— 16 — 



Ch'ai-lih Ting (*), which is on the way to the land of the Giau-chi (North- 

 ern-Annam) and to Canton. 



The country is flat and fit for agriculture , its products are rice, hemp 

 and peas, there being no wheat. The tenth part of their produce is paid 

 as taxes. 



Salt is obtained by boiling seawater and there is an abundance of 

 fish , turtles , poultry , ducks , goats and cattle , which they kill for the pur- 

 pose of eating. 



Their fruit are papaya , cocoanuts , plantains, sugarcane and tar'o (Arum 

 aquaticum). 



The country further produces gold , silver , rhinoceros-horns , ivory , 

 lignum aloes, sandalwood, anise, pepper, pinang, sulphur and sapanwood. 

 The people are also engaged in rearing silkworms and making silk; they weave 

 a thin silk, a yellow silk and cloth made of cotton ( 2 ). 



They cut leaves of silver and use them as money. The functionaries 

 superintending the tracle take one ch'.ien (Y 10 tael or Chinese ounce) of gold 

 from a quantity of padi amounting to 2 T 2 F piculs. 



Their houses are handsome and adorned with yellow and green tiles ; 

 when Chinese merchants arrive there , they are received as guests in a public 

 building and what they eat and drink is copious and clean. 



The country does not produce tea, but they make wine out of co- 

 coanut and other palmtrees, which is very fragrant and good. 



They have no corporal punishments, all transgressions are punished 

 with a fine in gold , varying according to the nature of the transgression ; 

 only robbers and thieves are made to suffer death. 



The king has his hair in a knot upon the top of his head , he wears 

 golden bells, a silk robe and shoes of leather. He sits on a square couch 

 and his functionaries, who see him daily, salute him three times on going 

 away. When he goes out, he rides on an elephant or sits in a carriage, from 

 five to seven hundred soldiers follow him. When the people see the king, 

 they squat down until he has passed. Three sous of the king are viceroys 

 and 'there are four functionaries, called Lo-ki-lien ( 3 ), who manage together 

 the affairs of the state, just as the ministers in China; these have no fixed 



(') Jjfe Hif; ijÉC probably an islancl abont the cnlrance to the guit' of Siam. 



( 2 ) ■& J| Ki-pci, sometimes writtcn -dj J|| ka-pei; before the ini roduolimi ot' collou 

 in China, they called it by this native name, comp. the Malay kipas or knpvh. 



(") ^ ia 5Ü • Wc llavo 1K)l ' K ' l ' u al) ' c 1o üac ' l> l,,is ' U " U( ' '° i,s ori ?' inal lonn ' 



