Hence He Could
Not Have Confounded Bridges, One Of Which He Never Saw.
The Lu Kou Bridge
was first constructed of stone by She Tsung, fourth Emperor of the Kin, in
the
Period Ta Ting 1189 A.D., and was finished by Chang Tsung 1194 A.D.
Before that time it had been constructed of wood, and had been sometimes a
stationary and often a floating bridge. The oldest account [end of 16th
century] states that the bridge was pu 200 in length, and specifically
states that each pu was 5 feet, thus making the bridge 1000 feet long. It
was called the Kuan Li Bridge. The Emperor, Kia Tsing of the Ming, was a
great bridge builder. He reconstructed this bridge, adding strong
embankments to prevent injury by floods. He also built the fine bridge over
the Liu Li Ho, the Cho Chou Bridge over the Chue Ma Ho. What cannot be
explained is Polo's statement that the bridge had twenty-four arches, when
the oldest accounts give no more than thirteen, there being eleven at the
present time. The columns which supported the balustrade in Polo's time
rested upon the loins of sculptured lions. The account of the lions after
the bridge was repaired by Kia Tsing says that there are so many that it is
impossible to count them correctly, and gossip about the bridge says that
several persons have lost their minds in making the attempt. The little
walled city on the east end of the bridge, rightly called Kung Chi,
popularly called Fei Ch'eng, is a monument to Ts'ung Ch'eng, the last of
the Ming, who built it, hoping to check the advance of Li Tzu ch'eng, the
great robber chief who finally proved too strong for him." - H.C.]
The Bridge of Lu-kou is mentioned more than once in the history of the
conquest of North China by Chinghiz.
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