ablet of the soul of
the most holy ancestral teacher, Confucius." Other tablets to noted
teachers hang on either side. There are rows of cypresses in front of
the hall said to have been planted one thousand years ago; and on each
side of the court are buildings containing tablets to over one hundred
celebrated scholars. A temple court extends in front, with six monuments
which record foreign conquests by emperors. In the court of the
Triennial Examinations there is a stone tablet to commemorate each
session, on which are engraved the names and homes of all students who
receive the title of Doctor of Literature.

Another unique building, west of the Confucius Temple, is the Hall of
the Classics. Here there is a richly decorated pailow, with encaustic
tiles, chiefly green and yellow; the three archways are lined with white
marble. This hall was designed by the Emperor, Chien Lung, to complete
the Confucius Temple, in which till then the classics had been
expounded. It is lofty and square, with double eaves, yellow tiles,
surmounted by a specially large gilt ball, and encircled by a fringe
carried to the roof and supported by massive wooden pillars. In the
centre is a circular pool of water, edged by marble balustrades, with a
bridge spanning it. There is also a remarkable sun-dial. Two hundred
upright stone monuments engraved on both sides contain the complete text
of the nine classics, very finely executed; it was thought thus to
preserve the purity of the text. There are also more lists of successful
students on stone monoliths.

The Drum Tower was another point visited, one of the most striking
objects in Peking; it is oblong and quite Chinese in character, the
upper story being of wood, the lower of brick. It is one hundred feet
high and about the same in length toward the base. It was built under
the Mongol dynasty; a very large drum stands in the middle of the last
story, and a climb of sixty-eight steps up a steep Chinese staircase
gave us a fine view of the entire city. A short distance from the Drum
Tower is the Bell Tower. This is built of brick and stone, ninety feet
high, and is also Mongol in origin; the bell weighs twenty thousand
pounds and is still used to tell the watches of the night; the drum in
the tower is struck at the same time.

[Illustration: _A Peking cart_]

[Illustration: _The Confucius Temple_]

[Illustration: _Temple of Classics_]

Some Chinese authority states that there are ten thous