. A'Chu and other stories. EET IN NANKING The traveler climbs to the top of a hill, thinking hemay get a better view of a Chinese city. He is disap-pointed. There is no variety of sights, nothing to beseen but an even level of roofs. Dwellings, places ofbusiness or amusement, temples, or what not, everybuilding, excepting perhaps the pawnshop, is of the sameone-story height, or at most a second low half story isadded. Everywhere he finds the houses of this samelow height, and with roofs much alike in design andcolor. The Fung-Shui 287 Perhaps, he thinks, the inhabitants are afraid thetaller bu
. A'Chu and other stories. EET IN NANKING The traveler climbs to the top of a hill, thinking hemay get a better view of a Chinese city. He is disap-pointed. There is no variety of sights, nothing to beseen but an even level of roofs. Dwellings, places ofbusiness or amusement, temples, or what not, everybuilding, excepting perhaps the pawnshop, is of the sameone-story height, or at most a second low half story isadded. Everywhere he finds the houses of this samelow height, and with roofs much alike in design andcolor. The Fung-Shui 287 Perhaps, he thinks, the inhabitants are afraid thetaller buildings would be blown down by typhoons orshaken by earthquakes. He has guessed wrongly. They fear, rather, that abuilding of more than usual height will disturb thefung-shui. The winds blowing upon it from all quar-ters would gather spirits to the spot. This would bringdisaster. The neighbors would never allow such ahouse to be built if they could help it, and probablywould destroy the structure if completed against their. NATIVE STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE wishes. A chimney reared on an unlucky part of theroof, or a window in the wrong place, might stop theneighbors hens from laying, or prevent the eggs fromhatching. Some such calamity would be sure to followany disturbance of fung-shui. Every town and city has its object for controllingfung-shui. This object may be a mound of earth shapedlike a turtle or a serpent. Better still, it may be a hillresembling in form some more powerful animal, as alion or an ox. It may be only the form of the hillor the course of a stream that is the omen of good luckto its neighborhood. Such an object is supposed togather up the harmful influences, and turn them into 288 AChu and Other Stories blessings. Consequently it is regarded as sacred by thepeople. One who should disfigure its surface, eitherintentionally or by accident, would be punished no such natural object of protection exists,something is built to take its place. Many of t
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