Remarks and Observations.

As the inhabitants of Europe received the first distinct account of the vast country of China from our industrious Venetians, so from them likewise they had the clearest and best account of the revolutions that had happened in that empire by the power of the Tartars; a thing of such consequence to the right understanding what subsequent travellers have related, that I will be bold to say all the difficulties and discouragements that have been thrown in our way, and have so long hindered our making a right use of the many collections of travels already published, have arisen in part from a humour that for some time prevailed of treating Marco Polo’s relation as a romance, and partly through the mistakes made by those, who for want of having sufficient lights, and the materials that were requisite, undertook to explain the history of the irruptions of the Tartars into China, and endeavoured to make the dates and facts mentioned in these travels fall in with their accounts, accusing, at every turn, the author of errors and faults, of which themselves only were guilty. To remedy these disorders, and to make the way plainer for the future, we shall, without running into a long discussion of what other writers have advanced, observe, that there have been three distinct conquests of China made by the Tartars, of each of which we shall give a clear and distinct account in very few words. The first of these was by the Eastern Tartars, who, before the time of Zingis-Khan, made themselves masters of the northern provinces of China, and fixed the seat of their empire at Khanbalick, Cambalu, or Pekin; and this, as I conceive, gave rise to what is called the empire of Cathay; concerning which all our ancient writers in general deliver themselves with so much confusion, sometimes representing Cathay as a part of Tartary, sometimes again comprehending under that name the whole empire of China; and at others distinguishing it from both. But from this distinction it clearly appears that though the ancient empire of Cathay was situated in China, yet it was an empire raised by the Tartars; and that from want of attending to this, so many mistakes have been introduced.

The prince who governed Cathay in the time of Zingis-Khan was Altan-Khan, against whom that great conqueror made his first attempt, in the year 1206, and that with such success as to oblige this monarch, after various defeats, to shut himself up in the city of Cambalu, and to sue for a peace, which, with much difficulty, he obtained; for the confirmation of which he gave his daughter in marriage to Zingis-Khan. This peace was of but very short continuance; for Altan-Khan, having a jealousy that some of his nobility held intelligence with his enemy, he put many of them to death; and finding the northern parts of his dominions in a manner wasted and depopulated by the late invasion, he retired to the city of Nankin, which his father had fortified with three walls, the last of which was forty leagues in circuit, and left his son in possession of Khanbalick and of the adjacent countries. The rest of the nobility, enraged at the instances of severity before mentioned, and at the same time doubting their own safety, had immediate recourse to Zingis-Khan, and drew him a second time into Cathay, where he made himself master of the imperial city of Cambalu; the news of which accident affected Altan-Khan to such a degree, that he poisoned himself. This happened about the year 1210; and thus the Tartars became masters of the northern parts of China. They continued their conquests under the reign of the successors of Zingis-Khan, till the emperor who reigned when our author was in these parts, viz., Coplai-Khan, who in the year 1278 completed the conquest of Mangi, or the southern parts of China.

The bounds of Zingis-Khan’s conquests on this side was the river Hoang; but his successors annexed all the country between that river and the river of Kiang. All the rest were subdued by Coplai-Khan, and his general Pe Yen. This was the second conquest made by the Tartars, who not only destroyed the empire formerly established by their countrymen in Cathay, but also that of the native Chinese, which had subsisted for so many ages. This short recapitulation sets this affair in its true light, and not only explains what Marco Polo has told us, and reconciles his accounts with those of later authors, but also connects his relation with that of Rubruquis, and even those of the Arabian travellers; so that taking the whole together, we have a clear and satisfactory view of the affairs of China, to that which I call the second conquest by the Tartars; but as the affairs of this country were entirely changed again before the arrival of the Portuguese by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, I think it will be for the reader’s ease and advantage to have this history conducted to its close before we enter upon the discoveries and conquests of the Portuguese; because otherwise, when we come to speak of the Chinese as again in the possession of their country, and again driven out and conquered by the Tartars, it must necessarily introduce infinite confusion. It is from the Chinese writers that we have the reigns of the Tartar emperors who succeeded Coplai-Khan, and of whom there is very little mention made in the histories of the Tartars.

The Chinese, as I before observed, called this new imperial family Yuen, and bestowed the name of Chi-Tsou upon Coplai-Khan, of whom their histories speak with the utmost reverence, and whom they celebrate, for his having opened the great canal mentioned by our author, and which has been ever since justly considered as one of the wonders of China. It is three hundred leagues in length, and nine thousand imperial barks are constantly employed thereon, in transporting the tributes of the southern provinces to Cambahi or Pekin, and in other services. These writers place the death of this emperor somewhat lower than the Tartar historians; for the former say that he lived to the age of fourscore, and died A.D. 1295, whereas the latter place that event in 1292. He was succeeded in the empire by his grandson, whom our author calls Timur, but in the Chinese chronicles he is styled Tching-Tsong; and as his grandfather excelled in power, so he distinguished himself by his clemency and the love of his subjects. After him reigned seven other princes of his family, all whom were no less illustrious on the score of their personal virtues than glorious from their possessing so large an empire; and it is very remarkable that the Chinese history renders so great justice to this foreign race of princes, as to style the period in which they ruled over China the “Wise Administration.” The last of them was Chun-ti, a prince of great natural endowments, but who unfortunately gave himself up to priests and women, leaving the management of the affairs of the empire entirely to his prime minister. The Tartar soldiers, through so long a peace, had lost the original discipline, and were become slothful and effeminate, which so raised the courage of the Chinese, that they began to show a disposition to revolt; and one Tchou, an obscure person who had been no better than a footman, having put himself at the head of a body of malcontents, reduced many of the great cities in the empire; and became, by degrees, so powerful, that he twice defeated the imperial army, and at last forced the Tartars to abandon China, after they had been possessed of it ninety-nine years. This revolution happened in 1370; and Tchou, having by his success in this war raised himself to the imperial throne, assumed the name of Tai-Tsou, and fixed his imperial residence in the city of Nankin. And thus it was that the Chinese, having expelled their conquerors, recovered the dominion of their own country.

As for the Emperor Chun-ti, he retired with his Tartar subjects northwards, and died of grief and vexation about two years after this revolution happened. The Tartars that were thus expelled, having a strong tincture of the Chinese customs, did not join with the rest of the Moguls, but settled themselves in the country of Leaoton, and were, from this time forward, styled the Nieuchen Moguls, or “Moguls of the East,” to distinguish them from the other Moguls, who were called “Moguls of the West.”

This desert country they cultivated with the utmost care, built therein several considerable cities, and practised that industry which they had learned by conversing so long with the Chinese; yet, in some respects, they still retained a tincture of their ancient manners; for, instead of remaining firm and united, which seemed to be the only means left for recovering again the dominions they had lost, they split themselves into several little principalities, under so many Khans; who, though their territories were not very wide, maintained nevertheless their independency. Among the most considerable of those cities which they erected were Kirin, Ula, and Kinkrita, all three of them seated on the west bank of the river Sangoro, which falls into the great river Amur, about twelve days’ journey above its mouth. The city of Kirin is distant from the province of Leaoton, about three hundred and sixty miles. The city of Ula is in latitude forty-four degrees twenty minutes north, and was considered as the capital of the Nieuchen Moguls. The Khan of Ula however, was far from being a considerable prince, had no sort of superiority over the rest of the Khans of the Eastern Tartars, was without allies or resources beyond the power of his own subjects; and yet, as we shall show hereafter, it was this Khan Ula that had the courage to undertake, and the good fortune to accomplish, the third conquest of China: but at present we will leave the Tartars cultivating their deserts, and return to the new-founded empire of Tchou and his descendants.

The dynasty, founded by this prince, was called Ming, and the emperor, who, as I have said before, assumed the name of Tai Tsou, reigned thirty-one years with great glory, and left the empire to his grandson, who perished in a civil war, and was succeeded by his uncle, who, having been formerly King of Pekin, transferred the seat of the empire thither. The sixth emperor of this family was Yng Tsong, under whose reign the Tartars made new incursions into China; to oppose them, the emperor marched at the head of a great army, and pursuing them considerably beyond the famous wall, they suddenly faced about, attacked and defeated the Chinese, making the emperor prisoner. His son, who was but two years old, was advanced to the empire, and the brother of the captive emperor, whose name was King Ti, declared protector, which promotion gave him an opportunity of seizing the empire. The Tartars, some time after, released Yng Tsong, who chose, however, to lead a private life, and leave his brother in possession of the empire, which he enjoyed to his death; and then the old emperor was again seated on the throne.

The eleventh emperor of this race was Chi Tsong, who had the good fortune to defeat the Tartars in several battles; and it was under his reign that the famous Francis Xavier preached the Christian religion in the East, where he died in 1552. The emperor Chi Tsong reigned forty-five years, in the latter part of which the government began to decline very sensibly, as it continued to do under all his successors, down to Hoai Tsong, who was the sixteenth and last emperor of the family of Ming. It was under his reign that Zungt-hy, who was Khan of Ula, formed the design of making himself master of China, notwithstanding that all the force he was able to raise did not exceed fifteen thousand horse. He began with entering into private intrigues with some of the Chinese mandarins, who were exiled into the province of Leaoton, by whose assistance he soon became master of great part of that province. The emperor sent against him an army more than sufficient to have forced him back into his own country; but he had so much address as to prevent the principal officers of this army from doing their duty; so that by degrees he mastered all the rest of that province, and at last took possession of its capital.

While this scene was transacted in the east, and the whole force of the Chinese empire employed there to so little purpose, new troubles arose in the western provinces, where several bands of thieves and highwaymen committed the most extravagant outrages; and at last, under the command of one Lycoungz, an obscure and infamous fellow, plundered several cities, and even whole provinces, which, increasing the number of their forces, the rebel had at last sufficient power to attempt the subversion of the empire. It was with this view that he marched directly to Pekin, where in three days he became master of the place; and the emperor, finding himself abandoned, hanged himself on a tree in his garden. Lycoungz immediately took the title of emperor, and endeavoured, by all the methods he could devise, to bring over to his interest Ou-san-guei, who was general of the army sent against the Tartars, and the only person capable of disputing with him the possession of China. That general, however, rejected all his offers with contempt, which obliged Lycoungz to take the field once again, and to march against him with his numerous army: Ou-san-guei, who saw that it was simply impossible for him to think of making head at once against the usurper and the Tartars, resolved to make terms with the fairer enemy of the two, and thereupon invited Zungt-hy to come to his assistance.

This was precisely what the Tartar prince desired, and therefore he made no difficulty of complying with his demand. He left five thousand of his own troops in the province of Leaoton, and then marched with ten thousand Tartars and twenty thousand of the inhabitants of that country to the relief of the Chinese general, who received him with great joy. They marched together directly towards the usurper, and when they were upon the point of giving him battle, Zungt-hy observed, in a conference he had with the Chinese general, that as the best part of the forces of the empire, and especially those of the southern and western provinces were extremely afraid of the Tartars, it would be very expedient for him to cut the tails of his horses after their manner, by which means the army of the usurper would take them all for Tartars. Ou-san-guei, following the advice of the Khan, it had so good an effect, that the rebels were totally defeated, and Lycoungz obliged to fly with the remainder of his army towards Pekin. The victorious allies continued their pursuit without the least intermission; and on their drawing near the city, the Chinese general made proclamation that all such as did not take part with the usurper should trim their horses after the manner of the Tartars, that they might the more easily distinguish them on all occasions. This stratagem had as great an effect as a second victory: such multitudes declared themselves against the usurper, that, finding it absolutely impossible to maintain his ground, he first plundered the imperial city, and then retired with his army loaded with booty. When the allies were in possession of Pekin, it was agreed that Zungt-hy with his forces should remain there for the security of the place, and that Ou-san-guei with his army should pursue the usurper till such time as an end could be put to the war.

The same arts, or rather the same virtues, by which the Tartar Prince had gained the affections of the people of Leaoton produced the like consequences amongst the inhabitants of Pekin; and as, on the one hand, they were weary of living without the support and protection of a governor, so they flattered themselves, on the other, with enjoying all imaginable happiness under a prince of so much humanity and so great abilities as Zungt-hy, and therefore almost of their own accord they declared him emperor in the absence of the Chinese general, who had himself views upon the throne, in which he had very probably succeeded if he had not been thus outwitted by the Tartar Zungt-hy, who foreseeing how difficult a thing it might prove for him to maintain himself in possession of so great an empire, with such a handful of forces, was no sooner seated on the imperial throne than he instantly despatched advice of his good fortune to the Khans of East Tartary, who were princes of his own family, inviting them to come and share with him in so rich a conquest. This was certainly a good expedient for securing himself against the fickleness or infidelity of the Chinese; but at the same time it visibly exposed the new emperor to the danger of being undone by his auxiliaries; for the Khans of the Tartars, who on the first summons hastened to his assistance, had certainly in view the dividing the Chinese empire amongst them; but Zungt-hy was a prince of such wisdom and penetration, that he immediately discovered the danger to which he stood exposed, and provided against it with a sagacity equal to its penetration. He divided these corps of Tartars as soon as they entered his dominions, sent for several of their princes to Pekin, and in a short time so separated them from each other, that they became absolutely his subjects, and were unable to act otherwise than was conducive to his service. In the conquest and settlement of China, this Tartar prince showed all the courage and capacity of Julius, all the policy and conduct of Augustus Cæsar, by which he thoroughly accomplished the third conquest of China by the Tartars, which happened in one thousand six hundred forty and four, after the Chinese had preserved their freedom for two hundred and sixty-six years.

This new race of Tartar princes, which still continue to reign in China, for the twenty-second dynasty of their monarchs, is distinguished by the name of Tsing; it is, however, very remarkable that Zungt-hy is not accounted the first of those emperors, because he died almost as soon as he was seated on his throne, and before he was entirely possessed of China, leaving the empire to his son Chun-Tchi, who was then no more than six years old, and to whom his dying father assigned his brother Ama-Van for his guardian. So early a minority, one would have imagined, must have been fatal to the new-raised empire; but Ama-Van, during the non-age of his nephew, conducted all things with so much wisdom and fidelity, that when the young emperor came to take the reins of government into his own hands, he found himself in as full possession of his dominions as if they had descended to him from a long line of ancestors. The Emperor Chun-Tchi was himself a person of extraordinary abilities, easy and affable amongst his soldiers, wise and prudent in his councils, and so refined a politician, that, under colour of executing the laws with exactness, he took off all the great men in China that were capable of giving him either jealousy or disturbance, so that after a reign of seventeen years, he left the empire perfectly settled to his son, who was but eight years old.

The name of this prince was Cang-hi; he was raised to the throne in the year 1662, and during his minority the empire was governed by four great ministers, who executed their offices with the greatest wisdom and integrity, so that this second minority proved not in the least dangerous to the empire. It is true that the famous Chinese general Ou-san-guei took the advantage of it, and endeavoured to shake off the yoke of the Tartars, of whom with equal wit and wisdom he said, that he had called in lions to assist him in hunting dogs. He had some success at the beginning, and might probably have secured at least some part of the empire for himself and his posterity if he had not been very old at the time of his revolt, and died not long after, which gave the emperor’s ministers an opportunity of taking such measures as put it out of the power of the Chinese to rebel for the future. Cang-hi fell nothing short, either of his father or his grandfather, so that it may be reckoned an extraordinary felicity in this family, that for three generations there were as great princes of it as perhaps of any other in the world. This emperor was extremely careful with regard to two points, the encouraging and distinguishing his Tartar subjects, and behaving with the utmost justice and moderation towards the Chinese.

In the beginning of his reign, indeed, he committed some necessary acts of severity, but when he found that he had by this means absolutely broken the mutinous spirit of the people of China, he changed his conduct entirely, and applied himself wholly to the putting everything in the best order possible, for the benefit of all his subjects. It was with this view that he obliged the viceroys and other governors of provinces to administer justice with impartiality and mildness, taking from them the power of punishing capitally, and obliging them to send all such sentences to the supreme tribunal of the empire. In order to take away all distinctions, and to render his Tartar and Chinese subjects but one people, he established this regulation: he obliged the Tartars to wear the Chinese habit, and obliged the Chinese to cut their hair, after the mode of the Tartars, and this upon pain of death. It may seem strange, but it is nevertheless true, that many refused to comply with this order, and chose rather to part with their lives than their hair, and that many more abandoned their native country, to fly into places where they might wear their hair as long as they were wont. But the emperor’s edict had notwithstanding the desired effect, that is to say, freed him from such mutinous spirits as might have disturbed the tranquillity of his reign.

The most important employments, and the most honourable offices in the government, he gave only to the Tartars; but then he made a law, by which the children of Tartars by Chinese women, or of Chinese by Tartarian women, who were bred up in the customs, and were taught to speak the language of the Tartars, were declared capable of the highest offices in the empire. He was not more careful of the domestic than of the foreign affairs of his empire, which almost all his predecessors had neglected to a great degree; for he not only reduced all the eastern Tartars entirely under his obedience, but made two journeys into that country where he admitted all ranks of people freely to his presence, and thereby gained the love of the Moguls in the highest degree. As for the Tartars of the west, he forced them to have recourse to his protection, and not only drove the Calmucks from his frontiers, but entering their country also in his turn, took from them the provinces of Chamil and Tarfan, which serve as an excellent barrier on that side of the Chinese empire.

In his person, and in his manners, he had nothing of the Tartar, and was so perfectly acquainted with every government in Europe, that he discoursed of them in a manner that surprised even the Europeans themselves. The late Czar Peter the First sent M. d’Ismailoff with the character of his ambassador to the Chinese Court, whom the emperor not only received with all imaginable politeness, but at the first audience presented his excellency, a nobleman who accompanied him, and his secretary, each with a gold cup full of mead, by which they plainly perceived that he was informed of the Czar’s custom, who when he had a mind to distinguish any foreigner, was wont to present him with a glass of wine with his own hand. This Emperor Cang-hi reigned with great glory sixty-one years, and died on the 20th of December, 1722. He left behind him seventeen sons, the fourth of whom he declared his successor, who at his accession to the imperial dignity, assumed the name of Tong-Tching, i.e., peace undisturbed. This prince, who is said to inherit the virtues as well as dominions of his ancestors, was in quiet possession of the empire in the year 1735, since which we have not had any certain, or at least very important, accounts from China.

By this deduction of the Chinese history we learn a multitude of things necessary for the understanding such of the subsequent voyages as mention that country, which was the reason that I insisted upon it so long; and we likewise discover the usefulness of this sort of knowledge with respect to the voyages that have gone before. We see that the Chinese, with whom our Arabian travellers conversed, were quite another sort of people than those that now inhabit China; for they were a pure and unmixed nation, whereas the modern Chinese are in a great measure incorporated with the Tartars; from whence it is easy to discern that great alterations must have happened in their manners, especially if we consider the character that Rubruquis gives the Tartars, which comes much nearer that of the modern Chinese than anything we meet with in the Arabian writers. It appears likewise from the comparison of the facts related by the Arabians with those mentioned by Marco Polo of the people of Mangi, that both these writers must have reported things with great fidelity, since they agree in a multitude of particulars. The conquest of the northern part of China by the Tartars, though not expressly mentioned, yet is plainly alluded to by the second Arab writer; and as to the entire conquest of China by the same nation, we owe the full account of it to Marco Polo; for, without the assistance of his relations, it would have been a thing very difficult, if not impossible, to have discovered that Chi-Tsou was the same with Coplai-Khan, or Cublai-Khan, Emperor of the Tartars, who before he became master of their country was called by the Chinese Ho-pi-lie.

We likewise learn from this succinct view of the Chinese history that the Tartars, who now possess China, are the very same nation that formerly possessed it, contrary to what some very learned men asserted, and which was generally believed half an age ago. We likewise see that the reigning family in China are direct descendants of Cublai-Khan, and consequently of Zingis-Khan, that famous conqueror whose empire, as we have elsewhere shown, was the most extensive that has been hitherto known in the world. These things are of very great consequence, if we read voyages for the sake of improving and enlarging our knowledge, and not merely for the sake of amusement, which, however, is rather increased than lessened by attending to these circumstances. We can easily apprehend, after a little reflection, that in the time of our Arabian travellers, and even in that of Marco Polo, the Chinese empire must have been in a much better condition, and its trade much more flourishing, than when it was first visited by the Portuguese, English, and Dutch. Before that time it had not been exposed to those cruel ravages that ensued first on the breaking out of their civil wars, and next from the last conquest by the Tartars. Besides, we can at any time have recourse to this short history when we are at a loss as to the facts mentioned in subsequent voyages, and by comparing the times in which they happened with the dates that are therein set down, obtain an easy solution of doubts that perhaps we could never otherwise have got over.

It is from the consideration of these advantages, and that as far as in my power lies I might remove all obstacles whatsoever to the perfect understanding of this subject, that I have determined to give the reader in the next section a concise history of the other Tartar empire in the Indies, I mean that of the Great Mogul, who was likewise a descendant from the same family with the great conqueror I have so often mentioned. By pursuing this method, which I have brought into the narrowest compass possible, the reader will gain such a previous knowledge of a great number of facts as never to be at a loss in perusing any of the voyages to the East Indies, either in this, or in any other collection, which, without such an introduction, it would have been absolutely impracticable for him to have understood, and that for many reasons, of which I will take the liberty to mention only a few. In the first place then, every voyage brings us not only into a new country, but, if I may so speak, introduces us into a new company, with the character of which, if we have not some previous acquaintance, it is impossible for us to be at our ease, whereas if we know in general who and what they are, we enter immediately into the true sense of the relation, and hear all that is told us with pleasure. In the next place, it often happens that either from the fear of appearing tedious, or from some other motive, the writers of voyages give us only short hints as to the government of the countries through which they pass, or the characters of princes that reign in them, which would be utterly unintelligible to such as never heard of them before, and yet may be sufficient for the information of those who have a general notion of the posture of things in that country at the time mentioned by the author. Lastly, we are by these means enabled to rectify the mistakes of such writers to distinguish between the truth and falsehood of what they relate, and to form a clear and certain judgment of the merit of their performances.

It may possibly be objected, that for the same reasons which have been offered in support of these two histories of the Chinese and of the Indian empires, we might be obliged to write the history of all the other princes that have reigned in the Upper Asia, which objection, however, is not at all founded in fact, since in the first place the histories of all the little princes in India are very far from being so necessary as those of the capital empires; and in the next, how necessary soever we might think them, it is impossible for us to write any such histories, because the necessary materials for them are not to be found. When, therefore, this matter is seriously considered, it appears to be a new argument in favour of our design; for, since there have been but two great empires in this part of the world, of which any just and regular account can be given, and to which all books of voyages and travels through the East Indies must necessarily refer, it would seem very absurd and unreasonable, after all the pains we have taken in the darker ages of this history, to decline that period of it which is at once the most useful, and will appear by far the most agreeable, to a modern reader, as there is not in the compass of universal history any branch so full of extraordinary events, or in which there occur more surprising turns and revolutions, than in that which we are about to give.

Add to all this, that however deficient the rest of the oriental histories may be, we have abundant materials for this, and those too as excellent in the kind as can be desired; for besides the particular relations afforded us by several writers of credit, who were actually on the spot when those events happened which they record, we have very great lights given us by such of the oriental writers as have undertaken to explain the several expeditions of the Tartars, and especially those of the famous Timur-Bec, known to us by the name of Tamerlane, whose conquests, though less extensive, have, notwithstanding, made a greater figure in our general histories than those of his glorious predecessor Zingis-Khan. Besides all which, we have the singular advantage of having a great part of this history taken from the very records of that empire which it concerns, by the industry of Mr. Manouchi, who was forty years in that country, in the quality of physician to its emperors, and had thereby an opportunity of having free recourse to those records, which for the benefit of posterity, as well as his own information, he transcribed.

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