42 THE SHUH COUNTRY 



cool. Trees and flowers abound, and it is the most select 

 residential part of the city, for even the voice of the turtle 

 dove may be heard in its woods. 



The Imperial City. 



The present Imperial City or Huang Ch'eng (H $t) was 

 built by the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (W J£ IB.), 

 who had about twenty sons, to each of whom he contrived 

 to give an Imperial palace and city. This Imperial city and 

 palace has no connection w T ith the ancient Shuh Kings 

 of the Wu Tai period; nor has it any connection with the 

 palace of Meng Heo Chu (§£. & i) who had his headquarters 

 in the city; but was orginally meant to be the residence of 

 the Ming prince (W), the eleventh son of the first Emperor. 



The wall of the Chinese city as it now stands dates 

 from the Ming Dynasty, but it was thoroughly repaired in 

 the Ts'ing Dynasty in the reign of the Emperor K'ang Hsi 

 (HI B) (A.D.'l662). Its height is thirty feet, its thickness 

 eighteen feet, its circumference is twenty-two li and three 

 fen, or 4,014 chang. 



The female walls (~k ffi) have 5,538 embrasures. 



The distance across the city from the east to the west 

 gate is nine li and three fen; and from the south gate 

 across to the north gate the distance is seven li and 

 seven fen. The Avail was again repaired in the forty-ninth 

 year of the Emperor K'ien Long ($£ ft). At that time the 

 Viceroy Fuh K'ang An (M M 58?) commanded that the walls 

 be replanted with the hibiscus shrub in order to imitate the 

 ancient Kings of Shuh, and make the city worthy of its 

 poetical name. In former times the walls were open all 

 round the city and any one could walk round it ; but of late 

 years the arsenal and military authorities have erected 

 buildings thereon which makes a circuit of the city quite 

 impossible. The guard houses and watch towers over the 

 <;ity gates were repaired by Viceroy K'wei (H $fc) in the reign 

 of the Emperor Kuang Hsu (3fc It). In the early years of 

 the Republic two new gates were opened, one in the south- 

 west and another in the north-east corner of the city. So 

 the city has new six gates instead of the historical four. 



The river which flows through the city is said to date 

 from the T'ang (^) Dynasty and was orignially called the 

 Kin Ho (^ ffi), but at the time when the Ming prince 

 resided on its northern bank its name was changed to the 

 Kin Shui Ho (& 7K M). 



