The Chinese coin no money, except the small pieces of copper like those we falus, nor will they allow gold and silver to be coined into specie, like our dinars and drams; for they allege that a thief may carry off ten thousand pieces of gold from the house of an Arab, and almost as many of silver, without being much burthened, and so ruin the man who suffers the loss; but in the house of a Chinese, he can only carry off ten thousand falus at the most, which do not make above ten meticals or gold dinars in value. These pieces of copper are alloyed with some other metal, and are about the size of a dram, or the piece of silver called bagli, having a large hole in the middle to string them by. A thousand of them are worth a metical or gold dinar; and they string them by thousands, with a knot distinguishing the hundreds. All their payments, whether for land, furniture, merchandize, or any thing else, are made in this money, of which there are some pieces at Siraff, inscribed with Chinese characters. The city of Canfu is built of wood and canes interwoven, just like our lattice-work of split canes, the whole washed over with a kind of varnish made of hempseed, which becomes as white as milk, having a wonderfully fine gloss. There are no stairs in their houses, which are all of one storey, and all their valuables are placed in chests upon wheels, which in case of fire can easily be drawn from place to place, without any hinderance from stairs.

The inferior officers of the cities, and those commonly who have the direction of the customs and of the treasury, are almost all eunuchs, some of whom have been captured on the frontiers and made so, while others are so treated by their fathers, and sent as presents to the emperors. These officers are at the head of the principal affairs of state, and have the management of the emperor's private affairs, and of the treasury; and those, particularly, who are sent to Canfu, are selected from this class. It is customary for them, and for the viceroys or governors of the cities, to appear abroad from time to time in solemn procession. On these occasions, they are preceded by men who carry great pieces of wood, like those used in the Levant instead of bells by the Christians, on which they make a noise which is heard at a great distance, upon which every person gets out of the way of the prince or eunuch. Even if a man is at his door, he goes in, and keeps his door shut till the great personage has gone by. Thus, not a soul is in the way, and this is enjoined that they may strike a dread into the people, and be held in veneration; and the people are not allowed to see them often, lest they should grow so familiar as to speak to them. All these officers wear very magnificent dresses of silk, so fine that none such is brought into the country of the Arabs, as the Chinese hold it at a very high price. One of our chief merchants, a man of perfect credibility, waited upon an eunuch who had been sent to Canfu, to purchase some goods from the country of the Arabs. The eunuch had upon his breast a short and beautiful silk vest, which was under another silk vest, and seemed to have two other vests over that again; and perceiving that the Arab eyed him very steadfastly, he asked him the cause; and being told that he admired the beauty of the little vest under his other garments, the eunuch laughed, and holding out his sleeve to him, desired him to count how many vests he had above that which he so much admired. He did so, and found five, one over the other, and the little rich vest undermost. These garments are all wove of raw silk, which has never been washed or fulled; and those worn by the princes or governors are still richer, and more exquisitely, wrought.

The Chinese surpass all nations in all arts, and particularly in painting, and they perform such perfect work, as others can but faintly imitate. When an artificer has finished a piece, he carries it to the prince's palace to demand the reward which he thinks he deserves, for the beauty of his performance; and the custom is for the prince to order the work to be left at the gate of the palace for a whole year, and if in that time no person finds a just fault in the piece, the artificer is rewarded, and admitted into the body of artists; but if any fault is discovered, the piece is rejected, and the workman sent off without reward. It happened once, that one of these artists painted an ear of corn, with a bird perched upon it, and his performance was very much admired. This piece, stood exposed to public view as usual, and one day a crooked fellow going past, found fault with the picture, and was immediately conducted to the prince or governor, who sent for the painter that he might hear his piece criticized. Being asked what fault he had to find, he answered, that every one knew that a bird never settles on an ear of corn, but it must bend under the weight; whereas this painter had represented the ear of corn bolt upright, though loaded with a bird. The objection was held just, and the painter was dismissed without reward. By such means, they excite their workmen to aim at perfection, and to be exceedingly nice and circumspect in what they undertake, and to apply their whole genius to any thing that has to go through their hands.

There dwelt at Basra one Ebn Wahab, of the tribe of Koreish, descended from Hebar, the son of Al Asud, who quitted Basra when it was sacked, and came to Siraff, where he saw a ship preparing to sail for China155. The humour took him to embark in this ship for China, and he had the curiosity to visit the emperor's court. Leaving Canfu, he went to Cumdan, after a journey of two months, and remained a long while at the court, where he presented several petitions to the emperor, setting forth, that he was of the family of the prophet of the Arabs. After a considerable interval, the emperor ordered him to be lodged in a house appointed for the purpose, and to be supplied with every thing he might need. The emperor then wrote to the governor of Canfu, to inquire carefully among the Arabian merchants respecting this man's pretensions; and receiving a full confirmation of his extraction, received him to an audience, and made him rich presents, with which he returned to Irak.

When, we saw him, this man was much advanced in years, but had his senses perfectly. He told us that the emperor asked him many questions respecting the Arabs, and particularly how they had destroyed the kingdom of the Persians. Ebn Wahab answered, that they had done it by the assistance of God, and because the Persians were immersed in idolatry, adoring the sun, moon, and stars, instead of the Almighty. The emperor said, that they had conquered the most illustrious kingdom of the earth, the best cultivated, the most populous, the most pregnant of fine wits, and of the highest fame. The emperor then asked Ebn Wahab what account the Arabs made of the other kings of the earth; to which he answered that he knew them not. Then the emperor caused the interpreter to say, we admit but five great kings. He who is master of Irak has the kingdom of widest extent, which is surrounded by the territories of other kings, and we find him called King of Kings. After him is the emperor of China, who is styled King of Mankind, for no king has more absolute authority over his subjects, and no people can be more dutiful and submissive than his subjects. Next is the king of the Turks, whose kingdom borders on China, and who is styled the King of Lions. Next is the king of the Elephants, who is king of the Indies, whom we call King of Wisdom. Last of all is the King of Greece, whom we call King of Men, as there are no men of better manners, or comlier appearance, on the face of the earth, than his subjects.

Ebn Wahab was then asked if he knew his lord and master the prophet Mohammed, and if he had seen him? How could that be, said Wahab, seeing that he is with God? Being then asked what manner of person he was; he answered that he was very handsome. Then a great box was brought, out of which another box was taken, and the interpreter was desired to shew him his lord and master. Ebn Wahab, upon looking in, saw the images of the prophets and the emperor observing him to move his lips, desired him to be asked the reason; on which he said he was praying inwardly in honour of the prophets. Being asked how he knew them, he said by the representation of their histories; as for instance, one was Noah and his ark, who were saved from the flood with those who were with them. The emperor laughed, and said he was right in regard to Noah, but denied the universal deluge; which, though it had covered part of the earth, did not reach China or the Indies. On Wahab observing that the next was Moses, with his rod, and the children of Israel; the emperor agreed that their country was of small extent, and that Moses had extirpated the ancient inhabitants. Wahab then pointed out Jesus upon the ass, accompanied by his apostles. To this the emperor said, that he had been a short time upon earth, all his transactions having very little exceeded the space of thirty months. On seeing the image of Mohammed riding on a camel, and his companions about him, with Arabian shoes and leathern girdles, Wahab wept; and being asked the reason, he answered, it was on seeing his prophet and lord, who was his cousin also. The emperor then asked concerning the age of the world; and Wahab answered, that opinions varied on the subject, as some reckoned it to be six thousand years old, while some would not allow so many, and others extended it to a greater antiquity. Being asked why he had deserted his own king, to whom he was so near in blood; he gave information of the revolutions which had happened at Basra, which had forced him to fly to Siraff; where, hearing of the glory of the emperor of China, and the abundance of every thing in his empire, he had been impelled by curiosity to visit it; but that he intended soon to return to the kingdom of his cousin, where he should make a faithful report of the magnificence of China, the vast extent of its provinces, and of the kind usage he had met with. This seemed to please the emperor, who made him rich presents, and ordered him to be conducted to Canfu on post horses156. He wrote also to the governor of that city, commanding him to be treated with honour; and to the governors of the provinces through which he had to pass, to shew him every civility. He was treated handsomely during the remainder of his stay in China, plentifully supplied with all necessaries, and honoured with many presents157.