Some Images of the Temples of the Western Hills, near Peking, 1920s

Gilbert Ernest Hubbard’s The Temples of the Western Hills is a lovely classic published in 1923 by La Librairie Francaise of Peking and Tientsin. Hubbard (1885-1951) was a British diplomat, mostly in the Near and Middle East. Following a spell at the Foreign Office he became Private Secretary to Sir Hamar Greenwood, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, subsequently taking up the position of First Secretary at the British Legation in Peking. He then acted as diplomatic agent to the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank (HSBC) before becoming Far Eastern Research Secretary at Chatham House (I bet they don’t have that job title anymore, more’s the pity), followed by a second spell at the Foreign Office during the Second World War. During his Peking time he clearly took an interest in the Temples of the Western Hills. In retirement he wrote local history of the area in Kent where he settled (hence the cover below which is the only picture I have of him, obviously some years after his Western Hills adventures). The Librairie Francaise was, I think, the imprint of Henri Vetch in Peking (who I’ve blogged about before).

Here are some pictures from the book and a useful map of the temples – some modern day Beijinger may care to tell me which, if any, have survived? You’ll note that two of the pictures below are from the famous German-run Hartung’s photographic studio, which was in the Legation Quarter and in the 1930s employed Hedda Morrison as manageress. Additionally one is by Mrs Calhoun, who is Lucy Calhoun, former wife of the American Ambassador who returned, after his death, to Peking to run a popular and charming guest house in a siheyuan courtyard house. Mr ME Weatherall who took pone of the pictures was a long term employee with the Maritime Customs in Peking.