Tong-choo- has. increased'the; rate ©ft it. Thafaefc©!^ indeed, was
- supposedfiikewiseiito have been produced by the
traordinafy quantity of • goldcemployedfin the »decoration
of Lama tempksfby the Emperor, both in Chinas and: in
Tartary.
Upon thedeeeaseof,a'tsovereign«of China, thefcoin,
bearing the impression •:©£ his name* ds in some degree
depreciated*; :The material,. being '©fiSußheä ibase »alloy ,v
is .little convertible to US&; and- spimimensbemäining of
ancient coins are.common in therieonntry.
.few curious.Chinese whor-eoMect ’coins ; b u t nqnevpiäze
th a n to the degree of tempting-artists to makeeö&unterk
feitsof them.* A series'of them, therefore^ correspqhdihg
toAh© sovereigns; mentioned in the annals of the,empiaey
may be considered as a confirm at iohm fijbheir.' history;;
andn,series, not indeed complete, but.-mountinig npwirds*
beyond the Christian era; has been brhughtito Eur-opeis.
The histories of China state, and the.-traditionaltai>:
counts confirm, the natural propensity of sthe Ohines©
emperors to transmit their names and fame, b y the’most
durable monuments, to posterity; hut it has been hitherth
the cruel policy of every dynasty, or ne^fe family mount-»
ing tbe throne o f China, both to destroy the remaining
branches, of .the former race, and to level the edifices
dedicated to their memoryi The ancient fabrics, fch&efiäÄy
which have been suffered: to subsist, bear rio traces i of
the persons by whom they were erected. One that has
yery muchi%pappearanc®pfiiaftiq^ity', sta n j^ in are- Tong-choo.
mote corner pf)Tl@Tiga|to6ifoo, to whichsit does not seem °°‘
,|p.bea%feh^|p®^yela^ioi^d)J ^ ^ s.^jtgated)as-SEp„tltq‘«erye
vth'e. purpo^ofipiylornamen’t yiand is s»Q®>far frpim being
.usefuLvthat itsyoriginab destination isynot known with
-,p^r|d||ty!.ii It inbuilt;; olybriick, and inJt^tehtejipjD form
resfembles^what are called» in Europe xQh.inesg pagodas.,
and .suppp’s4ed ^ ,|3 e plaeosjof5religioius-fWOT^bip ■ hut tfe
presen!4lbu^hding|xianH©t;.]fiav:e hachsuchi a desb^dqu;
^ e ig ^ n h p of cond|^einb|’t|diamete,r,‘ perfeg(tlyI%Ud*inyhe
first <ahd, sdcflndf story. *. Tfie^^srAiotx^^^n^&e ^appear-
ancetjofia» dogripniuw,indo,w iiijpMihr..; Th.ere^
mai-nsirfj stopsL o n other. ' ©feasqent ;to:thef,third
ini nnmKetvjjJ^UwpcinahpA jw j ffcdfo pf brick'W the' Oftfc
^ide'^Gchiti^ue} to ike^eutire& tho weedsnand, shrubs*; ace
growing pntiof many parts, of. them • It» is thoughjkjmst
„nrqhi|ble,t'hat this.buhding was greeted prior ^tothe^emst-
enhetohffiongTchoo-foo.» and perhaps^b£'|he gre'$jCMnj|©
wall, and wa§^intppded tfor a , watch’ tojye% |q^gua.r;d
against thj? sudden approach of the,: Tartar »enemy*
Of tjthps^ chqular v a rid ilo ft^ edifices', b y * JE urp®&ns
tg rm ^ p ^ g p d a s1,;., th ere’ ,sCTe|;ah’kinds, and;-de.di5:ajid
to ^ e r a l ; nsestin C h in a b u b n q n e ; to- reKg£qas_swdrship.
The temples whidjij abe* e^sepra^dt to\s^|h purpose
differ little in height iogmnij,sA.>|s
in tne;ins^ance of .the Emb&sa,dor’s mQjnqqtary residence