a high Wall about it with three stately and broad Gates between each of which were very large Courts The Ambassadors immediately caus'd the Emperor's Presents and all their own Goods to be brought into their Lodgings where they found all things in good condition without the least loss or damage At Night came two Tartar Commanders with twelve Soldiers by the Emperor's Order to guard the Gates of their Lodgings and take care that the Command of his Imperial Majesty might be duly observ'd and the Ambassadors supplied with all things convenient The next Day early in the Morning appear'd the Mandorin Pinxenton with two other Commanders who were likewise come thither from Canton as also the two Agents of the Canton Vice-Roys who had their Residence in this Court. Not long after came some Lords of the Imperial Council attended with the Chief Secretary Thouglovia who was a Chinese by Birth and a very civil Person having likewise in their Company two other Mandorins call'd Quanlovia and Hoolovia the last whereof was Secretary to the Council though a Stranger to the Chinese Language After they had pass'd some Complements to one another they acquainted the Ambassadors that they were come to bid them welcom in the Name of the Emperor and his Council and to enquire after their Healths and the number of their Followers the quality and quantity of their Presents and lastly concerning the Person and Place from whom and from whence the same were properly sent Whereupon the Ambassadors deliver'd a List to the Mandorins consisting of twenty four Persons who all of them belong'd to the Embassy wherewith they were satisfi'd But in regard these Commissioners could not well understand nor apprehend this Form of our Government because the Tartars and Chineses know no other than Monarchical neither could they tell what the Name of Prince signified the Ambassadors had no little trouble to work them into a good Opinion of our State therefore they were forc'd to make use of the Name of the Prince of Orange as if they had been sent by his Highness concerning whom they ask'd several Questions and among the rest Whether the Ambassadors were ally'd to their Prince for they have a Custom That no Foreign Ambassadors are to bow their Heâ—ds before the Emperor's Throne unless they be such as are a Kin to him that sent them as the Ambassadors of Corea and the Liquese Islands who came hither the last Year were the Brothers and Kindred of those Kings that sent them without which they would have no great Credit and Reputation with the Emperor To which the Ambassadors reply'd That they were not in the least ally'd to their Prince for besides that the Governors of their Country knew nothing of this Custom so likewise such Persons as were related to their Prince were employ'd at home in the most considerable Charges But these Gentlemen were of opinion That the Dignity and Majesty of the Emperor would be much lessen'd if he should give Audience to such as were not so related to their Prince They then ask'd the Ambassadors What Offices do you bear in the Court of your Prince How runs your Title in your own Language How many Men have you under your Command And how do you live To all which Questions the Ambassadors return'd particular Answers They ask'd likewise Whether all the Presents they had brought with them came directly out of Holland Whereupon the Ambassadors told them That some of those Goods came out of Holland as the Cloths Looking-glasses Corral Perspective-glasses all manner of Arms and the Furniture for Horses but the rest were added by the Governor-General of Batavia by Order of the Council for the Indian Government in Holland Hereupon arose another Question namely What manner of Place Batavia was and what manner of Man the Governor The Ambassadors reply'd to this That the Governor-General in regard of his Command might be compar'd with the Vice-Roys of Canton And in regard the Hollanders were not subject to any King nor their Country a Kingdom therefore he could not have the Title of Vice-Roy but only be call'd by the Name of Governor-General as one that had the Command over other Places and Countries And as for Batavia that they said was a Place which for its conveniency was appointed for a Rendezvouz for all Ships which should come out of Holland and other Parts and consequently held for the Chief City of the Netherlands in India The Ambassadors having satisfied the Curiosity of these Persons in giving such a full Answer to all their Demands they took leave and presented to each of the Ambassadors fifty Toel of Silver But not long after these Gentlemen one after another came again to ask after some Particulars The first came by Order of his Imperial Majesty and his Council to fetch the Credentials which were carried to him in great State being put into a large Silver Dish cover'd with three Pieces of Scarlet Another came to see our Arms about which they were very inquisitive to know how and where they were made The third ask'd what manner of Arms the Hollanders us'd in their Wars and against whom they had warr'd He ask'd likewise particularly Whether we had War or Peace with the Portuguese and with those of Maceao and whose Country lay nearest to China The Ambassadors having fully answer'd all these Questions they departed but return'd at least six or seven times and ask'd among the rest after the Quality of the Ambassadors At last they ask'd Pardon for the trouble they had given them saying That they had done it by the Emperor's Order who was always very inquisitive in things of this nature After the Chief Governor of this Imperial City had been made acquainted with the Report of the Commissioners he sent the next day two Gentlemen to the Ambassadors with exprâ—â—s Order that they should appear with the Presents before his Majesties Council but it proving a very rainy day the Ambassadors left the Presents might be spoil'd desir'd to be excus'd from coming till another time yet it would not be granted notwithstanding all their Endeavors For though the Ambassadors went to Court without the Presents they were not admitted till such time as they had brought them for the Emperor was resolv'd to see them that day As soon as the Presents were come they were admitted and order'd to sit down without shewing any manner of Respect to that great Assembly The Chief Commander sate at the upper end of this Assembly upon a broad low Bench with his Legs across like our Taylors in Europe Next him on his Right-hand sate two Tartar Lords and on the left hand a Iesuit Father Adam Schaliger a Courtier in Peking almost fifty Years living in great Honor and Repute he was as he told us born at Cullen and went shav'd and cloth'd after the Tartar Fashion a very comely old Man with a long Beard All the Lords who were at this Assembly sate one among another without any Splendor
thing Amongst other Martial Commanders and Governors of Provinces that had the Conduct of these Armies there was a certain Woman who may very justly be call'd The Chinese Amazon for she came with three thousand Men out of Suchue which is the furthermost Province of China toward the West and shew'd by her Courage a manly Heart and she fought several Battels successfully against the Tartars having always the better of them In remembrance of whose good Services the Emperor conferr'd several Titles of Honor upon her And now at last the Emperor Thienkius being come in Person into his Army in Leaotung and having in manner afore-mention'd taken care to have it fully supply'd with all convenient Necessaries drew up the same in Battel-aray and on a sudden fell furiously upon the Tartars beat them out of the Field and recover'd the whole Province with less difficulty than was suppos'd or expected in regard the Inhabitants who had been miserably handled by the Tartars joyn'd with their Country-men the Emperor's Forces by which addition being come far more numerous than the Enemy and having advantage of revenge they fell upon them with great rage and fury stirr'd up thereto by having before their Eyes the lamentable Condition into which they had brought their Country by Fire and Sword And to say all in a word it was their good fortune that at this time the King of Ninche was so unfortunate that the Mutinies of his own Subjects at home hindred him from recruiting his Army which in divers great Battels had been much wasted and he could get no Forces from thence to re-inforce himself so that at last being every where worsted by the Emperor's Supplies the incroaching Ninchean was fain to save himself by flight and to leave the Province of Leaotung to the conquering Sword of its just and lawful Emperor CHAP. XIX Of the last Chinese and Tartar War wherein the Tartars over-ran and conquer'd the whole Empire of China ALthough by the means mention'd in the last Chapter the Chinese Empire was a while freed from the fury and destroying Sword of the wasting Tartars yet it was not long before it fell into far greater Troubles than ever by those their old Enemies who once more renew'd the War and never left it off till they had brought under the whole Empire The manner as followeth The Chineses suspecting the return of the Tartars after that they had quieted their domestick Troubles and setled their Affairs in the mean time took care to supply the Frontier Places with strong Garrisons and raise more Forces for the security of their State which was scarcely perform'd before it hapned as they imagin'd for the Troubles and Mutinies being appeas'd in Ninche that King returns with a mighty Army into the West of Leaotung having given order to seventy thousand Horse whom he sent before to block up the Chief City of Leaoyang assuring them he himself would follow with the main of his Army These Horsemen to shew their Courage and Valour no sooner approach'd but they Storm'd the City and in two days time became Masters of it before their King came up to them with his Forces There waâ— no Courage wanting on either side for it was manfully fought out by both till at least thirty thousand Men were kill'd on the part of the Chineses and no less on that of the Tartars wo had never lost so many Men before in any one Fight in this Quarrel yet at last they took the City not so much by their own Strength as Treachery hatch'd within it for they had Brib'd one of the Commanders with Money and promise of Preferment to set open the Gate committed to his Charge which he performing according to the Agreement the Tartar came rushing into the City and won the same in the space of a few hours laying it level with the Ground in a most miserable manner The Tutang or Governor having understood the Treason took it so much to heart that he hang'd himself presently that he might not live to see the ruine and desolation that was coming upon the City and its Inhabitants The Emperor 's chief Councellor had undoubtedly follow'd his Example and undergone the same Fate had he not been prevented by the Tartars who took him and sav'd his Life only out of design that he should be serviceable unto them in discovering the Condition of the Country But he not valuing his Life scorn'd to give the Title of KING to the Tartar and would in no wise be persuaded to falsifie the Oath and betray the Trust reposed in him by the Emperor The Tartars wondring at the Courage Stability and Constancy of this Man gave him afterwards both his Life and Liberty thereby to let the World know that they understood how to reward Vertue and Integrity But he more cruel to himself than the Enemy knowing very well what Reward according to the Chinese Law would fall to his share depriv'd himself at last of his own Life which his Enemy had spar'd by following the Example of the fore-mention'd Tutang for it is a known Law and Custom in China though very unreasonable That all Generals and Commanders of Forts and Garrisons though they behave themselves never so well if they come off unfortunately forfeit their Lives when they return home The Tartars after the taking and destroying of this City immediately issu'd out a Proclamation That the Inhabitants of no City should sâ—ffer any Damage either in Life or Estate if they would cut off their Hair leaving only a single Lock behind and pull out all the Hair of their Beards except their Mustachio's and likewise go Cloth'd after the Tartar Fashion Although this Command was strict yet it carried with it some shew of Favor and consequently gain'd a kind of Love until the Tartars by some barbarous Acts they committed afterwards were very much hated and abominated The Story goes thus There being at that time several Merchants come to the City with Commodities from other Parts of Chiâ—a to Trade withal the Tartar at their Request gave them free leave to go and come whereupon these innocent People not apprehending the dangerous mischief that was design'd against them departed with their Riches and Goods But they were hardly got three Miles out of the City when the Tartars lying in wait for them fell upon and kill'd them every one taking as free Plunder all they had which they brought with them into the City triumphantly as if it had been the Spoil of an open Enemy Which barbarous usage being heard of occasion'd a great amazement amongst the Inhabitants who knew no other but that they might be serv'd every moment after the same manner But notwithstanding all their salvage cruelty they were at present necessitated to make a halt in regard of the great loss they had sustain'd before this City of Leaoyang nor durst they venture to march further up into the Country or lay Siege to any Place of importance till they had
belong'd to the Imperial Palace but all things were in disorder and in a decay'd condition without any Furniture but two or three broken Benches some Kettles and a few little Dishes for Thea. His Horses Mules Asses Dromedaries and Camels went up and down in the Court the Stables being all ruin'd and spoil'd From this Tartar's Lodgings the Ambassadors were conducted by the Agent to his own House to a sumptuous Dinner then made ready by his order for them where he entertain'd them till Night with all manner of Dainties Which done they thank'd him for his great kindness and civility took their leaves and return'd aboard their Vessels in which they lay all their Voyage both to and from Peking except at Canton Nangan and Peking This stately City which without parallel is the Diadem of all China lies about thirty five Miles from the foremention'd Taiping on the East-side of the River Kiang and in 32 Degrees of Northern Latitude Her situation is most pleasant and the Soil luxuriously fruitful the River running quite through this City whereof some Streams are navigable for great Vessels Here was formerly kept the Court of the old Chinese Emperors the Residence of the ancient Kings of U Cyu Cung Ci Leang Chin and Tanga Here also Reign'd many Lustres the Race of Taiminga till they remov'd to Peking the better to prevent the Invasions and Designs of the Tartar The Founder of this City was Gnens King of Cu who nam'd it Kinling which signifies A Golden Countrey Afterwards the first Branch of the Race of Cina call'd it Moling The Kings of U who kept their Courts in this City call'd it Kienye The Race of Tanga gave it the Name of Kiangxin but that of Taiminga call'd it Ingcien And last of all the Tartars who not many years since over-ran and conquer'd all China gave it again the Name of Kiangxing Where this City borders on the River Kiang it hath a broad and deep Graâ—â— into which you come out of the Kiang up to the Town about half a Mile within the Land Here they pass over on a Bridge of Boats which brings them conveniently into the City whose East-side which runs far into this Country covers a Flat with several Navigable Channels running through so that you may come with large Vessels up to the Town on that side Over these Channels are several Stone Bridges very rarely built The Chineses describe the Circumference of this later Wall by two Horsemen who in the Morning setting forth at one and the same Gate parted riding contrary and they say met not till the close of the Evening by which they would have us guess at the vast Circumference of their City The first Vesture of the City is above thirty Foot high built Artificially of Stone with Breast-Works and Watch-Towers There are thirteen Gates in this Wall whose Doors are plated with Iron and guarded continually with Horse and Foot Some of these Gates rest on four or five Arches through which you pass before you come into the City We lay with our Vessels before the Gate Suisimon or Water-gate So great a number of People pass daily to and again through this Gate that there is no getting in or out without much crowding The chief Streets of this City are twenty eight Paces broad very neatly pav'd and strait In the Night there is such good order observ'd for the preventing of House breaking or disturbance in the Streets that there is not the like in any other part of the World The ordinary Citizens Houses are but mean built without any convenience and stand all with the cross Ridges next to the Street They have but one Door to go in and out and but one Room to eat and sleep in Next the Street appears onely a four-square Hole serving in stead of a Window to let in Light which is commonly cover'd with Reeds in stead of Glass to prevent Gazers from looking in The Houses are but one Story high being cover'd with White Pan-Tiles and the out-sides whited over with Chalk Such as dwell in these ordinary Houses drive very mean Trades but the Shops of the chief Citizens and Merchants are fill'd with all manner of rich Chinese Wares as Cottons Silk Stuffs China Dishes Pearls Diamonds c. Before each Shop stands a Board upon which is inscrib'd the Name of the Master in Gold Letters as also what Goods he sels Beside these Boards stands a high Pole which reaches above the House upon which they hang Pennons and Flags or something whereby they as we in Europe with our Signs make known their Habitations They have not here nor in all China any Coin'd Money but use in stead thereof small Pieces of Silver which are of different value and weight and though you buy never so little you must always have a Pair of Scales about you if you will not be cheated in the weight by these crafty Chineses for they have commonly two sorts of Weights by them and are so nimble and deceitful in their Balancing that you had need of Argus's Eyes when you buy any thing of them This great City is also so Populous that there are above 1000000 People dwelling in it and yet Provisions of all sorts are to be had there in great abundance at a small rate all the Year long the reason whereof is the fertility of the Soil round about Amongst other Fruits there are most delicious Cherries sold very cheap in this City Beside the vast number of People there lies a Garrison of 40000 Tartars Here resides also the Governor of the Southern Provinces in the Name of the Emperor This City likewise exceeds any other in China for stately Idol-Temples Towers rare Edifices and Triumphal Arches But the Emperor's Court or Palace formerly exceeded all the rest of the Buildings wherein the Emperor of China was wont to reside with the same State and Pomp as now at present the Great Cham doth at Peking This Palace was situated on the South-side of the City built four-square and surrounded with a Wall which contains the greatest part of the City Each side of the Square wherein this Palace was included contain'd in length one Italian Mile and three parts of a Dutch Mile and as near as could be guess'd by the decay'd Walls or might be learnt from the Inhabitants this Court or Palace with all belonging thereto was as big as Haerlem in Holland Within the first great Gate lay a large Court which led to the four Squares and was pav'd with fine smooth Stone The Tartars seated themselves near an Idol-Temple call'd Paolinxi where they built themselves several Huts leaving the Chineses to dwell in the City and there to drive their Trade The Buildings are all of a hard sort of Stone which the Natives have most curiously painted with a yellow Colour so that when the Sun reflects on them they shine like Gold Over the Gate of the second Court of this Palace hangs a great Bell about 10 or
likewise discharg'd by our Host. The next day we departed from Cining and after a few Hours Sailing we past by a Village call'd Nanwaig lying on the Bank of this Royal Channel where this and the River Luen meet and mingle their Waters The Tartars and Chineses told us strange Stories of this River amongst the rest That if you fling in nine Sticks six would drive toward the South and three toward the North. We seem'd much to admire at the Report but scarcely believ'd it till we made the Experiment our selves by flinging so many Sticks into the Water which convinc'd us of the truth of what had been told us But neither the Tartars Chineses nor other Inhabitants were able to give us any account of this Wonderful Mystery of Nature This I tried over against an Idol-Temple call'd The Royal Serpent concerning which the Chineses told us several Wonders Upon the 19. of the same Month we came to a small City call'd Xantsui being the 23. under the Command of the Chief City Yengcheu This Place lies abont thirty Miles from Cining on both sides of this Royal Channel and is guarded at each end with a strong Castle The Country round about lies often under Water by the overflowing of the Yellow River which sometimes rises to that heighth that it drowns and carries away whole Towns and Villages The next Morning we set Sail from Xantsui and by the way we saw several fair Villages and Corn-Fields on both sides of this Royal Channel as also several strong Sluces which did not a little hinder us in our Passage for between Xantsui and Lincing we past through 58 Sluces Not far from Xantsui stands a famous Idol-Temple call'd Teywanmiao which is held in such great esteem amongst them that they reckon it for one of the chiefest in all China It is built very high with strong Walls of gray Stone and gallantly adorn'd after the Chinese fashion The top of this Temple is cover'd with Yellow glaz'd Tiles and the Walls are also colour'd after the same manner so that when the Sun shines it glisters like Gold all over Upon the twentieth of Iune we came to Tuncham the third Chief City of the Province of Xantung built in a foursquare form and environ'd with Walls and Bulwarks the Streets thereof are large and well-built In the middle of the City stands a high and curious Fabrick with four brave Arches having strong Walls and Bulwarks with several Gates leading into it On the North-side runs a broad Water which encompasses the City over which is a Wooden Bridge of 137 Foot long by which they pass into the North part of the City On the South-side are stately Suburbs which in respect of the Inhabitants and the greatness of their Trade may very well pass for another City It is well built with goodly Houses and Idol-Temples Toward the East the Inhabitants shew'd us a very large Iron Tomb which they told us was erected at least 700 Years ago for some Great Lord whose Memory the Chineses had in much Honour having done his Country some signal and remarkable Service and for which he lost his Life in the Wars Round about this City the Land is very low and flat but wondrous fruitful in the product of all things necessary for Humane Sustenance No part of China produces so much Silk as this the Inhabitants thereof living chiefly by this Manufacture wherewith they Trade into other Countries Here the Inhabitants told us is sometimes found a Stone in the Maw of the Cows which the Chineses call Nieuhoang which signifies The Yellow of the Cows This Stone is about the bigness of a Goose Egg outwardly it seems to be of a soft chalkie substance only of a yellowish Colour and is by some thought to be the Bezoar Stone The Chinese Chyrurgeons highly commend it and use great diligence for the procuring of it they write That it is of a cold temper and very sovereign in fainting and swooning Fits In the Country of this Chief City near to the eleventh small City call'd Laotung lies amongst the rest a Hill call'd Mingxe which signifies The Stone of Noise Upon the top of this Hill as the Inhabitants related to us stands a Column of 100 Rod high which as soon as touch'd with the Finger sounds like a Drum from which Noise the Hill derives its Name The Chineses also told us That near to Quonching the seventeenth small City of this Chief City is a Pool call'd Ho wherein formerly the King of Guei kept and fed his Cranes with great care and delight The Chineses in this Country as likewise through all China feed this Bird in their Houses as they do also the Stags which being Creatures of long life they fancy to themselves that in having of them to breathe upon them they shall likewise live long We continu'd all Night in our Vessels before this City and set Sail the next Morning and past over the Pool Nanyang which abounds with Fish and that Night came to the City of Lincing which lies about thirty Miles from the City Tungchang and is situated on both sides of the Royal Channel We lay at the end thereof where that and the River Guei separate the Province of Xantung from that of Peking and mingle and unite their Waters We were no sooner arriv'd at this City but the Governor appear'd upon the Wall near the Place where we lay with our Vessels to welcom and receive the Ambassadors with all manner of kindness Pinxenton and the other Mandorins went first ashore to him whereupon the Governor sent for some Chairs for the Ambassadors who follow'd the Mandorins and were most civilly receiv'd by him intimating that he could not entertain them at his Court because they had not yet appear'd before the Emperor at Peking The Ambassadors sent some Presents to the Governor who for the same Reason refus'd them Because this Lincing lies at the end of the Yellow Channel near the River Guei and so consequently a very commodious Harbor for Shipping all manner of Goods and Wares are brought from all Parts of China to this City for which they must pay Custom there and for this reason the Emperor has three Commissioners resining in that Place to receive his Dues This Navigation occasions so great a Trade in Lincing that it exceeds the other eighteen small Cities which belong to the Chief City of Tunchang in Number of People Plenty of all manner of Things Gallantry of Buildings and Greatness of Commerce neither gives she place to any Inferior City in the whole Empire On both sides of the Royal Channel near to the City stand two strong and large Castles one against the other which are no small Strength to the Place by which no Vessel whatsoever can pass without paying their Duties In this Channel are likewise just before the City two strong and heavy Sluces to force back the upper Water which runs from the River Guei and is sometimes two or three Foot higher
others of the Court in very rich Habits to our Lodgings about two a Clock in the Afternoon with Lanterns to conduct the Ambassadors who were only attended by six of their Followers the rest being order'd to stay at home When they came to the Court they were first conducted through the outward Gate and afterwards over a Quadrangle with a well-built Gate and plac'd upon the second Plain of the Court where we sat all Night in the open Air upon the bare Stones till Morning when his Majesty was to appear upon his Throne We were no sooner seated but the Ambassador of the Great Mogol accompanied with five Persons of Honor and about twenty Servants came and plac'd himself next to our Ambassadors as did also the Ambassadors of Lammas and Suytadsen next to whom also sat several great Lords of the Empire And because we were to continue in this Posture all Night in expectation of his Majesties appearance in the Morning early upon his Throne I shall defer a while acquainting the Reader with what pass'd upon that most glorious Day and in the mean time give you a Description of the Forein Ambassadors who were also with us in this Emperor's Court. The Ambassador of Suytadsen who may be properly call'd South-Tartars deserves here the first and chiefest Place being he was most in esteem in this Court and preferr'd before the rest I could not certainly learn his Business but only as they told me by guess That the King of Suytadsen Sent him with Presents to the Great Cham according to the Custom of their Country the Frontier People and Borderers using to pay such Homage to this their Grand Lord. The Mogol Ambassador of whose Business and Request we have already made mention had a very rich blue Silk Coat on so richly embroider'd that it look'd like massie beaten Gold which hanging down almost to his Knees was girt about his Waste with a Silk Girdle with great rich Tassels at both ends he wore neat Buskins of Turky Leather and a large Turbant of several Colours The Empire of the Great Mogol who had sent this Ambassador to the Great Cham comprehends properly the Northern part of East-India or the Country situate between Mount Caucasus now call'd Delauguer and the Sea beetweeâ— the River Ganges and Indus This Empire call'd Mogol had its Name from the Tartar Kings who formerly made themselves Masters of it and is divided into several Kingdoms though some of them belong to other Princes The chiefest Kingdoms over which the Great Mogol properly Commands are Cambaya Dely Sanque Mandro and Bengala This great Prince commonly keeps his Court in the City of Dely. All the Countries over which the Great Mogol Commands are very fruitful in the product of all manner of Cattel and Fruits as Rice Corn Wax Silk Sugar and Cotton and all sorts of Spices which are brought from thence in great abundance Upon the Mountains are found the Onyx Stone Diamonds and other Precious Gems It is held for certain that this Great Mogol can bring into the Field in a very short time three hundred thousand Fighting Men and five thousand Elephants Most of the Inhabitants are Mahumetans and other Idolaters In those Parts there are also abundance of Iews who drive a subtle Trade amongst them and some Abyssine Christians allur'd thither by a profitable Commerce The Ambassadors of the Lammas was Cloth'd in Yellow his Hat much like a Cardinals with broad Brims at his side hung a Crucifix which these Church-men commonly carry about with them by which they say their Devotions after the manner of the Roman Catholicks Those of Lammas are a sort of religious People who had liv'd a long time in China but the last Emperor of China before the Tartars conquer'd it had banish'd them his Country from whence they went and settled themselves in Tartary where they had the free Exercise of their Religion Now these banish'd People had sent this Ambassador to the Great Cham with Request that they might have leave to return and Exercise their Devotions as formerly What success he had in his Business I could not learn but his Reception at the Emperor's Court was very Friendly and Civil Now I shall proceed to relate what pass'd during our stay in the Emperor's Palace At the Court-Gate in which we sat expecting the Dawn we saw first three black Elephants gallantly adorn'd after the Chinese manner standing there for the greater State as Centinels They had well girded upon their Backs gilded Towers artificially built and beautifi'd with Carv'd Works and Figures The concourse of People was here so great as if the whole City had been throng'd together in this one place the Gates were also kept with an incredible number of the Emperor's Life-guard all of them in very rich Habits after the Tartar fashion By day-break all the Grandees who likewise repair'd thither over Night came gazing and looking upon us with great admiration as if we had been some strange Africk Monsters but they demean'd themselves very civilly without giving us the least Affront About an hour after a sign was given at which all started up on the sudden as if there had been an Alarm when the two Tartar Lords who usually were sent to the Ambassadors came and conducted them with their Followers through another Gate into a second Court-yard guarded round with Tartar Soldiers and Courtiers and from thence to a third Court which was the innermost where the House of the Emperor's Throne stood and the Lodgings for the Great Cham his Wife and Children This Court which contains four hundred Paces in the square was lin'd on all sides with a strong Guard all of them in rich Coats of crimson-colour'd Sattin On either side of the Throne stood a hundred and twelve Soldiers each whereof bore a several Flag and likewise wore colour'd Habits sutable to his Ensign only they had all black Hats with yellow Feathers Next to the Emperors Throne stood twenty two Gentlemen each with a rich yellow Skreen or Umbrello in his Hand resembling the Sun next to these stood ten other Persons each holding a gilt radiant Circle in his Hand resembling the Sun next to these stood six others with Circles imitating the Moon at the Full after these were standing sixteen other Persons with Half-Pikes or Poles in their Hands hung full of Silk Tassels of several colours near to these stood thirty six more each holding a Standard curiously adorn'd with Dragons the Emperor's Coat of Arms and other such Monsters after the Chinese fashion In this manner were both sides of the Emperor's Throne guarded and adorn'd besides an infinite number of Courtiers all of them in very rich Habits of one Colour and Silk as if a Livery which added very much to to the Splendor of the Place Before the Steps leading to the Emperor's Throne stood on each side six Snow-white Horses most curiously adorn'd with rich embroider'd Trappings and Bridles beset with Pearls Rubies and other Precious
Fight furiously assail'd the Coreans in their Station so that there began a bloody Battel but both Armies were hardly Engag'd before the valiant Maovenlung came up with his and fell like Lightning into the Rere of the Tartars who now finding themselves beset before and behind with two such potent Armies and no other way for safety or escape than what their Zables could cut out for them resolv'd not to part with their Lives at a cheap rate and spurr'd on by despair they fought without any fear every one endeavoring to exceed the other in Valour and Courage so that in the very Writings of the Chineses they are extoll'd saying There was never the like Battel fought between them But that which is chiefly to be admir'd is that of three so great Armies none obtain'd the Victory but were all of them almost totally ruined and destroy'd There were kill'd fifty thousand Men on the side of the Tartars those of Corea had seventy thousand slain but the loss of the Chineses was so great that few or none escaped Those of the Tartars that surviv'd made their way home into their own Country as fast as they could by which means the King of Corea had the opportunity of recovering his Country again The Tartars having sustain'd so great an Overthrow were very careful afterwards how they provok'd the Inhabitants of Corea yet still they continu'd to make several Inroads into the Province of Leaotung till at last they wholly subdu'd the Eastern part and plunder'd the remainder thereof but this was done by fits and at several times for they never durst venture to seat themselves there nay they paid oftentimes very dear for their Robberies While Affairs stood in this posture the Emperor of China whose Name was Zungchinius sent his General Yvenus with a strong Army and a large Commission toward Leaotung having also private Instructions to conclude a Peace with the Tartars if they would agree to it but if they refus'd then forthwith to make a sharp War upon them And to say truth he was necessitated to make this Proposition for that his whole Empire was as it were over-spread with Highway-men and Robbers so that he stood in greatest fear of them for their numbers daily so increased that if they should once joyn into one Body it would be no difficult matter for them to make themselves Masters of the Kingdom This Yvenus upon whom the Emperor had conferr'd such high and ample Authority was a perfect Courtier of an affable and free Speech and one that knew very well how to use his Pen with so much advantage and ingenuity that there was hardly any one in the Court to be compar'd with him By these singular Perfections he had won not only the Heart of the Emperor but of all the Grandees so that the management of all Affairs was wholly left to him But here it must be observ'd That he was insatiably covetous of Wealth and consequently for obtaining thereof stuck not to perpetrate any clandestine Mischief otherwise by his more than common Parts he might undoubtedly have done extraordinary Services both to his Prince and Country But neither the greatness of the Trust repos'd in him nor the Love of his Country were in any measure answerable to his Thirst after Riches Unde habeat quaerat nemo sed oportet habere Of which avaricious temper of his the Tartars having information and looking upon him as a fit Instrument to be employ'd in their Design they never left sending to him extraordinary Presents accompanied with large Promises of the most eminent Preferments With which Baits being taken he contracted Friendship with them promising to give them his Assistance when it should lie in his power And as the first Proof of his Friendship to them through the cunning instigation of the Tartars he undertook privately to murther the valiant and faithful Commander Maoâ—enlung of whom the Tartars stood in great fear and awe which he accordingly effected with great secresie by inviting him to Dinner and poisoning him with a Cup of Drink which he caus'd to be given him at the Table Having thus clandestinely accomplish'd this his monstrous Undertaking he concludes a Peace with the Tartars upon most dishonorable and disadvantageous Terms for his Prince who no sooner read the same but he refus'd to Observe and Ratifie them Yvenus conscious of what he had done and well seeing that upon the making good of this Treaty of Peace his Honor and Authority depended advis'd the Tartars to force the Emperor his natural â—ord to the Observation thereof by force of Arms Whereupon in the year 1630. upon his Promises not to oppose them in the least if they would make an Invasion in some other Part of the Empire where he had no Command this treacherous Advice was no sooner given than accepted and put in execution for the Tartars doubted so little of the Promises of Yvenus by reason of his extraordinary Covetousness that without taking any further Counsel they pour'd their Forces into the Province of Peking Plundering all Places where they came and laying the same afterwards in Ashes and at last so was their Courage or rather Fury heightned that they laid Siege to the Imperial City of Peking at whose approach it is no marvel if the confusion and amazement were great not only amongst the Citizens but also amongst the Rix-Counsellors who in this dangerous vicissitude of Affairs earnestly advis'd the Emperor to leave the City and to retire to the Southern Provinces but he would by no means hearken to their Counsel saying That he would rather be cut in a thousand Pieces than that it should be said he fled for fear of the Tartars Wherefore both as a Valiant Soldier and Careful Prince he immediately gave order to his Commanders not to suffer any to depart out of the City upon pain of death but that they should incite and stir up all the People to a Courageous Defence While this was doing within the Tartars without began to Storm the City but were beaten off with great loss upon several Attempts so that they concluded to continue the Siege with more moderation and rather endeavor to take it by Famine than hazard the weakning of their Army by such fruitless and unsuccessful Assaults At length by advice of his Council the Emperor sent for Yvenus to come to his Assistance and Relief with the Army under his Command for as yet his Treachery was not discover'd who upon the first Intelligence to prevent the Emperor from having any suspicion of him came with his Army under the Walls of Peking but kept at a great distance from that of the Besiegers neither shew'd he any hostility against them but in stead thereof advis'd the Emperor to the Observation of the Terms upon which the Treaty of Peace the cause of this War had begun And this he strongly labor'd to perswade him to not only to prevent the discovery of the Treason but that so he might
flung his Tartar Hat upon the Ground which is taken by them for a sign or token of great Disrespect and therefore O base Reward for Fidelity he was condemn'd to perpetual Imprisonment but this valiant and generous Spirit prevented it by hanging himself beforehand in his Palace The Tartars having clear'd the Kingdom of the two great Robbers Licungzus and Changlianchus they immediately endeavor'd by all fair means to settle the Kingdom in Peace and Quietness which they shortly to their great satisfaction and content brought to pass and enjoy the same at this time without any further disturbance FINIS A NARRATIVE OF THE SUCCESS OF AN EMBASSAGE SENT BY Iohn Maatzuyker de Badem GENERAL OF BATAVIA UNTO THE EMPEROR OF China and Tartary The 20 th of Iuly 1655. Soliciting a Licence of Trade in the Ports of his Empire Dedicated to Antonio de Camera Captain-General of the City of The Name of God with the Magistrates thereof Written by a Iesuit in those Parts THREE things have I earnestly coverted ever since my first arrival in China and frequently have implor'd them from Heaven The first is Union and Concord among Christian Princes The second that I might live to see our native Country of Portugal Govern'd by a natural King The third that I might also see before my departure hence those Countries which the Hollanders have Conquer'd from us recover'd out of their Hands From the Object of these my Desires it will be easie to understand the Motive from whence they proceed which is no other than to remove the Obstacles and make the Way plain to the present Maintenance and farther Propagation of the Roman Catholick Faith Thus in the Year 1648. being newly deliver'd from that Imprisonment Famine and other Calamities which I endur'd within the Province of Sienchuen under the Tyrant which there Rebell'd I came to the Port at Peking and was there encountred with the news of our new or rather our old King for he cannot cease to be a King who continues such in his Subjects Breasts and was always one by Birth-right like a new Sun rising in the West in Lisbon which although it came to pass contrary to the Laws of neighbor Kings yet no ways contrariant to the Laws of Nature I say when I heard this News it caus'd such a Iubilee to my Soul and Ioy to my Heart and rais'd in me such great hopes of spreading the Christian Religion as I could then only feel within my self and am not able to express being moreover satisfi'd that our new King and his glorious Atchievements in Brasile did promise no less in these Eastern Countries May the Lord accomplish these Desires and grant the happy End that my Heart longs for But that GOD might either shew us our Sins which have so justly deserv'd Punishment or that he might manifest the Bowels of his Mercy and singular Providence which he hath over his People especially the Holy Catholick City of Maccow he hath permitted the Hollanders to become her Rivals in this Empire and to Court it for their Establishment Alliance and Commerce with it This indeed did rebate the edge of our Minds and reduce your Favor to more remiss degrees though not wholly extinguish it for four of us Brethren of the Society of IESUS then living at Court resuming our Courage with blooming Hopes resolv'd to leave no Medium unessay'd to overthrow those Hollanders Designs and with all Diligence and Vigilancy to vacuate their Undertakings What Success the Hollanders had in their first Expedition to Canton many years past I have already written to your Lordships therefore I shall only meddle with the second Encounter and by how much fiercer that was with an Enemy furnish'd with all the Habiliments of War to wit Plenty of Gold and Silver the most prevailing Weapons for the conquering of Countries and Great Ones and of all other Rarities adapted to satisfie both Covetousness and Curiosity as the most powerful Engines against such Soldiers by so much was our Conflict more grievous and consequently the Victory more glorious so hath it many things worthy to be publish'd The Lord grant for it hath ever been my faithful Petition to him and may your Lordships make it yours with your whole trust in him that as your Lordships and my self also at a great distance have beheld with our Eyes the Hope of my second Desire fulfill'd for we have seen the Desire of all Nations our King our Father so you may see the first and third part of my Wishes to the Glory of God the Honor of the Crown of Portugal and the increase of Christianity Access to Canton being precluded to the Hollanders at their first Attempt and Trade deny'd them those Reguli which Rule that Province allur'd with the hopes of that extraordinary Gain they expected to make by Commerce with the Dutch Counsell'd them to return on a second Embassage which they accordingly entred upon the 20 th of Iuly 1655. and arriv'd in Canton the fifth of September the same Year where from those Reguli they had a very friendly Reception but because they could obtain no Audience above to their first Message they were fearful to proffer a second lest the King and Council should suspect it to arise only from the hopes of their own Advantage and Self-interest they therefore so wrought with the Vice-Roy of Canton that he should send this second Memorial of their Desires which accompanied with many Commendatory Letters to Courtiers and strengthned a world of large Promises came at length to Peking about the Year 1655. and presently no man opposing it was decreed That twenty Hollanders to wit two Captains and eighteen others should repair to the Court where they were promis'd a convenient House with many other Kindnesses and that after their appearance their Business should be transacted according to the Customs and Laws of the Realm Fifteen days after this Memorial came to the Court we had notice of it when Padrie Lodouicus Ballionies and my self immediately entred the Lists and searched after all means possible to hinder the Hollanders access to the Court We consulted with our Friends both Christians and Heathens who were all of opinion that it was impossible for this time at least without vast Bribes because those Reguli of Canton had corrupted the Great Mandorins and open'd all the Dooas of the Court unto them Notwithstanding all this Zeal for the Publick Good the Progress of Christianity the Love of our Country and especially of this noble City to which we allow so much did invite yea compel us to an Undertaking the accomplishment of which seem'd impossible to all Men. By the Mediation of a certain Christian of no contemptible Condition and Authority we first compass'd to speak with one of these Mandorins which the Chineses call Colli and we may style The Master of Requests whose Office is to acquaint the Emperor with the Misdemeanors of the whole Empire and particularly with the Exorbitances of
At length I return'd to Sfahanum and here remain ready to fulfil the Commands of your Reverend Fatherhood But doth your Reverend Fatherhood in the mean while publish nothing to the World Such a Tree ought to bear some Fruit. Besides two Books that you were pleas'd to send me some Years since nothing else hath arriv'd at my Hands I have here Compos'd some Treatises about the Controversies of the Law in particular An Answer to the Polisher of the Looking-glass I know no Person that can better manage this Business at Rome than your Reverend self whom I beseech to render me more certain whether such Books can be Printed there but I much question whether any one can be found that will be at the Charge yet in this matter I shall determine nothing but what my Superiors shall ordain To conclude The least of your Reverend Fatherships Servants onely more especially requesteth this That you would retain this my Epistle by you for a Memorial and that you would not be unmindful of me in your Holy Sacrifices Dated near Xaxan about the time of the Festival of Saint Francis Xavier CHAP. V. The Voyage perform'd by Marcus Paulus Venetus and Haython the Armenian into Cathay or China SEeing none of the Ancients have describ'd the Kingdoms of the utmost Confines of the East more fully than Marcus Paulus Venetus therefore I esteem'd it my Duty to say somewhat of his Voyage into Cathay at this time having so fit an opportunity although there do many things occur which are neither apprehended nor understood at this very Day by any Geographer by reason of the variety of Names by which he calleth Kingdoms Provinces Cities Mountains Rivers and Lakes and that differently from all others and also by reason of the Description of some Cities which consent not with the modern Geography Moreover Marcus Paulus being ignorant of the use of the Globe hence it came to pass that he setteth not down the Longitude and Latitude of any City from which knowledge alone the true Situation of Places is found But now let us come to relate his Voyage Anno 1269. being Emperor of Constantinople two famous Persons of the Illustrious Family of the Paulini Nicolas and Matthew Citizens of Venice set forwards unto Constantinople in a Ship fraighted with divers Commodities where having a little refresh'd themselves and committing themselves to the Euxine Sea they arriv'd with prosperous Winds at a Port of Armenia call'd Soldadia Now what this Port of Soldadia is we have not hitherto found out I interpret it to be Trapezonmet seeing that there is no Port of the Armenians nearer the Euxine Sea neither can we discover what the Kingdom of Bartza is From the Kingdom of Bartza they came by great windings and turnings of the Land unto the City of Bochara situate on the River Oxus in the Kingdom of Usbeck where great Wars arising between the King of Bartza and the Tartars they were much perplex'd and ignorant which way to take to return into their own Country but at last upon serious Consideration and Advice they remain'd there full three years and that they might not spend their time idly in that space they apply'd themselves with all their endeavor to the attaining of the Tartarian Tongue While Affairs were in this Condition an Ambassador came to Bochara to Treat with the Great Emperor of Tartary where when he had found these fore-mention'd Persons he us'd his utmost Endeavors both in reference unto their great and noted Behaviour and the Tartarian Tongue in which they were excellently accomplish'd to have them with him in his Return to the Great Cham to whom he knew they would be very acceptable therefore they relying on the Advice of the Ambassador after the Travel of several Months made their appearance before the Great Cham. He first of all admiring the Countenance and Behavior of these Europeans and also being led with a curiosity of understanding the Affairs of Europe was wholly intent upon the discovery of the Mode and Form of the Government of the Occidental Regions enquiring of them concerning the Pope the Emperor and the Rites of the whole Empire as well those that are observ'd in Peace as War Unto which when they had prudently reply'd they so far wrought upon the Emperor that entring into Counsel with his Nobles he concluded upon sending an Ambassador to the Pope of Rome which he thought fit in his Name to impose on these Paulini whose Faith and Sincerity he had now sufficiently try'd and together with them he sent a Golden Table and Letters in which he requested his Holiness would send him an hundred Persons conspicuous both for Learning and Wisdom to instruct his Subjects in the Christian Faith which he said was the best and most pure of all others Wherefore these Persons having receiv'd their Embassy immediately set forward on their Voyage having this Golden Table which was Seal'd with the Seal of the Great Cham and also having his Letters in which he commanded all his Subjects to receive them with all Honor and Affection and discharge them of all Customs and Tribute Thus they follow'd on their Iourney by the great assistance of the Golden Table and after the space of some Months came at length to Balzra a Port of the Armenians now what this Port was whether on the Caspian or Euxine Sea I have not as yet found it is most probable to be the Port of Trapezonment plac'd in a Corner of the Euxine Sea for from this Port within a few Months Anno 1272. they came to Ancona which could not be perform'd from the Caspian Sea by reason of the great space of Land and Regions interjoin'd Moreover having return'd unto Ancona whence they departed the report of the death of Clement the Fourth being nois'd abroad and no other as yet plac'd in the Apostolical Seat being destitute of Advice they were not a little disturb'd and setting forward unto Venice to visit their native Soil they heard of the Election of a new Pope Here Nicolas found his Wife whom he had left great with Child at his departure to be dead having left behind her Marcus a Son of fifteen years of Age who afterwards became the Companion of his Father into those remote Regions of Asia which his Father had before travell'd unto and also was the Author and Writer of this Geographical History Wherefore a new Pope being chosen and nam'd Gregory the Tenth Rudulphus being Emperor by the unanimous Approbation of the Cardinals they return to Ancona having deliver'd the Letters of the Great Cham together with the Presents to the Pope with which he being mov'd and greatly rejoycing that he had a fit opportunity offer'd him for the Propagation of the Gospel â—e return'd a Literal Missive unto the Great Cham in which all things were contain'd that might seem necessary to instruct them better in the Christian Religion and render the mind of the Great Cham more flexible and yielding unto
AN EMBASSY Sent by the EAST-INDIA Company of the UNITED PROVINCES to the GRAND TARTAR CHAM or EMPEROVR of CHINA Delivered at Pekin by Peter de Goyer and Iacob de Keyzer A o 1655. W. Heller fecit 1655. AN EMBASSY FROM THE East-India Company OF THE UNITED PROVINCES TO THE Grand Tartar Cham EMPEROR OF CHINA Deliver'd by Their Excellencies PETER de GOYER and IACOB de KEYZER At His Imperial City of PEKING WHEREIN The Cities Towns Villages Ports Rivers c. In their Passages from CANTON to PEKING Are Ingeniously Describ'd By M r IOHN NIEVHOFF Steward to the AMBASSADORS ALSO An Epistle of Father IOHN ADAMS their Antagonist Concerning the Whole Negotiation With an APPENDIX of several REMARKS taken out of Father ATHANASIUS KIRCHER English'd and set forth with their several Sculptures By IOHN OGILBY Esq His MAIESTIES Cosmographer Geographick Printer and Master of the Revels in the KINGDOM of IRELAND The Second Edition LONDON Printed by the Author at his House in White-Friers M.DC.LXXIII A Description of CHINA Taken by the Author M. Iohn Neuhoff in his Iourneys with the Batavian Ambassadours from Canton to the Emperours Court at Peking AN Exact Relation OF THE EMBASSY SENT BY THE East-India Company OF THE UNITED PROVINCES TO THE GRAND TARTAR CHAM OR Emperor of China Delivered at PEKING the Imperial City c. THE Lacedaemonians were a People who by their Laws and Customs were strictly prohibited from Travelling out of their own Countrey lest so degenerating in Manners as they supposed they might fall into a more loose and irregular course of Life and by the acquaintance of the various Modes of several forein Nations slight the strictness of their own severer Establishments Neither would they permit that any Strangers should reside amongst them lest they by Conversation should be imbu'd with their Novelties and Opinions Which more to strengthen What Citizen soever that did not Educate his Children according to their own setled Laws was immediately pronounced incapable of the Priviledges belonging to his Countrey So great a love had this Nation to their native Soil and such the aversion engraffed in them from their very Cradles to forein Parts that a Youth onely once asking the Way to Pilea by order of the Magistracy suffer'd condign Punishment presently upon the Spot But these severer ways and starch'd Formalities were both by the other Greeks and the Romans utterly exploded who knowing better things readily indulged Licence to Travel where they might best improve their Wealth Literature or Observation And also we find by their most ancient and accurate Writers that they neither spared Cost Study nor Pains to be replenished with remote and transmarine Imbellishments both of Arts Science and Industry When the Emperor Trajan after the Parthian War busied himself in a Philosophical Inquisition concerning the Wonders of the Deep and occult Nature of the Ocean a sudden Storm happening hurried him from Coasting far into the Offin where he beheld a Fleet standing in for India whereof being inform'd he fetching a deep Sigh said Ah that I were young again and could resume my former vigour then would I visit those distant Regions and penetrate the Avenues of the Oriental World King Mithridates who after a long Contest with the Romans having resetled himself in his Throne resolved not onely upon the well managing of the Affairs at home but the enlarging his Dominions abroad whereupon he made himself Master of which not any Prince had done before of the neighboring Scythians who had never till then been absolutely subdu'd This great Work finish'd and so mighty a Nation brought under he diverted himself to Travel not onely to make a superficial view of Cities and Situations Vulgarities and various Humors adherent to several Nations but also of their Scolastick Knowledge and Politick Governments on which account he pass'd through all Pontus Cappadocia and most Parts of Asia Tacitus the famous Roman Historian enumerating the many Vertues of Germanicus says That he greedy of Knowledge especially of forein Transactions made his Tour through Greece Thrace Asia and Armenia but thus much not satisfying the Curiosity of this Prince he Voyaged into Aegypt under pretence of setling the Government of that Kingdom but rather of having a visual Speculation of the Antiquities reported to be there Democritus no less sollicitous of making search beyond his own Home after the Death of his Father Damasippus parted with a no unplentiful Patrimony for a scarce considerable Sum to furnish out the Expences of his outward-bound Travels in quest of Science he first address'd himself to the Aegyptian Priests next the Chaldaeans after to the Gymnosophists in India from whose Magazines and the then Fountains of Learning he returned rich being Freighted with a full Cargo both of Divine and Moral Principles Let Plato Prince of Philosophers stand for all who in like manner penetrated the Bowels of Aegypt and other more distant Countreys returning as plentifully furnished with their several Observations an Acquirements Inclinations no less vigorous have of late been observed in Europe but with more success who not being bounded by Herculean Bars pass'd so far through the till then unmeasured Atlantick that they lighted upon a new World a flourishing Hesperides Regions whose Sands were Gold Earth Plate and Rivers Silver a Paradice extended to the Arctick and Antarctick Circles with several other Countreys and Islands that reach almost the utmost latitude of either Poles out-shining all the Fables of Antiquity and boldest Tales of their Poetick Dreams so that the Ancients are not to stand in competition with our modern Discoverers who found out in less than one Century more than they in their many thousand years Whilst I contemplated the laudable Actions and great Enterprises of famous Navigators I conceiv'd my self oblig'd to put in my Mite and not to conceal some special Remarks being taken by me with no small Care and Pains in a Countrey as little known to Europe as any After my Return from the West-Indies where I had sometime remained my Occasions invited me from Home a contrary Course to the East-Indies where not long after my arrival at Batavia it was order'd by the General Maatzuyker and the Honorable Council then residing there to send Peter de Goyer and Iacob Keysar as Ambassadors with Credentials and a considerable Train of Attendants to Peking in China to the Grand Cham of Tartary the now Emperor of China impowering to Negotiate concerning a free and mutual Commerce with them in his Kingdoms and Territories Whereupon receiving also Commands to attend this Embassy I had thrown into my hands as I conceived fit opportunity to make a more exact Discovery of the Genius and Manners of the People and Customs of the Place and Countreys supposed by all Geographers to be the richest in the World and where any Stranger formerly durst never attempt And herein without breach of Modesty I dare boldly affirm that nothing considerable slipt my observation relating to my
respect Sina in their Language signifies A most brave and famous Countrey Others opposing will have this Kingdom to derive its Name from the Inhabitants of the City Chincheu because these People drive onely a constant Trade by Sea to most Places of Asia so that the Portugueses and Indians by leaving out the same Letters of the word Chincheu might easily give it the Name of China But those are in a very great Error that will have the word China to be derived from a certain word Cinch which by the Chineses is very much us'd The falseness of this Assertion will clearly appear from hence in that the Chineses who Trade with the Indians or Portugueses to those Places and go with their Ships to India us'd on the score of Civility and kind Respect to Greet each other in their Mothers Tongue not with the Name of Cinch but Sia Now that which appears to me to be a most probable Truth amongst the various Opinions of Writers is that which the Iesuit Martinus Martinii a Man of great Learning and Skill in the Antiquities of China has asserted in the sixth Book of his History of China the words whereof are as follow I shall not says he let this pass unmention'd which seems to me most likely That not onely by the Indians but also by Strangers the Name China took rise and original from the Generation Family or Branch of Cina who Govern'd in China in the 246. Year before the Birth of Christ So that we ought not to call it China but rather The Kingdom of Sinen or Cinen for in the time of those Kings which proceeded from this Branch the Name of Siners was first made known by Strangers and especially by the Indians By the Indians the Name of China afterwards came into use and was followed by the Portugueses after the Conquest of India for this Family of Cina Govern'd over the greatest part of the Siners who lived toward the West and continually had Wars with Foreiners When afterwards the Court or Seat of the Kingdom was Planted there received the Name of The Kingdom of China This Family of Cina being risen to the highest pitch of all Prosperity prov'd after a great Invader of others Territories insomuch that it seems no wonder that Strangers and remote Nations had the Name of Cina so frequent among them And though the Sineses call this farther part of Asia or Cina by several Names according to the Governing Families that happen to change yet however Foreiners do reserve the first Name which they heard And this is my Opinion concerning the Original of the Name Sina and according to this Assertion the first Letter of the word ought to be writ not with an S but with a C. All China was formerly divided by the Chinese Emperor Xunus into 12 Provinces afterwards the Emperor Yva who took upon him the Government after the Death of Xinus about 260 years before the Incarnation of our Saviour reduced all China into nine Provinces which onely at that time comprehended the Northern Parts of China and had for their Confines the River Kiang But after that they had Conquer'd the Southern Parts by degrees and somewhat Civiliz'd the Inhabitants the whole Kingdom of China was divided into 15 Provinces Amongst these also they reckon the Province of Leaotung which is situated on the West of Peking where the great Wall begins and the Hanging-Island of Corea both which pay Tribute to the Emperor There are several other Islands beside which pay also Tribute amongst which the Island Haman is the chiefest lying in the Sea over against the Province of Quangsi Among the Islands which are Tributary to this Kingdom is also accounted the Island Formosa which the Chineses call Lieukieu and situated over against the Province of Foken and also the Island Cheuxan over against the Province of Chekiang a very famous Place for Trading But of this more at large hereafter Six of the 15 Provinces verge upon the Sea as Peking Xantung Kiangnan or Nanking Cheaiang Foking and Quantung From hence toward the North lie the Midland Countries as Quangsi Kiangsi Huquang Honan and Xansi and toward the West the other four Xensi Sucheu Queicheu and Iunnan Lastly this Empire which comprehends 15 Kingdoms is also divided into the South and North-China South-China the Tartars call The Kingdom of Mangin and North-China The Kingdom of Catay In the first are nine Kingdoms and in the last six or eight if you will reckon amongst them the Kingdom of Leaotung and the Hanging-Island of Corea By what has been already said it doth clearly appear how far those are mistaken who write of another Empire beyond China which they call Catay as likewise of several Towns as Quinsey Cambalu and many other Fictions whereas in truth beyond the great Wall no other People live but Tartars who have no fixed Abodes but wander up and down the Countries in Wagons and so travel from Place to Place as may be found at large in the Writings of those who have sufficiently confuted this great Error and Mistake as Virgantius and Martinus Martinii in his Atlas of China Amongst the rest the Iesuits have likewise found by experience that beyond the Empire of China no Monarchy of Catay is to be found insomuch that the same People whom we call Chineses are by the Persians call'd Cataians This same Mistake has been likewise sufficiently and Learnedly confuted with undeniable Arguments by the most Learned Iacob Gool a Person of extraordinary Knowledge in all Arts of Literature and especially in the Oriental Languages and at present Arabick Professor in the University of Leyden in his Appendix to the Atlas of China The Kingdom of China is so inclos'd with several Islands and on the East and South with Seas that it seems almost to be four-square onely two great Mountains thrust themselves out toward the Sea which in the Chinese Language are called Tung The one lies by the Town of Ningpo from whence you may Sail in 40 hours to the Island of Iapan the other great Hill is in the Province of Xantung near to the Town of Tengoheu China situated in the farthest part of Asia borders toward the East South and West upon the great Indian Sea and is call'd Tung by the Chineses which signifies Easterly And on the North it is separated from the Kingdoms of Ninche and Nicolhan by that Famous Wall which was made by those of China against the Invasion of the Tartars Higher up toward the North it has for Frontiers the Kingdom of Taniju and a Wilderness call'd Samo which separates the North side of this China from the Kingdoms of Samahan and Cascar Upon the other Provinces situated toward the South joyn the Kingdoms of Prester-Iohn Geo which by the Chineses are call'd by one common Name Sifan as also Tibet Laos and Mien Likewise China reaches as far as Brangale and to some part of Tartary and the Mountains of Damascus which
separates it from Tartary and India The furthest Extent of China taken in the breadth begins in the South upon the Island Hainan which lies in 18 Degrees Northern Latitude from thence it reaches toward the North to 42 Degrees insomuch that China in the breadth extends to 22 Degrees that is 330 Dutch Leagues It s length begins in the Province of Iuunan at 120 Degrees and ends in the East at the Mountain of the Town Ningpo call'd by the Portugueses Nampo at 132 Degrees So that this Part consists of 450 Leagues in Longitude China is not a little secure in regard of the adjacent Kingdoms and the natural and strong Forts whereby this Kings Realm stands so intirely protected against all violence from without that the like is hardly to be seen elsewhere neither are there any Avenues found leading to this Monarchy insomuch that it is so well provided and guarded that it seems to be a World within it self and separated from all the rest as well toward the South as East and where the Sea borders it hath so many Islands Banks Flats and blind Rocks that it is altogether unsafe to approach China on the side with any great Ships of Men of War On the West and somewhat toward the South lie the Woods and Hills of Tamessus which are so thick and high that it is altogether unpenetrable on that side and which separate China from the next bordering Asia and the lesser neighboring Kingdoms all which adds to the Defence and Protection of this Empire Toward the North and West it is also sufficiently secur'd against all Invasions by the Sandy and dry Flats of Samo which endanger all Vessels that attempt any Landing in those Parts Lastly this Kingdom has toward the North a great Wall which the Family and Branch of Cina built against the Invasion of the Tartars 215 Years before the Birth of Christ but in what condition this Wall is at present and how far it extends we shall treat at large in the Description of the Province of Peking In respect the Sovereignty over the fifteen Kingdoms of this China belongs at present to a Monarch the Great Cham of Tartary I shall give you an Account of the number of all the great and little Cities situated in all these Dominions First of all they sum up in this whole Empire 145 Capital Cities which out-shine the rest both in Greatness and Glory Under the Command of this Emperor are 1331 small Cities amongst which 148 may be compared in Magnificence Beauty and People with the chief Cities Beside these there are 32 great Cities more which are not subject to any other yet they must not bear the Name of Capital though they Command over 36 small Cities Beside all these there are 3 Cities more for the Officers and Commanders of the Militia to dwell in The Forts and Castles are 159. beside which 17 great Garison Cities and 66 small Garison Towns which are never without full Companies and of Soldiers who are permitted to inhabit promiscuously amongst the Burgers There is no distinguishing by the greatness and largeness of the Cities the one from the other for some of the small ones exceed some others of the great and prime Cities both in Largeness Wealth and People but according to the Worth and Dignity of the Governors and the Priviledges of the Place she bears the Precedency and is reckon'd amongst the chief Cities No Place must presume to take up the Name of a City but what is Wall'd in for every inferior Town or Situation subjects to the next adjacent Capital City Most of the Cities in China are built after one fashion and form commonly four-square with broad and high Walls adorn'd with quadruple Towers placed at an equal distance round about which runs a deep Moat and that also is surrounded with a Mud or Earthen Wall Each City has a double Gate and two double Doors whereof the first stands directly over against the second that there is no seeing through the last though you stand in the first Betwixt these two Gates opens most commonly a large Court where they Discipline their Militia Upon the Gates are likewise built great Watch-Towers where the Soldiers keep Night-Sentinel Most of the Cities have great Suburbs belonging to them which are as full of People as within the Wall Without the Battlements each Metropolis hath a delightful Plain curiously adorned with Towers Trees and other Embellishments most pleasant to the Eye The Country every where swarms with People so that wheresoever you Travel you shall meet continually with Crowds of Men Women and Children As now these 15 Kingdoms seem not onely to exceed all other Parts of the World for the number of most rare Edifices and rich Cities so they are likewise no less abounding in People for the most populous Country of all Europe stands not in competition with this Those that will take the pains to look into the Chinese Pole or Register-Books wherein is exactly set down the number of the People of each Province except those of the Royal Family will find that it amounts to the number of 58 Millions 9 hundred and 40 thousand 2 hundred and 84 Persons Neither need you wonder which way this can be made out for every Master of a Family is oblig'd upon a great Penalty to hang out a little Board over his Door upon which he must set down the number of his Houshold and their Condition c. And to prevent all Fraud one is appointed over every tenth House whom they call Titang which signifies the Tenth-man or Tyther His Office consists in taking an Account of the number of the Persons upon the Board and if the Master of the Family fail to make that known truly he is to acquaint the Governor of the City with the Abuse Having spoken thus much of the Situation Division and Extent of China I shall add in short what these fifteen Provinces pay annually in Taxes one with another as also how many Capital great little and Garison Cities are in each of the Ten and lastly what each Province Division or Shire disburseth yearly in Taxes to the Emperor of China No Man possesses a Foot of Land in all this Empire without paying to the Emperor something out of it so that we need not wonder that over and above the common Expences which are made upon the account of petty Kings Vice-Roys and Military Officers there are more then threescore Millions of Crowns brought yearly into the Emperors Coffers The whole Sum amounts to 150 Millions of Crowns whereof he cannot dispose as he pleaseth but the Money is brought into the Treasury and if the King at any time desires a Supply in writing to the Treasurer he is not to deny the payment of it The Provinces bring in yearly in Taxes 32 Millions 2 hundred 7 thousand 4 hundred and 47 Bags of Rice and one Bag is enough to serve 100 Men for one day 40 hundred 9 thousand
9 hundred 49 Pounds of Raw Silk 71 hundred 2 thousand 4 hundred and 36 Rowls of Cloth made of Hemp 36 thousand 7 hundred and 70 Bales of Cottons 1 hundred 91 thousand 7 hundred and 30 Rowls of wrought Silk But the City of Hucheu buys off this Tax yearly for the Sum of 500 thousand Crowns The Provinces bring in likewise 1 Million 7 hundred 94 thousand 2 hundred and 61 Weight of Salt each Weight is to be reckon'd at 1 hundred 24 Pounds amounting in all to 1 hundred 87 Millions 6 hundred 88 thousand 3 hundred 64 Pounds 32 Millions 4 hundred 18 thousand 6 hundred 27 Trusses of Hay and Straw for the Kings Stables beside all other Taxes The other ten Provinces of China I did not see in my Iourney yet however I shall give you an Account of the Taxes which the great and lesser Cities thereof pay yearly to the Emperor their Names are these Zansi the second Province of the fifteen Xensi the third Honan the fifth Sucheu the sixth Huquang the seventh Chekiang the tenth Fokien the eleventh Quangsi the thirteenth Quicheu the fourteenth and Immam the fifteenth The second Kingdom of Zansi THis Province lies Westward of Peking and is neither so large nor populous but more Fruitful and of more Antiquity because if credit may be given to the Historians of China the Chineses derive from hence their first Rise and Original On the North this Province has for Confines the Great Wall which reaches from East to West through the whole Country behind which lies the Kingdom of Tamyn and the Sandy Wilderness of Samo The West side of this Province lies upon the Yellow River which runs from North to South and is separated by the same from the Province of Xensi This Province produces the sweetest and fairest Grapes of all Asia but the Chineses make no Wine of them but onely dry them and so bring them to the Market through all China In this Country of Zansi which is very remarkable and worthy of observation are through the whole Country great store of Fire-Wells even in the same manner as the Water-Wells are in Europe which they use for the dressing of Meat after this manner the Mouth of the Well is stopped very close and onely a place left open to set the Pot upon by which means the Pot boyls without any trouble This Province likewise produces good store of Coal which they dig out of the Hills as in England and at Luyk in the Netherlands which serves the Inhabitants for Fewel who likewise use Stoves in their Houses made after the manner of those in Holland In this Country of Zansi are 5 Capital Cities 92 small Cities and several Forts The 5 Capital Cities are Taiyuen Pingiaen Taitung Lugan and Fuencheu 1. Taiyuen Commands over 20 Cities Taiyuen Tayven Iucu Taco Ki Sinkin Congyven Ciaoching Venxui Loping Che Tingsiang Tai Utai Kiechi Cofan Fan Hing Paote and Hiang 2. Pingiaen Commands over 31 Cities as Pingyaen Siangling Hungtung Feuxan Chaoching Taiping Yoiang Ieching Kioiao Fuensi Pu Lincin Yungho Yxi Vanciuen Hocin Kiai Ganye Hia Venhi Pinglo Iuiching Kiang Yuenkio Ho Kie Hiangning Cie Taning Xeleu and Yangho Among these Pu Kiai Ho Kie and Cie are the chiefest 3. Taiâ—ung Commands over 11 Cities Taitung Hoaigien Hoenyuen Ing Xanin So Maye Guei Quangling Quangchang and Lingkieu whereof Ing So and Guei are the chiefest 4. Lugan Commands over eight Cities Lugan Caeneu Timlieu Siangheng Luching Hâ—quan Liching and Pingxun 5. Fuencheu Commands likewise over eight Cities Fuencheu Hiaoy Pingiao Kiakieu Ningâ—iang Lingxa Inugning and Lin. Beside these great Cities there are three other Corporations in this City as Sin Laao and Ca. These Towns are not much inferior to the Cities and so esteem'd by the Chineses but yet they are not preferred to that Dignity of the Cities though they have a Command over some lesser Towns For the safety of the Ways aud defence of the great Wall there are 14 strong Forts in this Country which are surrounded with strong Walls their Names are these Gueiguen Ieuguei Coguei Maye Vanglin Ianghon Caoxon Tienching Chinlu Cuigyuen Pinglin Chungtun Geutung and Tungxing The Pole or Register-Book of this Province reckons five hundred eighty nine thoâ—sand nine hundred fifty nine Families and five hundred eighty four thousand fifteen Fighting Men. That which this Country pays in Taxes yearly to the Emperor consists of twenty two hundred seventy four thousand and twenty two Bags of Rice fifty Pounds of fine Linnen four thousand seven hundred and seventy Silk-Stuffs four hundred and twenty thousand Weight of Salt and thirty five hundred forty four thousand eight hundred and fifty Bundles of Hay beside several other Taxes The third Kingdom of Xensi AMongst the Northern Dominions is this Xensi which is very great chiefly situated toward the West in 30 Degrees and borders upon the Kingdoms of Prester-Iohn Casker and Tibet which are call'd by one Name in the Chinese Tongue Sifan Westward the Borders extend beyond the Tartar Kingdom of Taniju betwixt which and this Countrey the Great Wall and some Forts make a separation which doth not run through all this Country but onely to the side of the Yellow River The remaining part of this Country situated on the other Bank of the River has no Wall for its defence but dry and barren Sand-fields and the Yellow River and sufficient Fortifications Eastward this Xensi is likewise Bounded with this Yellow River which runs through the Country Southward lie very high Mountains which are as strong Bulwarks and separate this Province from the Provinces of Honan Sucheu and Huquang Want of Rain makes this Country very dry but yet it produces great store of Wheat Barley and Turkish Corn but very little Rice The Beasts feed all Winter upon Corn. It abounds with Sheep and Goats which they shear three times ayear in the Spring in Summer and in Harvest and of the Wooll they make themselves Clothes In this Countrey they make great store of Musk which grows in the Navel of a Beast not much unlike to a young Hind the Flesh whereof the Chineses eat as other Meat When this Deer goes to Rutting the Cod swells like a Boil that is full of Matter which Exuperation consisting of a thin hairy Purse is then taken out with all its precious Stuff by the Natives True it is that all the Purses which are brought to us are not the right and pure Navels for the cunning Chineses know very well when they empty the Purse how to fill up the same again with counterfeit Musk. There is likewise Gold found in this Country which is not fetch'd from the Mines for those the Emperor will not suffer to be opened there being both Gold and Silver Mines but from the sides of Rivers and shallow Waters In this Country are eight Capital Cities a hundred and seven small Cities beside Castles and Forts The eight Capital Cities are these
Sigan Fungciang Hangchung Pingleang Cunchang Linijao Kingyang and Iengan 1. Sigan Commands over 36 Cities Sigam Hienyang Hingping Linchang Kingijang Caolong Hu Lantien Liuo Xang Chingan Tung Chaoye Hoyang Cheng Pexuy Hanching Hoa Hoyan Gueinan Puching Conan Hoxanijang Xangnan Yao Sanyuen Tungquoa Fuping Kien Fungciuen Vucung Iungxeu Fuen Xunhoa Xanxuy Changvu 2. Fungciang Commands over eight Cities Fungciang Kixan Paoki Fufung Muy Linieu Lung and Pingijang 3. Hanchung Commands over 15 Towns Hanchung Paoching Chingu Yang Sihiang Fungmien Niengkiang Lioyang Hinggan Pingli Xeciuen Sinijang Haniju Peho and Cuijang 4. Pingleang Commands over ten Cities Pingleang Cungsin Hoating Chinyven Kuyven Knig Lingtai Choangleang Limgte and Congning 5. Cung chang Commands over seventeen Cities Chungchang Ganting Hoeining Tunguei Chang Ningyven Fokiang Siho Ching Cin Cingan Cingxui Li Kiai Ven Hoei Leangtang 6. Linijao Commands over five Cities Linijao Gueoyven Lan Kin Ho. 7. Kingyang Commands over five Towns Kingyang Hoxi Hoan Ning and Chuining 8. Iengan Comands over 19 Cities Iengan Gansai Canciven Ganting Paogan Yâ—huen Ienchuen Ienchang Cingkien Fen Cochuen Chungpu Ykiun Suite Miche Kia Upao Xinmo and Fuco Beside these great and small Cities in this Province there are likewise several Magazines which lie scatter'd up and down some within the Great Wall and some without The chiefest of these Forts are these eight Xacheu Xancheu Iungchang Leangcheu Choanglang Sining Chiny Culang These following 14 are small ones Hingnia Ningniachung Yaocheu Nincheu Hocheu Cinglu Yulin Chinfan Xetu Hantung Pinglu Mingxa Guei and Sengqui The Chinese Register reckons the number of Families in this Province to be no less than eight hundred thirty one thousand fifty one and thirty nine hundred thirty four thousand one hundred seventy six Fighting Men. The Taxes which this Countrey pays are nineteen hundred twenty nine thousand and fifty seven Bags of Wheat three hundred sixty and five thousand Weight of fine Linnen nine thousand two hundred and eighteen Pounds of all sorts of wrought Silks seventeen thousand two hundred and seventy Pounds of Cotton eight hundred and twenty thousand seven hundred and seventy Pounds of Callicoes beside fifteen hundred and fourteen thousand seven hundred and forty nine Trusses of Hay for the Kings Stables The fifth Province of Honan THe Province of Honan lies East and South-East with Nanking North and North-East with Peking and some part of Xantung and South South-West with Hucang but Westward it borders upon the Province of Sucheu and with the remaining part of Xensi In this fifth Province we find eight great Cities a hundred small Cities beside Forts and Castles The eight great Cities are Caifung Queite Shangte Gueiheoi Hoaiking Honan Nanijang and Iuning 1. Caifung bears the Command over 30 Cities Caifung Chinlieu Ki Tunghiu Taiking Gueixi Gueichuen Ienlin Fuken Chungmen Iangvu Iuenvu Fungkieu Iencin Laniang Chin Xangaxui Sihoa Hiangching Ienching Chaggio Iu Sinching Mie Shing Iungiang Iungee Hoin Suxi Isung 2. Queite Governs over nine Cities Queite Ningling Loye Hiaye Iungehing Ciu Iuching Hiahching and Xeching 3. Changte Commands over seven Cities Changte Tanchin Linchang Lin Cu Vugan and Xe. 4. Gueihoei Commands over six Cities Gueihoei Coching Sinchiang Hoekia Ki and Hoei 5. Hoaikuing Commands over six Cities Hoaikuing Ciyven Sievun Vuche Meng Ven. 6. Honan â—ommands over 14 Cities Houan Iensu Cung Mengciu Yyang Tenfung Tungpe Nanchao Tengo Nuihiahg Sinije Chechun Yu Vuxang and Ye 7. Kingyang Commands over five Towns Kingyang Hoxi Hoan Ning and Chuining 8. Iuning Commands over 14 Cities Iuning Hanchai Sipnig Sincai Siuping Chinijang Sinigang Loxan Kioxan Quango Quangxan Cuxi Sce and Xangching The great City Iu which though not preferred by the Chineses to the Dignity of a Capital City yet however Commands over five small Cities as Iu Luxan Kia Paofung and Yyang The yearly Revenue according to the Toll-Book of the Emperor which this Country brings in amoâ—nts to five hundred eighty nine thousand two hundred and ninety six Families and fifty one hundred six thousand two hundred and seventy Fighting Men. The Income of the Revenue amounts yearly to twenty four hundred fourteen thousand four hundred and seventy seven Bags of Rice twenty three thousand five hundred and nine Pounds of unwrought Linnen nine thousand nine hundred fifty nine Pounds of several sorts of Silk three hundred forty one Pounds of Cottons which are very scarce in this County and lastly twenty two hundred fourscore and eight thousand seven hundred forty four Trusses of Hay for the Kings Stables The sixth Kingdom of Sucheu THis Territory of Sucheu is very large and fruitful which Eastward bordereth upon Huquang Southward upon Queicheu North-East and by North upon Xensi North-West upon Prester-Iohn's Countrey Westward upon Tiâ—et and Southward upon the Province of Iunnan In this whole Province are eight chief Cities a hundred twenty four great and little Cities four Garison Cities beside several other Towns and Places The eight Capital Cities are Chingtu Paoning Xungning Siucheu Chunking Queicheu Lunggan and Mahu 1. Chingtu Commands over 30 little Cities Chingtu Xaanglieu Veukiang Sinfan Sinlu Kintang Ginxeu Chingping Pi Cu Nuikiang Quou Peug Cuugning Gan Kien Cuyang Cungking Sincin Han Xefan Miencho Teyang Mien Changning Lokiang Mieu Vencheuen Guei and Pao 2. Pagning Commands over 10 Cities Pagning Cangki Nanpu Quangyven Pa Chaoboa Tungkiang Kien Cutung and Mankiang 3. Xunking has under its Command 9 Cities Xunking Sike Iungxan Ylnug Quanggan Kin Tacho Gochi and Linxui 4. Siucheu Commands likewise over 10 Cities Siucheu Kingfu Fuxun Nanki Hiuguen Changning Iunlien Cung Cao and Lukehang 5. Chungking Commands over 18 Cities Chungking Kiangein Changxeu Taco Iuncheuen Kikiang Nancheuen Kiukiang Ho Tungleang Tingguen Piexan Chung Fungtu Tienkiang Fen Fulung and Pinxui 6. Queicheu Commands over 13 Cities Queicheu Coxan Tachang Taming Iunyang Vau Cai Tai Sinning Leangxan Kieuzi Tunchiang and Taiping 7. Lunggan Commands over three Cities Lunggan Kiangyeu and Xeciven and also over several Forts 8. Mahu is alone without having any City under its Command The great Cities are six Tungcheuen Muicheu Kiating Kiung Lincheu and Yacheu Though these six great Cities might very well deserve the Name and Dignity of Capital Cities in regard of their largeness and number of Inhabitants yet they do not enjoy that Dignity because this Province is to have no more Capital Cities then Peking and Nanking The first great City Tungcheuen Commands over 8 other Cities the second Muicheu over four the third Kiating over seven the fourth Kiung over three the fifth Liucheu over four and the sixth Yacheu Commands likewise over four The four chief Garison Cities are Tinchnen Uniung Usa and Chinhiung beside which there are 35 small Garison Cities and Forts This Province produces much Silk and other rich Commodities It is very large and fruitful having the great River of Kiang running quite through it in some places it is Mountainous but wants neither for Trees nor Valleys From hence only comes the right Radix-China or China-Root for that which
grows in other Places of China is wild and good for nothing From hence comes likewise that incomparable Root call'd Rhubarb which the People of Tibet and Mogar who drive the Trade in this Province send from thence into Europe Here are likewise found two sorts of Amber Stones namely the red and yellow which last is found also upon other Coasts The People here are very cunning in counterfeiting of Amber which they do with so much skill that they sell it sometimes for the right it being impossible to discern it being not much inferior unto it either in sight or goodness Iron Tin and Lead are likewise fetch'd from the Mountains in great quantities among which the wonder is are great store of Salt-pits that produce so much Salt that the Inhabitants know not how to spend one third part of it The Toll-Book wherein the number of the People of the Country is set down mentions no less than 4 hundred 64 thousand 1 hundred 29 Families and 22 hundred 4 thousand 1 hundred and 70 Fighting Men without reckoning the Soldiers who are very numerous in the Country That which this Province pays in Taxes to the Emperor yearly consists of 61 hundred 6 thousand 660 Bags of Rice 6 thousand 3 hundred and 39 Pounds of wrought and unwrought Silk 74 thousand 8 hundred and 51 Pounds of Cottons 1 hundred 49 thousand 1 hundred 77 Weight of Salt beside other Taxes paid to his Imperial Majesty in some parts of this Province The seventh Kingdom of Hucang THe Province of Hucang borders toward the North upon the Province of Honan North-West upon Xensi Westward upon Sucheu toward the South upon Quangsi South-West upon Queicheu Eastward upon Kiangsi and South-East upon Quantung In this Province are 15 brave Metropolises above a hundred small Cities and a world of Villages and Cottages beside the Garison Towns and Forts The 15 chief Cities are these Vuchang Hanijang Syangyang Tegan Hoangcheu Kingcheu Yocheu Changxa Paoking Hengcheu Changte Xincheu Iungcheu Chingtien Chinchiang 1. Vuchang Commands over 10 Cities Vuhang Vuchang Kiayn Puki Hienning Cungyang Tungching Hingque Taye and Tungxan 2. Hanijang Commands over two Cities Hanijang and Hanchuen 3. Siangyang Commands over seven Cities Siangyang Iching Nanchang Caoyang Coching Quanghoa and Kiun 4. Tegan Commands over six Cities Tegan Iommung Hiaocan Ingching Sui and Ingxan 5. Hoangcheu Commands over nine Cities Hoangcheu Lotien Maching Hoangpi Hoanggan Kixut Ki Hoangmui and Hoangâ—i 6. Kingcheu Commands over 13 Cities Kingcheu Cunggan Xexeu Kienli Sungki Chikiang Iling Changyang Itu Iuengan Quei Hingxan Patung 7. Yocheu Commands over eight Cities Yocheu Linsiang Hoayung Pingkiang Fung Xemuen Culi and Ganhiang 8. Changxa Commands over 11 Cities Chanxa Siangtan Siangin Ninghiang and Lieuyang Liling Ieyang Sianghiang Xeu Ganhoa and Chaling 9. Paoking Commands over five Cities Paoking Sinhoa Chingpu Vuchang and Sining 10. Hengcheu Commands over nine Cities Hengcheu Hengxan Luiyang Changning Gangin Ling Queiyang Linnu and Langxan 11. Changte Commands over four Cities Changte Taoyven Lungyang and Iuenkiang 12. Xincheu Commands over seven Cities Xincheu Luki Xinki Xopu Iuen Kiuyang and Mayang 13. Iungcheu Commands over seven Cities Iungcheu Kiyang Tan Tunggan Ningyven Iungning and Kianghoa 14. Chingtien Commands over seven Cities Chingtien Kingxan Cienkiang Mienyang Kingling Kingmuen and Tangyang 15. Chinchiang Commands over seven Cities Cinchiang Fang Choxan Xancin Choki Chingsi and Paokang There are also in this Province two great Cities Cingcheu and Chincheu The first Commands over four small Cities Cingcheu Hoeitung Tungtao Suining the second over six Chincheu Iunghing Ychang Hingning Queiyang and Queitung The Garison Cities are eleven in number Xi Iungxun Paocing Nanguei Xiyung Xangki Lankiang Sanpin Iungting Tienkia Iungmui The Chinese Register of Toll-Book reckons in this Countrey Five hundred thirty one thousand six hundred and eighty six Families and Forty eight hundred thirty three thousand five hundred and ninety Fighting Men beside all such as are of the Royal Blood which amount to at least Three hundred thousand in all China These are all the Offspring of one Hunguvus the first Founder of the Family of Taiminga who long after the Expulsion of the Tartars conquer'd the Kingdom and setled himself in the Throne But this Family of Taiminga had the misfortune not many years since to be wholly extirpated by the Tartars as will appear hereafter The Product of the Revenues of this Province which are paid to the Emperor yearly consists in One and twenty hundred sixty seven thousand nine hundred and fifty nine Bags of Rice and Seventeen thousand nine hundred and seventy seven Rowls of wrought Silk The tenth Province of Chekiang THis Province lies Eastward toward the Sea South and South-West it borders upon the Province of Foking but the rest joyns to the Provinces of Kiansi and Nanking In this Province are eleven Prime Cities all of them not much inferior to some Provinces for the Metropolis of Hangcheu is fit to make to make a Kingdom of The eleven chief Cities Command over sixty three small Cities which have likewise abundance of Towns and Castles under their Command beside the Villages which are all full of People The eleven chief Cities are these Hangcheu Kiahing Hucheu Niencheu Kinhoa Kincheu Chucheu Xaohing Ningpo Taicheu and Vencheu 1. Hangcheu Commands over eight Cities Hangcheu Haining Fuyang Iuhang Lingan Yucieu Sinching Changhoa 2. Kiahing Commands over six Cities Kiahing Kiaxen Haiyen Pinghu Cungte Tunghiang 3. Hucheu Commands over six Cities Hucheu Changhing Gankie Teching Hiaofung and Vukang 4. Niencheu Commands over six Cities Niencheu Xungan Tunglui Suigan Xenchang and Fuenxi 5. Kiuhoa Commands over eight Cities Kinhoa Lanki Tungyang Yu Iuugkang Vuy Pukiang and Tanki 6. Kincheu Commands over five Cities Kincheu Lungyeu Changxan Kiangxen and Caihoa 7. Chucheu Commands over 10 Cities Chucheu Cingtien Cinyun Sungyang Suichang Lungcinen Kingyven Iunho Sivenping and Kingning 8. Xaohing Commands over seven Cities Xaohing Siaoxan Chuki Iuyao Xangyu Xing and Cinchang 9. Ningpo Commands over five Cities Ningpo Cuki Funghao Tinghai Siangxan 10. Taicheu Commands over six Cities Taicheu Hoangnien Tientai Sinkiu Ninghai and Taiping 11. Vencheu Commands over five Cities Vencheu Xuigan Locing Pingyang Taixun The chief Garisons are 15. Chinxan Kinxan Tinghui Quo Ninghai Cioki Sinho Xetie Puontun Cumuen Tunchi Haigan Sining Haifung Nan. The number of the People in this Province mention'd in the Chinese Toll-Book appears to be 12 hundred 42 thousand 1 hundred and 35 Families and 55 hundred 25 thousand 4 hundred and 70 Fighting Men. The publick Revenues paid to the Emperor consist of 25 hundred 10 thousand 2 hundred and 99 Sacks of Salt 3 hundred and 70 thousand 4 hundred and 60 Pounds of unwrought Silk and 2 thousand 5 hundred and 74 Rowls of wrought Silk Beside all which the great Ships of his Imperial Majesty call'd Iungychuen come every year to lade with Silk which is very rich and curiously wrought for his Majesties own use The Silk is interwoven with Gold
they bore to the Empire The Chinese Philosophers of Canton produc'd likewise to that end an old Story thereby to demonstrate How that the Hollanders time out of mind were never permitted to Traffick there being always reputed to be deceitful in their Dealings wherefore they found themselves oblig'd to acquaint the Government therewith that so they might take the same into their serious Consideration But both the Vice-Roys by advice of the said Haitonu whom Schedel had engag'd on their side gave this Answer to their Proposals That their Majesties had quite another Opinion of this Business and judg'd that the Holland Merchants would bring great Advantage and Profit to the Inhabitants of all China in regard that through the mutual Commerce of â—oth these People the Defects of the Country would be supply'd and what was superfluous would be Exported which must necessarily very much advance the Trade thereof and increase the Revenues of the Country They withal declared That they could not conceive the Hollanders were such a sort of People as hitherto they had been describ'd unto them in China but whatsoever Character they lay stigmatiz'd under by former Reports they were for their parts resolv'd to think better and speak accordingly of them believing now no otherwise but that they were brave Merchants Last of all They desir'd that some trial might be had of their Dealings and returned however their Thanks to the Governors of Maccoa for their good Care and Counsel The Vice-Roys hereupon publish'd in Writing their Consent to a free Trade and withal gave leave to Schedel to erect a Factory They themselves likewise bought a good part of his Imported Lading whereof they made no small Gain which without doubt would have been far greater if so be the ordinary Merchants might have bought the same It was also agreed for the better vending of the remainder of the Goods That one Peter Bolle an Under-Factor with four Hollanders more should have leave to continue at Canton But after that Schedel had taken his leave of the old Vice-Roy and went to pay his Congees to the young Vice-Roy there hapned a Business whereof he had not the least thought of and which did not a little surprize him A Commissioner who lately arrived from the Imperial City of Peking at Canton did highly disswade the Vice-Roy from granting a free Trade to the Hollanders alledging That it was one thing to grant a Port to a Forein People and another to allow a constant Habitation in their Countrey without informing of the Supreme Authority and that the Emperor ought to have notice that so no blame might light upon his Majesty This did so much perplex the Vice-Roy that first of all he advis'd Schedel to depart afterwards to be gone forthwith and to take all his Company with him for this time that so the King of Batavia by whom he understood the Holland General might not think they were kept Prisoners in Canton adding withal that this was done upon Schedel's Reasons and for their Good Hereupon two days after Schedel departs with all his Company and whatever else in the Brown-Fish for Batavia taking with him two Letters from the Vice-Roys to Nicholas Verburgh Commander in Chief at Taiwan In these Letters the Vice-Roys offer their Friendships to the General and advise him if he desir'd in China a Free Trade to send an Embassador with rich Presents to the Great Cham. The Government of Batavia perceiving the good beginning of this Deputation thought fit to write to their Principals in Holland about it and to expect their Answer concerning this Embassy to the Great Cham. In the mean time to keep the Business on foot they likewise thought good to send some other Person to Canton and so made choice of Zacharias Waggenaar for that Employment who departed from Batavia with two laden Vessels the Shell-Fish and Brown-Fish which after a Months Sailing arriv'd at the Island of Heytamon in the Mouth of the River of Canton and Sail'd from thence to Wangsoe within three Miles of the City of Canton where being arriv'd they continu'd for some days in their Station before they sent any one ashore but at last no body offering to come Aboard they thought good to send one of the Company thither who immediately applly'd himself to the Heytenu who sent him to the Toutang but not finding this Toutang or his Secretary at home he return'd late to the Sea side not knowing where to Lodge that Night whereupon some of the Vice-Roys Followers came running after him in great amazement and desir'd him to return Aboard forthwith otherwise he would be in danger of losing his Life but he refus'd and chose rather to lie all Night upon the Ground which the Interpreter of the Vice-Roy understanding he offer'd him his own House and led him homeward but coming near the Walls of the City and mistrusting the Carriage of this Interpreter he desir'd that he might remain where he was till the Morning then he would venture into the City which was accordingly done and notice thereof being given to the Vice-Roy he presently order'd him a Lodging whither he went and after some short stay apply'd himself to the Secretary of the Toutang who acquainted him How that the Portugueses with their Followers had prevail'd so far in the Imperial City of Peking that a Letter was sent to the Magistrates in Canton concerning them intimating That the Hollanders were a treacherous lying People and that for fear of being known in China they durst not appear at Peking insomuch that those in Canton ought to have a watchful Eye upon them especially if they were come without bringing with them an Embassador to the Great Tartar Cham. At the same time came also from Maccoa to Canton a Commander with a Request that by Provision and till farther Advice should come from Peking an Embargo might be laid upon the Ships of the East-India Company lying there insinuating That the Hollanders had formerly in a Pyratical way taken several of their Ships to the utter ruine of their Country The Portugueses likewise to prevent the Hollanders from driving a Trade in China paid an Arrear of four years Tax In short this Business seem'd to draw much Trouble after it and likewise to end with bad Success though great hopes was given of the contrary by those in Power and much Art and Industry was us'd by them to perswade the Messenger that this Delay would in the end turn to his Advantage and was only occasion'd through the coming of a certain Field-Commander from Peking with some thousands of Foot-Soldiers to joyn and receive the young Vice-Roy who had been a while in pursuit of some Commotioners In the mean time Waggenaar expecting with great impatience the issue of his Business was so narrowly Guarded by two or three of the Vice-Roy's Vessels that no body was suffer'd to pass to or from him at last after long expectation came the Messenger back and presently after the Secretary
of the Toutang with the Mandorins Taycoetsin and Thiapang with Orders to bring the Ships within half a Mile of the City and there to lie till such time as the said Commander who was not to know for several Reasons of the Arrival of the Hollanders had taken his leave and was gone During which time Waggenaar was Presented with several Rarities in token that the Hollanders were receiv'd as Friends in requital whereof he gratifi'd their Kindness with Guinee Linnen Bottles of Rose-Water and several other Returns The next day the Ships being come higher up the River several of the Company would have gone ashore to refresh themselves but were prevented by the Vice-Roy's Ships of War which lay there to watch the Designs of Waggenaar Afterward came the Mandorin Haitonu Aboard with several Attendants to conduct Waggenaar Ashore and when he had been civilly Treated he desir'd him that he would prepare himself to go to the Court but just as he was taking Horse there came two Mandorins to him with an unexpected Message putting several strange Questions to him viz. Why Waggenaar was desirous to speak with the Vice-Roy and what his Business was and whether he had brought any Letters or Presents for the Great Cham at Peking and for the Mandoring Toutang at Canton adding withal wherewith he ended his Discourse That the Portugueses were the occasion of all this misunderstanding But that which seem'd most pleasant they declared That if the Hollanders would appear before the Vice-Roy in Person they must â—e very liberal to all that were about him Whereupon Waggenaar made answer That he was not willing to Bribe the Vice-Roy or his Courtiers to take the Letters and Presents of his Lords and Masters contrary to his and their Inclinations but yet he would give a good Sum of Money to him that should procure a Free Trade for this Year at Canton During this Conference the same Haitonu returns with Advice to Waggenaar That he must not appear before the Vice-Roy who notwithstanding would read his Letter Hereupon Waggenaar delivers him the Letter and not long after an Answer was brought him by the Vice-Roy's Interpreter which was to this effect That in regard the Hollanders had not brought with them any Letters nor Presents to the Emperor at Peking though sufficient Advice had been given thereof to the Hollanders at Batavia and highly recommended unto them therefore it was to his great sorrow that he could not suffer them to have any Speech with him Now when Waggenaar saw that he could not effect any thing with him he departed from Canton with both the Yachts and return'd back to Batavia nothing being done In the mean time these barbarous People were not asham'd to demand ten thousand Toel of Silver onely to render the Letter and Presents acceptable to the Vice-Roy before any Conference could be had about driving a Trade with them Now according to the Proposal of the General Iohn Maatzuiker and the Council of India the Governors of the East-India Company at Amsterdam concluded and order'd an Embassy to be sent from Batavia to the Grand Tartar Cham at Peking Whereupon Peter de Goyer and Iacob de Keyzer both Merchants were chosen Ambassadors at Hurkos with a suitable Train of fourteen Pesons namely two Merchants six Waiters a Steward a Chirurgeon two Interpreters one Trumpeter and one Drummer Beside these they took two Merchants more with them who during their Voyage to Peking were to take care of the Traffick at Canton namely Francis Lantsman as Chief and Henry Gramsbergen his Companion two Yatches were appointed to Transport them from Batavia to Canton and from thence to the Imperial City of Peking The Presents which the Ambassadors took with them for the Great Cham consisted of several rich Piece-Goods as Cloth Kersies and other Woollen Manufactures of fine Linnen Mace Cinamon Cloves Nutmegs Coral little Trunks of Wax Perspective-Glasses Looking-Glasses great and small Swords Guns Feathers Armour and several other Wares The Contents of their Credentials were to this purpose that the chief end and design of this Embassy was to make a good Agreement and firm League with the Emperor of Tartary and China that there might be a Free Trade driven throughout his whole Kingdoms betwixt his Subjects and the Hollanders and that the same might be confirm'd under the Hand and Seal of both Parties Having put Aboard the Merchandises Presents and other Necessaries for our Voyage the Ambassadors went Aboard on the 14. of Iune 1655. with all their Followers we set Sail that same Night with a South-East Wind from the Coast of Batavia steering our Course Northerly But before I relate what hapned to us upon our Voyage after we came in sight of the firm Land of China I will give you an Account in brief of this famous and eminent City a Draught whereof I toook before my Departure from thence and is thus here represented in the adjoyning Print This City Batavia so call'd from the Netherlands ancient Name is situated in the Island of Great Iava and so fruitful in all manner of Cattel and Corn that the Learned Scaliger extoll'd this Island for one of the most fruitful and comprehensive Places in the whole World for from hence comes not only Pepper Ginger Cinamon and other Spices in great abundance but also all manner of tame and wild Cattel which are Transported from thence to other Parts It produces also all manner of Gems Gold-Mines Precious Stones and rich Silks in great quantities but yet so subject to stormy and tempestuous Weather that they are seldom free from Commotion'd Skies The ancient Natives of this Island are originally sprung from the Chineses who for the most part fearing the Incursions of the Tartar fled out of their own Country and setled themselves here in Iava and other adjacent Isles which they chose for their security against their Enemies The Natives of this Island who call themselves by the Name of Iavaners are generally of a middle Stature and round Visag'd most of them go naked having only a Cloth about their Middle to cover their Secrets They are counted the most civiliz'd People of all the Indians but yet they are great Gluttons Proud Deceitful Impudent and not to be trusted when they have Pass'd their Words for when a King of Iava had falsifi'd his Word and his Promise and was handsomly rebuk'd for it he return'd for answer That the Tongue of a Man was not made of Bone as if he had said It ought to be more pliant to the flexibility of the Mind and various Resolutions They are also represented to be Cruel Blood-thirsty and hardly appeased when once offended as also that they were wont to eat the dead Bodies of their Friends As to their Religion they are all of them Mahumetans or Idolaters according to the several Perswasions of their Kings who are many in this Isle where Paganism as the most ancient was spread universally and most of them were Idolaters
done In this Island grows the Leaf Betel in great abundance much in request amongst the Iavaners who fetch whole Boats-full We made no long stay here but as soon as we had got our Provisions Aboard we set Sail to pursue our Voyage and on the 1. of Iuly came in sight of the large Continent leaving Couchinchina North North-West and about Noon we hâ—d the heighth of 20 Degrees and 6 Minutes we Sail'd along the Coast which was very pleasant This Couchinchina is part of the Kingdom of Gannan which is one of the neighbor Countries that are situated out of the Kingdom of China but yet belongs to the Chineses for under this Gannan is situated the Kingdoms of Tungking and Kianchi or Couchinchina both which were formerly call'd Nankiao The Emperor Haionus who was of the Family of Hana being a valiant Prince conquer'd first of all these Countries which he Planted and afterwards Govern'd the Inhabitants thereof according to the Laws and Manners of the Chineses This same Emperor was also the first who nam'd these Countries and the Inhabitants Kiaoch but afterwards the Family of Tanga call'd them by the Name of Kiaochians But it seems that the Chineses never made any account of these Countries in regard that the Inhabitants according to the Saying of the Chineses were wild and uncivil in their Conversation but others say they did it more out of fear because they knew very well that the Inhabitants far exceeded them in strength of Body and were desirous rather to live conformable to their own Laws and Customs and have their own King than submit their Necks under the Yoke of the Chineses At the beginning of the Reign of the Family of Taiminga for the space of 290 years these People were brought under the Lash of the Emperor Hunguus But this Country was afterwards made over to a petty King call'd Chin who soon was made away by his three Governors who were of the Family of Ly and so possess'd themselves of the Realm When the Emperor Iunglos observ'd the troublesom Condition of that Kingdom he caus'd two of the Governors to be put to Death but the third escap'd by flight and the Emperor afterwards reduced the Kingdom of Gannam into a Province but he had no sooner laid down his Arms but the Fugitive Ly began to appear again in the Field and made himself Master of the Kingdom which done he speedily sent Ambassadors to pacifie the Emperor At that time Sivanteus was Emperor a peaceable Man and more a Slave to his Pleasure than a Prince of his Countries This Emperor being weary of all these Mutinies and Troubles made over again this Country to this same Ly and install'd him as a petty Prince upon Condition that he should send to him every three years an Ambassador with great Presents And in this manner these Parts were divided from the Empire of China about the Year 1428. But these Countries notwithstanding all this grew very troublesom being full of Divisions so that at last they came to be divided into three Parts the first was call'd The Kingdom of Laos the second The Kingdom of Tunking and the third Couchinchina which at present are no other than part of the Provinces of Quangsi and Iunnan The Inhabitants of these three Kingdoms Laos Tunking and Couchinchina follow the Religion of the Chineses They likewise use the Chinese Characters but yet differ very much in Speech and Pronunciation from them These Countries are very fruitful in every thing belonging to the sustenance of Mankind among other innumerable Trees and Fruits there grows a Bean which makes an Oyl or Iuyce by the Portugueses call'd Rosamalia From hence comes likewise in great abundance the Eagle-Wood which is of a Purple colour and is known to the Spaniards by the Name of Lacca and us'd in China to dye and colour Silk-Stuffs It produces likewise good store of Linnen Silk and Cotton Among other sorts of Monkies here is also found one call'd Singsiing the manner of taking them in the Woods is to set Wine before them with which they being Fudled fall asleep and so are taken napping their Blood makes an excellent Purple Dye Upon the 14. we came in sight of the Island Maccoa and kept us by the heighth of 21 Degrees and 10 Minutes in the Evening we Anchor'd and the next Morning we set Sail. We saw lying upon the Shore several Boats but not one would come Aboard notwithstanding all the Signs we made to invite them so wondrous fearful they are of the Pyrate cokesing them who at that time held the Coast in continual Alarm and whom they undoubtedly took us to be Two days we Sail'd under this Island thence passing by the most famous and wealthy City of Maccoa and though we came not near it yet I shall relate what I have understood from others concerning the Magnificence of this Place whereof you have a Draught as it was taken at Sea Sailing thus by the City of Maccao we came to an Anchor under the Island of Goyers so call'd by the Name of Peter de Goyer Opon the 18. of the same Month we arriv'd about Sun-set only in company with the Yacht Koukerken for we lost the Yacht Bloemendael in the Storm upon the Coast of Couchinchina which came not till 48 days after us to Canton very safe into the Harbor of Heytamon and dropt our Anchor in the middle of the Bay at six and a half Fathom Water This Place is exceeding pleasant and most commodious for Trade on the Water side delightful Hills and Dales behind as is to be seen by the anâ—â—xed Print We were no sooner at Anchor but a Barque full of Soldiers Boarded us who in the Name of the Governor were sent to ask the occasion of our coming Hereupon the Ambassadors sent Hendrick Baron Ashore to acquaint him by word of Mouth with the occasion of our Arrival who when he came on Shore was conducted into his Bed-chamber where he was received very courteously and Treated by him who ask'd why the Hollanders did return and whether they were not about two years since expresly forbidden to come to Canton Six days after on the 24. came two Mandorins from Canton to view the Credentials they brought to the Great Cham and to that purpose they sent for the Ambassadors to the Governors House Hereupon the Ambassadors with all their Followers made up the River and came about Noon to the Village of Lamme where they went Ashore and were from thence conducted by the Master of the Ceremonies to the Governor's Palace At their Entry they found the Governor sitting at a high Table in the Hall betwixt the two Mandorins Guarded with Soldiers who civilly treated us and were serviceable unto us After Complements passed the Ambassadors shew'd their Credentials at a distance against which the Mandorins had nothing to object and then Chairs were set for the Ambassadors to sit down which being done the Mandorins and Governor began to ask
causes so many safe Harbors and Roads for Shipping in these Parts The Country is in some places flat and even and in others Hilly and Mountainous especially toward the South as we often found to our great inconvenience upon our Voyage This Province produces all things necessary for the sustenance of Man as likewise several sorts of rich Wares and Commodities as well Artificial as Natural It likewise yields the Husbandman Fruits twice ayear as Rice Corn and other Products for in it you have no cold Weather all Winter so that the Chineses have a Proverb among them that there are three very strange things in Quantung viz. The Heaven without Snow Trees green in Winter as in Summer and The Inhabitants spitting Blood for first of all it never Snows here the Trees are never unperwig'd and the Inhabitants continually chewing the Leaves of Betel and Areka prepar'd after their way makes their Spittle red From hence comes likewise great quantities of Gold Pearl Precious Stones Silk Quick-silver Copper Steel Iron Salt-petre Eagle-Wood and several other odoriferous Woods The People in these Parts are very ingenious laborious and nimble and can imitate any thing which they see made before them and whatsoever the Portugueses bring thither out of Europe woven of Gold Silver or the like which is strange unto them they will immediately endeavor to work the same and in a short time will accomplish what they undertake for I gave a Chinese Goldsmith a Silver Button to make a Set by and the next day he brought to my Lodging what I had bespoke very curiously wrought as if he had been us'd to such work though he had never done the like before which argues their Ingenuity to be very great Among other Fowls which are to be seen in this Country are great store of Ducks which the Inhabitants have the art and way to raise and increase beyond all the rest of their Neighbors This Province is Govern'd as also each of the other Provinces in the Emperors Name by Governors who by those of Europe because their Offices and Employments much resemble Vice-Roys are call'd petty Kings who commonly reside in the first Chief City of the Province When we were at Canton Quantung was Govern'd by two Vice-Roys whereof one in regard of his Years was call'd the old and the other the young Vice-Roy The Portugueses call'd the young Vice-Roy Halick Mancebo The Vice-Roys of Quantung take place of all the Governors of the other Provinces because situated upon the Frontiers of the Kingdom and far remote from the Imperial City Peking and borders also upon the Sea by which means the High-ways are troubled with Robbers and the Sea with Pyrates therefore the Emperor orders that the Vice-Roys of Quantung shall Command over the Province of Quantung though this last as the other Provinces has also particular Vice-Roys This Country was formerly a Kingdom of it self and call'd Nainve and first brought under the Command of the Chinese Emperors at the end of the Reign of the Race of Cheva yet however it did not continue long under that Power but revolted and would be Rul'd by none but the Kings of Nainve The Emperor Hiaorus of the Family of Hana at last conquer'd this part since which time it has been subject to the Emperors of China In this Province are ten Chief Cities and seventy three small Cities without reckoning among them the City of Maccao famous for Traffick and Commerce The ten Chief Cities are these Quancheu or Canton Xaocheu Nanhiung Hoeicheu Chaocheu Chaoking Kaocheu Liencheu Lincheu and Kiuncheu The Chief City of Quancheu Commands over fifteen small Cities among which I do not reckon Maccao though it lies under the Command of this Chief City The 15 small ones of this great City are these Quancheu or Canton Xunte Tangvon Cengching Hiangxan Sinhoei Cingyven Sinning Cunghoa Lungumen Sanxui Lien Iangxan Tienxan and Singan The second Capital City Xaocheu Commands over six small Cities Xaocheu Locang Giughoa Iuyven Ungyen and Ingote The Country about this Chief City is for the most part full of Hills The third Chief City is Nanhiung or Nanhung and Commands over two Cities Nanhiung and Xihing The fourth Chief City is Hoeicheu and Commands over 10 small Cities Hoeicheu Polo Haifung Hoiven Lungchuen Changlo Hingning Hoping Changing and Iunggan The fifth Chief City is Chaocheu and Commands likewise over 10 small Cities Chaocheu Chaoyang Kieyang Chinghiang Iaoping Tapu Hoeilai Cinghai Puning and Pingyven The sixth Chief City is Chaoking and Commands over eleven Cities Chaoking Sinhoei Sinhing Yangchun Yangkiang Caoming Genping Teking Quangning Fuchuen and Kalklen The seventh Chief City is Caocheu and Commands over six small Cities Caocheu Tienpe Sing Hoa Vuchnen and Xeching The eighth Chief City is Lieucheu and Commands over four small Cities Lieucheu Knig Lingxan and Xelien The ninth Chief City is Luicheu and Commands over three small Cities Luichtu Sniki and Siuven The tenth Chief City is Kiuncheu situated in the Island of Hainan and Commands over twelve small Cities Kiuncheu Lincao Tingan Veuchung Hoeitung Lohoei Chen Changhoa Van Linxui Yai and Cangen In this whole Province are ten Forts or Castles which serve for the Defence of the Province and the Sea the Names whereof are these Taching Tung Hanxan Ginghai Kiacu Kiexe Ciexing Hiung Iunching and Ciungling The Chinese Toll-Book wherein the number of the People of each Province is set down makes mention of Four hundred eighty three thousand three hundred and sixty Families and Nineteen hundred seventy eight thousand and twenty Fighting Men in this Province The Taxes which this Province pays yearly to the Emperor amounts to Ten hundred seventeen thousand seven hundred and twenty two Bags of Rice and seven thousand three hundred and fourscore Weight of Salt CANTON On the Water side the City is defended with two rows of high and thick Walls which are strengthned with Bulwarks Watch-Towers and other Forts and beside these Works there are two other strong Water-Castles which being built in the middle of the River render this City invincible One of these two Castles which I saw my self and which doth not much differ in any thing from the other I took an exact Draught of which you have here presented shewing the Strength of the Place and in what manner built The City is likewise defended and surrounded on the Land side with a strong Wall and five strong Castles whereof some are within the Walls and others without upon the tops of steep Hills so that this City is sufficiently both by Sea and Land defended against all the Invasions of any Enemy whatsoever and in the opinion of some seems invincible What concerns the Idol-Temples Courts and Palaces of Great Lords and other rare Edifices which are to be seen here there is no City in all Asia that shews the like Here also are several Triumphal Arches which have been erected to the Honor of such as have done their Country Service They are no small
for which he return'd thankful Acknowledgments and so parted A few days before his Departure whilst they were making Preparations for the Army this Vice-Roy sent to his Wizards Sorcerers and Soothsayers to whose Responses the Chineses give no small credit who drawing their Predictions from the Configurations and Position of the Stars and from the Inspection of the Entrails of Fowls and the like for the most part Astrologically foretelling good or bad success to the intended Expedition These Iugling Augurers consulted and positively told the Vice-Roy both by Birds and malignant Aspects that the whole Undertaking would be unfortunate and extremely prejudicial both to himself the Army and the Country But this young Prince being wholly bent upon the Design to purchase himself immortal Honor by Prowess and force of Arms was resolv'd to proceed notwithstanding all those great Discouragements from his Fabling Fortune-Tellers for so they prov'd the Success falling out quite contrary he bringing under absolute Subjection the whole Province to the Tartar upon which account their Vaticination not only proving frivolous but quite contrary they fled absconding themselves lest they might suffer at the return of the Vice-Roy who would have handled them very severely but however they being absent the Storm fell on their Idols and Temples which he rased to the very Ground and burnt the Images In the mean time we return'd with the Ambassadors to our Lodging where we saw the whole Fleet under Sail having the Army Aboard following the Vice-Roy Both these Vice-Roys were of Noble Families Born and Educated in the Imperial City of Peking We thought at first that the young Vice-Roy had been the Son of the old Vice-Roy but we understood afterwards that they were nothing akin but only great Friends and Princes of one and the same Power and who had both undergone one and the same Misfortune for the Chinese Emperors for what reason I know not had beheaded both their Fathers The Sons therefore to prevent the like Disaster which it seems they dreaded fled to this Province of Quantung which at that time the Great Cham had Invaded with a powerful Army and had brought most of the Country under his Obedience This occasion afforded these young Princes an opportunity to revenge their Fathers Deaths upon the Emperor To effect this they endeavor'd to get some Dependence upon the Tartars and grounded their Complaints to the Great Cham upon the Misfortune of their renowned Families desiring withal Help and Assistance to recover the same by force of Arms. The Great Cham found so many testimonies and good ground for faithful Dealing in these Princes that he conferr'd upon them both great Honor and Dignity the eldest he honor'd with the Title of Pignowan and the other with the Name of Synowa which amongst the Chineses are Names of the highest and chiefest Offices of the Kingdom and such chief Officers Command and Rule with the same Power over some Provinces as the Vice-Roys here in Europe That these warlike Princes have since that time sufficiently revenged the Deaths of their Fathers upon the Chineses is very apparent in regard that in the Province of Quantung you may ride in some Places for several Miles together and not see a Town or Village standing only great heaps of Stones and the Ruines of many Places which have been formerly very famous for Trade In the Withdrawing-room where the Ambassadors Din'd was a Window on purpose to which the Mother of the young Vice-Roy often resorted to take a view of the Company She was very neatly and richly Dress'd after the Tartar fashion middle siz'd slender of a brown Complexion of a pleasing and taking Countenance At our entrance before we sat down we found standing a very rich painted Chair which was appointed for her Majesty to which in Honor of this great Lady we humbly paid our Respects Dinner being ended and the Complements perform'd they took Horse and return'd to their Lodging We departed upon the 17. of March with all our Train from the chief City of Canton and were Row'd up the River of Tai close to the side of the City which shews a most delightful Prospect upon the Water The small Towns which are very numerous in Peking and Canton signifi'd our kind Reception by the thundring voice of their Cannon as we pass'd by Having Sail'd and Row'd several Reaches of this broad and spacious River we at last left the Channel and strook into another an Arm of this great one that disembogues it self into the same toward the North. The Chineses call this Branch Zin but those of Europe The European Stream We made so much speed that Day that toward the Evening we came to a Village call'd Sahu This Place though not very large nor famous yet is of pleasant Situation and about six Miles from Canton the Soil is very fruitful and encompass'd with Trees Hills and Vales. There are several good Edifices in this Place though most of them inhabited by Peasants and Handicrafts-men which are chiefly Silk-weavers who live by Weaving great quantities of Silk-Stuffs for the Merchants at Canton We stay'd here all Night and in the Morning early set Sail. Upon the 19. of March we came to an Anchor before the City of Xantung being the eleventh small City belonging to the Chief City of Canton and lying distant from thence about twenty Miles This City on the right side of the River lies in a very pleasant Vale and is surrounded on the Land side with delightful Pastures and Hills It is not very large but was formerly exceeding populous and full of Trade We got thus far sometimes with Rowing Sailing and Towing against the Stream which had so tir'd the Chineses who were put to this slavish Labor that we were oblig'd to stay by the Way till they had rested and refresh'd themselves The Magistrate of the Place caus'd the side of the River to be Guarded with two Foot-Companies to welcom and receive the Ambassadors with the more State They sent likewise a few Presents for the Ambassadors Table but they understanding it was all upon the Emperors Account and by his Order who allow'd ten times more than what they sent thought good to refuse their Civilities both here and in all other Places where they came which they did with great Respects Here we went Ashore which was the first time since we came Aboard and pitch'd a Tent at a little distance from the City upon the side of the River in an open and plain Field The Tartars in the mean time to shew some Pastime Exercis'd their Arms before the Tent of the Ambassadors which was perform'd by them with much dexterity Among the rest there was one with a Bow and Arrow who was so rare a Marks-man that he shot thrice together through the White no broader than the Palm of a Hand at the distance of thirty five Paces for which he was rewarded with a small piece of Money The Secretary of the Vice-Roy for the more
safety and for the greater splendor having conducted us thus far took leave and went back for Canton but was most nobly Treated by the Ambassadors the Night before We on the other hand made all things ready and set Sail again with fair Wind and Weather but were forc'd to be Tow'd up the River being against the Stream and narrow into which fall several Torrents from the adjacent Hills so that we went but very slowly and that with great labor and trouble which these poor Creatures are fain to undergo Here we saw into what a miserable Condition the Chineses were reduced by the last War of the Tartars who put them upon this slavish labor of Towing and Rowing their Boats using them worse than Beasts at their pleasure without any exception of Persons either young or old Often the track'd ways on the River side are so narrow uneven and steep that if they should slip they would infallibly break their Necks as many times it happens now and then they walk up to the Middle in Water and if any of them grow faint and weary there is one that follows having Charge of the Boat who never leaves beating of them till they go on or die But these poor Creatures are no where so miserably harassed out as in this dangerous and steep mountainous part of Sangwanhab on which account perhaps none will or dare live there for we saw there but one poor despicable Village where some few People dwell whose Countenances sufficiently declar'd what Hardships they underwent The most ancient Greeks and Romans who formerly subdu'd whole Countries never dealt so barbarously by those whom they conquer'd as these unmerciful Tartars who by their cruel usage in this last Invasion have not only laid waste abundance of noble Cities Towns and Villages which are now places for Birds and Beasts to roost in but they have likewise made Slaves of the best of the Natives Upon the 21. of March about Midnight we came with all our Train to Sanyvum The Magistrates of this Place met us on the Way and with their respective Salutes Presented us for the Table which for the reason aforesaid were not accepted This Place is not very large lying about forty Miles distant from Xanxui and was formerly for its Situation potent and populous but in this last War wholly ruin'd by the Tartars who gave the same usage to all such Cities as were not able to withstand them Here we got fresh Track-men our old ones being quite tir'd to draw us up the River against the Stream and Torrents which fall from this wonderful Mountain Sagwanhab The heighth of this Mountain is very observable for the tops thereof are envelop'd with Clouds which makes the Passage at the bottom of the Hill obscure On one side of this prodigious Mountain stands an Idol Temple richly adorn'd and most artificially built to which these poor Creatures resort conceiving all their welfare to consist in Offering to this Idol adoring it as their Preserver 〈…〉 up by Steps to this Temple which stands on that side of the Mountain next the River There are several strange Mountains and Hills found in China but none are to be compar'd with this of Sangwonhab in regard of its Stuation and extraordinary heighth Near to Xunte 〈◊〉 second small City of Canton lies a Mountain call'd Lungnien from wheâ—e runs a Torrent as clear as Crystal Upon this Mountain are found certain rough Stones of strange and wonderful shapes which the Chineses make use of in their way of Trade Near to Tangnon the third small City of Canton lies the Mountain Tahi upon the East-side where lie 36 small Islands Near to this City likewise lies the Mountain Heuteu which serves such Skippers as are bound for the Province of Quantung for a Land-mark Near to Cingyuen the seventh small City of Canton lies a great Mountain call'd Talo which is surrounded with steep and sharp Tops among which lie rich and pleasant Meadows where dwell several wild and unciviliz'd People who oftentimes make Inroads upon the adjacent Places to steal what they can These wild and irregular People live according to their own Laws without any subjection to the Chineses Near to the sixth small City of Canton lies a Mountain call'd Yaimuen From this Mountain the last Emperor of the Race of Sunga after that the Tartars had Conquer'd him and driven him out of the Country flung himself headlong out of despair into the Sea We were three days hovering up and down before we could get from among these strange and solitary Mountains and saw in all that time but one poor Village call'd Quantonlow which lies so lonely that 't is strange how any People durst live in it In some places of this Island between the Hills which is very remarkable lie several pleasant and fruitful Corn-Fields Upon the 24. of March we came to a certain small City call'd Yntag the sixth small City of the second Chief City of the Province of Quantung Here we were necessitated to let fall our Anchor in regard of the violent Stream and the great Torrents which fall from the Hills for those that Tow'd the the Boats being quite spent we were forc'd to give them some rest to recover their Strength again This violent and strong Stream had driven the Vessel of the Ambassadors against a blind Rock which did very much endanger the loss both of Ship and Goods This small City lies very pleasant upon a corner of the River on the right side over against the Mountain Sangwonhab It is fortifi'd with high and indifferent strong Walls and beautifi'd with stately Houses and magnificent Idol Temples surrounded with pleasant Hills delightful in Prospect the Suburbs well and sufficient It was formerly very rich and populous and is provided with a safe Harbor for Vessels against the impetuous Current of this River which is a great protection to them in Stormy Weather passing up and down At the entrance of the Harbor on the right side appears a very high Tower built with great curiosity The next Day being the 25. of March we came in sight of that wonderful and strange Idol Temple call'd Koniansiam which the Chineses hold in great veneration bringing as rich and fat Offerings thither as to that of Sangwonhab It lies on the River side in a solitary wild and mountainous Country your first Approaches conduct you up with convenient Stone Steps after you make your Way through blind Paths and cavernous Passes forc'd with much Art and Industry These Idolaters believing as the ancient Heathen that Groves and high Places were most venerable Mansions and yielding a more reverential Awe to their Gods and less discovering under a Shade their Priests jugling Impostures We continu'd here a while with all our Fleet till the Natives had perform'd their Devotions at this Temple which afterward our Ambassadors visited 'T is incredible to relate with how much superstitious Zeal wanting our true Lights they pour forth there their
Ejaculations and as freely their Bounty offering prodigally their Country Products of all sorts of Fruits Birds and Beasts Upon the 27. of March in the Evening we Landed at a Place call'd by the Chineses Mongley with a most pleasant Prospect at a distance and accommodated with stately Sone Steps conveying you from the Water-side to the Gate entring the City which is vested with high Walls and fortifi'd with tall Bulwarks and Watch-Towers It is wondrous pleasant to view from the Battlements of this City the adjacent Countries thick shrowded with delightful Woods and mantling Pastures In regard our Drudges were quite tir'd out with Towing their Boats against the impetuous Stream we got fresh Yoke-men from hence but we were no sooner under Sail but the Ambassadors Vessel run against a blind Rock under Water which had like to have endanger'd the loss both of Ship and Goods The next Day having pass'd some Villages we came to an Anchor in pleasant Riding where the Mandorin Pinxenton Treated us with their beloved The. It was upon the 29. of March when we came with the remainder of our Fleet before the second Chief City of Xaocheu This City lies about thirty Miles from Yntag upon an Angle near the side of the River In regard of its Situation and safe Harbor of Shipping they have a very great Trade by Navigation Toward the South this River has several Names and is call'd Scian and sometimes Scio and has its Source out of the River Chin and Va which both run into one not far from this City The Place where these two Waters meet is well known by the Chinese Skippers to their sorrow because of the impetuous violence of the Streams and the many blind Rocks which skulk under Water on which in stress of Weather they often suffer Shipwrack The Chineses to avoid this Danger according to their Custom have built here an Idol Temple by the Water-side which is always first visited by such as intend to pass this Way where they offer what they have to be protected in their Voyage by the indulgence of this their favouring God The City lies surrounded on one side with high and delightful Hills and on the East side over the Water has a Suburb which is very populous rich and well built in the middle of the Water stands a Tower artificially built upon a small Rock according to the old fashion of the Chineses That this was formerly a noble City full of stately Buildings the many great Ruines signifie there yet remains an indifferent Wall about it but within nothing but Ruine and a heap of Stones We pitch'd our Tents near unto the Walls where we had a fair Reception by the Magistrates and Governor who brought several Presents for the Ambassadors Table which were accepted by the Ambassadors being not put upon the Emperor's Account After they had Saluted each other and discours'd of several Affairs they were most nobly receiv'd by the Ambassadors who Treated them with so much Respect that they were highly pleas'd and promis'd to requite their Kindness upon all occasions which done they took leave and return'd again to the City In the Morning early we weighed from thence and had not long been under Sail but we drew near a Mountain which the Tartars for its strange shape and form call Five Horses Heads Upon the Pinacles of these Hills which are envelop'd with Clouds we saw here and there several strange as well small as great Edifices standing some of them were entire others decay'd and ruinous built time out of mind But that which seem'd most remarkable was the Situation of those Buildings which were erected upon such high and steep places altogether inaccessible that none could imagine a possible Way for these People to carry up their Materials We were very desirous to have had a nearer view of these Houses and Inhabitants there but we found by experience after some small trial of clambering up that our Attempts were in vain We were no sooner past this Mountain of the Five Horses Heads but we fell among other Rocks and steep Ascents which we made a shift to escape though with great danger the River being full of lurking split Ships lying under Water therefore the Inhabitants call these Rocks The Five ugly Devils At last we got safe to the last Country of Suytjeen where the Mountain of the Five Horses Heads shews it self very wonderfully to the Eye at a distance but much more the tops of the Hills of Suytjeen which stand in such order upon the River as if Art and not Nature had plac'd them there Amongst these Mountains lie several pleasant Vales in most delightful Prospect being well replenish'd with Fruit-Trees and Herbage Upon the fourth of April we came in sight of the famous City of Namhun the third Chief City of this Province and immediately went Ashore This Metropolis lies about forty Miles from Xaocheu and is the outward Frontier of the Province of Quantung which we had thus travers'd from South to North. The Governor and Magistrates of this City having notice of the coming of the Ambassadors sent a Letter full of Complements to assure them of a cordial Welcom Not long after they address'd themselves in Person who after that the Ceremony of Complements had been reciprocally return'd earnestly desir'd of the Governor and Magistrates that good order might be given for the speedy furthering of their Iourney to Peking which they promis'd should be done The Ambassadors to requite their Civilities Treated them nobly for which they return'd their Thanks and having taken their leave went back in the Evening to the City The next day the Ambassadors with all their Followers were invited by the Governor to a most splendid Dinner who sent them his Gentlemen to meet them at the Gate of the City and conduct them to his House where he waited their coming with the rest of the Magistrates and some of the chief Commanders of the Army The Entertainment was every way answerable to the Quality of the Persons as well of the Guests as the Inviters The Governor and the Magistrates sat all at one side of the Table that the Sewers might the better remove the Dishes and Chargers without any disturbance to the Company which were not Serv'd up all at once according to the custom of the Chineses but only two at a Course which was the single Allowance for one Person And when the Steward who waited always at the Governor's Elbow had given the Word every one fell to what he most fancied and when he observ'd a cessation at the first Course he made a Sign and immediately the Dishes were shifted which was done at least sixteen times observing the same order as at first During the Feast there was both Vocal and Instrumental Musick the better to Entertain the Invited to their satisfaction A little before the Banquet was brought in they arose and recreated themselves in the Garden till the Dishes were plac'd and then
concerning the Province of Kiangsi and the number of the great and small Cities I shall now relate what hapned in our Travels through this Province to that of Nanking No sooner were the Ambassadors arriv'd at the Gate of the Chief City of Nangan but a Gentleman was immediately dispatch'd to Complement them in the Name of the Magistrates and conduct them to those Lodgings which were provided for them A while after came the Governor himself with some other Persons of great Quality who after Civilities interchanged fell into some Discourses of small importance and having thus spent an hour they took their leaves and departed sending a handsom Treatment that Night at the Charge of the City Afterwards came to us two Tartar Gentlemen who were newly arrived there from the Imperial City of Peking and after they had Saluted the Ambassadors they told them that they were sent to Congratulate the Vice-Roys of Canton upon their Victory obtain'd the last Year against the Chineses in the Province of Quangsi they then took their leaves and departed seeming much to admire the large and tall Statures of the Hollanders and that they should come from the end of the World to Salute their Emperor adding withal That his Imperial Majesty expected them with great impatience During our abode here we were often visited and receiv'd the friendly Salutations of the best and chiefest of the City The Ambassadors were here very much troubled to procure Vessels to carry them to Nanking for though they did earnestly insist to prosecute and hasten their Iourney yet the Commissioner appointed to furnish them with Boats could not get them ready so soon as he desir'd whereupon the Mandorin Pinxenton rated him with such bitter Expressions that taking it to heart he drew his Knife and would certainly have stabb'd himself had he not been prevented by one of the Mandorin's Servants The Country about this City which is the farthest City of this Province is very pleasant and fruitful surrounded with Hills and Mountains which serve for a Fence to Guard the Country One of these Mountains far exceeds the rest for delightfulness being call'd Sihoa which signifies A Place of Pleasure This City is divided into two equal Parts by an Arm of the River Chang which being situate on the Stream causes great Trading there for all the Goods and Merchandises which are brought out of China and carried to the Province of Quantung or from thence to the other Places of Trade which lie higher up in the Country are for the most part unladed in this City from whence they are carried to other Parts by Land or Water The South part of this City is close built with several goodly Houses and is full of Commerce and People On the North side stands an Idol-Temple very curiously built and so richly adorn'd that a second Dedalus may be said to have shewn his Art in the contrivance of this Edifice However in bigness and strength this City stands not in competition with that of Nanhung although the Tartars in their last Invasion were more favourable to this than to the other for in Nangan they forbore to destroy such Fabricks as were of any note but in Nanhung all were ruin'd Besides the great Commerce and Traffick which has been of late Years driven here has been a means to enrich the Inhabitants thereof who have continually contributed toward the re-edifying of this City After four Days abode in this City the Ambassadors Embarqu'd themselves with all their Followers to pursue their Voyage to Peking From the City of Canton to Nanhung we were Tow'd all the way against the Stream by Track-men not without great danger of Shipwrack by reason of many Rocks that lie hid under Water but now we were carried down with the Stream though yet not without great labor and danger of often losing both Ship and Goods The River Can runs here as swift as an Arrow from the Bow and is full of Banks Sands and Shoals which requires much care and experience in the Mariners It hapned in this Passage among other Accidents that the Barque in which Iacob de Keizer one of the Ambassadors had Embarqu'd himself with the Presents to the Great Cham fell into a Whirl-pool and turning and winding amongst unsteady Eddies drove at last on a hidden Sand where she stuck fast and could not be gotten off until they had unladen her they then perceiv'd that she had two great Leaks in her Hull which they made shift to stop putting the Goods Aboard again and so we proceeded on our Iourney The Mandorins commanded the Water-men to be severely Lash'd with a thick Leather Whip and the Master himself had not escap'd the same Punishment for his neglect if the Ambassadors had not interceded for him The next Day being the 14. of April we pass'd by the second small City call'd Nankang but did not Land as we went but in our Return put Ashore This Nankang lies upon the left side of the River Chang It is built four-square being invested with a strong Wall twenty five Foot high and was formerly rich and famous for Commerce It hath four Gates each about a quarter of a Mile distant one from another This City was totally subverted by the Tartars in the last War On the River side stands a strong high Tower the Structure well built At our return we lay with our Vessels before Nammon which signifies The South-Gate from whence a Street leads to the House of the Governor and at the end of the Street stands a Chinese Triumphal Arch an elaborate Piece which the Tartars left without any demolishment At the end of this Street is the Market-place to which is brought daily all manner of Provisions as Flesh Fish and Fruits of all sorts in great abundance Upon the 15. we came to Cancheu the twelfth Chief City of the Province of Kiangsi where we took up our Lodgings for that Night and were visited Aboard our Vessels by some great Mandorins who welcom'd us in the Name of the Magistrates after which the Ambassadors address'd themselves to the great Tutang of this City returning him the like Complemental Civilities who receiv'd them with singular Courtesies and seem Affection and conducted them into his private Apartment where he plac'd them on his right Hand Then he ask'd them several Questions concerning the Constitution of Holland viz. Of how many Provinces it consisted and how remote from Portugal How long their present Government had been Establish'd When that Power began Whether they were all of one and the same Religion and Whether they us'd Beads in their Ejaculations after the Portugese manner To each of which Particulars the Ambassadors return'd them a brief and satisfactory Answer By these Questions we guess'd what a near Community and Commerce there was between this Lord and the Portugueses and we were likewise afterwards told that his Wife had been Baptiz'd by them Whilst we were drinking of Thea in the Withdrawing-room he desir'd to hear
our Trumpets sound in the Hall with which he was exceeeingly pleas'd and also seem'd much to admire our Arms And because this Tutang who held his Residence and Court in this Chief City had the Command over the Provinces of Kiangsi Fokien Hucang and Quantung and consequently was not much inferior to a Vice-Roy and that the Ships of our East-India Company bound from Iapan to Taiwan often supply'd themselves here with much fresh Water for the Province of Fokien is all Maritime lying opposite to the other Island of Formosa therefore the Ambassadors concluded to offer him some Presents but he refus'd them with great Civility alledging That the Tartar Government would not permit any Presents to be receiv'd from any Foreign People till they had made their Appearance at the Court before his Imperial Majesty He likewise added That he did not refuse them out of a Chinese Dissimulation but only to observe the Custom of their Country and assur'd the Ambassadors that in their Return from Peking all manner of Friendship should be shewn them This Cancheu in regard of the great Income and Revenue arising yearly from the Trade that is driven there is one of the Chief Cities in the Province of Kiangsi and Commands over twelve small Cities It lies about sixty Miles from Canton close to the side of the River Can which takes its source near to the eighth small City call'd Xuikin and flows from thence Northward up to Cancheu The City is four-square as Nankang and is surrounded with a high Stone Wall about two Miles compass There are four Gates also to this City which are call'd after the four Winds We lay all Night in our Barques before the Western Gate The Streets of the City are handsomly Pav'd On the East-end stands a high well-built Tower from the top of which you have a full Prospect of the City and adjacent Countries which are wondrous pleasant The Burgers Houses and Dwellings are built in good order among which are some very large ones well furnish'd but the Palace of the Governor exceeds all the rest Among other stately Edifices this Place abounds in curious Idol-Temples very richly adorn'd with Pictures and Graven Images but there is one especially whose Top stands higher crowning all the rest which may be reckon'd among the chiefest Temples in all China and is call'd Kuil Kiasti Miao Miao signifying A Church and Kuil Kiasti being the peculiar Name of the Idol they here worshipp'd At the Place where the two Rivers Chang and Can meet and conjoin cross the Stream lies a long Bridge of Boats cover'd over with Planks At the end of the Bridge stands a Toll-house for the receipt of Custom Upon the 18. of April we pass'd by the ruinous and deplorable City of Vanâ—â—ngam This City lies close to the side of the River Can on the right hand in a very fruitful and pleasant Soil The Tartars were so cruel to this Place in the last War that they left nothing standing that was any ways remarkable It appears to have been a wondrous delightful Place very accurately built and full of Inhabitants The Country round about this City produces twice a year great store of Fruit to the Husbandman And not far from hence lies a Hill which has Silver-Mines but the Chineses are forbidden by their Laws to dig for any Silver On the East-side of this City is a Mountain call'd Chao whose Top reaches up to the Clouds and though of this vast heighth yet from the bottom to the top there grow all sorts of Trees and Herbs which made us a delightful Prospect at a distance We left immediately this miserable Town and came to an eminent Village call'd Pekkinsa whose Situation is most pleasant and where a good Trade is driven in all Naval Materials to the great benefit of the Inhabitants At a great distance before you come to this Village you see several Cliffs which have been so wonderfully cut and order'd by Art and Labor that the very sight thereof fill'd us all with admiration but the last War has much defac'd the beauty of them and there is now only left the Ruines whereby to judge what a brave Ornament they were formerly The very destruction of these artificial Rocks sufficiently declares what vast Devastations befel the whole Empire of China in the last War of the Tartars who did not only ruine the greatest Cities Towns and Villages but neither suffer'd any Ornaments to continue eminent in the Country for not any Place of note escap'd the fury of those barbarous People except the Imperial City of Peking which the Tartars favor'd after they had taken it where yet are to be seen most rare and exquisite Curiosities whereof we shall make mention hereafter In regard of the extraordinary strangeness of these Stone Cliffs made by Art I took the Altitude of one of them which had suffer'd least prejudice by the Tartars and found it at least forty Foot The like artificial Rocks are to be seen in the Emperor's Court where the Great Tartar C ham often refreshes himself in the heat of Summer We departed at last from this Village Pekkinsa and came late in the Evening to the small City Taiko which is the second small City under the Iurisdiction of the ninth Chief City Kiegan and situate on the side of the River Can. Upon the 29. of April we came unto the most famous City of Kinungam call'd by som Kiegan which is the ninth Prime City of this Province of Kiangâ—i It lies about forty Miles from Taiko being built upon the Western side of the River Can not far from the Place where those terrible and dreadfâ—l Cliffs call'd Xepatan discover themselves and is defended with tall Battlements by the help of which she was enabled to make resistance against the Tartars when beleaguer'd by them Here were also formerly many stately Structures but they are now generally ruin'd and destroy'd by the Enemy some few Idol-Temples only remaining Over against the City lies an Island where stands a curious Temple of modern Building hung round about with great and small Images The Country round about this City is full of Hills and Dales in which are said to be Gold and Silver Mines but the Chineses are prohibited by their Laws to dig for any only they are permitted to take what of either they can find upon the sides of the Rivers These Parts are also pregnant and delightful for in this Country which is seldom known in other Places there is no want of Water either Winter or Summer nor too much Drought Near to Ganto the fifth small City under the Iurisdiction of Kinungam a mighty high Mountain call'd Nucung lifts her Head towards the Clouds and is as remarkable for bigness as any in those Parts Most of the Chinese Rivers are very dangerous being so precipitate that all Vessels are liable almost to continual Attaques and sudden surprizals of Rocks Banks and Shoals in ambush so that the Masters ought to
be skilful and circumspect in their Steerage from Port to Port. But the River Can is near this City most hazardous there residing those unmerciful Bilgers call'd by the Natives Zepatane The Vessels bound hither take commonly very expert Pilots and such as are by Custom better acquainted with the fixed Rocks and still varying and unsetled Shoals The Inhabitants of this Place and the adjacent Parts recounted to us with much regret and reluctance how barbarously they had been us'd by the Tartars who burnt and destroy'd their Houses carrying many into perpetual Slavery others they put to Death with rare and exquisite Tortures making no discrimination either of Sex or Age and when they had glutted their salvage Inclinations with Ruine and Plunder they exercis'd their more inhumane Cruelty upon innocent Virgins of whom four thousand all choice and singular Beauties they carried into Captivity aud for inconsiderable Sums sold them to make Bawds and Madams of Pleasure-houses so prostituting them to be comprest and devirginated by libidinous Courtiers and deboist Hectors for their own Profit at what Price soever they pleas'd to put upon them That same Day we made such good speed that we got beyond Kiexui the fourth small Town under the Iurisdiction of Kiegan This Place is situate on the side of the River Chang and is in circumference a Mile and a half surrounded with Hills and built after the Chinese fashion with Idol-Temples On the Water side stands a strong Wall fifteen Foot high The next Day being the 20. of April we past by Kiakia the fourth small City under the eighth Chief Metropolis Liukiang This City lies about thirty Miles from Kiexui at the bottom of the Mountains and upon the North side of the River Can which waters this City to the great accommodation of the Inhabitants The Country about this Place produces Oranges and other Fruits in great abundance A good part of its Wall is built upon the Hills and the Ground lying within the Wall is Manur'd by the Inhabitants Here is standing an ancient Idol-Temple which is famous for having two Gates each being of one intire Stone but the Houses were most of them demolish'd by the Tartars Not far from these Walls lies a Mountain call'd Mung whose Top reaches so high that it seems to be invested with Clouds yet the sides of this Aspirer flourish being cloth'd with stately Woods and mantled with verdant and delightful Pastures That same Day toward the Evening we got to the City Sinkin the second small City under the eighth Chief City of Linkiang which lies about twenty Miles from Hiakiang and it is situate also on the side of the River Can having a pleasant Prospect of Hills and fruitful Fields behind it This Place doth not differ much in bigness or beauty from Hiakiang only it lies in a more even Soil and not so near the Mountains Toward the Water in the middle of a Wall stands a very high and well-built Gate Most of the Buildings within had been destroy'd by the Tartars We lay all Night Aboard our Vessels over against the City near to an Idol-Temple where the Governor came to Salute us and brought some few Presents for the Kitchin Upon the 22. we set Sail early in the Morning and arriv'd by Noon before the Chief City of Fungching which is the second small City under the Iurisdiction of the first Chief City of Nanchang This City lies in a flat and even Soil built four-square and situated upon the said River Can and is surrounded with a high Wall above a Mile about On the North side of the City is a populous Suburb well and close built with goodly Buildings There are also two great and high Triumphal Arches which had been much defac'd with the rest of the brave Structures in the last bloody Invasion There are likewise several Mountains not far from this Place one is call'd Pechang from whence there falls a mighty Torrent of Water with a most hideous noise The next Day being the 23. of April we came in sight of the first Chief City of Nanchang which is also call'd by some according to the Name of the Province Kiangsi where it is situated We were hardly come to an Anchor but the Magistrates sent four very commodious Boats Aboard to fetch us Ashore for there is no Landing or coming near the shore with great Vessels by reason of the Sands The Mandorin Pinxenton took presently two of the best of these Boats for himself which was ill taken by the Ambassadors Not long after came the Magistrates themselves to welcom them and caus'd Pinxenton to restore to the Ambassadors one of the Boats which he had taken for his own use The next Day one of the Ambassadors namely Peter de Goyer for Iacob de Keyser found himself ill with the Secretary Henry Baron and all our Followers went to visit the Tutang or Governor of this City who receiv'd us with great Civility and shew'd his Displeasure at his Interpreter for bringing the Ambassadors a foot saying That such Persons as came from so remote and strange Parts to Congratulate his Imperial Majesty upon his Victories and Prosperity ought to be receiv'd in great State He was also very much offended at the Mandorins of the Canton Vice-Roys calling them Asses After the Ambassador had taken his leave and was come into the Street one of the Governor's Gentlemen came and presented both him and his Secretary each with a fine Horse upon which they rid to the Water side and when the Ambassadors set Sail they were Saluted with the great Guns from the Walls of this City and they to requite this civil Reception of the Governor sent him a few Presents but he refus'd them saying That no Person in China was permitted to receive any Presents from Forein Ambassadors before they had seen and Saluted the Emperor The Chief City of Nanchang is distant about five Miles from Funching situated near that great Lake call'd Poyang which hath a Current round this City so that she stands amidst an Island Her Building is four-square with high Walls and seven Gates whereof four are very handsom before one of which we lay at Anchor This City also boasts four stately Temples which are very richly adorn'd but amongst them that is the most famous which the Chineses call Thisiking being cover'd with glittering or glaz'd Pan-Tyles At the Entrance stand three Buildings together in the first of which appears an Idol by the Chineses call'd Kouja believ'd to be the Guardian and Preserve of this his own Mansion he sits amongst a great many other Images upon a rich Seat Cloth'd Al' antique after the manner of the old Romans with a Crimson Mantle hanging upon his Shoulders On each side stands upon a bigh Pole two terrible Dragons much admir'd among the Chineses which with extended Necks seem hissing and breathing defiance against the Gods In the second Structure you have a broad Gallery reaching round the Temple hung full of
Account of this Earthen Ware and to receive his Duty which is of each sort the fifth piece according to the Laws of the Kingdom the rest they afterwards sell to the Inhabitants of this Village Ucienjen where as they say is the Staple of this Porcelane Trade which is sent from this Village not only through all China but also through the whole World We departed the same Day from this Place and upon the 26. came to the Chief City of Nankang which lies upon the West-side of this Lake which is very broad and long This City is built upon a mountainous Soil about fifty Miles from Nankang the Walls are both high and strong and fortifi'd with Bulwarks Within the City stands a well-built Tower the Streets are very full of Windings and Turnings which makes them very troublesom to such as use them The first Street which lies on the left-hand as you come in has several Triumphal Arches standing in it very artificially built according to the Chinese fashion Beside these Ornaments there is nothing rare in this City for the Houses are but mean and slightly built In prospect of this City lie several stately Temples whereof the biggest and chiefest are built upon the Mountains Quangliu and Iuenxiu The Inhabitants round about worship these Mountains upon which dwell a great company of Priests and Friers each of which has a little Hutch where he daily cruciates and afflicts himself by scourging and disciplining his Body the enduring of which Castigation makes him a Miracle to those People of implicit Faith who fancy these their Sufferings to merit after Death the highest Felicities in another World for they believe that their Souls are transmigrated into other Bodies The Inhabitants told us that upon the Mountain Quanglu there are as many Cloysters as Days in the Year They said likewise that this Mountain was always cover'd with Clouds and Fogs though round about the Weather were clear and serene The Country produces store of Hemp whereof the Inhabitants make themselves Clothes for the Summer which very much keep off the scorching Heat of the Sun On the West-side of this City lies a Hill which the Chineses call Kien The Water that falls from the Brow of this Hill is held by the Chineses very soveraign for several Diseases The Pool Poyang divides the Territories belonging to this City into two parts both which are very fruitful in Rice and Corn of all sorts Upon the 29. we made for the City of Hukeu being the fourth small City of the fifth Chief City Kieukiang to furnish our selves with Provisions This City lies forty Miles from the foregoing Chief City of Nankang upon the narrow of the Lake Poyang and upon the right-side of the River Kiang which mingles with it and receives no small share of its Water On the North-side of the City doth appear a very pleasant and antique Rock which hangs somewhat over the River and appears a most delightful Prospect being overgrown with Trees At the bottom of this Mountain stands a large and beautiful Idol-Temple The Walls of this City are very thick and high and for the greater safety of the City are Guarded in several places with Foot-Soldiers This City drives a handsom Trade is full of People and well built all manner of Provisions are sold very cheap especially Fish which yields but a small Price About this City lies a Hill call'd Xechung which signifies A Stone Bell for the Waves and Billows which rise out of the Pool Poyang in foul and stormy Weather beat against this Hill and occasion thereby such a strange and ringing noise that it very much resembles the sound of a Bell. We were no sooner come to an Anchor but the news of our Arrival fill'd the whole City with joy so that both old and young came running to the Shore to view us and our Vessels who beheld us with great admiration and fain would have been talking to us if the difference of Language had not hindred We caus'd our Trumpets to sound that old Tune of William of Nassaw supposing to have delighted them but on the contrary they were so much affrighted with their brazen Voice that they ran roring with full speed for shelter to the City Having provided our selves with Necessaries we departed from this Place and came to Pengce the fifth small City under this Capital one of Kieukiang Thus far had we proceeded in our Voyage upon the River Can from Kancheu to Nanking from whence we passed over the Pool Poyang and so came into the River Kiang which to prosecute the remainder of our Voyage to Peking we were to Sail up Eastward This River Kiang which signifies The Son of the Sea divides all China into Northern and Southern gliding from West to East and receives several Names from the Provinces through which it runs The foremention'd City Pengce lies thirty Miles from Hukeu behind an Island on the East-side of the River Kiang and has behind it high and famous Hills it is a well-built Place but far less than Hukeu Not far from this Pengce lies a Mountain call'd Siaocu which is so steep high and inaccessible that none could ever scale the top It is surrounded with Water and has on the South-side a small but very safe Road for Ships in foul Weather Upon the South-side of the River Kiang lies also a Hill call'd Makang talk'd on with terror through all China for the abundance of Shipwracks which happen near this Place for if the Pilot miss never so little his Steerage they seldom escape bilging on the neighboring Rocks The Ambassadors with some of their Followers went Ashore upon the said Island but were forc'd immediately to return having observ'd the footing of a Tyger which sort of Beast is very numerous in this Country When the Chinese Pilots saw our Cook going to make a Fire to dress Dinner they came into the Cabbin to the Ambassadors fell down upon their Knees and earnestly entreated that they would forbid any such thing to be done for that as they said there was a certain Spirit who kept himself under Water about this Pool and appear'd in the shape of a Dragon or great Fish and had the Command over this Countrey whose Nature and Constitution was such that he could not endure the scent in his Nose of roasted Poultry boil'd Bacon or other savory Smells for so soon as he was sensible of any such thing he immediately rais'd a Storm which did infallibly cast away the Vessel The Ambassadors at their earnest Entreaty sent word to the Cook that they should be content with a cold Dinner for that Day During the Discourse there appear'd playing above the Water two or three Tunny Fishes which put the Chineses into no little fear in regard they imagin'd the Water-Spirit had already given order for the casting away of their Vessel Thus far we had travell'd through the Province of Kiangsi when about Noon we came in sight of two Columns which stood
in the middle of the River and divide the Province of Kiangsi from that of Nanking into which we were now come But before I relate the Sequel of our Iourney I shall give you in short the number of the great and small Cities of this Province and the farthest Extent thereof This Province of Nanking which is reckon'd for the ninth among the fifteen is wash'd with the Sea on the East and South-East On the South it borders upon the Province of Chekiang on the South-west upon Kiangsi on the West upon Hupang North-West upon Honan and the rest upon Xantung In this Place formerly they kept the Court of the ancient Chinese Emperors and though the Imperial Palace be remov'd to Peking yet till the last Tartar War the Court of the Emperors did continue in the Chief City of this Province call'd Kiangning but the Tartars in the last Invasion did not only totally destroy and deface all Royal Palaces and Imperial Courts which were most noble Edifices but also alter'd the very Name of the Province and of the Chief City for the Province which formerly bore the Name of Nanking they call'd Kiangnan and the Chief City which was formerly call'd Ingtien they nam'd Kiangning and depriv'd this City also of all its Royal Splendor and Privileges As this Province far exceeds all the rest in goodness and richness of Soil so likewise in Trade and Commerce for here are the Chiefest Cities of all China each being famous for Traffick No less doth this Kingdom abound in Shipping above all the rest for the number of all manner of Vessels is so great that it seems as if all the Shipping of the World were Harbor'd there but 't is no wonder considering the Situation of the Rivers that run through this Country for by them they can pass by Water into any part of China and all Vessels which are bound higher up must meet there which lessens the wonder of so great Fleets of Ships together in that part And besides all Vessels come to this Province out of the River Kiang through broad Navigable Waters made either by Art or Nature which are call'd The Royal Channels The Natives of this Place are generally very Civil Witty Serviceable and Mannerly It likewise breeds great store of able Handicrafts-men who prove most excellent in their several Arts. There are likewise here very Learned Men brought up in their Schools of Literature It produces great store of Cotton and Silk which maintains there abundance of Weavers who work in either Commodity but this is the Womens Business and the Men follow Husbandry and other Employments or else look to the Children whilst the Women Spin. This Seat of Nanking is so famous through all China that whatsoever is made in it is preferr'd before any thing of the like nature wrought in other parts of the Country In this Province lie fourteen Chief Cities which Command over a hundred and ten small ones the Names of which fourteen principal ones are these which follow Kiangning Fungyang Sucheu Sungkiang Changcheu Chinkiang Yangcheu Hoaigan Lucheu Ganking Taiping Ningque Chicheu and Hoeicheu Kiangning call'd also Ingtien and Nanking Commands over seven Cities as Kiangning Kiuyung Lieyang Liexui Caoxun Kiangpu and Loho Fungyang Commands over eighteen Cities as Fungyang Linhoai Hoaiyven Tingyven Uhu Hung Xeu Hokieu Mungching Su Hiutai Tienchang So Lingpi Ing Tacho Hao and Ingxan Sucheu Commands over seven Cities as Sucheu Quenxan Changxo Ukiang Kiating Taicang and Cungming Sungkiang Commands over three Cities as Sungkiang Xanghai and Cingpu Changcheu Commands over five Cities as Changcheu Vusie Kiangyn Gniking and Cinkiang Chinkiang Commands over three Cities as Chinkiang Tanyang and Kintan Yangcheu Commands over ten Cities as Yangcheu Ychin Taihing Caoyeu Hinghoa Pacyng Tai Iucao Tung and Haimuen Hoaigan Commands over ten Cities as Hoaigan Cingho Gantung Taoyven Moyang Hai Canyu Pi Sociven and Ciunning Lucheu Commands over eight Cities as Lucheu Xuching Lukiang Vuguei Cao Logan Iungxan and Hoxan Ganking Commands over six Cities as Ganking Tungching Cienxan Taihu Sufung Vangkiang Taiping Commands over three Cities as Taiping Vuku and Fachang Ningque Commands over five Cities as Ningque King Taiping Cingte and Nanling Cicheu Commands over six Cities as Cicheu Cingyang Tungling Xelai Kiente and Tunglieu Hoeicheu likewise over six Cities as Hoeicheu Hieuning Vuyven Kimuen In and Cieki There are beside all these four other ordinary Cities in this Province which the Chineses call Cheu and some other less Cities which they call Hien The four Cities are these Quangte Hocheu Cheuceu and Sincheu Quangte Commands over one City which is call'd Kienping Hocheu over Hanxan Cheucheu over two others Civenezao and Taigan Siucheu over four Siao Tanxan Fung and Poi The Chinese Poll-Book of this Province makes mention of 1969816 Families as also of 9967429 Fighting Men. The yearly Revenue which this Province pays to the Emperor consists of 5995034 Bags of Rice 6863 Pounds of unwrought Silk 28452 Pieces of Cloth and 2027 Rolls of woven Hemp-Cloth This Province likewise furnishes the Emperor's Stables with 5804217 Trusses of Straw or Hay and 705100 Pounds of Salt All which being valu'd together will amount to an incredible Sum beside what is paid in Money which amounts to 32000000 of Ducats as I was credibly inform'd by some of the Grandees of the Province which is not incredible considering the vast Customs which are paid to the Emperor for all Goods Exported out of the Chief City of Nanking The City of Xanghai alone pays yearly to the Emperor for the Toll of Wool the Sum of 250000 Ducats All great Shops and Inns pay monthly thirty Toel of Silver or else the Tartars come and Quarter upon them in their Houses and misuse them at their pleasure Upon the 29. we came to Tonglon or Tonglieu the sixth small City in the Iurisdiction of the thirteenth Chief City Chicheu and the first Place we came at in this Province of Nanking This is a small City and lies close to the South-side of the River Kiang in a very pleasant and delightful Soil which is encompass'd about with fine little rising Hills and Vales It is surrounded as well on the Water-side as toward the Mountains with a reasonable strong Wall fortifi'd with Bulwarks This City shews very beautiful as you approach it upon the River but within it lies in a most lamentable Condition for the Tartar proceeded with so much fury against it that they left nothing defac'd that deserves any notice to be taken of only there is one Street that has some Houses standing in it the rest are all destroy'd except the Governor's House which is in reasonable good order The Magistrates or Governors of the City Tonglieu sent a congratulatory Letter to the Ambassadors upon their Arrivals as also some Presents for the Table which were not accepted The Traffick of this City was only Timber so that the Place more resembled Norway than China About two Miles beyond this we saw an Island lying in the Bosom of the
Channels by reason of their wideness and the greatness of the Undertaking and being made at the Emperor's Charge are call'd The King's Waters We then pass'd by this Sluce and so came into the first Royal Channel and from thence we got into the Yellow River Well may this Channel bear the Name of The Royal Water since there is nothing more pleasant to be seen in all the World both sides of the Aquaeduct having not onely smooth large Banks but planted also with stately and shady Trees On the West and East of this Royal Channel for it reaches from South to North we saw rich Pastures and delightful Woods the like not to be seen in all Asia intermingled with abundance of Wealthy Towns Villages pleasant Seats and opulent and stately Dwelling insomuch that nothing can be more delightful as if Art and Nature had strove to please the Passenger upon his way through this famous Channel On one side thereof stood a famous and renown'd Image of the Idol Kinkang who is highly ador'd by the Chineses Upon the 24. we came to the brave City of Iamcefu which is call'd by some Yaucqeu and is reckon'd for the seventh Capital City of this famous Province of Nanking This City lies about twenty Miles from Iejenjeen is built four-square and surrounded with Walls and strong Bulwarks It is very large being at least five Miles about exceeding most Cities in China for Wealth and Trade The Inhabitants of this City deal in several Commodities but that wherein their chief Trade consists is Salt Transported from thence into most Provinces of China This Salt is made of Sea-Water after the manner of ours in Europe On the East-side of the City we saw standing a great many Salt-Pans wherein they boil Sea-Liquor Day and Night This Trade alone has so very much enrich'd the Inhabitants of this Town that they have re-built their City since the last destruction by the Tartars erecting it in as great Splendor as it was at first No sooner were we Landed in this City but the Mandorin Pinxenton went in great State to Salute and Complement the Commissioner of his Imperial Majesty and Presented him with four Pieces of red Cloths in behalf of the Ambassadors The Emperor hath here a Toll-house where the Customs are paid for all such Wares as pass The City is well built and hath several Channels running through it over which are many Stone Bridges On the West-side are very large Suburbs which were formerly full of goodly Structures but were most of them destroy'd in the last Tartar War yet have begun since to be re-edifi'd There are also several Temples curiously built and most richly adorn'd Near this City is a very high Mountain call'd Heng. Next Day being the 25. we departed from this Place and upon the Verge of this Royal Channel we saw twelve Stone Ovens and not far from thence on the other side of the Channel lies the famous Burial-City of the Great Sultan much ador'd and worshipp'd by the Chineses About Noon we came to a Village call'd Saupoo where at the same time the Chineses were celebrating the Feast of the new Year on the New-years day being then also Full-Moon great Acclamations and Expressions of Ioy signifi'd by their lighting of so many Candles and Bonefires as if the whole City had been in one great Flame They run likewise up and down the Streets in their Nocturnals like so many distracted Bacchanals with Tapers in their Hands twisted together in the form of Dragons We were forc'd to stay here a while till the Mandorin Pinxenton and his Lady also assisted at the Solemnity of this Feast We found lying about this Village in this Royal Channel a great number of all manner of strange built Vessels but the most to be admir'd at were two Barques or Sloops which by the Chineses are call'd Longschon which signifies A Serpent-Boat These two Vessels were built after a particular fashion very curiously Painted with all manner of Colours that they seem'd much to exceed those Boats which carry the Fish from Nanking to Peking for the Emperor's use The Mould or Cast of this fair Bottom was much like the Form of our Water-Snake The Stern hung full of strange Serpents fastned with Ribbons of several Colours which made a gallant show At the Stern of one of these Vessels hung likewise two nimble Boys who play'd Tricks and Gambols to delight the Spectators both above and by Diving under Water Upon the top of each Mast which were three in all stood an Idol very curiously adorn'd with Silk Flags and Pennons In like manner stood on the Poop an Image dress'd with Ducks and Drakes The Stern was also fill'd with Standards set out with Tassels of Hair Silk Flags and long Feathers the Boat cover'd round with Silk Under an upper high-rais'd Desk full of Flags and Standards sat twelve lusty Seamen with gilt Crowns upon their Heads Cloth'd in Silk their Arms naked these were so dexterous at Rowing that the Boat went at an extraordinary rate They came Aboard of the Ambassadors and seem'd to be overjoy'd at their Arrival The Ambassadors requited their Kindness with a return of some Presents which they willingly accepted wishing them good Success in their Voyage and a safe Return into their own Country Near the Ducks stood a Chinese with a Fork in his Hand and long Feathers in his Cap who continually tortur'd these poor Creatures putting them in perpetual Disquiet The next Day being the 26. of May we came to the City of Cajutsia which is also call'd by some Caoyeu and is reckon'd for the fourth small City of the Capital Yancheu This City we found lying upon the side of this Royal Water near a great Pool which the Chineses call Piexe out of which runs plenty of Water into this famous Channel Formerly all such Vessels as came from Nanking bound for Peking and the Northern Provinces were glad to pass over this Pool to the great hindrance of Commerce and Navigation for oftentimes in a foul Season they lay Weather-bound before this City of Caoyeu there being no venturing over the Pool till the Wind were more silent and the swelling Billows more calm so that for the benefit of Commerce and safety of their Voyage on the East-side of the Pool this Navigable Channel was made sixty Fathom long Wall'd in with white Stone A Work so noble and excellent that it is much to be admir'd especially considering the great quantity of white Stones there us'd there being no such Quarry in the adjacent Parts This Caoyeu is very populous and has stately Suburbs built very close and full of great Houses The Country round about produces great store of Rice and is so full of Buildings as if it were all but one continu'd Village Toward the West the Country lies much under Water but upon the Sides and Banks grows store of Reed which brings in a good Revenue yearly to the Publick and is the onely Firing they have
for no Trees will grow in this part of the Country They boast likewise of store of Windmills whose Sails are made of Mats The great Product of the Country consists of Rice which the Peasant stands oblig'd to look after very narrowly lest it perish upon the Ground by too much Moisture or too much Heat and Drought so that their Eyes are continually upon the Crop otherwise it suddenly withers to nothing or a small Increase The Windmills therefore are to draw out the Water in a moist Season or to let it in as they think fit to keep their Hopes from burning up in a dry and hot Season so that by this means the Chineses enjoy twice a Year a plentiful Harvest By the Ruines of the Wall and great Edifices this City appears to have been formerly a very famous Place rich and populous but was totally destroy'd in the late War by the Tartars Amongst other Edifices which are yet standing is a most famous Idol-Temple without the Wall on the North-side of the City built after the fashion of the Chineses The Royal Channel runs quite through the Country up to the very Walls by which means they water their Grounds in a dry Season This part of the Country is also full of Draining-Mills to be us'd upon occasion Upon the 28. we came to the famous Sea-Town of Hoaigan which is reckon'd for the eighth Capital City of this Province of Nanking It lies on the East-side of the Royal River about thirty English Miles from Pancien in a flat and Morish Soil through the midst thereof runs a Wall seeming to make two distinct Towns but another Wall which surrounds both Divisions takes away the distinction and renders it one intire City That part which lies toward the South is call'd Hoaigan and the other toward the North-East Yengehing The former of these has stately Suburbs well built and full of People On one side of this City we saw the Fields full of Tombs and Grave-stones In this Capital City the Vice-Roy keeps his Court in great Splendor and State he has full Power over the seven Southerly Provinces and only owns the Emperor for his Supreme Head His Office is to look after the Grand Cham's Revenue consisting chiefly in Provisions of Rice c. which when got in is afterwards Transported to Peking in his Majesties own Vessels On the North-side of the City we saw three great Torrents of Water the first of which and nearest to the River Hoai is very dangerous and by its Inundations has often done great harm To prevent this River from overflowing the adjacent Countries they have rais'd and made two great Sluces with strong Banks on both sides which confine him in his highest Tide In the Suburb of Hoaigan stand two Toll-houses in the one the Custom is paid of all Goods and Merchandises which pass this Way in the other of the Ships which belong to the Subjects and with some part of this Money they maintain their Dikes and Sluces for the defence of the City against the sudden and violent Ruptures of Water Though this City be built upon a Morish Ground yet the Country about it is very fruitful in the product of Rice and Corn The City is well built and full of wealthy Citizens Not far from hence lies a famous Mountain which shoots to the Sky by the Chineses call'd Yocheu upon which stands a stately Temple with Cloysters to Lodge those who daily Offer to the Idol of the Place The Chineses come from several Parts with Presents to this their God suppos'd the Protector and Defender of their Country This Province of Nanking abounds with strange Mountains for in the Country of the second Chief City Fungyang near the seventh small City Xeu upon a Hill call'd Cukin was found a great lump of massie Gold said to be soveraign in several Distempers Some will have it because this Gold cures so many Diseases that Chymists made it In the same Country near to the City of Hintai there is a notable Mountain call'd Moyang and known by the Name of The Shepherdesses Hill because as they say a very fair Virgin formerly kept her Flocks there The whole Country of this Hoaigan has several Rivers running through it and is also replenish'd with many Lakes Amongst other Pools you have here the great Pool of Xeho which toward the North is situated next to the great Indian Sea and waters various Parts of this Country which abounds with Fish Towards the East of the Chief City lies also a great Pool call'd Hung producing great store of Reeds which serve them for Firing Wood being very scarce through the whole Province No sooner were the Ambassadors arriv'd before this Capital City but they sent for Horses Palakins and Litters to go and salute the Vice-Roy and the Magistrates but because the Weather was foul the Governors sent a Messenger to the Ambassadors to thank them for their intended Visit desiring to be excus'd from giving them the like trouble The Mandorine Pinxenton according to his wonted custom gave us a very Noble Dinner upon that Day In the Evening came Father Gascomer a Iesuit who lived in the City to salute the Ambassadors aboard their Vessels and to bid them welcome into those Parts He was very pleasant and civil but did so admire at our arrival as if we had dropt out of the Sky being very inquisitive to know whither we were bound and upon what account we came thither The Ambassadors shew'd themselves courteous and civil to him giving him a handsom Entertainment for his Visit. He seem'd to be a very open-hearted Person and made protestation of a particular Inclination and Affection to our Nation offering the Ambassadors his House if they pleas'd to accept thereof or any other Service he could do them He gave them likewise darkly to understand That upon their Request and Desire of Free Trade in China or any thing else they would meet with great opposition at Peking from the Portuguese who would do their utmost to hinder it as we found afterwards in the Sequel of our Business The Ambassadors were very thankful to this Good Father for his kind and faithful Admonition who thereupon took leave wishing us a prosperous Voyage We staid not long in this City but departed the next day early in the Morning and in our Passage we saw on both sides luxurious Fields well manur'd as likewise a great Company of small Boats lying up and down in this Royal Channel About Sun-set we came to a famous Village call'd Siampu at the entrance whereof lies a very great Sluce through which we past This Village is situated betwixt the Royal Channel and the Yellow River and is of a very great length handsomly adorn'd with Temples and fair Houses on both sides of the Water It has some Privileges belonging to it as also a Toll-house where the Toll-masters appointed by the Emperor reside to receive Toll of all such Goods and Vessels which pass out
of the Yellow River into the Royal Channel or out of the Royal Channel into the Yellow River or such as are brought out of the Province of Honan and other Parts and are carried up higher or lower One of these Toll-masters shew'd himself far more scrupulous than all the rest searching all our Vessels except those two in which the Ambassadors were to see what was in them for he could not believe that they were all laden with Goods belonging only to the Emperor We Lodg'd all Night in this Village and set Sail early in the Morning and came that Night to another Village call'd Neynemiao into which we were let by two great Sluces one after another The Inhabitants told us as indeed appear'd by the Ruines that in this Village formerly stood a great Castle which protected three Rivers as the Yellow River on both sides and the Royal Channel behind it But the Tartars who made it their business to destroy all Inland Places of Strength had likewise pull'd down this Castle We Lodg'd there all Night and the next Day at Sun-rising we set Sail again and came into a part of the great Yellow River which is so thick and muddy that it is scarce passable This River is call'd by some The Saffron from the yellowness of the Water at a distance it seems to be a thick Morish Plash but when you come upon it the swiftness and great force of the Stream declares a running River whose Current hath so much violence that no Boats are able to Sail against the Stream but are Tow'd up by a great number of Bargemen In some places this River is half a Mile broad and in some more but in length it reaches above eight hundred Miles The Chinese Sailors when employ'd here make this Water fit for use and very clear by flinging Allom into it which sinks â—he Mud to the bottom Upon the first of Iune we came to the little Town of Tanjenien which is the fourth small City under the Iurisdiction of the Chief City of Hoaigan It is situate on the side of the Yellow River and fenc'd with a broad strong Earthen or Mud Wall replenish'd with handsom Buildings and full of rich Inhabitants who drive a very great Trade The Country round is very fruitful in the product of Pears Apples Prunes Cherries and the like We bought here some Provisions for the Kitchin at a very reasonable Rate These Parts likewise abound in Quails Pheasants and other sorts of Fowl We made no long stay here but departed before Night and Sail'd at least three Days upon this Yellow River before we came to any considerable Place at last upon the fourth of the same Month we drew near to the small Town of Tsisang situate in a very delightful Soil and at the Foot of a high Hill This Town has no remarkable Buildings nor Walls only one strong Castle but yet of great Trade and has many rich Inhabitants who Traffick much with their Shipping At the entrance into the Town stands a stately Temple upon a steep Summit seen in Prospect at a great distance We saw likewise upon this Yellow River which is continually plow'd with all manner of great and small Vessels not far from the Town several floating Islands which were so artificially contriv'd that the best Artists in Europe would scarcely be able to make the like of the same Stuff being a common Reed which the Portuguese call Bamboes twisted so close together that no Moisture can penetrate Upon these Reeds the Chineses set up Huts and little Houses of Boards and other light Materials in which they live with their Wives and Children as if they had their Dwellings upon the Firm Land Some of these Floating Islands are large enough to contain at least 200 Families and those that live in them subsist for the most part by Commerce and Trafflck in all manner of Commodities which they carry from Place to Place upon the River being hurried down with the Stream and tow'd up again by toilsom Bargemen Wherever they intend to make any stay they fasten their Floating Town with Poles fix'd in the Ground They keep and feed aboard their Island all manner of Tame Cattel but especially Hogs Wheresoever they come they continue lying for some Months before they remove and though they are People of several Languages yet they make up one common Tongue whereby they understand one another for throughout all China there are several Dialects each Province having a particular one yet there is also one common Language which they call the Mandorins or Court-Tongue being spoke here both by the Grandees and their Followers After some hours Sailing we came into another Royal Channel call'd Iun issuing out of the Yellow River toward the West through the whole Province of Xantung We were to pass through this Channel to the City of Peking The Province of Xantung into which we enter'd is much enriched by this artificial Channel running through it for all Goods and Commodities which are Transported out of China for Peking must pass this Cut. This great broad and Navigable Stream begins at the ninth small City Socien upon the side of the Yellow River and reaches to the City Cining and from thence to Lincing there breaking into the River Guei This Channel hath at least sixty Stone Sluces to force back the Water which in some places runs very low and would not be Navigable were it not for these Water-works On each Sluce eight Men attend to help through with the Vessels who are maintain'd at the Publick Charge As soon as we came into this Channel we were presently in the Province of Xantung and upon the sixth of Iune came to a famous Village call'd Kiakia But before I give you a Description of this Province I shall continue my Method and first relate unto you the Confines thereof and the number of great and small Cities c. The Province of Xantung is the fourth in number under the Northern Countries and is wash'd on the South East and North by the Sea and on the West-side is environ'd with Rivers insomuch that you may come by Shipping if you please On the North of Xantung lies the Province of Peking and on the South that of Nanking separated by the Yellow River the remaining part is encompass'd with the Channel Iun and the River Guei This part produces abundance of Corn Rice Beans c. The fruitfulness of this Country is such that one years Harvest as they say supplies the Inhabitants sufficiently for ten Years with Provisions All manner of Poultry is wondrous plentiful and sold for very little because the People there take great delight in Hunting The Rivers Pools and other Waters abound with extraordinary good Fish which you may have for a very small Price I my self purchasing ten Pound for a Halfpeny The Country produces likewise store of Silk another sign of her Fertility and abounds in all manner of Fruit-Trees especially Pruines which they dry and
than the Inland Water On the North side of the City lies a Wooden Brige of nine Arches over which â—ou may pass conveniently from one part of the City to the other in the middle whereof is a Draw-Bridge to let through such Vessels as have paid their Custom The City is well-built and is adorn'd with several stately Temples it lies in a flat sandy Soil and is surrounded with an Earthen Wall the top whereof is cover'd with Stones it is also very large and well Peopled We had here great abundance of all manner of Fruit amongst the rest some well-relish'd Pears which keep a great while Without the Wall on the North-side of the City stands a most famous Temple with a high Tower exceeding rare in the manner of Building You climb up to the top of this Tower by a Pair of Winding Stairs which are not built in the middle of the Tower but between two Walls The fashion or form of this Tower consists of eight Corners and nine Rounds or Stories each thirteen Foot and a half so that the whole height of the Tower is above 120 Foot and according to the heighth a proportionable thickness The outward Wall is made of the same Mould that the China Dishes are of and full of Fret-work the Walls within are polish'd Marble of several Colours and so smooth that you may see your Face as in a Mirrour The Galleries or Rounds which are nine adorning the Structure are of Marble cut in Figures or Images and have hanging at their Corners very fine Copper Bells which when the Wind blows amongst them make a very pleasant jingling murmur The Lights or Windows belonging to these Galleries are full of gilded Bars which when the Sun shines upon them return Beams as bright as they receive Upon the top of the Tower stands a Figure signifying the Goddess of the Place to whom this Structure is Dedicated This Image is made of Plaister-work thirty Foot high and wrought with Gold and Silver Round about this Tower stand several great and small Images which are so curiously wrought that they may be reckon'd amongst the greatest Curiosities in China Pinxenton left his Wife and Children in this City of Lincing but he himself continu'd the Voyage with us to Peking Here also died one of our Trumpeters nam'd Verman who was buried in an Idol-Temple with the consent of the Magistrates who seldom suffer any Strangers to be interr'd in their hallow'd Ground Having got through the River Iun we entred into the Guei which divides the Province of Xantung from Peking whose Head springs on the West-side of Gueihoei the fourth Chief City of the Province of Honan running from thence with many Meanders and Turnings toward the East betwixt the Provinces of Xantung and Peking disemboguing into an Arm of the Sea about ninety Miles from this City We Sail'd Eastward up this River and arriv'd upon the 25. at the City of Utin which is accounted the fourteenth small City of the great Tunchang thirty Miles from Lincing situate upon the South-side of the River Guei upon the utmost Confines of the Province of Xantung and handsomly vested with a four-square Wall Upon the North-side of it are large Suburbs close built with stately Houses The great Edifices and other eminent Ornaments of this City were all ruin'd by the conquering Tartar and the Inhabitants most miserably abus'd a great many of them being put to the Sword and others carried away Captive as those that were left related unto us with great reluctance The Situation seems delightful being pleasantly varied with the prospect both of Hills and Vallies and luxurious in the product of all manner of Fruits The River Guei running close by this City abounds with Fish and serves to water the Fields in a dry Season to the great increase thereof I find my self again necessitated before I proceed in my Relation to describe the Condition Confines and the Number of great and small Cities through which we pass'd in this Province of Peking Peking which is reckon'd the first of the fifteen Provinces exceeds all the rest in Dignity because of the Imperial City of Peking where the Emperor resides at present and from whence it hath Denomination for the Chinese Emperors especially those who Commanded since the Incarnation setled their Abodes in this City The Race of Taming first transferr'd the Imperial Court from Nanking to Peking the better to oppose the Inroads of the Tartars but though the Imperial Residence was thus remov'd to Peking yet to this day the Court of the Emperor and all Soveraignty and Magistracy stands firm in the same manner at Nanking as at Peking though all the Royal Palaces were totally destroy'd by the last Invasion The East of this Province is border'd by an Arm of the Sea which divides the Islands Corea and Iapan on the North-East lies the Province of Leaotung toward the North the great Tartarian Wall and toward the West the Province of Xangsi where a long ridge of Hills call'd Hengi separates these Countries The Yellow River which runs through Xansi parts this Province toward the South from that of Honan and toward the South-East of the River Guei unites this with the Province of Xantung And though this Province of Peking lies in the Latitude but of 42 Degrees yet the Cold and Frost is so great and intense there that oftentimes for four Months together all the Rivers and Waters are frozen up in such a manner that they commonly ride their Horses on the Ice all which time the Vessels lie fast frozen in and Winter-bound The Frost begins commonly in November and seldom is gone till March twenty four Hours freezes up all which is not thaw'd in many Days The Country lies low but is dry and healthful though very barren in comparison of the other Provinces because of the great sandy Places and Wildernesses but in respect the Court keeps there and so draws great store of People and Traffick this natural Defect is much repair'd This place produces store of Corn but little Rice which the Courtiers and their Followers devour In this Province are white rough Cats not unlike the Malteeza Dogs with long Ears which are there the Ladies Foisting-hounds or Play-fellows they will catch no Mice being too much made of There are other Cats that are good Mousers but they are very scarce and had in great esteem They have here a convenient way of Travelling by Land in a Waggon with one Wheel which only holds three Persons one in the middle and on each side one Formerly this Province was divided into several Parts and had particular Names as Ieu Ki and many more It contains eight Capital Cities each of which Commands over several small ones insomuch that one Capital City alone with the lesser under its Iurisdiction is in effect a whole Province They reckon in this Province a hundred and thirty five Cities great and small which are Wall'd and Fenc'd for the number of the
came aboard in great State to bid us welcome Upon this their Friendly Reception and Entertainment we went ashore where on the East-side of the City we saw five old Triumphal Arches through which we past The City is both handsomly Built and well Peopled being also environ'd with an old high Wall The Governor's Lady sent a Soldier to me and some others of our Followers desiring us to come to her We were conducted into a very large Parlor where she like a Goddess was expecting our coming attended by several Tartar Ladies in very rich Habit but she exceeded them all for Beauty and Gallantry On her left hand stood a stately Alchove upon which she caus'd me to sit down and acquaint her with the Character of Holland concerning which she ask'd me several Questions To all which I return'd my Answers with much freedom wherewith she seem'd very well pleas'd The same day we departed from Sanglo and came in the Evening to the Village of Tonnau situated over against a strong Castle guarded by a great Garrison of Tartars The Houses of this Place are built of Mud and Dirt fitter for Dog-kennels than for People to inhabit in yet fit enough for the Inhabitants who being of a sordid nature and very loose and uncivil deserve no better They live by pilfering and stealing from one another and none escapes plundering that passes that way without a Guard to defend themselves from their violence Upon the third of Iuly we came to the small City of Sinkicien which for brevity some call Cing the seventh small City under the Chief City Hokien lying also on the side of the River Guei in a flat and pleasant Soil and about ten Miles from Sanglo This Place is not very large yet full of people and Trade as most of the Cities are which lie upon this River Several famous Edifices which are yet standing in and about this City clearly evidence that this was formerly a most stately and magnificent Place The Country round about lies low and flat but very fruitful It abounds with store of tame Cattel and Fish in respect of the several Rivers which run through it There are very few Hills in all this Country of Hokien to which this Cing is subject only there is one not far from this Place though the City it self lies upon a Flat worthy the observation call'd by the Chineses Si. The top of this Hill being a delightful Plain which by reason of the Fruitfulness they highly esteem extends it self to a very great length upon which lies a small Village inhabited onely by Cow-herds and Husband-men The next day being the fourth of Iuly we Sail'd by the small City of Sinkocien the eighth small City under the Iurisdiction of the same Chief City and situated about eight Miles from Sinkicien This is a small Place but very strong having several Watch-Towers and Bulwarks for its defence It is not Populous nor hath any great Trade though adorn'd with some brave Building but most of the Houses belonging to the Inhabitants are very mean and little Within the Walls are several Temples which are an exceeding Ornament to the Place but one which stands without the Walls of the City in an open Field exceeds all the rest for Bigness Beauty and Art This Building indeed is so rare a Piece that we may well admire their wondrous Skill in Architecture which they boasted of formerly The whole Fabrick consists of three Rounds the lower part whereof stands upon a Pedestal of Stone into which you ascend by Steps The first is adorn'd with great Gates and each Corner supported with most curious Columns and Pillars The second Round has stately Windows and large Pillars like the first by which the Roof is also supported The third is likewise beautified after the same manner The whole Building on the out-side is adorn'd with Fret-work and at each Corner hang little Bells The in-side of this Fane seems not so beautiful as the outward decorations of the Walls thereof being onely hung with great and small Images Through the whole Country as well Temples as Dwelling-houses pay extraordinary great Taxes which doth exceedingly lessen the Revenues of the Priests It seems that the Idolaters here so far as we could by the outward shew judge of them are nothing near so devout in the Worship of Images as those in other Parts for in some Places we saw their Idols wholly deserted and left quite naked without any Ornaments upon them others being only cover'd with Mats and having Straw Hats upon their Heads so to defend them from the injury of the Weather and make them hold out and last the longer Toward Night setting Sail we saw a strange Uprore among the People who were all up in Arms and had divided themselves into several Troops to defend their Country against the Grashoppers which occasion oftentimes a very great Dearth and Scarcity These Creatures come once a year about that time when we were there with an Easterly Wind in such mighty Swarms or Squadrons that they devour all they meet with and that in a few hours leaving the Fields utterly dismantled To prevent these Invaders and sweep-clean Plunderers the Inhabitants march to and again through the Fields with their Colours and Ensigns flying shouting and hollowing all the way they go by which means these Destroyers are kept from fixing and doing such execution upon their Grain And thus the Peasants continually endeavor to preserve their Labor and Product who otherwise would certainly lose the whole benefit of their Harvest for that Year They never leave them when they see a Party coming till they have driven them into the Sea or some River where they fall down and are drown'd and so it hapned that they drove a flying Regiment so long till they fell down upon our Heads and our Vessels were cover'd with them which we afterwards flung into the River The same Day we arriv'd at the Sea-Port of Tiencienwey accounted for the most famous Sea-Town of all China their chiefest Harbors being three the first is the Chief City of Canton or Quancheu situate in the Province of Quantung the second Iejencien in the Province of Nanking and the third Tiencienwey situate upon the utmost Confine toward the East of this Province of Peking near to an Arm of the Sea Cang in a corner where three Rivers of this Province meet and upon which stands a strong Fortress The Country round about is very low and Marshy The City of Tiencienwey it self lies thirty Miles from Singlo built also with strong Walls twenty five Foot high full of Watch-Towers and Bulwarks and the Place much set forth with Temples very populous and so full of Trade that hardly the like Commerce is to be found in any other City in all China for whatsoever Vessels are bound for Peking from any other part of China must touch here which occasions an extraordinary Traffick to Shipping which lie continually before this City Here is also the
Trade upon equal Terms with those three Nations they would in acknowledgment thereof every third Year come and Salute his Majesty bringing Presents but with this Proviso That the Ship or Ships which brought the Ambassadors might have Licence to depart in due time without staying for the return of them because the Vessels which were us'd to salt Water could not be continu'd in fresh without very great damage But the Ambassadors after all their Endeavors were not able to effect any thing being not well furnish'd with Money the Key of the Work and that which gives a quick dispatch to all Affairs in China for they had already disposed both of their Presents and Silver and to take up Money at Eight or Ten per Cent. for a Months time they did not think it convenient and therefore they resolv'd to apply themselves to the Emperor himself who was pleas'd to send to know how far the Council had proceeded in the Business and understanding that the Ambassadors offer'd every five years to come and Salute the Emperor he himself was pleas'd to put out with his own hand the number of Five and to insert that of Eight out of a particular Inclination to the Hollanders alledging That they had need have five whole years to go and come if so be they would only Travel by Day for said the Emperor How is it possible for them to continue such tedious Voyages if you allow them no longer time Beside why should we straiten them in such a Point who do not stand in need of me nor fear me but out of a singular Respect and Affection come to Salute me with their Goods and Presents Certainly we ought to use these People more kindly that so after they have perform'd such Undertakings they may tarry at home and rest themselves for two or three years This favorable Answer of the Emperor gave great encouragement to the Ambassadors to hope well of their Business but the Chancellors chief Secretary did all that possibly he could to disswade them from making over much haste with what they had to desire further of his Imperial Majesty saying Is it not enough that such who never till then address'd themselves in Embassy to Salute his Majesty and were so much prejudic'd by former Aspersions as made them almost unacceptable to many great Persons in China be receiv'd and admitted as Friends and Allies at the first Overture and have leave to progress through the Country wherefore he endeavor'd to perswade the Ambassadors not to insist too much upon a free Trade that being the way to unhinge their well-begun Business for they were not to imagine that the Emperor and his Council were oblig'd to grant at first sight all what'ere they should desire and therefore advis'd them to forbear mentioning a free Trade till their next Return when they would have a better opportunity But the Ambassadors did not think fit to follow his Advice because the time drew near that the Emperor was to make his Entrance into his new Palace when he had appointed and promised the Ambassadors to give them Audience But before they could have a Hearing they were first to perform Obedience in the old Palace where the Emperor's Treasure and Seal are kept in regard according to a Proverb amongst the Chineses this Place is older than the Emperor and therefore chosen and bless'd by Heaven and the first Honor doth also belong unto it so that all Foreign Ambassadors who refuse to pay such Respects must not appear before the Emperor but depart without a Hearing as it hapned to the Ambassador of Muscovy who to preserve the Dignity and Esteem of his Lord and Master would not perform here the usual Complement and Ceremony Likewise all the Grandees of the Kingdome must do their Duty here ere they appear before his Majesty nay more the Emperor himself before he is Install'd is oblig'd to come and bow here This Custom is usually perform'd by Ambassadors three Days before their Audience Upon the 22. of August came the Agents of the Canton Vice-Roys with the Mandorin Pinxenton and others of Canton early in the Morning to our Lodgings and not long after also appear'd three Chinese Doctors and some of the Court in very rich Habits These Persons conducted the Ambassadors and their Followers in great State into a Room of the old Palace much like a Library for we saw none but Scholars and Gown-men with Books in their Hands from whence after some short stay we were conducted into an open Court within a high Wall where we were commanded at the voice of the Herald to kneel three times and to bow our Heads to the Ground after a short pause the Herald proclaim'd aloud in the Chinese Language Caschan which in English is God hath sent the Emperor afterwards he cried aloud Quee that is Fall upon your Knees then he pronounced the word Canto signifying Bow your Head after that Coe bidding them Stand up and this did he three times in order one after another wherein we also conform'd at last he signified to us that we should stand aside which we did All these Ceremonies were perform'd in presence of at least a hundred Chinese Doctors or Rabbies after which we return'd to our Lodgings And now the Ambassadors according to the Custom were to appear upon the 25. of August before the Emperor but were prevented by the sudden Death of the Emperor's youngest Brother who being about six years of Age hapned to die upon the 23. of the same Month not without suspicion of Poyson by some of the Council who it seems as we were told did not think him worthy to live because he had provoked the Emperor in some ill Language before our arrival at Peking But others ascrib'd his Death to a violent Cold he took by drinking a Glass of Ice-Water being very hot which put him into such a violent Distemper that he died in few hours after The Emperor seem'd very much to lament his Death for he would not be seen by any Person in three Days This young Prince was kept a whole Month before his Interment so that the Ambassadors were held from having Audience of the Emperor until the second of September Upon the 14. of August they understood that the Ambassador of Muscovy went from thence without Audience becaus'd he refus'd to bow to the Seal of the Emperor so to preserve the Honor and Dignity of his Lord and Master One of his Gentlemen came about Noon whilst the Ambassadors were at Dinner and took leave in the Name of the all the rest and he desir'd likewise the favour of a Letter to shew in Russia that he had found us here which was presently granted Afterwards we were inform'd That this Ambassador was not suffer'd to depart till such time as the Emperor had given him a Pass Upon the Day appointed for this long expected Audience came the Mandorin Pinxenton with the Agents and Mandorins of the Canton Vice-Roys and some
conducted them from Canton to Peking in the Name of the Emperor to the first Feast at Providore Lipu's House which was most Noble and Splendid To the same Banquet or Entertainment were also invited the Ambassadors of the Great Mogol Suytadsen and Lammas Our Ambassadors sate on the same side of the Table with him of the Mogol and the other two over against them with their Followers next unto them The Dinner consisted of two Courses The first Table was full of Fruits and dry'd Sweet-meats and the second of boyl'd and Roasted Mutton Beef and other Meat For each of the Ambassadors and for two of their Followers a particular Table was cover'd with thirty Silver Dishes full of rare Fruits and Sweet-meats The Emperor's Controller who likewise appear'd at this Feast representing the Person of his Majesty sate alone upon a broad Side-board with his Legs across like a Taylor on his Shop-board next him sate two other great Lords who took order to see the Ambassadors well entertain'd The Servants who brought the Meat to the Table and waited all Dinner-time were no ordinary Persons but of good Quality and cloth'd all in Cloth of Gold Before the Ambassadors sate down they were oblig'd to turn themselves toward the North and bow three times as if the Emperor had been present and as they had done when they were before the Imperial Throne The Banquet being taken away the boil'd and roasted Meats were brought to the Table but only in three Dishes and so ill dress'd that we hardly durst venture to taste of the Cookery of the Tartars Dinner being almost ended the Emperor's Steward call'd his Servants and gave them all the Dishes which stood before him only he reserv'd one Dish being a roasted Rib of a Camel of which he eat so heartily as if he had been fasting all that Day This splendid Treatment finish'd the Ambassadors according to the Custom of the Country were to put up what they left into their Pockets to carry home It was a pleasant Sight to see how these greasie Tartars stuffed their Pockets and Leather Drawers of their Breeches with fat Meat that the Liquor dropt from them as they went along the Streets so greedy were they in eating and carrying away that they were more like Peasants than Courtiers After Dinner the Waiters brought up several Gold and Silver Pots full of Zamsou and pouring it out into woodden Dishes or Cups gave round to the Company drinking of it lustily themselves They told us that this Drink was distill'd from new Milk and came out of the Emperor's Cellar and that this great Favor and Kindness was done to us because we came from so remote a Country and so we must drink away Sorrow And though this Liquor was almost as strong as Brandy yet the Ambassadors were forc'd to pledge the Steward several times and to take what was left home with them but they gave it away to the Soldiers and others who stood at the Gate who were better pleas'd with it This Dinner being thus ended the Ambassadors as formerly must once more in thankfulness for this their splendid Reception return to the Emperor's Palace to perform their Obedience which being likewise dispatch'd they retir'd to their Lodgings sufficiently weary with the Ceremony of that Day The next Day being appointed for the second Treat came the Under Tatang or Rix-Providore to visit the Ambassadors in their Lodgings and ask'd them among other Questions whether it were true That the Dutch could live under Water for three Days and three Nights together for thus had our Enemies especially the Portuguese Iesuits reported of us as also as has been said before that we had no Country but liv'd as Pyrats on the Sea The Ambassadors satisfi'd him in every thing and told him That they came thither to settle a continu'd Trade and Commerce in China as they did in several other Kingdoms wishing that their Business might be effected To all which the Tutang reply'd That he desir'd nothing more and would endeavor to further and promote the same with all his power Thereupon the Ambassadors acquainted his Highness That as yet they had done very little in their Business To which he answer'd That at present it could be no otherwise but if so be they would once more come and Salute the Emperor before they were admitted as Friends and Subjects he would then assure them that the Hollanders should be allow'd to Trade freely in all the Emperor's Dominions that they needed not to put themselves to any great Charge and that a few Presents would effect their Desires The Ambassadors having been thus kindly and nobly receiv'd and treated upon the first day as has been said went the next day at Noon to the second Imperial Banquet where likewise repair'd the Ambassador of the Great Mogol who sat over against our Ambassadors with some other Mandorins and Prime Persons of the Empire They observ'd in short That the second Providore was more kind and open-hearted to the Mogol Ambassador and to the Moors and other Guests than to them whereat they very much wondred and ask'd the Interpreter what the cause might be who intimated That this great Lord had not yet been Presented by them as he ought Concerning which Omission the Ambassanor took speedy order little suspecting such neglect for they knew not but that Pinxenton and the Canton Mandorins had Presented all the Grandees as they ought according to their Qualities having receiv'd enough from them for that purpose at Nanking but mistrusting that they were trepann'd as well by the Servants as by the Masters they enquir'd civilly how all their Presents had been dispos'd of which they in plain terms refus'd to give an Account of alledging That they durst not name those Persons of Honor to whom they were Presented lest it should come to the Emperor's knowledge for this reason and because our Business with the Emperor was not yet dispatch'd as it ought the last Banquet was deferr'd till the 14. of October Upon that Day the Ambassadors appear'd with all their Followers to partake of the last Treatment And now the second Providore having been likewise Presented by them they were receiv'd by him with all manner of seeming Respect and Affection so great an alteration had the same wrought upon him that his Carriage and Language were both of another piece and colour all soft and melting Having sat about an hour at the Table and drank once or twice about they were afterwards Presented in the Name of the Emperor with these following Presents after this manner On the side of the Hall where the Ambassadors were receiv'd and Treated stood two long Tables upon which the Gifts were spread in great order First of all they deliver'd the Present for the General Iohn Maatzuiker which the Ambassadors receiv'd kneeling with both their Hands after which they and all their Followers were call'd by Name and had each their Presents deliver'd to them likewise upon their Knees Lastly
treats of the same Subject with those other five And these nine Books are all that are to be found in China amongst the Booksellers out of which all others are compos'd And certainly therein are contain'd most excellent Rules and Directions for the well ordering of all Civil Affairs and such as have proved to the very great advantage of the Empire of China For which cause a Law was made by the ancient Kings That whosoever would be a Learned Man or so reputed must extract the principal Ground-work of his Learning from these Books Nor is it enough to understand the true meaning and sense of the same but he must likewise get them by heart and be able to repeat a considerable part thereof if he will be thought to have arriv'd at an eminent pitch of Learning There are no Publick Schools in all China though some Writers have erroneously told us the contrary but every Person chuses his own Master by whom he is taught in his House at his own Charge And in regard of the great difficulty in Teaching the Chinese Characters in respect of their vast number and variety it is impossible for one to teach many several Persons and therefore every Master of a Family takes an Instructer into his House for his Children of whom if there be two or three to learn they are as many as one Tutor can well teach All such as are found upon Examination to have made good Progress in Philosophy arise to Promotions by three Degrees of Learning The first is call'd Sieucai the second Kiugin the third Cinfu The first Degree of Learning call'd Sieucai is given in every City by a certain Eminent Learned Person appointed by the Emperor for that purpose and according to his Office bears the Name of Tihio This Tihio goes a Circuit through all the Towns of his Province on purpose to Promote Learned Men to this Degree As soon as he is come into any City he makes known his arrival whereupon all such as stand for this Preferment address themselves unto him to be examined and if he find them qualified he immediately prefers them to this first Step of Learning and that their Worth may be taken notice of for a particular Badge of their Dignity they wear a Gown Bonnet and Boots in which Habit none are permitted to go but such as are in this manner become Graduates They enjoy likewise several Honorable Privileges and Immunities and are preferr'd to considerable Employments in the Government The second Degree of Honor to which the Learned Chineses are preferr'd is call'd Kiugin which is given with much more State than the former and is conferr'd only upon such as they judge to be most deserving and this Promotion is made but once in three years and perform'd after this manner In each Capital City is a great and well-built Palace encompass'd with high Walls and set apart only for the Examination of the Scholars In this Place are several Apartments and Mansions for the use of Examiners when they come to Supervise the Scholars Works Beside these Apartments there are at least a thousand Cells in the middle of the Palace but so small that they will only contain only one Person a little Table and a Bench In these no one can speak to his Neighbor nor be seen by him When the King's Examiners are arriv'd in the City they are lock'd up apart in this Palace and not suffer'd to Discourse with any whatsoever while they are there When the time of Examination is come to which are appointed three whole days namely the ninth twelfth and fifteenth Days of the eighth Month then are the Writings of the Scholars with great Iudgment narrowly Examin'd and several Questions propounded to be resolv'd by them The third Degree is call'd Cinsu and is equal with that of Doctor of Divinity Law or Physick in Europe and this is conferr'd likewise every third year and to them only in the Imperial City of Peking To this Honor can only three hundred out of the whole Empire arrive and the Examination of them before they are chosen is perform'd by the King's Examiners in the same Method and State as the former And such as attain to this heighth of Honor by their Learning are preferr'd to the highest Places of Dignity in the Empire and are had in great Esteem and Reputation by the People CHAP. III. Of several Chinese Handicraft-Trades Comedians Iuglers and Beggers THe Chineses are not altogether without some Experience and Skill in Architecture although for neatness and polite Curiosity their Building is not to be compar'd with that in Europe neither are their Edifices so costly or durable in regard they proportion their Houses to the shortness of Life building as they say for themselves not for others And this surely is one reason why the Chineses cannot comprehend nor imagine the costly and Princely Palaces which are in Europe and when they have been told that some of the said Edifices have stood for many Ages they seem as it were amazed thereat But if they consider'd the true Reasons of such continuance they would rather applaud and imitate than wonder for that which makes our Building last so long is because we make deep Foundations whereas in China they dig no Foundations at all but lay the Stones even with the surface of the Ground upon which they build high and heavy Towers and by this means they soon decay and require daily Reparations Neither is this all for the Houses in China are for the most part built of Wood or rest upon woodden Pillars yet they are cover'd with Tyles as in Europe and are contriv'd commodiously within though not beautiful to the Eye without however by the curiosity of the People they are kept very clean and neat Their Temples are most curiously built some whereof in solitary places near the High-ways to the great accommodation of Travellers They are hung full of Images and heavy Lamps which burn continually in memory of one or other that liv'd well and died happily These People have made no small progress in several Sciences by their early being acquainted with the Art of Printing for though those of Europe do therein exceed the Chineses having reduc'd the same to more exactness and certain Method yet says Trigautius in the fourth Chapter of his first Book The use of the Printing-Press was much sooner in China than in Europe for it is most certain that the same has been in use amongst the Chineses for five Ages past nay some stick not to affirm that they us'd Printing before the Birth of Christ. Mercator in his great Atlas writes That the Printing-Press and the use of Cannon are of so great Antiquity in China that it is not known who was the Inventor of them All which if it were taken for granted yet nevertheless they are too large in saying That That Printing has been us'd by them ever since their Country hath been call'd the Empire or Kingdom of China
and Reverence but the chiefest Honor is given to King Hunvuus who deliver'd the Kingdom of China out of the hands of the Tartars and restor'd the same to Peace and Honor. Next to the Emperor they observe and reverence their Superiors and Magistrates which they do in particular forms and manners of Speech as also in stately and noble Visits neither is access free to them all but only to such as have born some Office of Honor or Trust in the Kingdom or serv'd abroad in some honorable Employments for such when they return into their own Countries are had in great esteem as well by the Magistrates as People If any one has done his Country considerable Service behav'd himself well in his Office hath been preferr'd to some higher degree of Honor and Trusâ— than ordinary or for some Reason of State or Policy happens to remove from the City he is Presented by the Country in his Passage with great Gifts but at his departure he must leave behind him his Boots Marks of Honor c in perpetual remembrance of this Favor His Boots are lock'd up in a Chest kept on purpose for such uses with great care and respect Others of a higher Quality have a Pillar of Marble erected to their Honor to preserve their Memory and Fame to Posterity by inscribing thereon in the most legible Characters the great Services they have done for their Country Some indeed are more magnificently Signaliz'd having Temples erected in Honor of their Names at the Charge of the Publick with Images of the Party deceased drawn to the Life by the best Artists in the Country and plac'd upon the Altars nor is that all but there is Incense Vessels Torches and Persons appointed to look after the same that they may always be kept Trimm'd Perfum'd and Burning which to accomplish the more readily they have great Vessels of Copper provided to burn in as is us'd in their Idol-Temples only there is this difference between the Worship of the one and the Veneration of the other for in that of their Gods they are always Desiring or Praying for one thing or other but in this appointed to the Memory of a deceased Party they are always shewing their grateful Respects for the Benefits receiv'd by him But it may be very soberly conjectur'd that the ordinary Man not able by the narrow scantling of his Iudgment to discern this duplicity makes no difference between the two Worships and this seems the more probable for that great numbers of People resort thither and there bow and kneel and Offer up what they have with the same zeal to the one as to the other All the Chiness Books which treat of Manners and Fashions contain no other Instructions but in what manner Children are to obey their Parents and certainly herein these blind People are highly to be commended for there is no Place in the World to be compar'd with them in this Particular for the Honor and Reverence that is by Children yielded to their Parents they being neither suffer'd to sit near them or opposite unto them but in some low place of the Room and that with great Submission and Reverence The like respect is shewn by Scholars to their Masters neither do Children speak to their Parents but in the most submissive Terms imaginable and if perhaps either the Father or Mother or both fall into want in their old Age the Children freely work night and day to provide for them and stint themselves pinching their own Bellies to fill those of their Parents An Example truly well worth both imitation and praise although to their shame not much practised by Christians Such is their Behavior to their Parents living however qualified and it ends not with their Lives but follows them to the Grave attending their Funerals not only in their Mourning wherein they differ very much from other People but likewise in the Coffin wherein the Corps is enclos'd which is made of the richest and most durable Wood that is to be purchas'd in their own or the Neighboring Countries Every Person in China observes his Birth-day as Sacred bestowing Presents upon his Friends and withal making great Entertainments for them Now although every Anniversary Birth-day is thus observ'd yet there is one especially celebrated with a more Festivous Solemnity which is when they live to the Age of seventy for not till then are they reckon'd amongst the Old People and then are the Walls of the Houses hung with Pictures and Verses fill'd with Eulogies to the Party whose Birth-day is to be commemorated There are also two others more remarkable than the rest one whereof is that of the tenth Year but this wants much of the Ceremonies of the former The other which is much honor'd by them is that upon which they put on the Virile Hat as formerly at Rome the Young Men did the Togâ— Virilis or Manly Gown and this is when they have attain'd twenty Years of Age. But with far greater Splendor and more extraordinary State is New-years-day solemniz'd through the whole Country to wit upon the first day of the New and Full Moon for that is the Emperor's Festival on which day every Man lights in his House great store of Artificial Candles made of Paper Glass and Cloth which are sold in the Markets in great quantities These being lighted and the Rooms hung therewith very thick make a shew as if the House within were all of a light Fire And as an addition to their Mirth they run up and down the Streets with the like Candles in their Hands whooping and hollowing like mad People The Chineses like the old Romans have several Names by which they are distinguish'd for first they have a Sir-name which is ancient and never alter'd then a Christian Name and lastly a Proper Name and this is still newly invented and signifies one thing or other as their Sir-names most commonly also do This second Name which the Father bestows onely upon his Sons is always writ with one Character and pronounc'd with one Syllable but the Women have no such Name being call'd by their Fathers Sir-name and by the number of Place in which they stand in regard of their Birth among the Sisters When a Child is put out to School he receives from the Master a new Name and that is call'd the School-Name whereby he is call'd by the Master and the Scholars onely Again when a young Man puts on the Virile Hat or is Married he is presented by some Person of Quality with a more Honorable Name call'd The Letter by which any Person may afterwards call him except his Servants Now when he is grown to Years of perfect Manhood he is presented by some other Person with a very honorable Name call'd among them The Great Name By this Name he is call'd by all without any distinction except his Parents who think him unworthy of that Honor and continue to call him onely by the Name of the Letter
Picture While these Ceremonies are performing one or two of the Sons of the Deceased stand on one side of the Coffin in their white Mourning with great modesty and shedding tears plentifully Behind it sits the Mother with the Daughters and others of the Relations in Mourning also but they are so reserv'd in their manner of Lamentation that they have a Curtain drawn before them that so they may not be seen In the Hall stand two Trumpeters and at the great Gate of the Court within two Drummers over the Gate hangs upon a Board a long Scrowl of Paper even to the Ground wherein is to be read who it is that is deceased and what he had done in his Life-time for the Service and Benefit of his Country It often hapneth that the Children keep their Bodies three or four Years unburied in their Houses in all which time they are never offended with any Scents proceeding from the same the reason whereof may be their extraordinary skill in Embalming and closing the Crevices of the Coffin and so long as they keep them thus above-ground they set before them Meat and Drink daily as if they were living During all which time the Sons take not their Places but sit upon a long Bench cover'd with White and as a further Testimony of their obedient Sorrow they sleep not upon Beds but upon Matrasses of Straw spread upon the Floor near the Cossin abstaining likewise all that while from Flesh or any compound Meats or drinking Wine or using any Baths and that which is yet more to be taken notice of they forbear to accompany with their Wives in any way of Natural Affection And this for the generality is voluntary but what follows is forbidden to wit They may not go to any publick Invitations abroad nor so much as be seen in the Streets for so many Months but if their Occasions be such as call them out of doors they are carried in a close Chair cover'd over with Mourning Although formerly to the commendation of the Country these things were perform'd yet in this present Age few or none are found amongst them that are so strict in the observation of these Ceremonies Upon the day appointed for the Funeral all the Friends meet who are invited by another Book to accompany the Corps of their Friend to his Grave The Solemnity is order'd and perform'd after the same manner as the Roman-Catholicks make their Processions at certain times of the Year Several Images of Men Women Elephants Tygers Lions and such like Beasts made all of Paper and Painted with several Colours are carried before the Coffin and at last burnt at the Grave among whom also go some that carry Incense in large Copper Vessels and Wax Torches burning The Priests and others that belong to the Idol-Temples follow after these with Drums and Pipes After whom next in place is the Coffin most curiously beautifi'd and adorn'd born up by at least forty or fifty Persons all very richly Habited Behind the Coffin come the Sons on foot but seeming to support themselves with Sticks in their Hands as if Grief and Sorrow had brought them into a weak Condition Then follow the Women in close Chairs cover'd with White so that they cannot be seen If sometimes it happen that the Fathers die when their Sons are from home the Funeral is deferr'd till their Return and notice thereof sent them which as soon as they receive they immediately put on Mourning upon the very Place where they are and then hastens home with the first opportunity to perform the Ceremonies in order as we have related But this is not all for a Son is oblig'd by virtue of the Laws though he is in the highest Office of the Kingdom and one of the Colaos to return home and there to Mourn for the space of three entire years in which time he is totally forbidden to return to his Charge Yet this is only to be understood of Mourning for Parents and not for other Friends Nevertheless the Soldiers and Military Officers are not subject to this Law If it chance that any dies either in Travel or Employment out of his native Country he to whom the Charge and Care of his Funeral is committed uses his utmost diligence to procure the dead Body to be brought back that it may be buried in the Grave of his Ancestors in the preserving whereof they are very curious insomuch that none else are admitted to be Interr'd there And therefore every Chinese who is able erects a Vault with a Tomb over it without the Walls of the City in the Suburbs to remain for a Burial-place to him and his Posterity it being dissonant to the Grandeur of Noble Persons to have their Sepulchres within the City They are generally of Marble sometimes of other Stone contain'd in a portion of Ground according to the Greatness of the Person and commonly Wall'd about within whose circumference some make several little Rooms which together with the said Wall are surrounded with artificial Groves of Cypress-Trees Upon the top of the Grave lies a large Stone rarely adorn'd with curious Images Engraven round about it and upon its Surface are Engraven the famous Actions of the Deceased They whose Wealth raises them to the highest pitch of humane Felicity and enlarges their Pleasures beyond the limit of a Satisfaction in this Life such as the Gelubden bestow vast Sums of Money upon their Tombs building them little inferior to Palaces with several Apartments within and Triumphal Arches standing before them In the Province of Xansi upon the Mountains are several of these famous Sepulchral Monuments Near to the City Taming is a very noble Piece of Antiquity in this kind built by the Emperor Cavus about 4000. years since as they report So likewise near to the City Cinon upon the Mountains are built very sumptuous Tombs as well of Kings as of other Great Lords I my self saw some of these Sepulchres very artificially built upon some solitary Hills which were not the Products of Nature but to make the Work the more stupendious and considerable were cast up with the Spade and rais'd to almost an incredible height In the middle of Wall was a Gate through which we entred into the Sepulchre to which belong commonly three such Doors and ascended by easie Steps up to the Mouth of the same which was Plaister'd on the insides and had Benches about it At certain times of the Year the surviving Friends come and visit these Graves bringing store of Provisions with them and then express their Sorrow afresh shedding Tears and using other Lamentations for the loss of their dear Friends nay some of them do with such reality of Grief and Affection oftentimes take it to heart that they will by no means be drawn thence but desire to be reckon'd among the Dead Without the City of Nanking heretofore the Court and Imperial Chamber of the ancient Princes but not far distant from the Walls grows a very
the greatest part of a Morning in Combing and Dressing their Heads When they go abroad they skreen themselves from the parching heat of the Sun with large Quittesolâ—â— in Italy call'd Umbrella's which are carried over their Heads but the ordinary sort of People make use only of Fans The Country Women in China wear Breeches which they tie about their Knees And some that they may lose no time go commonly Spinning about the Streets Fields or other Places which arises to such Profit that thereby onely a great number of Families make shift to get a competent Subsistence CHAP. VII Of some Superstitious Customs Fashions and other Errors in use amongst the Chineses IN this following Chapter we shall treat of some Superstitious Fashions and Erroneous Customs which are in use among the several Sects of the Chineses And first we shall take notice That they are generally very much inclin'd and addicted to observe Times and Seasons and have so great an esteem for Sooth-sayers Fortune-tellers Astrologers Star-gazers and the like that they believe whatsoever they foretell insomuch that they govern all their Transactions according to the Sayings of those People whose Advice is taken and follow'd in their Affairs from time to time their Books much like our Almanacks being in general request besides which there are other Books of their Writing which treat of far deeper and conceal'd things So prevalent is this Science among all sorts of People that there is a vast multitude of Masters that teach it who have no other livelyhood but what they get by directing those that come to them the Day and Hour in which they may with great hopes of Success go about any Business And indeed they are so infinitely possest with an opinion of the Knowledge and Wisdom of these Men that they never undertake a Iourney go about to erect a Building or do any thing else of consequence but they first consult with them about it and observe to a Tittle whatsoever they direct so that neither Rainy Stormy or Tempestuous Weather such as would even fright a Satyre can hinder them from beginning their Iourney upon the Day prefix'd for the same though they go but out of sight of their own Dwellings or if they are to Build they will dig a little way into the Ground or make some entrance or beginning into the Work let the Weather be never so bad that it may be said they began upon that Day which was foretold them should be successful to their Undertaking Over and above these humorous Niceties they are great Observers of the Day of any ones Birth by which they confidently undertake to predict to them the good or bad Fortune likely to befal them through the whole Course of their Lives and in truth this inclination of their Nature is the cause that no People in the whole World are more easie to be deluded with the fallacious Fancies of such as assume to themselves the Title of Wizards and Sooth sayers whose Cunning hath devised various Ways to cheat the Ignorant and to make them pass for Oracles In the former Chapter we treated of their Sepulchres and the ordering thereof wherein they are not more careful than curious in making choice of the Place for that purpose which they make to resemble the Head Tail and Feet of a Dragon which sort of Creature they fancy to live under Ground Upon this doth not only depend as they firmly believe the good and bad Fortune of particular Families but the very well-being of Cities Countries and of the whole Empire And therefore when any publick Building is to be Erected the Learned in this mysterious Art are first consulted with concerning the good or bad success that will follow upon it that they may thereby chuse the better Lot There are abundance of People here who not able to restrain their licentiousness though in the meanest degree of Poverty sell themselves for Slaves to the Rich upon condition that they may take to Wife any of the Maid-Servants But note That whatsoever Children come of these Marriages become Slaves for ever Othere there are who being well to pass and of ability purchase them Wives for their Money but when their Families increase in number and Means begin to fail they sell their Sons and Daughters for two or three Crowns apiece not caring what becomes of them afterwards nor ever taking notice of them though they are made Slaves for ever and may be put to what Employment the Purchaser thinks good Many of this kind are bought up by the Portuguese and the Spaniard and carried out of their native Country into Forein Parts where they live in perpetual Slavery during their Lives without any hope of Redemption This cannot in Civiliz'd Nations be accounted other than a piece of Heathenish Barbarism But yet they commit a far greater and more horrid Inhumanity which is this In some Provinces they drown the young Infants especially Females for no other reason but that they mistrust they shall not be able to maintain them but be forc'd to sell them to unknown People This liberty they take to themselves from a belief That the Souls of the Deceased transmigrate into other Bodies and therefore they would seem to infer That this their Cruelty is necessary at leastwise convenient and so no ways dreadful unto them averring That they do the Children great advantage in taking away their Lives for by that means they deliver them the sooner out of a miserable Condition to settle them in a better And therefore the poor Children are not made away clandestinely or in private but aperto sole openly before all People But this unnatural Cruelty is not all there is yet more inhumanity practis'd amongst them for some out of despair of Good Fortune or because they have sustain'd great Losses will voluntarily lay violent Hands upon themselves others if they cannot find a means to revenge themselves upon their Enemies will kill themselves thinking thereby to do them a mischief for as 't is said great numbers both of Men and Women destroy themselves every year either in the Fields or else before the Doors of their Adversaries by strangling drowning or poisoning themselves Another sort of Barbarism they are guilty of in the Northern Provinces towards young Children which is by Gelding them whereby and no otherwise they are made capable of Service and Preferment in the Emperor's Palace And these they call in their Language Gelubden besides whom none are admitted to wait on the Prince and which is more the whole Government of the Empire is in their Hands and Management There are at least ten thousand of these Gelubden in the Palace who originally are all mean Persons without Learning c. brought up in perpetual Slavery by reason whereof and their ignorance they are of a dull and heavy Disposition and unfit for any Business of Concern The Magistrates have in effect an Arbitrary Power over the Subject whom they oftentimes condemn unheard The
manner of punishing Offenders is to lay them flat upon their Faces on the Ground with their Legs bare upon which they give them several Blows with a Whip made of twisted Reed which fetches Blood at every Blow And the great Motive that induces to this more than common Severity in punishing Offences is for that the Chineses are infinitely addicted to Robbing and Stealing There are two extravagant Humors that the Grandees in China are much guilty of The one is the Transmutation of other Metals into Silver about which they often break their Brains and consume their Estates The other is an Opinion they have of obtaining an Immortal Being in this World while they are clad with Flesh and Blood that is to say they fancy such means may be us'd as will preserve them from falling into that common Bosom of Nature the Grave Of both these Mysteries there are an innumerable company of Books both Printed and Written and few or none of the Grandees but as it were by Obligation betake themselves to the Study of these distracting and destructive Sciences To this purpose there is a Story in the Chinese Books of one of their ancient Emperors that was so intoxicated with this Prensie that with the danger and hazard of his Life he endeavor'd after an unattainable Immortality the maner thus This Emperor had caus'd a certain Drink to be prepar'd by some deceitful Masters of this Art of whose Rarity and Perfection he had so great confidence that he believ'd when he had drunk it he should be immortal and from this conceited Imagination he could not be dissuaded nor could the strongest Arguments of his nearest Relations divert him from his Humor At last one of his Friends seeing that no argumentative Ratiocinations would prevail with him came one day to Congratulate the Emperor's Health whose Back being turn'd the Visitant took the Bowl and drank a good Draught which the over-credulous Emperor perceiving fell immediately into a great Passion attended with no less than reiterated threats of Death for depriving him of his immortal Liquor But the bold Attempter answer'd him with an undaunted courage in these terms Do you suppose that you can deprive me of my Life now I have drank of the Immortal Cup sure 't were great madness in you so to think But if in truth you can despoil me thereof then I aver that I have not done any thing amiss for either by participating of your Drink I am become equally Immortal with you or else you are equally Mortal with me If you can take away my Life now I have not robb'd you of your Immortality but shall make you sensible of the Deceit and Guile wherewith you are abus'd The Emperor hearing this was presently pacifi'd and highly commended the Wisdom of his Friend in extricating him so ingeniously out of the greatest Folly and Madness imaginable But though there have not wanted wise Men in China that have always endeavor'd to confute this phantastick Principle and to cure this Distemper of the Mind which in it self is no better than a Fit of raving Madness yet they could never so hinder this Disease from increasing or taking head but at present it overspreads the whole Country and generally gains belief among the Great Ones CHAP. VIII Of several Sects in China Concerning Philosophy and Idol-Worship OF all the Heathen Sects which are come to the knowledge of those in Europe we have not read of any who are fall'n into fewer Errors than the Chineses ever since the first Ages for in their Books we read That these People have from the Beginning worshipp'd the Highest and One God-head whom they call The King or with another and more common Name The Heaven and the Earth Hence it appears they were of opinion That Heaven and Earth were inspir'd and so they worshipp'd the Soul thereof for the highest Deity But beside this Supreme Deity they deviated into the worship of several Spirits to wit of Hills Rivers and such as Command over the four Quarters of the World In all Transactions the ancient Chineses were wont to say That Men ought to hearken to the inbred Light of the Understanding which Light they have receiv'd from Heaven But as to the Supreme Deity and the Spirits which wait upon him we do not find in any of their Books that they did ever broach such licentious Doctrines to the support of Vice as were invented by the Romans Grecians or the Egyptians who in the committing of all manner of Filthiness did implore the assistance of their debauch'd Gods It likewise appears by the yearly Book which comprehend the Transactions of four thousand years that the Chineses have perform'd several brave Works for the Service of their Country and the Publick Good The same is also to be seen by the Books of the ancient and wisest Philosophers which were all in being before the last Invasion of the Tartars but then in the general Conflagration of the Country were most of them burnt wherein were writ good and wholsom Doctrines for the Instruction of Youth in the Ways of Vertue and Goodness These Books mention only three Sects to have been in those Times in the World The first of which is the Sect of the Learned The second is call'd Sciequia And the third Lancu The first of these three Sects is follow'd by all the Chineses and the adjacent People which use the Chinese Characters as the Islanders of Iapan Corea and Couchinchina and by none else and is the ancientest of all the Sects that were ever heard of in China Out of it about which a very great number of Books are writ generally are chosen such Persons as are fit for the Government of the Empire and therefore it is honor'd and esteem'd above all others The Doctrine of this Sect is not learn'd all at once but they suck it in by degrees when they learn to Read or Write The first Founder of this Sect was Confutius the Prince of the Chinese Philosophers who is to this day honor'd by all the Learned with the Title of The most Wise. This Confutius as the Iesuit Semedo relates in his History was a Man of a very good Nature and much inclin'd to Vertue Prudent Subtil and a great Lover of his Country His Writings are to this day had in great honor and esteem as being the Ground-work of all the Learning at this time in use amongst them What concerns his Writings which are contain'd in four large Books we have already made mention Several other Books have been written by the Followers of this Sect some whereof have been brought out of China into Europe the Titles and Contents of which I thought good here to mention and are these that follow 1. The first treats of the Original of the whole World of the first Creator and Preserver of all things Out of this Book are most things selected which relate to Natural Knowledge 2. Of the Eternal Middle 3. Of the Doctrine of the Full
which was written some Chinese Characters that foretold things that should come to pass On the sides stood several Vessels with Incense burning and in the middle was a woodden Dish with several Offerings in it which the Priests when they would know or foretel any thing bring to the Altar and Offer up to this Image Now the chief Offerings at such times are either Rice Wine or the Entrails of Beasts which being ceremoniously dispos'd the Priest draws some Reeds out of the Bambo's Basket and if they are in his opinion portentous of Ill he draws out others till he has drawn such as he believes prognosticate Good In this interim the Incense burns and at last the Priest falls upon his Knees and mumbles one thing or other to himself whereby he intends to pacifie the Idol and get him to favor his Suit In the Province of Xansi in the City of Taâ—ven is a Temple Dedicated to Siangus the wisest of their Emperors and of the Family of Chaus It is reported in their Histories that this Image which is made of very precious Stones being finish'd rose up of it self and went to the place which was appointed for its Station At Leugan upon the Mountain Peco which signifies The Mountain of Fruits is founded a Temple in honor of the Emperor Xiâ—â—ungus near which stands a famous Well Now according to the Saâ—ing of the Chineses Xinnungus receiv'd divers sorts of Seeds from an unknown Person and receiv'd Directions in what manner he should Sowe the same to gain a plentiful Harvest which he having experimented taught to his Subjects for which Benefit they erected this Temple to his Memory at very great Charge In the Province of Xensi in the City of Hanchang are five Temples whereof one is Dedicated to the Emperor Cangleangus because he had caus'd a Way to be cut through the Mountain and in perpetual memory of this his great Undertaking this Temple was erected In the Chief City of Kingang are three Temples full of Images and in the Province of Xantung in the Chief City of Cinan are several Near to Yencheu in the City of Ceu are fifteen stately Temples Dedicated to Helvutius and other renowned Heroes In the Province of Suchuen in the Chief City of Chingtu is one built to the Memory of King Cancungus because he taught the Inhabitants of that Kingdom the Art of raising and preparing of Silk-worms In the Province of Huquang near to Kiun is a large Hill call'd Vutang upon which are erected several Structures with Cloisters for Priests and the reason thereof may be for that here all Priests receive their Introduction who follow and teach the inward approv'd Doctrine of the separation of Soul and Body In the Province of Nanking near to the Chief City Ningque stands a very high and beautiful Edifice call'd Hiangsin that is to say The well-scented Heart and Dedicated to five Virgins who being assaulted by such as would have ravish'd them rather chose to die than have their Virginity violated in honor of whose Chastity the Inhabitants erected these Temples In the Province of Chekiang and in the Chief City of Hangcheu are found very many of these Buildings to which belong several thousands of Priests At Nanking on the Mountain Ni stands one of these Fabricks that hath at least a thousand Images to it and to every Image ten Priests And indeed to shorten this Relation there is hardly a Mountain or Hill in China of any Note but has a Temple upon it with Priests belonging to it In the Province of Fokien near to the City Cinggan lies a great Hill call'd Vay which has several Temples and Cloisters upon it abounding with Priests and Fryers most whereof worship Idols shave their Crowns and despise all Earthly Riches Possessions and Honors But that which is fullest of admiration is this It was said that amongst these Priests one of the chief call'd Chang who had two Chappels under his Command being convinc'd of the Error of his Way coming one day into his Temples broke all the Idols in pieces exclaiming bitterly against the Priests for having thus long deceiv'd him and keeping him in blind Ignorance from thenceforth embraceing the Christian Religion to the utmost period of his Life In the Province of Fokien near to the City Civencheu is a Temple call'd Caiyven which is worthy of admiration both for its heighth and largeness The outsides of this sumptuous Edifice are all of Marble and the inside most richly adorn'd with Idols of all sorts Among others there are some that exceed which are either cast in Copper or cut out of Marble made for Madam Fee having such curiosity of Workmanship that the Chineses say they were not made with mortal Hands Without the Imperial City of Nanking I was my self in one of the three Idol-Temples where Hell so as Virgil describes the same in the sixth Book of his Aeneids was so curiously Painted to the Life and adorn'd with rare Images of Plaister that it is enough to fill all Persons with admiration that look upon the same CHAP. X. Of Towers and Sea-Marks CHINA is very full of brave and well-built Towers whereof some are nine others seven Stories high many of which are only for Ornament but upon a great part of them call'd Ceuleu stand their Clock-workss and in others especially at Nanking are kept the Astrological Instruments Upon the Clock-house Turrets stands an Instrument which shews the hour of the day by means of Water which running from one Vessel into another raises a Board upon which is Pourtray'd a Mark for the time of the day and you are to observe That there is always one remaining there to take notice of the passing of the time who at every hour signifies the same to the People by beating upon a Drum and hanging out a Board with the Hour writ upon it in large Letters This Time-Drummer likewise gives notice if he discovers any Fire whereupon the People all rise to quench it In whose House soever the Fire happens through carelesness the Master thereof is punish'd with Death because of the fright and hazard he put his Neighbor in whose House joyning to his and built all of Timber as all Habitations there are was in very great danger of being likewise consum'd for all the Houses stand very close And this in truth is the cause of so great severity shew'd against such whose Houses are burnt through carelesness Upon the top of the Mountain Hiaiken stands a very ancient Tower which is very much decay'd but yet keeps the heighth of a hundred and eighty Paces but that which is most to be admir'd therein is that it is built of Stone which with infinite Labor Industry and Expence they must bring thither and then together with the Mortar carry up so great a heighth to build such a Tower In the Country of Huquang near to the City of Hanyang is a Tower call'd Xelonhoa which far excels all other such like
Structures in Art and Costliness It is said to have been erected upon this account There was a certain Daughter who was worthy remark for her Obedience to her Mother-in-law she having one day a Pullet for Dinner invited her Step-Dame to the eating part of it who accepting the Invitation and coming to participate thereof had no sooner tasted of it but she fell down dead The Daughter was immediately apprehended brought before a Iudg and accus'd of poysoning her Mother-in-law and the matter of Fact being so clear was condemn'd to die As she was going to the Place of Execution she hapned to pass by a Pomegranate-Tree then in Blossom which holding fast in her Hand she Pray'd as is said after this manner If I have poyson'd my Step-Mother may the Flowers of this Branch now in my Hand wither but if I be innocent let the Branch live and bring forth Fruit immediately Which words were hardly pass'd her Lips before that Branch which she held in her Hand hung full of Pomegranates In remembrance of which so famous Miracle the Inhabitants built this Tower and call'd it Xelenhoa which signifies A Pomegranate-Tree In the Province of Chekiang in the Chief City Hangcheu are four of these Towers each of them nine Stories high and in the great City Niencheu is another of the like heighth Near to the City Vencheu lies a Hill call'd Paocai upon whose top stands a Tower nine Stories high which serves for a Land-Mark to the Ships and Mariners Sailing at Sea Lastly in the Province of Chekiang near to the City of Hangcheu lies a Mountain call'd Funghoang upon the top whereof stands a like Tower of nine Stories high Triumphal Arches MOst of the Cities in China both small and great are adorn'd and beautifi'd with Triumphal Arches stately Towers and Pyramids made of Stone or Marble with great Art Cost and Ingenuity and adorn'd with Images being generally erected in honor of some famous Act Thing or Person Those who have done their Country any signal Service have some of these set up to eternize their Memory almost after the same manner as was formerly practis'd by the ancient Romans So also if any have been more excellent in Learning or if any Magistrate hath signaliz'd himself by his good behavior in his Employment in honor of such Arches Towers Pillars or Pyramids are built and commonly plac'd as Ornaments in the chiefest Streets and most populous places Their fashion is this they have three Roofs the biggest in the middle and on each side a small one underneath which Men pass as it were through a very broad Gate the sides are adorn'd with Lions and other Images curiously cut out of Marble and fix'd thereto or otherwise very artificially bor'd through and sometimes adorn'd with small Images cut out of Stone so that it is indeed a thing deservedly to be admir'd which way they can bore through such great Stones and cut Images out of them as they lie fix'd in the Building The whole Arch for the most part consists of three Stories and is on the Front and Back alike for fashion so that when you look upon the one side you have in effect seen both sides Upon the top of all lies a blue Stone upon which the Emperor's Name in whose Government the same was erected is curiously Engraven in Letters of Gold In the middle also lies a very large flat Stone upon which is writ in gilt or blue Letters the Name Country and Dignity of him in whose behalf this Edifice was erected CHAP. XI Of Rivers Channels High-Ways Bridges Ships c. THrough the Province of Suchue runs the River To as far as Sinfan being a Branch brought from the River Kiang by the Command of the Emperor Ivos to hinder the overflowing of that River In the Province of Chekiang are most of the Rivers which come from the North made by Art so useful as if they had been naturally so It is highly to be admir'd and meriting the highest Commendation to consider with what labor and pains they have effected such vast Undertakings for in some places there are very large Channels running far up into the Country which have been digg'd and are pav'd on both sides with Stone Over which Channels lie many great and heavy Sluces with several Bridges convenient for Travellers either by Land or Water In Ningpo the ninth City of the Province of Chekiang both sides of the artificial Rivers for several Miles together are made up with Stone At the end of every River lies a Sluce through which all Vessels must pass before they come into it In the Country of the City Xaohing is an artificial River toward the East three days Iourney in length both sides whereof are made up with Brick to prevent the Earth from falling in to choke or clog up the same Common Ways THE common Passages or High-ways in China are contriv'd as much for the convenience and ease of Travellers as in any Place or the World We begin in the Southern Provinces where most of their Ways 〈◊〉 even and smooth the very Hills being made passable and a Way hewn 〈◊〉 through the Rocks by the labor of Mens Hands Upon these so commodious Ways stand several Marks of Stone which declare the Distances of Places from one another and every ten Miles there is a Post appointed to câ—â—ry the Emperors and Magistrates Letters and Commands which being 〈◊〉 receiv'd are deliver'd with extraordinary speed so that there happens nothing in any part of the Country but it is presently known through all the Empire At every eighth Stone which is a days Iourney you have one of his Majesties ordinary Houses built on purpose to receive and treat at the Emperors Charge all Governor 's and Magistrates that travel that way upon the Emperor's Service but before their Arrival they send a Messenger to certifie what day they intend to be there so that the Governor or Magistrate arriving finds all things in a readiness for him to wit Provisions Horses Chairs Track-men and Vessels of all sorts if he need any for whatsoever he desires is given notice of by him in a Letter The Banks of the Rivers are no less well contriv'd for the ease of Passengers than the common Ways for they suffer no Trees to grow within eight Foot of the Rivers side lest they should be a hindrance to the Boats that are Tow'd along by Ropes In the Province of Fokien near to the City Hinghoa the Ways are well and strongly pav'd with Stone for above four Dutch Mile in length Near to the City Hoanting lies a deep small and darkish Valley through which runs a pav'd Way two Miles in length Upon the Mountain Mechi which is in truth a Wilderness lies a firm but very narrow Way made by Art for Travellers to pass over and upon Co is a very steep Way at least ten Dutch Miles Near to the City of Kiangxan there is a great Mountain call'd Civen at least three hundred
would take up too much time and make this Book swell into a larger Volume than was at first intended therefore to pass them by we will proceed to give an Account of the fashion of their Ships Of Ships THe Royal Ships and those of the Governors of Provinces exceed the rest and are built after such a manner that few or none will scarce give credit to the Account I shall give of them unless they had seen them our Vessels in Europe being in no wise comparable to those for they lie upon the Water like high Houses or Castles and are divided on both sides with Partitions In the middle is a place like a Hall furnish'd with all manner of Houshold-stuff as Tables Chairs c. The Windows and Doors are made in the fashion of our Grates wherein in stead of Glass they use the thinnest Oyster-shells they can get or else fine Linnen or Silk which they spread with clear Wax and adorn with several sorts of Flowers and this keeps out the Wind and Air better than any Glass Round about the Ships are made Galleries very commodious for the Seamen to do whatever business they have without prejudice to the Rigging The outside of the Ship is Painted with a certain sort of Gum call'd Cie which makes it glitter and appear very glorious at a distance but within it is most curiously Painted with several Colours very pleasant and delightful to the Eye The Planks and Timber-work are so curiously rifted together and jointed that there is little or no sign of any Iron-work In length they differ not much from those in Europe only they are lower and narrower and the Passage up into them is by a Ladder twelve Foot long the Stern of the Ship where the Trumpeters and Drummers stand is like a Castle When any of these Ships of the Governors meet one another at Sea they Salute and give place according to their Qualities which are writ in great Letters behind their Ships so that there never happens any Dispute about Precedency When it is a Calm at Sea and little or no Wind stirring to fill their Sails which are made of Mats there are certain Men appointed to Tow the same At such time also and as a farther help they are very dexterous in the use of their Oars wherewith they can Row without pulling them out of the Water The Ships which carry the Fish call'd Saull and the Silks to the Imperial Court are so extraordinarily curious and rich that no others can compare with them for they are gilt within and without and Painted red and such is their esteem that all other Ships strike Sail and give place to these whensoever or wheresoever they meet them In the Province of Nanking near to the Chief City of Sucheu may be seen several Pleasure-Boats or little Ships which the Inhabitants keep only for their Pleasure they are very richly Gilt and Painted and may more properly be compar'd to Houses than Ships Some of the Chineses are so profusely in love with them that they will spend their Estates aboard these Vessels in Eating and Drinking There are a vast and incredible number of Ships and Boats that pass daily from one Place to another by which means there is so great Accommodation by Water that Men may pass from the City of Maccao to the City of Peking except one days Iourney by Water Also Men may travel by Boat from the Province of Chekiang through the whole Province of Suchue from East to West And to say the truth there is hardly any considerable City but what has access to it by Water for the Natives have with Art and Industry digg'd Channels through most of the Provinces and let in the Rivers on purpose to carry their Goods and themselves by Water by reason of the extraordinary Hills and Desarts which they meet with in a Passage or Iourney by Land of all which we have already made mention in our General Description of China In the Province of Fokien are such an innumerable company of Vessels that the Inhabitants proffer'd the Emperor when he intended to make War upon those of Iapan to make him a Bridge of Boats which should reach from thence to the said Island of Iapan The Courts of the Governors of Provinces IN each Chief City are at least fifteen or twenty great Houses belonging to the Governors which is regard of the Magnificence of their Building may compare with Kings Palaces In other less are eight or nine great Houses and in every small City four which are all alike in fashion only they differ in largeness according to the Quality of the Governor At the Front of each Palace are three Gates whereof the biggest stands in the middle adorn'd on both sides with great Marble Lions Next to this Plano or Court-yard Pail'd in Painted with Gum which they call Cie In this Plano stand two small Towers or Pyramids curiously adorn'd and furnish'd with several Musical Instruments upon which certain Persons play as often as the Governor goes out or comes in Within the Gate is a large Hall and generally every great Palace hath four or five where the Governor gives Audience to any that comes about Business to him on the sides of this Hall are several small Apartments inhabited by inferior Officers Here are also two particular Rooms for the Reception of Persons of Quality that come to visit the Governor when you are past these two Rooms you come to three Gates more which are seldom open'd but when the Governor sits upon the Bench of Iudicature The middlemost of these Gates is very large through which Persons of Quality are only suffer'd to go other People pass through the Gates on each side Then you come to another large Plano at the end whereof is a great Court built upon Pillars call'd Tang and here the Governor administers Iustice on Both sides thereof the Courtiers and inferior Officers have their Dwellings who never remove with the Governor but live there continually in regard they are maintain'd at the Charge of the Country Next to this is an inward Court but far exceeding the former and is call'd Sutang which signifies Private and in this Court only may the nearest Relations converse with the Governor To these Places appertain also several Gardens Orchards Ponds Rivers Warrens and the like as well for Pleasure and Ornament as Profit And here observe That the Emperor furnishes the Governor not only with these Palaces but likewise with all manner of Houshold-stuff Provisions and Servants at his own Charge And when a Governor which is yet more remarkable happens to depart to the Rule of another Province or else to lay down his Employment which falls out commonly every half year it is allowable for him to take all the Houshold Goods with him and then the Court is to be furnish'd anew for the succeeding Governor In Cingtu the first Chief City of the Province Suchue famous for Trade there liv'd formerly a
clear and the other muddy although any Person take of the Waters and mingle them yet nevertheless they immediately part and divide each receiving presently their former Colours Near to Iungping is a Spring whose Water is so hot that it will boil an Egg. Near to the City Hiqoy is a Hill call'd Caotung upon which are several warm Baths and hot Springs Near to Iungcheng is a Hill call'd Gailo upon which is a very deep Well which serves the Inhabitants by observation of its rise or fall for a sign of a fruitful or barren Year There are several other Springs and Waters in many other Places of China which are very remarkable for their Qualities and have great esteem among them because they have had sufficient experience of their Vertues wherewith we shall no longer detain the Reader but proceed to what follows CHAP. XIII Of Hills and Mountains VEry curious and indeed nice even to Superstition are the Chineses in the choice of Hills for they say and believe all their Fortune depends upon it being places inhabited as they imagine by Dragons unto whom they attribute the cause of all their good Fortune And for this cause when any of them intend to erect a Tomb which is generally done among the Mountains by rich People they diligently examine the shape and nature of the Hill for its situation and are very sollicitous to discover a happy piece of Earth and such they esteem so which has the resemblance of the Head Tail or Heart of a Dragon which once found they imagine that according to wish all things shall go well with their Posterity And this Fancy is so generally prevalent with them that there are many who profess the Art of telling Fortunes by the form of Hills In the Description of Hills and Mountains I shall not only mention their largeness heighth c. but likewise their Nature Shape Form and the Beasts that live upon them The Mountain Lungciven near to Kungyang is about two Miles and half big Suming near to Xaohing fills a place of seven Miles and a half Lofeu near to Polo is in its circumference eighteen Miles and a half Tiengo near to Pinkiang is thirty one Miles in extent so also is the Mountain Quanghia near to Nanking The Heng near to Hoenyuen is fifty Miles large The Yen begins at Iotyen and teaches sixty three Miles in length At Kinhoa near to Yu lies the Mountain Kiming which is the largest in extent of all the Mountains of China The Ximus near to Taigan is three Miles and a half high It is said that upon the top thereof at the first Crowing of the Cock the Sun may be seen to rise The Tientai is five Miles high The Vempi in the Province of Queicheu reaches with its top above the Clouds At Sintien lies the Mountain Pie which is the highest of all Hills and reaches far above the Clouds Near to the City Xefan lies the Mountain Tafung which seems to touch the very Skies Near to Cangki is a very high Mountain call'd Iuntai which they entitle The Throne of Heaven The Hocang is so high that it ascends ten thousand Foot above the Earth and never any Rain or Snow was seen to fall upon it The Kiming near to the City Yn requires nine days Travel to the top of it In Quangsi near the City Ieyang lies the Mountain Paofung whose top reaches to the very Clouds and yet hath a Stone House built upon it There are very many other wonderful Hills and Mountains in the Provinces of China which we shall omit to mention for brevity sake and shall proceed to speak of their Shapes and Nature The Hills of Umuen show as if they hung in the Air. In the Province of Quangsi is a Hill which bears the shape of an Elephant The Mountain Utung resembles the shape of a Man standing upright with his Head bowing downward Near to Paoki is a Hill call'd Chincang whose concave parts are such that before stormy Weather or Thunder it will rore in so fearful a manner that the noise may be heard two Miles Near to Sinyang is a very high and pleasant Hill whose top against Rain is always cover'd with a Cloud Near to Pingchai lies the Mountain Pequi of which it has been observ'd that the melting of the Winter Snow upon its top is a sign of a plentiful Year but if it continues all Summer unmelted it is a bad sign Upon the Mountain Kesin near to the Garrison-Cities it is extraordinary cold Near to Nanking is a great Hill nam'd Quanglin which in the fairest Weather is always so very much cover'd with Clouds that it is hardly to be seen at any little distance Near to Xaicheu lies the Mountain Lingfung upon which if any Rain do fall in the day-time a great flame of Fire appears in the Night but in dry Weather there is seen no such appearance The Mountain Hoo is call'd The Fiery Mountain because in the night-time certain Lights appear upon the same as so many burning Candles Country People speak them to be a sort of Glow-worms which creep out of the River by Night and shine after this manner Near to Munghoa lies the Mount Tienul call'd The Ear of Heaven famous for a notable Echo The Mountain Quan is stor'd with brave Hawks and Kites which the Great Ones use for their Recreations The Chinese Historians relate That near to Sinfung lies a very great Hill upon which such wild Beasts and Men live whose likes are not to be found in any other Place Upon the top of the Hill Fungcao as is said the incomparable and seldom seen Phenix hath her Nest under which is found an extraordinary Precious Stone In the Province of Xensi upon the Mountain Holan is a great Race of wild Horses and upon that of Liniao breed several wild Oxen Tygers and other Creatures In the Province of Chekiang upon the Mountain Cutien an incredible thing to be told are Tygers who have left off their fierceness the nature of the Soil being of that Quality that if any are brought thither wild from other Places they become tame in a short time the same thing happens to Snakes Near to Cinyven in the Province of Iunnan is the Mountain Nilo where is great abundance of Tygers and Leopards In the Province of Suchue near to Cungkiang upon a Mountain call'd Toyung are Monkies which very much resemble a Man Near to the City Changcheu lies the Hill Cio upon which is said to lie a Stone of five Rod high end eighteen Inches thick which of its self rolls and moves up and down against foul Weather Near to Lioyang upon the Mountain Yoinea which signifies The Mountain of the Rich Woman is to be seen a Statue of a very beautiful Woman not made by Art but grown there naturally Near to the City Iengan in a certain hollow place of the Mountain Chingleang is to be seen a whole Herd of strange Idols to the number of above a thousand
being Images cut out of one hard Stone and made by the Command of a King who liv'd all his Life here in solitariness Near to Vucheu upon the Hill Vangkiu stands a strange Image in shape and proportion resembling a Man but attended with this peculiarity that according to the several tempers of the Air it receives several colours by the change whereof the Inhabitants know whether they shall have fair or foul Weather The Emperor Xius employ'd five thousand Men to dig a Passage quite through the Mountain Fang for he had heard of the before-mention'd deceitful Mountain-gazers who promise to foretel every Persons Destiny by the shape of the Hills some of whom had given out That they foresaw by this Hills shape that another Emperor should reign wherefore Xius to frustrate his approaching Fate caus'd this Hill to be cut through to alter its shape Near to the City Cing upon the Mountain Loyo stands the Statue of a great Lion out of whose Mouth gushes Water continually Near to the City Xeu in the Province of Nanking upon the Hill Cuking was found a great lump of Gold which they say had the Vertue of curing several Diseases The Hill Kieuquan is call'd The Hill of seven Palaces because the Sons of King Cyugan caus'd seven Palaces to be built upon it in which they resided and studied several Sciences The Hill Lin near to the City Tauleu is very famous for the expert Archery of one Hevyus who in this place shot seven Birds flying one after another Near to the City Ceu is the Mountain Changping very much noted for the Birth of the great and admir'd Philosopher Confutius Here also may be seen the Ruins of some City or Town that formerly stood upon it Near to the City Kioheu lies the Hill Fang not a little frequented by reason of the Tomb of the Ancestors of Confutius The Hill Kieuchin near to Hanyang has its Name from nine Virgins that were Sisters and liv'd thereon studying Chymistry Near to the City Cu lies the Mountain Cu where Report says King Ci buried much Gold and afterwards because he would not have it discover'd put to death all those that were employ'd in hiding it but by chance a young Son of one of the Workmen taking notice of what his Father was doing and bearing the same in mind when he came to years of discretion went and took it away with the cause of his Father's Death felicitating his own Life Upon certain high Hills of the Province of Suchue where it borders upon the Province Honan lies a Kingdom call'd Kiug absolute of it self and no ways subject to the Emperor 's of China only upon the account of Honor and the maintaining of a good Correspondence the King thereof receives from the Chinese Monarch his Crown and Scepter These High-land People will in no wise suffer the Chineses to come amongst them and very hardly to speak to them The People of this Kingdom are the Issue of them who fled out of the Province of Huquang to avoid the Outrages of the Enemy of the Race of Cheva and betook themselves to these high Mountains for safety where ever since their Posterity hath continu'd possessing innumerable brave Vales and incomparable good Lands which are secur'd against the Invasion or Inroads of any Enemy Upon some of the Mountains in China are great store of wild People who by reason of the narrow and difficult Passages to them are not to be brought under Subjection to the Emperor notwithstanding great Endeavors have been us'd to effect the same CHAP. XIV Of Mines of all sorts as Metals Stones c. VVIthin the spacious Continent of this Empire and chiefly upon the Mountains are found many rich Mines as well of Silver and Gold as other Metals in great abundance yet to dig for Gold or Silver out of any of them is forbid although it remains free for any Person to seek for Gold upon the sides and Banks of Rivers where the same is also found in great quantities with which all the Country drive their Trade by Bartering and Exchanging it away for other Commodities Upon the Mountain Yocheu is digg'd up a green Stone which being beaten to Powder affords the Painter a most delicate Vert. There are also several excellent Stone Quarries among which some of Marble whereof they make Tables and other curious Ornaments for their Houses it having such strange yet natural Veins that by their concentring the shapes of Hills Waters Trees Flowers are so admirably figur'd upon the same as if the most exquisite Artist of the World had depicted them with his Pencil In the Province of Peking is found very clear white and red Marble as also Touchstones and several other sorts of Stones which for colour and hardness are much valued And upon the Mountain Xaitung in the Province of Xansi the Iasper of several colours is found as also in Xensi upon the Hill Io are very clear Stones which for their lustre and sparkling resemble Diamonds Out of Mount Kiun is digg'd red Marble In Suchue on Mount Tiexe grows a Stone which being burnt in the Fire yields Iron very fit to make Swords The Hill Cucay near Chingtien brings forth Trees and Stones red of colour and in the Province of Huquang all the Products of the Hill Hoan which signifies The Yellow Hill even to the Earth and Stones are of a Gold colour There are several other Hills which produce strange and Precious Stones as the Hill Xeyen so nam'd because after Rain there are found Stones upon the same resembling Swallows Many other produce variety of Stones held in great Esteem by reason of Experiments which have been made of them in the cure of several Diseases as all sorts of Agues Fevers Calentures c. And as in some places are such variety of rare and Physical Stones so in others are Earth and Medicinal Drugs namely In the Province of Quangsi near to the City Cincheu is digg'd up a certain yellow Earth which is a powerful Antidote against all manner of Poison In the Iurisdiction of Huquang there are several Places where they gather great store of Manna which the Natives take for frozen Dew In the Province of Xansi upon the Mountain Tape they dig up a certain Earth so red that they use it for Vermilion to Print their red Seals whereas upon the Mountain Nieuxu the Earth is so white that it is us'd by the Women in stead of Paint for being dissolv'd in Water it strangely embellisheth the Face which is wash'd therewith Here also they have Mines of Coals which are like those in Europe There is also in divers Places throughout the whole Empire a certain sort of Lime which they press from the Bark of a Tree being tough and sticking like Pitch of this which I suppose I may call a Gum they make a certain sort of Paint wherewith they colour all their Ships Houses and Houshold-stuff which makes them to shine like Glass and
this is the reason that the Houses in China and Iapan glitter and shine so bright that they dazle the Eyes of such as behold them This Paint also lays a shining colour upon Wood which is so beautiful and lasting that they use few or no Table-cloths at their Meals for if they spill any Grease or other Liquor upon the Table it is easily rubb'd off with a little fair Water without loss or damage of Colour CHAP. XV. Of Roots Herbs Flowers Reeds Trees and Fruits THE vast and large Territories of this Empire which reach not only very far from East to West but also from South to North occasioneth that in no part of the Universe so great a variety of Fruits is produced the true and natural cause whereof is the several tempers of the Air which must of necessity be granted in so immense Territories it being by experience known that some grow best under a hot Climate others under a cold and some under a well temper'd Air all which are to be found in this Country The Learned among themselves have describ'd at large in their Books what each Province doth produce by the view whereof and other particular Relations this may be affirm'd for truth in general That all things necessary for the sustenance of Man as well as for delight are to be had there in great abundance without being beholden to their Neighbors And thus much I dare from my own knowledge affirm That whatever is to be had in Europe is likewise found in China and if in truth there want any thing Nature hath supply'd that single defect with divers other things beyond those we have in Europe Now that it may be obvious to every Understanding with what a copious Harvest of Fruits and Vegetables mild Nature has bless'd this Empire and the Inhabitants thereof I shall briefly discourse thereof as followeth In Iungping the Chief City of the Province of Peking grows a very excellent Root and of great esteem call'd by them Ginseng but by the Islanders of Iapan Nisi The reason of the Chinese Name seems to be deriv'd from its shape in regard it artificially resembles a Man It is not much unlike to the Mandrake of Europe only it is much less neither do I much doubt but it is a sort of Mandrake in regard it has the same shape and vertue This Root being dried is yellow of colour and sweetish of taste but being chew'd it seems to be mingled with a little bitterness it is a great enlivener of the Spirits of a Man and therefore such as are of an hot and strong Constitution endanger their Lives by using it in regard of its strengthning Nature and Quality whereas Persons weak and feeble through Sickness or otherwise find great advantage in the use thereof for such is the soveraign Vertue of this Root that it has recover'd some that were brought to Deaths door for which its most rare Qualities it is become of so great Price that it is commonly sold for thrice its weight in Silver In Queicheu near to Liping grows the best Root of China there is of two sorts the true and counterfeit yet both natural the true grows near to this City and in other Places the counterfeit or to speak more properly the wild Root and is that which is brought generally into Europe It is of a reddish colour within but neither so big nor of so great Vertue as the true which grows and increases under Ground almost after the manner of Potatoes in India and especially in old Pine-tree Woods from whence they say this Root proceeds first of all from the Gum or Iuice of the Pine-tree which falling upon the Ground takes Root and brings forth an Herb which by degrees spreads it self upon the Earth and grows under Ground with knotty Roots in shape bigness and colour not unlike to the Indian Coco-Nuts but thinner and softer which they use in several Medicines This Root was first known in Europe in the Year 1535. when the Chineses brought the same to be sold in the City of Goa in India and although the like Root may grow in other parts of India as also in the West-Indies yet is it much inferior in goodness to that of the East the best whereof is tastless heavy sound and firm This Root hath a particular Vertue according to the Relation of Garcias for the Cure of the Spanish Pox and is soveraign against the Itch Tremblings Aches Gout c. It is also very good for a weak Stomach Headache the Stone in the Bladder proceeding from Cold. Here grows also great store of Ginger in this Country so purely and with such celerity as exceeds all in other Countries though it is true in several other Parts there is great store of Ginger to be had as at Bengala and upon the Islands Molucco c. which is for the most part brought into Europe Of this Root there are two sorts Male and Female which last is smaller of Leaf and Root than the first the Leaves are very like those of Reed so that whosoever never saw any Ginger grow would take them to be Reeds The Leaves of the Male sort through which run some greater Sinews or Veins rise not much higher than three Foot above Ground The Roots are of several weights and bigness whereof some have the length of four Spans full of Knots and shooting not deep into the Ground but like Reeds grow upon the surface of the Earth and are digg'd out of the Ground when the Leaves are wither'd which is about the middle of Summer when they take them up they break off a piece and fling it into the Ground again for an increase The Roots fresh taken up by reason of their abounding moisture are not so hot of taste as the dried which are laid a little into the Sun to harden thus prepar'd they fling Mold or Clay upon them to prevent them from being Worm-eaten which this Root is very subject to it increases very fast as do all other Spices which grow in such Places as lie near the Sea And though the Chineses and others Plant Ginger amongst the rest of their Herbs yet however it grows also wild but falls short of the goodness of that which is cultivated When they intend to prepare this Commodity for Sale they first pare it and then put it immediately into Pickle or Vinegar for an hour or two afterwards they take it out and lay it in the Sun to dry for the like space then they take it again into the House put it up into a dry place and there let it lie till all the moisture is drawn out which done they put it into Pickle with good store of Sugar And this kind of ordering makes it pleasant to the Pallat and abates much of its heat And this is generally known by the name of Green-Ginger which as a Sallet is us'd by the Chineses among other Herbs It is very soveraign for several Distempers as pain in the
Belly Cholick Flux c. but Persons of a hot Constitution ought to use it moderately it being apt to inflame the Blood Most of the Provinces of China abound as well in all manner of Eatable as Medicinal Herbs We will descend a little to Particulars In the Province of Xensi near to the chief City Kingyang grows a Herb call'd Kinsu which for its resemblance to a Tuft of yellow Hair the Chineses call The Golden or The Gold Thred of Silk-Worms it is of a bitter taste and rather of a cooling then warming Quality it cures all manner of Scurf of the Body Here also grows another Herb call'd Quei good against Melancholy and occasioning joy and gladness of Heart if taken inwardly Near to Cingcheu in the Province of Quantung lie some Islands wherein grows an Herb call'd Lungsiu which makes Horses strong and swift if they eat of the same Also near the same City grows The Herb of a thousand years so commonly call'd but they farther affirm of it That it is immortal and never dies The Water wherein the same has been infus'd being drank makes white Hair black and is very good to prolong Life There are besides these several other incomparable Herbs which are us'd amongst them for the cure of Distempers of all sorts In the Kingdom of Tanyeu grows a certain Herb very high amongst the Rocks which will not burn when flung into the Fire and there kept for some time only it will turn a little red but as soon as out of the Fire presently recovers its pristine and natural colour yet although it resist Fire it immediately turns to Dirt being put into Water In the Province of Quantung near to Kiunchen grows the Herb Chifung so call'd because it shews which way the Wind blows the Seamen say they can discover by the same what stormy Weather they shall have before they go to Sea In the Province of Quangsi near to Chincheu the Inhabitants make a kind of Cloth of a certain Herb call'd Yu which is esteem'd far before Silk and much dearer But in the Province of Queicheu near to Liping they make Cloth of an Herb very like Hemp and call'd Co which is very commodious in Summer The Chinese Physicians say That upon the Mountain Tiengo grow above a hundred sorts of Simples all of very soveraign Vertues But amongst all others China is famous for an Herb call'd Thea or Cha and whereof the Natives and other neighboring People make their Liquor call'd Thea or Cha taking its Name from the Herb. There is a very great difference in the manner of preparing and using this Liquor between the Chineses and those of Iapan for that the Iapanners beat the Leaves to a Powder and mingle it with boiling Water in a Cup which they afterwards drink off But the Chineses put the Leaves whole into a Pot of boiling Water which having lain in steep for some time they sip off hot without swallowing down any of the Leaves but only the Quintessence thereof extracted Others prepare it with Milk and a little Salt mingled with Water which is not so well approv'd but however prepar'd it is not only drunk in China and other Parts of India but is much us'd likewise in divers other Countries and the general consent of all People that they find much good by it enhances the Price and makes the same be sold here at a very dear Rate In Xensi near the City Hacheu is great store of Hemp but no Flax grows in all the Empire In Kiangsi near the City Kienchang grows a sort of Rice so far exceeding the rest for goodness that the Emperor himself sends for his own Stores from thence and for its excellency the Chineses call it Silver-Cron In Xensi near the City Kingyang grows another sort of Rice us'd by the People to purge the Body and cause Urine In the Province of Chekiang upon the Mountain Tienno near the City Hangcheu grow Mushroms in great abundance which are dispersed into all Parts of the Country and will keep good a whole year either dried or Pickled This Country produces abundance of Cottons the Seed whereof was brought thither about five hundred years since And though this Fruit doth likewise grow in other Parts at present as in Arabia upon the Islands of Cyprus Maltha in Sicily and in Egypt I think it not amiss since it is one of the most profitable Commodities for Trade in China to give this brief Description thereof It grows upon a Stalk almost three Foot high cover'd with a reddish Bark and full of Prickles dividing it self into several Branches The Leaves are not much unlike those of the Vine and divided into three Parts which for bigness may be compar'd with those of the Mast-Tree It bears a Flower which is yellow on the outside and red in the middle from which proceeds a round Fruit about the bigness of an Apple wherein when it is ripe the Wool lies conceal'd which is afterwards gather'd sold and dispos'd of to several Uses The Leaves of the Cotton-Tree are generally alike onely here and there some are smoother softer and more even than others In some places of China Beans may be seen growing upon Trees a sort of which near the City Changchang are reputed good against Poison The Province of Quantung produces abundance of Osiers which seem to be no other than Ropes twisted together by Nature of which there are whole Mountains full in this Province which are put by the Inhabitants to divers Uses and in regard they are very tough and will not easily break they make sometimes Cordage thereof for Vessels but their best use is to make soft Mattresses upon which most of the People the Grandees and the Emperor himself lay themselves naked when they go to sleep Very neat and clean is this Furniture and withal very cool in the Summer and though the Mattresses be only spread one the bare Floor yet they look upon it as a fit place to lie on having been no otherwise accustom'd The whole Island of Hainan is full of these Osiers especially of the best which the Portuguese call The white Rota Of Flowers THere are several rare and well scented Flowers which grow in these Parts that are unknown to those of Europe In the Province of Suchuen near to Chungking grows a certain Flower call'd Meutang in high esteem amongst them and therefore call'd The King of Flowers It differs very little in fashion from the European Rose but is much larger and spreads it Leaves farther abroad It far surpasses the Rose in beauty but falls short in richness of scent It has no Thorns or Prickles and is generally of a white colour mingled with a little Purple yet there are some that are yellow and red This Flower grows upon a Bush and is carefully cherish'd and Planted in all Gardens belonging to the Grandees for one of the most choice Flowers In the Province of Huquang near the City Tan is a great Cataract
Successor in your Empire though there are many others better able to advise in a Point of so high a Nature yet I shall acquaint you with that which I suppose and hope may tend to your own and the Empires Good There is said he proceeding a Husbandman your Subject and a Batchelor look'd upon by all People for a very honest Man who for his Piety Vertue and good Disposition is so belov'd and respected among his Neighbors that they will give or lend him their Monies Lands and Houses without asking And so great is their Opinion of his Prudence that upon all Occasions they ask his Advice and follow it His Name is Xunus who by his Vertuous and Exemplary Life hath reclaim'd many vicious and debauch'd Persons and brought them to be Imitators of his Goodness and Sobriety although his Misfortune is great in this that his Father call'd Cassus is a Fool his Mother a pertinacious Woman and full of Tongue and his Brothers proud haughty and wilful The Emperor Yaus having heard this Relation told him that he would send to inquire concerning the Abilities of this so unfortunatelyâ—extracted Wise Man which not long after he accordingly did causing him to be brought to the Court At his first arrival he was entrusted with the Government of the West Country only that thereby the Emperor might be satisfied of his Ability and Honesty And according to the Character given of him herein Xunus so well behav'd himself that every Body but especially Yaus did with admiration reverence him and finding him every way extraordinarily qualified the Emperor soon after took him to his Assistance and cast the Care of the whole Government upon his Shoulders In which high Estimation and Grandeur he continu'd for the space of twenty eight Years that the Noble Prince Yaus liv'd But at last Yaus being over-laden with Years and ready to die in the Year before Christ's Birth 2257. admonish'd Xunus upon his Death-bed to accept of the Government in these or the like words Draw near to me and hear these my last words I have tokens enough of your Vertue and Honesty and that your Words and Deeds are correspondent each to other Therefore you must accept of the Scepter which is due to your Vertues and Services Take care of the Welfare and Good of your Subjects as a Father and remember that you must serve not enslave the People and so they will love and not fear you for this reason a King exceeds all his Subjects because he alone is to take care and to watch over all the rest Having thus said he yielded up the Ghost for whom Xunus Mourned not as one Friend for another but as a Son for his Father for according to the Custom of the Country where Sons lament their Parents Death he left the Government wholly to his Council and continu'd three whole years at the Grave of his Prince without removing from it This Solemnity of Grief being past and Xunus return'd to the Exercise of his Government he quickly gave Proofs of his Prudence and Clemency which caus'd him to be very much belov'd by his Subjects It is reported that in each Eye he had two Balls or Apples which was and still is held by the Chineses for a sign of extraordinary Fortune Being now setled he divided the Inhabitants into several Companies and gratifi'd each according to his Worth and Parts with his Offices he either made new Laws and Customs or reform'd the old The six Benches of Iudicature erected by his Predecessor Yaus were reduc'd by him into a better Form Afterwards he divided the whole Empire into twelve Provinces which he visited yearly in Person and whatever Learn'd or wise Men he found them he cherish'd and preferr'd above all others He gave in charge to the Governors and Mandorins of Provinces to promote Agriculture and Tillage above all other things that they should accommodate and shew themselves kind to all Strangers and Travellers to put into Offices only such as were able and of known and approv'd Integrity and give credit to honest and good People He devis'd likewise five sorts of Punishments according to which Malefactors were to suffer as the greatness of the Crime did deserve which were 1. Loss of Life 2. Cutting off the Nose 3. A Foot 4. A Hand and 5. Pulling out the Teeth He introduc'd likewise the Custom of banishing Malefactors the chiefest whereof were to be exil'd out of the Limits of that Empire and to be forc'd to live and reside amongst Forein People Another thing yet very observable of him is this That during his Reign he forbad that any should obey him meerly for fear of his Authority because he was Emperor but rather for love of his Goodness because he order'd that which was Iust and Right During his Government the Tartars of whom never any mention was made before in the Chinese Histories broke into China plundering and making Inroads into most of the Provinces But the good Prince who only car'd for the Welfare of his Subjects having rais'd a great Army march'd against them with it and by main force subduing the Enemy setled his Empire again in Peace and Quietness But since that time which is many Ages since the Tartars never left molesting and disturbing the said Countries till now at last in our Days they have made themselves Masters of the whole as I shall mention hereafter At the time of this Invasion as Fluctus fluctum sequitur one Evil seldom goes alone the Emperor was full of trouble by what means to repel the high Waters which threatned to overflow the lower parts of the Country After many Experiments he gave order at last to one Quenius to cast up a Bank against the same but he not being able to perform it and leaving the same imperfect the Charge of the Work was committed to his Son Yvus who in the space of thirteen years effected it to the great accommodation of the Inhabitants following his Design all that while with such earnestness that he would hardly eat or sleep Some part of this great and stupendious Work may be seen to this day as the Royal Channels in which great Vessels pass and Sail from one Place to another For the making whereof the Workmen were compell'd to dig through Rocks in some places and to divide or cut great Rivers into two or three and make Inlets for them into the Sea by which Industry great store of Ground was drain'd and recover'd from the Water under which it had lain immerged ultra memoriam This great Labor Diligence and Dexterity of Yvus us'd in the accomplishing this stupendious Work so far prevail'd upon the Affection of the Emperor that he made him his Fellow and Companion in the Government passing by his own Son so that they two without any ambitious Emulation or Envy to each other which is a very strange thing Govern'd seventeen years with equal Power and Authority At the end of which time Xunus hapning to
before hinted for above seventy three years with so great animosity that at last in the Year 1278. the whole Empire was subdu'd by them The Tartars after this so total a Conquest setled a new Linage of their own Country in the Throne call'd Ivena whose Offspring for nine Generations brought forth successive Emperors who Govern'd the Empire peaceably one after another The Tartars having thus long peaceably enjoy'd the whole grew at last to degenerate through the Pleasures and Plenty which they found there so that by degrees they forgot themselves and pedetentim Inch by Inch as it were inured themselves to the Chinese Customs and Manners neglecting their Places of Strength and Forces till at last in stead of warlike Soldiers they were grown effeminate Chineses And though these Tartar Princes did Govern with great Care and Prudence yet the Chineses could not forget the great and horrible Slaughters of their Ancestors whose bleeding Carcases lying as it were before their Eyes excited them to Revenge and being likewise inwardly stimulated with a desire of Liberty they had now already gotten the same in their thoughts which was yet far off and with great hazards to be sought for although the People were every where ready to revolt and shake off the Tartar Yoke yet there was not one of the Grandees or Men of Eminency durst lead the Dance or break the Ice But what Providence ordains to be done shall never want Means to be effected as will plainly appear by the sequel for while the Great Ones durst not and the Commons with a Leader could not do ought at last a poor despicable Fellow appear'd whose Name was Chu and the Servant of a Priest This Chu who took compassion of the miserable State of his oppressed Country-men and a displeasure in his own despicable Fortune being of a high lofty and ambitious Spirit left his Cloister and Cell in which he had liv'd for some years upon a high Mountain and betook himself to a secular Life amongst Robbers and Highway-men among whom in a short time he became the vilest and most wicked not fearing to act what some Spirits would tremble at the thoughts of so that for his great courage and boldness they began to look upon him as the Person that should deliver their oppressed Country This Imagination of his Associates elevating his Valou and being withal of a fluent and voluble Tongue very quick of Apprehension and of great Understanding he never fail'd of Courage Conduct nor Success so that in a short time he grew so considerable in Power and Credit amongst the Rabble that chusing him their Leader he was able to bring some thousands into the Field Being gotten thus into a Posture not only to defend himself but to offend his Enemy he resolv'd to shew himself in the Field for the deliverance of his Country from the Tartar Vassalage under which they groan'd and thereupon began to forsake his Holes and Fastnesses upon the Mountains and to appear with his Army upon the Plain the Fame whereof once noised made his Forces increase daily in number among whom with his good Conduct and Courage he so prevail'd that he won their Hearts so that they thought nothing too much to do for him And to shew as well his Providence as Valour he caus'd the Hills and Mountains to be plough'd and manur'd to keep himself and his Army from starving in case he should be overpower'd by his Enemy and forc'd to retreat thither again Chu at last encourag'd by these fortunate beginnings draws his Army together makes towards the Enemy and fights them who not expecting such an Onset were soon beaten and afterwards overcome in several Fights in which he was still victorious yet notwithstanding the Soldiers fury and rage of War he still spar'd the native Chineses promising to restore them to their ancient Privileges and Liberties if they would forsake the Tartars and adhere to Hun by these Means and his continual Spies which he had every where to give him Intelligence he discover'd the Designs of the Destroyers of his Country whom he so closely pursu'd that they were at last forc'd to quit the Country and leave it to the ancient Inhabitants which Redemption was effected in the Year 1368. When now Chu from a mean Servant had thus rais'd himself by driving those insulting Tartars out of the Empire he erected in that Year a new Race which he call'd Taicinga and changing his own Name according to Custom he call'd himself Hunguvus that is A great Warriour He was no sooner setled in the Throne but the People out of all the Provinces came to acknowledge and Salute this their Deliverer the whole Country being overjoy'd that they had once again got one of their own Natives though of mean Extraction to be their Head and Governor for it is the natural temper of that People to hate and vilifie all Foreigners but highly to esteem of their own Country-men humbly requesting of him that he would take care as a Native of China with such Prudence to Govern and Protect the Chinese Throne that they might not be necessitated hereafter to call in a Foreiner Hunguvus thank'd them for their Affections and taking into his own Hands the whole Soveraignty seated himself in the Imperial City of Nanking where he behav'd himself with so much Honor that in a short time he so setled the Affairs of his Empire that the People liv'd under him in great security and freedom But this Settlement he knew would not long continue unless he provided to secure all from abroad therefore to prevent future trouble from his now vanquish'd Foe and that the Tartars whom he had thus driven out might not rally and make Head again he follow'd his Advantages and Conquests and with a considerable Army entring Tartary overcame them in several Battels and so ruin'd their Country with Fire and Sword that they were forc'd to lay down their Arms with a Promise to pay him Tribute These were those Tartars who after the Overthrows given them as before related fled into the Country of Ninche And indeed after those of Ninche had made their Peace with the Emperor they brought yearly their Presents unto him as his Subjects and Friends and were permitted to Trade in his Dominions as his Vassals and since that time have never had any thoughts of War but rather were fearful to give any Offence left they should draw thereby any ill will upon themselves and so fall into new Troubles for in the last Wars they were reduc'd into most miserable Extremities And thus we see the Vicissitudes of Fortune and uncertain Events of War in those Tartars who were not long since Masters of China but now are become Vassals and Subjects to that Empire to whose Prince they seek for Friendship and Protection In this Posture stood the Affairs of these Countries for a long space of time till these People of Ninche increased so very fast in Power and Multitude that they
Horse after whom follow'd those that carried the Scaling-Ladders At last march'd up the Prime of his Army which consisted of the Stoutest and ablest Soldiers of his Kingdom Having thus put his Army in Battel-array he fell upon the City immediately with an undaunted Courage Those within made very stout opposition at first but the Tartars pressing upon them furiously got the better and at last drove them from the Walls to which fixing their Scaling-ladders they quickly became Masters of the same such was their exâ—raordinary nimbleness and Courage And now the Chineses finding themselves unable any longer to oppose the Enemy fled out of the City but the Tartars kill'd a great number in the Pursuit After the taking of this City the Tartar march'd on with his Army without any stop or hinderance taking by Storm whatever other Cities oppos'd him but such as submitted he commanded that none of the Inhabitants should suffer either in Body or Goods When now the King of Ninche had fill'd the Inhabitants of the Province of Leaotung with fear and dread of his Army and had totally Conquer'd the same he march'd forward with the Flower of his Army into the Province of Peking making no haste till he was come within seven Miles of the Imperial City and there finding several Chinese Armies to lie round about him he pitch'd his Camp in a very rich Quarter not daring to advance any further up into the Country whereas if he had march'd on he had in all probability carried all before him and might undoubtedly have taken the Imperial City the People being generall consternated and their Hearts dead with Fear insomuch that the Emperor himself had already concluded to abandon the City of Peking and with his whole Family to retire toward the Southern Provinces but he was dissuaded from it by his Council yet notwithstanding the Inhabitants of both these Provinces were so fill'd with Fear at the approach of the Tartars that they left their Habitations both in City and Country and fled into the Woods and Mountains with what they could well carry with them the Enemy in the mean time laying waste several famous Cities and putting all to Fire and Sword where he came The Ninchean King who as we said durst not adventure to march against the Imperial City of Peking having got good store of Riches out of the other Conquer'd Cities retreated back with his Army to the Chief City of the Province of Leaotung which was a very goodly City before he took it both for strength situation and fairness of Building but being told by his Soothsayers that to let the old Walls stand after he had won the Place could bode nought but Misfortune he caus'd them thereupon to be raz'd to the Ground and new ones built There are but two Great Cities in all this Province which are Leaoyang and Ningyven the rest are of a smaller Circuit yet are they both Populous and Rich But with Places of Strength which exceed some Cities for bigness it exceedingly abounds The Inhabitants of this Place are very dull of Understanding and so altogether incapable of learning any Arts and Sciences but very healthful of Constitution and strong of Body therein much exceeding the other Chineses And the cause may be for that they are bred from the Cradle to Wars and Hardship by reason of their vicinity to the Tartars who are perpetually making Wars upon them As to their Manners and Customs they resemble very much the Tartars which comes to pass by the great Intercourse that â—s daily between them The Country is in some places very Hilly and Mountainous and in others plain and even for many Miles together yet every where very fruitful in the product of all manner of Cattel both Wild and Tame as also in Treeâ— and Fruits of the Fields wholesom and medicinal both in their Bodies Leaves Fruits and Roots amongst others here grows that incomparable Root Gâ—â—seng whereof mention is made before There are also to be had store of Rich Furs as Sables Bever c. which they wear in Winter to keep themselves warm and Traffick with likewise into other Provinces It also produces curious Pine-apples excellent Wheat and Barley but no Rice yet a great abundance of Figs Apples Pears Grapes and several other sorts of Fruits Which extraordinary Plenty of all Necessary Things of its own Growth renders it both pleasant and cheap to live in but much more in regard of its Situation upon the Sea from whence it is furnish'd with all manner of Commodities from other Countries Their Religion is very little different from that of the other Chineses being great Promoters of the Doctrine of the Transmigration of Souls out of one Body into another Thus the Tartars having made this Place the Seat of War whereby they could at pleasure Invade the Neighboring Provinces the Emperor and his Council began to consider which way was the most likely for them to drive the Tartars out of their Territories and at last they concluded to raise an Army of 600000 Men over and above whom the King of Corea sent to their Assistance 12000 valiant Bow-men who were not inferior for Skill to the Tartars In the mean time the Ninchean King was not idle but drew out of his Kingdom as many Forces as could possibly be spar'd to joyn with him Being thus prepard for Wars on both sides the Chineses in the Year 1619 march'd with that formidable Army against the Enemy who hearing of their approach set forward from their Camp to meet them which soon hapned but then such was the inveterate malice of both Parties that as soon as they saw each other the Battel began which was valiantly fought for a long time by both Armies so that the Victory hung in suspence nor could any judge who would have the better till at length the Chineses running away in great disorder and confusion the slaughter was very great among them both of Commanders and Soldiers upon the Spot those that escaped carrying the news of the Overthrow to the Emperor This great Victory the Ninchean King pursu'd with that expedition that he took several Cities and Towns some whereof they laid in Ashes and put the Inhabitants to the Sword harrassing and plundering up to the very Walls of the City of Peking though they durst not lay Siege to it there being a Garrison of eighty thousand Men and and the Place well fortifi'd with great store of Cannon upon the Walls Notwithstanding which Provision such was the fear of the Pekinger that if the Tartars had but attempted they might have been Masters of that great City without any very hazardous opposition for the Emperor was again fully resolv'd as before to quit it and to retire to the Southern Provinces But some of his Council now too late grown wise alter'd his Purpose by telling him that it would encourage the Enemy and not only put the whole Empire into confusion but hazard the ruine if not the
first recruited themselves for they found all the Frontier Towns and Places of Strength well fortifi'd and guarded Amongst all other Chinese Commanders who signaliz'd themselves in shewing their Courage in their Countries behalf against the Enemy was one Maovenlung who did very great execution upon them in several Encounters He was a Native of the Province of Quantung where he had learn'd and understood in his Conversation amongst the Portuguese at Macao several things concerning their Military Discipline From thence he had likewise brought with him several great Guns which he purchased out of a Netherland Ship that was cast away there and those he Planted upon the Walls of the Chief City of Ningyven The Eastern part of Leaotung and the Chief City of Leaoyang being thus lost in this new made Chief City there hapned to be at the same time the Tutang or Vice-Roy of Leaotung with the whole Chinese Army The Tartars having many times had trial to their sorrow and cost of the Courage of this Maovenlung having often been routed by him durst not adventure any further to Cope with him in an honorable way but bethought themselves of some Stratagem or politick Device whereby to wound the Integrity and Vertue of this brave Person and they suppos'd the best means to assail him with would be fair words and high Promises Wherefore to put in execution this their Design they offer'd him by a private Letter which they caus'd cunningly to be deliver'd to him half the Empire of China if he would desert his natural Prince with the Flower of his Army and help them to conquer the Empire But Maovenlung who would neither forfeit his Honor nor Oath courageously refus'd these high Offers and return'd for Answer That he had rather lose his Life than betray his Prince and Country The Tartars finding that this Plot of theirs would take no effect and that the Chineses had well provided against their coming resolv'd to desist and to make no further progress in the present War which wholly ceased till the Year 1625. when suddenly it breaking forth again they came and besieg'd the Chief City of Ningyven This greatly startled the Chineses who thought they had overcome the greatest difficulty and danger But Maovenlung came time enough to the rescue and relief of this Place and fell so furiously upon the Besiegers that they were forc'd to raise their Siege with the loss of at least ten thousand Men that were slain upon the Spot amongst whom fell the King 's own Son whose Death was so highly resented by the surviving Tartars that they in a great rage and madness made over the Ice for it was in Winter and getting into the Island of Theyoven whereof they quickly made themselves Masters they put every living Creature they found to the Sword which were a very great number in revenge of the young Prince which having done they immediately left the Province of Leaotung and retreated into their own Country not with an intention to be quiet but only to recruit themselves with more Forces and then to return again at a convenient time And hereupon follow'd a Cessation of Arms till the Year 1627. when the Chinese Emperor Thienkius hapned to die being but a young Man whose Death prov'd to be the loss of all China although the Tartar King of Ninche call'd Thienning who had destroy'd so many thousands of People by Fire and Sword did not long survive but as an Attendant on his Corps died the same Year Thienkius was succeeded by his Brother who was very unfortunate in all his Undertakings and at length through the treachery of his Subjects had both an unfortunate Reign and Death as by the remaining part of the History will appear The Tartar King Thienning had for his Successor in the Throne his Son Thientung who quickly chang'd the salvage and barbarous Manners and Customs us'd by his tyrannizing Father insomuch that he did not pursue the Chineses so fiercely but began to treat them with more Civility which produc'd a very great Change and caus'd all his Affairs to become more acceptable And certainly this prudent and politick Prince had effected great things had he not been cut off by an untimely Death his mildness having gotten so great renown withal that the Council who had made choice of him thought themselves happy in the Change and withal learn'd from him by Example that the Chineses would sooner be reduc'd and brought under their Government by Clemency and Civility than by force of Arms. In this Year 1627. the Commanders and Officers of General Maovenlung who by reason of the quietness of the Tartars had no Enemy to Encounter began much to molest and be injurious to their Friends and Allies of Coreâ— by making Inroads and Incursions upon them nay by degrees they grew so very insolent and troublesom to all Parts adjoining to their Quarters especially the Inhabitants of the Province of Hienkien who were so intolerably oppress'd by their Rapines that out of revenge and hatred they put themselves under the Protection of the Tartar advising him to re-invade and fall into China with a mighty Army which he not willing to let slip so fair an opportunity immediately did so that a very great Army was in the Field ready to assail the Chinese Forces before they had any thoughts of an Enemy and when they least dream'd of their coming who by this means lying carelesly dispers'd up and down in the Provinces were soon destroy'd Maovenlung however rallied and by the addition of some new Leavies and Recruits being grown into a strong Body he fought several doubtful Battels with the Tartars but they at last growing superior to him in Strength and number Maovenlung the Chinese General was constrain'd to quit the Field with the gross of his Army Yet neither the loss of the Army nor greatness of the Victory obtain'd by the Tartars did make any great impression upon the Chineses nor indeed were they troubled at it when they understood that their General had sav'd himself out of the Island of Corea But the Ninchean Commanders imagining that those of that Place had been instrumental in helping to convey the General Maovenlung away with their Army fell into it plundering the Inhabitants and ruining the Country by Fire and Sword This Act was highly disapprov'd of by the Tartar King himself because it stirr'd up the King of Corea to Arm against him and joyn his Forces with those of the Chineses which Maovenlung had been gathering together and with them was marching towards Corea to revenge himself upon the Tartars The Tartars having thus inhumanely and without reason turn'd their Arms upon the Countries of Corea were setting forward with their Army against the Royal City thereof and were arriv'd at the beginning of the Mountains through which the Way runs to the City being about seven Miles from the same Here the King of Corea in the narrow Way had pitch'd to receive them and the Tartars being eager to
a sort of wild People that live among the Rocks and Mountains they began the mischief and open'd the Flood-gate of Rebellion by subtilly opposing the Authority that was over them Their first Work was to fall a Plundering or in plain English Stealing without any exception of Persons whatsoever they could meet with In which their rebellious and unlawful Undertaking being successful they at last resolv'd to make an open war and to that end laid Siege to Chingtu the Chief City of the Province which they had without doubt taken had not the above-mention'd Amazon opportunely come to its Rescue for these insolent and now commanding Thieves having heard of the Fame of her extraordinary Courage were struck with such a terror that upon the first inkling of her approach they immediately rais'd the Siege and left the City with great loss But this though for a while it diverted them yet it did not so deter them as to make them cease from any farther Attempt for returning toward the Mountains they presently rallied again and recruited their Forces with some fresh Supplies wherewith they continu'd to forage and spoil the Country To heighten and encourage the Insolence of these Villains it hapned that in the Province of Queicheu there had pass'd an unjust Sentence in a certain Cause between two great Men by reason whereof he against whom the Cause went endeavor'd the same revers'd but notwithstanding all his Endeavors as well by himself as Friends and Alliance there was no good to be done therein The Robbers after the raising of the Siege kept themselves in great numbers upon the Mountains without making any further Disturbance but they sent to this injur'd Person to let him know that if he pleas'd to accept of their Power they would stand by him with their Lives to help him to redress his Wrong provided he would become their General and be assistant to them in the carrying on of their Designs This Great Person possess'd yet with fury and a desire of Revenge for the Injury done him was not long in consulting but presently accepted of their Offer looking upon the same as the best and most likely means not only to repair his Damages but to revenge himself also Upon knowledge of this Acceptance these Robbers submitt with extraordinary alacrity to his Command and Authority wherein he was no sooner Invested but first of all they fall upon the Iudge that gave the Sentence whom they immediately kill'd Then they fell upon the Army of the Tutang or Vice-Roy which they quickly routed and put to slight but he rallying his Forces turn'd back again upon them with such fury that he forc'd them to flie into the Mountains with a very great slaughter notwithstanding all which they recruited again but kept in their Holds till they had an opportunity to shew themselves again as they did in a short time after Those Depredations together with the infinite number of Grashoppers which had destroy'd all the Grass and Fruits of the Field in the seven Northern Provinces of China causing a scarcity of Provision and consequently a great dearness gave a very great occasion to the rising and encreasing of the number of these Thieves which hapned chiefly in the Provinces of Xensi and Xantung Another Provocation or Instigation was That the Emperor Zungchinius being of a covetous and miserable Nature would have notwithstanding the Dearâ—h the usual yearly Taxes paid him as in a fruitful Year which Exaction set the Inhabitants of those Provinces upon Plotting against him and at length to joyn with the Robbers by whose assistance in a short time they brought eight strong Armies into the Field appointing for their Generals such as they counted the most valiant Men among them These Robbers and Mutineers having now thus strengthned themselves with Forces and got great store of Wealth by Preying and Stealing resolv'd not to rest here but driving higher Designs in their Heads and aiming at greater Matters they began to consult about reducing the whole Empire under their Subjection and Dethroning the Emperor For the accomplishing whereof and advancing himself every one of the eight Generals thought himself of sufficient Strength to get that Morsel and fancied himself capable and fit to bear so weighty a Burthen With which ambitious thoughts puffed up each of them began to make War upon the other every one being in hopes to be Conqueror and to encircle his Head with the Royal Diadem and enoble his Posterities Blood by the possession of the Empire This War continu'd till six of the eight Generals were slain and only the two stoutest Licungzus and Changhienchungus left alive to dispute the Quarrel For the more easie bringing this to pass each endeavor'd to win to his Party the Forces of the other slain Generals to strengthen themselves for to such a heighth was their Ambition grown that there was no thoughts of dividing the Stakes between them each resolving to be aut Caesar aut nihil so strangely were they lifted up with the thoughts of Soveraignty Fill'd with these aspiring thoughts these two Generals took several ways to advance their Interests and Designs Licungzus with his Forces falling into the Provinces of Xensi and Honan but the other imagining to get the best Booty in those of Suchue and Huquang march'd thither so that now they no longer fought one against another as formerly but seeking Wealth and Booty were remov'd to a great distance In these Transactions the Emperors Concerns began to look with a had Countenance as if the Government it self were suddenly to undergo some fatal Alteration for the Tartars who were not ignorant of these Proceedings had in their former Wars made such havock of brave Commanders that there were hardly any left whose knowledge in Military Discipline capacitated them for Conduct of the Forces which were marching to subdue these rebellious Plunderers under the two Generals Licungzus in the Year 1641. march'd with his Army out of the Province of Xensi after he had wholly plunder'd and destroy'd its chiefest Cities into the plentiful Province of Honan directly to the famous City Caifung which he presently begirt and block'd up so close that there was no going in nor coming out but the Place being well fortifi'd and provided with a good Garrison and Provisions the Siege was soon rais'd and the Besiegers constrain'd to retire into the Mountains not without very great loss of Men But they had no sooner recruited themselves but they return'd to the Siege again with an intention to have surpriz'd the same on a sudden but the Citizens having privately receiv'd Intelligence thereof and standing upon their Guards hinder'd them from effecting their Design The Enemy being thus twice frustrated in his hopes and seeing no likelihood of taking the City by force resolv'd to compel them to a Surrender by a long and close Siege And though it were a Place at least three Miles in circumference yet they surrounded the same in such a manner that no
Gates being by these Traytors set open the Besiegers suddenly entred and although discover'd by such as were faithful to the Emperor yet they also perceiving that the City was full of Confusion and that the Matter was quite past hope every one shifted for himself and left all to the mercy of the Robber Having finish'd this Letter as a Man distracted he kills his Daughter in his Chamber being a young Virgin of seventeen or eighteen years of Age that she should not be misus'd and ill treated by the Rogues and then with a setled Resolution not to survive this dismal Misfortune going into the Garden with one of his Garters he hang'd himself upon a Plum-Tree And this was the miserable Catastrophe of the Emperor Zungchinius who was very unfortunate during his Reign in all his Undertakings and is reckon'd for the last Emperor of the Race of Taiminga for although afterwards some other of that Line were chosen yet they are not reckon'd by the Chineses themselves among the Emperors of that Race in regard that after the Death of Zungchinius they never possess'd the whole but only some part of the ancient Empire Thus was that Race whose first Founder was the Robber Chu destroy'd and brought to nothing by another Robber Licungzus who had the Fortune even beyond his Hope though not his Ambition to subdue the biggest Empire in that part of the World The Emperor's Death begat so great a Grief and Commiseration in the Chief Governor of the City that not thinking himself worthy to survive his unhappy Lord he went and hang'd himself likewise in the same Place The Empress follow'd the same Example and also all such as were faithful to them rather than they would fall into the Hands of the Enemy for it is counted a piece of Honor and Faithfulness with the Subjects of that Country to die with their Soveraign Licungzus being now Master of Peking presently seats himself in the Imperial Throne and the next day caus'd the dead Body of the Emperor to be hack'd in pieces and the Plunder of the City to his Soldiers The Emperor Zungchinius had three Sons whereof the eldest seeing his Father's Death and the City in possession of the Robbers never appear'd more though great search was made for him to have had him either alive or dead Of his loss there are divers opinions some thinking he was kill'd in the Crowd unknown others that he sav'd himself by flight amongst those that escap'd to the Mountains where they liv'd a long while after Beside this were two other younger Sons who were brought alive to the Tyrant but he caus'd them to be Beheaded presently And to shew his tyrannical Cruelty and that the Barbarism of his Nature was not at all alter'd by his being gotten into the Throne he Summon'd the chiefest Persons of the Empire to a Meeting under colour of Treating with them about Business of great consequence whether being no sooner come but a company of the basest Fellows were turn'd in upon them whose salvage Fury so unboundedly raged that it spar'd none but such as had Money enough to buy off their Lives But here ended not his Tyranny as by the following Tragedy will appear Amongst several other Governors and Commanders whom he had taken Prisoners there was a very ancient Man nam'd Us who had a Son call'd Usanguejus that had the Command of the Chinese Army which lay upon the Frontiers of Leaotung against the Tartars of whom the Usurper standing in fear as perceiving that he was able to do him very great prejudice with his Forces threatned this old Man to put him to death in a most cruel manner if he did not forthwith command and enjoyn his Son to come and submit to him promising him to reward such his Civility with great Presents and Preferments The decrepit old Man Us in hopes to get his Liberty and overcome with these great Promises writ a Letter to his Son the substance whereof was to this purpose That the various Changes and Vicissitudes which happen in this World are either preordain'd by the Heavens occasion'd by the Earth or impuls'd by Destiny This I write to you my Son to give you notice that the Emperor Zungchinius and the Government of the Race of Taiminga is totally destroy'd and that since the Heavens which order and manage all things by a just Rule have given the Dominion to Licungzus it is requisite that we comply with the Times and make a Virtue of Necessity especially if we will escape all Disasters prevent a cruel Death and enjoy his Favor He promises to enoble you with a Royal Dignity and to confer on you all manner of Honor and Friendship if you will take part with him and own him for your Lord and Emperor Consider well thereof and know that upon your Promise and Consent to this depends my Preservation and you may now either preserve my Life or destroy it Weigh with your self the Obligations of Nature which will tell you how deeply you are engag'd to preserve him that first gave you Being Usanguejus upon the receipt and reading this Letter though very much troubled at the Contents thereof being ty'd by Oath to his natural Prince answer'd his Father with these few but sharp words I shall never own him for my Father who will not be true and faithful to his Prince Have you forgot that Faith which you owe to the Emperor who then can blame me if I forget that Obedience which I owe to you Much rather had I die than betray my Trust and falsifie my Oath No sooner had Usanguejus sent this Letter to his Father but he dispatch'd an Ambassador to the Grand Tartar Cham to desire Assistance against the Usurper and Tyrant Licungzus who had so unjustly intruded upon the Throne by 〈◊〉 and Murder And to incite the Tartars the more speedily to the March he promis'd them great store of fine Linnen Silks Gold Silver and a great number of very handsom young Women wherein the Tartars take great delight because they are very scarce amongst them their Country abounding more with Men than Women The Cham who had long been waiting for such an Opportunity readily accepted of his Offer promising to assist him with a considerable Army which then lay ready in the Province of Leaotung And in truth he was as good as his Promise for it was not long before he began his March with an Army of eighty thousand Men to joyn with Usanguejus to whom at meeting he thus spake That we may not be baffled in our Undertaking I judge it necessary and advise you earnestly to put all your Soldiers into Tartar Habits to wear Caps and short Hair that so the Tyrant by this Stratagem may be deceiv'd for that he will take them all for Tartars Usanguejus whose Heart boil'd with Revenge agreed to all that the Tartar desir'd of him not considering that he brought in Tygers according to the Saying of the Chineses to hunt out Dogs
trouble About this time there appear'd a famous Pyrate a Native of Fokien by Name Chinchilung but Foreiners call him Iquon This Person in his Youth well known to the Hollanders and Spaniards being but of mean Extraction served the Portugueses first of all in Maccao in the Quality of a Servant and afterwards the Hollanders in the Island of Formosa but being of an aspiring and ambitious Mind could not brook to live under so much Subjection wherefore retiring from them by specious Pretences he drew in a great many innocent Creatures to take part with him by whose help and with a few Ships he had made shift to get together he turn'd Pyrate in which way after a while having made some considerable Gain he increas'd very much in Shipping at last growing so strong therein that he far exceeded the Chinese Emperor both in Naval Forces and Wealth for he drew the whole Trade of India to himself Trafficking with the Spaniard upon the Philippine Islands with the Hollanders upon Formosa and in New Batavia and with the Portuguese in Maccao He drove likewise a very great Trade with those of Iapan and other Kingdoms and Islands situate in the great Indian Sea so that in truth he alone was able to Export by his Power Men and Ships the Chinese Commodities out of that Empire and to Import back into the same the Commodities of Europe Of which the Emperor taking notice after a long War that had been between them at length a Peace was concluded by which in a small time he grew so very potent in Shipping that he was able to set forth a Fleet of three thousand Ships And now Success imping the Wings of this Pyrat's ambitious Thoughts he was not contented with this petty Greatness but aspir'd at the Crown but in regard he knew it would be impossible for him to effect any thing so long as any of the Race of Taiminga was remaining for neither the Commonalty nor Soldiery shew'd any Respect towards him he conceiv'd some hopes that with the help of the Tartars it would not be hard for him to extirpate that Family and so make the way easie to his own Advancement Wherefore he resolv'd under the Cloke of Vertue and by that Delusion to draw the greater number to follow him to march against the Tartar as the common Enemy And undoubtedly had not this Treason been foreseen under that Pretence all the Chineses would have joyn'd with him and look'd upon him as the Restorer of their Country But notwithstanding this fair Pretext in the mean time he Contracts under-hand a Confederacy with the Tartars promising to give them the best Assistance he was able as indeed it doth appear he did by the sequel of the Story for this Traytor Iquon when the Tartars fell into Fokien was made by Lunguvus General of his whole Army by which means having gotten the Power into his Hands he suffer'd the Tartars unresisted to come into the same so that 't is no wonder why the Tartars afterwards conferr'd upon him the Royal Dignity and gave him the Title of King Pingnan which signifies One that Settles the West in Peace Yet notwithstanding this Service by him done to them they did but temporize to lull him into security being jealous of his great Force by Sea and suspecting that he aspir'd after the Royal Diadem Now true and most certain it is although the Tartars knew this very well yet never durst they act any thing against him with Force but always Courted him and made him believe that they would give him the Government of the Provinces of Fokien and Quantung Iquon finding himself in such high esteem among the Tartars doubted not at all but that he should at least keep the Government of the Southern Provinces But see the inconstancy of humane Affairs for he was very much deceiv'd in his expectation and clearly out-witted for when the Tartar Vice-Roy of the Province of Fokien had resolv'd to go for Peking it is a Custom for all the Commanders to come and take leave of him and to wish him a good Iourney according to which Iquon who suspected no mischief towards him concluded in himself to do the like Honor to this Petty King and thereupon departing from his Fleet which he left in the Harbor of the Chief City of Focheu he went thither and joyn'd with the Company to conduct the King some part of his Way but when he came to take leave the King earnestly desir'd him to bear him company quite through to Peking promising to do him great Honor upon his arrival there for such his Favor Iquon now too late began to grow jealous endeavoring by all the most plausible Allegations imaginable to excuse himself but the King would admit of no Denial And thus this famous Pyrate was easily taken in a Net by subtilty who was not to be medled with or overcome by Force of Arms for he was no sooner arriv'd at Peking but he was cast into Prison where he lay sometime in Captivity and was afterwards not publickly Executed but made away by Poyson His Sons and Brothers when they heard of his Imprisonment quickly went aboard their Fleet wherewith since that time they have done very great Damage and still continue their Pyracies to this day In the interim the other Army which was got through the Island Quarters into Quantung was from thence upon their March for the Province of Quangsi to reduce the same likewise under their Power But in this Undertaking their Forces were often worsted by the Chineses who made the greatest opposition where it was least expected At that time one Khiu Thomas who was Baptiz'd by the Iesuits and had embrac'd the Christian Religion was Vice-Roy of the same Province and one Ching Lucus was General over the Militia These two Warriors and valiant Commanders having gotten together a very great Army fell so furiously upon the Tartars that they not only drove them out of the Field but also re-took such Places as they had won toward the West Prosperity seeming thus to begin to smile these valiant Chineses willing to shew they were not ambitious made one Iunglieus Emperor one of the Family of Taiminga being a Grandchild of the Emperor Vanlieus He kept his Court at first in Queilin the principal Chief City of the Province of Quangsi hoping thereby to draw other Chineses to take up Arms against the Tartar But soon after he went and remov'd his Court to the famous City of Chatting in the Province of Quantung where continuing he got the better of the Tartars in several Battels But the ill Fate of the Empire diverted his good Fortune so that he did not continue successful any long time but was quickly overcome and driven out of Quangsi and Quantung and from thence constrain'd to flie to the Frontiers of Tungking No sooner was the Vice-Roy of Fokien upon his Iourney to Peking with Iquon but it seem'd as if the People of that Province and Quangsi
had taken fresh Courage there hapning a very great and sudden alteration in the Tartar Affairs for one Vangus a Priest who had formerly been a Commander in the Army set the whole Country in an uprore and having rais'd a great number of Men and modell'd them into an Army he went and took the City of Kienning with several other Places and put all the Tartars therein to the Sword which good Success immediately caus'd such Chineses as had formerly fled into the Mountains for safety to come down and joyn with him to help to recover their Country At the same time one Changus by Name and a Tartar born being Vice-Roy of two Provinces had the Command likewise of the Province of Chekiang who hearing of the Insurrection in Fokien march'd immediately thither with his Army and finding no opposition at the mouth of the Mountains where he suppos'd the Chineses would have block'd up his Passage which a few Forces would easily have done he cries out with a loud voice The Day is my 〈◊〉 and the Rebels are fled So marching over the Mountains without any opposition he lays Siege immediately to the City of Kienning into which the Priest Vangus was retreated with most of his Army The City endur'd a long Siege for several Months and was of such Strength that it could not be taken by Storm which had been often attempted by the Besiegers to their great damage and loss of Men wherefore at last they resolv'd to get it by Famine rather than lose any more Men by Storming whereby he had already very much weakned his Army but that being recruited with fresh Men from Peking and having made a considerable Breach in the Wall by their Ordnance they resolv'd to Storm it once more and the Success answer'd their Desire for the Commanders within the Place being divided among themselves there was not such care taken as ought to have been for the resisting of the Assault by which means the Besiegers getting in at the Breach immediately cut out their Way and put all to the Sword neither Man Woman nor Child excepted so that dirum dictu there were kill'd in and before this City above three hundred thousand People and the City it self afterwards totally destroy'd and not one Stone left standing upon another After the dreadful destruction of this City the whole Province of Fokien submitted to their Power and for the future none but Tartars were made Commanders over the Militia and Governors of Cities But notwithstanding all this great and prudent foresight which was us'd the Tartars were not able to keep all quiet for it hapned that the Governor of the Province of Kiangsi nam'd Kinus revolted and made new work for their Arms the occasion whereof is said to be upon some difference which hapned between Kinus and the other who supervis'd the Civil Affairs of the same Province the manner thus They being invited to an Entertainment where a Play was Acted during the Meal as the Custom is in China and the Players Dress'd in Chinese Habits and not after the fashion of the Tartars Kinus who was born in the Province of Leaotung where they very much resemble the Tartars in their Customs and Manners and therefore put a very great confidence in the Inhabitants minding the same said to the other Governor Doth not this Habit shew much better than the Tartar Fashion The other answer'd nothing at present yet thought himself oblig'd in Duty to acquaint the Emperor by Letter with this Saying for he fancied that by these words Kinus was designing some Novelty in his Head to the disturbance of the Publick Peace and imagining he bore the greatest affection to those whose Habit he chiefly commended Kinus who wanted neither Courage nor Ingenuity had Brib'd the Secretary of this Governor by whom he was inform'd from time to time of all was writ to the Emperor against him and being acquainted with the Contents of the aforesaid Letter he went immediately with a Company of Soldiers into the Governor's Court and there kill'd him on a sudden before he was aware Having done this he falls off from the Tartars with the whole Province of Kiangsi and declares for the Chinese Emperor Iunglieus at which the Inhabitants were not a little overjoy'd only the City of Cancheu which was Commanded and Govern'd by a very faithful Tartar was not to be brought over to countenance the Revolt which hapned very well for the Tartar for the standing out of this single Place alone was of such consequence that the Tartars as I shall relate hereafter did victoriously recover the whole Province of Kiangsi and Quantung and brought them once more under Subjection The General of the Militia in the Province of Quantung call'd Licungzus was likewise at the same time revolted from the Tartars and had deliver'd up that part of the Country to the Emperor Iunglieus whom also the Southern Part own'd for the Emperor of China And for the better prosecution of the Design against the Tartars the General Licungzus endeavor'd to joyn his Forces with those of Kinus to fall both together at one and the same time upon them and drive them out of the Kingdom which undoubtedly had taken effect accordingly had not the resistance of the Governor of the City Cancheu hindred them for the same Governor was no sooner inform'd that Licungzus was likewise revolted from the Tartar and upon his March with his Army but he sends to him this deceitful and politick Letter Till now I would never submit to Kinus because I could never believe that he would be able to withstand the Forces of the Tartars but seeing that you most valiant Prince also turn your Arms against him I cannot conceive what Safety and Protection I can henceforward expect from him therefore I hold my self oblig'd to follow your Standard and you shall no sooner appear with your Forces before this City but I will deliver it up into your Hands After the Governor had dispatch'd away an Express with this Letter he sent another to the General of the Tartars who lay with his Forces in the next Province to Fokien to assist him with what Strength he could well spare which were sent and by him convey'd into the City by Night so that no notice could be taken of his Design Licungzus in the mean while not suspecting any Treachery intended against him boldly but carelesly went up to the City and found the Gates thereof standing open so that without delay he entred and immediately found himself assaulted on all sides by the Tartars who lay in Ambuscade waiting for his coming and was forc'd to retreat with great loss Licungzus himself as is suppos'd was kill'd in the Fight because he was never heard of afterwards This Defeat brought the Affairs of the Emperor Iunglieus into great disorder and confusion yet nevertheless Kinus won afterwards several Battels for him against the Tartars and when he heard of the Defeat of Licungzus went himself and Beleaguer'd
and complain'd with Tears in their Eyes Kiangus who took compassion of them in regard of the Injustice and Villany of the Fact sent immediately one of his Attendants to the Vice-Roy Panang with request that he would be pleas'd to give Order that the ravish'd Bride might be restor'd to her Bridegroom for that he was grown distracted upon the loss of her desiring also that care might be taken to prevent the like Abuses for the future But the Vice-Roy gave no heed to this Request of the Governor but suffer'd the Tartars to go away with the Rape unquestion'd which Kiangus took so to heart that he went to the Vice-Roy himself in Person who not only refus'd to give him Audience upon it but commanded him to be put out of his Court. Kiangus boiling with Revenge at this uncivil Carriage of the Vice-Roy towards him swore that he would never serve those that countenance such abominable Actions and not long after having drawn his Forces together he came with them and fell upon Panang in his Court killing the greatest part of his Followers but Panang sav'd himself by being let down with a Rope over the Walls and so escap'd with his Life Kiangus hereupon knowing that what he had done was a sufficient cause to make him lose his Head if he fell into the Hands of the Tartars sets up his Standard and promises to submit himself to the Chinese Emperor but names none in particular for he knew not that Iunglieus was elected to that Dignity being at so great a distance from him He likewise us'd all Endeavors to draw the Chineses to take part with him and to stand up for the regaining the Liberties of their Country which by the unheard of Oppressions of the Tartars they had lost Several Commanders and Officers hearing of this came and joyn'd with him so that by this Revolt of Kiangus new Troubles were arisen in the Emperor's Court at Peking and the more in regard the Western Tartars favor'd him who were able to bring more Men into the Field than the Eastern especially Horse of which they have great plenty whereas there are but few in the other Now to nip these Risings in the Bud which were made by the means of Kiangus a very great Army was forthwith rais'd in Peking and sent against him Kiangus who was no less wise than valiant and very well understood the Humors of the Tartars having Convers'd many years with them at first seem'd as if he were afraid to stay the coming of the Enemy for he fled with his Forces but this was done only out of Policy to draw them to pursue after him having by the Way laid an Ambuscade for them which took good effect the Tartars being thereby set upon and defeated and after they had rallied were beaten in the open Field a second time The news of this double Defeat being brought to Peking occasion'd again new Troubles in the Court especially when they heard that Kiangus his Army consisted of above a hundred thousand Horse-men and four hundred thousand Foot of which great multitude there is no wonder for every Person was glad of his Success and ready to follow him as the Redeemer of their Country from the Tartar Slavery When now the Emperor's Uncle understood with how great Success this Kiangus proceeded he resolv'd to march himself with all the Forces the Empire was able to make against him for he durst not trust any with a Concern upon which depended the Welfare of the whole State He therefore causes the eight Standards under whom march all the whole Tartar Militia to be made ready for the War and accordingly that he might lose no time draws forth the choicest Soldiers of this great Body wherewith he marches against Kiangus to chastise him for his Revolt strengthening himself also by the Way with the addition of many more Forces which he had from the Southern Provinces But although he Commanded a very great Army yet he avoided by all means Fighting with Kiangus who gave him occasion and provoked him on purpose to draw him to Battel But the Tartar took a better course fearing the uncertain event of War in a Battel and knowing how to overcome his Enemy at a far cheaper rate as being but ill furnish'd with Provisions and therefore he resolv'd to delay him so long till he should be compell'd to leave the Field for want of Victuals and other Necessaries besides another reason that made him unwilling to give Battel was because he first desir'd to receive an Answer from the Western Tartar King to whom he had sent an Ambassador with very rich Presents and several handsom Women with order also to demand his Daughter in Marriage for the Emperor his Nephew and request him not to give any Assistance to Kiangus the Rebel And so much operation had this Embassy upon the King of Taniju or West-Tartary that he return'd the Ambassador immediately with a satisfactory Answer and Promise that he would continue from thence-forward in Peace and Amity with the Great Cham. Kiangus also having sent thither for Aid but finding himself frustrated in his Expectation and deserted thought it most advisable for him to make towards the City of Taitung into which he was no sooner entred but the Tartar Forces were at his Heels and got to the very Gates and in the space of three days with the help of the Peasants who were compell'd to come in a deep Trench of ten Miles in circumference was drawn round about it Whereupon Kiangus finding himself thus penn'd up and that no Relief was to be expected but he must either be kill'd or starv'd like a valiant Commander thus bespake his Men You see Fellow Soldiers into what a Strait we are reduc'd there being no hopes to escape but by Fighting like Men the Sword on one side and Hunger on the other encompassing us let us not suffer our selves to perish with Hunger but rather with our Swords in our Hands dearly sell them our Lives or with their hazard cut the Way to our Safety through our Enemies Carcases I for my part will die with my Zable in my Hand He had no sooner ended his Speech but he and all his Forces made a Sally out into the Trench where both sides fought for a while with equal Courage till Kiangus unhappily struck with a Dart fell down dead at the very sight whereof the Chineses despairing of making their Way through the Enemy some flung down their Arms and call'd for Quarter others betaking themselves to Fight such as submitted freely to the Tartars had their Lives spar'd for they now thought they had done enough in overcoming so great and dreaded an Enemy whose Power would have endanger'd the loss of the whole Empire After they had clear'd the Field and totally routed and destroy'd the Chinese Army they march'd into the City Taitung whose Plunder was given to the victorious Soldiers And not long after the General having first taken care for the
World embracing in the Bosom of his Country the Arch-Pyrates of all Seas whom all other Principalities did shun as the most pernicious Danger in their Dominions But here I omit that all the Chief Persons about the Emperor admir'd at the Impudence of these Hollanders Undertakings and astonishment at the Carelesness and Security of those Persons who were in Places of Trust in this Empire or more truly at their Corruption in letting such a kind of People have access into their Country One amongst the Great Tartars a Man of a precipitate Zeal was so transported upon our Relation that he cry'd out 'T were fit the Emperor did immediately command them to be Hang'd as publick Thieves and Rebels to Mankind to be sure to deter them from the like Attempts for the future To whom we answer'd That such a Course would be too rigorous and unjust because they ought to enjoy the Privileges and Immunity of Ambassadors and since they had committed themselves to the Emperor's Faith were by all means to be preserv'd from Violence 't would better become the Emperor to shew them Grace and Favor as to Strangers especially since they had brought rich Presents and to dismiss them peaceably to their Ships only to be certain to grant them nothing they came for so to discourage their Return More moderate and wise was the Behavior of an Eunuch of the Emperor's a great Councellor who when he had heard our Character of the Dutch said Although they are a despicable sort of People it were ignoble to Treat them ill rather the Emperor should return them Presents and dispatch them for their own Country with a strict Order never to return to this Our Report had soon spread it self so far within and without the Palace that at length it came to their Ear who had the management of the Hollanders Business and from thence to the Dutch themselves who sent a Messenger to desire us to forbear exasperating these People against them as Thieves and Vagrants it being an Injury they could not bear but before I give an Account of them here something of their coming hither The Memorial from the Vice-Roy of Canton as we have said coming before it was so contriv'd that the Hollanders accompanied with Mandorins and some Interpreters beside a great company of the Vice-Roys People who gave them Attendance and great Honor upon the Way follow'd to the Court of Peking where they arriv'd the 17. of Iuly 1656. and to confess the truth had they given as ample testimony in their Travels of their being Catholicks at least Christians as they did of their Munificence and being Europeans they had highly deserv'd every Man's Affection and the Titles of Governors and Noble Persons for to all the Reguli Nobles and Mandorins which they met in their Way and the Cities they pass'd through their Presents were very rich and noble their Gifts very liberal even to the meanest of the People who brought them but a Coal of Fire to light their Tobacco or did any such small Office whereby they purchas'd the Hearts of the Chineses who unacquainted with such Silver Showers thought they could never sufficiently admire and extol them That these Dutch prov'd not Catholicks is no great wonder but that they should not appear Christians was a great Infidelity and a grand Scandal In a City through which they pass'd in their Iourney towards the Court and where I Lodg'd in my going thence to Maccoa a Father residing in a Church there together with many other scandaliz'd Christians told me That the Dutch had there given to the Bonzians forty Tays towards the building of a Temple for their Prophane and Diabolical Sacrifices which I endeavor'd to excuse by alledging That doubtless they gave it to some other end but that the Chinese Interpreter had taken the advantage thus to turn it that thereby they might endear the Affections of the People as is customary in that Country at the Cost of Strangers but if they did really what the same Father and those Christiuns related to me it is manifest how much their Policy savors of Atheism but however if in this I have pleaded their Favor yet for their Eating Flesh on Fridays and Saturdays I cannot do it because it was a grievous Scandal to all the Christians here but these are the Fruits of that Evil and Infernal Tree Heresie to wit Scandal of the Brethren Remissness in all Catholick and Christian Duties Doubtings in Matters of Faith Evil report of the Holy Law and Schism in the Union of the Church for these young Buds and tender Blossoms are not able to endure such blasting Winds and nipping of Frosts it is so far from entring into their Hearts that an European Christian should err in matter of Faith that they hardly believe he can fail in the Observation of any of the Laws of God nor have an Affront to proffer at it since 't is impossible to excuse that next to be related Amongst other curious and precious Gifts a List whereof you have at the end of this Relation they gave several Corral and Amber Beads as well to the Queen-Mother as to the King himself and his Royal Consort and amongst these as an Eunuch who receives and lays up all Presents in the Royal Treasure told me there was the Image of the Child Iesus our Lord and Savior most admirably wrought in Amber whereof since there is no particular mention among the Catalogue of the Presents doubtless they included it among those several Pieces of Amber appointed for the King My purpose here is not to Dispute but to give a Narrative therefore I shall only say That it is an Infernal Policy of that Nation to accuse us for using Beads and worshipping of Images as Superstition and Idolatry yet by the same in way of Present to make their Addresses to so Great and Eminent Persons intimating what they would as to Religion trample under their Feet to be a part of their own Divine Worship About a years space before the Hollanders arriv'd at Court came two of their Men one a Chinese of Canton the other an Interpreter whether of Maccoa or no we cannot tell because we would never visit either them or the Hollanders though they much desir'd it therefore these two espying Father Lodowick Balion through inadvertency passing by their Door call'd after him very earnestly twice repeating Father Father but he kept on as though he had neither heard nor seen them and thenceforward we were more careful to avoid all passage near their House for if no other Inconvenience arise from visiting them yet it had been a kind of Contradiction to those Report which we made here to all People of them Now although we knew that these two had corrupted many Great Men about the Court and particularly a Tartar the chief of these Coly as they call them President of the Tribunal of Hospitality somewhat like our Master of the Ceremonies whose Office is to receive
Strangers and to Negotiate their Business for them yet we resolv'd not to be discourag'd but rather taking the greater magnanimity and trusting in Almighty God who sometimes permits Difficulties to appear insupportable by Humane Strength that we may ascribe our happy Success to him alone and return him all Praise and Thanks who brings all our Works to pass with erected Spirits therefore and our Hearts advanc'd we accosted a famous Chinese who is likewise President of the Tribunal of Hospitality for now all their Courts have double Chiefs and Presidents in them the one a Tartar and the other a Chinese earnestly requesting his favorable assistance in this Business for knowing his Authority in his Favor lay our greatest Hopes and he was ever a most friendly Person to us as he had been to the Fathers our Predecessors and one that had a good opinion of our Books and Sciences to whom we Presented a Book written in Chinese Characters a Mirror or Theatre of their part of the World wherein I shew'd him a Description of the Island adjacent to the Province of Fokien and among them a Geographical Map of the Island of Formosa which they vulgarly call Tywan and so took occasion to report those Mischiefs that had befall'n that Isle since the Hollanders invaded and to declare the imminent Danger impending not only over that Province of Fokien but the whole Empire of China by the vicinity of such an Enemy particularly that so long as the Hollanders remain'd upon the Island of Formosa neither Civencheu nor Cincheu the Names of the Cities of the Province of Fokien could ever be secure or flourish but would be in perpetual hazard of decay This Mandorin was wonderfully pleas'd with the Book and promis'd me to shew it to the Council that was to be held about the Hollanders and withal he added this word of Consolation That these Hollanders shall never accomplish and bring to pass their Designs here although I well know they have Brib'd the King of Canton and many other great Officers about the Court for I will never suffer them to enter into China or to be allow'd any Commerce with it And as he promis'd so he likewise perform'd with other Chineses of his Party withstanding the Tartars and anon producing the Book to them whereunto they all gave great estimation and credit because it was written in the Chinese Language At length from the Cognizance that all Great Men took of the Hollanders and the Fame that was spread of them it came to pass that the Tartars shut them up and not only deny'd them liberty to sell any thing or to buy any Necessaries for themselves but also prohibiting them to receive those Entertainments whereunto some of the Vice-Roy of Canton's intimate Friends had invited them nor would they suffer any Man so much as to sit down at their Door whence the Dutch despairing of any good issue of their Negotiations plainly disown'd their Pretence of seeking any Commerce here and pretended their Business to be only a Congratulation of the Emperor in his new Conquest which having now perform'd with their most hearty Wishes for the continuance and increase of his Posterity they desir'd his Majesties leave to return to their Ships and Country Hitherto whatever Father Lodowick Balion and my self have done to defeat the Hollanders if it were not according to our Wishes it was according to our Power and by Divine Assistance it prov'd sufficient in our laying open the Qualities of this Nation to alienate the Affections of the Chineses from them and of many Tartars too who before stood at the most but in a Neutrality and to the striking some terror in those who had been corrupted by their Bribes I say That by Divine Assistance it prov'd sufficient for without that it had been impossible for us to have advanc'd one step in a Business of this nature as well for the vast Gifts and Presents whereby they had gain'd upon Men whom they had found capable of furthering their Design as for the contrary Penury on our side which lost us many Advantages that we could otherwise have taken for at Peking as at old Rome all things are bought and sold. We went often to the old Church to confer with Father Iohn Adam about this Matter and to animate him to acquaint the Emperor with it for he had frequent access to the Emperor's Ear I say to animate him not that he wanted either courage or good will but because as I have formerly written unto your Lordships all Matters of great moment are entirely acted in the Tribunals from whence alone the Emperor is to be inform'd of the Administrations of his Empire whereto he commonly conforms himself yea sometimes if he would he cannot alter the Determinations and Decrees of the sixth Tribunal who are become the Supreme Legislators of that Empire When home-bred and domestick Business of the Country is in question and whereof the Emperor hath any knowledge though it be but small they commonly make their Addresses to his Majesty about it but of Forein Business he hath no knowledge at all till they have finish'd it Nor was it a thing of little danger to move the Emperor in lest they who favor'd the Hollanders might be provok'd to plead that what Father Iohn and we did proceeded meerly from Envy and Covetousness to defame the Hollanders because we would ingross the Trade of Canton in the Hands of the Portuguese excluding all other Nations who probably might be more advantageous to this Empire Yet notwithstanding all which Father Adam did adventure to speak to the Emperor who was always highly pleas'd to favor him and now to entertain his Motion and for his sake to incline to our Party and it pleas'd God so to stop the Mouths of all Gainsayers that none durst open after Your Lordships owe much to Father Iohn Valleat who although he could not negotiate with any abroad out of the Palace as he wish'd was yet very behoveful in his constant solicitation of Father Iohn Adam exhorting him to improve his Interest in the Emperor about our Business and suggesting many Reasons to him of its feasibleness and what he did herein we have extracted out of an Epistle from him to Father Visidore as followeth THe twelfth of this present February I was with the Emperor who being pleas'd according to his wont to honor me with familiar Discourse among other Subjects he fell upon the Hollanders which gave me occasion to represent them in their proper Colours and particularly to admonish the Emperor of that great Lye wherewith they had arm'd themselves upon their coming hither in the poud boasting of their large Dominions as if they had been legal and ancient Owners of great Territories when they the truth is were but violent Possessors of a small part of a Country which they at first had traiterously usurp'd and since rebelliously defended from their lawful Soveraign and thereupon became Vagabonds upon the Sea there
seeking Rapine from all People to furnish themselves for maintenance of their Rebellion at home Whereto his Majesty express'd his credit by telling me That two years since upon their Proffer at it he had deny'd them Entrance into his Country and that he knew not how they had now obtain'd it signifying that 't was either through negligence or surreptitious dealing in his Officers which I interpreted to him to be the Bribing those of Canton however since there was a Licence sent for their coming to Court the best was to admit them because it would seem light now to revoke it only he should be cautious how he granted them any Commerce in his Country for wheresoever they once got footing they immediately so fortifi'd themselves that there was then no expulsion of them nor preserving the adjacent Parts from being infested with them The Emperor was very well pleas'd at my Information and said it should be remembred in its proper Season A few days after their arrival here I was Summon'd by the Mandorins to be present in the Tribunal in the Hearing and Debating the Hollanders Proposals and to give my Iudgment upon them At their appearing there were twenty of them the two chief being Peter de Goyer and Iacob de Keyser whom the Tartars call'd Compim that is Captain and shew'd them a fair Respect they Saluted me very civilly after the European fashion calling me by my Name which they had learn'd in Canton or Couchinchina Here they presently produc'd many Boxes and Fardels which they open'd before the Mandorins and Tartars and took out their Contents but being ask'd concerning every Species whether it were of Holland or any other Country either because I was present or to justifie themselves by the truth they openly acknowledg'd of what Place every Particular was so that all things being seen and Examin'd scarce one of ten was found to be of Holland it being easie to perceive they were most of them Indian Commodities yea the Cloth which they pretended to be made in Holland and whereof they had a hundred Pieces was really no other than Indian Bafta's Then Demand being made of the length of the Voyage from thence hither they said it did require sixteen Months affixing the time spent in Sailing from Place to Place where they gather'd up Goods All the Friends and Servants of the Kings of Canton were diligent Attendants unto the Dutch perpetually praising and extolling them and proclaiming the great Benefit which the Mandorins would receive by Commerce with these Men by which it was apparent that those of Canton had undertaken the management of this Embassy which they perform'd with all their Power as if it had been their own proper Business At length they flock'd about me to hear what I would say and I thus deliver'd my self in the Chinese Language Most certain it is that these Hollanders are Europeans who have now no King to Govern them because they have cast him off they have one only Prince that Commands their Armies and he who Commands now is a Child about six years old nor is it he who sends them hither but as they confess by the Advice and Counsel of their Mandorins they came first into India and afterwards into China The Traffick they bring with them is for the most part that I say not all of the Growth of other Countries and not their own But as I intended to have proceeded a Messenger coming for me from the Emperor I was forc'd to break off only adding That my Native Country was near theirs so that I very well knew their Manners and understood their Language whereby I had discover'd from them that in the Schedule which they deliver'd to the Mandorins and in the Memorial to the Emperor they had made a far different Relation from what they now have had I been either absent or ignorant of them And though they found one President acting much in favor of them yet seeing me sit near him they suppos'd me to have some Authority in the Court which made them to forbear so much and when I arose to go out they all stood up and the two Captains proffer'd me their utmost Service When I came to the Emperor the first Observation I made to him was the Calculation of the time of the Hollanders Travels for being demanded Whence they came to this Employment they answer'd From Holland for a second Experiment of that Success whereof they had fail'd two years since They had confess'd sixteen Months for their Voyage from Holland to China and allowing other sixteen Months for their Passage from China to Holland therein were thirty two Months for their Passage forward and backward whereto adding eight Months which have been spent between their arrival at Canton and this Court the whole amounts to forty Months whereby it is manifest that they could not go hence home and there wait for a Commission and Presents to return hither with them and all in the space of two years as had been pretended so that by this Lye the Emperor might judge what credit was to be given them in other Matters The Emperor was somewhat amaz'd at this Argument but approaching near as if I had some Secret to whisper to him I alledg'd a second which much more astonish'd him thus If these People get footing in any Place upon pretence of Commerce immediately they raise Fortresses and plant Guns wherein they are most expert and so appropriate a Title to their Possessions I admire how they come to be led through the Emperor's High-ways between Canton and this Court and to be suffer'd to view all Places which may be most advantageous to them for supposing they have a Design to Invade the Kingdom of Cayo if they come to that Island which is call'd The Golden Mountain standing in the middle of the great River where it empties it self into the Sea and should there build a Castle they would Command that Passage and be capable of all Supplies from Sea in despite of this whole Country and thereabouts are four great Cities which who could preserve from their Incursions if they should Settle themselves upon the aforesaid Place which they would be able to defend with a hundred Men though it would put your Majesty to the Charge of keeping two or three thousand Men in Pay to attend their Motions and the like danger there would be in what Place soever should be allotted them for Abode Let not the Emperor take it ill that I do thus freely declare the sense of the Danger I apprehend him to be in for I stand before my bounteous Lord and Master to whom I am oblig'd to declare any thing that may prevent his ill the fear whereof breeds no little anxiety in my Heart The Emperor stood musing for a small space and then signifi'd his clear apprehension of what I deliver'd and presently ask'd me if the Muscovites were of the same Temper whereto I answer'd quite contrary That they were a
into several Kingdoms Empires Provinces Islands and Dominions and hath ordain'd by his Eternal Wisdom that no one Place should be stor'd with all manner of things but that whatsoever is either necessary for the Life or convenient for the Ornament of Mankind whether Production of Nature or Invention of Art should be found partly in one Country and partly in another Divine Providence so disposing it that the Wants of this Land should be supply'd by that and the Defects of that retributed by another that so by the means of Commerce Men might enjoy Society and the common Wants of all Nations might by receiving mutual Relief knit themselves together in the Bonds of Friendship And this is the reason which mov'd our Natiön above all others wholly to apply and devote it felf to Trade and Commerce through the utmost Parts of the Sea and by this means are we come to Alliance and Friendship with Kings and Rulers of most Countries neighboring on China whereby we came to receive Intelligence of those triumphant Victories and glorious Conquests which Almighty God hath given your Majesty over the renowned Emperor of China by setling and establishing your Majesty in the Throne thereof And by this we have been stirr'd up to appear in the Presence of your Majesty to Congratulate those glorious Atchievements and to wish a future Happiness and Prosperity thereunto and withal to desire your Majesties admittance of our Ships to enter with safety into the Ports of your Dominions and to exercise a Trade with your Subjects as we do with those of other Countries We hope that your Majesty will grant us this Favor seeing it is the Decree of Divine Providence and an universal practice amongst all Men whereby great Profit shall accrue to your Majesties Subjects and Countries And to the end your Majesty may receive from us the greater Security and Satisfaction about our Proposals we have sent two ancient and honest Men Peter de Goyer and Iacob de Keyser to attend your Majesties Person and Pleasure to whom we trust your Majesty will give Audience and a convenient Dispatch And thus we pray Almighty God to grant perfect Health and to add many happy days to your Majesties Life From Batavia Iuly 20. 1655. Governor General Iohn Maatzuyker This Letter which by the Emperor's Order was Translated verbatim out of Dutch into the Chinese Language came at first unseal'd and without any manner of Glorious or Majestick Title as if he had writ to one of his familiar Friends and Equals but the Chineses in Canton did so dress it up and adorn it that it appear'd with great Reverence and Humility for otherwise and different were the Letters formerly written to the Emperor 's of China when we came hither by Maximilian Duke of Bavaria and Ranutius Fernelius Duke of Parma as well for the Paper Style and Superscription as for the magnificent Titles and Encomiums which they gave him but what Comparison between these Princes and a few Merchants in Iava at length the World will be undeceiv'd Thus far Father Adam The Presents they brought they divided into four Parts the first was for the Emperor the second for his Mother the third for the Empress these three had their Superscriptions the fourth was a particular Present for the two Ambassadors This Division was subtilly enough contriv'd to purchase the Favor and to insinuate into the Affections of all Parties but though the Hollanders are sufficiently Masters of that Art this was not their own Contrivance but the Vice-Roy of Canton who as they did not act the Translator's part to mend and patch the General of Batavia's Letter but Compos'd new ones in stead thereof so they wholly order'd and dispos'd the Presents supposing so to manage the whole Business that it should not be capable of denial Nor had they miss'd their aim had they been Catholicks for then they had met with no Opposition That the method and alteration in the disposure of the Presents was the Chineses Invention appears plain enough from this one Argument When the Master of the Ceremonies had receiv'd the Presents from the Hollanders he ask'd them how it came to pass that such and such were for the Queens seeing there was no mention made thereof in their General 's Letter or Memorial To which they return'd this ridiculous Answer That after they set Sail from their Port and were far off at Sea they found these things in the Ship which they knew not of before aâ—d therefore they had dispos'd them for their Majesties Happy Argonautes are these to find Silk and Purple woven in their Ships without their own Labor Corral and Amber with all manner of precious things without their knowledge Let no Man think their Answer false or equivocal because haply they found them in the Ships of some Portuguese Merchants or others they met with in their Voyage for this they ordinarily do without any scruple of Conscience or terror of Divine Vengeance No Man can doubt but a Nation so remote which was in no case dependant upon and never heard of before in the Empire of China coming now with the specious Pretence of being Tributaries their Hands full of Presents which though they had been of ordinary Quality and things common in China yet might have been sufficient for the multitude of them whereby they endeavor'd to conquer the Emperor by the Vice-Roys of Canton corrupt the Mandorins and above all make sure of that Chief of the Coli Son-in-law as I have said to the eldest Vice-Roy of Canton and Bribe the Tartar President of the Tribunal of Hospitality which was not hard to fasten on so sordid and covetous a Wretch I say no Man can doubt but that all this did promise to the Hollanders a very prevailing Success to their Negotiations But the Hearts of Kings are in the Hand of the Lord but though it must be confess'd that Gifts will do much yet much more the devout Prayers of the Servants of God who has been pleas'd to fortifie the Minds of the Chinese Mandorins to weaken and unbend those of the Tartars and so to fix the Heart of a young Emperor that he should deny the Hollanders the Commerce they sought and with a remarkable Ingenuity Affability and Prudence make them promise their Return hither once every eight Years to pay their Tribute Three things there are whereof the Hollanders have no scarcity which had they brought would have been powerful Advocates for them The first is a Harpsichord with a skilful Player on it the second a Trumpeter the third some Engineers and Officers to Train up and Exercise Soldiers These things the Emperor doth much long for but our God would not suffer them to bring them that for the future the like may be brought by our Friends which may redound very much to the benefit of the Catholick Religion Lastly May your Lordships consider that it was a peculiar Grace of God to blind the Eyes of these Hollanders with
Law which Governs the Kingdom of China Hereupon the Law of God was promulgated through all the ten Provinces of China the Kingdom enjoy'd a flourishing Peace all the Cities were fill'd with Churches and the People prosper'd under the Evangelical Felicity 8. In this Year call'd Ximlie which is all one with The Year of our Lord 699. the Bonzii Followers of the Pagods making use of their Strength with a huge clamour aloud blasphem'd our holy Law in the Place which is call'd Tum Cieu in the Province of Honan and in the end of another Year call'd Sien tien which answers to the Year of our Lord 713. certain private Men in Sieno the ancient Place of Venvam the Commentator will have it to be Siganfu in the Province of Xensi were so audacious as to rail against our holy Law with Mocks Flouts and opprobrious Language 9. At this time there was one of the Chief Priests a Bishop as it should seem by Name Iohn and another Man of great Virtue and Eminency by Name Kie Lie with other Nobles and Persons belonging to them no less honor'd for their Fame than respected for their contempt of worldly Affairs who began again to revive and Preach their most excellent Gospel and to tie together those Threds which by the malice of the Devil had been broken And the King Hiuen cum chi tao who began his Reign in the Year 719. commanded five of his Principal Officers that they should go in Person into that Happy House meaning the Church and erect Altars Then the Pillar of the Law which for a short time had been laid groveling began anew to rise and flourish In the beginning of the Year Tien pao being the Year of our Lord 743. King Ota Ciam Kuen gave strict Command to Cuolie fie an Eunuch in extraordinary Favor and Power with him that he should carry the true Effigies of the five Kings his Predecessors and Grandfathers and place them in the Church whither also he should send an hundred Measures of Precious things for celebrating the Solemnity the Author Kim Lim saith in honor of the said Kings 10. In the third Year Tien pao being the Year of our Lord 745. there was in Iudea others say India one Kieho a Priest who was conducted into China by the help of the Stars and looking upon the Sun this was a Ceremony of those who are admitted to speak with our Emperor he was forthwith brought into his Presence But the Emperor Commanded that the Priests Iohn and Paul with others of that Profession and the so eminently virtuous Person Kieho should betake themselves to the Palace Him Kim to worship and perform other holy Acts of Devotion At this time his Royal Grants were kept in Tables in the Church according to order richly adorn'd and glittering with red and blue and the empty space was fill'd with the Royal Plume ascending and reaching even to the Sun His Favors and Donations are compar'd to the heighth of the Mountains of the South and the abundance of his Benefits equal to the depth of the East Sea Reason cannot but well like a thing so approv'd and worthy to be remembred Therefore the King Sa Cum nen men or Ven min who began to Reign in the Year 757. commanded Churches to be built in Lim suu seu and five other Cities by a new Proclamation This King was of a most acute Ingenuity under whom a Gate of Happiness was open'd to the whole Kingdom and hereby all the Royal Affairs of State were Administred and prosper'd with applause rejoycing and felicity 11. The King Tai cum nen vu coming to the Throne in 764. and enjoying the benefit of good Times manag'd all the Affairs of the Kingdom without any difficulty At the Feast of Christ's Birth every Year he sent certain excel-cellent Perfumes in a thankful remembrance and assign'd Princely Provision of all kinds in honor of the Ministers of that holy Law Surely the Heaven gives beauty and perfection to the World which therefore produceth all things with so liberal a Hand This King imitated Heaven and therefore knew it was fit to nourish and preserve his own 12. The King Kien cium xim ven vu in the Year 781. us'd eight ways of rewarding the Good and chastising the Bad. He set forth new Orders for restoring and promoting the Gospel His Government was full of Excellency We Pray to God for him not blushing thereat He was eminent for Virtue Peaceable and Learned He lov'd his Neighbor abounded with Charity to help all and was a great Benefactor to all then living This is the true Way and the Scale of our holy Law to cause that the Winds and the Rain return at their wonted Seasons that the World be quiet Men well Govern'd Affairs orderly dispos'd such as yet are on Earth live well and those that are deceased enjoy Rest and Peace To have these things in readiness and be able to give an Account thereof proceeds really from our holy Faith and are Effects of the Strength and Power of our most sacred Gospel 13. The King gave to the Priest call'd Usa and one of the Chief Preachers of the Law these Titles Kin ju quam lo tai fu being an Office in the Court and Sou fum cie tu fu lei being an Office without the Court and Xi tien thum Kien another Office also but the Explication thereof we have not found in the Exemplar He gave also to the said Priest and Preacher of the Great Law a Vestment of blue Colour which the Italians call di color pavonazo This Priest was inclin'd to Peace rejoyc'd to do good to others with all his Endeavors striving to do Acts of Charity He came into China from a remote Country and Place call'd Vam xi ciu chim being Heathenish which is the same as the far distant India He perfectly taught several Sciences and his Acts were famous through China for above three Generations At the beginning he waited upon the King in his Court and afterwards his Name was Entred in the King's Record or Chronicle 14. The Governor Fuen Yam call'd also Co cu y and enobled with the Title of Chum Xulim at first only minded his Military Affairs in the Parts of Sofam but the King So cum commanded Ay su or Y su that he should promote Co cuy with more favor than the rest it seems the King commanded Ay su to make him a Councellor for although his Captain lov'd him extraordinarily yet he did not like his ordinary method of proceeding for as the Chineses speak An Army is the Teeth and Nails the Eyes and Ears of the Commonwealth He knew how to distribute his Revenues and not hoard them up at home He offer'd to the Church a Precious thing call'd Poli made of Glass as it seems the People of this Place name it Cim reguen others Lintiguen Besides he bestow'd Tapestries of these Parts interwoven with Gold call'd Cie Ki repair'd the Churches in such manner
inhabit And in the eighth Part Line 18. he saith That a great quantity of Gold is gather'd out of these Mountains and divers sorts of Precious Stones and that there is a great Monarch that Ruleth over these Countries All which are agreeable to the Empire of the Great Cham as Marcus Paulus Venetus an Eye-witness in his first Book Chap. 64. delivereth in these words Departing from the Province of Egriaia towards the East the Way leadeth unto Tenduc it is better to read it Tanchut Now Tanchut is a Kingdom of Tartary which comprehendeth many other Kingdoms as the Kingdom of Lasa or that which the Tartars call Barantola the Kingdoms of Nethel Tibeth Maranga and others as I shall shew anon together with the Desart Kalmack which is bounded by the Wall of the Chineses and most Geographers confound this Kingdom with Cathay in which are many Cities and Tents where also that great Emperor term'd Presbyter Iohn so famous throughout the whole World was wont to reside But now that Province is Tributary to the Great Cham having a King of the Progeny of Presbyter Iohn and although there are many Idolaters and Mahumetans yet the greatest part of the Province embraceth the Christian Faith and these Christians are the Chief in this Province especially there is a certain Nation in the Province call'd Argon which is more subtle and eloquent than the other People here are also the Regions of Gog and Magog which they term Lug and Mongug in these Places is found the Stone Lazuli that maketh the best Azure In these Mountains also are great Provinces Mines of Silver and various sorts of wild Beasts All which aptly consent with the Description of the Arabick Geographer before alledg'd Also he thus writeth concerning the Altitude of the Mountains Iagog and Magog in his first Book Chap. 27. Hence if you travel to the Eastern Quarter you must ascend for three whole Days up the steep Rocks of Caucasus until you come to a most high Mountain than which there is not an higher in the World and there also appeareth no Bird by reason of the Cold and the over high Elevation of the Earth which can afford no Food unto Animals And if at any time Fire he kindled there it becometh not light it being obstructed by the over-much coldness of the Region neither is it of that activity as in lower Places And a little after he saith This Region is call'd Belor always having the face of Winter stamp'd on it Thus far Marcus Paulus All which agree unto that Mountain which they call Langur the highest Mountain in the Kingdom of Lasa concerning which Father Iohn Gruberus who travell'd through it on foot relateth that you cannot travel through it in Summer without danger both by reason of the great subtilty of the Air which hardly admitteth a Passenger to breathe and also because of the Vapor of a certain poisonous Herb which by its scent killeth both Man and Beast And about this Kingdom of Belor viz. the ancient Seat of the Sacae the Arabian Geographer placeth the principal Kingdom of Presbyter Iohn in Cathay as the Tractate written by Rabbi Abraham Pizol doth also clearly demonstrate The Nubian or Arabick Geographer calleth it Begarger in which he saith there is situate a very great City his words are these In the Eastern part of it is the Kingdom of Begarger the great City of which is call'd Centaba fortifi'd with twelve Iron Gates Rabbi Pizol with Paulus Venetus calleth it Belor in which he saith the Kingdom of Thebeth was lately discover'd his words are as followeth The Kingdom of Belor is very great and mighty according unto all Historians that have written of it there are many Iews inhabiting in it principally in the Eastern and Northern Quarters And there are moreover other Eastern People not long since discover'd call'd by the Natives Thebeth having a most splendid and magnificent City exceeding all others in magnitude there being not the like under the Canopy of Heaven in which all good things are found Which indeed can be no other than the City Chaparangue situate in the Kingdom of Thebeth concerning the Monuments of which in relation unto our Religion there left by the Christians Father Anthony Andradas a Portuguese of the Society of Iesus relateth Wonders who when he had heard that the Inhabitants thereof were professed Christians he took a Voyage into the same from the Kingdom of Mogor Anno 1624. full of labor and difficulty in which also having discover'd the Fountains or Heads of Ganges and Indus he observ'd many things most worthy of Consideration and admiration as I have it confirm'd by Ioseph a Christian of the Mogors Country who at the time of this my writing with Father Henry Roth Moderator of the new Converted Christians in the Kingdom of the Mogor is yet at Rome strong and lusty although eighty five years of Age who related unto me every Particular There is in the most high Mountains of Thebeth that are perpetually cover'd with Snow a great Lake the Receptacle of the greatest Rivers of India from which Indus Ganges Ravi Athec derive their Currents Hence the River Ganges hath its original falling down from the most high Rocks into a low Valley Indus and the other Rivers make their Outlets through the foot of the Mountains as is evident from the Map Now he affirmeth this Kingdom to be one of those of Great Cathay that are contain'd both without and within the Walls of the Chineses although the Relation be not in every respect conformable unto that perform'd by Benedict Goes of our Society which he undertook by order of his Superiors as we shall see anon And in these vast Regions of Cathay I find by the Relation of Paulus Venetus that most Potent Emperor Presbyter Iohn to have had subject unto his Dominions seventy two Kings partly Christians and partly Heathens although the similitude of the Kingdoms in those vast Regions and the Names arising from the various Revolutions of those Nations the Tumults of War and the other changes of Affairs together with the different Denomination hath caus'd such and so great a Confusion that to this very Day no Person hath been able to free himself out of this intricate Labyrinth for some make him the same with the Great Cham others call him Ascid by Original a Persian so Almachin in the third Book and fourth Chapter of his History of the Saracens Every King saith he of Pharanga so they call the City of Sogdiana is call'd Ascid as the Roman Emperor is call'd Caesar and the King of the Persians Cosrai And there are some that rather by a new Name with the Ethiopians more truly than by the old term him Iuchanes Belul that is to say Precious Iohn Others by no improbable Conjecture do assert That in honor of the Prophet Ionah who is highly respected amongst them all that Govern'd the Empire were so denominated But yet in these Western Parts of the Latin
the receiving of the Christian Law Unto these he adjoin'd two excellent Persons for Learning of the Society of St. Dominick William of Tripoly and Nicolas whose Sirname is not added These therefore provided with all Necessaries for such an Expedition began their Iourney to the East and at length after a long Voyage by Sea and Land entred Armenia where they found all things in disorder by reason of a War commenc'd between the Armenians and the Sultan of Babylon The Fathers being struck with fear and laying aside all prosecution of a farther Voyage took up their Station and continu'd in Arâ—â—nia but Nicolas with his Son Marcus Paulus rejecting all fear of danger ouâ— of a great desire which they had to give the Great Cham a plenary Satisfaction concerning his Embassay although they were expos'd to great hardship and the danger of unknown Paths yet at last arriv'd at the City Clemenisu of whose approach when Cublai the Great Cham was acquainted he commanded his Messengers in forty Days space to set forwards to meet them and to conduct them to him and withal to shew them all the respect that might be and to let them want for nothing that might be any way necessary for them Therefore being admitted into the Presence of the Great Cham and having perform'd the accustom'd signs or tokens of Veneration they declar'd the Effects of their Embassy and also Presented him with the Letters of the Pope together with a Viol of Oyl borrow'd from one of the Lamps our Saviour's Sepulchre He admiring the Presence of Marcus the Son of Nicolas gave such Respect unto both of them that he admitted them for his Domestick Attendants which was a token of great Honor and made use of Nicolas as an Ambassador whom by reason of that singular Prudence that appear'd in him his signal dexterity in dispatching Business and his great skill in four different Tongues he sent him on divers Employments all which redounded unto his great advantage and when he discover'd the Emperor to be delighted with curious sights of Nature and strange Customs whatsoever he observ'd rare admirable and exotick in the various Tracts of his Embassies and Voyages those he collected with great Industry and Presented them to the Great Cham by which you can hardly imagine how much he ingratiated himself in his Favor until at length oversway'd with a desire of returning to their native Country after the discharge of many Embassies for the space of seventeen years having obtain'd though with much reluctancy a freedom to return they came back well and safe through many unknown Paths of Sea and Land having pass'd innumerable Regions unto Venice Anno 1295. Now having related this by the way there remaineth nothing but that I should describe somewhat more at large his Voyage into Cathay seeing many things as I have said do occur in it that do very much perplex Geographers Having Sail'd over the Mediterranean Sea and Travell'd through Anatolia Armenia and Persia he came unto the Region of Balasia which I suppose to be Corasina a Country interposed between Persia and the Kingdom of the Great Mogol From this Place avoiding the Passage towards the South he took his way between the North and East which they call Nordost thence he went through the Desarts and then over the most high Mountain Belor which we have describ'd before into the Kingdom of Cassar which now they call Cascar for a time Tributary to the Great Cham partly Inhabited by Nestorian Christians and partly by Mahumetans Thence wandring a little towards the North he entred into Samarcande the Regal Seat of the Great Tamberlain in the Kingdom of Carcham now call'd Tarcham from whence he proceeded onwards through the Desart Lop into the Cities Peim and Ciarcia and at length into Camul and Tarpham at that time Provinces of the Empire of Tanchut and now subject to the Empire of Usbeck All which agrees with what we have alledg'd before concerning the Voyage of Benedict Goes Yet from hence he went not the shortest Way unto Cathay but declining towards the North he came unto the City Campition the Metropolis of the Kingdom of Tanchut where having entred between the East and South that is South-East unto those that proceed forwards he came into Cathay through the Desart yet laying aside this Passage he proceeded forwards again towards the North and having pass'd through many Provinces and Kingdoms of the Eastern Tartary where he found many Christians at length he arriv'd at Cambalu the Royal Court of the Great Cham of the largeness and Etymology of which City we have before treated at large Where I wonder very much that Paulus Venetus maketh no mention of the Walls of the Empire of China through which of necessity he should have pass'd peradventure he stragling far and wide unto the Eastern Sea unto which he writeth that he came through the Northern Kingdoms pass'd through Cireanum belonging unto the Chineses into Cathay that is China for whatsoever he afterwards relateth concerning Cathay whatsoever he observeth concerning the vastness and magnificency of the Cities concerning the frequency and multitude of the People and Merchants of the affluency of all things necessary for Humane Life of the abundance of great and small Rivers of the admirable Structures and Fabricks of the Bridges these I say can agree unto no other Region Kingdom or Empire but only unto that most vast Empire of the Chineses unto which the Chinesian Names of the Cities with their Customs and Manners are altogether consonant and agreeable as I have shewn at large in the preceding Discourse Haython the Armenian a Monk of the Order of the Praemonstratensis and of the Bloud-Royal a Traveller throughout the whole East he with the Fidelity of a religious Person confirmeth whatsoever is more largely related by Paulus Venetus concerning the Kingdom of Cathay for Anno 1307. he beheld all those Kingdoms of the utmost Parts of the East with his own Eyes the cause manner and occasion of which Voyages we shall afterwards declare Now he thus speaketh concerning the Kingdom of Cathay in the first Chapter of his History The Kingdom of Cathay is the greatest that is to be found in the World and is replenish'd with infinite People and Riches It is situate on the Sea-Coast The Men of of those Parts are most subtle and full of deceit and therefore in all Knowledge makeslight of all other Nations for they say that they are the only People that see with both Eyes and all others only with one They have for the most part little Eyes and are naturally without Beards And moreover it is reported concerning this Kingdom that it is situate in the chief part of the World because it hath the East on one part and on the other part there doth no Nation inhabit as they report on the West it hath its Confines on the Kingdom of Tarsa on the North it is bounded with the Desart of Belgian and on the East and
one I say who rightly understandeth what I have above related concerning the Voyages of St. Thomas the Apostle which is at large handled by Osorius Bishop of Sylva who hath elegantly compil'd the Indian History Whence from these Regions even now declar'd viz. from Cabul Caphurstan Tibet and Mogul he might easily by the Bishops his Successors propagate the Sacred Gospel of Christ into the remotest Provinces and Kingdoms to the utmost Bounds of Tartary This Ortelius openly confirmeth who saith That the Kingdom of Archon situate in the utmost Angle or Corner of the North was Converted unto the Christian Faith by St. Thomas you must understand it of of his Successors so that by this Account there is no Part or Corner of the World which hath not been fill'd with the Light of the Gospel by his Care and Diligence Nicephorus also relateth in his second Book Chap. 39. That St. Philip Preach'd the Gospel in the upper Asia now the upper Asia is nothing else but that vast Space of Asia Minor which the Ancients call'd by the Name of Scythia on this side and beyond Imaus and they are all those Regions which are comprehended in the extreme Limits of the Eastern Sea and about the Caspian Sea as Georgia Iberia Albanior Micrelia Armenia and part of the Transmarine Asiatick Tartary from whence in course of Time the Gospel of our Saviour by a farther sprouting was transplanted into all the circumjacent Kingdoms as Thebet Indostan Tanchut and the like Chrysostome saith That St. Bartholomew instructed the People of the greater Armenia in the Christian Faith Sophrinus saith that he taught the Albanians and Origen that he Preach'd to the hithermost Indians Panthenus a Christian Philosopher saith That when he travell'd to the Indians he found Christianity yet flourishing by the Preaching of St. Bartholomew He that is curious to know more concerning this let him have recourse unto the History of the Armenians which they call Giarrentir that is A Book of Relations which Clemens Galanus a Canon Regular who spent many years in Armenia Georgia and the other Regions of Colchis to propagate the Christian Faith here publish'd at Rome First of all therefore the Christian Faith was introduc'd into the foremention'd Kingdoms by the Apostles Thomas Philip and Bartholomew which afterwards in course of Time being Propagated and Cultivated by their Successors very Holy Men and illuminated with the Holy Spirit diffus'd and spread the Light of the Divine Law throughout the whole East unto the great advantage of Souls until by the want of Laborers the People following a more dissolute and ill mode of Life degenerated from the Rectitude of Faith 〈◊〉 and also blemish'd and bespotted with the Rites of the Gentiles altogether fell off from the True Way for Anno 400. when by the instigation of Satan the cursed Arrius Nestorius Dioscurus and other Hereticks but especially the Nestorians had every where spread their damnable Opinions and in an horrid manner weakned the Orthodox Faith of Christ above all other Parts it infected with the Venom of its pestiferous Doctrine Colchis Armenia Persia Turchestan and the utmost Bounds of the Asiatick Tartary so that as Marcus Paulus and Haython relate there is no Place of the aforesaid Regions which it hath not defil'd Add unto this that in the Year 632. or thereabouts was the cursed rise of the Incendiary of the World Mahomet who swelling and breaking in like an Inundation over a great portion of the Earth subjected the same to his most unjust Laws whence it came to pass that the faithful Christians and more especially Persons of the Priestly Order being exil'd their Native Country by degrees forsook the Provinces of the more inward Part of of Asia either for fear of Persecution or by a voluntary Exile those that were arm'd with a zeal and desire to the House of God being inflam'd with a fervour to propagate the ancient Religion of the Orthodox Faith fled or retir'd into China it self where how much they labor'd to the advantage of the Christian Faith is plainly shew'd by the Syro-Chenesian Monument I have expounded above Now as nothing is firm and solid in Humane Affairs so also the Faith introduc'd into the foremention'd Regions now fading either through the want of Apostolical Men or the extreme degeneration of Christians tended or deflected first to Idolatry then to Mahumetanism anon to the Religion of the Nestorian Hereticks according as the lust of each Persons Genius led or drew them and this Vicissitude or Alteration of the Orthodox Faith sometimes receiv'd and sometimes being rejected continu'd more especially in the Eastern Tartary unto the Year 1252. in which as Haython the Armenian relateth who was of the Blood-Royal Haython King of Armenia his Brother Reigned until he could no longer endure the Turkish Spoilers of his Kingdom wherefore by a Divine Instinct taking a new Counsel and going in his own Person unto the Great Cham Emperor of Tartary whom Paulus Venetus calleth Cublai Cingischan who Rul'd in Tartaria and Cathay both to make a League against the Saracens and to gain the Favor of that most Potent Prince for the confirming of the Christian Commonwealth in a peaceable Estate and Condition after a tedious Voyage he arriv'd at Almalech that is Cambalu the Court of the Great Cham. The Great Cham or Cublai being much joy'd at his coming receiv'd him with great Honor and Respect as he deserv'd bestow'd on him great Presents and advis'd his Nobles to follow his Example and do the same Therefore when King Haython had rested himself some Weeks after the toil of his continual Travels he address'd himself to the Emperor and with much strength and weight of Rational Arguments open'd the Cause of his so far undertaken Voyage The Emperor having duly ponder'd the just Reasons of his Petition and greatly admiring both the Condescension of the King's Person in exposing himself to so great Labors and Danger and also considering that the Quiet of his Kingdom and the Advantage or Interest of the Christian Common-wealth was very much concern'd out of his Clemency promis'd to grant him whatsoever he should demand Haython accepting of the obsequiousness of so free an Offer Presented him in Writing several Points of his Petition which were as followeth 1. That the Great Cham would vouchsafe to embrace the Christian Faith 2. That a perpetual League of Friendship might be confirm'd between the Christians and the Tartars 3. That all the Christians both Ecclesiasticks and Laicks with their Churches might be free from all Persecution and enjoy the Immunities and Priviledges in all the Kingdoms which the Tartars had subjected to the Empire 4. That he should raise an Army to free the Holy Sepulchre of Christ from the Turkish Tyranny and also restore the Holy Land possess'd by the Saracens into the Hands of the Christians 5. That he should joyn his Forces with his to root out the most potent Caliph of Baldach 6. That he
being brought up in the Rites of the Law of the Gentiles even unto the Year 1256. in which the Great Cham Emperor of the Tartars making an Incursion into China or Cathay with an irresistible Army in a short space as I have related before subjected the whole Country unto his Dominion who as he was instructed in the Christian Religion so also a great multitude of Christians as Paulus Venetus and Haython relate entring with him Propagated themselves in a great number who at length when again the Natives recover'd the whole Empire and expell'd the Tartars the Christians also whether out of fear of Persecution or out of hope of living better among the Tartars left China and follow'd them and those that remain'd behind retain'd only some external Ceremonies And these are those Christians whom the Chineses by the Name of The Adorers of the Cross relate to have liv'd in China concerning which see what I have said before Therefore China being again accustom'd unto its Country Worship of Idols so continu'd unto the Year 1542. in which a new Light of Truth shone forth unto it for after that St. Francis Xavier an Apostle elected by God for the Salvation of the Indians had sown the Seed of the Word of God through all the unknown Parts of the World with a great and incredible gain of Souls and had gain'd Iapan an Island hardly noted to the World unto the Faith of Christ at length he apply'd his Mind inflam'd with a thirst of obtaining Souls unto Christ to the Conversion of the Chineses using his utmost endeavor that he might become Master of his Desires But it seem'd otherwise fit to the Divine disposal of the Heavenly Majesty for expecting an opportunity of entring China in Santian an Isle adjoining to the Coasts of China he was seiz'd with a Fever where being replenish'd with Merits and now ready to receive the Reward of Eternal Blessedness for those his signal Labors perform'd he rendred his Spirit unto his Creator and took his flight unto Heaven and what he could not perform of himself that he obtain'd with God by his Intercessions that his Successor in so great a Charge might accomplish after the following manner Alexander Valignanus of our Society who Anno 1582. conducted the three Vice-Roys of Iapan who were Converted to the Christian Faith to render Obedience to Pope Gregory the Thirteenth he I say had come out of Europe as appointed Visitor by the Vicar-General of all the Indies and now having pass'd over that part of India that is on this side of Ganges he set Sail to view that which is situate on the other side of Ganges and at length arriving in the Port of Amaca he determin'd with himself to pass over into Iaponia but being hinder'd by the Laws of Navigation he continu'd full ten Months in our Station of Amaca where being wholly inform'd of the Chinesian Affairs he resolv'd with great ardency to prosecute the Voyage or Expedition begun by his Predecessors that hitherto lay hid in the Embers for from the magnitude of the Empire the nobleness of the Nation their great Peace now enjoy'd for so many years the Prudence of the Magistrates as also the Political Mode of Government unto which none were admitted but only such Persons as were accomplish'd in all kinds of Literature from these Considerations I say he most rationally concluded That the Chineses being a Nation subtle and addicted unto the Studies of good Arts might so far at length be wrought upon as to admit of or tolerate certain Persons excelling in Virtue and Learning to abide or inhabit in their Empire and especially such as were not unskilful in their Country Language and Learning and he seem'd to be of opinion that in time it might so come to pass that the Rules and Statutes of the most holy Christian Law might have a propitious Influence on this Nation seeing they were so far from the disturbance of the Political or Civil Administration of the Republick or Empire that they would rather highly promote the same whence China abominating their Heathenish Vanities might conceive an hope or desire of the Heavenly good things and have an Eye unto Eternity therefore on that very account he commanded without any delay some Persons sent for out of India to employ their utmost Endeavors for the attaining of the Chinesian Language and Learning they were two Italians one Father Michael Rogerius and the other Father Matthew Riccius which when they had in some measure attain'd with very great Industry they entred the City of Canton with hope to get some Habitation in it but being often frustrated in their Intentions they return'd to Amaca It can hardly be express'd how many and various Adventures or Casualties interpos'd which rendred the Business of the undertaken Voyage if not desperate yet at least very much eclips'd and fading all which in the end being overcome the Matter was brought to the wish'd Conclusion by Father Matthew Riccius unto whom by the prosperous Lot of our Fathers the first Way was open'd into the Empire of China and to him also the blessed Success of the Christian Law ought deservedly to be ascrib'd This Person had been formerly the Scholar of Father Christopher Clavius one very well skill'd in the Mathematical Sciences he being associated unto Father Rogerius and being stor'd with abundance of curious things together with a formal Embassy from the Portuguese to the Vice-Roy of Canton made his Entrance into China and so bewitch'd the Fancy of the Governor with the Novelty of the Presents that he brought with him that he avouch'd that neiâ—â— he himself nor all China ever beheld the like and he also not only retain'd these Fathers with him as Persons dropt from Heaven but likewise shew'd them all the Respect and Civility that possibly he could The Fame of such great Matters being nois'd abroad possess'd the Minds not only of many Learned Persons in the Kingdom of Canton but throughout the whole Empire whom when they could not possibly behold in Presence or carry those admirable things with them that were so reported of they call'd them unto them every where by Letters dated out of all the Kingdoms to come and behold them for those things which were now grown common in Europe were esteem'd as Miracles in China being there as yet both unseen and unheard of Now there were amongst the rest a Clock both exact and curiously fram'd shewing besides the Hour of the Day the Rising and Setting of the Sun the Day of the Month and Age of the Moon There was also a Trigonal Glass which some thought to be an inestimable Iewel and others suppos'd it to be a part or portion of the Celestial Orb moreover Geographical Maps which express'd the Globe of the Earth unto the grat amazement and admiration of all For as the Chineses were of opinion that there was nothing else without the vast Empire of China so they could not apprehend that
Calendar and how much Good redounded from thence THE Chineses never so much delighted in any thing as in an exact Calculation of Times and Seasons without which they justly believ'd that neither the Actions of Princes or Histories of any Age could methodically be compos'd always endeavoring to confirm the same if their Rules of the Astronomical Science had not fail'd them for they relate in their Annals that they have had an Academy of Astronomers maintain'd at the Publick and Royal Cost above three thousand nine hundred Years whose Employment was to compute the Course of the Sun and Moon and the Eclipses and as accurately as might be to note the Houses of the New-Moons entring and her other Apearances that by these Lunary Observations they might give Advice to the Husbandman and others concern'd for they had no knowledge of the various Walks of the Planets but were of an Opinion before the arrival of the Fathers of our Society that all the Constellations of what Sphere soever were equally distant from the Earth discovering thereby their gross ignorance in this Science The Chineses relate That their Astronomy had its original from a very ancient King call'd Iao who had two Brothers one nam'd Hy and the other Ho most famous for their Skill in Astronomy whom he enjoin'd to declare and set down in a short and clear Method whatsoever they thought might be known concerning the Compute of Times to be observ'd by a constant Rule which they perform'd with such care and diligence as was requisite but after the space of about two thousand years Cin Hoam obtain'd the Empire who in the thirty fourth Year of his Reign did not only prohibit the use of all Arts but also caus'd to be burnt all the Books that he could find but so it hapned in course of Time that amongst the Ruines of vast Fabricks the so long desir'd Astronomical Volumes were discover'd to the universal joy of the Empire but as they had lain neglected for the space of so many years so also they were found so erroneous that they were of little use without Correction the Emendation of which was at length undertaken by one Cofcencin an Astronomer of great note in China At length it came to pass also but how I know not that a Book concerning the Diurnal Motion of the Planets was found preserv'd in the Kings Library which was Presented by the Ambassador sent out of Persia to the Emperor of Tartary when the Tartars were expuls'd out of China by the Emperor Humun He caus'd the same Book to be Translated out of the Persian and Arabick Tongue into the Chinesian Language hoping that in time to come their Chinesian Calendar might be restor'd unto its pristine Perfection But the Mandorins most Learned in the Arts not fully understanding the subtle Theories of the Persians it came to pass that the Chinesian Calender remain'd uncorrected until the arrival of the Fathers The Masters of the Astronomical Function being forc'd to make use of their accustom'd erroneous Tables in the yearly Publication of the Lunaries with such grand Escapes in the computing Eclipses in which having in vain employ'd themselves three years they ingeniously acknowledg'd that they were wonderfully mistaken and therefore they Presented a Petition to the Emperor in which they shew'd the great necessity of correcting the Calendar recommending unto him the Fathers of the great Western part of the World both in relation to their Skill in Astronomy and also the acuteness of their Ingenuity in that Art The Emperor when he had read the Petion was very much rejoyced and assented unto whatsoever they desir'd and presently by his Proclamation manifested his Majesties high Pleasure for the carrying on of the Work without delay Our Fathers being exalted to an Honor they never durst hope for or ever could desire a Means more commodious for the Propagation of the Gospel of Christ most willingly apply'd themselves to a Business of that great and weighty concernment Those that were first employ'd were Father Sabatinus de usrsis and Father Iacobus Pantoja Anno 1611. Persons excelling in the Knowledge of the Astronomical Sciences Father Sabatinus immediately endeavor'd to have the Theories of the Planets very necessary to the understanding of the Motion of the Constellations Translated out of the Latin Tongue into the Chinesian by the assistance of two Mandorins Paul and Leo now become Christians who with great proficiency had sometime since attain'd the Astronomical Disciplines by the instruction of Father Matthew Riccius Then he apply'd himself to find out the Longitude of the City of Peking by Observations made by his Correspondents both in China India and Europe without which the Calculation of Eclipses is altogether in vain undertaken Pantoja undertook to search out the Latitude of the Cities of China and beginning from Canton he most exactly measur'd with the Astrolabe through the Latitude of the whole Empire in a direct Line from the South unto the Limits of the North of Peking sporting himself both Night and Day in the indagation of the preparative Exercises concerning which there was not the least hint in the Chinesian Astronomy And although the Chineses vaunt so much of their great Excellency above other Nations in subtlety of Wit yet they knew not what the Longitude or Latitude of Places was so that when the Fathers of our Society first entred into China and caus'd some Sun-Dyals to be made they admir'd that the Cities of China should be under divers Elevations of the Pole in regard they assign'd but thirty six Degrees unto the whole Empire relying upon the Tradition of the Ancients who foolishly persuaded themselves that the Earth was not Globular but that it was extended into an infinite Superficies and that the Sun and Moon about or under the West entered into a certain deep Cave from which again they arose about the East And moreover that the Sun and Moon were no bigger than what the Eye demonstrated them to be viz. that those lucid Bodies are not above six Handfuls in magnitude from whence it is manifest how maim'd lame and impefect the Chinesian Astronomy was But to return to our purpose This happy beginning of the Emendation of the Calendar continu'd not long by reason that the Academy of the Mathematical Colledge being enrag'd at our Fathers for the great Honor conferr'd upon them by the Emperor Presented an humble Petition to him in which with great eagerness they complain'd of the suppression of the Studies of their Country Sciences and of the signal Advancement of Barbarians in the Royal Employment But the Emperor having fully discover'd the imperfection and deformity of the several Computations made by the Adversaries and that the Calculations of our Fathers always agreed to the Point of the Prediction at length by a new Patent granted unto the Fathers a plenary Power in reference unto the Astronomical Arts Father Iohn Terentius being more especially taken into this Employment at
which occasions a Mere wherein grow Flowers of a Saffron colour whose like are no where else to be seen in all those Countries Several of these Flowers grow upon one Root being something bigger than the European Lilly and much handsomer for fashion resembling Tulips The Leaves of the Stalks are large and round and drive upon the Water as the Leaves of the Weeds do in Europe which at their Season they gather and dry and make them fit to be us'd by Shop-keepers in stead of Paper to put up their Wares in There are in some places whole Pools abounding with these Flowers which to say truth grow not there naturally but have been sow'd by one or other for that they are in great request amongst them But amongst all others the Chinese Rose must deservedly take place which changes colour every day twice for one time its all Purple and another time as white as Snow and were the scent thereof pleasant or delightful it might with merit challenge the World for a Peer The Chief City of Queicheu situate in the Province of Quangsi takes its Name from the Flower call'd Quei which although it grows in other Parts yet no where so plentifully as in this Province and chiefly under the Command of this City It grows upon a very high Tree which has Leaves proportion'd like them of a Laurel or Cinamon-tree but the Flowers are very small yellow of colour and have a fine smell After they are once in Flower they continue a long time blowing without withering or shedding or falling from the Tree and after they have done blowing the Tree shoots out again within a Month and has fresh Flowers whose colour is so fragrant that they perfume all those Parts where they grow The Tartars infuse these Flowers in the Iuice of Lemmons wherewith they colour the Hair of their Horses But the Chineses make delicate Confects of them which are delicious to the taste and pleasant to the smell Near to Kinhoa in the Province of Chekiang is a certain Flower by the Portuguese in India call'd Mogorin It grows upon a very small Tree is Milk-white and not unlike to the Iessamy Flower only it has more Leaves and exceeds it far for smell for one Flower is enough to perfume a whole House This Flower is in very great esteem with them so that in cold Weather they diligently house the Pots in which they grow And lastly near the City Pingyve in Queicheu grows in great abundance the well scented Iessamy Of Reeds IN the foregoing part of this Chapter you have had some Examples of the variety of Herbs Plants Flowers c. produc'd in several parts of China I shall now say something of the different sorts of Reeds growing there And first In Xanhung near Tengcheu grows a Reed that is naturally four-square In Huquang near the Mountain grows a sort of Reed which will last only three years but like a careful Sire before it dies it shoots out afresh at the Root thus every three years renewing by death and rising again In the Province of Nanking near Hoaigan is a great Mere wherein grows very large and high Reeds greatly esteem'd by the Inhabitants In Quanhung near the City Lochang upon the Mountain Chang grows a black Reed whereof the Chineses make Pipes and several other things of as pure a black and shining colour as if they were made of Ebony In the same Province upon the Mountain Lofen grows a Reed that exceeds all the rest for length and thickness the Stalks being at least four Foot thick In the Province of Chekiang near the City of Chucheu runs a Rivulet in which grow several sorts of Reed or Cane as hard as Iron and oftentimes three Handfuls thick and although they are hollow yet are they of strength sufficient to bear a great Burthen without breaking The biggest grow three or four Rods high some have green Stalks others Coal-black They make a very pleasant shew not only because of the flourishing Verdure of the Leaves for the most part of the Year but also because of the several Colours produc'd by the various sorts that grow altogether Of these notwithstanding their hardness before-mention'd such as are skilful Artists and know how to split the same into very thin pieces make Mattresses Baskets Canes c. Of the thinner and smaller sort they make Pikes and Lances which have sharp Irons at the ends They put them likewise to several other uses especially for the making of Perspective-Glasses in regard they are light straight thick and firm The Water that runs from this Reed when it is laid green upon the Fire is found being taken inwardly to be very soveraign to drive out of the Body all putrifi'd Blood occasion'd by Blows Falls or otherwise The young Shoots of it before they have any Leaves are boil'd with Flesh like Turnips and pickled in Vinegar are kept all the year for Sawce Amongst these various sorts of Reeds may be comprehended another kind that grows upon some Mountains in China in great abundance and is call'd by the Indians Rotang but in Europe Rotting or Iapan Canes And though these Canes are us'd in Europe to walk with yet the young Branches thereof being full of Iuice are eaten raw by the Chineses When these Canes are dried and struck one against another there will flie Sparks of Fire from them as from a Flint and as such they are made use of in some Places of the Indies This sort of Reed is very tough and being green is made use of in stead of Cords to tie or bind any thing withal The Inhabitants of Iava Iapan and other Islanders make therewith Cable for Anchors which will last longer in salt Water than Ropes made of Hemp and when any Merchants Ship Trading thither from Europe need any they make use of these they being strong enough to hold the weightiest Anchors The Fruit of this Rotting or Cane is eatable and pleasant to the Palate in form somewhat round about the bigness of a Ball having a Shell like a Chesnut hard but brittle Upon every Ioint from the bottom to the top sprouts out a small Branch in stead of Leaves upon which hangs the Fruit in Clusters Within the Body of this Fruit is a white Kernel from which they extract an Oyl not only good to eat but very soveraign in the cure of Wounds if dress'd therewith so that the Indian Slaves if they receive hurt at any time from these Rottings or Canes wherewith they are wont to be Corrected they forthwith make use of this Oyl Besides these before-mention'd there are found as well in China as divers other Parts of the Indies two other different sorts which are by the Indians call'd Bamboes The smaller of these is very full of Pith but the other doth so far exceed all the rest for bigness that I do not wonder in the least if some Writers both ancient and modern have sometimes call'd it a Tree This kind call'd
the Mandorins He at our first Address readily undertook the Business and seem'd to promise himself an happy issue of it Hereupon we deliver'd him certain Heads to frame a Petition of which he accepted but a few days being pass'd when we thought he had made some progress in the Business he comes to the Christian before-mention'd and thus excuses himself Sir if those Padrees who are Strangers be ignorant yet you who are Natives must be acquainted with the manner of doing Business in this Court to wit That whose Petitions either I or any other in the same Office with me do exhibit proceeds always from these two Reasons either that we may avenge our selves of our Enemies or that we are hir'd to it by some great Reward from him in whose Name the Petition runs Now I have receiv'd no Injury from the Hollanders to be aveng'd of nor any Gratuity from those Padrees that I should thrust my my self into so much difficulty and danger for them This Man therefore we left and apply'd our selves to anther who plainly told us That if we would give him two hundred Tays he would plight his Faith to deliver our Petition with whatever Articles we should insert only he would not oblige himself that the Emperor should approve of them but if we would give him six hundred Tays more he would be bound they should be granted and in case they were not he would repay the whole Eight hundred Tays Considering the weightiness of the Mattir and the Liberty which your Lordships gave us in your Letters to undertake for any Sum of Money that we found necessary to effect this Business with your Engagement that the City of Maccow should make good the Payment we promis'd him the whole Sum â—nd upon the rehearsed Conditions before the Petition should be deliver'd â—according to this Country Custom this Master of Requests would see the whole Sum of Money ready and also receve some certain Tayes beforehand as a Pledge and Earnest of the whole which being impossible for us to do he even excus'd himself as the former had done and so forsook us but we insisted and in stead of ready Money which we wanted produc'd two rich Vests that the Emperor had bestow'd upon us and we had carefull preserv'd by us but never worn because it was the Emperor's Gift to us and that they were unsuitable to our Poverty and Religious Habit These he accepted for a hundred and fifty Tays of the Sum agreed on with all the symptomes of a great Satisfaction and really great was our Content because we now seem'd to have laid a sure Foundation for that Work we so earnestly desir'd to finish When lo this same Mandorin we know not by what means came to discover or at least to suspect the Vest to have been the Emperor's Gift unto us which was an Argument sufficient for him to decline our Business alledging not only That he was not so barbarous to receive or wear them but also That it was unworthy in us to slight the Vests which had been Presented us by the Emperor and therefore we might go look some other Person for our Business which on such Terms he would not touch with his little Finger Nor is this Answer any matter of wonder to any that are acquainted with the Dispositions of those Chineses for so timerous are they in any thing relating to their Emperor or rather so superstitious that beyond all comparison they do more dread him than they do God or his Temple But this fear and lowness is but external in reference to their Hands and where their want of Power forbids to do more but if you respect their Hearts there is no Chinese especially of the Learned sort of ingenious and liberal Education who is not a very Prince and carries not in his Plebeian Breast the Pride of the greatest Monarch And this is the Source and Fountain whence such frequent Dissentions spring up among them and the Cause of their often Changes But this is a Digression let us return Our Affliction and Trouble was not small to see our Hopes thus plung'd whereon besides the many Sacrifices of the Mass which we offer'd to God we appointed also some particular Devotions daily for this purpose Our next Application was to all Princes and Noble-men whom either we could take any occasion to visit or who took any occasion to visit us for no day pass'd wherein several Persons came not to adore the Holy Image and to view our new Church and Habitation which the Emperor had bestow'd upon us these we spar'd not to acquaint with the villanous and perfidious Disposition of the Hollanders with their Apostacy from their ancient profess'd Religion and Rebellion against their lawful Soveraign as also their Attempt upon the City of Maccow some years past where they were repell'd and indeed cut off by the brave Inhabitants few in number but mighty in Courage and Unanimity whereunto we thought fit to add That after their Repulse from Maccow they made an Invasion upon some part of the Province of Fokien and also seconded that with a forcible Seizure of an Island lying in that Sea belonging to the Chineses and by them call'd Taiwan but by us nam'd Formosa where they had erected Warlike Forts and where they had in no longer space than two or three years murder'd more than three thousand Persons of the Chineses some the ancient Inhabitants of the Island and some Merchants of the Province of Fockin and Checkin pass'd thither with their Merchandize And it appear'd in the Records of their Iudicial Proceedings that during the last King's Reign thirteen of those Hollanders which chanc'd to be taken Prisoners upon the Coast of Fockin being brought to the Court were all there Condemn'd and accordingly Executed In like manner we continu'd to alledge That under the pretence of Trade they had been admitted Footing upon the Island of Iava that notwithstanding that King weary of their Neighborhood had a long time cut off all Relief of Provisions going to them from all parts of his Territories and sometimes Besieg'd them with puissant and numerous Armies yet could he never prevail to turn them out of their Possessions from whence he might at first easily have kept them Nor was the Bond of any League strong enough to tie these Universal Robbers from offering or to secure any of their Allies from suffering Injuries by them who thought the Sea only their single due excluding all others from any Right to it and therefore never made distinction between Friend or Foe when any Ship fell into their Hands they were able to master as if Neptune had granted to them the only Patent of the Ocean And upon all this we inferr'd That to admit these Men the Exercise of a Free-Trade in China besides the domestick Perils and Mischiefs it would contract were likewise to condemn and scandalize all other Christian Princes and Rulers when they should see the great Potentate of the