3 on the south side and 2 on each of the other sides. The old
Chinese accounts say there were 11 gates in Taidu. (See Amyot, Mem.
II. 553.) I have in my plan, therefore, assumed that one gate on the east
and one on the west were obliterated in the reduction of the enceinte by
the Ming. But I must observe that Mr. Lockhart tells me he did not find
the traces of gates in those positions, whilst the 2 gates on the north
side of the old Mongol rampart are quite distinct, with the barbicans in
front, and the old Mongol bridge over the ditch still serving for the
public thoroughfare.[1]
["The Yuen shi as well as the Ch'ue keng lu, and other works of the
Yuen, agree in stating that the capital had eleven gates. They are
enumerated in the following order: Southern wall - (1) The gate direct
south (mid.) was called Li-cheng men; (2) the gate to the left (east),
Wen-ming men; (3) the gate to the right (west), Shun-ch'eng men.
Eastern wall - (4) The gate direct east (mid.), Ch'ung-jen men; (5) the
gate to the south-east, Ts'i-hua men; (6) the gate to the north-east,
Kuang-hi men. Western wall - (7) The gate direct west (mid.), Ho-i men;
(8) the gate to the south-west, P'ing-tse men; (9) the gate to the
north-west, Su-ts'ing men. Northern Wall - (10) The gate to the
north-west, K'ien-te men; (11) the gate to the north-east, An-chen
men." (Bretschneider, Peking, 13-14.) - H. C.]
When the Ming established themselves on the old Mongol site, population
seems to have gathered close about the southern wall, probably using
material from the remains of Yenking. This excrescence was inclosed by a
new wall in 1554, and was called the "Outer Town." It is what is called by
Europeans the Chinese City. Its western wall exhibits in the base
sculptured stones, which seem to have belonged to the old palace of
Yenking. Some traces of Yenking still existed in Gaubil's time; the only
relic of it now pointed out is a pagoda outside of the Kwang-An-Man, or
western gate of the Outer City, marked in the War Office edition of the
Russian Map as "Tower." (Information from Dr. Lockhart.)
The "Great Palaces" over the gates and at the corner bastions are no doubt
well illustrated by the buildings which still occupy those positions.
There are two such lofty buildings at each of the gates of the modern
city, the outer one (shown on p. 376) forming an elevated redoubt.
NOTE 5. - The French writer cited under note 3 says of the city as it
stands: "La ville est de la sorte coupee en echiquier a peu pres regulier
dont les quadres circonscrits par des larges avenues sont perces eux-memes
d'une multitude de rues et ruelles ... qui toutes a peu pres sont
orientees N. et S., E. et O. Une seule volonte a evidemment preside a ce
plan, et jamais edilite n'a eu a executer d'un seul coup aussi vaste
entreprise."
NOTE 6. - Martini speaks of the public clock-towers in the Chinese cities,
which in his time were furnished with water-clocks. A watchman struck the
hour on a great gong, at the same time exhibiting the hour in large
characters. The same person watched for fires, and summoned the public
with his gong to aid in extinguishing them.
[The Rev. G. B. Farthing mentions (North-China Herald, 7th September,
1884) at T'ai-yuen fu the remains of an object in the bell-tower, which
was, and is still known, as one of the eight wonders of this city; it is a
vessel of brass, a part of a water-clock from which water formerly used to
flow down upon a drum beneath and mark off time into equal divisions. - H.
C.]
The tower indicated by Marco appears still to exist. It occupies the place
which I have marked as Alarm Tower in the plan of Taidu. It was erected in
1272, but probably rebuilt on the Ming occupation of the city. ["The Yuen
yi t'ung chi, or 'Geography of the Mongol Empire' records: 'In the year
1272, the bell-tower and the drum-tower were built in the middle of the
capital.' A bell-tower (chung-lou) and a drum-tower (ku-lou) exist
still in Peking, in the northern part of the Tartar City. The ku-lou is
the same as that built in the thirteenth century, but the bell-tower dates
only from the last century. The bell-tower of the Yuen was a little to the
east of the drum-tower, where now the temple Wan-ning sse stands. This
temple is nearly in the middle of the position I (Bretschneider) assign to
Khanbaligh." (Bretschneider, Peking, 20.) - H. C.] In the Court of the
Old Observatory at Peking there is preserved, with a few other ancient
instruments, which date from the Mongol era, a very elaborate water-clock,
provided with four copper basins embedded in brickwork, and rising in
steps one above the other. A cut of this courtyard, with its instruments
and aged trees, also ascribed to the Mongol time, will be found in ch.
xxxiii. (Atlas Sinensis, p. 10; Magaillans, 149-151; Chine Moderne,
p. 26; Tour du Monde for 1864, vol. ii. p. 34.)
NOTE 7. - "Nevertheless," adds the Ramusian, "there does exist I know not
what uneasiness about the people of Cathay."
[1] Mr. Wylie confirms my assumption: "Whilst in Peking I traced the old
mud wall,... and found it quite in accordance with the outline in your
map. Mr. Gilmour (a missionary to the Mongols) and I rode round it, he
taking the outside and I the inside.... Neither of us observed the
arch that Dr. Lockhart speaks of.... There are gate-openings about
the middle of the east and west sides, but no barbicans." (4th
December 1873.)
CHAPTER XII.
