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p' 1 1

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

¦WORKS ISSUED BY

CJe ?^afelugt ^otittu*

HISTORY OF THE TWO TARTAR
CONQUERORS OF CHINA.

FIRST SERIES. NO. XVII-MDCCCLIV

HISTORY

OP THB TWO

TARTAR CONQUERORS OP
CHINA,
INCLUDINO THE TWO JOUENEYS INTO TABTAEY OF FATHEE FEKDINAND
VEHBIEST, IN THE SUITE OF THE EMPEEOE KAN(J-HI:
ijtant ti)c Shtnd) of
PERE PIERRE JOSEPH D'ORLEANS,
OF THE COMPANY OF JESUS.
TO WHICH IS ADDED FATHEE PEEEIEA'S JOUENBY INTO TAETAEY IN THE
SUITE OF THE SAME EMPEEOE,
iltotn tlje ffitttrfi of
NICOLAAS WITSEN.
TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY
THE EARL OF ELLESMERE.

SSSttf) an InttoDuction

R. H. MAJOR, ESQ.,
OF THE BBITIBH UUSEUH.
HONOBABY 8ECBETABY OF THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.

BURT FRANKLIN, PUBLISHER
NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Published by
BURT FRANKLIN
514 West 113th Street
New York 25, N. Y.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY

REPRINTED BY PERMISSION

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.

SIE EODEEICK IMPEY MURCHISON, G.C.St.S., F,R.S., Corr. Mem. Inst. Fr.,
Hon. Mem. Imp. Aoad. So. St. Petersburgh, &o., &o.. President.
The EAEL OF ELLESMERE. \
Capt. C. E. DEINKWATBE BETHUNE, RN., C.B. j
Eear-Admiral Sib FRANCIS BEAUFOET, K.C.B., F.R.S.
WILLIAM DESBOEOUaH COOLEY, Es<J.
BOLTON COENEY, Esq., M.E.S.L.
The Rioht Eev. LOED BISHOP OF ST. DAVID'S.
Et. Hon. Sir DAVID DUNDAS.
Sir HENEY ELLIS, K.H., F.R.S.
JOHN FOESTEE, Esq.
E. W. GEEY, Esq.
JOHN WINTEE JONES, Esq.
His Excellency the COUNT de LAVEADIO.
Sir CHARLES LEMON, Babt., M.P., F.E.S.
P. LEVESQUE, Esq., FA.S.
Sir JOHN EICHAEDSON, M.D.
The EAEL SOMEES.
SiB GEOEGE STAUNTON, Babt. F.aS.
W. STIRLING, Esq., of Keir.
The Eev. W. WHEWELL, D.E.
E. H. MAJOE, Esq., F.E.G.S., Honorary Seoeetaby.

INTRODUCTION.

There are two reasons why the selection of the pre
sent work for translation and publication by the
Hakluyt Society, has been considered peculiarly ap
propriate and desirable. The one that, though bear
ing a title of a purely historical character, it embodies
the observations of various missionaries in China, to
gether with the highly interesting narratives of two
journeys into Tartary in the years 1682 and 1683,
made by the famous Jesuit father Ferdinand Verbiest,
in the suite of the Chinese emperor. The other, that
at a time like the present, when a revolution of the
most formidable character has rendered the mainten
ance of the throne of China by the existing Tartar
dynasty a matter of great uncertainty, the translation
of a scarce work, by an author of celebrity, describing
the establishment of that dynasty, seemed to have an
especial claim upon the reader's interest and attention.
As regards the former, and for the general pur
poses of the Hakluyt Society the more important of
these two considerations, the period brought under
our notice by the event treated of, is also one
of remarkably prominent interest in the history of

11 INTRODUCTION.
European missions amongst the Chinese, a people to
whom the "penitus toto divisos orbe" of Virgil might
for many reasons so well be applied. In the intro
duction to Mendoza, edited for the Hakluyt Society
by Sir George Staunton, the present writer has already
given an account of the numerous painful and perilous
attempts which had been made by Europeans, to
establish themselves in this exclusive country, up to
the close of the sixteenth century. The last effort
there alluded to, and the first which was really suc
cessful, was that made by the distinguished Jesuit
Matteo Ricci, who, in the year 1600, not only con
trived to gain access to the emperor in Pekin, but in
the following year had a house assigned to him, and
was taken into the emperor's service. To him, in
fact, may justly be attributed the foundation of the
Catholic mission. Once established at Pekin, no
difficulties dismayed him; and to his zealous perse
verance was added an extent of scientific knowledge,
exactly coincident with the tastes of the Chinese,
which, as a means towards success, was truly invalu
able. His prudence in conciliating the prejudices of
the Chinese, which by many has been stigmatized as
a dereliction of principle, aided greatly in furthering
his objects, and he gained both friends and converts
in considerable numbers. Other Jesuits attached
themselves to the mission, and settled themselves at
various stations between the capital and Canton, and
too much praise cannot be given to the zeal and intel
ligence with which these devoted men followed up
the noble cause which, they had undertaken. Indeed,

INTRODUCTION. Ill
so successful were their efforts, that as Sir John Davis
has observed, in his valuable work on " The Chinese,"
" Had it not been for the narrow-minded bigotry and
intolerance with which some of the popes, and the
monks whom they deputed to China, frustrated the
labours of the more sober-minded Jesuits, Europeans
and their religion might at this day enjoy a very dif
ferent footing in the empire." Ricci died in 1610,
but during the reign of the emperor Wan-lee, the
mission continued to be regarded with favour by the
court until the year 1615, when through the jealousy
of the Bonzes, a persecution was raised against the
Christians, which resulted in stripes and imprisonment
to many of them, and the expulsion to Macao of those
who were in the neighbourhood of the court. - Alvaro
Semedo, who, in his " Imperio de la China," has given
an account of this persecution, himself only escaped
the bastinado in consideration of a severe illness under
which he was labouring. To this change in the con
duct of the emperor Wan-lee, the author of the pre
sent volume, in his religious zeal, attributes as a
retributive consequence the commencement of that
revolution which not very long afterwards wrested
the throne of China from the native or Ming dynasty.
It was in 1618, two years before the death of
Wan-lee, that Tien-ming, a chieftain of the Manchu
Tartars, and lineal ancestor of the present emperor,
published a manifesto containing seven subjects of
grievance which he proclaimed himself called upon to
revenge. The fierce inroads of this daring warrior,
who had already assumed the title of emperor, though

IV INTRODUCTION".
not successful in securing the capital city of Pekin,
were yet most formidable in their effects upon the
stability of the throne. Numerous bodies of rebels,
taking example from the boldness of the attempt,
arose -within the country itself, and thus exposed it to
a more easy conquest by the common invader. Re
pulsed from the capital, which he had prepared to
besiege, Tien-ming retired into the province of Leao-
tung, which he harassed with the most unsparing
cruelties. Various success attended the progress of
these political struggles for several years. Meanwhile
the missionaries fared but ill, being exposed to fre
quent painful acts of persecution, though happily the
edict of expulsion from the country was not absolutely
carried into effect. The death of Wan-lee occurred in
1620, but it was not till 1622 that a reversal of the
edict of expulsion of the missionaries was obtained,
and a cessation of the persecution of so many years
effected. This was brought about by the instrument
ality of a native Christian, a mandarin of great talent
and infiuence, whose Chinese name was Siu, but who
at his baptism had received the name of Paul. His
conversion had been effected by the arguments of
Ricci, to whose prosperity, as well as that of the
church at large, he had been able by his abilities,
position, and zealous ardour in the Christian cause, to
contribute most essentially. To him and his daughter
Candida that cause was already indebted for the erec
tion of thirty-nine churches in various provinces, and
the printing of a hundred and thirty Christian works
in Chinese, for the instruction of the people.

INTRODUCTION. V
In the above-mentioned year 1622, arrived in China
the celebrated Jesuit, Adam Schaal, or Schall, whose
skill in mathematics and the experimental sciences con
stituted him a fitting successor to the illustrious Ricci.
He was a German by birth, having been born at
Cologne in 1591. His talents and learning, employed
for several years with great success in the province of
Shen-si, introduced him at length to the notice of
Paul, who, in the year 1628, recommended him warmly
to the regard of the emperor, and he became a great
favourite at court. Among the Chinese, the science
of astronomy seemed to be the very passport of the
missionary. To this study Schall, therefore, devoted
assiduous attention ; and by this means engaged for
himself so much goodwill among the people, that not
only the newly made converts, but those who were
unconverted also, willingly lent him a helping hand
in the construction of a Christian church. During
the long series of political troubles which brought
about the subversion of the Ming dynasty, and the
establishment of the present race upon the throne of
China, as recounted in the volume before us, Adam
SchaU retained his high position at the court of Pekin.
Nor was this influence diminished by the changes in
the imperial house. In 1634, in conjunction with
Father Giacomo Rho (in whose company, as well as
that of the well known Nicolas Trigault, to whom we
owe so much of our knowledge respecting China at
that period, he had made the journey to China), he
was charged with the responsible task of revising the
imperial calendar. Father Rho dying in 1638, this

Tl INTRODUCTION.
duty rested solely with Schall, who was engaged upon
it during three consecutive reigns, viz., that of the
last sovereign of the Ming dynasty, and those of the
two first Tartar Chinese emperors. Meanwhile, how
ever, although the Manchu rebels had gained the
mastery in the north of China, the south had not yet
bowed to the Tartar yoke. In that portion of the
empire some members of the old imperial family of
the Ming were converted to Christianity, and their
cause was consequently favoured by the missionaries
in that region. Two Christian Chinese generals made
head against the Tartar army, and with success ; and
Yunlie, the claimant to the throne, was in conse
quence proclaimed emperor. His mother, wife, and
son, were baptised with the names of Helena, Maria,
and Constantine. Helena, to manifest her attachment
to the cause of Christianity, despatched a letter to
Pope Alexander VIII, by the hands of Michael Boym,
a Polish Jesuit, in which she expressed her desire to
place the country, through him, under the protection
of God. All hope, however, from such a source was
soon put to an end, for in that same year 1651 Chun-
chi, the youthful heir of the late Tartar conqueror,
being declared of age, assumed the reins of govern
ment at Pekin ; and the Tai^tars, impatient of com
pleting their conquest, made a desperate attack upon
the southern provinces. Yunlie was vanquished,
and both he and his youthful son perished. Helena
was led captive to Pekin, and the imperial race of the
Ming became extinct. Under the emperor Chunchi,
Schall still remained in the same favoured position at

INTRODUCTION. Vll
the court of Pekin, as he had done under the previous
sovereigns. The Tartar monarch appointed him Pre
sident of the Astronomical Board, and conferred upon
him various marks of his regard and approbation.
During the reign of this emperor, the prosperity of
the Jesuit missions at the court was very great ; many
churches were built and converts made, while fresh
accessions of labourers were admitted into the country.
Among these the most important, and one who holds
a prominent part in the narrative now before us, was
the Father Ferdinand V erbiest, a German Jesuit, who
arrived in China in 1659, and became the coadjutor
of Schall in presiding over the tribunal of mathe
matics. During the whole of the reign of Chunchi
the cause of Christianity prospered in the kingdom of
China, but the close of his life did not justify the
hopes of conversion which his conduct during his
earlier years had given rise to. The influence of the
Bonzes over him through the latter part of his reign
became complete. Upon his death in 1661, the go
vernment, during the minority of Kanghi, fell into
the hands of four regents, whose known opposition to
the new sect led to the sending in of a memorial to
the court, in which the mischiefs which might ensue
from a continuance of the prosperity of the Christians
were fully dwelt upon. The dissensions which had
arisen between the Jesuits and the Dominicans, with
every other argument which could put the motives of
the Christians in an unfavourable light, were therein
adduced with all the earnestness of antagonism. This
injurious memorial had its desired effect, and a fear-

viii INTRODUCTION.
ful persecution ensued, of which the venerable Schall
was one of the earliest victims. He was charged
¦with, having exhibited a crucifix to Chunchi upon his
deathbed, that sovereign having then sent for him
and listened with apparent humility to the consola
tions which he offered. The aged man with three of
his companions were loaded with irons, and during
nine months led about from one tribunal to another,
and finally condemned to be strangled and cut to
pieces. In the midst of these trials, father Verbiest,
regardless of his own troubles, exerted all his elo
quence in behalf of one whom he respected as his
master. He pleaded the virtues of Schall, and the
services which he had rendered to the court for so
long a period. All his arguments, however, were
futile, till a curious concurrence of accidents, viz.,
the appearance of a comet, an earthquake, and the
breaking out of a fire which consumed a great por
tion of the imperial palace, produced the impression
that these were marks of the displeasure of Provi
dence, and the prisoners were set at liberty. The
venerable Schall, however, sunk under his trials,
being struck with paralysis, and died at the advanced
age of seventy-eight.
On Kang-hi attaining his majority in 1671, he
appointed Verbiest as the successor of Schall in the
department of astronomy, and allowed the mission
aries to return to their stations. It is not improba
ble, that the important service rendered by him in
correcting the Chinese calendar, was the leading
cause in this restoration to favour. An intercalary

INTRODUCTION. IX
month had been erroneously inserted by the igno
rance of the Chinese astronomers, which his intelli
gent observation showed him the necessity of striking
out, so that to the great surprise of the people the
year was abridged by the length of one month. The
emperor himself was anxious to take lessons of him in
mathematics, and at his request Verbiest made himself
master of the Tartar language, in order to dispense
with an interpreter in communicating his instruction.
Besides the services of a literary and scientific nature
which this talented missionary was able to offer to
the^mperor, there was one of a more practical kind
in which he assisted him most effectually. In 1681
he was desired by the emperor to superintend the
casting of artillery. In this novel occupation he was
again equally successful, and he had the satisfaction
of offering the emperor a park of three hundred and
twenty pieces of his own manufacture. It may well
be judged with what gratitude these various bene
ficial services would be received by an emperor such
as Kang-hi, whose high qualities have rendered him
more celebrated than almost any other Asiatic so
vereign ; nor can we doubt the correctness of the
statements which father Verbiest has here given us
respecting the gracious bearing of the sovereign
towards himself and brother missionaries.
The maintenance of the military character of the Tar
tars, by which their final establishment on the throne
of China was secured, was in a great measure due to
the emperor's frequent hunting excursions beyond the
Great Wall, thereby exposing them to fatigues and

INTRODUCTION.

dangers, in many respects analogous to the trials of
actual warfare. The correctness of a remark upon
this subject by Sir John Davis, has been so strikingly
shovm by recent events as to appear prophetic. He
says, " It is worthy of remark, that, of the score of
dynasties which have followed each other, all esta
blished themselves on the vices, luxury, or indolence
of their immediate forerunners. The present Man-
chou race has already shown no unequivocal symp
toms of degeneracy. The two greatest princes by
whom it has been distinguished, Kang-hi and Kien-
loong, sedulously maintained the ancient habits of
their Tartar subjects by frequent hunting excursions
beyond the wall, in which they individually bore no
small share of the fatigue and danger. The late
emperor, Keaking, and the present one, have, on the
other hand, been remarkable for their comparative
indolence ; and the reigns of both have exhibited a
mere succession of revolts and troubles. The foUow
ing is part of an edict issued by the reigning monarch
in 1824: — 'With reference to the autumnal hunt of
the present year, I ought to follow the established
custom of my predecessors ; but, at the same time, it
is necessary to be guided by the circumstances of the
times, and to act in conformity to them. The expe
dition to Je-ho (Zhehol) is also ordered to be put off
for this year. It is an involuntary source of vexation
to me : I should not think of adopting this measure
from a love of ease and indulgence.' Since that
date, however, the same course has been repeated
under various pretexts. The Manchou rule has al-

INTRODUCTION. XI
ready lasted much longer than the Mongol, and, from
all present appearances, a bold Chinese adventurer
might perhaps succeed in overthrowing it."
In two of these hunting excursions Verbiest was
desired to accompany the train of the emperor, and,
indeed, was frequently closely attendant upon his
person. His two letters, in which these journeys are
respectively described, were regarded with great in
terest on their arrival in Europe. The originals, in
all probability, were written in Latin ; for although
Verbiest was a Fleming, and many of the Jesuit nar
ratives were written in other languages than Latin,
yet Dutch, we may conclude, would be less accept
able to those to whom the letters were sent than Latin,
with which the writer was so perfectly conversant.
They were translated into French, and published at
Paris in 1685, 16mo., and in the preface to this little
work, the anonymous editor asserts that they are
translated word for word from the originals. A trans
lation from this French version was published in the
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, in the
number for March and April, 1686. This French
version also was reprinted by Pere d'Orleans in the
work now translated.
While we can thus only speak with uncertainty
as to the language of the original documents, it is
worthy of remark that the Dutch version, inserted by
the celebrated burgomaster Nicholas Witsen (himself
a long time resident in Tartary), in his " Noord en
Oost Tartarye", shows considerable variations in many
parts, from the language as given in the French. It

Xll INTRODUCTION.
therefore remains a question whether the Dutch pre
sented to us by Witsen is the language of the original
letters, or whether Witsen himself had newly trans
lated the letters and made his own alterations. In
either case it has been deemed desirable to supply a
translation from the Dutch, and the editor has there
fore given it in the form of appendix.
The first appearance of Witsen's work was at
Amsterdam in 1692, folio. The French version was
also inserted in the fourth volume of the " Recueil
des Voyages au Nord", Amst. 1732, 16mo., and also
in the fourth volume of Du Halde's " Description de
la Chine et de la Tartaric Chinoise", Paris, 1735-6,
4to. Father Verbiest continued to enjoy the imperial
favour till his death, on the 7th of February, 1688,
and so great was the grief at his loss, and the respect
paid to him, that his funeral was not only attended
by a large concourse of his fellow missionaries, but
by mandarins especially appointed by the emperor to
do honour to the occasion.
His place as Superintendent of the Board of Mathe
matics was supplied by father Pereira, a Jesuit who,
like himself,, stood high in the emperor's regard on
account of his scientific attainments. One branch of
science in especial, the knowledge of instrumental
music and skill in constructing musical instruments,
which he seemed to possess in a high degree, had a
great charm for the emperor, and in order that he
might study this science under such excellent tuition
he took the learned father with him, as stated at page
96, on one of the frequent hunting excursions of

INTRODUCTION. XIU
which we have already been speaking. A most in
teresting description of this journey in a letter from
his own hand, the Dutch translation of which is also
given by Witsen in his great work on North and
East Tartary, is added to this volume as an addi
tional appendix, its translation and publication in this
place having been considered for every reason espe
cially desirable.
The Pere d'Orleans, himself a Jesuit, to whom
France is indebted for various well-written works, —
all of which, strangely enough, excepting his sermons,
are on subjects connected with revolution, — has in
the present volume given us a succinct and interesting
compilation, the materials of which he makes us ac
quainted with in the " Avertissement" to the volume.
The work is now become extremely scarce. At the
close of the " Avertissement", the author makes some
judicious remarks respecting the mode of represent
ing Chinese names in European languages. In con
formity with the sense of those remarks, we have
appended a list of the names which occur in the
volume, with the mode of representing them in
English as given us by Morrison.

xiv

INTRODUCTION.

Dynasty Ta-Ming, pr Tae-Ming, or Ming.

Book the First.

page.

1.
Niuche
Neu-che.
2.
Ho'isson
Gae-tsung.
2.
Leauton
Leaou-Tung.
3.
Vuti
Woo-te.
4.
Chisu
She-tsoo.
4.
Peyen
Pe-yen.
4.
Yven
Yuen.
4.
Tipin
Te-pin ?
5.
Chun-ti
Shun-te.
6.
Taimin
Ta-Ming, or Tae-Ming, or Ming.
6.
Humvu
Hung-woo.
6.
Vanli§
Wan-leg.
8.
Cayven
Kae-wSn.
9.
TMenmin
Theen-ming.
'10.
Taichau
Tae-chang, or Tae-shang.
11.
Thienki
Theen-ke.
10.
Suchuen
Sze-chuen.
13.
Mauvenlon .
Maou-wSn-Lung.
14.
Thienson
Theen tsung.
14.
Usanguey .
Woo-san-kwei.
15.
Licon
Le-kung.
15.
Zonchin
Tsung-cMng.
16.
ITs
Woo-sz'.
18.
ZuntS
Tsung-tlh.
19.
Amavan
Ya-ma-wang ? Gutzlaff, Amawai
19.
Chunchi
Shun-che.
20.
Sigan
Se-gan, or Se-gan-foo in Shen-Se
22.
Nankin
Nan-king.
22.
Hunquan
Hung-kwang.
23.
Chauton
Shan-tung.
32.
Kian
Keang.
32.
Hanchouan
Han-chwang or ham-chuen %
INTRODUCTION.

XV

25. Venchui
26. Chamienchon
30. Icoan
31. Quesin
33. Lam
35. Mafa, Manchoo Tar
tar (Ancestor)
44. Camhi

Wan-Shwuy.Sha-meen-chung ?
E-Kwang ?
Kwei-sing 1
Lang.
Same in Bngliah. Also p. 122.
Kang-he.

51. Sukama
46. Yam-quam-Sien
54. Yonnan
57. Kenvan
59. Kiamsi
59. Kienchamp
69. Sumvan
51. Chin
52. Gantaeum
71. Ula
71. Songoro
71. Sumpoa
75. Xim-yam
73. Kam-hay
74. Pequeli
76. Champe

Book the Second.
Soo-kea-ma ?
Yang-kwang-Seen, or Yang-kang-Seen.
Yunnan.
Ken-wang 1
Keang-se. Keen-chang.
Sung-wang 1
Chin or Ching?
Gan-ta-kung.Oola.
Songgoro.Sung-hwa.
Shing-yang. Kang-hae.
Plh-che-le.Chang-pih, or Chang-plh-sham — (The
long White Mountain).

HISTOIEE

DES

DEUX CONQUERANS
TAETARES
QUI ONI SUBJOGUE
LA CHINE,
Par le R. P. PIERRE JOSEPH D'ORLEANS,
de la Compagnie de Jesus.

A PARIS,
CHEZ CLAUDE BARBIN, AU PALAIS SDH LE SECOND PERBON DE LA BAINTE CHAPELLE.
M.DC.IiXXXVin.
AVEC PRIVILEGE DU ROT.

DEDICATION TO
MY LORD THE CHANCELLOR.
My Lord, Among the rarities of China, there are
none which better deserve to be presented to persons of
your rank and taste, than those which I here offer to you.
China has nothing to surpass the history of the two kings who
conquered it ; and the rest of the world would have had nothing
to equal it, if Louis the Great had not reigned in France.
The conquest of so many provinces is the least important
point in their history which claims our admiration. The
former commenced that- course of conquest at eight years of
age, the second completed it at fourteen : it is a miracle of their
good fortune rather than an effect of their virtue. But that
which cannot be suiEciently admired, and which I am sure, my
lord, will interest you much, is the wisdom of these monarchs
in governing this vast empire, and the infinite multitude of
people which Heaven has subjected to their administration.
There cannot be any one better fitted than yourself to
appreciate their wisdom, and therefore I have thought that
I could not present the portrait of these two heroes to the
eyes of any person more capable than yourself of rightly
estimating their -virtues. That clear intelligence which has
so long enlightened your career in so many different occu
pations, without your having hitherto taken any of those
dangerous steps which the most clear-sighted cannot always
avoid, will cause you to follow with pleasure, in the conduct
of these princes, the traces of a policy which has been skil
ful without cunning, and efficacious without violence. The

11 DEDICATION.
inflexible equity which you profess, and which has induced
the most just of kings to place you at the head of all the
tribunals of justice in his kingdom, must awaken your esteem
for those conquerors, who during their conquests held the
balance while they wielded the sword, and seemed only to
gain subjects in order that they might dispense happiness to
a greater number of people. Great without pride, strict
without rigour, exact observers of the laws, but without that
cruel harshness which excites hatred while it establishes
authority, you will admire in them that pliancy of genius
which has been able at the same time to civilize the Tartar
warriors, and to socialize the emperors of China.
Your zeal for religion, my lord, will cause you to regret
that the one should have died an idolator, and that the other
should not yet be a Christian : but if in this you find some
grounds for regret, you will also find abundant reason to
praise them for the liberty which they have allowed to their
people to profess Christianity, and for the powerful protection
with which they have always honoured those who preached it.
God, who holds in His hand the hearts of kings, has Jlis o-wn
time for touching them : the obligations under which we lie
to the prince who now reigns in China, make us pray that
that time may be hastened, as those which we owe to you,
my lord, make us pray God for the continuance of the bless
ings which He pours upon you ; viz., the preservation of the
health so precious to aU the state, the prosperity of the Ulus-
trious family so worthy to have you for its chief, the con
fidence of the prince, the love of the people, the approbation
of all good men. If my work does not merit your approba
tion, concede it at least to the sincere zeal, and to the very
profound respect with which I am. My Lord,
Your very humble and obedient servant,.,
Pierre Joseph d'Orl£ans,
Of the Order of Jesus.

PKEFACE.

In the letters which we receive from different parts of the
world, where the labourers of the gospel have been sent to
proclaim the faith to the Gentiles, or to bring again into
obedience to the vicar of Jesus Christ those whom schism
has withdrawn, two kinds of subjects are treated of. The
principal are those which relate immediately to religion ; the
progress it has made, the persecutions it suffers, and the
means of extending or of preserving it. This has hitherto
been the subject of the accounts which have been given, in
order to show to those who help with their prayers or with
their charity the works of apostolic men, what blessing God
has bestowed upon them.
This will hereafter be of service to an illustrious eccle
siastic, to establish the faith of the Christians and Catholics
of France, by the history of the progress which that faith is
making among the idolaters of the Indies or the schismatics
of the Levant. The king, who adds to the glory of his heroic
actions the merit of so many works of goodness, has issued
an express injunction, that the public should every year be
made acquainted with aU that is learned of this nature cal
culated to animate the zeal and the charity of good souls,
and to induce them to concur with him in reuniting in one
flock all the wandering sheep. The ecclesiastic of whom I
speak has expressed his willingness to undertake this duty,
which is to him an agreeable occupation, and which gives
him the means of contributing something to a work, which
he regards as the greatest possible benefit that can be done
to religion. The inclination which he has always shown for
this kind of thing, has caused him to make connections and
establish an epistolary correspondence with almost all the

IV PREFACE.
missionaries that have left France during the last ten years.
Thus he works from his own documents, which, coming from
the same sources as ours, only differ from them in the terms
employed. Whatever study I may have given to these
matters, I have not been able to compete with a man of so
great merit as he of whom I speak, nor thought it safe for
my reputation to write on the same subjects as a person of
such accomplishments as he possesses.
It is then in order to leave this field free to him, that I
confine myself to the other class of subjects which are dealt
with in these letters from distant countries. I have extracted
from them all that could give a more perfect knowledge of
the situation and nature of those countries, as well as the
history and manners of the nations who inhabit them. What
I have given in these two volumes, is only a trial to prove
whether this kind of work -will be successful, so that I may
judge by the reception given to them whether I am to con
tinue or cease to work at them.
I commence by the history of the two conquerors who
have in our o^wn days subjugated China, — the late emperor,
and he who at present reigns with so much honour. In that
of the first, I follow in many things the fathers Martini and
de Rougemont ; but more especially the letters of father
Adam Schall, who has been at the court of this prince, and
shared his confidence and even taken part in his education,
and whose memoirs for this reason appeared to me not only
to be more depended upon than the others, but more in
accordance with my design, which is less to make a history
of the reign of these monarchs, than a history of their per
sonal conduct. I have taken nothing from Palafox. A man
who wrote the " History of China" in Mexico on informa
tion sent to him from the Philippines, could not be a good
guide to follow, above all when there are a sufficient number
of eye-witnesses of these things, and who have only written
that which they have seen.

PREFACE. V
As regards the present emperor, I have taken all that I
have said from letters which have come to us every year
from China, and as much as I could from those of father
Ferdinand Verbiest, whom this prince honoured with his
kindness, and with whom he lived somewhat on the same
terms as his predecessor had done with father Adam. The
father Adrian Greslon, a Frenchman, has taken more pains
than any one else in collecting whatever regards the history
of the country, and I owe to one of his relations aU that I
relate of the last league of the Chinese mandarins against
the Tartar domination.
Those who shall write the history of China, or who may
continue that of father Martini, which learned men expect of
the Jesuits of Pekin as soon as they shall have leisure to do
it, will doubtless in it find matter worthy of the public
curiosity, such as great wars, great revolutions, a tolerably
well sustained system of policy, heroic virtue in some, philo
sophy in most : but among so many things that are calcu
lated to please and instruct the reader, there are two rocks
which they will have to avoid.
The first is the rendering their history obscure by loading
it -with a great number of actors, whose proper names are as
difficult to distinguish, as their qualities are unknown to
those who have not studied them for a long time. It is as
much as one can do to unravel these things in the history of
Greece or of Rome, and even yet there are but few people who
give themselves the trouble. So that aU that historians gain
by this exactness in wishing to give the names and employ
ments of aU those of whom they have occasion to speak, is to
leave the reader ignorant of the persons whom he ought to
know, while he is made acquainted with those of whom it
would signify little if he were ignorant. If it happens thus
in history which every one -wishes to know, how much more
likely it is to happen in those which excite less curiosity, and
of which even the learned may continue ignorant -without
disgrace.

VI PREFACE.

The second rock on which those who write the history of
China may split, is the giving a bad pronunciation to the
reader, by following out the Chinese orthography in every
language. For as the Chinese pronounce certain letters
differently to us, it will consequently happen that we shall
have no Chinese name as it ought to be pronounced.
To remedy these inconveniences, I have observed two
things in this work. Firstly, I have suppressed a great
number of names of little use to the understanding of my
history, and which would very much have diminished its
chance of pleasing. In the second place, I have reduced to
our orthography those which I have been obliged to put,
writing them rather as we ought to pronounce them, than as
they ought to be written according to the Chinese orthogra
phy. Thus I have written Chunchi, and not X.unchi; be
cause the Chinese pronounce this x as we pronounce ch.
I have made a mistake in writing Taisu, a famous person
in the Chinese history, which they pronounce as if it had
a z, while it ought to be pronounced as if it had two ss, be
cause in foUo-wing the Chinese orthography most exactly,
Tai-9U should be written with a c and a cedilla. To remedy
this it should have been -written Taissu, or Tai-su.
The name of the present emperor embarrasses me. He is
called Camhi, and the last syllable of his name appeared to
me, when I heard it pronounced by a Chinese who was a long
time resident in this house, to have the same sound as the Span
ish consonant y in the words Juan, Hijo, and the like ; so that
to write it in French as nearly as possible to represent the
Chinese pronunciation, the best mode would be to spell it
Canqui, breathing a little on the last syllable. But I have
been afraid of disguising the word too much, and have come
to the conclusion that it was better it should run the risk of
being badly pronounced than to be altogether misunderstood.

THE HISTORY
OF THB
TARTAR- CONQUERORS WHO SUBDUED
CHINA.

There is something so singular in the history of the two
celebrated conqvierors who subdued China, that we can
scarcely give to the public anything more curious and agree
able than the information we have acquired concerning the
great actions of these monarchs. Theu" genius, their cou
rage, and their general conduct, were alike remarkable ; and
it will be seen by what we are about to relate, that the
politeness of these Tartar kings would be held in as high
estimation in France as in China.
In order to explain more clearly all the circumstances
which have any connexion with them, I shaU begin their
history by gi-ving some account of their ancestors, who set
on foot those extensive conquests which our heroes brought
to such a successful termination, and the fruits of which, as
we learn, the present sovereign peaceably enjoys.
In that vast territory which bears the name of Tai'tary, is Jj^^^jJ^g'
situated, on the north of China, an extensive country divided entmiel^of
into two provinces, which, in allusion to the position they
occupy in reference to one another, have been named East
ern and Western Tartary. The former is also known by
the name of the kingdom of Niuch^, the latter by that of
the kingdom of Tanyu. A deep-seated rivalry has always

The '

S5 THE HISTORY OF THB
existed between these nations and the Chinese, and the famous
Wall, which was built two thousand years ago, was found
insufficient to prevent the recurrence of sanguinary wars.
Fortune has repeatedly favoured the Chinese, and yet it has
have IS"' ^ow happened for the second time that they have been com-
chtoa.'* pelled to bow beneath the Tartar yoke. These two events are
so closely connected, and a knowledge of the former is so
necessary to the right comprehension of the latter, that I
should be depriving the reader of one of the greatest charms
of this history were I to omit the recital of it.
ter"'"n- -^^ tlie beginning of the twelfth century, under the reign
tiwTartRra of au cmpcror of China named Ho'isson, the inhabitants
of the province of Leauton, having adopted the warlike
habits of their neighbours the Eastern Tartars, began to
harass the oth-er parts of the empire by frequent maraud
ing incursions. The emperor wished to suppress these dis
orders, but he found the authors of them intractable ; they
defeated the troops that he sent against them, and they pushed
on their conquests so far, that the emperor was forced to apply
for assistance to those very neighbours who had taught them
the art of war in order to compel them to live in peace.
The aid thus solicited was promptly afforded, for the Tartars
only require sufficient time for their preparations to allow
them to put on their armour. They marched against the
rebels, and hemming them in between their own army and
that of the Chinese, which advanced from the opposite
quarter, they very speedily reduced them to submission.
Pekin rang with the shouts of victory, but the inhabitants
were extremely surprised to learn that the Tartars, instead
of accepting the usual expressions of gratitude with the
accompanying presents, demanded a portion of the empire,
which they boasted to have sustained when on the brink
of ruin. There was but one course left to pursue with re
spect to those who held such language. An appeal to arms
was inevitable ; but the gilt weapons of the Chinese were

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 3
far inferior in temper to the Tartar cutlasses; the former
were defeated in more than one pitched battle, and were
obliged to yield to force what they had refused to surrender
on agreement.
The Tartars made themselves masters of Pekin and of the
adjoining provinces. The emperor was betrayed into the
hands of his enemies, who sent him to one of the deserts of
Tartary, where he died. His successor was also taken dur
ing a siege, and underwent a similar fate, in consequence of
which the third was obliged to retreat to the southern pro
vinces, and there to hold his court.
The whole of Northern China continued for one hundred
and fifty years under the dominion of these new rulers, dur
ing which time every effort made by the Chinese to shake off
the yoke proved unsuccessful. In their despair the children,
forgetting the errors of their fathers, like them called in the
aid of a powerful enemy to drive out a weaker one. For a long
time the Western Tartars had left the Chinese unmolested:
and the signal successes which an emperor of China named
Vuti had obtained over them, had left them so weak, that
they seemed to have lost all desire of recrossing the boun
dary of the Great Wall. The Chinese themselves, however,
revived this inclination, at a time when the idea of it was least
present to their thoughts, by imploring their aid, and by
entering into an alliance with them for the purpose of dri-ving
out the Eastern Tartars. These last were made acquainted
with this negotiation soon enough to have been able to pre
vent its completion, if the Chinese had chosen to listen to the
terms of an agreement which was proposed ; but the em
peror and his ministers having declined to entertain the pro
posals, there remained no alternative left but a resort to arms.
The defenders maintained an obstinate resistance, and there
were instances in which towns held out for such a length of
time, that the besieged were reduced to the extremity of
eating one another ; so that, to speak correctly, they were

4 THE HISTORY OF THE
rather exterminated than expelled. The last of their kings,
Negayti, died by his own hand. The remainder escaped
with difficulty, and returned to their former homes. It is
said, that when their sovereign sent to the emperor of China
to ask for conditions of peace, he added these words : " Those
whom you summon to your assistance will deprive me of my
kingdom, but after they have deprived me of my own, they
will deprive you of yours." The event proved that his pre
diction was but too true, the Western Tartars only drove out
the others in order to fill their place, and as with equal am
bition they possessed far more power, not satisfied with their
share of the empire, they resolved to get possession of that
portion which the Chinese stiU retained. They accordingly
declared war, and prosecuted it with such vigour under the
conduct of their king, Chisu, and of another celebrated cap
tain called Peyen, that in twenty years they had driven back
the Chinese emperors to the very limits of the empire.
The last of these monarchs, named Tipin, a boy of eight or
ten years old, was compelled to retire to the sea shore, where
his armed fleet, which formed his last resource, ha-ving been
defeated by that of the Tartars in 1281, his general seized
the child in his arms and plunged with him into tlie sea.
Chisu remaining thus master of the empire, became the
founder of that royal house which the Chinese call the
dynasty of Yven, which though originally of alien and
Tartar extraction, nevertheless became so popular, that to
this day the people call it the holy, and fondly cherish it in
their memory.
drive'ouuhe Howcver mild a form of government may be, there are
Tartars. always pcrsous who, either from a spirit of rebellion, or
from natural restlessness, grow impatient under it. Hardly
sixty years had elapsed since the dynasty of Yven had as
cended the throne of China, when a conspiracy was formed
to expel it. The chief mover in the enterprise was a person
of good fortune named Taisu. He had been servant to a

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 5
bonze, and had left that employment to place himself at the
head of a band of reckless men, who wandered about the
country for plunder. The successes he achieved in this petty
warfare, inspired him with the idea that he was capable of
undertaking one on a larger scale. Unfortunately for the
Tartars, Chunti, who was now upon the throne, though a
well-disposed prince, had not, in addition to other good
qualities, inherited the talents or abilities of his ancestors.
He was superstitious, addicted to pleasure, and negligent of
public affairs, which he abandoned to the management of a
minister as incapable as himself. Taisu, who was gifted
¦with remarkable talents, together with courage and resolu
tion, having become aware of this condition of the Tartar
sovereign's affairs in China, took his measures to profit by
it, and the scheme he conceived was no less than that of de
throning the sovereign and substituting himself as emperor.
Having formed this project he sounded the dispositions of
his companions, who declared themselves ready to follow
him ; he began operations by attacking the to-wns in the
southern provinces, which, being furthest from the seat of
Government, were also, in consequence, more remote from
succour. He was so successful in his first attacks, that, in a
very short time, he found himself in a condition to carry aU
before him ; and, what was most to his advantage, his army
gained fresh reinforcements from every place he took, the
people all vying with one another for the honour of enrolling
themselves under the banner of public liberty. Thus he saw
himself all at once master of a considerable number of places,
and general of a large army.
The sensation made by these successes could not fail to
rouse Chunti from slumber ; but it was too late. Taisu,
meeting with no further obstacle, marched so rapidly towards
the capital, that he did not even give his enemy territory
enough to draw resources from for retrieving a single de
feat in a pitched battle. Thus the first battle, being won by

6 THE HISTORY OF THE
Taisu, decided the fate of both combatants. Chunti fled ;
and finding only safety in the territory of his ancestors,
retired thither, and died there two years afterwards. Taisu
found himself master of the empire ; in the possession of
which he remained undisturbed, being judged worthy of
it, no less in virtue of conquest than of his high qualities.
He took the name of Humvu, which signifies. Great War
rior ; and was the head of the royal family of Taimin which
has existed nearly three hundred years, and has given six
teen emperors to China.
During the reigns of the first twelve of these princes,
though the Tartars had, after their habit,- from time to time,
made war against the Chinese, and had even been often suc
cessful ; yet the Chinese had always driven them back beyond
the Great Wall, which was constantly guarded, even in time
of peace, by a million of troops. It is said that the emr
peror, Vanli6, had not scrupled to make use of money
as well as arms ; and that he had not considered it deroga
tory to the dignity of the Chinese empire to purchase tran
quillity for his dominions and the repose of his subjects by
the payment of a kind of pension to the Tartars of Tanyu.
The Tartars Iq spitc of thcse prccautious for securing peace, it was
Sgu*of"the° during the reign of this prince that the sanguinary war was
VaS"!' begun, which has since produced so many revolutions. Till
then, he had been one of the most fortunate, as well as one
of the greatest, monarchs that had ever occupied the throne
of China. Beloved by his subjects, feared by his enemies,
respected by all the eastern sovereigns — many of whom paid
The Chris- tribute to him — his prosperity was unequalled. One cannot
preached in doubt that thcsc blcssiugs are attributable, in a great measure,
to the favourable reception he gave to the ministers of the
Gospel; for it was in the beginning of his reign that the
celebrated Jesuit, Matthew Ricci, first introduced the Chris
tian religion into this great empire.
We may safely say, that the victories he gained for the

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 7
cause of Christianity, were made at a higher cost than those
which the Tartars achieved in the service of their monarch.
For, at every step, he had to encounter obstacles which he
would have found insurmountable but for the heroic courage
which in him was combined with the patience of an apostle.
His perseverance prevailed over all, and he was finally
enabled to insinuate himself into the good graces of the
emperor. He employed his credit at court, with success, to
effect the establishment of Christianity in the empire ; he
obtained the importation of a considerable number of mis
sionaries of his order ; he founded numerous churches ; and
he had, upon his deathbed, the consolation of seeing many
of the Mandarins converted to Christianity. He died in
1610, leaving religion already flourishing in China.
Together with religion, the secular affairs of the empire also ^a'Sshesthe
prospered ; till Vanli^, at the suggestion of some of his SeTospei"*^
officers, dried up its source, and arrested the progress of the fshed by'a"
/.•111 .1* T .. ¦ TT revolution.
faith by banishing the missionaries. He soon after had the
mortification of seeing the lustre of his reign tarnished by
the kindling of those wars which resulted in placing strangers
upon his throne, and reducing his people to servitude.
This revolution, which broke out in the year 1616, owed ^"""o^^^^j
its origin to the vexatious oppressions which the Tartars ''*''°'"''°°"
of Niuche suffered from the governors of those Chinese
towns which are situated on their frontier. It was only a
few years before that these Tartars had erected a kingdom,
composed of six or seven petty states, whose several rulers,
after incessantly quarrelling among themselves, had finally
determined to submit quietly to the one who proved the
strongest. The Chinese governors who, in accordance with
the ancient /Customs of the empire, exercised absolute au
thority, and who, moreover, deemed it consistent with their
policy to repress this gro-wing power, had spared no effort to
thwart their commerce and their alliances ; and having even,
by some stratagem, possessed themselves of the person of
their king, they had put him to a cruel death.

THE HISTORY OF THE

Fortunately for his dominions, this prince had a son old
enough to succeed him, who^ in order to show himself
worthy of the throne, began his reign by undertaking to re
venge the death of his father. Accordingly he raised an
army, and making a sudden inroad into the province of
Leauton, took possession of Cayven, the principal town,
and sp,read terror throughout the country. He might have
pursued these advantages, had not a latent feeling of respect
for the Chinese empire induced him to seek a gentler means
of obtaining satisfaction for the murder of his father, by
complaining to the emperor himself, a just prince, and who,
he well knew, was no party to the excesses which were com
mitted by the governors. Having adopted this resolution,
he despatched a messenger to Pekin, bearing a letter couched
in respectful terms ; in which, after laying before the emperor
the wrongs he had endured from his ministers, he justified
the course of action he had adopted, and excused the inva
sion of the emperor's dominions on the plea that he had
been inflamed by a just impulse of grief. He farther -pro
ceeded to assure the emperor he was prepared to restore the
places he had taken, and to lead back his troops beyond the
wall, provided he could obtain a favourable hearing, and
that the emperor would act up to his professions of justice,
by himself punishing the violence committed by his sub
jects. This letter never reached Vanlife, as the Tartar chief
had fondly hoped. For whether it was that this prince,
already advanced in age, had begun to retire from public
affairs, or that he considered this transaction as an event
beneath his notice, certain it is that he made over the case
to his ministers ; who, far from considering themselves under
the necessity of appeasing the insulted prince, were highly
displeased that he should have presumed to complain of
them to their master.
The Tartar, irritated at the contempt shown him by the
emperor, and at the insolent treatment of his- ministers.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 9
vowed the destruction of the Chinese empire, and, urged by
the dictates of a barbarous piety, he took an oath to sacrifice,
to the manes of his father, the blood of 200,000 Chinese.
In this frame of mind he sprang on his horse, marched at
once upon the capital of the province of Leauton, besieged
and reduced it ; and taking advantage of the consternation
which the report of his victories had spread among the
people, penetrated into the province of Pekin, and advanced
t6 -within seven leagues of the seat of the empire, sparing
every to-wn that surrendered, and mercilessly putting to fire
and sword those that dared to offer resistance. This done,
he might have ventured to lay siege to Pekin ; but this
sagacious warrior, un-willing to trust too much to chance for
success, considered that he had done enough for the present;
and, fearing lest he should be hemmed in by the numerous
troops which the Chinese were assembling from all parts, he
retreated into the Leauton laden with the spoils of two rich
pro-vinces, and as if certain that his successes would equal
his ambition, he took the title of emperor of China, with the
Chinese surname of Thienmin.
The victory which he obtained shortly afterwards, con- ™|™ljf„^.
firmed him in his hopes. • For the Chinese having assembled ^.'tera*"'"'
an army of 600,000 men, he defeated them in a pitched '""°'''
battle, and leaving 50,000 of them dead upon the field, he
pursued the remainder as far as Pekin itself. Had he at
tacked it, he would no doubt have succeeded in effecting an
entrance ; for the panic was so great that the emperor him
self would hav» quitted it to fly into the southern provinces,
had not his council represented to him that such a proceed
ing would be a disgrace to himself and a heavy discourage
ment to his subjects, whereas it could not fail to embolden
Jiis enemies. It was not the will of heaven that the emperor
should terminate his reign and his life in such a state of de
gradation. He did not long survive the decline of his power,
havingj indeed, deserved his fate by the culpable weakness

Deiith of
Vaiilie.

10 THE HISTORY OF THE
with which, at the instigation of his ministers, he had allowed
the preachers of the gospel to be driven from his dominions.
It would at the same time appear, that he was spared from
witnessing the final downfall of the empire, on account of his
having always favoured the cause of Christianity, and of his
having been the first Chinese emperor who had permitted
that faith to be preached.
Vanli^ expired in the year 1630, after a reign of forty-
seven years. He was succeeded by his son Taichau, who
followed him to the grave almost as soon as to the throne.
He reigned only four months, leaving the crown to one of
his children, named Thienhi, who .possessed the abilities
requisite to have repaired the losses of the state, had his
reign been longer. He infused into his subjects such a
spirit of universal ardour for the defence of their common
country, that not only was China moved with a universal
enthusiasm, but the surrounding nations caught the infec
tion. The king of Corea supplied him with some good
troops, and a queen, who reigned in the mountains of Su
chuen, appeared leading her reinforcements in person, the
king her son being as yet too young to bear arms. This
princess afforded proofs that virtues of the highest order are
confined to no sex or country, for she performed feats in this
war of which the greatest captains might be proud, and
which in ancient times would have ranked her amongst the
most renowned of Amazons.
tersonh"'^' "^^o Christian mandarins considered this occasion to be
MoSied.'^ favourable for obtaining the recall of the preachers of the
gospel, and suggested to the emperor to apply to the Portu
guese of Macao to send him persons more expert than the
Chinese in the management of artillery, of which the latter
were very ignorant. Their scheme was entirely successful ;
the preachers were recalled, and the emperor annulled the
decree of banishment pronounced against them by his grand
father, and even allowed them to add several to their num-

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 11
ber. But "he was not compelled to wait for the assistance of
the Portuguese to commence hostilities. For, happily, the
Tartar king being occupied in his own dominions, Thienki
took such immediate advantage of this circumstance, and of
the good spirit that prevailed amongst the Chinese, whom
the cruelty of the Tartars had considerably alienated, that
he regained possession of a great part of the territory which
had been wrested from him.
These successes were not lasting : ere long, the Tartai
prince had concluded the business which detained him in
his own country, and recrossing the Wall at the head of a
powerful army, he recovered in a short time all the places
which the Chinese had taken.
Notwithstanding the characteristic effeminacy of the .iistanoe of
^ "^ constancy iol
Chinese, we might cite many instances occurring in the * ownese.
course of this war, of that constaticy which we admire in the
ancient Romans. Tbe following is one of the most remark
able. A Chinese grandee, who had been taken prisoner
during a siege, was led before the Tartar king, and required
to acknowledge this prince as his sovereign. The prisoner
was doubtless well aware that a refusal would be followed
by no less than death, and that the only mercy he could
expect was that his enemies should spare his constancy the
trial of lingering torture. The Tartars, who had met with
much pusillanimity amongst the Chinese and very little
loyalty to their sovereign, were far from expecting any re
sistance in the present instance. But they were all taken
by surprise when the mandarin, with a noble bearing which
would have done honour to a Roman consul, replied to their
demand that he was incapable of rendering to a stranger the
honour which was due to his own sovereign alone, and that
if the fortune of war had unhappily placed his life at the
mercy of the Tartar, it had nevertheless left his heart and
principles free. True virtue always inspires respect, the
Tartars were struck with admiration in this instance, and

12 THE HISTORY OF THE
feeling ashamed of detaining him longer in prison, they re
stored the courageous mandarin to liberty and sent him back
to his emperor. His well-tried fidelity deserved the highest
praise and reward; but a custom prevailed in China at that
time that every general who had been unfortunate should be
treated as culpable, a severity which had become necessary
on account of the frequent treachery practised by the man
darins. Consequently, our hero considered that he owed it
to his country to resign himself to this law, and died by his
own act to avoid a less honourable fate at the hands of others.
F'<'f 'i'y "f » This severe discipline afforded an opportunity to a Chris-
Mandarin. ^j^g^j^ chieftain named Sun, of honouring his religion by a
rare instance of fidelity to his king and his country. He
commanded an army in Leauton, at this time the theatre of
war, and which he governed as viceroy. He had gained
some important victories, and nothing was wanting to make
him the most fortunate captain of his time, but to be better
assisted by the court, which did not even allow him money
to pay his troops.
The severity of his virtue had been the cause of this treat
ment, for' he would never condescend, like others, to pur
chase the favour of the ministers by unworthy means, or to
corrupt their integrity by presents. Consequently, it was
in vain that he represented to them the state to which his
army was reduced for want of pay : his demands remained
unanswered. Beloved as he was by his souldiers, he averted
for some time by his authority alone the evil effects of their
murmurs ; but at last their patience was exhausted — a mutiny
broke out, they took the general by surprise, made them
selves masters of a town and pillaged it. Their fury having
subsided, they saw that their general's fate was sealed, and
that the only means of saving him was to raise the standard
of rebellion and entirely shake off the yoke. They spared no
efforts to incite him to this course of action, promisino- to
follow him implicitly, and declaring that they would not res

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 13
till they had placed him on the throne of China. The gene
ral saw that his own destruction and that of his soldiers was
inevitable, and he knew well that the only chance he had of
saving his head was to follow the line of conduct which was
recommended to him. Far, however, from complying with
their suggestions, he forcibly represented to them the enor
mity of the crime in which they had sought to involve him,
and not only succeeded in regaining all his influence over
their minds, but even had the courage to punish the authors
of the revolt.
This noble conduct, which excited the admiration of all
classes in the empire, met with nothing but censure from the
court, where the news of these events had no sooner been
received than a summons was despatched to Sun, requiring
him to answer for his conduct before the emperor, while a
successor was despatched to supersede him.
The army was filled with consternation at this news, and
every argument was employed to induce the general to resist
the order. "Do not leave us," they entreated, " we wUl under
take to defend you from your calumniators. It is our cause,
leave it to us." While his soldiers were thus pressing him,
the Tartar prince, who had been informed of what was pass
ing, sent to offer him a refuge in his dominions, assuring him
of protection if he would consent to join his party. Amidst
all these sore temptations, the general listened only to the
voice of his conscience, and exhorting his troops to follow
the example of his fidelity, he tore himself from their arms
to place himself voluntarily in the hands of his enemies, who,
unmoved by an instance of such wonderful heroism, merci
lessly condemned to death one who was worthy to live.
Many similar examples occurred during this war in which ^an^^t'
the Christian religion was honoured, either by her open '°^''"^-
professors, or by those who, having associated with them, had
adopted their precepts.
A celebrated chief called Mauvenlon was amongst the

14 THE HISTORY OF THE
latter. He was a native of the province of Canton, where
he had had dealings with the Portuguese. From them he
had learnt the art of war, and, at the same time, those true
principles of loyalty to one's king and one's country, which
are ever inculcated by true religion. Moreover, no one
more firmly resisted the solicitations of the Tartars, who
carried their intrigues so far as to promise him a division of
the empire if he would assist them to conquer it. The efforts
that he made to arrest their progress, proved that he was
invulnerable to this temptation. He was not invariably
successful, but in every reverse he had so many resources to
fall back upon, that if he did not always come off victorious,
his enemies could never boast of having vanquished him. It
was thus that he maintained in the emperor's interest the
king and kingdom of Corea, where he repeatedly defeated
the Tartars, and where they obtained over him but a few
doubtful successes. He perished through the perfidy of a
certain Yven, who poisoned him in order to rid himself of an
obstacle to his treasonable designs against his sovereign, who
had confided to him the government of the province of
Leauton. The secret communications which this traitor
carried on with the Tartars narrowly failed to overthrow the
empire, for he made no attempt to interfere with their pro
ceedings : they entered Pequeli, laid siege to Pekin, and
would have taken the town, were it not that the treason of
Yven having been discovered, his well-merited death so
terrified them, that they hastened to fall back upon their
The Tartars earlier conquests. From that time all their efforts to extend
repulsed. ,
them were vigorously repulsed, both during the reign of
Thienmin their first leader, and of Thienson who succeeded
him. They had subsided into a state of quiescence, especially
after an individual named Usanquey had been appointed to
command the army which the emperor maintained on the
frontier to oppose their inroads, when the divisions amongst
the Chinese opened to them anew the doors of the empire.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 15
In the year 1636, during the reigns of Zonchin in China, ""^^i^"
the successor of Thienki, and of Zunke in Tartary, successor a rlvoit!'"'
to Thienson, a band of robbers collected in the mountains
of Suchiien, and began to lay waste that province. The
Amazon of whom we have already spoken defeated them,
but she did not succeed in exterminating them. In conse
quence of the defection of one of the mandarins, who was
smarting under some injustice, their numbers were swelled
by the addition of all his partisans, while the avarice of the
emperor, who during a severe famine refused to lighten in
the smallest degree the burden of the taxes, multiplied the
robbers to that extent, that separating under two independ
ent leaders, they made themselves masters of the open coun
try and shortly after of the large towns.
The most considerable of these chieftains, named Licon, ^J"""' '*'«'
' ' of the rebels,
after having made trial of his arms in several combats, in ™'*^,8t^J;'e
which he always came off victorious, had at length the auda- ""i'^''"'^'
city to besiege the emperor in his own capital. Unfortu
nately for this prince his court was torn by factions. He
had succeeded in ridding himself of a eunuch called Guey,
having grown jealous of his power ; for his predecessor had
loaded him with favours so far as to raise him to an office in
the government. This eunuch had a faction of his own
hostile to the emperor, and hoping that the approach of the
rebels would afford him an opportunity of revenging him
self, he favoured the projects of Licon and facilitated his
entry into the town and the palace.
The unfortunate Zonchin perished, not by the weapons of |«»^^.°f
his revolted subjects, but by his own hand, for he hanged ownT"'
himself to a tree by his shoe-ties. His empress and those
faithful attendants who remained at his side, voluntarily sub
mitted to the same fate.
He left three sons and one daughter. Some accounts
relate, that before destroying himself he had already sacri
ficed the life of his daughter. This is not strictly true ; he

16 THE HISTORY OF THE
attempted to kiU her, but she shrinking from the blow,
escaped -with the loss of an arm, and the love of live animated
the young princess to seek a refuge from death. The three
princes sought to follow her example, but they were less
fortunate than their sister. The two younger, while search
ing for a place of concealment, fell into the power of the
tyrant, or, as some assert, of a relation no less cruel. How
ever this may be, both perished. The elder found means to
save his life, but we shall see presently that he only pro
longed it for a short space beyond that of his brothers, in
order to suffer still greater miseries.
Licon, as soon as he found himself master of the capital,
took the title of emperor. In order to invest this proceed
ing with due solemnity, he chose to seat himself on the
throne of the Chinese sovereigns ; but it was remarked as an
evil omen of the stability of his government that he found it
difficult to sit upon, and that he appeared uneasy as if the
seat had not been intended for him. His measures for
strengthening himself in his new position would have been
perfect, if the means he had chosen to bring one Usanguey
to his cause had been more successful.
Heroic ao- Usanguey had stationed himself in a town on the frontiers
tion of two ° •'
of Tartary, whence he watched the motions of the Tartars,
who, as he well knew, were not likely to remain long in a
state of tranquillity. Licon resolved to march against him
-with an army of 200,000 men, who only formed a division of
his troops, but before resorting to violence he determined to
employ artifice. Amongst the grandees of the empire whom
the fortune of war had compelled to acknowledge his power,
was an old man named Us, the father of the Usanguey of whom
we are speaking. When Licon set out on his expedition
against the son, he ordered the father to accompany him.
Us had no choice when under the commands of a man of
Licon's character : he obeyed, and followed the army, in
total ignorance of what was required of him. He learnt

Chinese.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OP CHINA. 17
¦what it was when he arrived at the spot where the brave
UsEinguey had entrenched himself to arrest the progress of
the tyrant, his troops being too few in number for him to
oppose his enemies in the open field. The father was the first
instrument which Licon employed in his attack upon the son.
He was led under the walls of the town, and the governor
was informed that he had been brought there in order to hold
a conference with him ; but no sooner had Us found him
self in the presence of his son, than a message arrived to the
latter from Licon, to the effect that he could only hope to
save his father's life by immediate submission to the conque
ror. Remonstrances and threats added weight to this decla
ration, and Usanguey was exhorted to submit at once to the
yoke which, sooner or later, must be imposed upon him.
Never was a generous heart exposed to such a trial of con
tending principles as that which overwhelmed Usanguey at
this moment. He stood, as it were, between his father and
his country, obliged to sacrifice the one or the other, and
unable to revenge the death of his sovereign except by con
senting to that of his father. He hesitated not, however, and
yielding to the dictates of virtue alone, threw himself on his
knees, and protested with tears, that though it was not -with
out the most bitter anguish that he consented-to -witness the
death of his parent, in order to save his country, yet the path
of duty lay clear before him ; and, after all, ifwas far better
for both that one should suffer an honourable death, than
that both should live to be despised. If the courage of Usan
guey, in this instance, was remarkable, that of Us was still
more worthy of admiration ; for not only did he refrain from
murmuring at his hard fate, but, lauding the patriotism of
Usanguey, he submitted to the savage decree of the tyrant
with a resolution more akin to the firmness of ancient Rome
than to the effeminacy of the Chinese.
This is the account which father Adam's letters give of the
transaction ; by which it is evident that the father Martini's

18 THE HISTORY OF THE
recollections were not so exact, for he relates that Us showed
symptoms of weakness, ahd entreated his son to submit to
the tyrant. The father Adam, who was in the country, and
even in the capital, at the time, is the more credible of the two.
It may be easily conceived how this conduct of Usanguey
animated the ardour of the soldiers in the defence of their
country. Licon would never have been able to resist the
sudden outbreak of patriotic feeling that burst forth at this
juncture, if he had not had so numerous an army. But the
disproportion of numbers was too great ; and all that Usan
guey could do was to fortify his post, and wait till assistance
should arrive. He was reduced to the necessity of asking
the aid of strangers, and at the moment he could find none
-within reach but the Tartars of Niuch6, who had for some
time apparently been on tolerably good terms with the Chi
nese. If Usanguey was aware of the danger he invoked in
applying for such assistance, the present peril probably ap
peared to him too pressing to take into consideration one
which as yet was only prospective. He therefore despatched
a messenger to Zunt^, who had succeeded Thienson in the
government of Tartary, and whose name had already at
tained some reputation, and represented to him the straits
to which the empire of China was reduced for want of assist
ance against its own subjects.
The messenger was spared the trouble of calling up his
eloquence in order to obtain the object of his mission. Zunt^
found the dictates of his own ambition more powerful induce
ments to march against the rebels, than those which the Chi
nese had made use of to excite his generosity. He mounted
his horse, and, placing himself at the head of a fine army, he
arrived in time to relieve Usanguey, who still held out with
heroic constancy. The rebels soon gave way before the at
tacks of these able captains. Licon set them the example of
flight, and retreated in haste and confusion towards the capital.
The king and the Chinese general pursued them, cutting

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 19
to pieces all who ventured to pause in their flight, or who
were unable to keep in advance, when a sudden illness, which
attacked the king just as they were entering Pekin, arrested
the progress of their arms. His death, which followed soon
after, threatened to disorganize the undertaking ; but the clear
and intelligent instructions which he issued on his death-bed
supplied the loss of his personal presence. He had nine bro
thers, all great military leaders, especially the eldest, called
Amavan : feeling his end approaching, he called them into
his presence, and having confided to their care his son Chun
chi, whom he declared his successor at the age of Six years,
he exhorted them to carry out an enterprise so glorious to
the nation.
The princes, thus left guardians of the youthful monarch,
fulfilled the trust committed to them by their sovereign with
a fidelity an.d unanimity which were considered almost mira
culous ; and, continuing their march upon Pekin, under the
guidance of Usanguey, they compelled Licon to evacuate it ^te Tartars
as hastily as he had entered it. Usanguey found it no such chuia.^
easy matter to dispossess the Tartars when they had once aec'iared '^
., . emperor.
taken possession.
The ^clat of such a conquest, and the satisfaction of the
people, who looked upon them as their deliverers, and mani
fested a strong inclination to receive Chunchi as their sove
reign, detained them in spite of all Usanguey's efforts to
induce them to depart. He spared no exertions in the
attainment of this object, but all in vain. The Tartars at
first dissembled, their numerical force not being sufficiently
strong to enable them to proclaim their intentions ; always
replying to Usanguey's representations, that the affairs of
China were not in a sufficiently settled state to allow of their
lea-vihg it destitute of troops.
It was not long before they expressed themselues more
openly. The troops which they had sent orders to levy in
Tartary had arrived, upon which they threw off the mask

20 THE HISTORY OF THB
and proclaimed the boy Chunchi emperor of China. This
was accomplished -with the greater facility, that the father
and grandfather of this child, having always projected in
their o-wn minds the conquest of this great empire, had taken
pains to gain over the mandarins, by the asylum they afforded
them at their court, when they were discontented with their
government, or were suffering under any injustice.
Usanguey, thus finding himself left unsupported, was com
pelled to follow in the stream, and submit quietly to what
was out of his power to prevent. It was in the year 1644
that Chunchi mounted the throne, and, child as he was, he
soon proved himself worthy to reign, by the noble and ex
alted sentiments which even at this early age distinguished
him. A little speech that he made of his own accord to his
uncles and his army, won him the affections of his people
and excited universal admiration ; it was no longer doubted
that he was under the special protection of heaven. With
a sagacity beyond his years, he decided that he was only half
a conqueror, seeing that his possession of the capital did not
make him master of the empire. He expressed this opinion
to his uncles, who agreed with him, but were highly pleased
that his foresight should seem to have excelled theirs.
Licon indeed was still alive and had retreated to Sigan,
the capital of the province of Chiensi, where he possessed
great resources in troops and money. Chamienchon the other
rebel chief reigned in the pro-vince of Suchuen ; several
Princes of the Taimingien House who would have been able
to raise a formidable army if there could have existed either
concord or subordination among so many of equal rank, had
been proclaimed by various parties amongst those Chinese
who retained any portion of their national pride.
Usanguey himself was a man to be dreaded, for though the
Tartars kept possession of his person, it was essential that
they should either attach him to their party or rid themselves
of him altogether, and as they respected his valour they were
loth to proceed to this extremity.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 21
Fortune favoured the boy-prince, and the talents displayed
by Amavan, the eldest of his uncles and his prime-minister,
soon overcame all these obstacles. Amavan gained over
Usanguey and so completely won his devotion that he en
trusted to him without reserve the task of overthro-wing Licon,
and presented him with the spoils of that chieftain. He
vanquished the governor of Siichiien, and after various alter
nations of success in the war with the Taimingien princes,
he beat them one after the other, and at the time of his death
left only one unsubdued.
One of these very princes was the cause of the overthrow Adventures
*' •*¦ of Zonciun s
of the rest, and he was no other than the eldest son of Zon- ^™-
chin whom we have already mentioned. His misfortunes
had not yet made Ufe seem unbearable. He had escaped,
and had so completely disguised his condition that he hired
himself to a Tartar, without any one suspecting his real rank.
Those who are born to rule find it hard to accommodate
themselves to a life of servitude, and to complete his unhappy
lot the young prince found himself in the power of a cruel
master. Such a life of hardship soon grew intolerable, he
quitted his master and took refuge with an old servant of the
emperor his father, believing that the benefits which that
prince had conferred upon him must have endeared his me
mory to him, and that from him he might confidently hope
for assistance. He soon found himself mistaken, and he
learnt by sad experience that it is vain .to look for gratitude
when the power of conferring benefits has fled. The un
grateful servant, forgetting all his obligations to so noble a
master, compelled the prince to leave his house almost as soon
as he had set foot in it, fearing lest he might be discovered,
and fearing too lest the vengeance of the conqueror should
fall alike on the fugitive and on him who had afforded him
shelter. In this extremity the prince, in despair of finding any
place of refuge, resolved to throw himself upon the protection

22 THE HISTORY OF THE
of his maternal grandfather, whom the Tartars had spared
and whom they left unmolested, as they did the other manda
rins who had submitted to their dominion. He did not find
him at home, but in his stead he beheld a person whom he
had long believed to be dead. This was the sister whom the
emperor, their father, under an impulse of barbarous affec
tion had endeavoured to put to death before destroying him
self, though he had only succeeded in cutting off her arm.
They recognized one another at the first glance, and in the
sudden excitement of this mutual recognitiou they hastened
to embrace one another with a fondness and delight which it
is easier to imagine than to describe. They could only speak
by their tears, their hearts were overflowing with the tumul
tuous emotions of joy, sorrow, and affection.
This spectacle, which ought to have touched the heart of
the grandfather, who arrived at the moment, awakened in his
heart something worse than insensibility. Consulting only
the dictates of a hard-hearted policy the unnatural parent
refused to acknowledge his grandson and drove him ignomi
niously from the house. The unhappy prince, now reduced
to utter despair and fearful of being discovered, left the capital
and went to Nankin. There he learnt that another prince of
his house named Hunquan, nephew of Vanlie, had been
crowned Emperor of China, and that the heads of the family
of Taimin had agreed to support his title. This new freak
of fortune caused all his wounds to open afresh. It was far
more galling to- him to see a subject seated on his throne than a
conqueror and an enemy. He could bear it no longer, he pro-
claimedwho he was, and gave proofs of his identity which satis
fied all persons except those who had an object in denying it.
It may easily be conceived that Hunquan was not amongst
the easiest to convince. As Hunquan had all the power in
his own hands, and the prince had asserted his rights too
prematurely to give his partizans time to rally round him, he
treated him as an impostor, and threw him into prison as a

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 23
preliminary step to putting him to death. Those who sup
ported the cause of the prisoner could not submit to see him
whom they regarded as their lawful sovereign the victim of
such treatment. The spirit on either side grew angry, and
a division took place which was of no advantage to any one
but the common enemy. For Amavan, who had made him
self master of the province of Chauton, arriving at this junc
ture on the frontier of that of Nankin, passed it and crossed
the Yellow River without encountering the slightest opposi
tion, after which ha-ving occupied all the fortresses on the
north bank of the great river Kian, which the Chinese call
the Son of the Sea, he was met by a formidable resistance at
the passage of this river ; but the brave Hanchouan who de
fended it ha-ving fallen by the hand of one of his own people,
Amavan's path was cleared of all obstacles ; he took Nankin,
and soon after Hunquan, who had fled, was delivered into his
hand by the same traitor who had murdered Hanchouan. He
was carried to Pekin together with his rival, the son of Zon
chin, where their opposing claims were decided by the death
of both, a fate which was shared by all who could be found
related to that unhappy house. Father Adam says that at
first the son of Zonchin was spared, whether on account of his
misfortunes, which excited sympathy more than those of his
companions, or that from his doubtful birth he was considered
less formidable. The haughtiness which he evinced even in
prison soon satisfied the incredulous as to his real descent.
As he advanced in years the blood of so many emperors
which flowed in his veins was made evident to himself as well
as to others, and was ultimately the cause that he ruined
himself in the endeavour to mak6 himself feared.
While this bloody tragedy was taking place at Pekin, ^j,^°™° ^
against the natural inclinations of the young emperor, which ^'^est^His
were always forced by his ministers to give way to political emperor
... ---.p ,. J attains hia
interests, Amavan was pursuing his successes. Me would no majority.
longer have met with any resistance, had not an edict which

24 THE HISTORY OF THE
he had published, obliging the Chinese to cut off their hair
and adopt the Tartar dress, again caused an insurrection
against their new rulers. This mark of bondage appeared to
them more insupportable than the bondage itself. Too
effeminate and cowardly to save their heads, they became
brave to save their hair, and had not quarrels broken out
amongst those remaining princes of the blood royal who pre
ferred almost equal claims to the throne, the Tartars would
have run the risk of losing their conquests instead of increas
ing them. But these divisions enabled Amavan to ruin some
by means of the others, and he ended by exterminating them
all, after which he returned to Pekin, and thither he carried
his laurels only to hide them in the grave, for he died in
1651, soon after his return, leaving the emperor, who was
ndw fourteen years old, and was married to the daughter of
the king of Tanyu, competent to assume the reins of govern
ment in compliance with the wishes of his people.
Religion The Christian religion suffered much by the fall of the
preserved ^ •'
revoiiftion Chinese princes, especially by the death of one named Yunli^,
who lived for some years after Amavan had wrested from him
the possession of Canton, the capital of the province, where
he had been proclaimed king; but his party, too weak to
retrieve its losses, had been compelled to abandon him to his
fate. Services which had been rendered him by two Chris
tian mandarins, and the circumstance of his chief minister
being a Christian likewise, had made Mm favourable to the
cause of Christianity, so that a Jesuit, named Father Cofler,
who was attached to that court, had made many converts.
The prince himself was not far from the kingdom of heaven,
his wife and his son were baptised by the names of Helen
and Constantine, and he had sent another Jesuit to Rome to
give in his allegiance to the -vicar of Jesus Christ. .All this
was put a stop to by the defeat of Yunli^. Constantine met
-with the same fate as his father; the queen was taken to
Pekin, where she stiU lives, and where it is said that the loss

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 25
of her liberty has by no means affected her faith ; the re
mainder were dispersed, and this unhappy Church was left
in a mournful state of desolation.
While the cause of religion was suffering these defeats, it
obtained fall compensation by the cordial reception given by
the conquerors to the ministers of the Gospel. The Jesuits
were at the time scattered over the whole of China, and they
had several church,es. Some, indeed, had been buried in the
ruins of the cities where they lived, not one of them having
abandoned his flock; but the majority of them were very
well treated by the Tartars. A few of them had adventures
worthy of record.
Father Martini, to whom Europe is indebted for the greater
part of her knowledge of Chinese history, relates of himself,
that after an expedition he had made from Mancheu, capital
of the province, to Venchui, which lies close by, it was sud
denly noised abroad that the Tartars were at hand ; and the
rumour was only too correct. The father lodged in a large
house, in which several persons hastily took refuge with him,
hoping by this means to save their lives, or to encourage one
another to support their approaching fate. He received
them with a kindness which deserved that the blessing of
heaven should accompany the exertions he made to save
them. As soon as he learnt that the Tartars were about to
enter the town, he put up on the door of his house an in
scription in these words : " Here resides a doctor of the
divine law, come from the Great West." In the vestibule
he placed a number of tables covered with books, telescopes,
burning-glasses, and similar articles, which excite great ad
miration and respect in those countries. In the middle of it
aU he erected an altar, and placed upon it an image of the
Sa-viour. This spectacle was attended -with aU the effect
which he anticipated. The Tartars were much impressed,
and far from injuring any one, their chief sent for the father,
received him very favourably, and, unwilling to compel him

26 THE HISTORY OF THE
to forsake the national dress, he asked him frankly if he had
any objection to ha-ving his hair cut off. As the father made
no opposition the captain had it cut off in his presence ; and
when the father observed to him laughingly, that the Chinese
dress which he still wore did not suit with his shorn head,
the Tartar took off his o-wn boots and cap and made him put
them on ; and after entertaining him at his own table, he
sent him back to his church with letters and passports, which
effectually protected him and his fellow-Christians from the
insults of the soldiery.
A still more singular history is that of the father des Magal-
hans, the author of the well- written and curious observations,
to which the embellishments of the learned abbe Bernou
have added a fresh interest. He and father Buglio were
with the army of Chamienchon, who had taken a fancy to
them, and who had promised that at the conclusion of the
war he would build a magnificent temple to the God of the
Christians. It was a mission which at first was not displeas
ing to them, for they found much to do, and stiU more to
encourage their hopes in the propagation of the true faith.
But as time advanced their position became quite unendur
able. Chamienchon proved to be one of the most cruel and
sanguinary monsters that ever existed. The inhuman atroci
ties of which he was guUty would be perfectly incredible, if
they had not been related by such trustworthy -witnesses. If
he happened to find in the street a person who had offended
him, the provocation was sufficient for him to destroy all its
inhabitants. A fault committed by a single bonze, was atoned for by
the blood of 20,000 persons ; for the error of one soldier a
whole legion suffered the same fate. One day he put to the
sword all the inhabitants of a certain town, which numbered
a population of 600,000 souls ; on another occasion he or
dered his soldiers to kill all their -wives, and he set them the
example by only sparing twenty out of the three hundred

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 27
which he himself possessed. If the simple perusal of these
crimes fiUs the mind with horror, it may be inferred what
were the feelings of those who were compelled to witness
them. They could bear it at last no longer, and they re
solved to leave this savage or to attempt to humanize him.
They began by respectfuUy remonstrating with him; their
language then -grew a Uttle more emphatic, but, finding all
their attempts useless, and unable to endure any longer the
sight of so much human blood shed by the commands of this
merciless wretch, they frankly asked permission to withdraw
from the army. Nothing more was required to rouse all
the fury of this wild beast, and to convert his friendship into
deadly hatred. He condemned then to death, and they
were about to be he-wn in pieces, when the son of the tyrant,
who had grown attached to them, persuaded him to suspend
this bloody tragedy for a short time. But he was none the
less resolved upon their destruction, and on a certain day he
had caused the priests to be led before him that he might
preside at the execution of the sentence, when, at the critical
moment, inteUigence was brought to him that the Tartar
army, from which he fancied himself quite secure, was ready
to faU upon him. He sprang upon his horse without wait
ing to put on his armour, and encountered at the gates
of his camp the vanguard of the army, one of whom dis
charged an arrow against him with so true an aim that
he fell dead, and thus the human race was delivered from the
greatest enemy it ever had. The tyrant's death was followed
by the flight of his army ; those who escaped destruction
at the hands of the Tartars were completely dispersed.
The fathers were saved from this danger only to fall into
another. For having taken the resolution of presenting
themselves before the Tartar general, they were met in the
vicinity of the camp by one of the outposts, who not under
standing their language, and taking them for spies, attacked
them, wounded them with their arrows, and left them on the

28 THE HISTORY OF THE
ground for dead. They narrowly escaped this fate, for they
were both severely wounded, and father BugUo was pierced
by a javelin, which neither he nor his companion were able
to extract. By the greatest good fortune, as the father de
Magalhans was searching for something to enable him to
draw out the iron, he found a pair of pincers, -with which he
succeeded in extracting it. While these two fathers were
thus endeavouring to relieve one another's sufferings, their
wounds being already bandaged, and as they were deliberat
ing as to the course they should pursue in their present
situation, they saw advancing towards them another squad
ron of Tartars, much more numerous than the former.
The treatment they had just received did not augur weU
for their present chances of safety ; but they were agreeably
surprised when the leader of the troop, who was the Tartar
general, having heard of the disaster that had befaUen them,
and conjecturing who they might be, accosted them ci-viUy,
expressed his regret as to their adventure, and conducted
them to his camp. Nothing could equal the attention he
paid them. He provided them with everything they could
require, caused their wounds to be dressed every day, and
as soon as they had recovered, he accompanied them to
Pekin, w. ere they found the celebrated father Adam Schall
in high favour with the emperor: and they rightly attributed
to his influence all the civUities they had received, and which
were extended to their brethren aU over the kingdom.
limn The father Adam Schall was a German Jesuit, a native of
favourwith° Cologue, who haviug visited China as a missionary in the
theemperor. ^ . t i • -i -r. t .
first instance, and having been sent to Pekin to learn the
Chinese sciences, had acquired such a reputation at the
court of the emperor Zonchin by his knowledge of mathe
matics, that he was regarded as one of the first men in the
empire. As he remained at Pekin through aU the revolu
tions, which in so short a space of time had so repeatedly
changed the aspect of the monarchy, he was exposed to a

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 29
thousand dangers ; but when this change of government took
place, he had the good fortune to find that he enjoyed as
much consideration in the Tartar court as he had received in
that of the Chinese prince. Amavan contracted a friendship
with him and paid him several visits, and finding in him not
only great scientific attainments but much merit and virtue,
presented him to the young emperor.
The youth of this prince did not prevent him from de
riving great satisfaction from the society of the father, and
he pressed him to repeat his visits. It is impossible to say
how far this intercourse contributed to form the inteUect and
the heart of Chunchi : both were naturally of a high order,
but that which by nature was good in him, became exceUent
by education. Accordingly all the chief men of the empire
were so impatient that he should assume the reins of govern
ment, that one of his uncles, having intrigued to obtained the
post which the death of Amavan had left vacant, and to re
tain the young king in a state of tutelage for some time
longer, he excited a general opposition amongst the cour
tiers ; they brought to the palace the insignia of their various
offices, and protested that they would not resume them tiU
the emperor should undertake the government of his people.
The prince not daring to carry his pretensions and his in- c^^J'"*^^.
trigues any farther, the emperor assumed the government, ^jfJILt
and appeared all at once so weU skiUed in the art of reigning
that he excited general admiration and won the hearts of aU
his subjects. He possessed not only a high order of intellect,
but a singular aptitude for everything. He gave his orders
in the field as if he had grown grey in harness. He kept a
watchful eye on the conduct of the magistrates and the officers
of the crown, in consequence of which nothing escaped his
penetration, and though he was in general incUned to gentle
measures in his dealings with his subjects he rather erred on
the side of severity when it was a question of punishing any
misdemeanour of apubUc functionary. Having been informed

30 THE HISTORY OF THE
one day that those who presided at the examination of the
candidates for the doctorate, which is necessary for all those
who aspire to any of the higher offices in the state, had winked
at the ignorance of some amongst the number to whom they
had sold their votes,he obUged these latter to undergo a second
examination, and condemned to death thfrty-six of the exami
ners, upon the plea that those who sold justice were capable of
betraying their country. ThepoUcy he pursued in order tp
pacify his dominions, after the turmoU of his conquest had
subsided, was to amalgamate so completely the Chinese and
Tartar races that they should by degrees merge into one na
tion. It was to carry out this principle that he placed an
equal number of both in all the tribunals, and that in the ad
ministration of the government he employed the services of
both indiscriminately, when he found them equally deserving
of his confidence. In the same way as he had caused the
Chinese to adopt the Tartar dress, he introduced the regula
tions of the Chinese poUce amongst his Tartars as being more
sagacious and better conceived. He confirmed the privileges
which the laws of China had granted for the encouragement
of literature, but he took every precaution to prevent the
national warlike character from degenerating under its influ
ence, as it had done under the late reigns, being desirous of
introducing a martial spirit into the Chinese philosophy by
the infusion of Tartar discipline and courage. Thus he
brought to a successful termination aU those wars which Ama
van had left unfinished, of which the most formidable was
that which he conducted against Icoan, or rather against his
children.
story ofa Icoan, Otherwise known as Chinchilon, was born in the
man of for-
icoan°and'^ provincc of Fokieu and had been compelled by poverty to
Quesin."" abandon his native country at a very early age. He came
to Macao, where he succeeded in bettering his condition, and
having been instructed in the rudiments of the Christian re
ligion he received the rite of baptism. His godfather, who

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 31
was a rich Portuguese, grew so fond of him that when, he died
he left him heir to a portion of his property. Possessed of
this capital he engaged in trade, in which he was successful,
and proved himself so skilful that in a short time he became
one of the most celebrated and the richest merchant of
the Indies. He soon found himself the owner of vessels, and
his ambition having kept pace with his wealth he began to
adopt the manners and mode of life of the great nobles. His
opulence won him friends, but it likewise raised him up
enemies, who made every effort to prejudice the emperor Zon
chin against him. This prince was however just beginning
to find himself too much beset with enemies to think of cre
ating a new one, and instead of heeding the complaints which
poured into his ears he resolved to attach him to his interests
by giving him the appointment of admiral in the Chinese
seas. Icoan was not ungrateful for this mark of favour ; for
hearing that the tyrant Licon had levied war upon the em
peror he assembled his troops to hasten to his assistance.
His fideUty was of no avail to the unhappy Zonchin, and he
received the news of his fate as he was marching to his aid.
Seeing therefore that there remained nothing more to be done
in the service of his prince and of his country, he retraced
his steps, resolving to pursue his labours for his o-wn aggran
dizement, and to take advantage of the public ruin which he
could not avert to advance his own interests which were
already in a flourishing state.
In truth the commotions in the empire tended to increase
his own importance, especiaUy since Quesin, his son, whose
character resembled his own, was old enough to assist him.
They both attached themselves to the cause of one of the
Taimingien princes, who had claimed the sovereignty. They
maintained him on the throne for a considerable time, and
would have upheld him altogether if he had helped himself
in the smallest degree. As for them, as they could perfectly
subsist without him, they made no scruple of deserting him

SZ THE HISTORY OF THE
when they found that his cause was hopeless ; and continu
ing the contest on their o-wn account, they became so formid
able that the Tartars eagerly sought their alliance, and made
them the most splendid offers upon the condition that they
would submit to their authority. Quesin firmly resisted, but
Icoan was more easily persuaded, and, against the urgent ad
vice of his son, he imprudently surrendered himself to the
victors. The ministers thought themselves secure of the son as
soon as the father was in their power, never doubting that
the parent would employ every argument to win over his
son. Consequently they began by treating Icoan with all
respect, making his position as agreeable as possible to him ;
but they changed their tone when they discovered that it was
labour thro-wn away, and that Quesin remained as obstinate
as ever. At first they took from him aU his appointments,
and ended by reducing him to such a state of destitution,
that he subsisted for a considerable time upon the charity of
the Jesuits of Pekin, whom he had always protected, though
the ambition which had engrossed aU his thoughts had left
him but an indifferent Christian. Poverty was soon followed
by exile and imprisonment, and finally a violent death ter
minated his misfortunes and his life.
Quesin, who cherished towards his father all those senti
ments of filial devotion which Chinese morality inculcates,
made every effort to revenge his death ; and it was in the
war which he prosecuted with this motive that the young
prince, at the moment of attaining his majority, found him
self involved. Quesin had remained with his vessels, and
had contented himself with the sovereignty of the seas, where,
by means of the powerful naval force under his command he
had established a superiority which was the terror of the
neighbouring coasts. He placed such confidence in his sol
diers, that as soon as he heard of the death of his father, he
resolved upon obtaining retribution. The emperor was pre-

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 33
pared, and lost no time in sending reinforcements to the
maritime provinces, and placing tried officers in the fortified
towns. Fortunately, he had entrusted the defence of Nan
kin to two officers, who would counterbalance one another
by their opposite dispositions to gentleness and severity.
For Quesin having presumed to attack this large town, the
Tartar captain who commanded the garrison proposed to
massacre all the burghers: theii' numbers, he urged, were too
great for any order to be maintained amongst them, even
should the siege be protracted. The Chinese magistrate Lam,
who presided over the civil tribunals, was horrified by the
proposal, and vehemently opposed such a barbarous inten
tion. " If you intend to carry this measure into execution,"
he said boldly to the Tartar, " you must begin with me."
These words recalled this violent and sanguinary chieftain
to his senses, and he soon after acknowledged, that it was
possible to obtain a more glorious victory over the enemy,
than by staining it with cruelty. The siege had lasted
three weeks, and the town was beginning to suffer, when
the besiegers conceived the idea of celebrating the birth
day of their general by a magnificent feast. They gave
themselves up to every kind of excess on this occasion.
Having abandoned themselves during a whole day to wine,
and the following night to slumber, they were attacked by
the besieged, who had discovered their powerless condition.
Three thousand were left dead on the field, and the rest were
compeUed to take refuge in their ships.
Quesin learnt experience from his defeat, .and was careful
to select a better field for his operations. He remained at
sea, and defeated the imperial fleets in several engagements.
In one of these, having taken prisoners three thousand Tar
tars, he had their noses cut off and sent them back to Pekin,
where the emperor, who always punished public faults
with merciless severity, condemned them all to death, say
ing that they ought to have sought it in battle, and to have

34 THE HISTORY OF THE
preferred it to a disgrace which was reflected upon the
nation. If Quesin knew how to maintain himself at sea, the emperor,
on the other hand, made himself quite inaccessible on land,
and was so successful that the enemy was obliged to retire else
where with his forces. Quesin had long meditated the con
quest of the Island of Formosa, then occupied by the Dutch.
He determined to attack them, and was moreover bold enough
to make this resolution at a time when they had made an
alliance with the Tartars against him. In spite of these two
formidable powers, he took possession of the island, and
caused himself to be proclaimed king. Not content with
this, he even attempted to exact a tribute from the Spaniards
of the Philippines, and sent an ambassador to ManiUa to
demand it. His power was sufficiently established to have
ensured compUance with this demand, had not quarrels
arisen in his family. It happened that he had left his -wives,
together with one of his soas named Chins, in an island in
the province of Fokien, where his own father had buUt a
fortress. This son, forgetting all proper respect to his father,
had become enamoured of one of his wives, and unfortunately
he had not found her insensible to his passion. This insult
excited the indignation of Quesin to such a degree, that he
resolved that his son should atone for it with his„life. The
young man was warned of this determination, and, with the
assistance of his mother, who lived in the same fortress and
was a woman of superior inteUect, he entered into a treaty
with the Tartars, forestaUing thereby the arrival of the
messenger whom his father had sent to put him to death.
No sooner had he taken this step, however, than he heard
that the revolt had produced such an effect upon Quesin's
mind that it had caused his death. This event retarded for
some time the reduction of the Island of Formosa, and it was
not destined to be accomplished, as we shaU see, tUl the
reign of the present emperor.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 35
The greatness of Chunchi manifested itself not only in his
wars and conquests, but it was conspicuous also amidst the
splendour of his court, where he supported the dignity of
the empire, and asserted over the neighboiiring princes an
air of superiority which few cared to dispute. The king of
Corea visiting Pekin, made his court to him like a private
subject. Father Adam says that he saw him there, and con
versed with him frequently. Ambassadors flocked thither
from all countries, and it was in his reign that the Dutch
sent their famous mission, the account of which is found in
the admirable collection of curious narratives and voyages
which M. Thevenot has laid before the public. The Musco
vites also sent one which did not prove satisfactory, as they
claimed greater honours than the emperor thought consistent
with his dignity to aUow them.
Chunchi was as amiable in private life and amongst those chnnohi in
¦*¦ private life,
who had the privilege of knowing him personally, as he was
distinguished in his public capacity. The terms on which
he lived with father Adam, even after he had attained his
majority, entirely bears out this assertion. The young em
peror used to caU him mafa, a name which corresponds to
that of father in our language ; and, in truth, he felt towards
him all the affection of a son. Indeed, he rather oppressed him
-with favours, by insisting, against his desire, that he should
accept the post of chief professor of mathematics, which is
one of the first offices in the state. It was the only occasion
on which the father found himself in danger of forfeiting the
good wiU of his sovereign towards himself and the other
ministers of religion. In aU their other relations, it was
father Adam's opinion that he knew no one so pleasant to
live with as Chunchi. No one ever had cause to tremble
from the fear of incurring his displeasure, by some of those
trifling accidents which so often occur to trouble the serenity
of men in power. The father never found it necessary to
consult his whims or to humour his fancies. The emperor

36 1;HE HISTORY OF THE
took everything frorn the father in good part, and it was re
marked with pleasure, that though his temper was naturaUy
warm and hasty, he never varied in his conduct towards his
friend. Chunchi placed the most boundless confidence in his ho
nesty, and was so well assured of his affection that he always
listened patiently to the frequent and se-vere rebukes which
this'faithful servant administered Jo him, though they might
condemn many of his pleasures ; and even if he did not inva-
riably reform his conduct, he had the.^anAQUL t.o,c,onfess_that
he would have done better to follow his advice. The gran
dees, who saw what a powerful influence father Adam exerted
over the mind of the prince, often employed him to commu
nicate what they had not the courage to say themselves.
It so happened that a rumour had been circulated highly
injurious to the reputation of the emperor, and the courtiers
industriously propagated it, in order to create a scandal. No
one dared to inform the principal person concerned in the
affair, and the father was the only person who could be in
duced to undertake it. He requested an audience, and throw
ing himself at his feet, his eyes full of tears, he put a paper
into his hand which acquainted him with the scandalous stories
that were afloat in connexion with his name. The emperor
read it, and coloured as he did so ; but he did not appear
offended, and only said, as he raised his aged councillor, that
the whole affair was very much exaggerated.
Another time the emperor was so completely overwhelmed
with grief at the loss of one of his wives, to whom he* was de
votedly attached, that he sank into a state of complete apathy,
and entirely neglected all his affairs. As no one would ven
ture to address him, the ministers, who were exceedingly
embarrassed respecting the decision of several matters which
required the sovereign's attention, were at a loss what course
to pursue. Father Adam relieved them from their perplex
ity. He niade his way to the emperor's presence, and gently

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 37
and respectfuUy represented to him how much he lowered
himself in the public estimation by his present conduct. Fa
ther Adam knew how to work upon his peculiar disposition,
and he soon brought him to see the wisdom of his exhorta
tions. The emperor was so grateful to him for the interest
he took in his welfare, that he wrote to him on the following
day a letter full of expressions of the warmest affection, while
he conjured him to continue towards himself a friendship so
valuable to his person and the state.
One day the father feared that he had offended him by a
similar proceeding on his part, — on which occasion he had
certainly expressed himself rather strongly. The emperor
had asked him how it was that the persons he employed in
the management of the public affairs performed their duty so
negligently at times, since he treated them so kindly, and
never harrassed or tormented them. " It ought not to asto
nish you so much, sire," replied the father, " it does occasion
ally happen that your majesty somewhat sets them the ex
ample." The emperor made no reply to this explanation, and
the father thought he was offended ; but he was surprised to
find that, after a few moments, the emperor began to talk to
him again just as usual, and with no alteration of manner.
On another occasion, after he had been sitting for some
time with the father, in his own room, he went down into the
garden with him to see a forge for the manufacture of mathe
matical instruments. The workmen retired when they saw
the emperor ; but he desired them to go on with their work,
and stood near to watch them. At last he got so close to
them that when they began to strike the glowing iron the
sparks reached him. He stepped back, but in doing so he
came upon a ditch covered with loose planks ; one of these
gave way, and he narrowly escaped falling into it. Father
Adam shuddered with apprehension lest the prince should
look upon this accident as a bad omen, as it had occurred on
the eve of his birthday, — a day on which every event is care-

38 THE HISTORY OF THE
fuUy noted down by the superstitious astrologers of China.
He feU on his knees, and asked the emperor's pardon for the
danger to which his majesty had been exposed through his
imprudence, conjuring him not to draw any evil augury from
an accident which was purely fortuitous. The emperor
smiled on hearing these words, and, kindly raising father
Adam, he said, " Go, mafa, there are few men in this world
who do not occasionally make a false step."
He excited the admiration of all those who recollected the
haughty and exclusive manners of the late Chinese sovereigns,
by his easy familiarity with this foreigner. Not only did he
give him free access to his palace, but he often -went to visit
him, and used to spend several hours with him. It is, a cus
tom in China that when once a seat has been occupied by
the emperor, no one else is ever allowed to sit upon it, and
it is covered with a yellow cloth, — the imperial colour. As
Chunchi always sat down on whatever seat happened to be
nearest to him, the father said to him one day, smiling, " But
where does your majesty intend me to sit henceforward?"
" Wherever you like," replied the emperor ; " we do not
stand upon ceremony, you and I."
Their discussions together were on various subjects : ma
thematics, morality, and religion, — for the father had the art
of leading the conversation from agreeable to useful subjects,
and as much as possible to those which might open his eyes
to the truths of the gospel. One of these conversations is re
lated at fuU length in the memoirs which remain to us of
father Adam It shows so clearly the penetration and honesty
of the emperor whose history we are recording, that we can
not do better than repeat it here.
conversa- Jn the year 1656, the emperor having desired the father
on ttetub™ to come and meet him in a park where he was hunting ; the
'religion. father accordingly came, and as soon as the hunting was over
the following discussion took place on the subject of a book
on astronomy, which he had presented to him.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 39
" I have heard it said," began the prince, " that certain
conjunctions of the stars portend certain events. If this be
true, as the course of the stars is regulated, our destinies must
be ruled also, and it is useless to take measures to avert that
which is inevitable."
Father Adam, who occasionaUy took advantage of the em
peror's curiosity in observing the stars, to teach him to fear
Him who reigns supreme over .them, replied, " Sire, far above
all the stars there is One who has created them. One who
often makes use of them to warn us men, and more particu
larly the princes of the earth, of the sins which displease Him,
by the chastisements with which He threatens them. But
this same God, who governs the stars, and makes use of the
constellations as warnings to men, has given them free will to
escape from the punishments with which they are threatened,
by a timely repentance."
" Can you tell me," replied the emperor, "who is this God
of whom you so often speak to me ?"
" He is an invisible God," answered the father ; " but He
reveals himself to man in His works. He it is who created
the heavens, and who governs the various motions that we
admire in that starry host ; and this is why we Christians call
him by the name of Creator, or Lord.
" I will grant you that much," replied the emperor, return
ing to the point ; " but I recollect your often telling me that
those warnings we were speaking of just now apply more
particularly to me. Why to me more than other kings ?"
" Your majesty," said the father with great presence of
mind, " has assumed, amongst other titles, that of ' son of
heaven'; you cannot then wopder that the God of heaven
watches over you more than over others."
" But," resumed the emperor, " if I were to correct myself
of the faults which you have pointed out to me, would that
be sufficient to ward off the chastisements with which you
threaten me ?"

40 THE HISTORY OF THE
" I cannot doubt it, sire. You would not, indeed, attain
the power of changing the course of the stars, and their con
junctions in the heavens ; but we have a proverb in Europe,
which says that a wise man has dominion over the heavenly
bodies." " Pray, mafa," rejoined the emperor, " tell me the best
way to correct my faults."
" I have often taken advantage of the liberty your majesty
aUows me, to teU you freely my opinion of your conduct.
You will have made a great improvement when you have
learnt to temper justice with mercy, for your notions of jus
tice too often degenerate into harshness and cruelty ; when
you have more consideration for those who are about your
person, by letting them receive occasionaUy some token of
your approbation and liberality ; when you apply yourself
more assiduously to promote the welfare of your people, and
increase their happiness ;-^in a word, when your majesty,
loving God, our common Father, above all things, will have
learnt to feel the same compassion for the sorrows of your
feUow men, who by nature are your brothers, as you would
wish them to feel for you, if you were in their place, — accord
ing to that other precept of right reason, that we must do unto
others as we would they should do unto us."
When the father had reached this point, the emperor
argued, that princes who are accustomed to look do-wn upon
all men as their inferiors, are not wiUing to acknowledge
this law of equality : he even confessed that he could not
conceive it, a remark which led the father to explain to him
the Decalogue.
The emperor listened to his disquisition, which was toler
ably long, -without interrupting him, and was struck with
admiration at so perfect a code of laws.
" Mafa," he answered, " have you many disciples in this
country, who observe all these precepts which you have
been explaining to me ?"

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 41
** We have rather a considerable number," answered the
father, " and if some of them forsake their duty occasionaUy,
it is because we are not supported here by the civir autho
rity as we are in Europe, where we can punish those who
violate the law."
" But how do you mean," replied the emperor, " are
kings in your country subject to this law as much as ordi
nary people ?"
" Much more so," rejoined the father, " for kings ought
to set a good example to their subjects."
" What ! does that apply to me as weU, even though I
am not yet a Christian ?"
" This law, sir, is obligatory upon all men, and all are
obUged to obey it under the pain of eternal punishment."
" That requires great strength," said the emperor, " and
how is it to be obtained ?"
" God gives us strength," answered the father, " and it
never fails us when we need it : with this help aU difficulties
can be overcome, and it is only necessary to have the -wiU."
" You have convinced me," was the emperor's conclusion,
" and it seems to me that I may hope to accomplish what so
many others have done ; and I will do it, I am quite de
termined." Having arrived at this satisfactory result, the emperor
turned the conversation to the subject of the Zonchin, his
predecessor, and asked the father what was the cause of his
faU. The father answered, that he was an extremely weU-dis-
posed prince, moral, careful of the welfare of his people, but
that he had too much confidence in himself and his own
judgment; -while his blind attachment to unfaithful magis
trates and soldiers had been the cause of his ruin. He added,
in order to excite the emulation of the emperor by a noble
example, that this prince respected the divine law ; and
that, if the blow which destroyed him had not faUen so

42 THE HISTORY OF THE
unexpectedly, he would very likely have embraced Chris
tianity.
chunchi's By g^c}]^ Conferences as the above, father Adam so con-
leanings J '
StlLiity, ciliated the young conqueror to the Christian reUgion, that
he constantly favoured the same, and accorded to its preachers
fuU liberty for its diffusion. Chunchi afforded every hope
that he would shortly profess it, but the same passion which
caused Solomon to embrace the false gods, which he knew
not, led Chunchi to desert the true God, who had been
brought to his knowledge.
^erls Ui Among the women of rank at the court of the empress,
^"'^' was one of whom the prince became desperately enamoured.
His passion became too violent for long suppression : he dis
closed it to its object one day, as she was leaving the imperial
apartment, and omitted no argument to obtain her acquies
cence. He met, as he expected, with resistance ; but, from
the manner of her reply, he judged that her severity would
not be in-vincible. This lady was married to a young Tartar
of very good famUy, to whom, either from, artifice or simpli
city, she confided the circumstance of the emperor's passion,
and even the details of the conversation above mentioned.
The Tartar was noi satisfied with the manner in which she
had spoken, and not considering that she had repulsed the
attack with sufficient vivacity, gave her instructions for the
next similar occasion. The lady was as simple, or as subtle,
with the emperor, as she had been with her husband ; for she
communicated to the emperor the lesson she had received, and.
gave him to understand that her resistance was due to con
jugal obedience, and not, as it ought to have been, to -virtue
and fidelity.
The emperor, no longer under the control of reason, was
so irritated on meeting with this obstacle to his desires, that
he sent for the unhappy husband and sought a quarrel with
him on the pretext of some maladministration of his charge,
and became so excited in the discussion as to strike him.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 43
The Tartar scarcely survived this indignity ; mortification
carried him to the grave within three days from the occur
rence. His decease gave much pleasure to his rival, and appa
rently little distress to his widow, for the emperor married
her incontinently and declared her his queen. To crown his
felicity, she bore him a son, but this was the last fruit of this
fatal marriage. The child died soon after birth, and was
shortly foUowed by its mother.
It is easy to conceive the emperor's affliction, but scarcely
so to imagine the excesses to which he was led by his sorrow.
Great difficulty was found in preventing him from suicide,
and the empress mother had to throw herself upon him to
snatch away the sword with which he was about to exe
cute his purpose. He so far forgot on this occasion, not only
his virtue, but the common rules of humanity, that he re-
-yived, in favour of his deceased queen, the barbarous Tartar
custom, abolished by Chinese civilization, which compels the
officers and slaves of persons of rank to follow them to the
tomb, in order to render to them in the next world the ser
vices they had performed towards them in this. Upwards of
thirty persons died by their own hand in virtue of this order
of the emperor.
The greatest evU of all was, that this princess, being ex
tremely addicted to idol worship and to the superstition of
the bonzes, had on this point corrupted the mind of the
emperor, especially by a solemn testamentary request, that
he would cause these priests to celebrate certain idolatrous
rites on her behalf. For the unhappy prince having exe
cuted but too faithfully this disposition, became thereby so
habituated to Pagan superstition, that it became impossible
for father Adam to revive in hini the good sentiments he had
previously entertained towards the true faith. That apostolic
man omitted nothing which could tend to cure the blindness
of the prince. He often represented to him, with warmth

44 THE HISTORY OF THE
and force, the injury which kings, who had abandoned
themselves to their passions and to superstition, had inflicted
on their states. He dwelt especially on the infinite mischiefs
which they incur by their love for women, the excesses to
which it leads them, the contempt into which they fall by
the neglect of public affairs, the indifference to the public
good, the insensibility towards the glory and interest of the
state which this passion naturaUy produces. The emppror
did not resent these remonstrances of father Adam, which he
received as proofs of his attachment, but neither did he profit
by them. " I pardon," he would often say in defending
himself, " in acknowledgement of your zeal for my person,
your invectives against my conduct ; but, after all, mafa, is
it so bad as you describe it ? Can you, religious man as
you are, gainsay my acts of obedience to my o-wn religion ?
Would you not censure me for obstructing you in acts of
obedience to your own ? Why desire to prevent my practice
of mine ?"
Death of Against such obduracy, the father saw well that he had no
Chunchi. ° •'
further resource but tears and prayers. The emperor, how
ever, falling sick of the smaU-pox, which carried him off in
five days, father Adam tried a last effort. He was received,
as usual, with every demonstration of good -wiU, but he left
the dying prince with as little hope as ever of his conver
sion. The prince, nevertheless, after the father had retired,
appeared to fall back into a firmer state of mind, and was
heard to recall to recollection passages of the conversation of
his faithful advis'er. He exhibited repentance for his ex
cesses, and censured them in the hearing of those about him.
He put order to the affairs of his empire, declaring his son
Camhi, a boy of only eight years old, his successor, and
naming four principal officers of the cro-wn as his guardians.
After which, having arrayed himself in the imperial vest
ments, and bidding adieu to his attendants, he expired, at
the age of twenty-four, A monarch worthy of a better fate.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 45
if his natural good qualities be considered, but deser-ving
also such a chastisement, if we regard his abuse of the grace
which heaven had shewn him.
The queen, his mother, after his example, renewed the
cruel custom of compelling the living to follow the dead.
Chunchi had had a favourite, a young Tartar, one of the
best born and best bred adherents of the courts. As soon as
the emperor had expired, the empress sent for this young
man, and looking at him "with an eye of anger, said : " Is it
possible that you are still alive ?" The prince understood
this language, and the empress was not long in making it
clear. " Go," she said, more gently, '' go and keep company
-with my son. He loved you weU, and, as I believe, you
replied to his affection and the honour of his friendship. He
expects you; go and rejoin him, and by your promptitude
in so doing shew yourself worthy of his impatience for the
meeting. You love him. Further discourse is needless. Go
and bid adieu to your parents, but hasten to shew your fide
Uty to your sovereign and your attachment to your friend."
The sorrow which this sentence, so sad and so little es:-
pected, caused to the young man's famUy, is not to be de
scribed. He himself quitted life with regret, for his attach
ment was not strong enough to make him hate existence.
He was counseUed to escape, and was not deaf to the advice ;
but the queen took care to anticipate it, for she sent him in
a gilded casket a bow-string by two messengers, who were
charged to give every assistance for its use, which any faU-
ure of his own courage might render necessary. Thus
perished this prince, happy had he been less favoured by
nature and fortune.
The Christian religion and its preachers appeared to have p°™™^')
lost everything by the death of Chunchi. For, albeit, for «»^;|j^^/
some time things remained in their former state, and the four ^i'^
regents even conferred on father Adam the title of preceptor
to the young emperor, a cabal of bonzes and Mahometans,

46 THE HISTORY OF THE
animated by a certain Yam-quam-sien, a man as barbarous
as his name, excited such a tempest against Christianity as to
result in an attempt at its extermination. All its preachers
having been summoned to Pekin, were loaded with chains,
and, with the exception of two or three whom the young
emperor chose to retain, were all exiled to Canton. Chris
tians were persecuted in various ways, and five mandarins
glorified their profession by martyrdom.
Death of It was at this crisis that father Adam shewed himself that
father
Adam. apostoUc foUower of St. Paul, who knew how to use riches
and poverty, good fortune and bad, repute and infamy alike,
to the advancement of God's glory. Fallen from fame, de
prived of his dignities, loaded with reproach and calumny,-
he endured imprisonment and fetters, and was finally con
demned to death for ha-viag preached the faith of Christ ;
she-wing by his constancy that he considered himself even
more happy to confess that name in a dungeon than to have
preached it with honour in a palace. His sentence was not
executed, but age and suffering soon performed the office of
the executioner ; for, soon after his deliverance from prison,
God completed it, by dismissing him from the bondage of the
flesh to enjoy the perfect liberty of the children of heaven.
China owes to the prudent zeal of this great man, the
consecration and the diffusion of the true faith among her
people;, As he had accepted with this view alone the charge
with which he had been honoured by the emperor, he en
joyed it only so far as he thought conducive to that end.
He had reduced, in its discharge, aU he could of the pomp
of Chinese ceremonial, retaining so much only as he could
not retrench without degrading his office, and forfeiting the
advantage derivable from it for the advancement of the faith.
The honours of the mandarinat did not diminish in him
the charity of the apostle. The entire court admired in him
the readiness of one, who conversed so famUiarly with one of
the greatest monarchs in the world, to converse with the

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 47
poorest, to visit the most wretched when they had need of
him. He had the courage to expose himself to the plague,
to succour a family afflicted with it, and among them people
who had endeavoured to do him injury. He contracted the
disease, and only escaped from it because God reserved him
for the glorious departure, in which he crowned great labours
by great sufferings, and by a glorious confession of the gospel
which he announced.

THE HISTORY
OF THE
TARTAR CONQUERORS WHO SUBDUED
CHINA.

BOOK THE SECOND.

oie™s'econd ^'^^ ^^^ too great designs in elevating to the throne of
of ohina"'^ China Camhi, who occupies it at present, not to endow him
tie's, '"°' ' with all those qualities which could form a great emperor.
He has a solid intellect, with great reasoning powers, a lively
and sagacious intelligence, better adapted and disposed to
the cultivation of literature than the late emperor his father.
With all this he is brave, wise, and politic, while his straight
forward character would do honour to a Christian prince.
He gave proofs of his excellent heart as soon as he had
mounted the throne. He had been brought up in a separate
house with his mother, who had the charge of him. He had
no sooner been taken to the palace, than he summoned all
the children of his own age who had been his companions in
his maternal home, and formed for himself a juvenile court.
When he was fourteen years old, he took the reins of govern
ment into his own hands and soon let it be seen that princes
do not always require the aid of experience and age to make
them worthy to reign. Even at this early age, traits are
related of him which stamp him as a hero. Here are two.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 49
by which we may judge of the rest. One day, as he was
passing by a sepulchre, which he thought neglected and ill-
adorned, he inquired whose it was ; those who were about
him having answered that it was the sepulchre of Zonchin,
the last king of China of the Taimingien race, he knelt
down, and striking his forehead upon the earth to testify the
respect he felt for the memory of this unfortunate emperor,
he Hfted up his voice weeping, and said these words, inter
rupted by the sobs which a heartfelt compassion wrung from
him : " Pardon me thy misfortunes, Zonchin. After all I
was not the cause of them. They were thy subjects who
betrayed thee, and the violent acts of thy ministers, which
compeUed thy servants to summon us to their assistance."
After these words he burnt some perfumes over the tomb,
and ordered that the very next day a superb mausoleum
should be begun, and set apart the necessary sums for the
expenses of the erection.
Another time that he was out hunting, he got separated
from his suite, and he met an old man who was weeping
bitterly, and appeared to be overcome by some very violent
affliction. He approached him, touched by the state in which
he saw him, and without discovering himself asked him what
was the matter.
" The matter," answered the old man, " alas, my lord, if
I were to tell you, it is an evil to which you could apply no
remedy." " Perhaps, my good man," replied the emperor, " I might
be able to give you more assistance than you think; so con
fide to me what it is that afflicts you."
" If you will know," answered the man, " it is that the
superintendent of one of the pleasure-houses of the emperor,
finding that my property, which is close to the royal abode,
suits his convenience, has taken possession of it, and has
reduced me to the state of beggary in which you see me.
He has done more ; I had an only son, who was the support

50 THE HISTORY OF THE
of my old age : he has taken him from me and has made him
his slave. There, my lord, is the reason why I weep."
The emperor was so touched by this narrative, that, only
bent upon punishing a crime which was committed in his
name, he first of all inquired of the old man if it was far off
from where they stood to the house of which he was speak
ing ; and the old man ha-ving answered that the distance was
barely a mUe and a half, he told him that he would go with
him to the spot to urge the superintendent to restore to him
his property and his son, and that he did not despair of being
able to persuade him.
" Persuade him !" rejoined the old man, " ah, my lord,
remember, if you please, that I have just informed you that
this man belongs to the emperor. It is not safe for you or
for riie to go and make such a proposition to him; he would
only treat me more crueUy, and you would suffer some in
sult, to which I beg you will not expose yourself."
" Do not be uneasy about that," replied the emperor, " I
ha-ve made up my mind to everything ; but I wiU go, and I
hope our negociation will be more successful than you ima
gine." The old man, who saw in this unknown something of that
glory which high birth stamps upon the forehead of men of
his rank, thought he had better not refuse any longer. He
only objected, that being feeble with age and on foot, he
should not be able to keep up wit^ the horse on which the
emperor was mounted.
" I am young," answered the prince, " mount upon my
horse, and I will go on foot."
The old man would not accept the offer ; the emperor then
hit upon the expedient of taking him up behind him on his
horse ; but the old man stiU excused himself, upon the plea
that his poverty having deprived him of the means of chang
ing his linen and his clothes, there might be some danger of
his catching some vermin from him, from which it was im
possible for him to keep free.

T.VRTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 51
" Never mind, my friend," answered the emperor, " get
up behind me aU the same, I shaU only have to change my
clothes." The old man then at last mounted, and they soon arrived
both of them at the house to which they were going. No
sooner was the emperor there, than he asked for the superin
tendent, who, on his appearance was exceedingly surprised,
when the prince uncovered, to make himself known, the em
broidered dragon which he wore in front, and which his
hunting dress concealed. It appears that, in order that this
memorable act of retributive justice should be rendered more
celebrated, the greater number of the grandees who accom
panied the emperor out hunting, found themselves assembled
round him, as if they had agreed to rendezvous there. For
it was in the presence of this large assembly that he showered
the bitterest reproaches on the head of the old man's perse
cutor, and after having compelled him to restore to him his
property and his son, he had his head cut off upon the spot.
That was not all; he established the old man in his place,
and warned him to be careful, seeing a reverse of fortune
often changed the disposition, lest others should profit by an
injustice on his part as he had just now profited by the injus
tice of others.
It was on the same principle of justice that the prince, as
soon as he attained his majority, punished those of his minis
ters who had abused his authority while he was a minor. The
chief of the four regents, named Sucama, a great persecutor of
the Christians, was the first who experienced this justice ; for,
after being despoUed of his riches, he was condemned to lose
his head. It was to a prince so just that God had reserved,
as to a second Cyrus, the glory of re-establishing his worship
and his altars in China. This was the circumstance which
led to it. It is a custom of the Chinese to publish every
year the calendar, pretty much as we publish our almanac ;
but this calendar is considered in that country as a matter of

52 THE HISTORY OF THE
great importance in the state; it is under the control of the
public authorities, and even the prince does not disdain to
have a hand in it. Since this office had been taken away
from father Adam, together with that of president of mathe
matics, the person who had been appointed in his place had
aUowed so many mistakes to creep in, that the emperor could
bear it no longer, and ordered that it should be re-vised.
As the courtiers were no longer afraid of giving the prince
good advice, to which he always appeared very amenable,
there were some honest persons to be found who represented
to him that the mathematicians from Europe, who had been
exiled during his minority, and three of whom had remained
at Pekin, possessed a skUl which was well-known throughout
all China; that he could not do more wisely than consult
them upon the subject. The emperor thought this advice
excellent, and forthwith sent for the fathers Ferdinand Ver
biest, Louis Buglio, and Gabriel de Magalhans, who were
the three who had been retained, and who were far from
expecting such agreeable news. The emperor having re
ceived them very affably, gave to father Verbiest the calen
dar to examine which the enemy of the Christians, Yam-
quam-sien, had drawn up for the ensuing year. The father
ha-ving taken it and carried it home -with him, found more
than twenty gross errors, and some of them were so glaring
that everybody was surprised at them. He made his report
to the emperor, and that prince was so well pleased with it,
that he struck up a friendship with this great missionary from
that moment, which has been always increasing, and which
has now risen to a high point of favour and famUiarity. The
first use that this new Esdras thought right to make of his
influence, was to re-establish the worship of the true God,
and to restore to the people the liberty of offering Him the
public worship which is His due.
As he was meditating upon the means of accomplishing this
object, he found a favourable opportunity in an edict which

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 53
the emperor published, ordering that aU who had suffered
any oppression during his minority should address them
selves to, him, and they should obtain justice. Upon this
father Ferdinand resolved to represent to him, that the
greatest injustice which had been done during that time,
was the expulsion from China of the law of the true God,
and the prohibition to the Chinese to observe it. The em
peror heard this request with his usual good nature, but not
wishing to dispense with the forms, he sent it to be examined
by a tribunal, which rejected it. The servant of God was
not discouraged. He prayed the emperor to appoint other
judges less prejudiced against the good cause, the present
ones being, as it was weU known, much averse to it. The
emperor, with a gracious condescension which was the ad
miration of all the court, sent the affair to the states of the
empire, who having examined it "with the minutest attention,
decided that the Christian religion had been unjustly con
demned ; that it was good, and that it contained nothing
contrary to the well-being of the kingdom; consequently, that
the memory of father Adam, which had been dishonoured
on account of his having preached it, should be cleared ; the
grandees who had "been deprived of their offices for having
followed it should be restored, the European priests should
be recaUed, Yan-kan-cien condemned to death, and his wife
sent into banishment.
This decision carried great weight, and secured the prince wi;t°^entof
from the importunate remonstrances of the enemies of reli- m cbin°a°' ^
gion. For, although, in order to preserve an appearance of
moderation, he hesitated some time longer, he could not hold
out against the prayers of father Ferdinand, and recalled the
preachers of the gospel from their exile, permitted them to
return to their churches, and to perform their functions, and
condemned their persecutor to banishment, where he died.
He added a prohibition against any one becoming a Christian
in future; but the event has proved that he only inserted that

54 THE HISTORY OF THE
clause to satisfy some powerful mandarins, who were inimical
to Christianity. For in the course of the first year that the
preachers returned to their churches, which was the year
1671, at the beginning of September, more than twenty
thousand souls embraced the faith without meeting with any
molestation. The following year a maternal uncle of the
emperor, and one of the eight perpetual generals who com
mand the Tartar militia, received baptism, and from that
time the gospel has spread so widely over China, that the
number of Christians is estimated at three hundred thou
sand. Providence, which never wiU be outdone in liberality,
has amply recompensed this monarch for what he has done
towards the restoration of the true religion in his dominions,
by sustaining his throne, which was shaken by the revolt of
his subjects, and by enabling him to extend the conquests of
his fathers through the very channel which had almost caused
their loss. It was in the year 1672 that this rebellion was
begun by Usanguey. This chieftain had lived peacefully up
to this time in the enjoyment of a fortune, which, while it
kept him aloof from public affairs, still left him enough con
sideration and wealth to satisfy a moderate man. The em
peror had honoured him with the title of king in the province
of Younan, one of the richest in China. He did not govern
it because he was king. For those sorts of kings only have
the title, the paraphernalia, and the honours, but they do
not interfere with the government, the mandarins whom the
emperor sends having aU the authority. The emperors of
the Taimingien family, whose poUcy could not suffer any of
their relations to take any part in the administration of the
state, or to live at court, had honoured their blood with these
specious titles, which, from the numbers that there were of
these princes in the empire, had become too common to be
of any importance.
The Tartar emperors, who had only given them to a few

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 55
persons, and those persons deserving of them, had raised
their value greatly, and those whom they had gratified had
acted so skilfuUy, that, without possessing a character for
the administration of the affairs of their provinces, they had
made themselves masters of them. Usanguey acquired a
credit and a reputation in his own, which made him an object
of dread at court, whither he never went, and upon which
the ministers thought him not dependent enough. They
had dissembled their uneasiness with regard to him, as long
as they had thought it safe to do so. The affairs of the em
peror were now in a state which made it possible to act -without
danger. All China had submitted to the new dominion ; the
race of the Taimingien princes was extinct ; the Chinese, who
were beginning to taste the blessings of peace, did not seem to
possess a sufficiently martial spirit to induce them to renew
the war. The court even held hostages for -the fidelity of
Usanguey ; for he had not been able to refuse to send his
only son there, who had taken with him two of his children.
The ministers, possessed of these pledges, and thinking it
advisable to suffer no longer the exorbitant power of Usan
guey, meditated his destruction, and in order to attain this
object more certainly they invited him, under pretext of
doing him honour, to come and enjoy nearer at hand the
favours of the government and the attentions of the young
monarch. Usanguey, whether it was that he was warned,
or that he suspected the trap which lay in wait for him, ex
cused himself from making the journey ; but being well
aware that an excuse would be ill-received by persons who
were accustomed to exact obedience, he was careful to take
precautions against their resentment. He sent word to his
friends, and was so well supported by them, that in a short
time he had troops enough to place him out of danger of
being insulted. Some say, that in order to raise the credit
of his party amongst the Chinese, he spread abroad the
rumour that he had brought up secretly in his palace a son

56 THE HISTORY OF THE
of the last emperor of China. However this may be, Usan-t^
guey, finding himself in a condition to defy the Tartars,
raised the standard of rebellion. It is not to be supposed
that he took this step without a severe conflict with his feel
ings of paternal affection, which placed before his eyes the?
inevitable destruction of the three children which he had at
court ; but he considered himself driven to make this terrible
sacrifice for the sake of his own preservation and the liberty
of his country, the last serving as a decent pretext for sa-ving
his own life in preference to those of his chUdren. In
order to give greater prominence to this motive for his re
beUion, he put forth a manifesto, wliich I subjoin, exactly as I
find it in the manuscript narrative of father Greslon, from
which I have taken this.
" When I summoned the Tartars," he said, " to the assist
ance of the emperor my master, against the rebels who
attacked him, and who endeavoured to usurp the monarchy,
I gave an opportunity without intending it to these nations
to seize upon it themselves. It now causes me the most
painful regret, and my conscience reproaches me continually
for the evil I have brought down upon my country, by re
ducing it beneath this tyrannical yoke. I am afraid that
heaven will be frritated against me, and wUl punish me
severely, if I do not make every effort to repair my fault.
I have been for a long time reflecting upon the means, and
making the necessary preparations for the execution of this
enterprise. If my fellow-countrymen wiU assist me in the
smallest degree to carry out my design, we shaU accom
plish it with ease. I have four hundred thousand men de
voted to me, without reckoning the auxiliary troops which
are promised me from various kingdoms ; and I am in no
want of money to maintain them. I therefore invite all
brave Chinese to join themselves to me, to drive from the
heart of our country that common enemy which oppresses
her."

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 57
This manifesto was the signal for war. The Tartars saw
the first outburst without emotion, thinking their dominion
too firmly estabUshed for them to fear a popular rising ; but
they found out afterwards, that amongst newly-conquered
subjects, a prince is never secure from revolts. This one
found at once the grandees of China so favourably disposed
towards it, that in an instant the whole empire was in a
flame. The kings of Fokien and of Canton set the example
to the rest. He of Fokien, named Kenvan, was displeased
with the emperor, who transferred him to Leauton, although
he had paid (into the exchequer) one thousand six hundred
miUions of Uvres that he might be retained in his post. He
of Canton was engaged in the party, in spite of himself, by
his son, named Gantaeum.
The arms of the allied princes were at first so successful,
that the court of Pekin was filled with consternation. Not
only the provinces where they dwelt surrendered to them
without resistance, but each pushing his conquests into those
which were his neighbours, the emperor found himself so
closely pressed, that no one doubted that he would abandon
Pekin and retire into Tartary. Father Ferdinand assures
us that he had already begun to prepare for the journey,
never doubting that the emperor would take him with him.
Usanguey, who made use of everything, held secret com
munications -with the court, by means of which he could
have cut off the retreat to Tartary had they not been de
tected. For he had in Pekin itself more than fifty thousand
men in his pay, who had been gained over to his party by
his emissaries. In four days they were to burn the palace,
and cut down every person they should find in it, when one
of the conspirators, having too earnestly pressed an armourer,
of whom he had ordered some arms, to let him have them by
a certain day, this artisan was led to suspect something, and
gave information to the magistrates. The Tartars had too
good cause to distrust the Chinese at that time to neglect

58 THE HISTORY OF THE
such a warning. They arrested the man named by the
armourer, put him to the question, and drew from him a
confession of the whole. They learnt thereby the names
of the head and the principal members of the conspiracy.
Those who had not had time to fly were punished, and being
unable to revenge themselves on Usanguey in person, they
punished him in the person of his children, whom their kind
ness up to that time had spared notwithstanding the rebellion
of their father. He even chose for them the mode of death
which amongst those nations is considered the most honour
able, by sending them a piece of white silk to serve as a cord
by which they might strangle themselves, thus permitting
them to put an end to their lives -with their own hands. It
does not appear that this honour afforded much consolation
to the three unhappy princes in their misfortune. They
testified extreme regret in quitting life, which up to that time
they had found highly agreeable. For as they were hand
some and weU born, they were tenderly loved by aU re
spectable persons at the court, even by the emperor, who
apparently only proceeded to this extremity against them in
order to deprive the rebel, their father, of the advantage hie
might have drawn from them to add credit to his party.
The youngest, who was only ten years old, strengthened the
courage of his father and his brother, who shrunk from the
sight of the preparations for their death, and who could not
muster up resolution to inflict it upon themselves.
" As there is no more hope," he said to them, '' let us do
speedily and with a good grace what necessity has imposed
upon us.''
And having said these words, he placed his neck in the
noose which had been prepared ; and the two others ha-ving
followed his example, aU three thus terminated their lives.
Usanguey felt his loss to a degree which was far beyond
what one might imagine, and the desire of avenging his re
latives, added to the love of liberty, animated him -with a

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 59
hatred of the Tartars, which made him swear to put to death
aU who by the chances of war should fall into his hands.
And to show to all his party that he never meant to be
reconciled to them, and not choosing to take the name of
emperor himself, because, he said, he was too old to change
his condition, he caused it to be assumed by his grandson,
the only one who remained to him.
The Tartar emperor, on his side, not losing courage amidst
the general consternation which the earlier successes of Usan
guey had spread amongst his people, showed by his conduct
on this occasion, that the ingenuity and the constancy of
a wise philosopher ride through the greatest storms. His
resolution imparted itself to others, and the fortunate dis
covery of the conspiracy having proved to him that his good
fortune had not deserted him, the courage of the Tartars
revived, and they resumed their former energy. This new
ardour having spread from the court to the troops, who were
divided into different bodies, according as they were re
quired in the different places where the rebels had carried
the war, the torrent of conquest already achieved by Usan
guey was arrested, and a battle was gained against the king
of Fokien, in which he suffered great loss. This prince had
already nearly joined to the province which he inhabited
that of Kiamsi, which is close by. He had made himself
master of three large towns, and having an army of one
hundred and fifty thousand men, he doubted not that the
remainder would soon yield to his power ; when, about five
or six mUes above Kienchamp, which he had just reduced
to submission, he encountered a Tartar army commanded by
Sumvan, uncle to the emperor, who opposed his progress.
The Chinese prince considered this army, which was far
inferior to his own in numbers, and which he imagined was
composed of surprised troops, as an insignificant obstacle to
his conquest ; but the event proved to him that he was mis
taken. For the Tartar prince having offered him battle.

60 THE HISTORY OF THE
defeated him in the open field, and made such a carnage of
his army, which was entirely composed of raw troops, too
ignorant in miUtary tactics to make use of the resources of
war, that the whole field of battle and the neighbouring
country was encumbered with the corpses of the slain. The
number was so great, that as no one would take the trouble
to afford them sepulture, the air was so much infected that
a pestilence followed closely upon the war, and completed
the desolation of the country. A river which was near the
place where they had fought became so choked -with dead
bodies, that the waters remained long tainted.
Upon the rumour of this defeat, the garrison, which the
Chinese general had left at Kiencham, was seized with a panic,
and left the city. The inhabitants foUowed, and each escaped
as he best could. The victor, who, after the battle, had advanced
against this town with the intention of laying siege to it, and
never doubting that he would meet with a severe resistance,
was very much astonished when he found aU the gates open.
At first he feared some stratagem, but the skirmishers of his
army having advanced, and having ascertained that there
was no one in the houses, the general gave the word to enter,
and gave up the place to piUage. The Tartar soldier did
not content himself with the booty he found in the town ; he
proceeded to search in the neighbourhood for the inhabit
ants, who were concealed in different places, and practised
a thousand cruelties upon them. The general was blamed
at court for having permitted this -violence, and, however
great were the obligations which the emperor felt he owed
him, his sense of justice would not permit him to leave this
action unpunished, for he disgraced him for some time, and
deprived him of aU his pensions when the war was ter
minated; prudence and the need in which he stood of his
ser-vices not allowing him to do this sooner.
Father Greslon said that he came to Nancham at the time
of this devastation, the Tartar army being stiU there, and he

TARTAR CONQUERORS OP CHINA. 61
asserts that this town lost during aU this war as many as one
hundred and six thousand inhabitants, exclusive of seventy-
five thousand whom the Tartars carried away captive. The
Jesuits had a beautiful chuirch there and a flourishing reli
gion, which this tempest destroyed. The general was never
theless fond of the Christians, and of the fathers in particular.
Putting aside the action of which we have been speaking,
and to which he was incited by the ardour of war, he is a
great man, fuU of good qualities, and to whom the Christian
religion owes its restoration in China, as the Tartars owe to
him in a great degree the preservation of their conquest.
Moreover he showed on this occasion a thousand marks of
kindness to father Greslon, who went to pay him a visit.
For he came two or three times to his church, turned out an
officer and forty soldiers who had taken possession of it, and
gave the father letters of protection, not only for that church,
but for aU those in the province. So that one may say that
he did more for the preservation of the Christian churches
than of the temples of his idols.
The Tartar general ha-ving thought it necessary to remain
some time in his conquests in order to establish the em
peror's authority, sent during this time to Fokien, where
Kenvan had retired, to offer him an amnesty on the part of
the prince if he would return to his allegiance. As there
was a friendship between them, Sumvan did aU he could to
get him out of his predicament and thereby shorten the war,
but he could not accompUsh it. WhUe he was negotiating
-with Kenvan to induce him to submit to the emperor,
Kenvan was negotiating with Chin, that son of Quesin, who,
as we have said, made himself king of Formosa in order to
sustain the rebellion. Chin, who was only too happy to have
such an opportunity of entering China, did not require much
pressing. He presented himself to Kenvan and brought
him some troops, who would have been more useful to the
common cause of the confederates if they had not been so

62 THE HISTORY OF THE
powerful. For Chin, finding himself far superior to Kenvan
in the numbers and quality of his soldiers, from being his
aUy wished to become his master. He refused to treat him
as a king. It is even said, that in order to avenge the
death of his grandfather Icoan, in which it was reported that
the father of Kenvan had assisted, he attempted his life.
This aUiance, which turned out so unfortunate, induced
Kenyan to think of returning to his allegiance. He made
his terms with the emperor, from whom he asked for troops
to drive out Chin from the pro-vince of Fokien. The em
peror shewed great ability in making use of one enemy to
destroy the other. He sent his troops to Fokien, which
having, with the aid of Kenvan, forced Chin to re-cross the
sea, took possession of this province ; and taking from the
king the command which he held in the army, they only left
him four hundred men for the security of his person, -with
whom they banished him to a maritime fortress to defend it
against Chin, the emperor deferring till another period his
intention of making a more terrible example of this man,
whose compulsory penitence could not efface the memory of
his too voluntary crime.
The evU fortune of the king of Fokien, made the king of
Canton begin to apprehend lest his own might not be in
variably good. Up to this time it had been so, but he had
reason to fear that it might not continue. Usanguey did not
treat him well, he refused him the title of king, and assumed
an air of superiority which displeased him. Besides, he saw
that the party of the League was much enfeebled by the
successes that the Tartars had obtained over Kenvan. .All
these considerations made him resolve to negotiate with the
emperor for peace. He even persuaded Gantaeum, his son,
to condescend to the same step, who, although he did not
Uke the Tartars, and never had liked them, as he has since
declared to some persons to whom he was speaking confi-
dentiaUy, nevertheless was compelled by the necessity of his

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 63
affairs to serve them very usefully. For the king his father
having made peace with the emperor, he -wrote to Pekin for
troops, in order to reduce some towns in his province which
still held out for Usanguey. They sent him some, and he
made such good use of them, that not only he took those
towns, but, having even given battle to a considerable body
of the rebel troops, he defeated them. The court approved
so highly of this action, that, his father dying at this junc
ture, the emperor confirmed him in his dignity and posses
sions. The new king seemed grateful for these favours. For,
not satisfied with having replaced the pro-vince of Canton
under the Tartar dominion, he did the same by a portion of
that of Quamsi, which he took from Usanguey. He was
about to reduce the remainder, but domestic treachery ar
rested the course of his victories ; and he whom the brave
Usanguey had been unable to overcome, perished by the
perfidy of two or three -wretches. The viceroy of the pro
vince, an officer of his army, and the intendant of his house
hold, were the authors of this infamous deed. These vUlains,
who evidently intended to divide his property, having con
spired his downfall by one of the blackest crimes recorded
in history, employed the name of his mother and his o-wn
money to accomplish it. For it was in the name of his
mother that they wrote to the emperor a malignant and
artful letter, in which she gave information of a new scheme
of rebellion plotted against the state by her son ; and it was
¦with the money of this prince that the intendant corrupted
those who were about the person of the emperor, in order to
hasten his master's ruin.
The intrigue succeeded as well as they could desire.
Their letter and their partisans blinded the justice of the
emperor, whose fears being easily roused at a juncture in
which Usanguey was stUl in arms, gave orders to some
Tartar officers instantly to seize upon the person of the un-

64 THE HISTORY OF THE
happy king of Canton. When the officers had arrived upon
the spot, they found that their orders were not so easy of
execution as it had been supposed at the court. This king
was at the head of a -victorious army, who adored him. In
consequence, it was more than six months before they could
undertake anything against him, and if they had not made
use of a stratagem, they would not have accomplished it.
They caught him by his weak point. He/was fond of drink
ing. They invited him to an entertainment, to which having
repaired -with only a few followers, he was seized and con
ducted to Canton in such haste, that his soldiers hearing of
the arrest of their general too late, despaired of being able to
foUow him.
They reserved themselves in order to be able to serve him
more usefuUy afterwards, but unfortunately for them the
emperor's party was the strongest in Canton. All those who
had been able had introduced themselves quietly into the
to-wn, and waited, in order to declare themselves, to see the
issue of the affair, which seemed likely to linger on for some
time ; not -wishing, by any premature demonstration, to turn
a doubtful cause into a bad one. While they were in this
suspense, a rumour spread through the tovm that the king
was condemned to death. This news obliged his friends to
throw off the mask and to rush to arms. They ran to the
prison where he was confined, and endeavoured to force the
doors. They were led by the brothers of this prince, who
had vowed to rescue him at the peril of their heads. As
they were all brave and well armed, they attacked the guards
with great fury, and these would have offered no resistance
if the Tartar garrison, which was strong, had not hastened
to their assistance. The combat was sanguinary and obsti
nate, and there were many kiUed on both sides; but the
Tartars conquered at last, and the enterprise of the Chinese
only placed their king in a more culpable light.
As misfortunes never come alone, the mother of this prince.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 65
by a zeal quite as ill-timed as that of his friends, greatly
aggravated his crime. The perfidious officer of whom we
have spoken, who, in concert -with the viceroy, had laboured
to effect the ruin of Gantaeum, had fallen in love with one
of his wives, who had the reputation of being the greatest
beauty in China. This passion so completely blinded him,
that he had the audacity to pursue her even into the apart
ment of the queen io carry her off to his house. The lady
resisted as long as she could, but, to defend herself against a
man who had aU the strength on his side, she had no weapons
but her cries. Even he was touched, and wishing to console
her, he told her that he would make her queen, and that she
would not repent of ha-ving quitted a master and the condi
tion of a slave, to take a husband whom she would rule as
mistress. These promises, far from consoling the lady,
roused her anger ; so that, assuming a lofty tone, she said to
him with an air of profound disdain : " You wiU make me
queen ! and pray what reason have you for flattering
yourself that you will ever be king ? Begone, remain
satisfled -with what you are, and take care that your am
bition, instead of raising a throne for you, does not dig you
a precipice." The haughty mandarin could not endure these words, and
his rage was so violent, that passing on the instant from one
extreme to the other, he drew his scimiter, and before the
very eyes of the queen he slew this woman, who was con
sidered far happier to have incurred his hatred than to have
deserved his love. Such an extraordinary act fiUed all upright
people with horror, and the queen mother of the imprisoned
king, to whom the emperor, who thought she was in his
interest in opposition to that of her son, stUl left consider
able power, resolved to avenge the crime. In order to
secure her revenge, she had the cunning to engage the mur
derer to pay her a visit, under pretext of consulting with
him upon an affair which concerned the court. He came.

66 THE HISTORY OF THE
and he found there the punishment due to so many crimes,
being despatched with a poniard as he entered the apart
ment of this princess.
The prisoner, who up to this moment knew nothing of what
was passing, learned this news by accident, for the room in
which he was confined being rather near his kitchen, he
overheard the cooks, who were talking over the affair, and
who related so many of the circumstances that he made out
the whole history. He had not yet lost hope, but this inci
dent was enough to destroy it.
" I am lost," he cried; " this -violence, executed at such an
unfortunate moment upon an officer of the emperor's, wiU be
laid to my charge, and 1 shall not be forgiven."
In fact, it is thought that this hastened his death, for a
short time after two Tartar mandarins appeared, who had
made the journey from Pekin in seventeen days, and who
brought to the prisoner the fatal present of the piece of
white stuff which the Chinese emperors give to criminals of
rank whom they condemn to death. Some persons relate
that two executioners strangled him, and that he refused the
impious honour of dying by his own hand, aUeging as an
excuse, that it was not permitted to men thus to put an end
to their own lives. His habits of intercourse with the Chris
tians had inspired him with this sentiment, for he loved
the ministers of the gospel, and during their exile in Canton
he always had two Jesuits with him. He often said that the
love of women was the only thing which prevented him from
receiving baptism. He exhorted his servants to receive it, and
he said that he thought himself unfortunate not to have ob
tained the proper dispositions for the reception of this sacra
ment. He asked one day, if a man who should only receive
it at his death, or who was unable to receive it, would not be
saved by praying for forgiveness from God? His connexion
¦with the Christians, made them fear after his death that his
friendship would prove fatal to them ; for, upon leaving the

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 67
prison where he had been executed, the mandarins de
manded to be led to the church. Father Couplet, who was
there at the time, told me that this sudden visit at such a
moment had caused great terror ; but they were soon reas
sured when the mandarins, after saluting them with civiUty,
gave them a letter from father Ferdinand, which they accom
panied with every possible token of consideration and regard.
The same father accompanied them to Macao, whither they
went on the part of the emperor, to thank that town for a
lion which it had made him a present of, and with which he
had been the more pleased because it had been refused to
Usanguey. Moreover it was running a considerable risk to affront that
general, whose power was still considerable, and who, not
withstanding the ill-success of his allies, maintained during
the remainder of his life his dignity and his reputation
against aU the efforts of the Tartar power. It was fortunate
for them that he was old. For though his party was weak
ened, and he had even lost some of his conquests, he was
stUl powerful enough to give a great deal of trouble to the
emperor. His death, which occurred in the year 1679, was
a proof of the good fortune of this prince, which, after being
for a whUe unfaithful to him, always returned to him. The
war lasted two years after the death of -the great Usanguey,
his party ha-ving refused the amnesty which the emperor had
offered to them. This general had entrusted the guardian
ship of his successor, who was still too young to support the
weight of affairs which devolved upon him, to a captain, one
of his friends, to whom, when he was dying, he had given
the command of his troops ; but he had neither given him
his ability nor his good fortune. For the Tartar army, after
hotly pursuing him for some time, defeated him in the year
1681 in a great battle ; after which, the heir of Usanguey
was reduced to such extremity, that he died by his own
hand, and left the emperor possessor of all that portion

68 THE HISTORY OF THE
of his conquests which this party had wrested from him.
pe^o^^ioto- There was left only the island of Formosa, which had not
auhis°ene- Submitted to the yoke. Chin, who was in possession of it,
powlrand^ Seemed to have become invincible from the number of his
the extent of i ..1, 4.
his empire, ships : at the same time it was important to the emperor that
he should be subdued. In order to be more certain of attain
ing his object, he sent an offer to the Dutch to restore to them
what they had possessed in this island, with the title of king
for him whom they should name, if they would assist him
with their fleet to accomplish its reduction.
Some historians write that Riclof, who was general of
Batavia, did not answer the offers of the emperor a.i that
prince would have wished, alleging that he could not under
take any enterprise of the kind without the orders of the
company, for which he would have to wait till they arrived
from HoUand. However this may be, the emperor resolved
to attack Chin, and to reduce Formosa under the dominion
of the crown of China. I find a discrepancy in the accounts
that have been written of the reduction of this great island.
It is however agreed upon, and we may safely say, until this
point is cleared up, that the emperor is now master of it, and
that this prince is thus the peaceful possessor of three great
monarchies, China, Niuche, and Tamgu ; by which, if we
may add the tributary kingdoms of Corea, of Cochinchina, of
Tonquin, and many others, it will be seen that this monarch
may boast of having the most extensive and populous em
pire in the world, as it is one of the finest, the most flourish
ing, and the best regulated.
The magni- Xhc magnificence of this prince corresponds with the great-
of ohSia^"^" ness of the empire. His train, his residences, his armies,
everywhere bear this reputation. In the last four or five
years he has made journeys in various parts of his dominions,
where his mode of travelling and his suite, presented to the
view a pom^ and regal splendour that is difficult to conceive.
The first was in Western Tartary, after he had punished

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 69
Kenyan, king of Fokien, one of the rebels, whom he had
cajoled up to that moment. I subjoin the account which
father Verbiest has given of it, in which, besides the part
which concerns the prince, the reader wiU find some useful
^nd curious remarks giving information upon the country.^
The emperor of China made a journey into Oriental Tar- f •^^""o'f
tary at the commencement of this year, 1682, after having, by 'nto'^stern
the death of three rebel kings, suppressed a revolt which '^'
had been formed in some of the provinces of the empire.
One of these rebel princes was strangled in the province of
which he had made himself master. The second, having been
conducted to Pekin, with the principal chiefs of his faction,
was cut to pieces in sight of the whole court, the most con
siderable among the mandarins assisting with their own
hands at this melancholy execution, to revenge upon this
rebel the fate of their relatives, who had been cruelly put to
death by him. The third, who was the most important, and,
as it were, the head of the whole rebellion, had anticipated
by voluntary death the punishment he deserved, and thus
put an end to a war which had lasted seven years.
Peace having been thus re-estabUshed in the empire, and
all the pro-vinces enjoying their ancient liberty in quiet,
the emperor set out on the 23rd of March to go to the pro
vince of Leauton, which is the country of his ancestors, for
the purpose of -visiting their sepulchres, and after having
honoured them with the usual ceremonies, to follow the road
to Eastern Tartary. This journey was about one thousand
one hundred mUes, from Pekin to the other extremity.
The emperor took with him his eldest son, a young prince
' The text of this and another letter by father 'Verbiest, describing his
two journeys in the suite of the Emperor into Tartary, is considerably
modified by the Fhte d'Orleans from the Dutch, as we find it given by
¦Witzen in his " Noord en Oost Tartarien," tom. i, p. 185. For this rea
son a translation from the Dutch is inserted at the end of this volume,
in the form of an appendix.

70 THE HISTORY OF THE
ten years of age, who is already declared heir to the empire.
The three principal queens also went this journey, each one
in a gUded chariot; the principal kings who compose this
empire were there also, with aU the grandees of the court,
and the most considerable mandarins of all the orders, who
having aU a very large retinue, and a numerous attendance,
formed a cortege for the emperor of more than seventy thou
sand persons.
He desired that I also should accompany him in this jour
ney, and that I should always be near him, that I might
make in his presence the observations necessary to know tl^e
disposition of the heavens, the elevation of the pole, and the
declination of each country, and to measure by mathematical
instruments the height of mountains and the distances of
places. He was also very glad to gain information respect
ing meteors, and on many other physical and mathematical
subjects. For this purpose an officer was charged to convey
upon horses the instruments of which I had need, and he com
mended me to the care of the prince his uncle, who is also
his father-in-law, and the second person in the state : he is
caUed by a Chinese title, signifying Associate of the empire.
He charged him to provide all things necessary for me dur
ing the journey, of which charge this prince acquitted him
self with great kindness, causing me always to lodge in his
own tent and to eat at his table.
The emperor ordered that I should have horses supplied
me from his own stable, and a sufficient number of them for
me to change them at my convenience; and among those
which were given me, were some that he had mounted him
self, which is a very great distinction. In this journey our
march was constantly towards the summer east.
From Pekin to the pro^vince of Leauton the road, which is
about thirty mUes, is tolerably level. Even in the province
of Leauton it is forty miles, but much more unequal, because
of the mountains. From the frontier of this province to the

TART4.R CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 71
to-wn of Ula, by which passes the river, called by the Tartars
Songoro, and by the Chinese Sum-hoa, the road, which is yet
four hundred miles in length, is very difficult of passage,
being interrupted sometimes by extremely steep mountains,
sometimes by vaUeys of extraordinary depth, and by desert
plains, where for two or three days' journey nothing is to
be seen. The mountains of this country are covered on the
eastern side by large oaks and ancient forests, which have
not been cut for centuries.
AU the country which is beyond the province of Leauton
is very barren ; nothing is to be seen on aU sides but moun
tains, vaUeys, caves of tigers, bears, and other wild beasts :
scarcely any houses are to be found, but only wretched cot
tages upon the banks of rivers and torrents. AU the towns and
vUlages which I have seen in Leauton, and of which there was
a pretty large number, were entirely in ruins. Everywhere
there were old ruined houses, -with fragments of stone and
brick. In the enclosure of these towns are some houses
newly built, but without order : some are made of earth,
others of the remains of the old buUdings, the most part
covered with straw, very few with brick. At present there
remains not the slightest vestige of a great number of towns
and -viUages which existed before the war ; for the petty kings
of the Tartars who commenced it, having at first but a very
small army, made the inhabitants of those places take to
arms, and destroyed them afterwards, that the soldiers might
have no hope of ever returning to their country.
The capital of Leauton, which is caUed Xin-yam, is a
tolerably handsome and complete city ; it has even yet the
remains of an ancient palace. As far as I have been able to
judge by frequent observations, it is in forty-one degrees fifty-
six minutes ; that is to say, two degrees above Pekin, though,
up to the present time, both Europeans and Chinese have only
given it forty-one degrees. There is not in this city any de
clination of the needle, as I have remarked by many repeated

72 THE HISTORY OF THE
observations. The city of Ula, which was nearly the termi
nation of our journey, is in forty-one degrees twenty minutes.
The declination of the compass at this place is one degree
forty minutes from south to west.
But to resume the cour§B of our journey. From Pekin, as
far as this eastern extremity, a new road was made, by which
the emperor could travel conveniently on horseback, and the
queens in their chariots. This road is about ten feet wide,
as straight and as level as it was possible to make it. It
extends nearly one thousand one hundred mUes. On each
side is made a kind of little bank, a foot high, always equal
and perfectly paraUel the one to the other : and this road
was also as clean, especiaUy in fine weather, as the floor
where the labourers thresh the corn in the fields ; there were
also people upon the road, who had nothing to do but to
keep it clean. Christians do not take so much care to sweep
the streets and pubUc places by which the holy Sacrament
passes in processions, as Jhege_iafid£la-d.o to clean the roads
by which their kings and queens are to pass every time they
leave their palace.
A road was made for the return siinUar to the first. The
mountains had been leveUed as much as possible, the bridges
over the torrents had been repaired, and for ornament a kind of
mat had been extended on each side, upon which were painted
divers figures of animals, which produced the same effect as
the tapestries which are hung out in the streets at proces
sions. The emperor scarcely ever followed this road, as he was
hunting almost constantly. And even when he joined the
queens, he rode by their side alone, for fear the great number
of horses in his suite should incommode them. He rode gener
ally at the head of this kind of army. The queens immediately
foUowed in their chariots, with their retinue and baggage.
Some interval was left, nevertheless, between him and them.
Then came the kings, the grandees of the court, and the

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 73
mandarins, each according to his rank. An infinite number
of servants and others on horseback formed the rear guard.
As there was no city in all the route which could furnish
lodging for so great a number of people, or provide them
with food ; and as, besides, great part of the journey was
through places little inhabited, we were obliged to carry
with us aU that was necessary for the journey, and even pro
visions for three months.
For this reason an infinite number of waggons, camels,
horses, and mules to carry the baggage were sent before, by
roads which had been made hj the side of the emperor's.
Besides this the emperor, the kings, and almost all the gran
dees of the court, had a great number of led horses to fol
low, that they might change from time to time. I do not
reckon the droves of oxen, and sheep, and other cattle which
they were obliged to bring. And though this great multi
tude of men, horses, and flocks, went by a road at some dis
tance from that of the emperor, they raised, nevertheless,
such a horrible dust, that we seemed to go in a cloud, and
could scarcely distinguish at fifteen or twenty paces those
who went before us.
The roa'd was so well marked out, that the army encamped
every evening on the banks of some river or torrent. Early
in the morning the tents and necessary baggage were sent for
ward, and the marshals of the stations arriving first, marked
out the place most proper for the tent of the emperor, for
those of the queens, the kings, the grandees of the court, and
the mandarins, according to the dignity of each, and his rank
in the Chinese army, which is divided into eight orders or
eight standards.
In the space of three months we advanced more than
nine hundred miles towards the north-east. At length we
arrived at Kam-Hay, which is a fort situated between the
South Sea and the Mountains of the North. It is here that
the celebrated wall commences, which separates the province

74 THE HISTORY OF THE
of Leauton from that of Pekin, called Pequeli, and it' extends
to an immense distance northwards, passing over the highest
mountains. When we had entered into this province, the
emperor, the kings, and the grantees of the court, left the
great road of which we have spoken, and took that of the
Mountains of the North, which extends without interrup
tion towards the north-east. They passed here several days
in the chase, which was managed in this manner.
The emperor chose three thousand men of his body
guards, armed with arrows and javelins, and dispersed
them on all sides, so that they made a great circuit round
the mountains, which they surrounded entirely. In this
way they made a kind of circle, of which the diameter was at
least three thousand paces. Then approaching each other with
even steps, without quitting their ranks, whatever obstacles
they might find in their road (for the emperor had interspersed
among them, officers, and even grandees of the court, to
maintain order), they reduced the large circle to one much
smaller, which was about three hundred paces in diameter ;
thus all the animals which had been enclosed in the first,
found themselves taken as it were in a net, because each
man planting his foot on the earth, they closed in against each
Other so compactly, that there was no chance of escape.
Then they pursued them so quickly in this little space, that
the poor animals, too exhausted to run, fell at the feet of the
hunters, and suffered themselves to be easily taken. I have
seen two or three hundred hares, at least, taken in this man
ner in one day, without reckoning an infinite number of
wolves and foxes. I have seen the same thing many times
in Tartary, beyond the province of Leauton, where I remem
ber to have seen among others more than one thousand stags
shut up in this kind of net, which, finding no way of saving
themselves, threw themselves into the hands of the hunters.
They kill'd also bears, wild boars, and more than sixty tigers.
But these they take in another manner, and make use of
other arms.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 75
The emperor wished that I should go to all the different
hunts, and in a very kind manner recommended me to the
particular care of his father-in-law, who was not to suffer
me to be exposed to any danger during the hunting of tigers
or any other ferocious beasts. I was the only one among
the mandarins without arms, and near to the emperor. Al
though I had had little to fatigue me since we began our
journey, I found myself so weary every evening on arriving
at my tent, that I could not support myself, and I would
many times have avoided foUowing the emperor, if my
friends had not advised me to the contrary, and if I had not
feared he might have taken it ill if he had perceived it.
After having gone about four hundred miles, always hunt
ing in this manner, we arrived at length at Xinyam, the chief
city of the province, where we stayed four days. The in
habitants of Corea came and presented to the emperor a sea-
calf which they had taken. The emperor showed it to me,
and asked me if in any of our European books this fish was
mentioned. I told him we had a book in our library at
Pekin, which explained its nature, and in which there was
a picture of it ; he showed great desire to see it, and very
soon dispatched a courier to the fathers at Pekin, who brought
it to me in a few days. The emperor was pleased to find that
the description of the fish in the book agreed with what he
had seen. He caused it then to be taken to Pekin, to be
there carefully preserved among the curiosities of the Pa
lace. During the stay which we made in this city, the emperor
went with the queens to visit the tombs of his ancestors,
which were not far distant ; from hence he sent back the
princesses to Xinyam, and continued his journey towards
Eastern Tartary.
After many days of marching and hunting he arrived at
Kirin, which is four hundred miles distant from Xinyam.
This city is built along the great river Songoro, which rises

76 THE HISTORY OF THE
in Mont Champ^, distant from hence four hundred miles
towards the south. This mountain, so famous in the east
for having been the ancient dwelling of the Tartars, is al
ways covered with snow, from which it takes its name ; for
Champ6 signifieth " white mountain."
As soon as the emperor perceived it, he descended from
his horse, kneeled on the bank, and bowed three times to
the earth to salute it. Then he caused himself to be carried
on a throne, brilliant with gold, and thus made his entrance
into the city. The people ran in crowds before him, and ex
pressed by their tears the joy they felt in seeing Kim. The
prince took great pleasure in these testimonies of affection,
and to show his good will to them, he wished that every one
might see him, and would not allow his guards to prevent
the people from approaching him, as they did in Pekin.
In this city they make their boats in a particular manner.
The inhabitants always keep a great number in readiness to
repulse' the Muscovites, who often come upon this river to
contend with them in the pearl fisheries. The emperor
rested here two days, after which he descended the river
with several lords, accompanied by more than one hundred
boats, as far as the city of Ula, which is the most beautiful
in all the country, and which was formerly the seat of Tartar
empire. A little below this city, which is at most thirty-two miles
from Kirin, the river is full of a certain fish, which much
resembles the plaice^ of Europe ; and it was principally for
the amusement of catching these fish, that the emperor went
to Ula : but the rains coming suddenly, swelled the river
so much, that all the nets were broken and carried away by
the force of the water. The emperor meanwhUe remained
five or six days at Ula ; but seeing that the rains did not
cease, he was obliged to return to Kirin, without having had
^ The fish here called plaice, is described in the Dutch as " steur," a
sturgeon. See the translation from the Dutch in the Appendix.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 77
the pleasure of fishing.* As we reascended the river, the
vessel in which I was with the father-in-law of the emperor,
was so damaged by the violence of the wavesj that we were
compeUed to land, and to mount a chariot drawn Tiy an ox,
which brought us very late to Kirin, the rain continuing the
whole of the way.
That evening, as we talked over the adventure with the
emperor, he said merrily: "The fish has made sport of us." At
last, after remaining two days at Kirin, the rains began to
abate, and we resumed our journey to Leauton. I cannot
express here the pains and fatigue which we endured during
all the course of this journey, by roads which the waters had
spoiled, and rendered almost impassable. Our way was con
stantly by mountains or by valleys, and it was not without ex
treme danger that we could pass the torrents and rivers, which
were swelled from the ravines, whose waters fall into them on
all sides. The bridgeswere either thrown down by the violence
of the currents, or covered by the overflowing of the waters.
There were in many places great collections of water and mud,
from which it was almost impossible to extricate one's self.
The horses, camels, and other beasts of burden, which carried
the baggage, could not go on ; they sunk in the mud of the
morasses, or died of fatigue on the roads. The men were
not less distressed, and all were weakened by want of food
and the refreshments necessary for so long a journey. Num
bers of horsemen were obliged to go on foot leading their
horses, which could do no more, or to stop in the middle of
the road to let them recover their breath. Though the
marshalls of the stations spared neither labour nor wood,
which they cut on all sides, in order to flU up aU these bad
roads with faggots : yet after the horses and chariots, which
since early morning had taken the lead, were once passed, it
was impossible to pass after them ; the emperor even, with
the prince his son, and all the great lords of the court, were
obliged more than once to go on foot over the mud and the

78 THE HISTORY OF THE
morasses, fearing to expose themselves to a greater danger
if they attempted to pass on horseback.
When they came to bridges or defiles all the army stopped,
and when the emperor had passed, with those of the highest
consequence, all the rest of the multitude came in crowds,
and as each wished to pass first, many were thrown into the
water : others taking byways still more dangerous, fell into
bogs and mire, from which they could not extricate them
selves. In fact, there was so much to suffer in all the roads
of Eastern Tartary, that old officers, who had followed the
court for more than thirty years, said they had never suf
fered so much as on this journey.
It was on these occasions that the emperor more than once
showed proofs of remarkable kindness towards me, and took
such care of me that I was at a loss to know how to acknow
ledge it.
The first day that we took the road for our return, we
were stopped in the evening by a torrent so large and rapid
that it was impossible to ford it.
The emperor having found there by chance a little vessel
which would carry four persons at most, crossed first with
the prince. Some of the kings then passed over. All
the others, princes, lords, and mandarins with the rest of
the army, meanwhile, impatiently waited on the bank the
return of the vessel, that they might at least gain the other side
of the torrent, because night was coming on, and the tents had
been carried over long before. But the emperor returning to
us in a little vessel like the first, called aloud to know where
I was, and the prince, his father-in-law, having presented
me to him, " Let him come," said the emperor, " and pass
over with us." Thus we went over alone with the emperor,
and all the rest remained on the bank, where they were
obliged to pass the night without shelter. The same thing
happened the next day nearly in the same manner. The
emperor found himself at mid-day on the bank of a torrent

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 79
as swollen and as rapid as the first. He gave orders that
they should make use of the vessels till evening to carry over
the tents, the bales, and the rest of the baggage, and after
wards ordered that I should pass over alone with him, and a
few of his peoi^le, having left on the bank all his great lords,
who were obliged to remain there during the night. The
father-in-law of the emperor even, having asked if he should
not pass over with me, as I lodged in his tent, and ate at his
table, was told by the prince to remain, and that he would
himself give me all that was necessary.
When we had crossed over, the emperor seated himself on
the bank of the water, and made me sit by his side, with the
sons of two petty Western kings, and the first Colao of
Tartary, whom he treated with distinction on all occasions.
As the night was fine, and the heavens very clear, he
wished me to name to him, in the Chinese and European lan
guages, aU the constellations which then appeared above the
horizon, and he himself first named all those which he knew
already. Then unfolding a little map of the heavens, with
which I had presented him some years before, he set him
self to find the hour of the night by the southern star, pleas
ing himself by showing to every one the knowledge he had
in these sciences. All these marks of kindness, and others
of the same kind which he often showed me, even to sending
for me to eat at his table, — all these marks, I say, were so
public and extraordinary, that the emperor's two uncles, who
bore the title of Associates of the empire, said, after they re
turned to Pekin, that when the emperor had any grief, or
was out of spirits, he recovered his wonted cheerfulness
when he saw me.
I arrived in perfect health at Pekin, very late on the 9th
of June, though some remained ill on the road, or had re
turned wounded and crippled.
I say nothing of what we did for religion during this
journey. The detaUs are reserved for a special narrative.

80 THE HISTORY OF THE
where it will be seen that by the grace of our Lord, our
favour at the court of China produced considerable advan
tage to the Church, yet removed not the cross from the
shoulders of the missionaries.
The good effect which this journey had in reviving to
wards the emperor the affections of his natural subjects,
induced him to make one the foUowing year, for the purpose
of maintaining in obedience other subjects which he had
newly gained in Western Tartary. This has been related by
the same father Verbiest in a letter which he wrote on his
return.
Account of a Jn the year 1683, which is the thirtieth of the emperor's
second voy- J ^ r
emperor in ^^g^, he made a journey into Western Tartary, with the queen,
Tartaiy" his grandmother-, who is called the queen-mother. He set
out on the 6th of July, and wished that I should foUow
him with one of the two fathers, who were with me at the
court ; leaving me the choice. I took the father Grimaldi,
because he was the best known, and was perfectly well
acquainted with mathematics.
Several reasons induced the emperor to undertake this
journey. The first was to keep his soldiers in continual
exercise during peace, as well as during war ; and it is for
this reason, that after having established a solid peace in aU
J)arts of his vast empire, he has summoned the best troops
from each province to be about his person, and has made a
resolution in councU to effect every year some movements of
this nature, in order thus to teach them, while pursuing the
chace of wild boars, bears, and tigers, how to conquer the
enemies of the empire ; or at least to prevent the luxury of
China, and too long repose, from weakening their courage
and causing their former valour to degenerate.
In fact, this kind of hunting is more like a military
expedition, than a party of pleasure. The emperor brings
in his suite a hundred thousand horses, and more than sixty
thousand men, all armed with arrows and scimitars, divided

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 81
by companies and marching ill order of battle after their
ensigns, to the sound of drums and trumpets. During the
chase, they invest entire mountains and forests, as if they
were towns which they were besieging, foUo-wing in this the
manner of hunting of the Eastern Tartars, of which I spokt
in my last letter. 'This army has its van, its rear-guard.
and the main body ; its right -wing and its left wing com
manded by as many chiefs, who are generally those bearing
the title of king. During the seventy days that they are
marching, the ammunition of the army has to be carried upon
carriages, and horses, through roads which are extremely
difficult to travel over, as Western Tartary is full of moun
tains and rocks. There are neither cities, towns, nor vU
lages, — there are not even houses. The inhabitants dweU in
tents set up on all sides in the fields. They are for the most
part herdsmen, and transport their tents from one valley ts
another, according as the pasture is better for their oxen,
horses, and camels. They have no ' animals to keep that
require tending, but only those for which the uncultivated
ground -will produce herbs of itself. They pass their lives
in the chase, or in doing nothing, and as they neither sow nor
cultivate the ground, they have no harvest. They live on
milk, cheese, and flesh, and they have a kind of wine some
thing resembling our brandy, of which they are very fond,
and with which they are frequently intoxicated. In fact,
they think of nothing but eating and drinking from morning
till night, like the flocks and herds which they keep.
They have priests, whom they call Lamas, and for whom
they have a singular veneration ; in this they differ from the
Eastern Tartars, the greater part of whom have no reUgion,
and do not believe in God. For the rest, both the one and
the other are slaves, depending entirely on the wUl of their
masters, following them blindly in ;religion and habits of life ;
thus again resembUng their flocks, which go where they are
taken, and not where they would.

82 THE HISTORY OF THE
This part of Tartary is situated beyond the great wall of
China, about a thousand Chinese furlongs, that is to say,
more than three hundred European mites, and it extends from
the summer east^ towards the north. The emperor goes on
horseback at the head of his army by desert places, by steep
mountains, and far from the great road, exposed all day
to the heat of the sun, to rain, and to aU the inclemencies of
the weather. Many of those who have been in the late
wars, have assured me that they did not endure so much
during that time, as during these huntings ; thus the emperor
whose object was to keep the troops in exercise, has effected
what he aimed at.
The second reason he had for undertaking this journey,
was to keep the Western Tartars to their duty, and prevent
the designs they might have formed against the state. It
was for this that he entered their country with so large an
army, and such grand warlike preparations, taking even
artillery, which he caused to be discharged from time to
time in the vaUeys, in order that the noise and fire of the
cannons might spread terror all around.
Independent of all this equipage, it was his will that he
should be accompanied by aU the marks of grandeur which
surround him at Pekin. I mean the multitude of drums,
trumpets, kettle drums, and other musical instruments, which
are played while he is at table, and to the sound of which he
enters his palace, and leaves it. He caused all this to accom
pany him on his march, to astonish these barbarous races
with this outward pomp, and to impress on them'the fear and
the respect which was due to his imperial majesty.
The empire of China has never at any time had enemies
more to be feared than these Western Tartars, who beginning
from the east of China, surround it with an almost infinite
multitude of people, and keep it as if besieged on the
'¦ The expression thus rendered, is " I'orient d'6te," the point where
the sun rises at the beginning of summer, when the days are longest.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 83
northern and western sides. And it is to prevent their
incursions, that an ancient emperor of China caused the great
waU to be built which separates China from their country.
I have passed it four times, and have considered it closely.
I can say, -without exaggeration, that the seven wonders of
the world put together are not to be compared to this work ;
and that all that fame has reported of it in Europe is far
below what I have seen of it.
Two things have particularly raised my admiration of it :
the first is, that in its long extent from east to west, it passes,
in several places, not only by vast plains, but over very high
mountains, over which it rises gradually, fortified at intervals
by large towers, which are not more distant from each other
than two casts of a crossbow. On our return I had the curi
osity to measure the height in one place, and I found it to
be one thousand and thirty-seven geometric feet above the
horizon. It is incomprehensible how they were able to raise this
enormous bulwark to the height at which we see it, in dry and
mountainous places, where they were obUged to bring from
afar, and with incredible labour, water, bricks, cement, and aU
the necessary materials for the construction of so grand a work.
The second thing which surprised me, is, that this wall
does not continue in the same line, but bends in divers places,
foUowing the line of the mountains in such a manner that, in
Ueu of one waU, one may say that there are three, which
surround all this great part of China.
After all, the monarch who, in our days, has reunited the
Chinese and Tartars under the same dominion, has done
things more advantageous for the safety of China, than the
Chinese emperor who built this long waU ; for after having
reduced the Western Tartars, partly by artifice, partly by
force of arms, he obliged them to go and live three hundred
miles beyond the Wall of China ; and in this place he dis
tributed to them their lands and pasturage, whUe he gave
their country to the Tartars his subjects, who live there at

84 THE HISTORY OF THE
the present time. MeanwhUe the Western Tartars are so
powerful, that, if they agreed among themselves, they could
yet render themselves masters of all China and Eastern Tar
tary, as the Eastern Tartars themselves acknowledge.
I have said that this monarch used art to subdue the West
ern Tartars ; for one of his first cares was by presents and
demonstrations of friendship to engage the Lamas in his
interest. As these false priests have great credit with the
nation, they easUy persuaded them to submit to the dominion
of so great a prince ; and it is in consideration of this service
rendered to the state, that the emperor looks stiU upon these
Lamas with a favourable eye, that he gives them presents, and
that he makes use of them to keep the Tartars in obedience,
though in his heart he has nothing but contempt for their
persons, regarding them as coarse men, -without any know
ledge of science or the fine arts ; by this some judgment may
be formed of the wisdom and ability of this prince.
He has divided this vast extent of country into forty-eight
provinces, which are submissive and tributary to him. It is
astonishing that he alone should govern an empire of such vast
extent, and that he is the soul which gives motion to all the
members of this great body. Not only does he not suffer
public affairs to rest upon any of his grandees, but he wiU
never allowthe eunuchs of the palace,or any of the lords of the
court, who have been raised to be near himself, to dispose of
anything within his house, or regulate anything of themselves.
He takes notice of aU affairs treated of in the courts of justice,
and causes an exact account to be rendered of the judgments
which are passed there. In a word, he disposes and orders
everything himself; and it is on account of the absolute
authority which he has thus acquired that the greatest lords
of the court, and the most distinguished persons in the empire,
even the princes of the blood, always appear in his presence
with the profoundest respect. He also shows most praise
worthy justice in punishing them, just as he does the hum-

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 85
blest of his subjects,' when they are guUty of any faults which
deserve it.
For the rest, the Lamas, of whom I am going to speak, are
not only respected by the people of their nation, but also
their lords and princes, who show them much friendship ;
and this makes us fear that the Christian reUgion -wUl not find
an easy entrance into Western Tartary. They have also
much power over the mind of the queen mother, who is of
their country, and is seventy years old. They often teU her
that the sect to which she belongs has no enemies more de
cided than we ; and it is a kind of miracle, or at least a special
providence of God, that, notwithstanding this, the emperor,
who has great regard and respect for her, has not ceased to
load us with honours and favour, regarding us always in a
veiry different light to what these Lamas do.
During the journey, as the princes and the first officers of
the army went often to the queen to pay her their court, and
we were advised to do it likewise, we wished first to consult
one of our friends among the grandees, who in the various
occurrences which concern us speaks for us to the emperor.
This lord went into the tent of the prince, and consulted him
upon the subject ; he came out soon and said, " The emperor
has told me, that it is not necessary for you to go and see
the queen as the others do"; by which we weU understood
that this princess was not favourable to us.
The third reason which the emperor had for making this
journey was his health : for he knows by long experience, that
when he is too long in Pekin, he is sure to be seized with a
variety of complaints, which he avoids by means of these long
huntings. For all the time they last he sees no woman ; and
it is very surprising that none appeared in all this great
army, excepting those which formed the suite of the queen-
mother, and it is an unusual thing that she accompanied the
king this year, for it only happened so once before, when he
brought the three queens with him as far as the capital city
of Leauton to visit the sepulchres of his ancestors.

86 THE HISTORY OF THE
The emperor and the queen-mothei* expected by this
journey to avoid the excessive heats which are felt at Pekin
in summer during the dog days. For in this part of Tartary,
until the months of July and August, there blows a wind so
cold, particularly during the night, that it is necessary to
wear warm clothing. The reason given for this extraor
dinary cold is, that this region is very elevated, and full
of mountains. There was one among others which we
always ascended during five or six days of March. The
emperor wished to know how much it was above the plains
of Pekin, distant from hence about three hundred miles ; at
our return, after having measured the height of more than
one hundred mountains which were in our route, we found
that they were three thousand geometrical feet above the
level of the sea nearest to Pekin.
The saltpetre with which these countries abound, may
also contribute to this great cold, which is so violent that in
digging the ground to three or four feet deep they take out
clods quite frozen, as well as pieces of ice.
Several petty kings of Western Tartary came from all di
rections three hundred and even five hundred miles, with
their children, to salute the emperor. These princes, who for
the most part know only their native language, which is very
different from that spoken in Eastern Tartary, regarded us
with looks and gestures of especial kindness. There were
some among them who had made the journey to Pekin to see
the court, and who had seen our church.
One or two days before arriving at the mountain, which
was the limit of our journey, we met one of these petty kings,
a very old man, who came to see the emperor. When he saw
us, he stopped with all his suite, and asked by his inter
preter which of us was called " Nauhauaii''.^ One of our
' This is misspelt in the French for Nanhauaij : but the proper form
of the Chinese name given to Verbiest is Nan-hwae-jin, as is sho-wn in
his Chinese map of the world in the British Museum, where the name is
given in the Chinese character.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 87
servants having signified that it was I, this prince addressed
me with much courtesy, and said to me that he had known
my name a long time, and that he desired to know me. He
spoke to Father Grimaldi with the same marks of affection.
The favourable welcome we received in this meeting, gave
us some ground of hope that our religion might be received
by some of these princes, particularly if care were taken to
instil it into their minds through the medium of mathematics.
So that if it were contemplated at some future day to pene
trate into their country, the surest way for many reasons,
which I have not leisure to explain here, would be to com
mence with the most distant Tartars, who have not submitted
to the empire, then pass on to those who have, and thus
advance gfradually towards China.
During the whole journey the emperor has continued to
give us singular marks of good -wiU, granting us favours in
the sight of his army which he bestows on no one else.
One day he met us in a large valley, where we were mea
suring the height and distance of some mountains ; he stopped
with aU the court, and calling us from a distance, said in
Chinese, " Hao mo ?" which means " Are you well." Then
he put many questions in the Tartar language about the
height of the mountains, to which I also replied in the same
language. After that he turned to the lords who surrounded
him, and spoke to them of us in the most gratifying terms,
as I learned the same evening from the prince his uncle, who
was then at his side.
He has also shown us his affection, in often sending meats
from his/own table to our tent, even desiring at certain meet
ings that we should eat in his own : and always when he
has done us this honour, he has shown consideration for our
days of abstinence and fasting, sending us only such viands
as we might take.
The eldest son of the emperor, after his father's example,
has also shown us much kindness ; for when he was obliged

88

THE HISTORY OF THE

of the™°°^ on one occasion to remain quiet for more than ten days, in
t^rad^hia consequence of a fall from his horse, which wounded his right
peop e- shoulder, and a part of the army in which we were was in
attendance on him, the emperor meanwhile foUowing the
chase with the remainder, he did not faU during all this time
to give us every day some marks of good will, the which, as
well as those which the emperor his father has loaded upon
us, we regard as the acts of a special Providence, which
watches over us and over Christianity.
It may be seen in different places in these letters, that the
emperor of China is as good as he is great and powerful.
He showed this to his people some years since in a remark
able manner. The city of Pekin and its environs were
afflicted for three months with an earthquake, so horrible
and violent at certain hours, that an infinite number of
temples and palaces were cast down. The walls of the city
feU, and more than four hundred persons were crushed. In
a village named Tuncheu, thirty thousand inhabitants were
buried under the ruins of their houses. The danger was so
great for every one, no building being safe, that the emperor
and all the court betook themselves to an encampment, and the
people who had not the means of having tents, took the resolu
tion of lying down in the open air. When the earthquake had
passed off, those whose houses had faUen found themselves
under the necessity of continuing this manner of life a long
time, it being stiU more difficult for them to build a house than
to have a tent ; and that which redoubled the public affiiction
was, that the most part had not the means of rendering the
last duties to their relations, which the Chinese consider as
one of the greatest evils of Ufe. The emperor could not see
the misery of his people without being moved -with compas
sion. He resolved to relieve them, and behaved so gener
ously to them, that he gave them money from his treasury,
not only to build the houses of the living, but even to make
the coffins of the dead.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 89
In order to understand that part of the last letter which f^^_
treats of the lamas, care must be taken not to confound them
with the bonzes. The lamas are the priests of the idolatrous
Tartars, and the bonzes those of the Chinese. The latter
are held in great contempt in China among all people of
condition; and the former, as it is said in the letter, are
venerated throughout Tartary, even by the grandees. The
bonzes also are men taken from the dregs of the people, a
coUection of feUows who for the most part are great rascals :
but the Lamas have among them people of quality, and it is
not long since they had for their pontiff the brother of the
king of Thibet. Above all they appear generally to live with
the utmost regularity.
But in order to explain more thoroughly all that regards
these Tartar priests, so often mentioned in the histories of
China, and always taking too great a part in the affairs of
this kingdom, I wiU relate here that which a Jesuit of Persia
learnt respecting them from an Armenian priest, who had
been in Thibet, and of another traveUer of the same nation, a
wise man of good faith, who had Uved there four years, and
whose recital deserves the more credit that the Father Gruber,
who passed through there in coming to China, agrees with
him perfectly.
There are two kingdoms in Asia which bear the name of
Thibet. The one called the Little, the other the Great. The
Little Thibet joins the kingdom of Cashmere, which is that
beautiful country belonging to the Mogol, described by M.
Bernier^ as abounding in all kinds of fruits, like the most
fertile provinces of Europe, embellished everywhere with
gardens and watered by rivers of clear water, and inhabited
by a race that is gentle, sociable, and hospitable to foreigners.
The Little Thibet is quite the contrary as to the nature of
I The celebrated traveller Pranfois Bernier, who resided twelve years
in India, during eight years of which he was physician to Aureng
Zeyb.

90 THE HISTORY OF THE
the country : for it has a sterile soU, a cold climate, and the
people are very poor.
The Great Thibet, which some call Tefat, and others Bout-
ant, borders on Chinese Tartary. It is not much more agree
able and fertile than the Little Thibet. In general the people
make no bread. Barley meal mixed -with tea, which comes
from China, or -with some other liquor, serves them instead.
Some nevertheless make barley bread. Most of the poor
people eat their bread raw. The rivers supply them with
very fine fish, and they have abundance of milk food. The
soil produces neither wine nor fruit. They make pretty
strong brandy from barley and other grains. They make
use of the little wheat which they grow, to make other nou
rishing liquors.
Thibet abounds in musk. Tt is a wild animal, the colour of
a deer, a little larger and longer than a cat, having two very
large teeth in the upper jaw. Its perfume is at the navel.
Hunting this animal constitutes the most common sport of the
country. There are plenty of mines of gold and silver, but
as the inhabitants do not know how to work the mines, the
metals are only found by digging the ground at hazard, but
this does not prevent their being sufficiently plentiful.
The ail- is excellent, and they are very seldom ill. The men
are robust, fair enough in their dealings, and punish thieves
very severely. Constancy in wedlock is strictly observed :
but the unmarried live in great license. They do not bury
the dead, but expose them to the beasts and birds, thinking
it better they should be thus eaten, than become corrupt
and furnish food for worms.
Lassa, which is the capital and only city of the country, is
governed by a mandarin of China, sent there by the emperor,
to whom this country is subject : from which one may judge of
the immense extent of the Chinese empire, it being more
than three months' journey from Thibet to Selink, a city situ
ated at the foot of the great wall. Though the space between

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 91
IS a desert, where there is nothing but wild beasts, caravans
frequently pass from Thibet to China, the capital of which is
distant only two months' journey from Selink.
Besides the mandarin who governs in Thibet for the em
peror of China, they have also, under the authority of the
same monarch, a Calmuck prince, who has a separate juris
diction, and to whom they give the title of king.
But it may be said, that the greatest lord in the country is
the pontiff of the lamas, who is called the Grand Lamas, or
the Grand Lam, or the Grand Lamasem, and who is certainly
the famous Prestor John, who has, without foundation, been
placed by some in Ethiopia. They have so much veneration
for this Grand Lamas, that they regard him as a divinity : of
whom these people acknowledge three. They say there is
an invisible god, who never speaks to any one. Another,
who is the word of god, and who communicates it to the
Lamas ; and the third is the Lamas himself, who announces
the word of god to others. The dwelling of this false priest
is in a kind of fortress, a quarter of a league from the capital,
and of the same name as the capital itself, where he governs
14,000 Lamas. There are two other fortresses, which are
distant from hence several days' journeys, in one of which
there are 12,000 lamas, and in the other 8,000, all under
the command of the Grand Lamas, who disposes of them as
he pleases, and who sends large troops of them as mission
aries into Tartary and into China, without supplying them
with food for then- journey, or any other means of subsistence.
These lamas do not marry, but have among them certain
communities of both sexes, which live more austerely than
the others. They aU, however, live very strictly, for they
have fasts, mental prayers, a Lent of forty days, and other
like penances. They have also a choir, and a kind of chant.
Their temple is very magnificent, where are to be seen
the statues of Adam and Eve. Father Gruber says, they
offer a sacrifice of bread and wine, when they can get it.

92 THE HISTORY OF THE
This imitation of the practices of Christianity, has caused the
Mahometans, who know them, to say that they are the
infidels of the Christian religion. M. Thevenot believes that
the Nestorians of Moussol and its environs formerly intro
duced the gospel into this country and even into China, and
that these lamas are the remains of this Christianity, gradu
ally corrupted by ignorance and by time. An Ulustrious
and learned cardinal, to whom M. Thevenot gave his reasons
for thus thinking, confirmed him by his approbation, which
is a sure precedent for that of the public.
The Grand Lamas is extremely rich. It is he who gives
permission to dig the earth to find gold, and whether they
find it or not, the permission is equally valuable to him. As
the country abounds in horses, camels, and other beasts of
burden, he has a prodigious number of them. The creduUty
of the people is even a better revenue for him than all this.
For everyone gives him something, and in acknowledgement
of all the presents he receives, he has only to give them little
reliquaries of brass, filled with aU sorts of odd things, and
these poor souls carry them about with them as a remedy for
all kinds of evU.
It is not only the common people who suffer themselves to
be deceived by this imposture, but the most considerable
people of the country, over whom he has such an ascendancy
that they do nothing but at his discretion. The governor
and the king of Thibet are the first dupes of the false lights,
which he pretends to receive from above. It is difficult to
believe how blindly the princess, who is called in China the
queen-mother, is devoted to aU the superstitions of these false
prophets. AU her court is fuU of lamas, and she is so in
fatuated that she shares with them everything which she
possesses. It is they who have made her an enemy of Chris
tianity and the Christians, against whom she has an im
placable hatred. The fortune of this woman is extraordinary;
for she is not mother to the late emperor, and only grand-

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 93
mother to this by adoption. She had been the nurse of the
former, who was so attached to her that he constantly showed
her all the tenderness and deference which a son of the best
natural disposition in the world could show to her from
whom he had received his life. What is still more astonish
ing is, that the present emperor discovers the same disposi
tions towards her. In this manner she has been for a long
time much looked up to in China, enjoying all the honours
of a great queen, and even taking part in the affairs of
government. It may be considered as the greatest work accomplished
by the ministers of the gospel who have had influence in this
court, and one of the most essential services which they have
been able to render to the cause of religion, that they have
removed in the two conquerors the esteem which their ances
tors had for the lamas : for it is no small proof of the moral
courage of these monarchs, that they were able to raise
themselves above this hereditary superstition. WhUst the
passions of Chunchi left him the free use of his reason, he
followed in this the counsels of father Adam ; and if for
political reasons he took some steps for the honour of the
lamas, he made them with dignity and due regard for his
own character. At the commencement of his reign the high
priest came to see him, in the hope of establishing himself
director of his conscience, and perhaps minister of his em
pire. He came accompanied by three thousand of his people,
clad in the red dresses which they all wear ; passing among
the Tartars in this attire, they attracted to their train more
than thirty thousand persons, together forming a magnificent
cortege. One of the uncles of the emperor persuaded him
to advance as far as the great waU, to receive so large a host
at the entrance of his territory; and the prince, who was
quite young, had already made preparations for the journey,
when father Adam, who had been warned of it, went to him
and represented to him how much such an action would

94 THE HISTORY OF THE
compromise the dignity of his empire. This remonstrance
was effectual — the emperor acquiesced. The lamas came,
and he received him well, but without servility or supersti
tious reverence. It is said that this man showed much
address at this meeting, and that having enquired on the
road in whom the prince had confidence, and who was his
adviser, and being told that it was a foreigner from Europe,
a man of abUity and intelligence, he highly approved of the
choice, and praised the good taste of the monarch.
The present emperor walks in the same steps, and what is
still better, does not seem in danger of losing his mind like
his father, women having less power over him. It is not
that he has ceased to love them ; if he had, he would have
surmounted one of the greatest obstacles to his becoming
Christian : but he loves them in such a manner, that if he is
weak enough to make them mistresses of his heart, he has
strength enough to prevent their empire extending over his
reason, and in settling the affairs of his state the king does
not become the slave. So that whatever attachment the
queen-mother may have for the lamas, and however in
fatuated his best beloved women may be, he has always had
esteem and affection for the Jesuits of his court, to whom,
since he has known them, he has not ceased to show favour,
and to give striking proofs of his royal good will.
This is for the consideration of those who shut their eyes to
the progress made by the Christian religion in China, which
is greater under the reign of this prince than one had dared to
hope. Hitherto he has not manifested any disposition to
embrace it. He argues upon it, and, as he has a fine mind,
he acknowledges its beauty, and has often said that it teaches
nothing contrary to reason. One day, having gone to see
the fathers, he gave them a writing in his o-wn hand, bearing
these words, " I revere heaven"; which all the missionaries
of China have placed in front of their churches, as a tacit
approbation given by the emperor to the true religion : but

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 95
he stopped there, and it was a false report at Moscow which
said, that in the last encounter of the Muscovites and Chinese,
this prince had written to the grand dukes, saying that he
would not make war with them, because he knew and wor
shipped the same Jesus Christ whom they adored. We re
ceived last month a letter from China, which reached Europe in
ten months, and which says positively the contrary, and asserts
that this prince has not yet given the preachers of the gospel
any hope of conversion. He would naturally be inclined to re
quire theobservance of his o-wn edict, which forbids themaking
converts to Christianity, but permits those who have already
become so the exercise of their religion. Several times the
fathers at Pekin, thinking they had found a favourable op
portunity, wished to ask the revision of this edict, and the
withdrawal of a clause so dishonourable to Christianity. At
last, to do nothing unad-risedly, they consulted an uncle of
the emperor's, who is one of their best friends : " Do nothing,"
replied the prince to them, " make no stir in the matter. The
emperor knows what is going on, and is not ignorant that in
Pekin alone you annually make two thousand Christians :
but he pretends to know nothing of it, and it would not be
safe to attempt to make him change his line of conduct."
This shews what wisdom is required to hold one's zeal in
check in China, and what wrong is done to religion by those
who, even with good intentions, bring hither any but such
as are regulated by prudence and purified by charity. But
this shows at the same^ time the condescension of this prince
to those whom he honours with his friendship. We received
some months since letters from one of our missionaries, in
which, besides the detaUs of what had been done in this
mission, of which I do not here speak, he relates many in
stances of the kindness of the emperor to them. As they will
serve to make known this monarch, whose portrait I have
undertaken to make, I think I ought not to suppress things so
useful for my purpose. They show how affable, gentle, con-

96 the histor* of the
Affection sidcratc, and even polite he is, and that few of the princes of
ofthe ' ^ ' /. 1 /¦
tKesuiS' Europe know better how to add to the benefits they center
of his court, ijy. gracious words and manners. Thus writes the father.
The favours which we have received from the emperor are
so extraordinary, that even the grandees of the court would
Qonsider themselves honoured by them. The fathers of Pekin
who are near to him, have received the greater part. He
sees them -with pleasure, he speaks to them, he converses
with them for hours -with the greatest familiarity. As he
is always addressed kneeling, not wishing that they should
remain so long in so inconvenient a posture, he has the
kindness to cause them to be seated.
In his travels, which are frequent, he takes them almost
always with him, and orders some one of the great officers of
his house to take charge of them. Two years since he took
the fathers Verbiest and Grimaldi into Western Tartary ;
this year he has taken father Pereira,' to learn of him Euro
pean music while on the road.
He has ordered that these fathers should learn the Tartar
language, and has himself chosen a master for them. He
knows Tartar and Chinese, but he likes the Tartar best, and
for this reason the fathers have applied themselves closely to
learn it. He now takes great pleasure in hearing them speak
and talking -with them.
When they are sick he sends to visit them, and if they die
he takes upon himself the charge of ordering their funerals,
which in China is one of the greatest marks of friendship
that can be shown. It is his wish, nevertheless, that aU the
ceremonies of Christianity should be therein observed; so
that more than once we have seen their bodies carried from
the house which they had occupied near the palace, through
the whole length of Pekin, a space of more than two leagues,
1 A translation of Father Pereira's letter, describing his journey,
which is inserted by 'Witzen in his " Noord en Oost Tartarien," is given
at the end of this volume as an Appendix.

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 97
to a distant place of sepulture, with the cross elevated, and
more than two thousand Christians walking two and two
with wax tapers in their hands, as orderly as it would be
done in the most CathoUc city of Europe. It is the custom
of the emperors of China, when they wish to do honour to
the memory of any one, to send to his tomb an eulogium of
four letters, written by their own hand, which they caU a
yupien. The highest grandees regard this as an honour, and
it has sometimes ot^curred that the king of Tonquin, on send
ing to the emperor to request the investiture of his kingdom,
has taken it as a great favour that that prince has given him
one for his father, the late king. The emperor has bestowed
this honour upon all the priests who have died at Pekin,
and has even extended this favour into the provinces, having
sent one to the funeral of a German father, named Christian
Herdric, who died at Kiancheu, in the province of Chansi.
This eulogium came very §,-propos as a reparation for the
dishonour which religion received in the place where he
died ; for being alone, and having no priest near him, he
remained in his coffin, without any one coming to perform
the funeral ceremony. The idolators had already begun to
insult the Christians, and begged them to return to their
ancient religion, in which funereal duties, which among them
are regarded as in the highest degree important and essen
tial, are carefully performed towards the dead. There was
even one mandarin in a neighbouring village, who had al
ready begun to persecute them upon this subject, and had
caused some of them to be beaten in order to make them
leave a sect, which was considered impious ; but he was
greatly surprised when on a sudden, and when they least
expected it, father Grimaldi appeared with a mandarin from
the coui-t, bearing in great ceremony the eulogium of which
I have spoken, covered with a piece of yellow silk, that being
the emperor's colour. This eulogium, and the pomp of the
funeral which the emperor had ordered, restored honour and

98 the HISTORY OF THE
tranquillity to this afflicted Church. As all the mandarins of
the neighbourhood were present at the ceremony, the per
secutor whom I have alluded to was obliged to be there too.
He was in great apprehension as to the consequences of the
violence he had shown ; but he was reassured when the
father, prudently concealing his knowledge of what had
passed, confined himself to complaining of some idolators of
his jurisdiction, who, contrary to the wishes of the emperor,
disturbed the peace of the Christians. The mandarin, ex
tremely glad to see the turn the matter took, promised the
father that he would see the affair set to rights, and so they
parted good friends.
Wherever' the emperor passes on hisjourneys,he offers warm
greetings to any of these fathers that he meets on the road.
At the close of last year he went into the province of Chanton,
to visit the sepulchre of Confucius, that celebrated phUoso-
pher of China, whose works have just been printed in France.
As he passed by Cinan, where there is a church, he sent a
mandarin to ask if there were any news of father Vallat, who
is a French Jesuit presiding over the church, but who was
then absent. Thence he went to Nanquin, where one of the
first things that he asked of the mandarins who went before
him, was where the church was situated. He expected that
the fathers who have charge of it would come to salute him
as the others did, but they did not dare to. do so without
being summoned. The emperor waited for them two days,
till at length becoming impatient at their absence, he sent to
them a mandarin of his household named Chao, a zealous
friend of the fathers of Pekin, to reproach them with not
having come to see him, and courteously to ask them if they
had any complaint against him. The fathers replied, that
the respect which they felt towards his majesty, had pre
vented them from presenting themselves before him, without
knowing that it would be agreeable to him that they should
do so. " You ought to have had no doubt about it," repUed

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 99
the mandarin. " The emperor on his road to Cinan has first
sent to call upon you ; how is it that no one has appeared to
receive him ?" The father Gabiani, to whom he spoke, told
him that the father who resided at Cinan was come to Nan
king upon business, and that he was still there at that time.
Upon which it was concluded that they should both go to do
reverence to the emperor. They went, and were received
with every mark of esteem and affection that they could wish.
They made him some presents, according to the custom of
the country, of which he retained some white candles only,
they being a rarity and much valued in China. He on his
part presented them with some gifts, but not of any particu
lar value, for the Chinese emperors give very little, the object
of their giving being rather to confer honour than wealth.
He conversed a long time with them, and put various ques
tions to them. On asking them at last if they had not some
image of Jesus Christ about them, father Gabiani presented
him a cross, which he took and examined, and then returned
it to him. He made Chao tell them that he wished the
fathers of Pekin to be informed of his visit. Chao informed
them also that the emperor on his return would pass before
the door of their house. They made preparations to receive
him, and the reception which they gave him seemed very
agreeable to him, particularly certain quatrains of seven
syUables, in Chinese verse, that a young man who had been
received into our company had composed in honour of him.
The emperor read them attentively, and not satisfied with
reading them, wished to take them away. -All the fathers of
Pekin came as far as one of his pleasure-houses, which was
at three leagues distance from the city, to present themselves
before him ; and when they were informed of all the kind
nesses he had shown to their brethren, father Ferdinand
threw himself at his feet, and thanking him in the name of
them all said, " The great number of benefits, sire, thus daily
heaped by your majesty upon us poor strangers, deprives us of

100 THE HISTORY OF THE
the power of expressing our gratitude for them. We are unable
to serve your majesty except by our prayers and good wishes,
and we have no means of repaying the eternal obligations
under which you have laid us, except by imploring the
sovereign monarch of heaven and earth to continue to pour
upon your majesty those blessings which have hitherto
rendered your reign the happiest and most flourishing that
the empire of China has ever seen." These words, spoken
in a manner which made the heart of the speaker appear
upon his lips, touched the emperor extremely, and the con
versation which he then held with the fathers respecting their
churches, showed them that their gratitude had produced an
extraordinary impression upon him.
It was but shortly after this, that a plan presented itself to
their minds, from which we have reason to hope for a more
solid establishment than ever of the Christian religion in this
empire. This prince, taking into consideration that father
Verbiest was now aged, and that if he should die he would
only have two mathematicians left, asked him by what
means he might have six others, and if none had come from
Europe to Macao. The father answered him that there was
only one. The emperor replied, that he very much wished
there had been more, but at all events that one must be sent
for, and that one of the three should go to fetch him. Upon
which he pressed the father to name to him the one that he
thought best fitted for the journey, and the father excusing
himself, so that he might leave the selection to his majesty,
he chose the father Grimaldi, and gave him two mandarins
to accompany him.
This journey was very serviceable to the cause of religion
in these provinces, which were so remote from the court,
where the infidel mandarins are less checked from disturb
ing the peace of the ministers of the gospel than in those
which are near the prince. The missionaries of different
religious orders which have churches in the province of

TARTAR CONQUERORS OF CHINA. 101
Canton, had recourse to the father to have a stop put to such
annoyances, and he did deliver them from them. After
which, continuing his journey he came to Macao, where he
took the father whom he came to fetch, and returned with
him to the court. The emperor received them both with his
usual kindness, but not being yet satisfied with this small
number of learned persons that he had drawn around him,
he resolved upon sending the same priest back again, with
orders to go into Europe to fetch him some mathematicians.
We have just received the news that this missionary left
Macao nearly a year ago. His arrival here and return to
China, are looked forward to with impatience. The em
peror, however, will soon have less reason to be anxious
about his return, when the mathematicians which the king
has selected for him shall have arrived at his court. They
would have been there by this time if their voyage last year
had been more fortunate, and if a bad ship had not compelled
them, after making a great part of their way, to return to
Siam, where they had embarked.
The skill of these learned men will not be that which will
most interest the monarch to whom they are sent. The his
tory of him who sends them, will appear to him more worthy
of his curiosity, than all the secrets of their mathematics.
The detail of so many great actions, which fame has carried
but confusedly into those remote regions, being related to
him by people who have been eye witnesses thereof, wUl
give him more pleasure than all the curiosities of Europe.
As he has a taste for virtue of all kinds, nothing in this prince
wiU escape without his duly appreciating it. The rapid
course of so many victories, the splendid and important con
quests, the vast number of conquered enemies, are points in
connexion with our monarch upon which all the world looks
with the same eyes, and I venture to say also that that is not
what will most keenly interest the great emperor of whom I
speak. With a more delicate discernment, he will leave to

102 HISTORY OF THE TARTAR CONQUERORS.
others to admire the hero and the conqueror, that he may
bestow his praises on a king who can do everything, but
¦wiUs only that which is just, who has conquered only that
which was his own ; whom neither his own advantages nor
the weakness of his enemies have been able to tempt to push
his conquests beyond his just rights, always ready to grant
peace among the greatest successes of war, and showing a
moderation, which is the more admirable in prosperity, that
it has not been taught him by adversity. This is what will
be thought by a monarch who knows how to value virtue.
Happy if in esteeming the virtue of the king, he have the
courage to embrace our religion. This is the object of our
great prince, but it is not given to him that willeth nor to him
that runneth, but to him on whom God hath mercy.

APPENDIX,

Translation of Father Ferdinand Verbiest' s first letter from
the Dutch. See Witzen's " Noord en Oost Tartarien,"
Vol. I, p. 1.85.

journey, c
erur
Eastern

At the beginning of the present year 1682, the emperor of a«™"' <¦'
China made a journey into Eastern Tartary, after having JJtoEas
put to death three rebel princes, and thus quelled an insur- '^'""^^¦
rection which had broken out in certain provinces of the
empire. One of these princes was strangled in the province
of which he had made himself master. The second was
brought to Pekin, with the principal subordinate ringleaders,
and cut to pieces in the presence of the whole court. The
principal mandarins, whose parents and kinsmen had been
murdered by the rebels, gave their assistance as executioners,
and, with sabre in hand, satiated their vengeance with the
blood of their victims. The third, however, who had been
the principal leader of the rebeUion, had already, by hanging
himself, put a termination at once to his own life and to the
seven years' tragedy of the war.
¦When the empire of China had thus been restored to
peace, and the provinces were again in quiet enjoyment of
their ancient liberties, the emperor, on the 23rd of March,
undertook a journey to the province called Leauton, the
birthplace and ancient abode of his ancestors, with intent to
visit their places of sepulture, and to honour the same with
the accustomed ceremonies : as also to visit and inspect in

104 APPENDIX.
person the extreme frontier of that part of his dominion
toward East Tartary or Niuche, distant some one thousand
one hundred Italian miles, of a thousand paces each, mea
sured from Pekin to the boundary posts.
The emperor himself rode in advance on horseback, and
next to him followed the prince, his son, ten years of age,
who had for some years past been declared the heir of this
so vast an empire. After these came three principal queens,
each in a gilded carriage, and thereafter all the chief princes,
the grandees of the entire court, and the principal mandarins
of all ranks, all of whom were attended by many followers
and appurtenances, and made up in all a number of some
seventy thousand men.
It was the emperor's pleasure that I also should be at
tached to his suite on this expedition, and follow him every
where ; partly that I might with scientific instruments ob
serve and note the atmospheric and terrestrial phenomena,
the latitudes, the variation of the needle, and occasionally
the height of mountains ; and alst) that I might always be
at hand to answer his majesty's questions as to celestial
appearances, meteors, and such like. For which reasons he
selected one of his offlcers, who was to provide for and super
intend the safe conveyance on horseback of my instruments
during the entire journey.
He committed me to the care of his uncle, who is also his
father-in-law, and considered in all respects as the principal
among the grandees of the empire, charging him to provide
me with everything necessary for so long an expedition, the
which in effect he, the uncle, executed to superfiuity and
with great kindness, admitting me to his own tent and table.
The emperor allotted to my use at all times ten or more
horses from his own stable, and among them not a few which
he had ridden and used himself, in order that I might have
means of changing from one to another when the one I rode
might be tired.

APPENDIX. 105
It was thus therefore that, at the cost of the emperor, and
at none of my own, I performed the whole journey, upon
which all the other mandarins were obliged to spend great
sums from their own resources.
Our road lay uniformly in an easterly direction, and pa
rallel -with and near to it, on the left or northern side, runs
a continuous chain of mountains, generally of considerable
height, to the extreme east, a distance of more than a thou
sand miles. From the city of Pekin, indeed, to the entrance
of the province of Leauton, a distance of two hundred
and ninety mUes, the road is level ; but through the whole
prcwince, for about four hundred Italian miles, we encoun
tered ridges of hill and mountain, which cost us time to
ascend and descend. Finally, the remainder of our journey
was generaUy along rough mountains, or through deep val
leys ; at times also were desert flats, two or three days'
journey in extent, for flve hundred mUes further, till we
reached a town called Ula, and a river caUed by the Tartars
Songoro, and by the Chinese Sumpoa ; and here was fixed
and marked out the Umits of our journey.
AU the mountains, both in Leauton and beyond it towards
the east, are covered with a growth of old oak and other
trees, which for centuries have not felt the axe. For a space
of several days' journey I passed through coppices of the
hazel nut. ^ I do not remember anywhere else to have seen
such abundance of that kind of tree.
This entire district, especially beyond Leauton to the
eastward, is mountainous. I have often, standing on a sum
mit and looking round the whole horizon, discerned nothing
but mountains and vaUeys, the haunts of tigers, bears, and
other beasts of prey. Houses seldom met my view, except
in some vale on the bank of a rivulet, and these were huts of
clay and thatched with chaff or straw.
All the towns and villages, of which in Leauton I saw
many, are completely ruined. One meets continuaUy with

106 APPENDIX.
remnants of waUs and heaps of rubbish. Among the ruins,
however, not a few new dwellings have been raised here
and there, and constructed without order, some of clay,
others of rough stone, but the most of straw, and very few
covered with tile or shingle.
Already, however, all traces have vanished of very many
towns and vUlages which existed before the war ; for so
soon as the Tartar sovereign who excited the contest had
collected a small force, he proceeded to recruit it on a large
scale from all the towns ; the latter he sedulously destroyed,
in order to deprive his soldiers of all hope of a return to
their homes. The capital, however, of the province of Leau
ton, called Yim-yam, is of considerable size and beauty, and
no contemptible specimen of a royal residence. Its latitude,
as I fixed it by more than one observation, is ninety-one deg.
fifty-six minutes, that is, about two degrees higher than that
of Pekin ; which by all authorities, as well native as Euro
pean, to this day is not considered higher than forty-one de
grees. There is no variation of the needle in this capital, a
fact which I ascertained by repeated trials. But in the town
of Ula, situated at the extreme limit of our journey, in lati
tude forty-four degrees twenty minutes, the needle is de
flected from the south to the west one degree and about forty
minutes. To return, however, to our journey, from which
we have somewhat digressed.
From the city of Pekin to the furthest east, and through
the remotest districts, an entirely new road has been opened,
for the purpose of enabling the emperor to travel it on
horseback and the queens in their carriages. This road was
conducted, to the breadth of ten feet, over hill and dale,
and with bridges, over numerous rivers and rivulets, for
more than one thousand Italian miles, and is ¦ as straight
and even as circumstances would allow, the earth being
"thrown up on either side to the height of one foot, very

APPENDIX. 107
neatly, as a kind of fence, and marked with posts at regular
instances. It was so smooth and weU kept, that in fair weather
especially it resembled a threshing-floor ; to maintain which
condition persons were placed along its whole course, who
suffered no one to travel it till after the emperor and queens
had passed. Our CathoUcs in Europe scarcely take so
much pains to smooth and beautify the road along which the
Sacrament is conveyed on the high festival, as these people
bestow on the pathway of their sovereign and his consorts,
and this as often as he undertakes this journey from the
capital. But another road, in all respects similar, is pre
pared for the return journey, the higher ridges of the hills
being, as far as possible, levelled, and bridges thrown over
every stream, on either side of which mats with painted
dragons are hung out, like tapestry with us.
The emperor himself, for the most of the time, leaving
the great road, betook himself to unbeaten paths through
the mountains for the sake of the chase. Even when at
times he travelled so as to keep company with the queens,
he diverged from the high road so as to avoid spoiling it
with the crowd of horsemen of his train. The emperor, I
say, moved on thus a considerable space in advance. After
him followed the gilded carriages of the queens with the
imperial suite. Then came, at a convenient distance, the
princes, grandees, and, finally, the mandarins, each accord
ing to his rank ; but the rear was closed up by innumerable
bands of servants on horseback. Inasmuch as we feU in
with no towns on the way which could lodge such a multi
tude, or pro-vide it with necessaries, and, the greater part of
the way lay through desert districts (mountain and valley, as
I have said), everything needful had to be carried with us.
Innumerable carriages therefore, camels, mules, and horses,
went on before, partly through by-ways, or foUowed, or, it
may rather be said, accompanied us in one interminable pro-

108 APl'ENDIX.
cession, carrying tents, beds and bedding, cooking utensils,
and such like. In addition to these were many troops of led
horses, for the emperor, the princes, and nearly all the great
men changed their horses frequently in a day's journey.
Herds of oxen, flocks of sheep for daily slaughter, and swine,
also accompanied us, driven across the country on either side ;
and all this perpetual concourse of carriages, beasts, and
men, although kept at some distance from the royal road
reserved for the queens, nevertheless raised such a cloud of
dust that we seemed to proceed in a perpetual mist; and
frequently when the wind blew on our face or flank, we
were unable to distinguish objects at flfteen or twenty paces
distance. Our stages were so marked out that our army reached
every evening the course of some stream, and was able to
construct its huts on the bank. At daybreak of every morn
ing these were broken up, and the materials sent forward.
By the evening, the officers in charge had selected a con
venient site, in the first instance, for the encampment of the
emperor and his consorts, and afterwards for the princes
and mandarins, each in his place after the sequence of the
eight blazons of the banners under which the Tartar war
array of that people is distributed and ordered. After this
fashion and order we performed, in some three months,
with scarcely the intermission of a day's repose, the thou
sand Italian miles towards the east, and took the same time
for our return.
When we arrived at the fortress called Yam-hay, which
is situated partly on the narrow arm of the Southern Sea,
and partly on the Northern Mountain, where the famous
Chinese Wall separates the province of Leauton from that of
Pekeli (this wall begins on the shore of the Southern Sea
and runs for about five miles to the base of the highest
Northern Mountain, and thence ascending the accli-vity, is
conducted over the topmost summits of other mountains far

APPENDIX. 109
away to the north-west) ;— when, I say, we had passed the
wall, and were beyond the frontier of Leauton, the em
peror, with the queens, grandees, and nearly all the manda
rins, quitted the royal road and diverged to the left of it
(i.e., towards the North Mountains, which are connected
by a long ridge and terminate very far to the eastward), in
order to follow the chase henceforward every day. The
emperor then selected three thousand soldiers from those
who formed his body guard, and who were aU armed with
bows and arrows. These spread themselves out on either
side round the mountain in a wide circle, the diameter of
which was at least three Italian mUes. They were then
arranged in a certain order and distance from each other on
the circumference. In order to obviate any inequality or
break in the circle by some moving quickly and others
slowly, careful order was kept by offlcers, and among them
even some of the great men, who were distributed in the
circle. After the positions of all were arranged, each one
moved straight forward, whether the ground before him
were vaUey or thick underwood, or whether he had to climb
the most rugged heights, and none was allowed to diverge
to the right or the left.
And thus traversing hiU and dale they surrounded all the
beasts -within their circle as in a net, and gradually approach
ing a point, usually chosen in some valley free from trees,
they diminished the circle from one of a diameter of three
mUes to one of two or three hundred paces. Then each dis
mounting from his horse (for the. entire body of seventy
thousand men were horsemen, and there was not a pedestrian
among them), and setting foot to foot and shoulder to shoul
der, they closed in upon the animals they had driven from
their dens and haunts. The latter, after running hither and
thither and finding no exit, sunk down powerless and ex
hausted and were ea,sUy captured. I Jjave seen upwards of
three hundred harts, besides wolves, foxes, and other wild

110 APPENDIX.
animals, captured in this manner in the course of half a day.
I have seen also, in the remoter districts of Tartary beyond
Leauton, often more than a thousand harts and badgers
taken in the same time, which, like fiocks of sheep, running
about the circle and finding no egress, feU a prey to their
own exertions. Tigers, however, were, to the number of
more than sixty, destroyed by another kind of proceeding
and with different weapons.
It was the emperor's pleasure that I should be present at
all these extraordinary hunts, and he recommended me to
the care of his father-in-law, with special benevolence on my
behalf, charging him to take particular care for my safety in
the chase of the tiger and other dangerous beasts. It was
thus that I alone among all the mandarins, without arms
and near the. person of the emperor, ascended on horseback
the high mountains, and with him descended again into the
vaUeys. Returning thereafter after this severe labour (though, after
a whUe, I got accustomed to it) late at night to the tents, I
was usuaUy so fatigued as scarcely to be able to stand after
dismounting, and through the night was little conscious of
tbe neighing of the horses, the lowing of the oxen, or the
bleating of the sheep about our encampment.
And, albeit I often endeavoured to escape from this close
company with the emperor, yet by advice of friends I was
induced to give up the attempt for fear of his displeasure,
inasmuch as he had exhibited an extraordinary inclination
for me, yea, had distinctly expressed himself that I should
always be about his person, like those who were in his most
secret confidence and intimate friendship ; and all the great
mandarins had conformed themselves to this the emperor's
pleasure in my behalf.
After thus foUowing the chase for a length of upwards of
nine hundred mUes, yithout a day's intermission, we reached
at last the city of Xin-jam, where we enjoyed three or four

APPENDIX. Ill
days' repose. To this place came certain Coreans (from the
peninsular of Corea), and brought to the emperor a living
sea-calf, the which the emperor caused to be submitted to
my inspection, asking me whether in our European books
there were any mention of this fish ? And when I replied,
that in our library at Pekin there was a book which con
tained a likeness and description of this fish, taken from life,
the emperor desired that this book should be forthwith sent
for. On my writing on this subject to the fathers at Pekin,
I received in a few days their answer, together with two
books, which the imperial messengers, by diverse conveyance
so rapid as to resemble a flight through the air, delivered
to me. When the delineation in these volumes and the
description, were found to agree exactly with the specimen
brought from Corea, the emperor was much delighted, and
commanded the flsh to be conveyed with great care to
Pekin. During the three days which we passed at this resting
place, the emperor, with his consorts, visited the burial
places of his grandfather and great-grandfather, which are
not far from the city of Xin-yam.
On the fifth day he started, directing the queens to remain
in the capital for the remainder of his intended journey be
yond Leauton towards East Tartary, and, as before, follow
ing the chase -without a day's intermission, and arrived finally,
after traversing another four hundred miles, at a town caUed
Kirin, placed on the shore of the great river Songoro, which
has its source in the famous mountain called Cham Pe.
This mountain is situated some four hundred miles to the
south of Kirin, and is said to reach to the clouds, with its
summit continuaUy covered with snow. It is for this reason
called by its name Cham Pe, which signifies white mountain.
The foot or spur of this mountain is the ancestral birthplace
of our Eastern Tartar race : the emperor, on this account,
on the instant of his arrival on the river shore, dismounting

112 APPENDIX.
from his horse, and with his face turned southward toward
the mountain, knelt down and bowed his head three times
to the earth, in honour of the mountain and its connexion
with his forefathers. After this he mounted his litter re
splendent with gold, and surrounded by his body guard he
entered the tovra of Kirin. He let himself be seen by every
one, and forbad his guard to keep the multitude at a dis
tance, as is the custom at Pekin ; for the whole population,
men and women, had poured out to meet him, with every in
dication of delight at the sight of their sovereign, and con
templating him as if he had descended from heaven : for it
had never for ages past happened that the Chinese emperor
had visited these provinces in person. The emperor was
himself pleased at these unaffected demonstrations of loyalty
on the part of his subjects. He laid aside all pomp of ma
jesty, and invited their near approach, displaying towards
them the simplicity of his ancestors.
In this town of Kirin the inhabitants build vessels of a
peculiar construction, and keep a good many equipped, with
which they navigate the river towards the north-east for
some miles, and come to blows with the Muscovites, who
often frequent these rivers and endeavour to take away the
pearl fishery from the Kiringers.
After the emperor had enjoyed two days' repose at Kirin,
he proceeded with upwards of two hundred vessels and some
of his great men down the river to Ula, which is considered
the most iUustrious city of the whole province, and was of
old the residence of the Tartar emperors, the ruins of whose
palace are yet to be seen. He again took me in his company,
leaving behind at Kirin all the princes whom the vessels
were insufficient in number to accommodate. In this river,
a little above Ula, which is situated on its shore, some thirty-
two miles from Kirin, there is abundance of sturgeon. It
was to take this fish that the emperor proceeded to Ula. It
happened, however, that at this juncture, heavy rain fell day

APPENDIX. 113
and night, and the river, -without respect for his Majesty,
rising and continuing to rise, became by the force of its cur
rent unmanageable, and frustrated the further progress of
his Majesty.
The emperor remained here five or six days, for the rain
fell incessantly, and finally compelled him to retrace his
course back to Kirin. Upon this return one vessel suffered
no Uttle injury by the violence of the opposing current, and
I and the emperor's father-in-law were obliged to disem
bark. We betook ourselves to a peasant's waggon drawn by
one ox, and moving on slowly through thick mud and heavy
rain, came at last, late at night, again to Kirin. When the
emperor heard our adventure he said, laughing, " The stur
geon has made sport of us."
-After two days' repose at Kirin, the rain having some
what abated and more cheerful weather having set in, we
commenced our journey back to the capital of Leauton, It
is impossible in few words to describe the labour and diffi
culty of this journey, the constant rains ofthe previous days
having made all the roads impracticable. For while we
were compelled to traverse a mountainous country, the
waters streaming down through every valley had swelled the
streams, if I may so express myself, to an intolerable degree
of arrogance, to the destruction of the bridges which had
before existed.
The waters also had formed standing pools, with tenacious
mud, in many of the vaUeys, covering many a fertile and
verdant meadow. Among these the horses, camels, and
other beasts of burthen, laden with the traveUing apparatus,
got bemired and exhausted. The way was crowded with
corpses and remains of these animals, not merely of those
which perished on their return, but also of those which had
sunk on the advance. Scarcity also of provision (for many
articles which we had taken -with us were now deficient),
began to tell on the spirits as well as the bodily strength of

114 APPENDIX.
the men. Many horsemen now dismounted and led their
horses. Many of the cattle drivers Were also obliged to halt
for some days, in order to let their droves pasture and re
fresh themselves. Many others had lost their horses alto
gether. Men sent on in advance in great numbers, with
much difficulty cleared the way of trees and brushwood. In
spite of this precaution some thousand horsemen and car
riages, which had started long before daybreak on the
beaten road, lost it altogether from its impracticability. The
emperor himself and his little son, with all the great men of
their suite, were in many places compeUed to wade on foot
through mud and water, fearing lest from a false step of their
horses on the bundles of faggot's which lay concealed by the
mud, they might incur greater peril. On arriving at narrow
passes or bridges, which abounded in the vaUeys, after the
emperor and some of his nearest attendants had passed, there
ensued such a contest, I may say such a wrestling attiong
the multitude for the passage, that many tumbled over each
other into the water. In truth, for the whole of the way
through Tartary, and especiaUy the eastern part, the diffi
culty and suffering -were so excessive, that many who for
thirty years and more had followed the court, avowed that
they had never experienced the like.
In these difficult passages of narrow places, the emperor
gave various tokens of his good inclination towards myself.
On the first day of our homeward journey, we arrived
at a stream -which was found so swollen as to be fairly and
utterly unfordable. The emperor then availed himself of a
small boat, whicb by mere chance was at hand, and flrst
took himself knd the young prince over, and afterwards some
of the chief members of the imperial famUy ; but when the
other princes, grandees, and mandarins, and the whole troop
of followers were crowding to the shore, and .anxiously de
sired a passage (for dark night was at hand, and the tents
and all the travelling apparatus had been sent on and con-

APPENDIX. 115
veyed over two days in advance, and in consequence there
was no choice but to cross at once or to pass the night -with
out supper, and in the case of many without a dinner, on the
bare earth, in a very cold season), the emperor returned
across the stream and brought a second boat with him, and
cried aloud : " Where is Nan Goay gim ?" (that is my name
among these people), whereupon his father-in-law replied,
" Here he is." The emperor rejoined, " Let him get into
the boat and cross with ourselves ;" and thus caused me to
cross over, leaving the others behind. And this transaction
caused no Uttle comment among the multitude of eminent
persons, who, through the night and foUowing day, were
toiUng to effect their passage.
It fell out in very like manner on the following day, for the
emperor, with some of his principal nobles, to wit, such as had
succeeded in, crossing during the night, arriving about mid
day at a stream greater than the former, after from midday
to sunset had been occupied with passing over the tents
in small boats, he again ordered that I and a very few be
sides should be conveyed over, lea-ving all the others to pass
the night on the other side. And when the emperor's father-
in-law asked, through one of the chief intimates of the em
peror, " whether he also was to cross, inasmuch," he added,
" as Nan Goay gim shares my tent and table," the emperor re
plied : " It is necessary that you should cross, but as con
cerns Nan Goay gim, I shaU provide for him with my own
tents and table."
When I reached the other side, the emperor, sitting on the
river bank, commanded me to sit by him, together with two
sons of a prince of the Western province, and the chief Tar
tarian Kolao, to whom he always shewed much affection.
The night being very clear, the emperor would have me
recite the names of all the chief stars which he embraced in
his view of the hemisphere, as well in the Chinese as in the
European language, and he himself displayed aU the know-

116 APPENDIX.
ledge which he had acquired on the subject. .After he had
produced a small chart of the stars, which I had some years
before prepared for him, he went on to teU by the stars the
hour of the night, and took pleasure in thus displaying his
science in the presence and hearing of the great men about
him. These and other tokens of the imperial favour (as, for
example, his frequently sending me meats from his o-wn
table) were so remarkable and notorious to all, that when the
two uncles of the emperor, who were the chief of the gran
dees of the realm, visited me, upon our return to Pekin, at my
residence, they said to the fathers, who were with me : " So
great is the affection of the emperor for Nan Lao Te" (this
name they gave me as one of honour), " that when he is low
in spirits he has only to look on Nan Lao Te, and he imme
diately recovers his cheerfulness." This exceeding favour
of the emperor materially diminished the labour of our ardu
ous journey, but I never could discover any special reason
why I enjoyed it.
Having accomplished by such assistance the return jour
ney (to make an end of details), I arrived on the 9th of June,
late at night, safe and sound at Pekin. Many who had suf
fered injury on the road by falls from their horses, had been
fain to turn back, and many attacked with illness had re
mained behind.
Some may here be disposed to ask, what advantage or
profit could be derived to our mission from this expedi
tion ? To which I reply, — first, that I could do no other
than obey the emperor's express command that I should
accompany him, for on the emperor's good will (humanly
speaking), depend entirely the success and utUity of our
mission. In the second place, upon the whole course of this journey
(although by indirect ways), and in many of the most remote
places, as in Xin-yam, the chief place in Leauton, situated

APPENDIX. 1 17
on its frontier, in Kirin itself, and in Ula, which 1 may caU
the uttermost spot of the inhabited world, I met with some
Christians whose confession I received, and others whom,
akeady instructed by the former, I baptised, who but for
tbe chance of such an opportunity could -with difficulty have
lighted on the means of salvation and holiness. And among
these Christians were two invested with the Bachelor's de
gree, and another had long enjoyed that of Licentiate, all of
-vvhom resided in the celebrated town Caiyuen, within the
province of Leauton.
I passed half a day in this town, leaving the great road for
the purpose. Our constant advance permitted no longer stay.
In the third place, I found occasion on this long ex
pedition to infuse many notions of Christian doctrine into
many of the grandees and other mandarins, and to acquaint
them with the object and nature of our mission, and of the
spiritual order in Europe. For inasmuch as not only the
nobles, but also the princes of the imperial family, to divert
the tedium of the journey, courted conversation with me,
and asked me many questions touching the heavens and the
stars, and much about meteors, as also about our sea voy
ages, I took such opportunities to throw in much informa
tion as to our Christian, doctrine and worship ; and I took
special pains to point out how widely our religious mission
aries, i.e., those from Europe, differ from the Chinese bonzes or
priesthood, who occupy the lowest place in society. To wit,
that the spiritual class in Europe, from their youth to ex
treme age, occupy themselves with every branch of letters
and science : and also, after entering on their spiritual func
tions, become examiners of Bachelors and Licentiates, and
are made secular Doctors, and thus in Europe rank -with
the mandarins, whom in China we call Hio Tao, that is,
examiners of those who take degrees ; and aU this I de
monstrated by the European books fuU of science, which
have been translated into Chinese and spread all over the
country.

118 APPENDIX.
So that the greater number of the nobles- and principal
mandarins thus acquired an exalted notion of our European
clergy, a knowledge which, but for the . opportunity of this
journey, they could hardly have obtained.
In the fourth place. Inasmuch as this, countless multitude
of men, who during the entire journey saw me mounted on
one ofthe emperor's horses, and, heard me from the sanae, as
from a pulpit, often discourse of our worship, in such manner
that I might be said to be preaching to an enormous congre
gation ; for there were few among them whp had not their
attention turned to the emperor as he passed them from tiqie
to time, and who did not also see me in near attendance, dis
tinguished as I was for the absence of bow and quiyer, and
by my long beard and European attire, they could not fail
to observe rae with close attention. As, moreover, nearly all
knew me, not only as the ai^tjior of the Chinese almanack,
whose name by means of that book l^as been spread through
out the empire, but also as one who professed with singular
zeal the doctrine of Christ ; moreover as one who, after the
overthrow and ex;pulsion of Yam-quam-Sien, had reintro
duced into China the European astronomy, together -with
the Christian doctrine; all this could not be -without in
ducing many to ask questions touching the Christian faith,
and, while some were one way inclined, some another, there
arose much mention of the bygone persecution, as well as of
the present condition of the Christians. The result 'Was,
that they looked upon me as a principal and head among the
latter, with the respect which they formerly shewed to father
J. Adam Schal. And this respect was shewed by the fathers,
who, by God's permission, co-operated with me in the pur
suit of science, and whose names and titles being printed in
the almanack, were in wide repute, not only as compilers of
the same, but as apostles and champions of the Christian faith.
I append here a list of the places of East Tartary through
which we passed by daytime, between the capital Leauton

APPENDIX. 119
and Kirin, with the respective dates and distances. The
names are given in the Tartar language, according fo the
usage of the places themselves.
Length of intervals between certain places on our line of
route in East Tartary. Chinese
1st day's journey from Xynyam, capital of Leauton, to
Sea Ly Ho (this is a Chinese name) - 95
2nd day, to the brook Chakay Anga 85
3rd day, to another brook with the same name - 70
4th day, to Kiaghuklen 50
Sth day, to Peyter . 80
6th day, to the brook Ciam - 60
7th day, to the bro6k Seipery 60
Sth day, to a place Couroni 50
9th day, to a place or village Sape - 40
10th day, to a place Quaranny Pyra - 40
11th day, to Eltem Erne Ambayaga 70
12th day, to Ypatan - 58
13th day, to Suyen Nypyrai - 60
14th day, to Ylmen - 70
15th day, to Seuten - - 70
16th day, to the town of Kirin - 70
In all, 1028 stadia, or 369 Italian miles. A Chinese stadium contains
360 geometrical paces, and 1000 of the same make an Italian mile : and
four Italian miles make a common German mile. A geometrical pade
contains five feet ; a common pace or step IJ foot.
It were worth the trouble of some one with greater leisure
than I can command, to make out from this list a travelUng
map, and to insert it into a map of the pro-vince of Leauton,
which might easUy be sketched out from the Atlas of father
Martinus ; albeit some of the latitudes in the northern por
tion may require correction.
I shall here briefly add what I heard from some of the
inhabitants of Ula ; to wit, that Hiucuta, or Niucuta, a place
well knovm in that district, is distant seven hundred Chinese
stadia from Ula, in a north-easterly, or rather more north
erly direction.
The journey, however, from Hiaeuta along the great river

120 APPENDIX.
Helung (into which flow the great river Sangoro and several
other great streams), and down its waters towards east north
east, is one of about forty days, and then we reach the East
Sea, at what I consider to be the Strait of Anian.
So much I was informed from his own mouth, by the
chief miUtary commandant who resided in Kirin, who had
performed this journey, and had reached a sea subject to
extreme cold.
[7%« following occurs in Witsen in the form of a note, but without
reference to any special part of the Letter.'}
Of the person of the Chinese emperor now reigning, the last Dutch
ambassador at the Court of Pekin gives the following account in his
diary. The emperor is a man of moderate stature, gentle, sedate, venerable in
demeanour, to be distinguished among a thousand apart from any exte
rior tokens of majesty but these, which consist in his own stately and
polished deportment, and indicate the high qualities of his mind, in
-which he is not excelled by any prince or sovereign I have ever seen,
and, at the least, vies -vrith any such. He seems bom to command, is
conversant with many branches of science, to which he daily applies
himself, as also to the affairs of his empire, which he has much at heart,
devoting to them fixed hours both before and after noon.
This prince, in order to afford to all others an example of many-
virtues, requires nothing but the Christian faith, the which, from addic
tion to pleasurable indulgence, he is not likely to embrace, the propensity
to plurality of wives being the main hindrance to its introduction among
the great in China, who prefer their pleasure to all religious considera
tions ; so that, according to the Romish fathers, the gospel there is
preached with effect only to the poor.
The now reigning emperor of the Tartar race, is said to be about fifty
years of age ; of handsome exterior, has large black eyes, a somewhat
elevated nose, with dark pendent whiskers (? moustaches), little or no
beard, somewhat pitted in the face, and of moderate stature.
The Jesuit Le Comte, thus describes the Chinese emperor Camhi.
" The emperor appeared to me of stature above the average, more corpu
lent than those among us who are proud of their shape, but a little less
60 than a Chinese desires to be ; the face full and marked with the smaU-
pox ; the forehead large ; the nose and eyes small, like those of the Chi
nese ; the mouth handsome, and the lower part of the face very agreeahle.
His demeanour is benevolent, and one remarks in all his manners and
actions, something which indicates the sovereign and is distinguished."

APPENDIX. 121

Letter of Father Ferdinand Verbiest, sent from Pekin, the
capital of China, to Europe ; concerning a Second Jour
ney which he made with the Emperor of China, beyond
the great Chinese Wall into Tartary.

The emperor of China, on the 6th of July, a.d. 1683, being
the thirtieth year of his life, with the queen, his grand
mother, and a great attendance, to the amount of 60,000 per
sons and 100,000 horses, commenced a journey to West Tar
tary, having expressed a special desire that I should accompany
him, together with one of the two fathers my colleagues at
my selection. I accordingly selected PhUip Grimaldi, as
being the older, and specially accomplished in the sciences.
The causes of this journey were several. The first was, to
keep the military during peace in constant movement and
practice, to fit if for the exigencies of war. For this motive
the emperor, in this same year (having made a levy from all
his provinces of his best troops), returning to Pekin, after
having established a solid peace throughout the vast empire
of China, resolved in his council to make annually three
such expeditions, each at a certain season, in the which he
might, on the pretext of the chase and of practising his sol
diers in the pursuit of stags, wild boars, and tigers, procure
an image and representation of war with human enemies and
rebels, and a rehearsal of conflicts which might thereafter
ensue. He had in view at the least to prevent for his
soldiers, and especiaUy his Tartar troops, that infection of
Chinese luxury and corruption which might otherwise natur
aUy ensue from the idleness of peace. And, in fact, this

122 APPENDIX.
fashion in which the emperor went forth to the chase, had all
the form and appearance of a royal progress to war ; for he
went attended by 100,000 horses and more than 60,000 men,
all armed with bow and arrows and sabre, and divided into
troops and companies, and with all the military accompani
ments of banners and music. In the chase these surrounded
mountains and forests in a wide circuit, like those who invest
a town to be besieged ; in which they observed the process
pursued by the Western Tartars in their great hunts. The
army, again, is divided into an advanced, a centre, and a
rear-guard, and into wings right and left. The command of
each of these bodies is committed to officers of eminence,
and to members of the imperial house.
Inasmuch, however, as this expedition was planned for a
march of more than seventy days (the emperor being on each
day from morning tUl evening devoted to the chase), and all
the provisions, and baggage, and other heavy impediments had
to be conveyed over continual ascents and descents, partly
on waggons, partly on camels, mules, and horses, the labours
and difficulties of each day's march are not to be described.
For in the whole of this West Tartary (West Tartary is not
to be understood as relative to China, which is itself west of
it, but with relation to the more' Eastern Tartary) nothing is
met -with but mountain and valley. It has no towns, and no
viUages, no, not even a house. All its inhabitants live as
herdsmen under tents or hovels, which they convey from
valley to vaUey when they move in search of fresh and better
pasture for their herds, which consist solely of oxen, sheep,
and horses ; for of pigs, dogs, geese, and other animals, which
abound among an agricultural peasantry, they have none.
I say that they possess nothing but these cattle, which graze
the uncultivated soil.
These Tartars are a slothful people, and little disposed to
any toU, even to that of the chase. They neither sow nor
reap, nor plough nor harrow. They live for the most part

APPENDIX. 123
on milk, cheese, and flesh. They make a certain wine which
resembles our brandy, and which they delight to swallow
to repletion, tUl they fling themselves down and are reduced,
soul and body, to the condition of the very cattle.
They hold, meanwhile, their priests, called lamas, in great
veneration, and in this respect are distinguished from some
neighbouring Tartar tribes, who practise no religious observ
ances, or next to none, and live as Atheists.
Both being equally slaves, and bound to the service of
their lords, are on this account difficult of conversion to our
faith ; following the nod of the latter, in matters of religion,
like the cattle, which follow where they are led, not where
they choose to go.
This part of Tartary, so far as it belongs to the Chinese
emperor, is some thousand Chinese stadia, or about three
hundred Italian miles in length, lying from south-east to
north beyond the terrible great Wall of China.
In this manner did the emperor lead his troops a march
of many days, through such desert districts, over ridges of
mountains almost Unked with each other, over many acclivi
ties, beyond measure steep and far removed from the ordi
nary track. He foUowed the chase every day, riding in
advance of the troops, often under a blazing sun, sometimes
in heavy rain. Many who had taken part in the campaigns of
preceding years, openly confessed to me that they had never,
in actual war, endured such hardships as in this factitious
campaign. Thus the emperor fully compassed his primary
object, that of inuring his troops.
It appears, however, that another motive for the expedi
tion was, the poUtical object of keeping these Western Tar
tars in obedience, and checking the plots and intrigues of
their councils. This was one reason for the magnitude of the
force, and the imperial pomp with which the emperor pene
trated their country. For this he conveyec' also thither some
pieces of cannon (to wit, those which I had cast for him of

124 APPENDIX.
copper in former years at Pekin). These he occasionaUy
caused to be discharged in the winding valleys, in which
the reverberation from the cliffs added to the effect of those
thundering salutes with which the emperor's movements
from his palace in Pekin are usually attended ; and which,
as also the accompanying music of trumpets, drums, and
copper cymbals, were now employed on the occasions of the
emperor's marching, or at meal times, to dazzle and fill the
eyes and ears of the barbarous tribes. For the Chinese em
pire has, from remote times, feared no enemy so much as
these Tartars, who, starting from this Eastern district, en
compass Northern and Western China with a countless mul
titude of tribes, to repel the invasion, or, so to speak, the
inundation of which, former emperors constructed the great
WaU. I had four times passed over and personally inspected
that work. In truth, the seven wonders of the world con
densed into one, could not be compared -with it. That which
I have seen with my own eyes of it, far exceeds all report of
it which has yet reached Europe.
There are two circumstances which exalt this work to the
skies. The first is, that it is carried not alone over level
places, but in many places over the highest summits of the
mountains from east to west, and follows all the acclivities ;
towers of a lasting' construction rising high into the air, at
intervals of two bow-shots apart. On our return we ascer
tained by our instruments the height of a portion of the
Wall above the horizon at 1037 geometrical feet.
We might well wonder how the builders could draw to
such a height, up the steepest places, from the lowest valleys,
which are destitute themselves of water, such a quantity of
stones, Ume, water, etc.
The other circumstance is, that the Wall should be carried,
aot with one, but with a variety of curves, following all the
prominences of the mountain ; so that it may be considered
lot a single, but a triple Wall, which protects the whole
Tartarian frontier of China.

APPENDIX. 125
It is certain that the first Tartar emperor of China and
Tartary accomplished a better work for the protection of the
Chinese empire than the Chinese emperor who built the Wall;
for this farseeing sovereign after subjecting, partly by policy
and partly by arms, all the Western Tartars, pushed on the
boundary posts of the Chinese empire to more than three
hundred Italian mUes beyond the great Wall. AU the in
tervening territory he distributed among his Eastern Tartars,
who have now everywhere estabUshed farms and hamlets of
their peasantry, though solitary and far distant from each
other. But for this, if the Tartars acted in concert, it is
thought they might overrun both China and East Tartary.
It is known that the first Tartar emperor subjected the
West Tartars by policy and subtilty ; for among other means
which he employed were the priests, named lamas, whom he
lured to his service by good offices and presents. These lamas
being in great authority with the West Tartars, used it in
the emperor's service.
For the same reason the emperor, who now rules both
China and the two Tartaries, looks with an eye of favour on
the lamas, and uses them to hold the Tartars in obedience,
though he abhors them in his heart as men unclean and
destitute of arts and sciences.
The emperor has divided the immeasurable districts of
West Tartary into forty-eight provinces, and has made them
all subject and tributary ; and thus may this sovereign of the
Chinese and of both Tartaries, be justly named as the great
est and mightiest monarch and sole ruler in the world; as
one who has incorporated into one body so many districts
and nations under one authority, without the interposition of
any other prince. He may, I say, be named, as the monarch
most essentially and most singularly worthy of the name, for
this reason, that he of all rulers the most by himself governs so
vast a multitude of men ; for what is most remarkable in him
and distinctive from aU others, is that from the beginning of his

126 APPENDIX.
reign to this present day since he took the helm of govern
ment, he has never permitted any one to govern for him or
in his place, nor allowed any one, whether of the princes of
the realm, or of the kolaos, or other authorities who may be
familiar with him, or who enjoy his favour and are near his
heart, more than others to dispose of or settle any public mat
ter by their own separate deliberation. Nay, not within the
innermost recesses of the palace has he ever so condescended
to any of the eunuchs or the youth of the court, his cotem-
poraries with whom he had been brought up from infancy,
as to allow any one of them to act on his own behalf in
public matters ; facts which are altogether singular, and may
be regarded as miracles in this kind of government, when
the practice of his predecessors is taken into consideration.
This emperor chastises offenders of the highest as weU as
lowest class with marveUous impartiality, according to their
misdeeds, depriving them of rank and dignity. He himself,
after considering the proceedings and sentences of the Im
perial Council or the Courts of Law, determines and directs
the issue. On this account men of all ranks and dig;nities
whatsoever, even the nearest to him in blood, stand in his
presence with the deepest awe, and recognize him as sole
ruler. As a point which concerns ourselves and our objects, I
must refer to my former observations on the Tartar priests
or lamas, that these, by reason of the policy pursued in the
government of the Tartaries, have easy access to the princes
and dignitaries, a circumstance which makes the introduc
tion of our faith among these people the more difficult.
These priests have much influence with the queen-mother,
who sprung from West Tartary, and has attained the age of
fifty, and they have for many years past enjoyed her warm
affection. Inasmuch as this queen is held in great consideration by
the emperor, and knows "well from these priests that we are

APPENDIX. 127
strong opponents of the superstition to which she clings, it
is a wonder, nay a miracle, at the least a singular proof of
God's power and providence, that the emperor should have
hitherto treated us -with such benignity and with famiUarity
and honour, even beyond these lamas themselves.
Throughout this journey the tent of the queen-mother was
niuch frequented by the great men and local authorities, who
presented themselves to compliment her and inquire after
her health; and as it was suggested to us to imitate their
example, we consulted the confidential courtier through
whom aU our affairs with the emperor were conducted. This
adviser ha-ving made the emperor acquainted with the case,
returned immediately to us with the answer, " The emperor
says that it is unnecessary that you should present yourselves
in the queen's tent to pay your respects". We well under
stood from this that the queen was little inclined towards us.
The third and last cause of this expedition was that the
emperor wished to consult the condition of his health ; for
experience had taught him, that while he remained at Pekin
his health from various annoyances often failed him, which
he hoped by his present movement and change of life to pro
vide against, and even to gain strength. For through the
whole time devoted to this expedition he refrained from all
intercourse with women; and in that numerous multitude
not a single woman was to be seen, except those who at
tended on the queen-mother. Even her presence was an
accident, as was that in the year preceding, when he con
veyed three queens to the capital of Niuche for the purpose
of visiting the tombs of their ancestors in that place. For so
often as in former years he had undertaken such expeditions,
he had never taken a single woman with him.
It may be added that by this movement he with the queen-
mother avoided the summer heat, which in the dog-days at
Pekin is tremendous. For in this part of Tartary not only
is the air very cooling, but wintry, especially at night, so

128 APPENDIX.
that the inhabitants not only wear woollens, but betake
themselves to furs and peltry for clothing. The cause of
this is the mountainous character of the country and its
elevation, such that for five days' journey we were constantly
traversing high ridges, and cUmbing higher and higher.
The emperor desired to know how much this mountain
was elevated above the level of Pekin, from which capital it
is about three hundred mUes distant, and commanded us to
devise some means of measuring the difference. We there
fore on our return, after measuring the heights and distances
of more than one hundred summits, found that the horizon,
or rather the cIrcrUar level of Pekin was three thousand
geometrical paces lower than the highest ridge or top of this
mountain. The soil in these highlands being much impregnated with
nitre, may perhaps be a cause of this great cold. Wherever
the earth is dug to the depth of three or four feet, this
substance is turned up frozen like ice.
Several petty kings of West Tartary came in to see the
emperor from distances of three and even five hundred
ItaUan mUes, with their sons and kinsmen. They all saluted
us with great demonstration of good wUl, which they e-vinced
openly by looks and gestures of hand and body. For many
of them could speak no language but their own, which is
different from that of the East Tartars. Some also had
formerly been presented to us at Pekin, and some had visited
our church there.
One day as we were arriving at the town which was the
end and object of our journey, we met towards dusk a very old
prince, who was returning from the emperor's tents, and on
our appearance halted with all his attendants, which was
very numerous, and asked, through an interpreter, which of
us was Nau Hoay Gi? One of our foUowers pointing me
out with voice and gesture, he approached us with much
appearance of pleasure and benignity, and said, " I have

APPENDIX. 129
long since heard of your name ; are you well ?" He ap
proached father Grimaldi with the Uke demeanour, and
asked how he was? From this conduct we derived some
hope that at some time or other our worship might find
access to these secular princes, especially should some of our
scientific brethren find means to open the door of such access
by pleasing exhibitions of knowledge, and if the people
could be cajoled by presents.
As, however, this method requires time, it seems to me
easier to begin with the more remote tribes, who dwell
farther from the great wall, and who are not yet subject to
the empire of China, and thus to work on by degrees to the
other Tartars, and this for reasons which I can detail in
small compass.
The emperor throughout our whole journey exhibited to
us a benevolence and attention, such as, in truth, he dis
played to no one else, not even of the princes or his o-wn
kinsmen, and this both in word and deed in presence of the
-whole army.
One day as the emperor fell in with us in an extensive
vaUey, while we were employed in a scientific operation for
ascertaining the height and distance of certain mountains, he
halted with all his court and escort, and while stiU at some
distance, shouted out in the Chinese tongue, " Hao mo ?"
that is, are you well ? He then asked some questions in the
Tartar language as to the heights of the mountains, which I
answered in the same. He then turned to his attendants
and spoke much in our praise, aU which his uncle, who was
present, reported to me that evening.
The same goodwill he showed us on many other occa
sions, to wit, in frequently sending us dishes from his own
table to our tent, in the sight of aU his grandees. He even
ordered us sometimes to be entertained in his o-wn tent.
Sometimes when he knew we were abstaining from fiesh, he
would send us dishes suited to our wants. For he well knew

130 APPENDIX.
our habits of keeping fast days, and would often ask whether
the day were a fast day or not.
His eldest son, following the example of his father, showed
us similar goodwUl. Once having hurt his shoulder by a
faU from his horse, he was obliged to remain stiU for ten
days, which we also did with the greater part of the army.
On this occasion, his father being far absent with the chase,
he almost every day, and often twice a-day, at midday and
evening, sent to our huts dishes from his own table.
This constant benevolence of the emperor is so much the
more to be ascribed to the special favour and providence of
God, because to others, and even to the princes of his blood,
he is very mutable and unstable in his disposition.
All the rest which concerns this journey much resembles
that of the preceding year to Eastern Tartary, which I also
performed, as I shall relate in foUowing letters. To -wit;
how we were carried the whole way on horses or litters, and
how we used the tents and table of the emperor's uncle, to
whose care we were specially consigned. How, also, a great
road was made over hill and dale for the convenience of the
queen-mother, who travelled in a litter, for upwards of six
hundred miles, going and returning, for we returned by a
different way. Over the brooks, and over one in particular
which had innumerable windings, bridges were everywhere
constructed, and the ridges of the hills, even the most rocky,
were levelled. It is scarcely credible to Europeans with
what expense and labour this road was made.
Other incidents hereto belonging .will be found related at
length in the letters of Philip Grimaldi.
What were the fruits of our journeys, and what the ad
vantage to Christendom, I have related in former years
in my account of my journey into East Tartary. One
observation on this head is sufficient. The wiU of the em
peror was in all cases a limit to us. To oppose this, or to
make any the sUghtest demonstration of doing so, would be

APPENDIX. 131
to imperU at once our whole mission. I did, however, twice
venture to confer with the principal courtier, through whom
the emperor always communicated to us his commands or
tokens of his favour, and twice, I say, requested him, if he
could do it without hazard, to move the emperor to excuse
us for the future from these journeys, or at least to leave me,
advanced in years as I am, behind, at aU events not to asso
ciate any two burthened with, years in such a task.
On our furthest journey, at the greatest distance from
Pekin, I have -with sufficient punctuality received letters
from our fathers at Pekin, and could always transmit answers
when required. For along the whole road couriers of the
nobles were constantly coming and going. And although
this our march and journey was in show so dignified and
Ulustrious, I can truly say of it that no missionary father in
China has endured the hundredth part of the toil and hard
ship which we encountered in these journeys, -whether with
regard to the country or to the time occupied, or to other
incidents. All which I cannot in any short compass describe.
What I do relate has been noted with a hasty pen, on horse
back, day by day. I request that it may be read with as
cursory attention of eye and mind as that "with which it has
been written.

Pekin, Oct. 4th, 1683.

132 APPENDIX.

Narrative of a Hunting Excursion performed by the present
Emperor of China, beyond the Great Wall, in the ad
jacent district of West Tartary, written by Father
Pereira from his personal observation ; from which the
condition of these desert wastes may be in some measure
apprehended.

j[t was my original intention, in accordance with my custom,
to be brief in my relation of Chinese matters : but, to satisfy
the curious, I shall place before them a representation of the
mountains which in the course of this my journey I closely
observed. I shall, howeVer, first relate the reasons for my
undertaking of this journey, and thereafter the graciousness
and respect which the emperor constantly evinced towards
us. The emperor, learning that for some years past we had
accomplished the manufacture of certain pipes or tubes, of
various qualities of clay, which sometimes, by the interven
tion of men, and sometimes even without such, gave out in
answer to each other musical sounds, sought to learn the
theory and manner of this invention, and when he was made
to understand it, proceeded to utter exclamations of astonish
ment, and to extol this our so successful contrivance
The emperor, being a wise and far-seeing man, intelUgent
and good natured, readUy acknowledged that to this hour
the contrivance in question had been unknown to the Chinese.
It was his pleasure to pass the summer season about and
among the mountains of Tartary, for the benefit of the air.
He announced this decision to me in words to this effect.
" Now that I have attentively examined the art of your

APPENDIX. 133
music it greatly pleases me. Your wisdom delights me.
You must become the companion of my journey, that I may
have the enjoyment of your skiU whUe I am hunting." He
desired to have books of science and snch like translated
into Chinese, saying that his people would study them with.
special application.
Father Ferdinand Verbiest being present when the empe
ror made this communication, foreseeing the inconvenience
which awaited me, particularly from the scarcity of cold
water, of which, by reason of an Ulness, I required a large
supply (the Chinese drink no water which is not warmed),
and representing this difficulty to his majesty, the latter
answered that everything necessary should be provided.
We thanked him as became us. On the foUowing day he
commanded his uncle and his father-in-law that they sbould
take us in charge with due honour, and that raiment should
be suppUed to me from the imperial wardrobe, a thing
hitherto unknown. He perhaps misUkes our poverty, which
contrasts so strongly with the splendour of his court. -AU
these directions were forthwith carried into effect, so far as
the shortness of the time allowed. And certainly this pre
caution was not useless, for the cold in these regions is that
of our January. The emperor further directed, in evidence
of his good -will and esteem, that two horses should be supplied
daily from his own stable for my use. I, meanwhile,thus equip
ped, betook myself in all haste at midnight to the hUls, the
emperor being accustomed to choose that season for traveUing,
so as to avoid the heat, and to take up his abode on the moun
tains near the great WaU, which separates Tartary from China.
Since I have seen with my own eyes, to my great wonder, this
Wall, which exceeds aU others, in length and breadth, some
mention of it may not be unacceptable. It is a work of great
exceUence, which cost inconceivable labour, untold sums,
and thousands of lives ; and yet it is useless as a fortification
for defence or security, wherefore its authors at this day.

134 APPENDIX.
enjoy but a poor reputation. I would here go through its
history from beginning to end, had it not been so repeatedly
furnished by other writers ; so that I could say nothing new
on the subject, especiaUy of the three hundred mUes at wliich
its length is reckoned, which may in fact be more correctly
stated at nine hundred, if we count the sinuosities and the
course of the rampart round and over precipices and project
ing rocks, in the which haunt great serpents, but no other
¦wild animal as far as I have seen. In the fields near this
Wall tents or huts are raised, and in these we have to pass
the nights ; for the emperor is wont to encamp in these
vaUeys ,and desert flats, near a river, that he may avoid
becoming a burthen to the inhabitants and to the towns.
When he thus halts for some days two tents are erected as
palaces, the one for a dining-haU and for morning repose,
the other for night repose : a very great work and perfect in
aU particulars, but composed of mats, yet worth some eight
thousand ducats in value. The princes and grandees, on
their part, are also very regularly lodged.
Admiration is excited when one considers the delicacies
and fresh fruits which are conveyed hither from Pekin by
divers messengers ; and what care is taken meanwhUe of the
administration of justice, of which nothing is concealed from
the emperor, but everything as well ordered as though he
were j)resent.
WhUe these things were passing, the emperor was advised
of an advantageous occurrence with the Russians touching a
certain fortress, which, remaining in the hands of the latter,
had been very prejudicial to the bunting and to the pearl
fishery. There was much congratulation on the acquirement
of this place, the more as it had occurred without much
bloodshed. It gave occasion to the emperor to ask me many
questions about the Russians.
On the third day, he called me to his presence that I
might play him some music, in which art he takes special

APPENDIX. 135
delight. I expounded it from its first elements, to the great
satisfaction of aU hearers, and to the utmost of my abUity,
and the emperor paid as much attention as if the fate of his
empire were concerned ; but when I had finished, his desires
led him again to the chase.
On the fifth day we pursued our journey between moun
tains, whicb seemed to threaten us on either side. The
precipices are fearful on account of the narro-wness of the
way, which, not without great cost and incomparable labour,
has been so far improved, that not only access is afforded to
the hunting grounds, but that many Chinese avaU them
selves of its faculties to establish themselves in the neigh
bourhood of the great wall ; by which state poUcy the
emperor not only extends his territory, but keeps at a re
spectful distance the Western Tartar tribes, who, were they
strong enough, would act hostUely towards the Chinese.
When the emperor goes beyond the frontier, it is incredible
how much cavalry he takes with him. Towards evening the
camp of the soldiery was pitched in a level field, watered by
four rivers, which descend from the mountains. This part
of Tartary consists of high hills, which are clothed with
wood, and would be agreeable if we could deprive them of
the rudeness of their precipices. Several races of people
have established themselves in these districts by command
of the emperor ; and here dwell the Tartars, who are pecu-
Uarly addicted to the chase, building themselves huts, and
enjoying a superfluity of wUd animals, -with the skins of
which they clothe themselves. The soil here is very fertile,
producing all kinds of grain. The forest superabounds in
fruitbearing trees ; pears, apricots, apples and peaches, are in
plenty. These afford not only food for foxes, wild swine,
and other animals, but also profit to many who pluck these
fruits for nothing, and sell them again dear enough. There
are also other fruits not kno-wn among us, which are sold at
high prices to those who pursue the chase in these mountains.

136 APPENDIX.
When I was the companion of the emperor I followed his
example in tasting these novel delicacies, and much relished
them, especially some grapes of an extraordinary flavour. On
account of the narrowness and steepness of the road, I dis
mounted and led my horse. The emperor and the princes of
West Tartary in all this went on in advance, without regard
to the danger. What I have said of these mountains may be
understood as applicable to the others, unless we except
those which extend themselves to the westward.
At this part of our journey we were obliged to halt some
days, on account ofthe illness ofa son of the emperor's by one
of his queens, for whose carriage the road had been so care-
fuUy mended and also watered, that nothing more perfect
could exist. It makes me ashamed to reflect how imperfect
in comparison is my service to God the Lord of heaven and
earth. When the patient's sickness had somewhat abated,
the emperor returned from a visit which he had paid to him.
On the 25th day we girded ourselves again to our task, and
crossed several rivers, bridges having been first laid over them.
Every one made a push for the passage, although not free
from danger, inasmuch as it was not safe to pass the night on
the mountain, where tigers constantly abound. The spot
which it was our object to reach at the end of this day's jour
ney was four miles further on, and the day was nearly occu
pied -with these passages of the rivers. After these had
been effected the bridges were removed. They were made
of hea-vy timbers like masts of ships, such as the timber tra
ders on these rivers float do-wn to the capital at Pekin, and
receive there very high payment for the same. I stood
amazed to behold such enormous trees, springing out of the
bare rock. We came finally to the appointed halting-place,
near another great river, which descending southward,
spreads itself out for a short space into a standing water.
On account of the distance, we were obliged to supply the
place of tents by other contrivances, for the encamping

APPENDIX. 137
materials could not be brought on so far. For this reason
the emperor, is minded for another year to build residences,
in places like this where he is accustomed to halt, on the
spot, without regard to the cost. All the architects and
artificers are therefore ordered from Pekin to assemble in
this distant region. Were the emperor not master of such
vast territory and wealth, such a work could not be accom
plished. Six sumptuous pavilions were erected, the first
for the sole use of the emperor, the other for the queens,
according to their rank, and for the prince, the eldest son, a
successor to the throne, all alike of lacquer-work with tin
lining, seven or eight eUs in height, so that no one from
without could look in. The entrance, after the fashion of
the Chinese, faced the south, being guarded from the wea
ther by curtains of the most costly silk damask.
On either side stood two tents for the princes and coun-
cUlors of state, who wait upon the emperor twice a day ;
there is also another place for those with whom he has
more private intimacy, among whom I was included, having
liberty to go in and out at my pleasure ; but this great pri
vUege I was careful not to make too free use of. It behoved
me to be cautious and circumspect, in order to avoid in
curring disfavour from others.
Round the tents which I have described as thus magnifi
cent, were magazines, and beyond these a net was drawn,
made of thick and heavy cordage, seven feet high, which
supplies the place of a second waU. In this there was a back
entrance to the north, and another entrance to the south, at
which were stationed troops of the body guard, and further
inwards was the quarter of the halberdiers. Without this
circle was another, formed of tents, adjusted so close to one
another as to leave no interval, in which the soldiers kept
guard for our greater security day and night. About two
bowshots from this were encamped the princes and nobility,
so near each other as to make a fourth wall. The common

138 APPENDIX.
multitude lay without, in very good order, so that every one
could without trouble find his own place. On each side of
the river, for half a mile or a mile in extent, was a double
row of tents, which served to secure the access on either
bank to the stream. The princes of the West remained be
yond this defence. The number of men was so great, that
I should in vain attempt to state it, and am silent for fear of
error and of contradicting other authorities. The emperor,
being minded to devote the day to the chase, required a
double supply of horses and camels, and those which were
needed for this purpose of his majesty's use were so quickly
furnished, that he found everything in readiness at the ap
pointed spot with as little confusion as if there were nothing
to do, from which it is easy to infer the abundance of pas
turage in the meadows on the banks of the river, but for
which the proceeding would have been impossible.
Moving forward from this place on the thirtieth day, we
came incontinently upon another very rapid river, at which
the emperor, out of regard for our safety, made proclama
tion that not more than two horsemen at a time should ride
over the bridge, which protracted the passage till evening,
and caused many to remain on the hither side.
Some days after the chase, when everyone had risen before
daylight, the emperor went forward in advance of aU, and
everyone took his meal when he chose, the hour of dinner being
uncertain ; and wheresoever half-cooked meat was served, of
which these people are very fond, I was well content to get dry
rice ; wherefore the emperor's father-in-law, when he invited
me to his table, gave orders that I should be abundantly
suppUed with cold water and dry rice.
After the table was over, it was my daily habit to attend
the court, and when the emperor mounted his horse, I fol
lowed among his principal nobles till sunset, without food,
unless that be called such which the wild fruits afforded and
which I enjoyed with moderation. This mode of life I main-

APPENDIX. 139
tained for three months. In the woods I met with edible
mushrooms as large as our hats. When, for the purpose of
tbe chase, the low country has been left and the mountain
has been ascended, a circle is formed far and wide to enclose
the wUd beasts, in the manner as follows.
When the cavalry has been arranged under its respective
standards, then, at a given signal, two horsemen -with blue
flags are sent forward, the one of whom gallops off to the
right flank and the other to the left to a certain limit, so as
in short time to reach the appointed spots, about two miles
distance from each other. Elevated above the circle, which,
at a signal given to the horsemen, is then formed, stands
another long row of horsemen, who are thus placed the better
to discover the beasts among the brushwood ; in the middle
of this position is planted the emperor's standard, a flag
made of tin, which is usually carried before him as he rides
at the head of a company. He made me the associate of
this his so agreeable occupation, his notice being attracted to
me, as I suppose, by the length of my beard, which was con
spicuous among so many shaven chins ; this took place in
the midst of a plain full of quails, of which he shot some
twenty with arrows before my eyes. The first mentioned
circle of horsemen is succeeded by another, whose office it is
to kill the animals which have slipped through the hands of
the former. Between these first and last bands and the im
perial standard, follows the entire train of courtiers on horse
back, who are on the watch to catch the slightest sign of the
emperor, so that among these rocks everything is at his
hand the same as in the palace of Pekin. When the em
peror moves to the higher ground, a fire is conveyed in an
ingenious apparatus suspended between two horses, with a
kettle containing Tartarian Cha or T6e, and warm water
made from melted snow, with fresh fruits ; and everything
which can serve to excite the appetite is prepared with great
expedition. At one time, when by accident a nest of tiger

140 APPENDIX.
cubs had been discovered, some eunuchs in charge of the
sheep loitered on their way, and occasioned the access to be
left open. The culprit was immediately sentenced to walk
on foot by the camels, which would have occasioned his
death by fatigue, had not the emperor remitted the punish
ment; so heavy was the penalty ordained for so trifling an
offence. The last band is composed of the rabble, servants and
attendants. The Western chieftains, as best accustomed to
these forests, acted as commanders, allowing no one to leave
his station. In the confined space the stags frequently put
the riders in jeopardy, jumping six ells in distance. In these
places are found the sweet mart (Martin cat), foxes, wolves,
goats, sheep of various kinds, wild swine, roe deer, and other
wild animals. Here also, as we have observed, are found
tigers, against which the emperor is so incensed that he
never spares them, but pursues them to the death ; to which
end he has proper weapons by him, and in particular two
firelocks, which are always at hand. Wheresoever a river
occurs abounding in fish, the chase is superseded, and all
betake themselves to fishing ; and for this purpose camels
carry on their backs small boats made in separate pieces,
which are put together and made available in an instant.
When the parties come in sight of the tents the circle is con
tracted round the beasts gradually, sometimes with the addi
tion of two bands of horsemen, with blue flags, which is
done by special command of the emperor. I, who had no
other purpose but to drive the game within shot of the em
peror, have nevertheless caught an animal between my legs,
which much pleased the emperor. Nor is it unfrequent that
the wildest animals are thus easily captured, when the circle
has once closed in upon them. The horsemen then dis
mount, and leave their horses outside the circle, that they
may keep closer together and repulse the animals, which
would otherwise escape between the legs of the horses.

APPENDIX. 141
When tbe slaughter is over, camels are laden with the bodies,
and hastily driven to the emperor, and there sentence is
given as in a court of justice how the skins shall be removed,
and the meat cut up in pieces fit to be dried in the sun and
preserved against corruption. Laden with these spoils every
one towards evening betook himself to his tent, and by the
following morning all were again in readiness. When the
emperor occasionally dismounted for awhile, I used to allow
myself a little sleep, not with an eye open, like the Chinese,
who, when on horseback, are easily overtaken by slumber,
but so that they seem to be awake. It sometimes occurred,
that when the emperor wished to show favour to some of his
principal courtiers, he would cut some morsels of venison
with his own hand from a stag's carcase for himself, and then
would grant the same privilege to the favourites in question.
Upon this each one would collect a bundle of faggots, and
exhorted me to imitate their example, which, like another
Diogenes, I performed, curious as to the purpose of the
ceremony. And behold spits were produced, and large fires
lighted, to which some held their portions of meat, others
flung the pieces into the fire for a moment, and then swal
lowed them, still dripping with blood, with great relish. These
were of the older mandarins, for the younger people born in
China laughed at the proceeding, which I gazed at in sUence
and wonder. Some consider stag's flesh, with salt and vine
gar, a great delicacy. The emperor looked on with satis
faction, as on a thing to which he was habituated. In the
thickets of this country there are many varieties of potherbs,
namely, white and red onions, which I conjecture to have
been brought from Egypt, much basilicum, but wild, and
other vegetables, of which the names were unknown to us.
Persian roses are as abundant as thistles or brambles with
us ; cloves flourish in great quantity, with four leaves, but
without perfume ; and many other things, more than I could
mention without prolixity, albeit truly recounted. Trees

142 APPENDIX.
not bearing fruit abound, as with us, such as oaks, poplar,
.and beech, which cover the mountains.
Several smaU rivers run into that which we have noticed
for its swiftness, and of these the water is very good and
cold, which is ascribable to the vegetation which shadows
their course and protects them from the heat of the sun.
On these mountains, which, according to concurrent opi
nion of aU hav§ never before our expedition been ascended
by man, trees are sometimes observed which have been in
jured by fire, a spectacle which greatly puzzled me when I
beheld it. The Chinese wUl have it that these trees bave
been set on fire, like tinder, by the mere rays of the sun ;
which I could myself credit, were it not that the fact occurs
often in the instance of green wood as weU as of that which
has gone to decay. Nor does this theory agree with other
features of the case, for I have seen these trees marked with
fire on the north side, as well as on that which is exposed to
the southern sun. Many are also found thus consumed in
hoUows and recesses, which the sun never penetrates ; many
also are burnt at bottom and stiU green at top ; others are
entirely burnt in the stems, while the leaves are still flourish
ing. I have myself remarked, that this conflagration always
begins from the stems, which are certainly less exposed to
the sun than the branches.
The Chinese, convinced by the above and such like argu
ments, questioned me warmly as to my opinion of the cause
of these fires. I made them, to the best of my abUity, under
stand that the sun could not be the cause ; it is known to all
that the chase is continually pursued in these mountains,
especiaUy that of the stag, an animal which sheds its horns
annually, and at this season is so plagued by the continual
itching, that he rubs his horns to and fro with great violence
against any substance, tUl he gets rid of the itching and the
horns together. For this purpose the stems serve him, and
he rubs against them till the friction produces fire, and thus

APPENDIX. 143
the stems are easily destroyed, especially in the case of pine
trees, whicb, even when fiourishing, supply ready fuel for
tbe flames. This explanation satisfied the Chinese. Rotten
wood gives out a light of itself by night, so strong that the
smallest writing may be read by it.
It was the emperor's pleasure that I should explain to him
the cause of this light, which I was able to do to the satis
faction and agreement of his majesty.
By these and such like questions I was kept in continual
occupation, but my answers obtained great applause and con
sideration. One of the great men of the court said to me, " If we
Tartars were to choose another religion than our own, I
should embrace your's, because I never put anything
before its teachers but that I receive satisfaction in reply ;"
it is for this reason no one contradicts us, for fear of being
laughed at by the bystanders, which coming to the ears of
the emperor, made him say in joke to his courtiers, " Take
heed of controversy with the Christian teachers, for their
knowledge compels you to agree with them on every subject,
and, what is more, they worship in my presence, when occa
sion offers, the highest God." Many of the courtiers, who
used formerly to address their prayers to heaven, are now
ashamed to use that name, and only pray to the personal
God. I would wish also to mention the care and order which
they observe without intermission on their march. No one
strays, either to the right or to the left, and whensoever the
difficulty of the road compels them to dismount, each man
leads his horse by the bridle and preserves his rank ; and
even under heavy rain no one leaves the road to take shelter
under the trees, but only wraps himself in a waterproof
garment. On the 9th of August we reached the mountain Pe Cha,
the appointed termination of our journey. This spot, towards

144 APPENDIX.
which one continuaUy ascends, is, according to the observa
tions of fathers Ferdinand Verbiest and Philip Grimaldi, a
full mUe in height. It was so cold here that ten thousand
horses died on the night of our arrival ; the which were not
even missed, whence may be inferred the prodigious number
of horses in our company.
This mountain, which in most parts is smooth in surface,
is about three niiles in extent, and in the more rugged
parts is covered with wood ; but the streams consist rather
of mud than of water, which was very unsuitable for our
horses. In the middle is a lake, said to be unfathomable, but which
may rather be said to resist the attempt to fathom it, being
always frozen. The emperor's father-in-law speaking much
of it, persuaded me to visit it.
Many rivers, which ultimately water different quarters of
the world, have their sources in this mountain. The earth
is hard frozen throughout the year, except in the dog days,
when it is thawed to the depth of two ells. The consequence
is that the fir trees, contrary to their nature, pushing their
roots only to this depth, are often in masses of great extent
levelled to the ground by the high winds, where other-wise
they would only perish by slow decay. When the emperor
asked me how I was pleased with these great mountains, I
repUed, that nothing could gratify me more than their dis
tant aspect, covered as they were with a mantle of wood,
green and thick as standing corn, a spectacle with which
the eye is never satiated ; this answer much pleased him,
as it quite coincided with his own feeling. About this time
many petty sovereigns came to pay their respects to the em
peror, whom he received with much courtesy. There came
also certain La Ma, a sort of bonzes, who say that they are
originally from Thibet. These bonzes are in great reputa
tion, so that they attain to positions of the highest honour ;
but their god is their belly. They worship the false god Fo.

APPENDIX. 145
If their law be examined, it is found to forbid them to eat
flesh ; but these men, who were among the most consider
able of their body, avowed openly that they devoured flesh
even uncooked and raw ; and when I flung this in reproach
against them, asking who were the real bonzes, they replied
that the real bonzes were fools, and that they laughed at
them. In the summer season they go with arms, shoulders,
and breast uncovered, but in autumn they cover themselves
with the most costly furs, except with some of a particular
pale colour, the use of which is confined to the emperor.
The cold being very severe on this mountain, we moved
from Pe-Cha on the fifth day after the imperial tents had
been pitched. We saw vast numbers of people, who were
employing in drying the flesh and hides of the dead horses
for future consumption on the journey. They will eat also
mules and other quadrupeds, salting the hides and devouring
the flesh -with voracity.
On our return journey the camp was divided into two
-wings, the one of which escorted the queens on the road by
which they had come, the other attended the emperor towards
the east, in order to follow the chase of certain animals, called
in Chinese Hoam Yam. This name is applied both to sheep
and goats, without any difference in the sound. In the horns
this animal has some resemblance to the goat, but has no
beard. It is black in colour, and so active in its spring that
you might swear that it flies. One of them, after losing one
of its legs, I saw, -with my o-wn eyes, distance a s-wift horse
which was spurred to the utmost in pursuit.
The day came to an end in the emperor's chase of this
animal without success, for it escaped before our approach ;
the emperor in consequence passed the night in pursuit of
hares and rabbits (called, without distinction between the
two, Teao Tu), animals which, from fear of man, conceal
themselves during the -day in holes and nests, but when the
sun goes down take to the meadows. These rabbits have

146 APPENDIX.
very long hinder legs and fore legs of scarce a finger's
length, so that they can only move by jumps. In other
respects they resemble ours, but have longer tails.
Of this particular chase I shall say no more, as it differed
in nothing remarkable from the others before mentioned,
except that all pursued it on foot, not excepting the em
peror, who comported himself like one of the common train,
and thus was the night passed in this chase by moonlight ;
and when the latter failed, torches were lighted. The Euro
pean rabbit is unknown in all China, except the domestic
variety, which is of divers colours. Here is abundance of
hares, which the Tartars do not eat, but the Chinese do very
greedily ; as they also do mice, cats, and dogs. This western
district is a vast plain, sandy in it? soil, and abounding in
sheep. On the 29th of August we fell in with a flock of sheep, a
sign of the proceedings of a company which the emperor had
ordered on in advance, with the intent of killing the sheep
by night, which was effected. These animals are altogether
wild, and never check their flight till they are beyond sight
of the hunter.
On this occasion the emperor was unwearied as another
Hercules, kiUing, out of a second flock, mostly with his own
spear, a thousand sheep. In these two flocks were captured
two wolves, which kept company with the old sheep and fed
on the young.
This chase being concluded we moved on, flrst to the
north and then to the south, very desirous to fall in again
with another flock, which had escaped us in the Pe Cha
mountain. This we accomplished on the Sth of September,
at a place where a river flows out of the mountain ; and here
lodges had been erected, according to orders of the emperor,
for himself and others. When we had rested here some days
the camp was again divided, one part following the march of
the queens towards Pekin, the other attending the emperor

APPENDIX. 147
towards the north-east, with the purpose of laying a new am
bush against the stags, who for some months together make
such a belling that the females hearing it resort to them, and
their male rivals also seek an encounter. The conse
quence is, that running with great speed they faU into the
hands of the hunters, which gave great contentment to the em
peror. But this contentment lasted not long ; for on the
16th and 17th of September feU a heavy snow, a not unusual
circumstance for the season in this district, and threatened
us with a faUure of provision ; which placed the emperor in
great straights, and caused him to depart in. haste towards
Pekin. Before his departure, however, it pleased him to
distribute among his great men the overplus of the spoU
which bad accumulated during his three months' hunting.
I, unworthy as I was of such honour, received my share
among the flrst, for which I made my humble acknowledg
ments, after tbe Chinese fashion.
Early on the morning of the 28th September the emperor,
receiving accounts of the illness of his grandmother, pur
sued his way with all speed towards Pekin, and with him
many of his court, the others foUowing more slowly with the
queens. Although the emperor, with excessive regard to
my convenience, desired that I should be spared the fatigue
of attending him, I considered myself, in return for his kind
ness, the more obliged to follow him. And thus, travelling
day and night for fifty miles, I reached a resting-place, so
wearied that I could not bend a joint in my body. The
labour, however great, had, as our experience showed, its
reward ; not only in an increase of the emperor's favour, but
in the friendship, thus acquired, of many great men, with
whom, but for this opportunity, we could have contracted no
acquaintance. They discover that we are masters of aU
sciences, and question us on every subject.
Of the journeys which the emperor sometimes makes in
Tartary, the Jesuit Le Compte speaks as follows. " He goes

148 APPENDIX.
often into Tartary to take the diversion of the chase, but
always accompanied as though he were going to the conquest
of another empire. He takes with him not less than 40,000
men, who sometimes suffer much, whether the season be hot
or cold ; for he encamps in an inconvenient manner, and it
often occurs that in a day of these laborious expeditions,
more horses perish than in a stricken battle. He reckons,
however, as nothing the loss of 10,000 horses. The fathers
who have accompanied him aver, that his magnificence never
appears more conspicuous on any other occasion. He re
ceives sometimes twenty or thirty subordinate kings of the
Tartar tribes, who come to make their court to him or to pay
him tribute ; among them are even found some entitled to
the name of ham or kam, which signifies emperor. They
are aU his pensionaries, on the footing of mandarins of the
first order. He gives them his daughters in marriage, and
in order to attach them more closely, he declares himself
their protector against the Western Tartars, who often give
him trouble, and who are even strong enough occasionally
to attack China with success. While this crowd of petty
sovereigns is in the camp, the court is most sumptuous ; and
in order to impress these barbarians with an idea of the
power of China, the train, the attire, and the tents of the
mandarins, are rich to profusion and excess."

INDEX.

Amavan, eldest brother of Zunki, 19;
prime minister to his nephew Chun
chi, 21 ; gains over Usanguey, 21 ;
conquers the Taimingien princes,
23; his death, 1651,34
Anian, strait of, 120

Bernier, Franyois, 89
Bonzes, Chinese priests, in great con
tempt among the people of condi
tion, 89
Buglio, father, his adventures with
father des Magalhans, 26-28

Camhi, or Kanghi, succeeds his father
Chunchi, vii, 44 ; his exceUent qua
lities, 48 ; anecdotes of his youth,
49, 50 ; employs Verbiest to reform
the calendar, 52 ; at his instigation
recalls the missionaries, 53 ; Usan
guey revolts against him, 54 ; cou
rage of the emperor, 59 ; triumphs
over all his enemies, 68 ;' his pos
sessions, 68 ; his magnificence, 68 ;
his journey in Eastern Tartary, 69 ;
his kindness to father Verbiest who
accompanies him, 70; his mode of
hunting, 74 ; receives a sea-caKfrom
the inhabitants of Corea, 75 ; goes
to visit the tombs of his ancestors,
75 ; entrance into Kirin, 76 ; fish
ing at Ula, 76 ; his kindness to Ver
biest during the difficulties of the
road, 79 ; his second journey into
Western Tartary, 1683, 80 ; his rea
sons for the jom-ney, 80, 82, 85 ; the
great army which accompanies him,
81 ; his mode of subduing the Tar
tars, 84 ; his attention to business,
84 ; his tenderness to his people, 88 ;
the favour shown by him to Chris
tianity, 94, 95; a special honour,
shown by him to the missionaries,
97 ; his favour to other priests, 98,
99 ; sends F. Grimaldi to fetch a
mathematician from Macao, 100 ;
description of the emperor, 120

Canton, missionaries exiled to, 46 ;
king of, revolts against Camhi at the
instigation of his son Gantaeum, 57 ;
makes peace with the emperor, 62
Cayven, the chief town of Leauton,
taken by Thienmin, 8
Cha, or Tea, 139
Chamienchon, rebel chief in the pro
vince of Siichiien, 30 ; shows kind
ness to the missionaries, 26 ; his
great cruelty, 26 ; resolves on the
destruction of the missionaries, 27 ;
his defeat and death, 37
Champe, Mont, 76, 111
Chang-pih, or Chang-plh-sham, see
Cham Pe, 76
Chao, a mandarin, friend of the fathers
at Fekin, 98, 99
Chauton, province, 23
Chiensi, province, 30
Chin, son of Quesin, his crime against
his father, 34 ; enters into alliance
-with Kenvan, king of Fokien, 61 ;
deceives him and is driven out by
the emperor, 63 ; loses Formosa to
the emperor, 68
Chinchilon, see Icoan, 30
China first conquered by the Tartars
in 1100, 3; the Tartars expelled, 4;
the Ming or Taimin dynasty, 6 ;
Christianity preached, 6 ; Tartars
repulsed, 14 ; submits to the Tartars,
Chunchi declared emperor, 19 ; per
secution ofthe Christians,46 ; Camhi
succeeds to the throne, 48; Chris
tianity re-established, 53
Chinese ' grandee, constancy of, 11 ;
mandarin, his fidelity, 12 ; another
instance of loyalty, 13 ; heroic action
of two, 16 ; value their hair more
highly than their heads, 34
Chisu, king of the "Western Tartars,
and founder of the Yven. dynasty in
China, 4
Chins, see Chin
Chunchi, son and successor to Zunte,
declared emperor at six years of age,
vi, 19 ; noble conduct of the boy
emperor, 30 ; fourteen years old

150

INDEX.

1651, at the death of his uncle, is
married, and assumes the reins of
govemment, 24, 29 ; Adam SchaU,
having been presented by Amavan,
obtEuns great influence over him, 29 ;
his great qualities, 29; brings the
wars begun by Amavan to a success
ful issue, 30 ; his private life, 35 ;
his affection for father Adam Schall,
35-37 ; conversation with father
Adam on the subject of religion, 39-
41 ; he is perverted from Christianity
by a criminal passion, and turns to
idolatry, 43, 43 ; his death, 44
Chunti, Tartar king of China, con
quered by Taisu, 5, 6
Coflor, father, a Jesuit at the court of
YunUe, 34
Confucius, his tomb, 98
Couplet, father, 67
Corea, Inng of, supplies Thienhi with
troops, 10 ; visits Pekin to pay court
to ChuncM, 35 ; the inhabitants of,
present the emperor with a sea-calf,
76,111

Davis, Sir John, a remark by him pro
phetic of recent events, x "

E-Kwang, see Icoan
Fokien, province, 30, 57, 62, 69
Formosa, island of, taken by Quesin,
34 ; retaken by the emperor Camhi,
aa

Gabiani, father, at Nanquin, 98
Gae-tsung, see Hoison, 2
Gantaeum, son of tbe king of Canton,
persuades his father to revolt against
Camhi, 57 ; submits to the emperor
and succeeds to his father's kingdom,
63 ; treacherous intrigue against
him, 63-65 ; his death, 66 ; his love
for the Christians, 66
Gan-ta-kung, see Gantaeum, 62
Greslon, father, kindness shown him
by the Tartar general, 61
Grimaldi, father, chosen by Verbiest
to accompany him on his journey
-vrith the emperor, 80 ; is bearer of
the emperor's eulogium on the
German missionary Christian Her
dric, 97 ; sent by the emperor to
fetch a mathematician from Macao,
100

Gruber, father, his testimony respect
ing the lamas, 89, 91
Guey, an eunuch, who assisted the
rebel Licon, 15

Hanchouan, his bravery and death, 23
Helung, river, 120
Herdric, father Christian, his death
and funeral, 97
Hiucuta, or Niucuta, 119
Hoans Yam, an animal, 145
Hoison, an emperor of China, who
solicited the assistance of the Tar
tars against the inhabitants of Leau
ton, and was conquered by them
himself, 2
Humvu, a name taken by Taisu, 6
Hung-kwang, see Hunquen, 22
Hung-woo, see Humvu, 6
Hunquan, nephew of Vanlie, crowned
emperor of China, 23 ; conquered by
Amavan, 33

Icoan, 30 ; his attachment to the cause
of the 'Taimingien princes, 31 ; sur
renders tothe Tartars, 33; and dies,
33
Kae-wan, see Cayven, 8
Kam-hay, or Yam-hay, where the Chi
nese WaU commences, 73, 108
Kang-hae, see Kam-hay, 73
Kang-he, see Camhi, 44
Keen-chang, see Kienchamp, 59
Kenwan, king of Fokien, revolts against
Camhi, 57 ; suffers great loss in a
battle, 59 ; Sumvan endeavours to
persuade him to submit to the em
peror, 61 ; forms an unfortunate
alliance with Chin, 01 ; returns to
his allegiance, 62 ; the emperor
punishes his rebellion, 69
Ken-wang, see Kenvan, 57
Kiamsi, province, 59
Kian, river, 23
Kiencham ; scene of a battle between
the king of Fokien and the Tartars,
59
Kirin, 75, 76, 112, 113
Kwei-sing, see Quesin, 31

Lam, Chinese magistrate at Nankin
during the siege by Quesin, 33
Lamas, priests of the Western Tartars.
81 ; their influence with the queen-
mother, 85; their estimation among
the Tartars, 89 ; the Grand Lama,

INDEX.

161

91 ; their customs approaching
Christianity, 91 ; queen - mother's
attachment to them, 92 ; the high
priest's interview with Chunchi, 93 ;
Pereira's account of them, 144
Lang, see Lam, 33
Leau-Tung, see Leauton, 2
Leauton, inhabitants of, become war
like and harass the other parts of
the empire, 3 ; description of, 71, 105
Le-kung, see Licon, 15
Licon, rebel chief in the time of Zon
chin, 15 ; takes the title of emperor,
16 ; his cruelty to Usanguey and his
father, 17 ; is expeUed, 19 ; is finaUy
conquered, 21
List of Chinese words, xiv
List of places in East Tartary through
which F. Verbiest passed, with the
dates and distances, 119

Macao, 30, 67, 100
Mafa, Ancestor (Manchoo Tartar), 35
Magalhans, father des, his narrow
escape from the cruelty of Chamien
chon, 26, 27 ; and from the Tartars,
28
Mancheu, 25
"Maou-wan-Lung, see Mauvenlon, 13
Martini, father, his adventure with the
Tartars, 35
Mauvenlon, his loyalty, 13, 14
Ming, or Taimin dynasty, vi, 6
Missionaries, Matthew Eicci flrst intro
duces Christianity at the Court of
China, ii,6 ; theyarebanishedby Van-
lie, 7 ; they are recaUed by Thienhi at
the suggestion of two Christian man
darins, 10 ; Cofler makes many con
verts, 34 ; Martini, 85 ; fathers des
Magalhans and Buglio, 36, 28 ;
Adam SchaU, v, 38, 35, 43, 45 ; they
are exiled to Canton, 46 ; Verbiest,
vii, 52, 69, 80, 103 ; they are re
called in the reign of Camhi, 53 ;
Greslon, 60, 61; Couplet, 67; Gri
maldi, 80, 100 ; Gruber, 89, 91 ;
Pereira, xii, 96 ; Christian Herdric,
97 ; Vallat, 98 ; Gabiani, 98 ; Le
Comt«, 120,147

Nancham, 60
Nankin, taken by Amavan, 33 ; de
fence of, 33
Negayti, the last king bf Eastern Tar
tary, 4
Neu-che, see Niuchfe, 1
Niuche, name of Eastern Tartary, 1

Oola, see Ula, 71

Pe Cha, mountain, 143, 145
Pekin, taken by the Tartars, 3 ; again
taken, 19 ; suffers from an earth
quake, 88
Pequeh, province, 14, 74
Pereira, father, travels with the em
peror and teaches him music on the
road, xii, 96 ; his narrative, 132
Peyen, celebrated captain of the West-
em Tartars, 4

Quamsi, province, 63
Queen,from the mountains of Siichiien,
comes in person to the assistance of
Thienhi, 10 ; defeats the robber
bands, 15
Quesin, son of Icoan, his contest
¦with the Tartars, 32, 34 ; takes the
island of Formosa, 34 ; his death,
34

Eicci, Matthew, first introduces Chris
tianity at the Court of China, ii, 6
Eiclof, general of Batavia, 68
Eivalry between the Chinese and Tar
tars, 1

Saltpetre, supposed cause of the great
cold in Western Tartary, 86
SchaU, father Adam, v ; his favour
with the emperor Zonchin, 28 ; at
the revolution finds a powerful friend
in Amavan, who presents him to
Chunchi, 29; the emperor's .afi'ection
for him, 35 ; his great influence, 36,
37 ; conversation on the subject of
rehgion, 39-41 ; his efi'orts for the
conversion of the emperor, 43 ; is
present at the emperor's death bed,
44 ; his persecution, 46 ; and death,
46
Sea-calf, presented to the emperor bv
the Coreans, 75, 111
Selink, 91
Sha-men-chung, see Chamienchon,
26
Shee-Tsoo, see Chisu, 4
Shing-yang, see Xim-yam, 75
Shum-che, see Chunchi, 19
Shun-te, see Chunti, 5
Sigan, capital of Chiensi, 20
Siu, or Paul, Christian mandarin, who
obtains the reversal of the edict of
expulsion of the missionaries, iv

152

INDEX.

Songgoro, see Songoro
Songoro, river, 71, 105
Soo-kea-ma, see Sucama, 51
Sucama, a great persecutor of the Chris
tians during the majority of Camhi,
condemned to lose his head, 51
Siichiien, 10, 15, 20
Sumpoa, river, 71, 105
Sumvan, uncle to Camhi, commands a
Tartar army against the rebels, 59 ;
endeavours to persuade Kenvan to
submit, 61
Sung-hwa, see Sumpoa, 71
Sung-wang, see Sumvan, 59

Tae-chang, or Tae-shang, see Taichan,
10
Taichan, son and successor of Vanhe,
10
Taimin, royal family of, 6
Ta-Ming, or Tae-Ming, or Ming, see
Taimin, 6
Taisu, heads a conspiracy against the
dynasty of Yven, 4 ; takes the name
of Humon, and becomes the head of
the family of Taimin, 6
Tanyu, name of Western Tartary, 1
Tartar, a young favourite of Chunchi,
sacrificed at his death, 45
Tartars, two kinds, the ancient ene
mies of China, 1 ; have twice sub
dued China, 2 ; the first time in 1 100,
2 ; the dynasty of Yven, 4 ; driven
out by the Chinese, 4 ; re-enter in
the reign of Vanlie, 6 ; Thienmin,
their king, 9 ; repulsed by the Chi
nese, 14; take possession of China
and Chunchi declared emperor, 19 ;
Camhi the second emperof,48 ; em
peror's first journey to the Eastern,
69 ; his second journey to the West-
em, 80; description of the Western,
81 ; their priests, the lamas, 81, 85,
89
Teao Tu, Chinese name for hares and
rabbits, 145
Te-pin, see Tipin, 4
Theen-ke, see Thienki, 10
Theen-ming, see Thienmin, 9
Theen-tsung, see Thienson, 14
Thevenot, his narrative of the Dutch
mission, 35 ; his opinion respecting
the lamas, 92
Thibet, 89 ; products, 90 ; customs,
90; Lassa the capital, 90; govern
ment, 90, 91
Thienki, grandson of Vanlie, 10 ; his
contests with the Tartars, 11; as

sisted by an Amazonian queen, 10 ;
recalls the missionaries, 10
Thienmin, Tartar conqueror in the
time of Vanlie, and lineal ancestor
of the present emperor, iii, 9
Thienson, successor to the Tartar
leader Thienmin, 14
Tipin, a boy emperor of China, the last
of his race, 4
Tsung-ching, see Tonchin, 1 5
Tsung-tlh, see Zunte, 18
Tuncheu, village, 88
Tunglee, viUage, see Yunlie

Ula, town of, 71, 72, 76, 105, 112
Us, the father of Usanguey, his cou
rage and constancy, 17
Usanguey, opposes the inroads of the
Tartars, 14 ; his cruel trial and
heroic virtue, 17; he caUs in the
help ofthe Tartars of Niuche against
Licon, 18 , submits to the emperor
Chunchi, 20 ; conquers Licon, 31 ;
revolts in 1673, 54 ; the cruel death
of his children, 58 ; proclaims his
grandson emperor, 59 ; his death in
1679, 67

Vallat, father, French Jesuit at Cinan,
98
Vanlie, orWanlie, Chinese emperor in
whose reign Matthew Eicci intro
duced Christianity at the court of Chi
na, iii, 6 ; he at first encourages, but
afterwardsbanishes the missionaries,
7 ; arevolttakes place, 7 ; his death,10
Venchui, 35
Verbiest, Ferdinand, vii; sent for by
the emperor Camhi to reform the
calendar, 58 ; procures the recall of
the missionaries, 53 ; he accompa
nies the emperor in his journey
to Eastern 'Tartary, 69 ; the em
peror's kindness and attention to
him, 70; description of the route,
71 ; the new road, 78 ; the hunting,
74; the emperor's inquiries about
the sea-calf, 75; difliculties and dan
gers of the road, 77 ; the emperor's
kindness, 78 ; arrives in Pekin, 79 ;
accompanies the emperor on his
second journey into Western Tar
tary, 80 ; description of the Great
Wall, 83 ; interview with an old king
of the Western Tartars, 86 ; kind
ness shown him by the emperor's
eldest son, 87 ; meeting with the
emperor at Pekin, 99 ; translation of

INDEX.

153

his first letter from the Dutch, 103;
second letter, 131
Vuti, an emperor of China, who drove
out the Western Tartars 3

WaU, the Great, of China, 83, 133
Wan-lie, see VaiUie, 6
Witsen, Nicholas, Dutch version of
Verbiest's letters, xi
Woo-san-kwei, see Usanguey, 14
Woo-sz', see Us, 16
Woo-te, see Vuti, 3
Xin-yam, or Xin-jam, see Yim-yam
Ya-ma-wang (Gutzlaff) Amawang, see
Amavan, 19
Yam-hay, see Kam-hay
Yam-quam-sien, a persecutor of the
Christians after the death of Chun

chi, 46 ; condemned to death by
Camhi, 53
Yang-kwang-Seen, see Yam-quam-
Sien, 46
Yellow river, 33
Yim yam, Xin-yam, or Xin-jam, capital
of Leauton, 72, 75, 106, 110
Younan, province, 54
Yuen, see Yven, 4
Yunlie, or Tunglee, proclaimed king,
vi, 24 ; favourable to Christianity,
24 ; his wife and son baptised, 24
Yunnan, see Yonnan, 64
Yven, dynasty of, 4

Zonchin, successor of Thienki, 1636,
15 ; his death, 15 ; his son's tragical
adventures, 21 23
Zunti, successor of Thienson, 1636,
15 ; assists Usanguey against Licon,
18 ; his death, 19

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