[38] The town Sin hwy is south-west from Canton 230 le; its area is 138 le (?) and the taxes amount to 28,607 leang. This place suffered much from the pirates. I find no proper name for the river on which Sin hwy lies in the Chinese maps, it is merely called Këang, river. Near this place is the island where the last emperor of the Sung cast himself into the sea (1280).
[39] The word pe (8335) cannot be translated in any European language. It means a vice common in Asia.
[40] The pirates probably made use of the term saou (8833) and not of tse (10575), because saou written with a different character (8834), is the general term for boats and ships. Paou must be considered as the lieutenant or first minister of Mistress Ching, she being herself of the family Shĭh.
[41] It will be very interesting to compare the regulations of Paou with those of the Buccaneers. When these pirates had got a considerable booty, each person, holding up his hand, solemnly protested that he had secreted nothing of what he had taken.—Voyage, l. c. p. 95.
[42] The San po (8788, 8608) are national spirits, and, as it seems, not connected with Buddhism; there is a great variety in the number of these good old mothers, who by the different emperors have been declared saints, or spirits, for the Emperor of China is likewise the pope in his empire. Dr. Morrison has an interesting article on these old women in his Canton Vocabulary. Kang he mentions only two Po (s. v.), who may be considered as spirits. This is a character of which the Buddhists are very fond; perhaps the translator may be wrong, and that San po is merely the Sanscrit word Swayam-bhú.
[43] Our author shews every where his partiality for Chang paou.
[44] The author said just before that the dominion of the pirates in the Chinese sea lasted about ten years; but he only describes the transactions of the last three years, when their power and strength was at the highest point. He begins to give particulars from the 7th moon of the 13th year of Këa king, which corresponds nearly to the beginning of September 1808.
[45] There are three wretched forts at the Hoo mun, the mouth of the Canton river, which could scarcely hinder any European vessel from passing through.
[46] One of the islands marked upon European maps is called The Ladrones: these Ladrones, so called from the pirates, have all particular names on Chinese maps.
[47] In the first preface of the Hae kwŏ hëen këen it is particularly stated, that the map of the sea-coast of China became first known to its editor by the expeditions against the pirates.