Pekin
a city of Illinois, the countyseat of Tazewell co. river, and on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, It is on the Illinois Chicago, and St. Louis , the Chicago and Alton, the Illinois Central, and other Nankin, and 100 miles W. N. W. of the Gulf of Pechili, in the Yellow Sea. It consists of two contiguous cities, each gether entered by 16 gates. The entire separately surrounded by walls, and toseparately surrounded by walls, and tocircumference is 25 miles.
The northern city, which is nearly ern city, which is nearly a perfect square the inner city, sometimes the " Imperial" and "Tartar City"), consists of three inclosures. ty, and inner inclosure , or "forbidden city," surrounded by walls of yellow tiles, 2 miles inclosures.
The in circumference, hence called the "Yellow Wall," contains the palaces of the former "outer city," is also square, and occuemperor southern city, called the Wai-ching, or former emperor and empress. The city, called the Wai-ching, or and empress. The of business and the residence of most of pied by the Chinese, and is both the seat pied by the C the population. The wall is 30 feet high, Chinese, and is both the seat 25 feet thick at the base, and 12 feet at PELAGIANS PELARGONIUM the top. That of the imperial city is 40 own exertions. Pelagius went to Rome, feet high. The principal streets are very and afterward to Carthage, where he was wide and regular, running between op- condemned by a council as holding the posite gates. These are mostly filled following heresies: (1) That Adam was with shops, extravagantly gilded and by nature mortal, and would have died ornamented with blue and gold, flags, whether he had sinned or not; (2) that etc. The houses are generally one story the consequences of Adam's sin were high, and built of brick. Of the orna- confined to himself, and did not affect mental buildings, the most conspicuous the human race; (3) that newborn inare those commonly called triumphal fants are in the same condition as Adam arches. They consist of a large central was before his fall; (4) that the law gateway, with small ones on each side, all qualified man for heaven, as well as the covered with narrow roofs, and like the Gospel; and that before Christ some men houses are splendidly gilded, varnished, had lived without sin; (5) that a man and painted. Besides these, there are may keep the commandments of God numerous pagodas, a beautiful mosque, without difficulty, and preserve himself Greek church, and convent. Peking is in a state of perfect innocence; and that the seat of government and is not dis- the grace of God is given in proportion tinguished by any peculiar manufacture; to our merits. These are the chief errors nor has it any foreign commerce or trade which are generally reckoned under the other than that directed to the supply of its own wants. This, however, is necessarily very considerable. The country round the city being sandy and poor, a large portion of its supplies are brought from a distance-partly from the sea by the Pei-ho, but principally by the Grand canal and the Eu-ho, which connect it with Nankin and most of the E. provinces. The early history of Peking is involved in obscurity. It was besieged and taken by the Mongols, led by Zinghis Khan. Kublai Khan rebuilt it, and made it his capital in 1260. The Mongol dynasty, founded by Kublai Khan, continued to occupy this city till it was expelled from China, in 1367. In 1421, the third emperor of the Chinese dynasty of Ming transferred his residence thither from Nankin, since which it has been the capital. It surrendered to the allied armies of France and England in 1860, on which occasion the Yueng-ming, or summer palace of the emperor, situated in the vicinity of the city, was destroyed.
During the "Boxer" uprising of 1900 the various foreigners in Peking were besieged in the English legation. For weeks they were given up as lost, but they managed to hold out till the arrival of the foreign troops. See BOXERS; CHINA. Pop. about 2,000,000.