66 Chinese Account of India. [J Art. 



source, Sin-taou*, issues from mount Kwan-lunt ; its waters then divide 

 into five streams, and form what are termed the affluents of the Ganges 

 (ming Gang shwuy). Their waters are sweet and beautiful, and at the 

 bottom of their bed they deposit a real salt, the color of which is as white 

 as that of the essence of the water (shwuy tsing). 



In the time of Seuen-woo, of the dynasty of the latter Wei (A. D. 500 

 to 516), South India sent an ambassador to offer as presents some horses 

 of a fine breed. This ambassador stated that the kingdom produced lions, 

 leopards, panthers, camels, rhinoceroses, and elephants ; that there was 

 a species of pearl there, called ho-tse, similar to talc (yun-moo), the co- 

 lor of which was yellowish red (tse, ' reddish blue 5 ) ; if it is divided, it 

 disperses like the wings of the cricket; if it is heaped up, on the other 

 hand, it becomes compact, like threads of silk strongly woven. There 

 were diamonds resembling amethysts (tse-shih-ying). When purified a 

 hundred times in the fire, without melting, this diamond is used to cut 

 jaspev (yu stone). There were also tortoise-shell (tue-mei), gold (kin), 

 copper (tungj, iron (tee), lead (yuen), tin (seih), fine muslins embroi- 

 dered with gold and silver^ ; there are also a variety of odoriferous plants, 

 yuh-kin, sugar-canes, and all kinds of products; honey-bread (or solid 

 honey§), pepper, ginger, and black salt. 



On the west, India carries on a considerable commerce by sea with Ta- 

 tsin (the Roman empire), the An-se (or Asae, Syrians) ; some of the In- 

 dians come as far as Foo-nan and Keaou-che (Tonquin), to traffic in coral 

 necklaces and pearls of inferior quality (or which only resemble pearls — 

 san-Jcan). These merchants are accustomed to dispense with books of 

 accounts (in their commercial transactions). Teeth (elephants' or rhino- 

 ceros' ?) and shells form their articles of exchange. They have men very 

 skilful in magical arts||. The greatest mark of respect which a wife can 

 show towards her husband is to kiss his feet and embrace his knees : this 

 is the most energetic and persuasive demonstration of the interior senti- 

 ments. In their houses, they have young girls who dance and sing with 

 much skilllT. Their king and his ministers (ta-chin, ministers about the 

 sovereign) have a vast number of silk dresses and fine woollen fabrics. 



* These curious details, the exactitude of which may excite surprise, prove that 

 the Chinese historians were better informed than might be expected of facts and 

 circumstances concerning Central and Western Asia. We are indebted to Mr. 

 Colebrooke for the means of ascertaining the accuracy of the Chinese writer. In 

 fact, the Chinese words Sin-taou are but the transcription of the Sanscrit word 

 ^ffT Sitd, the name of one of the sources of the Ganges. In a memoir on the 

 sources of this river, this illustrious and profound Indian scholar cites the following 

 passage from the astronomer Bha'skara Acha'rya : " The holy stream which 

 escapes from the foot of Vishnu, descends from the abode of Vishnu on Mount 

 Meru (the Kwan-lun), whence it divides into four currents, and passing through the 

 air, it reaches the lakes on the summit of the mountains which sustain them. Under the 

 name of Sitd, this river joins the Bhadraswa ; as the Alakanandd, it enters Bharata- 

 varsha (Hindustan) ; as the Chackshu, it proceeds to Ketumala, and as the Bhadra, 

 it goes to the Kuru of the north." — Siddhdnta-Siromani ,■ Bhavana-Kosha, 37 and 38. 



f Mount Meru. " The Hindus say that the Ganges falls from heaven upon its 

 summit, and thence descends in four currents ; the southern branch is the Ganges 

 of India ; the northern branch, which flows into Turkey, is the Bhadrasama ; the 

 eastern branch is the Sita, and the western is the Chakshu, or Oxus." — Wilson, 

 Sanscrit Diet., 2nd edit., Art. Meru. The name Meru is the Mepos of the Greeks. 



X These are, no doubt, the fine brocades, embroidered with gold and silver, for 

 which Benares is still so celebrated, which continue to constitute an extensive arti- 

 cle of commerce throughout India, and which European industry, however success- 

 ful its efforts to imitate the products of the East, has not yet been able to rival. 



§ Shlh-meih, ' stone-honey.' 



\ These are, no doubt, the nautch-girlt. 



