When a ship has got through the before mentioned gates, she goes with the flood tide into a fresh water gulf, and drops anchor in the chief port of China, which is called Canfu149, where they have fresh water, both from springs and rivers, as also in most of the other cities of China. The city is adorned with large squares, and is supplied with every thing necessary for defence against an enemy, and in most of the other provinces of the empire there are cities of strength similarly fortified. In this port the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours; but, whereas from Basra to the island of Bani Kahouan it flows when the moon is at full, and ebbs when she rises and when she sets; from near Bani Kahouan quite to the coast of China it is flood tide when the moon rises, and ebb when she is at her height; and so on the contrary, when she sets, it is flowing water, and when she is quite hidden under the horizon, the tide falls.
They say, that in the island of Muljan, between Serendib and Cala, on the eastern shore of the Indies, there are negroes who go quite naked; and when they meet a stranger they hang him up by the heels and slice him into pieces, which they eat quite raw. These negroes, who have no king, feed chiefly on fish, mousa, cocoa nuts, and sugar canes. It is reported, that in some parts of this sea, there is a small kind of fish which flies above the water, and is called the sea locust; that in another part, there is a fish which, leaving the sea, gets up into the cocoa nut trees, and having drained them of their juices, returns to the sea; and it is added, that there is a fish like a lobster or crab, which petrifies as soon as it is taken out of its element, and that when pulverized it is a good remedy for several diseases of the eyes. They say also, that near Zabage there is a volcanic mountain which cannot be approached, which sends forth a thick smoke by day, and throws out flames at night; at the foot of which are two springs of fresh water, one hot and the other cold.
The Chinese are dressed in silk garments, both in summer and winter, and this dress is common both to the prince and peasant. In winter, they wear drawers of a particular make, which reach to their feet, and of these, they put on two, three, four, five, or more, one over the other, if they can afford it; and are very careful to be covered quite down to their feet, because of the damps, which are very great, and of which they are extremely apprehensive. In summer they only wear a single garment of silk, or some such light dress, but they have no turbans. Their common food is rice, which they eat frequently with a broth made of meat or fish, like that used by the Arabs, and which they pour upon the rice. Their kings eat wheaten bread, and the flesh of all kinds of animals, not excepting swine, and some others not used by us. They have several sorts of fruits, as apples, lemons, quinces, moulats, sugar canes, citruls, figs, grapes, cucumbers of two sorts, trees, which produce a substance like meal, walnuts, almonds, filberts, pistachios, plumbs, apricots, services, and cocoa nuts, but no store of palms, of which they have only a few about private houses. Their drink is a kind of wine made of rice, having no other wine in the country, neither is any other imported by them. They do not even know what wine is, nor will they drink of it. They have vinegar also, and a kind of comfit, like that called Natef by the Arabs and some others.
The Chinese are by no means nice in point of cleanliness, not washing with water when they ease nature but only wiping with paper. They do not scruple to eat of animals which have died, and they practise many other things like the Magians150; and in truth, the two religions are much similar. Their women appear uncovered, and adorn their heads with many small ivory combs, of which they wear sometimes a score at one time. The heads of the men are covered by a cap, of a particular make. Thieves are put to death as soon as caught.
The Indians and Chinese agree that there are four great or principal kings in the world, all of them allowing that the king of the Arabs is the first and most powerful of kings, the most wealthy, and the most excellent every way, because he is the prince and head of a great religion, and because no other surpasses him. The Emperor of China reckons himself next after the king of the Arabs, after him the king of the Greeks, and lastly the Balhara151, or king of the Moharmi al Adon, or people who have their ears bored. The Balhara is the most illustrious sovereign in all the Indies, and though all the other kings in India are masters and independent each in their own dominions, they thus so far acknowledge his preeminence, that when he sends ambassadors to the other princes, they are received with extraordinary honours. This king makes magnificent presents after the manner of the Arabs, and has vast numbers of horses and elephants, and great treasures in money. His silver coin is what we call Thartarian drams, being equal to one and a half of the Arabian dram. They are coined with the die of the prince, and bear the year of his reign, counting from the last year of the reign of his predecessor. They compute not their years from the era of Mahomed, like the Arabs, but only by the years of their successive kings. Most of these princes live a long time, many of them having reigned above fifty years; and those of the country believe that the length of their lives and reigns is granted in recompence of their kindness to the Arabs; for there are no princes more heartily affectionate to the Arabs, and their subjects profess the same kindness for us. Balhara is not a proper name, but an appellative, common to all those kings, like Cosroes and some others. The country under the dominion of the prince begins on the coast of the province called Kamcam, and reaches by land to the confines of China. He is surrounded by the dominions of many kings, who are at war with him, yet he never marches against them.
One of these is the king of Harez, who has very numerous forces, and is stronger in cavalry than all the other princes of the Indies. He is an enemy to the Arabs, neither is there any prince in India who has a greater aversion to the Mahomedans; though he confesses their king to be the greatest of princes. His dominions are on a promontory, where are much riches, many camels, and abundance of other cattle. The inhabitants traffic for silver, and they say there are mines of that metal on the continent. There are no robbers in this country, nor in the rest of the Indies. On one side of this country is that of Tafek, which is not of very great extent. This king has the finest white women in all the Indies; but he is awed by the kings about him, as his army is very small. He has a great affection for the Arabs as well as the Balhara. These kingdoms border upon the lands of a king called Rami, who is at war with the king of Harez, and with the Balhara likewise. This prince is not much considered, either for the dignity of his birth or the antiquity of his kingdom; but his forces are more numerous than those of the Balhara, and even than those of the kings of Harez and Tafek. It is said that he appears in the field at the head of fifty thousand elephants, and commonly marches in the rainy season, because his elephants cannot move at any other time, as they are unable to bear thirst. His army is said commonly to contain from ten to fifteen thousand tents. In this country they make cotton garments of such extraordinary fineness and perfection, as is to be seen nowhere else. These garments are mostly round, and are wove so extremely fine, that they may be drawn through a moderately sized ring. Shells are current in this country as small money; and they have abundance of gold and silver, aloes wood, and sable skins, of which they make their horse-furniture.
151
It is probable that this Balhara, or king of the people with bored ears, which plainly means the Indians, was the Zamorin or Emperor of Calicut; who, according to the reports of the most ancient Portuguese writers concerning India, was acknowledged as a kind of emperor in the Indies, six hundred years before they discovered the route to India by the Cape of Good Hope. –Harris.
The original editor of this voyage in English, Harris, is certainly mistaken in this point. The Balhara was the sovereign of Southern Seindetic India; of which dominion Guzerat was the principal province. –E.