Szechuen; where they live peaceably, under the government of their own officers, subject to the control of the Chinese. Others range at liberty their native mountains, governed by princes, who are either of their own choosing, or are hereditary among them. Of the latter class is the tribe called Yaou-jin, occupying the hills between Kwangtung, Kwangse, and Hoonan, which has lately joined with secret associations of Chinese, to attack the surrounding country, aud aim at the imperial throne. The king of this tribe is named Le Tilming, and is now a mere youth, under 20 years of age.

The mountainous range in the northwest, Malte-Brun supposes to consist, not so much of regular chains, as of a succession of terraces or table-lands. These mountains first appear in Szechuen, whence they extend, in irregular ranges, over great part of the provinces of Kansuh and Shense, both on the north and south of the Yellow river. In Shense the chain divides; and one branch occupies the extensive plateau formed by the great northern bend of the Yellow river; while the other stretches eastward into Honan, till it again meets that river, after its return southward fron Mongolia. The chain being here more broken and less elevated than in the other provinces, no obstacle is presented to the progress of that great river towards the sea; but on the north of it, the chain assumes a more regular appearance; and running up between the province of Shanse and Caihle, is met at its termination by a portion of the Great wall. There is a considerable break between this part of the chain, and what is considered as the continuation of it in Mongolia.

Of the southeastern range of mountains, the Meiling, celebrated for the road cut over it, between the provinces of Kwang. tung and Keängse, has alone been examined by Europeans. Its prevailing rocks appear to be gneiss and quartz. The western parts of the China, in Kwangse, Yunnan, and Kweichow are, probably, richer in minerals than any other portion of China. They possess gold, silver, iron, tin, and copper mines, in many places; also cornelians, jasper, rubies, and beautiful marbles in Yunnan. Gold and silver exist, likewise, to some extent, in Szechuen, Kwangtung, and Keängse ; and to a smaller extent in Hoopih and Fuhkeën. Iron and lead are found more or less in all the southern provinces. Mercury is obtained, chief. ly in Szechuen and Kweichow. And there are a few coal-mines in Kwangtung.-The mountains of the north appear to be less abundant in minerals; but iron and tin are obtained to a small amount in most provinces. The yuh stone or jade is found in Shense, Shanse, and Honan; the cornelian in Chihle. There are marble quarries, in Ganhway, Shantung, and Shanse; and there are extensive coal pits, in the southern portion of Chihle, in Shanse, and also, to a very limited extent, in Shantung, Keängsoo, and Honan.

We have thus given a slight sketch of the Middle Country,' or what is commonly called China Proper. We shall next proceed to describe Mantchouria; and afterwards the colonial possessions of China. If we are found frequently to differ from more able geographers, it must be remembered that the subject is little known even to the best-informed Europeans; and that we have therefore followed Chinese in preference to foreign authorities.

(To be concluded in the next number.)

Ancient account of India and China, by two Mohammedan travelers, who went to those parts in the 9th century; translated from the Arabic by the late learned EUSEBIUS RENAUDOT. With notes, illustrations, and inquiries by the same hand. London, printed for Sam. Harding. MDCCXXXIII.

(Continued from page 15.)

We have already alluded to the papers appended to the work under review; one of these is an inquiry into the time when the Mohammedans first came to China; another, is concerning the Jews, and a third is concerning the origin of the Christian religion, in this country. We shall briefly notice each of these topics, which may be again introduced and discussed in future numbers of this work. Referring then to the question,— At what time, and in what way did the Mohammedans first enter China?-we quote from Renaudot :

"It is the belief of many that the Mohammedans went first to China by land, and that the track pursued by some modern travelers, ough to point out to us the road the ancients may have taken. Marco Polo, say they, went into China by the way of Tartary; Mandeville almost trod in his very footsteps; Jenghiz khan, the first emperor of the Moguls, conquered a part of China, and marched thereto from the ancient Mogulistan or Turkestan; we have a Persian account of an embassy from a Tartar prince to the emperor of China, and this embassador went also by land; at the begining of this century, Benet Goez, a Jesuit, traveled also from the Indies to Peking; the fathers Grueber and Orville did, a few years ago, perform the same journey the Muscovite embassadors do when they go to China, and they even assure us, this route, which is not always the same, is pretty well frequented by the caravans of the merchants of upper Asia. These different routes are pricked down in the map of Cathay, published by Kircher in his China Illusirata.

"All these instances sufficiently prove, that we may go to China by land, and there is no doubt of it; but the way held by a small number of travelers does not scem to prove that, for certain, the same was held by the caravans and merchants; which ought to have been the case, for such a number of Mohammedans to get into China that way. For, according to the old method of traveling in caravans, it was a very hard matter for the merchants of Persia and Mesopotamia to go thither by land, unless the track was well frequented; and it seems not only certain that it was far from being so, but also, that it was considered only as a by-way-a short cut."

To put this matter in the clearest light possible, Renaudot stops here to "survey the extent" of the Mohammedan empire, at the time under consideration; and then says;

But this way by land, whether by Samarcand, by Cabul, by Gaznah, or by Cashgar, was very impracticable in the days of our Arabs, exclusive of the natural inconveniences of the roads they were to travel. All the trade of the East was then in the hands of the merchants of Persia, Bassora, and of the coast quite down to the Red sea, which was the centre of the Egyptian trade, and partly of the Mediterranean. They traded to the Indies by land, in many places, and particularly at Cabul. The products of Arabia, Egypt, Persia and the adjacent provinces, they exchanged with the merchants of Turkestan and the Indies, for musk, precious stones, crystals, spices, and drugs; it was almost impossible for them to go farther, or to drive a trade quite home to China, because of the desert-a dangerous track; and still more because of the continual wars between the Arabs and the princes of Turkestan."

It would occupy too much time to follow the argument through all its details; the result is given in these words:-"All that has hitherto been offered, and much more that might be added, seems evidently to prove, that the Mohammedans first went to China by sea. It remains therefore that we examine into the course they steered, the nature of their navigation, the end of their voyages, and what advantages they made of them."

The learned translator brings proof positive to show, that the Arabs did not steer by the compass: and gives it as his opinion that, at first, they only went to Malabar and Ceylon, but in time venturing farther than the Romans had been, they, from islę to isle, at length discovered the shores of China. Their kalifs never endeavored to have potent fleets; they could have no temp. tation to make farther discoveries, or new conquests by sea, or to consult the interest of their trading subjects in foreign parts. Wherefore, it is very probable that the first adventurers who undertook this voyage, were urged thereto by the calamities of civil wars, which, having reduced many families to want, obliged them to seek a livelihood by trade. Hence we may pretty clearly discern how the Mohammedans first got into China; and it seems that they did not force an admittance as elsewhere, but, chiefly, insinuated themselves under the pretence of trade.'

The sum of the whole seems to be, that the Mohammedans came to China at a very early period of their cra, both by sea and land, but chiefly by sea, and almost solely for the sake of commerce.

We have no means of ascertaining the number of I››hammedans now in China; in the western parts of the empire their number is considerable, and everywhere they live unmolested in the exercise of their peculiar rites. Early in the last century their number was " computed at about five hundred theusand."

From what is said of the Mohammedans, Jews, Christians, and Parsees who perished at Canfu, Renaudot discourses at length, and gives it as his opinion, that there is a great number of

Jews in China, and that they got into China as they did into all other parts of the East; and the wishes Father Ricci or some other missionary had taken more pains to investigate the subject. We must have more information, before anything very satisfactory can be stated respecting the number or situation of the Jews in China, either at present or at any former period.

The most recent testimony which we have on this subject is contained in Morrison's Journal, written while in the interior of China, from which we give the following passage. "October 10th, 1818. Had a convesration with a Mohammedan gentleman, who informed me, that at Kaefung foo, in the province of Honan, there are a few families denominated the Teaou-kin keaou, or the sect that plucks out the sinew,' from all the meat which they eat. They have a Le-pae sze, or house of worship; and observe the eighth day as a Sabbath."

If there are Jews in China, living as a distinct sect, it would be interesting to learn their history; and it is much to be desired that facts may be developed, which shall make us acquainted with the present condition of that scattered people. The subject is worthy of consideration; for if the casting away of them has been the riches of the Gentiles, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead?

On the origin of the Christian religion in China our translator finds it inconvenient to expatiate; and the subject, also, he is compelled to leave quite in the dark. We will give in few words what seems to be the result of his inquiries. He discards the idea that St. Thomas ever visted China.

The first appearance of Christianity in China, that we know of, was in the year of Christ 636; and this is what we gather from an inscription, which in the year of Christ 1625, was found at Si-gnan fu, the capital of the province of Chensi, delineated in Chinese characters, with several lines of Syriac. As this Chinese and Syriac inscription is a monument of very great impor tance, and the only certain thing of the kind hitherto discovered in this empire, it may not be amiss to explain the principal passages of it. You have a representative copy of this inscription and stone in Father Kircher's China Illustrata, which he assures us is very exact; and Hornius, and some other Protestants, who would have had it a forgery, without any the least ground, have been refuted by some of their own brethren, who have cooler heads, and more understanding."

6 Let us now examine the Chinese part of this inscription according to the translation of some learned Jesuits. The first colum lays down the groundwork of the Christian faith,— the existence of a Godhead in three persons, the Creator of all things. It is remarkable that these Syrians use the word Aloho (Jehovah); which they did most certainly, because they could find no word in the Chinese tongue, to convey the idea Christians have of the true Gel.

6

The second and third columns continue to explain the mystery of the creation, the fall of the first man by the seduction of the Devil, who is called Satan, a name quite foreign to the

Chinese tongue. The fourth explains the advent of Jesus Christ by his incarnation. In the same column is the word Taçin, which must here signify Judæa; and there is also a reference to the star in the east. Mention is also made of baptism, and of several ceremonies practiced by the Christians. In the sequel of this inscription, there is reference to the preaching of the gospel in China; and it is said that in the time of Taizan-ven, a holy man called Olopuen or Lopuen, came hither from Taçin, conducted by the blue clouds, and by observing the course of the winds.'

Here we close our extracts from Renaudot; and with one or two remarks must leave the subject, our limits not allowing us to say more. These Syrians seem to have been of the sect of the Nestorians; and, entering the country in the seventh century, to have continued a succession of labors for three hundred years; but to make this matter perfectly satisfactory, much more ample testimony is needed. As a topic of ecclesias. tical history, this subject opens a wide range, and invites the attention of those who are interested in such inquiries.

or four

Journal of a residence in Siam, and of a voyage along the coast of China to Mantchou Turtary, by the Rev. CHARLES GUTZLaff.

(Continued from page 25.)

GREAT numbers of the agriculturists in Siam arc Peguans, or Mons (as they call themselves). This nation was formerly governed by a king of its own, who waged war against the Burmans and Siamese, and proved successful. But having, eventually, becn overwhelmed, alternately, by Burman and Siamese armies, the Peguans are now the slaves of both. They are a strong race of people, very industrious in their habits, open in their conversation, and cheerful in their intercourse. The new palace which the king of Siam has built, was principally erected by their labor, in token of the homage paid by them to the lord of the white elephant.' Their religion is the same with that of the Siamese. In their dress, the males conform to their masters; but