History of the Pirates Who Infested the China Sea From 1807 to 1810. Various

History of the Pirates Who Infested the China Sea From 1807 to 1810

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43

Our author shews every where his partiality for Chang paou.

44

The author said just before that the dominion of the pirates in the Chinese sea lasted about ten years; but he only describes the transactions of the last three years, when their power and strength was at the highest point. He begins to give particulars from the 7th moon of the 13th year of Këa king, which corresponds nearly to the beginning of September 1808.

45

There are three wretched forts at the Hoo mun, the mouth of the Canton river, which could scarcely hinder any European vessel from passing through.

46

One of the islands marked upon European maps is called The Ladrones: these Ladrones, so called from the pirates, have all particular names on Chinese maps.

47

In the first preface of the Hae kwŏ hëen këen it is particularly stated, that the map of the sea-coast of China became first known to its editor by the expeditions against the pirates.

48

There are, as is stated in my preface, some vulgar or provincial characters in this history; here (p. 1.) occurs a character not to be found in Kanghe, composed out of the fifty-sixth radical and the group Leaou or Lew (7061, 7203). My whole library being locked up in the Custom-house, I am not able to consult a dictionary of the Canton dialect, therefore the meaning of these characters can only be guessed at by etymology. The etymology of the characters gives sometimes a better meaning than any dictionary, and sometimes it may entirely mislead us; there is no reliance on etymology. Usage is the only master of the Chinese, as of all other languages.

49

Hëang shan is a considerable place between Macao and Canton. I passed this town in the beginning of October 1830. Distance from Canton 150 le in an eastern direction.

50

It was, as we have before stated, the policy of Chang paou to befriend himself, when possible, with the lower sort of people.

51

Here the author himself says Te ming (9955, 7714) "name of a place." To find out the names of places and persons, and distinguish the titles of the different officers employed by government, is often a very difficult task. The last character in the name of this place, pae, is very seldom found; it is the fourth character of the division of eight strokes, rad. 177. – See Kanghe. O is, in the Canton dialect, commonly pronounced like A, in Italian.

52

These are large vessels with windows, from 200 to 500 tons; they are called by Europeans by the Chinese name, in the Canton dialect, junks; chuen is the Mandarin pronunciation. The foreign trade of Cochin-China and Tung king is almost exclusively with China, that to Siam, Singapur, and Malacca, being inconsiderable. The Cochin-Chinese government tried some years ago to open a regular trade with Calcutta; but this undertaking partly failed on account of the heavy duties on foreign sugar in the possessions of the East-India Company. Sugar is a great article of export in Cochin-China and Siam.

53

On the large map of the coast of China from Corea to Cochin-China, called Yuen (12542) hae tsuen too, this place is called Lao wan shan, "the old ten thousand mountains," and is exactly opposite to the Bocca Tigris in a direct southerly direction.

54

The sails of Chinese vessels are often called Mats, for they are really nothing else than matting.

55

Le: this itinerary measure, as we have remarked, is different in different parts of the empire; it is generally considered that 250 le make a degree of latitude.

56

This they did probably to look more ferocious. Plutarch observes of Sylla, that "the ferocity of his aspect was heightened by his complexion, which was a strong red, interspersed with spots of white."

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