and shall not vse any other without licence of the justice: if one of them bee verie rich and will not worke, yet he cannot let but haue in his shop men that must worke of his occupation. Therefore they that do vse it, by reason that they are brought vp in it from their youth, they are famous and verie curious in that which they do worke, as it is plainelie seene in that which is brought from thence to Manilla, and into the Indies, and vnto Portugall. Their currant monie of that kingdome is made of golde and siluer, without any signe or print, but goeth by waight: so that all men carrieth a ballances with them, and little peeces of siluer and golde, for to buy such things as they haue neede of. And for things of a greater quantitie they haue bigger ballances in their houses, and waights, that are sealed, for to giue to euery man that which is theirs: for therein the iustices haue great care. In the gouernement of Chincheo[56] they haue copper monie coyned, but it is nothing woorth out of that prouince.
THE HISTORIE
OF THE
MIGHTIE KINGDOME OF CHINA,
WHEREIN SHALBE DECLARED, OF THE RELIGION THAT IS AMONGST THE
PEOPLE, AND OF THEIR IDOLS THAT THEY DO WORSHIP,
AND OF OTHER THINGS TOUCHING THAT THEY
DO VSE ABOUE NATURE.
CHAP. I.
Of the number of gods that they doo worship, and of some tokens and paintings that is found amongst them that do represent a mysterie of our Christian religion.
In the two prouinces, Paguina an[d] Tolanchia, wheras we haue said, the king of the countrie is ordinarily resident, for that they do bound vpon Tartary, with whom they haue continuall warres: and againe the most principall and politike people be in those places, ouer and aboue all the other.
Amongst the figures of all their idols that they do haue, the Chinos doo say that there is one of a strange and maruellous making, vnto whom they do great A strange image. reuerence: they doo paint him a bodie with three heads, that doth continually looke the one on the other: and they say that it dooth signifie, that all three be of one good will and essence, and that which pleaseth the one pleaseth the other: and to the contrarie, that which is grieuous and displeaseth the one, is grieuous and displeaseth the other two: the which being interpreted Christianly, may be vnderstoode to be the mysterie of the holy A mysterie of the Trinitie. Trinitie, that wee that are Christians doo worship, and is part of our faith: the which, with other things, seemeth somwhat to be respondent to our holy, sacred, and Christian religion: so that of verie truth we may presume that Saint S. Thomas preached in this kingdome. Thomas the Apostle[57] did preach in this kingdome, who as it is declared in the lesson on his day, The martyrdom of Saint Thomas. whereas he was martyred in the city of Calamina, for his faith and holy Gospel that he preached.
It is verified that when this glorious apostle did passe into the Indies, hee trauelled through this kingdome of China, where as it appeareth he did preach the holy Gospel and mysterie of the Holy Trinitie: whose picture in the manner aforesaid doth indure vnto this day, although those people, by the great and long blindnesse which they are in with their errors and idolatrie, doo not perfectly knowe what that figure with three heads doth represent or signifie. The better for to beleeue that which is said, or at least to vnderstande that it is so, is that it is found in the writings of the Armenians, that amongst them are in reputation and of great authoritie: and there it saith, that this glorious apostle did passe through this kingdome of China, when he went into the Indies, where he was martyred, and that he did preach there the holy Gospell, although it did profite verie little, for that the people were out of order, and occupied in their warres: and therefore this apostle did passe into the Indies, and left some of the countrie (although but a few) baptised and instructed, that when it should please God, they might haue occasion to perseuer in that which was taught them.
They haue also amongst them (as it is said) certaine pictures, after the fashion and with the ensignes of the twelue apostles, which is a helpe to the verifying of that aforesaide: although if you doo aske of the people who they are, they doo answere that they were men, and great philosophers that did liue vertuouslie, and therfore they are made angels in heauen. They doo also vse amongst them the picture of a woman verie faire with a man childe in her armes, whereof they say shee was deliuered and yet remained a virgine, and was daughter vnto a mightie king: they do reuerence her verie much, and do make prayer vnto her: more then this, they cannot say of this mysterie, but that she liued a holy life and never sinned.
Frier Gaspar de la Cruz, a Portugall of the order of Saint Dominicke, was in the citie of Canton, where he did write many things of this kingdome,[58] and with great attention, whom I do follow in many things in the proces of this hystorie, and he saith, that he being vpon a small island that was in the middest of a mightie riuer, there was a house in manner of a monasterie of religious people of that country, and being in it, he saw certaine curious things of great antiquitie: amongst them he saw a chappel, like vnto an oratorie or place of prayer, verie well made, and curiouslie dressed: it had certaine staires to mount into it, and compassed about with gilt grates, and was made fast: and looking vpon the altar, the which was couered with a cloth verie rich, hee sawe in the midedst of the same an image of a woman of a meruailous perfection, with a childe hauing her armes about hir necke, and there was burning before her a lampe: he being amased at this sight he did demande the signification: but there was none that could declare more thereof then that which is said before. Of this which hath been said, it is easily to be beleeued how that the Apostle S. Thomas did preach in this kingdom, for that it is seene these people haue conserued these traditions many yeares past, and doo conserue the same: which is a signe and token that they had some notice of the true God, whose shadows they do represent. There is amongst them many errors, and without any foundation, and is not of them to be seene nor perceiued til such time as by faith they shall knowe the right God: as may bee seene in the chapters, where we shall speake of these matters.
CHAP. II.
I do prosecute the religion they haue, and of the idols they do worship.
Ouer and aboue that which is saide, these idolators and blind people (being men so prudent and wise in the gouernment of their common wealth, and so subtill and ingenious in all arts) yet they do vse many other things of so great blindnes and so impertinent, that it doth make them to wonder, which attentiuelie doo fall in the consideration: yet is it not much to be meruailed at, considering that they are without the cleere light of the true Christian religion, without the which the subtilest and delicatest vnderstandings are lost and ouerthrowne. Generally amongst them they doo vnderstand that the heauen is the creator of all things visible and inuisible: and therefore they do make a shew of it in the first caract or letter of the crosse row, and that the heauen hath a gouernour to rule all such things as are comprehended there aboue: whom they call Laocon Izautey,[59] which is to be vnderstood in their language: the gouernour of the great and mightie God, this they do worship as the principall, next vnto the sun. They say that this gouernour was not begotten, but is eternal, and hath no body, but is a spirit. Likewise they do say that with this there is another of the same nature, whom they call Causay,[60] and is likewise a spirit, and vnto this is giuen power of the lower heauen, in whose power dependeth the life and death of man. This Causay hath three subiectes whom he doth commande, and they say they bee likewise spirites, and they doo aide and helpe him in things touching his gouernment. They are called Tauquam, Teyquam, Tzuiquam, either of them hath distinct power the one ouer the other: they say that Tauquam hath charge ouer the raine, to prouoke water for the earth, and Teyquam ouer humane nature to bring forth mankinde, ouer warres, sowing the ground, and fruites. And Tzuiquam