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.

  • Du Halde, J.-B. (Jean-Baptiste), 1674-1743.
Date:
1738-1741
Catalogue details

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.

    45/794
    DESCRIPTION O F CHINA, CH1NESE-TARTARY, 8cc. A General View of the Empire of China. H E Kingdom of China is call'd by the Weftern Mongols,, Na Kdiay (a) ; by the Man-chew Tartars (e) Nikan Karan chi (c), and by the Chmefe (d) Chong^-qua : As to the Name in Ufe with Europeans, we cannot fay, with any certainty whence it is derived* unlefs it be from that of the firft Royal Family, which carrying their victorious Arms weft- ward, occafion’d the Country to be call’d %fmy or Pay-tfm. 4 The Emperor Pfm Chi-whang s Fleet, which accord¬ ing to the Chmefe Hiftory failed to Pengdly muft needs have made known to the Indians the Name of %fmy whofe Power was felt at fuch a diflance ; and that Name paffing from the Indies into Perfa and Egypt, it is highly pro¬ bable (e), came thence to us about the Year 270 before 1 . # Chrift. Pori wnM^nnf f et CMnais> beyond all difpute, the largeft and fineft Kingdom known to us- Fo I would not take upon me to fay there is no other polite Nation to be found in the Terra Au Jirahs, or ome other unknown Countries. When, after paffing from Europe, we enter onThê neareft part of do not we feem to be got into another World ? Even the Indians themfelves tho not ^together fo rude can be accounted little better than Barbarians, when compared with our civiliz d Nations. Who would have believ’d, that beyond thefe, ihould be fou“d a Peonfo powerful, well-govern d, lkilful in Arts, and addicted to the Sciences ? ^ P (a) This is to be underftood only of that Part of China which bes to the North of the Whang-ho, or yellow River, as will here¬ after be explained. which NamC ,iS Ttar,t or <I'attars~> and not Tartars, Tn!kS kr0Wn °nly t0 the Nations on this fide Poland. cirL which'fchf0Pyfour°u inflead of Cour on, or rather , - Signifies a Kingdom. r! hat. IS’ th\ Kingdom of the middle ; the Chinefe, funpofm? the,,- Country to be f„„a,e in the middle of the Earth PP 2 rtüh w °nsùne0f the Name feems to “ improbable • for tho^he fa, and Ann of the Greek, and Latin, came from the Perjiam, yet as thefe latter, as well as the Turk,, and other Ori. entais except the Arab,, fay Chin, and not Sin, we cannot well fuppofe the Name to have been derived from that of the Fm™ tor yin. The Arab, fay sFn, ot <Tf,n, and theGrl, wT caufe they have not the Sound of our ch, in their Languages The Portuguese brought the Name of China into Europef from either Perfa or India ; where, according to Navarette, it was nrtt introduced on account of the Silk, which is called Chin ; the v vrl WrfC the Germans> Ifchina, but pronounce like the hnghjb i the French write Chine, but pronounce Sheen. B When