"The foresayd emperor (to the end that trauailers may haue all things necessary throughout his whole empire) hath caused certaine innes to be prouided in sundry places upon the high wayes, where all things pertaining vnto victuals are in a continuall readinesse. And when any alteration or newes happens in any part of his empire, if he chance to be farre absent from that part, his ambassadors vpon horses or dromedaries ride post vnto him; and when themselues and their beasts are weary, they blow their horne; at the noise whereof, the next inne likewise prouideth a horse and a man, who takes the letter of him that is weary, and runneth vnto another inne: and so by diuers innes, and diuers postes, the report, which ordinarily could skarce come in 30 dayes, is in one naturall day brought vnto the emperor: and therefore no matter of any moment can be done in his empire, but straightway he hath intelligence thereof."
The next traveller of whom we have to make a short mention, is the celebrated Arabian author Ibn Batuta, the date of whose journey is 1324. His point of arrival in China was Zaitun, the port already mentioned of Marco Polo's embarcation. Its identity is not easy of recognition. From this port he would seem to have travelled to Hang-cheou and back again, embarking again at Zaitun. Although his route is not distinctly traceable, the account he gives of the country appears very accurate. He particularizes the facility and safety of travelling, and the convenient, but at the same time rigid surveillance of the hostelries, in which a register was kept of all strangers who lodged in them. Silkworms and silk are mentioned, but the latter as being inferior in value to cotton. The paper money and the manufacture of porcelain are also referred to.
In pursuance of our chronological arrangement of travels in China, we shall here introduce the account of an embassy, though not European, sent by Mirza Shah Rokh, one of the sons of Tamerlane, to Cathay, in the year 1419. The ambassadors set out from Herat in Persia, about the month of November in that year, and reached a spot in the desert within twelve stages of Sekju (Sucheu), near the great wall in Shensi, on the 14th of June 1420. At this place they were met, by order of the khan, by some Cathayans, who erected tents or huts for their accommodation in the desert, and plentifully supplied them with roasted geese, fowls, and various kinds of meat, fruits, etc., which were served to them on china dishes; they likewise regaled them with a variety of strong liquors, together with a pot of Chinese tea. The chief person in the embassy was the Emir Sadi Khoja; and, according to the list of the names of the ambassadors and the number of their retinue, taken down by some Cathayan secretaries, the entire embassy, including merchants, amounted to eight hundred and sixty persons. In taking this list, the Cathayan officers earnestly desired that the exact number should be stated, as a want of truthfulness would involve them in discredit. Two days after their arrival, they were invited to the encampment of the dankji or governor of the borders of Cathay, by whom they were entertained with a magnificent feast. On reaching the spot, they found a square space of ground enclosed with tents, in the centre of which was a lofty awning of cloth supported on wooden pillars, with an imperial canopy of state at one end, where the throne was placed, as if for the emperor, with other seats on each side: on the left of this throne were placed the ambassadors, and on the right the Cathayan officers. Each ambassador had placed before him two tables, the one covered with a variety of meats and fruits, the other with cakes and bread, gracefully ornamented with silk and paper. The other persons present had but one table apiece. At the lower end of the tent stood a sideboard covered with silver and china. After the banquet they were entertained with music and a comedy, in which the actors wore masks representing the faces of animals: among these a child, enclosed in the body of an artificial stork, amused them by performing a variety of curious antics. On the next day they reached a karawl, a strongly fortified outpost, built in a defile in the mountains, through which all travellers that way must unavoidably go. Here their retinue was again carefully numbered. They next arrived at Sucheu, a large and strong square city, where they had lodgings appointed to them in a public building over the city gates, and were amply provided with every convenience and comfort for themselves and their horses, even the servants having mattresses and counterpanes allowed them for their beds.
They next came to a city called Khamchu, after which we find them crossing the river Karamoran by a bridge of boats, and arriving at a magnificent city containing many splendid temples. From the beauty of the women, who, contrary to usual Chinese observances, were seen standing at the doors of the taverns, they designated this town in the Persian language, Rhosnabad, the city of Beauty. After passing several rivers they reached Sedinfur, a large city, in which they saw a cast image of gilt metal of immense proportions, having a great number of hands with an eye in each. This image rested on a pedestal of polished stone, and was surrounded by six tiers of balustrades.
In December 1420, after a journey of ninety-five days, they reached Kambalu or Pekin, the whole road thither from Sucheu being through so populous a country that they lodged every night in a large town. Workmen were at that time still occupied in building the walls of Kambalu. Immediately on their arrival they were conducted to the palace, and, though before sunrise, they found a multitude assembled in the outer court, amounting apparently to no less than one hundred thousand men. At sunrise, at beat of drum, the prince took his seat on a lofty throne, placed under a canopy at the outside of the palace, and amidst profound silence a number of criminals were led in, who had been brought to the capital from all parts of the empire. Each man had a board fastened to his neck, specifying his crime and his legal punishment, and was led by the hair to the emperor, who after inspecting the board pronounced sentence. Upon the dismissal of the criminals, the Persian ambassadors were introduced, and after prostrating themselves as demanded, were graciously received by the emperor. An amusing occurrence, however, had nearly destroyed all their prospects of success. The monarch having been slightly injured by a fall from a horse which had been presented to him by the ambassadors, was so exasperated, that he condemned them all to imprisonment for life in a distant part of the empire. He afterwards, however, thought better of his resolution, and merely upbraiding Sadi Khoja, with the taunt that such a horse ought not to be presented by one sovereign to another, overlooked the offence; and on hearing that the animal was sent to him by Tamerlane as an especial favourite, his anger was entirely appeased.
Previous to their departure, a circumstance occurred which threw a gloom over the imperial court, – the most beloved of the emperor's wives died. And here, par parenthèse, we would mention a curious custom recorded in this narrative, respecting the burial of ladies belonging to the imperial family: they are interred on a certain mountain, on which all the horses belonging to them are turned out to graze at liberty for the rest of their lives; all the maidens of their retinue also are placed in attendance on the grave, and have provisions allowed them for about five years, and when these are exhausted they are left to die of famine. In addition to this loss of his favourite wife, the new palace of the emperor was struck by lightning on the night after the funeral, the flames causing fearful devastation and loss of life. These afflictions so affected the emperor, that he fell sick, and the prince his son assuming the reins of government, gave the ambassadors their audience of leave. On their return through Cathay they were furnished as before with every necessary, and at Sucheu, some articles which had been detained were honourably restored to them. They took their departure by a circuitous route, in consequence of intestine commotions, and passing through Khoten and Cashgar proceeded homewards to Herat, which they reached in September 1422.
Hitherto we have had to treat of travellers who in the middle ages reached China by an overland journey; we have now to allude to those who have visited that country by sea, subsequent to that grand achievement of the Portuguese, the discovery of the passage by the Cape of Good Hope.
The Portuguese themselves were, as might be expected, the first to take advantage of this expeditious route, and about the same time that they had succeeded in establishing a communication with the King of Siam they aimed at forming relations with China. On gaining information of the boundless wealth of the east and its empires in the productions of nature and art, King Manoel determined on despatching a squadron farther eastward to Bengal and China. This squadron, consisting of eight sail, the commander of