and largeness all those of other Kingdoms which are known to us The Palaces of the Princes and Principal Mandarins appear to be Cities and the Houses of Wealthy Private Persons resemble so many Palaces They consist of Five or Six Apartments not one above another as in Europe but one beyond another and upon the same Platform Every Apartment is separated from the other by a large Court from which you ascend into the Halls and Chambers by an ascent of Six or Seven Steps I have spoken in general of their Works and Buildings in the Second Chapter I have also describ'd in the First Chapter the Celebrated Bridge which is to be seen not far from Pe-kim and I intend to speak more at large in the last of the Emperor's Palace Nevertheless that I may give a more just Idea of the Grandeur and Magnificence of the Publick Works of China I shall here make a Rehearsal of what I have already said in the Annual Letters of the Year 1659. touching the Grand Canal which if I am not deciev'd surpasses all other Works of this Nature which are upon the Earth It is now above Four Hundred Years ago since the Western Tartars Conquer'd all China Their Emperor settl'd his Residence in the City of Pe-kim which he founded anew to the end he might Govern his Territories with more ease for that he was also Lord of all the Western Tartary which extends it self from the Province of Pekim to the Territories of the Mogul to Persia and the Caspian Sea. But in regard the Northern Provinces could not furnish so large a City with Provisions necessary for their subsistance he order'd a great number of Vessels to be built to bring Victuals Spices and Merchandize of all sorts to Pe-kim from the Southern Provinces However perceiving the Incertainty of those Voyages and how that Calms and Tempests caus'd the loss of an infinite Quantity of Provisions and Merchandize he employ'd Workmen without number who at vast Expences and with an unparallel'd Industry open'd a Canal Three Thousand Five Hundred Chinese Furlongs or Two Hundred Forty Five Portugal Leagues in length through several Provinces This Canal as well to weaken the Current of the Stream as to make it more deep by retaining the Water within it is furnish'd with Seventy Two Sluces which the Chineses call Chā They have every one great Gates which are made of large Pieces of Timber and which are shut up in the Night but set open in the Day time for the passage of the Barks And the greatest part of these Sluces are pass'd through with a great deal of ease But there are some which are not to be shot but with a great deal of Pains and Danger More especially one which the Chineses call Tien Fi-cha or the Queen and Mistress of Heaven thereby to express in Hyperbolical Terms the extraordinary Height of it When the Barks are row'd against the Stream and come to the bottom of this Sluce the Watermen fasten to the Prow a great number of Cables and Cordage which are drawn on both sides the Canal by Four or Five Hundred Men and sometimes more according to the Burthen of the Vessel and the Weight of the Lading Others at the same time labour at Capstanes plac'd upon the Walls of the Sluce which are very broad and built of Free-Stone Besides the Ropes already mention'd there are others which are very strong wound about great Pillars of Stone or Wood to hold the Vessel if any of the other Cordage should chance to break When these Cords are all fasten'd they begin to Haule by degrees as it were keeping time to the sound of a Bason upon which they knock at first but softly and with some intervals between the stroaks but when half the Bark at least is rais'd to the height of the upper Channel in regard the Current is then much stronger they knock upon the Bason with thicker stroaks at what time the Four or Five Hundred Haule all together with loud Hey Boys and give such a stretch that the Vessel mounts up in a Moment and is secur'd in the dead Water between the sides of the Canal and the middle of the Current The Vessels on the other side fall down with more speed and ease but with more danger For the prevention of which they fasten a great number of Cords to the Poop which are let go or held tite with equal Care and Observation by those that hold the Ropes on both sides the Canal At the same time there are other Men on both sides the Vessel who with long Poles with Iron Heads guide the Bark through the middle of the Canal to prevent her striking against the Jaumes or great Stones to which the Gates are fasten'd Which when the Bark has pass'd the Cords are le ts go which kept her from plunging and at the same time the Currant carries her as swift as an Arrow out of a Bow till she stop by degrees as the Stream grows weaker and weaker and carries her according to her usual course This Canal begins at the City of Tum Cheu distant about two Leagues and a half from Pe-kim There is in the same place a River with the Current of which Vessels drive till near the Sea it falls into another through which the Vessels Sail for some few Days But then you come into a Canal made with hands and after you have Sail'd Twenty or Five and Twenty Leagues you come to a Temple call'd Fuen Hui Miaò or the Temple of the Spirit which divides the Waters As far as this place you Row upon the Canal against the Stream but when you come just against this Temple you begin to Swim with the Stream and make use only of your Oars Now I would fain know of our Engineers and famous Wits of Europe how this can be and whether it be a Work of Art or Nature A Bark lies cross the middle of the Canal with the Prow to the West on the Temple side and the Poop to the East Now on the one side the Water runs toward the North on the other side it runs toward the South To unfold this Riddle you are to understand that on the East side at the distance of about half a Days Journy there lies a great Lake between high Mountains the Waters of which swell'd a good large River that bent its course toward the Sea upon the East side Now the Chineses stop'd up that Outlet and having cut through the Mountain open'd a Canal by which they brought the Water to the Temple In that part they hallow'd two other Canals one toward the North the other toward the South and this with so true a proportion and regular Line that the Waters coming to the middle before the Temple take their leaves and one part of the Streams runs equally to the North and the other toward the South as you may see by the following Figure This Canal in some places runs through the middle of
a stranger could not understand the force of the Language but hearing the Tartars so often call the Southern Chineses Mangi believ'd it to be the Name of the Kingdom or Nation and not a name of Reproach However that there may be no farther doubt but that the Names of Catai and Mangi are quite different and do not both of them signifie China I shall here translate a piece of the forty fourth Chapter of the second Book of Marcus Paulus by which it will evidently appear that what I affirm is a constant and assured Truth For having spoken in the former Chapter of the great River which by reason of the vastness of its Stream the Chineses call â—… âm eu Kiam or the River Son of the Sea he goes on in this manner Caingui â—…s a small City upon the Banks of this River upon the South-side where they gather ever Year a great quantity of Rice the greatest part of which is carried to Cambalu to supply the Court of the great Cam. These Provisions are transported to Catai by Water over Rivers and Lakes and one large and deep Canal which the great Cam has caus'd to be made for the passage of Vessels from one River to another and to go from the Province of Mangi to Cambalu without going by Sea. This is a work of wonder for its Situation and its Length but more for the benefit which the Cities receive from it The Great Cham also caus'd to be rais'd all along the Banks of the said Rivers and Canal very strong and spacious Damms for Travellers to walk upon These are the words of M. Paulus and we shall speak of this great Work in the seventh Chapter But as for Caingui mention'd by that Author to speak properly it is neither a Town nor a City The Chineses call it Chim Kiam Keu that is the Mouth of the Son of the River in regard that an Arm of the River separates in that place and after it has run through part of the Province of Nan Kim crosses the Country of Che Kiam as far as the Capital City of it call'd Ham Cheu On both the sides of this Mouth there is one of those sort of places which the Chineses call Mâ teû that is a Place frequented for the sake of Trade Because the Barques there meet and come to an Anchor to ride secure in the Night time Now this Place of which Marcus Paulus speaks might well be call'd a Town by reason of the extraordinary number of Vessels that resort thither tho it be neither wall'd nor have buildings enow to form a City Now tho' this be perfectly known by all such as are employ'd as Missionaries into this Kingdom yet I cannot forbear to the end I may make this matter yet more evident to unfold some other passages of the same Author and to begin with the names of so many Cities of which he makes mention in his History In the twenty seventh Chapter of his second Book he speaks of the City of Tainfu which the Chineses call Tai yuen fu and which as we have said is the Capitol of the Province of Xansi In the 28th Chapter he speaks of another City of the same Province call'd by the Chineses Pim yam fu and which is a City of the second Rank as being the most Rich and Potent in the whole Empire except that of Sucheu in the Province of Nankin In the 56th Chapter he speaks of the City of Coiganzù which is called Hoaì gââ—… fû which is a Town of great Trade and very Rich by reason of the great quantity of Salt which is there made as in the Territory round about and which is thence transported into several parts of the Empire as M. Paulus observes in the same Chapter In the 65th Chapter he speaks of the City of Chian gian fu which is call'd Chim Kiam fu In his seventieth Chapter he describes the City of Tâ—…pinxu otherwise Tai 〈◊〉 fu in the Province of Namkim In the 75th he mentions the City of Fogiu otherwise Fo Cheu the Capital of the Province of Fo Kien In the 76th He has the City of Quelinfu which is called Kien nim fu He also reports that about this City there are a great number of Lions and that he repeats several times in other places which gives us to understand that he was mis-inform'd in most things since it is certain that the Chineses never saw a Lyon not so much as in Picture and therefore they paint a Lyon quite another Creature than he is For my part I am perswaded that M. Paulus is mistaken in believing those great and furious Tygres which are so common in that Empire to be Lyons And he confirms me in this Perswasion by saying in the 14th Chapter of his second Book that the Great Han has Lyons train'd up to hunt the other wild Beasts and that they are mark'd with white black and red lists or streaks and are larger then the Lyons of Babylon All which perfectly agrees with the descriptions of the Tygres or Leopards which several of the Princes of Asia make use of in their Châ—…ces but not at all with the descriptions of Lyons The same Author makes mention of several other Cities the names of which are so changed that they are so far from being Chinesie that they have no resemblance to the Language Nevertheless we clearly find that the Provinces and Cities which he places in Catai and Mangi belong all to China because they generally end with the Syllable fu which in the Chinesie Language signifies a City For example the Metropolis of the Province of Canton is Quam cheu fu Quam cheu being the proper name that distinguishes it from the rest and fu signifies a City as Polis among the Greeks and so Constantinopolis signifies the City of Constantine and Adrianopolis the City of Adrian We draw the second Proof of the Description which M. Paulus makes in the sixteenth and seven teenth Chapters of his second Book of the old and new City of Pekim and the King's Palace in regard that all that he speaks of it is conformable to what we see at this day and to what we shall describe in the Progress of this Relation The third is drawn from the Wine which is drank in that Court and the Stone-Coal which they burn there and is call'd Muy This Coal is brought from certain Mountains two Leagues distant from the City and it is a wonderful thing that the Mine has never fail'd notwithstanding that for above these four Thousand Years not only this City so large and Populous but also the greatest part of the Province has consum'd such an incredible quantity there being not any one Family tho' never so poor which has not a Stove heated with this Coal that lasts and preserves a Heat much more Violent then Charcoal These Stoves are made of Brick like a Bed or Couch three or four Hands Breadth high and broader or
Clock in the Morning of a sudden there came a Deluge that overflow'd the new City the Suburbs and the Planes adjoining Presently they shut up the Gates of the old City and stopp'd up all the holes and clefts with Chalk and Bitumen mingled together to prevent the entrance of the Water But the third part of the Houses of the new City were overturn'd and an infinite number of poor Creatures especially Women and Children were either drown'd or buried in the Ruins A great number of Villages and Houses of pleasure were carried away by the Impetuosity of the Inundation and the same thing happen'd to the Neighbouring Cities All the People fled for Refuge to the high Places or clim'd up to the tops of the Trees where several confounded with their Fears or fainting for want of Food dropt down into the Water and miserably perish'd In other Provinces their happen'd Accidents and Calamities yet more strange occasion'd by dreadful Earthquakes So that it seem'd to be the Pleasure of God to punish those Insidels for the Persecution which they had rais'd against the Christian Religion and the Preachers of the Gospel Never was â—…en the like Consternation in that Court where all Men were reduc'd to utmost despair not being able to divine the Cause of so extraordinary a Deluge At last the King having sent out certain People upon Rafts of Timber for they have no Boats at Pekim to examine the Reason they found that the troubled River of which we have already made mention had broken down the Damms and made it self a new Channel cross the Fields and Suburbs of the City which begat such an amazing Fear in the Minds of the People that the King and the Grandees were just upon the point of removing to some other place The same Fury of the Inundation carried away several Rocks which knocking against the Piles of the famous Bridge shook it in such a manner that they broke down two of the Arches The fifth Proof is that M. Paulus in the thirty second Chapter of the same Book speaks of that great River which the Tartars call Caramoran and the Chineses Hoâm Hô or the yellow River in regard that the slimy Mud which it carries with it makes the Waters to look of that Colour In the thirty sixth Chapter he makes mention of another River which he calls in the Chinese Language ô Kiam or the great River and which the Chineses as we have said already call Yam cu Kiam or the River Son of the Sea. In the thirty sixth Chapter describing the City which he calls Kimsai and which erroneously he will have to signifie the City of Heaven tho' the word as we shall shew hereafter signifies a Court he reports several Particulars concerning it for example that the City is seated between a Great Lake and a great River and that round about the Lake are to be seen several Palaces of the Grandees and divers Temples of the Bonzes and many other things which are very true only that he stretches too far where he says that the City is an hundred Miles in Circuit wherein he shews himself rather a Poet then an Historian However it be the Description which he makes of the City and Palace of Cambalu sufficiently demonstrate that Catai is a part of China and that what he says of the City of Kimsai is enough to prove that Mangi is another part of the same Empire for that the greatest part of his Relation is entirely conformable to what we our selves have seen Yet if M. Paulus had understood the Chinese Language as he says he understood that of the Tartars he had with more Exactness set down the Names of the Cities and Provinces and other particulars which he reports concerning that Empire But it is no wonder he should so often corrupt the Names since we our selves who upon our first arrival appli'd our selves with all the industry imaginable to understand the Chinese Letters and Language after the Study of several Years were frequently deceiv'd and quite mistook some part of the words So that we must not be surpriz'd if a Knight who only minded his Military Designs and to court the Favour of the great Han and only convers'd with the Tartars who for want of Politeness are the greatest Corrupters of Words above other Nations should fall into the same Inconvènience For he has corrupted Names in such a manner that they among us who have the greatest Knowledge of the Language and the Empire have much ado to pick out the meaning of many of his Mistakes Nevertheless by a strict Examination of the Situation of the Places and other Circumstances of his Relations we at length find out what he intends Father Martin Martini so famous for his Atlas of China as witty and ingenious as he was could not exempt himself from committing the like Errors Insomuch that we who have resided in this Empire for so many years have found it very difficult to understand the Persons and the Places of which he speaks especially in the Names that ought to terminate in M and which he always ends in Ng. For example instead of saying Pekim Nankim Chekîam Yûmlie Cûmchîm he always writes Peking Nanking Chekiang Yeunglie Cungching Wherein he must of necessity be deceived because that manner of writing does no ways correspond with the Chinese Pronunciation which answers to that of our M. and not of Ng Nor will it avail to say that the Germans pronounce I'm open with a soft production of the sound almost like Ng because they express it somewhat through the Nose for that the letter M whether pronunced open or close has always a much greater correspondence with the Chinese and Latin Pronunciation then the letters Ng. So much the more because the Germans pronounce I 'm final open rather like In or En then Im or Em. So that indeed this Reason might have been in some measure pardonable had the Father written in High-Dutch or only to the Germans But having writ in Latin and for the benefit of all Europe he ought to have conformed to the most exact and common Pronunciation Philip Cluverius in his sixth Chapter of his sixth Book makes a doubt whether the City of Kimsai of which M. Polo makes mention in his sixty eighth Chapter of his second Book wâ—…re the Court of the King of Tartary or the King of China He also with good reason takes notice of the Hyperboles which M. Polo makes us in describing the said City of Kimsai For the resolving of which Difficulties it will be necessary to observe that instead of Kimsai he ought to have written Kimsu the Master Court. For that Kim signifies a Court and Su a Master The Court being as it were the Model of the Rest of the Kingdom Kimsai then or Kimsu was the Court of the Princes of the Family of Sum whom the Western Tartars despoil'd of the Kingdom in the time of M. Polo A hundred years after that Nankim and
might be the first King of China in the regard that if we set aside the Fables which the Chineses have added and of which the Greeks and Romans are no less guilty when they speak of their first Founders the Sequel of their Story and the successive Train of their Kings seems to have much of Truth For according to the Computation of their Histories and Chronologies we clearly find that the first King of China began to reign about two hundred years after the Universal deluge according to the Version of the seventy Interpreters In which time the Descendants of Noah might well spread themselves to the farther end of Asia seeing that within the same space they expanded themselves over all the Western Parts of Asia into Africa and a good part of Europe The third Opinion asserts that the first King of China was Yao who according to their Chronology began to reign four thousand and twenty five years ago Their Histories relate that in his time there were both Mathematicians and Astrologers that he caus'd great Ditches and Chanels to be made for the draining away of the Waters of the Grand Deluge that till then cover'd the Valleys and the Champaign Grounds This King was a Prince illustrious for his Vertues and his Transcendent parts and is still honour'd as one of the wi sest and most vertuous Princes of China this Opi nion passes for currant and unquestionable among the Chineses And all the Fathers that have had the greatest Knowledge and Insight into their Books and Histories hold this latter Opinion for certain and the second for probable And because that according to the Version of the Holy Scripture call'd the Vulgar it would of necessity follow that Fohi and Yao must have been born and reign'd before the Deluge therefore we are forc'd in this Countrey to follow the Version of the Seventy Which being granted the History of this Empire seems very probable well trac'd and conformable not only to the Egyptian Assyrian Greek and Roman Histories but which is yet far more surprising to the Chronology of Sacred Scripture According to the second Opinion then which is most probable from King Tohi who began to reign about two hundred years after the Deluge to the Emperour Cam Hi who reign'd in the year 1668. There have been two hundred thirty six Kings divided into twenty two sidifferent Families who have govern'd this Empire for the space of four thousand five hundred thirty four years Which Families endur'd for a longer or lesser time according as they govern'd well or ill and till another revolting put the King to death routed out all the Princes of his Family and all the Nobility which he had rais'd and made himself Master of the Empire At the beginning these Rebels were either Petty Kings or Great Lords But afterwards they happen'd to be Men of low Birth and mean Condition The first King of the preceding Family was a Person of very obscure Parentage whose Name was Chum He was a long time a Servant among the Priests of the Idols after which he betook himself to be a Robber upon the High-way Afterwards being banish'd he put himself at the head of certain Free booters and after a great deal of prosperous Success made himself Master of the Empire At his Coronation he call'd himself Hum Vu or the Valiant and Warlike but then the Learned Flatterers advanc'd his Titles and call'd him Tai Mim which signifies a Reign of great Luster His Posterity reign'd in China two hundred seventy six Years and till the Year 1643 that the Tartars made themselves Masters of the Empire and destroy'd the Royal Family All those that revolt pretend that it is by the decree of Heaven that sent them to ease the People opprest by the Tyranny of their Governours And this Opinion or rather Vision finds so much credit in the Priests of the Chineses and is so deeply rooted in their minds as if it were one of the greatest Truths in the World insomuch that there is hardly one among them that does not hope to be an Emperour at one time or other And this is the reason of those frequent Revolts which we find in this Empire to day in one Province to morrow in another nay many times onely in one City or in one Town Many times you shall see a miserable Wretch advanc'd to be a King sometimes by a Troop of fifty Bandity sometimes by a hundred or two hundred Peasants but more frequently by a certain Sect of Idolaters who make a Profession of creating new Kings and establishing a new Government in the Empire 'T is a wonderfull thing to see the Comedies or rather Tragedies which are acted every day upon the Theatre of this Empire For he that but to day was but an ignominious Robber and under that Notion both dreaded and hated let him but shift his Habit and take upon him the Crown the Robes and Ornaments of a King and the same Man to morrow shall be belov'd and respected by all the World and though he is known to be of vile and abject Birth they shall presently call him the Son of Heaven and Lord of the Universe For that the Chineses as we have said call their Kingdom Tien Hia that is to say all that which is under the Heaven or Su hai Chinun that is to say all that is between the four Seas Titles conformable to their Pride and their Ignorance and to their scorn of Strangers So that it is the same thing among them to call a Man Master of all that is under the Heaven or between the four Seas as to call him King of China The Chineses give their Emperour several losty and magnificent Titles For example they call him Tien Hu Son of Heaven Xim Tien Hu Holy Son of Heaven Hoam Ti August and Great Emperour Xim Xoam Holy Emperour Hoam Xam August Sovereign Xim Kium Holy Prince Xim Xam Holy Sovereignty Que Chu Lord of the Kingdom Chao Tim Palace Royal Van Sui ten thousand years with several other Titles full of Grandeur and Majesty which I omit for fear of being tedious So that 't is the same thing to say Son of Heaven or ten thousand Years or Palace Royal as to say King or Emperour Yet notwithstanding all these idle flatteries this Prince is far from being so vain as the King of Monomotopa who believes it to be in his Power to command the Sun the Moon and Stars or so ambitiously Politick as the King of Siam who knowing by experience that the great River that crosses his Countrey overflows its banks every year at a certain Season and that it returns again by degrees within a certain time marches forth in great pomp out of his Palace to command the Waters to retire and fall down into the Sea. For though the Chineses give these great Titles to their King and though he suffers them yet neither he nor they at least the learned and more prudent sort are so
restrain some within the bounds of Duty then the Tartars enlarged their Offers But then such was the eager desire of those persidious Officers to heap up Wealth that at length they surrender'd into the hands of a small Number of half Barbarians the Richest and most Populous Kingdom in the World. In the same Book you see the number of Souldiers that keep Guard upon the Frontiers to the number of Nine hundred and two Thousand and fifty four The Auxiliary Forces that lie ready to March to their Assistance when the Tartars are upon entring into China are innumerable there being Nine hundred fourscore and nine Thousand an hundred sixty seven Horses appointed for those Forces The Emperors Expences for the Payment of the Officers and Souldiers amounts every year to five Millions thirty four Thousand seven hundred and fourteen Livers Were these Books printed and their Maps Engraven with that skill and exactness as Maps are done in Europe they would be the Admiration of all curious Persons It were to be wish'd that some one would take the pains to give us a lively Representation of the Walls Fortresses and other the most remarkable things in this Empire Now by what we have said concerning the Number of Souldiers appointed to Guard the Walls and Frontiers against the Tartars an easie judgment may be made of the Number of those that are employed upon the Borders of the Provinces in the Cities Towns and other wall'd Places of the Provinces of which there is not any one that has not a Garrison They amount to the Number of seven hundred sixty seven Thousand nine hundred and seventy Men which in time of Peace Guard and attend in the day time upon the Mandarin's Embassadors and other Persons whose Expences the King defrays and in the Night time keep Guard about their Barques or their Lodgings The Horses also which the King keeps as well for the Service of his Troops as for his Posts and Messengers amount to five hundred sixty four Thousand and nine hundred But when there happens any Revolt or any War the Armies which rendevouze from all the Provinces are almost innumerable And now because my time is short and my occasions oblige me to Brevity I shall here set down the Principal Wonders of this Empire of which the Author before mentioned gives a larger account There are in the fifteen Provinces three hundred thirty and one Famous Bridges not much inferior to that of which we have already spoken and to those which are describ'd by Father Martini and M. Polo in their Descriptions of China And therefore I shall say no more upon this Subject seeing that if I were to describe every Structure in particular that is considerable it would require the labour of several Volumes There are also in China two thousand fourscore and nineteen Mountains Famous â—…her for being cut into the shape of Monstrous Idols as is that which I have mentioned in the Relation of my Travels from the Province of Kiam nân or Nankim to that of Su Chuen and which I sent into Europe in the year 1643. Or for their Fountains their particular Plants and their Minerals of great Virtue or for their extraordinary strength and other Prerogatives which distinguish them from others Their Famous Waters such as are their Lakes full of Fish their hot Fountains no less Medicinal than Wonderful the large Streams and Navigable Rivers are to the number of one Thousand four Hundred Seventy and Two. There are one Thousand Fourscore and Nineteen Peices of Antiquity to be seen as Statues Famous Paintings and Vessels of high Price and greatly esteemed One Thousand one Hundred Fifty Nine Towers Triumphal Arches and other such like Magnificent Pieces of Workmanship Erected in Honour of Renowned Princes Men famous for their Valour or their Learning or of Widows and Virgins renowned for their Chastity and Vertue Two hundred seventy two Libraries embellish'd with sundry Ornaments stored with great numbers of Books and built at vast Expences There are likewise to be seen seven Hundred and Nine Temples Erected by the Chineses at several times in memory of their Ancestors and considerable for their Largness and the Beauty of their Architecture For it is the Custom of the Chineses to testifie an extraordinary Affection and Obedience to their Parents especially after their Death and therefore to make this manifest to the World they cause to be built at great Expences most stately Halls wherein instead of Images and Statues they set up in Cartredges the Names of their Ancestors and Parents Also upon certain days of the Year appointed by the Family to which the Temple belongs they assemble all together in these Halls where they prostrate themselves upon the ground in token of Love and Veneration Which done they offer Incense and afterwards make a spendid Feast at several Tables richly set Forth and adorn'd with an extraordinary Decency and a great Number of Dishes and Viands well dress'd They reckon about four Hundred and Fourscore Temples of Idols very Famous and much frequented by reason of their Riches their Magnisicence and the Pretended Miracles and Fables which they report concerning their Idols In these Temples and in others of which the Number through the whole Empire is incredible no less than three Hundred Thousand Bonzes have their Habitations I must confess I could not conceive there should be so great a Number and therefore I put the Question to a Mandarin of the Tribune of Ceremonies who was one of my friends whether it were true or no â—… For that the Bonzes are under the Jurisdiction of this Tribunal and receive their Licences from it which they call Tutie This Mandarin upon a diligent search inform'd me that within the City and Court of Pekim only there were Six Thousand Six Hundred Sixty eight Bonzes unmarry'd call'd by them Ho xám and five Thousand and Twenty Two Marry'd and which like the former have also their Pass-ports and Licences by which said he you may judge of the number dispers'd over the whole Empire Besides that you are farther to observe that within the Number of three Hundred and fifty Thousand mention'd by the Chinese Historian are only comprehended the Bonzes which have Licences But in regard that among six or seven Bonzes not above one or two generally have Licences should they all be reckon'd into the Number they would certainly amount to above a Million There are moreover six Hundred Fourscore and five Mausoleums Famous for their Architecture and their Riches For in China all Persons are prohibited under great Penalties to bury their dead within the Walls of their Cities or of any other place whatever So that after they have put the Corps in the Cossin all the Chincks and Jointures of which are stopp'd up with Bitumen to prevent the scent of the dead Body they leave them in the House where they died for some Months and many times for two or three years together the Magistrate in all that
for want of Art and Knowledge not for defect of Wit they have also several Books that Treat of the Mathematicks and Military Discipline and several Excellent Treatises of Physick wherein they shew the smartness of their Wits by making several solid and learned Discourses upon the Pulses or beating of Arteries of which they have a particular knowledge upon the Manner of knowing and distinguishing between Deseases and Deseases they have several Pleasant Romances and Books of Chivalrie like those of Amadis de Gaul Oâ—…lando Furioso D. Quixote c. and Volumes of Histories and Presidents of Obedience of Children toward their Parents of the Loyalty of Subjects towards their Princes of Agriculture Eloquent Discourses Pleasant Poems full of Witty Invention Tragedies and Comedies and lastly a very great Number of Treatises upon an Insinity of other Subjects besides that such is their readiness and quickness of Invention that there are very few Licentiates or Doctors that do not publish at least one or two large Volumes They have five Volumes which they call U Kim or the five Writings which among them are the same as the Holy Scriptures among us The first is call'd Xu Kim that is to say a Chronicle of five Ancient Kings which the Chineses esteem and worship for Saints The three last were the Heads of three different Families that raign'd for almost two Thousand Years that is to say almost as long as the Nineteen Families that succeeded them including also that of the Tartars that Reigns at present The first of these Emperors was call'd Yao who according to the Chinese Chronicles began his Raign four Thousand and Twenty five Years ago counting to this present year 1668. or about Five Hundred Years after the Deluge according to the Calculation of the Seventy Interpreters This Prince the Legislator of the Chineses was eminent for several Vertues more â—…specially for his extraordinary Clemency Justice and Prudence Now in regard he saw that his Son had not those Qualities which are requisite for a Good Governour for by the Report of the Chineses they put a higher value upon Vertue then upon all other Endowments he chose for his Co-partner in the Empire one of his Subjects call'd by the name of Xùn whom he declared Emperor upon his death Bed and gave him his two Daughters for his Wives This President the Chineses make use of to maintain Polygamy but the Fathers of our Society return for answer according to the Sentiments of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church that God at that time permitted plurality of Wives because it was requisite for the Multiplication of Human Kind and for peopling the Earth The Chineses are satisfy'd with this Answer because the first of their sacred Books informs them that at that time China was but very thinly inhabited Moreover they approve the Exposition which Father Iulio Aleni makes upon that passage in the Books call'd Keù to ge chao compos'd by the Learned Christians of the Province of Fo-kien from what they had heard the Learned Father discourse both in publick and private that is to say that tho' the words of the Text of that first Book are Cil Niù those two Monosyllables do not signifie two Daughters but the second Daughter of the Emperor Yao which he Marry'd to his Successor For that the Chineses as it is the Custom at present never gave no other Names for distinction's sake but only that of the Order of their Birth As for example the First the Second the Third Son. So that when they read that Yao gave to Xùn Cil Niù the meaning is that the Emperor gave him his Second Daughter the Letter Cil being no more then the Figure 2 among us That Emperor Xùn is applauded in this Book for many Vertues but more especially for his Obedience to his Father and his Affection to his Brother who both endeavour'd to have kill'd him several times but he suffer'd all their Cruelties with an extraordinary Patience Among other Examples of his Vertue there are two Philosophers who report how that one Day his Father and his Brother who were both as Wicked as he was Vertuous commanded him to go down into a Well to cleanse it Immediately he Obey'd but he was no sooner at the bottom but those Barbarians transported with Fury and Malice drew the Ladder and threw down great Stones peices of Wood and what ever they could find next at hand to destroy him in the Well However he got out through a passage which he discover'd under ground Nevertheless he was so far from seeking to revenge that excess of Fury and Inhumaniâ—…y that he repay'd them with greater Marks then ever of Respect and Love. The Third Emperor was call'd Yù who having serv'd the Emperor Xùn during his Life time with great Loyalty and Advantage the Dying Prince made choice of him for his Successor in regard that his Son besides that he was notoriously Wicked was no way endow'd with parts to Govern the Empire This Emperor Yù during the Reign of his Predecessor took care to drain away the Water of the Deluge which at that time overslow'd a great part of the Plains of China and which the Chineses call by the Name of Hûm Xùi or the Great Deluge of Water This Emperor was desirous as his Successors had done before him to choose for his Successor one of his Subjects call'd Ye who had been assistant to him in the Government of his Kingdom but the People would not permit him declaring that the Emperor's Son was a Person Endu'd with all Vertues necessary to Govern them well and so they put him in possession of the Empire The Princes that succeeded this last Emperor Reign'd by right of Succession and not of Election till the Emperor Kie a Vicious and Cruel Prince who was the last of this same first Family The Fourth Emperor call'd Chim Tam was the Founder of the Second Royal Family His Eminent Vertues had oblig'd the preceding Emperors to make him King of the Kingdom of Po which is at present comprehended within the Province of Hô nan He took up Arms against the Emperor Kie and after he had deliver'd the People from so Cruel a Tyrant made himself Master of the Empire During the Reign of this Emperor there was such a Drought that there was neither Rain nor Snow for Seven Years together as if the Heavens had been made of Brass The Fountains and Rivers were almost all dry'd up the Land became Barren and these Calamities were attended with Famine and Pestilence In the midst of these Fatal Extremities the Emperor forsook his Palace quitted his Royal Habit and covering himself with certain Skins went up to the top of a Hill call'd Sam Lin where as he lay prostrate upon the Earth he made the following Prayer Lord if thy People have offended thee punish them not because they have ignorantly transgress'd against thee Punish me rather who here present my self before Thee as a Victime ready
three hundred sixty five For in regard the Emperor is stil'd the Sun of Heaven there is nothing that appertains to him to which the Chineses do not ascribe some relation to the Celestial Beings as the Heavens the Sun the Moon the Planets and the Stars Thus Lum y signifies the Habits of the Dragon for that the Imprese and Arms of the King of China are compos'd of Dragons with five Clawes and for that reason his Habits and his Moveables of necessity must be adorn'd with Dragons either in Painting or Embroidery So that when you say Lum yen the Eyes of the Dragon or Lum y the habits of the Dragon all the Chineses understand that you mean the Emperor's Eyes or the Emperor's Garments and so of the rest Lastly there are other Vessels call'd Lám chuen very light and small in Comparison of the others and which are almost as broad as they are long These are for the use of the Men of Learning and other wealthy Persons and People of Quality that go and come to and from the Court. They have belonging to them a fair Cabin a Bed a Table and Chairs where you may sleep eat study write and receive Visits with the same Convenience as if you were at home in your House The Prow belongs to the Marriners and Watermen and the Master of the Boat lives in the Poop with his Wife and Children where also the Victuals are drest for him that hires the Bark These last Vessels with several others of several Forms belong to particular Persons and are almost Innumerable And I my self in the Year 1656 by the Emperor's command went by water from Pe kim to Macao upon the grand Canal and several other Rivers for above six hundred Leagues without going by Land but only one days Journey to cross a Mountain which divides the Province of Kiam si from 〈◊〉 of Quam tum Certainly there is no Kingdom in the World so vast as this is that enjoys the like advantage Nevertheless what I am now going to relate will seem to be yet more incredible and indeed I should hardly have believ'd it my self had I not seen it my self The fourth of May in the year 1642. I departed from the City of Ham cheu Capital of the Province of Che Kiam and the twenty eighth of August of the same year I arriv'd at Chim tu the Capital of the Province of Su chuen During these four Months I made four Hundred Leagues all the way by Water counting the windings and turnings of the Rivers yet so that for a whole Month I sail'd upon two different Streams tho during all the other three Months I kept upon the grand River of Kiam which is call'd the Son of the Sea. During this tedious Journey by Water I met with every Day such vast quantities of Timber Trees tied one to another of all sorts of Wood which if they were fasten'd together would make a Bridge of several days Journey I sail'd by some of these that were fasten'd to the Shoar above an hour and sometimes for half a days swimming with the Stream Now the most wealthy Merchants of China are they that trade in Salt and Wood there being no other Commodities for which they have a more considerable Vent This Wood therefore is cut down in the Mountains of the Province of Suchuen upon the Frontiers of China to the West and after they have caus'd it to be carry'd to the Banks of the River Kiam which about those Parts falls into this Empire they Saw it into Boards and with little Expence carry it into most parts of the Provinces where they make a very great Profit by the Sale of it The Breadth of these Trains of Timber is about ten Foot and the Length either longer or shorter according to the Merchant's Stock but the longest are sometimes about half a League They rise above the Water four or five Foot and they are made after this manner They take as much Wood as is requisite for the height or thickness of four or five Foot and breadth of ten Then they make holes at the Ends of the pieces of wood through which they put wreaths of Reeds or twisted Osiers to which they fasten other pieces of Wood suffering the Float to fall down with the stream till the whole Train be as long as they desire All the parts of the Float being thus contriv'd move and yield to the Water as necessity requires as pliably as the Links of a Chain Only upon the fore-part of the Float they set four or five Men with Oars or Poles to guide the Float and make it swim where they please Upon these Floats at such and such distances they build little wooden Cottages which they sell whole as they are at the several places where they stop during their Journey Here the Merchants Sleep and shelter themselves as in their Houses dress their Meat and Eat it and put their furniture and utensils therein The same Merchants also bring from the Mountains and Forrests where they cut their Wood several sorts of Medicinal Herbs Parrots Monkeys and other things which they sell in the Cities and other places thro' which they pass to other Merchants that vend them over all the Provinces of the Empire Great Quantities of this Wood are brought to Pekim though it be distant above seven hundred Portugueze Leagues from the Mountains where the Wood is cut down And thus a Man may easily judge by what I say that there is no Kingdom in the World that can compare with China for the Benefit of going and trading by Water CHAP. X. Of the great Plenty of all things in China MOST certain it is that the two Fountains of Trade are Navigation and Plenty in a Kingdom stor'd with all sorts of Commodities China enjoys both these Advantages to that degree that no Kingdom exceeds it The great quantity of Gold which is found in all the Mountains is such that instead of Coining it into Money to buy Necessaries it is it self a Commodity Whence comes that Proverb among the Chineses so often repeated at Macao Money is the Blood but Gold is Merchandize As for Money it is now above four thousand five hundred Years that this Empire has lasted nor has their Coveteousness of Money nor their Industry to get it been less ancient So that the quantity which the Chineses have rammas'd together must needs be immense and incredible so much the rather for that whatever enters once is never carri'd out again in regard the Laws so strictly forbid it You shall rarely hear in Europe of Presents made of five Hundred or a Thousand Crowns but in China it is a usual thing to make Presents not only of a Thousand but ten twenty thirty forty thousand Crowns And certain it is that through the whole Empire but more especially at Court several Millions are expended in Presents and Entertainments and that the same thing is there every day to be seen which was
in pieces Which had been executed if his Chief General who was his adopted Son had not while they were leading to the place of torment by his Arguments and his Intercessions obtain'd their pardon Thereupon the Tyrant sent away with all speed to have them brought back again into his presence where after he had loaded them with ill language and Reproaches he committed them to the custody of certain Souldiers with orders to guard them day and night In which condition they remain'd for a whole month at the end of which he sent for them one morning into his presence They found him then very bloodily employ'd in giving Orders for the putting to death a great number of persons and verily believ'd that their last hour had been at hand But at the same time it was the will of God that the Scouts came in one after another bringing intelligence that some of the avant Couriers of the Tartars Vanguard were at hand But the Tyrant not giving credit to their Intelligence would needs mount without his Arms and attended onely by some of his most faithfull Friends rode forth to make a farther discovery of the Enemy himself at what time being forc'd to a Skirmish he was at the beginning of the Fight shot through the Heart with an Arrow Thus the Fathers finding themselves at liberty by the death of the Tyrant resolv'd to retire to their House But by the way they met a Troop of Tartars that shot several Arrows at them insomuch that F. Magaillans was shot quite through the Arm and F. Buglio into the Thigh where the head of the Arrow stuck very deep in the Flesh so that although F. Magaillans made use of his Teeth to pull it out he could not Till looking about him in that extremity he spy'd at last a pair of Pincers lying in a blind place to which they had retir'd for shelter by the help of which he drew the Arrow out of the wound not without great loss of blood The same Evening they were presented to the Prince who commanded the Army who being inform'd what they were entertain'd them with an extraordinary civility and order'd two Lords to take care to furnish them with all things necessary However The Fathers underwent great hardships for above a year together that they follow'd the Army till they came to Pe Kim more especially for want of Victuals of which there was great scarcity in the Army for some time so that F. Magaillans was constrain'd for three months to live upon a small quantity of Rice onely boil'd in fair water But upon their arrival at Court the Tribunal of Ceremonies which takes care of all Strangers caus'd them to be lodg'd in the Royal Hostery with a large allowance of Provision for their entertainment There they resided two years which being expir'd a Person of Quality was commanded to take care of their Entertainment During all which time they employ'd themselves in preaching the Gospel and baptiz'd several persons They continu'd seven years at Court before they were known to the King. But then the Prince understanding who they were was extreamly joyfull at their preservation and gave them a House a Church Revenues and Money to buy them Vestments Thereupon F. Magaillans in testimony of his Gratitude to the King for so many Favours employ'd himself day and night in making several curious and ingenious pieces of Art to please him yet not so but that he was no less diligent in the Conversion of Souls as well by preaching as by writing He also wrote several Relations and translated the Book of St. Thomas Aquinas concerning the Resurrection of the Body which was receiv'd with great applause After a Reign of eight years the King dy'd and because his Son who is the present Emperour was very young he appointed four Protectors to govern the Empire during the Son's minority Now at the beginning of their Regency some Footmen belonging to a Christian Mandarin to revenge themselves upon their Master against whom they were highly incens'd falsly accus'd F. Magaillans to have given Presents in favour of that Mandarin who was put out of his Employment which is a great Crime in China Thereupon the Father was carry'd before the Criminal Tribunal where he was put to the Rack two times by the squeezing of both his Feet in a Press which though it were a hideous Pain yet the Father endur'd it with a constant Resolution nor would be brought to confess a thing of which he was not guilty Nevertheless the Judges contrary to all Justice condemn'd him to be strangl'd and sent their sentence according to custom to the four Regents But they as well for that he was a stranger as because they were satisfi'd of his Innocency acquitted him and restor'd him to his Liberty Three years after in the Persecution which all the Fathers suffer'd for Religion he was apprehended with others and loaden for four whole months together with nine Chains three about his Neck three about his Arms and three about his Lggs He was also condemn'd to have forty Lashes and to be banish'd out of Tartary as long as he liv'd But a great Earth Quake that happen'd at that time at Pekim deliver'd both him and the rest of his Companions Afterwards for several years together he made it his business as well to perform the actual Functions of the Mission as to pleasure the Reigning Prince who had taken possession of the Government with his ingenious Inventions labouring like an ordinary Mechanick to the end that the favour of the Prince might be a means to maintain and augment the Faith which was the Fathers onely aim Three years before his Death the wounds which he receiv'd in his Feet when he was put upon the Rack broke out again which he endur'd with an extraordinary Patience Two Months before he dy'd these pains were accompany'd with defluxions that stopt his Respiration so that he was constrain'd to sleep sitting up in a Chair for fear of being choak'd which was the reason that many times he never shut his Eyes for several nights together He wanted for nothing during his Sickness but no Remedies could surmount the force of the Distemper which dayly encreas'd so that upon the sixth of May in the year 1677 between six and seven a Clock in the Evening as he sat in his Chair and the Distemper urging still with more violence he sent for the Fathers who gave him the Viaticum and extream Unction after he had some days before made a general Confession And so about eight a Clock he placidly surrender'd his Soul to his Creatour in the presence of all the Fathers the Servants the Neighbours and several Christian Mandarins who could not forbear weeping at his departure The next day F. Verbiest now Vice Provincial of this Mission went betimes in the Morning to give notice to the King of the Death of the Father The Prince bid him return home whither he in a very short time would send