only rehears'd before the Emperor and his Ministers of State. Therein are describ'd without any dissimulation the manners of the People how the Empire is govern'd and the present state of Affairs Which seems to be the same thing with the Ancient Comedies of the Greeks that spar'd neither the Vices of Private Men nor the miscarriages of the publick Magistrates The third sort is call'd Pi que that is to say Comparison For that all which is therein contain'd is explain'd by Comâ—…arisons or Similitudes The fourth sort is call'd Him que that is to say to raise or exalt Because this sort of Poetry begins with something that is curious and lofty to prepare and raise Attention to that which follows The fifth sort is call'd Ye Xi That is to say Poesies rejected or separated â—…ecause that Cum fu cius having review'd this Volume of Poems rejected those which he either mislik'd or thought to be fabulous However they are still quoted and left as they are The fourth Volume was compos'd by Cum fu cius and contains the History of the Kingdom of Lù his native Country at present comprehended within the Province of Xan â—…um The Chineses put a high value upon this Book and are all in Ecstasie when they read it He wrote this History of two Hundred years Transactions after the manner of Annals where he exposes as in a Mirrour the Examples of Princes both Vertuous and Wicked referring the â—…ents to the Times and Seasons wherein they happen'd And therefore he gives to his Book the Title of Chun cieâ—… or Spring and Autumn The fifth Volume is call'd Ye kim and is esteem'd the most ancient of all the Rest because the Chineses affirm that Fo hi their first King was the Author of it And indeed this Book is worthy to be read and esteem'd in regard of the noble Sentences and Precepts of Morality which it contains I believe truly that the good Maxims which are scatter'd up and down in this Volume might be writt'n by King Fo hi but that the rest was added by others who were desirous to give Reputation to their Visions under the name of this famous Prince Nevertheless most certain it is that the Chineses have an extraordinary veneration for this Book and look upon it to be the most profound the most learned and mysterious of any in the World and that for the same reason they believe it to be almost Impossible for them to understand it and that strangers ought neither to see or touch it The Chineses have also another Volume of equal Authority with those before-mention'd which they call Sù xu that is to say the four Books by way of Excellency This is a Volume of Extracts or Abridgments being as it were the very Marrow and Quintessence of the former Five The Mandarins â—…ull out from thence the Sentences and Texts which they propose for Themes to the Learned that are to be Examin'd before they are admitted to the degrees of Batchellors Licentiates and Doctors and upon which those Persons Write and Comment for their Reputation It is divided into four Parts The first treats of the Laws and the Doctrine of Men famous for their Knowledge and their Vertue The second discourses of the Golden Mean. The third contains a great number of Moral Sentences well express'd solid and profitable to all the Members of the State. These three Parts were writt'n by Cum fu cius the first Doctor of the Chineses and were publish'd by his Disciples The fourth Part which is as big as all the other three was writ by the Philosopher Men su who was born about a Hundred Years after Cum fu cius and is honour'd by the Chineses as a Doctor of the second Order This is a Work wherein there appears a wonderful deal of Wit subtilty and Eloquence The discourses are pertinent the Sentences grave and moral and the Stile lively bold and perswasive All the Missionaries of our Society in these Parts very industriously study the Letters and the Language of the four Parts of this Book And from thence and out of the former five it is that so many Treatises and Commentaries of various Authors as well ancient as modern of which the number is almost Infinite and give us occasion to commend and admire the Wit the Industry and Eloquence of that Nation are deriv'd as from so many Springs and Fountains Notes upon the Fifth Chapter A. P. 96. THE Subject or Ground of this Book is no more than a Table of sixty four Figures every one consisting of six Lines which are all of a Piece as thus others of two Parts as thus The Chineses attribute the Writing of this Table to their first King Fo hi but no body can divine what was the design or meaning of the Author However it is certain that about twelve Hundred Years before Christ Prince Ven Uam Father of the Emperor Vu Uam Founder of the third Royal Family and his second Son Cheu cum undertook to interpret this Enigmatical Table and that five Hundred Years afterwards the Philosopher Cum fu cius made Commentaries upon the Interpretations of those two Princes But whatever those three Authors have written upon this Subject amounts to no more then only from the agreeement and vicissitude of the Elements and other natural things to draw Politick and Moral Maxims and Conclusions and Precepts also as well for the Princes as their Subjects But that which renders this Table pernicious is this that the Idolaters call'd Tao su the Bonzes and Fortune-Tellers make a bad use of it to confirm their Superstitious Predictions forging out of that variety and many other things which they intermix therewith an infinite Number of Confederacies and vain and Impertinent allusions by vertue of which they boast themselves able to foretel whatever shall befal a Man whether Fortunate or Unfortunate Epitomes of the first Commentators of this Table of Fo hi may be seen more at large in the Prefaces of Cum fu cius which are newly Printed together with several others particulars concerning the Principal Books of the Chineses of which our Author speaks in this Chapter CHAP. VI. Of the Civility and Politeness of the Chineses and of some of their Feasts SEveral Books might be writt'n of the Civility Complements and Ceremonies of the Chineses They have a Book which gives an Accompt of above three Thousand and it is a wonderful thing to see how ready and punctual they are in those Particulars At their Marriages and Funerals in their Visits and Feasts the Master of the House tho' a Person of greater Honour and Dignity then any of his Guests always gives the chief place of Preheminence to the Eldest The eldest give place to those that come farthest off but all to Foreigners When any Embassador arrives from the very day that his Embassie is accepted of to the time of his departure the Emperor furnishes him with all manner of Provisions Horses Litters and Barks
and upon several other subjects Father Manuel Dias the younger translated all the Gospels with the Commentaries and Explanations of the Fathers which makes a Work no less Large then Pious and Learned Father Francis Furtado publish'd a Treatise of Rhetorick and Logick with certain other Books de Coelo and de Mundo as also of the Soul of Man. The Fathers Iohn Terencio Iohn Roo and Iohn Adam have written a great number of other Books upon our Holy Law and upon all the parts of the Mathematicks Father Lewis Buglio who was always my chiefest Consolation and inseparable Companion in all my Travels Afflictions and Imprisonments for Thirty Years together translated the first part of St. Thomas which the more Learned Chineses esteem and admire to that degree that I heard one of them who had read the Treatise of God declare his thoughts in these words Certainly this Book is a Mirror wherein to let us see our own Ignorance The same Father Buglio wrote several other Pieces upon several other subjects among the rest that Eloquent and Learned Apology in answer to a Book which Yam quam siem that wicked Infidel publish'd both in this Court and over the whole Empire against the Christian Religion and the Preachers of it and which he Entitl'd Pu te y Because I could no longer Whereupon the Father that he might conform himself to the Stile and Language of the Country Entitl'd his Answer I have Answer'd because I could no longer forbear Both Titles are very significant in the Chinese Language But the Fathers was more highly esteem'd because it carries two significations The First I refute because I could no longer forbear the Second I have refuted a Book Entitl'd Because I could no longer forbear And which was more to be wonder'd at the Father compos'd the greatest part of these Books in the Boats upon the Roads and in the Inns under the Power of Rebels and Barbarians in Prison with Three Chains upon his Legs Three about his Neck and Six upon his Hands and in a word in the midst of continual Persecutions I could say much more in praise of that person truly Pious and oâ—… great Reputation did I not fear that the shâ—…e which I had in his Sufferings and the strict Friendship that was between Us would render me suspected of too much partiality Father Ferdinand Verâ—…st â—…t the same time wrote a Learned Answer to 〈◊〉 or rather a Satyr full of Mistakes aâ—…d Dolâ—…â—…norance which the same Yam quam siem wrote against the European Mathematicks Father Anthony Gouvea compos'd a Catechism Father Iohn Monteiro wrote two Books the one of the Law of God and the other of True Adoration Father Francis Sambiesi wrote Four Treatises Of the Immortality of the Soul Of Morals Of Painting and Sounds all very short and highly esteem'd I my self wrote a Treatise of the Resurrection of Christ and another of the Universal Resurrection Nicholas Trigaut Lazaro Cataneo Gaspar Ferreira and Alvaro Semedo all Fathers of the Society have compos'd Dictionaries very large and very exact and Gaspar Ferreira has written above Twenty Treatises upon several Subjects Father Soeiro made an Abridgment of the Christian Law and Father Nicholas Longobardo who Dy'd but a few Years ago in this Court Fourscore and Sixteen Years old has written several Godly Treatises besides a Treatise of Earth-Quakes highly esteem'd by the Learned of this Empire In short there have been a great number of other Books written concerning the Christian Religion and of all Sciences and Subjects which amount in all to above Five Hundred Tomes Printed besides Manuscripts There is Printed in China a Catalogue of all the Fathers that ever Travell'd into the Country to Preach the Gospel wherein are also the Names set of all the Books which they have written From whence I conclude that so many Books could never have been translated and written in a Foreign Language and in so short a time had not the Language been very easie So that it follows that the Chinese Language is more easie to learn then any other and that it is withal very Elegant very Copious and very Expressive since it wants for no terms to explain and unfold the Subtilties and Mysteries of Theology Philosophy and the rest of the Sciences I will conclude this Chapter with the first Paragraph of the first Article of the Commentary which I made upon the Works of Cum fu cius with which our Fathers always begin when they first set themselves to study the Chinese Letters and Language to the end that by this short Sample the Beauty of the Language and the Wit of the People may be the better display'd They read the Letters beginning from the top down to the bottom and from the right to the left but that I might the better conform to the Customs of Europe I have plac'd the first Column upon the left-hand To explain them you must put them together according to the Order of the Cyphers The Marks or Zero which are to be seen at the bottom of some Letters are the Points and Accents of the Chineses The Order of the Letters and the Explanation of the Text are taken from two Chinese Commentators of which the one who liv'd about Three Hundred Years ago was call'd ChuÌ„ hi and the other who was a Colao was nam'd ChaÌ„m Kiù Chim who Dy'd in the Year 1610 at what time Matthew Riccio arriv'd at this Court of whom I have already spoken in this Chapter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 4 Great men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 consists in the second place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3 teach 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 to renew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3 the People 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 the Rule 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 4 consists in the 3d place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 5 consists in the first place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 5 to stop 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 6 to enlighten 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 6 at 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 7 reasonable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 7 the Soveraign 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nature 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 8 Good The Commentary and Explanation of the Text. THE Method for Great Men to Learn consistâ—… in three things The first is to unfold the Rational Nature The Second is to reform Mankind And the Third to stop at the Soveraign Good. As to the First the Rational Nature is the Heart of Man for the Chineses make no distinct on between the Understanding and the Will but attribute to the Heart what ever we attribute to those Faculties The Heart is a substance pure and intelligent without any Darkness or Obscurity and where Man has always ready all requisite Reasonings to answer to all difficulties that present themselves But because that at the very moment of our Birth this Intelligent and Rational Nature is cag'd up and enclos'd within the Prison of the Body and for that our inordinate
tasted Fruits About the middle of the Repast he sent us another Plate of Gold wherein were twenty Apples of the largest and best in the Kingdom call'd by the Name of Pin quo At the end of the Feast he sent us another Plate full of Pears and those Apples of Gold of which we have spoken in another Place The favour which the Emperour did us at that time seem'd to us surprizingly extraordinary as it did to all those that heard the Relation of it but it was no more than what was usual to all the rest that were invited in regard they are feasted by the King in the same manner every day Not but that at other times upon certain occasions of publick rejoycing he treats much more magnificently all the Great Lords and Mandarins of the Court which are about five thousand By which the Reader may readily conjecture at the Grandeur and Puissance of this Emperour and that the abundance of Provisions which is brought continually to the Court is far beyond the Relation which I have made Notes upon the sixteenth Chapter Father Magaillans had already spoken of the three Opinions of the Chineses concerning the Antiquity of China And I make no question but that if he had liv'd to finish this Work he would have put all that he says of it in the same Chapter However I did not think it proper for me to pare off any thing from this Chapter as well for that I would not make an Alteration so considerable as for that the Authour has inserted several new and 〈◊〉 Circumstances and for that the matter is also of great moment Besides that this Chapter being compos'd in the year 1669. serves for a Confirmation of the third which F. Magaillans had written in the year before as may be seen by the difference of the dates which he sets down in this Work. CHAP. XVII A Desoription of the City of Pe Kim Of the Walls that enclose the Emperour's Palace And the form of the principal Houses of China THE City or Court of Pe Kim is seated in a Plain It forms a vast Square each of the Sides of which is twelve Chinese Furlongs in length which make about three Italian Miles or near a Portugal League It has nine Gates three upon the South Side and two upon each of the other Sides Not twelve Gates according to the Relation of F. Martini in his Atlas p. 29. wherein he seems to have follow'd M. Polo l. 2. c. 7. This City is now inhabited by the Tartars and their Troops divided into eight Quarters or Banners as they call ' em But in regard that under the preceding Kings the Inhabitants were so multiply'd that the Capital was not sufficient to contain them nor the nine Suburbs answering to the nine Gates which if they are not every one a great City are at least as big as many great Boroughs there was a new City built of a square form like the Old one of which each of the Sides is six Chinese Furlongs or an Italian Mile and a half in length having the North Side joyning to the South Side of the Old City It has seven Gates and every one a Suburb well peopled more especially that which looks toward the West for that is the Side where all that come from all Parts of the Empire enter into the Capital City Both the one and the other City is divided into five Quarters or Jurisdictions as we have said in the fourteenth Chapter The principal Streets some run from the North to the South others from the East to the West But they are all so streight so long so broad and so well proportion'd that it is easie to see they were mark'd out with a line and not built by hap hazard as in our Cities of Europe The little Streets run all from the East to the West and divide all the Space between the great Streets into equal and proportionable Islands Both the one and the other are known by their particular Names as the Street of the King's Kindred the White Tower-street the Iron Lyons-street the Fish-street the Aquavity-street and so of the rest There is a Book to be sold that speaks of the Names and Situation of the Streets which serves for the use of the Lacquies that attend upon the Mandarins in their Visits and to their Tribunals and carry their Presents their Letters and their Orders to several Parts of the City and Empire For they are continually sending a great Number all over the Kingdom Whence comes that Proverb so often in the Mouths of the Chineses that the Provinces send Mandarins to Pe Kim and Pe Kim in exchange sends them none but Lacquies and Messengers And indeed it is a rare thing to meet with a Mandarin who is a Native of that City The fairest of all the Streets is that which is call'd Cham gan kiai or the Street of perpetual Repose It runs from East to West bounded on the North side by the Walls of the King's Palace and upon the South side by several Tribunals and Palaces of great Lords It is so spacious that it is about thirty Fathoms broad and so famously known that the Learned in their writings make use of it to signifie the whole City taking a part for the whole For it is the same thing to say such a one lives in the Street of perpetual repose as to say he lives at Pe Kim If the Houses were but high and built to the Street like ours the City would shew much more stately But they are all low Buildings to shew the respect which they have to the King's Palace Yet there are some Palaces that belong to the great Lords which are lofty and magnificent But they are built backward so that you see nothing to the Street but a great Gate which has houses on each Side inhabited by their Domesticks or by Merchants and handycraft Tradesmen However this is very convenient for publick convenience For in our Cities a great part of the Streets is taken up by Houses of Noble Men so that the Inhabitants are forc'd to go a great way to Market Whereas at Pe Kim and in all the other Cities of China there is every thing to be sold at your Door for entertainment subsistance or pleasure For these little Houses are as so many Magazines or Markets Shops and Taverns But for the Multitude of People so numerous it is that I dare not presume to utter it nor do I know how to make it understood All the Streets both of the old and new City are crowded with People as well the small Streets as the great as well those at the farther ends as those in the hart of the Place The Throng is every where so great that there is nothing to compare with it but the Fairs and Processions of Europe The Emperour's Palace is seated in the midst of this great City and fronts toward the South according to the Custom of that Empire where you
twelve Excellencies of China in regard it contain'd a far greater Number as they that read the whole will easily find Besides that the Division which he had made was not proportionable to the Matter there being some of those Excellencies which did not take up a Page or two and others that filled up above thirty or forty So that I thought it more proper to divide the Relation into one and twenty Chapters and to give them Titles answerable to the Matters therein contain'd In other things I have not swerv'd at all from the Method and Sense of my Author neither have I made the least Alteration only that I might conform to the Style and Genius of our Language I have not ty'd my self so Strictly and Literally to his Expressions and by what I have said you may be confident that this Relation has never appear'd in any other Language nor was ever Printed before and by consequence that it is altogether New. I also observ'd in Reading That there were several things which did not seem to me to be sufficiently explain'd for the understanding of such as have not a perfect Knowledge of China and that the Description of Pe kim and the Emperors Palace might seem obscure to many People I have therefore endeavour'd to remedy the first of these two Inconveniences by Notes in Italick which I have plac'd at the end of the Chapters because I would not crowd the Margins nor interrupt the Text but preserve the Original in its Purity and Credit and leave the Reader at liberty to make use of them or let them alone For remedy of the Second Inconvenience I have made a Draught of the City of Pe kim and the Palace collecting together with great Care what the Author had spoken dispersedly in several parts of his Relation Mounsieur Peyronett an Ingenier of good repute drew out the Draught at my Request fair upon Paper to which I added the Explanations of every thing with Letters which relate to others that are Engrav'd upon the Plane And further to satisfie entirely the Curiosity of the Reader and to give more Reputation to the Book I have added the Life of Father Magaillans who was the Author which I was the rather inclin'd to do because it seems to me to be but very short and modestly written It was writ by Father Lewis Buglio a Cicilian and Father Magaillan's inseparable Companion from the Year 1640 to the Year 1677 that is to say for near the space of thirty seven Years together Father Buglio dy'd in the Year 1682 in great Reputation for his Vertue and Learning so that the Care which he has tak'n to Write the Life of our Author is a double Approbation of his Work. I must here take notice by the way that I have not observ'd the Portuguese Orthography in spelling the Name of our Author for the Portugueses write it after this manner Magalhanes But in regard few People in France can so pronounce it I alter'd it into Magaillans which the French pronounce not much different from the Portuguese pronunciation of Magalhanes This Father was of the same Family of the famous Ferdinand de Magaillans who was called by the Corruption of Languages Magellan and was the first that discover'd the Magellanick Straits in the extreme parts of the Southern America I have also made use of the Word Mandarin or Mandarim which the Portuguese make use of to signifie the Officers and Magistrates of the Kingdoms of Siam Cochinchina Tum kim and China as well for that all the other Relations make use of the Word as also for that it is a Word well known in France ever since the coming thither of the Mandarins of Siam The Word is deriv'd from Mandar to command and comprehends all sorts of Officers and Magistrates This remark obliges me to add another upon the Pronunciation of the Chinese Words and Letters for the better understanding how to pronounce them in imitation of the Chineses Their Words are all Monosyllables or else of one Syllable without exception and so they are to be pronounced all at once and without any distinction of Syllables of what number of Consonants and Vowels soever they are compos'd For Examples Kiam which is the name of the greatest River in China must be pronounc'd all at a time and not as if it were two Syllables Ki-am In like manner the Words Liuen Hiuen do not make two Syllables Li-ven nor three Li-u-en but only one Syllable which is to be expressed by pronouncing them all as one Syllable yet so as to express the Sounds of all the Letters Not but that the Chineses have Words compos'd of several Syllables but these Syllables are always separated and from different Words as Tai yuen the Names of the capital City of Xan si Cham hien chum the name of a Tyrant mention'd in the Relation Thus we write in France St. Malo Havre de Grace by separate Words and not in one Word as Villeneuf Montroyal Nevertheless there is this Difference that St. Malo is form'd of two Words and three Syllables and Havre de grace of three Words and five Syllables whereas the Chinese Names have never more Syllables than Words thus Tai yuen is composed of two Words and two Sillables and Cham hien chum of three Words and three Syllables only As for their Letters though there are as many Chinese Letters as there are Chinese Words yet they may be express'd by means of our European Letters adding necessary Accents to distinguish them in speaking as is explain'd in this Relation which being premis'd you shall see after what manner the Chineses pronounce A They have a sound in their Language which answers to our A as in the Word Nan kim B They have no Sound that answers B but in the room of it they make use of P thus instead of Cambalu they say Ham pa lu C Before A O or U must be pronounced as our Ca Co Cu but before E and I it must be pronounced Tze Tzi and not Ce Ci. Ch Must be pronounced as Tcha Tche Tchi Tcho Tchu D is not pronounc'd in the Chinese Language but only T which is nearest to it E and F are pronounc'd as in France G before A O U must be pronounc'd Nga Ngo Ngu as if there were an N before the G. But before E and I as we pronounce Ge Gi H must be pronounc'd with a strong Aspiration of the Throat like the Welch Ll. I K and L as we do M at the end of a Word must be pronounced open and softly without making any Stop by closing the Lips otherwise they pronounce it as we do N at the End of a Word is to be pronounc'd hard putting a stress upon it as in the Latin Word Lumen otherwise as we do P as in France Q in the same Manner unless when a U follows and then it is pronounc'd as in the Latin Word Quam R is never pronounc'd by the Chineses S As we do T
As we pronounce it in Totality and Totus V Consonant as we do U Vowel as the Latin U or the French Ou except in these Words Chu Triu Xiu Yu Tiu Niu Siu c. X Is pronounc'd as in Portuguese or Ch in French as for Example Xansi Xensi as if it were written Chansi or Chensi I took those Observations upon the Pronunciation from Father Couplet from a Chinese that was brought out of China from my Author and out of Father Greslones Preface to his Relation THE CONTENTS CHAP. I. OF the Names which the Chineses and Foreigners give to China and of the Countries of Catai and Mangi p. 1 CHAP. II. Of the Extent and Division of China of the number of the Cities and other wall'd Towns and some other particulars observed by the Chinese Authors p. 31 CHAP. III. Of the Antiquity of the Kingdom of China and what a high Opinion the Chineses have of it p. 59 CHAP. IV. Of the Letters and Language of China p. 68 CHAP. V. Of the Wit of the Chineses and their principal Books p. 87 CHAP. VI. Of the Civility and Politeness of the Chineses and of some of their Feasts p. 101 CHAP. VII Of the Publick Works and Buildings of the Chineses and particularly of the Grand Canal p. 113 CHAP. VIII Of the great Industry of this Nation p. 121 CHAP. IX Of the Navigation of the Chineses p. 128 CHAP. X. Of the great Plenty of all things in China p. 133 CHAP. XI Of the Nobility of the Empire p. 145 CHAP. XII Of the wonderful Government of this Empire of the Distinctions between the Mandarins and of the Council of State p. 193 CHAP. XIII Of the eleven Supreme Tribunals or of the six Tribunals of the Mandarins for Letters and the five Tribunals of the Mandarins for Military Affairs p. 200 CHAP. XIV Of several other Tribunals of Pekim p. 218 CHAP. XV. Of several Tribunals and Mandarins of Provinces p. 241 CHAP. XVI Of the Grandeur of the Emperour of China and of his Revenues p. 250 CHAP. XVII A description of the City of Pe kim Of the Walls that inclose the Emperours Palace and the Form of the Principal Houses of China p. 265 CHAP. XVIII Of the twenty Apartments belonging to the Emperours Palace p. 281 CHAP. XIX A Description of twenty particular Palaces contained in the Inner Enclosure of the Emperours Palace p. 303 CHAP. XX. Of several other Palaces and some Temples erected within the same Enclosures p. 314 CHAP. XXI Of the Emperours seven Temples in Pekim and how the King goes abroad upon the performance of Publick Ceremonies p. 319 THE PLANE OF THE CITY OF PEKIM Y E METROPOLIS OF CHINA A Scale of 10 Chinese furlongs w ch amount to 2730 Geometrical Paces one Chinese furlong making 273 Geometrical Paces An EXPLANATION of the Plane of the City of PEKIM A The Walls of the ancient City of Pekim nere 4 leagues in Circuite B The 9 Gates of the same Wall C The Streets of the City D 1 The first Enclosure of the Palace two leagues in Circuite D 2 The second Enclosure D 3 The third Enclosure where the Emperour resides E The south and principal Gate of the City F The first street â—… ch you pass through upon youâ—… entrance into the City G A Palace encempassed with a Marble Baluâ—… trade H The second street â—… â—h two Triumphal Arches I The 〈◊〉 Apertim 1 The street of perpetual repose 2 2 d. 〈◊〉 â—… ch is the first within the outer enclosure of the Pallace 3 3 d. called the Portal of the beginning 4 4. is The second Enclosure 5 5 Called the supream Portal 6 6 Called the supream Imperial Hall 7 7 Called the Hall thrice exalted 8 8. 〈◊〉 the Supream Hall in the middle 9 9 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of â—…overaigne Concord wher the Emâ—… 〈◊〉 in Councâ—…l â—… â—h his Colaos 10 10 The 〈◊〉 of Heaven 11 11 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of Heaven in â—… â—h and y e two 〈◊〉 the Emperour lodges himself 12 12 The Beautifull House 13 13 The House which receives Heaven 14 14 〈◊〉 and Gardens 15 15 The 〈◊〉 of the Inner Enclosure 16 16 The High â—…aisd Portal on the south side with a place to manage Horses 17 17 The Park and artificial Mountaines 18 18 Consisting of three Houses 19 19 The Portal on the north side 20 20 The Enclosure called y e Portal of repose 123 to 20 Are 20 particular places belonging to the Emperour for several uses K The first Palace betwen the two Enclosures L The second Pallace M 3 Palace upon the Lake N 4 Palace upon a Mountain O 5 Palace nere the Lake P 6 Palace nere the Lake Q 7 Palace R 8 Palace of the Fortress S 1 Temple of the 4 within y e Palace T 2 Temple V 3 Temple X 4 Temple Y 24 Places for the Mandarins Z 5 Temples in y e new City mark 1 2 3 4 5 1 Temple in the Old City 2 Temple in the Old City A A The 6 Tribunals markd 1 2 3 4 5 6 â—… â—h A A B B The 5 Tribunals of y e military Mandarins A New Relation OF CHINA Containing A Description of the most considerable Particulars of that Great Empire CHAP. I. Of the Names which the Chineses and Foreigners give to China and of the Countries of Catai and Mangi IT is a Custom usual in this Empire that when any new Family ascends the Imperial Throne the Sovereign gives a new Name to his Dominions Thus under the Reign of the preceeding Family China was called Taè mim que that is to say a Kingdom of great Brightness But the Tartars who govern it at present have called it Taà cim que or a Kingdom of great Purity and this is the Appellation most common among the Chineses However in regard thâ—… formerly there have been Kingdoms in it highly famâ—…s either for their long Continuance or for the Vertues of their Princes or the number of Learned Men or for some other Advantages they have preserv'd and still make use in their Books of Names which were then in Practice 〈◊〉 as are those of Hia que Xam que Cheu que Hâ—…n que c. Which gives us to understand that although these Names signifie China yet they were rather intended to denote the Reigns of several Royal Families than to signifie the Kingdom it self In their Books and Petitions to the King they generally make use of the Word Xam que that is High and Sovereign Kingdom The Learned Men in their Writings and their Books make choice of the Word Chum que which signifies the flower of the Middle or Center And indeed the most usual and common Name for all China is Chum que or the Kingdom of the Center which name is given to it either because they believe that China lies in the middle of the World or because the first King of China establish'd his Throne in the Province of Honan which was then as it were the Center
Lord and Master The Friends and Favourites of Sun co vanâ—… advis'd him to put the Fugitive Emperor to Death and to maintain himself in the Sovereign Power that had been conferr'd upon him But he absolutely resus'd so unworthy an Action and more then that declar'd that he was resolv'd to acknowledge Yum Liè whose Birth had given him an undoubted Right to the Crown In short he acknowledg'd the Fugitive Emperor and all his Officers and Soldiers follow'd his Example His Forces were very numerous and well disciplin'd and there was great hopes that so brave a Captain would have resettl'd the Affairs of China and driven out the Tartars But the Vices of the Emperor who took no care of his own Affairs as being wholly addicted to Wine and Women prevented the Success For this bad Management of himself brought Yum Liè inâ—…o Contempt among his Subjects and Sun co vam repenting perhaps that he had resign'd the Empire to him left him only the Name of Emperor with whaâ—… was requisite for his own and the subsistance of his Family However this harsh Usage of the Emperor displeas'd several of the Commanders of the Army and among the rest one of the chiefest among them call'd Lì â—…im Qué before the best Friend that Sun co vam had and his Brother by Adoption as being both Adopted by the Tirant Cham hien chum Thereupon the Quarrel between these Two Great Persons grew to that height that they broke Friendship parted their Forces and fought one against the other till at last in the heat of the Combat Sun co vam's Soldiers deserted him and went over to the Enemy so that he had much ado to escape by flight with only Three Hundred Men that continu'd faithful to him Upon which despairing ever to resettle the Affairs of China he surrender'd himself to the Tartars who having his Vertues in high Esteem and Veneration advanc'd him Laden with Honors to the Dignity of a Petty King. Some time after Yum Liè bereft of the Assistance of so great a Captain was in a short time by the Tartars depriv'd both of his Empire and his Life the Prowess of Li tim not being sufficient to withstand their Power Nevertheless that the Eldest Son the Wife and Mother of the same Emperor had been Baptiz'd in the Year 1648. by Father Andrew Kassler a Iesuit the Son being nam'd Constantine Thus much I took out of the History of Father Rougemont C. P. 43. In the same Book you may see the number of Soldiers that keep Guard upon the Frontiers c. There is some difference among Authors concerning the number of Soldiers in China which nevertheless is very extraordinary Father Trigaut asserts that there are above a Million Father Martini near a Million and by the report of Father Semedo Father John Rodriquez who was a person very Curious and one that had Travel'd much in China assur'd him that by what he had met with in the Chinese Books that the number of Soldiers in the several Provinces of the Kingdom amounted to Five Hundred Fourscore and Fourteen and Six Hundred Fourscore and Two Thousand Eight Hundred Fourscore and Eight to Guard the great Wall against the Tartars not including the Soldiers which belong to their Fleets But we ought rather to give Credit to ihe Relation of Father Magaillans a more Modern Writer and who took what he asserts out of a Book presented to the Emperor himself However we are to consider that these Soldiers are not like to ours in Europe neither for Courage nor Discipline as being no other for the most part then the Country Militia For Father Semedo speaking of the Soldiers of the Provinces says they are of â—…ittle worth and that we are not to think they follow no other Employment then that of being Soldiers â—…or that they are generally Inhabitants in the places where they are Enroll'd and follow their Trades some Shooe-makers others Taylors c. And Father Trigaut in his Second Chapter tells us that to the end we may knâ—…w the number of the Soldiers to be incredible we ought to observe that almost half the People of the Three Northern Provinces are â—…oll'd iâ—…â—…he Service of the Emperor 〈◊〉 Magaillans 〈◊〉 firmâ—… the same thing wherâ—… 〈◊〉 â—…ays that the Exâ—…e of the Emperor eveâ—…y Year for Nine Hundred aâ—… Two Thousand and Fifty Four Soldiers that Guard thâ—… Wâ—… including Officers and all amounts but to 〈◊〉 Millions Thirty Four Thousand Seven Hundred and Fourteen Livres which is not above half a Pistol a Year for every Man which could never maintain them did they not follow their Trades to support themselves and their Families And for that very reason we are not to think such a number of Soldiers incredible which the Chinese Historian Cited by Father Magaillans allows as well for the defence of the Frontiers as the inner parts of the Provinces which amounts to Sixteen Hundred Seventy Thousand and Twenty Four More especially considering the vastness of the Empire numerously Peopled and that the Soldiers have neither Courage nor Discipline And therefore Father Martini tells us that the Tartars are better Soldiers then the Chineses but neither of them comparable to the Soldiers in Europe CHAP. III. Of the Antiquity of the Kingdom of China and what a high Opinion the Chineses have of it THis Kingdom is so Ancient that it has preserv'd its form of Government and has continu'd during the Reign of Twenty Two Families from whence have descended Two Hundred Thirty Six Kings for the space of Four Thousand and Twenty Five Years For it is so many Years since it began according to the Opinion which the Chineses hold for certain and unquestionable For should we rest satisfi'd with what they look upon to be very probable it would be Four Thousand Six Hundred and Twenty to this present Year 1668 since this Kingdom began The Chineses however have Three Opinions concerning this matter Some of their Books six the Original of their Kingdom some Hundreds of Thousands of Years before the Creation But tho' the Vulgar sort believe this to be true yet the Wiser and more Learned sort hold those Books for merely Fabulous and Apocryphal more especially since Consucius has condemn'd that Error The Second Opinion makes King Fohi to be the Founder of this Kingdom who was the first that Reign'd towards the Consines of the Province of Xénsi the most Western part of China and afterwards in the Province of Honan seated almost in the middle of the Empire So that according to their Books it was Two Thousand Nine Hundred Fifty Two Years before the Birth of Christ that this Prince began to Reign about Two Hundred Years after the Universal Deluge according to the Version of the Seventy Interpreters All the Learned Men hold this Opinion to be probable and many among them take it to be unquestionable The Third Opinion is that the Foundations of this Kingdom were laid about Four Thousand and Twenty
by reason of its Antiquity and I believe that neither the Portugueses nor Castillians have in all their Voyages made a more considerable Discovery The Annals of the Chaldeans and Egyptians might perhaps have stood in Competition with those of China and perhaps those of the Tyrians also and some other Oriental Nations of which Josephus makes mention But they are lost a long time ago as well as the Histories of Berosus the Chaldean and Manathon the Egyptian of which we have no more then only some few fragments of little or no use The Greeks and Romans have left us nothing of certainty before Herodotus for that reason call'd the Father of Historians Who nevertheless did not write till about Four Hundred and Fifty Years before Christ. And if we go back to the Original of the Olympiads they did not begin till about Seven Hundred Seventy Seven Years before Christ. But the Cycles of the Chineses and their Cronologies begin Two Thousand Six Hundred Four score and Seventeen Years before Christ under the Reign of Hoam ti And two Thousand nine Hundred Fifty two Years according to the sentiments of those that stick to the second Opinion and acknowledge Fo hi for the first Emperor of China And tho' we should rest satisfi'd with the third Opinion which makes Yao the first Emperor of China their Chronology would begin two Thousand three Hundred Fifty seven Years before Christ that is to say fifteen Hundred sixty nine years before the first Olympiad And indeed I know no reason why any man should refuse to give Credit to this Chronology in regard it is well pursu'd and well circumstanc'd that it is less fabulous than the first times of the Greek and Roman History and for that there are set down therein several Eclipses and other Astronomical Observations which perfectly agree with the Computations of our most learned Astronomers in these latter Ages as I have seen in some Manuscripts written upon this Subject To which we may add that almost all the Parts of the Chinese History have been written by Authors that liv'd at the same time As for Example the Acts of King Yao are written by the Secretaries of Xun his Successor The History of Xun and his Successor Yu was compil'd by Authors then living and is contain'd together with that of King Yao in the two first Parts of the most Ancient and venerable Book among the Chineses call'd Xu Kin. It is divided into six Parts of which the four last contain one part of the History of the Second and Third Imperial Family Nor is there any doubt to be made either of the Antiquity or truth of the two first Parts of the Book Xu kin seeing that Confucius who liv'd Five Hundred and Fifty Years before Christ so often makes mention of it and has collected with great industry several authentick Pieces that contain several particulars of the Lives and Government of the first Kings Another Philosopher call'd Lao Kiun Confucius ' s Contemporary as also another Author more Ancient then He by two Hundred Years whose name was Tai su lum often quote these Ancient Histories Confucius also wrote himself a History of several Wars of China for the space of two Hundred Forty and one Years which he begin at the Forty ninth Year of the Emperor Pim â—…am the Thirteenth Prince of the Third Family call'd Cheâ—… that is to say 722 Years before the Birth of Christ since which time there have been a great Number of Historians in every Age which the Chineses still preserve and out of which they have compil'd General Histories of which there is one of several Chinese Volumes in the Kings Library To this we may add that the certainty of this Chronology is confirm'd by many circumstances conformable to the Holy Scripture which are not to be found in any other History as for Example the long life of their first Kings like to that of the Patriarchs in the time of Abraham Thus they tell us that Fo hi Reigned a Hundred and Fifty Years Xin nun his Successor a Hundred and Forty Hoam ti liv'd a Hundred and eleven Years Xao hao that succeeded him a Reigned a Hundred Ti co a Hundred and Five Yao a Hundred and Eighteen Xun his successor a Hundred and Ten Yu a Hundred Years after whom there was nothing extraordinary in the Age of the Emperors We find also that Fo-hi began to Reign in the Province of Xensi the most Westerly part of all China which shews that either he or his Father came from the West where Noah and his Children remained after the Deluge That his Kingdom was but of a narrow extent and the number of his Subjects but small so that he might seem to be rather the potent Father of a Family like Abraham then a King or an Emperor That he and his Subjects liv'd upon Herbs and wild Fruits drank the Blood of Beasts and cloathed themselves with their skins That his Successor Xin nun avented the Art of Tillage and many other such like Circumstances The greatest part of these Passages are to be found in the History of China by Martini in the Chronology and Prefaces of F. Couplet Printed at Paris with tee works of Confucius and in several parts of our Author chiefly in the Fifth and Sixth Chapters It may be objected that this Chronology does not agree with the Vulgar Translation of the Bible But besides that God has not vouchsaf'd us the Holy Scripture to make us Learned but Vertuous and so there may have happen'd some omission or mistake in the Dates it may be answer'd that the question about the Continuance of the World after the Deludge is not yet decided that their Chronology agrees with the Translation of the Septuagint which is authentick and receiv'd by the Church as well as the Vulgar But this is not a place to enlarge upon this Subject they who desire to know more may consult the Book which Father Pezeron a Barnardine has newly Printed upon this Subject Nor can it be said that the Fathers have by agreement juggl'd up this Chronology For we find they have spoken truth in the Rest of their Relations that they make no scruple to correct one another when they are mistaken as you may see by our Author in several places That the Jacobins Augustinians and Franciscans who have had several quarrels with the Iesuites in reference to their Mission agree with them in this particular and never accuse them to have err'd in their Chronology And lastly that the Hollanders who have sent several Embassies into China and who have several Thousands of Chineses at Batavia never reprov'd the Iesuits for any mistake upon this occasion On the other side they put a great value upon Martini's Works which are printe in Holland as also China illustrated by F. Kirker CHAP. IV. Of the Letters and Language of China ALtho' the Egyptians vaunt themselves to have been the first that ever made use of Letters and
Passions keep it bound and chain'd it comes to be obscur'd and troubled For this reason it is necessary that Men should apply themselves to Learning and Information by putting of Questions to the end the Rational Heart may be delivered from it's Bondage and Slavery that so it may be able to break the Chains and Fetters of the Passions and return to it's primitive Beauty light and understanding in the same manner as a Tarnish'd Mirrour being polish'd recovers it's former Luster The Second consists in Reforming the People For example I who am a King a Magistrate a Father of a Family c. If I have already purify'd my Rational Nature it is my duty to extend it to that degree that she may be able to communicate her self to other Men by causing them to abandon the Corruptions and defilements of Vice and evil Customs and I ought to deal so by my People as I do with Garments when they are spotted or besmear'd For if they are well wash'd and scour'd they become clean and handsome as they were before The third consists in attaining and stopping at the Soveraign Good. This Soveraign Good is the Soveraign Accord of things and of Reason When Great Men enlighten their Intelligent Nature and renew the Vertue of the People they do it not by hap-hazard or without design but all their end is to bring their Vertue to perfection to the end there might not be one single person among the People whose Vertue was not renewed or who was not renewed by Vertue When they are arriv'd at a degree so sublime and to such an extraordinary Excellency they may be assur'd they have attained the Soveraign Good like those who after a long and tiresom journey at length coming to their own homes may say they have attain'd the final end of their travelling These are the three most necessary and principal things in that Book and as it were the Mantle or outward Garment that Covers the Cloths or as the string that holds a row of Beads together These are the expressions of the Chinese Commentator Here by the way we may observe that possibly there can be nothing more proper then these words of Cum fu cius to explain the functions of a Minister of the Gospel who is oblig'd in the first place to perfect himself and next his Neighbour to the end we may arrive at the Soveraign Good which is God the Supream and utmost end of all things Nevertheless the Chineses being Pagans and carnally minded People have accommodated these three points to the Government of the Kingdom wherein like Politicians they place all their happiness and Ultimate End. In the second place we are to observe that the Ancient Chineses did understand there was a God. And therefore when I oppose their Learned Men in dispute I frequently make use of this Dilemma Either Cum fu cius did understand what he desin'd or he did not If he did understand what he defin'd he knew there was a God who is no Other than that Soveraign Good of which he speaks and which you also ought to know and adore as well as he If he did not understand that what he defin'd was God himself he was very Ignorant since as you your selves confess the Syllables Chi and Xen signifie that Soveraign Good which contains and comprehends all others which is an Attribute that cannot be given to any Creature what Advantages soever he may have but only to God alone Some there are who being touch'd with Heavenly Grace submit to the truth Others not knowing what to answer and unwilling to acknowledge that Cum fu cius was ignorant rather choose to abide in their Error and to follow their Pride and Passions and cry They 'll come again another time Notes upon the Fourth Chapter I shall add nothing farther to what our Author has said concerning the Chinese Language the Nature and Genius of which he has sufficiently set forth And as for those who desire to see more they may consult the sixth Chapter of the Relation of F. Semedo who fully confirms what here F. Magaillans avouches I must only observe this by the way that he gives us in this place an Idea of the Chinese Language far different from what he gave us formerly CHAP. V. Of the Wit of the Chineses and their Principal Books ONE of the Ancients has told us that Aâ—…ia was very fertile in great Wiâ—…s But he would have been more strongly confirmed in his Opinion had he had any knowledge of China For if they who best invent most suddenly and easily may be said to have more subtil and better Wits then others the Chineses ought to be preferr'd before other Nations since they were the first that invented Letters Paper Printing Ponder fine Porcelaine aâ—…d their own Characters Tho' they are ignorant of many Sciences for want of Communication with other People nevertheless they are accomplished in Moral Philosophy to which they solely bend their Studies for the most part Their Wits are so quick and apprehensive that they understand with ease when they read the Books which the Fathers of our Society have written the most subtil and difficult Questions as well in Mathematicks and Philosophy as in Theology Perhaps there may be some who will not so readily believe what I assert but I can assure them there is nothing more certain in regard that I have known some Learned Christians and Infidels also who understood without any instruction as we could find by their discourses the Questions concerning God and the Trinity which they had read in the first Part of Saint Thomas Translated by Father Buglio What Kingdom is there whatever the number of the Universities be which it contains where there are above ten Thousand Licentiates as in China of which Six or Seven Thousand meet every three Years at Pe kim where after several Examinations there are admitted three Hundred sixty five to the Degree of Doctors I do not believe there is any Kingdom where there are so many Scholars as there are Batchellors of Art in China which are said to be above Fourscore and ten Thousand nor that there is any other Country where the knowledge of Letters is so universal and so common In regard that in all the Provinces more especially the Southern there is not any Man Poor or Rich Citizen or Husbandman that cannot both Write and Read. And in short I do not beleive there is any Region unless it be 〈◊〉 that has publish'd so many Books as the Chineses have done The Chronicles of the Chineses are almost as Ancient as the Deluge as beginning not above two Hundred Years after it and being continu'd to this present time by several Authors by which a Man may guess at the number of Volumes which their History contains They have several Books of Natural Philosophy where they Treat of Nature her Properties and Accidents 'T is true they intermix mistakes and impertinences with truth but t is
to suffer whatever thy Divine Justice shall be pleas'd to ordain He had scarce concluded this Prayer before the Sky was all overcast with Clouds and pour'd down Rain in such abundance that it suffic'd to Water â—…ll the Territories of the Empire and restore them to their pristine Fertility From hence it is that when the Chineses make any scruple about the Mystery of the Incarnation we endeavour to convince them by this Example telling them that this King cover'd himself with the Skin of a Lamb and offer'd himself a Sacrifice to obtain Pardon for the Sins of the People yet thereby did nothing lessen the Lustre of his Dignity So likewise tho' God was pleased to Cloath himself with the homely Covering of our Humanity and was offer'd up as a Lamb in Sacrifice for the Sins of the People he has no way lessen'd but rather exalted his Almighty Power his Infinite Mercy and Goodness and has thereby made it so much the more clearly appear that he was infinitely above this King who was no more then a Man and a mere Creature The Chineses presently submit to this Argument as well because it seems to them to be Rational and Convincing as also for that they are very much pleas'd to hear that we make use of their Histories and Examples to prove the Verity of our Religion This Emperor had for one of his Counsellers a Holy and Famous Learned Person who liv'd several Years hid up in the Mountains among the Wild Beasts because he would not submit to the Tyrant Kie The Off-spring also of this Emperor Chim Tam Reign'd above Six Hundred Years till the Rule of King Cheu who was no less Wicked and Cruel then Kie So that when the Chineses call a Prince a Kie or a Cheu 't is the same thing as when we call such a one a Nero or a Diocâ—…esian The Fifth Emperor call'd Vù Uâm was the Son of Ven Uâm King of the Kingdom of Châ—…uÌ„ which is now a part of the Province of Xensi Who not able to endure the Wickedness and Tyranny of King Cheu set upon him Vanquish'd him in Battel and made himself Master of the Empire This Emperor Vù Uâm had a Brother highly esteem'd for his Prudence and other Vertues whom he made King of the Kingdom of Lù now a part of the Province of XaÌ„n TuÌ„m and of whom he made choice upon his Death-Bed to Govern the Empire during the Minority of his Eldest Son. He it was according to the report of the Chineses who above Two Thousand Seven Hundred Years ago first â—…ound out the Use of the Needle and Compass For the Emperor his Nephew having receiv'd the Honour of an Embassie and the acknowledgment of a Tribute from a Country call'd Tum Xim and Cochin China or Kiao chi que and all by means of the Industry and Prudent Conduct of his Protector the same Governor presented the Embassadors with a kind of Compass by the Direction of which they might return the nearest way home without exposing themselves to the Toil and Hardships of of those â—…ound about Windings and Wandrings through which they had labour'd in coming to Court. So that this Prince is one of the Heroes and Saints of the Chineses who have an extraordinary veneration for his Memory Now when the Emperor Vù Uâm return'd in Triumph from the Battel wherein the Tyrant Cheu had been defeated his two Brothers Pe y and Xeo cî famous for their Vertue and Nobility met him upon his March and after they hâ—…d stopp'd him by taking his Horse by the Bridle they boldly and in very sharp and severe Language reprov'd him for having seiz'd upon the Empire and forc'd the Emperor to burn himself in his Palace together with all his Treasures that notwithstanding he were so vicious and so cruel yet he was both his Lord and Prince ordain'd by Heaven that it was his Duty to advise him to amendment like a good Subject not like a Traytor to put him to death and lastly that he ought to surrender the Kingdom to the Children of the deceased Prince to let the World see that he had not been push'd forward by any motives of Ambition but only out of a Desire to deliver the Title from Tyranny and Oppression But when the two Brothers sound that he would not follow their Counsel they retir'd to a desert Mountain protesting they would rather chuse to die in that manner then eat of the Products of those Territories which Vù Uâm had â—…usurp'd for fear they should be thought in some measure to approve his Treason and Revolt The History of these five Kings which the Chineses look upon as so many Saints especially the four first and their Off-spring is the subject of the first Book which is in as great Reputation among these Infidels as the Books of the Kings among us Christians The Stile of it is very ancient but very exact and elegant Vice is there blam'd and Vertue applauded and the Actions of King and Subjects related with an entire sincerity And to the End the more curious Reader may see the Energy and Briefness of the Chinese Language and Letters which were at that time in use I will here set down five words taken out of the Book already mention'd in reference to the King Yáo Kin Mîm Vén Su GaÌ„n That is to say King Yao was great and venerable he was most Perspicacious and Prudent He was very Compos'd Modest and Courteous He appear'd always Pensive and Studious searching continually after the best means how to govern his People and Empire and therefore he liv'd all the time of his Reign in Comfort Quiet and Repose The second Book is call'd Li ki or the Book of Rites and Ceremonies This contains the greatest part of the Laws Customs and Ceremonies of the whole Empire The principal Author of this Book is the Brother of the Emperor Vù Uà m of whom we have spoken already He was call'd Chéu cuÌ„m and was equally venerable as well for his Vertue as for his Prudence Learning and good Conduct This Volume contains the Works of several other Authors also the Disciples of Cum fu cius and other interpreters more modern and more suspected which therefore ought to be read with so much the more Circumspection there being many things therein contain'd which are accompted Fabulous The third Volume is call'd Xi KiÌ„m containing Verses Romances and Poems all which are divided into five sorts The first of which is call'd Ya sum or Panegyricks and Encomiums sung in Honour of Men famous for their Vertue or their Endowments There are also several Gnomonics or Verses containing Precepts which are sung at their Funerals their Sacrifices the Ceremonies which the Chineses perform in honour of their Ancestors and at their most solemn Festivals The second is call'd Que fuÌ„m or the customs of the Kingdom These are Romances or Poems chosen out among those which were made by private Persons They are never sung but
are cut for the Rabbets to borough and Hares to sit in of which those little Hills are very full Nor is the same Enclosure without a great Number of Deer and Goats nor the Trees less frequented with several sorts of Birds both wild and tame Which is the reason that the King often visits this Place to hear the Musick of the Birds and to see the Beasts run and skip up and down Of these Hills M. Polo makes mention in his second Book c. 16. To the North and within two Musquet shot of these Hills stands a very thick Wood and at the End of the Wood adjoyning to the Wall of the Park are to be seen three Houses of Pleasure extraordinary for their Symmetry with lovely Stairs and Terrasses to go from one to the other This is a Structure truly Royal the Architecture being exquisite and makes the eighteenth Apartment being call'd the Royal Palace of long Life A little farther stands a Portal like the former which makes the nineteenth Apartment and is call'd the high rais'd Portal of the North. Out of this you come into a long and broad Street adorn'd on both sides with Palaces and Tribunals beyond which stands a Portal with three Gates built within the outermost Enclosure and is call'd the Portal of the Repose of the North. This is the last and twentieth of these Apartments that make up the King's Palace in a streight Line from North to South Notes upon the eighteenth Chapter I. The first Apartment call'd Tai cim muen or the Portal of great Purity It consists of three great Gates and three Vaults that support a lovely Hall. Behind lies a spacious Court of a greater length than breadth garnish'd on both sides with Portico's and Gallericâ—… supported by two hunder'd Columns This Court is bounded by the Street of Perpetual Repose which is divided by two Gates one upon the West the other upon the East side We have plac'd them at a venture because their Situation is not mark'd down in the Relation II. The second Apartment which ought to be call'd the first because it lâ—…ads into the outer Enclosure of the Palace This Apartment or Portal is compos'd of five Gates three great ones in the middle which never open but for the King himself and two lesser on each side through which all People are permitted to pass to and fro There are also five great Vaults or Arches which support a spacious Hall adorn'd as our Authour describes it and beyond it a Court much larger than the former but in regard we had not any measure of the parts of the Palace I could not tell how to give it its due Proportion This Court like the rest is garnish'd on the right and left hand with Portico's Galleries Halls and Chambers III. The third Apartment call'd the Portal of the Beginning with its Court belonging to it like the former IV. The fourth Apartment and first of the second Enclosure call'd the Tower or Portal of the South It has three Gates three Vaults and a Hall above larger higher rais'd and more majestick than the former This Hall has on each side two Galleries that extend toward the South bounded at both ends by two Pavillions or lesser Halls c. In this Hall hangs the Bell and the Drum mention'd in the eighth Chapter V. The fifth Apartment call'd the Supream Portal with its Court before it form'd of five great Gates with an ascent to it of five magnificent Marble pair of Stairs Before your come at it you cross a great Mote mark'd in the Draught over five Marble Bridges that answer to the five pair of Stairs VI. The sixth Apartment call'd the Supream Imperial Hall. To which you ascend by five pair of magnificent Marble Stairs each pair of forty two steps c. In this Hall the Emperour receives the Homages and Submissions of the Princes great Lords Mandarins c. which our Authour describes so exactly that there is nothing more to be added onely what Semedo and some other Authours relate that the same Days the same Ceremonies are perform'd in all the Cities of the Kingdom where all the Mandarins meet at the Governours Palace before a Throne upon which are erected the Royal Ensigns where they use the same Ceremonies and Reverences as before the Emperour already related by our Authour Father Magaillans tells us that as fast as the Mandarins come to the place they take their stands according to their Rank and Qualitiy in places appointed for every one of the nine Orders which are mark'd and writ down at the Bottom of little Pillars Father Adam says these Pillars are of Brass and square He also gives us an accompt of the Distinctions of the nine Orders of Mandarins which I never read in any other Authour and therefore it may not be amiss to insert them here The Mandarins of the first Order wear at the Top of their Cap or Bonnet which ends in a very flat Cone a Carbuncle enchac'd in Gold and a Pearl at the Bottom before Upon their Girdles also glitter four Stones highly esteemed in China enchac'd in Gold and cut into long Squares three Fingers broad and four in length This stone call'd by the Chineses Yusce is brought from the Kingdom of Cascar by the Mahometan Merchants that come from thence to China every three years under pretence of an Embassie It is somewhat greenish and resembles a Iaspar onely that it is harder somewhat transparent and enclining to white As for the great Lords who are above all the nine Orders of Mandarins they are distinguish'd from the first Order onely by the Stones in their Girdles which are round with a Saphyr in the middle The petty Kings so call'd though they enjoy nothing of Sovereignty instead of a Carbuncle wear at the Top of their Bonnets a Ruby adorn'd with several Pearls with a Flower of Gold fasten'd at the lower end of their Bonnets that come over their Foreheads The Emperour himself wears a Bonnet of the same form and at the point of it a Pearl as big as a Pigeons Egg with several other lesser Pearls dangling underneath his Girdle also dazles the Eye with the pretious Stones and Pearls with which it is cover'd all over The Mandarins of the second Order wear at the Top of their Caps a large Ruby and another which is less at the Bottom Their Girdles are adorn'd with demy Globes of Gold embellish'd with Flowers of the same Metal with a Carbuncle in the middle The Mandarins of the third Order at the point of their Caps carry a Carbuncle enchas'd in Gold and a Saphyr at the Bottom and upon their Girdles demy Globes adorn'd with Flowers onely They of the fourth Order wear a Saphyr and at the Bottom another Saphyr which is less having upon their Girdles plain demy Globes of Gold onely The Mandarins of the fifth Order wear onely a Saphyr in their Caps in other things like those of the fourth Order The Mandarins of the
in pieces Which had been executed if his Chief General who was his adopted Son had not while they were leading to the place of torment by his Arguments and his Intercessions obtain'd their pardon Thereupon the Tyrant sent away with all speed to have them brought back again into his presence where after he had loaded them with ill language and Reproaches he committed them to the custody of certain Souldiers with orders to guard them day and night In which condition they remain'd for a whole month at the end of which he sent for them one morning into his presence They found him then very bloodily employ'd in giving Orders for the putting to death a great number of persons and verily believ'd that their last hour had been at hand But at the same time it was the will of God that the Scouts came in one after another bringing intelligence that some of the avant Couriers of the Tartars Vanguard were at hand But the Tyrant not giving credit to their Intelligence would needs mount without his Arms and attended onely by some of his most faithfull Friends rode forth to make a farther discovery of the Enemy himself at what time being forc'd to a Skirmish he was at the beginning of the Fight shot through the Heart with an Arrow Thus the Fathers finding themselves at liberty by the death of the Tyrant resolv'd to retire to their House But by the way they met a Troop of Tartars that shot several Arrows at them insomuch that F. Magaillans was shot quite through the Arm and F. Buglio into the Thigh where the head of the Arrow stuck very deep in the Flesh so that although F. Magaillans made use of his Teeth to pull it out he could not Till looking about him in that extremity he spy'd at last a pair of Pincers lying in a blind place to which they had retir'd for shelter by the help of which he drew the Arrow out of the wound not without great loss of blood The same Evening they were presented to the Prince who commanded the Army who being inform'd what they were entertain'd them with an extraordinary civility and order'd two Lords to take care to furnish them with all things necessary However The Fathers underwent great hardships for above a year together that they follow'd the Army till they came to Pe Kim more especially for want of Victuals of which there was great scarcity in the Army for some time so that F. Magaillans was constrain'd for three months to live upon a small quantity of Rice onely boil'd in fair water But upon their arrival at Court the Tribunal of Ceremonies which takes care of all Strangers caus'd them to be lodg'd in the Royal Hostery with a large allowance of Provision for their entertainment There they resided two years which being expir'd a Person of Quality was commanded to take care of their Entertainment During all which time they employ'd themselves in preaching the Gospel and baptiz'd several persons They continu'd seven years at Court before they were known to the King. But then the Prince understanding who they were was extreamly joyfull at their preservation and gave them a House a Church Revenues and Money to buy them Vestments Thereupon F. Magaillans in testimony of his Gratitude to the King for so many Favours employ'd himself day and night in making several curious and ingenious pieces of Art to please him yet not so but that he was no less diligent in the Conversion of Souls as well by preaching as by writing He also wrote several Relations and translated the Book of St. Thomas Aquinas concerning the Resurrection of the Body which was receiv'd with great applause After a Reign of eight years the King dy'd and because his Son who is the present Emperour was very young he appointed four Protectors to govern the Empire during the Son's minority Now at the beginning of their Regency some Footmen belonging to a Christian Mandarin to revenge themselves upon their Master against whom they were highly incens'd falsly accus'd F. Magaillans to have given Presents in favour of that Mandarin who was put out of his Employment which is a great Crime in China Thereupon the Father was carry'd before the Criminal Tribunal where he was put to the Rack two times by the squeezing of both his Feet in a Press which though it were a hideous Pain yet the Father endur'd it with a constant Resolution nor would be brought to confess a thing of which he was not guilty Nevertheless the Judges contrary to all Justice condemn'd him to be strangl'd and sent their sentence according to custom to the four Regents But they as well for that he was a stranger as because they were satisfi'd of his Innocency acquitted him and restor'd him to his Liberty Three years after in the Persecution which all the Fathers suffer'd for Religion he was apprehended with others and loaden for four whole months together with nine Chains three about his Neck three about his Arms and three about his Lggs He was also condemn'd to have forty Lashes and to be banish'd out of Tartary as long as he liv'd But a great Earth Quake that happen'd at that time at Pekim deliver'd both him and the rest of his Companions Afterwards for several years together he made it his business as well to perform the actual Functions of the Mission as to pleasure the Reigning Prince who had taken possession of the Government with his ingenious Inventions labouring like an ordinary Mechanick to the end that the favour of the Prince might be a means to maintain and augment the Faith which was the Fathers onely aim Three years before his Death the wounds which he receiv'd in his Feet when he was put upon the Rack broke out again which he endur'd with an extraordinary Patience Two Months before he dy'd these pains were accompany'd with defluxions that stopt his Respiration so that he was constrain'd to sleep sitting up in a Chair for fear of being choak'd which was the reason that many times he never shut his Eyes for several nights together He wanted for nothing during his Sickness but no Remedies could surmount the force of the Distemper which dayly encreas'd so that upon the sixth of May in the year 1677 between six and seven a Clock in the Evening as he sat in his Chair and the Distemper urging still with more violence he sent for the Fathers who gave him the Viaticum and extream Unction after he had some days before made a general Confession And so about eight a Clock he placidly surrender'd his Soul to his Creatour in the presence of all the Fathers the Servants the Neighbours and several Christian Mandarins who could not forbear weeping at his departure The next day F. Verbiest now Vice Provincial of this Mission went betimes in the Morning to give notice to the King of the Death of the Father The Prince bid him return home whither he in a very short time would send