1849.] Notice of a Chinese Geographical work. 153 



betwixt the rhumbs ting and wi ; but from the Great Western 

 Ocean of the universe, they lie upon the points sin and tsce.* 



To speak first of Ngdn nan ;f it immediately joins the Central King- 

 dom. Its sea bounds Lim chiu. Its hills turn towards the north- 

 west, and then south towards Chim shing, in form resembling a half 

 moon. The name is Kwang nan wdn.% 



Under the Thsin it was [denominated] Tseang kwan ; under the Han, 

 Kdo chi; under the Thdng, Kdo chiu; under the Sung, Ngdn nan y 

 and under the Ming, Kdo chi. It joins, in succession, both the Ycet,§ 

 and Yon nan. The manners of the people and their productions have 

 been already described in the historical books. 



All beyond Shanfwd, Sin chiu, Kwdng i, and Chim shing\\ is deno- 

 minated Kwdng nan : for the maternal uncle and brother-in-law [of the 

 Emperor?] having been sent to watch Shanfwa, they accordingly fixed 

 upon the fort of Ma lung k6, on the north side of a river, and another 

 fort belonging to Kdo chi, as the boundary. All to the south of Shan 

 fwa, as far as Chim shing, is the kingdom of Kwdng nan, called also Ngdn 

 nan. The family name of the king is Ycen ; he springs from a family of 

 the Central Kingdom. The country was formerly called Yi nan kwan. 

 It produces gold, the wood nan, perfumes, lead, tin, cinnamon, ivory, 



* M. Klaproth, I think, misconceives this passage. He translates it, " Si Ton exa- 

 mine le monde avec l'aiguille aimantee, on trouve que tout ce qui est situe entre les 

 rumbs ting et wei est entoure par le grand ocean occidental, et que sur le reste des 

 vingt quatre division de la boussule, il n'y a de terres que par les rumbs de sien et 

 szu." He adds in a note, " ce passage est un peu obscur dans le texte ; je pense 

 pourtant en avoir saisi le sens." A moment's reflection that the Great Western 

 Ocean is Europe, and that betwixt it and the countries here described the Little 

 Western Ocean (comprising India, Persia, Arabia, &c.) intervenes, would have 

 satisfied the translator that such cannot be the Chinese author's meaning : nor 

 is there any equivalent in the original for the words il n'y a de terres que par, fyc. 



2-tP£Heit 



Ting is S. 15° W. ivi, S. 30° W. ; Sin, SE., 

 and tsee E. 60° S. 

 f Or An nan. 



% Or the Bag of Kwdng nan. 



§ That is, the two provinces of Kwang tung, and Kwang si. 

 I! These four countries are in Cochinchina. 



