Volume 1
A description of the empire of China and Chinese-Tartary, together with the kingdoms of Korea, and Tibet. Containing the geography and history (natural as well as civil) of those countries ... / from the French of P.J.B. DuHalde, Jesuit, with notes geographical, historical and critical and other improvements, particularly in the maps by the translator.
- Jean-Baptiste Du Halde
- Date:
- 1738-1741
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A description of the empire of China and Chinese-Tartary, together with the kingdoms of Korea, and Tibet. Containing the geography and history (natural as well as civil) of those countries ... / from the French of P.J.B. DuHalde, Jesuit, with notes geographical, historical and critical and other improvements, particularly in the maps by the translator. Source: Wellcome Collection.
36/794
![Map of Pe- che-li, made by the fame Fathers. viii Sthe Au'thor’j P R E EA C E- Chinefe, He-long-kyang ; in a word, all the Diftrifts of the Mongol call TjauTa-fe, from the 45th Degree of Latitude to the 40th by which they returne * .. This Work was very agreeable to the Emperor, as well as to the Mane e™s ^nuarter of an who there beheld their antient Country, and were able to learn more irom 1 4 Hour than by difeourfing with ever fo many Travellers. * *n nnon the Thele three Fathers were icarce arrived at ‘Pe-king when they had Orders g P Map of the Province of Te-che-li, which is that of the Court They fet out^^1 ^ rnntains a fame Year, and did not finifh it till the 20tl great number of Cities, whofe Politions were not Map of 'the Remainder ,1L. A ~- , fame Year, and did not finifh it till the 20th of June 1710. The Province is large, an con a great number of Cities, whofe Politions were not to be negledfed, ot emn c ^irp^dv fiances wou’dhave been greater or lefler than they ought, or the Bearings o t e \ j mark'd down wou'd have difagreed with the Obfervatious. _ -p This Map was the more acceptable, as the Province it deferibed was well known, peror took the Pains to examine it himfelf, and feeing the Places juftlyexhibite yf rc often palfed thro', and caufed to be meafured by the Manchews, (whofe Bunne s 1 1S J the Roads when he goes into the Country) he lignify’d to the Miffionaries that e wou ariw for the Accuracy of it; and that if the reft proved as good, their Performance wou a is y him, and be out of the reach of Criticifm. , , 0 l r The 2 2d of July 1710, the Emperor ordered the fame Miftionaries to go towards t e ag a tan T Ula; he had caufed a Town to be built on the South fide of that great River, call d Saghaltan iaryAy the* Cla Hot un (R), where there are Manchews under a Lieutenant General (named in their Language famejefuits. Maireychain, to guard the Frontiers againft the Ruffians', who defeending the River rom Nipchû, a City a little to the Weft, might in a few Days enter the Territories or the Empire. To fupport this Lieutenant General, the Emperor has built two other Cities farther up in his Dominions towards the South. They are but a few Days Journey afunder, ^vith Villages a 1 along the Road, where are Relays of Poft-Horfes. The neareft to the Saghaltan Clariotun, is Merghen, where is alfo a Lieutenant General with Troops ; the other, named Tsttjikar, (S) is the Seat of the General Commander of all the Country. Returning from Tsitfikar, which is in the Latitude of 47 Degrees 24 Minutes and 30 Seconds, they had an Opportunity of meafuring feveral Degrees fucceffively from North to South ; for the Country conlifts wholly of Plains which extend beyond the reach of Sight, without either Houfes, Trees, or any confiderable Rivers. The ufual Drink of the Mongols in thole Parts, is Water drawn out of Wells, dug here and there, to which they remove their Tents and Flocks, according to the Seafon and the Plenty or Scarcity of Pafture. This Map was finilh'd the 14th of December, and tho' it was empty enough, yet the Emperor was pleafed with it, as giving him a View of his new Settlements which he judged fo neceflary to the publick Tranquillity. ' Map of So han- In the Year 1711 the Geographers, in order to expedite the Work, were divided into two tong by Regis Companies. The Peres Regis and Cor do jo, a Tortugueze newly landed in China, undertook and Cordoio. t^e ^/[ap 0f the Province of Shan-tong, contiguous to that of Re-che-li. The Peres Jar- toux and Fridetti, accompanied by Pere Bonjour, an Aujlin Friar, (already known in Europe on account of his Learning) who arrived about 3 Months before in China, went beyond the Great Wall as far as Hami (T), the Capital City of a Country of the fame Name, and meafured ülmoft all the Territories of the Tartars call'd Kalka Ta-fe. They returned by the publick Road thro' the Provinces of Shen-fiand Shan-fi, entering China by the Gate of the Great Wall, which is named Hya-yu-quan, from the Fort that defends it, and is diftant from Hami not above Ninety Leagues whereof Twenty go to a Degree : thefe Miffionaries did not arrive at Re-king before January 1712. Maps of Shan- ’ The Emperor was extremely pleafed with this Map, and that of Shan-tong made a little be— ft and shen-fi fore? anq having fent to know if more of their Society were not to be found in the Provinces, and Cordoio who were capable of engaging in the fame Work, four others were propofed and approved oft Pere Cordofo went to join Pere de Tartre, who remain'd in Shan-fi, with Orders to make the Map of that Province and 'Shen-fi adjoining to it : As foon as they had finiffied thefe 2 Maps, which were each 10 Feet fquare, they returned to Re-king. The Mandarin who prefented thefe Maps to the Emperor, having informed his Majefty, that if he required any Thing to be explain'd, Pere de Tartre was in waiting to obey his Com¬ mands, (R) The Chinef» H in Hotun, Hami, Hya-yu-quan, iffc. is a and Spaniards, who alfo have it, by a ç or c with a Plica, call’d ftrong Afperate founding like a double Hh, or rather is a Sound by them Cedilla. For we find it expreis’d no lefs than 4 different partaking both of the K and H ; hence we find the fame Words Ways, fometimes by Jf as in ffe-fhti, by a fxngle S in Ta-fe, by ts as written fometimes with K, fometimes with H. The bell Way in tfeng, and by Tc in the Name in Quellion ; to which Pere du wou’d be to make ufe of both Letters together, or Kh, as Mr D'An- Halde, for what Reafon I know not, has added a 5th Character, •ville has done in many Names; but ’tis often difficult to know viz Tç, as in the fame Word. So little Uniformity isobfervedon this when that Character is to be ufed, the //being fometimes confounded Head, that we meet with the Cedilla written 3 different Ways in the with the K in Words which we know ought to be written with a fame Word, viz. Tfevang, Sfevang, and Sevang ; it partakes fome K, as we have obferved in our Preface. Pere Souciet by Compari- what of our z, and is founded like an / with a t before it, whift- fon of Words fhews that Pere Gaubil expreffes Ûie-Chinefe H in fo- ling or draining it between the Teeth: I have diilinguifh’d this reign Names by Go. But he miftakes in fuppofing that he expreffes Sort of Sound by ts, tho’ perhaps a ftngle f might do as well It the fame Letter by anO in OIoffe, [O-lo-ffe] Ruffe or. Ruffian, fuppo- is difficult for thofe Nations who do not ufe this Sound to exprefs it in - Pere Sou- ling the 0 to be Prefixed like the Particle He in Hebrew Words, their Characters. Hence Brand in his Account of Isbrand Ides's Tra 't Obfer- But doubtlefs the Reafon is becaufe the Chinefe take the Name from vels from Mcfcoiv to China, writes Sutiegar ; Isbrand Ides himfelf ‘7;’ Ms” the Tartars, who call the Ruffians Uriis or Orus, as well as the Xixigar ; and Mr Kyrillozo in his late Map of the Ruflum Fmr.iT erO,. and all the other oriental Nations VchiUchigar : which two hit Words according to“ fSh5Z' them t q /c 1 jn the French in this Place tis written Tçitcikar. In the graphy are Chichigar. g U o of. 4 • 1 729 ' . / — t •. 1 .u- t? 1 .u„ .xcr.i.;r' followed. On this Occaiion 1 mult obierye tnat me du Halde has written Kia-yu-koan not only by Rare Gaubil but often bv Per7n obferved no Uniformity, in expreffing the Sound common among Halde himfelf, for the Reafon before affigned in Note R the Chinefe and Tartars, and which is defignated by the Portugueze b ‘](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30455868_0001_0037.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
