9SS E. Y s B Rx\N T s Id E s’j Travels Book IIL 
and Heathens : What their Opinion is, has been hinted 
above. But the River Jenifea is, all along its Shears, moft- 
ly inhabited by Ruffians, and rifes in the South-part of 
Canary, in the Kalmockian and Kirgizenian Territories, 
and very plentifully abounds with Filh : Three very fine 
Rivers fall into it, which are the Wergnaja rungujka, 
Podkamenna Tungu/ka, and the Nijhaja Pungujka \ on the 
Sides of all which dwell great Numbers of a barbarous, 
wild fort of rungmians, which may very well be ranked 
with the Samojedes, the latter being only larger and 
flronger than the former. The Tartars, whenever they 
have wounded an Elk with their Bow and Arrows, (all 
their Arms) follow him by the Trad of his Feet, ac- 
companied with their Wives and Children, fometimes 
for eight or ten Days, in the Woods, and taking no 
Provifions with them, but. relying Ibldy upon their Cap- 
ture, they have a Sort of Stomacher, or Breaft-Cap, 
which, by Reafon of Hunger, they lace one or two 
Fingers Breadth clofer and having at laft caught their 
Game, they kill it, pitch a flight l ent, and flay upon 
the Spot till no Part of the Bead: but the bare Bones are 
left : But in the Interim if they get any Furrs, they im- 
mediately repair to the Ruffian Villages and Towns in 
order to fell them. Here are great Numbers of white 
and brown Foxes, Multitudes of Squirrels, but very 
few or no Sables. On this River are fituate the two 
Cities of ‘Taugvijkoy and Mungafeia, both which drive a 
very great Inland Trade in Furrs, Sea-Horfe and Mam- 
muts Teeth ; and in Summer-time feveral Boats go from 
thefe Places to the Sea-fide at the Mouth of the River, 
in order to catch Sea-Horfes or Sea-Calves and Seals. 
Believing we have in fomeMeafure attained our End, 
add performed what we propofed in the Defeription of 
our Travels, we fhall now fubjoin a fhorc, but very 
accurate, Defeription of the mighty Empire of China, 
written by a Native of that Country, whom I brought 
hither with me : This Defeription, which was never be- 
fore printed, I have caufed to be illuftrated with feveral 
pertinent Annotations, extrafted out of the beft Deferip- 
tions of that Empire, in order to clear up fome Diffi- 
culties, and fatisfy the Reader j and this was not done 
by an illiterate Pen. 
Notwithftanding which, before I take Leave, I am in 
fome Sort obliged to fay fomething in general, which 
is the Refuk of my own Obfervation, concerning that 
vaft Empire, and was omitted in the Relation of my 
Travels. 
14. The Empire China, fo far as I faw of it, to, 
and in Peking its Metropolis, I muft indeed acknow- 
ledge feems to be a Land peculiarly bleffed by Hea- 
ven j and I believe, that as this City is the Capital, fo 
it lies under the beft and moft healthful Climate of all 
China, The Men there are vigorous, healthy, and tall : 
Corn, all Sorts of Fruits, Herbs, Roots, and indeed 
whatever is either neceflary or convenient to human Life, 
very plentifully abounds there, except only that no Tea 
grows in that Province, nor are any filk Manufadfures 
or Porcelain made there. In Winter it freezes fo hard 
here, that the Ice will bear the People going overit ; and 
the Summer Weather is but moderately hot ; whereas 
on the contrary, in the other Provinces, whole Sum- 
mer Days are ufelefs, by Reafon of the intollerable 
Heat. The prefent Defeendants of the ancient Chinefe 
are more fincere than the Manfures or Man icheou Tartars. 
They live temperately and frugally j are very neat and 
clean in their Cloaths ', are very greedy of Prefents, and 
fhamelefs in their Trade, and have Addrefs enough to 
fuit themfelves to all Humours. They religioufly ob- 
ferve their ancient Laws, in which appear fome Traces 
of Barbarity. They n^ver alter the Fafhion of their 
Drefs, nor fuffer the Introduction of any new Laws 
and fome of their principal Lords told me, that no 
Chan or King, for the Space of twelve thoufand Years, 
hath been erripowered to make even the leaft Alteration 
in their Religion, Laws, or Habits. 
So that it feems that the prefent Emperor Ammologgan 
Kamhi, the firft who hath difeovered a flight Opi- 
nion of the old barbarous Cuftoms, and accordingly 
began a good Reformation of their Religion and Law, 
when in the Year 16925 he caufed publick Proclamation 
to be made in all his Empire, That whoever was defi- 
rous to become a Chriftian, had thereby free Liberty 
to apply himfelf to iht Romifh Clergy, and be baptiz'd. 
This was a grievous Thorn in the Eyes of the Bonzies, 
or Idolatrous Priefts, but they were yet forced to bear 
it patiently, and be Eye- Witneffes to the Converfion of 
Thoufands yearly to Chriftian ity ; and which is more, 
the Emperor himfeff is, in his Heart, a good Chriftian, 
but cannot poffibly quit any of his 1236 Wives. He is a 
more abfolute Legiflator than we hear any of his Pre- 
deceffors were ; for, by Virtue of his defpotick Autho- 
rity, he is fo formidable to his Subjeds, that he governs 
them, without the leaft Reftridion, according to his 
arbitrary Will and Pleafure. 
15. The Chinefe obftinately perfift in denying, i'm 
their Map of the World, that there is any larger 
Country on the Surface of the terreftrial Globe, than 
their own ; to confirm which prepofterous Aflertion, 
their Maps never mention any more than their owm, and 
one great Sea, in the Middle of which they alTign a fmali 
Point of Land, which faintly appears to the Eye, like 
one of the fmalleft Scars, for the reft of the Earth. 
They honour their Prince like a Deity, calling him 
a Son of Heaven, and a Terrejirial God. Their Religion 
is perfed Pagan Idolatry, as appears by their hideous 
diabolical Images, expofed to View in their Pagods or 
Temples. They have frequently replied to Queftions 
which I put to them concerning the Immortality of the 
Soul and eternal Life, That they were utterly ignorant 
of any fuch Thing j and thatfince their Forefathers did 
not believe it, fo they could not. Their chiefeft Plea- 
fure confifts in keeping feveral Wives, to which they 
are extreamly addided. They have no Notion of Sin, 
but whenever they have been guilty of any villanous 
Crime, for which they happen to be feized and brought 
to Juftice, they take the Punifhment infiided by the 
Judge, for only a very, fmall Scandal, without fhewing 
any Remorfe for the Wickednefs and Dilhonefty of 
the Fad. 
Their Adminiftration of Juftice, and Judiciary De- 
cifions, and whatever of that Nature which they take 
to be civiliz’d and reafonable, are indeed but rude and’ 
barbarous. Their Manufadures are principally thofe 
of Silk Stuffs, Porcelain, and varniflied painted Works, 
which confidering their great Diftance from Europe, 
are fomewhat furprizing. Their Wars are carried on 
by the foie Dint of Numbers, they very feldom taking 
the Field before they are two or three hundred thoufand 
ftrong, as they did when they were engaged againft Bu~ 
fucktuchan the Weft Tartar, from the Years 1686 to 
1693 j in which Wars, when their General Alliganibo 
happened to be killed in a Battle, they all fled, and 
each Man endeavoured to fecure his Life by making all 
poffible Hafte to his own Home. They carry with them 
good Field-pieces, and are indifferent expert in the life 
of them ; but their Hand-arms are very wretched, the 
beft of them beirfg their Bows and Arrows. Their 
Horfes are provided with very good Saddles, but when 
they ride, they cover them with Pillows, and Mattraffes 
above them ; fo that they fit very high and loofe from 
the Horfe’s Back. In a Word, as their military Affairs 
are managed in a confufed and dilbrderly Manner, fo 
their Battles being utterly void of all Condueft, they 
a6f like wild Men i for they run headlong together with 
their whole Force upon the Enemy, by which Means 
they frequently are entirely routed. 
16. Inftiort, from my own Obfervation I conclude, that 
the great Share of Wifdom, Arts and Sciences, for 
which they are fo highly extolled by many Writers, 
comes far fhort of the Europeans 5 though indeed fome 
few Chinefe, by the affiduous Diligence of the Jefuits, 
are inftrufted in the Mathematicks, Aftronomy, and 
other Sciences ; and therefore publifh their Mafter’s 
Fame to the World. The prefent Ammolog Chan 
Kumfti, or King of China and Tartary, is an Eaft Tar^ 
tar, or Mongalian, born at JNieucheu, near the River 
Sagalien Oula, ox Amoer •, he governs his Subjeds very 
well, though he doth not heartily love the Chinefe, but- 
on , all Occafions prefers his own Nation before them : 
And whenever a Chinefe folicits to obtain any impor- 
tant 
