VI THE WESTERN HILLS June 10th-19th.

Of course we went to stay in the Western Hills, leaving our garden for the express purpose, and very sorry to come back even to it again; but so many people have been there and know those delightful hills so well, that I hardly dare to write anything of them, beyond quoting the lines by the Emperor Chien Lung, inscribed on a granite slab in the Western Hills, and translated by Dr. Martin:

"Why have I scaled this misty height, Why sought this mountain den? I tread as on enchanted ground, Unlike the abode of men.

Weird voices in the trees I hear, Weird visions see in air, The whispering pines are living harps, And fairy hands are there.

Beneath my feet my realm I see As in a map unrolled, Above my head a canopy Bedecked with clouds of gold."

VI 西山 6月10日-19日

我們當然是為了特地造訪西山而前往那裡，離開了我們的花園，甚至在回來時感到非常遺憾；但已有太多人去過那裡，並且對那些令人愉悅的山脈非常熟悉，以至於我幾乎不敢再寫什麼，只能引用乾隆皇帝在西山一塊花崗岩碑上刻下的詩句，這些詩句由馬丁博士翻譯：

「為何我攀登這迷霧繚繞的高峰， 為何尋找這山中的洞穴？ 我彷彿行走在迷人的仙境， 與人間的住所截然不同。

我在樹中聽到怪異的聲音， 在空中看到奇異的幻象， 低語的松樹如同活生生的豎琴， 仙女的手就在那裡。

在我腳下，我的領域展開 如同一幅地圖被展開， 在我頭頂上，一片華蓋 裝飾著金色的雲朵。」

91 THE WESTERN HILLS

Among the Patachu, or eight celebrated spots of old frequented by the various legations, and about ten miles from the city, it would be hard to say which is the most fascinating, but that commonly known as the Eunuchs' Temple is at first sight most striking. Chinese call it the Lion's Nest, which gives more idea of its position, almost overhanging the plain below, and commanding a fine view of Marco Polo's celebrated Marble Bridge and the Summer Palace, although it does not enable you to take in the whole plan of the latter, as does the very exceptional view from the Yu Chuan Shan. There are gardens and terraces laid out in the style of the Summer Palace, in especial a long gallery running from what may be called the house to a seat where the best view can be gained. That long gallery is covered over, and the sides and ceiling elaborately painted with scenes from Chinese legend and history. On the way is a further suite of rooms, in which one sits and sees the view mirrored in a piece of glass occupying the whole side of one room, yet most artistically framed. "I built my soul a lordly pleasure-house" is the line that must inevitably occur to the beholder, and so beholding one obtains some idea of an eunuch's soul, for the whole place is built and owned by Palace eunuchs.

在八大處（Patachu）中，這些古老的名勝曾經是各國使館人員常去的地方，距離城市約有十英里，要說哪一處最迷人實在是很難，但那座通常被稱為宦官寺（Eunuchs' Temple）的地方，初見時最為引人注目。中國人稱它為“獅子窩”，這個名字更能體現它的地理位置，幾乎懸在下面的平原之上，可以俯瞰馬可·波羅著名的大理石橋和頤和園的美景，儘管與從玉泉山（Yu Chuan Shan）看到的全景相比，這裡並不能讓你看到整個頤和園的全貌。

這裡有按照頤和園風格佈置的花園和露臺，尤其是一條從可以稱之為宅邸的地方延伸至一個觀景台的長廊，在那裡可以獲得最佳視野。這條長廊上方有頂篷覆蓋，兩側和天花板上精心繪製了中國傳說和歷史場景。沿途還有一套房間，坐在其中可以看到整面牆上的玻璃所映出的景色，這面玻璃藝術性地被裝裱起來。“我為自己的靈魂建造了一座豪華的樂園”，這句詩不禁浮現在觀者的腦海中，通過這樣的觀感，人們可以對宦官的靈魂有一點理解，因為整個地方都是由宮廷宦官建造和擁有的。

92

ROUND ABOUT PEKING

Beneath this temple on an outjutting knoll are the stately ruins of what was to have been a summer residence for the British Legation, or some portion of it. It was just finished when the Boxers attacked and destroyed it. Till then, Sir Claude Macdonald, the then Minister, had been deaf to all warnings, and as it was, his children, governess, and wife’s sister only just escaped in time. No one had then realised that the celebrated temple of the white Pagoda across the hills, such a landmark in old days, was a veritable nest of Boxers. I possess now the remnant of an account-book kept in that monastery of their several charitable contributions, how one man gave a few dollars, another a pony, and so on. Our Indian troops were afterwards ordered to destroy it in their turn, and it is sad to see the ruins of what must once have been such a stately temple and the magnificent trees all ravaged by war, although lying at the very entrance of the singularly peaceful, retired valley, where for years past the different legations had found hospitality and a shelter from the summer heat—for a considerable sum bien entendu.

The destroyed temple is now being rebuilt as the Temple of the Loyal Heart, but we must still regret the beautiful white Pagoda that used to be the crowning feature of the scene to which all the rest led up.