"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.
