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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



NORTHERN tombs: MUKDEN 



They seem to have the strongest feel- 

 ing for the money value of these treas- 

 vires and relics, and give one plain figures 

 when they produce the great seals of 

 Kienlung — a pair of solid gold cubes 

 four inches square, with crouching, 

 dragon-like tortoises run through with 

 imperial yellow cords, the characters of 

 the imperial cypher cut sharp and clear. 



They show one the imperial yellow 

 satin robes of Kienlung, embroidered 

 with the finest gold thread, the dragons 

 worked in seed pearls ; his overcoat of 

 plum-colored satin, with more gold 

 thread and seed-pearl dragons ; his 

 Mogul helmet of black lacquer encrusted 

 with gold, set with pearls and rubies ; 

 his diamond-hilted Indian daggers and 

 his jade-handled swords. 



Best of all is his rosary, or official 

 necklace, of one hundred and eight half- 

 inch pearls. The four "regent beads" 

 of this rosary are lapis lazuli, the pen- 

 dent "disciple strings" are coral, with 

 large sapphire "dewdrops" at their ends. 

 The reliquary, or central medalion, has 

 one huge, burning ruby in a circle of 

 creamy button pearls, and a last and 



largest pear-shaped pearl hangs from 

 that cord. 



Fully one-third of these large pearls 

 are dead — dull and lustreless. They 

 have been lying there untouched, un- 

 worn, shut away from light and air in 

 the satin-lined box for more than a cen- 

 tury. 



Everything is Kienlung's in Mukden 

 and in its palace. Kienlung did this and 

 that, built the city walls and towers, the 

 palace and the mortuary temples without 

 the walls. Kienlung deposited the great 

 treasures there, the collection of paint- 

 ings that is alone of its kind as an im- 

 perial possession, and the library that 

 the Chinese were always fearing the 

 Russians might seize and carry off to St. 

 Petersburg. One almost grows weary 

 of Kienlung with the incessant repeti- 

 tion of his magic name, but no other 

 emperor ever impressed himself upon 

 Peking as did this great one — shadows 

 only, names merely, those others. 



The Russians built a very splendid ad- 

 ministration building that would be a fine 

 prefecture in any European city, and 

 Tang Shao li, while governor of Muk- 



