PEKING, THE CITY OF THE UNEXPECTED 



Ur> 



The}* not only wear skirts ; they fur- 

 ther approximate Western usage by 

 painting their faces. Broadway is nature 

 itself in comparison ; for in Peking there 

 are no light, artistic touches, but bold 

 cheek circles of red upon frankly whit- 

 ened faces — cosmetics unabashed. 



These are the Manchu women. The 

 Manchu men, descendants of the roving 

 Tatars, go futilely about this spacious 

 city of their fathers balancing trick birds 

 upon their wrists ; for, now that the em- 

 pire is no more, their only occupation, 

 that of ruling it, is gone, and the con- 

 quered Chinese, immemorial city-dwell- 

 ers, are masters of the capital. It is a 

 significant illustration of the age-old 

 ability of the Chinese to absorb and en- 

 ervate their conquerors. 



A CITY OP HOPES AS WELL AS 01? SPLENDID 

 MEMORIES 



It is not only at the Manchu dwellers 

 of Peking that the visitor is surprised. 

 There is that among the Chinese which is 

 equally a cause for astonishment; for, 

 although Peking is the recognized center 

 of the reactionary North, it is none the 

 less the center of the New China. 



One who is familiar with Chinese po- 

 litical and social conditions expects to 

 find Peking corrupt and contented ; nor 

 is he disappointed. In the palaces, the 

 government offices and the multitude of 

 barracks which surround the city, some 

 self-seeking gangs of grafters who have 

 plundered the Chinese people since the 

 overthrow of the monarchy are still to 

 be found. But the age-long Chinese 

 tradition which would have centers of 

 government also centers of learning has, 

 in spite of reactionary rulers, filled the 

 capital with thousands of eager students, 

 for whom Peking is not only a city of 

 splendid memories, but -a city of hopes. 



There is the Peking University, a first- 

 class American mission institution ; the 

 University of Peking, an equally high- 

 grade government school ; the new Chin 

 Hwa College and a score or more of 

 lesser schools. 



It was among the students and teachers 

 of Peking, particularly among those of 

 the universities, that the recent liberal 

 movement in China started, and contin- 

 ued in the face of wholesale arrests and 

 suppression by corrupt officials. By the 



Photograph from J. A. Muller 



THE PORCELAIN PAGODA, NEAR THE 



SUMMER PALACE 



Most Chinese pagodas are built of brick, while 

 similar structures in Japan, because of the fre- 

 quency of earthquakes, are built of wood. 



Peking students the movement has been 

 spread throughout the land, until now. 

 for the first time in Chinese history, there 

 is a really united national public opinion, 



