restrain some within the bounds of Duty then the Tartars enlarged their Offers But then such was the eager desire of those persidious Officers to heap up Wealth that at length they surrender'd into the hands of a small Number of half Barbarians the Richest and most Populous Kingdom in the World. In the same Book you see the number of Souldiers that keep Guard upon the Frontiers to the number of Nine hundred and two Thousand and fifty four The Auxiliary Forces that lie ready to March to their Assistance when the Tartars are upon entring into China are innumerable there being Nine hundred fourscore and nine Thousand an hundred sixty seven Horses appointed for those Forces The Emperors Expences for the Payment of the Officers and Souldiers amounts every year to five Millions thirty four Thousand seven hundred and fourteen Livers Were these Books printed and their Maps Engraven with that skill and exactness as Maps are done in Europe they would be the Admiration of all curious Persons It were to be wish'd that some one would take the pains to give us a lively Representation of the Walls Fortresses and other the most remarkable things in this Empire Now by what we have said concerning the Number of Souldiers appointed to Guard the Walls and Frontiers against the Tartars an easie judgment may be made of the Number of those that are employed upon the Borders of the Provinces in the Cities Towns and other wall'd Places of the Provinces of which there is not any one that has not a Garrison They amount to the Number of seven hundred sixty seven Thousand nine hundred and seventy Men which in time of Peace Guard and attend in the day time upon the Mandarin's Embassadors and other Persons whose Expences the King defrays and in the Night time keep Guard about their Barques or their Lodgings The Horses also which the King keeps as well for the Service of his Troops as for his Posts and Messengers amount to five hundred sixty four Thousand and nine hundred But when there happens any Revolt or any War the Armies which rendevouze from all the Provinces are almost innumerable And now because my time is short and my occasions oblige me to Brevity I shall here set down the Principal Wonders of this Empire of which the Author before mentioned gives a larger account There are in the fifteen Provinces three hundred thirty and one Famous Bridges not much inferior to that of which we have already spoken and to those which are describ'd by Father Martini and M. Polo in their Descriptions of China And therefore I shall say no more upon this Subject seeing that if I were to describe every Structure in particular that is considerable it would require the labour of several Volumes There are also in China two thousand fourscore and nineteen Mountains Famous â—…her for being cut into the shape of Monstrous Idols as is that which I have mentioned in the Relation of my Travels from the Province of Kiam nân or Nankim to that of Su Chuen and which I sent into Europe in the year 1643. Or for their Fountains their particular Plants and their Minerals of great Virtue or for their extraordinary strength and other Prerogatives which distinguish them from others Their Famous Waters such as are their Lakes full of Fish their hot Fountains no less Medicinal than Wonderful the large Streams and Navigable Rivers are to the number of one Thousand four Hundred Seventy and Two. There are one Thousand Fourscore and Nineteen Peices of Antiquity to be seen as Statues Famous Paintings and Vessels of high Price and greatly esteemed One Thousand one Hundred Fifty Nine Towers Triumphal Arches and other such like Magnificent Pieces of Workmanship Erected in Honour of Renowned Princes Men famous for their Valour or their Learning or of Widows and Virgins renowned for their Chastity and Vertue Two hundred seventy two Libraries embellish'd with sundry Ornaments stored with great numbers of Books and built at vast Expences There are likewise to be seen seven Hundred and Nine Temples Erected by the Chineses at several times in memory of their Ancestors and considerable for their Largness and the Beauty of their Architecture For it is the Custom of the Chineses to testifie an extraordinary Affection and Obedience to their Parents especially after their Death and therefore to make this manifest to the World they cause to be built at great Expences most stately Halls wherein instead of Images and Statues they set up in Cartredges the Names of their Ancestors and Parents Also upon certain days of the Year appointed by the Family to which the Temple belongs they assemble all together in these Halls where they prostrate themselves upon the ground in token of Love and Veneration Which done they offer Incense and afterwards make a spendid Feast at several Tables richly set Forth and adorn'd with an extraordinary Decency and a great Number of Dishes and Viands well dress'd They reckon about four Hundred and Fourscore Temples of Idols very Famous and much frequented by reason of their Riches their Magnisicence and the Pretended Miracles and Fables which they report concerning their Idols In these Temples and in others of which the Number through the whole Empire is incredible no less than three Hundred Thousand Bonzes have their Habitations I must confess I could not conceive there should be so great a Number and therefore I put the Question to a Mandarin of the Tribune of Ceremonies who was one of my friends whether it were true or no â—… For that the Bonzes are under the Jurisdiction of this Tribunal and receive their Licences from it which they call Tutie This Mandarin upon a diligent search inform'd me that within the City and Court of Pekim only there were Six Thousand Six Hundred Sixty eight Bonzes unmarry'd call'd by them Ho xám and five Thousand and Twenty Two Marry'd and which like the former have also their Pass-ports and Licences by which said he you may judge of the number dispers'd over the whole Empire Besides that you are farther to observe that within the Number of three Hundred and fifty Thousand mention'd by the Chinese Historian are only comprehended the Bonzes which have Licences But in regard that among six or seven Bonzes not above one or two generally have Licences should they all be reckon'd into the Number they would certainly amount to above a Million There are moreover six Hundred Fourscore and five Mausoleums Famous for their Architecture and their Riches For in China all Persons are prohibited under great Penalties to bury their dead within the Walls of their Cities or of any other place whatever So that after they have put the Corps in the Cossin all the Chincks and Jointures of which are stopp'd up with Bitumen to prevent the scent of the dead Body they leave them in the House where they died for some Months and many times for two or three years together the Magistrate in all that
his vain Pleasures was so tak'n with the Queens contrivance that he appointed all things to be done according to the Advice of his Lascivious Queen And when all things were done according to his wish He spent a whole Year in this Palace abandoning himself to all manner of dishonest and voluptuous Pleasures minding neither his Court nor his Kingdom And these follies together with several other unjust and crue Actions enforc'd his Subjects to revolt and choose in his Place the Emperor Cham tum the Chief of another New Family of which we have already spok'n After the Death of the Emperor Kie the Chineses destroy'd his new Palace where he had perpetrated so many wicked Actions and abolish'd all the Laws and Statutes enacted by that same cruel Tyrant unless it were his Invention of Flambeaux and Lanthorns which they preserv'd to Celebrate the Festival before mention'd The Chineses also relate how that about Two Thousand Years afterwards another Emperor of the Tenth Royal Family who was call'd Tam suffer'd himself to be Deluded and Govern'd by a Mountebank of the Sect of those that are call'd Tao Su whose Profession it is to Cheat the People the Nobility the Learned Men and even the Princes themselves by means of their Chymical Operations and their Gorgeous and Glorious Promises of continual streams of Gold and Silver Life almost Eternal and to Empower them to flie from one Mountain City or Province to another in a few Minutes Now then this Emperor having surrender'd his Understanding to one of these Impostors or Magicians told him that he had a great desire to see the Lanthorns in the City of Yâm Cheu in the Province of Kiam Nan the most Curious and most Celebrated over all the Empire for their Beauty their Riches and their Workmanship but said he I am afraid that if I go Incognito and in Disguise least some Disorder or Tumult should happen in the mean time in the Court or Kingdom or if I should take this Progress with an Attendance and Train suitable to my Dignity besides the Burthen and Charge that I shall be to the People I fear that all Men will condemn me of Folly and think it strange that so great an Emperor should take a Journy so long and tedious for the Divertisement of a few Hours Let not your Majesty be disturb'd at that repli'd the Magician for I promise your Majesty that without exposing your self to any of these Inconveniences which you have propounded to me I will so order the matter that the next Lanthorn Night which is not far off you shall set forward return to your Palace and see the Lanthorns with all the satisfaction you can wish or desire In a few Hours after that there appear'd in the Air Chariots and Thrones all of White Clouds and drawn by Swans Immediately the King and Queen betook themselves to their Chariots with a great number of Damsels and Ladies of Honnour together with the Musicians of the Palace and then away flew the Swans with an extraordinary swiftness and in a few Moments arriv'd at Yâm Cheu which the Clouds enlarging themselves cover'd all over And then it was that the King at leisure view'd the Lanthorns which the People had Lighted and to recompense them for the Divertisement which they had given him he caus'd his Musicians to Charm their Ears with a Consort of Voices and Instruments at the end of which he set forward again for his Capital City and in the Twinkling of an Eye found himself at home in his own Palace Within a Month after there came a Courier according to custom with a Dispatch by which Intelligence was giv'n to the King that upon a Lanthorn Night several Holy Men were seen hovering over the City of Yâm Cheu upon Thrones of Clouds drawn by Swans and who at the same time had Ravish'd their Ears with a most Harmonious Musical Consort of Voices and Instruments Lastly they tell you that about Five Hundred Years ago there was a King of the Family of Sûm renown'd for his Noble Qualities and Vertues more especially for his Mildness and Affability That this Prince to show the Affection which he had for the Nobility and People was wont every Year to appear publickly in his Palace for Eight Nights together without his Guards and all the Gates set open and to suffer the Multitude to take a view of all the Fire-Works and Lanthorns which were very large and magnificent and of several forms that were in the Halls and Courts all the while entertaining his Subjects with Musick befitting the Grandeur of an Emperor that made himself so familiar to the whole Assembly These are the Stories which the Chineses recount touching the Original and Augmentation of Honour given to the Lanthorn Festival so famous over all China Upon which I have the longer insisted to the end that by this same pattern the Reader may judge what might be enlarg'd upon other Subjects Notes upon the Sixth Chapter A. P. 110. Yam Cheu in the Province of Kiam Nan. THE City of Yam Cheu is seated near the Mouth of the Grand Canal in the River Kiam It is very Wealthy Eminent for Trade and Adorn'd with Magnificent Houses built for the most part by the Merchants themselves who are Enrich'd by their Traffick in Salt of which there are vast Quantities drawn out of several Salt-pits upon the East side of the City The Wealth of this City is the Cause that the Inhabitants are exorbitantly addicted to their Pleasure insomuch that several Little Girls are there bred up the most Beautiful that can be found and taught to Dance and Sing and instructed in all other Female Allurements that may render them Agreeable who being thus accomplish'd â—…re sold at dear Rates for Concubines to the more Wealthy sort No wonder then that they spare for no Cost to Divertise themselves and to render their Lanthorn Festival the most Pompous and Magnificent above all others in China Almost all the Relations mention this Feast after the same manner as our Author does but not with so many Circumstances Kiam nan signifies a Province to the South of the River Kiam Under the Chinese Kings this Province was call'd Nan Kim as also the Capital City belonging to it that is to say the Court of the South as Pe-kim is call'd the Court of the North. For then there were two Courts and the City of Nan Kim enjoy'd the same Priviledges and Immunities which the City of Pe-kim did But the Tartars have depriv'd them of their Franchises and chang'd the Name of Nan Kim into that of Kiam Nim that is to say the Repose of the River Kiam Which Custom of altering Names is very Ancient in China and has also been practis'd from time to time in reference to other Cities CHAP. VII Of the Publick Works and Edifices of the Chineses and particularly of the Grand Canal THE Publick Works and Structures of the Chineses in my Opinion surpass in number
FATHER Gabriel de Magaillans a Native of Portugal was born in the year 1609. He spent his first years in the House of one of his Uncles who was a Canon and who took care to educate him in Piety and the fear of God. Afterwards he studied in the Schools of the Society of Iesus in the famous University of Conimbre where mov'd by the good example of those Fathers he resolv'd to forsake the world and was receiv'd into the Society at seventeen years of age Being as yet but a Noviciate he begg'd leave that he might be sent to the Missions of the East Indies which would not be granted him however till he had compleated his Studies of Rhetorick and Philosophy He arriv'd at Goa in the year 1634 where he was immediately employ'd to teach Rhetorick to the young Religious of the House Two years afterwards he earnestly desir'd that he might be sent to the Mission of Iapan which was with great reluctancy at length consented to by his Superiours in regard of the great progress which their Scholars made under such a Master When he arriv'd at Macao the Father Visiter order'd him to teach Philosophy to which he thereupon began to settle himself but at the same time there came a Christian Mandarin who discharg'd him from that employment And indeed the Father Visiter was willing to lay hold of the opportunity of such an Officer by his means to get the liberty of sending a person of merit into China to assist the Missionaries there For at that time there was no person in the whole Colledge who was proper for that Countrey Which was the reason that F. Magaillans observing so favourable a conjuncture earnestly begg'd the Employment which was granted him as soon Thereupon he departed with the Mandarin and arriv'd at the City of Han Cheu the Metropolis of the Province of Che Kiam where the Vice Provincial then resided At the same time also there came Intelligence from the Province of Su chuen that Father Lewis Buglio who was gone to lay the Foundations of a Mission there was fallen sick and wanted a Companion Thereupon Father Magaillans offer'd himself and obtain'd leave to goe and assist him and though it were a Journey of above four months from Ham cheu to the Capital City of Suchuen nevertheless he fortunately arriv'd there and became a great help to Father Buglio and then it was that he apply'd himself with great Industry to the study of the Chinese Language and Letters which he learnt with an extraordinary ease Two years after there happen'd a violent Persecution against the Preachers of the Gospel rais'd by the Bonzes of that Province who assembling together in great numbers from the neighbouring Cities accus'd the Fathers of Rebellion in all the Tribunals of that Metropolis The chief Mandarin therefore of the Tribunal of Crimes fearing a Revolt at a time when the Kingdom was turmoil'd with several Insurrections order'd that the Fathers should be well drubb'd and then expell'd out of the limits of the Province But they putting their confidence in God's assistance and the protection of the Mandarins of which the greatest part were their Friends would not forsake their Station Thereupon the Bonzes hung up Libels every day in the principal Quarters of the City against the Fathers as also against the Mandarins But one of the Military Mandarins who was a Christian took care to have them pull'd down by the Souldiers On the other side the Fathers writ several Books wherein they explain'd and asserted the truth of their Faith and refell'd the Impostures of their Adversaries This Persecution lasted three months but then the Bonzes whether it were that they were afraid of the Mandarins who protected the Fathers or whether they wanted money to maintain them any longer in the Capital City retir'd home one after another and then the Governour of the City who favour'd the Fathers discharg'd the Superiour of the Bonzes from his Employment which put all the rest to silence and absolutely stifl'd that uproar In a short time after they were expos'd to a Persecution much more formidable than the former For the Rebel Cham hien chum follow'd by a numerous Army and filling all places where he came with fire and slaughter advanc'd toward the Capital to make himself Master of the place and there take upon him the Title of Emperour of China as he really did Upon this a great number of people fled for shelter to the Mountains and the Fathers among the rest with a resolution to expect the issue of these disorders In the mean time the Rebel took the Capital City where he made a bloody havock and three months after understanding that great numbers of people were fled to the Mountains and among the rest the Fathers he sent several Companies of Souldiers who brought back a considerable part of the people of which number were the Fathers But when they came into his presence he receiv'd them with extraordinary honours and promis'd them that as soon as he had secur'd himself in the quiet possession of the Empire he would erect magnificent Churches in honour of the God of Heaven In the mean time he gave them a magnificent House where the Fathers hung up the Picture of our Saviour and baptiz'd several persons and among the rest the Tyrants Father in law And indeed during the three years that he usurpt the Government for the first year he behav'd himself with much Justice and Liberality But being provok'd by several Insurrections in several parts he resolv'd to subdue the Province of Xen si the Inhabitants of which are a warlike sort of people and before his departure so to secure the Province of Suchuen that it should not be in a condition to revolt In pursuance of which cruel resolution he put to death an infinite number of people by all manner of Torments Some were cut into quarters others flead alive others were cut in pieces by bits and others were mangl'd but not suffer'd to dye A hundred and forty thousand Souldiers also of the Province of Suchuen he caus'd to be massaker'd so that the Province was almost depopulated Thereupon the Fathers observing these horrid Butcheries and despairing to make any farther progress under the Government of so barbarous a Tyrant presented a Petition to him wherein they desir'd leave to retire till the troubles that harrass'd the Kingdom were appeas'd But the Tyrant was so enrag'd at this Petition that about two hours after he sent for the Domestick Servants belonging to the Fathers and order'd them to be flead alive accusing them that they had instill'd those thoughts into their Masters heads Presently the Fathers hasten'd to save their lives and told the Tyrant which was no more than the truth that those poor people had not the least knowledge of their design However after some discourse the Barbarian order'd the Fathers to be lay'd hold of and carry'd to the place of execution and there to be cut
a stranger could not understand the force of the Language but hearing the Tartars so often call the Southern Chineses Mangi believ'd it to be the Name of the Kingdom or Nation and not a name of Reproach However that there may be no farther doubt but that the Names of Catai and Mangi are quite different and do not both of them signifie China I shall here translate a piece of the forty fourth Chapter of the second Book of Marcus Paulus by which it will evidently appear that what I affirm is a constant and assured Truth For having spoken in the former Chapter of the great River which by reason of the vastness of its Stream the Chineses call â—… âm eu Kiam or the River Son of the Sea he goes on in this manner Caingui â—…s a small City upon the Banks of this River upon the South-side where they gather ever Year a great quantity of Rice the greatest part of which is carried to Cambalu to supply the Court of the great Cam. These Provisions are transported to Catai by Water over Rivers and Lakes and one large and deep Canal which the great Cam has caus'd to be made for the passage of Vessels from one River to another and to go from the Province of Mangi to Cambalu without going by Sea. This is a work of wonder for its Situation and its Length but more for the benefit which the Cities receive from it The Great Cham also caus'd to be rais'd all along the Banks of the said Rivers and Canal very strong and spacious Damms for Travellers to walk upon These are the words of M. Paulus and we shall speak of this great Work in the seventh Chapter But as for Caingui mention'd by that Author to speak properly it is neither a Town nor a City The Chineses call it Chim Kiam Keu that is the Mouth of the Son of the River in regard that an Arm of the River separates in that place and after it has run through part of the Province of Nan Kim crosses the Country of Che Kiam as far as the Capital City of it call'd Ham Cheu On both the sides of this Mouth there is one of those sort of places which the Chineses call Mâ teû that is a Place frequented for the sake of Trade Because the Barques there meet and come to an Anchor to ride secure in the Night time Now this Place of which Marcus Paulus speaks might well be call'd a Town by reason of the extraordinary number of Vessels that resort thither tho it be neither wall'd nor have buildings enow to form a City Now tho' this be perfectly known by all such as are employ'd as Missionaries into this Kingdom yet I cannot forbear to the end I may make this matter yet more evident to unfold some other passages of the same Author and to begin with the names of so many Cities of which he makes mention in his History In the twenty seventh Chapter of his second Book he speaks of the City of Tainfu which the Chineses call Tai yuen fu and which as we have said is the Capitol of the Province of Xansi In the 28th Chapter he speaks of another City of the same Province call'd by the Chineses Pim yam fu and which is a City of the second Rank as being the most Rich and Potent in the whole Empire except that of Sucheu in the Province of Nankin In the 56th Chapter he speaks of the City of Coiganzù which is called Hoaì gââ—… fû which is a Town of great Trade and very Rich by reason of the great quantity of Salt which is there made as in the Territory round about and which is thence transported into several parts of the Empire as M. Paulus observes in the same Chapter In the 65th Chapter he speaks of the City of Chian gian fu which is call'd Chim Kiam fu In his seventieth Chapter he describes the City of Tâ—…pinxu otherwise Tai 〈◊〉 fu in the Province of Namkim In the 75th he mentions the City of Fogiu otherwise Fo Cheu the Capital of the Province of Fo Kien In the 76th He has the City of Quelinfu which is called Kien nim fu He also reports that about this City there are a great number of Lions and that he repeats several times in other places which gives us to understand that he was mis-inform'd in most things since it is certain that the Chineses never saw a Lyon not so much as in Picture and therefore they paint a Lyon quite another Creature than he is For my part I am perswaded that M. Paulus is mistaken in believing those great and furious Tygres which are so common in that Empire to be Lyons And he confirms me in this Perswasion by saying in the 14th Chapter of his second Book that the Great Han has Lyons train'd up to hunt the other wild Beasts and that they are mark'd with white black and red lists or streaks and are larger then the Lyons of Babylon All which perfectly agrees with the descriptions of the Tygres or Leopards which several of the Princes of Asia make use of in their Châ—…ces but not at all with the descriptions of Lyons The same Author makes mention of several other Cities the names of which are so changed that they are so far from being Chinesie that they have no resemblance to the Language Nevertheless we clearly find that the Provinces and Cities which he places in Catai and Mangi belong all to China because they generally end with the Syllable fu which in the Chinesie Language signifies a City For example the Metropolis of the Province of Canton is Quam cheu fu Quam cheu being the proper name that distinguishes it from the rest and fu signifies a City as Polis among the Greeks and so Constantinopolis signifies the City of Constantine and Adrianopolis the City of Adrian We draw the second Proof of the Description which M. Paulus makes in the sixteenth and seven teenth Chapters of his second Book of the old and new City of Pekim and the King's Palace in regard that all that he speaks of it is conformable to what we see at this day and to what we shall describe in the Progress of this Relation The third is drawn from the Wine which is drank in that Court and the Stone-Coal which they burn there and is call'd Muy This Coal is brought from certain Mountains two Leagues distant from the City and it is a wonderful thing that the Mine has never fail'd notwithstanding that for above these four Thousand Years not only this City so large and Populous but also the greatest part of the Province has consum'd such an incredible quantity there being not any one Family tho' never so poor which has not a Stove heated with this Coal that lasts and preserves a Heat much more Violent then Charcoal These Stoves are made of Brick like a Bed or Couch three or four Hands Breadth high and broader or
Clock in the Morning of a sudden there came a Deluge that overflow'd the new City the Suburbs and the Planes adjoining Presently they shut up the Gates of the old City and stopp'd up all the holes and clefts with Chalk and Bitumen mingled together to prevent the entrance of the Water But the third part of the Houses of the new City were overturn'd and an infinite number of poor Creatures especially Women and Children were either drown'd or buried in the Ruins A great number of Villages and Houses of pleasure were carried away by the Impetuosity of the Inundation and the same thing happen'd to the Neighbouring Cities All the People fled for Refuge to the high Places or clim'd up to the tops of the Trees where several confounded with their Fears or fainting for want of Food dropt down into the Water and miserably perish'd In other Provinces their happen'd Accidents and Calamities yet more strange occasion'd by dreadful Earthquakes So that it seem'd to be the Pleasure of God to punish those Insidels for the Persecution which they had rais'd against the Christian Religion and the Preachers of the Gospel Never was â—…en the like Consternation in that Court where all Men were reduc'd to utmost despair not being able to divine the Cause of so extraordinary a Deluge At last the King having sent out certain People upon Rafts of Timber for they have no Boats at Pekim to examine the Reason they found that the troubled River of which we have already made mention had broken down the Damms and made it self a new Channel cross the Fields and Suburbs of the City which begat such an amazing Fear in the Minds of the People that the King and the Grandees were just upon the point of removing to some other place The same Fury of the Inundation carried away several Rocks which knocking against the Piles of the famous Bridge shook it in such a manner that they broke down two of the Arches The fifth Proof is that M. Paulus in the thirty second Chapter of the same Book speaks of that great River which the Tartars call Caramoran and the Chineses Hoâm Hô or the yellow River in regard that the slimy Mud which it carries with it makes the Waters to look of that Colour In the thirty sixth Chapter he makes mention of another River which he calls in the Chinese Language ô Kiam or the great River and which the Chineses as we have said already call Yam cu Kiam or the River Son of the Sea. In the thirty sixth Chapter describing the City which he calls Kimsai and which erroneously he will have to signifie the City of Heaven tho' the word as we shall shew hereafter signifies a Court he reports several Particulars concerning it for example that the City is seated between a Great Lake and a great River and that round about the Lake are to be seen several Palaces of the Grandees and divers Temples of the Bonzes and many other things which are very true only that he stretches too far where he says that the City is an hundred Miles in Circuit wherein he shews himself rather a Poet then an Historian However it be the Description which he makes of the City and Palace of Cambalu sufficiently demonstrate that Catai is a part of China and that what he says of the City of Kimsai is enough to prove that Mangi is another part of the same Empire for that the greatest part of his Relation is entirely conformable to what we our selves have seen Yet if M. Paulus had understood the Chinese Language as he says he understood that of the Tartars he had with more Exactness set down the Names of the Cities and Provinces and other particulars which he reports concerning that Empire But it is no wonder he should so often corrupt the Names since we our selves who upon our first arrival appli'd our selves with all the industry imaginable to understand the Chinese Letters and Language after the Study of several Years were frequently deceiv'd and quite mistook some part of the words So that we must not be surpriz'd if a Knight who only minded his Military Designs and to court the Favour of the great Han and only convers'd with the Tartars who for want of Politeness are the greatest Corrupters of Words above other Nations should fall into the same Inconvènience For he has corrupted Names in such a manner that they among us who have the greatest Knowledge of the Language and the Empire have much ado to pick out the meaning of many of his Mistakes Nevertheless by a strict Examination of the Situation of the Places and other Circumstances of his Relations we at length find out what he intends Father Martin Martini so famous for his Atlas of China as witty and ingenious as he was could not exempt himself from committing the like Errors Insomuch that we who have resided in this Empire for so many years have found it very difficult to understand the Persons and the Places of which he speaks especially in the Names that ought to terminate in M and which he always ends in Ng. For example instead of saying Pekim Nankim Chekîam Yûmlie Cûmchîm he always writes Peking Nanking Chekiang Yeunglie Cungching Wherein he must of necessity be deceived because that manner of writing does no ways correspond with the Chinese Pronunciation which answers to that of our M. and not of Ng Nor will it avail to say that the Germans pronounce I'm open with a soft production of the sound almost like Ng because they express it somewhat through the Nose for that the letter M whether pronunced open or close has always a much greater correspondence with the Chinese and Latin Pronunciation then the letters Ng. So much the more because the Germans pronounce I 'm final open rather like In or En then Im or Em. So that indeed this Reason might have been in some measure pardonable had the Father written in High-Dutch or only to the Germans But having writ in Latin and for the benefit of all Europe he ought to have conformed to the most exact and common Pronunciation Philip Cluverius in his sixth Chapter of his sixth Book makes a doubt whether the City of Kimsai of which M. Polo makes mention in his sixty eighth Chapter of his second Book wâ—…re the Court of the King of Tartary or the King of China He also with good reason takes notice of the Hyperboles which M. Polo makes us in describing the said City of Kimsai For the resolving of which Difficulties it will be necessary to observe that instead of Kimsai he ought to have written Kimsu the Master Court. For that Kim signifies a Court and Su a Master The Court being as it were the Model of the Rest of the Kingdom Kimsai then or Kimsu was the Court of the Princes of the Family of Sum whom the Western Tartars despoil'd of the Kingdom in the time of M. Polo A hundred years after that Nankim and
care of his Education which happen'd accordingly That this Child became a Man of an extraordinary Valour and that his Sons and Grand Children rul'd this Country But that in the fifth Generation the People rebell'd against this Family which they defeated and exterminated all but one who betook himself to flight This Prince being close pursu'd and not being able to run any farther sate himself down upon the ground despairing to save his life At what time a Mag-pye came and perch'd upon his head and deluded his Enemies who took him for the stump of a Tree and not for a Man. And thus it is easie to see as Father Adam observes that thus far the Relation is altogether Fabulous and clearly demonstrates that the Original of the Emperor of China is very obscure and has nothing of Illustrious or Renowned That which follows is certain and unquestionable In regard the Person such as he was liv'd at the beginning of this Age and made himself sufficiently known by the bloody War which he made upon the Chineses in revenge of the Death of his Father whom the Chinese Mandarins had caus'd to be murdered and of other outrages committed against his Nation Father Adam says that he was Lord of the Valley of Moncheu which Father Martini takes for a great City The Emperor Van-liè gave him the Government of that same Valley and the neighbouring Countries upon condition he should defend them against the Incursions of the Oriental Tartars who were divided into seven small Principalities He was call'd Tiel Mini and died in the year 1628. His Son a Person of more Wisdom and Moderation continued the War till his death which happen'd in the year 1634. Cumtè his Son in some measure compleated the Conquest of the Empire of China but died before he obtain'd the possession of it in the year 1644. His Son Xunchi at the age of six years was acknowledg'd Emperor at Pekim and di'd in the year 1662. Leaving for his Successor his Son Camtri the Monarch reigning at present This Catalogue of the Tartarian Princes of Father Adam's confirm'd by Father Couplet in his Chronology by Father Rougemont in his Historia Tartaro-Sinica and the Embassie of the Hollanders gives us to understand that Father Magaillans had good reason to justifie himself for saying that the Tartars had neither any King nor any word to signifie a King seeing that it was but in this Age that their Princes have deriv'd their Original from a petty Captain of a Hord or chief leader of Banditi's or wandering Tartars Here we are farther to observe that Tartary which comprehends all the Nothern Asia is divided by the Chineses into Western and Eastern The Inhabitants both of the one and the other are for the most part wanderers with their Flocks and Herds and live in Tents But the Western are incomparably more potent then the Eastern in regard they possess all that Country which lies between the extream part of the Province of Pekim and the Countries of the Mogul the Persian and the Muscovite All which they possess'd entirely in the Reign of Saint Lewis The Eastern Tartary reaches from the Country of Leaotûm beyond Iapon and comprehends the Province of Niuchè to the North of Corea The Province of Niulhan to the North of Niuchè that of Yupi to the East of Niuchè and the Country of Yâ—…co to the North-East of Iapon and to the East of Yupi But these Countries are poor and ill peopled There being not above two or three little Cities in them all the rest is barren uncultivated and full of Woods and Mountains Nevertheless these Tartars are not a little formidable when they are united as being harden'd to labour in a rigorous Climate and almost always ahorleback and employ'd in hunting or busied in War. They made themselves known by their incursions into China above two hundred years before the Birth of Christ And in the twelfth Age after the Incarnation they possess'd themselves of the Provinces of Leaotum Pekim Xensi Xansi and Xantum But the Ancestors of the Tartarian Prince who Reigns in China were so far from being Masters of all the Eastern Tartary that they were not Lords of all the Province of Niuchè where as has been said there were seven or eight destinct Sovereigns And Father Adam observes that Tienâ—…um Great Grand Father to the Emperor Reigning at Present when he enter'd into China had not above eight thousand men which were soon encreased by the concourse of the rest of the Eastern Tartars and an innumerable Number of the Western Tartars which the fame of his Victories and the noise of prodigious Booty drew to his Assistance P. 3. The Kingdom of Chahamalaha whose Inhabitants are Mahometans and which borders upon the Province of Xensi This Name of Chahamalaha is not to be found as I verily believe in any Mapp nor in any other Relation But I am perswaded by what our Author say's of it that it is the same place which Father Martini calls Samahania and which as he does I take to be the Country of the Usbegs or of Mavralnara of which Samarcand is the chief City For that we know not of any other Kingdom of Mahometans to the West of Xensi where there are several considerable Cities Palaces and Houses artificially built and good Architecture store of Gold and Silver-Plates and other things which the Chineses allow the Country of Samahania or Samahan by the report of Father Martini Nor must we be surpriz'd that the Chineses assure us that this Kingdom borders upon the Province of Xensi for that they never travel toward the West nor have any other knowledge of the Countries situated Westward then what they learn from the Information of the Caravans that come once in two or three years to trade in China under pretence of an Embassie For the Merchants make use of that Invention to get leave to enter into China which would be otherwise deny'd them They rendevouze in the Kingdom of Cascar as you may find in the Travels of Benedict Goez inserted into the Relation of Father Trigaut But formerly and especially in the time of Tamerlan who made Samarcand one of the chiefest Cities in the World they went for the most part from that City And it is very probable that those Merchants to give themselves the greater reputation assum'd to themselves to be all of the Kingdom of Samarcand and that the Chineses who want the Letter R and easily confound C. with H wrote Samahand instead of Samarcand For the same reason also the Chineses observing the Merchants arrive à Sucheu the last City of the Province of Xensi and styling themselves all Natives of Samahan or Samarcand might readily believe that Samahan border'd upon the Province of Xensi P. 3. Usanguè This must certainly be the same Country which Father Martini calls Usucang and which is contained within the Kingdom which the Chineses call Sifan situated to the West of the Province
Cambalu and many other Cities and Countries CHAP. II. Of the Extent and Division of China Of the Number of the Cities and other wall'd Towns And some other particulars observed by the Chinese Authors IT is now eighteen years since Father Francis Fierrado Vice-Provincial of China and afterwards Visitor of Iapan and China order'd me to write the History of this Empire and the Progress of the Gospel there first begun to be preach'd now fourscore and thirteen years ago But the Employments of the Mission and the Persecutions we have undergone have hindr'd me from going on with it The Fathers Nicholas Trigaut a Flemming Alvaro Semedo a Portuguese Martini Native of Trent Antony Govea and Ignatius de Costa in their yearly Relations have treated very largely upon this Subject But the Beauty the Grandeur and the Antiquity of this Empire are such copious Subjects that though there has been much already written concerning them yet there remains much more to be said Wherefore I thought it my duty to set down in this place the chiefest Observations which I have collected together China is seated almost at the utmost Extremities of Asia towards the East It lies under twenty three degrees from North to South from the Fortress of Cai Pim placed upon the Frontiers of the Province of Pekim in forty one degrees of Latitude to the Meridional point of the Island of Hai Nan in eighteen degrees of Elevation and A to the South of the Province of Quamtum So that the length of China from North to South according to the Chinese Books is five thousand seven hundred and fifty Li or Furlongs Which makes 402½ Spanish or Portugal Leagues at 17½ to a degree 575 French Leagues at 25. to a degree â—…45 German at 15. to a degree 1380 Italian Miles at 60. to a degree 5750 Li or Chinese Furlongs at 250. to a degree From the Point of Nîm Pô a Sea-port Town in the Province of Che-kiam where the Portugals were formerly wont to trade and which Ferdinand Mendez calls Leam Po to the extremity of the Province of Suchuen in a streight Line from East to West it is accounted 297 Spanish and Portugal Leagues 426 French Leagues 255 German Miles 1020 Italian Miles 4080 Chinese Furlongs at 240 to a degree But if you would have the length of China where it is longest you must take it from the last place to the North-west of the Province of Leaotum call'd Caiyven to the last City of the Province of Yunnan call'd Cin tien Kiun min Fu. Take it thus and then the longest length of this Empire will bâ—… 525 Spanish Leagues 750 French Leagues 1800 Italian Miles 8400 Chinese Furlongs at four and a half to a Mile of Italy The truest breadth of China to take it from Tam Chan the most Easterly place of the Country of Leao tum and which joins to the Kingdom of Corea to the Place call'd Tum tim to the West of the Province of Xensi is 350 Spanish Leagues 500 French Leagues 300 German Miles 1200 Italian Miles 5400 Chinese Furlongs There are fifteen Provinces in this Empire which for their largeness their Riches and Fertility may well be call'd Kingdoms Which the Chineses rank in this Order according to their Antiquity and Precedency Pe kim Nan kim now call'd KiaÌ„m Nân Xansi Xantum Hô nân Xénsi Che Kiam Kiam si Hù quam Su chuen Fo Kien Quám tuÌ„m Quam si Yunnan Quei cheum The Country of Leao tum might also well deserve the Name of a Province by reason of its extent but the Chineses include it within the Province of Xan tum The Provinces that lie upon the Sea are Pe kim Xan tum Nan kim Che Kiam Fo Kien and Quam tum Those that border upon Foreign Kingdoms are Pekim Xansi Xensi Su chuen Yunnan Quamsi The Midland Provinces are Honan Hu quam Kiamsi Quci cheu By which it appears that Cluverius trusted too unwarily to false Relations when he reckons up Eighteen Provinces in China and among the rest the Kingdom of Cochinchina For tho' that Kingdom and that of Tum Kim were formerly subject to China 't was but for a very few Years and it is a long time ago since they threw off that subjection There are several Islands also belonging to China as the Great and Little Lieu Kieu Tai Van which the Portugueses call Formosa where the Hollanders had a Fortress which was wrested out of their hands by a Chinese Pirate some Years since and where they lost a great number of Men and great Guns and a great quantity of Goods Hai Nan and Hiam Xan where stands the City of Amagao or Macao upon the Southern Promontory of that Island and a great number of others some Inhabited others quite Desart The Kingdom of Corea is not an Island adjoining to China as Cluverius believes but a great Promontory of the Firm Land extending it self from the North to the South Neither is Xam Haì an Island as Martini writes in his Atlas and marks it in his Map but a Fortress so vast and so well fortisi'd by Art and Nature that it may compare with the best in Europe It stands upon the firm Land near the Sea between the Province of Pe Kim and the Country of Leao tum The Places Wall'd in through the whole extent of this Empire amount to the number of Four Thousand Four Hundred and Two and are divided into Two Orders the Civil and Military The Civil Order comprehends Two Thousand Forty Five Wall'd Towns that is to say One Hundred Seventy Five Cities of the first Rank which the Chineses call Fu Two Hundred Seventy Four of the Second Order which they call CheuÌ„ One Thousand Two Hundred Eighty and Eight Cities which they call Hièn Two Hundred and Five Royal Hosteries or Places of Entertainment call'd Ye and an Hundred and Three Courts of Guard or Royal Hosteries of the Second Rank which they call Cham Chin. Among the Cities and Towns of this Empire I reckon several seated in the Provinces of Yun Nan Quei cheum Quam Si and Su chuen which however pay no Tribute to the Emperour nor yeild him any Obedience but are govern'd by particular and absolute Princes These Towns are for the most part so environ'd with high Mountains and steep Rocks as if Nature had taken a particular Care of their Fortification Within which Mountains lie Fields and Plains for several Days Journeys where are to be seen Cities both of the first and second Rank together with many Towns and Villages The Chineses call these Lords Tù Sù or Tù Quon that is to say Mandarins of the Country For that as they believe there is no Emperour of the World but the Emperour of China so they are conceited that there are no other Princes or Lords but such as they to whom the Emperour gives that Title Nor do they give the Title of Mandarins of the Land or Country to those but to distinguish
Jurisdiction He takes care to solicit the Governours of the Towns and Cities to make quick payments of their duties to the King There are some also that take no less care of the Rivers and Sea Coasts in their Quarters They that look after the Rivers are call'd Ho tao and the Surveyors of the Sea Coasts Hâ—… tao All these Mandarins belong to the Tribunal of Inspecters or Overseers call'd Co tao of which we have already spoken All the Cities of the first rank whether Capital or no have a Tribunal where the Governour of the City or Territory presides who is a Mandarin of the fourth Order and is call'd Chi fu He has three Assessors the first call'd Tum chi the second Tum puâ—…n and the third Chui Quen who are of the sixth and seventh Order They are also call'd second third and fourth Lord of the second third or fourth Chair or of the second third or fourth City in regard the President is call'd the first Lord the first Chair and the first City There are four other inferiour Mandarins call'd Kim lie chu su Chao mo and Kim kâ—…ao which are onely of the seventh eighth or ninth Order The Imployment of this Tribunal is the same with that of the Governour of Pe Kim All the Cities of the Empire are provided with such Mandarins as these But if it be a place of great trade or that the Territory be of a large extent then the number of these Mandarins is doubl'd The Cities of the second rank call'd Cheu are of two sorts Those of the first sort are subject to the Capitals onely as the Cities of the first Rank and have Cities which depend upon them Those of the second sort are subject to the Cities of the first Order whether they have Cities depending upon them or no. The President of these Cities is call'd Chi cheu He is of the second degree of the fifth Order and has two Assessors of which the first is call'd Cheu â—…um and the second Cheu poon who are of the second degree of the sixth and second Order He has under him also a third Mandarin call'd Lâ—… mo of the second degree of the ninth Order The people call this Governour Tai Ye or the great or first Lord the other three the second third or fourth Lord. Their Employment is the same with the Governours of the Cities of the first Rank All the other Cities of the Empire have a Tribunal of which the President is call'd Chi hien and is of the first degree of the seventh Order He has also two Assessors of which the first is call'd Hien chim of the eighth Order and the second who is of the Ninth is call'd Chu pu He has also a third under him who is call'd Tien su who is of no Order but if he acquit himself well of his employment for three years the Governor of the City gives him a Certificate to the Governour of the Superiour City and the Governour of that City to the Governour of the Capital The last Governour certifies to the two grand Tribunals of the Capital City and they to the Viceroy The Viceroy writes to the grand Tribunal of the Mandarins and they to the Counsellors of State who inform the King and by him generally he is made a Mandarin of the eighth or ninth Order This is the Road which the Mandarins observe for their promotion to new dignities But this good Fortune never befalls them if they do not purchase it by Presents proportionable to what they may squeeze out of their Employments and this kind of trade is driven as openly as if it were an establish'd Law among them This is the reason that Justice and Employments are sold as at an outry all over the Empire but more especially at Court so that there is no body but the King who can be properly said to mind the publick good all the rest regarding nothing but their private interests And of this manner of proceeding I will bring ye one example of which I my self was an eye witness There was a young Gentleman whose name was Simon a very good Christian who was a Mandarin of a City of the second Rank by a particular favour which the Emperour shew'd him in regard his Father Viceroy of the Province of â—…n si was slain fighting against an Army of Robbers that had rais'd a Rebellion in the Province The three years of his Employment being expired he was advanced to be Mandarin of a City of the first Rank and after the expiration of that Employment he repaired to Court according to the custome in hopes to be preferred to another City yet more considerable for the recompence of his Services duely perform'd The King referr'd his Petition to the Tribunal of the 〈◊〉 Presently Letters were sent him from that Tribunal to leâ—… him know that if he would deposite in a third hand fourteen Vâ—…n of Silver which amounts to about a hundred thousand Crowns they would give him the Government of the City of â—…un â—…m in the Province of Xan si which is one of the best peopl'd the most remarkable for Trade and the richest Cities of the whole Empire To which this vertuous Christian return'd for answer that if he had such a summ by him nay though it were far less he would never go about to move for any more employment in regard a smaller summ than that would suffice him to live at his ease Nor did he think it convenient to take up so large a sum at great interest as others did by which they were forc'd for satisfaction of their Creditors and to glut their insatiate avarice to turn real Tyrants and greedy Wolves that devour'd the Cities and opprest the miserable people wherever they came which they were otherwise bound to protect and defend So that they might dispose of that Employment to him that was able to purchase it but that for his part he would be contented with what sell to his â—…t Now it is the custom to write as many 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as there are Mandarins that stand 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 upon little thin boards which are thrown into a Vessel and every one is Governour of that City of which he draws the Name Nevertheless when a man has agreed with the Tribunal the Tablets are so order'd that the Person draws the City which he desires However this Artifice fail'd a Mandarin in the year 1669 who had given a good Summ to a Prothonotary who had promis'd him the ready draught of a City of great Trade and not far distant For he drew a miserable City in the Province of Quei cheu the most remote and the poorest in the whole Empire Thereupon the wretched and unfortunate Mandarin quite out of his wits at his ill Success without any respect to the Tribunal or the presence of above three hundred Mandarins rose up all in a rage for they draw upon their knees crying out with a loud voice he was undone and throwing off
might be the first King of China in the regard that if we set aside the Fables which the Chineses have added and of which the Greeks and Romans are no less guilty when they speak of their first Founders the Sequel of their Story and the successive Train of their Kings seems to have much of Truth For according to the Computation of their Histories and Chronologies we clearly find that the first King of China began to reign about two hundred years after the Universal deluge according to the Version of the seventy Interpreters In which time the Descendants of Noah might well spread themselves to the farther end of Asia seeing that within the same space they expanded themselves over all the Western Parts of Asia into Africa and a good part of Europe The third Opinion asserts that the first King of China was Yao who according to their Chronology began to reign four thousand and twenty five years ago Their Histories relate that in his time there were both Mathematicians and Astrologers that he caus'd great Ditches and Chanels to be made for the draining away of the Waters of the Grand Deluge that till then cover'd the Valleys and the Champaign Grounds This King was a Prince illustrious for his Vertues and his Transcendent parts and is still honour'd as one of the wi sest and most vertuous Princes of China this Opi nion passes for currant and unquestionable among the Chineses And all the Fathers that have had the greatest Knowledge and Insight into their Books and Histories hold this latter Opinion for certain and the second for probable And because that according to the Version of the Holy Scripture call'd the Vulgar it would of necessity follow that Fohi and Yao must have been born and reign'd before the Deluge therefore we are forc'd in this Countrey to follow the Version of the Seventy Which being granted the History of this Empire seems very probable well trac'd and conformable not only to the Egyptian Assyrian Greek and Roman Histories but which is yet far more surprising to the Chronology of Sacred Scripture According to the second Opinion then which is most probable from King Tohi who began to reign about two hundred years after the Deluge to the Emperour Cam Hi who reign'd in the year 1668. There have been two hundred thirty six Kings divided into twenty two sidifferent Families who have govern'd this Empire for the space of four thousand five hundred thirty four years Which Families endur'd for a longer or lesser time according as they govern'd well or ill and till another revolting put the King to death routed out all the Princes of his Family and all the Nobility which he had rais'd and made himself Master of the Empire At the beginning these Rebels were either Petty Kings or Great Lords But afterwards they happen'd to be Men of low Birth and mean Condition The first King of the preceding Family was a Person of very obscure Parentage whose Name was Chum He was a long time a Servant among the Priests of the Idols after which he betook himself to be a Robber upon the High-way Afterwards being banish'd he put himself at the head of certain Free booters and after a great deal of prosperous Success made himself Master of the Empire At his Coronation he call'd himself Hum Vu or the Valiant and Warlike but then the Learned Flatterers advanc'd his Titles and call'd him Tai Mim which signifies a Reign of great Luster His Posterity reign'd in China two hundred seventy six Years and till the Year 1643 that the Tartars made themselves Masters of the Empire and destroy'd the Royal Family All those that revolt pretend that it is by the decree of Heaven that sent them to ease the People opprest by the Tyranny of their Governours And this Opinion or rather Vision finds so much credit in the Priests of the Chineses and is so deeply rooted in their minds as if it were one of the greatest Truths in the World insomuch that there is hardly one among them that does not hope to be an Emperour at one time or other And this is the reason of those frequent Revolts which we find in this Empire to day in one Province to morrow in another nay many times onely in one City or in one Town Many times you shall see a miserable Wretch advanc'd to be a King sometimes by a Troop of fifty Bandity sometimes by a hundred or two hundred Peasants but more frequently by a certain Sect of Idolaters who make a Profession of creating new Kings and establishing a new Government in the Empire 'T is a wonderfull thing to see the Comedies or rather Tragedies which are acted every day upon the Theatre of this Empire For he that but to day was but an ignominious Robber and under that Notion both dreaded and hated let him but shift his Habit and take upon him the Crown the Robes and Ornaments of a King and the same Man to morrow shall be belov'd and respected by all the World and though he is known to be of vile and abject Birth they shall presently call him the Son of Heaven and Lord of the Universe For that the Chineses as we have said call their Kingdom Tien Hia that is to say all that which is under the Heaven or Su hai Chinun that is to say all that is between the four Seas Titles conformable to their Pride and their Ignorance and to their scorn of Strangers So that it is the same thing among them to call a Man Master of all that is under the Heaven or between the four Seas as to call him King of China The Chineses give their Emperour several losty and magnificent Titles For example they call him Tien Hu Son of Heaven Xim Tien Hu Holy Son of Heaven Hoam Ti August and Great Emperour Xim Xoam Holy Emperour Hoam Xam August Sovereign Xim Kium Holy Prince Xim Xam Holy Sovereignty Que Chu Lord of the Kingdom Chao Tim Palace Royal Van Sui ten thousand years with several other Titles full of Grandeur and Majesty which I omit for fear of being tedious So that 't is the same thing to say Son of Heaven or ten thousand Years or Palace Royal as to say King or Emperour Yet notwithstanding all these idle flatteries this Prince is far from being so vain as the King of Monomotopa who believes it to be in his Power to command the Sun the Moon and Stars or so ambitiously Politick as the King of Siam who knowing by experience that the great River that crosses his Countrey overflows its banks every year at a certain Season and that it returns again by degrees within a certain time marches forth in great pomp out of his Palace to command the Waters to retire and fall down into the Sea. For though the Chineses give these great Titles to their King and though he suffers them yet neither he nor they at least the learned and more prudent sort are so
toward the Street with little Houses on both sides and this is the first Apartment Then you enter into a fine Court and at the End of that stands another Gate and there 's the second Apartment Behind that lies a more spacious Court joyning to a great Hall appointed for the reception of Strangers Behind that lies a third Court at the End of which is a fourth Apartment where the Master of the House resides behind which lies a fifth Court and a fifth Apartment where the Master lays his Jewels his most costly Furniture and his Lumber Beyond there is a Garden and at the End of that a sixth Apartment with a little Door in the Middle which is never open'd but upon occasion or necessity Upon the East and West sides of these Courts are buildings of meaner Value which serve for Cellars Larders Store-houses and other Offices belonging to the Family Onely in the Court adjoyning to the great Gate live the Domestick Servants with their Wives and Children Thus the Houses of the Mandarins and wealthy Persons are usually contriv'd But the Palaces of the great Lords take up more Ground and have more Rooms larger and higher according to their Dignity all things being so well regulated in China that neither the Mandarins nor great Lords can build their Houses but conformable to what is ordain'd by the Law. Notes upon the seventeenth Chapter This Chapter is so much the more curious because it contains a very large Description of the Capital City of China and the spacious Palace of the Emperour All the other Relations without exception speak very little of it and generally that very confusedly too but that 's not a thing to be wonder'd at For the Embassadours live always retir'd in the Palaces appointed for their Reception and as for the Missionaries they never saw Pe kim unless it were onely passing through it or when they were carry'd Prisoners thither in the last Persecution So that unless it were Father Adam Father Ferdinand Verbrest and F. Magaillans there were none that could instruct us perfectly of the Particulars of this great City and indeed the latter is the onely Person who has given us a Description of it after a Residence in those parts of near five and twenty years Nevertheless for the Readers better satisfaction and to furnish him with a more distinct Idea of the Place I thought fit to add to the Description a Ground-plot or Draught of the City of Pe kim and the Emperour's Palace which I have drawn out with a great deal of care and pains not putting in any thing for which I had not a sufficient warrant from the Relation of our Authour as may be seen by this Translation and the following Notes You will find also thaâ—… though this Description be very curious yet it would have been more perfect had it had a more exact Draught of the City and Emperour's Palace in general and more Draughts and particular Designs of several Palaces as wâ—…ll belonging to the Emperour as to the great Lords as also of the Temples Triumphal Arches and Bridges c. But we may be well cement with this Relation till the 〈◊〉 who are gone to China by the King's Command shall be able to send us something more compleat In the mean time we have not mark'd down above seventy Streets for that they being all of one Form and Situation are sufficient to give us an Idea of this spacious City besides that the Relation does not ascertain the Number and for that the smallness of the Draught would not allow us to set down any more Every side of the City is twelve Chinese Furlongs in Length c. Father Martini allows to the Walls of the City no more than the Compass of forty Chinese Furlongs But we are rather to believe Father Magaillans who could not choose but be better inform'd and makes 'em forty eight Furlongs in Circuit Father Martini tells us also that the Walls were built by the Directions of the Emperour Tai Sungus the third of the Family of Tai mim who began his Reign in the year 1404. Father Couplet in his Chronology calls this Emperour Chim Su or Yum Io and says moreover that he did not translate the Seat of the Empire from Nam Kim to Pe kim till the seventh year of his Reign or the year 1411. It has nine Gates and not twelve as Father Martini tells us What our Authour says here concerning the Number of the Gates is confirm'd by Peter Semedo Father Adam Schall and Father Couplet in his Chronoloâ—… who all agree that there are but nine Gates belonging to the City of Pe kim They built a new square City of which every Side is six Chinese Furlongs c. It has seven Gates and every Gate opens into a Suburb c. Here I meet with three Difficulties that very much puzzle me the first as to the Largeness of the new City the second in reference to the Situation of the Gates and the third as to the Number of the Suburbs of the two Cities Father Magaillans tells us that the new City is square and that each side is six Furlongs in length Which if it were so the new City would be twenty four Chinese Furlongs in Circumference and the Ground-plot would be but a fourth part in proportion to that of the other City that is to say that it would not take up above a fourth part of the Ground which the Old City does which to me seems too small for two Reasons The first because that Father Adam tells us that after the Conquest of China the Tartars reserv'd the old City for themselves and constrain'd all the Chineses to retire into the neâ—… which being so small could never be capable to contain them 〈◊〉 â—…h the rather because he adds that it was in good paâ—… inhabited in the Time of the Chinese Emperours Secondly because the same Father positively tells us that the new City from the East to the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…er by â—…ur Furlongs than the old one but that 〈◊〉 â—…he North to the South it is not above half 〈◊〉 â—…ad as the 〈◊〉 City 〈◊〉 so it follows that the new City could not be above 〈◊〉 Furlongs broad as F. Magaillans relates but it would be sixteen Furlongs in length and forty four in circumference Now Father Adam is a Testimony of great Authority as well as 〈◊〉 Magaillans And therefore to reconcile them both together we must of necessity conclude that F. Magaillans speaks onely of the breadth of the new City or the sides that look toward the East and West which are not full out six Furlongs in length Nevertheless untill we have better Information I do not think it behoves us to reject the Description of F. Magaillans and therefore in the Draught I have made the new City perfectly square leaving to every Man his liberty to adhere to which Opinion he pleases According to these Measures the Circuit of the Ancient
a hunder'd idle Stories of this Dragon and this Bridge which I omit as not becomeing this Relation This Palace takes up in length two Furlongs of China or half an Italian Mile The second is call'd Hien yam tien or the Palace of the Rising Sun. A Structure beautifull and magnificent for the Architecture and environd with nine very high Towers all of different Workmanship These nine Towers signifie the first nine Days of the Moon which are very great Holy-days especially the ninth among the Chineses They marry their Children during these Holy-days and among the several Dishes of the Feast they never fail of one which represents the Tower with nine Stories every one of which answers to one of the nine Days For say they the Number of Nine includes within it self those properties which make it more excellent than all the rest of the Numbers and render it fortunate by the Augmentation of Life Honour and Riches For this reason all the Chineses Rich and Poor get up that day upon Terrasses and Towers in the Cities and in the Countrey upon Mountains and Hills or at least upon Damms and other high rais'd places where they feast with their Relations and Friends But in regard the Kings of China seldom go out of their Palaces they caus'd these nine Towers to be built that upon the Top of them they might Celebrate this Festival so generally solemniz'd over the whole Empire The third Palace is call'd Van xeu tien or the Palace of ten thousand Lives Now you are to understand that about a hunder'd and forty years ago King Kia cim that is to say a King neat and precious began his Reign This Prince maintain'd Peace and Justice in the Empire but in regard he was flexible and superstitious one of the marry'd Bonzes beguil'd his Credulity and made him believe that he would so order it that he should live eternally or at least for several Ages by vertue of his Chymistry To bring this to pass he advis'd him to build this Palace near the Lake which we have already mention'd 'T is very true 't is less than the rest but what it wants in bigness it has in beauty It is environ'd with a high Wall with Battlements and perfectly round all the Halls and Chambers a so are round Hexagons or Octagons and the Architecture is most beautifull and magnificent Hither then the King retir'd to distill the Water of Immortality But his toil and pains were recompenc'd with a Success quite contrary to his Expectations for that instead of prolonging they shorten'd his Life For the Fire in the Furnaces having dry'd up his Bowels he fell sick in a Month or six Weeks after and dy'd within a few Days after he had reign'd five and forty years The Emperour Van lie his Grandchild reign'd eight and forty and both their Reigns are remarkable as well for the peace and prosperity which the People enjoy'd all that time as for that the Apostle of the Indians the Holy Francis Xavier arriv'd in China and dy'd upon the Frontiers during the Reign of Kia cim a little before the Portugueses built the City of Macao as also for that in the Eleventh year of the Emperour Van lie the famous Father Matthew Ricci so universally esteem'd to this day by the Chiueses for his Learning and his Vertue first set footing in the Empire The fourth is call'd Cim hiu tien or the Palace of perfect purity and was built upon this occasion The fifteenth Day of the eighth Moon is solemniz'd by the Chineses with great feasting and rejoycing For from the setting of the Sun and rising of the Moon till Midnight they are all abroad with their Friends and Kindred in the Streets in the Piazza's in their Gardens and upon the Terrasses feasting and watching to see the Hare which that Night appears in the Moon To this purpose the preceding Days they send to one another Presents of little Loaves and Sugar-Cakes which they call Yue Pim or Moon-Cakes They are round but the biggest which are about two hands breadth in diameter and represent the Full Moon have every one a Hare in the middle made of a Past of Walnuts Almonds Pine-Apple-Kernels and other Indgredients These they eat by the Light of the Moon the Richer sort having their Musick also playing about 'em which is very good But the poor in the midst of the ruder Noise of Drums Fifes and Basons loudly knockt upon with Sticks And for the solemnizing of this Feast it was that the Ancient Kings erected this Palace not very big but wonderfully delightfull more especially for its Situation upon a Mountain made by hands which is call'd Tulh Xan or the Mountain of the Hare Our Europeans perhaps will laugh at the Chineses for imagining the Spots in the Body of the Moon to be a Hare But beside that among us the People are no less fond of many idle Opinions no less ridiculous let me tell our Europeans that the Chineses laugh as much at us when they find in our Books that we paint the Sun and Moon with humane Faces The fifth Palace is call'd Ym Tai Tien or the Palace of the Flourishing Tower. It is built upon the brink of the Lake among a great number of Trees which afford both shade and coolness So that the Emperour makes it his chiefest residence during the excessive heat which the want of cooling Breezes renders almost insupportable the City of Pe Kim being equally subject to the inconveniencies of heat and cold The sixth is call'd Van Yeu Tien or the Palace of ten thousand sports and pleasures It is seated upon the Bank of the Lake on the north side and serves for the King to repose in when he goes a fishing or to delight himself by Water in his Pleasure Boats which are made either to sail or row all very lovely and very richly adorn'd There is one wich is made like one of our Brigandines by the directions of Father Iohn Adam which pleases the Emperour extreamly and wherein he always goes a fishing or to behold the Sea Fights which are many times represented upon the Lake The Seventh is a great Platform encompass'd with a square of high walls in the middle of which is a beautifull Palace call'd Hu Chim Tien or the Palace of the walls of the Tiger The Royal Hall belonging to it is round very high and Majestick Upon the top of it appear two Cupola's of of Brass guilded one above another at the distance of the length of a lance the one very large the other less in the form of a great Gourd which together with the roof cover'd over with Tiles varnish'd with Azure and embellish'd with Flowers Grotesco Borderings and other Ornaments yield a very pleasant prospect From this Hall and the Balconies belonging to it the King delights himself with the sight of the Beasts that are bread in the enclosure as Tigers Bears Leopards Wolves Monkeys of several sorts Musc-Cats and several other Kinds and with
A NEW HISTORY OF CHINA Containing a DESCRIPTION OF THE Most Considerable Particulars OF THAT Uast Empire Written by Gabriel Magaillans of the Society of Iesus Missionary Apostolick Done out of French. LONDON Printed for Thomas Newborough at the Golden Ball in S. Paul's Church-Yard 1688. THE PREFACE FOR these Hundred Years last past there have been Printed such a great number of Relations of China that they who have read them will perhaps believe too readily that they can receive no New Information from this However my Confidence is such that if they will but take the Pains to read it they will hardly find therein any thing which they have read before in others China is a Country so Vast so Rich so Fertile and so Temperate the Multitude of the People so infinite their Industry in Manufacture and their Policy in Government so extraordinary that it may be truly said that ever since the undertaking of Long Voyages there was never any Discovery made that might stand in Competition with this Kingdom These are things known to all the World and so there needs not much more to be said to make the Learned apprehensive that the Subject is large enough to fill many more Volumes then yet are extant and to employ the most able and judicious Writers To this it might be added That among all the great numbers of Relations that have been Printed upon this Subject there are few that merit Public Reputation or that have been written with a design to inform us of the most considerable Particulars of that Vast Empire The Relation of Ferdinand Mendez Pinto in all other places where he does not speak of the Portugal Affairs is stuft with Fables and Chimera's which he has invented with a most wonderful fertility of Imagination And which he has season'd with so many Circumstances and studied Discourses to persuade and prepare the belief of his Reader that there are several Persons who take them for real Truths But those are Errors now not at all to be regarded seeing that the most part of the Nations of Europe have given us very exact and sincere Descriptions of China and many other Countries of which that Author speaks For Example He says that the City of Nan Kim which is known to be seated in a smooth and level Plain is situated upon a Mountain That the River of Kiam which runs through it and is call'd Barampina comes from Pe kim and the Greater Tartary That China contains Thirty two Kingdoms That the City of Pe kim is Thirty large Leagues in compass whereas it is not above Four in circuit or Five at most taking in the New City That it has Three hundred and Sixty Gates An Hundred and Twenty Canals of Three Fathom deep and Twelve broad and Eighteen hundred Bridges of Free-stone whereas there are only Nine Gates and one small River that belongs to it That in one single Prison of two Leagues square there are kept Three hundred Thousand Prisoners appointed still for the Repair of the Great Wall That there are other Buildings also to be seen as wonderful or as extravagant and one among the rest of a League in circuit built in the middle of the pretended River of Barampina c. That the King of Tartary came and sat down before Pekim with Twelve hundred Thousand Foot Six hundred Thousand Horse Seventeen thousand Ships and Fourscore Thousand Rhinoceroces that carry'd the Baggage belonging to the Army and that the same King lost in six Months and a half above Seven hundred and fifty Thousand Men. I could give an account of several other of his Fables particularly of what he tells us of Two pretended Emperors both of equal Puissance Siammon and Calaminban the first of which had in his Empire Seven hundred Provinces Fifty thousand Elephants and Eighteen hundred and fifty Thousand Soldiers in continual Pay and many other things which none but this Author ever heard of But I shall forbear to make any longer stop upon these Fables and Stories which there is no Man but will be asham'd to believe more especially since there is not the least shadow of Truth in any thing that he says of the Island of Calempluy or in what he reports concerning the Language Names Manners and Government of the Chineses The Relation of F. Gonzalez de Mendoza is true and sincere as to what he recounts of the the Travels of Martin de Harrada and Ierome Marin into China But both those two Fathers and the Author himself listen'd with too much credulity to the vaunting Relations which the Chineses made of the Grandeur of their Empire as may be seen by that which follows For he allows China to be Eighteen hundred Leagues in length tho' all the World knows that it lies within Twenty two or Twenty three Degeees that is to say not above Four hundred and fifty Leagues in length He Alters and changes the Names of the Provinces in such a manner that it is almost impossible to know them again He makes the City of Pe Kim as big as Ferdinand Mendez Pinto does assuring us in two Places of his Relation that a Man mounted upon a good Horse and riding from Morning till Night will have much adoe to cross the City within the Walls for the Suburbs are not included in this Journey which take up altogether as much Ground To which he adds That the Chineses also report it to be larger He says moreover That in the single Province of Paguia which must certainly be Pekim there are Two Millions Five hundred and fifty Thousand Soldiers and within the whole Kingdom Five Millions Eight hundred forty six Thousand five Hundred Foot and Nine Hundred Forty eight Thousand Three Hundred and Fifty Horse Pedro Cubero Sebastian in his Voyage of the World Printed at Naples in 1682. says almost the same things But that is nothing to be wonder'd at for that besides that he often mistakes in speaking of the most Known Countries of Europe it is apparent that he has copy'd what he speaks of China from the Authors before mention'd I could cite several other Relations of China the Authors of which appear to have been very much mis-inform'd in several things But besides that such a Rehersal would be both troublesom and unprofitable we have several others that make us amends for the Imperfections of the other Among the rest the Relations which seem to me most worthy of Credit and Esteem are those of Father Trigaut the Annual Letters of China the Relations of Father Semedo Father Martini and the Modern Ones of Father Adam Schall Father Greslon Father Rougemont Father Couplet R. P. of Orleance and some others The Relation of Father Trigauâ—… was the first that ever gave us any exact Information of China But in regard his Principal design was to give an account of the Origiginal of the Missions of the Society of Jesus in that vast Country and of their Settlement by Father Matthew Ricci ' he never
speaks but occasionally of the Affairs of China Father Semedo indeed applies himself wholly to the Description of the Country in the First Part of his Relation wherein he has been very fortunate Father Couplet in his Chronology and Father Martini in his First Decad of the History of China and his Relation of the Tartar War has publisht almost a compleat Succession of the History of that Kingdom The same Father Martini in his Atlas has made a Geographical Description of it so compleat and full that there hardly remains any thing more for us to desire And lastly the Annual Letters and other Pieces which I have cited giving an Account of the various Successes of the Missions which they undertook inform us of several Notable and Curious Particulars But tho' these Authors are every one worthy to be esteem'd and valu'd Certain it is that we wanted still a very great number of Considerable Particulars whither it were that the Subject was too Copious to be exhausted or that those other designs which they proposed to themselves diverted their particular Industries However it were it is apparent that Father Magaillans had it in his thoughts to have supply'd all the Defects which he found in those other Pieces and whatever was wanting that might give us a perfect knowledge of China For they who read this Relation will find that the Matters therein contain'd have either been wholly omitted by all other Authors or else but very slightly touch'd and therefore in regard they are things of great Curiosity I make no question but this Translation will be grateful to the more exact Part of the Learned World. In a word it seems to me to have all those Advantages that suffice to recommend it to the Reader The Matter is of great consequence and becoming the Curiosity of all those that desire to know remote Countries since it has describ'd with an extraordinary Exactness and Part by Part what is most Considerable in that same Famous Empire of China There you shall find it determin'd by evident Proofs that the Countries of Catay and Mangi are comprehended in that Spacious Kingdom It discourses at large of the Chinese Language of the Letters and their Composition of the Words which they comprehend of the Excellency of the Language and how easie a thing it is to attain it which gives us a far different Idea of it from whatever we have had till now Of the Chinese Books and their Antiquity and the great number of them upon all sorts of Subjects Of the Antiquity of their Kingdom and their Kings Of the Certain and Successive Continuance of the Chinese Chronology from the next Ages to the Deluge It shews us the Industry of the Chineses in many things their wonderful Form of Government and all their different Tribunals with a world of other Circumstances There you find an exact Acount of all their Public Works and a particular Description of some Magnificent Bridges the Great Canal the City of Pe Kim their most Sumptuous Houses their Principal Temples and the Vast and Spacious Palace of the Emperor which comprehends within it several others sufficient to make us admire their Architecture and the Form and Contrivance of their Buildings Lastly there is a Description of a certain sort of Wax which is not any where else to be found of the Riches of China of the Emperor's Revenues of some Remarkable Ceremonies and of so many other Particulars which it would be here too tedious a trouble to repeat The Author was well inform'd of all those things of which he gives us an Account He had travell'd over all the Chiefest Parts of China from the Year 1640. to 1648. at what time he was carry'd to Pe Kim where he stay'd Nine and Twenty Years at the Court that is to say till his Death which happen'd in the Year 1677. without stirring from thence unless it were once that he was sent to Macao by the Command of the Emperor So long and constant a Residence the Knowledge of the Language and Books his Conversation with Persons the most Considerable in the Kingdom the Liberty which he had to enter into the Palace the Choice which he made of the Matters and Particulars of which he gives an Account will easily confirm us that he had a perfect Knowledge of the things of which he gives us the Relation So that altho' the Description which he gives us of the Emperor's Palace does not agree with that which we find in the Dutch Embassie to China yet there is all the Reason of the World to prefer the Testimony of this Author before that Relation The Sincerity also and Reality of Father Magaillans farther appear by this that he makes no scruple to Correct Father Martini where he knows him to be in an Error Tho in other places he confirms by his Testimony the Esteem which all Europe had for the Works of that Father and for that he speaks with Moderation of many other things where the Authors have strech'd too far in their Relations Having thus far given an Account of the Worth and Merit of this Relation it will not be improper to tell the Reader how it fell into my Hands It is now about Three Years since that F. Couplet coming to Rome in the Quality of Procurator for the Missions of China had several Occasions to wait upon Cardinal d' Estrees where I had the Honour to be at that time His Eminency ask'd him several curious Questions concerning China but chiefly concerning Pe Kim the Emperors Court and the Government and Policy of that Great Kingdom To which the Father gave His Eminency all the Satisfaction he could desire so far as he knew But in regard he had never been but once at Pe Kim when he was carry'd Prisoner thither in the time of the late Persecution he answer'd the Cardinal with his usual sincerity That he was not so well inform'd as to those other particular Questions which His Eminency put to him but that he had brought out of China a Portuguese Manuscript written by F. Gabriel de Magaillans where he would find the Plenary Satisfaction of all that he desir'd to know and at the same time presented the Manuscript to His Eminency who having read it over with great delight gave it into my Hands upon a proffer which I made him to Translate it However I found it a more Difficult Task then I imagin'd for tho Father de Magaillan's had deliver'd it fairly written yet by an Unfortunate Accident it hapn'd to be half Burnt so that I was forc'd to have recourse to the Confus'd Original which had been luckily preserv'd which being the greatest part writt'n in loose Papers it requir'd a great deal of time to place them in order and find out the connections The Author had entitl'd his Work The Twelve Excellencies of China But this Title seem'd to me to be too much affected and not answerable to the Subject for it was not limited to
of Suchuen The Relation of Father Anthony de Andrada calls it also the Country of Ussanguè and says that it is situated to the East of the Kingdom of Tibet twenty days journey from China P. 3. Father Antony de Andrada c. Father Anthony de Andrada travelled twice into the Kingdom of Tibet The Relation of his Second Travels in the year 1624. with Father Concalo de Sousa which was Printed at Lisbon in the year 1628. speaks very clearly of China For there we find that it is not above twenty days journey from the Kingdom of Ussanguè or Ussang and that Ussang is not above forty days journey from the City of Caparange where the King of Tibet keeps his Court and where those Fathers arriv'd from Agra in less then two months and a half passing through Sirinagar As for Catai in regard the People of Tibet are very ignorant they spoke of it very confusedly to Father Andrada to whom they asserted that Catai was a great City By the way we may observe that by that Relation and by the Atlas of Father Martini who in his History of the War of the Tartars tells us also that the Province of Suchuen borders upon the Kingdom of Tibet that the Kingdom of Tibet is situated to the East of the Country of the Great Mogul and not to the North where the most part of our Maps place it So much the rather for that Father Benedict Goez in his Travels which he made always to the North of the Empire of the Great Mogul from the Country of the Usbegs travelling continually Eastward as far as China P. 5. The Tartarian Alphabet which we shall give you in due place Father Magaillans not being able to perfect his Work has not given us this Tartarian Alphabet But it is to be found in the Grammar made by Father Ferdinand de Verbiest which will suddenly be printed at Paris P. 6. Mangi or Mantzu Barbarians Father Nicholas Longobardo in his Letter written from China 1598. and printed in Latin at Mayence in 1601. tells us that the Chineses call'd those of the Province of Quamtum Mangi that is to say Barbarians Manginos that is Barbarous People which confirms the opinion of Father Magaillans P. 10. Stone-Coal and Stoves of China Almost all Authors that speak of China agree that in the Northern Provinces the cold is much more intense then it ought to be considering the climate and situation under the fortieth or forty second degree They also speak of the Stoves which are very Common and built all alike in all those Northern Provinces See the Relation of Father Trigant l. 4. c 3. Father Semedo Part 1. c. 3. and Father Martini's Atlas in his Description of the Provinces of Xansi and Pekim where he says that the two Mountains out of which they dig their coal are very near to the City of Pimko and are call'd Kie and Siu vu P. 12. That which causes M. Polo to commit these Mistakes is this that three leagues c. Father Martini in the Description of the Province of Pekim confirms this conjecture in these words The River Lu keu which is also call'd Sangean passes to the South-West of the Royal City You cross over a stately Bridge where a man may count several Arches of Stone 't is plain that he speaks of the River that runs to the West of Pekim and the Bridge built over it and that this is that of which M. Polo makes mention For that there is no great difference between the name of Sangean which Father Martini gives it and that of Sangean or Buli Sangan as M. Polo calls it Father Greslon in his History of China l. 3. c. 8. speaks of an Eastern Bridge in these words In the Province of Pekim there was a Bridge of an admirable Structure above three hundred paces in length of which two Arches are broken And Father Magaillans tells the true reason of the fall of those two Arches the ninth of August 1668. To which Father Greslon adds That the rest of the Bridge fell the 26. of the month of Aug. the same year He says moreover that it was call'd Lo-Co-Kaio that it had been built a thousand years and that it was not above six Leagues from Pekim The Fathers Rougemont and Intorcetta in their Relations confirm the fall of the rest of the Bridge the 26 of August 1668. three thousand years after it was first laid And the first of those Fathers tells us that the same Bridge was three hundred and sixty paces in length P. 15. These Reasons of Father Magaillans are so much the stronger because his Opinion is conformable to the practice of all those that have wrote concerning China both before and after him as Father Adam a German Father Greslon a Frenchman Father Semedo an Italian Father Rougemont a Flemming c. And for that Father Martini has not been follow'd by any but by the Author of the Embassie who has either copy'd or borrowed from Father Martini all that he speaks concerning China except the Gests of the Embassadors from Camtum to Pekim and their Negotiations So that 't is no wonder the one has imitated the other in his Orthography Father Greslon also in the Preface to his Relation proves against Father Martini that the Chinese words ought to be pronounced as our Author tells us P. 16. We could add several other Reasons to prove that Catai is no other then China deduc'd from the Silk many Fruits Plants and Animals which according to M. Polo breed and grow in China and are not to be found in any part of Tartary But this has been so often bandy'd about for these hundred years and all Authors who have writ upon this Subject have prov'd it by so many different Arguments besides what our Author alledges that it would be but time ill spent to labour any more about it Besides that there is no person now that questions or can doubt of it unless he would be wilfully blind I shall only observe that the reason why men might formerly be deluded was this because that when the Western Tartars undertook the Conquest of China there were two Emperors The one was the Real Chinese Emperor of the Family Sum who possess'd the twelve Southern Provinces the other was the King of the Eastern Tartars of the Family Tai-kin who possessed the three Northern Provinces the Country of Leaotum and the Eastern Tartary These two Emperors were vanquish'd one after the other and their Kingdoms subdu'd between the years 1225. and 1280. This being granted it may be readily apprehended how easie it was for the Oriental Authors and such as had heard talk of those Conquests to believe that the real Emperor of China was Master of all China as now we know it and that the other Emperor of the Family Tai-kin whose Empire was more Northerly liv'd in Tartary to the North of the great Wall where for that reason our Ancient Geographers have placed
is dispatch'd away before with a little kind of a Trencher which the Chineses call Pai upon which is written the Name and Employment of the Officer with his Name and Seal at the bottom So soon as that is seen they cleanse and make ready the Palace where he is to Lodge Which preparations are more or less sumptuous according to the dignity of the Mandarin of Dyet Porters Horses Chairs Litters or Barges if he be to go by Water and in a word of whatever it be that is needfull In these Hosteries likewise are entertain'd proportionably all sorts of other Persons whether Chineses or Foreigners to whom the King is pleased to grant that favour the convenience of which I found my self when I was sent some years ago to Macao In these places the King's Couriers take what they have occasion for either for speedy hast or refreshment There they find Horses ready saddled but for fear they should not be always ready a furlong or two before the Courier arrives at the Hostery or Inn the Courier gives several loud Bangs upon a Basin call'd Lô which he carries behind his back and then they saddle a Horse for him with all the speed imaginable So that he presently Mounts and leaves his other Horse behind him without any farther trouble The Kingdom of China contains Eleven Millions Five Hundred and Two Thousand Eight Hundred Seventy Two Families not including the Women Children Poor People Mandarins employ'd Souldiers Batchelers of Art Licentiates Doctors Mandarins dispenc'd with from Service such as live upon the Rivers the Bonzes Funuchs nor any that are of the Royal Blood for they only reckon those that cultivate the Land and pay the King's Rents and Tributes So that there is in the whole Empire of China Fifty Nine Millions Seven Hundred Fourscore and Eight Thousand Three Hundred Sixty Four Males Thus much for the Civil Order of China The Military Order contains Six Hundred Twenty Nine large Fortresses of the first degree and of great Importance either upon the Frontiers as the Keys of the Empire to keep out the Tartars or upon the Consines of the Provinces against Rebels and Robbers The Chineses call them Quan and that of Xam hái of which we have spoken already is one of the Number There are Five Hundred Sixty Seven Fortresses of the Second Rank which are call'd Guéi in the Chinese Language And that same place call'd Tien â—…ìm gâ—…êi or Fortress of the Well of Heaven of which Father Martini speaks in his Atlas p. 36. is of the same number By which you may guess at the rest of the Fortresses of the second Rank They reckon Three Hundred and Eleven Fortresses of the Third Rank call'd Sò Three Hundred of the Fourth Rank call'd Chin which retain the same Name and the same signification with those of the fifth Civil Order and a Hundred and Fifty of the Fifth Rank call'd Paò. There are a Hundred Fortresses of the Sixth Rank call'd Pù and lastly Three Hundred of the Seventh Order call'd Chái These latter are of several sorts for some of them stand in the fields and serve for places of Refuge for the Country-men who retire thither with their Cattel and Goods when any Tartars Robbers or Rebels harrass the Country as also when the Emperour's Armies are upon their March. Others are seated upon the Precipices of steep Mountains to which there is no other ascent but by steps cut out of the Rock or by the help of Laâ—…ders made of Ropes or Wood which they remove as they please themselves And these Fortresses generally have no Walls because they need none Others are seated upon Mountains which are nevertheless approachable and therefore on that side where they lie open they are guarded with a double or treble Wall And both of these and of the other before recited I have seen several in the Provinces of Su-chuen and Xensi By this account it appears that the fortifi'd Places amount to the number of Two Thousand Three Hundred Fifty Seven which being added to those of the Civil Order make up Four Thousand Four Hundred and Two. Besides which there are within and without the great Walls that environ China above Three Thousand Towers or Castles call'd Tai of which every one has its proper Name In those Towers are kept Guards and Watches all the Year long which give the Alarm so soon as the Enemy appears in the Day time by Erecting a Banner upon one of the highest Towers and in the Night by setting up a Lighted Flambeau Should we reckon these Towers or Castles among the Fortifi'd Places of which these latter would make an Eighth Order there would be then in all Five Thousand Three Hundred Fifty Seven About a hundred and Fifty Years ago a certain Mandarin of the Superior Tribunal of Arms compil'd two Volumes which he Dedicated to the Emperor and which he Entitul'd Kiu pien tu uxe the Practice of the Mapps of the Nine Frontiers He meant by that the Nine Quarters into which he had divided the Great Walls that Environ a part of China for four hundred and five Portuguese Leagues together which make 23 Degrees and ten Minutes from East to West from the City of CaiÌ„ yêun seated at the Extremity of the Country call'd Leâo tuÌ„m to that of Cân so or CaÌ„n cheu seated upon the Borders of the Province of Xensi And this too must be understood of the Fortification running in a streight Line for should we take in all the Turnings and Windings of the Mountains and Walls the whole without question would amount to above five hundred Portugal Leagues In those Books he represents in three Maps all the Passages of the Mountains that are accessible and in a hundred and twenty Nine other great Maps Thirteen Hundred twenty seven Fortresses great and small which he says are all necessary to prevent the inroads of Tartars So that if the Chineses were not so Negligent so Cowardly so Covetous and persidious to their Prince as they are the Tartars could never have surmounted those Walls nor got footing within those Castles so well dispos'd in all Places requisite and so strongly Fortify'd as well by Nature as by Art. And indeed it is apparent as well by their own Histories as by what we have seen in our time that the Tartars could never enter into China but when either the Cowardice or the Treacherous Avarice of the Commanders open'd them a Passage This the Tartars knew and therefore offer'd them a Moiety of their Plunder and Booty and were no less punctual in their performances then they had been liberal in their promises upon their Return into Tartary For the continuance of which Trade they always left a Passage open for these Inroads which the Tartars fail'd not to make twice a Year nor could all the Rigorous punishments which the King inflicted upon several of those Traitors deterr the rest from their disloyal Traffick with his Enemies Or if he at any time did
certain that Burthens equally pois'd are much more easie to carry In all the Cities and Towns of the Empire there are two Towers the one call'd the Drum-Tower and the other the Bell-Tower which serve to tell the Hour of the Night For the Chineses divide the Night into five parts longer or shorter according as the Nights are longer or shorter and as they are longer in Winter than in Summer At the Beginning of the Night or first Watch the Watchman strikes several stroaks upon the Drum and the Bell answers him after the same manner After that during all the first Quarter the Watchman gives one stroak upon the Drum and another Watchman one rap upon the Bell with a wooden Hammer And this they do all the first Quarter observing the space of time that a Man may say his Creed between the stroak and rap together When the second Quarter of the Night begins then they give two stroaks and two raps apiece at the same distance of time till the beginning of the third Quarter and then they give three stroaks and raps apiece When the fourth Quarter begins they give four and when the fifth Quarter begins five and as soon as Day breaks they redouble their stroaks as they do at the Beginning of the Night So that let a man wake at any time of the Night he shall know by the City Signal what Hour of the Night it is unless the wind sit so as to hinder the sound At Pekim in the King's Palace you may see Drums and Bells upon the high Towers and in the City two other Towers with Drums and Bells The City Drum is fifteen publick Cubits Diameter as is that which I have mention'd in the first remark The Palace Bell is as big as ever any that I saw in Portugal But the sound of it is so loud so clear and harmonious that it rather seems to be a Musical Instrument than a Bell. F. Athanasius Kirker in the second Chapter of his Sixteenth Book of Musurgie or Art of Concords and Discords assures us that the Bell in the City of Erfort under the Elector of Mayence is the biggest not only in Europe but in all the World. Nevertheless we have seen with our own Eyes and observ'd by the tryal which we made in the year 1667. that it is much less than that which the Fathers Iohn Adam and Ferdinand Verbiest got up with Engines to the Astonishment of the whole Court and plac'd in one of the Towers of which we have formerly spoken Of the Truth of which a man may be easily convinc'd that compares the Measures of the Bell of Erfort taken out of Father Kirker's Book and those of the Bell at Pekim compar'd by F. Ferdinand Verbiest after this manner 1. The Bottom of the Bell of Erfort is seven Chinese Cubits and â—… 1. The Diameter of the Bottom of the Bell of Pekim is Twelve Cubits and â—… 2. The Thickness of the Bell of Erfort toward the Closure is 6 10 of a Cubit and 7 10 of 1 10. 2. The Thickness of the Bell of Pekim toward the Closure is 9 10 of a Cubit 3. The Inner Depth which F. Kirker calls Altitudinem inclusae Curvaturae is Eight Cubits and five Tenths ½ 3. The Inner Depth of the Bell at Pekim is Twelve Cubits 4. The weight of the Bell of Erfort is Twenty five thousand four hundred Pound 4. The weight of the Bell of Pekim is a Hundred and Twenty thousand Pound of Brass This Bell is that which is appointed to give notice of the Watch or Hour of the Night in the City of Pekim and I dare confidently averr that there is not the like Bell in Europe and in all probability it is the biggest in the World. When they strike upon it in the Night the sound or terrible roaring rather which it makes is so loud so full and so râ—…sounding that after it has spread it self over all the City it extends it self over the Walls into the Suburbs and is heard a great way round about the neighbouring Country The Kings of China together with this extraordinary Bell caus'd Seven others to be Cast of which there are Five that still lye upon the Ground But of those Five there is one that justly deserves to be admir'd as being all over-cover'd with Chinese Characters so fair so neat and so exact that they do not look as if they had been cast but written upon Paper by some judicious and excellent Writing-Master The Chineses have also found out for the regulating and dividing the Quarters of the Night an Invention becoming the wonderful Industry of that Nation They beat to Powder a certain Wood after they have peel'd and rasp'd it of which they make a kind of Past which they rowl into Ropes and Pastils of several Shapes Some they make of more costly Materials as Saunders Eagle and other odoriferous Woods about a fingers length which the wealthy sort and the Men of Learning burn in their Chambers There are others of less value one two and three Cubits long and about the bigness of a Goose Quill which they burn before their Pagods or Idols These they make the same use of as of Candles to light them from one place to another They make these Ropes of powder'd Wood of an equal Circumference by the means of Moulds made on purpose Then they wind them round at the bottom lessening the circle at the bottom till they come to be of a Conick figure which enlarges it self at every Turn to one two and three hands breadth in Diameter and sometimes more and this lasts one two and three days together according to the bigness which they allow it For we find some in their Temples that last ten twenty or thirty days These Weeks resemble a Fisher's Net or a String wound about a Cone which they hang up by the Middle and light at the lower end from whence the Fire winds slowly and insensibly according to the windings of the string of powder'd Wood upon which there are generally five marks to distinguish the five parts of the Watch or Night Which manner of measuring Time is so just and certain that you shall never observe any considerable Mistake The Learned Men Travellers and all Persons that would rise at a precise hour about Business hang a little weight at the Mark which shews the Hour when they design to rise which when the Fire is come to that point certainly falls into a Copper Bason that is plac'd underneath and wakes them with the noise of the fall This Invention supplies the want of our Larum Watches only with this difference that this is so plain a thing and so cheap that one of these Inventions which will last Four and twenty Hours does not cost above Three pence whereas Watches that consist of so many wheels and other devices are so dear that they are not to be purchas'd but by those that have store of Money Notes upon the Eighth Chapter A.
three hundred sixty five For in regard the Emperor is stil'd the Sun of Heaven there is nothing that appertains to him to which the Chineses do not ascribe some relation to the Celestial Beings as the Heavens the Sun the Moon the Planets and the Stars Thus Lum y signifies the Habits of the Dragon for that the Imprese and Arms of the King of China are compos'd of Dragons with five Clawes and for that reason his Habits and his Moveables of necessity must be adorn'd with Dragons either in Painting or Embroidery So that when you say Lum yen the Eyes of the Dragon or Lum y the habits of the Dragon all the Chineses understand that you mean the Emperor's Eyes or the Emperor's Garments and so of the rest Lastly there are other Vessels call'd Lám chuen very light and small in Comparison of the others and which are almost as broad as they are long These are for the use of the Men of Learning and other wealthy Persons and People of Quality that go and come to and from the Court. They have belonging to them a fair Cabin a Bed a Table and Chairs where you may sleep eat study write and receive Visits with the same Convenience as if you were at home in your House The Prow belongs to the Marriners and Watermen and the Master of the Boat lives in the Poop with his Wife and Children where also the Victuals are drest for him that hires the Bark These last Vessels with several others of several Forms belong to particular Persons and are almost Innumerable And I my self in the Year 1656 by the Emperor's command went by water from Pe kim to Macao upon the grand Canal and several other Rivers for above six hundred Leagues without going by Land but only one days Journey to cross a Mountain which divides the Province of Kiam si from 〈◊〉 of Quam tum Certainly there is no Kingdom in the World so vast as this is that enjoys the like advantage Nevertheless what I am now going to relate will seem to be yet more incredible and indeed I should hardly have believ'd it my self had I not seen it my self The fourth of May in the year 1642. I departed from the City of Ham cheu Capital of the Province of Che Kiam and the twenty eighth of August of the same year I arriv'd at Chim tu the Capital of the Province of Su chuen During these four Months I made four Hundred Leagues all the way by Water counting the windings and turnings of the Rivers yet so that for a whole Month I sail'd upon two different Streams tho during all the other three Months I kept upon the grand River of Kiam which is call'd the Son of the Sea. During this tedious Journey by Water I met with every Day such vast quantities of Timber Trees tied one to another of all sorts of Wood which if they were fasten'd together would make a Bridge of several days Journey I sail'd by some of these that were fasten'd to the Shoar above an hour and sometimes for half a days swimming with the Stream Now the most wealthy Merchants of China are they that trade in Salt and Wood there being no other Commodities for which they have a more considerable Vent This Wood therefore is cut down in the Mountains of the Province of Suchuen upon the Frontiers of China to the West and after they have caus'd it to be carry'd to the Banks of the River Kiam which about those Parts falls into this Empire they Saw it into Boards and with little Expence carry it into most parts of the Provinces where they make a very great Profit by the Sale of it The Breadth of these Trains of Timber is about ten Foot and the Length either longer or shorter according to the Merchant's Stock but the longest are sometimes about half a League They rise above the Water four or five Foot and they are made after this manner They take as much Wood as is requisite for the height or thickness of four or five Foot and breadth of ten Then they make holes at the Ends of the pieces of wood through which they put wreaths of Reeds or twisted Osiers to which they fasten other pieces of Wood suffering the Float to fall down with the stream till the whole Train be as long as they desire All the parts of the Float being thus contriv'd move and yield to the Water as necessity requires as pliably as the Links of a Chain Only upon the fore-part of the Float they set four or five Men with Oars or Poles to guide the Float and make it swim where they please Upon these Floats at such and such distances they build little wooden Cottages which they sell whole as they are at the several places where they stop during their Journey Here the Merchants Sleep and shelter themselves as in their Houses dress their Meat and Eat it and put their furniture and utensils therein The same Merchants also bring from the Mountains and Forrests where they cut their Wood several sorts of Medicinal Herbs Parrots Monkeys and other things which they sell in the Cities and other places thro' which they pass to other Merchants that vend them over all the Provinces of the Empire Great Quantities of this Wood are brought to Pekim though it be distant above seven hundred Portugueze Leagues from the Mountains where the Wood is cut down And thus a Man may easily judge by what I say that there is no Kingdom in the World that can compare with China for the Benefit of going and trading by Water CHAP. X. Of the great Plenty of all things in China MOST certain it is that the two Fountains of Trade are Navigation and Plenty in a Kingdom stor'd with all sorts of Commodities China enjoys both these Advantages to that degree that no Kingdom exceeds it The great quantity of Gold which is found in all the Mountains is such that instead of Coining it into Money to buy Necessaries it is it self a Commodity Whence comes that Proverb among the Chineses so often repeated at Macao Money is the Blood but Gold is Merchandize As for Money it is now above four thousand five hundred Years that this Empire has lasted nor has their Coveteousness of Money nor their Industry to get it been less ancient So that the quantity which the Chineses have rammas'd together must needs be immense and incredible so much the rather for that whatever enters once is never carri'd out again in regard the Laws so strictly forbid it You shall rarely hear in Europe of Presents made of five Hundred or a Thousand Crowns but in China it is a usual thing to make Presents not only of a Thousand but ten twenty thirty forty thousand Crowns And certain it is that through the whole Empire but more especially at Court several Millions are expended in Presents and Entertainments and that the same thing is there every day to be seen which was
anciently said of Rome all things are there put to sale There is not any Employment of Governour of a City or Town which does not cost the Person who is preferr'd to it several Thousands of Crowns sometimes twenty sometimes thirty and so proportionably for all other Offices great and small To be a Viceroy or Governour of a Province before a Man can have his Commission seal'd will cost him twenty thirty forty and sometimes threescore sometimes seventy Thousand Crowns And yet so far is the King from receiving a Farthing of this Money that he knows nothing of the Abuse Only the Grand Ministers of the Empire the Colao's or Counsellers of State and the six Supream Tribunals of the Court are they that privately sell all Offices and Employments to the Vice-roys and great Mandarins of the Provinces On the other side they to satisfy their Avarice and to reimburse themselves of the Money laid out for their Preferments extort Presents from the Presidents of Territories and Cities who repay themselves upon the Governors of Towns and Burroughs and they or rather all together make themselves whole again and replenish their Purses at the Expence of the Miserable People So that it is a common Proverb in China that the King unwittingly lets loose so many Hang-Men Murderers hungry Dogs and Wolves to ruin and devour the Poor People when he Creates new Mandarins to Govern them In short there is not any Vice-roy Visitor of a Province or any such like Officer who at the end of Three years of his being employ'd that does not return with Six or Seven hundred Thousand and sometimes a Million of Crowns From whence I draw one Conclusion which to me seems undeniable that if we consider the natural Inclination and insatiable avarice of the Chineses there is very little Money in China but if we consider the Riches which She possesses within Her self there is not any Kingdom that may compare with it There is in China a vast Quantity of Copper Iron Tin and all other sorts of Metals especially Copper and Lattin of which they make their Great Guns an infinite number of Idols and Statues and several sorts of Dishes and Cups of various forms and of a Price and value extraordinary There are some of these Vessels which either for their Antiquity or because they were made in such a King's Reign or by such a Workman tho' otherwise very ordinary and clownish are valu'd at several Hundreds of Crowns nay sometimes a Thousand and more And indeed the City of Macao affords us an evident proof of the great plenty of these Mettals For that in that one City there are cast such numbers of great Guns to be admir'd for their goodness their bigness and their Workmanship which not only serve for the use of that City but to supply several places in the Indies and even Portugal it self Moreover a Man may judge of the Great Plenty of Copper and Tin in China by the great quantity of Copper and Tin Money that is made over all the Empire These pieces of Money have square holes in the Middle and so are threaded upon Strings which contain every one a Thousand Deniers And generally you exchange a String of a Thousand Deniers for one Crown or Chinese Tael and this exchange is made in Banks and publick places appointed for the same purpose By the way we are here to take notice that there is not any Memorial extant in China neither do we meet with any Record in their Histories or any other oâ—… their Books that ever they made use oâ—… Paper-Money in that Kingdom as M. Polo tells us in his second Book Chapter eighteenth But in regard that M. Polo is an Author of good Reputation I will here unfold the Reason that made him commit that mistake The Copper Money of China is round and generally about the bigness of a Portuguese Real and a half It has Letters stamp'd upon it which on the one side declare the Name of the Reigning Prince on the other the Name of the Tribunal that caus'd it to be Covn'd The Pieces of Gold and Silver are not Coyn'd but cast into Lingots in the form of a small Boat which at Macao are call'd Paes or Loaves of Gold or Silver Both the one and the other are of a different value The Loaves of Gold are of the value of one two ten and twenty Crowns Those of Silver of the value of half a Crown one Crown Ten Twenty Fifty and sometimes a Hundred and three Hundred Crowns These they cut with Steel Scizars which the people carry about them for that purpose and divide them into pieces bigger or lesser according to the value of the purchas'd Commodity This being granted you are to take notice that the first and fifteenth day of every Month and at all times that the Chineses carry their Dead to Enterrment they burn a great quantity of Money and Loaves made of Pastboard cover'd over with Leaf-Tin and guilded over with Leaf-Gold Varnish'd with Yellow Now these Pastboard Figures are so like the real Tin Money and Loaves of Gold and Silver that Foreigners who are not well instructed in the Customes and Superstitions of this Nation may easily be deceiv'd So much the rather because they see in the Streets and Piazza's at every turn Men laden Shops full of this Counterfeit Money Now the Chineses burn them because they believe the Ashes turn to Copper Money and Loaves of Gold and Silver which their deceas'd Parents make use of in the other World to hire Houses and to buy Cloaths and Victuals and to purchase the Favour of the King of Hell his Ministers and his Executioners to the end they may use them with less severity and be more remiss in their torments as also to oblige them not to delay but rather to hasten the time of their Transmigration or Metempsycosis by translating their Souls not into the Bodies of Beasts but into the Bodies of Men considerable for their Learning their Honors and their Wealth such is the extraordinary ignorance and blindness of these Infidels We are also farther to observe that Anciently when the Kings of China wanted Money they gave to the Mandarins and Souldiers in part of their Pay certain Tickets sign'd and seal'd with the King's Seal Which Tickets were made of Past-board about the bigness of half a sheet of Paper with their Price or Value written upon them Thus when any Person was to receive a Hundred Crowns they paid him Fifty in ready Money and the other Fifty in these sort of Tickets which are call'd Chao whence the word Chao fu is deriv'd But because the People scrupl'd to recieve these Billets instead of Money the King order'd that an Employment should be given to him that should take up these Billets and bring a Hundred back into the Royal Treasury and a more considerable Employment to him that should bring in a Thousand and so proportionably for a greater Number Which as
the King a great Revenue and if the general Visitors greatly enrich themselves by their spoils and robberies of the Mandarins and people these latter commit much greater robberies upon the Farmers who distribute the Salt into the Provinces and who are the Richest men in China as being commonly worth four or five hundred thousand Crowns a man. The third Visitation is call'd Siao Chai or the Petty Visit this Visitation is made every three months by sending Visitors frequently unknown and in disguise sometimes to one Province or City sometimes to another that he may be able to give true information against some Mandarin famous for his Tyranny and Extortion Besides these Visitations this Tribunal sends into every Province every three years a certain Visitor call'd Hio Yuen and to every City another call'd Ti Trio to examine the Batchelours of Art and suppress the violences which confiding in their privileges they act upon the people These have power to apprehend to condemn all such Offenders to the Whip and when they prove incorrigible they degrade and punish them with an extraordinary severity Lastly this Tribunal sends forth whensoever it is thought requisite a Visitor call'd Siun Ho to survey the famous Canal of which we have already spoken and to take care of the Barks which are employ'd therein By means of which Visitation he reaps more honour and profit than all the other Visitors which this Visitation sends forth The Judges of this Tribunal are lodg'd in a vast Palace where they have under them five and twenty inferiour Tribunals divided into five classes of which every one has five Tribunals with five Presidents and many Assessors and inferiour Officers The five of the first Classis are call'd Uchin Chayuen or Visitors of the five Qurters of Pe Kim The first is the Visitor of the South Walls and that Quarter of the City next adjoyning The second visits the Walls on the North side the third the Walls on the East the fourth the Walls on the West side and the fifth the Walls in the middle The Authority of these Mandarins is very great for they have power to try and punish the misdemanours of the people and the Domestick Servants of the Mandarins and great Lords But if the Offender deserve Death Confiscation of Estate or Banishment then they send him to the Criminal Tribunal Those of the Second Classis are call'd U Chin Pim Ma Su or Grand Provosts of the Five Quarters Those of the third Classis are call'd Tam quen or inferior Provosts of the five Quarters The two latter Classes make it their business to apprehend Theives and Robbers Malefactors Gamesters Vagabonds and the like and to detain them in Prison till they resign them to the Superiour Robbers It is likewise their business to keep watch and ward in the day time to go the Rounds in the Night and to set Sentinels to give notice when any fire happens in any house The Captains of the Watch are also subordinate to these two Classes For to every ten houses there belongs a Captain call'd Pai and every Pai teu have another Captain call'd Stum Kia who is oblig'd to inform the Tribunal of what is done in his District contrary to the Laws and good Customs of the City when any Strangers come to Town or of any other Novelty He is also oblig'd to exhort the several private Families by singing with a loud voice at the beginning of every night a Song consisting of five verses containing the most necessary Precepts of Morality in these words Hiao xum fu mu Tsum Kim cham xam Ho mo Hian Li Kiao tzu Sun. Mon tzo vi That is to say Obey your Parents reverence old Men and your Superiours live together in Unity instruct your Children and do no acts of Injustice In petty Towns where there are no Mandarins the care of this duty is committed to four or five of the honestest old Men call'd Lao gen who have a Captain call'd Hiam yo or Ti fam This person also sings the same Song every Night and the first and fifth of every month assembles the Inhabitants and explains the meaning of those Instructions by Similes and Examples Of which I thought it not amiss to relate some few to let the Reader see the vertuous disposition wit and good government of this Nation Obey your Parents as Lambs obey their Ews as they teach us by their extraordinary humility in kneeling when they suck and submitting to them exactly in acknowledgment of the nourishment which they receive from them Reverence the Aged and your Superiours in imitation of wild Geese who by the Order which they observe in their flight shew plainly the respect which is to be given to Seniority Live together in peace in imitation of that Love and Unity which is observ'd among Deer for when any one of them has met with a good piece of Pasturage he will not feed by himself till he has call'd together the rest of the Herd to take their share Instruct your Children like that ancient Matron call'd Tuen Ki who being a Widow every day whipp'd the onely Son that she had till she dispossest him of all his evil inclinations so that at length being renown'd for his knowledge and his vertues he came to be Chuam Yuen or chief of the Doctours of the Empire and afterwards for his Vertue and Heroick Actions was advanc'd to be Co Lao or Chief Minister of State to the Emperour Commit no acts of Injustice like that same wicked and disobedient Heu ci who out of his extraordinary Ingratitude designing to kill his Father in Law that reprov'd him for his Misdemeanours kill'd his own Mother unexpectedly whose Indulgence had been the Perdition of her Son by supplying him with Money which he spent in all manner of debauchery and by concealing the early lewdness of his Life But Heaven to make him an Example to all as wicked as himself and to deter others crush'd him to the Earth and cleft him in sunder with a Thunderbolt The Tribunal call'd Iu Hio is a mixt Tribunal which takes care of Batchelours of Arts and Military Probationers Two Presidents belong to it of which the one has the oversight of the first the other of the latter These exercise themselves in making Discourses upon the means of preserving the Estate and governing the People The other discourse of Warlike Discipline when to give Battel how to attack and defend Fortified places and other matters of the same nature The Mandarins of this Tribunal who are dispers'd over all the Provinces and Cities give them frequent occasions to exercise their wits upon these Subjects and those Mandarins are respected by those Batchelours and Probationers rather as Professors than Magistrates The two Presidents which reside at Court are Doctours both the one of Civil Learning the other in Military Discipline The other Officers are such out of whose number the King makes Mandarins out of his meer Grace and Favour or by
in the City The first which is the more considerable takes care to set Guards at all the Gates of the City to prevent the bringing in of any Goods unless they be first register'd and pay the duties demanded The second receives the duties of all things that are bought and sold in the City as Slaves Horses Camels Cattel c. The Presidents of these Tribunals are of the seventh Order and the inferiour Mandarins of the eighth and ninth These two Tribunals belong to the grand Tribunal of the Exchequer Tu pu is as it were the Tribunal of the ordinary Judge of the King's Houshold their Employment is twosold the first is to arrest Robbers and Malefactors and to make out their Processes and then if they happen to be quitted they release them if they are thought worthy of death they deliver them over to the Tribunal of Crimes As for Cut purses for the first Offence they brand them upon the left Arm with a red hot Iron for the second Offence upon the right Arm and for the third they deliver the Offenders over to the Tribunal of Crimes Their next Employment is to arrest Fugitive Slaves which they first cause to be punish'd with a hundred lashes of a Whip and then to be restor'd to their Masters But of late years they are mark'd upon the left Cheek with two Tartar and two Chinese Characters But a Chinese Mandarin by a Memorial besought the King to consider that the punishment was too rigorous for a crime that was rather the effect of desire of Liberty so natural to all Mankind than any act of a wicked inclination and that it was a thing no way becoming the City of his Majestie 's Residence to behold the Streets so full of those deformed objects of cruelty Which counsel being approv'd by the King he order'd for the future that the Letters should be branded upon the left Arm. The President of this Tribunal is of the second Order his Assistants are of the third and the rest of the Mandarins are of the seventh and eighth To this Tribunal there belongs a great number of Catch-poles and Thief takers who with an industry and cunning more than ordinary discover and apprehend all manner of Thieves Robbers and Runaway Slaves The Tribunal call'd Fu yn is that of the two Governours of the City of Xun tien Fu or Pekim but the first name is not in use because Pekim signifies properly the Court of the North. These Governours are above all the other Governours of all the Cities of the Empire and of the third Order of Mandarins and their Assessors of the fourth The first has the oversight of all the Students and all the Men of Learning who are not yet Mandarins The second takes care to instruct the people and to exhort them to live in peace and union and to inform themselves of their manner of living to punish those that introduce Novelties and Disorders to cherish labour and industry to administer Justice equally to all men to spare the people in the publick Works to know the number of the Families and persons in the City to watch day and night in redressing the miseries of the people to defend them against the wealthy and potent to comfort and ease the poor and afflicted to recompence the vertuous relieve the innocent and punish the guilty and lastly to prepare the place and all things necessary for the publick Sacrifices Such Functions as these are easie demonstrations that it is not without reason that the Chineses call the Governours of Cities Fu mu that is to say the Father and Mother of the People There are yet two Tribunals more call'd Tai Him Hien and Von Pin Hien whose employment is the same with that of the Tribunal of the Governours of the City upon which they depend and are as it were the Officers belonging to it They are two because that Pe Kim is divided into two Cities according to the Custome of the Empire where the Cities are said to be double or single according to the largeness and extent of their Territory The Presidents of these Tribunals in Cities where the Court is kept are of the sixth order and in the Cities of the Provinces of the seventh order and the four inferiour Mandarins are of the seventh eighth and ninth order Tâ—…um Gin Fu is the Tribunal of the Grandees that descend from Father to Son of the Royal Family The President is one of those that enjoy the Title of King and is always a person venerable for his Age and his Vertues He is of none of the nine orders because his dignity advances him above all the orders of the Mandarins His Assessors also are always 2 dignifi'd Lords of the Royal Bloud who are of no Order for the same reason All these officers take care to distribute the Pensions which are paid to the Kings kindred of the Male Line who whether they be great Lords or poor and at least fifteen or sixteen Generations distant in Bloud have nevertheless some Pension all of them more or less according to their dignities and proximity of Alliance They have all the privilege to paint their houses and their furniture with red But in regard the preceding family had reign'd for two hundred seventy seven years the descendents from it were multiply'd to that degree and spread to such a distance from the source of the Pedigree and their divided revenues consequently so small that several of them were reduc'd to follow trades for their subsistance So that when I enter'd first into the Empire I met with one in the Capital of the Province of Kiam Sì that was a common Porter and to distinguish himself from the rest of his Companions carried the instruments of his profession at his back very bright and varnish'd over with red There were an infinite number of them in the reign of the preceding Family dispers'd all over the Empire who abusing the privileges of their Birth committed a thousand insolences and extortions upon the poor people but they have been all since utterly extirpated together with the Family from whence they descended At present the Kindred of the King of Tartary that now reigns are all great Lords and live at Court but if their Dominion long endures they will multiply and their numbers become no less burthensome than the former This Tribunal is also entrusted to determine all Differences and processes as well civil as criminal between the Princes of the Bloud to give sentence according to the penalties which they deserve and to order execution after they have first inform'd the King of their proceedings Hoam cin is the Tribunal of the King 's Female Kindred which are of two sorts The first are they who descend from the King's Daughters married to young Gentlemen call'd and chosen for those matches and are call'd Tu ma. These according to the custom of China are not lookt upon as Princes of the Bloud nor as the King's Kindred nor
his Robe and his Cap fell upon the Prothonotary threw him upon the ground and with his Foot and Fist belabouring the poor Officer cry'd out Kâ—…ave and Impostor as thou art where is the mony that I gave thee where is the City of which thou gav'st me a promise with many other reproaches of the same Nature Thereupon the Tribunal broke up and the Mandarin and the Prothonotary were both committed to the Prison of the Criminal Tribunal where they were both in great hazard of being condemn'd to death For such sort of merchandizing is death by the Laws besides that the scandalous Circumstances of the Action render'd the Crime much more enormous In all the Towns and Cities of the Empire there is a Tribunal compos'd of a President and at least two or three Assessours which is call'd Kiao quon or Judges of the men of Letters For that their business is to take care of Learning and Learned Men and more especially to overlook the Batchelours of Art which are very numerous and frequently very poor yet trusting to their Privileges become bold and insolent and practice many Acts of Violence and Knavery to get Money from Poor and Rich and many times throw off that respect which is due to the Presidents and Governours Therefore the Ancient Kings with much prudence erected this Court to apprehend and punish them either by whipping or other penalties according to their demerits and to degrade them if incorrigible Which is the reason that the Batchelours both fear and respect those Mandarins after an extraordinary manner This Court also has power to assemble from time to time all the Learned Men of the City that is to say the Batchelours Licentiates Doctours and old Mandarins excus'd from Service by reason of their Age to treat of Sciences and Vertue To which purpose they give them Themes taken out of their Books upon which they make several Comments which this Tribunal examines publickly either applaud or discommends so that these Officers are rather Professours than Mandarins Besides these Mandarins which are common to all the Empire there are other Tribunals appropriated to particular Places and Provinces as the Mandarins of the Salt who take care to distribute it over all China by publick undertakers and to prevent private Merchants from uttering any to the prejudice of the King's Revenue Other Mandarins there are who are as it were Stewards of the Rents belonging to the King and the great Lords more especially in the Provinces that lye upon the Sea. There is also another Tribunal call'd Ti Kin Su and by the Portugueses Tai qui si For indeed the Portugueses corrupt all the Chinese words For the City of Hiam Xan or the Mount of Odours they call Ham Sam. Ma Cao is call'd Ama gao That is to say the Bay or Gulph of the Idol Ama. For Gao signifies a Bay and Ama is the Name of an Idol which is worship'd in that Part. These are the Tribunals of the Letter'd Mandarins Those of the Military Mandarins are yet more numerous For besides that they are in all Places where the Tribunal of the Learned Mandarins are erected they are also in several important Places that separate the Provinces in all Ports and Bays and many more upon the Frontiers next to Tartary There is likewise sent from the Court a Catalogue of all the Learned Mandarins which is printed and reprinted every Season of the Year wherein are set down the Names the Titles the Countrey and the Time when every one receiv'd their Degrees And such another Catalogue is printed of the Military Mandarins The Number of the Learned Mandarins over all the Empire is thirteen Thousand six Hundred forty Seven and that of the Military Mandarins amounts to eighteen Thousand five hundred and twenty in all thirty two Thousand one hundred sixty seven Mandarins which though it be most certain may seem a thing incredible Though their Distribution their Distinction and their Subordination as much surpasses belief It seems as if the Legislators had omitted nothing and that they had foreseen all Inconveniences that were to be fear'd So that I am perswaded no Kingdom in the World could be better govern'd or more happy if the Conduct and Probity of the Officers were but answerable to the Institution of the Government But in regard they have no knowledge of the True God nor of the Eternal Rewards and Punishments of the other World they are subject to no remorses of Conscience they place all their happiness in Pleasure in Dignity and Riches and therefore to obtain these fading Advantages they violate all the Laws of God and Man trampling under foot Religion Reason Justice Honesty and all the Rights of Consanguinity and Friendship The Inferiour Officers mind nothing but how to defraud the Superiour Mandarins they the Supream Tribunals and all together how to cheat the King Which they know how to do with so much cunning and address making use in their memorials of words and expressions so soft so honest so respâ—… 〈◊〉 so humble and full of Adulation and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so plausible and seemingly disinteren 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â—…ded Prince frequently takes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for solemn Truths So that the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 themselves continually oppress'd and 〈◊〉 â—…tud without any reason murmur and 〈◊〉 â—…ditions and Revolts which have caus'd â—…o much â—…ne and so many Changes in the Empire Nevertheless there is no reason that the Excellency and Perfection of the Laws of China should suffer for the depravity and wickedness of the Magistrates CHAP. XVI Of the Grandeur of the Emperour of China and of his Revenues I Have observ'd in the third Chapter the three Opinions which the Chineses have concerning the beginning of their Empire Nor do they esteem their Kings to be of less Antiquity in regard their Government has been always Monarchical and absolute without any mixture of Aristocracy I have also observ'd that Cum fu cius and all the Learned Men reject the first Opinion as merely fabulous I shall therefore only add that according to the second Opinion that the Chineses were under the Government of Kings two thousand nine hundred fifty two years before the Birth of Christ. King Fohi was the first of their Kings and the Founder of their Empite which began in the Province of Xen si the most western part of China toward the North. The Chineses paint this King cloath'd with the leaves of Trees and all agree that his Kingdom was of no great extent at first nor his People very numerous Their Histories relate how that when this King began to reign the Chineses liv'd upon Herbs and wild Fruits drank the Blood of Beasts and clad themselves in Skins But that he taught them to make Nets as well for Hunting as Fishing and was the first inventer of the Chinese Letters All the Learned believ'd this Opinion probable and some there are that hold it for certain and unquestionable In a word it seems very probable that Fohi
tasted Fruits About the middle of the Repast he sent us another Plate of Gold wherein were twenty Apples of the largest and best in the Kingdom call'd by the Name of Pin quo At the end of the Feast he sent us another Plate full of Pears and those Apples of Gold of which we have spoken in another Place The favour which the Emperour did us at that time seem'd to us surprizingly extraordinary as it did to all those that heard the Relation of it but it was no more than what was usual to all the rest that were invited in regard they are feasted by the King in the same manner every day Not but that at other times upon certain occasions of publick rejoycing he treats much more magnificently all the Great Lords and Mandarins of the Court which are about five thousand By which the Reader may readily conjecture at the Grandeur and Puissance of this Emperour and that the abundance of Provisions which is brought continually to the Court is far beyond the Relation which I have made Notes upon the sixteenth Chapter Father Magaillans had already spoken of the three Opinions of the Chineses concerning the Antiquity of China And I make no question but that if he had liv'd to finish this Work he would have put all that he says of it in the same Chapter However I did not think it proper for me to pare off any thing from this Chapter as well for that I would not make an Alteration so considerable as for that the Authour has inserted several new and 〈◊〉 Circumstances and for that the matter is also of great moment Besides that this Chapter being compos'd in the year 1669. serves for a Confirmation of the third which F. Magaillans had written in the year before as may be seen by the difference of the dates which he sets down in this Work. CHAP. XVII A Desoription of the City of Pe Kim Of the Walls that enclose the Emperour's Palace And the form of the principal Houses of China THE City or Court of Pe Kim is seated in a Plain It forms a vast Square each of the Sides of which is twelve Chinese Furlongs in length which make about three Italian Miles or near a Portugal League It has nine Gates three upon the South Side and two upon each of the other Sides Not twelve Gates according to the Relation of F. Martini in his Atlas p. 29. wherein he seems to have follow'd M. Polo l. 2. c. 7. This City is now inhabited by the Tartars and their Troops divided into eight Quarters or Banners as they call ' em But in regard that under the preceding Kings the Inhabitants were so multiply'd that the Capital was not sufficient to contain them nor the nine Suburbs answering to the nine Gates which if they are not every one a great City are at least as big as many great Boroughs there was a new City built of a square form like the Old one of which each of the Sides is six Chinese Furlongs or an Italian Mile and a half in length having the North Side joyning to the South Side of the Old City It has seven Gates and every one a Suburb well peopled more especially that which looks toward the West for that is the Side where all that come from all Parts of the Empire enter into the Capital City Both the one and the other City is divided into five Quarters or Jurisdictions as we have said in the fourteenth Chapter The principal Streets some run from the North to the South others from the East to the West But they are all so streight so long so broad and so well proportion'd that it is easie to see they were mark'd out with a line and not built by hap hazard as in our Cities of Europe The little Streets run all from the East to the West and divide all the Space between the great Streets into equal and proportionable Islands Both the one and the other are known by their particular Names as the Street of the King's Kindred the White Tower-street the Iron Lyons-street the Fish-street the Aquavity-street and so of the rest There is a Book to be sold that speaks of the Names and Situation of the Streets which serves for the use of the Lacquies that attend upon the Mandarins in their Visits and to their Tribunals and carry their Presents their Letters and their Orders to several Parts of the City and Empire For they are continually sending a great Number all over the Kingdom Whence comes that Proverb so often in the Mouths of the Chineses that the Provinces send Mandarins to Pe Kim and Pe Kim in exchange sends them none but Lacquies and Messengers And indeed it is a rare thing to meet with a Mandarin who is a Native of that City The fairest of all the Streets is that which is call'd Cham gan kiai or the Street of perpetual Repose It runs from East to West bounded on the North side by the Walls of the King's Palace and upon the South side by several Tribunals and Palaces of great Lords It is so spacious that it is about thirty Fathoms broad and so famously known that the Learned in their writings make use of it to signifie the whole City taking a part for the whole For it is the same thing to say such a one lives in the Street of perpetual repose as to say he lives at Pe Kim If the Houses were but high and built to the Street like ours the City would shew much more stately But they are all low Buildings to shew the respect which they have to the King's Palace Yet there are some Palaces that belong to the great Lords which are lofty and magnificent But they are built backward so that you see nothing to the Street but a great Gate which has houses on each Side inhabited by their Domesticks or by Merchants and handycraft Tradesmen However this is very convenient for publick convenience For in our Cities a great part of the Streets is taken up by Houses of Noble Men so that the Inhabitants are forc'd to go a great way to Market Whereas at Pe Kim and in all the other Cities of China there is every thing to be sold at your Door for entertainment subsistance or pleasure For these little Houses are as so many Magazines or Markets Shops and Taverns But for the Multitude of People so numerous it is that I dare not presume to utter it nor do I know how to make it understood All the Streets both of the old and new City are crowded with People as well the small Streets as the great as well those at the farther ends as those in the hart of the Place The Throng is every where so great that there is nothing to compare with it but the Fairs and Processions of Europe The Emperour's Palace is seated in the midst of this great City and fronts toward the South according to the Custom of that Empire where you
shall rarely see a City Palace or House of any great Person which does not face that Point of the Compass It is surrounded with a double enclosure of walls one within the other in form of a long Square The outward Enclosure is a Wall of an extraordinary height and thickness plaister'd both within and without with red Morter and cover'd with a small Roof of varnished Bricks of a yellow Gold Colour lay'd with great Art and Agreement The length of it from the South to the North Gate is eight Chinese Furlongs or two Italian Miles This Enclosure has four Gates one in the middle of each Side and every Gate compos'd of three Portals of which the middlemost is always kept shut and never open'd but onely for the King. The rest are always open to those that go in and out of the Palace from break of day till the Bell rings for cleaâ—…ing the Palace except the South Gates which are never but half open unless the King goes out or in In the time of the Chinese Kings there was a guard of thirty Souldiers with their Captain and ten Eunuchs at each Portal but at present not above twenty Tartars with their Officer By which it is apparent that Alvaro Semedo and Martini who affirm the Guard of every Gate to consist of three thousand Men and five Elephants was a great Piece of Misinformation while they took the whole for a part For there is indeed a Guard of three thousand Men in all which being distributed into Companys and Squadrons in their turns and so many days in a Month guard the Gates of the City and of the Palace where there are several others besides those we have mention'd and several Towers that environ the inner Wall. As for the Elephants they never stand at the Gates but in their Stables or rather in their Palace For they are lodg'd in a spacious Court in the middle of which there is a large and fair Room where they are kept in the Summer but in the Winter they put them into little Stalls by themselves the Pavements of which are heated with Stoves with which those Creatures could never endure the Rigour of the Winter in that Climate where many times they die through the Negligence of those that look after them Nor are there above five or six which were brought from the Province of Tun nan They never bring them out of their Stables but when the King goes forth in State in order to some publick Solemnity as to his Sacrifices or the like All manner of Entrance within these Gates is forbid to the Bonzes of Pagods to the Blind the Lame the Maim'd to Beggars such as have Scars and Wens upon their Faces or have their Ears or Moses cut and in a word to all those that have any considerable Deformity The inner Wall which immediately encompasses the Palace is extremely high and thick built of large Brick all equal and embollish'd with Battlements well contriv'd It extends from the North to the South six Furlongs or an Italian Mile and a half a Furlong and a half in breadth and fifteen Furlongs or five Miles wanting a Quarter in Circumference It has four Gates with large Vaults and Arches those to the South and North being threefold like the Gates of the first Enclosure those upon the Sides single Upon these Gates and upon the four Angles of the Wall eight Towers or rather eight Halls of an extraordinary Bigness and very good Workmanship advance themsemselves varnish'd within with a very beautifull red adorn'd with Flowers of Gold and cover'd with Tiles varnish'd with yellow During the Reign of the Chinese Kings twenty Eunuchs kept guard at each of these Gates But at present the Tartars have plac'd in their Rooms forty Souldiers with two Officers All the Mandarins of the Tribunals within the Palace and all the Officers of the King's Houshold are allow'd Entrance within this Wall. But all others are severely prohibited unless they shew a little Table of Wood or Ivory wherein their Names and the Place where they serve be set down with the Seal of the Mandarin to whom they belong This second Wall is environ'd with a deep and large Mote lin'd with free Stone and full of large and excellent Fish. Every Gate has a Draw-Bridge to lay over the Mote the South Gate excepted where the Draw bridge lies onely over one Arch. In the wide Space that separates the two Walls there are several separate Palaces some round others square which are all call'd by their proper Names conformable to the uses and divertisements for which they were design'd withall so spacious so rich and so magnificently adorn'd as might well beseem not onely many Princes but some Kings of Europe In the same Space upon the Eastern side and closely by the Wall runs a River over which are built several Bridges very fair Structures and all of Marble except the Arch in the middle where there lies a Draw-bridge and all the other Bridges of which there are a great Number in the Palace are no less beautifull and built of the same Materials On the West side where the Space is much more large there is a Lake very full of Fish five Furlongs or an Italian Mile and a quarter and made in the form of a Base-viol Where it is narrowest it is to be cross'd over a very beautifull Bridge which answers to the Gates of the Walls at the Ends of which stand two Triumphal Arches of three Arches a Piece high rais'd majestick and most excellent Workmanship This Lake of which M. Polo makes mention l. 2. c. 6. is environ'd with little Palaces or Houses of Pleasure built partly in the Water and part up the Land. The middle of the Lake being full of very beautifull Barges for the King's Use when he has a mind to fish or to be row'd about the Lake The remainder of the two East and West Spaces which is not taken up by the Lake or the separate Palaces is divided into large and well proportion'd Streets inhabited by the Officers and Artificers that belong to the King's Palace In the times of the preceding Kings those Streets cantain'd besides ten thousand Eunuchs but they who reign at present have put in their Rooms Tartars and Chineses of the Province of Leao who are lookâ—… upon as Tartars by a peculiar favour Thus much as to the outside of the Palace we are now to speak of the inside Therefore for the better understanding of that which follows there are two things to be observ'd The first that all the Cities and all the Palaces of the King the Great Lords the Mandarins and wealthy Persons are so built that the Gates and Principal Apartments look toward the South The second that whereas we build our Lodgings one Story above another the Chineses build upon the same Level one within another so that we possess the Air and they the Earth For example the great Gate that fronts the South stands
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pe kim of twelve Furlongs to the League of twenty Leagues to the Degree â—… and not twelve and a 〈◊〉 as we have already agreed it would amount 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Leagues or forty eight Furlongs and the Ground 〈◊〉 would 〈◊〉 up a hunder'd forty four Furlongs And the new City according to F. Magaillans would â—…ke up a fourth Part of the old one or thirty six square Furlongs and both together a hunder'd and fourscore square Furlongs According to Father Adam the new City would be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Furlongs in Circuit the Ground-plâ—…t fourscore 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Furlongs and both together a hunder'd 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Furlongs square 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Holland Embassie makes the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of both the Cities of Pe kim to be five Leagues 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to a Degree which agrees with the Computaâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Magaillans who allows the Circuit of both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but according to the Measures of 〈◊〉 Adam 〈◊〉 are sixty eight Furlongs in Circumfeâ—… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Leagues and two thirds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we â—…pare Pe kim with some other Cities 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 both Cities taken together are much 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Kiâ—…m nan though according to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Trigaut they are much better 〈◊〉 Semedo and Trigaut make Nan kim to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which amount to seâ—…ty two Furlongs and make an Area of three hunder'd and fourscore Furlongs square so that the two Cities of Pe kim according to the Opinion of Father Adam not containing above two hunder'd and forty Furlongs by consequence take up not above three fourths of the Ground enclos'd within the first Circuit of Nan kim For I do not speak of the second which by the report of Authours does not form an entire Enclosure but consists onely of some Entrenchments to secure the City where the avenues are most easie of access The Second difficulty is about the Situation of the seven Gates which our Authour gives the new City The Authour of the Holland Embassie says that when you enter in at the South Gate you are half an hour before you come to the second Enclosure of the City that is to the South Walls of the Ancient City Which space of half an hour in crossing the new City agrees with the breadth which F Adam and F. Magaillans allow it He goes on and says that the second Enclosure is fortify'd with a broad Mâ—…e full of River Water Which circumstance shâ—…ws us that the new City has no other Wall on the North side thâ—… that of the old City from which it is onely separated by a Mote So that all the Relations make 〈◊〉 but of 〈◊〉 Enclosures which you are to cross before you câ—…me to the Palace Whence that it seems the 〈◊〉 Gates of the old City ought to joyâ—… to the new City which 〈◊〉 is difficult to apprehend considering the length 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Magaillans seems to gâ—…ve it but very easie to understand according to F. Adam's Meaâ—…ure And therefore to avoid confusion I have not joyn'd the new City immediately to the old one as I am 〈◊〉 to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ought to have dâ—…ne Which being granâ—…d my Opinion is that it ought to have three Gates 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 side to answer the three Gates of the old City 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the East side and anâ—…ther upon the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Authour in that Paragraph says that every Gate leads to a particular Suburb well peopl'd more especially that which looks toward the West Now he had not explain'd himself right if there be more than one Gate and one Suburb on the West side And thus there remain but two Gates which I have plac'd on the South side and I do not expect to meet with any thing more exact till we have further News from China The third thing that puzzles me is the great Number of Suburbs belonging to the two Cities Our Authour says that every Gate leads to its Suburb So then as there are sixteen Gates nine in the old and seven belonging to the new City there must also be sixteen Suburbs But this seems to be impossible by reason that according to our Authour and other Relations the North side of the new City joyns to the South side of the old and you enter out of the first into the second at three Gates as Father Adam says expresly in these words Tribus portis ab anteriorem Urbem est pervia Consequently the southern Gates of the old City can have no Suburbs no more than the northern Gates of the new especially if they are onely separated by a Mote So then according to this supposition the old City can have but four Suburbs the new City but two and both together but six Or if you will have the seven Gates of the new City to be separated and distant from the Gates of the old City then there will be thirteen Suburbs in all and not sixteen Which makes me think our Authour meant that every separate Gate that lead into the Countrey had a Suburb Now in regard that neither our Authour nor any Relation speaks exactly of the Fortifications of this great City it will not be amiss to set down here what I have collected from Trigault Semedo Martini Adam and out of the Holland Embassie The old Town is environ'd with strong Walls defended by several Towers plac'd a Stones throw one from another F. Adam numbers the Towers to be three hunder'd and sixty which make a hunder'd fourscore and two Foot of Paris He says moreover that among these Towers at the distance of every two Furlongs there is one of a larger Bulk which might be easily made a Bastion by adding the Point or two Faces of the Bastion which are wanting The whole Circuit of the City is forty eight Furlongs whence it follows that there are twenty four great Towers which would make twenty four Bastions which would be distant one from the other about four hunder'd and fifty Fathoms or five hunder'd and forty Geometrical paces The Wall is properly a Rampart consisting of two Brick walls the Bottom of which is of large free Stone according to Trigaut and Martini and the Spaces between are fill'd up with Earth after the manner of our strong Forts in Europe F. Adam says that the Rampart is fifty Cubits or Chinese foot high that is to say seven Fathom and seven and 7 24 or forty three Foot and three Quarters and that the thickness of it is twenty four Cubits or Chinese Feet that is to say three Fathoms and a half or twenty one Foot. All the old Wall is surrounded with a deep and large Mote full of Water and the Rampart and Towers are furnish'd with all sorts of Armes necessary for their defence according to the Custom of the Countrey Moreover the Relation of the Dutch Embassie observes that there was a large Portcullis belonging to the Gate through which the Embassadours enter'd It is so spacious that it is above thirty Fathom broad It is in the Original above twenty Lances
are cut for the Rabbets to borough and Hares to sit in of which those little Hills are very full Nor is the same Enclosure without a great Number of Deer and Goats nor the Trees less frequented with several sorts of Birds both wild and tame Which is the reason that the King often visits this Place to hear the Musick of the Birds and to see the Beasts run and skip up and down Of these Hills M. Polo makes mention in his second Book c. 16. To the North and within two Musquet shot of these Hills stands a very thick Wood and at the End of the Wood adjoyning to the Wall of the Park are to be seen three Houses of Pleasure extraordinary for their Symmetry with lovely Stairs and Terrasses to go from one to the other This is a Structure truly Royal the Architecture being exquisite and makes the eighteenth Apartment being call'd the Royal Palace of long Life A little farther stands a Portal like the former which makes the nineteenth Apartment and is call'd the high rais'd Portal of the North. Out of this you come into a long and broad Street adorn'd on both sides with Palaces and Tribunals beyond which stands a Portal with three Gates built within the outermost Enclosure and is call'd the Portal of the Repose of the North. This is the last and twentieth of these Apartments that make up the King's Palace in a streight Line from North to South Notes upon the eighteenth Chapter I. The first Apartment call'd Tai cim muen or the Portal of great Purity It consists of three great Gates and three Vaults that support a lovely Hall. Behind lies a spacious Court of a greater length than breadth garnish'd on both sides with Portico's and Gallericâ—… supported by two hunder'd Columns This Court is bounded by the Street of Perpetual Repose which is divided by two Gates one upon the West the other upon the East side We have plac'd them at a venture because their Situation is not mark'd down in the Relation II. The second Apartment which ought to be call'd the first because it lâ—…ads into the outer Enclosure of the Palace This Apartment or Portal is compos'd of five Gates three great ones in the middle which never open but for the King himself and two lesser on each side through which all People are permitted to pass to and fro There are also five great Vaults or Arches which support a spacious Hall adorn'd as our Authour describes it and beyond it a Court much larger than the former but in regard we had not any measure of the parts of the Palace I could not tell how to give it its due Proportion This Court like the rest is garnish'd on the right and left hand with Portico's Galleries Halls and Chambers III. The third Apartment call'd the Portal of the Beginning with its Court belonging to it like the former IV. The fourth Apartment and first of the second Enclosure call'd the Tower or Portal of the South It has three Gates three Vaults and a Hall above larger higher rais'd and more majestick than the former This Hall has on each side two Galleries that extend toward the South bounded at both ends by two Pavillions or lesser Halls c. In this Hall hangs the Bell and the Drum mention'd in the eighth Chapter V. The fifth Apartment call'd the Supream Portal with its Court before it form'd of five great Gates with an ascent to it of five magnificent Marble pair of Stairs Before your come at it you cross a great Mote mark'd in the Draught over five Marble Bridges that answer to the five pair of Stairs VI. The sixth Apartment call'd the Supream Imperial Hall. To which you ascend by five pair of magnificent Marble Stairs each pair of forty two steps c. In this Hall the Emperour receives the Homages and Submissions of the Princes great Lords Mandarins c. which our Authour describes so exactly that there is nothing more to be added onely what Semedo and some other Authours relate that the same Days the same Ceremonies are perform'd in all the Cities of the Kingdom where all the Mandarins meet at the Governours Palace before a Throne upon which are erected the Royal Ensigns where they use the same Ceremonies and Reverences as before the Emperour already related by our Authour Father Magaillans tells us that as fast as the Mandarins come to the place they take their stands according to their Rank and Qualitiy in places appointed for every one of the nine Orders which are mark'd and writ down at the Bottom of little Pillars Father Adam says these Pillars are of Brass and square He also gives us an accompt of the Distinctions of the nine Orders of Mandarins which I never read in any other Authour and therefore it may not be amiss to insert them here The Mandarins of the first Order wear at the Top of their Cap or Bonnet which ends in a very flat Cone a Carbuncle enchac'd in Gold and a Pearl at the Bottom before Upon their Girdles also glitter four Stones highly esteemed in China enchac'd in Gold and cut into long Squares three Fingers broad and four in length This stone call'd by the Chineses Yusce is brought from the Kingdom of Cascar by the Mahometan Merchants that come from thence to China every three years under pretence of an Embassie It is somewhat greenish and resembles a Iaspar onely that it is harder somewhat transparent and enclining to white As for the great Lords who are above all the nine Orders of Mandarins they are distinguish'd from the first Order onely by the Stones in their Girdles which are round with a Saphyr in the middle The petty Kings so call'd though they enjoy nothing of Sovereignty instead of a Carbuncle wear at the Top of their Bonnets a Ruby adorn'd with several Pearls with a Flower of Gold fasten'd at the lower end of their Bonnets that come over their Foreheads The Emperour himself wears a Bonnet of the same form and at the point of it a Pearl as big as a Pigeons Egg with several other lesser Pearls dangling underneath his Girdle also dazles the Eye with the pretious Stones and Pearls with which it is cover'd all over The Mandarins of the second Order wear at the Top of their Caps a large Ruby and another which is less at the Bottom Their Girdles are adorn'd with demy Globes of Gold embellish'd with Flowers of the same Metal with a Carbuncle in the middle The Mandarins of the third Order at the point of their Caps carry a Carbuncle enchas'd in Gold and a Saphyr at the Bottom and upon their Girdles demy Globes adorn'd with Flowers onely They of the fourth Order wear a Saphyr and at the Bottom another Saphyr which is less having upon their Girdles plain demy Globes of Gold onely The Mandarins of the fifth Order wear onely a Saphyr in their Caps in other things like those of the fourth Order The Mandarins of the
sixth Order at the Top of their Bonnets wear a Crystal neatly shap'd and at the Bottom a Saphyr â—… Their Girdles being cover'd with pieces of Rhinoâ—…s Horns set in Gold They of the seventh Order have nothing but an Ornament of Gold at the point of their Caps with a Saphyr at the Bottom and their Girdles cover'd with Silver-plates They of the eighth Order carry also an Ornament of Gold but without any Iewâ—… at the Bottom having their Girdles cover'd with thin pieces of Rhinoceros's Horn. The Mandarins of the ninth Order wear a Bonnet of Sattin purfl'd with Silver and pieces ef Bufola's Horns inchas'd in Silver upon their Girdles Besides these nine Orders the Licentiates wear upon the Top of their Heads a Dove of Gold or guilt upon a Bodkin of the same Metal with flat pieces of Rhinoceros's Horns upon their Girdles Lastly the Batchelers of Art wear the same Doves but of Silver onely and Plates of Bufola's Horns upon their Girdles Their Habits also serve to distinguish the various Orders of Mandarins The learned Mandarins of the three first Orders and the Military Mandarins of the four first Orders are distinguish'd from the Inferiour Orders by their Garments enricht with Figures of Dragons They also wear a certain sort of Surcoat variegated with the Figures of Birds and Beasts in Embroidery which serve also to distinguish the various Orders of the Mandarins But in regard they are not bound to wear them regularly especially in the Summer by reason of excessive heats they are no such certain Signs of Distinction between the Orders and Degrees of the Mandarins as those other which we have already mention'd For no man dares to quit them or wear them indifferently as he pleases himself without a breach of the Laws and the same Laws have regulated the places which every one ought to take when they meet in the Palace The letter'd Mandarins stand upon the King 's left hand which in China is the most honourable place the Military Mandarins upon the Right and the King himself always looks toward the South when he sits upon his Throne VII The seventh Apartment call'd the high rais'd Hall with a Court before it VIII The eighth Apartment call'd the Supream Middle Hall. IX The ninth Apartment call'd the Hall of Sovereign Concord To this Hall are joy'nd two others one upon the West and the other upon the East side In this Hall it is that the Emperour sits in Counsel Morning and Afternoon with his Colao's or Counsellers of State and the Mandarins of the six Supream Tribunals Upon the East side of this Apartment stands the Palace of the Supream Councel compos'd of Colao's and above three hunder'd Mandarins X. The tenth Apartment call'd the Portal of Heaven clear and without blemish It has sive Gates like the rest and you ascend to the middlemost by three pair of stairs each pair of above forty steps a piece XI The ' leventh Apartment call'd the Mansion of Heaven clear and without blemish is the most beautifull of all as you may see by the Relation of our Authour I have observ'd in the Draught the Towers of Brass and the great Chafers which he speaks of In this Apartment the Emperour resides with his three Queens and his Concubines The Chineses will have this Apartment to be no more than the ninth for that they never reckon'd the first which is without the outward Enclosure to be one and besides they make but one Apartment of this of that before it and the next that follows it which serves to explain the meaning of the Chineses when they say that the King sleeps within nine Walls which some Relations misunderstanding have ill explain'd the sense of the Words XII The twelfth Apartment call'd the fair and beautifull Middle-House the King 's second Logding XIII The thirteenth Apartment and the King 's third Lodging call'd the House which entertains Heaven XIV The fourteenth Apartment which cousists in a great Garden several Courts and other void Spaces which the Authour does not particularly describe and which the smallness of the Plate would not have permitted me to distinguish though they had been describ'd XV. The fifteenth Apartment call'd the Portal of mysterious Valour and the last of the innermost Enclosure After that you cross the Mote over a fair Marble Bridge and after that a Street which runs from East to West XVI The sixteenth Apartment call'd the high rais'd Portal of the South Which has three Gates and a Court where the King manages his great Horses 30 Fathom broad and 230 in length XVII The seventeenth Apartment call'd the Portal of ten thousand Years Which has five Gates and leads into a magnificent Park full of wild Beasts Hills and Woods Other Relations say that the Hills were made of the Earth digg'd out of the Lake when it was first made XVIII The eighteenth consists of three beautifull Summer-Houses and is call'd the Royal Palace of long Life XIX The nineteenth Apartment is call'd the high rais'd Portal of the North and leads into a large and long Street XX. The twentieth Apartment seated beyond that street in the outtermost Enclosure which has but three Gates and is call'd the Portal of the Repose of the North. Here I must inform the Reader that the five last Apartments do not seem to be sufficiently distinguish'd especially the nineteenth and the great Street which is next to it But I could do no better notwithstanding all the pains that I took For I found that the Ground between the two Enclosures was too narrow for so many Apartments for a place to ride the great Horse a spacious Park and Streets c. Now some Relations say that the Emperour's Palace extends to the Wall of the City on the North side which would have afforded me space enough and to spare But I durst not vary from my Authour who clearly seems to say the contrary and who would not have fail'd to have mark'd the place where these Apartments had crossed the exteriour Enclosure which he never sets down till at last So that we must be forc'd to stay for a new Relation to unfold these Difficulties CHAP. XIX A Description of twenty particular Palaces contain'd in the inner Enclosure of the Emperour's Palace BEsides the Palace design'd for the Emperour's Person there are erected on the other side several particular Palaces many of which for their Beauty Splendour and Largeness might well serve for the Mansions of great Princes But for the better apprehending of their Situation it is to be observ'd that the Space which the inner Wall encloses is divided into three distinct Parts by two great and high Walls that run from the South to the North. These Walls have no Battlements but are cover'd with Tiles varnish'd over with yellow and the Top is rais'd and trimm'd with a thousand Designs and Figures all of the same Materials and the same Colour The Eves of this little Roof end in Dragons in Demy-Relief which
go to the North call'd Tum sien tien or the Palace where Honours are pay'd to the deceas'd Kings of the Royal Family IV. The fourth Palace on the West side call'd Gin chi tien or the Palace of Mercy and Prudence where the funeral Honours are pay'd to the King after his Decease V. The fifth Palace on the East side call'd Tzu kim cum or the Palace of Compassion and Ioy where the Heir to the Crown resides till the Death of his Father VI. The sixth Palace on the West side call'd Kim ho cum or the Palace of Union and Flourishing Here the second and third Sons of the Emperour reside till they marry VII The seventh Palace or fourth on the West side call'd Yuen hoen tien or the Palace of the Royal Nuptials because the Nuptials of the King and the Heir to the Crown are there solemniz'd VIII The eighth Palace or fourth on the West side call'd Tsu nim cum or the Palace of Piety being the Residence of the Queen Mother and her Maids of Honour IX The ninth Palace or fifth to the East call'd Chum cui cum or the Palace of Beauty X. The tenth Palace or fifth to the West call'd Kia â—…iam cum or the happy Palace appointed for the Sisters and Daughters of the King before they are marry'd XI The ' leventh or sixth to the East call'd Y hao tien or the Palace of due Title XII The twelfth or sixth Palace to the West call'd Siam nim cum or the Palace of Felicity XIII The thirteenth or seventh Palace to the East call'd Gin chu cum or the Palace of long Life XIV The fourteenth or seventh Palace to the West call'd Kien nim cum or the Palace of Celestial Repose In this Palace the second and third Queen keep their Courts together with the Concubines and other Ladies of the deceas'd King. So that this Palace serves for the same use as the old Seraglio at Constantinople XV. The fifteenth or eighth to the East call'd Kiao ta tien or the Palace of great Friendship XVI The sixteenth or eighth to the West call'd Guen nim cum or the Palace of the place of Repose To these Palaces the King retires when he has a mind to be private with his first Queen XVII The seventeenth Palace or ninth to the East call'd Chim kien cum or the Palace that receives Heaven XVIII The eighteenth Palace or ninth to the West call'd Y xuen cum or the Palace of the elevated Earth To the first of these two Palaces the King retires with his second Queen and to the second with his third XIX The nineteenth Palace or tenth to the East call'd Lum te tien or Palace of abounding Vertue XX The twentieth or tenth Palace to the West call'd Kiun sin tien or the Palace that envelops the Heart In these two Palaces are kept the King's Iewels and Rarities of an inestimable Price Our Authour tells us that this Treasure has been filling for these four thousand and twenty five Years and that in all that time nothing has been taken out of it But this is to be understood unless there happen any sudden Conflagration or that the City had not been taken and plunder'd by the Enemy who never trouble themselves to observe the Laws of China in that particular For example all the Relations that mention the Wars of the Tartars among the rest Martini and Couplet tell us that in the year 1644. the Rebel Li or Li cum not daring to abide the coming of the Tartars to Pe kim spent eight Days in removing all that there was of precious and valuable in the Palace To every one of the Palaces belong twenty four separate Apartments with a Royal Hall in the middle I have plac'd them as they stand in the Draught for a Man may easily believe that the last where the Women reside and where the Treasure lies ought to be most remote from the principal Gate CHAP. XX. Of several other Palaces and some Temples erected within the same Enclosures ALL these Palaces which we have hitherto mention'd are seated within the innermost Enclosure of the Palace from which they are separated by two Walls and divided one from another by other Walls of the same Fabrick Those that follow are seated between the two Enclosures The first is call'd Chum hoa tien or the Palace of the doubl'd Flower Now to understand this Name you are to take notice that about two hunder'd years ago one of the Chinese Kings contrary to the Advice of his Grandees and People would needs go and fight the Western Tartars who took several places and lay'd waste the Province of Pe kim but he was overthrown taken and carry'd into Tartary where the Chineses believ'd him to be dead and therefore set up his Brother in his place Some Months after Embassadours came from the Tartars who brought news that he was alive and demanded a Ransom both for him and the rest of the Prisoners So soon as the new King receiv'd this Intelligence he gave Order to Commissioners to treat about his Brother's Enlargement and appointed a magnificent Palace to be built whither he intended to retire upon his Brother's Return The Palace being finish'd and the Treaty concluded the Prisoner was brought to the Frontiers where the Tartars receiv'd a great Summ of Money great Quantities of Silk and Cotton and all that they demanded Thereupon the King returning to Pe kim the new King would have resign'd the Scepter into his hands but the old King would not accept it but retir'd to the Palace which his Brother had prepar'd for himself without ever offering to moddle any more with the Affairs of the Government Three years after that the new King dy'd and then the old King accepting the Crown was crown'd a second time and then the Learned Men according to the Custom gave him another Name calling him Tien xum or the King who follow'd the Will of Heaven They also gave a new Name to the Palace where he had liv'd three years retir'd calling it Chum hoa tien or the Palace of the doubl'd Flower alluding to the double Coronation of the King. The Bridge over which they cross the Mote that surrounds this Palace is a wonderfull piece of Workmanship It is a Dragon of an extraordinary Bulk whose fore and hind-feet standing in the water supply the place of Pillars and whose Body Dolphin like makes the middle Arch and two more the one with his Tail the other with his Head and Neck The whole is made of black Jasper stone so well clos'd and so well wrought that it seems not onely to be of one piece but represents a Dragon to the life It is call'd Ti kiam or the flying Bridge For the Chineses report that this Dragon flew through the Air from a Kingdom in the East-Indies which they call Tien cho or the Kingdom of Bamboos whence they also pretend that their Pagod and their Law was brought in former times They also tell
time having no power to to constrain them to an Enterrment It is also lawful when a Person dies at a distance from his own House to transport his Body from one City or Province to another as it is usual for the Richer sort and the Mandarins to do provided nevertheless that they do not bring their dead Bodies through the Cities but round about by the Walls These Coffins which are generally of some sort of precious Wood cost many times two hundred and sometimes above a thousand Crowns And the Children of the Deceas'd are so obsequious as to cause these Cossins to be carry'd for several days and sometimes for a whole months Journey together at an extraordinary expence to lay them in the Sepulchres of their Ancestors And indeed the Sepulchres of their Grandees are very magnificent Structures and certainly deserve â—…oth to be seen and Admir'd For they are very fair and large Houses all vaulted erected upon a Mountain or plain wherein they also presently put the Coffin and cover it with as much Earth as will make a little Hillock which they adorn and plant in wonderful Order and Symmetry with Trees of several sorts Before the Hillock they Erect a large Altar of white Polish'd Marble upon which they place a great Candlestick of Marble Steel or Tin and upon each side another Candlestick of the same materials Then upon each side and in several files you shall see rang'd in very good order a great number of Figures of Mandarins Gentlemen Pages Eunuchs Lions Horses Saddel'd Camels Tortoises and other Creatures Whose Actions and Movements are represented with that lively briskness that you would think them alive indeed the Chineses being very happy in their manner of expressing in dead Sculpture the most lively Passions of the Mind as Joy Fear Anger Melancholy and the like They reckon Three Thousand Thirty Six Men famous and renowned for their Vertues their Knowledge and their Prowess their Loyalty toward their Princes their Obedience toward their Parents or for some good Work or Action performed for the benefit of their Country They also reckon Two Hundred and Eight Virgins and Widows who for their Chastity their Courage and Heroick Actions are thought worthy of Eternal Memory and are Celebrated in their Stories and Poesies as being honour'd by the Chineses with Titles Inscriptions Temples and Triumphal Arches Lastly There are in China Thirty Two Princes or Petty Kings Palaces much less then the Emperors but which resemble those in form and in the disposal and contrivance of the Halls Chambers Gardens and all other Parts according to the Model of that Palace where the Emperor keeps his Residence Notes upon the Second Chapter A. P. 32. IN the Portuguese Original just against this part the Author has set down these words in the Margin A Ly contains a Hundred and Sixty Paces a Pace Six Cubits a Cubit the length of this Margin A Ly is a Chinese Furlong a Cubit is a Chinese Foot. I measur'd likewise exactly the length of the Margin in the Original which as the Author says is equal to a Chinese Cubit and found that it was to the Foot of Paris as Seven to Eight that is to say that the Foot of Paris exceeded the Chinese Cubit a Seventh part of that Cubit But in regard it is very requisite to know the proportion of these Measures we are to understand that in Geography all Itinerary Measures are â—…o be reduc'd to one degree of a great Circle of the Earth There has been great Labour and Industry employ'd in all Ages and among all the more Eminent Nations to determine the Measure of one of these degrees but with so little success and so much uncertainty that you shall hardly meet with two Geographers that agree in this particular as may be seen in their Works and more especially in the reformed Geography of Father Riccioli a Iesuit who has made a large Collection of those varieties of Opinions ' â—…would be to no purpose to dive into the Causes of both their Errors or of the great difficulty to determine precisely the measure of a degree Let it suffice therefore to say that at length the Royal Society of Sciences at Paris compos'd of the most Learned Men and most Ingenious Astronomers and Geometricians of Europe has brought this difficult undertaking to perfection with so much Caution Care and Exactness that we cannot believe that future Ages will be able to add any thing to their Inventions Here then is the Proportion or Measure of the great Circle of the Earth according to the Measures of several Countries The Measure of the Great Circle of the Earth Fathoms of Paris 57060 Paces of Bolognia in Italy 58481 Perches of Rhine of 12 Foot to each 29556 Parisian Leagues of 2000 Fathoms 28¼ Middle Leagues of France of about 2282 Fathoms 25 Sea Leagues or an Hour 's running 20 English Miles 5000 Foot to each 73 1 200 Miles of Florence of 3000 Fathom 63 1 10 The Circumference of the Earth Fathoms of Paris 2054 1600 Leagues of 25 to a degree 9000 Sea Leagues 7200 The Diameter of the Earth Fathoms of Paris 6538594 Leagues 25 to a Degree 2864â—… Sea Leagues 2291 59 71 The Measure of a Degree 57660 Fathoms Of a Minute 951 Fathoms Of a Second 61 Fathoms Supposing the Foot of Paris of 1440 parts The Foot of the Rhine or Leyden has 1390 The Foot of London 1350 The Foot of Boloyne 1686 The Fathom of Florence 2â—…80 Value of a Degree 57060 Fathoms Of a Minute 951 Of a Second 16 Fathoms By these Measures 't is apparent that it is to no purpose to say that a Degree contains so many Foot of France or Spain or so many Italian or German Miles if you do not at the same time tell the Number of Fathoms and Feet which those Miles and Leagues contain and the Measure and Proportion of the said Fathoms and Feet This being granted 't is no wonder that the Itinerary Measures have been so uncertain in Europe till now that they should be much morâ—… uncertain in China more especially considering that the Chineses are very Ignorant in Geometry and very little skill'd in Astronomy and for that the Missionaries can hardly find time and requisite Conveniences to measure a Degree and examine the Proportions between the Measures of China and those of Europe However they have already rectifi'd the Map of this great Kingdom very much by several observations and illustrated many things But still they are frequently oblig'd to have recourse to the Chinese Authors â—…s Father Magaillans acknowledges in this place because the Bigness and Proportion of the Cubit and Furlong with the Measures of Europe are still unknown Father Riccioli upon the Authority of Father Martini believes the Chinese Cubit to be equal to the Ancient Roman Foot of Vilalpandus but I find by the Measure mark'd down by Father Magaillans that it is lesâ—… by about a Seventeenth part The Fathers Massei Trigaut and
Cities in other places along by the Walls It crosses one part of the Province of Pe-Kim afterwards all the Province of Xan tum and after it has enter'd into the Province of Nan kim discharges it self into that great and rapid River which the Chineses call the Yellow River Upon this River you Sail for about two days and then you come into another where you Sail about the length of two Musquet Shot at what time you meet with a Canal which the Chineses open'd upon the South-side of this last River and which runs toward the City of Hoai ngan afterwards this Canal runs through many Cities and Towns till it come to the City of Yam cheu the most famous Sea-port Town of all in the Empire Soon after it discharges it self into the River Kiam a good days Journey from the City of Nan Kim Certainly this was an Undertaking and Performance very great and Magnificent nor is the Building of Eleven hundred forty five Royal Inns much inferiour to it Only the raising of several Thousands Fortresses and the Walls Five hundred Leagues in length which environ China is more to be wondred at Notes upon the Seventh Chapter A. P. 114. It is now above Four hundred years ago since the Western Tartars conquer'd c. CHingis Can the Founder of the Monarchy of the Tartars the largest that ever was in the World or at least his Son Octay Can about the year 1220. began the Conquest of North China setting upon the Eastern Tartars in whose Possession it had been about a Hundred and seventeen years according to the Chronology of F. Couplet But the entire Conquest of China was not Compleated till the year 1220. by the Fifth Emperor after Ching is Can call'd by our Historians in imitation of the Eastern Tartars Cublay Can or Cobila The Chineses who give him great Encomiums call him Xi Su and affirm that formerly he was call'd Ho pie lie which I believe to be no other than the Name of Cublay or Cobila corrupted in regard the Chineses Pronounce very ill and corrupt almost all the Names and Words of other Nations as our Author has observ'd in his first Chapter that M. Polo had Corrupted the â—…artar Name of the Ancient Pe Kim calling it Can bâ—…lu instead of Han palu The Chineses commit the same Mistakes in the Pronunciation of Foreign Languages changing Letters and adding Vowels to facilitate Pronunciation in regard that all the Words of their Language are Monosyllables Thus I have seen in a Manuscript Discourse of the Necessity of performing Divine Service in the Chinese Language which highly deserves to be Printed that the Chineses instead of Crux Pronounce Cu lu câ—… Instead of Pronouncing Beatus they say Pe jâ—… su sâ—… For Baptizo they cry Pa pe ti so and in stead of Bartholmeus Pa ulh to lo meusu And in the same manner 't is very probable that they might have said Ho pie lie instead of Cublay or Cobila changing the C into H and the b into p so reading Hopili instead of Cobili and adding e to facilitate the Pronunciation This Prince Xi Su or Cubluy Can it was that caus'd the Grand Canal to be made which the Author describes with his usual Exactness and which is without question one of the most Magnificent and Admirable undertakings in the Universe Only there is one thing we would fain know whether these Sluces are made like those in France and the Low-Countries that is to say whether they are made of two Gates at a distance one from the other between which the water rises For by the Relation of Father Magaillans and that of F. Trigant the Chinese Sluces seem to be no more than only a bâ—…re Gate made fast with pieces of Wood let fall perpendicularly till the Overture be wholly stopt up The water being swell'd in this manner they draw up these pieces of Wood one after another and then cause the Vessels to ascend or fall which sometimes would not be able to Sail for want of Water in the Canal if iâ—… were not retain'd and stopp'd by this Invention But this is not so convenient as a Sluce with two Gates and a Hutch between both Thus the Author of the Relation of the Dutch Embassy reports that the Sluces in China are not open'd but with great difficulty and that they are a great hindrance to the Voyage However this is a Thing very Remarkable that a man may at any time go from one end of China to the other for the space of above Six hundred Leagues unless it be one Iourney only by Land between the Provinces of Quam Tum and Kiamsi or between the Cities of Nan hium and Nan gan where you Embark again upon the River of Can. Upon which it will not be amiss to observe that the Author of the Dutch Embassy made a considerable Mistake in confounding the River Can with the great River Kiam which comes from the Province of Iunnan and touches only the Northern Extremity of the Province of Kiamsi whereas the River Can divides it in two running through it from South to North. CHAP. VIII Of the great Industry of this Nation THe Magnificence and great Number of Publick Works in China is not only the Effect of vast Charges and Expences but of the extraordinary Industry of the Nation They do all manner of Mechanick Works with a far less number of Tools and with more Ease than we do For as in this Country here is not a foot of Land that lyes wast so there is not any Man or Woman young or old lame deaf or blind that has not a way to get a Livelyhood or that has not some Trade or Employment The Chineses have a common Proverb ChuÌ„m quÌ„e vù y vo In China there is nothing thrown away How vile and useless a thing may appear to be it has its Use and may turn to Profit For example in the City of Pekim only there are above a Thousand Families who have no other Trade to subsist on but only by Selling of matches for Tinderboxes and weeks for Candles There are also as many that have nothing else to live upon but by picking up in the Streets and among the Sweepings of Houses Rags of Silk Cotton and Linnen-Cloth pieces of Paper and other things which they wash make clean and then Sell to others that make use of them in several Trades Their Invention also for the carrying of Burthens is very curious for they do not carry their Burthens by main Strength as we do but by Policy in this manner They fasten the things which they are to carry either with Cords or Hooks or put them in Baskets or Hampers and hang them afterwards at both ends of a flat piece of Wood made on purpose which they take up upon their Shoulders equally pois'd so that the Burthen weighs as much on the one side as on the other Which Invention is a very great Convenience it being most