number of souls who annually perish with them. From Canton alone, 10 or 11,000 persons are supposed to be lost in these frail barks every year, so that the return of a merchant-man from a distant voyage, is celebrated with great rejoicings by those interested in its safety. A man-of-war differs from a merchant-man chiefly by having a narrower bottom, and a lower head and stern. It is armed with small cannon and carabines. A parapet of bamboo protects the crew, the military part of whom are provided with bucklers and lances.

Fortifications.] All the Chinese towns are fortified by a broad rampart, sometimes flanked witk square towers at intervals, faced with stone or brick, as well as protected by a ditch. These ramparts are generally from 20 to 30 feet high, and from 10 to 20 feet broad. Little attention is paid to the guns, but the gates are constructed and guarded with care. The Chinese have also fortifications on exposed points, more, however, as a protection against robbers, than a check upon the progress of a regular force.

CHAP. VI.-TOPOGRAPHY.

In the table given at the commencement of this article, the reader will find the various provinces and chief towns of China enumerated. Respecting the number of towns in China there is great discordance of opinion. According to the table compiled in 1823, from which we have already quoted, there are 183 foos or cities of the first rank; 225 choos or cities of the second rank; and 1,156 heen or cities of the third rank, each the capital of a district. Total 1,564. It must be remarked that these divisions belong to the civil administration of the provinces, not to the military government. The military cities are divided into seven classes, but their number has also been variously estimated, and we cannot decide the difference. According to some accounts, they are more numerous than the civil cities, according to others, they are fewer. But it must be observed, that what are called cities in China, whether they belong to the civil or military departments, or in whatever rank they are placed, are all walled; no town, however large, unless walled, ever obtains the appellation of a foo or choo or heen, or is even ranked in the seven military classes. Each province is divided into large districts called foos, which are subdivided into choos and heens, so many heens composing a choo, and so many choos a foo, or district of the first magnitude. It must not be imagined, when mention is made of a heen, a city and district of the third rank, that such district is a mere canton or bailiwick of small extent, there being many of them 60, 70, and even 80 leagues in circumference, and which pay largely into the imperial treasury. Neither must it be concluded, that because none but walled towns obtain the appellation of a foo, choo, or heen, therefore all others are inconsiderable towns; on the contrary, many of them are as large as foos, or cities of the first rank. According to Chinese accounts, besides the military cities, there are 439 castles on the coasts, several of them very large, and nearly equal to walled towns for population, besides 2,920 boroughs, or towns, along the coast, most of them in size equalling walled cities. The inland towns and villages, we are told, are incredibly numerous, and crowded with inhabitants. Of the provinces and chief towns it now remains to give a more particular account.

KING-SE OR PE-CHE-LI.] King-se ranks first among the provinces, as it contains the modern capital, Pe-king, the seat of government, and residence of the emperor. Every province is divided into cantons, districts, and townships, each of which comprehends a certain definite territory under its jurisdiction. They are called Foo, Choo, Heen, respectively, according as their capitals are towns of the first, second, and third magnitude; and are themselves subdivided into hundreds, containing only a few towns or villages. King-se contains ten of the first, forty of the second, and one hundred and eight of the third class. Those of the first are, besides Peking, the metropolis, Pao-ting, the residence of the viceroy; Ho-keen; Ching-ting, a well-built town, four miles in circumference; Chun-te, Hwang-ping, Tai-ming, Yong-ping, and Suen-hwa. Of Pe-king alone a description can be given.

Pe-king.] Pe-king is situated in a plain, at a distance of 60 miles S. from the great wall.10 The city is divided into two parts by a high wall. The northern part, which forms nearly a perfect square, is called Kingtching, or the City of the Court; this is the Mantchoo town, and contains the imperial palace. The southern quarter, or Chinese town, is called Vaitching it is in the form of a parallelogram. The walls of the city are, in most places, 30 feet high, 25 feet broad at the base, and 12 at the top, between the parapets. Nine lofty gates crowned with turrets give ingress and egress to the inhabitants; and a semi-circular area before each gate is inclosed by a wall of the same dimensions in height and thickness as that which surrounds the city. The streets of Pe-king are, for the most part, broad, and in straight lines; they are unpaved, but clean and well kept. The shops are brilliantly ornamented, and have a gay effect. The houses are mostly of one story, built of brick, and tiled. Those in the Chinese town are inferior to those in King-tching. In the latter, beside the imperial palace and park, there are several other palaces, and various public edifices, temples, and lakes, occupying above half of the city. The imperial palace is not so much one building as a multitude of buildings. Its walls comprehend a little town, inhabited by the great officers of the court, and others in the emperor's service. Father Artier, a French jesuit, who obtained permission to visit the palace, says, that it is a league in circumference ; that its front is embellished with paintings, gilding, and varnished work; and that the furniture and ornaments of the interior comprise every thing that is most rare and valued in China, India, and Europe. The gardens of the palace form a vast park, in which, at proper distances, mountains rise twenty or sixty feet in height, separated from one another by little valleys, which are watered with canals; these waters unite to form lakes which are navigated by magnificent pleasure boats, and their banks are adorned by a series of building. Each valley contains a spacious summer-house or villa. The mountains and hills are covered with trees, and fine aromatic flowers; the canals, skirted with rocks, so artfully arranged as to be a perfect imitation of nature in her wildest and most beautiful forms.

Besides the Chinese and Tartar towns, Pe-king has twelve large suburbs, which altogether form a very large city. Of its population, no satisfactory estimate has been given; but the truth may probably be found between a million and two million souls."

10 There are a number of interior walls connected with the great wall, and running S. towards Pe-king. From these, Pe-king may be distant about 26 miles.

"The following details and observations regarding Pekin are extracted from Timkowski's Travels. It must, however, be remarked, that though Timkowski was six

6

KYANG-NAN.] Kyang-nan, or Nan-king, that is, the Southern Court,' was long considered as the second province in the empire, and its two

months in Pe-king in 1820, he contents himself with copying from Father Gaubil's Description of Pe-king, printed in 1765; so that the following details relate rather to that period than the present:

"Pe-king is distinguished from other capitals and great cities of Asia by the peculiar style of its buildings, and the order which reigns in its interior. We must not look for houses of four or five stories in height; there are no fine quays, no foot-pavements, nor are the streets lighted at night. Every thing, however, in the Chinese capital indicates a country that has long been civilized. The tranquillity of the inhabitants is secured by moral institutions, by stable regulations, and by an active police. There are constantly in the streets soldiers, with swords at their sides and whips in their hands, ready to strike those who are disposed to create any confusion. They take care that the streets of King-tching are kept perfectly clean, and, in case of need, put their hands to the work themselves. They keep watch during the night, and allow nobody to go in the streets unless with a lantern, and for some necessary business, as to fetch a physician. They even question those who may be charged with commissions from the emperor, and a satisfactory answer must always be given them. They have a right provisionally to arrest any person who resists them, or is thought suspicious. The governor of the city often makes visits when they are least expected. The officers of the guard are bound to be extremely vigilant with respect to the soldiers under their command. The slightest negligence would be punished, and the officer cashiered the following day. These police soldiers are Chinese infantry belonging to the regular troops.

"There is besides at Pe-king, a body of cavalry, said to amount to 80,000 men. Their principal business is to do duty at the gates and on the walls, and to be ready to march on the shortest notice.

"One of the principal duties of the police at Pe-king is to prevent famine. In the city, as well as in the suburbs, there are numerous granaries, where a great quantity of rice is warehoused against seasons of scarcity. The regulations respecting these granaries are faithfully executed in the vicinity of the court; if they were equally well observed in the provinces, there would be no famine; but this calamity frequently occurs through the negligence of the mandarins. Besides those granaries, the emperor has others, which are filled with wheat, pulse, and fodder for the beasts of burden.

"The principal class of inhabitants in Pe-king is composed of the Mantchoo troops: the officers, who are at the same time members of the civil tribunals, but too indolent to employ themselves in investigating the causes brought before them, leave the management of business to their Chinese secretaries. When the Mantchoos took possession of Peking, the officers and privates had, for their share, the houses of the inhabitants in the southern cities. But these Mantchoos have long ceased to be any thing more than the tenants of the houses, and the lands which have been granted to them; they have consumed their property, and the estates have fallen into the hands of Chinese merchants. The military, who are in good circumstances, possess houses and shops which bring them in a considerable income.

"The merchants and artisans compose the second class of inhabitants; the former principally live in the Vai-lo-tching. The great population of the empire deprives many of the inhabitants of the means of supporting themselves by agriculture. A great number of people resort from all the provinces to the capital, to gain their livelihood; but they do not always succeed, the class who have need of workmen being very moderate in their desires. It is said, that there are in Peking fifty thousand persons, who, being without employment, have recourse to robbery and cheating. The vigilance and the severity of the police, however, keep them in good order; for, during a residence of about six months at Peking, I did not hear of a single robbery of importance. As the Chinese are extremely distrustful of the poor, and beggars always meet with a decided refusal, it is but seldom that a poor individual has recourse to this easy means of gaining a livelihood. The poor are employed in cleaning and watering the streets and gardens, and cultivating the ground; they also do the business of porters, and increase or compose the groupes which follow the processions at marriages, funerals, &c. I have often met some of these poor creatures, who had scarcely clothes to cover them, wearing cloaks of ceremony, and caps with red feathers, accompanying the funeral of some rich When a tradesman employs a man of this class to carry the goods which he has sold to any body, the porter faithfully delivers them, and contents himself with a remuneration of about threepence, even if he has worked for two hours.

man.

"Wherever two streets meet, and at every bridge, there are two-wheeled carriages, answering the same purpose as hackney-coaches in Europe. They are lined with satin and velvet, and drawn by mules and horses; the first of which in particular are very active The great people, and especially the ladies, use sedan chairs, but they must first obtain permission from the emperor. Persons in office prefer riding on horseback, which, on account of the unevenness of the streets and the great crowd, is the most convenient and expeditious mode of conveyance, as I know by experience. There are many officers in Peking who have their own carriages and horses; but, notwithstanding

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subdivisions, Kyang-soo and Gan-whai, were formed into distinct provinces by the emperor Kyen-long. It is situated on the gulf of Nan-king in the Yellow sea, and its inhabitants are regarded as the most civilized of the Chinese.

Nan-king.] Nan-king is the capital of this province, and was formerly It is built on several hills, and said to the capital of the whole empire. be 25 miles in circumference, so that it may still cover the largest area of any city in the empire. It has been on the decline since 1423, when the seat of empire was transferred from it to Pe-king. Many of the temples, palaces, and public buildings, which it once contained, have mouldered away; but a number still remain, and its gates are beautiful. Its most attractive ornament and curiosity, however, is a porcelain tower, nine stories high, with an ascent of forty steps, and twenty-one between each story, making in all a perpendicular height of nearly 200 feet. A pine apple of solid gold is said to adorn its summit; its exterior is richly garnished with red, yellow, and green; and multitudes of small bells suspended from the angles of the buildings give out fine sounds at every breath of wind. The large river, Yang-tse-kyang, which discharges itself into the sea below the city, formerly afforded a convenient harbour, but is now greatly choked up. Nan-king is still the seat of learning in China; it abounds in libraries; and several colleges. It is also distinguished for its manufactures, the principal of which is silk, particularly that of plain and flowered satins.

Su-cheu-fu.] To the north of Nan-king is Su-cheu-fu, the second city in the province, and the most flourishing and luxurious in the empire. It is famous for its women, its dancers, its jugglers, and its players; it is the dictatrix of Chinese taste, and the resort of the fashionable and voluptuous. Paradise," say the Chinese, "may be in heaven, but Su-cheu-fu is on earth!" By Europeans, it is compared to Venice. Its walls inclose an extensive area, comprehending large fields in a state of cultivation, and many separate houses, as well as the streets which properly form the town; and the whole is intersected by canals.

Besides Nan-king and Su-cheu-fu, there are a variety of other towns in the province of Kyang-nan. Yang-cheu is remarkable for its antiquity, and particularly for a fine tower which was erected in the sixth century. Hwai-nang, Hwai-cheu, Ching-kyang, and Fong-yang, are the names of

this, the owners of the above-mentioned coaches or chaises carry on a very lucrative business.

"The inhabitants of Peking receive every thing from the southern provinces. In Peking itself, there are no good manufactories, except of coloured glass. Precious stones are also cut and polished in the capital. The inhabitants of the city, and the Chinese in general, prefer pork, which is here better flavoured and more easy of digestion than in Russia. The Mantchoos and Mongols eat mutton, and the latter beef. Mutton and beef are not very good in China, because the cattle coming from Mongolia are too much exhausted, and are not properly attended to after they reach the capital. Butter, especially made of sheep's milk, comes from Mongolia. The Chinese prefer hogs' lard, and cannot bear even the smell of butter made of cow's milk. The most common domestic fowl are geese, ducks, and chickens. The first are indispensable at grand entertainments. The physicians forbid patients to eat poultry, as indigestible and unwholesome. A species of duck, called ya-tsu is a very favourite dish on grand occasions, and is dressed in more than thirty different ways. The ducks of Peking are very large, very fat, and juicy. In the winter, there are partridges, pheasants, and game of all kinds. But it is necessary to be very careful in purchasing provisions, for the Chinese dealers mix plaster or sand in the flour to increase the weight. Often they sell the flesh of animals that have died of some disorder, or of such as are not generally used for food; for instance, asses, mules, camels, &c. They improve the appearance of ducks and chickens by blowing the air between the skin and flesh, which makes them look very white and plump."

other towns in this province, all of some note. Ngan-king, capital of the southern division of Kyang-nan, now forming the province of Gan-whai, is placed, (lat. 30° 30′ N. 117° E,) near its southern extremity, at the confluence of a small stream with the Yang-tse-kyang: it was formerly a place of little consequence, and only ranked as eighth among the districts into which the province is divided. The island of Tsong-ming, separated from the continent by an arm of the sea about six leagues in width, was converted by the convicts banished thither, from a sandy waste, into a productive, populous district. Salt, extracted from a kind of grey earth, probably the original soil of the island, is its principal production, and furnishes the means of subsistence to the population of its numerous villages. The island of Shin-shan, (i. e. the golden mountain,) near the mouth of the Yang-tse-kyang, is the private property of the emperor, and remarkable for producing the pale red cotton, (Gossypium religiosum,) of which the nankeens, named from the capital of this province, are manufactured.

The air of these provinces is usually clear, and their climate extremely temperate, as might be expected from their position between the 29th and 35th degrees of northern latitude. The country is generally level and well-watered; and besides a great number of smaller streams, the Yangise-kyang and the Hwang-ho, two of the largest rivers in China, discharge themselves into the sea on the coast of this province. Numerous canals also facilitate internal navigation, and give a power of laying the fields under water at pleasure, an incalculable advantage in dry seasons. The soil of the western districts is a dry, red clay, which acquires a yellow hue as it approaches the river, and is replaced by sand in the eastern part of the provinces. To the south, clay recurs, and a rich black mould is often found. With all these commercial advantages, these provinces may well be considered as some of the most flourishing in the empire, and its cotton manufactures, so justly celebrated all over the world, are carried on to such an extent, that one township alone is said to furnish employment for 200,000 persons.

SHAN-SI.] Shan-si, to the west of Pě-chě-li, though one of the smallest provinces, is highly venerated as the native soil of the founders of the empire. It contains five cantons or foos, sixteen districts or choos, and seventy townships or heens. 1. Tai-yuen, its capital (lat. 38° N. 110° 37′ E.), an ancient city, three leagues in circuit, was the residence of the princes of the Taï-ming-chao family; but the royal tombs on a neighbouring mountain are now the only remains of its former grandeur. They consist of monuments of stone or marble, triumphal arches, and statues of men and inferior animals dispersed through a grove of cypresses. A fruitful soil and skilful manufacturers make this city a flourishing place hardware and various kinds of cloths, but particularly carpets, resembling those of Turkey, are its principal articles of trade. 2. Fuen-choo, on the river Fuen-ho, nearly in the centre of the province, is celebrated for its warm baths and mineral springs. 3. Taïtong, close to the Great Wall, is a fortress of great strength, and well garrisoned. Its neighbourhood abounds in medicinal herbs, and the mountains contain marble, porphyry, lapis lazuli, and a beautiful kind of jasper. The cold in this province, which lies between the 35th and 41st parallels of N. lat., is often very severe in winter, but its atmosphere is peculiarly clear throughout the year. It is an elevated, mountainous tract; in some places rocky and barren; but cultivated wherever the soil can be