over the central table land of this continent. But these conquerors have always yielded in their turn to the arts and institutions of the country which they subdued, and the machine of Chinese polity, after a temporary disorder, has resumed its accustomed action. The most memorable modern conquest was that of Genghis Khan, who, in the 11th century spread his desolating hordes from the shores of the Baltic to those of the Pacific ocean. The Tartars continued to hold the throne from the period of this conquest till 1357, when a rebellion was excited, which terminated in their expulsion, and the Chinese, for 276 years, obeyed their native princes. In 1641 the Tartars, taking advantage of an insurrection, again conquered the country and have ever since continued to hold the sovereignty.

Islands. The Loochoo islands, called also Lieou Kieou, are situated in the Pacific ocean about 400 or 500 miles east of China, near lon. 128° E. and lat. 26° N. They consist of 36 islands, all of which are small except the Great Loochoo, which is 50 miles long, and from 12 to 15 broad. It was very imperfectly known to Europeans, till visited by captains Maxwell and Hall, in their return from the late embassy to China. The climate and soil seem to be among the happiest on the globe. The whole coast is surrounded with coral reefs, but there are several excellent harbors. The inhabitants are of a diminutive stature, the average height of the men not exceeding five feet and two inches. They are, however, strong, well made and athletic. Their lineaments and appearance indicate a descent from the Japanese or Coreans. In complexion they are quite as fair as the natives of Spain or Portugal. Their disposition appears to be peculiarly gay, gentle, and amiable, and their manners are remarkably polite. During the stay of the English upon their coast they lavished upon them every species of courtesy and hospitality, and at their departure made demonstrations of deep grief, that were quite affecting. This kindness was accompanied, however, with that strong aversion to receive strangers into their country, which is characteristic of China, Japan and all the neighboring regions. Although eager to cultivate the intimacy of the English on board their ships, they carefully evaded for a fortnight every thing which could lead to their coming on shore. They are remarkably honest, not a single instance of theft having occured during the whole stay of the ships.

Formosa, called by the Chinese Tai-wan, is a large fertile island, 240 miles long and 60 broad, separated from the coast of China by a strait 60 miles wide in the narrowest part. It extends from lat. 22° 5' to 25° 20′ N. Hainan is an island of an oval form, 150 miles long and 75 broad. It extends from lat. 18° to 20° N. and is separated from the coast by a channel about 8 miles wide, The greater part of the island is under the dominion of the em peror of China, but the rest is independent.

TIBET.

Situation and Extent.] Tibet is bounded N. by the desert of Cobi or the unknown regions of Central Asia; E. by China; S by Farther India and the Himmaleh mountains, which separate it from Hindoostan; and W. by Independent Tartary. Including Bootan, which is one of its tributary provinces, it extends from 26° to 38° N. lat. and from 70° to 100° E. lon. The area has been estimated at 400,000 square miles, but we are very imperfectly acquainted with the limits of the country; and its interior is almost wholly unknown, no travellers having visited it in modern times, except Bogle and Turner, who were sent by the British in the character of ambassadors about the year 1783. Face of the Country.] Tibet has been called the Switzerland of Asia, the mountains of that continent here attaining their greatest height, and spreading themselves as from a centre, over China, India, Persia and Tartary. Here also are the sources of many of the principal streams, as the Indus, the Settedge, the Burrampooter, the Irawaddy, the Menam and the Yang-tsc-kiang, The whole country is rugged and mountainous in an extraordinary degree. In Bootan, however, the tops of the mountains are overspread with eternal verdure, and rich with abundant forests of large and lofty trees, while the sides are cultivated with the same care as in China, and are covered with populous villages surrounded by orchards and other plantations. Tibet proper, on the other hand, strikes the traveller as one of the least favored countries under heaven, and appears to be in a great measure incapable of cultivation: the climate, except in the sheltered valleys and hollows, is cold and bleak in the extreme, yet the pas tures abound with flocks, and the mountains are rich in minerals.

Productions.] The most valuable productions are the goat, from the wool or hair of which the fine shawls of Cashmere are made; the yak, or ox of Tibet and Tartary, distinguished by the profusion of soft hair, in some parts resembling wool, and by the large tails of glossy hair, which under the name of chowries, are in universal demand over India; gold, silver, quicksilver, copper. iron and many other minerals. Bootan produces rice, wine and a great variety of fruits.

Inhabitants.] The number of inhabitants is estimated by Hassel at 12 or 16 millions. They are a strong, well built people, of a brown complexion, and in many of their features bear a strong resemblance to the Mongols. A part of the nation subsist by ag riculture and the arts, and a part are nomades or wandering shepherds.

Government and Religion.] The government of the Tibetians is a theocracy. Their god and sovereign is the Grand Lama, who is believed to be immortal upon the earth. When his body dies, his soul, it is said, immediately transmigrates and re-appears in some infant, who having displayed all the characteristic marke

of identity to the satisfaction of the priests, is received by the nation as its spiritual head and sovereign. The emperor of China is the protector of the Lama, and maintains garrisons in all the principal places. The religion of the Grand Lama is nearly allied to that of Buddha, which originated in Hindoostan, and is now spread over the whole of Tartary and Eastern Asia. Tibet, however, may be considered as the metropolitan seat of this religion, since it contains the residence of the Grand Lama, generaly revered as its head, and is the only country where its ministers hold the sovereign sway. The ceremonies of the religion bear a strong resemblance to those of the Roman Catholic church.

Chief Town. Lassa, the capital, and residence of the Grand Lama, is in lon. 91° 25′ E. lat. 29° 30′ N. The city is frequently crowded with royal and noble personages from all parts of Asia, who come to present their homage, and to offer splendid presents to this earthly divinity.

COREA.

Corea is a large country, situated immediately east of China, and consisting of a peninsula, formed on one side by the Yellow sea, and on the other by the sea of Japan. It may be about 400 miles long and 150 broad. The country is known to us only by accounts received through China, and by those of a Dutchman, who was shipwrecked there in the middle of the 17th century. The inhabitants are said to be as civilized as the Chinese, and to resemble them strongly in their literature and arts. They manifest also the same jealousy of foreigners. The king of Corea pays tribute to the emperor of China, and sends an annual embassy to Pekin.

CHINESE TARTARY.

Situation.] The name of Chinese Tartary is commonly applied to all that part of the Chinese empire not included in China proper, Tibet or Corea. It extends from these countries on the south to the Russian dominions on the north, and from the sea of Japan in the east to Independent Tartary. The whole of this country is inhabited by wandering tribes, but only the western part is occupied by the proper Tartars, the rest being in the possession of the Mongols and the Mantchoos, who are entirely distinct from them.

Divisions] This country is commonly divided into three parts. 1. Little Bukaria, in the west; 2. Mongolia, in the middle; and 3. the land of the Mantchoos, in the east.

LITTLE BUKARIA. This country appears to be bounded N. and E. by Mongolia; by Tibet, and W. by Independent Tartary

It is almost entirely unknown to Europeans, and all the materials on which its description is founded are imperfect and obscure. The inhabitants are Tartars and Mahometans, and since 1759 have been tributary to the Chinese. The principal towns are Yarkand and Cashgar.

MONGOLIA. Mongolia is an extensive country bounded N. by Asiatic Russia; E. by the land of the Mantchoos; S. by China and Tibet and W. by Little Bukaria and Independent Tartary. It includes a great part of the desert of Shamo or Cobi, and is traversed by the wandering hordes of that nomadic race which, under the name of Monguls or Moguls, have been so celebrated in the annals of Asia. Under Genghis Khan they extended their dominion not only over the finest regions of this continent, but over a great part of northern Europe. At present they are split into a number of petty states, dependent on the emperor of China. The Monguls compose a race by themselves, distinguished by a physical form and aspect entirely different from that of the Turks and Tartars. They are of the middle size, but muscular and strongly built; their faces broad, square and flat; their eyes small, oblique, black and keen. Their herds consist of horses, cows, sheep, goats and a few camels. Their food consists entirely of flesh, of which horse flesh is considered as by much the most delicate. Their favorite liquor is fermented mares' milk, or Koumiss, in which they often indulge to excess. Besides the Monguls proper, there is a number of other nations who are considered as included in the same race, particularly the Kalkas, and the Eluths.

COUNTRY OF THE MANTCHOOS. This country is bounded N. by Siberia, from which it is separated by the Altay mountains; E. by the sea of Japan; S. by Corea and China proper; and W. by a chain of mountains which separates it from Mongolia. It is watered by the great river Amour, and is almost as extensive as China proper, but is as little known to Europeans as central Asia. The inhabitants were originally nomades, but since they conquered China in 1644 their union with a civilized people has occasioned the introduction of agriculture and the arts, and a part of the nation now inhabit towns and villages. The race who at present occupy the throne in China originated in this country.

Island.] Saghalien is a large island, 450 miles long, from 40 to 130 broad, and separated from the continent by a narrow channel called the channel of Tartary. It appears to be thinly inhabited. The northern part is occupied by a colony of Mantchoos; at the southern extremity the Japanese formed a settlement which has been destroyed by the Russians, who, it is supposed, intend to form an establishment there themselves.

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JAPAN.

Situation and Extent.] Japan is an extensive empire, consisting of several islands, lying between 31° and 42° N. lat. and separrated from the eastern coast of Asia by the sea of Japan. The principal of these islands is Niphon, which is upwards of 700 miles long and on an average 80 broad. The two next are Sikoke and Kiu-siu. The large island of Jesso, immediately north of Niphon, has been colonised and governed by Japan, though it is scarcely reckoned an integral part of the empire. Several of the Kurile islands are also dependent on Japan. The extent of the three original islands may be computed at 90,000 square

miles.

Face of the Country.] The coasts are rocky and precipitous, and the sea which surrounds them is full of shallows and whirlpools; so that there are few parts of the shore which can be approached with safety. The general aspect of the country is rugged and mountainous. Considerable plains indeed occur in some parts; but the greater portion of the fertile territory consists only of narrow vallies; while extensive tracts are naturally barren, and are made to yield the means of subsistence only by the most unremitting industry.

Climate. In consequence of the variety of surface, the climate is liable to extremes both of heat and cold. The thermometer in the southern part of the empire varies from 98° to 35°, and the ground is occasionally covered with snow. All the islands are exposed to volcanoes and earthquakes, which are often very destructive. In 1703 a part of Jedo, the capital, was swallowed up, and 100,000 persons perished.

Productions.] The mineral productions are copper, which is the finest in the world, and is the principal article of export; coal, in sufficient quantities to supply all the islands with fuel, and gold and sulphur in abundance. Pearls are also found in almost the whole circuit of the island of Sikoke. The principal vegetable products are the rhus vernix or varnish tree, affording a milky juice, with which the natives varnish, or as we call it japan, all their household furniture, dishes and platesThe mulberry tree, the tea shrub and the camphor tree are very common; and oranges, lemons, figs, apricots and peaches are abundant. Among cultivated vegetables rice takes the lead, and forms the main article of subsistence throughout the empire.

Agriculture.] Agriculture is conducted with the same care as in China. A great part of the soil indeed is hilly and irregular; but even the sides of the hills are formed by stone walls into terraces, many of which rise one above another, and are watered from reservoirs on the top.

Manufactures.] The principal manufactures are silk and cotton goods; but in the former they are excelled by the Chinese