A Visit to Peking and Tientsin.
A ND now a few words about the sights of Peking—the ^^ ancient and the modern. The ancient have a fas- cination, the modern inspire hopes that at length China is awakening.
The Altar of Heaven.—This is probably the most impressive of the ancient monuments in China, together with the imperial waiting room, used by the emperor
during his fasting vigil before the sacrifice, and the threetiered blue tiled roof of the so-called Temple of Heaven,
but rather the Ki-nien Tien, or temple for beseeching a blessing on the New Year. These three buildings and
altar stand in a well-wooded park. Although in the heart
of Peking, there is perfect quiet and repose. The Altar of Heaven, (see p. 8) which is the most interesting, is a large, cir- cular, marble altar, reached by
three tiers of nine steps. At the
level of each tier of steps there is a marble balustrade. ( )n this al- tar the emperor once a year
presents a bullock, with meat
and drink offering, to Shang-ti
(the Supreme Ruler), and in an
ancient, impressive prayer, confesses the sin of the nation and
throne, and supplicates the Divine compassion. The ani- mal is then burnt in a large oven that stands a little away
from the altar. The tablets representing the emperor's ancestors are placed around him, and are supposed to be joining
in the worship of .Shang-ti. There are also acts of worship
to sun, moon, wind and rain. After a ceremonial cleansing and change of clothes, the emperor enters the temple, where
there is a tablet to Shang-ti over
a dais, and there again worships and prays for blessing on
the New Year. This ceremonial is of very ancient origin, untraceable, in fact, and takes place every year on the
last night.
I should have said that, in addition to the building or
altar already mentioned, there is hard by a temple to agriculture, in which the golden plough and other tools used by the emperor are kept. Once a year he ploughs a piece of land and sows grain
to set an example to his subjects. Lamassarie. —The next day a part}' of us visited this Tibetan temple—a very fine specimen. Here, too, the emperor conducts worship once a year. The temple is remarkable for the gigantic figure of Buddha, seventy-five feet high, which stands in the
FROM A PRIVATE LETTER FROM MR. E. J. COOPER.
centre. The priests insist that this huge figure (t\\ ntjfeet in width) is carved out of one log, brought frc nan. As such trees do not grow in Yun-nan, we maybeexcused for dissenting from them.
Confucian Temple,—About ioo yards away is a fine ex-ample of a Confucian temple, 200 feet long, 70 feet wide,and 40 feet high, so you may imagine the wooden pillarsare large and impressive.
In the centre is the tablet to Confucious ; on eitherside, but lower, two tablets to the five greatest followersof the sage, and lower still, twelve more to other dis-tinguished disciples, six on each side. This, too, isvisited by the emperor. Thesedifferent modes of worship allreceive imperial sanction, andfairly represent the tolerant at-titude of the people towards re-ligions generally. Their disliketo the Christian religion is largely because of the embittered relations with foreignersduring recent years. Across the road is a buildingdevoted to literature, in whichme—the piece of tl held by the foreu which the British 1 scheme of defence explained by Dr.
points of interest the ever memorable siege of thelegations in 1900 were shownity wall, commanding the legations,troops, and the water-gate throughd troops entered. Also the generalthe British legation was carefullyvry, jun., who was one of the be-sieged. There is still one small section of the boundarywall preserved, unrepaired. It still shows many shotmarks, and on it is painted, " Lest we forget." Let ushope too that China will forget the multiplied aggravations of the previous ten years. A vast change is coming over Peking. Fine, broad,macadamized roads have been made for miles, and othersare being rapidly brought into the same condition. Careful attention is being given to drainage, watering roads,lighting, and soon a Chinese company will instal electric
CHINA 'S MILLIONS.
light throughout the city. Recently a police force of
2,000, uniformed and disciplined, has come into being.
I am told that 5,000 are studying in the new government
schools. Thus education and material progress are finding
a lodgment in the metropolis of this vast empire, and new
boards are issuing regulations that will shortly be felt in every important city. The Y.M.C.A. is doing an important work amongst the student class. During my stay in Tientsin
I had the good fortune
to attend a series of meetings called a Bible
Institute, arranged by
the Y.M.C.A. Some
of the Chinese speakers impressed me as earnest and spiritual
is constructing a ne houses in foreign -
Mr. Wan
troops, and on its site is a splendid road, and nowtheChinese are installing plant for electric cars. Water is laidon to all parts of the city. Not content with this, the viceroycity on modern lines. A numberofle for native officials have alreadybeen erected and oc-cupied. A handsometheatre and assemblyrooms are approachingcompletion. The magnificent road is plantedthickly on both sideswith trees. A real ef-fort is being madetohave a beautifulmodern city. Andyetwithal I do not think-that Christianity orforeigners are reallymore in favor. Weshall shortly see rapideh; in tile ma-maker, as vou knoi
probably, has give
tls. 50,000 for nei premises in Peking and besides larg amounts for other
posts in the north. You see I have naturally glided into Tientsin, where
there are yet stronger evidences of material reforms under
the vigorous rule of Yuan Shi-kai. The old city of Tientsin has changed much. The wall was levelled by the
terial conditions andthought of China. Itbehooves the ChristianChurch to be muchinprayer. These arecritical times, and.humanly speaking,we in China are ill-prepared to take advantage of theflood-tide. The Holy Spirit alone can turn the heartof this people Godwards. Therefore we should pray,and that earnestly and continuously, for a wide-spreadmanifestation of His power.