"dressed in silk both winter and summer; and this kind of dress is
common to the prince, the soldier, and to every other person,
though of the lowest degree. In winter they wear drawers, of a
particular make, which fall down to their feet. Of these they put
on two, three, four, five, or more, if they can, one over another;
and are very careful to be covered quite down to their feet,
because of the damps, which are very great and much dreaded by
them. In summer they only wear a single garment of silk, or some
such dress, but have no turbans.
"Their common food is rice, which they often eat with a broth, like
what the Arabs make of meat or fish, which they pour upon their
rice. Their kings eat wheaten bread, and all sorts of animals, not
excepting swine, and some others.
"They have several sort of fruits, apples, lemons, quinces,
sugar-canes, citruls, figs, grapes, cucumbers of two sorts, trees
which bear meal, walnuts, filberts, pistachios, plums, apricocks,
services [cherries], and coco-nuts; but they have no store of
palms; they have only a few about some private houses.
"Their drink is a kind of wine made of rice; they have no other
wine in the country, nor is there any brought to them; they know
not what it is, nor do they drink of it. They have vinegar also,
and a kind of comfit like what the Arabs call Natef, and some
others.
"They are not very nice in point of cleanliness. They eat also of
dead animals, and practice in many other things like the Magians;
and, in truth, the religion of the one and the other is much the
same. The Chinese women appear uncovered, and adorn their heads
with small ivory and other combs, of which they shall wear
sometimes a score together. The men are covered with caps of a
particular make. They are very expert mechanics, but ignorant of
the arts that depend on the mathematics."
The knowledge of reading and writing is described as being general
amongst them, all important transactions being put into writing.
Idolatry is mentioned as very prevalent, and a hideous and
incomprehensible statement is made, of human flesh being publicly
exposed for sale in the markets. At the same time the punishment of vice
is represented as most severe, and the surveillance over individuals
extremely rigid, "for everybody in China, whether a native, an Arab, or
any other foreigner, is obliged to declare all he knows of himself, nor
can he possibly be excused for so doing". And thieves are put to death
as soon as caught.
Canfu (Canton) is mentioned as the seaport of China, resorted to by
Arabian shipping; and Cumdan, described as a very splendid city,
supposed to be Nanking, was the residence of the monarch.
Renaudot, to whom the world is indebted for rescuing this narrative from
obscurity, believes that it supplied Edrisi, the celebrated Arab
geographer of the twelfth century, with the materials for the
observations on China which occur in his _Geographia Nubiensis_; but
this reproach would seem to be unfounded, inasmuch as his details are
too few and vague, to warrant the conclusion that they were digested
from the more lucid and ample account to which we have been referring.
The most observable point of information with which Edrisi supplies us,
is the fact, that the northern parts of _Sin_ had by that time been
conquered by a Tartar nation, whom he calls the Baghargar Turks.
Abulfeda also, who flourished nearly two centuries later, seems to have
been equally ignorant of the existence of the two Arab travellers; for
he gives, as an apology for the ignorance of the geographers of that day
respecting China, that no one had been there from whom they could
procure information.
The incidental reference to China by Benjamin of Tudela, a Jewish
traveller in the east, of the twelfth century, should not be omitted. It
is but a reference, but curious enough to be quoted. It is as follows:--
"From thence (the Island of Khandy) the passage to China is effected
in forty days; this country lies eastward, and some say that the
star Orion predominates in the sea which bounds it, and which is
called Sea of Nikpha. Sometimes so violent a storm rages in this
sea, that no mariner can reach his vessel; and whenever the storm
throws a ship into this sea, it is impossible to govern it; the crew
and the passengers consume their provisions, and then die miserably.
Many vessels have been lost in this way, but people have learned how
to save themselves from this fate by the following contrivance. They
take bullocks' hides along with them, and whenever this storm arises
and throws them into the Sea of Nikpha, they sew themselves up in
the hides, taking care to have a knife in their hand, and being
secured against the sea-water, they throw themselves into the ocean;
here they are soon perceived by a large eagle, called griffin, which
takes them for cattle, darts down, takes them in his gripe, and
carries them upon dry land, where he deposits his burthen on a hill
or in a dale, there to consume his prey. The man, however, now
avails himself of his knife, therewith to kill the bird, creeps
forth from the hide, and tries to reach an inhabited country. Many
people have been saved by this stratagem."
The first European reference to China described by a traveller from
_hearsay_, is that given by the Minorite friar John de Plano Carpini,
who, with five other brothers of the order, in 1245 was sent by Pope
Innocent IV into the country of the Mongolians. The purpose of this
mission was, if possible, to divert these devastating conquerors from
Europe, and to instigate them rather to a war with the Turks and
Saracens. At the same time they were to inculcate, as much as might be,
the Christian faith, and at all events to collect every possible
information respecting a people so little known.
Carpini was absent sixteen months. A copy of his narrative, formerly
belonging to Lord Lumley, is in the British Museum, and is the same
which was used by Hakluyt for his _Principal Navigations_, from which
the following extract is taken. It is after describing a battle between
the Mongals and the Chinese, whom he calls Kythayans, that he describes
the latter as follows:
"The men of Kytay are Pagans, hauing a speciall kinde of writing by
themselues, and (as it is reported) the Scriptures of the Olde and
Newe Testament. They haue also recorded in hystories the liues of
their forefathers: and they haue Eremites, and certaine houses made
after the manner of our churches, which in those dayes they greatly
resorted vnto. They say that they haue diuers saints also, and they
worship one God. They adore and reuerence CHRIST JESVS our Lord,
and beleeue the article of eternall life, but are not baptized.
They doe also honorably esteeme and reuerence our Scriptures. They
loue Christians, and bestowe much almes, and are a very courteous
and gentle people. They haue no beardes, and they agree partly with
the Mongals in the disposition of their countenance. In all
occupations which men practise, there are not better artificers in
the whole worlde. Their countrey is exceeding rich in corne, wine,
golde, silke, and other commodities."
The first traveller, from whom accounts collected from personal
experience respecting China were received in _Europe_, was William Van
Ruysbroeck, commonly known by the name of De Rubruquis, a friar of the
Minorite order, and sometimes called William of Tripoli, from the
circumstance of the narrative of his travels having been transmitted
from Tripoli to St. Louis, king of France, at whose instance they were
undertaken. The cause of his mission was a rumour, which had spread
through Europe, that the Mongolian chief, Mangu Khan, had embraced the
Christian religion; and St. Louis being then engaged in the fourth
Crusade against the Saracens, was anxious to cement an alliance with the
Tartars, who were at that time in hostility with the same power on the
side of Persia. This political purpose was enhanced by sanguine hopes
that the Tartars were even then, or likely soon to be, converted to the
Christian faith. The passage of Rubruquis was by Constantinople over the
Black Sea, through the Crimea, to the district of the city of the
Caraci, in the Gobi Desert, where Mangu Khan was then residing.
His first reception was not of the most hospitable kind, but nine days
after his arrival he succeeded in obtaining an imperial audience; and
when Mangu Khan, a short time after, departed for Karakorum, a city on
the east side of the river Orchon, he and his companions followed in his
train. This city, of which no traces have been found in the desert for
some centuries, is mentioned by Marco Polo, who visited it about
eighteen years after Rubruquis, as having been the first in which these
Tartars ever fixed their residence, and was at that time the capital of
Mangu Khan, and the only considerable city in that part of Asia.
Rubruquis, in describing it, says: "There are two grand streets in it,
one of the Saracens, where the friars are kept and many merchants resort
thither, and one other street of the Catayans (Chinese), who are all
artificers." The explanation of this is, that the Tartars had already
conquered the greater part of northern China, then known under the name
of Cathay.
Rubruquis and his companions, who by this time had gained considerable
favour in the eyes of the Khan, entered Karakorum with great
distinction. He describes the city itself as not equal to the village of
St. Denis, near Paris, the monastery of which he asserts was "tenne
times more worth than the palace, and more too." The place was
surrounded by a mud wall, and had four gates. The description of the
palace conveys the idea of a hall, at one end of which was a raised seat
for the Khan, on which he "sitteth above like a god". In this city the
friar found to his surprise a French goldsmith, named Guillaume
Bouchier, who is not unfrequently mentioned by early writers under the
name of William of Paris, and who had constructed a piece of mechanism,
the ingenuity of which deserves the highest praise, when the early
period at which he worked is taken into consideration. Its description
is thus given by Purchas, in a translation of the greater part of the
travels of Rubruquis, inserted in the third volume of his _Pilgrimes_.
"Master _William Parisiensis_ made him (the Khan) a great silver
tree, at the root whereof were foure silver lions, having one pipe
sending forth pure cowes milke, and the foure pipes were convayed
within the tree, unto the top thereof: whose tops spread backe
again downward: and upon every one of them was a golden serpent,
whose tayles twine about the bodie of the tree. And one of those
pipes runs with wine, another with caracosmos, that is, clarified
whay; another with ball, that is, drinke made of honey; another
with drinke made of rice, called _teracina_. And every drinke hath
his vessell prepared of silver, at the foot of the tree, to receive
it. Betweene those foure pipes in the top, he made an angell
holding a trumpet; and under the tree, he made an hollow vault,
wherein a man might be hid; and a pipe ascendeth through the heart
of the tree unto the angell. He first made bellowes, but they gave
not wind enough. Without the palace there is a chamber, wherein the
drinkes are layd, and there are servants readie there to poure it
out, when they heare the angell sounding the trumpet. And the
boughes of the tree are of silver, and the leaves and peares. When
therefore they want drinke, the master butler cryeth to the angell
that he sound the trumpet. Then he hearing (who is hid in the
vault) blowes the pipe strongly, which goeth to the angell. And the
angell sets his trumpet to his mouth, and the trumpet soundeth very
shrill. Then the servants hearing, which are in the chamber, every
of them poure forth their drink into their proper pipe, and the
pipes poure it forth from above, and they are received below in
vessels prepared for that purpose. Then the butlers draw them, and
carry them through the palace to men and women."[1]
Amongst the various points of information gathered by Rubruquis
respecting the Chinese or Catayans, as they were so long called, occur
the following important items. The characteristic principle of their
religious and political creed, embodied the great truth of the existence
of one supreme presiding deity, under whom the grand khan maintained the
presidency over his extensive dominions, and resistance to that dominion
consequently involved not only treason but heinous impiety. Another
curious fact, first communicated by Rubruquis, and afterwards confirmed
by Marco Polo, is that of paper currency, which was not adopted in
Europe for some centuries after, being then in general use in China. To
him also we are indebted for some notion of the peculiar characters and
mode of writing practised by the Chinese, who, as he says, do not write
with pens as we do, but with small brushes, such as are used by our
painters, and in one character or figure give a whole word.
He also speaks at length of a strong drink called Cosmos, which he
describes as follows:--
"Their drinke, called Cosmos, which is mare's milk, is prepared
after this manner. They fasten a long line unto two posts, standing
firmly in the ground, and unto the same line they tye the young
foales of those mares which they meane to milke. Then come the
dammes to stand by their foales, gently suffering themselves to be
milked. And if any of them be too unruly, then one takes her foale
and puts it under her, letting it sucke a while, and presently
carrying it away againe, there comes another man to milke the said
mare. And having gotten a good quantitie of this milke together
(being as sweet as cowes milke) while it is new, they powre it into
a great bladder or bag, and they beat the said bag with a piece of
wood made for the purpose, having a club at the lower end like a
mans head, which is hollow within: and soone as they beat upon it,
it begins to boyle like new wine, and to be sowre and sharpe of
taste, and they beat it in that manner till butter come thereof.
Then taste they thereof, and being indifferently sharpe they drinke
it; for it biteth a mans tongue like the wine of raspes when it is
drunke. After a man hath taken a draught thereof, it leaveth behind
it a taste like the taste of almond-milke, and goeth downe very
pleasantly, intoxicating weake braynes. Likewise Karacosmos, that
is to say, blacke Kosmos, for great lords to drinke, they make on
this manner. First, they beat the said milke so long till the
thickest part thereof descend right downe to the bottome like the
lees of white wine; and that which is thinne and pure remaineth
above, being like unto whay or white must. The said lees and dregs
being very white, are given to servants, and will cause them to
sleepe exceedingly. That which is thinne and cleere their masters
drinke, and in very deede it is maruellous sweet and wholesome
liquor."[2]
This limited stock of information, however, valuable as it is from the
priority of its date, sinks into insignificance before the detailed and
almost cotemporaneous narrative of that once reviled but now much
honoured pioneer of geographical investigation, Marco Polo. In the
present advanced age, when enlarged facilities have opened up to the
knowledge of the world the characteristic peculiarities of remote
countries and their inhabitants, we can do justice to the courage and
fidelity of those who, six centuries ago, could dare to describe such
apparent anomalies, while at the same time we can find an excuse for the
disbelief of those who regarded them as extravagant and impudent
fictions. Nor can we, indeed, conceive of any country and people, the
description of which, unconfirmed by the repeated observation of many,
was more calculated to excite suspicion and disbelief, while those very
peculiarities, now that they are authenticated, become the staple proof
of the trustworthiness of the early narrator. The father and uncle of
Marco Polo, natives of Venice, had in 1254 made a trading journey to
Tartary; the exploration of the east, and the importation of its rich
and beautiful productions, offering a peculiar attraction to the
commercial enterprise of that great and flourishing city. Marco was not
born till some months after the departure of his father, but by the time
of the return of the two brothers was become a young man, fifteen years
having been devoted to their interesting and extraordinary
peregrinations. They had crossed the Euxine Sea to Armenia, whence they
travelled by land to the court of a great Tartarian chief named Barba.
By him they were favorably received, and were enabled to effect
advantageous sales of their merchandise. After a year, however, spent in
his capital, a war broke out between him and a neighbouring chieftain,
and the return of the travellers to Europe being thus intercepted, they
took a circuitous course round the head of the Caspian, and so through
the desert of Karak to Bokhara.
After an abode there of three years, during which they obtained a
knowledge of the Tartar language, they attached themselves to the
company of an ambassador going to the court of Kublai, grand Khan of the
Tartars, where they arrived after a year's journey. This potent monarch
gave them a gracious reception, and was curious in his enquiries
concerning the affairs of Europe and the Christian religion. Learning
from them that the Pope was the person regarded with the greatest
veneration in Europe, he resolved on despatching them as his ambassadors
to His Holiness, with the request that he would send persons to instruct
his people in the true faith. Protected by his signet they set out, and
pursuing their journey across Asia, arrived in Venice in the year 1269.
At this time there was a vacancy in the popedom, and the brothers
remained in Venice two years before it was filled. At length, on the
accession of Gregory X, they obtained letters from him, accompanied with
presents to Kublai Khan, and taking with them young Marco, now seventeen
years of age, and accompanied by two friars of the order of Preachers,
they again departed for the east. They landed at a port in Armenia named
Giuzza (Ayas), but finding that the Sultan of Babylon was at war with
the province, the two friars became intimidated and returned home. The
three Venetians, however, pursued their way, and after travelling for
three years and a half across Asia, and encountering numerous perils and
disasters, at length reached the court of Kublai. He was greatly pleased
at their return, and Marco, becoming a great favourite with him, was
employed by the Khan in various important missions to distant provinces.
After a residence of seventeen years at the court of Kublai, the three
Venetians were extremely desirous of returning to their native land, and
at length obtained permission to accompany the ambassadors of a king of
India, who had come to demand a princess of the Khan's family in
marriage for their sovereign. It was a voyage of a year and a half
through the Indian seas before they arrived at the court of this king,
named Argon. Thence they travelled to Constantinople, and finally
reached Venice in 1295.
Such is the narrative of the travels and foreign residence of the three
Polos, as related by Marco. They returned rich in jewels and valuable
effects, after an absence of twenty-four years, which had so altered
them, that nothing less than a display of their wealth was necessary to
procure their recognition by their kindred. Hence, Marco gained the name
of Il Millione, the house in which he had lived in Venice being still
known in the time of Ramusio under the name of "_La Corte del
Millioni._" Not long afterwards, news came to Venice that the Genoese
were approaching with a powerful armament, and a number of galleys were
immediately fitted out to oppose them, and Marco Polo was made
_sopracomito_ of one of them. In an engagement that ensued he fell into
the hands of the Genoese Admiral Lampa Doria, and was carried prisoner
to Genoa, to which circumstance we owe the advantage of possessing a
permanent record of his travels. Then he spent four years in prison; but
the interest excited amongst the Genoese nobles by the stirring
narrative of his adventures, led them to urge him to allow an account of
his travels to be drawn up from his notes and dictation. His narrative
was thus taken from his mouth in his prison at Genoa, by the hand of his
friend and fellow-traveller Rustichello, a native of Pisa. He afterwards
regained his liberty, but of his subsequent history little or nothing is
known.
The most interesting portion of his narrative is unquestionably that
which refers to China, of which he speaks under the names of Kataia and
Manji; the former, as we have already stated, denoting the northern, and
the latter the southern part of the empire. The northern kingdom of
Kataia contained the residence of Kublai Khan, while the south, although
subjugated, had not been completely incorporated into the almost
boundless Tartar dominion, which had been established by Kublai's
victorious ancestor, the renowned Zenghis Khan.
The route by which Polo entered China was along the northern frontier,
and is thus referred to by Mr. Marsden:--"Having reached the borders of
Northern China, and spoken of two places (Succuir, the modern Sucheu,
and Kampion, the modern Kancheu) that are within what is named the Great
Wall, our author ceases to pursue a direct route, and proceeds to the
account of places lying to the north and south, some of them in the
vicinity and others in distant parts of Tartary, according to the
information he had acquired of them on various occasions. Nor does he in
the sequel furnish any distinct idea of the line he took upon entering
China, in company with his father and uncle, on their journey to the
emperor's court, although there is reason to believe that he went from
Kan-cheu to Sining, and there fell into the great road from Thibet to
Peking." Before reaching the latter city, however, they visited
Karakorum, already referred to as the capital of the Khan's dominions
visited by Rubruquis. This city, Mr. Marsden says, was built by Oktar
Khan, the son and successor of Jenghis Khan, about the year 1235, whose
nephew Mangu Khan, made it his principal residence. No traces of it have
been in existence for some centuries, but its position is noted in the
Jesuits' and Danville's maps. J. Reinhold Forster, however, on the
authority of Fischer's _History of Siberia_, observes, that it must be
looked for on the east side of the river Orchon, and not on the Onghin
or Onguimuren, where D'Anville has placed it.
From the length of time which had elapsed since Nicolo and Maffeo Polo
had left China as Kublai's ambassadors, they were forgotten, but as soon
as the Khan, who was then absent, heard of their arrival at Karakorum,
he issued orders that they should be received with all honour and
escorted to his presence. The appearance of young Marco produced a
highly favourable impression upon the Khan, who immediately took him
under his especial protection. The assiduity of Marco in studying the
language and manners of the Tartars, and the wisdom and prudence which
he exhibited in the exercise of the various important functions in which
he was employed by the Khan, caused him rapidly to rise in the
estimation and favour of that liberal-minded monarch. Upon the removal
of the Khan to Khambalu, a corruption of Khambalig (capital of the
Khan), and understood to be the modern Pekin, Marco followed in his
train. This city was found to surpass in splendour everything that he
had yet met with. The dimensions of the palace comprehended a square,
each side of which was six miles long, a statement not very widely
different from the truth. This enclosure, however, comprised all the
royal armouries, as well as fields and meadows, stored with various
descriptions of game. The roofs of the spacious halls were covered with
gorgeous gilding, and painting in brilliant colours, while
representations of dragons and battles were carved upon the sides. To
the north of the palace stood an eminence called the Green Mountain, of
about a mile in circuit, covered with the finest trees which could be
collected from all parts of the empire, and which had been brought by
elephants to this spot.
This account strikingly agrees with those of modern travellers, and the
description of the internal government of the country, its postal
arrangements, and the beneficent distribution of grain from the imperial
granaries in times of scarcity, agree with since recognized Chinese
history.
Marco subsequently made an excursion into the country of Manji, or
Southern China, his route lying by the course of the imperial canal. In
his southward progress, after passing by various cities, he at length
reached Tinqui (Taitcheou), distant about three days' journey from the
sea, where there is an extensive manufactory of salt, an article which
forms a leading article of commerce in China. He next came to Yanqui
(Yangtcheoufou), at the mouth of the river Yang-tsi-kiang, the seat of a
viceroy, in which Polo himself exercised for the space of three years
the supreme jurisdiction. His subsequent route lay along the banks of
the Yang-tsi-kiang, and he incidentally alludes to the noble city of
Nanghin (Nanking), where he speaks of the manufacture of cloths of gold
and silver, but does not seem to have visited the city itself. Taking
thence a southward course, he reached Quinsai (Hang-cheou), or the city
of heaven, the splendour of which still important place was at that time
such, that he speaks of it in the following terms: "In the world there
is not the like, nor a place in which there are found so many pleasures,
that a man would imagine himself in paradise." This city, then the
metropolis of Manji, was in the height of its glory, and may well be
supposed to have surpassed in grandeur any city which Polo had seen; and
if he is to be charged with exaggeration in describing it as one hundred
miles in circumference, and to have contained one million six hundred
thousand houses, and twelve thousand bridges, it must be remembered that
its really immense extent was calculated to mislead the judgment of an
observer, and to make him credulous of the accounts of the inhabitants.
It is still a splendid and very extensive city, and it is not to be
wondered at that Polo, who witnessed its unfaded glories, should have
dwelt with enthusiasm on its spacious and beautiful palaces, and its
waters covered with richly decorated barges. The character of the
inhabitants he describes as effeminate, luxurious, and unwarlike.
In his southward journey Polo mentions many great cities in Manji, which
it would be difficult to identify with their modern nomenclature. Among
these Unguen, a city of the province of Fokien, is referred to, as
remarkable for its extensive manufacture of sugar, sent from thence to
Khambalu; its natives being described as skilled in the art of refining
it with wood ashes, from persons belonging to Babylonia (Egypt). It is
also worthy of notice, that his embarcation took place at a famous port
called Zaitun, which was much frequented by ships with rich cargoes from
India for the supply of Manji and Kataia, and exceedingly productive in
revenue to the grand Khan, who received ten per cent. on all
merchandise. In spite of this impost, and the heavy freights, amounting
to nearly fifty per cent., the merchants are described as making
enormous profits.
The inhabitants of the place are represented as distinguished for their
skill in embroidery and tapestry. This has been supposed to mean
Fou-cheou-fu, Amoy, or some neighbouring port in Fokien; but it is
difficult to reconcile this with the statement that one arm of the river
on which this city stood reached to Quinsay, which, as we have already
stated, appears to be intended for the great city of Hang-cheou.
The next in rotation on our list of eastern travellers, is Giovanni di
Monte Corvino, a Franciscan monk of Calabria, who went as ambassador
from Pope Nicholas IV in 1288 to the grand Khan, and died in Khambalu,
that is, Pekin, holding the distinguished position of archbishop of the
missions in that city. His letters refer to little more than the
progress he made in the advancement of the Roman Catholic religion in
that capital.
The next traveller in China of whom we have to speak is Oderico
Mattheussi, a Minorite friar, more commonly known under the name of
Oderico de Pordenone, from Pordenone in Friuli, in which place he was
born about the year 1285. He undertook a journey in 1317, accompanied by
several other monks, through Tartary, by Trebizond, to China, and
returned by Thibet to Europe. In 1330, a year before his death, he
dictated in Padua, to Guglielmo di Solagno, a monk, an account of his
travels as they occurred to his memory, in the Italian language. An
English translation is given by Hakluyt in his second volume, from which
we quote the following extracts.
"Travelling more eastward, I came vnto a city named Fuco, which
conteineth 20 miles in circuit, wherein be exceeding great and
faire cocks, and al their hens are as white as the very snow,
having wol in stead of feathers, like vnto sheep. It is a most
stately and beautiful city, and standeth vpon the sea. Then I went
18 daies iourney on further, and passed by many prouinces and
cities, and in the way I went ouer a certain great mountaine, vpon
ye one side whereof I beheld al liuing creatures to be as black as
a cole, and the men and women on that side differed somewhat in
maner of liuing fro' others: howbeit, on the other side of the said
hil euery liuing thing was snow-white, and the inhabitants in their
maner of liuing were altogether vnlike vnto others. There, all
maried women cary, in token that they haue husbands, a great trunke
of horne vpon their heads. From thence I traueiled 18 dayes journey
further, and came vnto a certaine great riuer, and entered also
into a city, whereunto belongeth a mighty bridge to passe the said
river. And mine hoste with whom I soiourned, being desirous to shew
me some sport, said vnto me: 'Sir, if you will see any fish taken,
goe with me.' Then he led me vnto the foresaid bridge, carying in
his armes with him certaine diue-doppers or water-foules, bound
vnto a company of poles, and about every one of their necks he tied
a thread, least they should eat the fish as fast as they tooke
them: and he caried 3 great baskets with him also: then loosed he
the diue-doppers from the poles, which presently went into the
water, and within lesse then the space of one houre, caught as many
fishes as filled 3 baskets: which being full, mine hoste vntyed the
threads from about their neckes, and entering a second time into
the river they fed themselues with fish, and being satisfied they
returned and suffered themselues to be bound vnto the saide poles
as they were before. And when I did eate of those fishes, methought
they were exceeding good.
"Trauailing thence many dayes iourneys, at length I arriued at
another city called Canasia [Quinsay, or Hang-cheou], which
signifieth in our language the city of heaven. Neuer in all my life
did I see so great a citie; for it continueth in circuit an
hundreth miles: neither saw I any plot thereof, which was not
thoroughly inhabited: yea, I sawe many houses of tenne or twelue
stories high, one above another. It hath mightie large suburbs,
containing more people then the citie it selfe. Also it hath twelue
principall gates: and about the distance of eight miles, in the
high way vnto every one of the saide gates, standeth a city as big
by estimation as Venice and Padua. The foresaid city of Canasia is
situated in waters and marshes, which alwayes stand still, neither
ebbing nor flowing: howbeit it hath a defence for the winde like
vnto Venice. In this citie there are mo then 10,002 bridges, many
whereof I remembered and passed over them: and vpon euery of those
bridges stand certaine watchmen of the citie, keeping continuall
watch and ward about the said city, for the great Can the emperour
of Catay.
"The number of his owne followers, of his wives attendants, and of
the traine of his first begotten sonne and heire apparent, would
seeme incredible vnto any man, vnlesse hee had seene it with his
owne eyes. The foresayd great Can hath deuided his empire into
twelue partes or prouinces, and one of the sayd prouinces hath two
thousand great cities within the precincts thereof. Whereupon his
empire is of that length and breadth, that vnto whatsoeuer part
thereof he intendeth his iourney, he hath space enough for six
moneths continual progresse, except his islands, which are at the
least 5,000.
"The foresayd emperor (to the end that trauailers may haue all
things necessary throughout his whole empire) hath caused certaine
innes to be prouided in sundry places upon the high wayes, where
all things pertaining vnto victuals are in a continuall readinesse.
And when any alteration or newes happens in any part of his empire,
if he chance to be farre absent from that part, his ambassadors
vpon horses or dromedaries ride post vnto him; and when themselues
and their beasts are weary, they blow their horne; at the noise
whereof, the next inne likewise prouideth a horse and a man, who
takes the letter of him that is weary, and runneth vnto another
inne: and so by diuers innes, and diuers postes, the report, which
ordinarily could skarce come in 30 dayes, is in one naturall day
brought vnto the emperor: and therefore no matter of any moment can
be done in his empire, but straightway he hath intelligence
thereof."
The next traveller of whom we have to make a short mention, is the
celebrated Arabian author Ibn Batuta, the date of whose journey is 1324.
His point of arrival in China was Zaitun, the port already mentioned of
Marco Polo's embarcation. Its identity is not easy of recognition. From
this port he would seem to have travelled to Hang-cheou and back again,
embarking again at Zaitun. Although his route is not distinctly
traceable, the account he gives of the country appears very accurate. He
particularizes the facility and safety of travelling, and the
convenient, but at the same time rigid surveillance of the hostelries,
in which a register was kept of all strangers who lodged in them.
Silkworms and silk are mentioned, but the latter as being inferior in
value to cotton. The paper money and the manufacture of porcelain are
also referred to.
In pursuance of our chronological arrangement of travels in China, we
shall here introduce the account of an embassy, though not European,
sent by Mirza Shah Rokh, one of the sons of Tamerlane, to Cathay, in the
year 1419. The ambassadors set out from Herat in Persia, about the month
of November in that year, and reached a spot in the desert within twelve
stages of Sekju (Sucheu), near the great wall in Shensi, on the 14th of
June 1420. At this place they were met, by order of the khan, by some
Cathayans, who erected tents or huts for their accommodation in the
desert, and plentifully supplied them with roasted geese, fowls, and
various kinds of meat, fruits, etc., which were served to them on china
dishes; they likewise regaled them with a variety of strong liquors,
together with a pot of Chinese tea. The chief person in the embassy was
the Emir Sadi Khoja; and, according to the list of the names of the
ambassadors and the number of their retinue, taken down by some Cathayan
secretaries, the entire embassy, including merchants, amounted to eight
hundred and sixty persons. In taking this list, the Cathayan officers
earnestly desired that the exact number should be stated, as a want of
truthfulness would involve them in discredit. Two days after their
arrival, they were invited to the encampment of the dankji or governor
of the borders of Cathay, by whom they were entertained with a
magnificent feast. On reaching the spot, they found a square space of
ground enclosed with tents, in the centre of which was a lofty awning of
cloth supported on wooden pillars, with an imperial canopy of state at
one end, where the throne was placed, as if for the emperor, with other
seats on each side: on the left of this throne were placed the
ambassadors, and on the right the Cathayan officers. Each ambassador had
placed before him two tables, the one covered with a variety of meats
and fruits, the other with cakes and bread, gracefully ornamented with
silk and paper. The other persons present had but one table apiece. At
the lower end of the tent stood a sideboard covered with silver and
china. After the banquet they were entertained with music and a comedy,
in which the actors wore masks representing the faces of animals: among
these a child, enclosed in the body of an artificial stork, amused them
by performing a variety of curious antics. On the next day they reached
a karawl, a strongly fortified outpost, built in a defile in the
mountains, through which all travellers that way must unavoidably go.
Here their retinue was again carefully numbered. They next arrived at
Sucheu, a large and strong square city, where they had lodgings
appointed to them in a public building over the city gates, and were
amply provided with every convenience and comfort for themselves and
their horses, even the servants having mattresses and counterpanes
allowed them for their beds.
They next came to a city called Khamchu, after which we find them
crossing the river Karamoran by a bridge of boats, and arriving at a
magnificent city containing many splendid temples. From the beauty of
the women, who, contrary to usual Chinese observances, were seen
standing at the doors of the taverns, they designated this town in the
Persian language, Rhosnabad, the city of Beauty. After passing several
rivers they reached Sedinfur, a large city, in which they saw a cast
image of gilt metal of immense proportions, having a great number of
hands with an eye in each. This image rested on a pedestal of polished
stone, and was surrounded by six tiers of balustrades.
In December 1420, after a journey of ninety-five days, they reached
Kambalu or Pekin, the whole road thither from Sucheu being through so
populous a country that they lodged every night in a large town. Workmen
were at that time still occupied in building the walls of Kambalu.
Immediately on their arrival they were conducted to the palace, and,
though before sunrise, they found a multitude assembled in the outer
court, amounting apparently to no less than one hundred thousand men. At
sunrise, at beat of drum, the prince took his seat on a lofty throne,
placed under a canopy at the outside of the palace, and amidst profound
silence a number of criminals were led in, who had been brought to the
capital from all parts of the empire. Each man had a board fastened to
his neck, specifying his crime and his legal punishment, and was led by
the hair to the emperor, who after inspecting the board pronounced
sentence. Upon the dismissal of the criminals, the Persian ambassadors
were introduced, and after prostrating themselves as demanded, were
graciously received by the emperor. An amusing occurrence, however, had
nearly destroyed all their prospects of success. The monarch having been
slightly injured by a fall from a horse which had been presented to him
by the ambassadors, was so exasperated, that he condemned them all to
imprisonment for life in a distant part of the empire. He afterwards,
however, thought better of his resolution, and merely upbraiding Sadi
Khoja, with the taunt that such a horse ought not to be presented by one
sovereign to another, overlooked the offence; and on hearing that the
animal was sent to him by Tamerlane as an especial favourite, his anger
was entirely appeased.
Previous to their departure, a circumstance occurred which threw a gloom
over the imperial court,--the most beloved of the emperor's wives died.
And here, _par parenthese_, we would mention a curious custom recorded
in this narrative, respecting the burial of ladies belonging to the
imperial family: they are interred on a certain mountain, on which all
the horses belonging to them are turned out to graze at liberty for the
rest of their lives; all the maidens of their retinue also are placed in
attendance on the grave, and have provisions allowed them for about five
years, and when these are exhausted they are left to die of famine. In
addition to this loss of his favourite wife, the new palace of the
emperor was struck by lightning on the night after the funeral, the
flames causing fearful devastation and loss of life. These afflictions
so affected the emperor, that he fell sick, and the prince his son
assuming the reins of government, gave the ambassadors their audience of
leave. On their return through Cathay they were furnished as before with
every necessary, and at Sucheu, some articles which had been detained
were honourably restored to them. They took their departure by a
circuitous route, in consequence of intestine commotions, and passing
through Khoten and Cashgar proceeded homewards to Herat, which they
reached in September 1422.
Hitherto we have had to treat of travellers who in the middle ages
reached China by an overland journey; we have now to allude to those who
have visited that country by sea, subsequent to that grand achievement
of the Portuguese, the discovery of the passage by the Cape of Good
Hope.
The Portuguese themselves were, as might be expected, the first to take
advantage of this expeditious route, and about the same time that they
had succeeded in establishing a communication with the King of Siam they
aimed at forming relations with China. On gaining information of the
boundless wealth of the east and its empires in the productions of
nature and art, King Manoel determined on despatching a squadron farther
eastward to Bengal and China. This squadron, consisting of eight sail,
the commander of which was Fernando Peres d'Andrade, selected on account
of the ability he had shown previously in India, especially at Malacca,
departed, after various unsuccessful cruises, from Malacca on the 17th
June 1517, and arrived on the 15th August at the Island of Tamang
(called by the Portuguese Beniaga), lying three miles from the mainland,
where all foreign ships that trade to Canton must lie at anchor and
transact their business.[3] In the harbour Andrade found Edward Coelho,
who, in a previous expedition, had been separated from him by a storm,
had wintered at Siam, and had already been there a month. Andrade caused
it to be notified to the commander of the Chinese fleet, which was
stationed off the coast there for the protection of merchant ships
against pirates, that he was come on a peaceful embassy from the King of
Portugal to the Emperor of China. The commander bade him welcome, but
referred him to the Pio (great admiral) at Nanto upon the subject of his
business. After various delays and difficulties, occasioned by the
numerous gradations of rank amongst the Chinese authorities, their
ceremoniousness, and the mistrust, imperfectly veiled by civility, of
the Chinese towards strangers, Andrade reached Canton at the close of
September, and ran into the harbour with all the usual nautical
ceremonies. When surprise was expressed at this, he justified himself by
referring to the practice of the Chinese in this particular when their
ships came to Portuguese Malacca. He then begged that he might forward
to the emperor the ambassador and the presents which he had brought with
him, and that the Portuguese fleet might be dismissed as soon as
possible. He was answered civilly, that they would receive the
ambassador, and as soon as permission was obtained from the emperor,
would escort him to court. Meanwhile the commander had permission to
carry on trade in the town, after the ambassador had landed. Andrade now
caused the ambassador, Thomas Pires, with seven Portuguese, richly
dressed, to be put on shore with sound of trumpets and discharge of
cannon. This Tomas Pires, erroneously called by Mendoza, Bartholomew,
though a man of no rank, had been selected for this mission on account
of his scientific qualifications, his tact, and experience. He was an
apothecary by profession, and a practised and competent judge of the
merchandize and productions of India. They not only granted him one of
the best houses in the town, wherein he and his companions received
visits from the most distinguished inhabitants, but also offered them
maintenance, according to the custom observed with ambassadors. This,
however, the commander declined, nor did he accept the invitation to
come on shore, but, excusing himself, sent the factor with some
assistants in his stead, and when a warehouse was granted them near the
fleet, allowed the merchandize to be landed by degrees, and an
interchange of traffic commenced.
Matters were in this prosperous condition, when circumstances rendered
it necessary for the commander to leave Canton. Many of his people had
become sick from malaria, and nine, including the factor, were dead.
These and other disasters compelled Andrade to take leave of the Chinese
commanders, and he went back to the island of Tamang, where he was
plentifully supplied with all that he required for the repair of his
ships. Before his departure Andrade caused proclamation to be made in
Canton, Nanto, and the harbour of Tamang, that those who had demands on
the Portuguese, should apply to him in order that they might be fully
satisfied. This proceeding gave the Chinese a high opinion of the
integrity of the Portuguese. At the end of September 1518, Fernando
Peres d'Andrade again set saile with his whole fleet, and entered the
harbour of Malacca loaded with renown and riches.[4]
At his departure from Canton, he left the affairs of the Portuguese so
arranged that their trade with the Chinese might be carried on securely
and peacefully, and with profit to both parties. His brother, Simon
d'Andrade, received from the king a commission to make another voyage to
China, and departed in April 1518 from Malacca. Upon his arrival in
August in the harbour of Tamu, he found that the Portuguese ambassador,
Thomas Pires, had not yet left Canton, as, in spite of three
applications, no order had yet been received from the court to escort
him thither. At length the order came, and Pires went in the beginning
of January 1520 by water as far as the mountain range Malenschwang,
thence to Nankin, where the emperor was, who ordered him to Pekin, where
he himself usually resided on account of the nearness of the Tartars,
with whom he was continually at war. In January 1521, the emperor came
there, and immediately dismissed the embassy. He had received
unfavourable accounts of the Portuguese from the authorities at Canton
and Nankin, whom the King of Bintang had influenced by an emissary; they
told the emperor that, under the pretext of trading, the Portuguese
explored the country with the view of taking it by force of arms, and
that in this way they had made themselves masters of India and Malacca.
Pires therefore was admitted no more into the palace. Meanwhile the
emperor fell ill and died, and the counsellors of his successor were of
opinion that Pires and all his companions should be put to death as
spies. The emperor however ordered the ambassador, real or pretended, to
be sent back to Canton with the presents, and to be kept in custody
there until answer should be received from the Portuguese authorities at
Malacca. Until then no Portuguese or Portuguese merchandise was to be
admitted into the empire. The emperor further commanded that the king of
Malacca, who was an ally of the emperor, and who had been driven out by
the Portuguese, should be restored.
The severe conditions imposed upon the Portuguese by the emperor are not
to be wondered at, for all the accounts which he had received from his
authorities respecting them were prejudicial, and Simon d'Andrade
himself gave frequent occasion for complaint by inconsiderate or unjust
regulations, contrary both to the laws and to the received opinions of
the country, and provoked the Chinese against the Portuguese; and even
his personal behaviour seems to have been calculated to provoke
animosity.[5] At last a hot encounter took place between the Portuguese
and Chinese ships, during which, fortunately for the Portuguese, a storm
arose, which scattered the Chinese fleet and favoured the flight of the
Portuguese, so that they happily reached Malacca at the end of October.
Thomas Pires meanwhile was, upon his arrival in Canton, thrown into
prison with all his companions, and died in chains; the presents which
he had brought with him were stolen. The letters, which two or three
years afterwards arrived from the prisoners, contained lamentable
descriptions of the oppressions they had to endure, and of the robberies
which were committed in foreign ships, upon the pretence that they had
Portuguese on board. The great stores of valuable merchandize, gold and
silver from India, were entirely lost. Mendoza does not complete the
tale of Pires's adventures, but some interesting details are given by
Remusat in his _Nouveaux Melanges Asiatiques_, page 205, tom. ii.
The next Portuguese adventurer who comes within the range of our special
notice, is Ferdinand Mendez Pinto, who from the apparent extravagance of
his accounts became proverbial as an accomplished romancer. Congreve, in
his _Love for Love_, makes Foresight thus address Sir Sampson Legend:
"Ferdinand Mendez Pinto was but a type of thee, thou liar of the first
magnitude." Like most of his predecessors, however, in early travel, he
has by this time recovered much of his forfeited reputation, and, as in
their case, some of his most remarkable statements have been confirmed
by more recent explorations. Being compelled to leave his country from
some accident, which he describes as casting "him into manifest peril of
his life", he took to the sea. The chances of his life led him to
Abyssinia, and subsequently along the coast of Arabia to India. With his
adventures in these countries we have here nothing to do, but pass at
once to the circumstances under which he was thrown upon the coast of
China. At Goa, Pinto hired himself as a soldier to Pedro de Faria, who
was proceeding as governor to Malacca. In this employ he was selected as
Portuguese agent in the company of the ambassador of the Battas, on the
return of the latter to Sumatra from his complimentary visit to Faria,
at Malacca, the seat of government. Here he fell in with one Antonio de
Faria, with whom he joined in a great commercial expedition to be sent
up the Gulf of Siam.
We pass over various romantic adventures with pirates, described in his
narrative, especially those with one Coja Acem, a native of Guzerat, and
an implacable enemy of the Portuguese, whom Faria at length overcame in
a desperate encounter. The adventurers then sailed to Liampoo (Ning-po),
where Faria gained intelligence of an island called Calempluy, in which
were the tombs of seventeen kings of China, all of gold, and containing
great treasure of various descriptions. This place they sought and
reached, and having plundered, loaded their ships with the treasure.
About a month after they had put to sea, they were wrecked in a furious
gale in the Gulf of Nanking, and fourteen of the Portuguese alone
escaped with their lives. The Chinese gave the shipwrecked pirates but a
harsh reception; they were first thrust into a pond where they were
almost devoured by leeches, and were afterwards sent with other
criminals to Nanking, where they were punished with a severe whipping.
They were subsequently sent to Peking, also chained together in parties
of three, and on their arrival received thirty lashes apiece by way of
welcome. Pinto gives an animated account of the magnificence of these
two great capitals, but splendid as the objects he observed in them
were, they would scarcely bear comparison with those which presented
themselves along the great rivers and canals. The multitude of cities,
together with the abundance which here prevailed, was almost incredible.
The immense concourse of boats at the time of the great fairs, the mode
of rearing water-fowl, their plan of hatching eggs by artificial heat,
the industry and regularity of populace, and their fashion of eating
with chop-sticks, are detailed with great exactness. Upon the whole, his
remarks leave no doubt, we think, of the truth of his having been an
eye-witness of what he records. Upon the subsequent occurrences of his
eventful life, and his final return to Lisbon in 1558, we shall not here
dwell, but proceed to the consideration of the next in order on our list
of European travellers to China.
Among a series of letters in Spanish, received in 1555 from various
Jesuits in the East, and appended to the 1561 edition of Francisco
Alvarez's _Historia de Ethiopia_, occurs an account of some matters
regarding the customs and laws of the kingdom of China, which a man (who
was a captive there for six years) related at Malacca, in the college of
the Jesuits. This valuable account, we believe, has never before
appeared in English, and is here translated.
"The Chinese build their towns in the strongest situations, near
rapid rivers, and chiefly at the curves, in order that they may
serve in part for enclosures; and if the towns are half a league in
circuit, they build walls of a league in extent, so that in case of
war they may hold a considerable number of defenders. The towns are
walled with stone built in mortar, for the most part; some,
especially the large towns, have very strong brick walls. They
contain very large buildings, and bridges of half a league, all of
stone excellently wrought, and there are blocks in them so large
that it appears impossible for men to have raised and set them by
any contrivance. One of the things that surprised us much, was to
see eight columns, upon which the government palace is built, in a
town where we were for three years. We measured these columns, and
two men stretching their arms round them did not touch each other;
they appeared to us to be sixty feet high, little more or less; and
it is very strange that men should have been able to raise them and
place them where they are. The houses which are upon them are very
high, all of wood, painted and gilded. An officer resides there who
collects the revenue of the province, and there are similar ones in
the other provinces. Each of these houses is separately enclosed by
walls, within which they are accustomed to plant trees and make
very pleasant gardens, with all kinds of fruit, which the Chinese
are exceedingly fond of, and also of having ponds at their houses
in which they breed fish for their amusement.
"What is generally considered by the nobility and principal men as
the greatest distinction, is to erect edifices in front of their
gates, in way of an arch going from one side of the street to the
other, so that the people pass underneath; some build them of
stone, others of wood, with all kinds of painting, colours of gold
and blue, with pictures of various birds and other things that may
gratify the sight of the passers by. And they are so curious and
vain in this particular, that he who goes to the greatest expense
therein, is thought most of amongst them. On the border of the
arches are the name and arms of him who caused them to be erected,
in letters of gold and blue.
"The houses are covered with glazed tiles of many colours, and the
woodwork is much wrought. The streets are very well made and paved
with stone, and the highways are all raised. I say this because
they took us from that town (where we had been prisoners for three
years), and we went one hundred and twenty days' journey, without
going out of the kingdom, and found all the roads raised and even;
and several times when we passed rivers and inquired if most of the
roads that ran forward were similar, we were told that they were,
and that it was a four months' journey to reach the court of the
king, and the roads were all alike. They treated us very well on
the journey, giving us sumpter beasts and every thing necessary.
"In all the towns there is a street of very noble houses built by
order of the king, in which the officers who perform the service of
visitation lodge. These officers are commissioned with the royal
authority over the governing presidents (who are called in their
language Taquoan). The governors of provinces and those who hold
any command, are chosen for their learning and great prudence,
without regard to anything else, and if the sons are as able as
their fathers they succeed them in their offices, otherwise they
are not admitted by the king into his service. The special
governors of the towns are obliged to sit to hear and do justice to
all, every morning until midday, and after having dined till
sunset.
"Officers of the court come twice every year, by command of the
king, to make a stay in all the towns, principally to see if the
governors do their duty well, and to remove them at once and put
others in their place, if they are tyrannical, or oppress the
people, or perform their functions ill. These officers examine all
the walls, and if they are in bad condition, order them to be
repaired. They afterwards inquire concerning the royal revenues and
the expenses of the towns, moderating them if they are excessive.
He who gives out money at usury loses it (if proved), and,
moreover, incurs further punishment. In the towns where these
officers come, they cause public notice to be given, in order that
those who are aggrieved by any injustice may come before them.
"In the town I was speaking of there are six governors, one of whom
takes precedence; and there are also six others whose business it
is to collect the revenues, and one of them is obliged to watch the
town every night with his men, that thieves may not disturb the
people. Others take care to close the gates, which are very strong
and fortified with iron. The governors and magistrates of every
town are charged to write every moon, to the court of the king, an
account of what takes place; and each has to write separately, that
it may be seen if they concert what they write, and whether they
speak truth; for those who lie to the king incur the punishment of
death; wherefore they dread much to state anything false in their
accounts. No man governs in his native place, where he has
relations, that he may do justice to all without respect of
persons.
"In the principal towns are many strong gaols; we being prisoners
were distributed in six of them. There are prisoners for various
crimes; the most serious with them is murder. The prisoners are
numerous, because the towns are populous; in every gaol there are
three, four, or five hundred of them. A native of the town, where
we were, told us, that in it alone there might be at that time more
than eight thousand prisoners; and that was because it was a
principal town, where those of the neighbouring places were
assembled together. In every gaol there is a book of the prisoners
therein, whom the gaoler counts every night. In that where I was,
sometimes there were three hundred prisoners, at others four
hundred; and although I did not see the other gaols, it appears to
me from this, that there might be as many prisoners as they told
me.
"The serious crimes go to the court; and for those who come from
thence sentenced to death, the king gives power to the governors of
the towns--if, upon a re-examination of the case, from being nearer
where the offence was committed, they should find them less
guilty--to spare their lives, and condemn them to banishment, or to
the king's service, for so many years, or for their whole life.
They take all possible pains to avoid condemning any to death. It
can scarcely be expressed how much the king is feared by his
subjects: they call him god and king for the strict government and
justice that he maintains in his kingdom, which is necessary from
the people being bad and malicious.
"In their ancient books they find that at a certain time, white men
with long beards are to take their kingdom of China; on this
account they are so careful of the walls and of fortifying the
towns; and the officers make a muster of the soldiers, they receive
and examine them to see if they are good soldiers; they do the same
with the cavalry; and to those who excel they give rewards
according to their personal qualities, putting also in their heads
a branch with gold and silver leaves, as a sign of honour; but
those who do not satisfy them they dismiss, paying them their hire
and giving them the money with reproachful words.
"The people of China are, in general, neither brave nor skilful,
nor have they any natural inclination for warlike affairs; if they
maintain themselves it is by the multitude of the people, the
strength of the walls and towns, and the provision of ammunition.
At the boundary of the kingdom of China, where it borders on the
Tartars, there is a wall of wondrous strength, of a month's journey
in extent, where the king keeps a great military force in the
bulwarks. Where this walls comes upon mountains, they cut them in
such a manner that they remain and serve as a wall; for the Tartars
are very brave and skilful in war. At the time we were prisoners,
they broke through a part of the wall and entered into the
territory within for a month and a half's journey; but as the king
prepared great armies of men provided with artful contrivances (in
which the Chinese are very crafty), he kept back the Tartars, who
fight on horse-back. As their horses had become weak and were dying
of hunger, one of the Chinese officers commanded a large quantity
of peas to be placed in the fields, and thus it was that the horses
(being so hungry as they were) set themselves to eat against the
will of their masters; and in this manner the army of the king of
China put them in disorder and turned to drive them out. And now a
strict watch is kept on the wall.
"They make great feasts in the provinces of the kingdom of China,
every year on the king's birthday; and in the government palaces of
every town, in a hall covered with an awning, and having the walls
and the floor ornamented with very rich coloured cloths, they place
a seat painted of the same colour. This hall has three doors, and
it is the custom of the officers of the towns to enter by any one
of them, on foot like any other man, without taking anything with
him, and without a sunshade before him; in passing they make
obeisance by seven or eight genuflexions, as if the king were
sitting on the seat. Having finished, they go to their houses, and
at this time enter on foot and by any door; for except on this day
they only enter by the middle door and in very rich litters, in
which their servants carry them. They hold it for greater dignity
to go in these litters than on horseback, taking one or two persons
on the right for state, and a sunshade on foot before them, like
those which they use in India.
"They make another very great feast on the first day of the year,
which is the day upon which we celebrate the feast of the
Circumcision. These feasts last three days; on every one of which
they represent scenes by day and night, for they are much addicted
to the performance of farces. On these three days the gates of the
town are closed, because from much eating and drinking the people
are at times beside themselves. They make other very great feasts
when the king nominates his son for his heir; upon which day, they
declared to me, they release all the prisoners, even those
sentenced to death. At the time that we were prisoners, there came
news that the king intended to make his son a king, upon which the
prisoners in all the gaols rejoiced much.
"These great kingdoms of China are divided by the same king into
fifteen provinces, and in every one of them there is a chief town,
where there is a governor, who is changed every three years; in
these chief towns the treasure of the king, from the revenue of all
the province, is collected. The privilege for those who shall
betake themselves to the chief town is, that for crimes which they
have committed elsewhere they cannot be taken; and the reason of
this privilege is, that as they are continually carrying on war
with the Tartars and with other kings, if they did not afford this
security these persons would pass over to the enemy.
"It has been, and still is, the custom to write everything
remarkable and worthy of remembrance on large stones on the
highways, and in the same places where they occurred, principally
in the towns at the government palaces, where the officers reside.
These antiquities are written in the open courts, many of them in
letters of gold; and the noblemen and men of quality are very
curious to read them, and fond of talking of remarkable actions,
and of the dignity and achievements of the former kings.