1002, A curious and conctje Dejcription of Book III. 
^irty Minutes, to forty two Degrees thirty Minutes, of and that fome Earthquake or Inundation feoarateH 
North Latitude, and from one hundred and fnrrv Corea from the Land of Tedfo^ which is no othfr tl ^ 
the Southern Part of that great Peninfula, known' to 
^e Ruffians by the Name of Kamkat/ka. The sreateff 
Part ot their Htftory is taken up in account, ng 4 thet 
Difputes with the Chtnefe^ from whom they often re- 
volted and were as often reduced ; and in them like- 
and lubdued the Ntenchteu Tartars, or at leaft a Nation 
that rormerJy inhabited their Country. 
Towards the latter End of the fifteenth Century, the 
dera^si the longed Day in the °South is'fourteen Hours ful, drivin'g^the Kinglrom^hl^Q 
and a Quarter, and m the North about fourteen Hours Mafters of the greateft Part of his^Dominions hm h! 
three Quarters. _ \ having Recourfe to the Chinefe, they, after a lono and 
The prefent Capital of It is in the Lati- bloody War, drove out the Japonefe from all Stceot 
tilde of thirty fix Degrees North, and in the Longitude two Provinces. Soon after this another arelr a ^ 
of ten Degrees Halt, from the City of PMn, the Ca- landing from Japan, the War w'r carried on wki 
greater Vigour than ever, but at lall the Coreans and 
tneir Confederates had fo much the better of thefe In- 
vaders, that they concluded a Peace, and agreed to 
quit the Country, which they did. Before this Time 
the Corems and Japonefe had always lived, not only in 
North Latitude, and fromi one hundred and forty two, 
to one hundred forty feven Degrees of Longitude ; it is 
in Length from North to South, four hundred and fifty 
cf our Miles ; in Breadth from Eaft to Weft, about 
three hundred ; the Form of it is that of a Parallelo- 
gram, the upper Part towards the North being fome- 
what narrower than the Southern Part of it. It is from 
hence apparent, that it lies in the fifth and fixth tempe- 
rate Climates, the moft Southern Part of it being in the 
fame Parallel with Perfia^ Cyprus and Barbary^ and the 
moft Northern in that of Portugal^ Sicily, and the Ma^ 
pital of China, It is reprefented 'by all the Chinefe 
Geographers, as a Country full of Mountains, more ef- 
pecially towards the North, or rather towards the 
North' weft, where there is a Ridge of high Hills that 
fep^ates it from th^ Part of fartary which depends --- ...... uau iu ways uvea, not only in 
on China, and thefe Hills are rocky and barren, but the Peace, but in perfect Harmony with each other infn 
other Mountains,more efpecially thofe towards the South, much, that many of both Nations were refnefHvelv il/ 
are of eafy Afcent, covered with a fine Turf, lhaded by tied in the others Country , but th^rWarrocca^^^ 
beautiful Groves, and refreibed by a Multitude of plea- fuch an implacable Spirit of Refcntment, which fomf 
fant Brooks. It is alfo furnilhed with feveral large and time after the Condufion of the laft the rnob 
navigable Rivers, of which we lhall take particular No- an Opportunity of maffacreing all the 7 h,r 
tice only of four; the firft is the Ta/m on the North- were fettled in their Dominions All thefe Events d 
weft Side of Cma which falls into the Yellow Sea, many more are found in the Japonefe Chronicles’ and 
or that which divides this Country from China ; the are briefly fet down in the Hiftories of that Count™ 
Mouth 01 this River is in the Latitude of forty De- wrirrpn Kir • , - . . 
grees North, and is there about thirty Miles over. The 
River Li falls alfo into the Yellow Sea, and is a large, 
beautiful and navigable Stream the f along falls into the 
Eaftern Sea, or the Sea of Japan, and at the Mouth of 
it there is a noble Port ; the River Han is in the South 
Part of Corea, and falls into the Ocean, and is alfo 
large and navigable ; in a Word, when we confider 
written by the Chriftian MilTionaries, which is a very 
ftrong Confirmation of the Veracity of the Cwean Hit 
tones. 
About the Beginning of the laft Century, the Man 
tchou -Tartars, after they became Mafters of Leontong, 
attacked and reduced the Kingdom of Corea, that is 
obliged the King to acknowledge their Khan for his 
Sovereign, and to pay him Tribute ; which the Coreans 
that this Country is waftied by two great Seas, and by refented as the moft grievous Indicr’nitv, having 
the Ocean, and that its Coafts are fifteen hundred Miles 
in Extent, we cannot Doubt of the Excellency of its 
Situation. 
3. It is very certain, that the People of Corea are 
much inclined to Letters, and that they have very ancient 
and very authentic Hiftories, and fome Books ftill more 
ancient, but thefe are full of Romances and Fables. 
They are very fcnfible of this, and fay that they con- 
tain fome inftruftive Truths difguifed, of which having 
loft the Key, they are no longer able to decypher them. 
Thofe which they regard as true Hiftories, go between 
two and three thoufand Years higher than the Birth of 
obferved before, been once Mafters of this Country 
themfelves ; but fince thefe Tartars have reduced China, 
the Coreans no longer confider their Subjedion as a 
Difgrace, but remain well fatisfied with their Condition, 
as indeed they have good Reafon, fince it has preferved 
them for the Space of one hundred and fifty Years, in 
a State of conftant and fettled Peace. All the Marks 
of Submiflion required from them, is, to fend annually 
an Embaflador, or rather an Embafly, for fometimes 
there are three or four Perfons charged with equal 
Powers to Pekin. Thefe have alfo a Commiffion in 
Reference to Trade, are intrufted with all the Commo- 
Chriji, and yet are faid to contain nothing in them that dities and Manufadures which the Coreans are aJlowS 
a;., T7-,in j r • ^7. , . ^ ajiuwcu 
carries the leaft Air of Fidion or Falfhood. They af- 
fert that their Country was at firft inhabited by three or 
four different Nations, which however they admit to 
have been of Tartar Original ; that thefe in a long 
Courfe of Years, and after various Wars with different 
Succefs one againft another, were at laft reduced under 
to tranfport into China, and are impowered to fettle 
and receive the Price or Equivalent for them. 
The only fenfible or uneafy Mark of Dependance 
which this Nation feels, arifes from the Ufage this Em- 
baffador and his Retinue meets with, for they are affio-n- 
ed a Dwelling-Place in Pekin, which the Chinefe are 
the Power of one Monarch. That his Pofterity dege- pleafed to call a Palace, but from its Outfide Appear- 
nerating from the Virtues of their Anceftors, behaved ance, and the Care with which it is guarded, it might 
themfelves fo ill as to occafion civil Wars, which weak- better pafs for a Goal; there they remain from’ the Time 
ened the Country to fuch a Degree, that it fell under they come, to the Time they leave this Capital of the 
the Dominion of the Chinefe EmperorSj who fometimes Chinefe Empire, without fo much as ftirring, except to 
governed it as a Province, and at others, appointed Audience, and without feeing any but fuch as are firft 
Kings, from whom they received only an annual Tri- examined by their Guards. The Reafon of all this Jea- 
, , , , , ^ . xT-n increafed- rather than 
It IS remarkable that thefe ancient Hiftories fpeak of abated,, is the Dread the Chinefe are under of the Core- 
Kingdom, a thoufand Years before ans coming to have any Intercourfe with the Ruffians, 
Chrijl, as fituated in China ; from whence it feems 
highly probable, that this muft have been before the 
Inundation, that has been mentioned, for otherwife it 
is not eafy to conceive, why this Prince, even fuppofing 
him Mafter of that Parc ot China, fhould chufe to re- 
fide in a narrow Slip of Country, divided by a wide Sea 
who are their very near Neighbours, and might find 
an eafy Accefs into their Country, in Cafe they had 
Notice of it, and of the Advantages that might accrue 
from their fettling a Trade with thefe People. 
The Chinefe are the more uneafy about this for two 
Reafons ; firft, becaufe they know that the Coreans z.it 
from the refl of his Dominions. The fame Hiftories naturally hofpitable, defirous of feeing Strangers and 
fpeak of a Country lying to the North-Eaft, but ftill very willing to entertain and trade with them ; and fe- 
on the fame Continent, from whence one would ima- condly, becaufe this would place the Ruffians on both 
gine, that fome Alteration has happened on that Side, Sides their Empire, and in fome Meafure between them 
and 
