420 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1817. 



were seen every where along the 

 sea-shore ; and many of the same 

 formation were found on the 

 higher land, at some distance 

 from the beach, whose situation 

 is not easily to be accounted for, 

 unless we suppose them to have 

 teen elevated by the force of vol- 

 canic fire. 



It is the principal island of a 

 group of thirty-six, subject to the 

 same monarch, and the seat of the 

 government. The natives tiace their 

 history back to a period long an- 

 terior to the Christian era ; but 

 their first communication with the 

 rest of the world, when their ac- 

 counts became fully corroborated 

 and undisputed, was about the 

 year 605, when they were invaded 

 hy China, who found them at that 

 me — a time when England and 

 le greater part of Europe were 

 immersed in barbarism — the same 

 kind of people they are at the 

 present day, with the exception of 

 a few Chinese innovations ; or, at 

 least, they appear to have altered 

 but in a very slight degree. In- 

 deed, it is very obvious that a re- 

 volution in manners, and altera- 

 tion of habits, are by no means so 

 likely to occur with a people thus 

 living in an obscure and secluded 

 state, as among those who have a 

 wider intercourse with other na- 

 tions. The only connexion which 

 the Lewchewans have had with 

 their neighbouis, and that but 

 very limited, has been with Japan 

 and China, from neither of whom 

 they were likely to receiAe any 

 example of change. 



The clearest, and, perhaps, the 

 only account given of their histoiy 

 is by Su-poa-Koang, a Chinese 

 doctor or philosopher, who was, 

 in 1719; seat as emb^sador to 



them. The following is the sub- 

 stance of his report as to their 

 origin: — "The Lewchewan tra- 

 dition states, that, in the begin- 

 ning, one man and one woman 

 were produced in the great void or 

 chaos. They had the joint name 

 of Omo-mey-kieou. From their 

 union sprung three sons and two 

 daughters ; the eldest of the sons 

 had the title of Tien-sun, or 

 Grandson of Heaven, and was the 

 first king of Levvchew ; the se- 

 cond was the father of the tribu- 

 tary princes ; the rest of the peo- 

 ple acknowledge the third as their 

 progenitor. The eldest daughter 

 had the title of Celestial Spirit ; 

 the second the Spirit of the Sea. 

 After the death of Tien -sun, 

 twenty-five dynasties reigned suc- 

 cessively in this country, occupy- 

 ing (according to their story) a 

 period of 17,802 years previous to 

 the time of Chuntein, who com- 

 menced his reign in 1187- This is 

 their fabulous history, of which 

 they are very jealous j but nothing 

 certain was known until 605, be- 

 fore which the inhabitants of For- 

 mosa and the adjacent islands were 

 denominated by the Chinese the 

 Oriental Barbarians. In this year 

 the emperor sent to examine them ; 

 but, from want of interpreters, no 

 clear account was obtained. They 

 brought back, however, some of 

 the islanders to Sin-gan-foo, the 

 capital of the province of Chen-si, 

 and the seat of the court under 

 the Sony dynasty. Some Japan- 

 ese, who happened to be there, 

 knew the people, and described 

 them as a race of barbarians. The 

 Emperor Yang-ti sent forthwith 

 some who understood their lan- 

 guage to Lewchew^ to command 



their homage, and ackjjgwledg- 



