CHINA. 



183 



< orrect ideas of the situation, extent, and character 

 of this country. Since that time, our knowledge oi 

 China has been derived from several ambassadors, 

 who saw the court and the roads, from merchants 

 who had inhabited the suburbs of one seaport (Can- 

 ton), and from numerous missionaries, who relate 

 what they have seen, but generally with little dis- 

 crimination. Much information is to be hoped from 

 the Canton Register, a paper which is published 

 twice a-month in Canton.* The emperors of the 

 Mantchou dynasty, erroneously called Tartars, have 

 extended their conquests over the greatest part of 

 the country formerly called Independent Tartary, 

 the inhabitants of which are, however, not Tartars, 

 but mostly Calmucks and Mongols. The Russians 

 have advanced, on the other side, into Siberia. Russia 

 and China have thus come into contact, on a line 

 extending from lake Palcati to the mouth of the river 

 Amour. This extensive frontier is principally formed 

 by the Altaian, Sayanian, and Daourian mountains. 

 In Daouria, however, the Russians have extended 

 their possessions beyond the last-named mountains to 

 the banks of the River Amour. Lake Palcati, the 

 A lak mountains, and the Beloor mountains, divide 

 the Chinese empire, on the west, from the Kirguises, 

 Usbecks, and other independent Tartar tribes. While 

 the Chinese dominions extend to the confines of Asia- 

 tic Russia, on the north and north-west, on the west 

 and south-west they extend over the immense re- 

 gions of Thibet, and almost reach the English terri- 

 tories in Bengal. On this side, China is divided 

 from India by the small countries of Sirinagur, Ne- 

 paul, and others, and by the Garrow mountains. 

 Farther to the east, the Burman empire bounds on 

 the Chinese province of Yun-nan. In the south, the 

 empire of Anam and the provinces of Laos and Ton- 

 quin touch its borders. The Eastern ocean, with the 

 gulf of Corea, washes the coasts of China for an ex- 

 tent of 3600 miles, from the Tonquinese frontier to 

 the mouth of the river Amour. To the south are the 

 Chinese and Yellow seas, and the gulf of Tonquin. 

 The channel of Formosa separates the island of that 

 name from the continent. The Blue and Yellow seas 

 flow, the former between China and the .islands of 

 Loo-Choo and Japan, the latter between China and 

 Corea. The sea of Japan extends from Corea to the 

 river Amour : at the extreme point, it goes under the 

 name of the channel of Tartary. 



China Proper is bounded on the east by the East- 

 ern ocean ; on the north, by the immense wall of 

 Mongolia and Manchooria, which lias been built 

 more than 2000 years, and is 1500 miles in length, 

 thirty feet high, and fifteen feet thick on the top. To 

 the west, political limits are prescribed to the wan- 

 derings of the Calmucks or Eleuthes of Hoho-Nor and 

 of the Sifans. To the south, the boundaries of the 

 Chinese empire and China Proper are the same. 

 China Proper contains 1572 towns, the principal of 

 which are Pekin, Canton, and Nankin (q. v.) ; 1193 

 fortresses, 2796 temples, 2606 convents, thirty-two 

 imperial palaces, &c. It is divided into fifteen pro- 

 vinces. Two chains of mountains extend through 

 the country ; the one in the south-east, the other in 

 the north-west. The former extends between the 

 provinces Quang-si, Quang-tong, and Fo-Kien, on the 

 south, and the provinces H oo-Quang and Kiang-si on 

 the north. Its original course is from west to east, 

 but, after reaching the limits of Fo-Kien, it turns to 

 the north-east. The principal chain is difficult of ac- 



A museum, to be called The British Museum in China, 

 it is stated in the Canton Register, is about to be estab- 

 lished among the British residents in that city. Perhaps 

 this institution, also, will contribute to enlarge our know- 

 ledge of China. 



cess, particularly in the provinces ot Koeit-Cheou 

 and Quang-si, owing to the savage tribes by which it 

 is inhabited. Travellers have only examined the 

 little mountain Meiling, which rises 3000 feet above 

 lake Po-yang. The heights to the north-west are 

 rather a succession of terraces than regular chains of 

 mountains. The province of Shan-si is full of moun- 

 tains, which appear to belong to a chain extending 

 from the banks of the river Amour, traversing the 

 whole of Mongolia. They are almost entirely com- 

 posed of perpendicular rocks. The province of Shan- 

 Tong consists, principally, of a mountainous penin- 

 sula. These mountains contain coal mines, and form 

 a group entirely detached from the other Chinese 

 chains. The largest plains are in the province Kiang- 

 Nan, between the two great rivers Hoang-ho and 

 Yang-tse-Kiang or Kiang-Ku. The former, or the 

 Yellow river, rises from two lakes in the country of 

 the Calmucks of Hoho-Nor ; the latter, or the Blue 

 river, rises somewhere in the north of Thibet, near 

 the desert of Cobi. Both descend rapidly from the 

 table-lands of central Asia, and each encounters a 

 chain of mountains which forces it to describe a long 

 circuit, the Hoang-ho to the north, the Yang-tse- 

 Kiang to the south, after which they again approach, 

 and terminate their courses within a distance of 180 

 miles of each other. Besides these, there are the 

 Fuen-ho, the Hoei-ho, and the Hoay-ho, which empty 

 into the Blue river ; the Yalon-Kiang, which is about 

 600 miles long; the Tchoo or Yang-Kiang, the La< 

 Kiang, and the Yuen-Kiang, which flow into the Yel- 

 low river. The Yuen and Yon flow into the Blue 

 river through two lakes. The Hoan-Kiang in the 

 south, and the Pay-ho in the north, are unconnected 

 with the two great rivers. The former falls into the 

 gulf of Canton, and the latter into the gulf of Pekin. 

 These, and innumerable other rivers, united by nu- 

 merous canals, are of incalculable advantage to agri- 

 culture and inland navigation. The principal canal 

 is the Imperial canal, 1400 miles long, which forms 

 a water communication between Pekin and Canton, 

 with an interruption of only one day's journey. China 

 also abounds in lakes, particularly the province of 

 Houquang (which signifies the country of lakes). The 

 Poyang-hoo, according to Staunton the largest lake 

 in China, is, according to Du Halde, only ninety-five 

 miles in circumference. 



In a country of such vast extent, the climate must 

 necessarily be very various. In the south, near the 

 tropic, the heat is excessive, but it is moderated by 

 the influence of the periodical winds. The northern 

 and western parts are much colder than the countries 

 of Europe situated in the same latitude, owing to the 

 elevation of the land, to the nature of the soil, which 

 is filled with saltpetre, and to the snow, which, dur- 

 ing the greatest part of the year, covers the central 

 mountains of Asia. 



Agriculture, in China, is in a very flourishing con- 

 dition. The principal production is rice. In the 

 north-western provinces, which are too cold and too 

 dry for its production, its place is supplied by wheat 

 and other grain. Yams, potatoes, turnips, beans, 

 and a species of white cabbage (petsaf), are likewise 

 produced. Arable land is cultivated without inter- 

 ruption, the practice of following being unknown. 

 Even the steepest hills are brought into cultivation, 

 and artificially watered. The manner in which the 

 dwellings of the peasantry are situated, not being 

 collected into villages, but scattered through the 

 country, contributes greatly to the flourishing state 

 of agriculture. There are no fences, nor gates, nor 

 any sort of precaution against wild beasts or thieves. 

 The women raise silkworms and spin cotton ; they 

 also manufacture woollen stuffs, and are the only 

 weavers in the country. The honours conferred on 



