1837.] Note on the Geography of Cochin China. 743 



Tongking, which since 1802 has been reunited to the kingdom of 

 Cochin China, has twelve provinces, and fourteen prefectures. Two 

 provinces, those of Thaun and Nam have each two prefectures. The 

 first beginning with lat. 17° 30' N. is usually known as An or Nghd an. 

 It is on the other side of the river S6ng gianh which formerly separated 

 the two kingdoms. 



Here follow the names of the other prefectures, proceeding north- 

 ward to lat. 23° 30', viz. : Thanh noi, Thanh ngoai, Hung hoa, Nam 

 thuo'ng, Nam ha, Haidong, Kinh b&e, So'n tag, Cao bang, Lang b&e, Thai 

 nguy4n, Tuy4n Quang, and Ye*n Quang. This last rests on the Chinese 

 province of Cangtong. 



Four of the provinces above enumerated are distinguished as eastern, 

 western, southern and northern, respectively, according to their situa- 

 tion as regards the royal town which is placed in the centre of the 

 four, and which is called Ke ? cho' or b&e thanh. They are also 

 named ' the four governments' embracing therein six other provinces. 

 The two remaining are called ' the outer government.' 



The province of Xu thanh, which is divided into two prefectures, or 

 trdn, is celebrated in the empire of Cochin China as being the country 

 of the three royal dynasties : first, of the dynasty of L4, or of the Vuai 

 or kings of Tongking, whose princes latterly only retain the empty 

 title of king, without taking any share in the administration : — the 

 dynasty of Trinh, which although it never held a higher title than 

 Chua (lord, or regent), exercised all authority in the state : — and 

 thirdly, the dynasty of Nguyen, which after holding the rule in 

 Cochin China as Chua or regent, broke from the yoke of Tongking, and 

 has exercised absolute and independent sway for thirty-four years over 

 Tongking and Cochin China combined. Five provinces may be distin- 

 guished as maritime, to wit ; Xu nghtf, or Nghi an, Thanh ndi, and 

 Thanh ngoai, Nam thuo'ng and Nam ha, Hai dong and Ye"n Quang. 



The province of Nam, or south, though not the most extensive is the 

 most beautiful and the best peopled. It has hardly any mountain tracts, 

 while the other provinces on the contrary have many mountainous 

 than level ones. Ke Pcho', the ancient capital of Tongking belongs pro- 

 perly to none of these provinces. It serves as a focus or common centre 

 to the four principal provinces as before stated. Its name of Ke P cho', 

 which signifies the market, or chief market, is the vulgar appellation 

 of the town. Its real name is Thanh long thdnh, the city of the yellow 

 dragon. It was constructed in the commencement of the seventh 

 century, when Tongking was only a province of the Chinese empire, 

 governed by an officer of the emperor. It was then called La Thdnh, 

 or city of La. Towards the end of the tenth century, the first king of 



