Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/643

] lie related of the great of  (i.e., King-sze, hod. ), to the many persons whom he had met at  since his return, who had themselves been witnesses of those marvels. And, some twenty years later, found attached to one of the s at , in , a  or for the accommodation of the  s.

But by far the most distinct and notable evidence of the importance and frequency of an with Cathay, of which  and   formed the staple, is to be found in the commercial hand- (circa ) of, a  and  of the great Florentine  of the , which was  about that time by its dealings with  of. This, called by its author Libro di divisamenti di Paesi, is a sort of -guide, devoting successive chapters to the various s and s of his time, detailing the nature of s and s at each, the and , the local s of , s, s, and. The first two chapters of this work contain instructions for the proceeding to Cathay; and it is evident, from the terms used, that the  thither was not unfrequently travelled by an s, from whom  had derived his information. The route which he describes lay by, , , (on the ),  ( in ),  (in ), and so to  and. Particulars are given as to the s which formed the  of, and the  of Cathay. That the ventures on this were not insignificant is plain from the example taken by the author to illustrate the question of expenses on the journey, which is that of a  investing in goods there to the amount of some 12,000 (i.e., in actual  value, not as calculated by any fanciful and fallacious equation of values). Of the same remarkable phase of that we are here considering we have also a number of notices by. The establishment of the  in, by which the Great  was acknowledged as  paramount, led (as we have already noticed in part) to a good deal of intercourse. And some of the,  at , under the patronage of the , have told us much about Cathay, especially , the great  and  of the dynasty (died ). We have also in the of the  traveller, who visited China about –, very many curious and in great part true notices, though it is not possible to give credence to the whole of this episode in his extensive travels.

(Author:Henry Yule)

General Description of China Proper.

China, as the name is at present used, embraces within its boundaries the dependencies of, , and , in addition to China Proper. This vast extends from 18° 30′ to 53° 25′ N undefined., and from 80° to 130° E. undefined. It is bounded on the N. by along a frontier extending nearly 3000 s; on the E. by those portions of the  which are known in the north as the, in the central portion as the , and in the south as the ; on the S. and S.W. by the , , and ; and on the W. by  and , which province has within the last few s been wrested from China by the.

Table of Provinces, with and.

