the Kmpire ^ C H i N A. 
Wherefore I chofe father to fupply this fhort Defcrip- 
tion moftly from my own Knowledge and Obfervarion, 
having in the mean Time, in the acquiring of one, 
and making the other, fuffered great Scandals and Af- 
flidions for Chrift’s Sake, as well as frequently put up 
my Supplications to him, and implored his Aid in 
Time of Need, as alfo that he would pleafc to make 
his Grace known to the World, which I hereby do, 
through his great Mercy •, defiring the Reader to give 
as much Credit to thefe few Pages, as he would to a 
Perfon that chiefly writes the bare Refult of his own 
Knowledge and Obfervation, by which Rule his Pen 
hath been guided, as it will be in the future Part of 
this Tradt. 
I proceed now to treat of the Diftances of Provinces, 
and at the fame Time to deferibe the People of the 
Country, the Progrefs of the Chriftian Religion ; the 
Rivers, Lakes, Shipping, Bridges, and Walls ; the 
Chinefe moral Precepts, Education of their Children, 
Complements, good Manners, and Learning ; their 
Trees, Fruits, and Vegetables ; neighbouring Iflands, 
' Provinces, Kingdoms, and People ; concluding with 
the Nations that have been fubdued or were annexed to 
China by the prefent Emperor Canghi, 
23, The Metropolis of the Empire, Xuntkn Fu^ 
otherwife called Peking^ is fituated two hundred Miles 
diftant from heaotung and Xantung ; about one hundred 
and fixty Miles from Peking. Xanfi is one hundred and 
flxty, Xienfi two hundred and fifty, Nanking two hun- 
dred and fixty, Honan one hundred and thirty, Kiangji, 
four hundred and thirty, Chekiang three hundred and 
fifty, Suchuen fix hundred and fifty, Huqnang three hun- 
dred and fifty, ^eicheu eight hundred, Jman one thou- 
fand, ^oangfi eight hundred and fifty, Fluantung eight 
hundred, and Fokien feven hundred and fifty Miles or 
Hours from Peking. This is the Difiance of all the 
Provinces from the Court, computing from the Metro- 
polis of the whole Empire to each Capital City of the 
refpeflive Provinces. 
From Nanking to Xantung is reckoned two hundred 
Miles, to Honan one hundred and eighty, to Hnquang 
two hundred, to Chekiang one hundred, to Kiangfi one 
hundred and fixty. This is the Diftance betwixt Nan- 
king and the mentioned capital Cities. 
Xienji is diftant from Honan two hundred Miles, 
, from Xenft one hundred and fifty, and from Suchuen 
tw’o hundred. 
Huquang is diftant from Chiangfi one hundred and 
thirty, from Honan one hundred and fixty, from Su- 
chuen two hundred, from ^uoangfi three hundred and 
fixty, and from Canton four huudred Miles. 
Chekiang lies two hundred Miles diftant from Kiangfi^ 
and above three hundred from Peking. 
Canton is three hundred and fifty Miles from Fokien., 
four hundred from ^oangfi^ and three hundred and 
eighty from Kiangfi. 
Junan is diftant from FluoangCt three hundred Miles, 
from ^iecheu three hundred and thirty, and from the 
Kingdom of Laos three hundred. Thefe are the reci- 
procal Diftances of the capital Cities, computed ac- 
cording to the common Land Meafure. 
The Maritime Provinces are, Zantungy Nanking^ 
Chekiangy Fokieny and ^antung or Canton. 
Nankingy Chekiangy Huevangy Kiangfiy Junan, Canton, 
and Fokien, are efteemed the fineft Provinces. 
Xantung, Xanfi, Xienfit, Peking, Honan and Leaotung, 
are of the middle Sort. 
But Flueicheu, Suchuen, and ^oangfi are accounted 
the worft of all, by reafon they are very mountainous, 
and very much impoverifh’d by the Wars. 
^ The largeft Provinces are Xiengfit, Huquang, Nan- 
king, Junan, Kiangfi, and Chekiang ; each of thefe lar- 
ger Provinces is above three hundred Miles wide, and 
much longer. Compared with thefe, the middle-fiz’d 
Provinces are Peking, Xantung, Fluoangfi, ^eicheu, Ho- 
nan, and Fokien, and fo accounted, becaufe they are 
not above two hundred Miles broad ; and alfo ^antung, 
which is but one hundred and fifty Miles long, but full 
three hundred Miles broad ; by which Rule, Xanji, Leao- 
iung, and Suchuen, are likewife reckoned but fmall 
Provinces, fince they are but about one hundred and 
fifty Miles broad, and one hundred and fixty in [length. 
The principal Maritime Trading Cities, Towns, and 
Places, which are frequented by the Indians, JaponeJe^ 
and Europeans, are the following ten, vi^. Canton, the Ifies 
of Macao, Hainan and Chaochetl j all which belong to, and 
are dependant on the Province of ^loantmg j and be- 
longing to Fokien, are Fochen Fu, and the Ifiands Haemui 
and Tajouan, os Formofia •, thefe drive on a vaft Trade 
with the Europeans and Indians : Befides which, there are 
alfo two Cities \nNanking 2ioSXanghai, and the City Nimp& 
in the Province of Chekiang *, ail which have a very con- 
fiderable Trade with tht Japonefie, In the Province of 
Xinfii or Xienft is the great City of Zinning, which is a 
moft noble Emporium, being the Centre of a vaft in- 
land Commerce with the Weftern 'Tartars, Moungalls^ 
Tihetts, and Ruffians. 
“ The Ifland of Macao, which is mentioned above, 
“ belongs to the Portuguefie ; and they have upon it a Fort 
“ and City, if that Name may be given to a few Houfes, 
“ which are not enclofed by any Wall : This Place is fa- 
“ mous for the Trade which the Portuguefie drove there 
“ before the Dutch Eaji-lndia Company chafed them out 
“ of India. What they at prefent poffefs is by Favour 
“ of the Chineje, to whom they are obliged to pay fer- 
“ vile Obedience, if they intend quietly to enjoy what they 
“ hold ; All Cuftoms for Goods imported here are paid 
“ to the Emperor and though the Portuguefie preferve a 
“ Sort of Government here, their Power extends no far- 
“ ther than to Cafes which do not concern the Chinefie ; 
“ for they are otherwife fubordinate to the Jurildidion 
“ of the Mandaryns of Ffiioantung or Canton. 
24. It may poffibly contribute to the Information, as 
well as Entertainment of the Reader, to perufe the fol- 
lowing very fuccind and comprehenfive Account of 
this Empire, written within thefe few Years, by an Ita- 
lian that has refided upwards of thirty feven Years in 
the Empire, for the Satisfadion of an illuftrious young 
Prince, whofe Inclinations leading him to procure the 
moft certain Intelligence, as to the prefent State of all 
Nations, had found Means to requeft this Favour of 
one, who of all others, had the greateft Opportunity of 
fatisfying his Curiofity. There is nothing taken from the 
Piece, except the introduftory and concluding Compli- 
ments, which having nothing to do with the Matters of 
Faft, it was thought neceffary, for the Sake of faving 
Room', to ftrike them out. 
“ As to the Extent of this Empire, it is not eafy to 
“ fpeak of it with Certainty, for with Regard to the 
“ Europeans, they have no Opportunity of examining 
“ the Frontiers on every Side, in fuch a Manner as 
“ might enable them to decide on this Head, with 
“ any Degree of Exaftnefs j and as for the Chinefe, they 
“ have fevv^er Occafions, and much lefs Abilities for a 
“ Work of this Sort. To fay the Truth, the Thing it- 
“ felf is fcarce prafticable, there being nothing more*^dif- 
“ ficult, than to fix the Extent of the Territorities of the 
“ Tartar Princes, dependant upon this Empire, and 
‘‘ yet without this, there is no doing any Thing. It is 
“ true, the old Chinefie Writers tell us, that their Em- 
“ pire was formerly much greater than it is at prefent; 
“ th-xt Japan was once fubjeCt to them, as alfa the 
“ Kingdoms of Tunkin, Siam, &C. and part of the Do- 
“ minions of the Great Mogul ; but for all this, I 
“ am apt to believe, that fince the Tartars became 
“ laft Mafters of China, which is now a compleat hun- 
“ dred Years, the Empire is to the full as larcre as 
“ ever it was. Its Bounds at prefent are the Do^mini- 
“ ons of the Ruffians on the North, the Ocean on the 
“ Eaft i and on the South, for I look upon the Penin- 
“ fula of Corea as dependant upon this Empire; on 
“ the Weft, they have great Deferts, and the Countries 
« under the Contaijh Khan, which ftretch as far as the 
« Ruffian Territories; and this \s all Latii able to fay, 
as to the Extent of this Empire, except that accord- 
“ ing to a Perambulation that I have feen, the Line of 
“ their Boundaries is computed at about feven thou- 
« fand Miles, which, as far as I am able to judge, 
“ does not exceed the Truth. 
“ I cxpi 
