684 CHINESE AKCniTECTURE. 



line of four laroe characters above, for example, AYan shih shih piao, 

 " the model teacher of myriad ayes," Avas composed and Avritten by 

 the Empei-or K'ang Hsi in the twenty-fourth year of his reign (A. I). 

 1685), and is authenticated by his seal attached to the inscription. 

 The wn kung ("sacrificial set of five"), comprising incense urn. 

 pricket candlesticks, and flower vases made of bronze, is here posed on 

 separate stands of white marble. In front of all is the tal)le ready 

 for the sacrificial offerings, which are regularly })resented at spring 

 and autumn. The rest of the large hall is lined Avith tablets of Tseng 

 Tzu, Mencius, and the other distinguished sages and disciples of Con- 

 fucius, Avhose spirits are officially Avorshiped in turn on the same cer- 

 emonial occasions. 



The ornamental lines of an open garden pavilion, Avhich also comes 

 under the general heading of t'ing, are fairly exhibited in plate vii. in 

 spite of the half-ruined conditi(m of the picturesque structure, as it 

 appeared Avhen it Avas photographed after the destruction of the sum- 

 mer palace during the Anglo-French expedition of ISGO. It stands 

 on the border of the lake at Wan Shou Shan, having recently been 

 repaired for the Em])ress Dowager, Avho has tea served there foi" her 

 European guests, brought from Peking in state barges toAved by steam 

 tugs. It is hung Avith bronze bells Avhich tinkle softly in the breeze. 

 The central building, as Avell as the tAvo pailous spanning the aA'enues 

 through Avhich it is approache<l, has its AvoodAvork gaily decorated 

 Avith painted scrolls, relieved l)y graceful bands of open fret, and it is 

 roofed over all Avith a'cHoav enameled tiles. Notice the stone mon- 

 sters at the four corners mounted upon short octagonal pillars with 

 decorated capitals, AA'hich might be i-emote descendants of the ancient 

 Hindu lion pillars of Asoka's time molded on modern Chinese lines. 



A vieAV of the K'un-ming Hu, the lake AAdiich has just been referred 

 to, is given in plate viir. The name c(mies doAvn from the Han 

 dynasty, Avhen it Avas giA'en to a lake near Si-an Fu, the metropolis of 

 the period in the Province of Shensi, on Avhich the P^mperor Wn Ti 

 had a fleet of Avar junks maneuA'ering to exercise the sailors for the 

 conquest of Cochin China. The present lake, Avhich is 4 miles in cir- 

 cuit, has been the first of the inland Avaters of China to have modern 

 armed steamers in its Avaters, when the Em])ress DoAvager had a 

 revicAv of model ships built at her connnand the year before the 

 Boxer troubles. The im[)erial pavilion, erected by the Emperor 

 Ch'ien Lung on the spot Avliere the best vicAv of the lake was to l)e 

 obtained, is a prominent object in the picture. He Avas fond of 

 inditing vei'ses, and a faA'orite ode of his comi)Osition on the beauty 

 of the surrounding s(;ene is incised there on a marl)le stele. 



The l)ronze ox in the foreground was also molded under his 

 auspices, and it is inscribed, as may l)e seen in the ])ictu)'e, with 

 dedicat(jry stanzas written by the imperial brush, which are printed 



