1788. o-ether in'whifpers, would be able to underftand each other but
February. . r x u
— i .imperfectly. \
Nor is this capital defeft in theirdanguage likely to be remedied.
The Mandarines affea to Write in arbitrary chara&ers, fo
as not to be underftood by the -common people; this muft ever
prevent the Chinefe language from being brought to a proper
ftandard, fo as to be underftood by the world in general.
Their method of writing is in columns, from the top to the
bottom, in the fame order as we make figures of pounds, ftiil-
lings, and pence; and they always begin at the right-hand margin
and conclude oii the left.
Their arithmetic is decimal, every thing being reckoned by
tens. They have not any idea of addition by figures, but are very
expert in cafting up any fums, by the help of wooden balls,
which run on final! Ipindles in a kind of open box.
'The money in circulation here is chiefly Spanilh dollars ; the
•only money coined in this extenfive empire, is a bale kind of copper,
-called cajh, eighty of which are about the value of eight-
pence fterling.
Their religion is rank Paganifm, every family having its houfe-
iliold god, which is an image, generally fixed in fome confpicuous
place, and decorated with a number of fantaftical ornaments; a
light is kept conftantly burning near this image in the nighttime.
All the boats on the river have got a place in the ftern
appropriated for “ Jos,” as they call their image or god, and always
take care to have the manfion of his worlhip illuminated in.
the night feafon; yet many, even amongft the common people, 1788.
have fufiicient difcernment to perceive the fallacy of fuch an ab- . ebmal>,
furd worlhip, and readily acknowledge a Supreme Being, unfeen,
invilible, and who exifts to all eternity.
Polygamy is allowed here in its utmoft extent, and the people
of rank in general keep a number of wives; yet this indulgence
is frequently infufficient to gratify their unnatural delires. They
are particularly careful to prevent foreigners from having any
connexion with their women; and whenever any thing of the
kind is difcovered, the party is fure to fuffer imprifonment, or pay
a heavy fine.
It is fomewhat remarkable, that a people who carry on an ex-
tenfive commerce with the moft civilized nations, and have made
fo great a pregrofs in the polite arts, fuch as. painting, architecture,
&c. Ihould be totally ignorant of mufic; and yet this is ab-
folutely the cale. The band which accompanied his Excellency
the Hoppo, when he came to meafure our velfels, and which, no
doubt, was compofed of the belt performers, to be in the fuit of
fo great a perfonage, conlifted of two brafs conchs, beat like the
Englilh tabor, and three or four pipes, not very much unlike a
bag-pipe; the whole forming a harmony refembling a low-gelder’s
horn and the cackling of geefe. However, joking apart, they
certainly have not the moft diftant idea of melody, and in this *
particular are very greatly excelled by the Savages on the North
Weft coaft of America.
China produces beef, mutton, pork, goats, geefe, ducks, fowls,
&c. in tolerable plenty. The beef is pretty good, but very fmall,
weighing not more than from fifty to feventy pounds per quar-
R r ter.