1849.] Notice of a Chinese Geographical work. 157 



Westward of Yufuh is Md Id kd, and the lulls behind Ting ka nu. 



Westward from Md Id kd, you enter the kingdoms situated to the 

 south-west oiY6n nan and Thian chu ;* namely, K6 shi thd of the 

 Little Western Ocean. 



From Tsim lo round the coast as far as Yu fuh, eveiy state has its 

 king ; but all obey the orders of Tsim lo. In ancient times Lo and 

 Tsim formed two kingdoms. These were afterwards united and formed 

 Tsim lo. They commonly worship Fuh. The king dresses in clothes 

 dyed with images of Fuh. His food is all gilt, and is served on vessels 

 of gold. By land he travels upon an elephant ; by water on a boat 

 adorned with dragons and phoenices. The name of their magistrates 

 is chin kwa. In the presence of men of rank they sit cross-legged, 

 and bow with uncovered bodies and naked feet. They do not dress 

 in trowsers, but wrap themselves in a shcei man. They entertain 

 great respect for the Central Nation, and generally employ the 

 people of Hdn as magistrates. These superintendent the political 

 affairs and the treasury. Their city and suburbs are extensive. The 

 people dwell in houses fronting the rivers. The rivers are full of alli- 

 gators. From its embouchure to the capital, the river is two thousand 

 four hundred li in length.f Its waters are deep and broad, admitting 

 sea-going vessels to enter and depart. It penetrates to a branch of the 

 Hwang ho.% 



* Thian chu is one of the Chinese names of India. K6 shi thd is perhaps the 

 Portuguese term Costa. 



t M. K. " II y a dans le fleuve beaucoup de crocodiles, qui le remontent depuis 

 son embouchure jusqu' a, la residence du roi. Le cours de ce fleuve est de 2400 li ; 

 ses eaux sont profondes et larges, et les vaisseaux de mer y entrent et sortent. C'est 

 une branche du Hoang ho," &c. M. K. has confused the two sentences, and made 

 the entire length of the river 2400 li ; a circumstance the author could never have 

 meant, when in the same breath he tells us " c'est une branche du Hoang ho." 



X Although it is not very probable that this great river reaches the Hwang ho, as 

 our Geographer affirms, yet the sources of these streams cannot be very remote from 

 each other. In his Geography of Cochinchina the Bishop of Isauropolis remarks : 

 " Maltebrun and many others have placed the source of this river in the province 

 of Yon-nam in China. But I am persuaded that this river flows from the mountains of 

 Thibet. In a short time I have no doubt that we shall obtain proof of what I have 

 advanced. It is indicated in the map of Cochinchina, and the extraordinary inun- 

 dation of this river about the month of September proves also that the melting of 

 the ice of Thibet, is the cause of its overflowing its banks and spreading its waters 



