Part 16

The gates and walls of the Chinese city are not all equal in beauty to those in the city _King tching_. The streets are neither so broad, nor so well kept in repair. More than a third of the space of the Chinese city is not inhabited. It consists only of fields and gardens. The spaces occupied by the _Sien nong tan_ and the _Tien tan_ are vast; and between these two there is a very broad road. In this Chinese city are some mosques for the Mahometans. The inhabited part of this city is much more so than the city _King tching_ and _Hoang tching_. In the Chinese city are vast inns for those, who come out of the southern provinces to Peking. Here are likewise a curious manufacture of _lieou ly_ or Chinese glass, rich merchants of women’s ornaments, of gold, of the plant _gin cheng_ so much esteemed and so dear here, of varnished furniture, tea, stuffs of value, _&c._ The booksellers shops are also in this city. It is to be remarked, that the walls of the Chinese city and _King tching_ do not run directly north and south and east and west, but decline towards the north-west 2° 30´, and as much south-east. It is probable, that the architects employed in directing the building of these walls made use of a compass; and that the declinatiation of the needle was then what is mentioned above.

What I have said of the walls of the city is likewise to be said of the walls of _Hoang tching_ and of _Tse king_.

At the time of building the city _King tching_, and the Chinese city, the Chinese astronomers very well understood, that the north and south of the compass was not the north and south of the heavens at Peking; they knew, that the needle declined to the north-west and south-east; but that this declination was not considerable.

Without the gates of the Chinese city, and of _King tching_, I mark the suburbs; which are very full of people and merchants, and like so many cities. In most of these suburbs there are fine temples of idols.

The _Sien nong tan_ in the Chinese city is almost six _ly_ in circuit. These three words signify, The hill of the ancient husbandmen.

The emperor goes thither every year in the spring to till the ground, and sacrifices on that hill to heaven. The emperor’s apartments there have nothing magnificent in them; but the ceremony of ploughing is a solemn and curious one, and deserves a particular description. The emperor tills under a small covering of mat. When he has ploughed about half an hour, he ascends a large alcove, from whence he sees the princes, great men, and mandarins, plough in the fields, which are not covered with mats. While the emperor is ploughing, a good number of peasants sing ancient songs on the importance of ploughing. The emperor, princes, and great men, are dressed in the habit of plough-men, and their instruments of husbandry are very neat, and kept in a magazine. There are granaries for the grain produced by this tillage; and it is carefully remarked, that the grain from the emperor’s tillage is much better than that from the labour of others. From this grain are made several cakes for the various sacrifices to Heaven or _Chang ti_. The emperor prepares himself for this ceremony by fasting, prayers to heaven, and a kind of retreat: and the intention of it is to keep up a memorial of those times, in which the princes themselves tilled the ground. This ceremony is of the highest antiquity in China.

Over against the _Sien nong tan_ is the _Tien tan_, or Hill of Heaven, near ten _ly_ in circuit. Every thing here is magnificent. The emperor goes thither every year at the winter solstice to sacrifice to heaven. He prepares himself three days for this ceremony by fasting, in a palace of _Tien tan_, called the _palace of fasting_. The hill, on which the emperor sacrifices, is magnificently adorned. At the four avenues are beautiful triumphal arches of fine marble; and the hill is ascended by elegant steps. In this ceremony are introduced many usages contrary to the ancient Chinese doctrine concerning the sacrifice to heaven. On the day of the winter solstice are added the honours paid to the five planets, that is, to their spirit. These ceremonies added to the sacrifice to heaven are not very ancient. There are likewise honours to the first founders of the reigning dynasty. At several other times the emperor goes to _Tien tan_ to perform a sacrifice to heaven, and to honour his deceased ancestors.

To the north of the Hill of Heaven is a large and high terrace, on which is a most magnificent hall in honour of _Chang ti_, or the sovereign Lord, and of his ancestors. On the frontispiece of this hall the present Tartar emperors have caused an inscription to be placed to _Ap cai han_, or the Lord of heaven. To this Tartar inscription answers the Chinese character _Kien_; which has the same meaning as the character _Tien_, heaven; and it signifies the _Chang ti_, who is intended to be honoured in this hall. The tablet for the _Chang ti_ is in a place, which shews, that the honour paid to _Chang ti_ is of a different kind from the honour paid to ancestors.

Without the eastern gate of _King tching_, Nº. 145, is _Ge tan_, or Hill of the Sun. At the vernal equinox the emperor sends hither a prince or great man to honour the sun, that is, the spirit of the sun. This inclosure, tho’ elegant enough, has nothing very remarkable; nor is the ceremony very ancient.

Without the north gate of _King tching_, at Nº. 183, is _Ti tan_, or the Hill of the Earth. At the summer solstice the emperor goes thither to sacrifice to the earth on the hill. Many of the learned men at present distinguish this sacrifice in the _Ti tan_ from the sacrifice in the _Tien tan_. But, according to the doctrine of Confucius, the sacrifice to the earth has the same object as the sacrifice to heaven. In both the supreme Lord _Chang ti_ is to be honoured. I do not know, whether the emperor adheres to the pure doctrine of Confucius, and whether he does not pretend to honour the earth, or spirit of the earth, by performing a sacrifice, which originally had for its object the _Chang ti_, as we are assured by Confucius. The inclosure of _Ti tan_ is a vast one; but is not at all equal in beauty to the _Tien tan_.

Without the western gate of _King tching_, Nº. 211, is _Yue tan_, the Hill of the Moon. At the autumnal equinox the emperor sends thither a prince or great man to honour the moon, or spirit of the moon. This ceremony is not very ancient. This inclosure is a neat one, and pretty large.

Between the two north gates of _King tching_, Nº. 183 and 188, is a vast esplanade for the exercise of the troops both horse and foot.

To the north of this esplanade are two beautiful temples of idols for the lamas. These two monasteries are very elegant. The emperor and the Tartars _Mon gou_ lay out great sums on these two monasteries and the two temples of the lamas.

In the year 1111 before Christ, _Ou ouang_, founder of the dynasty _Tcheou_, nominated his brother _Tchao kong_ prince of _Yen_. _Yen_ is the ancient name of a pretty extensive country, in which Peking stands. This prince of _Yen_ built a city there, a league and half south-west of the city _King tching_. This city was called _Yen king_, or the court of _Yen_. It became afterwards considerable; and the prince of _Yen_ very powerful in the country of _Petcheli_ and _Leao tong_. In the year 222 before Christ the emperor _Tsin chi hoang_ destroyed the power of the princes of _Yen_, the defendants of _Tchao kong_, and seized their dominions. The founder of the dynasty _Han_ destroyed the power of the family of _Tsin chi hoang_. In the time of the dynasty _Tsin_, before the Christian æra, and of the dynasty _Han_, the city of _Yen_ was an important government, on account of the neighbourhood of the Tartars. Some time after the dynasty _Han_ several Tartar princes _Sien pi_ made themselves masters of the country of _Yen_. During the dynasty of _Tang_ the city of _Yen_ was still a considerable one. After the destruction of that dynasty the Tartars _Ki tan_[151] made themselves masters of Tartary, and the provinces of _Chansy_, _Petcheli_, and _Leao tong_. Their power was formidable to the Chinese. Their court was in the city of _Yen_, which they adorned and inlarged. These Tartars had, like the Chinese emperors, tribunals; one for the mathematics, and another for history[152]. They had likewise some illustrious princes, and kept some correspondence with the Caliphs.

The Tartars _Nuntche_ destroyed the power of _Leao_. Their court was also at _Yen_; and they made it as magnificent and large a city as Peking is now. The Mogol Tartars destroyed the empire of the _Nuntche_ or _Kin_. Their court was at first at _Yen_; but the Tartar Mogol emperor _Koublay_ demolished that city, and built what is now called _King tching_: at least _King tching_ is a good part of the city built by _Koublay_, which was some _ly_ larger. The emperor’s palace was likewise larger.

This city _King tching_ is that, which Marco Paulo calls _Cambalu_. _Car_ is _khan_, which signifies a _king_; and _balu_ is a corruption of an old Mogol word _balga_, or _balah_, which signifies a _city_: whence is formed the word _balgasan_ in Mogol or Mongou, which signifies city. _Khan balu_, or _khan balou_, signifies the royal city. _King tching_, in the time of Marco Paulo, was the capital of the empire of China. The Persians and Arabians, from the Mongou word _khan balou_, or _khan balgasun_, or _khan balga_, formed the word _khan balik_ or _khan balek_, which signifies also the royal city. This name was given by the eastern people to the city of _Caifong fou_, the capital of _Honan_, and to that of _Nanking_, the capital of _Kiangnan_, at the time when these cities were the court of princes. This name was also given to the cities of Tartary, when some powerful princes kept sometimes their court there. What I have remarked concerning the words _khan balik_, _khan balek_, _khan balga_, &c. is to be applied to the words _ordo balik_, _ordou balik_. _Ordo_, or _ordou_, or _orto_, signifies royal, imperial, in the Mogol or Mongou language. So _ordou balik_ signifies a court, a royal city; and these words are in fact the names of some old cities, where the Mogol or Mongou kings kept their courts.

REMARKS _on_ Nº. 5, _Fan king tchang_; which is the place where the foreign classical books are kept.

_Tchang_ signifies magazine, or large place, where any thing is contained. _Fan_ signifies stranger or foreigner; and _king_ signifies a classical book.

The Jews of _Caifong fou_, the capital of _Honan_, first told the Jesuit missionaries, that they conceived, that the Hebrew Bible was preserved at Peking in the place called _Fan king tchang_. These first missionaries neglected to make a search for it at Peking, or did not think of it. But it did not escape the attention of Father Bouvet, a French Jesuit, who went to _Fan king tchang_. The antient place, where the foreign books were kept, had been destroyed; and those books removed into a neighbouring _miao_ where there were bonzes. Father Bouvet went to this _miao_ with two other French Jesuits; but they found only the Koran, fragments of the classical books of the Indians, and the classical books of the lamas; the whole in bad condition. Father Bouvet thought, that he saw in an old coffer Chaldee, Syriac, and Hebrew characters. The bonze would not shew the place, where Father Bouvet thought that he had seen those characters, which, on returning to the _miao_, were not found. The emperor had ordered the bonzes to shew every thing to Father Bouvet. All the classical books were afterwards removed to the palace; the _miao_ was demolished; and there remained nothing but the name of _Fan king tchang_. When I passed thro’ _Caifong fou_, the Jews, in the presence of Father Gozani, who served me as interpreter, assured me, that I should find the Bible in the _Fan king tchang_. These Jews had not been at Peking. What they said was in consequence of what they had been told by old Jews, who were deceased. When I arrived at Peking, I made inquiries myself, and caused inquiries to be made by others; but I could not find the Bible. It is not yet an hundred years since there were at Peking some Jewish families; which afterwards turned Mahometans. A Mahometan, who was a man of parts, assured me several times, that the Bible was in the possession of the Mahometans here, whose ancestors were Jews. But when, in consequence of what he said, inquiries were made, nothing was found. This Mahometan informed me likewise, that he had made inquiries; but if he had done so, his researches proved unsuccessful.

REMARKS _on the_ Ti ouang miao, Nº. 217.

1. The emperors, whose memory is honoured there, are

The emperors _Tou hi_, _Chin Nong_, _Hoang ti_.

The emperors _Chao hao_, _Tchouen hiu_, _Ty co_, _Yao_, _Chun_.

The emperor _Yu_, the founder of the dynasty _Hia_, and thirteen other emperors of that dynasty.

The emperor _Tching tang_, the founder of the dynasty _Chang_, and twenty-five emperors of that dynasty.

The emperor _Ou ouang_, the founder of the dynasty _Tcheou_, and thirty-one emperors of that dynasty.

The founder of the dynasty _Han_, and twenty emperors of that dynasty, who are called western _Han_, eastern _Han_, and later _Han_.

The founder of the dynasty _Tang_, and fourteen emperors of that dynasty.

The founder of the dynasty _Song_, and thirteen emperors of that dynasty; which is called the northern _Song_ and the southern _Song_.

_Gen tchis khan_, or _Temoug in_, the founder of the dynasty _Yuen_, is the dynasty of the Mongol or Mogol Tartars. Besides the founder of this dynasty, there are ten other emperors of this dynasty, whose memory is honoured in the _Ti ouang miao_. The four first emperors of this dynasty, _viz. Gen tchis khan_, _Ogo tay_, _Kouey yevou_, and _Meng ko_, reigned in the northern provinces, and had not conquered all China. The emperor _Cobilay_, or _Koublay_, in Chinese _Yuen chitsou_, completed the conquest of China.

The founder of the dynasty _Ming_, and the eleven emperors of this dynasty.

The emperor _Ogo tay_, the second of the dynasty _Yuen_, completed the destruction of the dynasty of the eastern Tartars, called _Kin_. It reigned to the north as long as the dynasty _Song_ reigned to the south. In the _Ti ouang miao_ is honoured the memory of the founder of this dynasty _Kin_, and four other emperors of it.

The founder of the Tartar dynasty _Kin_ destroyed the dynasty of the Tartars _Ki tan_, called _Leao_, which conquered a great part of North China and Tartary.

In the _Ti ouang miao_ is honoured the memory of this Tartar dynasty _Leao_, and five other emperors of the Tartars _Ki tan_, whose country was in that of Parin in Tartary, among the Mongou or Mogols.

_Continuation of the Remarks on the_ Ti ouang miao.

2. In the palace of Peking, and elsewhere, there are great halls, in which honours are paid to the memory of the deceased emperors of the reigning dynasty of the _Mantcheou_. The first and second emperor reigned in East Tartary. The emperor _Chun tchi_ began to reign in China. If we reckon the present emperor in the number, there are six emperors _Mantcheou_. Father Couplet, and others, are mistaken in reckoning one more. This error was occasioned by the years of the reign of _Tay hong_, the second emperor, having had two names. Father Couplet, and others, took the two names of the years of the reign for the name or title of the two emperors.

3. In the _Ti ouang miao_ is honoured the memory of some illustrious persons in the different dynasties. The same is done in the hall, where honour is paid to the memory of the deceased emperors _Montcheou_: and there are there tablets for so many illustrious persons among those emperors.

4. In the _Ti ouang miao_ are placed none of the emperors of the dynasty _Hin_ before Christ, nor any of those between the dynasties _Tang_ and _Han_, nor of those of the five small dynasties after that of _Tang_. Besides, in each dynasty there are some emperors, whose tablets are not placed in the _Ti ouang miao_. The reigning dynasty has not thought it a duty to pay honours to those emperors, but considered them as unworthy the pompous title of _Tin tse_, or _Sons of Heaven_.

5. The Tartars _Sien pi_, who came from the confines of _Leao tong_ and Mongol or Mogol Tartary, had hords named _To pa_. One of these hords made themselves masters of Tartary _Leao tong_, and of several northern provinces of China. This Tartar power has the Chinese name of _Ouey_. It has produced several great princes. The year of Christ 386 is reckoned the first of that dynasty[153], which reigned above 180 years. I do not know why the reigning dynasty has not placed the name of any of these emperors in the _Ti ouang miao_.

6. If we suppose, first, that all the books of the history of China should be lost, or the contents of them should not be known in Europe; and secondly, that the catalogue of the emperors, who are mentioned in the _Ti ouang miao_, should fall into the hands of some European critics; it is probable, that such a catalogue would occasion many false reasonings with relation to the succession of the emperors, who have reigned in China.

XCVII. _An Attempt to improve the Manner of working the Ventilators by the Help of the Fire-Engine. In a Letter to_ Tho. Birch, _D. D. Secret. R. S. from_ Keane Fitz-Gerald, _Esq; F.R.S._

[Read June 8, 1758.]

SIR,

THE reverend and ingenious Dr. Hales, from whom mankind has received such benefit by his useful application of ventilators, being inclined to extend its use to those, who work in mines at great depths under ground, where the lives of many are lost by damps and noxious vapours, occasioned by the want of a free circulation of air; and finding by experience, that ventilators worked by wind do not operate above one third part of the year, and in calm hot weather, when most wanted, do not operate at all; did me the honour of applying to me for assistance in contriving a machine to work the ventilator, by the help of the fire-engine, which is now generally used in all mines for drawing off the water; and which I have accordingly attempted, and hope it will answer the purpose.

As the lever of the fire-engine works up and down alternately, and performs at a common medium about a dozen strokes in a minute, it was necessary to contrive some way to make the beam, tho’ moving alternately, to turn a wheel constantly round one way, and also to increase the number of strokes to fifty or sixty in a minute.

The model of a machine for this purpose is composed of four wheels of different sizes, two clicks, three pinions, and a fly; which is put into motion by the part of a wheel fixed to the arch of the lever of the fire-engine.

The wheel, which is turned by the lever, or rather moved up and down by it, is loose on its arbor; and likewise one of the rochets, and the wheel next to it. The outside rochet and outside wheel are fixed on the arbor.

There are two pinion-wheels fixed on the arbor; one on each side, near the edge of the wheel moved by the lever, which turns them.

There are also two clicks; one fixed to the great wheel, the other to the frame. These exclusive of the wheel that moves the fly.

The effect is, When the lever moves the wheel downwards, its click forces the rochet fixed on the arbor to move along with it, and the other wheels the same way. When it moves upwards, the click fixed on the frame stops the larger rochet, and the wheel next to it, which are pinned together. This wheel being stopped, and the great wheel carried upwards by the lever, the pinion towards the edge of the great wheel is forced round it, and moves the pinion on the other side the great wheel; which pinion moves the wheel fixed on the arbor, the contrary way to the great wheel, which is carried upwards by the lever. By which means, the arbor is constantly turned the same way, when the lever of the fire-engine is moved either upwards, or downwards.

Upon the arbor there is also another great wheel fixed, which turns a pinion: on the arbor of which pinion is a crank to move the ventilator, and also a fly fixed to the end, to help the motion of the crank, which in the model is turned three times for each stroke of the lever, and may be increased or diminished, according to the number of teeth in the pinion.

The number of teeth in the great wheel moved by the lever is sixty-six; but need not have teeth above half way round.

The wheel fixed to the rochet has thirty-three teeth, and its pinion eleven.

The wheel fixed on the arbor, on the outside, has twenty-four teeth, and its pinion sixteen.

The wheel, which turns the fly, has ninety teeth, and the pinion turn’d by this wheel ten.

The greater the number of teeth in the rochets, the better.

This machine may also be applied to other useful purposes at mines; and it may be easily made to turn a mill to grind corn; or to turn a wheel to raise coals, or whatever else is wanted to be raised from the mines. As I have not met with any thing of the kind described, I take the liberty of desiring you to lay it before the Society; and I hope it may be made some way useful to the public.

I am, Sir,

Your most obedient humble Servant, Kea. Fitz-Gerald.

Poland-Street, June 7th, 1758.

_Explanation of the Three Tables._

The wheel A (_Tab. 26._), which is turned by the lever B (_Tab. 27._), or rather moved up and down by it, is loose on its arbor; and likewise one of the rochets C (_Tab. 26._), and the wheel next to it D. The outside rochet E, and outside wheel F, are fixed on the arbor.

There are two pinion-wheels G and H fixed on one arbor; one on each side, near the edge of the wheel A, moved by the lever.

There are also two clicks _a_ and _b_; one _a_ fixed to the great wheel A, the other _b_ fixed to the frame. These exclusive of the wheel I, that moves the pinion _c_, on the arbor of which, the crank _d_, and fly _e_, (_Tab. 27._) are fixed.

The effect is, when the lever B moves the wheel A downwards; its click _a_, forces the rochet E, fixed on the arbor K, to move along with it, and the other wheels the same way. When it moves upwards, the click _b_ fixed to the frame, stops the larger rochet C, and the wheel D next to it, which are pinned together; and as the wheel A is carried upwards by the lever, the pinion G towards the edge of it, is forced round the wheel D, and moves the pinion H, on the other side the great wheel A, which moves the wheel F fixed on the arbor K, the contrary way to the wheel A. By which means, the arbor K is constantly turned the same way, when the lever of the fire-engine moves either upwards, or downwards.

The pinion G, by being made proportionally smaller than the pinion H, keeps the arbor K in the same swiftness of motion, when the lever is moved upwards, as downwards.

The great wheel I, fixed on the arbor K, turns the pinion _c_, on the arbor of which the crank _d_ (to move the ventilator), and the fly _e_ (to help the motion), are fixed. The pinion _c_, is turned three times by each alternate motion of the lever; which may be increased, or diminished, according to the number of teeth in the pinion _c_.

The number of teeth in the wheel A is sixty-six, but need not be toothed above half way. Instead of this wheel there might be a barrel, with a chord round it, fixed at each end of the arch of the lever, and projecting somewhat from it; which, by the motion of the lever, would work in the same manner in other respects, and be easier made, and at less expence.

The wheel D fixed to the rochet C has thirty-three teeth, and its pinion G eleven.