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NANKING (" the southern capital ")

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Originally appearing in Volume V19, Page 162 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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NANKING (" the See also:southern See also:capital ") , the name by which Kiang-ning, the See also:chief See also:city in the See also:province of Kiangsu, See also:China, has been known for several centuries. Pop. about 140,000. The city stands in 32° 5' N., 118° 47' E., nearly equidistant between See also:Canton and See also:Peking, on the See also:south See also:bank of the Yangtsze Kiang. It See also:dates only from the beginning of the Ming See also:dynasty (1368), although it is built on the site of a city which for more than two thousand years figured under various names in the See also:history of the See also:empire. The more See also:ancient city was originally known as See also:Kin-See also:ling; under the Han dynasty (206 B.C. to A.D. 25) its name was converted into Tan-yang; by the T'ang emperors (A.D. 618–907) it was styled Kiang-nan and Sheng Chow; by the first See also:sovereign of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368–1644) it was created the" southern capital " (Nan-See also:king), and was given the distinctive name of Ying-t'ien; and since the See also:accession to See also:power of the See also:present Manchu rulers it has been officially known as Kiang-ning, though still popularly called Nan-king. It was the seat of the imperial See also:court only during the reigns of the first two emperors of the Ming dynasty, and was deserted for Shun-t'ien (Peking) by Yung-lo, the third sovereign of that See also:line, who in 1403 captured the See also:town and usurped the See also:crown of his See also:nephew, the reigning See also:emperor. The T'aip'See also:ing rebels, who carried the town by See also:assault in 18J3, swept away all the See also:national monuments and most of the more conspicuous public buildings it contained, and destroyed the greater See also:part of the magnificent See also:wall which surrounded it. This wall is said by See also:Chinese topographers to have been 96 li, or 32 m., in circumference. This computation has, however, been shown to be a See also:gross exaggeration, and it is probable that 6o li, or 20 m., would he nearer the actual dimensions.

The wall, of which only small portions remain, was about 70 ft. in height, measured 30 ft. in thickness at, the See also:

base, and was pierced by thirteen See also:gates. Encircling the See also:north, See also:east, and south sides of the city proper was a second wall which enclosed about See also:double the space of the inner enclosure. In the north-east corner of the town stood the imperial See also:palace reared by Hung-wu, the imperial founder of the See also:modern city. After suffering See also:mutilation at the overthrow of the Ming dynasty, this magnificent See also:building was burnt to the ground on the recapture of the city from the T'aip'ing rebels in 1864. But beyond comparison the most conspicuous public building at Nanking was the famous See also:porcelain See also:tower, which was designed by the emperor Yung-lo (1403–1428) to commemorate the virtues of his See also:mother. Twelve centuries previously an See also:Indian See also:priest deposited on the spot where this See also:monument afterwards stood a relic of See also:Buddha, and raised over the sacred See also:object a small See also:pagoda of three stories in height. During the disturbed times which heralded the See also:close of the Yuen dynasty (1368) this pagoda was utterly destroyed. It was doubtless out of respect to the relic which then perished that Yung-lo See also:chose this site for the erection of his " token-of-gratitude " pagoda. The building was begun in 1413. But before it was finished Yung-lo had passed away, and it was reserved for his successor to see the final See also:pinnacle fixed in its See also:place, after nineteen years had been consumed in carrying out the designs of the imperial architect. In shape the pagoda was an octagon, and was about 26o ft. in height, or, as the Chinese say, with that extraordinary love for inaccurate accuracy which is See also:peculiar to them, 32 chang (a chang equals about r lo in.) 9 ft.-4 in. and -I% of an See also:inch. The See also:outer walls were cased with bricks of the finest See also:white porcelain, and each of the nine stories into which the building was divided was marked by overhanging See also:eaves composed of See also:green glazed tiles of the same material.

The See also:

summit was crowned with a gilt See also:ball fixed on the See also:top of an See also:iron See also:rod, which in its turn was encircled by nine iron rings. Hung on chains which stretched from this See also:apex to the eaves of the roof were five large pearls of See also:good augury for the safety of the city. One was supposed to avert floods, another to prevent fires, a third to keep dust-storms at a distance, a See also:fourth to allay tempests, and a fifth to guard the city against disturbances. From the eaves of the several stories there hung one See also:hundred and fifty-two bells and countless lanterns. In bygone days Nanking was one of the chief See also:literary centres of the empire, besides being famous forits manufacturing See also:industries. Satin, See also:crape, See also:nankeen, See also:cloth, See also:paper, pottery, and artificial See also:flowers were among its chief products. At Nanking, after its See also:capture by See also:British See also:ships in 1842, See also:Sir See also:Henry See also:Pottinger signed the " Nanking treaty." It was made a treaty See also:port by the See also:French treaty of 1858, but was not formally opened. Its proximity to See also:Chinkiang, where See also:trade had established itself while Nanking was still in the hands of the rebels, made its opening of little See also:advantage, and the point was not pressed. In 1899 it was voluntarily thrown open to See also:foreign trade by the Chinese See also:government, and in 1909 it was connected by railway (192 M. See also:long) with See also:Shanghai. Since 188o Nanking has been slowly recovering from the ruin caused by the T'aip'ing See also:rebellion. Barely one-fourth of the See also:area within the walls has been reoccupied, and though its ancient industries are reviving, no See also:great progress has been made. As the seat of the provincial government of Kiang-nan, however, which embraces the three provinces of Kiang-su, Kiang-si, and Ngan-hui, Nanking is a city of first-class importance.

The See also:

viceroy of Kiang-nan is the most powerful of all the provincial satraps, as he controls a larger See also:revenue than any other, and has the command of larger forces both See also:naval and military. He is also See also:superintendent of foreign trade for the southern ports, including Shanghai, a position which gives him great See also:weight in all See also:political questions. The city contains an See also:arsenal for the manufacture of munitions of See also:war, also See also:powder-See also:mills. A naval See also:college was opened in 189o, and an imperial military college a few years later under foreign instructors. The only foreign residents are missionaries (mostly See also:American), and employes of the Chinese government. The only remaining features of See also:interest in Nanking are the so-called Ming Tombs, being the mausolea of Hung-wu, the founder of the Ming dynasty, and of one or two of his successors, which See also:lie outside the eastern wall of the city. They are See also:ill cared for and rapidly going to decay. Since 1899 the foreign trade has shown a steady increase.

End of Article: NANKING (" the southern capital ")

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