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. It is
faced all over with encaustic tiles, each made at the kiln a
thousand miles away, for the particular place it was to occupy.
Each one fits without a flaw, a suggestion to American architects
on Chinese architecture.
The second of these temples stands to the west of the Coal Hill,
immediately to the north of the homes of their Majesties. One day
while passing through the forbidden grounds I came upon this
temple from the rear. In the dome of one of the buildings is a
circular space some ten feet in diameter, carved and gilded in
the form of two magnificent dragons after the fabled pearl. It is
to this place the Emperor goes in time of drought to confess his
sins, for he confesses to the gods that the drought is all his
doing, and to pray for forgiveness, and for rain to enrich the
thirsty land. The towers on the corners of the wall of the
Forbidden City are the same style of architecture as the small
pavilion in the front court of this temple.
Now as the buds of spring are bursting and the eaves on the
mulberry-trees are beginning to develop, will you go with the
Empress Dowager or the Empress into a temple on Prospect Hill,
between the Coal Hill and the Lotus Lake, where she offers
sacrifices to the god of the silkworm and prays for a prosperous
year on the work of that little insect? Above it stands one of
the most hideous bronze deities I have ever seen--male and
naked--in a beautiful little shrine, every tile of which is made
in the form of a Buddha's head
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