S e c o n d W a l l ;
L i a u - t o n g ,
C H I N A ,
inacceffible, yet the fears o f the Chinefe urged them to prolong
their defence even'over the fides or fummits o f thefe alps,
which direCt its eourfe, according to the nature o f the country,
over deep vallies or level plains. In a certain traCt a great trench
is cut to fupply the place o f the wa ll; and on the banks o f the
fierce river Whang-ho, or the yellow, are feries of fentry-boxes,
filled with foldiers, who keep watch night and day. As the wall
muft in its eourfe pafs over various great rivers, arches or bridges,
o f a ftupendous height and ftrength, are thrown over them.
Later emperors, to give greater fecurity to their capital, have
built a fecond wall, at fome diftance from Peking, as ftrong as
the firft: It is called the great inner wall, and unites .with the
other by Wen-mha-fu. Near it is a city which rifes and falls with
the form o f the mountain it is built on, and amazes the Ipeftators
with the boldnefs o f the itruCture.
T he length of the wall, in a ftrait line, is feven or eight hundred
miles, and allowing for the windings, for the afcents over
the craggy mountains, or defcent into the deep vallies, may be
eftimated at double that length. Yet what may juftly excite our
admiration is, that this ftupendous work was faid to have been
completed in the fpace o f five years. In this empire o f obedience
every power was exerted to perform the commands o f their
common father, iflued forth for the common fecurity.
I m m e d i a t e l y - beyond this bulwark begins the country of
the antient Liau-tong, ax part o f that o f the Manchew Tartars,
the laft conquerors o f China, and who gave the prelent imperial
family to the throne. The gulph o f Liau-tong runs deeply into
the north o f the country from the foot o f the Chinefe wall. This
territory
G I N G - S E N G . 163
territory has alfo its guard, but no better than a precinCt o f
palifadoes with a few mean gates'. The capital Mugden, which
the Manchews look on as their metropolis, has a Tartarian
commander in chief, and is inhabited by multitudes o f Chinefe,
who carry on the trade o f Tartary. Juft without the
gates are the magnificent tombs o f their antient princes. Par
per, made of cotton, is a great manufacture of this country,
its principal ufe is for the fafh windows, o f the palaces and
houfes o f men of rank in Peking ', thofe o f glafs have not
reached even the cold latitude o f fo fplendid a people. Ging- Ging-seng,
feng, the celebrated medicinal plant o f the Chinefe, is found in
this country, and many parts o f Chinefe Tartary, o f Korea, and
even in the provinces o f Shan-Ji and Ho-nan, in China itfelf ;
but the latter is o f an inferior kind. It grows on the fteeps of
wooded mountains, or rocks, and on the banks of deep rivers.
The root which is applied to ufe is faid to be o f the ihape of a
man. There is not a phyfician o f eminence but who has celebrated
its virtues ; and. exadtly in the ftyle o f our empyrics.
If It fortifies,” fays Shi-Cbin, “ the noble parts, keeps the body
“ in good plight, fixes the animal fpirits, cures the palpitations
“ occafionèd by fudden frights, difpels malignant vapours, clears
“ the fight, opens and dilates the heart, and ftrengthêns the
** judgment. When it is taken a confiderable time together, it
“ makes the body light and a ¿live, and prolongs life,” In a few
words-, there is not a difeafe incident to the human body but
what it infallibly cures. The Manchews ftyle it Orhota, the mojt
noble, or queen of plants ', others the golden well bordered with
pretiousJlones. There are extant nine antient receipts and fixty-
Y a nine