Ay? 
ed by red caps. Among the fpec- 
tators of the novel fight, fome wo- 
men were obferved. The greateft 
number were faid to be natives of 
‘Fartary, or of a Tartar race, Their 
feet were not cramped, like thofe 
of the Chinefe; and their fhoes 
with broad toes, and foles above 
an inch in thicknefs, were as 
ciumfy as thofe of the original Chi- 
nefe ladies were diminutive. <A 
few of the former were well dreff- 
ed, with delicate features, and their 
complexions heightened by the aid 
pfart. <A thick patch of vermilion 
on the middle of the lower lip, 
feemed to be a favourite mode of 
ufing paint. Some of them were 
fitting in covered carriages, of which, 
as well as of horfes, there are feye- 
yal to be found for hjre in various 
parts of the town. A few of the 
Tartar ladies were on horfeback, 
and rede aftride, like men. Tradef- 
men with their tools, fearching for 
employment, and pedlais offering 
their wares for fale, were every- 
where to be feen. Several of the 
itreets were narrow, and at the en- 
trance of them gates were erected, 
near which guards were ftationed, it 
was faid to quellany occafional dif- 
jurbances in the neighbourhood, 
Thofe gates are fhut at night, and 
epened only in cafes of exigence. 
‘The train of ithe embaffy crofied a 
ftreet which extended north and 
fouth, the whele length of the Tar- 
jar city, almoft four miles, and is 
interrupted only by feveral pai-loos, 
or triumphal fabrics; and paffing 
by many temples, or other capacious 
buildjngsand magazines, they reach- 
ed, in little more than two hours 
from their entrance on the eaftern 
fide, to one of the weftern city gates, 
pf which the plate (No 20) of the 
folio volume is a view. Near this 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1999. 
gate, and along the outfide of the 
weftern wall, ran the fmall rivulet 
(here widened into a confiderable 
ditch) which, after almoft furround- 
ing Pekin, runs towards Tong-choo- 
foo, and falls into the Pei-ho. The 
fuburb beginning at this weftern 
gate, being more extenfive than that 
through which they had entered in- 
to the city, took to traverfe it up- 
wards of twenty minutes. 
Pekin bears not in fize the fame 
proportion to China that moft capi- 
tals do to their refpective countries. 
The principal part of it is called the 
Tartar city, being laid out in the 
thirteenth century, during the firft 
Tartar dynafty. . It has the form of 
a parallelogram, the four walls fac- 
ing ihe four cardinal points; includ- 
ing an area of fourteen f{quare miles, 
in the centre of which is the impe- 
rial palace, occupying at leaft one 
{quare mile. The Tartar city is 
about one;third larger than Lon- 
don; and adjoining to jt is another, 
called, by way of difftinétion, the 
Chinefe city, including within its 
walls a {pace of nine miles fquare: 
but only a fmall part of this latter 
is occupied by buildings. Much 
of it is in cultivation; and hither 
the Emperor repairs, every fpring, 
to perform the exemplary ceremo- 
ny of directing the plough with his 
own hand through a fmall field, thus 
doing honour to the profeflion of 
the hufbandman. b Se neltirat 
In China there are properly but 
three clafles of people : men of let- 
ters, from whom the mandarins are 
feleéted ; cultivators of the ground; 
and mechanics, including mer- 
chants. The higheft degrees ‘of 
literature are conferred in the ca- 
pital ; and among fuch graduates 
the principal civil offices are dif- 
tributed by. the Emperor. The 
a : : candidates 
