acres of lawn and dense groves gron of ot ancient evergreen surround it there Is 18 eter every condition conducive to the most effective ef festive e use of ot distance und and vista yet the temple approaches mire are so clouded and cluttered with ch cheap p tawdry decadent decadent de de- cadent gateways that nothing of ot th time the temple Is seen until one actually stumbles upon It through the last gate Another of the time unexpected treasures treas ures of ot Peking is the dragon screen It I Is barely mentioned in some of time tile guidebooks and ond not mentioned at all allIn allin allin I in others It Is hidden behind a n I hillock In the winter palace grounds and tenths nine of the visitors to Peking Pe re- Peking king walk within a Ii hundred yards of It and never ne dream of ot its existence It Is a wall perhaps 20 feet teet high and a n hundred long faced com complete completely let ly with tile the cast cost to represent sent nine life sire dr dragons ons In relief bas of various various va rious colors yellow colors yellow purple maroon orange orang orange ga gayly I above emerald merald billows against a It pale blue shy Doubtless one should not speak of size life dragons but these creatures of ot the time screen are the dragons one may ever er hope to tee see the they give rise t to the feeling that ifa U if Ua a n dragon lived he be would ba like Uke one ODe of theta these 1 1 JAE |