Bell was also informed by the Chinese that this wall was completed within the space of five years; every sixth man in the empire having been compelled to work at it, or find a substitute. The date of its erection, however, is considered uncertain; and therefore this account may also be untrue. Gibbon gives the third century before the Christian era as the date of its construction, and assigns it a length of fifteen hundred miles. Du Pauw reduces the length to four hundred and fifty miles, not choosing to consider the western branch, “which,” he says, “is of earth, worthy the name of a wall.” Many writers judge it to be a very recent work, or, at least, of as modern a date as on this side the thirteenth century, since it is not mentioned by Marco Polo. Yet tea is not mentioned by him, although the Chinese have used it for thousands of years. If it be true that much of Marco Polo’s manuscript was destroyed because his friends ignorantly believed his wondrous relations (such as the burning of a “black stone,” or coal, by the Chinese, for fuel) to be false, the omission of allusions to the Great Wall, in our copies of Marco Polo will be no argument against its antiquity.
Next to the Great Wall, the Porcelain Tower of Nankin is usually classed as the great marvel of China. The following curious description of this temple of Boudh, for such the porcelain pagoda is, was purchased in the city of Nankin, on the return of one of our English embassies, and was first published in a leading periodical, which was furnished with a translation by Sir George Staunton, the celebrated scholar and traveller.
“The Dwelling of Security, Tranquillity, and Peace. The representation of the precious glazed tower of the Temple of Gratitude, in the province of Kiang-Nan.
“This work was commenced at noon, on the fifteenth day of the sixth moon, of the tenth year of the Emperor Yong Lo (1413 of the Christian era), of the Dynasty of Ming, and was completed on the first day of the eighth moon, of the sixth year of the Emperor Siuen Té, of the same dynasty, being altogether a period of nineteen years in building.
“The sum of money expended in completing the precious glazed tower was two millions four hundred and eighty-five thousand, four hundred and eighty-four ounces of silver. In the construction of the ornamental globe on the pinnacle of the roof of the tower, forty-eight kin (one pound and one-third) in weight of gold (sixty-four pounds), and one thousand four hundred kin in weight of copper were consumed. The circumference of this globe is thirty-six che (about fourteen inches). Each round or story is eighteen che high. In that part of the tower called the quang were consumed four thousand eight hundred and seventy kin weight of brass. The iron hoops or rings on the pinnacle of the roof are nine in number, and sixty-three che each in circumference. The smaller hoops are twenty-four che in circumference, and their total weight is three thousand six hundred kin.
“On different parts of the tower are suspended eighty-one iron bells, each bell weighing twelve kin, or sixteen pounds. There are also nine iron chains, each of which weighs one hundred and fifty kin, and is eighty che long. The copper pan with two mouths to it on the roof is estimated to weigh nine hundred kin, and is sixty che in circumference. There is also a celestial plate on the top weighing four hundred and sixty kin, and twenty che in circumference. In the upper part of the tower are preserved the following articles:—Of night-illuminating pearls, one string; of water-repelling pearls, one string; of fire-repelling pearls, one string; of dust-repelling pearls, one string; and over all these is a string of Fo’s relics. Also an ingot of solid gold, weighing forty leang (ounces), and one hundred kin weight of tea; of silver, one thousand leang weight; of the bright huing, two pieces, weighing one hundred kin; of precious stones, one string; of the everlasting physic-money, one thousand strings; of yellow satin, two pieces; of the book hidden in the earth, one copy; of the book of Omitd Fo, one copy; of the book of She Kia Fo, one copy; of the book of Tsie Yin Fo, one copy; all wrapped up together, and preserved in the temple.
“The tower has eight sides or faces, and its circumference is two hundred and forty che. The nine stories taken together are two hundred and twenty-eight and a half che high. From the highest story to the extreme point of the pinnacle of the roof are one hundred and twenty che. The lamps within the tower are seven times seven in number, in all forty-nine lamp-dishes, and on the outside there are one hundred and twenty-eight lamp-dishes. Each night they are supplied with fifty kin weight of oil. Their splendour penetrates upwards to the thirty-third heaven—mid-way; they shed a lustre over the people, the good and bad together—downwards; they illuminate the earth as far as the City of Tse Kee Hien, in the Province of Che-Kiang.
“The official title of the head priest of the temple is Chao Sieu. His disciples are called Yue. The total number of priests on the establishment is eight hundred and fifty. The family name of the head mason of the building was Yao, his personal name Sieu, and his native town Tsing Kiang Foo. The family name of the head carpenter was Hoo, his personal name Chung, and his native province Kiang See.
“The extent of the whole enclosure of the temple is seven hundred and seventy meu (somewhat less than an English acre) and eight-tenths. To the southward, towards Chin Van San, are two hundred and twenty-six meu. Eastward, to the boundary of Chin Sien Seng, are two hundred and thirty-four meu and eight-tenths. In the centre is the ground of Hoo Kin Te. Westward, as far as the land of She Hon Hoa, are one hundred and twenty meu. And northward, to the land of Lien Sien Song, are one hundred and eighty meu.
“Viewing, therefore, this History of the Glazed Tower, may it not be considered as the work of a Divinity? Who shall perform the like?