556 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1911. 



within the imperial city, and that within the Manchu city, all being 

 arranged with accurate reference to the meridian line. Each of 

 them has its gates and towers disposed exactly as those of the great 

 temples. 



The architecture of the gates and towers of such large cities as that 

 at Hsinganfu, the ancient capital of the Empire (pi. 6, fig. 1), is 

 naturally developed in accordance with their needs — with three towers 

 in a flight, then the two lock chambers between, and the bastions of 

 the city wall. But the idea is a practical expression of the accord 

 with religion. These structures have their distinct forms of stability 

 and architectural rhythmic tone as the Buddha's sacred castle. 



The warlike corner towers of Peking are not only for military pur- 

 poses, but have a religious signification and find their counterpart 

 in the walled battlements of the temples in the sacred mountains. 



Peking reflects the world. The four sides of the city contain the 

 temples of heaven — agriculture, the sun, the moon, and the earth. 



The Chinese regard the entire country as a rhythmic whole. The 

 sacred mountains express this spiritual conception. There are five 

 ancient Chinese sacred mountains, one each in the north, south, east, 

 and west, and one in the center — again the number 5. Nature con- 

 tributes more, as in the western mountain of Huashan in Shensi, 

 which has five sharply outlined highest peaks that again illustrate 

 the center and four cardinal directions. This is likewise the case at 

 the Buddhist mountain Wut'aishan, whose five highest peaks present 

 an image of the universe, which is also emphasized by its five sacred 

 colors. Each of these old Chinese sacred mountains' that rise up 

 majestically from out of the midst of the plains has a large temple 

 at its foot. 



The extension of the axes of these temples leads directly across to 

 the highest point of the sacred mountain. This is impressively seen 

 from the Hua yin miao tower of the sacred temple of Huashan. The 

 temples are built as fortified castles with crenalated walls, gates, 

 and turrets inclosing the main sanctuary in its midst, with broad 

 approaches through rectangular colonnades, and as a whole present 

 a conception of the universe. 



A brief description of the sacred mountains is of interest. That of 

 T'aishan, in Shantung, is the most eastern, the most famous, and 

 doubtless the most ancient of all. One goddess has gradually become 

 the chief goddess of this mountain. She is the most popular among 

 the people. She is supposed to make excursions over all the country, 

 where she is worshiped, and as she travels about and returns she must 

 be provided with travel palaces for rest, as for the Emperor. These 

 are the small temples usually consisting of merely a prayer hall, 

 which is often profusely decorated with handsome glazed ornaments 

 and the most lively representations. In a central circle of a gable 



