CHINA, 



297 



general, their extremities are pointed with that metal, 

 Instead of pitch, the Chinese use a kind of gum or oil, 

 called Tong-Yeoo, mixed with lime and threads of barr- 

 boo, a composition which hardens in the water, and be- 

 comes completely impenetrable ; so that a well or two in 

 the hold, or even one only below the main-mast, and 

 which they empty with buckets instead of pumps, is 

 sufficient to keep the ship perfectly dry. The hold is 

 divided into a number of smaller holds or spaces, with 

 partitions of plank three inches thick, and so caiefully 

 cauked with the above mentioned gum, that no water 

 can pass from the one to the other. This plan is at- 

 1 with obvious benefit in the event of a teak ap- 

 pearing, as the water is thus confined to the particular 

 apartments in which the injury has been sustained ; ai.d 

 it might be adopted with advantage by other nations, es 

 pecially in those vessels, which are designed for distant 

 voyages. These Chinese merchantmen, according to 

 Groaier, are seldom above 90 feet long ; but, according 

 to Osbeck, sometimes 200 ; according to Grower, sel- 

 dom above 300 tons burden ; according to De Guignes, 

 they are often 600 tons j and Mr Barrou- speaks of them 

 as sometimes carrying 1000 tons, ith a crew of 500 

 men. A vessel of this size frequently belongs to 50 or 

 ven 100 merchants ; and is divided into as many c -m- 

 partmriits as there are partners. Each of these parti: r-, 

 ships his goods in his own birth, which he fits up accord- 

 ing to his pleasure ; and either goes himself, or sends a 

 son or other relative to take the charge of them. These 

 ships of the Chinese eldom draw as many feet of water, 

 as those of Europe draw fathoms ; and are particularly 

 adapted in this u f > ct f>r the shallow seas, which wash 

 th" eastern coast of China. 



The Chines ships of war are constructed in a similar 

 manner with the trading vessels, except that the f.vo 

 ends are less elevated above the level of the deck, and 

 that the bottom is more narrow. They carry strong 

 r,es and small cannon, and have their po-t holes ex- 

 tr-mely contracted. The soldkrs on board ar>' armed 

 al:o with lauces and bin klere, and are frequently pro- 

 tected by a parapet of bnmboo along the sides of the 

 vessel. S line of the government galley. h;:ve t>harp 

 prow? ; a- i! one kind, which i- called a hank's bill, U 

 equally pointed at the stern as at the bow, so that it can 

 advance or retreat without putting about. None but 

 tin- .hips of war are permitted to carry anr.s ; ai.d the 

 traders, when attacked by pirates, have no other means 

 of defence, but stones or slurp pointed poles ot b mboo. 



Their fishing boats, of the larger class, aro peculiarly 

 excellent, and sail in a supirior style. They are strongly 

 built, furnished with decks, and can each accommodate 

 eight or ten fishers, with their wives and children. They 

 generally sail two of them \;\ company ; and, unless com- 

 p'-lled by storms to make for the land, they keep the 

 sea throughout the whole year, nnd S'-nd their fish ashore 

 by the smaller fibbing craft, or by boats of their own, 

 which they keep on board for that purpose. 



The number of Chinese ships lo^t .it sea is very i;reat; 

 and it was :n consequence of the frequent shipwrecks ex 

 perienced by the vessels, which were employed M trans 

 potting the taxes, or tenth of the produce, from the ports 

 of the middle and southern provinces to the northern c - 

 pir.,1, that the Imperial canal was projected and execu- 

 ted. The whole awkward construction of the larg.' tra- 

 vessels, and especially the great height of their up 

 per works, render them very iil adapted to encounter 

 violent tempests, which occur in the Ch'in ,e seas, 



and which are called in their language Tay-fung. " Were 

 it pc:s-ib!c," said a commander of an Ea~,t Indian ship to 

 Mr Barrow, when describing the fury of these dreadful 

 hurricanes, " to blow ten thousand trumpets, and to 

 beat as many drums, on the forecastle of an Indiaman, in 

 the height of a Tay fung, neither the sound of the one 

 n^r the other would be heard by a person on the quar- 

 ter-deck of the same ship." These heavy gales prove 

 fatal to such vast numbers of the Chinese vessels, that 

 ten or twelve thousand persons from Canton alone are 

 supposed to perish annually by bhipwreck. Hence, when 

 a merchantman leaves that. city upon a voyage to foreign 

 parts, it is considered as an equal chance, whether it 

 shall be lost or return ; and when the event i^ prosper- 

 ous, a general rejoicing takes place among the friends of 

 thoe who had embarked in the hazardous enterpnze. 



The ancient money of China is said to have been chief- 

 ly shells ; but very little can be kno\v;i on the subject, 

 as the Chinese themselves affirm, that the Emperor Shee- 

 hoang-tee destroyed all the coins, as well as books and 

 other monuments of preceding times. In thr year 160 

 before Christ, the Emperor Ven-tce first permitted the 

 indiscriminate coinage of money by private individuals ; 

 but Kao-tsoo, founder of the dynasty of Tang, A. D 

 619, was the first who regulated the weight and impres- 

 si'Hi of the current coin. The Chinese currency has 

 consisted, at different times,' in copper, tin, lead, iron, ba- 

 ked earth, shells, and even paper, according to Marco 

 Polo ; but the two latter were soon abolished ; and 

 though, in consequence of a scarcity of copper, the Em- 

 peror Hong-voo again attempted to bring it into use, 

 A. D. 136S ; the Chinese could never be induced to 

 exchange their bullion and property for so unsubstantial 

 an equivalent. 



Gold is regarded as an article of traffic ; but silver and 

 copper form the present currency in China. The silver, 

 however, is nevir reduced into the shape of coin, but is 

 ca>t IT cut in the form of bars or plates, of different 

 sizes, which, like the Roman as, or the Hebrew shekel, 

 are valued according to their weight ; and, while the lar- 

 ger bars are employed in paying the more considerable 

 sums, the smaller are cut down into minute portions, ac- 

 cording as circumstances require. Hence, a Chinese is 

 always provided with a pair of scit,sars, a pair of scales, 

 and a set of we-ght^, tor the purpose of preparing on the 

 spot the necessary value in bullion. The mode of rv- 

 koning the value of silver, is by the number of hundredth 

 parts of alloy which it contains ; thu-, t-ilver of -f/?^, is 

 that which, in one ounce, has only T ^ part alloy. The 

 current silver is from -fg^ t. ,'- ' , or even l.m-cr, accord- 

 ing to circumstances. The government, however, re- 

 nothing but pure silver ; and hence, in making any 

 payment to tht state, three IT four ounces must be ai'.dcd 

 to every hundred, aco.r.ling to the quality of the metal. 



Then is strictly speaking, therefore, no other coin in 

 China, but of ccpf,i-i ; .nd this is restricted t'; nc de- 

 nomination, viz. a TC/ICIIZ, which is scarcely equivalent 

 in valui? to the third part .f a farthing of sterling mo- 

 ney. It is a round coin, about -, s ; of an inch in dhine- 

 ter, witu a square hole in the middle, the name of the 

 cmpen.r on one side, and two Tartar words on the 

 other; nc /j-jVn and two Jen, and is equivalent 



to the TC ^ part of a latl, or ounce ,/f silver, supposirg 

 each of tliem t ; be of the standard quality. Tl.is Cop- 

 per coin is melted, and not struck; is mixed j.>c n- i,i!:y 

 with some inferior metal, chiefly toutenago,* which icn- 



Naviga- 

 tion. 



AND 

 WEIGH 1 !'! 



'' " r tlntcnac, is generally considered as a kind uf l.tiuV ci l.-mine, thiYllv o n:p.MiI of zinc and copper; lint M. Dr 



nteod, that its properties (especially that of iinr.nrting to uipptr a white colour, and r.t.cinng it less liable to v <..' 

 VOl. YI. i-ART r. y P 



