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Article THE GENERAL HISTORY OF CHINA: ← Page 2 of 4 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The General History Of China:
' Although Pekin is larger than Paris , in respect of the ground it stands on , it hath not more than three millions of souls in it , which computation is easily made , since ever } " head of the famhyis obliged to give an account to the magistrates of the number of his famil } , their age , and sex . Several things contribute to people this country ; as the multiplicity of wives which the Chinese are allowed ; the goodness of the
climate , which hath been hitherto free from the plague ; their sobriety and good temper ; the contempt which they have for all other nations , which prevents their settling pr even travelling any where ; and , above all , the universal peace which they enjoy . There are in each province a great number of cities of the first , second , and third order , the greater part of which are built on the
banks of navigable rivers , having large suburbs . - ' Besides these cities there are a multitude of forts , castles , towns , and v . liages ; and some of the towns , especially those called Tching , may be compared to cities for magnitude , number of inhabitants , and trade ; they are called towns because not surrounded with wallsnor governed by particular magistratesbut By
, , those of the neighbouring cities ; as , for example , Kin-te-ching , where the finest Porcelain ' e is made , is' dependent on a town'in the district of Jao-tcheou ; and Fochan , dependent on Canton , being but lour leairues from if .
Mast oi the ctties of China , are alike , being all oblong squares , and so contrived as to have , as near as possible , the four right angles face the four cardinal points , and the streets to face the South , in order . to avoid the sharpness of the North-Wind : the walls of the cities are generally very broad and high , and are either of brick or square stone ; behind is a rampart of earth , and round about it a wide ditchwith hih square towers at proper
dis-, g tances from each other . Every gate is double , and has double foldings , and between the gates is a place wherein to exercise the soldiers : when one enters the first gate , the second is not to be seen because they are not opposite : above the gates are fine towers , like arsenals , and guardhouses for soldiers ; and without the gates are frequentty large
suburbs which contain near as rnaiw inhabitants as the city . In the most frequented parts of each city you see one or more towers , the height and architecture of which are very extraordinary ; some of these towers are nine stories high ,. but none less than seven ; the principal streets of the cities are stiaight , but often narrowexcept those of the imperial citywhich are very
, , long and wide , and mi ghty convenient , especially for horses and chariots : all the buildings , excepting the towers and some particular edifices , are very low , and so covered and hid by the walls of the city , that one would think they surrounded a park rather than a town . Near most of the great cities , especially in the southern provinces ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The General History Of China:
' Although Pekin is larger than Paris , in respect of the ground it stands on , it hath not more than three millions of souls in it , which computation is easily made , since ever } " head of the famhyis obliged to give an account to the magistrates of the number of his famil } , their age , and sex . Several things contribute to people this country ; as the multiplicity of wives which the Chinese are allowed ; the goodness of the
climate , which hath been hitherto free from the plague ; their sobriety and good temper ; the contempt which they have for all other nations , which prevents their settling pr even travelling any where ; and , above all , the universal peace which they enjoy . There are in each province a great number of cities of the first , second , and third order , the greater part of which are built on the
banks of navigable rivers , having large suburbs . - ' Besides these cities there are a multitude of forts , castles , towns , and v . liages ; and some of the towns , especially those called Tching , may be compared to cities for magnitude , number of inhabitants , and trade ; they are called towns because not surrounded with wallsnor governed by particular magistratesbut By
, , those of the neighbouring cities ; as , for example , Kin-te-ching , where the finest Porcelain ' e is made , is' dependent on a town'in the district of Jao-tcheou ; and Fochan , dependent on Canton , being but lour leairues from if .
Mast oi the ctties of China , are alike , being all oblong squares , and so contrived as to have , as near as possible , the four right angles face the four cardinal points , and the streets to face the South , in order . to avoid the sharpness of the North-Wind : the walls of the cities are generally very broad and high , and are either of brick or square stone ; behind is a rampart of earth , and round about it a wide ditchwith hih square towers at proper
dis-, g tances from each other . Every gate is double , and has double foldings , and between the gates is a place wherein to exercise the soldiers : when one enters the first gate , the second is not to be seen because they are not opposite : above the gates are fine towers , like arsenals , and guardhouses for soldiers ; and without the gates are frequentty large
suburbs which contain near as rnaiw inhabitants as the city . In the most frequented parts of each city you see one or more towers , the height and architecture of which are very extraordinary ; some of these towers are nine stories high ,. but none less than seven ; the principal streets of the cities are stiaight , but often narrowexcept those of the imperial citywhich are very
, , long and wide , and mi ghty convenient , especially for horses and chariots : all the buildings , excepting the towers and some particular edifices , are very low , and so covered and hid by the walls of the city , that one would think they surrounded a park rather than a town . Near most of the great cities , especially in the southern provinces ,