CHINESE ARCHITECTURE BOERSCHMANN. 563 



stone. The vigorously waved roofs and corners give outlines that 

 are often capricious, but the harmony of the whole is maintained. 



A quaint gateway in Wuch'aufu, near Canton, is built somewhat 

 with Indian taste. Upon close examination the confused sculpture 

 is solved and reveals elegant and finely wrought allusions to certain 

 definite events. 



In Szech'uan the idea of a gateway-arch is frequently employed in 

 the development of fagades for temples and dwellings. Everything 

 is lavishly sculptured and painted. The edges of the pilasters are 

 artistically composed of a mosaic of small blue and white pieces of 

 porcelain, with brilliant festive effect. 



In Szech'uan, more than the other Provinces, the natural beauty 

 of the fields and highways is frequently enhanced by temples, bridges, 

 and altars, which are affectionately remembered by Chinese in foreign 

 countries. The Ti\-ti altars appear everywhere, that is, the little 

 roadside temples dedicated to the god of the place, who is identical 

 with our genius loci. Grateful, pious people endow them by building 

 stone flag masts surrounding the sanctuary and its single tree often 

 in great numbers. 



Large groups of sacred things are assembled at the most prominent 

 places. At Tze-liu-tsing I found a Tu-ti altar in the street along- 

 side of which there was a stone flag mast, a column surmounted by 

 the head of Buddha somewhat back, then an altar for incense, and a 

 large handsome altar for Kuanyin, the goddess of mercy, all of which 

 constituted the sanctuary inclosed by clusters of bamboos which are 

 named for her: "The Bamboo of the Goddess of Mercy." The 

 Chinese thus put their soul into nature. One of the inscriptions 

 reads : 



The lust of the world is vain forever, 



But if you place a Kuauyin image on your acre, that will endure. 



The combined sentiment and grandeur with which they treat sur- 

 faces is exemplified by the imperial tombs of the present dynasty. 

 The great temple tombs of the Emperors are located in a dense grove 

 of pines 10 kilometers long and 8 kilometers wide, extending up along 

 the massive cliffs of the mountain side. Gates alternate with bridges, 

 avenues of stone animals with temple-kiosks ; and the mortuary temple 

 appears in front of the tumulus characterized by a structure several 

 stories high. The entire arrangement is plain in the proportions, 

 but is most nobly and solidly built. 



This remembrance of the departed is obviously specially imposing 

 in this case, but China is generally noted for the worship of the dead. 

 The ordinary man honors his ancestors in his home and at their 

 graves. The wealthy have special ancestral temples connected with 

 their own dwellings, or on a selected place, the Tze-t'ang, that is often 

 garnished with indescribable splendor. 



