Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest

“ Gemelle reproaches Nieuhoff with saying, that there are women of that description in China; but the fact is but too true, and is proved unequivocally by what the Author says upon the subject.
On the river of Canton there are boats with women of pleasure in them. With these women the Chinese of the town sometimes pass three or four days together.
They are trained up by other women, who carry on this shameful traffic; and are so instructed as to be ignorant of nothing lascivious or immodest. As the Chinese experience no tenderness from their wives, they are fond of this fort of immorality. ”

“ They are detached from the rocks as soon as the young one's take their flight; for it is the nest, and not the bird, that is of value. Whole boats are filled with this commodity, which becomes a considerable branch of commerce in the above countries. The property of this singular sort of aliment is to give a savoury taste to every dish of which it makes a part."
The Chinese are also of opinion that these bird's-nests are a stimulant to love, and in this persuasion, some of them have been known to give as much as an hundred Louis d'ors for twenty-five pounds weight of bird's-nests. ”

“ The second sort of religion, adopted long after the first, and consequently when the Chinese were already embodied into a regular nation, is Idolatry, and Idolatry carried to such a length, that every one is free to make Gods according to his fancy, so that every head of a family has some of his own creation. ”

“ The wick of all the Chinese candles is of bamboo.
Regency.
The word Regency is repeatedly used in this work to signify government or administration; as the regency of Batavia, the regency of Macao, and even the regency of Canton, that is, the administration of the province of Quang-tong, intrusted to the Tsong-tou, the Pou-yuen, and the Hou-pou, who all reside in the city of Canton. (Fr. Ed.)
Religion.
The primitive religion of China is that of the ancient patriarchs, such as Abraham, Melchisedeck, &c. ”

“ The Mongul Tartars, who conquered China in 1280, and who were driven out in 1280, inhabit Chinese Western Tartary. They are governed by Kans, or princes, who are all subject to the Emperor of China, as Grand Kan of the Tartars, (Fr. Ed.)
Temperature.
I beg the reader here to pardon my entering into a comparison of temperatures.
Pe-king is in 39 degrees 55 minutes north latitude, and Philadelphia in 39 degrees 56, so that they may be said to be under the same parallel.
The winter is exceedingly cold and severe at Pe-king; and the nature of the winter at Philadelphia is the same. ”

“ This relates to the young men who devote themselves to the study of the sciences. There are generally four thousand in the Academy, or Gymnasium, at Canton.
The Chinese attach the highest importance to the examinations they undergo, because those who get through them successfully are destined to fill the different posts in the Administration, even the most eminent. ”

“ The Author himself sold some at Canton as high as six Louis d'ors the Cati, or twenty ounces French. (Poids de marc.)
They are carried to Holland, where there is a great consumption of them, and where they are in high request. (Fr. Ed.)
Button.
A button, placed upon the front of the cap, serves In China to mark all the gradations of power, from the Emperor to the lowest Mandarin. The Emperor alone wears a large pearl as a button. ”

“ Paint.
It appears in the instructions of the Emperor Kang-hi to his sons, given in the Mémoires Chinois, quarto edition, vol. ix. page 226, that under the preceding dynasty, the ceruss and cinnabar consumed by the servant-girls belonging to the palace, cost ten millions of livres. (Fr. Ed.) ”

“ There died within that time at Pe-king eleven thousand four hundred persons, although refreshments were distributed in the streets.
In 1760 the heat killed eight thousand persons in less than two months.
Philadelphia is without doubt far from experiencing such a fatal degree of heat; but the thermometer often rises as high as 28 degrees of Reaumur (95 of Fahrenheit) . In the summer the days are burning hot; they are distressing; and the nights are almost as hot as the day. ”