170 
YANG-TSE-KIANG. 
merit in what degree the Yang-tse-kiang partakes of either. Enough, 
however, was observed to vindicate its claim to its high-sounding appel- 
lations: Yang-tse-kiang, “ Son of the Sea;” Ta-kiang, “ Great River;” 
Kiang, “ The River;” the pre-eminent titles given to it by the 
Chinese : its great depth has occasioned the saying, that “ as the 
ocean is boundless, so is the Yang-tse-kiang fathomless.” There can 
be little doubt, indeed, that for the extent of country which it tra- 
verses, and the number of streams by which it is fed, it may be con- 
sidered one of the finest rivers of the Old World. The concurring 
testimony of the Chinese and the charts of the Missionaries, show that 
it flows from west to east, in a devious course, through the whole 
breadth of China. Of its numerous tributary streams and lakes, the 
reader may form some comprehension by examining the more gene- 
ral map which accompanies this work, bearing in mind that its scale 
is necessarily so small as to exclude the insertion of many. To have 
an accurate conception on this point, he must consult the great chart 
of the Missionaries. 
I have scarcely an observation to make on the Po-yang lake. The 
Embassy entered it with the expectation of seeing an expanse 
of water thirty French leagues in circumference, but passed rapidly 
along its western shore without gaining a single view of any very great 
extent. Their disappointment was perhaps the consequence of the 
haziness of the weather, and the many islands which cover it. Ranges 
of high mountains, which chiefly skirt its western shore, supply, no 
doubt, many of the rivers which feed it. The same mountains must 
often give rise to sudden gusts of wind, and may sometimes occasion 
the hurricanes which, the Missionaries declare, often sweep the sur- 
face of the lake. 
The general cultivation on the Yang-tse-kiang and Po-yang lake 
was in rice, wherever the nature of the land allowed it. The Arum 
esculentum , petsai, and ground-nut, Arachis hypogcea, were also ex- 
ceedingly abundant, and afforded a vast quantity of vegetable food. 
Deer were seen, and pheasants, partridges somewhat resembling 
grouse, snipes and wild fowl were common in the markets ; geese 
