Mr. Davis's Memoir concerning tlie Chinese. 18 



the tremendous absurdity of its statements. According to this statistical 

 work (the Ye-tung-chy), the total population about A. D. iG-t*, was twenty- 

 seven millions and a half, and in 1790 it was increased to 143 millions. 

 " Ob, monstrous ! eleven buckram men grown out of two!" The popula- 

 tion of an old country like China more than quintupled in 146 years! This 

 is quite incredible, and throws great discredit either on the Ye-iung-chy, 

 or on the accuracy of the Chinese in taking their census. Twenty-seven 

 millions and a half seem much too little for China in the year 1644, and 

 there must either be some mistake in the dates, or the later census was the 

 correct one, and the earlier altogether erroneous. Grosier states, on the 

 authority of the Ye-tung-chy, (though he makes the date of it X'J^S,') that 

 the population of China proper was somewhat more than 142 millions, and 

 by a calculation of his own, to include those whom he assumes to have been 

 left out in the census, increases the number to 157 millions. To this 

 account he subjoins the copy of an estimate of the population, called Chung- 

 niin-soo,* which, he says, was made in the 27th year of Kien-Lung, or I761, 

 and received in France from the missionaries in 1779. This, which states 

 the population at 198 millions, is not to be depended on, as the Chinese 

 generally profess to be ignorant of the existence of such a document. It is 

 likely to be spurious, or at least imqfficial, and certainly does not deserve as 

 much credit as even the Ye-timg chy, which is a national work. Thus it 

 would appear, that the only thing certain is our total ignorance of the real 

 population of China ; * 



" And all our knowledge is, we nothing know." 



Some persons have been disposed to draw sweeping inferences from the 

 numbers that were observed by the two British embassies of 1794 and 1816 : 

 but surely these were not the proper data for such calculations. The pro- 

 vinces and districts, through which both missions passed, are confessedly 

 the richest of the whole Empire ; and beyond comparison excel, both in 

 fertility and population, those to the westward. The grand canal, and the 

 Yang-tsze- Keang, render them the great commercial route between the 

 northern and southern provinces ; as well as the channel of almost all poli- 

 tical communication. A British embassy was calculated to draw, and did 

 actually draw together, the whole population of the cities and neighbour- 



• " An account of the whole people." 



