Among a series of letters in Spanish, received in 1555 from various Jesuits in the East, and appended to the 1561 edition of Francisco Alvarez's Historia de Ethiopia, occurs an account of some matters regarding the customs and laws of the kingdom of China, which a man (who was a captive there for six years) related at Malacca, in the college of the Jesuits. This valuable account, we believe, has never before appeared in English, and is here translated.
"The Chinese build their towns in the strongest situations, near rapid rivers, and chiefly at the curves, in order that they may serve in part for enclosures; and if the towns are half a league in circuit, they build walls of a league in extent, so that in case of war they may hold a considerable number of defenders. The towns are walled with stone built in mortar, for the most part; some, especially the large towns, have very strong brick walls. They contain very large buildings, and bridges of half a league, all of stone excellently wrought, and there are blocks in them so large that it appears impossible for men to have raised and set them by any contrivance. One of the things that surprised us much, was to see eight columns, upon which the government palace is built, in a town where we were for three years. We measured these columns, and two men stretching their arms round them did not touch each other; they appeared to us to be sixty feet high, little more or less; and it is very strange that men should have been able to raise them and place them where they are. The houses which are upon them are very high, all of wood, painted and gilded. An officer resides there who collects the revenue of the province, and there are similar ones in the other provinces. Each of these houses is separately enclosed by walls, within which they are accustomed to plant trees and make very pleasant gardens, with all kinds of fruit, which the Chinese are exceedingly fond of, and also of having ponds at their houses in which they breed fish for their amusement.
"What is generally considered by the nobility and principal men as the greatest distinction, is to erect edifices in front of their gates, in way of an arch going from one side of the street to the other, so that the people pass underneath; some build them of stone, others of wood, with all kinds of painting, colours of gold and blue, with pictures of various birds and other things that may gratify the sight of the passers by. And they are so curious and vain in this particular, that he who goes to the greatest expense therein, is thought most of amongst them. On the border of the arches are the name and arms of him who caused them to be erected, in letters of gold and blue.
"The houses are covered with glazed tiles of many colours, and the woodwork is much wrought. The streets are very well made and paved with stone, and the highways are all raised. I say this because they took us from that town (where we had been prisoners for three years), and we went one hundred and twenty days' journey, without going out of the kingdom, and found all the roads raised and even; and several times when we passed rivers and inquired if most of the roads that ran forward were similar, we were told that they were, and that it was a four months' journey to reach the court of the king, and the roads were all alike. They treated us very well on the journey, giving us sumpter beasts and every thing necessary.
"In all the towns there is a street of very noble houses built by order of the king, in which the officers who perform the service of visitation lodge. These officers are commissioned with the royal authority over the governing presidents (who are called in their language Taquoan). The governors of provinces and those who hold any command, are chosen for their learning and great prudence, without regard to anything else, and if the sons are as able as their fathers they succeed them in their offices, otherwise they are not admitted by the king into his service. The special governors of the towns are obliged to sit to hear and do justice to all, every morning until midday, and after having dined till sunset.
"Officers of the court come twice every year, by command of the king, to make a stay in all the towns, principally to see if the governors do their duty well, and to remove them at once and put others in their place, if they are tyrannical, or oppress the people, or perform their functions ill. These officers examine all the walls, and if they are in bad condition, order them to be repaired. They afterwards inquire concerning the royal revenues and the expenses of the towns, moderating them if they are excessive. He who gives out money at usury loses it (if proved), and, moreover, incurs further punishment. In the towns where these officers come, they cause public notice to be given, in order that those who are aggrieved by any injustice may come before them.
"In the town I was speaking of there are six governors, one of whom takes precedence; and there are also six others whose business it is to collect the revenues, and one of them is obliged to watch the town every night with his men, that thieves may not disturb the people. Others take care to close the gates, which are very strong and fortified with iron. The governors and magistrates of every town are charged to write every moon, to the court of the king, an account of what takes place; and each has to write separately, that it may be seen if they concert what they write, and whether they speak truth; for those who lie to the king incur the punishment of death; wherefore they dread much to state anything false in their accounts. No man governs in his native place, where he has relations, that he may do justice to all without respect of persons.
"In the principal towns are many strong gaols; we being prisoners were distributed in six of them. There are prisoners for various crimes; the most serious with them is murder. The prisoners are numerous, because the towns are populous; in every gaol there are three, four, or five hundred of them. A native of the town, where we were, told us, that in it alone there might be at that time more than eight thousand prisoners; and that was because it was a principal town, where those of the neighbouring places were assembled together. In every gaol there is a book of the prisoners therein, whom the gaoler counts every night. In that where I was, sometimes there were three hundred prisoners, at others four hundred; and although I did not see the other gaols, it appears to me from this, that there might be as many prisoners as they told me.
"The serious crimes go to the court; and for those who come from thence sentenced to death, the king gives power to the governors of the towns – if, upon a re-examination of the case, from being nearer where the offence was committed, they should find them less guilty – to spare their lives, and condemn them to banishment, or to the king's service, for so many years, or for their whole life. They take all possible pains to avoid condemning any to death. It can scarcely be expressed how much the king is feared by his subjects: they call him god and king for the strict government and justice that he maintains in his kingdom, which is necessary from the people being bad and malicious.
"In their ancient books they find that at a certain time, white men with long beards are to take their kingdom of China; on this account they are so careful of the walls and of fortifying the towns; and the officers make a muster of the soldiers, they receive and examine them to see if they are good soldiers; they do the same with the cavalry; and to those who excel they give rewards according to their personal qualities, putting also in their heads a branch with gold and silver leaves, as a sign of honour; but those who do not satisfy them they dismiss, paying them their hire and giving them the money with reproachful words.
"The people of China are, in general, neither brave nor skilful, nor have they any natural inclination for warlike affairs; if they maintain themselves it is by the multitude of the people, the strength of the walls and towns, and the provision of ammunition. At the boundary of the kingdom