ter describing
the _outer inclosure_ to be a _mile every way_, says that the inner
inclosure lay at _an interval of a mile within it!_

[Dr. Bretschneider observes "that in the ancient Chinese works, three
concentric inclosures are mentioned in connection with the palace. The
innermost inclosed the _Ta-nei_, the middle inclosure, called
_Kung-ch'eng_ or _Huang-ch'eng_, answering to the wall surrounding the
present prohibited city, and was about 6 _li_ in circuit. Besides this
there was an outer wall (a rampart apparently) 20 _li_ in circuit,
answering to the wall of the present imperial city (which now has 18 _li_
in circuit)." The _Huang-ch'eng_ of the Yuen was measured by imperial
order, and found to be 7 _li_ in circuit; the wall of the Mongol palace was
6 _li_ in circuit, according to the _Ch'ue keng lu_. (_Bretschneider,
Peking_, 24.)--Marco Polo's mile could be approximately estimated = 2.77
Chinese _li_. (Ibid. 24, note.) The common Chinese _li_ = 360 _pu_, or 180
chang, or 1800 _ch'i_ (feet); 1 _li_ = 1894 English feet or 575 metres; at
least according to the old Venice measures quoted in _Yule's Marco Polo_,
II., one pace = 5 feet. Besides the common _li_, the Chinese have another
_li_, used for measuring fields, which has only 240 _pu_ or 1200 _ch'i_.
This is the _li_ spoken of in the _Ch'ue keng lu_. (Ibid. 13, note.)--H.
C.]

NOTE 7.--["Near the southern face of the wall are barracks for the Life
Guards." (_Ch'ue keng lu_, translated by Bretschneider, 25.)--H. C.]

NOTE 8.--This description of palace (see opposite cut), an elevated
basement of masonry with a superstructure of timber (in general carved and
gilded), is still found in Burma, Siam, and Java, as well as in China. If
we had any trace of the palaces of the ancient Asokas and Vikramadityas of
India, we should probably find that they were of the same character. It
seems to be one of those things that belonged to some ancient Panasiatic
fashion, as the palaces of Nineveh were of a somewhat similar construction.
In the Audience Halls of the Moguls at Delhi and Agra we can trace the
ancient form, though the superstructure has there become an arcade of
marble instead of a pavilion on timber columns.

[Illustration: Palace at Khan-baligh. (From the _Livre des Merveilles_.)]

["The _Ta-ming tien_ (Hall of great brightness) is without doubt what
Marco Polo calls 'the Lord's Great Palace.'... He states, that it 'hath no
upper story'; and indeed, the pala