Juan González de Mendoza - The History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China and the Situation Thereof, Volume 1 (of 2)

"The Louteas are an idle generation, without all maner of exercises and pastymes, excepte it be eatyng and drynkyng. Somtymes they walke abrode in the fieldes to make the souldyers shoot at prickes with theyr bowes, but theyr eatyng passeth: they wyll stande eatyng euen when the other do drawe to shoote.

"The inhabitants of China be very great idolaters, all generally do worshyppe the heauens: and as we are woont to saye, God knoweth it, so say they at euery worde, Tien Tautee, that is to saye, the heauens do knowe it . Some do worshyp the sonne, and some the moone, as they thynke good, for none are bounde more to one then to an other. In their temples, the which they do cal Meani, they haue a great altar in y esame place as we have; true it is that one may goe rounde about it. There set they up the image of a certayne Loutea of that countrey, whom they haue in great reuerence for certaine notable thinges he dyd. At the ryght hande standeth the deuyl, muche more vglie paynted then we do vse to set hym out, whereunto great homage is done by suche as come into the temple to aske counsell, or to drawe lottes: this opinion they haue of hym, that he is malitious and able to do euyl. If you aske them what they do thynke of the soules departed, they will answeare, that they be immortall, and that as soone as any one departeth out of this life, he becometh a deuyle if he haue liued well in this worlde; if otherwyse, that the same deuyl changeth him into a bufle, oxe, or dogge. Wherfore to this deuyl do they much honour, to hym do they sacrifice, praying hym that he wyll make them lyke vnto hym selfe, and not lyke other beastes. They haue moreouer an other sorte of temples, wherein both uppon the altars and also on the walles do stande many idoles well proportioned, but bare headed. These bare name Omithofon, accompted of them spirites, but suche as in heaven do neither good nor euyll; thought to be suche men and women as haue chastlye lyued in this worlde in abstinence from fyshe and fleshe, fedde only with ryse and salates. Of that deuyl they make some accompte, for these spirites they care litle or nothyng at all. Agayne, they holde opinion that if a man do well in this lyfe, the heauens wyll geue hym many temporall blessynges; but if he do euyll, then shall he haue infirmities, diseases, troubles, and penurie, and all this without any knowledge of God.

"In the principall cities of the shyres be foure cheefe Louteas, before whom are brought all matters of the inferiour townes throughout the whole realme. Diuers other Louteas haue the maneagyng of iustice and receyuyng of rentes, bounde to yeeld an accompte thereof vnto the greater officers. Other doo see that there be no euyll rule keept in the citie: eache one as it behoueth hym. Generally al these do impryson malefactours, cause them to be whypped and racked, hoysing them vp and downe by the armes with a corde, a thyng very vsuall there, and accompted no shame. These Louteas do vse great diligence in y eapprehending of theeues, so that it is a wonder to see a theefe escape away in any towne, citie, or village. Upon the sea neere vnto the shore many are taken, and looke euen as they are taken, so be they fyrst whypped, and afterward layd in prison, where shortly after they all dye for hunger and colde. At that tyme when we were in pryson, there died of them aboue threescore and ten. Yf happely any one hauyng the meanes to geat foode do escape, he is set with the condemned persones, and prouided for as they be by the kyng, in such wyse as hereafter it shalbe sayde.

"Theyr whyps be certayne peeces of canes, cleft in the middle, in such sort that they seeme rather playne then sharpe. He that is to be whipped lieth grouelong on the ground. Upon his thighes the hangman layeth on blowes myghtely with these canes, that the standers by tremble at theyr crueltie. Ten strypes drawe a great deale of blood, twentie or thyrtie spoyle the fleshe altogeather, fyftie or threescore wyll require long tyme to be healed, and yf they come to the number of one hundred, then are they incurable."

"Wee are wont to call this countrey China, and the people Chineans; but as long as we were prisoners, not hearing amongst them at any tyme that name, I determined to learne howe they were called: and asked sometymes by them thereof, for that they vnderstoode vs not when wee called them Chineans, I answered them that all the inhabitantes of India named them Chineans, wherefore I prayed them that they would tell mee for what occasion they are so called, whether peradventure any citie of theyrs bare that name. Heerevnto they alwayes answered mee, to haue no suche name, nor euer to haue had. Than dyd I aske them what name the whole countrey beareth, and what they would answere beyng asked of other nations what countrymen they were: It was tolde me that of auncient tyme in this countrey had been many kynges, and though presently it were all vnder one, eche kyngdome neuertheless enioyed that name it fyrst had: these kyngdomes are the prouinces I spake of before. In conclusion they sayde, that the whole countrey is called Tamen, and the inhabitantes Tamegines, so that this name China or Chineans is not hearde of in that countrey. I doe thinke that the nearenesse of an other prouince thereabout called Cochin-China, and the inhabitantes thereof Cochinesses, fyrst discouered before that China was, lying not farre from Malacca, dyd gyue occasion both to the one nation and to the other of that name Chineans, as also the whole countrey to be named China. But their proper name is that aforesayde.

"I haue hearde moreouer that in the citie Nanquim remayneth a table of golde, and in it written a kyng his name, as a memory of that residence the kynges were wont to keepe there. This table standeth in a great pallace, couered alwayes except it bee in some of theyr festiuall dayes, at what tyme they are wont to let it be seene: couered neuerthelesse as it is, all the nobilitie of the citie goeth of duetie to doe it euery day reuerence. The lyke is done in the head cities of all the other shyres in the pallaces of the Ponchiassini, wherein these aforesayde tables doe stande, with the kyng his name written in them, although no reuerence be done therevnto but in solempne feastes.

"I haue lykewyse vnderstoode that the citie Pachin, where the kyng maketh his abode, is so great, that to goe from one syde to the other, besydes the subarbes, the which are greater than the citie it selfe, it requyreth one whole day a horsebacke, going hackney pase. In the subarbes be many wealthy marchantes of all sortes. They tolde me furthermore that it was moted about, and in the motes great store of fyshe, wherof the kyng maketh great gaynes.

"They haue moreouer one thing very good, and that whiche made vs all to marueyle at them, beyng Gentiles: namely, that there be hospitalles in all theyr cities, alwayes full of people, we neuer sawe any poore body begge. We therefore asked the cause of this: answered it was, that in euery citie there is a great circuit, wherein be many houses for poore people, for blinde, lame, old folke, not able to traueyle for age, nor hauyng any other meanes to lyue. These folke haue in the aforesayde houses, euer plentie of rice duryng theyr lyues, but nothyng els. Such as be receyued into these houses, come in after this maner. Whan one is sicke, blinde, or lame, he maketh a supplication to the Ponchiassi, and prouyng that to be true he wryteth, he remayneth in the aforesayde great lodgyng as long as he lyueth: besides this they keepe in these places swyne and hennes, whereby the poore be releeued without goyng a beggyng.

"The kyng hath in many ryuers good store of barges full of sea crowes, that breede, are fedde, and do dye therein, in certayne cages, allowed monethly a certayne prouision of ryce. These barges the kyng bestoweth vpon his greatest magistrates, geuyng to some two, to some three of them, as he thynketh good, to fyshe therewithall after this maner. At the houre appoynted to fyshe, all the barges are brought togeather in a circle, where the riuer is shalowe, and the crowes, tyed togeather vnder the wynges, are let leape downe into the water, some vnder, some aboue, worth the lookyng vppon: eche one as he hath filled his bagge, goeth to his owne barge and emptieth it, which done, he retourneth to fyshe agayne. Thus hauyng taken good store of fyshe, they set the crowes at libertie, and do suffer them to fyshe for theyr owne pleasure. There were in that citie where I was, twentie barges at the least of these aforesayde crowes; I wente almost euery day to see them, yet coulde I neuer be thoroughly satisfied to see so straunge a kynde of fyshyng."