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

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.

37/794

$mauds, the Emperor fent for him in, to point out lome Places he had himfelf obfervM in thefè Provinces: Which done, that Prince laid lèverai times I-tyen-pû-tjo, He is right in every Thing. There happened one Thing pretty remarkable in this Audience: The Emperor alledgedthaf the C ourle of a River was wrong in another Map, which had relation to the Maps of Shan-Ji and Shen-ji: Pere De Tartre, fenfible of his Majefty's Miftake, maintained the Truth (with all due Helped,) in lo clear a Manner, that the Monarch came into his Opinion* Tfo lyau lays he, 1 am miftaken. A great Conceffion in an Emperor of China ! The Peres De Mailla and Benderer were ordered to affift Pere Regis in the Province of Ho¬ nan, after which they all joined in making the Maps of Kyang-nan, Che-kyang, and Fo-kyen-, thole of the Province of Kyang-fi, ^uang-tong and £>uang-Ji, fell to the Share of the Peres De Tartre and Cordofo', and thole of Se-chwen and Tun-nan to P. Fridelli with P. Bonjour, who dyed in this laft Province on the Frontiers of Ava and Fegu the 23th of December 1714. The 24th of March following Pere Regis was fent into Tun-nan to finilh the Map of it, Pere Fridelli having fallen lick there. By the time he had finifhed his. Work that Miffio- nary recovered, and both together let about the Maps of £>uey-chew and Hu-quang. After their return to F e-king January 1. 1717, nothing remained to be done, but out of the particular Maps of the Provinces to make a general one ; and that was far advanc'd by P. Jartoux, who was detain'd at F e-king by his Indifpolition, fo that it was finifhed and pre- fented to the Emperor in the year 1718. That the Reader may be more fully apprized in how particular and accurate a Manner this Work was conducted, I lhallinfert the Account fent by Pere Regis in the Name of the Milfionaries concerned with him in the Execution of it. 4 I can alfure you, fays he, that we have omitted nothing requifite for rendering our Work Method ob 4 perfect. We have ourfelves vifited all the'Places, even thole of leaft Confideration, throughout ferved° in° 4 the Provinces .; examined the Maps and Hiftories of each City preferved in their Tribunals ; 5takin2the 4 made Enquiries of the Mandarins and their Officers, as well as the Principal Inhabitants, whofe MapS* 4 Territories we pafs’d thro’; in ffiort, by meafuring as we advanc'd, we ftill had Meafures 4 ready to ferve the Triangles, form'd by fuch Points as were to be fix'd. For after mature 4 Deliberation we thought it belt to ufe the Method of Triangles, all others appearing to us 4 not only too tedious, confidering the vail Extent of the Countries of which the Emperor 4 wanted the Map, but fcarcely pradicable on account of the Towns being fo near one another * ceS!^ 4 fince it is certain that the leaft Error, occafioned by the Pendulum going wrong, or the Immer- 4 fion of one of Jupiter's Satellites not being accurately obferved, wou'd caufe a confiderable 4 Error in the Longitude: For Inftance, the Miftake of a Minute in Time wou'd produce an 4 Error of 15 Minutes in Longitude, which are equivalent to four or five Leagues, according to 4 the Difference of Eie Parallels: So that it might happen, that according to the Obfervation 4 two Towns wou'd be made contiguous, at the fame time that there wou'd be really fome 4 Diftance, tho' not much, between them. ’ ‘ This Inconvenieiiey is not to be fear'd in the Method of Triangles : For how is it poffible « Crr /°Ur LeaSucs *n tbe Diftance between two Places no farther afunder, when by a Meafure that always follows us^ and Semi-Circles accurately divided, we fix divers Points between c i aVV° . rm?* joined together make as it were a Chain of Triangles ? On the other < h^nd nothing is Ao difficult as to avoid a fmall Error in Time; the beft Pendulums are put out or order by Travelling, and to prevent erring, even in a fingle Minute, the Obfervations muft {~c repeated lèverai Days ; a Task which wou'd be extremely fatiguing. < The Obfervations of the Satellites require, not only more Time and Accuracy, but alfo Tele- t E°Pe!b °r the fame Size, and, if I may fo fpeak, the fame Eyes in the Obfervet and his ^ Correlpondent ; for, if the one fees them ever fo little fooner than the other, fome Error ( inevitably happen, which muft not be fuffered in determining fmall Diftances : And if Ob- C lervatl0IE a Satellite, made in the fame Place, by the fame Perfon, differ fo in Time as to < *?uie a/,mali yariation in the Longitudes, and oblige us to take a middle Difference among < p !?’ (luPP0hng the Difference to become infenfible by the Greatnefs of the Diftance) the < r e Ut S/xV1 C more uncertain when there are feveral Obfervers, who have neither the c TmeL w rumeots nor Addrefs; fo that the Difference, arifing between the Obfervations, renders < r & mmon 7ff la^es ^ing neat one another doubtful, nor can it be fixt but by the Rules of t cometiy which fhcws the neceflity of having recourfe to the Method of Triangles at laft. < 1 ISi ? ° . ,en continued without Interruption, has one farther Advantage, as it gives not t on Y, * e ongitude but alfo the Latitude of the Towns to be inferted ; which, being after- wards examined by the Meridian Altitudes of the Sun or Polar Stars, ferves to corred the preceding Operations. This Courfc we took as often as we were able, and commonly < found no fenfible Difference between the Obfervation of the Latitude and the Determination 1 r f WC ^^covered Variations, we did not think ourfelves thereby < °b lged t0% afide ^^ Method, fince we find as many in the Obfervations of the Polar Altl 4 Ottl 7 thC bf Aftronomers the fame Place. Altho' the Theory, whereon fuch 4 ftanceTVh AharC gn0U1I?dKed’1S CC jta!n’ HÇverthelefs the Pradice depends on fo many little Circum- 4 cannot' b-A muft a Ï a!*endcd m order to obtain perfed Accuracy, that the Operations 4 Defecfts ahvavsAnn eXadL but ™uft Something more or lefs. However thefe little 4 fixt bv rlZl PP ’ an? niay^ be often correded in large Works, by conneding the Points /AndhJrWAh th0le whofë Pofltion ^ under Examination: § 4 to the fame VE l W Vch ,we Judscd ought to be employed for greater Precifion, was to return 4 worlcino-ceeA r ’/üCaidy dEtermined> b7 different Ways, from a confiderable Diftance, 4 nef ofgih I- ° AUleS‘ • F°r if hY thc laft E% y°u bnd the ûmc Situation, the Exad- c preceding Operations will be proved in iome mealure to a Demonftration. When D m$

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