Clearing Hanlin

".... the Hanlin Academy, immediately to the north of the British Legation. The Hanlin was a unique place of learning - the Chinese equivalent of Oxford and Cambridge, Harvard and Yale, Heidelberg and the Sorbonne all rolled into one. Its exquisitely painted pavilions housed one of the most ancient libraries of the world ..." Diana Preston (1999), p. 108."The following day [23rd June] the Chinese ... tried to burn the foreigners out again. However, no one had anticipated that they would set fire to the Hanlin Academy, immediately to the north of the British Legation .... the main library, containing the choicest volumes [was left] still standing. In particular it housed the only surviving copy of the fabulous Yung Lo Ta Tien encyclopedia completed in 1408 by 2000 Ming scholars and comprising about 12,000 volumes bound in yellow silk. However, the fire flared up again between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. that afternoon .... 'Evidently kerosene had been put on the trees to spread the flames ...' This time the library itself caught alight. There seemed no prospect of saving it and the contents were unceremoniously tumbled into the yard. Some were even flung into the lotus ponds to prevent them catching fire en masse ..." Diana Preston (1999), pp. 108-109.Photograph occurs in album near others dated 1901