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SHORT HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL ACCOUNT

OF THE

PROVINCE OF HOK-KËÈN.

(COMPILED FROM EUROPEAN AND CHINESE AUTHORS.)

THE PROVINCE of 福建 Hok-këèn, ‘happy establishment,’ lies in the S. E. quarter of the Empire of China. The latitude of its Capital, 福州 Hok-chew, ‘happy region,’ is 26° 3’ N. and its Longitude 1º 30’ E. from Peking. The account given of it by Malte Brun is as follows:

“Fou-kien (or Hok-këèn) is one of the smallest, yet richest, provinces of the Empire. Its situation is favourable for fishing, navigation, and trade. The air is very warm, but pure and healthy. The fields are watered with an infinity of rivers, which come from the mountains, and which the labourers manage with great dexterity, for watering their rice-grounds. Black tea is the principal product. It also contains musk, precious stones, iron, tin, and quicksilver mines; silk, hemp, and cotton are manufactured; steel is prepared, both in the form of bars, and ready-made articles of hardware; and among the delicious and abundant fruits which it produces, the oranges are remarkable for the flavour of muscat grapes which they possess. Fou-chew-fou (Hok-chew-hoó), the capital of the province, is, above all, celebrated for its situation, for the great trade which it possesses, for the multitude of its men of learning, for the beauty of its rivers, which bear the great barks of China to its very walls, and, finally, for an admirable bridge, thrown over the gulf, consisting of a hundred arches, and entirely built of a beautiful white stone. Yen-peng-fou (Yëên-pêng-hoó), situated on the declivity of a mountain, at the foot of which flows the river Min-ho, is not large, but it is considered as one of the handsomest towns in the Empire. Tchang-chew-fou (Chëang-chew-hoó) is near the port of Emouy (Āy-moôing), a great emporium of trade, frequented by the Spaniards from Manilla [sic].”

The Hok-këèn province was formerly called the 閩 Bân country: the following notices respecting its early history are taken from the 綱鑑易知 Kong kàm ē te, or “History of China.”

As early as the first year of 秦始皇 Chin-sé-hông, B. C. 215, we find mention, made of the Bân country. The Empire being then divided into 36 districts, or 群 Kwûn, to which were added four others from the 粵 Wat country, namely, 閩中 Bân-tëang, or Hok-këèn; 南海 Lâm-hae, or Canton; 桂林 Kwùy-lîm, Cochin China; and 象群 Sëang-kwûn (perhaps Siam).