CHINESE RUGS

EVER since Marco Polo's time, China, "the long-lived empire," has been more and more of interest to the outside world. This country, whose glories lie mostly in the past, is the home of the oldest, continuing nation, dating back in its history to 2852 B. C. The empire, the largest in the world, includes China Proper, Mongolia, Tibet, and Eastern Turkestan.

Her people, mostly engaged in manual labor, are skilled in many handicrafts. The manufacture of silk, porcelain, and lacquered ware originated with them, and their cloissonne, pottery, carved ivory, embroidery, and rugs are the admiration of the world. Wisdom is said to lodge in the hand of the Chinese, and we believe it when we see the delicate work of their hands. Every cart object is the work of one artist in design and execution.

As a people, they have no old or great buildings, no monuments except the Great Wall of China. The homes of the poor and middle classes, with their earth floors covered with matting, have no comforts; and the houses of the rich, with marble tiles or glazed brick floors sometimes spread with rugs of exquisite coloring and workmanship, are neither beautiful in design nor elegant, although they possess rich, carved ornaments and many art treasures.

Rugs have long been made in China, where they are masters of the art, for there is the record of a beautiful white silk Chinese carpet which covered the shrine of the Kaaba at Mecca long before Mohammed's time, and to-day some few of surpassing excellence from the Chinese palaces reach this country.

Their carpets are unique and unusual, without the grotesque figures which occur in many of their art fabrics. They are original in design, and less influenced by modern ideas than many rugs. The trellis, or fretwork, is a common background on which are arranged disks, circles, octagons, figures of dragons, bats, butterflies, and other animals, as well as the lotus and a few other floral patterns. The Greek border, supposed to be derived from the old emblem of happiness, the swastika, and the cloud band, which is thought to be the snake emblem of India, are much used.

In addition to originality of designs, the colors, especially in the old carpets, are soft, pleasing, and well balanced. Golden and tawny yellows, fawn shades, old blue and a turquoise, and red are favorite colors. As the Emperor puts on robes of blue when he worships the heavens in reference to the sky, yellow for the earth, red for the sun, and white for the moon, so the use of these colors in their rugs are likewise suggestive.

Mr. Wells Williams, in The Middle Kingdom, says that " a rug often tells a story," and he believes that their use of animal figures is symbolical. " The bat represents happiness, and when five are used the five happinesses — riches, longevity, sound body, love of virtue, and peaceful end." The dragon, which is their national emblem, symbolizes sovereignty; the tortoise, immortality; and the deer, honor and success.

The finest rugs, soft in texture and lustrous, are of Tibetan wool or silk, and others are made of coarser wool from Mongolia or from camel's hair. Formerly only permanent colors were known, but anilin dyes are fast taking their place.The rug districts are Peking, Tientsin, Ning-hsai, in the northern part of China Proper, in Tibet and Mongolia, in the cities—Khotan, Yarkand, and Kashgar—in Eastern Turkestan, and in Samarkand of Russian Turkestan. The Peking, Tientsin, and Samarkand are the only varieties known in this country.