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1260.

1261.

Superftition and an undue Veneration for the Lama's; and upbraids him with the unjust Death of the Princess Hai-my-She, the Imprisonment of She-ly-man, and the Exile of Naitmatchen but fays not a fingle Syllable of the Embaffes of St. Louis.

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UPON the Death of Mongko, who left five Sons behind him, a civil War broke out between two of his Brothers Húpily and Halipuko. Húpily was laying Siege to Voutchang the Capital of Hoquang, when News was brought him his Brother was dead; whereupon he clapped up a Peace with the Song, ordered Hulan-Hotay to ceafe Hoftilities, and then attended by his Troops marched to Pekin, where Ko-kan informed him of the mighty Exploits and Conquefts of his Brother Holagu in the Weft; and foon after he heard from Holagú himself; who, among other things, informed him, that he had impowered this Envoy to declare him Emperor of the Moguls, fince his Diftance would not allow him to do it in Perfon.

ACCORDINGLY Húpily was in the fourth Moon of this Year proclaimed Emperor of the Moguls at Changtu; but Halipuko was also pros claimed Emperor at Holin. Hûpily's Reign was long and glorious; but Halipuko declined in his Affairs from the beginning; his Army bes ing in this fame Year beaten to the Eastward of Cantcbu, a confiderable Town of Chenfi.

AND the very next Year Halipuko was beaten by Húpily in perfon; Holin was taken; and Halipuko furrendred at difcretion.

$264. WE pafs over his Humanity to his vanquish'd Brother, and the Captive's humble and faithful Returns; his Deliverance of She-ly-man from Prifon his Introduction of the Chinese Forms

into the Government of the Moguls,and his Love of Letters: we pafs over alfo his first Minister Yaoku, a great Chinefe; his Erection of a Tribunal called of the Han-lin, made up of the most learned Men of the Empire, and properly, as we are told, an Academy of Learning; his Winter Court Ten-keng or Tatú the Great Court, and his Summer Court Chang-tu, which may be Marco Paolo's Cianda or Cambalu.

WE proceed to Hupily's Invafion of the Em- 1268. pire of the Song, a War which was opened with the memorable Siege of Siang-Yang in Hûquang, which notwithstanding it was invefted by the moft expert of the Tartar Generals, held out full five Years. They were fo thoroughly convinced of the Strength of the Place, that a General of the Country of Igúr, whofe Name was Holibayya, wrote to the Emperor, That if he did not fend for Gunners from the Weft, the Place could not poffibly be mastered. Gunners then were fent, but whether they were Mobammedans, as the Chinese History fays, or Chriftians, as Marco Paolo avers, the Place was taken after it had held out above five Years, as we juft now faid. Marco Paolo relates, that they fhot Stone Bullets; and the Chinese Hiftory, it feems,. ufes the Word Pao, which fignifies both an Engine which shoots Metal Balls like ours in Europe, as well as Perdreroes, or those great Pieces which were formerly used for Stone.

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WHAT is here faid of these Cannoneers from the Weft, whether they were Mohammedans or Christians, or whether their Balls were of Metal or Stone, may be a Novelty to fome of our Readers, as we confefs it is to us. That the Chinese, and perhaps the more eaftern Tartars had the ufe of Guns Ages before us, has been frequently

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frequently attefted, and is generally believed s but that it is not of very great Antiquity in our western Parts, is pretty generally allowed. It is commonly believed, and Polydore Virgil tells it, that the Inventor of Gunpowder first taught the ufe of Guns to the Venetians at the Battle of Foffa Claudia, when they obtained that notable Victory over the Genoefe in the Year 1380: But here we understand, that the ufe of Guns was practis'd at the Siege of Sian-Yang above a hundred Years before, and that, by Chriftians," as Marco Paolo reports them to have been; but what Chriftians they fhould have been, we cannot conceive, nor what Mohammedans fo early as this. If the Chinese have been fo ancient in the Mystery of Pyroboly and Pyrotechnics as is pretended, it is much the Moguls fhould have been ignorant therein after fo many Victories obtained over them, and when efpecially they muft have had fo many Chinese in their power, who could both have inftructed and ferved them therein. Here feems to be an Obftacle we know not how to get over; except we fay that the firft Ufe of Gunpowder is as uncertain with us as the firft Ufe of Bombs, a pofterior Invention without doubt; which Simienowics, the moft learned Pyrobolift that has put Pen to Paper,is not able. to trace out, tho' Mr. Blondel is fo complaifant as to yield it to one John Malt, an Englishman in the Service of France.

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BUT we forbear digreffing any further, tho' in another Work the Thing might bear it, to relate what fucceeded in this active Reign after the taking of Siang-Yang. Payen a Native of Parin, in Tartary, in the Latitude of 43° 36' North, and 2°. 14' Eaft of Pekin, was appoinred Generaliffimo of Hupily's Army. He croffed

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the Kiang at Haniang, a City of Hoquang, with 1274. prodigious Bravery and Intrepidity, and bore down all before him; and at length befieged Hongtcheou the Capital of the Song, and took it. UPON this occafion he behaved with an heroic 1276, Humanity towards the Inhabitants, whom he faved from the merciless Hand of the Soldier, and with the very height of Decency towards the Empreffes, Mother and Grandmother to the Emperor of the Song, and to the Emperor himfelf, whom he fent under a proper Guard to Pekin, as he did the Treasures of the Palace to the Sea-port next to the fame Capital.

THIS gallant Commander, after an infinite number of Actions, which to the common apprehenfion of the World qualify the Hero, was fent for to Court, where he was received with all the Gratitude and Diftinction he merited. On the other hand, the Emperor of the Song being detained a Prifoner, one of his Brothers was proclaimed Emperor in his ftead at ·Foutcheou-fu the Capital of Fokian. Shortly after this new Emperor died, and a third Brother of the Captive Emperor was placed on the Throne in Quantong, by us Canton. At once he' hurry'd up a Palace in an Inland to the Southward of Sin Hoey, in the. Latitude of 22°. 30! North. This Prince, who was Brother to the Captive Emperor by the fame Father, but by a different Mother, had above 1200 Sail of Ships, and above 180000 Men in Arms; but tho' he had an excellent General, his Troops were naught, and his Fleet was entirely defeated. In confequence of this Blow, his chief Minifter took him on his Shoulders and fell with him into the Sea; and in the fecond Moon +44 of the fame Year above 100,000 perished. 1179

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The Empress Mother, when he heard the tragical End of her Son, threw herself together with the Ladies of her Train into the Sea alfo; and the Chinese General, as he was ruminating upon the choice of a new Emperor, was miferably fhipwreck'd.

Ir what is here told of this Emperor, his Minifter, hisMother and her Ladies,be notedual to any Greatnefs of Mind and Contempt of Death, we meet with in Greek or Roman Hiftory, we are 'much mistaken; a more difmal or fhocking Tragedy, confidering the Perfons, and that it was in each a voluntary Act, is no where to be found and well may the Chinese dwell on the melancholy Event, as we are told they do..

Now Hupily fat the undifputed Lord of all the Chinese Provinces ; but to pafs over fome inteftine Motions, which muft infallibly be fre quent in fuch an Empire as he fwayed, Japan had not been yet fubdued.

Ir was in the eighth Moon of the very next Year that a great naval Armament made Sail for the Conqueft of Japan; but a Storm difperfs'd them, and Hiftory fays, the Japanese flew 30,000 Moguls, and made Slaves of 70,000 Chinese andCoreans; the Booty was in proportion, and the Emperor breathed nothing but Vengeance to make amends for this Lofs, while his Mandarins befeeched him to think no inore of the Conqueft of Japan. But the Moguls fared quite otherwife in the Kingdom of Mien, [Pega, as we are told] which was conquered by the Troops of Junnan; an Expedition feemingly mentioned by Marco Paolo.

At length the Emperor Hapily died in the firft Moon of this Year, aged 80, without fo much as naming his Succeffor to the Empire.

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