A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume I Part 7

There are no taxes imposed upon the lands, but all the men of the country are subject to a poll-tax in proportion to their substance. When any failure of crops makes necessaries dear, the king opens his store-houses to the people, and soils all sorts of necessaries at much cheaper rates than they can be had in the markets; by which means famine is prevented, and no dearth is of any long continuance. The sums that are gathered by this capitation tax are laid up in the public treasury, and I believe, that from this tax, fifty thousand dinars are paid every day into the null of Canfu alone, although that city is not one of the largest. The emperor reserves to himself the revenues which arise from the salt mines, and those which are derived from impositions upon a certain herb called _Tcha_, which they drink with hot water, and of which vast quant.i.ties are sold in all the cities in China. This is produced from a shrub more bushy than the pomegranate tree, and of a more pleasant smell, but having a kind of a bitterish taste. The way of using this herb is to pour boiling water upon the leaves, and the infusion cures all diseases. Whatever sums come into the public treasury arise from the capitation tax, the duties upon salt, and the tax upon this leaf.

In every city there is a small bell hung to the wall, immediately over the head of the viceroy or governor, which may be rung by a string which reaches about three miles, and crosses the high way, on purpose that all the people may have access to it; und whenever the string is pulled, and the bell strikes, the person who thus demands justice is immediately commanded to be brought into the presence, where he sets forth his case in person. If any person inclines to travel from one part of the country to another, he must have two pa.s.ses along with him, one from the governor, and the other from the lieutenant. The governor's pa.s.s permits him to set out on his journey, and specifies the name of the traveller, and of all that are in his company, with their names and ages; for every person in China, whether native, Arab, or other foreigner, is obliged to make a full declaration of every thing he knows about himself. The lieutenant's pa.s.s specifies the exact quant.i.ties of goods and money which the traveller and his company take along with them, and this is done for the information of the frontier places, where both pa.s.ses are regularly examined; for whenever a person arrives at any of these places, it is entered in the register that such a one, the son of such a one, of such a family, pa.s.sed through the place, in such a month, day, and year, and in such company. By this means they prevent any one from carrying off the money or effects of others, or the loss of their own goods in case of accident; so that if any thing has been taken away unjustly, or if the traveller should die on the road, it may be immediately known where the things are to be found, that they may be restored to the claimants, or to the heirs of the deceased.

The Chinese administer justice with great strictness, in all their tribunals. When any person commences a suit against another, he sets down his claim in writing, and the defendant writes down his defence, which he signs, and holds between his fingers. These two writings are delivered in at the same time; and being examined, sentence is p.r.o.nounced in writing, each of the parties having his papers returned to him, the defendant having his delivered first. When one party denies what the other affirms, he is ordered to return his writing; and if the defendant thinks he may do it safely, and delivers in his papers a second time, those of the plaintiff are likewise called for; and he who denies the affirmation of the other, is warned, that if he does not make out what he denies, he shall undergo twenty strokes of the bamboo on his b.u.t.tocks, and shall pay a fine of twenty _fakuges_, which amount to about two hundred dinars. And the punishment of the bamboo is so severe, that the criminal can hardly survive, and no person in all China is permitted to inflict it upon another by his own authority, on pain of death, and confiscation of his goods; so that no one is ever so hardy as to expose himself to such certain danger, by which means justice is well administered to all. No witnesses are required, neither do they put the parties upon oath.

When any person becomes bankrupt, he is immediately committed to prison in the governor's palace, and is called upon for a declaration of his effects.

After he has remained a month in prison, he is liberated by the governor's order, and a proclamation is made, that such a person, the son of such a one, has consumed the goods of such a one, and that if any person possesses any effects, whatever belonging to the bankrupt, a full discovery must be made within one month. If any discovery is made of effects belonging to the bankrupt, which he had omitted to declare, he suffers the punishment of the bamboo, and is upbraided with having remained a month in prison, eating and drinking, although he has wherewithal to satisfy his creditors. He is reproached for having fraudulently procured and embezzled the property of others, and is chastised for stripping other people of their substance. But if, after every inquiry, the debtor does not appear to have been guilty of any fraud, and if it is proved to the satisfaction of the magistrate, that he has nothing in the world, the creditors are called in, and receive a part of their claims from the treasury of the Bagbun. This is the ordinary t.i.tle of the emperor of China, and signifies the Son of Heaven, which we ordinarily p.r.o.nounce Magbun. After this, it is publickly forbidden to buy of or sell to the bankrupt, that he may not again have an opportunity of defrauding his creditors, by concealing their money or effects. If it be discovered that the bankrupt has any money or effects in the hands of another, and that person makes no disclosure within the time limited, the person guilty of this concealment is bambooed to death, and the value discovered is divided among the creditors; but the debtor or bankrupt must never more concern himself with trade.

Upon a stone ten cubits high, erected in the public squares of all the cities, the names of all sorts of medicines, with the exact prices of each, are engraven; and when the poor stand in need of relief from physic, they receive, at the treasury, the price that each medicine is rated at. In China there is no tax upon land, but every male subject pays a rateable capitation in proportion to his wealth and possessions. When a male child is born, his name is immediately entered in a public register, and when he has attained his eighteenth year he begins to pay the poll-tax; but when once a man has reached his eightieth year, he not only ceases to contribute, but even receives a pension from the treasury, as a provision for old age, and in acknowledgment of what he paid during his youth. There are schools, maintained at the public charge, in every town, where the children of the poor are taught to read and write. The women wear nothing on their heads besides their hair, but the men are covered. In China there is a certain town called _Tayu_, having a castle, advantageously situated on a hill, and all the fortresses in the kingdom are called by the same name. The Chinese are generally handsome, of comely stature, and of fair complexions, and by no means addicted to excess in wine. Their hair is blacker than that of any other nation in the world, and the Chinese women wear it curled.

In the Indies, when one man accuses another of a capital crime, it is usual to ask the accused if he is willing to undergo the trial by fire, and if he consents, the ceremony is conducted in the following manner: A piece of iron is heated red hot, and the accused is desired to stretch out his hand, on which they put seven leaves of a certain tree, and above these the red hot iron is placed. In this condition he walks backwards and forwards for some time, and then throws off the iron. Immediately after this his hand is covered with a leathern bag, which is sealed with the prince's signet; and if at the end of three days he appears and declares that he has suffered no hurt, they order him to take out his hand, and if no sign of fire is visible, he is declared innocent of the crime laid to his charge, and the accuser is condemned to pay a fine of a _man_ of gold to the prince.

Sometimes they boil water in a caldron, till it is so hot that no one can touch it; they then throw in an iron ring, and the accused is commanded to thrust down his hand to bring up the ring. I saw one who did this and received no manner of harm. In this case, likewise, if the accused remain unhurt, the accuser pays a fine of a _man_ of gold.

When a king dies in the island of Serendib, which is the last of the islands of the Indies, his body is laid in an open chariot, in such a posture, that his head hangs backward, almost touching the ground, with his hair trailing on the earth; and the chariot is followed by a woman, who sweeps the dust on the face of the deceased, while she proclaims with a loud voice: "O man! behold your king! He was yesterday your master, but now the dominion which he exercised over you is at an end. He is reduced to the state you now see, having left the world; and the arbiter of life and death hath withdrawn his soul. Count not, therefore, O man! upon the uncertain hopes of this life." This or a similar proclamation is continued for three days; after which the body is embalmed with sandal wood, camphor, and saffron, and is then burned, and the ashes are scattered to the winds. When they burn the body of a king, it is usual for his wives to jump into the fire and burn along with him; but this they are not constrained to do. The same custom of burning the bodies of the dead prevails over all the Indies.

In the Indies there are men who devote themselves to live in the woods and mountains, professing to despise what other men most value, abstaining from every thing but such wild herbs and fruits as are to be found in the woods, and they affix an iron buckle to their genitals in such a manner as to interdict all commerce with woman. Some of these go quite naked, or have only the skin of a leopard thrown over them, and keep perpetually standing with their faces to the sun. I formerly saw one in that posture; and on my return to the Indies, sixteen years afterwards, I found him in the very same att.i.tude, it being astonis.h.i.+ng that he had not lost his sight by the heat and glare of the sun. In all these kingdoms the sovereign power resides in the royal family, without ever departing from it, and the heirs of the family follow each other in regular succession. In like manner, there are families of learned men, of physicians, and of all the artificers concerned in the various arts; and none of these are ever mixed with the family of a different profession. The several states of the Indies are not subject to one king, but each province has its own; though the Balhara is considered in the Indies as king of kings. The Chinese are fond of gaming and all manner of diversions; but the Indians condemn them, and have no pleasure in such employments. They drink no wine, neither do they use vinegar, because it is made from wine; although this abstinence does not proceed from any religious duty: but they allege that a king given to wine is not worthy of being a king; for how should a drunkard be able to manage the affairs of a kingdom, especially as wars are so frequent between the neighbouring states? Their wars are not usually undertaken to possess themselves of the dominions of others, and I never heard of any except the people bordering on the pepper country that seized the dominions of their neighbours after victory. When a prince masters the dominions of a neighbour, he confers the sovereignty upon some person of the royal family of the conquered country, and thus retains it in dependence upon himself, under the conviction that the natives would never submit to be otherwise governed.

When any one of the princes or governors of cities in China is guilty of a crime, he is put to death and eaten; and in general, it may be said that the Chinese eat all those who are put to death. When the Indians and Chinese are about to marry and the parties are agreed, presents are interchanged, and the marriage ceremony is solemnized amidst the noise of drums and various sorts of instruments. The presents consist in money, and all the relatives and friends contribute as much as they can afford. If any man in the Indies runs away with a woman and abuses her, both are put to death; unless it is proved that force has been used against the woman, in which case the man only is punished. Theft is always punished capitally, both in India and China, whether the theft be considerable or trifling; but more particularly so in the Indies, where, if a thief have stolen even the value of a small piece of money, he is impaled alive. The Chinese are much addicted to the abominable vice of pederasty, which they even number among the strange acts they perform in honour of their idols. The Chinese buildings are of wood, with stone and plaster, or bricks and mortar. The Chinese and Indians are not satisfied with one wife, but both nations marry as many as they please, or can maintain. Rice is the common food of the Indians, who eat no wheat; but the Chinese use both indifferently.

Circ.u.mcision is not practised either by the Chinese or Indians. The Chinese wors.h.i.+p idols, before whom, they fall down and make prayers, and they have books which explain the articles of their religion. The Indians suffer their beards to grow, but have no whiskers, and I have seen one with a beard three cubits long; but the Chinese, for the most part, wear no beards. Upon the death of a relation, the Indians shave both head and face.

When any man in the Indies is thrown into prison, he is allowed neither victuals nor drink for seven days together; and this with them answers the end of other tortures for extorting from the criminal a confession of his guilt. The Chinese and Indians have judges besides the governors, who decide in causes between the subjects. Both in India and China there are leopards and wolves, but no lions. Highway robbers are punished with death.

Both the Indians and Chinese imagine that the idols which they wors.h.i.+p speak to them, and give them answers. Neither of them kill their meat by cutting the throat, as is done by the Mahomedans, but by beating them on the head till they die. They wash not with well water, and the Chinese wipe themselves with paper, whereas the Indians wash every day before eating.

The Indians wash not only the mouth, but the whole body before they eat, but this is not done by the Chinese. The Indies is larger in extent by a half than China, and has a great many more kingdoms, but China is more populous. It is not usual to see palm trees either in the Indies or in China, but they have many other sorts of trees and fruits which we have not. The Indians have no grapes, and the Chinese have not many, but both abound in other fruits, though the pomegranate thrives better in India than in China.

The Chinese have no sciences, and their religion and most of their laws are derived from the Indians. They even believe that the Indians taught them their wors.h.i.+p of idols. Both nations believe the Metempsycosis, though they differ in many of the precepts and ceremonies of their religion. Physic and philosophy are cultivated among the Indians, and the Chinese have some skill in medicine; but that almost entirely consists in the art of applying hot irons or cauteries. They have some smattering of astronomy; but in this likewise the Indians surpa.s.s the Chinese. I know not that even so much as one man of either nation has embraced Mahomedism, or has learned to speak the Arabic language. The Indians have few horses, and there are more in China; but the Chinese have no elephants, and cannot endure to have them in their country. The Indian dominions furnish a great number of soldiers, who are not paid by their kings, but, when called out to war, have to take the field and serve entirely at their own expense; but the Chinese allow their soldiers much the same pay as is done by the Arabs.

China is a pleasant and fruitful country, having numerous extensive and well fortified cities, with a more wholesome climate and less fenny country than India, in which most of the provinces have no cities. The air in China likewise is much better than in India, and there are scarcely any blind persons, or who are subject to diseases of the eyes; and similar advantages are enjoyed by several of the provinces of India. The rivers of both countries are large, and surpa.s.s our greatest rivers, and much rain falls in both countries. In the ladies there are many desert tracks, but China is inhabited and cultivated through its whole extent. The Chinese are handsomer than the Indians, and come nearer to the Arabs in countenance and dress, in their manners, in the way of riding, and in their ceremonies, wearing long garments and girdles in the manner of belts; while the Indians wear two short vests, and both men and women wear golden bracelets, adorned with precious stones.

Beyond the kingdom of China, there is a country called _Tagazgaz_, taking its name from a nation of Turks by which it is inhabited, and also the country of Kakhan which borders on the Turks. The islands of Sila are inhabited by white people, who send presents to the Emperor of China, and who are persuaded that if they were to neglect this the rain of heaven would not fall upon their country. In that country there are white falcons; but none of our people have been there to give us any particular information concerning them.

[1] This is probably the sea about the Maldives, which, according to the eastern geographers, divides that part of the Indian Ocean from the sea of Delarowi, or the Magnus Sinus of the ancients. The eastern writers often speak of the Seven Seas, which seems rather a proverbial phrase, than a geographical definition. These are the seas of China, India, Persia, Kolzoum, or the Red Sea, of Rum or Greece, which is the Mediterranean, Alehozar or the Caspian, Pont or the Euxine. The sea of India is often called the Green Sea, and the Persian Gulf the sea of Ba.s.sora. The Ocean is called Bahr Mahit.--Harris

[2] Male-dive signifies, in the Malabar language, a thousand isles.--E.

[3] The subsequent accounts of these islands do not justify this particular sentence, if the author meant that they were always governed by a queen. It might be so in this time by accident, and one queen might have succeeded another, as Queen Elizabeth did Queen Mary.--Harris.

[4] This is the Taprobana of the ancients, and has received many names. In Cosmas Indicopleustes, it is called Sielendiba, which is merely a Grecian corruption of Sielea-dive, or Sielen island; whence the modern name of Ceylon.--E.

[5] This is probably the shark, which is common on all the coasts of India.

There was a portion of the MS. wanting at this place; wherein the author treated of the trade to China as it was carried on in his time, and of the causes which had brought it into a declining condition.

--Renaud.

[6] Perhaps some account of this Soliman might be contained in the lost pages: But the circ.u.mstance of a Mahomedan judge or consul at Canfu is a circ.u.mstance worthy of notice, and shews that the Mahomedans had carried on a regular and settled trade with China for a considerable time, and were in high estimation in that country.--Renaud.

[7] It is difficult at this distance of time to ascertain the rout laid down by this author, on account of the changes of names. This mart of Siraff is not to be met with in any of our maps; but it is said by the Arabian geographers to have been in the gulf of Persia, about sixty leagues from s.h.i.+raz; and that on its decay, the trade was transferred to Ormuz.--Renaud.

[8] It is probable, or rather certain, that Canton is here meant.--E.

[9] Meaning the Pa.r.s.ees or Guebres, the fire-wors.h.i.+ppers of Persia.--E.

[10] It is probable that this Balhara, or king of the people with bored ears, which plainly means the Indians, was the Zamorin or Emperor of Calicut; who, according to the reports of the most ancient Portuguese writers concerning India, was acknowledged as a kind of emperor in the Indies, six hundred years before they discovered the route to India by the Cape of Good Hope.--Harris.

The original editor of this voyage in English, Harris, is certainly mistaken in this point. The Balhara was the sovereign of Southern Seindetic India; of which dominion Guzerat was the princ.i.p.al province.--E.

[11] This is a very early notice of the construction and use of clocks, or machinery to indicate divisions of time, by means of weights.--E.

SECTION II.

_Commentary upon the foregoing Account, by Abu Zeid al Hasan of Siraff_.

Having very carefully examined the book I was desired to peruse, that I might confirm what the author relates so far as he agrees with what I have learnt concerning the affairs of navigation, the kingdoms on the coast, and the state of the countries of which he treats, and that I might add what I have elsewhere collected concerning these matters: I find that this book was composed in the year of the Hegira 237, and that the accounts given by the author are conformable with what I have heard from merchants who have sailed from _Irak_ or Persia, through these seas. I find also all that the author has written to be agreeable to truth, except some few pa.s.sages, in which he has been misinformed. Speaking of the custom, of the Chinese in setting meat before their dead, and believing that the dead had eaten, we had been told the same thing, and once believed it; but have since learnt, from a person of undoubted credit, that this notion is entirely groundless, as well as that the idolaters believe their idols speak to them. From that creditable person we have likewise been informed, that the affairs of China wear quite a different aspect since those days: and since much has been related to explain why our voyages to China have been interrupted, and how the country has been ruined, many customs abolished, and the empire divided, I shall here declare what I know of that revolution.

The great troubles which have embroiled the affairs of this empire, putting a stop to the justice and righteousness there formerly practised, and interrupting the ordinary navigation from Siraff to China, was occasioned by the revolt of an officer named Baichu, in high employment, though not of the royal family. He began by gathering together a number of vagabonds, and disorderly people, whom he won to his party by his liberalities, and formed into a considerable body of troops. With these he committed hostilities in many parts of the country, to the great loss of the inhabitants; and having greatly increased his army, and put himself into a condition to attempt greater things, he began to entertain a design of subduing the whole empire, and marched direct for Canfu, one of the most noted cities in China, and at that time the great port for our Arabian commerce. This city stands upon a great river, some days sail from the sea, so that the water there is fresh. The citizens shut their gates against him, and he was obliged to besiege it a great while; but at length he became master of the city, and put all the inhabitants to the sword. There are persons fully acquainted with the affairs of China, who a.s.sure us, that besides the Chinese who were ma.s.sacred upon this occasion, there perished one hundred and twenty thousand Mahomedans, Jews, Christians, and Pa.r.s.ees, who were there on account of traffic; and as the Chinese are exceedingly nice in the registers they keep of foreigners dwelling among them, this number may be considered as authentic. This took place in the year of the hegira 264, or of Christ 877. He also cut down the mulberry trees, which are carefully cultivated by the Chinese for their leaves, on which the silk worms are fed; and owing to this, the trade of silk has tailed, and that manufacture, which used to be much prosecuted in all the countries under the Arabian government, is quite at a stand.

Having sacked and destroyed Canfu, he possessed himself of many other cities, which he demolished, having first slain most of the inhabitants, in the hope that he might involve all the members of the royal family in this general ma.s.sacre, that no one might remain to dispute with him for the empire. He then advanced to c.u.mdan[1], the capital city, whence the emperor was obliged to make a precipitate retreat to the city of Hamdu, on the frontiers towards Thibet. Puffed up with these great successes, Baichu made himself master of almost the whole country, there being no one able to dispute his authority. At length the emperor wrote to the king of the Tagazgaz in Turkestan, with whom he was in some degree allied by marriage, imploring his a.s.sistance to subdue the rebellion. The king of the Tagazgaz dispatched his son, at the head of a very numerous army, into China, and after a long and arduous contest, and many battles, Baichu was utterly defeated, and it was never known afterwards what became of him; some believing that he fell in the last battle, while others supposed that he ended his days in a different manner. The emperor of China now returned to his capital, much weakened and dispirited in consequence of the embezzlement of his treasures, and the loss of the best of his officers and troops, and the horrible devastations, calamities, and losses which his empire had sustained; yet he made himself master of all the provinces which had revolted from his authority. He would not, however, lay his hands upon the goods of his subjects, notwithstanding the exhausted state of his finances, but satisfied himself with what was still left in his coffers, and the small remains of the public money that was to be found, requiring nothing from his subjects, but what they were willing to give, and only demanding obedience to the laws and to his authority, considering that they had been already severely oppressed in consequence of the rebellion. Thus, China became like the empire of Alexander, after the defeat and death of Darius, when he divided the provinces among his chiefs, who became so many kings. For now, each of the Chinese princes, or viceroys, joined themselves into petty alliances, making wars among themselves without the authority of the emperor; and when the stronger had subdued the weaker, and acquired possession of his province, the subjects of the vanquished prince were unmercifully wasted and plundered, and even barbarously devoured: a cruel practice allowed by the laws of their religion, which even permit human flesh to be exposed to public sale in the markets. There arose from all these confusions many unjust dealings with the merchants; and there was no grievance so intolerable, or treatment so bad, but what was exercised upon the Arab merchants, and captains of s.h.i.+ps, extorting from them what was altogether uncustomary, seizing upon their effects, and behaving towards them quite contrary to all the ancient usages; so that our merchants were forced to return in crowds to Siraff and Oman[2].

The punishment of married persons, convicted of adultery, as well as for the crimes of homicide and theft, is as follows: The hands are bound fast together, and forced backwards over the head, till they rest on the neck.

The right foot is then fastened to the right hand, and the left foot to the left hand, and all drawn tight together behind the back, so that the criminal is incapable to stir; and by this torture the neck is dislocated, the joints of the arms start from their sockets, and the thigh bones are disjointed;--in short, the tortured wretch would soon expire without any farther process; yet, in that state, he is beaten by bamboos till at the last gasp, and is then abandoned to the people, who devour the body.

There are women in China who refuse to marry, and prefer to live a dissolute life of perpetual debauchery. A woman who has made this election, presents herself in full audience before the commanding officer of a city, declares her aversion to marriage, and desires to be enrolled among the public women. Her name is then inserted in the register, with the name of her family, the place of her abode, the number and description of her jewels, and the particulars of her dress. She has then a string put round her neck, to which is appended a copper ring, marked with the king's signet, and she receives a writing, certifying that she is received into the list of prost.i.tutes, and by which she is ent.i.tled to a pension from the public treasury of so many _falus_ yearly, and in which the punishment of death is denounced against any man who should take her to wife. Every year, regulations are published respecting these women, and such as have grown old in the service are struck off the list. In the evening, these women walk abroad in dresses of different colours, unveiled, and prost.i.tute themselves to all strangers who love debauchery; but the Chinese themselves send for them to their houses, whence they do not depart till next morning.

The Chinese coin no money, except the small pieces of copper like those we _falus_, nor will they allow gold and silver to be coined into specie, like our dinars and drams; for they allege that a thief may carry off ten thousand pieces of gold from the house of an Arab, and almost as many of silver, without being much burthened, and so ruin the man who suffers the loss; but in the house of a Chinese, he can only carry off ten thousand _falus_ at the most, which do not make above ten meticals or gold dinars in value. These pieces of copper are alloyed with some other metal, and are about the size of a dram, or the piece of silver called _bagli_, having a large hole in the middle to string them by. A thousand of them are worth a metical or gold dinar; and they string them by thousands, with a knot distinguis.h.i.+ng the hundreds. All their payments, whether for land, furniture, merchandize, or any thing else, are made in this money, of which there are some pieces at Siraff, inscribed with Chinese characters. The city of Canfu is built of wood and canes interwoven, just like our lattice-work of split canes, the whole washed over with a kind of varnish made of hempseed, which becomes as white as milk, having a wonderfully fine gloss. There are no stairs in their houses, which are all of one storey, and all their valuables are placed in chests upon wheels, which in case of fire can easily be drawn from place to place, without any hinderance from stairs.

The inferior officers of the cities, and those commonly who have the direction of the customs and of the treasury, are almost all eunuchs, some of whom have been captured on the frontiers and made so, while others are so treated by their fathers, and sent as presents to the emperors. These officers are at the head of the princ.i.p.al affairs of state, and have the management of the emperor's private affairs, and of the treasury; and those, particularly, who are sent to Canfu, are selected from this cla.s.s.

It is customary for them, and for the viceroys or governors of the cities, to appear abroad from time to time in solemn procession. On these occasions, they are preceded by men who carry great pieces of wood, like those used in the Levant instead of bells by the Christians, on which they make a noise which is heard at a great distance, upon which every person gets out of the way of the prince or eunuch. Even if a man is at his door, he goes in, and keeps his door shut till the great personage has gone by.

Thus, not a soul is in the way, and this is enjoined that they may strike a dread into the people, and be held in veneration; and the people are not allowed to see them often, lest they should grow so familiar as to speak to them.. All these officers wear very magnificent dresses of silk, so fine that none such is brought into the country of the Arabs, as the Chinese hold it at a very high price. One of our chief merchants, a man of perfect credibility, waited upon an eunuch who had been sent to Canfu, to purchase some goods from the country of the Arabs. The eunuch had upon his breast a short and beautiful silk vest, which was under another silk vest, and seemed to have two other vests over that again; and perceiving that the Arab eyed him very steadfastly, he asked him the cause; and being told that he admired the beauty of the little vest under his other garments, the eunuch laughed, and holding out his sleeve to him, desired him to count how many vests he had above that which he so much admired. He did so, and found five, one over the other, and the little rich vest undermost. These garments are all wove of raw silk, which has never been washed or fulled; and those worn by the princes or governors are still richer, and more exquisitely, wrought.

The Chinese surpa.s.s all nations in all arts, and particularly in painting, and they perform such perfect work, as others can but faintly imitate. When an artificer has finished a piece, he carries it to the prince's palace to demand the reward which he thinks he deserves, for the beauty of his performance; and the custom is for the prince to order the work to be left at the gate of the palace for a whole year, and if in that time no person finds a just fault in the piece, the artificer is rewarded, and admitted into the body of artists; but if any fault is discovered, the piece is rejected, and the workman sent off without reward. It happened once, that one of these artists painted an ear of corn, with a bird perched upon it, and his performance was very much admired. This piece, stood exposed to public view as usual, and one day a crooked fellow going past, found fault with the picture, and was immediately conducted to the prince or governor, who sent for the painter that he might hear his piece criticized. Being asked what fault he had to find, he answered, that every one knew that a bird never settles on an ear of corn, but it must bend under the weight; whereas this painter had represented the ear of corn bolt upright, though loaded with a bird. The objection was held just, and the painter was dismissed without reward. By such means, they excite their workmen to aim at perfection, and to be exceedingly nice and circ.u.mspect in what they undertake, and to apply their whole genius to any thing that has to go through their hands.

There dwelt at Basra one Ebn Wahab, of the tribe of Koreish, descended from Hebar, the son of Al Asud, who quitted Basra when it was sacked, and came to Siraff, where he saw a s.h.i.+p preparing to sail for China[3]. The humour took him to embark in this s.h.i.+p for China, and he had the curiosity to visit the emperor's court. Leaving Canfu, he went to c.u.mdan, after a journey of two months, and remained a long while at the court, where he presented several pet.i.tions to the emperor, setting forth, that he was of the family of the prophet of the Arabs. After a considerable interval, the emperor ordered him to be lodged in a house appointed for the purpose, and to be supplied with every thing he might need. The emperor then wrote to the governor of Canfu, to inquire carefully among the Arabian merchants respecting this man's pretensions; and receiving a full confirmation of his extraction, received him to an audience, and made him rich presents, with which he returned to Irak.

When, we saw him, this man was much advanced in years, but had his senses perfectly. He told us that the emperor asked him many questions respecting the Arabs, and particularly how they had destroyed the kingdom of the Persians. Ebn Wahab answered, that they had done it by the a.s.sistance of G.o.d, and because the Persians were immersed in idolatry, adoring the sun, moon, and stars, instead of the Almighty. The emperor said, that they had conquered the most ill.u.s.trious kingdom of the earth, the best cultivated, the most populous, the most pregnant of fine wits, and of the highest fame.

The emperor then asked Ebn Wahab what account the Arabs made of the other kings of the earth; to which he answered that he knew them not. Then the emperor caused the interpreter to say, we admit but five great kings. He who is master of Irak has the kingdom of widest extent, which is surrounded by the territories of other kings, and we find him called King of Kings.

After him is the emperor of China, who is styled King of Mankind, for no king has more absolute authority over his subjects, and no people can be more dutiful and submissive than his subjects. Next is the king of the Turks, whose kingdom borders on China, and who is styled the King of Lions.

Next is the king of the Elephants, who is king of the Indies, whom we call King of Wisdom. Last of all is the King of Greece, whom we call King of Men, as there are no men of better manners, or comlier appearance, on the face of the earth, than his subjects.

Ebn Wahab was then asked if he knew his lord and master the prophet Mohammed, and if he had seen him? How could that be, said Wahab, seeing that he is with G.o.d? Being then asked what manner of person he was; he answered that he was very handsome. Then a great box was brought, out of which another box was taken, and the interpreter was desired to shew him his lord and master. Ebn Wahab, upon looking in, saw the images of the prophets and the emperor observing him to move his lips, desired him to be asked the reason; on which he said he was praying inwardly in honour of the prophets. Being asked how he knew them, he said by the representation of their histories; as for instance, one was Noah and his ark, who were saved from the flood with those who were with them. The emperor laughed, and said he was right in regard to Noah, but denied the universal deluge; which, though it had covered part of the earth, did not reach China or the Indies.

On Wahab observing that the next was Moses, with his rod, and the children of Israel; the emperor agreed that their country was of small extent, and that Moses had extirpated the ancient inhabitants. Wahab then pointed out Jesus upon the a.s.s, accompanied by his apostles. To this the emperor said, that he had been a short time upon earth, all his transactions having very little exceeded the s.p.a.ce of thirty months. On seeing the image of Mohammed riding on a camel, and his companions about him, with Arabian shoes and leathern girdles, Wahab wept; and being asked the reason, he answered, it was on seeing his prophet and lord, who was his cousin also. The emperor then asked concerning the age of the world; and Wahab answered, that opinions varied on the subject, as some reckoned it to be six thousand years old, while some would not allow so many, and others extended it to a greater antiquity. Being asked why he had deserted his own king, to whom he was so near in blood; he gave information of the revolutions which had happened at Basra, which had forced him to fly to Siraff; where, hearing of the glory of the emperor of China, and the abundance of every thing in his empire, he had been impelled by curiosity to visit it; but that he intended soon to return to the kingdom of his cousin, where he should make a faithful report of the magnificence of China, the vast extent of its provinces, and of the kind usage he had met with. This seemed to please the emperor, who made him rich presents, and ordered him to be conducted to Canfu on post horses[4]. He wrote also to the governor of that city, commanding him to be treated with honour; and to the governors of the provinces through which he had to pa.s.s, to shew him every civility. He was treated handsomely during the remainder of his stay in China, plentifully supplied with all necessaries, and honoured with many presents[5].

From the information of Ebn Wahab, we learn that c.u.mdan, where the emperor of China keeps his court, is a very large and extremely populous city, divided into two parts by a very long and broad street. That the emperor, his chief ministers, the supreme judge, the eunuchs, the soldiery, and all belonging to the imperial household, dwelt in that part of the city which is on the right hand eastward; and that the people were not admitted into that part of the city, which is watered by ca.n.a.ls from different rivers, the borders of which are, planted with trees, and adorned by magnificent palaces. That portion of the city on the left hand, westwards from the great street, is inhabited by the ordinary kind of people, and the merchants, where also are great squares and markets for all the necessaries of life. At day-break every morning, the officers of the royal household, with the inferior servants, purveyors, and the domestics of the grandees of the court, come into that division of the city, some on horseback, and others on foot, to the public markets, and the shops of those who deal in all sorts of goods, where they buy whatever they want, and do not return again till their occasions call them back next morning. The city is very pleasantly situate in the midst of a most fertile soil, watered by several rivers, and hardly deficient in any thing except palm trees, which grow not there.

In our time a discovery has been made, of a circ.u.mstance quite new and unknown to our ancestors. No one ever imagined that the great sea which extends from the Indies to China had any communication with the sea of Syria. Yet we have heard, that in the sea of Rum, or the Mediterranean, there was found the wreck of an Arabian s.h.i.+p, which had been shattered by a tempest, in which all her men had perished. Her remains were driven by the wind and weather into the sea of the Chozars, and thence by the ca.n.a.l of the Mediterranean sea, and were at last thrown upon the coast of Syria.

Hence it is evident, that the sea surrounds all the country of China and Sila or Cila, the uttermost parts of Turkestan, and the country of the Chozars, and that it communicates by the strait with that which washes the coast of Syria. This is proved by the structure of the wreck; of which the planks were not nailed or bolted, like all those built in the Mediterranean, or on the coast of Syria, but joined together in an extraordinary manner, as if sewed, and none but the s.h.i.+ps of Siraff are so fastened. We have also heard it reported, that ambergris has been found on the coast of Syria, which seems hard to believe, and was unknown to former times. If this be true, it is impossible that amber should have been thrown up on the sea of Syria, but by the sea of Aden and Kolsum, which has communication with the seas where amber is found. And as G.o.d has put a separation between these seas, it must have necessarily been, that this amber was driven from the Indian Seas into the others, in the same direction with the vessel of Siraff[6].

The province of Zapage is opposite to China, and distant from thence a month's sail or less, if the wind be fair. The king of this country is styled Mehrage, and his dominions are said to be 900 leagues in circ.u.mference, besides which, he commands over many islands which lie around; so that, altogether, this kingdom is above 1000 leagues in extent.

One of these islands is called _Serbeza_, which is said to be 400 leagues in compa.s.s; another is called _Rhami_, which is 800 leagues round, and produces red-wood, camphor, and many other commodities. In the same kingdom is the island of _Cala_, which is the mid pa.s.sage between China and the country of the Arabs. This island is 80 leagues in circ.u.mference, and to it they bring all sorts of merchandize, as aloes wood of several kinds, camphor, sandal wood, ivory, the wood called _cabahi_, ebony, red-wood, all sorts of spice, and many others; and at present the trade is carried on between this island and that of Oman. The Mehrage is sovereign over all these islands; and that of Zapage, in which he resides, is extremely fertile, and so populous, that the towns almost touch each other, no part of the land being uncultivated. The palace of the king or Mehrage, stands on a river as broad as the Tigris at Bagdat or Ba.s.sora; but the sea intercepts its course, and drives its waters back with the tide; yet during the ebb the fresh water flows out a good way into the sea. The river water is let into a small pond, close to the king's palace, and every morning the master of the household brings an ingot of gold, wrought in a particular manner, and throws it into the pond, in presence of the king. When the king dies, his successor causes all these ingots, which have been acc.u.mulating during the reign of his predecessor, to be taken out; and the sums arising from this great quant.i.ty of gold are distributed among the royal household, in certain proportions, according to their respective ranks, and the surplus is given to the poor.