CHAPTER XXIIL

CHAPTER XXIIL

Arrival in China — Its great River; its course — Culture — Population — Plenty — Porcelain—^

Idolaters — Reigning Monarch a descendant of Jengiz Khan — Mohammedan Colleges, 8^c.

— Luxury of the Chinese — Wealth — Paper Money — Revenue — Hofw the Porcelain is made —

Shill of Chinese Artificers — Painters — Pictures of Travellers — Registry of Ships' Crews — Care

taken of Merchants’ Property at Inns, S^c. — Female Slaves cheap — Inns subject to the Magistrate

—The Port El Zaitun — Meets an Officer of the Emperor of Dehli — Provided with a House,

8^c. — Sets out to visit the King — Sin Kilan — Mohammedan Town — Meets with a Jogee ; return

to El Zaitun — Arrives at Fanjarfur ; Decription of it — Bair am Katlu — El Khansa — Jews and

Christians here — Jugglers — The Khan hilled in battle — Funeral — Successor — Disaffection —

Return.

We then left the countries of ‘^Tialisi, and arrived, after a voyage of

seven days with a favourable wind, at the first of the Chinese provinces.

This is a most extensive country, and abounds in good things (of every

description) fruits, agriculture, gold, and silver : and in these it is without

a parallel. It is divided by a river called the water of life. It is also

called the ® river of Sibar,* like the name of a river in India. It has its rise

in the mountains which are in the neighbourhood of the city-^Khan Balik,t

. (JlJb ^ ^

* This river, according to the lexicon of Baudrandius cited by Asseman, is called “ Fla-

vins Caramoranus.”

f This is, as Asseman has shewn (Biblioth. Oriental, tom. iii. P. II. p. 512-13) the CawzSa/a

of Marco Polo, and the Pekin of the Chinese. At this place, according to a citation made by

Nicolaus Trigautius, from the Commentaries of Mathaeus Ricius, was the usual residence of the

Tartar Khans, after they had obtained the supreme power in China. Our traveller, as we

shall presently see, also makes this place the residence of the Emperor in his times. The

extract is as follows: “ Hoc nostrorum in hanc urbem regiam (Pekinum) adventu constare

denique certo ccepit, quod jamdiu opinati fuerant, hoc regnum illud ipsum esse, quod magnum

Chatajum apud reliquos auctores appellatur, et hanc urbem Pechinensem regiam esse illius,

quern magnum Can vocant, qui nunc est rex Sinarum, quae urbs ab iisdem Cambalu nominatur...

Sinae quippe scriptis libris quoties Tartaros nominabant, Lu dicunt, et septentrionis plagam Pa,

nec solum Pe. Tartaris vero Cam, a nobis magnus redditur : quam vocem ne ipsi quidem Sinae

ignorant : et quoniam eo tempore, quo se Tartari in Sinarum regnum intruserunt, rex Tartarus

sedem Pechini fixit, ideo Campalu appellabit ; et quoniam apud varios p consonans in b com-

mutatur, ideo Cambalu ccepit appellari.” And, in the next page, “ Apud Aytonum in lib. de

Tartaris, cap. 19. Jons appellari his verbis : Iste Cobila Can quadraginta duobus annis tenuit

imperium Tartarorum : Christianas fuit, et fundavit civitatem quae vocatur Jons in regno

208

CHINA.

called the ^mountain of the apes. It then proceeds through the middle of

China, for a distance of six months, until it passes by Sin El Sin, both

banks of which are covered with villages and farms, just like the Nile of

Egypt, except that this is much more populous. In China grows the

sugar-cane, and is much better than that of Egypt. All the fruits of our

countries are found in China, but they are much more plentiful and cheap

than they are with us.

As to the China earthenware, it is made only in the districts of El

Zaitun, and Sin Kilan. It is made of earth of the mountains of those

parts, which is burnt through like charcoal. To this they add a stone,

which they keep in the fire for three days. They then pour water upon it,

and it becomes like dust : it is then fermented for some days : the best of

it, for five and thirty days ; that which is inferior, for fifteen, ten, or fewer.

Of this ware, some is transported to other countries. The Chinese hen is

large, but the cock is still larger, and greater than (our) goose : its eggs

are proportionately large.

The Chinese are all infidels : they worship images, and burn their dead

just like the Hindoos. The King of China is a Tartar, and one of the

descendants of 'Jengiz Khan, who entered the Mohammedan countries,

and desolated many of them. In all the Chinese provinces, there is a

town for the Mohammedans, and in this they reside. They also have cells,

colleges, and mosques, and are made much of by the Kings of China.

The Chinese, generally, will eat the flesh of dogs and swine, both of which

are sold in their markets. They are much addicted to the comforts and

pleasures of life : but they do not much differ, either in their luxuries or

their dress : for you will see one of their merchants, whose wealth is almost

immense, clothed in the coarsest cotton. The only difference generally

observable among the inhabitants of China, consists in the gold and silver

plate which they severally possess. In the hand of every one of them is

Cathay, quae major est Roma, utdicitur; et in ilia civitate moram traxit Cobila Can Imperator

Tartarorum usque ad ultimam diem vitae suae.” Asseman adds that Cobila renewed rather than

repaired this city, and then cites Marco Polo to shew that the Kan resided here, and that the

city was situated upon the great river.

CHINA.

209

a '‘staff, upon which he supports himself in walking; and this they call

the third leg.

Silk is most plentiful among them, for the silkworm is found sticking

and feeding upon the trees in all their districts ; and hence they make

their silk, which is the clothing of the poorest among them. Were it not

for the merchants, it would bring no price whatever, and still, a cotton

dress will purchase many silken ones.

It is a custom with their merchants, for one to melt down all the gold and

silver he may have, into pieces, each of which will weigh a talent or more,

and to lay this up over the door of his house. Any one who happens to have

five such pieces will put a ring upon his finger; if he have ten, he will

put on two. He who possesses fifteen such, is named 'El Sashi ; and the

piece itself they call a Rakala. Their transactions are carried on with

paper : they do not buy or sell either with the dirhem or the dinar ; but,

should any one get any of these into his possession, he would melt them

down into pieces. As to the paper, every piece of it is in extent about

the measure of the palm of the hand, and is stamped with the King’s

stamp. Five and twenty of such notes are termed a ”shat; which means

the same thing as a dinar with us. But when these papers happen to be

torn, or worn out by use, they are carried to their house, which is just like

the mint with us, and new ones are given in place of them by the King.

This is done without interest; the profit arising from their circulation

accruing to the King. When any one goes to the market with a dinar or

a dirhem in his hand, no one will take it until it has been changed for

these notes.

With respect to the earth which they lay up, it is mere tempered clay,

like the dry clay with us. It is carried upon elephants, and then cut into

pieces just like charcoal ; they then harden it with fire, but in a more

intense heat than that of charcoal. When it is reduced to ashes they

knead it with water, dry it, and again burn it in the same manner, until

the particles entirely disappear. Of this they make the china vessels, as

we have formerly stated. The people of China are, in other respects, the

most skilful artificers. In painting, none come near to them. Of what I

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CHINA.

myself witnessed was the following : I once scarcely entered one of their

cities : some time after, I had occasion again to visit it ; and what should I

see upon its walls, and upon papers stuck up in the streets, but pictures of

myself and my companions ! This is constantly done with all who pass

through their towns. And should any such stranger do any thing to make

flight necessary, they would then send out his picture to the other pro-

vinces; and wherever he might happen to be, he would be taken.

It is also a practice with them, that when a vessel leaves China, an

account, as well of the names, as of the forms of the men in it, is taken

and laid up. When the vessel returns, the servants of the magistrates

board it, and compare the persons in it with the descriptions taken ; and

if one should happen to be missing, the commander of the vessel is taken,

unless he can prove that the man has died by some sickness or other cir-

cumstance, or that he has left him, with his own consent, in some other of

the Chinese provinces. After this, they require of the commander a regis-

ter of all the goods in the vessel, which they obtain. The people of the

vessel then leave it, and the King’s servants take possession of, and clear

it ; and if they find any thing in it not entered in the register, the vessel,

together with its freightage, is forfeited to the King. This is a species of

oppression which I witnessed no where else.

When any Mohammedan merchant visits those Mohammedan towns

which are among the Chinese, it is left to his choice whether he will take

up his lodgings with a native merchant, or whether he will go to an "inn.

If he prefers lodging with a merchant, an account of all he has is taken, and

the native merchant is made surety for the amount, who spends upon his

guest just as much as is proper. When the foreign merchant wishes to go,

an inquiry is set on foot with respect to his property, and if any thing is

found to have been made away with, the merchant who was made surety

makes it good by fine. But should the stranger prefer going to an inn,

his property is delivered up to the inn-keeper, who is made surety for it.

He then expends what is necessary upon him, and this is put down to

account. When he wishes to leave, an account of the property is taken, and

should any thing be missing, the inn- keeper who is surety is forced to

CHINA.

211

make it good. If however, he wishes to have a concubine, he may buy a

female slave and reside with her in the inn. Female slaves are very cheap

in China ; because the inhabitants consider it no crime to sell their chil-

dren, both male and female. They do not, however, force them to travel

with their purchasers ; nor, on the other hand, do they hinder them from

doing so, should they prefer it. In like manner, if one wishes to marry, he

may do so ; but, in any case, he is not allowed wantonly to destroy his own

property : for they say, we are unwilling that it should be reported among

the Mahommedans, that our country is a place of wantonness and profligacy ;

or, that merchants lose their wealth among us.

The care they take of travellers among them is truly surprising ; and

hence their country is to travellers the best and the safest : for here a man

may travel alone for nine months together, with a great quantity of wealth,

without the least fear. The reason of this is, there is in every district an

inn, over which the magistrate of the place has control. Every evening the

magistrate comes with his secretary to the inn, and registers in a book the

names of all the inmates who are strangers : he then locks them up. In

the morning he comes again with his secretary, and compares the name

written down, with the person of every one in the inn. The register so

made out he sends by a messenger to the presiding magistrate at the next

station : from whom he also brings back vouchers that such and such persons

have safely arrived with their property. This is done at every station.

When any person happens to be lost, or any thing is stolen, and this is

discovered, the magistrate who has the control over the inn in which the

loss is sustained, is taken into custody on that account. In all the inns

every thing that a traveller can want is provided.

The first city I came to in China was ^E1 Zaitun; there are, however, no

olives here,* nor indeed in all China or India ; this is merely the name of

the place. It is a large city, and in it they make the best flowered and

* As this word in Arabic signifies the olive, the writer, perhaps, thought it necessary to

warn his reader against mistaking it. The longitude and latitude of this place are according to

Abulfeda 114i° 8', 17° 8'. Mr. Apetz thinks it is the same with the “ Saunt yo Tawn,” men-

tioned in Lord Macartney’s voyage.

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CHINA.

coloured silks,* as well as satins, which are therefore preferred to those

made in other places. Its port is one of the finest in the world. I saw in

it about one hundred large junks ; the small vessels were innumerable. It

is a large estuary of the sea, running into the land until it meets the great

river. In this, and other Chinese towns, each inhabitant has a garden and

some land, in the centre of which is his house ; and on this account it is

that their cities are so large.!

On the day of my arrival at this place, I saw the Emir who nad been

sent ambassador to the Emperor of India, and who returned with us (to

Malabar) when the junk foundered and went down ; he, however, escaped

with his life. He told the officer of the Diwan of me, who placed me in a

very handsome house. I was afterwards visited in this by the Mohamme-

dan judge, the Sheikh El Islam, and a number of the Mohammedan mer-

chants, who treated me with great respect, and made a feast for me. These

merchants are, on acco unt of their residing in an infidel country, extremely

glad whenever a Mohammedan comes among them : on such occasions

they give him alms of their wealth, so that he returns rich like themselves.

When the magistrate of the city heard of my arrival, he wrote imme-

diately to the Khan, who is their Emperor, to acquaint him of my having

come from India. I requested of him, however, that he would send a

person to bring me to ''Sin Kllan, to the Emir of that place, until he should

receive the Khan’s answer. To this the magistrate agreed, and sent a person

with me, who conducted me to him. I embarked, therefore, in a vessel on

the river, and made a voyage of twenty-seven days, in each of which we

put into some village about noon, bought what we happened to want, then

said our prayers, and proceeded on in the evening. On the next this was

* As the word here used, dIz. does not occur in the common dictionaries, it may not be

amiss to give an explanation of it. The following is taken from the King of Oude’s Persian

Dictionary, entitled the Seven Seas: vksr' ^

i. e. Kimkha, &c. meaning a flowered garment, which they weave with various colours. When

pronounced kamkha it means a flowered garment of one colour only.

t Such seems to have been ancient Babylon, with its hanging gardens and grazing lands.

See Rennell’s Geography of Herodotus.

CHINA.

213

repeated, and so on till we got to Sin Kiliin. At this place, as well as El

Zaitun, the earthenware is made : at the latter of which, the river called

the ’’water of life enters the sea; and which they, therefore, call the * con-

junction of two seas.

This Sin Kiliin is one of their greatest and best formed cities. In the

middle of it is a great temple, which was built by one of their kings. This

he endowed with the revenue of the city and of the surrounding villages.

In this are apartments for the sick, the aged, the blind, and the oreat

Fakeer Sheikhs, and the endowment affords them provisions in great

plenty. A picture of this king is painted in the temple, and worshipped

by the inmates. In a certain part of this province is a town in which the

Mohammedans reside. It has a market, a mosque, and a cell for the poor.

Here is also a Judge and a Sheikh El Islam : nor is there any doubt that

there must be, in all the towns of China, Mohammedan merchants who have

a Judge and a Sheikh El Islam, to whom their matters are referred. In

this place I resided with one of the merchants, and remained among them for

fourteen days ; during which time, not a day passed without my receiving

presents from them. Beyond this city, neither the Mohammedans nor

infidels of China have another. Between it and the obstruction of Gog

and Magog'^ there is, as I was told, a distance of sixty days The people

who inhabit that place eat all the men they can overcome : and hence it

is that no one goes to those parts. I did not see any one, however, in

these parts, who had either seen the obstruction himself, or who had seen

one who had seen it.

I was also told in * Sin Kilan, that a considerable personage was in that

neighbourhood, who was upwards of two hundred years old ; that he never

ate, drank, spoke, or took any delight whatever in the world, bis powers

were so great and so perfect ; and that he lived in a cave without the city,

in which also his devotions were carried on. I went to the cave, and saw

him at the door ; he was exceedingly thin, and of copper colour. He had

marks of a devotional character about him ; but had no beard. When I

I saluted him, he seized my hand and smelled it. He then said to the

• ij^ ^ ^

* Some have thought that by this expression is meant the great wall. See Asseman, Bib,

Orient, tom. iii. P. 2, p. clxiv.

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CHINA.

interpreter ; This man is just as much attached to this world, as we are to

the next. He said to me: You have seen a wonder. Do you remember

when you came to an island in which there was a temple, and a man

sitting among the images, who gave you ten dinars of gold ? I answered,

I do. He rejoined : I am the man. I then kissed his hand. He then

considered for a little time, and went into the cave, seeming to repent of

what he had said. And as he did not come out again, we forced ourselves,

and went in after him. Him, however, we did not find ; but there was

one of his companions, who had before him a number of the paper notes.

These, said he, are your feast; so go back. I said, We wait for the old

man. He replied: If you stay here for ten years, you will not see him ;

for it is his practice, that when he has exhibited one of his mysteries to

any one, that man sees him no more. Nor suppose that he is absent; the

fact is, he is now present. I much wondered at this, and returned. I

have, on a former occasion, related the affair of the Jogee, who gave us the

dinars, when among the images in the temple of a certain island.^

After this, I told the story of the old man to the Judge of the town, and

the Sheikh El Islam, who said : Such is his general practice with those

strangers who go to see him ; but no one knows what religion he is of.

The person, continued he, that you supposed to be one of his companions,

was the old man himself. I have been told, too, that he had disappeared

for about fifty years, but returned to this place within the last year ; that

the Sultan and others beneath him, visit the old man, and that he gives

each of them presents suitable to his station. He gives presents, in like

manner, to the poor who visit him. In the cave in which he lives there is

nothing to attract the attention ; and his discourse is of times that are past.

He will occasionally speak of the Prophet, and say : Had I been with him,

I would have assisted him. He also speaks of “ Omar Ibn Khatab, and

with peculiar respect of ^Ali son of Abu Talib. I was told by^Auhad

Oddin of Sanjar, the head of the merchants, that he one day entered the

cave, when the old man took him by the hand. I had, said he, imme-

diately the idea that I was in a large palace, that the Sheikh was sitting

in it upon a throne, with a crown on his head, and his servants standing

* See page 164.

CHINA.

215

before him. I thought I saw the fruits falling into streams there; and

taking one to eat, I found myself in the cave standing before him, and him

laughing at me. I had, however, a severe fit of sickness in consequence of

this, which did not leave me for some months. After this I visited him no

more. The people of this country think he is a Mohammedan, but no one

has seen him pray, though he is constantly fasting.

I now returned to the city of El Zaitun by the river ; and, soon after my

arrival, came the answer of the Khan to his Lieutenant there, in which it

was ordered, that I should be honourably provided for, and sent to the

presence, either by land or by the river, as I might choose. They accord-

ingly provided me with vessels and servants, and I proceeded at the charge

of the Sultan by the river, leaving one village in the morning, and arriving

at another in the evening. This we did for ten days, and then arrived at

the city of ^Fanjanfur, which is a large and handsome place situated in a

plain, and surrounded with gardens, something like the plain of Damascus.

Here I was met by the Judge, the “Presbyters of Islamism, and the mer-

chants, with the Emir of the city and the officers of his forces, by whom

the Emperor is entertained in the most honourable manner. I accordingly

entered the city. It has four walls. Between the first and second of

these are the Emperor’s servants, who watch the city ; between the second

and the third, are the troops of cavalry, and the city magistrate ; between

the third and fourth are the Mohammedans ; where also I took up my resi-

dence with their Sheikh, ^Zahir Oddin. Within the fourth wall are the

Chinese ; and this is the largest part of the city. It was strange enough

that, one day, when I was at a feast which they had made for me, in came

one of the great Mohammedan Fakeers, whom they welcomed by the title

of the ‘’Sheikh Kawam Oddln. After the salutation, and his joining our

society, I was wondering at his appearance, and had looked on him for some

time, when he said ; Why do you continue looking at me, unless you know

me ? I then asked him of his native place. He said, it was ‘^Subta (Ceuta).

I said; Well, I am from ^Tanjiers. He then renewed his salute and wept;

and at this I wept too.* I then asked, whether he had been in India. He

* We here recognize something like the simple and affecting scene between Jacob and Rachel

216

CHINA.

said: Yes; at the palace in Dehli. When he said this, he came to my

recollection; and I said, are you-^ El Bashlri ?* * He said: Yes. He had

come to Dehli with my uncle, ^Abul Kasim El MursI, when he was young

and before a beard had appeared on his cheek. He was then one of the most

clever at retaining the Koran by memory, and of those termed benchers.

I had mentioned him to the Emperor of India, who accordingly wished to

retain him in office. But this he did not accept of. His wish was to go to

China. The Emperor had given him three thousand dinars, and he had

then set out for China. In China he was put in office among the Moham-

medans, and became possessed of great wealth. After this, he sent me

several presents. His brother I met, sometime after, in Sudan; what a

' distance between these two brothers ! In ^Kanjura I resided fifteen days ;

I then proceeded by the river, and after four days arrived at the city of

''Bairam Katlu, which is a small place, the inhabitants of which are very

hospitable. In this place there were not more than four Mohammedans,

with one of whom I resided for three days, and then proceeded by the

river a voyage of ten days, and arrived at the city of ^ El Khansa. The name

of this place is similar to that of the poetess “El Khansa,'|' but I do not

know whether the word is Arabic or not, or whether the Arabic has any

agreement or not with their language.

This is the largest city I had ever seen on the face of the earth : its length

is a journey of three days, in which a traveller may proceed on and find

lodgings. It is, as we have already said of the manner of building among

the Chinese, so constructed, that each inhabitant has his house in the middle

of his land and garden-ground. This city is divided into six cities : all of

which are surrounded by a wall, and of which we shall presently say more.

. jikj ’’’ . jV-jliiJl jjI ^

. UxsH “ . LiA)! '

at the well. Gen. 29, 10 — 12 : “ And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter

of Laban, his mother’s brother, &c. he lifted up his voice and wept.”

* According to Ferishta and others, this should seem to be the name of an office in the court

of Dehli.

■| For some account of this poetess, see M. de Sacy’s Chrestomathie Arabe, tom. ii. p. 413,

edit. 2. The place is probably the Chensi of the maps. See also Assemani, Biblioth. Orient,

tom. iii. P. ii. p. 512.

CHINA.

217

When we approached this city we were met by its judge, the presbyters

of Islamism, and the great merchants. The Mohammedans are exceedingly

numerous here. This whole city is surrounded by a wall : each of the six

cities is also surrounded by a wall. In the first reside the guards, with their

commander. I was told that, in the muster-rolls, these amount to twelve

thousand. I lodged one night in the house of the commander. In the

second division are the Jews,* Christians,'!' and the Turks who worship the

sun : these are numerous, their number is not known : and theirs is the

most beautiful city. Their streets are well disposed, and their great men

are exceeding wealthy. There are in the city a great number of Mohamme-

dans, with some of whom I resided for fifteen days ; and was treated most

honourably. The third division is the seat of the government. In this resides

the chief "commander of all China, with the forces. When I entered its

gate, my companions were separated from me, on account of the press, and

I remained alone. I was here met by the prime minister, who carried me to

* It does not seem possible, without positive history on the subject, to ascertain at what

period the Jews entered China. Some fix upon the year 224 before Christ : others on other

periods less ancient : but, as far as I can see, not much reliance is to be placed on any one of

them. The reader may, however, consult the tract by Christoph. Theoph. de Murr, con-

taining the Notitiae S.S. Bibliorum Judaeorum in Imperio Sinensi, with the Diatribe de Sinicis

S.S. Bibliorum Versionibus, Halae ad Salam, 1805, and the works there mentioned.

f These were, probably, some of the Nestorian Syrian Christians, who seem to have been

first sent into China for the purpose of propagating the Christian faith, from the churches in

Malabar, commonly styled the Christians of St. Thomas, &c. See the Bibliotheca Orientalis of

Asseman, tom. iii. P. II. pp. 512-552, where every particular relating to the history of these

Christians is discussed in a very able and interesting manner. We are told, in p. 519, that the

Chinese call the Christians Terzai or Tersai, which, according to a conjecture of Trigautius,

must be either Arabic or Persic, not Armenian. The truth is, it is the Persic tarsa,

a general name given to Christians by the Persians, as may be seen in the Dabistan, the

Gulistan of Sadi, &c. ; and if it be true that the Chinese so term them, one would be led to

Suppose, that Christianity must first have gone from Persia to China. Asseman concludes upoYi

the words of Trigautius : “ Christianas in Sinarum regno Nestorivinos fuisse, non Armenios,

neque ex Armenia, sed partiin ex Assyria et Mesopotamia, partim ex Sogdiana, Bactriana et

India illuc convolasse, eo maxime tempore, quo Tartari in illud regnum invaserunt, ipse Marcus

Paulus Venetus, qui a Trigautio citatur, pluribus in locis affirmat, ubi quoties Christianorum

in Sinis meminit, eos Nestorianos vocat.” Asseman argues, however, that Christianity was not

originally Nestorianism in China. But his interesting article should be read throughout.

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CHINA.

the house of the commander of the forces, the Emir ^ Kartl. This was the person

of whom I have already given some account, who cast his eyes upon the goat’s-

hair garment which had been given me by the friend of God, the Sheikh

Jalal Oddln of Shiraz. This fourth city is the most beautiful of all the six.

It is intersected by three rivers. I was entertained by the Emir Kartl, in

his own house, in a most splendid manner : he had brought together to this

feast the great men of both the Mohammedans and Chinese. We had also

musicians and singers. I stayed with him one night. At the banquet were

present the Khan’s jugglers, the chief of whom was ordered to shew some

of his wonders. He then took a wooden sphere, in which there were holes,

and in these long straps, and threw it up into the air till it went out of

sight, as I myself witnessed, while the strap remained in his hand. He

then commanded one of his disciples to take hold of, and to ascend by, this

strap, which he did until he also went out of sight. His master then

called him three times, but no answer came : he then took a knife in his

hand, apparently in anger, which he applied to the strap. This also as-

cended till it went quite out of sight : he then threw the hand of the boy upon

the ground, then his foot ; then his other hand, then his other foot ; then

his body, tJien his head. He then came down, panting for breath, and his

clothes stained with blood. The man then kissed the ground before the

General, who addressed him in Chinese, and gave him some other order.

The juggler then took the limbs of the boy and applied them one to another :

he then stamped upon them, and it stood up complete and erect. I was

astonished, and was seized in consequence by a palpitation at the heart : but

they gave me some drink, and I recovered. The judge of the Mohamme-

dans was sitting by my side, who swore, that there was neither ascent, des-

cent, nor cutting away of limbs, but the whole was mere juggling.

On this very night I entered the fifth city, which is the largest of them.

It is inhabited by the common Chinese people, among whom are the most

ingenious artificers. In this place are made the '^Khansawla garments. The

most wonderful things they make, are dishes composed of reeds glued together,

and painted over with colours, such that when hot meat is put into them

they do not change their colour. Ten of these may be put into one another;

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and the person seeing them would suppose them to be only one. For these

they have a cover, which contains them all ; and their softness is such, that

should they fall from a height they would not break. They are wonderful

productions.

After this, I entered the sixth city, which is inhabited by sailors, fisher-

men, ship-caulkers, and carpenters. I was told after this by the wealthy

Mohammedans, that some of the relations of the great ’’ Khan had revolted,

and that they had collected an army, and gone out to give him battle ;

they had collected an hundred companies of cavalry, each company of

which amounted to ten thousand. The Sultan had on this occasion, of his

own particular friends and stipendiaries, fifty thousand cavalry ; and of foot

soldiers, five hundred thousand. He was also opposed by the greater part

of the nobles, who agreed that he ought to abdicate the throne, because he

disregarded the regulations of the Yasak,* laid down by his ancestor Jengiz

Khan. They accordingly went over to the side of his uncle’s son, who had

set up a claim against him. They also wrote to the Khan, advising him to

abdicate the throne; and promising that the province of *E1 Khansa should

be apportioned to him. This he refused to accede to, and gave them bat-

tle ; but after a few days he was put to the rout and killed, before I had

arrived at his palace. f The news of this soon came to the city, and drums

* jLJl See p. 91, note.

■f I can find no account whatever in De Guignes or others of the death of this Emperor ;

but, as no change seems to have happened in the dynasty, and, according to our traveller, the

uncle’s son succeeded to the throne, no notice might generally have been taken of the

circumstance. The dynasty of Yuen seems to have reigned from the latter end of the

thirteenth century of our era to 1369, during which period nine Emperors of the descendants of

Jengiz Khan are said to have held the supreme power in China. Now, it is very remarkable,

that, of the first eight of these the longest reign is only thirteen years, while the ninth is made

to continue through a period of thirty-six, i. e. from 1333 to 1369. It strikes me, therefore,

that this reign is too long, and that the reign of another Emperor ought to be inserted between

the eighth and ninth of them, in order to make the account probable ; and if the relation

of our traveller be true, such reign actually took place: and with the close of this the

Yuen dynasty ceased. See Asseman, Biblioth. Orient, tom. iii. P. II. p. 535. De Guignes, tom.

i. P. I. p. 279. In the last of which we are informed of several rebellions having taken place

2 F 2

220

CHINA.

and trumpets were sounded accordingly during the space of two months,

for joy at the accession of the new Khan. The Khan who had been killed,

with about a hundred of his relatives, was then brought, and a large sepul-

chre was dug for him under the earth, in which a most beautiful couch wag

spread, and the Khan was with his weapons laid upon it. With him they

placed all the gold and silver vessels he had in his house,* * together with

four female slaves, and six of his favourite Mamluks, with a few vessels of

drink. They were then all closed up, and the earth heaped upon them to

the height of a large hill. They then brought four horses, which they

pierced through at the hill, until all motion in them ceased ; they then

forced a piece of wood into the hinder part of the animal till it came out at

his neck, and this they fixed in the earth, leaving the horses thus impaled

upon the hill.

The relatives of the Khan they buried in the same manner, putting all

their vessels of gold and silver in the grave with them. At the door of the

sepulchres of ten of these, they impaled three horses in the manner just

mentioned. At the graves of each of the rest, only one horse was impaled.

This was a notable day; all the people of the city, Chinese, Mohamme-

dans, and others, were present on the occasion, and had on their mourning,

which consists of a sort of white hood. I know of no other people who do

so on such occasions.

When, however, the former Emperor was killed, and Firun, the son of

his uncle who had made war against him, had been put in power, he chose

to fix his residence at ^ Kora K arum, j' on account of its nearness to the

during the reign of the last prince of the Yuen dynasty : and one of these is, perhaps, that

related by our traveller.

* See a very curious note on this subject in Mr. Marsden’s Translation of Marco Polo,

n.878, p. 451, whence it appears that the Russians found great quantities of plate, arms, &c.

in the graves of the Tartar chiefs ; and Bell’s Travels in Asia, Pinkerton, vol. vii. pp. 335-6.

j- According to D’Herbelot, Caracoram, ville qui Octal Kaan fils de Genghizkhan batit dans

le pays de Cathai apres qu’il I’eut subjugue : elle fut aussi nomm^e Ordu Balik, et c’est peut-

etre la meme que Marc Paul appelle Cambalu. Mungaca ou Mangu Caan, fils de Tuh Kan, et

petit fils de Genghizkhan, quatrieme Empereur des Mogols, faisoit son sejour ordinaire dans cette

ville. Voyez le litre de Cara Khotan. See also Histoire des Mongols, Liv. II. chap. i. p 347.

CHINA.

221

territories of his uncle the “ King of Turkistan and *Mawara El Nahr. But

those nobles, who had not been present at the death of the former Khan,

revolted. Upon this occasion they stopped up the roads, and the disaffec-

tion spread itself like a flame. The leading men among the Mohammedans

advised me to return to the city of El Zaitun, before the confusion should

become general: and accordingly, they petitioned the minister of King

Firun to give me permission, which he did, with an order for my mainte-

nance, according to custom.