PEKIN, a city of Illinois, the county seat of Tazewell co. It is on the Illinois river, and on the Cleveland, Cincinnati, 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 separately surrounded by walls, and to gether entered by 16 gates. The entire circumference is 25 miles. The north ern city, which is nearly a perfect square (called Nei-tching, or the inner city, and sometimes the "Imperial" and "Tartar City"), consists of three inclosures. The inner enclosure, or "forbidden city," sur rounded by walls of yellow tiles, 2 miles in circumference, hence called the "Yel low Wall," contains the palaces of the former emperor and empress. The southern city, called the Wai-ching, or "outer city," is also square, and occu pied by the Chinese, and is both the seat of business and the residence of most of the population. The wall is 30 feet high, 25 feet thick at the base, and 12 feet at the top. That of the imperial city is 40 feet high. The principal streets are very wide and regular, running between op posite gates. These are mostly filled with shops, extravagantly gilded and ornamented with blue and gold, flags, etc. The houses are generally one story high, and built of brick. Of the orna mental buildings, the most conspicuous are those commonly called triumphal arches. They consist of a large central gateway, with small ones on each side, all covered with narrow roofs, and like the houses are splendidly gilded, varnished, and painted. Besides these, there are
numerous pagodas, a beautiful mosque, Greek church, and convent. Peking is the seat of government and is not dis tinguished by any peculiar manufacture; nor has it any foreign commerce or trade other than that directed to the supply of its own wants. This, however, is neces sarily 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. prov inces. The early history of Peking is in volved 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 dy nasty, founded by Kublai Khan, con tinued to occupy this city till it was ex pelled 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 be sieged 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.