Burton Holmes, the man who brought the world home
Excerpt from the book "Burton Holmes Travelogues"
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
The story of the Boxer outbreak, of the siege of the legations, of the relief-expeditions, and of the capture and occupation of Peking by the international forces, has been already told a hundred times from a hundred points of view. I merely wish to look upon the scene made memorable by these events and other scenes that are significant because they throw a little light upon the problem of the East - the mystery of China.
The city now in ruins, is policed by foreign troops. Its ramparts have been razed; smooth boulevards have been created where useless city-walls once stood. The ants look on in wonder or complaint, and those who toil in transport choose the new unobstructed road made by the "foreign devil"; but never would they have made it for themselves. Left to themselves they will in time obliterate all
traces of this foreign occupation, and forget the days when European patrols marched through their streets, hindering the progress of the creaking wheelbarrows, the swinging baskets, and the green sedan-chairs of pompous mandarins.
Viewed from the massive towers of the City Gates, from the broad ramparts or from the once prohibited and semi-sacred artificial hills in the Imperial City, Peking reveals itself to the amazed onlooker as a splendid wallgirt metropolis, perfectly preserved, fabulously elegant, incredibly artistic, unutterably superb.
Peking is paradoxical. It is one of the ugliest cities in the world - it is one of the most beautiful. It is hideous, squalid, abject, and it is at the same time lovely,magnificent, and glorious.We may well call the Chinese "ants," and their cities "ant-hills." The heel of Europe may crush and scatter the heaps raised by these busy toilers, and grind out a million busy lives. It avails nothing. Other millions of toilers recommence the task, and build again - instinctively as ants - another city after their own fashion.
Now that the mysterious enclosure which was the heart of Peking has been laid open to the gaze of the world, it is with something of awe and involuntary reverence that the traveler enters the once sacred and forbidden place. Much of the grandeur has passed with the vandalism of the unthinking soldier and many treasures have been lost to the world. But there still remains enough to delight and amaze the traveler who sees the vast Imperial Palace in the center of the city, which became known as The Forbidden City, because only the emperor's family and closest advisors could enter it.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
The story of the Boxer outbreak, of the siege of the legations, of the relief-expeditions, and of the capture and occupation of Peking by the international forces, has been already told a hundred times from a hundred points of view. I merely wish to look upon the scene made memorable by these events and other scenes that are significant because they throw a little light upon the problem of the East - the mystery of China.
The city now in ruins, is policed by foreign troops. Its ramparts have been razed; smooth boulevards have been created where useless city-walls once stood. The ants look on in wonder or complaint, and those who toil in transport choose the new unobstructed road made by the "foreign devil"; but never would they have made it for themselves. Left to themselves they will in time obliterate all
traces of this foreign occupation, and forget the days when European patrols marched through their streets, hindering the progress of the creaking wheelbarrows, the swinging baskets, and the green sedan-chairs of pompous mandarins.
Viewed from the massive towers of the City Gates, from the broad ramparts or from the once prohibited and semi-sacred artificial hills in the Imperial City, Peking reveals itself to the amazed onlooker as a splendid wallgirt metropolis, perfectly preserved, fabulously elegant, incredibly artistic, unutterably superb.
Peking is paradoxical. It is one of the ugliest cities in the world - it is one of the most beautiful. It is hideous, squalid, abject, and it is at the same time lovely,magnificent, and glorious.We may well call the Chinese "ants," and their cities "ant-hills." The heel of Europe may crush and scatter the heaps raised by these busy toilers, and grind out a million busy lives. It avails nothing. Other millions of toilers recommence the task, and build again - instinctively as ants - another city after their own fashion.
Now that the mysterious enclosure which was the heart of Peking has been laid open to the gaze of the world, it is with something of awe and involuntary reverence that the traveler enters the once sacred and forbidden place. Much of the grandeur has passed with the vandalism of the unthinking soldier and many treasures have been lost to the world. But there still remains enough to delight and amaze the traveler who sees the vast Imperial Palace in the center of the city, which became known as The Forbidden City, because only the emperor's family and closest advisors could enter it.
Page [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Burton Holmes Travelogues, The Greatest Traveler of His Time
Hardcover, 30.5 x 26 cm (12 x 10.2 in.), 368 pages
$ 59.99
$ 59.99
Wanderlust: Burton Holmes, the man who brought the world home
Marble Barge, Summer Palace, Outside Peking, 1901
A Throne Room, Forbidden City, Peking, 1901