bassador happening to observe the Emperor casting his eye
upon this model, and conceiving the occasion might be
turned to the advantage of his employers, ventured to make
a proposal for sending to Japan a number of proper artificers
from Holland, for the purpose of instructing his subjects in
the art of ship-building, according to the practice of Europe.
The Emperor desired he might be asked how long his countrymen
had been acquainted with the art of constructing
ships on the model he had brought. The 'Ambassador replied,
about three hundred years. * Tell him,” says the
Emperor, “ that my people have built such ships as he sees
“ floating in my harbours for as many thousand years, and
“ that I have not yet heard of any complaints against their
“ utility, I shall not, therefore, pay so ill a compliment to
“ myself or to my people, as to lay aside the test of ages for
“ an invention of yesterday. The Dutch ships may suit the
“ Dutch, but not the Japanese. Tell him, therefore, I
“ would advise him to take back this part of his present.”
The Cocliinchinese having effectually preserved thè written
characters of the Chinese language, we found no difficulty in
communicating with them on all subjects, through this medium,
by our Chinese priests. The spoken language, however,
has undergone a very considerable change, which is the
less surprizing, as the inhabitants of the northern and southern
provinces of China are unintelligible to each other; but
though it has been altered, it does not appear to have received
any improvement, neither from additions of their
own, nor from the introduction of foreign words. By a comparison
of the short catalogue of Chinese words, which I
have given in another work, with their synonyms in the
Cochinchinese language, an idea may be collected how far
the two spoken languages resemble or differ from each
other.-
E N G E I SH . . c m . n i : s i : . COCHIHCHTNE S E
The Earth,, tee, dia.
The Air, . kee, bloei.
Eire, ho, whoq.
The Sea,, hai, bæ.
A River, ho, jeang.
A Mountain,, shan, noui.
fmat bloei,
The Sun,- jee-to, \eye o f heaven.
The Moon, yué,. blang.
The Stars, sing, sao.
The Clouds,, yun, moo.
Thunder, luie, no-sang
Lightning,. shan-tein, choap.
The Wind,- fang, jeo.
The Day, jee or tien, ngai.
The Night, ye or- van-shang, teng.
The Sky or Heaven, tien, tien.
The East, tung, doo.
West,, see,. tai.
North, pee, pak.
South, nan,, nang,
Man, jin> dan-ou.
Woman, foo-gin; dan-ba.
i t 2