Directory_and_Chronicle_1936 — Page 409

平 PEIPING 北

天順 Shun-tien formerly Peking 京北

Peiping (formerly known as Peking) is situated on a sandy plain 13 miles S. W. of the Pei-ho river, and about 110 miles from its mouth, in latitude 39 deg. 54 min. N. and longitude 116 deg. 27 min. E., or nearly on the parallel of Naples. A canal connects the city with the Pei-ho.

From Dr. Dennys' description of Peiping we quote the following brief historical sketch: "The city formerly existing on the site of the southern portion of Peiping was the capital of the Kingdom of Yan. About 222 B.C., this kingdom was over- thrown by the Chin dynasty and the seat of Government was removed elsewhere. Taken from the Chins by the Khaitans about 936 A.D., it was some two years after- wards made the southern capital of that people. The Kin dynasty, subduing the Khaitans, in their turn took possession of the capital, calling it the 'Western Residence. About A.D. 1151, the fourth sovereign of the Kins transferred the Court thither, and named it the Central Residence. In 1215, it was captured by Genghis Khan. In 1264 Kublai Khan fixed his residence there, giving it the title of Chung-tu or Central Residence, the people at large generally calling it Shun t'ien-fu. In 1267 A.D., the city was transferred 3 li (one inile) to the North of its then site, and it was then called T'a- tu-the 'Great Residence.' The old portion became what is now known as the 'Chinese city, and the terms Northern' and 'Southern' city, or more commonly nei-cheng (within the wall) and wai-cheng (without the wall), came into use. The native Emperors who succeeded the Mongol dynasty did not, however, continue to make Peking the seat of Government. The Court was shortly afterwards removed to Nanking, which was considered the chief city of the Empire until, in 1421, Yung Lo, the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, again held his Court at Peiping, since which date it has remained the capital of China."

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The present city of Peiping is divided into two portions, the Northern or Tartar city and the Southern or Chinese. The former has been encroached upon by the Chinese, and the purely Manchu section of the city is very limited indeed. The southern city is exclusively occupied by Chinese. The general shape of Peiping may be roughly represented by a square placed upon an oblong, the former standing for the Tartar and the latter for the Chinese city. The whole of the town is, of course, walled. The walls of the Tartar city are the strongest. They average 50 feet in height and 40 feet in width, and are buttressed at intervals of about sixty yards. The parapets are loop-holed and crenelated. They are faced on both sides with brick, the space between being filled with earth and concrete. Each of the gateways is surmounted by a three-storied pagoda. The walls of the Chinese city are about 30 feet in height, 25 feet thick at the base, and 15 feet wide on the terre plein. The total circumference of the walls round the two cities slightly exceeds 20 miles.

The Tartar city consists of three enclosures, one within the other, each surrounded by its own wall. The innermost, called Kin-ching or Forbidden. City, contains the Imperial Palace and its surrounding buildings (partly destroyed by fire in ); the second is occupied by the several offices appertaining to the Government and by private residences of officials; while the outer consists of dwelling- houses, with shops in the chief avenues.

There is little direct foreign trade with Peiping, but it is growing. In August, 1884, the city was brought into direct telegraphic communication with the rest of the world, by an overland line to Tientsin via Tungchow. The Ministry of Communications has now its own wireless installation. The year 1899 witnessed two other innovations, which would have been regarded as impossible ten years previously, viz., the erection of large two-storied buildings on prominent sites for the Austrian Legation and the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank. These were breaks with immemorial tradition that the feng-shui must resent elevation in houses other than