Y A N 



31ft degree of N. latitude. Through this province it takes 



I'erpentine courfe, and receives the waters of feveral lakes, 

 with which this part of the country abounds. Leaving 

 Hoo-quang, it pafTes between the province of Ho-nan and 

 Kiang-fee, and with a little inclination from the E. towards 

 the N., its copious ftream glides fmoothly through the 

 province of Kiang-nan, and is difembogued into the fea, 

 which bounds China to the E. in the 32d degree of N. lati- 

 tude. The diftance from thence to Hoo-quang is about 800 

 miles, which makes the whole length of tlie river about 2200 

 miles. The current, where the yachts of lord Macartney's 

 erabaffy paflTed it, did not exceed in thft ftrongeft part two 

 miles ; but it was much deeper than the Yellow river. 

 There thefe two great Chinefe rivers, taking their fources 

 in the fame mountains, paffing almoft clofe to each other in 

 :; particular fpot, feparating afterwards from each other to 

 .:ie diftance of 15 degrees of latitude, finally difcharge 

 r.cmftlves into the fame fea, within two degrees of each 



;her ; comprehending within their grafp a traft of land of 

 above I coo miles in length, which they contribute greatly 

 :o fertilize and enrich, though by extraordinary accidents 

 uccafioning unufual torrents, they may do injury in parti- 

 cular inftances. This traft includes tlie principal portion 

 r the Chinefe empire in ancient times ; and lies in that part 

 f the temperate zone, which in Europe, as well as in Afia, 

 ^3 been the fcene where the mod celebrated characters have 

 xifted, and the moft brilliant actions been performed, whicli 

 iiiftory has tranfmitted to pofterity. When the gentlemen 

 jf the embalTy had crofTed the Yang-tfe-kiang, they found 

 ;hat, inftead of a flat country, lakes, and fwamps, the ground 

 rofe gradually from the margin of the river, enriched with 

 various kinds and tints of culture, interfperfed with trees, 

 temples, and pagodas. In the river were iflands flfirted 

 with fhrubbery, and rocks rifing abruptly from the furface of 

 the water. The waves rolled hke thofe at fea, and porpoifes 

 are faid to be fometimes feen leaping amongft them : feveral 

 junks were lying at anchor. In the middle of the river is 

 the ifland called " Chin-lhan," (which fee.) The ground 

 to the fouthward of the river gradually rofe to fuch a height, 

 that it was found neceflary to cut down the earth in fome 

 parts to the depth of near 80 feet, in order to find a level 

 for the pafTage of the canal. The land in this neighbour- 

 hood is chiefly cultivated with that particular fpecies or 

 variety of the cotton-fhrub that produces the cloth ufually 

 called Nankeens in Europe. The down enveloping the feed, 

 or cotton-wool, is whole in the common plant ; but in that 

 growing in the province of Kiang-nan, of which the city of 

 Nan-kin is the capital, the down is of the fame yellow tinge 

 which it preferves when fpun and woven into cloth. The 

 colour, as well as the fuperior quality of this fubftance in 

 Kiang-nan, was fuppofed to be owing to the particular na- 

 ture of the foil ; and it is alFerted, that the feeds of the Nan- 

 keen cotton degenerate in both particulars when tranfplanted 

 to another province, however little different in its climate. 

 Lord Macartney's Embaffy, vol. ii. 



YANG-TSI, a town of Corea ; 30 miles S. of King- 

 ki-tao. 



YANI, a kingdom of Africa, fituated to the eaft of 

 Burfali, and divided into Upper and Lower, on the north 

 fide of the river Gambia. See PisAKlA. 



YANIMAREW, a town of Africa, in the Lower 

 Yani. 



YANIMAZCU, a town of Africa, in the kingdom of 

 Yani. N. lat. 13= 40'. W. long. 14° I '. 



YANKEON, a mountain of Thibet . 30 miles N. of 

 Zuenga. 



YANKJA, a town of AfTyria, near the Tigris, and 



YAP 



not far from Bagdad. This place and alfo Doueflla are 

 fmall ilragghng towns, eveiy houfe being furrounded by a 

 feparate mud-wall. 



YANTAC, a town of Thibet; 28 miles S.W. of 

 Harachar. 



YAN-TCHIN, or Van-tchin-, a city of China, of 

 the fecond rank, in Quang-fi ; 1177 miles S.S.W. of 

 Peking. N. lat. 23°!'. E. long. 106^ ci'. 



YAN-TINCOU, a town of Thibet ; 7? 

 of Pa. ^ 



75 miles E.N.E. 



YANTRA, a word denoting a myftical figure among 

 the Hindoos ; alfo a mathematical inftrument ufed in any 

 fcience or art of an occult nature. An inftrument ufed 

 in aftronomical obfervations, called Golavantra, or the 

 fpheric yantra, is defcribed in the ninth 'volume of the 

 Afiatic Refearches, art. 6, as fimilar to our armillary fphere. 

 The article now referred to by Mr. Colebrooke, prefident 

 of the Afiatic Society of Calcutta, is very curious and 

 important. The Hindoos, being fo prone to myilicifm, 

 can fancy various wilhes in occult figures and praAices. 

 Figures fimilar to the magic fquares, abracadabra, &c. of 

 weftern wizards, are ftill ufed and venerated by the knaves 

 and fools of Afia ; thefe are generally called yantra : as are 

 peculiar figures or hieroglyphics, appropriated to certam 

 Hindoo deities, whofe followers or feftaries mark their fore- 

 heads therewith, and deem tliem of a fanftifying tendency. 

 The nature of thefe various yantras, with fuitable inftruc- 

 tions and warnings as to their formation, ufes, and pur- 

 pofes, are taught in a Sanll<rit book, entitled " Agamafaftra, 

 or Occult Science." It may be noticed in paffing, that 

 the word Agama, meaning in the Sanlkrit tongue hidden, 

 myfterious, fccret, &c. feems to have had in various lan- 

 guages and regions a fimilar meaning, as to which it may 

 fufBce to refer to our articles Ogham, O'm, and Shastah. 

 Combined with and related to the yantra, are certain 

 imprecations, incantations, charms, philtres, &c. called 

 Mantra and Tantra, which occur frequently in Hindoo 

 writings, and of which fome notice is taken in this work 

 under thofe words. 



YAO, in Geography, a city of China, of the fecond 

 rank, in Chen-fi ; 485 miles S.W. of Peking. N. lat. 

 35° 54'. E. long. io8° 31'. 



YAO-NGAN, or Yao-can, a city of China, of the 

 firft rank, in Yun-nan. The territory of this city is con- 

 fiderable, although it contains but two cities, one of the 

 fecond order, and the other of the third. It is intermixed 

 with mountains, which are covered with fine forefts and 

 fruitful valleys, and produces abundance of mufli : near the 

 city there is a well of fait water, from which they make 

 very white fait; 1175 '"'^^s S.W. of Peking. N. lat. 

 25° 33'. E. long. 101°. 



YAO-TCHEOU, a town of Chinefe Tartary ; 380 

 miles E.N.E. of Peking. N. lat. 40^ 43'. E. long. 

 122^ 14'. 



Yao-tcheou, or Yao-choo-foo, a city of China, of the 

 firft rank, in Kiang-fi, fituated on the S.E. bank of the lake 

 Po-yang. It has feven towns of the third rank in its jurif- 

 diction. In this town is a large manufafture of porcelain, 

 from whence, as well as from King-te-ching, it is fent to 

 Nem-chang-foo ; 670 miles S. of Peking. N. lat. 29°. 

 E. long. 1 16^ 14'. 



YAP, among the Hindoos, is a filent meditation on the 

 names, attributes, and powers of die Deity. Great merit 

 is afcribed to thi,5 fpecies of devotion, which is otherwife, 

 though we apprehend lefs correftly, fpellec jap; under 

 which article wc find we have fufficiently defcribed it, 

 although reference has occalionally been made to this ar- 

 ticle ; 



