_A Man and Woman of Tartary in their proper Habits_.
[Illustration: woodcut of Tartary couple]
_An Account of TARTARY_.
TARTARY, which is the same country as the ancient Scythia,
comprehends all the North of Europe, and almost a third part of
Asia. At present the Russians possess the North part and have given
it the name of Siberia. It is a cold barren country, generally
covered with snow, and very thinly inhabited.
Their wealth consists in cattle, and their employment in grazing.
They carry on neither manufacture nor trade, except in slaves and
horses, and rove about in herds or clans. The Emperor of Russia is
supreme Lord of the Western as well as North part of Tartary,
especially since the time of the late Czar Peter the Great, who
extended his conquests even to the Northern coast of the Caspian
Sea.
The Chinese are masters of the South and East parts of Tartary. The
Tartars are divided into four different nations, namely, the Tartars
properly so called, the Calmucks, and the Usbeck and Moguls. The
Calmuck Tartars acknowledge themselves subjects of Russia; the
Usbeck Tartars were once independent, but since subdued by Kouli
Khan, the late Sovereign of Persia, who took possession and
plundered their capital city Bochara, which was extremely populous
and wealthy. This country of Usbeck Tartary is situate in a very
happy climate and fruitful soil, and carries on a very brisk trade
to the East and West parts of Asia: it was the country of the
victorious Tamerlane, who subdued most of the kingdoms of Asia.
The Tartars, as to stature, are generally thick and short, having
flat square faces, little eyes, little round short noses, and an
olive complexion. They are reckoned the best archers in the world,
and eat all manner of flesh but hog's-flesh. They are very
hospitable, and take a pleasure in entertaining strangers. Their
religion is mostly Paganism, they worship the Sun, Moon, and Stars,
and a variety of images, but not in temples or churches, for they
worship in groves and on the tops of monntains [sic]; but those that
live near the Mahometan countries are mostly Mahometans. The
Southern provinces lie in a temperate climate, and would produce all
manner of corn and vegetables; but the inhabitants pay no regard to
it, and lead a rambling life, driving great herds of cattle before
them to such parts of the country where they can meet with the best
pasture, and here they pitch their tents, but seldom remain long
enough in a place to reap a crop of corn, even if they were to
plough the land and sow it.
_A Chinese Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.
[Illustration: woodcut of Chinese couple]
_An Account of CHINA_.
THE Empire of China is a great and spacious country, on the East of
Asia, famed for its fruitfulness, wealth, beautifulness of towns,
and incredible number of inhabitants.
It is divided into seventeen kingdoms, which contain 160 large
cities, 240 lesser, and 1200 towns; the chief of all is Pekin. The
air is pure and serene, and the inhabitants live to a great age.
Their riches consist in gold and silver mines, pearls, porcelain or
China ware; japanned or varnished works; spices, musk, true
ambergris, camphire [sic], sugar, ginger, tea, linen, and silk; of
the latter there is such abundance, that they are able to furnish
all the world with it. Here are also mines of quicksilver,
vermillion, azure-stone, vitriol, &c. So much for the wealth: Now
as to the inhabitants, they are so numerous, that the great roads
may be compared to a perpetual fair, such numbers are continually
passing, which made a Portuguese, who went thither, ask, "If the
women had not nine or ten children at a birth?" Every inhabitant
is obliged to hang a writing over his door, signifying the number
and quality of the dwellers. The inside of their houses is very
magnificent. The men are civil, well-bred, very ingenious, polite,
and industrious, but extremely covetous, insomuch that they will not
scruple to sell their very children, or drown them, when they think
they have too many. This desire of wealth lets them never be idle,
and makes them have a great aversion to strangers that come to
settle among them. The men go neatly dressed, and carry a fan in
their hand, and when they salute each other (for they are very
courteous) they never put off their hat, but with their hands joined
before their breast bow their bodies. Here is no Nobility but what
depends on learning, without any regard to birth, except the Royal
Families; and the more learned any one is, the more he is advanced
in honour and government. The King, who is called the Tartar, keeps
a guard of forty thousand men. When he dies his body is buried on a
pile of paper, and with him all his jewels, and every thing else,
except living creatures, that he made use of in his life-time. His
Counsellor, Priest, and Concubines, that devoted themselves wholly
to his soul, sacrifice their lives as soon as he dies; but have the
liberty to chuse what kind of death they please, which is generally
beheading. In this country there is a stupendous wall, built to
prevent the incursions of the Tartars, which is at least 1700 miles
long, near 30 feet high, and broad enough for several horsemen to
travel on it abreast. Their established religion is what they call
the Religion of Nature, as explained by their celebrated Philosopher
Confucius; but the greatest part of them are Idolaters, and worship
the Idol Fo. The Mahometans have been long since tolerated, and
the Jews longer. Christianity had gained a considerable footing
here by the labour of the Jesuits, till the year 1726, when the
missionaries being suspected of a design against the Government,
were quite expelled.
_An Indian Man and Woman in their proper Habits_.
[Illustration: woodcut of Indian couple]
_An Account of INDIA_.
INDIA, one of the greatest regions of Asia, is bounded on the East
by China, on the West by Persia, North by Great Tartary, and on the
South by the Indian Sea. It is divided into three parts, viz.
Indostan, or the Empire of the Great Mogul; India on this side the
Ganges, and India beyond; the cities of Deli [sic] and Agra are the
two chief, and, by turns, the residence of the Great Mogul, at each
of which he has a very splendid palace. The most noted city on the
coast is Surat, a place of great trade, where the English have a
factory. India on this side the Ganges contains many petty
kingdoms. On the coast are Goa, belonging to the Portuguese, which
is their staple for East-India goods; and Bombay, a little island
and town belonging to the English. On this coast are Pondicherry,
Fort St. David, and Fort St. George, which belong to the English,
who in fact possess the supreme dominion of the country, most of the
native princes being either dependent on them, or happy to enter
into alliance with them. India beyond the Ganges, is also divided
into various kingdoms, and contains a great number of large and
populous cities, of which we have no knowledge besides their names.
The people are for the most part tawny, strong, and big, but very
lazy. They eat on beds, or tapestry spread on the ground. They
burn most of their dead, and their wives glory in being thrown into
the funeral piles, and there consumed to ashes. The Great Mogul is
a Mahometan, and esteemed the richest King in the world in jewels;
one of his thrones is said to have cost five millions sterling.
Their commodities are silks, cottons, callicoes, muslins, sattins
[sic], carpets, gold, silver, diamonds, pearls, porcelain, rice,
ginger, rhubarb, aloes, amber, indigo, cinnamon, cocoa, &c. They
are mostly Pagans, and worship idols of various shapes, and the rest
are Mahometans, except a few Christians. Their monarch is absolute,
and so are all the petty Kings; who are so fond of titles that they
often take them from their jewels, furnitures, equipage, and
elephants, to make up a number. This country is so exceeding rich,
that it is thought by many to be the Land of Ophir, where Solomon
sent for gold.
_Of_ TURKEY _in_ ASIA.
THIS vast continent takes in Natolia, Arabia, Phœnicia, Judea, or
Palestine, and the Euphratian Provinces. The people are chiefly
Mahometans, though there are many Jews and Christians in some places
among them. There are various governments, but they are all subject
to the Grand Signior, who depopulates these fine countries, and
discourages industry; so that the Phœnicians, formerly famous for
commerce, are at present a poor despicable people; and Judea, the
land which heretofore flowed with milk and honey, is in general
still fruitful, abounding in corn, wine, and oil, where cultivated,
and might supply the neighbouring countries with all these, as they
anciently did, were the inhabitants equally industrious. The parts
above Jerusalem, its once famous capital, are mostly mountainous and
rocky; but they feed numerous herds and flocks, and yield plenty of
honey, wine, and oil, and the vallies [sic] abound with large crops
of corn.
_Shaw's Travels_.