152 Notice of a Chinese Geographical work. [Feb. 



and so forth. The natives of Ma shin resemble the preceding. 

 They are exceedingly cunning and treacherous. The Red Hairs are 

 already in possession of their port, and aim at taking the whole country. 

 The natives are afraid of their artillery, and dare not fight them : but 

 retiring to the hills, secrete themselves, and with herbs poison the upper 

 parts of running streams, and then themselves go out of the way. 



The country produces steel, diamonds, pepper, sandal wood, brasil 

 wood, ratans, nutmegs, camphor, lead, tin, birds' nests, kingfishers' 

 feathers, bichu de mar, &c. The diamonds are of five various colors ; 

 those which are golden, black, and red, are the most esteemed, for if they 

 be put at night in a dark room, they emit a clear light. If even put 

 into muddy water, or covered with a napkin, their light will shine 

 through. But they prize most of all such as are as large as a die.* 

 These are valued at 100,000 leang.f The natives of the Western Ocean 

 barter for it their most precious commodities. 



From Lee sung to Ki li man, the distance is thirty-nine keng : to Wan 

 lai, forty-two keng. All these are the foreign kingdoms of the South 

 Eastern Ocean : but Choe ho chiu lo and Ma shin are not on the road 

 from Lee sung, and ought properly to be entered among the kingdoms 

 of the South Ocean. The same with respect to Su lu, and Wan lai, 

 and the chain of mountains running north and south. But we have 

 given them along with the South-east Ocean, in order to set forth their 

 position with greater distinctness." 



The fourth chapter, describing the countries immediately South of 

 China, is entitled 



" Nan yang ki, J or on account of the Southern Ocean. — All the 

 kingdoms of the Southern Ocean have the Central Kingdom some 

 what to the east. Examined thence by the magnetic compass, they lie 



* M. Klaproth has mistaken the meaning of this passage, which he translates 

 " ordinairement les indigenes portent, comme ornement detete, un de ces joyaux, 

 grand comme une piece de damier, et qui a la valeur de cent mille ouces d'argent ! ' ' 

 a very ordinary ornament no doubt ! The mistake has arisen from the use of the 



word |2j siu, " head," as a superlative in the text ; as we say head man, for chief 

 man. The die here referred to is of a hemispherical shape and about half an inch 

 in diameter or more. 



f Leang, about a dollar and half. 



