340 Geography. 



Toward the close of the seventeenth century, 

 some valuable information respecting China had 

 been obtained through the medium of Christian 

 Missionaries from Europe. Since that period our 

 acquaintance with China has been greatly ex- 

 tended. For this we are chiefly indebted to the 

 works of Du Halde, Grossier, Staunton, and 

 Van Br a am. Few works have been read with 

 more interest than the celebrated account of Lord 

 Macartney's Embassy, by Sir George Staun- 

 ton; and seldom has any work of the kind been 

 found more rich in curious information.- — Tartary 

 has been, during the same time, partially explored 

 by various travellers; the Birman Empire, by Sym- 

 MEs; T/^d"/^, by Turner ; Kamtschatka, by Bell, 

 Lesseps, and others. — ^To the above sources of in- 

 formation concerning different parts of Asia, may 

 be added the Asiatic Society at Calcutta, and par- 

 ticularly its late illustrious President, Sir AVilliam 

 Jones, whose diligence and success in investigat- 

 ing every avenue of knowledge, relating to the 

 arts, sciences, literature, government, morals and 

 religion of the principal Eastern Empires, were 

 only equalled by his exalted virtues, and his stu- 

 pendous general learning, which render him a 

 prodigy of the age in which he lived." 



Much new and valuable information respecting 

 the Asiatic Isles has also been obtained, and laid 

 before the public, by various modern travellers. 

 Since the time of Kcempfer, Japan has been vi- 

 sited by Thumberg, and others, who have made 

 interesting additions to what was before known 

 concerning that empire. The Philippine Islands 

 have been successively visited and examined by 

 Sonnerat, Forrest, and Stavorinus; the Sunda 



e See his PForis, lately published, with great splendor, in 6 vols. 4t«* 

 Sec also the Asiatic Researches — passim. 



