CHAPTER IV 



KFROPEYN ANl> AMERICAN LITERATURE 



ON TIH-: 

 LYCIIEE AND LUNG AN 



' "' \-.' 



'1'he. first unquestionable records regarding; China, appearing 

 in the West in the twelfth century, were in Arabic. In these there 

 is apparently no mention of the lychee and lungan. Gonzalez de 

 Mendoza's work in Spanish, published in Rome in 1585, translated 

 into English by R. Parke in 1588, was the first detailed record 

 regarding China published in any European language after the dis- 

 covery of the sea route to China in the early part of the sixteenth 

 century. As translated by Parke, Gonzalez de Mendoza 1 referred 

 to the lychee in the following words: "Also they haue a kinde of 

 plummes, that they doo call lechias (Dimocarpus leechee), that are 

 of an exceeding gallant tast, and, neuer hurteth any body, although 

 they shoulde cate a great number of them. '' 



In k 'De Christiana Expedition" 2 , published in 



Lie y as and Lontjanas are mentioned but Alvaro Semmedo l in his 



work published in Italian in 1643, and "put into English by a person 



of. quality " in 1655, describes the fruit more completely. He says, 



' The Southern provinces have the best fruits of all India; particularly 



1 Gonzalez de Mendo/a, Juan, .The History of the Great and Mighty 

 Kingdom of China and the Situation Thereof. Translation out of Spanish 

 by R. Parke. London, Printed for the Hakluyt Society, 1588, page 14. 



~ Trigault, Nicolas, De Christiano expeclitio ne apud sinas suscepta ab 

 societate Jesu. Ex P. Matthaei Ricii eiusdem societatis commentariis Libri 

 V. Augusta Vind. Augusburg, 1615, page 10. 



: Semmedo, Alvaro, The history of that grent and renowned monarchy 

 of China ---- ----- Lately written in Italian by P. Alvarez Semedo ...... 



NTow put into English by a person of quality, and illustrated with several 

 mapps and figures ...... London, Printed by E. Tyler for T. Crook. 



papi- <. 



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