1849.] Notice of a Chinese Geographical work. 139 



"Tung yang ki;* or An account of the Eastern Ocean. What [won- 

 drous] f things doth not the vast extent of the universe contain ! The 

 spirits of space, — the 10,000 varieties of living beings, — the sun, 

 moon, and constellations, — and many other things which transcend 

 our comprehension! All these the Holy Sages have examined and 

 discoursed upon ; and they, too, to determine the four parts, invented the 

 compass, J dividing it into twenty-four rhumbs [extending] from near 

 to far, and admirably adapted to enable us ignorant men of after ages 

 to inform ourselves of all the kingdoms of the world : kingdoms ex- 

 tending beyond kingdoms ! 



Let us describe then the foreign kingdoms of the earth ; the naviga- 

 tion to them ; their people, productions, customs, and what really is to be 

 seen and heard among them ; that henceforward honorable men may 

 be enabled to pick and choose. 



Chiu sin§ is situated in the north-east quarter of the world. It 

 adjoins Shing king, and lies opposite to Thin chcen\\ and the country of 

 Ku ki tsi. It is divided into provinces and .districts, and is the high 

 road through which the tribute passes to the court. Its history and 

 geography have been compiled generations ago, and there is no need 

 of speaking more fully of it here. On the south it is bounded by the 

 ocean, on which is an island belonging to Yi pan,* named Ma tao,f 

 which may be reached in one night with a fair wind. At Ming kivan 

 pih there were disturbances [in former times]. From Ma tao, souther- 



*#« 



f The words betwixt brackets are interpolated to explain the meaning of the text 

 more fully. 



+ According to some Chinese authors the compass (called by them Chi nan, the 

 south index) was invented in the fabulous ages of their history. Others refer it to the 

 time of Ching wdng of the Chow dynasty, — 1121 — 1114, B. C. It is very curious 

 that Marco Polo makes no allusion to so important an instrument, which was 

 unknown in Europe till some time after his travels. 



§ A province at the extremity of the Corean promontory. 



|| Thin chcen is a district betwixt Pekin and the sea. The river of Pe kin is also 

 so called. 



I — I /f^* Yi pan, the spring or origin of day, is perhaps the etymon of Japan. 

 f I take this to be the island lying between the Japan group and the continent, 

 and called Tsa si ma on our maps. 



T 2 



