270 
PARK AND CE/AETERY. 
The Arches, Tombs, Etc., of China. 
Some of the memorial arches or gateways are 
solid and massive erections, whilst others consist cf 
perpendicular shafts of granite, stone, marble or 
wood, with horizontal ties; or, as in the more elab- 
orate examples, with enriched entablatures, cover- 
ed with projecting roofs at various levels, often with 
several spans in a row. They are usually erected 
by imperial consent in commemoration of those 
whose names are considered worthy of the reverence 
of posterity, to the honor of widowhood or virgin- 
ity, or of some great or benevolent action. They 
are often elaborately pierced and sculptured, richly 
ornamented with bas-reliefs and inscriptions, the har- 
mony of coloring rendering the effect greater than 
can be readily described. Some of these have been 
called masterpieces of Chinese art. * * * Those 
covered with embossed and glazed tiles give one 
the impression of a complete and immense piece of 
porcelain. 
The Woo-fuh-sze, or “Porcelain Gate,” near Pe- 
kin, is an elaborate structure, carrying the most 
minute and pointed detail and pierced by three 
pointed archways. There is a five-span marble 
memorial arch at the Ming Tombs, which, although 
of somewhat heavy construction, is of considerable 
historical interest, and immense numbers of these 
memorials are distributed through the country. 
There are few now remaining of a date anterior to 
the Ming dynasty, though history records many of 
much earlier periods. 
The Mausoleums or Tombs of the emperors and 
grandees are, or were, imposing resting places. 
The Ming Tombs, now in ruins, near Pekin, have 
been elaborately described by various authors. 
Here the ancient Ming princes, warriors and coun- 
cillors found stately burial. The spacious road- 
ways or avenues of approach to these sacred pre- 
cincts were usually lined with colossal figures in 
stone or granite monoliths, of elephants, camels, 
lions, dogs, horses, mythical animals and men, in 
successive pairs at regular intervals — the approach 
to the Ming Tombs having thirty-two pairs of these 
images, the largest about 12 feet in height. 
The “Tombs of the Kings,” near the city of 
Vankin, was bounded by a wall some 14 feet high, 
enclosing an area of several acres; it embraced 
three large buildings separated by spacious courts. 
The first, the Hall of Entrance; then the Imperial 
Hall, constructed of wood, about 200 feet long by 
100 wide, and containing the tablet of the deceased 
emperor. The roof covering was of yellow glazed 
tile, gleaming golden in the sunlight. The interior 
was decorated with minute and elaborate painting. 
It was supported by thirty-six wooden columns, 
about 40 feet high and about 3 feet in diameter at 
the base, each a single stick of hard pine. The 
floor was of polished marble tiles. The third struct- 
ure was of solid limestone masonry about 150 feet 
square. The edifices were surrounded by triple 
terraces, paved with finely hewn stone and enclosed 
with an elaborately wrought stone balustrade. 
The family tombs of the wealthier classes are 
sometimes of considerable area, the high mounds 
surrounded with stately pines, and, where the nat- 
ural formation of the ground lends its aid, often ter- 
raced with stone or granite walling, flights of steps, 
carved tablets and dragon guards, the whole en- 
closed with a wall or fence. Favorite places of 
burial are the sides of hills, the grave space varying 
considerably in the different provinces. A depres- 
sion shaped like a horseshoe or the Greek letter 
omega is cut into the hillside, the curve toward the 
summit, a few steps leading up from the mouth of 
the shoe. The memorial tablet is placed erect up- 
on the platform, or against the perpendicular wall 
of the hill. The sides are lined with stone, and 
mythical dogs or the Chinese Phoenix guard the en- 
trance. A more general mode of burial is to place 
the wooden coffin containing the corpse on a stand, 
above or on the ground, sometimes merely thatched 
as a protection against the weather, the massive 
coffin being filled up with quicklime (unfortunately 
omitted in some instances.) When the financial 
condition of the family admits, this is enclosed with 
brick walls and covered with a tiny roof or a conical 
tumulus of earth. Cremation, once a national cus- 
tom, is still practiced, but now confined to babies 
and Buddhist priests. In the southern provinces the 
dead are placed below the ground level, with raised 
mounds and small headstones. The greatest re- 
spect and reverence are accorded to all burial places; 
but although fancy runs riot in the form of tablets 
and grave enclosures, little real architectural effect 
is attempted in any but the Imperial Mausolea. 
The magnificent tomb which received the remains 
of the last Emperor of China is said to have occu- 
pied about fourteen years in execution. — Architect- 
ure and Building. 
Prospect Hill Cemetery, Norfolk, Neb. 
Norfolk, Nebraska, is a city of some 8000 in- 
habitants, situated about 130 miles northwest of 
Omaha, in the Elkhorn Valley, perhaps the most 
beautiful and fertile valley in the State. It is a 
great farming and cattle raising district, and also 
has one of the largest sugar refineries, operated 
very successfuly. 
The cemetery originally comprised ten acres of 
land, laid out in such a manner of straight lines of 
lots and roads that one third of the property con- 
sisted of roads. The desire for improvement and 
