376 ADDITIONAL NOTICES. ^ [June 27, 1859. 



bending north to Shangbae the Hwang-pu river has an easterly course, and it 

 assists in carrying the superfluous waters of the Taehu, with which it is con- 

 nected by other streams and by lakes, to the sea. Changes in the water 

 channels in this delta have been studied by native scholars, not only for the 

 illustration of ancient topogi-aphy, but for the assistance of government 

 officers in regulating the system of embankments and canals, and generally 

 in comprehending the physical features of the country. I have no oppor- 

 tunity, while in England, of referring to such native works as would mark 

 out the course taken by the two old branches of the Yang-tse-keang before 

 reaching the Taehu and Hangchow. There is a strong stone breakwater and 

 embankment constructed along the north coast of the Hangchow Bay nearly to 

 Shanghae to keep out the sea. No streams are allowed to enter the ocean 

 through this embankment, because a salt-water tide would force its way up 

 the channels by which they flowed, to the injury of the rich plain behind. 

 All the waters of this district enter the sea ultimately by the Yang-tse-keang, 

 whose vast volume of water causes a fresh-water tide to flow into all its tri- 

 butaries^ even those nearest the sea. If the communication between the 

 Hangchow Bay and the Yang-tse-keang had been allowed to remain, the agri- 

 culture of that rich district would have been affected by the intrusion of sea 

 water. To prevent this was the object of the system of embankments, which 

 helped to bring the river and the country adjoining it to their present state. 



The channel of the Yellow River, or Hwang-ho, which has been recently 

 left dry, was formerly the bed of another river, the Hwei, flowing by Fung- 

 yang-fu into the sea, between the Yang tse and the Hwang-ho. This latter 

 river has always been accustomed to change its embouchure once in two or 

 three centuries. In recently seeking a path to the sea in a more northerly 

 latitude, it has been making an effort to return to its original course. I have 

 seen, in a critical work on the Yu-kung, five or six maps representing the 

 path pursued by the river at as many epochs from the Han dynasty, coeval 

 with the Christian era, till the present time. Sometimes it reached the sea 

 to the north of Shantung promontory, at other times to the south of it. The 

 section of the Shoo-king (Book of History) called Yu-kung consists of a 

 geographical description of China in the time of the Emperor Yu. It details 

 what was done by that famous ruler, about two thousand years before Christ, 

 in restoring the country to a condition fit for agriculture after a local deluge. 

 In this remarkable fragment the names are extremely antique, and there is 

 room for much research in discovering the localities of ancient towns and the 

 foi-mer courses of the rivers. Many works have been published on this subject; 

 for example, the one just referred to. 



The most remarkable feature in the Shoo-king is the scientific character of 

 its commencing chapters. It is a book made up of fragments written in dif- 

 ferent periods. Its principal divisions are the respective histories of the five 

 dynasties, Tang, Yu, Hea, Shang, and Chow. The most important portions 

 for science are that of Tang, containing the early Chinese astronomy, and the 

 commencement of the history of the Hea dynasty, viz. Y^u-kung, the very 

 valuable fragment on Chinese geography just referred to. 



Note. — Mr. Edkins, in his paper on the ancient courses of the great rivers of 

 China, has touched upon a point of great importance to physical geography. 



There is probably no other part of the world where records of so early a date 

 and such good authority are to be obtained with reference to the detritus of large 

 rivers as in the annals of the Chinese empire. It is therefore to be hoped that 

 Mr. Edkins will pursue his inquiries on his return to China, and forward to the 

 Society the result of his labours upon so important a subject.— R. C. 



