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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.
flunnon:
PRINTED FOR \VILLIAM CLARKE,
NEW BOND-STREET.
MDCCCXX. ). J~mM “BRITAN NICYA ,
Printed by J. F. Dovn, St. John's Square INTRODUCTION.
THIS 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; 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 .0; , 'Q, - ll 111. I! t). I! o . ( - o I 4 I . n d a I; - 4\ r, n \ I . .l 1 I I ll. I ' A .- I‘ 1 l p r! u I- e I U \. I u l O r I I l I. l I I I 0 'n l
u I u “I I | \ , l I In. u A v! I n. . 1‘ In \J l I u I I I I ) I .l. ‘1 \ ‘ o I I ll 1 l a a I ' i 1 nu 1’ all a J .1 I O b ll a I v . on p I n tn . - 0\ l n I l a a \l ‘ I 04‘ \ I in A an I v I I . o l \ l 0 I! v , o I r u i I II I ‘ ‘AI ~ \ a.) r a I I n I a a \1 a I. '1 il. _II on I b I: a 0| I I I a . l 0. I I. ’ I. I. . I I ' I I .s s n n A I a I i I . \1 I t J cl . a 1 a 1 0' I l \l I .r | II\ I I l e '\ i I\ o I (I l II I P l . ‘l . - l -. I a A a u . a i I , r u n a - I \n o a I .. II I T I. I | I I w I‘ | i f 1.. J n b I ill lha I v a 0\ ll I I . l . ‘l \) . . a . I I I s I Q a. I . a A I v \ n O l 0‘ Q - O ) ‘J . . a ‘IE 1- a a I HISTORY OF CHINA,
rnoM THE TIME or PUENCU, THE FIRST mm; or run CHINESE, TO THEIR LAST,‘ ALTUNCHAN, WHOM cm GISCHAN AND ms sons HARASSED 1N WAR, _ ;
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THE first man, whom the Chinese acknow ledged .as the first, they called Pfiéncu, and of him they say, that he rose from chaos as from 'an egg; and to this note cf '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 inc'umbency (sine concubitu), from which sprang the race of man.” Thus also Hesiod, 9 124, and Hyginus the freedman 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 cousists of two sections and a preface. I 6
PREFACE. THE'Kataians are idolaters,a and patronise all religions.v They are idivided into sects,‘ among which are infidels. The groundwork ‘of their pretensions, and of their narrative, is as "high as-the highest antiquity 0f 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 distance? between the two. countries. Another reason is, that their = philosophers .and. men of letters. do not travel,.beoause, their kings are not desirous of foreign informatiolv .Orthe riches‘of various.countrieS.-5' a , i -~ ‘ 1' In the daysof-Hulagu-chanfi a great band 'of philosophers and astronomerscame hither. .Amo'nthese was Fu-muengi,‘ a philosopher, :calledSin'g-sing, which means a man of learn— '.‘ing, and great reading; At the, same time >Khoje or Doctor,-Tnjso Naseero,’d Deen, who, “,bycrder :of Hulagu-chan, constructed the ll -ehanicf,tahl'es,1 on which he laid down his »dates' after Pol'yhistnr, that is Sing-sing, be ginning from the highestCompntus Ghinensis. ' There was als'o'another, in the- time of the King of the Mussulmans, named Gazan Ha kan, who had commanded the compilation of 7 the holy Gazanic chronology, to'wit, the learned Khoje Rexido ’d Deen, a vizir, Tor 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 theprinciples 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; Fil-hin Chu-xang, Fu-hin, the proper name, lChu-xang the cognomen; Fu-hin was of Tai--v gan-cheu, a municipal town of the, fourth pro vince, called Xan-tum. 'Xen-gu 'Chu-xang was of Kin-boa the third, Xen~chun Chu xang of the city of Leaosgin. 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 hf the‘whiole,or parts, must memorializelthie college where ‘the archives’are ‘ kept," and on paying a certain sum of money, he received the eXtract required, under the gold seal of oflice, which was meant to prevent all altera tion or change in the copy.
SECTION I. THE KATAIAN 0R CHINESE cHRo-NOLoev. p The Chinese epoch consists, and is complete, in three cycles, of which each has its proper appellation. _ i p ' ' ' ' ' i A The'first cycle is' called Xéng-vén, the second Chiyung-ven, the third Hia-ven. The. greatest cycle takes in ten thOusand 'yeai'sf'. This period is named Véin. 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 vén. And also from their first year to the 9 year in which Gengis-rihahshbdri'ed the'Kai taians,‘and established hisiempire, Quéilhad, 3Dunjuz gil of the Turks, '0r year-0i" the hog. Ofthe Hegira 599,5“ Christ 1903, they fickoh 88,639,667.” ‘ ' ‘ = ' - ‘ " ' ‘
SECTION II_.
Here follows a topographical description-01f 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'fa'milies of the emperors, or dynasties. The word tebekethin Arabic, means a stage, or floor, an order'of men, a degree, a class. The first king was Pfiénch.9 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,” and 10 their covering-u the leaves of trees. When 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 Pfiéncfi, Tien-hoang-ti" was the see cond ‘3 king: his name was Tien, his fagnomeu
Hoang-ti, at first the common name of kings. They call the earth Ty.“ ' This king had the body or wisdom of a serpent,“ and the heads of 16 ten 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." 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-Hoang-ti, the fourth monarch, had also the wisdom or versatility of a serpent, and the headpiece of nine men. ll _ .They were followed by Ulusgi, Destigi, Che chungi, Lenlengi, Soumingi, Xuzengi; and these six kings lived in the Same manner, and had the same habits of life. 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 sunrise 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.
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CLASS IL
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)2° invented also a peculiar. sort of writing, arithmetic, short-hand, gins and snares, wine, and musical instruments 12 with five-and-twenty cords. ln his time silk was not known, but in its 'stead split reeds ‘were in use, and applied to the purposes of silk. - ; Queen 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 Waéhwai 'shee, reigned in succession.
CLASS 111.. ‘ I
-" Shin Ven was the twenty-seventh king: this body was serpentine,“ and his head was single, or that of oneilman. In his time in vstruments‘ 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 trafiic, and in— vented a musical instrument of five strings, called ku-puz-kin. After Shin Ven came Vee Khan-leek,” Dilem-Vee, Sin-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 13 is: the same name as the 27th king, whichiis probably wrong. ' Shin Sien had thirty-five sons. His second soh was a prince of great exertion, learned, and ingenious. 'In his time there vw'asa deg mon,‘one of those called Quei, or bad angel; opposed to the Shin or good demon. '- 1 The head of Shin-Sien was of brass, an his forehead of iron. ’H'e ate stones, and de voured gravel, and was full of mischief, and irresistible. He Waged a war of. seven days with the iDeev, or‘evil spirit already men- tioned ; and having lost the use of‘his hand, he was afflicted With a fit of melancholy, and fill) asleep, and dreamt that he saw! in Paradistvw man with a bow and arrow in his‘hand; and; he inquired what was the meaning of itgilfl‘sl archery was as‘ yet-unknoWn in Ghina*;= \ l4 selves ~with the foliage of trees, and made garments of leaves. Spinning, weaving, and sewing together, arose _in Chinasubsequent to. the vision of Shen Sien in Paradise,,where_hei 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; alsohe 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 gavejorders that every one should have a hole dug for him; and one of the man dates .of the Jase,” or Tartar laws, was, that whosoever of theroyal' 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 ,heightofj the royal tomb should be three feet. jFar emirsg, five days and five months were alloyvetjl_.'j,v ,The, height of their sepjulchres shall be,two cubitpfi Cypress and other trees shall be planted at, the head of the deceased. ,For the, people three days, and, three months are appointed. i‘ 15 and in the hole or pit at their heads shall wile lows be planted. The same king built nine cities; ’5 Chen, Sing-cheu, Keescheu, Su-cheu, Lu-cheu, Bin-cheu, Laug-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,524 but that his mother; having seen a light shining over her, became pregnant, and brought him forth; that Hu ma,“6 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. Nine"7 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 '1 16 Persian'Shen Ven. Fu-gah was an august. mpnarch, just, and pious; and under him his? subjects led good and happy lives. Nine of his family had the kingdomafter him. . ; } CLASS _VII. . I 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-sunszee, under whom he made great proficiency, and wrote books. His empire; after the eighth successor of his family, passed into other hands. if - . - CLASS vm. f“. , .Hl“ ‘lr’. ' ’fiT Qio-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-r culars are related of two angels that guarded him, and of the bird Huma, that settled on his head, which inhChineSe is called Jam or Giam'f“, The 'king hadl;one' son;;whom ,he thought unfit to reign. He therefore prayed a 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 foundthattheking 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 ofa serpent, each of which had two pupils; him they chose, and the king in his life-time delivered his kingdom into his hands. CLASS 12;. Dee-shun-jud-ju-shee, was the eighty-third king, and reigned nine years. In his time he killedand restored four. impostors, peace to the aspirers people. to theHe madethrone, an ,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',29 (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 7in the mountains. ' The king'called the remnant to gether, who'mad'e canals, and-drained the pro- , 'vince's 2by causing 7 the waters to . runiin’to .the sea. The men 01' this age were vast>instati1re. 'After this king sixteenof his family reigned. - ‘I.. .. . /;‘ ' CLASS Xi] . " Xang-tang, the hundred and first king of the lineage of Vai-coegu-sing-ti, the seventy ‘third monarch. In his time there was no rain for ‘seven‘years, and the springs or rivers were {dried ' There was no field 'slow'n‘,"a'nd‘ fa;~ ‘mine followed. “ This is,” said the kihg,‘ "I‘ for finy disgrace and sin.” #He then ordered much 'vvood'to' be collected, and a pyre to be lit, to “appease 'the‘anger of heaven, and spare‘bis ‘subjects. Then the rain came 'downifor seven days. After this king twenty-nine of his: race reigned. CLASS XII. Chuéfra-vang,30 (Persian), Cheuefa-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 notfar off, of which Chen-gu was king, called Chan-baltu, or Chan-Balik? (Peking of Miiller): Chen-gu had reigned in it sixty years, thirty in justice and equity, and thirty in iniquity. , His wife’s name was Tali,“ his minister's Uli, a brave commander. To him he gave an order to build a great palace, and fill itwith provisions from all places in the neigh-v bourhood; to which palace-the name should be given of Chang-'ye-kiung, that is, the palace of a longinight, or long night palace. The windovvs 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, bynight and. day, and here the king gave himself up to a constant; revel, and said, “ This is the. one true night.” . In the mean time. Chud-vang."z with great exertion raised an army, which Chen-gubaving heard of, threw‘himself ‘into the fire, and was burnt, and thus Chud-vang33 got possession of bis-kingdom. n2 ~1- " ~ .._r '\ 1”-\ -.%:’»~'~ \_ ‘4 \ ‘4 .s. 0 r l A" ' .l * I ~1 MP , 1 I: ./, £L‘v\d 'b_‘f_ ( |.:I 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 S-hekmunee Berchan, whowa's considered as a- prophet by :thelndians, Kismirians; *3" Tibetans, Kataians, the men of Tangnl, and -Eegnrc In the tWQnty-‘fourth year of Ghee-vang- his fame reached China. Xecmunee .Berchan died: in~~his seventyqaighth green“ andfrom his rise to the present. time, 7 1.7 'of the Hegira, there haw-been 2-339 years. Here follows the ‘history of SbekmuneevBerZ chan, somewhat fabulous ‘ and extraordinary. MoVang succeeded {Chee-vaimg, and him Amee tee; whose. name was‘Taou. He performed many: surprising feats, much Apr-aised. : By order of the king, he threwwhimself into a car- riage drawn by six horses, that ran in-the day and. night a hundred par-asangsfii-in which he' took a view of the country, and going on one side and the other, to andlfro, made his re— porttothe king. He came. also .to Iran,1and explained to the: king thestate and \temperae ture~of the'Persialnl provinces; In his time theme, lwas ,a man by name; Kbai¢zhen3° ' .who brought the knowledge of chemistry 3" from 'at'ar, 'and was 1well acquainted with magic,iso that he learnt the sciences of foreign conan 2! 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 {"67 sided, a goat with two feet, and a wolf with four hours, were exhibited. After Veesha-vang came another Bee-vang, then Tumeel-vang, then’Siven-vang, a just king. ‘ _ i 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 drewhimself from the pleasures of the table, and 'after this it- beganto rain, and'they t0;'en'w joy tranquillity, and cessation from distress. It was at this period that characters one under another were invented, stillin use, by Shu chu. Ya—‘vang was the next king; he had an extremely handsomeand chaste wife, but she never smiled or laughed. Her name was Boo» sen; '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 thearrnie's Were drawn out; but the wonder was, that no enemy was in sight; and the sol— diers said, “ What is all this noise for P” when Busen laughed, and the king, in the joy of his heart, ordered it to be .‘commem-orated by a banquet Two years afterwards the enemy came in reality: the fires were lit, the drums heat, 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, Chuangivang, Livang-Hoei-vang, Siang-‘vang, Quang-vang', Cung-vang, succeed ed him. Then was Deen-vang, the 15lst king; and‘in his second year vTaee-shang Laoc'un was born, whom. the people considered and looked an as a prophet. Tradition says, Taee shang Laocon was of the land of Zn, 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 aresaid 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 Confutius came into the world, whose father’s name was Shu-leang in the Persian, and his mother's Chu-shee, or J'u-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 bodywas‘hairyfi‘“ 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 inv 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, Budgill 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 dynasties, 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. ' '- 1' -' Hachao-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,“ noxious animals, that did much mischief; “t 25 whereupon he took ten men with him, and went and slew them all; for’whicb he had a high standard erected to him, and a kingdom. He is said toxhave' fonght'seventy battles. 4 After him Shufeedeev 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 afterwards Shufeedee died, and-the conceal ed chi-ld, being‘brought to light, was declared king. 26 CLASS XVII. Wang-mulvang reigned fifteen years, and was then flayed by the consent of his emirs, and 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-I 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 XXII. , . if - Sen-phn-dee was the 208th king. CLASS XXII. After that 'Sen-phu-dee was succeeded iby 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.“ This family, of the twenty-second class, divided into five parts. In the district of Magic 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. 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 this 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 dam 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 steadi In process of time Lin-Naee-zu arose, a cer tain man of Kara Kataiee, by 'name' Hau-ligb aja-gee, waged war, and seized a part of Ka— taiee. He called himself Leeu," which means king. He reigned over the whole country, and with eight persons of his oWn lineage, re mained soverdgns of the kingdom he had seized during 2219 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. 4 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. I \ I, ll 11.! \F If, In It p 'I J. 0. 4 r.l.| '\ If). s'l NOTES AND EXPLA NATIONS, wr'rn ‘ I AUTHORITIES, &c. 810. I * , ,L. 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 th 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 (ite 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. 7 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. “ The first august family of the heavens was divided into thirteen elder and younger 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 K6.” , r , t a 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-Hoam, and 'l‘i-Hoam, 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 Chinensis, and begin with the first man. The Chinese account says farther, that the family of man consisted of nine; and Moses also, that fromAdam to Noah there/werenine, and that they, the nine families,,lived 1654 years till the flood; but in the Siao Ul Lon, they are reck oned each to have remained, 45,600, or an indefinite time. The first woman is also recorded,‘and named Nip-Km, or woman, Kua, or Cheva 5in.He,brew, means in Chinese, a vwoman 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 Nnngi, it is added, that the founder had the body of a man, and the head of an ox, which is descriptive of the husbandman _ Noah,lwho was the first to drive the plough,,and_ place an ox , at the head of the share. 11‘ thought it necessary to say thus much. by way of introduction to my notes on Abdalla’s text. NOTES I AN 1) AUTHORITIES. 1 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 place of Jengez Khan. See Marco P010, in Mr. Marsden, pp. 196—199. . v 4 Altunchan flourished in the time of Jengizchan, and was removed, or taken ofi', 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 otf when they eat. Section ii. p. 11, in the Persian; Kin.chi, teeth of gold, in Chinese; zer ghylafee, gold cases, in Persian. ‘ The kings of Kataiee are divided into thirty-six classes, or families, consisting of 305 persons. Their empire is said to have lasted 42,876. TheAltunchanswere 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 lspahan 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. . “ “ Hulagu-chan” was the grandson of Gingischan, and Gazan Hakan, the eleventh from Gingis of the Iranaei. '1 “ llchanic tables” were astronomical and chronological tables. ‘ ' 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, son an 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. _ ’7 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 yé 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 Mains, Schudt, and Ludolph, p. 207, ed. 1691, 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. ‘° “ Their food was grass.” ‘ See Genesis i. 20. ‘_‘ Every herb."—~“ To you it shall be for food.” ix. 3W7“ Meat for you, even as the green herb.” ' 35. " “ Covering." Gen. iii. '7. " And they sewed fig-leaves." " ‘3 “ Tien Hoang-ti.” In the Persian, Ten Kawang shee. The lists of Chinese emperors, given by Mendoza and Seas 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 difi'erence, and where ni may be put for be, and phi for ki. 14 “ Ty," in the Persian shee. '5 The .Chinese respected the serpent forhis subtilty. ‘° “ Ten heads.” Like the expression of Ennius, an old Roman poet, who said he had three hearts, 0r memories, because he spoke three languages, Greek, Latin, and Ospan. " The wordsin the text are wa anja fehm kurdeudec; 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 bhe instead of a hé ; but as fire was not known from wood or flint, charcoal could not be made. '8 Zend is an instrument that the Arabians use for striking fire, and zendans are the two pieces of wood which by collision emit sparks. ‘9~ 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. Muller, p. 21, calls Kuee, Hui. ”° F obi, in Persian Kou Kee, in Muller’s Alphabetical Comment, F oukee. This emperor, it is said, invented cha~ ,36 meters, which, like the hieroglyphies 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. . , > 21 “ Serpentine.” Thus Cecrops, the first king of the Athenians, was a man with the body of a ' serpent—Kérpotp erupqwég Ext-w adipa oil/3969, Kai 3pdlcov-rog' 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 F0 is represented with the character of man to the left in Chinese. . fl ' Ku-puz-keem in Persian, should be gou py kin, five string-instrument. See gou for five, p. 160, vol. i. 8v0. Bayer Museum Sini-cum, 1730. - Py, thong, or string, in De Guigues, 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.” Georgie. Virgil. ii. v. 122. 2’ “ Jasa,” -royal edict, a law, or code of laws, made by Jengiz Khan. " No father. In the Chinese history of Martini, he is called the son of Hoang-ti, or Shin Ven of Abdalla. ’5 Vi-chea, in the Persian Chen, Miller has Vicheu in the territory of Pekin. . ’5 “ Hume,” in Chinese F 6ng-hofing; 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-lroang on a cup of Ching-Fa, Penes me, and the character in De Guignes's Dictionary, p.899, No. 12,893; p. 904, N 0. 12,967. ’7 Ten “ of his race.” In Abdalla “ nine.” " “ Giam," in Chinese Hohng. This is no bad instance of the metamorphosis that a Chinese word suffers in passing through a Persian alembic. ‘9 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. . ’° In Abdalla the 131st king is Cheu-fra-vang, in Miiller Chen-fa-vang, and his father, instead of Chang-ven, is Ha buven in the Persian. “. 3' Tuki, in the Persian Kee. =1 'Chen-vang. Chud-vang, Abdalla. ’0 In Abdalla the-1.1811105 differ from Miiller. 3" “ Kismirians," See Marco Polo, in Mr. Marsden's edition, pp. 86. 137. i ’t 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 have 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. 3‘ Shebanruzee, yuxdi’llrepov, 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. 3" “ Khazhen” in the Persian, which Miiller makes Cha-zen. “7 The Kataians, according to Purchas and Ramnsio, have three particular sciences, chimia, limia, and simia; alchymy, the art of enamonring, and the art of juggling. u Cum fu cu was born in the kingdom of Lu, or Xantum 38 in the village of Gen ye.—-See his life in Bayer’s Museum Sinicum, vol. ii. pp. 214. 236. a“ “ Hairy,” like Esau. Genesis xxvii. 11. “- The Chinese respected, as we have seen, serpents that were subtle and harmless, but waged war againstthe noxious ' and destructive. , 4° Abdalla in his second section, p. 9, in describing the kingdoms and inhabitants of Kataiee, says—They call that country in the Chinese language Han, Chn, Chum-hue, 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—91. 407—9. 37—70. “ “ Leeu" in the Persian, by which probably is meant liéou, a royal crown in Chinese; or, if as in Miller, leao, the name of a kingdom; but this is improbable. See Liéou, p. 272, 70 Clef. (3840) of De Guignes, and Leao Clef. 168, p. >256) THE END. ’ “up if (itWSEV BRITAi‘i/i? t Printed by J. F. Dove, St. John's Square. —q-w' 1T v yr";‘f‘w 1,. I F s i - —— _ m -_ —— ~_—--_--_ _. l-l III I f!