9t? 



CHINA. 



the spice of sixty lenpurt, is fr M to Tchan clian-hirn, 

 it it more or lota mountainous, thr toil sandy and red- 

 dish, like thr stonrs on ttir h II*. On the side toward i 

 King-rr, for thr tpacc of twrlvr leagues, it is mountain- 

 out, pd thr s > \*) f j nature. The provinre in 

 grivr.il it in a (tatr f high cultivation, and its popula- 

 tion u imm.-nsi 1 . Its climate ii healthful, its plains well 

 watrrrd, and its canali in good repair. OH account of 

 itt maritime- situation, its extent and population, it is one 

 of thr most con*id- rable provinces in thr empire ; and 

 was fornwrly the residence of some of the emperors. 

 Its principal trade consists in silk stuffs, of which those 

 kindt, t' at have gold and eilver intrrwov. n, arc tli 



:ned. Great numbers of silk worms are of conse- 

 quence reared in the province ; and whole plains are co- 

 ! with dwarf mulberry trees for their suppoit. 

 These trees are purposely checked in their growth ; as 

 it is found by experience, that the worms, which feed 

 on the leave* of the smallest trees, yield the finest kilk. 

 Notwithstanding the immense quantities exported to the 

 other provinces of the empire, to Japan, Europe, and the 

 Philippines,' so much still remains, that a complete suit 

 of silk may be purchased in this province as cheap as 

 one of the coarsest woollen in Europe. The province 

 produces, also, different kinds of wood, especially bam- 

 boo and the tallow tree ; and mushrooms grow in such 

 abundance, that they are pickled and dried ; in which 

 state they may be preserved a whole year, and when 

 soked in water, become as fresh as at first. The pro- 

 vince yields also, indigo, and is celebrated for the excel- 

 lence of its hams. Tne inhabitants are said to be ex- 

 tremely superstitious, but they are lively, mild, and po- 

 lite to strangers. 



Kjanj-nan. X. KiAXG-SAX, or Nan-kin, may be considered as the 

 second province in the empire, and is divided into two 

 paru, each of which has a distinct governor. It con- 

 tains fourteen cities of the first class, and ninety-three of 

 the second and third, besides innumerable towns and 

 villages of considerable size and population. Kiang- 



Nankin. ning foo, or Nankin, the capital, is said to have been, in 

 former times, one of the most flourishing and splendid 

 cities in the world, and is still the largest city in China. 

 It is of a very irregular form, and is built upon several 

 mountains, and it* wdlls are said to be five and a half 

 leagues in circumference; but it is spoken of in the most 

 extravagant style by the Chinese, as having been, in an- 

 cient times, fifty and even ninety miles in compass ; or, 

 as they express it, so large, that, if two horsemen had 

 set out in the morning, at one of the gates, and galloped 

 round it in different directions, they would not have met 

 till the rvtnirg. It was, at one time, the residence of 

 the emperor, and was then called Nan-kin, or the south- 

 ern court; but, in all -public acts, it is now named Kiang- 

 ning. Nearly one third part of it is- now deserted by the 

 inhabitant* ; and scarcely a vesligi- remains of the mag- 

 nificent palace, observatory, temples, and monuments, 

 which it once contained. Its gates arc still beautiful, 

 and a frw of its temples are in good preservation, among 

 which is one, called the Porcelain Tower, about <J()0 feet 

 hi/h, which is dividrd into nine i-lones, to the first of 

 which there is an ascent of forty steps, and betwei 

 f the others a tair of twenty one steps. Near to Nun. 

 kin K the broad ajid deep river V.. ng r which 



furi.iihed a commodious port to the city, but the navi 

 gation of which it now greatly neglected. In the months 

 of April and May, great quantities of excellent fish are 

 taken in thu river, in the vicinity of the town ; and, be- 

 ing covered with ice. are transported in boats to the 

 court at Pekin. The strceti of Nankin arc narrower 



than thor of most other Chinese cities ; but are finely Topogra- 

 paved, and much m<- :n dun nd ciirt, than those P b )'- 



of Prkin. It cont;i learned men, valuable li, > ""Y"*" / 



, ai d extensive bo ikt.fl! ; ;\nd iti paper, 



ink, and other materials for writing and painting, are 

 said to excel all others in the empin-. Tl.e country 

 around it is richly adorned with garden 1 -, orchards, villas, 

 &c. ; but the most rerr.ark.ibK- object in its neighbour. 

 hood is a wood of lofty pines, winch is about twelve 

 miles in circumference; and in the centre of which n a 

 mound, rising above the forest, covered with temples and 

 sepulchral monuments. Soo tcheoo foo, is the second 

 city in the province, and oi:e of the most agreeably situa- 

 ted in China. It is compared by Europeans to the city 

 <>f Venice, with this difference, thst the one 11 built up- 

 on the sea, and the other intersected by canals of fresh 

 water. Its streets are narrow, and its shops present no- 

 thing remarkably striking. It is of gieat ixtint, and 



11s inclos-e large portions of cultivated ground, 

 with numerous I'ulJj uid isolated buildings. It carries 

 on a considerable commerce with Japan ; and its bro- 

 cades and embroideries, which are the principal manu- 

 factures of the- place, are in great request, 2* being at 

 once the finest and cheapest in l\:c empire. The neigh- 

 bouring country is delightful, l!ie soil fruitful, the air 

 temperate, the people polite; and the whole spot i.- call- 

 ed by the Chinese, the paradise of the world. Its in- 

 habitants appeared to Mr Barrow to be more chearful, 

 contented, and better clothed, than those of any other 

 town that he had seen in China. The ladies, he observed, 

 were dressed in petticoats instead of trowsei>, winch last 

 was the costume in the northern provinces; and this city 

 is one of the places where young women are carefully 

 educated in singing, music, and dancing, to be sold as 

 concubines to the higher mandarins. . To the west of 

 the cily is a range of mountains covered with wood, 

 and along their base is the extensive lake Tai-hoo, famed 

 for its line fish and picturesque scenery. Tchan-tcheoo- 

 foo, is situated near the canal, through which all the 

 boats from Soo-tchcoo foo to Nankin must pass. It is 

 celebrated for the excellence of its water, which is said 

 to give a peculiarly pleasant flavour to tea, and for a 

 kind of earthen ware, made in the district, which is sup- 

 posed to have a sinvlar effect, and is therefore preferred 

 by the Chinese to the finest porcelain. Hoai-ngan foo, 

 is remarkable chiefly for its situation in a marsh, and 

 stands upon ground lower than the c.m.il which sur- 

 rounds it. it is thus in contininl danger of inundations 

 (to guard against which, it is inclosed by a triple wall ;) 

 but notwithstanding its hazard from the waters, it is suf- 

 ficiently populous and full of trade. Yang tcheoo foo, 

 is a city of considerable extent, intersected by numer- 

 ous canals, and provided with a multitude of bridges. 

 The quay is formed of layers of straw and earth ; and 

 the place is crowded with 'loats, a great pr portion of 

 which are employed in conveying salt, which i; tlie staple 

 commodity of the city. There are several pagodas in 

 the town and its neighbourhood ; but, though the de- 

 scriptions given ot it by the Jesuit writer:.. ;ire highly 

 magnificent, M. De Guigne- pionouiices the house of 

 the Hoo-poo to be the only building worthy of notice. 

 It bears the marks, however, of great antiquity ; and 

 contains numerous ruins, overgrown with ino.-s a d creep- 

 ing plants, which indicate that its grand' ur has greatly 

 decayed, in its neighbourhood, is one of those royal 

 residences, which are provided for the accommodation of 

 the emperors, as they pass tlir.iu^h the empire; and 

 which was built by the L .>o -t ill- dy- 



nasty of buoec. It is named liao-miu-caec, aud consist* 



