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CHINESE CHRONICLE:
BY
ABDALLA OF BEYZA.
TRANSLATED FROM THE PERSIAN,
WITH
NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS.
BY S. WESTON, B.D. F.R.S. S.A.
Honuon :
PRINTED FOR WILLIAM CLARKE,
NEW BOND-STREET^ <
MDCCCXX.
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Printed by J. F. Dove, St. John's Square. INTRODUCTION.
I HIS small fragment of the History of China was translated from the Persian of Abdalla, by name Abu Said, of Beyza in Persia, the Leucopolis or White Town 5 of which name there are four in Egypt, and one whole pro vince in Mauritania. Abdalla, servant of God in Arabic, in Hebrew Obadiah, in Persian Khodabend, in German Godschalk, wrote many compendious histories of eastern dynas ties, under the title of The Chaplet, or String of Pearls, of which this I now present, the History of China, is the eighth part of the whole, and called in Persian, Kysm heshtum der tareek Kataiee, to which are added, ex planations, notes, and authorities, by the trans lator. Abdalla began his histories in the year of the Hegira 674; that is, in the year of Christ 1275. a 2
HISTORY OF CHINA, r■ w i •
FROM THE TIME OF PUENCD, THE FIRST KING OF THE CHINESE, TO THEIR LAST,1 ALTUNCHAN, WHOM GIN- GISCHAN AND HIS SONS HARASSED IN WAR.
The first man, whom the Chinese acknow ledged as the first, they called Pu6ncu, and of him they say, that he rose from chaos as from an egg; and to this note of Martini we may add the splendid description of the Genesis of Aristophanes, in his Birds, v. 694. " In the beginning there was nought but chaos and night, that in the boundless bosom of Erebus brought forth an egg, without incumbency (sine concubitu), from which sprang the race of man. Thus also Hesiod, 8 124, and Hyginus the freed man of Augustus, in his book of Fables, tell the same story, and give the same account. The first chapter of Abdalla is enti tled, A Description of the Kingdom Kathai,2 its inhabitants, and their opinions. This chapter consists of two sections and a preface. 0
PREFACE.
The Kataiaus are idolaters,8 and patronise all religions. They are divided into sects, among which are infidels. The groundwork of their pretensions, and of their narrative, is as high as the highest antiquity of the world ; and their relations in point of time begin with the creation : but at no time have their annals ever reached these coasts, on account of the im mense distance4 between the two countries. Another reason is, that their philosophers and men of letters do not travel, because their kings are not desirous of foreign information* or the riches of various countries.* In the days of Hulagu-chan,6 a great band of philosophers and astronomers came hither. Among these was Fu-mnengi, a philosopher, called Sing-sing, which means a man of learn ing and great reading. At the same time Khoje or Doctor, Tuso Naseero 'd Deen, who, by order of Hulagu-chan, constructed the II- chanic tables, t on which he laid down his dates after Polyhistor, that is Sing-sing, be ginning from the highest Computus Chinensis. There was also another, in the time of the King of the Mussulmans, named Gazan Ha- kan, who had commanded the compilation of the holy Gazanic chronology, to wit, the learned Khoje Rexido 'd Deen, a vizir, or king's counsellor, one of the Kataian wise men. These two, Naseero 'd Deen, and Rexido 'd Deen, taught, and by their writings published and propagated, the sciences of medicine, as tronomy, and chronology. They brought with them also certain books of the Kataians, from the principles of which they confirmed their own doctrines ; for the histories of the Katai ans, the numerations of years and cycles, are of the highest authority. They have a book translated and explained by three learned men; Fu-hin Chu-xang, Fu-hin, the proper name, Chu-xaug the cognomen ; Fu-hin was of Tai- gan-cheu, a municipal town of the fourth pro vince, called Xan-tura. Xen-gu Chu-xang was of Kin-hoa the third, Xen-chun Chu- xang of the city of Leao-rgin. The labours of these literati consisted in a selection of autho rities from the oldest books, to which uni versal credit was given for the origin or foundation of the history of Kathai. The beauty and the elegance of their writing, con sist in being free from blots, alterations, or erasures of any sort or kind. When these writings were finished, they were laid up in 8 repositories ; and whosoever applied for copies of the whole, or parts, must memorialize the college where the archives are kept, and on paying a certain sum of money, he received the extract required, under the gold seal of office, which was meant to prevent all altera tion or change in the copy.
SECTION I.
THE KATAIAN OR CHINESE CHRONOLOGY. The Chinese epoch consists, and is complete, in three cycles, of which each has its proper appellation. The first cycle is called Xang-ven, the second Chiung-ven, the third Hia-ven. The greatest cycle takes in ten thousand years. This period is named Van. Every greater cycle has three smaller. Every lesser cycle sixty years. Every year has its proper name. The period which the Chinese reckon to and from, is the year of the Hegira 717, or year of Christ 1317, with which Ting-su agrees, called by the Turks Gilan-gil or year of the serpent, the fifty-fourth of the cycle of Xang- ven. And also from their first year to the 9 year in which Gengis-chan subdued the Ka- taians, and established his empire, Quei-hao, Dunjuz gil of the Turks, or year of the hog. Of the Hegira 599, of Christ 1203, they reckon 88,639,667."
SECTION II.
Here follows a topographical description of China, the whole of which I have not translated.
CHAPTER II.
CLASS I.
In this chapter are detailed the thirty-six classes of the kings of China, or the Kataians, or the families of the emperors, or dynasties. The word tebeket, in Arabic, means a stage, or floor, an order of men, a degree, a class. The first king was Puencu.s From him the Kataians begin their history. In his time there were neither towns nor boundaries of countries. Men roved about in the fields like sheep and oxen: their food was grass,10 and 10 their covering11 the leaves of trees. Wheu they were cold, they warmed themselves by breathing into their hands, and clapping them together, till by reverberation the air became more temperate, and the wind by turns less cold. And thus when they were too hot, they cooled themselves. At this period there was an abundance of women, who had no rule for the indulgence of their passions, or restriction on concubinage ; they knew nothing of mar riage, but the woman was pregnant, and the child born. After Puencil, Tien-hoang-ti n was the se cond ;3 king : his name was Tien, his agnomen Hoang-ti, at first the common name of kings. They call the earth Ty.1* This king had the body or wisdom of a serpent,1* and the heads of l6ten men. His brothers were thirteen in number. He passed his life like the first king, and in the same manner. In this age they stripped the green leaves' off the branches of trees, and made use of them.17 Dee Khoang-shee, or Di Hoang--ti, was the third king, with the same attributes of prudence and head-piece of ten men. He had eleven brothers associates. Zin-Ho&ng-ti, the fourth monarch, had also the wisdom or versatility of a serpent, and the headpiece of nine niep. 11 They were followed by Ulu-gi, Destigi, Che- chungi, Lenlengi, Soumingi, Xuzengi ; and these six kings lived in the same manner, and had the same habits of life. . . i In their days there was a tree bearing fruit, on which the first inhabitants of the earth subsisted. In the great heats they lived under its shade, and in great cold in its clefts and crevices. They observed also the sun rise and set, and the moon change. The use of fire was not yet known, and they rubbed two sticks together,18 till they produced a spark. Then they began to spill the blood of animals, and eat their flesh, and in process of time roast them on hot stones. Thus they lived like the beasts of the field, but were not yet humanized.
CLASS II.
Fohi was the eleventh king of China, and in his time man was much civilized. The sci ence of divination began to be in use, which the Chinese called Kouey.19 After this matri mony was instituted, and weddings were regis tered. He (Fohi)20 invented also a peculiar sort of writing, arithmetic, short-hand, gins and snares, wine, and musical instruments 12 with five-and-twenty cords. In his time silk was not known, but in its stead split reeds were in use, and applied to the purposes of silk. Qneen Nivashee, Fohi's sister, succeeded him ; and after her, Gaun Gaunshee, Taee Tan-shee, Ven Chunshee, Chun Bajek, and ten others, the last of which was Wachwa- shee, reigned in succession.
CLASS III. Shin Ven was the twenty-seventh king : his body was serpentine,21 and his head was single, or that of one man. In his time in struments of agriculture were invented, and ploughing with an ox. Shin Ven first applied the powers of plants to the cure of diseases, and found out the modes of traffic, and in vented a musical instrument of five strings, called ku-puz-kin. After Shin Ven came Vee Khan-leek,21* Dilem-Vee, Siu-eek Vee, Chee- Vee, Lee- Vee, Naee-Vee, the thirty-third king.
CLASS IV. Shin Ven, or Shen Sien, as it should be, ac cording to Miiller, but in the Persian text it is is the same name as the 27th king, which is probably wrong. Shin Sien had thirty-five sons. His second son was a prince of great exertion, learned, and ingenious. In his time there was a de mon, one of those called Quei, or bad angel, opposed to the Shin or good demon. The head of Shin-Sien was of brass, and his forehead of iron. He ate stones, and de voured gravel, and was full of mischief, and irresistible. He waged a war of seven days with the Deev, or evil spirit already men tioned ; and having lost the use of his hand, he was afflicted with a fit of melancholy, and fell asleep, and dreamt that he saw in Paradise a man with a bow and arrow in his hand; and he inquired what was the meaning of it, as archery was as yet unknown in China ; and he was told and taught how to use the bow and arrow ; when he was struck with the idea of employing it against the evil spirit: and awaking out of sleep, he remembered his dream, and formed an instrument of offence according to the vision he had had, and made a bow and arrow, with which he renewed his fight with the demon, and slew him. There was as yet neither silk,22 nor warp, nor woof, in use, or known. Men clothed them 14 selves with the foliage of trees, and made garments of leaves. Spinning, weaving, and sewing together, arose in China subsequent to the vision of Shen Sien in Paradise, where he saw the inhabitants covered with vestments of an elegant texture; and when he awoke, he taught his subjects to make them from his de scription. There was a man in his reign, by the name of Ounan, an excellent workman, who invented various things, as ships, carriages, dishes, plates, and other utensils ; also he built a town in wood, and made chests, or coffins for the dead ; and before his time dead men were not hidden or concealed. The king therefore gave orders that every one should have a hole dug for him ; and one of the man dates of the Jasa,*3 or Tartar laws, was, that whosoever of the roj'al lineage that might die, should be carried out on the seventh day, and be hidden in a pit, or buried ; and after seven months entombed. The height of the royal tomb should be three feet. For emirs, five days and five months were allowed. The height of their sepulchres shall be two cubits. Cypress and other trees shall be planted at the head of the deceased. For the people three days, and three months are appointed ; 15 and in the hole or pit at their heads shall wil lows be planted. The same king built nine cities; ** Cheu, Sing-cheu, Kee-cheu, Su-cheu, Lu-cheu, Bin-cheu, Lang-cheu, Chu-cheu, Tang-cheu ; all which he finished; and on the death of all his sons, the government passed on to the fifth dynasty.
CLASS V. The fifty-third king was Xao-hao-gem-ten-ti ; or, in the Persian, Shu-ku-eu-gem-ten-shee. It was reported, or there was a tradition, that this man had no father,2* but that his mother, having seen a light shining over her, became pregnant, and brought him forth; that Hu- ma,26 a bird which appeared for the first time, came to view, and hovered over the royal tent. Towns were in this reign divided into streets. Xao-hao was a miracle of justice and pru dence, ingenious, and skilled in geometry. Nine27 of his race reigned after him, and then his family became extinct.
CLASS VI.
Chuen Fu-gah, sixty-third king of the fa mily of Shen-Sien, according to Miiller, in the id Persian Shen Ven. Fu-gah was an august monarch, just, and pious; and under him his subjects led good and happy lives. Nine of his family had the kingdom after him. '
CLASS VII.
Dai-co-gas-sing-ti, the seventy-third king. During his reign, cradles, drums, bells large and small, were invented. The king's precep tor was Gi-sun-zee, under whom he made great proficiency, and wrote books. His empire, after the eighth successor of his family, passed into other hands. '
CLASS VIII.
Dio-lee-tao-tang-shee, or tee, was the eighty- second king. He was said to have been a four-months' child ; his eyelids and eyebrows were of eight colours. Many curious parti culars are related of two angels that guarded him, and of the bird Huma that settled on his head, which in Chinese is called Jam or Giam.28 The king had one son, whom he thought unfit to reign. He therefore prayed 17 to heaven, that he might not be his successor, and ordered that all the wise men should be brought together, of whom one might be chosen. Ten thousand were collected from all parts, but not one was found that the king approved. A thousand more were selected, out of which one appeared by name, Tu-gist- jud-ju-ti, of a deformed figure, with the eyes of a serpent, each of which had two pupils ; him they chose, and the king in his life-time delivered his kingdom into his hands.
CLASS IX.
Dee-shun-jud-ju-shee, was the eighty-third king, and reigned nine years. In his time he killed four impostors, aspirers to the throne, and restored peace to the people. He made a sepulchre for himself, of wood and clay. He built ten cities, and his son, a person by name Sheea-eu, was the king elect, or designated in the life-time of his father.
CLASS X.
Miiller, Hia-vu-ven,^ (Persian), Sheea-ew- ven. In his time a terrible rain like a deluge, B 18 obtained for the space of twelve years, so that the old world took water, and all creatures nearly perished, except some who had built themselves vessels, and others who remained in the mountains. The king called the remnant to gether, who made canals, and drained the pro vinces by causing the waters to run into the sea. The men of this age were vast in stature. After this king sixteen of his family reigned.
CLASS XI. Xang-tang, the hundred and first king of the lineage of Vai-co-gu-sing-ti, the seventy- third monarch. In his time there was no rain for seven years, and the springs or rivers were dried up. There was no field sown, and fa mine followed. " This is," said the king, "for my disgrace and sin." He then ordered much wood to be collected, and a pyre to be lit, to appease the anger of heaven, and spare his subjects. Then the rain came down for seven days. After this king twenty-nine of his race reigned.
CLASS XII. Chu-fra-vang,50 (Persian), Cheu-fa-vang, (Miiller), was a much-respected philosopher, 19 but a diviner, as Fohi the First, king of the second dynasty, was before him. He did not, however, fall into the humour of his people, and they substituted the son in his place, who was wise and just, and surpassed his father by many parasangs. At this time there was a city not far off, of which Cheu-gu was king, called Chan-baltu, or Chan-Balik (Peking of Miiller) : Cheu-gu had reigned in it sixty years, thirty in justice and equity, and thirty in iniquity. His wife's name was Tali,31 his minister's Uli, a brave commander. To him he gave an order to build a great palace, and fill it with provisions from all places in the neigh bourhood; to which palace the name should be given of Chang-ye-kiung, that is, the palace of a long night, or long night palace. The windows were all to be closed, that the house should appear to be in perpetual darkness from without, but within the light of numerous flambeaux was seen, by night and day, and here the king gave himself up to a constant revel, and said, " This is the one true night." la the mean time Chud-vang*2 with great exertion raised an army, which Cheu-gu having heard of, threw himself into the fire, and was burnt, and thus Chud-vang33 got possession of his kingdom. b2 20 His son Hateek-vang succeeded him, and after him Chee-vang, who was the 134th king, a monarch of great name, and good fortune. During his reign arose Shekmunee Berchan, who was considered as a prophet by thelndians, Kismirians, 33# Tibetans, Kataians, the men of Tangul, and Eegur. In the twenty-fourth year of Chee-vang his fame reached China. Xecmunee Berchan died in his seventy-eighth year ; 3* and from his rise to the present time, 717 of the Hegira, there have been 2339 years. Here follows the history of Shekmunee Ber chan, somewhat fabulous and extraordinary. Movang succeeded Chee-vang, and him Amee- ree, whose name was Tacu. He performed many surprising feats, much praised. By order of the king, he threw himself into a car riage drawn by six horses, that ran in the day and night a hundred parasangs, * in which he took a view of the country, and going on one side and the other, to and fro, made his re port to the king. He came also to Iran, and explained to the king the state and tempera- lure of the Persian provinces. In his time there was a man by name Kha-zhen,30 who brought the knowledge of chemistry*7 from afar, and was well acquainted with magic, so that he learnt the sciences of foreign coun 21 tries, and introduced novelties. Among other things he laid the foundation of games of sport and amusement. The names of the kings after his time, were Kar-fuang, Bee-vang, Veesha-vang. In the province where he pre sided, a goat with two feet, and a wolf with four horns„ were exhibited. After Veesha-vang came, another Bee-vang, then Tumeel-vang, then Siven-vang, a just king. In this period there was no rain for twenty years, and of course great distress. The king said, "I have not played the tyrant, I am punished for other offences." He then with drew himself from the pleasures of the table, and after this it began to rain, and they to en joy tranquillity, and cessation from distress. It was at this period that characters one under another were invented, still in use, by Shu- chu. Ya-vang was the next king; he had an extremely handsome and chaste wife, but she never smiled or laughed. Her name was Boo se^; and when her husband left nothing un tried to conquer her aversion to smile, or laugh, he could not prevail, and was unhappy on this account. It happened, however, that at this time the king had ordered a signal to be given on the approach of an enemy, that 22 fires should be lit on the hill, and drums beat, and at the signal given, the generals should be in battle array. The king all at once, and without any occasion, gave the orders, and the armies were drawn out ; but the wonder was, that no enemy was in sight ; and the sol diers said, " What is all this noise for?" when Busen laughed, and the king, in the joy of his heart, ordered it to be commemorated by a banquet. Two years afterwards the enemy came in reality : the fires were lit, the drums beat, but the generals suspecting a cheat, were not forth coming. The enemy entered the palace, and destroyed it, and the guardians fled. After this Ping-Vang mounted his father's throne, built another city, and made it his residence. Von-vang, Chuang-vang, Livang-Hoei-vang, Siang-vang, Quang-vang, Cung-vang, succeed ed him. Then was Deen-vang, the 151st king; and in his second year Taee-shang Laocun was born, whom the people considered and looked on as a prophet. Tradition says, Taee- shang Laocon was of the land of Zu, and his father's name Chan. He also, like Shekmunee Berchan, was brought forth by light from above, under a plum-tree. Many strange 23 things are said of him. From his birth to this time, 717 of the Hegira, are 1992 years. After Deen or Ting-vang, came Kien-vang, then Ling-vang. This last was born with a beard, and at this time38 Confutins came into the world, whose father's name was Shu-leang in the Persian, and his mother's Chu-shee, or Ju-xi. In that country there was a high mountain called Neegu, which fell down at the moment he came out of his mother's womb. His whole body was hairy,38* nine measures and a half long, and four broad, of a formi dable countenance, like a tiger, but beyond measure intelligent and perfect; on which ac count he was much observed, and studied. He had 3000 disciples in his school, and of them seventy-two arrived at the rank, of roy alty. He came into the world fifty years after Taee-xang Laocon, and lived to seventy-three years of age. There were twelve kings to the time of Ten- vang, whose names are all mentioned. In his reign the kingdom was split into fourteen parts, and in the revolution of years seven kings arose, who divided the fourteen parts, among them; one half in conjunction, and one in di vision; and of these two dyuasties, or families together, the thirteenth class was composed. 24
CLASS XIII. After these came Xen-vang, one of the seven kings, or Ching-vang, and snatched the whole kingdom out of the hands of the other six kings, his father's associates. Xen-vang had two sons, .Ze-shee-hu-hai, and Sa-mi-xi-zen. These made the fourteenth class.
CLASS XIV.
CLASS XV.
Bang-vang was a brave commander, and strong as nine oxen; and, sallying forth in a hostile manner, he killed Sa-mi-shee-zen, and was proclaimed king, the 173d.
CLASS XVI.
Han-cao-zu was a man of great bravery and acute understanding; and when he was la bouring under a severe disease, he heard that there were on the mountain white serpents, 3i noxious animals, that did much mischief; 25 whereupon he took ten men with him, and went and slew them all ; for which he had a high standard erected to him, and a kingdom. He is said to have fought seventy battles. After him Shufeedee was made king, and when he departed, and was extinct, his mother succeeded him ; then his brother, after an en gagement with the enemy, in which 3000 were killed. In his time the world was informed, that, on the coast of the Eastern Sea, a plant or herbage grew, which lengthened life consi derably; and though it stupified, yet those who ate it were made angels, and not mortal. The king sent an astronomer in quest of this plant, who was shipwrecked. Shufeedee had two sons, the elder of the two was called Lee- vang, and he had an emir, an enchanter, who caused the death of his father and brother by magic; but the queen was with child, and sent to prison, that in case she should bring forth a son, she might be dispatched. When the queen was delivered of a son, they changed him for another, without being suspected, and sent the legitimate child out of the kingdom, whilst Lee-vang was -minister. Fifteen years after.wards Shufeedee died, and the conceal ed child, being brought to light, was declared king. 20
CLASS XVII.
Wang-mu-vang reigned fifteen years, and was then flayed by the consent of his emirs* arid suffered a cruel death. After this a king was taken from the stem of Geneedee.
CLASS XVIII.
Gic-xi-ma-vu-han, 188th king, was of a per verse disposition, and whilst he conversed with his ministers, they trembled; and deeming him unworthy to reign, they chose his brother in his stead, who made his soldiers paint their eyebrows red, for which he was deposed.
CLASS XIX.
The 190th king was Hu-han-quang-fu. He was a necromancer and magician. • ...... CLASS XX.
The empire after Hu-Han-Quang-fu, the 190th king, lasted in its divided state, sixty-one years. 27
CLASS XXI. Sen-phu-dee was the 208th king.
CLASS XXII. After that Sen-phu-dee was succeeded by Geb-bir-sen, and he by Hanab-Vedee, and Midi, whom the enemy carried away captive; and when sixteen kings had reigned in Ka taia, the royal family fled to Magin.40 This family, of the twenty-second class, divided into five parts. In the district of Magin the judges were stripped naked ; that is, they were made the images of the naked truth. The sixteen kings divided Kataia into six parts, and each part into smaller divisions. Their empire lasted 305 years.
CLASS XXIII. i. ■ . . .■ ■ . ■ The 250th king, Sui-gan Su-fee-dee, seized Kataia by force of arms, and Magin ; and having removed its different governors, was declared king of both.
, . CLASS XXIV. Ten-kao-cu, an honoured and brave com 28
mander in tbis reign, was made king in the field of battle. From his race twenty like himself were advanced to the royal dignity.
CLASS XXV.
Len-tain Nai-fu-du, the 275th king, was a distinguished emir. He fought for the king dom and obtained it, and was killed by his son Jo-gee, who succeeded him; and he was slain by his brother, who reigned in his stead. In process of time Lin-Naee-zu arose, a cer tain man of Kara Kataiee, by name Hau-ligi- aja-gee, waged war, and seized a part of Ka taiee. He called himself Leeu,41 which means king. He reigned over the whole country, and with eight persons of his own lineage, re mained sovereigns of the kingdom he had seized during 219 years. After this period, Agudaee, the king of Jurha, a tributary, put down the last of the sons of Hau-li-gee, called Dai-leeu, and took possession of all Kataia.
; . -r , . '.i ,. • . : ,.'.■"■-.':': : . . i , . .! CLASS XXVI.
Ten-chun-zun, the 278th king, and a just one. After him came Men-zun, then Munee 29 dee, and then Mudee, whom Muneedee found where he was hunting, and educated him. The sister of Muneedee after him took pos session of the kingdom, and gave it to her husband.
CLASS XXVII. Ten-can-zu was king after Xud-li.
CLASS XXVIII.
Han-gao-zu.
CLASS XXIX.
Gudee-chu-Nai-zu.
CLASS XXX.
Kew-tabrun was the 290th king. Xu-giu was the last of the domestic kings in classes, and the 305th from the time of Neeku ; and these 305 and their families reigned 42,885, or, as it is set down in the first chapter, 42,875. In the 549th of the Hegira, A. D. 1154, Gingischan was born.
NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS,
AUTHORITIES, &c. &c.
IN order to reconcile Abdalla's history, and make it agree in any probable way with the Mosaic account, it will be necessary to compare them together. Moses tells us, God first created the heavens and the earth, which he filled with living creatures. . Then, that he made man in his own image. Now, in the Siao Ul Lun, or the Instruction of Youth, which Menzelius published, and after him Bayer edited at Petersburg, in 1730, which may be called the Chinese Ge nesis, or, as it is named, Universal Memorial, and general record of the great emperors and kings, from the earliest antiquity, in due order and series of succession. It begins thus: " The waters flowed in abundance, and spreading in every direction, became smooth, and subsided, dividing the old from the new creation, and producing order and arrange ment. ,l The first august family of the heavens was divided into thirteen elder and youtiger brothers, each of which lived eighteen thousand years. " The second was the august family of the earth, eleven in number, elder and younger brothers, each living eighteen thousand years. 32
" The third family was the family of man, nine in num ber, and they lived four myriads and five thousand six hun dred years each Ko." From these passages of the Siao Ul Lun, and Moses, it is evident that the Chinese have peopled the heavens and the earth with kings and emperors, beginning from Tien-Hoara, and Ti-IJoam, unto Gin-Hoam, or the family of man. Whereas Moses tells us, that God did not make man till after the heavens and the earth. Thus we get rid of the enormous Computus Chincnsis, and begin with the first man. The Chinese account says farther, that the family of man consisted of nine ; and Moses also, that from Adam to Noah there were nine, and that they, the nine families, lived 1664 years till the flood ; but in the Siao Ul Lun, they are reck oned each to have remained 45,000, or an indefinite time. The first woman is also recorded, and named Niu-Kua, or woman, Kua, or Cheva in Hebrew, means in Chinese, a woman that put into her mouth, or eat, which describes the great act of Eve. Kua, it is said, was the mother of fifteen families, that lived 1360 years, which reaches to the 304th year of Nungi, or Noah, born in 1056. Of this Nungi, it is added, that the founder bad the body of a man, and the head of an ox, which is descriptive of the husbandman Noah, who was the first to drive the plough, and place an ox at the head of the share. I thought it necessary to say thus much by way of introduction to my notes on Abdalla's text. NOTES AND AUTHORITIES.
■ Altunchan is the name of a kingdom. The Tartars, ac cording to the Chinese, who have no ar, were driven out by Gingischan, and inhabited the mountainous country called by them Altun, by the Chinese Kin, or gold, which they both mean. Altunchan is therefore, not the name of a per son, but of an empire. Altai-mountains were the burying- placc of Jengez Khan. See Marco Polo, in Mr. Marsden, pp. 196—199. Altunchan flourished in the time of Jengizchan, and was removed, or taken off, in the time of Octai-Kaan. Between Kataia and Kara-Gang, the inhabitants are the Kin-chi, a people so called, because they case their teeth with gold, which they take off when they eat. Section ii. p. 11, in the Persian; Kin-chi, teeth of gold, in Chinese; zer ghylafee, gold cases, in Persian'. 2 The kings of Kataiee are divided into thirty-six classes, or families, consisting of 305 persons. Their empire is said to have lasted 42,875. The Altunchans were extinct in the year of Christ 1230, which makes their date before Christ 41,645. ' The Chinese were not all idolaters till the year 65 of the Christian era, when at the return of the messenger from India they received the doctrines of Xaca or Budda. The idol Fe was worshipped 500 years before Confucius, 1000 before Christ. * From Ispahan to Agra was a journey of six months, and from Agra to China about fourteen. But the distance was D 34 not so great an obstacle, as the difference between Persian and Chinese characters ; between an alphabetical language, and symbols significant by compact. 5 The Chinese call foreign nations animals and demons. Pe Quei, and Fan Quei, white devils, or hobgoblins. See Oriental Collections of Sir William Ouseley, 4to. vol. ii. p. 53, and Mr. Marsden's Marco Polo, p. 649, 4to. of the Dive sepeed. 6 " Hulagu-chan'' was the grandson of Gingischan, and Gazan Hakan, the eleventh from Gingis of the Iranaei. ' " Ilchanic tables" were astronomical and chronological tables. 8 This astonishing computation has more rhetorical flourish in it than chronological accuracy; since in all their accounts, where they wish to extol, they reckon by myriads, as the In dians in Hindostan do by lacks, and call the Himmalayan or snowy mountains, sou au lauck, or a lack and a quarter, 125,000 in number. The sum in the Persian runs thus : eighty and eight thousand thousand, and six hundred and thirty and nine thousand, seven hundred and eighty and five years. 3 The first king was Puencu, according to Miiller, but in the Persian it is Neeku, which Bayer has, by the change of a point, and omission of ye converted into Bencu for Puen cu, instead of retaining the original Neeku. Now Neeku was the name of the first man, Adam, for his beauty, which the word signifies in the Ethiopic. This is the opinion of Maius, Schudt, and Ludolph, p. 207, ed. 1G91, fol.; and the Talmud says, that Adam, the protoplast of the human race, called good by his Maker, and formed after his own image, must have been Neeku, or good and beautiful, 10 " Their food was grass." See Genesis i. 29. '' Every herb."—" To you it shall be for food." ix. 3.—" Meat for you, even as the green herb." 35
" " Covering." Gen. iii. 7. " And they sewed fig-leaves."' 12 '3 " Tien Hoang-li." In the Persian, Ten Kawang shee. The lists of Chinese emperors, given by Mendoza and Sca- liger, are completely informal and unintelligible. Martini, in his Antiquities, p. 24, makes the terminations of the names of families Latin, as Tanga and Sunga, for Tam and Sum, Hoangt for Hoam-ti, and Yau for Yao. Miiller knew Chinese, and Abdalla, whom he published, drew up his me moirs from Chinese authorities. But if Miiller committed faults in European letters, that is, by expressing Chinese in letters of Europeans, Abdalla committed more by his Per sian and Arabic, in which the points make all the difference, and where ni may be put for be, and phi for ki. 14 " Ty," in the Persian shee. 15 The Chinese respected the serpent for his subtilty. 16 " Ten heads." Like the expression of Ennius, an old Roman poet, who said he had three hearts, or memories, because he spoke three languages, Greek, Latin, and Oscan. 17 The words in the text are wa anja fehm kurdendec ; that is, they understood what they were, and made use of them, as they still do in their tcha, or tea. Miiller, not satisfied with the text, suggests fehm, coal, another spelling, with a hhe instead of a he ; but as fire was not known from wood or flint, charcoal could not be made. 18 Zend is an instrument that the Arabians use for striking fire, and zendans are the two pieces of wood which by collision emit sparks. 19 The Persian is Kouey, that agrees well with the Chi nese Kouey, testudo, which the Chinese use in divination. See the character in the 213th Key of De Guigues, p. 930. Miiller, p. 21, calls Kuee, Hui. 20 Fohi, in Persian Kou Kee, in Miiller's Alphabetical Comment, Foukee. This emperor, it is said, invented- cha 36 racters, which, like the hieroglyphics of Egypt, were intelli gible on inspection ; that is, a hawk with twenty meanings, of which one was only known by inspection — that it was a hawk. n " Serpentine." Thus Cecrops, the first king of the Athenians, was a man with the body of a serpent— KiKpo4> ovjxfyvh €XWV •*/"* "»^P<>£> Kt" fy««»""0£' Apollodorus, lib. iii. p. 128, ed. 1555. The meaning of this is, that he was not a double animal, but a living animated creature in all his parts, as Fo is represented with the character of man to the left in Chinese. »i * Ku-puz-keem in Persian, should be gou py kin, five- string-instrument. See gou for five, p. 160, vol. i. 8vo. Bayer Museum Sini-cum, 1730. Py, thong, or string, in De Guignes, 6517, p. 458. Clef. 107. Kin instrumentum quod digitorum extremo pulsatur, p. 419, (5955), key 95. * " Silk," called sericum, from the inventors, or first ma. nufacturers. " Velleraque ut foliis depectant tenuia Seres." Georgic. Virgil, ii. v. 122. 23 " Jasa," royal edict, a law, or code of laws, made by Jengiz Khan. 54 No father. In the Chinese history of Martini, he is called the son of Hoang-ti, or Shin Ven of Abdalla. 25 Vi-chea, in the Persian Cheu, Miiller has Vicheu in the territory of Pekin. 26 " Huma," in Chinese F6ng-hoang; in Persian, a bird ever on the wing, without touching the ground, and over shadowing heads that will some time or other wear a crown. Homai Was a queen of Persia, grandmother of Darab II. or Darius Codomannus, conquered by Alexander. See the 37 figure of Fong-hoang on a cup of Ching-Fa, Penes me, and tlie character in De Guignes's Dictionary, p. 099, No. 12,893; p. 904, No. 12,967. *» Ten " of his race." In Abdalla " nine." " " Giam," in Chinese Hoang. This is no bad instance of the metamorphosis that a Chinese word suffers in passing through a Persian alembic. ■ " Hia-yu-ven would be Sheea-eu-ven in Chinese, as Cang. he of 1662 is Caun-she : so Ta-hio, the great doctrine of Confucius, is sounded Ta-shio. 30 In Abdalla the 131st king is Cheu-fra-vang, in Muller Cheu-fa-vang, and his father, instead of Chang-ven, is Ha- buven in the Persian. 31 Tuki, in the Persian Kee. •N 32 Cheu-vang. Chud-vang, Abdalla. 33 In Abdalla the names differ from Muller. 33 * « Kismirians." See Marco Polo, in Mr. Marsden's edition, pp. 86*. 137. ** In page 20 it is said, that " Shekmunee Berchan died in his 78th year ; and from his rise to the present time, of 717 of the Hegira," or 1317 of the year of our Lord, " there hav$ been 2339 years," which makes his rise, or the time of his flourishing, to have been in the 38th of David, who began to reign in the 1055th year before Christ. 35 Shebanruzee, vvxfMifttpov, a day and a night ; ten miles an hour for twenty-four hours. See the length of the para- sang, or league-stone, in Rennell's Geography of Herodotus, p. 330, 4to. 36 " Khazhen" in the Persian, which Muller makes Cha-zen. 37 The Kataians, according to Purchas and Ramusio, have three particular sciences, chimin, limia, and simia; alchymy, the art of enamouring, and the art of juggling. 38 Cum fu cu was born in the kingdom of Lu, or Xantum in. the village of Ceu ye. — See his life in Bayer's Museum Sinicum, vol. ii. pp. 214. 236. *"• " Hairy," like Esau. Genesis xxvii. 11. 39 The Chinese respected, as we have seen, serpents that were subtle and harmless, but waged war against the noxious and destructive. « Abdalla in his second section, p. 9, in describing the kingdoms and inhabitants of Kataiee, says — They call that country in the Chinese languag'e Han, Chu, Chum-kue, the Mungals Gau-kut, the Indians Geen, and we Kataiee. There is also another celebrated country towards the east (Shirekee, from whence the Scirocco wind), but inclined to the south, called by the Chinese Manzi, by the Mungals Ni- gias, by the Hindus Mehagin ; that is, great Cheen ; by others Mageen. Mageen is the Mangi mentioned by Marco Polo, pp. 244—01. 407—9. 37—70. 41 " Leeu" in the Persian, by which probably is meant licou, a royal crown in Chinese ; or, if as in Miiller, leao, the name of a kingdom; but this is improbable. See Lieou, p. 272, 70 Clef. (3840) of De Guignes, and Leao Clef. 163, p. 784, (11,256.)
THE END,
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