THE ARCH OF CHINESE ORIGIN.
The Chinese structures that impress the engineering observer most strongly are the bridges, the pagodas, the city walls, and certain details of building construction. The arch, that beautiful structure from the scientific as well as the esthetic point of view, is generally believed to be of Roman origin. It was not known to or at least never used by the Greeks, and, altho the shape appears in certain specimens of Hindu architecture, it is of false variety—that is, a succession of protruding corbels. In China, on the other hand, we find it of most widespread and general application, and examination shows that the principles involved are thoroly understood. The universal use of the design in all parts of the country, and the undoubted antiquity of so many of the existing examples, clearly demonstrate that it long antedates any possible foreign suggestions, and go a long way to establish it as of Chinese origin; a department, however, which, like printing and gunpowder, never passed beyond the national borders.—Engineering Magazine.