as fine as the pictures. But all the rest of it is just
theatrical fake, more or less peeling off at that. However, it is as
wonderful as it is cracked up to be, and in some ways more systematic
than Versailles, which is what you naturally compare it to. The finest
thing architecturally is a Buddhist temple with big tiles, each of which
has a Buddha on--for further details see movie or something. We walked
somewhat higher than Russian Hill, including a journey through the caves
in an artificial mountain such as the Chinese delight in, clear up to
this temple. The Manchu family seems to own the thing yet, and charge a
big sum, or rather several sums, a la Niagara Falls, to get
about--another evidence that China needs another revolution, or rather
_a_ revolution, the first one having got rid of a dynasty and left, as
per my previous letters, a lot of corrupt governors in charge of chaos.
The only thing that I can see that keeps things together at all is that
while a lot of these generals and governors would like to grab more for
their individual selves, they are all afraid the whole thing would come
down round their ears if anyone made a definite move. Status quo is
China's middle name, mostly status and a little quo. I have one more
national motto to add to "You Never Can Tell" and "Let George Do It." It
is, "That is very bad." Instead of concealing things, they expose all
their weak and bad points very freely, and after setting them forth most
calmly and objectively, say "That is very bad." I don't know whether it
is possible for a people to be too reasonable, but it is certainly too
possible to take it out in being reasonable--and that's them. However,
it makes them wonderful companions. You can hardly blame the Japanese
for wanting to run them and supply the necessary pep when they decline
to run themselves. You certainly see the other side of the famous
one-track mind of Japan over here, as well as of other things. If you
keep doing something all the time, I don't know whether you need even a
single track mind. All you have to do is to keep going where you started
for, while others keep wobbling or never get started.

Well, this morning we went to the famous museum, and there is one thing
where China is still ahead. It is housed in some of the old palaces and
audience halls of the inner, or purple, forbidden City. With the yellow
porcelain roofs, and the blue and green and gold, and the red walls, it
is really the ba