[8] Adam's Roman Antiquities.
[9] Mr. Torreen.
[10] Linn. Systema Naturæ.
[11] See Gibbon, under Emperor Justinian; and Menagiana, in which is given the translation of a very extraordinary passage from Procopius.
[12] T. Calpurnius.
[13] Duke of Buckingham. See the notes on this character in Shakespear's Henry VIII. Act. i, Scene 2.
[14] For the curiosity of those who may be inclined to speculate in etymological comparisons between the Chinese and other languages, I here subjoin a short list of words in the former, expressing some of the most striking objects in the creation, a few subjects of natural history, and of such articles as from their general use are familiar to most nations, these being of all others the most likely to have retained their primitive names. The orthography I have used is that of the English language.
| The Earth | tee |
| The Air | kee |
| Fire | ho |
| Water | swee |
| The Sea | hai |
| A River | ho |
| A Lake | tang |
| A Mountain | shan |
| A Wilderness | ye-tee |
| The Sun | jee-to |
| The Moon | yué |
| The Stars | sing |
| The Clouds | yun |
| Rain | yeu |
| Hail | swee-tan |
| Snow | swé |
| Ice | ping |
| Thunder | luie |
| Lightning | shan-tien |
| The Wind | fung |
| The Day | jee or tien |
| The Night | ye or van shang |
| The Sky or Heaven | tien |
| The East | tung |
| The West | see |
| The North | pee |
| The South | nan |
| Man | jin |
| Woman | foo-jin |
| A Quadruped | shoo |
| A Bird | kin |
| A Fish | eu |
| An Insect | tchong |
| A Plant | tsau |
| A Tree | shoo |
| A Fruit | ko-ste |
| A Flower | wha |
| A Stone | shee |
| Gold | tchin |
| Silver | in tse |
| Copper | tung |
| Lead | yuen |
| Iron | tié |
| The Head | too |
| The Hand | shoo |
| The Heart | sin |
| The Leg | koo |
| The Foot | tchiau |
| The Face | mien |
| The Eyes | yen-shing |
| The Ears | cul-to |
| The Hair | too fa |
| An ox | nieu |
| A Camel | loo-too |
| A Horse | ma |
| An Ass | loo-tse |
| A Dog | kioon |
| A Frog | tchoo |
| A Sheep | yang |
| A Goat, or mountain Sheep | shan-yang |
| A Cat | miau |
| A Stag | shan loo |
| A Pidgeon | koo-tse |
| Poultry | kee |
| An Egg | kee-tan |
| A Goose | goo |
| Oil | yeo |
| Rice | mee |
| Milk | nai |
| Vinegar | tsoo |
| Tobacco | yen |
| Salt | yen |
| Silk | tsoo |
| Cotton | mien-wha |
| Flax Plant | ma |
| Hemp | ma |
| Wool (Sheep's Hair) | yangmau |
| Coals | tan |
| Sugar | tang |
| Cheese, they have none but thick Milk | nai-ping, or iced milk |
| A House | shia |
| A Temple | miau |
| A Bed | tchuang |
| A Door | men |
| A Table | tai |
| A Chair | ye-tzé |
| A Knife | tau |
| A Pitcher | ping |
| A Plough | lee |
| An Anchor | mau |
| A Ship | tchuan |
| Money | tsien |
I must observe, however, for the information of these philologists, that scarcely two provinces in China have the same oral language. The officers and their attendants who came with us from the capital could converse only with the boatmen of the southern provinces, through the medium of an interpreter. The character of the language is universal, but the name or sound of the character is arbitrary. If a convention of sounds could have been settled like a convention of marks, one would suppose that a commercial intercourse would have effected it, at least in the numeral sounds, that must necessarily be interchanged from place to place and myriads of times repeated from one corner of the empire to the other. Let us compare then the numerals of Pekin with those of Canton, the two greatest cities in China.
| Pekin. | Canton. | |
| 1. | Ye | yat |
| 2. | ul | ye |
| 3. | san | saam |
| 4. | soo | see |
| 5. | ou | um |
| 6. | leu | lok |
| 7. | tchee | tsat |
| 8. | pas | pat |
| 9. | tcheu | kow |
| 10. | shee | shap |
| 11. | shee-ye | shap-yat |
| 12. | shee-ul | shap-ye |
| 20. | ul-shee | ye-shap |
| 30. | san-shee | saam-shap |
| 31. | san-shee-ye | saam-shap-yat |
| 32. | san-shee-ul | saam-shap-ye |
| 100. | pe | paak |
| 1000. | tsien | tseen |
| 10,000. | van | man |
| 100,000. | she-van | shap-man |