Dodd delin for the Year 1793 LENDON, Printed for the Author, and Sold by Cham, & Whitrow, Jewry Street, Aldgate, & at the Directory - Office, Ave Maria Lane, S THE BRITANNIC MAGAZINE, OR ENTERTANING REPOSITORY OF HEROIC ADVENTURES, For the YEAR 1793. LORD MACARTNEY's EMBASSY to CHINA. With an interesting DESCRIPTION of that EXTENSIVE EMPIRE. L ORD MACARTNEY having been lately invefted with an important embaffy to the Em. peror of China, for the express purpose of opening a more extentive commerce, we trust the following entertaining account of the customs, manners, trade, policy, and present state, of that extenfive empire, will prove acceptable to our readers. China is a country of Afia, fituated on the most easterly part of that continent. It is bounded on the north by Tartary; from which it is divided, partly by a prodigious wall of 1500 miles in length, and partly by high, craggy, and inacceffible, mountains. On the eaft, it is bounded by the ocean; on the west, by part of the Mogul's empire, and India beyond the Ganges, from which it is parted by other ridges of high mountains and fandy defarts; on the fouth, it is bounded partly by the kingdoms of Lao, Tonquin, Ava, and Cochin-China, and partly by the fouthern or Indian fea, which flows between it and the Philippine islands. There are feveral ways of computing its length and breadth. According to fome of thefe, it is reckoned 1269, 1600, or 1800, miles in length, and as much in breadth : however, by the beft and latest accounts, this vaft counVOL. 1. No. 1. try is fomewhat of an oval form, the breadth being less than the length by little more than a fourth part. The origin of all nations is involved inobfcurity and fable; but that of the Chinese much more fo than any other. Every nation is inclined to affume too high an antiquity to itself, but the Chinefe carry theirs beyond all bounds. Indeed, though no people on earth are more exact in keeping records of every memorable tranfaction, yet fuch is the genius of the Chinese for fuperftition and fable, that the first part of their history is deservedly contemned by every rational perfon. What contributes more to the uncertainty of the Chinese history is, that neither we, nor they themfelves, have any thing but fragments of their ancient hiftorical books; for, about a13 years before Chrift, the reigning emperor caufed all the books in the empire to be burned, except thofe written by lawyers and physicians. Nay, the more effectually to deftroy the memory of every thing contained in them, he commanded a great number of learned men to be buried alive, left, from their me mories, they should commit to writing fomething of the true memoirs of the empire. The inaccuracy of the Chi nefe annals is complained of even by A their 1 their most respected author Confucius himself; who also affirms, that, before his time, many of the oldest materials for writing fuch annals had been destroyed. As the Chinese, contrary to the practice of almost all nations, never fought to conquer other countries, but rather to improve and content themselves with their own, their hif tory for many ages furnishes nothing remarkable. The armies of this empire are proportioned to its vast extent and population; being computed in time of peace at more than 700,000. Their pay amounts to about two-pence halfpenny and a measure of rice per day, though fome of them have double pay, and the emperor furnishes a horse, and the horseman receives two measures of fmall beans for his daily fubfiftence; the arrears of the army being punctually paid up every three months. The arms of a horfeman are, a helmet, cuirafs, lance, and sabre; those of a foot-foldier are a pike and sabre; fome have fufees, and others bows and arrows. All these are carefully infpected at every review; and if any of them are found in the least rufted, or other wife in bad condition, the poffeffor is inftantly punished; if a Chinese, with thirty or forty blows of a ftick; or, if a Tartar, with as many lashes. Though the use of gun-powder is certainly very ancient in China, it appears to have been afterwards totally loft, at least fire-arms feem to have been almost entirely unknown fome centuries ago. Three or four cannon were to be feen at that time about the gates of Nanking; but not a fingle perfon in China knew how to make ufe of them; fo that, in 1621, when the city of Macao made a prefent of three pieces of artillery to the emperor, it was found neceffary alfo to fend three men to load them. The utility of these weapons was quickly perceived by the execution which the three cannon did against the Tartars, at that time advanced as far as the great wall. When the invaders threatened to return, the mandarins of arms gave it as their opinion, that cannons were the beft arms they could make ufe of against them. They were then taught the art of caft ing cannon by F. Adam Schaal and Verbiest, two jefuit miffionaries, and their artillery was increased to the number of 320 pieces; at the fame time that they were inftructed in the method of fortifying towns and conftructing fortreffes and other buildings according to the rules of modern architecture. The best foldiers in China are procured from the three northern provinces, the others being feldom called forth, but allowed to remain at peace with their families; indeed there is not often occafion for exerting their military talents, unless it be in the quel ling of an infurrection, when a mandarin or governor ufually accompanies them. They march in a very tumultuous manner, but.. want neither skill nor agility in performing their different evolutions. They, in general, handle a fabre well, and fhoot very dexterously with bows and arrows. There are in China more than 2000 places of arms; and through the different provinces there are difperfed about 3000 towers or castles, all of them defended by garrifons. Soldiers conti nually mount guard there; and, on the firft appearance of tumult, the nearest centinel makes a fignal from the top of the tower, by hoifting a flag in the day-time, or lighting a torch in the night; when the neighbouring garrifons immediately repair to the place where their prefence is neceffary. The principal defence of the empire against a foreign enemy is the great wall which feparates China from Tartary, extending more than 1500 miles in length, and of fuch thickness that fix horfemen may easily ride abreast upon it. It is flanked with towers two bow-fhots diftant from one another; and it is faid that one third of the ablebodied men in the empire were employed in conftructing it. The workmen were ordered, under pain of death, to place the materials fo closely, that not the leaft entrance might be afforded for any inftrument of iron; and thus the work was conftructed with fuch folidity, that it is still almoft entire, though 2000 years have elapfed fince it was conftructed. This extraordinary work is carried on not only through the low lands and vallies, but over |