Travelers from history and their famous sea voyages

In a letter dated 1st December, 1875, written by Mr. R. B. Shaw, after his
last return from Kashgar and Lahore, this distinguished traveller says; ‘I
have heard stories related regarding a Buddhist high priest whose temple
is said to be not far to the east of Lanchau, which reminds me of Marco
Polo and Kbli Khan. This high priest is said to have the magic power of
attracting cups and plates to him from a distance, so that things fly
through the air into his hands.’ (_MS. Note_.–H. Y.)

The Chinese divide their year into 24 portions of 15 days each.
Of these 24 divisions twelve called _Kung_ mark the twelve places in
which the sun and moon come into conjunction, and are thus in some
degree analogous to our 12 signs of the Zodiac. The names of these
_Kung_ are entirely different from those of our sign, though since the
17th century the Western Zodiac, with paraphrased names, has been
introduced in some of their books. But besides that, they divide the
heavens into 28 stellar spaces. The correspondence of this division to
the Hindu system of the 28 Lunar Mansions, called _Nakshatras_, has
given rise to much discussion. The Chinese _sieu_ or stellar spaces
are excessively unequal, varying from 24?in equatorial extent down to
24″. (_Williams_, op. cit.) [See _P. Hoang_, supra p. 449.]

evil demons; there are also sirocco winds, which kill all who encounter
them
‘In the Desert’ (this same desert), says Fa-hian, ‘there are a great many
evil demons; there are also sirocco winds, which kill all who encounter
them. There are no birds or beasts to be seen; but so far as the eye can
reach, the route is marked out by the bleached bones of men who have
perished in the attempt to cross.’

TARTARS
OF THOSE WHO DID REIGN AFTER CHINGHIS KAAN, AND OF THE CUSTOMS OF THE
TARTARS.

4. The colour of the pendants varies in the texts. Pauthier”s and the G.
Text have _red and black_; the Lat. S. G. _black_ only, the Crusca _black
and white_, Ramusio _feathers red and blue_ (not pendants). The _red and
black_ may have slipt in from the preceding description. I incline to
believe it to be the Demoiselle, _Anthropoides Virgo_, which is frequently
seen as far north as Lake Baikal. It has a tuft of pure _white_ from the
eye, and a beautiful black pendent ruff or collar; the general plumage
purplish-grey.

[Mr. Vissering (_Chinese Currency_, Addenda, I.-III.) gives a facsimile
and a description of a Chinese banknote of the Ming Dynasty belonging to
the collection of the Asiatic Museum of the Academy of Sciences at St.
Petersburg. ‘In the eighth year of the period _Hung-wu_ (1375), the
Emperor Tai-tsu issued an order to his minister of finances to make the
_Pao-tsao_ (precious bills) of the _Ta-Ming_ Dynasty, and to employ as raw
material for the composition of those bills the fibres of the mulberry
tree.’–H. C.]

[10] [Cf. Paulin Paris”s ed., 1848, II. p. 5.–H. C.]

_Erlaca_, or, as Erdmann has it, _Artacki_
Rashid, in a short notice of this campaign, calls the first city _Erica_,
_Erlaca_, or, as Erdmann has it, _Artacki_. In De Mailla it is _Ulahai_.