The History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China and the Situation Thereof, Volume 1 (of 2)

The Spaniards were long behind their neighbours the Portuguese in prosecuting the important task of eastern investigation. The Papal division of the world between the discoverers of the two nations by the boundary of a certain meridian, made them follow the line of exploration to the westward.

The Father Andres de Urdaneta, who, previous to entering himself as a monk of the order of the Augustins, had been a skilful navigator, persuaded Philip II to realize the conquest of the Philippines, where the voyages and the life of the celebrated Magellan were brought to a close. This prince consequently issued orders to the viceroy of Mexico, to send out an expedition under the command of a native of Mexico, named Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, and desired that Andres de Urdaneta should accompany him, together with four other Augustines, viz., Diego de Herrera, Martin de Herrada, Pedro de Gamboa, and Andres de Aguirre. The fleet arrived in 1565 at the island of Zebu. On the 1st of June the same year, the Father Andres de Urdaneta returned to Mexico. In 1566 Legaspi built the town of Zebu, and the Augustines established a monastery as a station for their missions among the natives. The Spaniards, pursuing their conquests, arrived in 1571 at the island of Luzon, the most northerly and the largest of this archipelago: Legaspi here founded the city of Manilla.

The work of conversion and civilization was scarcely begun, when the island was engaged in a quarrel by the attacks of the Malays of Borneo and Mindanao. These pirates, too cunning to venture on an open struggle, landed suddenly on the coast, slaughtered or extorted money from the missionaries, and carried away several of the natives, whom they afterwards sold as slaves. In 1574 a more serious aggression diverted attention from the attacks of these pirates: a Chinese corsair, who was called King Limahon, appeared before Manilla. For a long time he had resisted the squadrons of his emperor, but at last, vanquished by numbers and forced to flee, he entertained the project of conquering Luzon with seventy-two vessels, which carried two thousand soldiers, bold adventurers, besides the sailors and one thousand five hundred women. They effected a landing on the 29th of November 1574, just after Lopez de Legaspi had been appointed governor-general of the Philippines. The corsairs marched against the Spanish town, which they expected to surprise; but a little corps of advanced guard, under the orders of Captain Velasquez, having given the garrison time to rally, a general battle took place, and ended in the defeat of the Chinese. Limahon in vain essayed to renew the attack: repulsed afresh, he took refuge at the mouth of the river Lingayen, in Pangasinan, the northern province of Luzon. At the time of his attack, he had been closely followed by a Chinese captain, charged to watch him, and who had a conference with the Spanish governor. The latter thought this a favourable occasion for introducing the Gospel into China. Having sent for Alfonso de Alvarado, provincial of the Augustins, a venerable and holy old man, one of those whom Charles V had sent to the discovery of New Guinea, he told him to select missionaries for the Celestial Empire. The provincial in his joy offered to go there himself, old as he was; but the governor would by no means consent to this proposal. The choice fell upon Martin de Herrada, or Rada, a native of Pampeluna, in Navarre, who had already filled the office of provincial, and who burned with such desire to convert the Chinese, that after having studied their language, he had made a proposal to some merchants of that nation who had come to the Philippines, that they should carry him as a slave to their country, where by this means he hoped to introduce the knowledge of the Gospel. They chose also Friar Geronimo Marin, a native of Mexico, a man equally distinguished for his piety and learning, and in company with these two missionaries, who they hoped would be able to remain a considerable time in China and to spread the knowledge of the Gospel there, they sent two soldiers, who were to bring back news respecting the progress of the mission. Besides other presents, the governor gave the Chinese captain all the slaves of his nation which the Spaniards had taken from Limahon, who was at that time held under blockade, to take them back free to their country. The 5th of July 1575, the friars landed at Tansuso [Gan-hai], whence, on their way to visit the governor of Chincheo [Tsiuen-cheu] they passed through the town of Tangoa [Tong-gan] in China.6 The mandarin of Chincheo, of whom the captain who conducted them held his commission, gave them a good reception; but as the ambassadors were sent by a simple lieutenant of the king of Spain, and not direct from the monarch, he insisted that they should address him on their knees. This mandarin, after having entertained them at a banquet, sent them with a good escort to the Tutan or viceroy of the province. They then made a journey of thirty leagues, carried in palanquins. At Aucheo [Focheou, so pronounced in the Fokien dialect] they met with an honourable reception. Each of the monks received a present of six pieces of silk tissue, which they crossed upon their breast in the manner of a stole, and two bouquets of silver: the other members of the embassy also had presents. As to the alliance proposed between Spain and China, and the permission requested by the missionaries for the exercise of their apostolic ministry, the viceroy referred them to the emperor. While waiting the reply from Pekin, the monks bought many books in the Chinese language, and visited the pagodas. The principal contained one hundred and eleven idols, all carved in relief and gilded. Three in particular attracted their attention. The first was a body with three heads, which looked at one another: they believed they saw in it a vague symbol of the Trinity. The second was a woman who held a little infant in her arms; they called her the Virgin Mother and the Divine Infant. The third represented to them an apostle. The monks having been to examine the gates of the city, this demand awakened the suspicions of the viceroy, who would seldom permit them to go out after. Upon his desiring to see some piece of writing by their hand, they copied for him the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments, putting the Chinese translation to the Spanish text; and the viceroy took great pleasure in reading them. He only retarded their departure till the arrival of the visitor of the province, who desired to see them. The curiosity of this functionary once satisfied, he gave them rich presents for the Spanish governor of the Philippines, saying that they might return when they brought Limahon dead or alive. They then left Aucheo to return to Chincheo, where they made no lengthened stay, the mandarin of this town attending them to the port of Tansuso. After fresh entertainments, the Chinese captain who had brought them, was charged with the task of reconducting them to Manilla, and they embarked on the 14th of September 1575. En route, they learned that Limahon, who had been blocked up by the Spaniards, had contrived to escape with part of his troops, and had gained the island of Formosa.

The flight of Limahon disconcerted the Chinese captain who brought back the missionaries, and who feared that he should be disgraced on this account when he returned to China. This captain, to whom they explained the principal points of the Christian faith, would have embraced it, had he not feared the punishment inflicted in his country on those who forsake the national religion. He said even that they would easily succeed in converting the Chinese, if they could first gain over the emperor, by means of an embassy sent to him by the King of Spain.

Herrada, thus prevented from preaching, had not been idle during his stay in China; he composed a vocabulary of the Chinese language, now apparently unknown, and drew up a succinct account of his voyage, respecting which we translate some very curious remarks by the Friar Geronimo de Ramon, in his Republicas del Mundo. He says that this treatise fell into his hands, but was taken away by some one, he could not tell by whom, and never returned to him; a circumstance which caused him much annoyance, because he wished to write the Republic of China; but it turned out, he says, the better for him, for he wrote in consequence to the Licenciate Juan de Rada, Alcalde of the Upper Court of Navarre and brother of Martin, who sent him a great number of interesting papers of his brother's. He then proceeds to speak of the high respectability and credibility of De Rada, on account of his rank and distinguished piety. An original letter by De Rada, however, giving a succinct account of his embassy is inserted by the Friar Gaspar de San Augustin, in his Conquistas de las Islas Philipinas, to which we refer the reader for full accounts of all the movements of those zealous preachers of the gospel in the Philippines and in China at that early period.

De Rada's treatise formed the basis of the narrative compiled by Mendoza, which is now republished. On his return from China, his ship being stranded on the island of Bolinao, he and his companions were stript of everything and left naked; but were saved by the providential arrival of a Spanish armament, which conducted them safe to Manilla, where he died in 1577.

His narrative was transmitted to Philip II, in the year 1576, by the hands of his companion, the Friar Geronimo Marin, and the king consequently nominated three ambassadors; viz., Marin, the Father Juan Gonzalez de Mendoza (the compiler of the work now reprinted, a native of Toledo, and who had left the career of a soldier for the garb of a monk of the order of St. Augustine), and Father Francisco de Ortega: all these were Augustinians. They were dispatched to Mexico for the purpose of making suitable additions to the costly presents provided by the king; but the viceroy of Mexico, instead of favouring their immediate departure, threw so many obstacles in the way, that it was not till 1584 that the embassy was carried out, and it ultimately proved a complete failure.

Meanwhile the work of evangelization was not confined to the Augustinians. Some Franciscans of the province of St. Joseph, in Spain, were sent to their assistance, and among these Pedro de Alfaro, the narrative of whose adventures is given by Mendoza in the second book of the second part. The place and date of his birth are not recorded. We know only that he arrived in Manilla from Spain on the 2nd July 1578, with fourteen brothers of his order, of which he was the superior, to assume the post of chief "costodio" of the province of St. Gregory in Luzon, and that he built a church in that city. On his arrival, he soon became acquainted with the mission of Martin de Rada in China, and conceived an earnest desire to penetrate that almost inaccessible empire. He therefore solicited permission for that purpose from Francisco de Sande, Alcalde of the royal audience of Mexico, Governor of the Philippines; but the failure of the former mission, and the fear of compromising the newly opened relations between the countries, caused a refusal. Upon this the zealous missionary resolved upon embarking without permission. He took with him Juan Bautista de Pizaro, Augustin de Tordesilla, and Sebastiano de Becotia, all three Franciscans, three Spanish soldiers, four natives of the Philippines, and a young Chinese taken from Limahon, to serve as an interpreter.

Without any nautical experience, they trusted themselves to a little boat, and managed to pass, as if by miracle, through the fleet of vessels which guarded the coast, and entered the port of Canton. On being led before a judge and asked what they sought, and how they had found their way, they freely stated the facts, and announced that their wish was to teach the way to heaven to the inhabitants of China. A native Christian, however, who acted as interpreter, considering his and their safety rather than the truth, adroitly modified their statement, and declared that they were holy men like the bonzes, that they had had no idea of visiting China, but in sailing from the Philippines to the Hilocos they had suffered shipwreck and lost most of their crew. Their only resource had been this little bark, which had unexpectedly brought them into this unknown port. The mandarin who examined them enquired what they had in the vessel, and was told that they had no weapons or merchandize, but only their books and articles used in their worship. He was much interested with the sight of these when they were brought, but expressed surprise that they had been saved in such a storm. The ingenious interpreter replied, that they had been saved as the most valuable objects they possessed. The result of this examination was a formal permission to land. They were not, however, allowed to preach. For some time they suffered much from want, but were at length liberally supplied from the public funds with the necessaries of life. Misrepresentations meanwhile were made respecting them, which subjected them to a second lengthy examination, which resulted in their being sent to Fucheou by order of the viceroy of that city, in order that everything they possessed might be inspected. This journey enabled them to make the observations on the country recorded by Mendoza in the second volume. The viceroy asked them some questions and handed them over to his deputy, who treated them with much courtesy. After a stay of several days in Fucheou, the Timpintao or deputy sent them back to Canton, upon arriving at which place they were ordered to prepare to leave the kingdom. This command, in their then state of destitution, overwhelmed them with dismay, and they made strenuous efforts, but without success, to gain some assistance in these trying circumstances. Some of them received a licence to go to Macao, and others to Luzon. Those who resolved upon returning to the Philippines proceeded to Tsiuencheu, where they embarked, and reached Luzon on the 2nd February 1580.

The various and repeated disasters, consequent upon the zealous efforts of these adventurous friars, may well explain the failure of the mission of which Mendoza was a member. As a compensation for his failure, however, he adopted a course which was calculated to be far more practically useful. He collected the accounts of the various Portuguese and Spanish priests, which have been already alluded to; viz., Gaspar da Cruz, Martin de Rada, Pedro de Alfaro, etc., and brought them together into one volume for publication. In this task he must have received valuable assistance from his colleague in the mission, Geronimo de Marin, who, in company with De Rada, had been an eye-witness of the most important facts detailed throughout the work. To these were added, as a sort of appendix, an "Itinerario del Nuevo Mundo", in which is inserted a comparatively short account of the adventures of another party of Franciscans in China, in the year 1581, at the head of whom was Father Martin Ignazio [de Loyola], a relation of the celebrated founder of the Jesuits. It is but a repetition of similar disasters to those already recounted, the whole party narrowly escaping with their lives.

The ill success of the Augustinians and Franciscans did not deter the well-known perseverance of the Jesuits, who, of all the monkish orders, have undoubtedly done the most for the diffusion of Christianity; and although it is not our province here to relate the details of their progress, it appears but an interesting sequel to the discouragements we have related, to mention the final triumph of the eminent Matteo Ricci, in the year 1600, in gaining access to the emperor at Pekin, and being finally permitted to settle in that capital. Nor can we refrain in this place, and at this particular juncture of Chinese affairs, from presenting the reader with the following translated extract from a letter written by that distinguished man in 1584, together with some observations by its recipient, one Geronimo Roman, factor of the Philippines at Macao. The document referred to was first printed by M. Ternaux Compans, in his Archives des Voyages, ou collection d'anciennes relations inédites ou très-rares, and is, as he observes, especially curious for the suggestions it contains with reference to the conquest of China. It is as follows: —

"The power of China rests rather upon the great number of towns and the multitude of inhabitants, than upon the valour of the people. There are more than sixty millions of rated persons inscribed on the royal registers, exclusive of the public functionaries and those people who are too poor to pay taxes. All the neighbouring kingdoms pay tribute to the King of China, excepting Japan, which has freed itself recently; it is on this account that the Chinese are accustomed to consider their country as the centre of the world, and to despise all other nations. They are very much dreaded by all the kings in the vicinity, because they can assemble, in a moment, so considerable a fleet, that it frightens them by the number of vessels; the Chinese, however, are but poor warriors, and the military is one of the four conditions which are considered mean among them. Nearly all the soldiers are malefactors, who have been condemned to perpetual slavery in the king's service; they are only fit to war with thieves. Thus, whenever two or three Japanese vessels happen to make a descent upon the coast, the crews penetrate into the interior, even seize upon the large towns, pillage and put everything to fire and sword, and no one dares to resist them. But, being badly led themselves, they always end by falling into some ambuscade, and very few of them return to Japan. It also happens sometimes that brigands intrench themselves upon a mountain, in the interior of the country, and all the force of the empire is insufficient to dislodge them. It is said, moreover, that the Tartars ravage the frontiers of the empire; in short, it appears to me the most difficult thing in the world to regard the Chinese as warriors. They have no more spirit than women, and are ready to kiss the feet of any one who shows his teeth at them. They spend two hours every morning in combing and plaiting their hair. Running away is no dishonour with them; they do not know what an insult is; if they quarrel they abuse one another like women, seize each other by the hair, and when they are weary of scuffling become friends again as before, without wounds or bloodshed. Moreover it is only the soldiers who are armed; others are not permitted to have even a knife in their houses; in short, they are only formidable from their numbers. The walls of the towns are, at most, but fit to protect them from robbers; they are built without any geometrical knowledge, and have neither revers nor ditches…

"The above is [an extract from] Father Resi [Ricci]'s letter forwarded to me by Father Ruggiero; I think it necessary to add the following observations: —

"The King of China maintains a numerous fleet on this coast, although he is not at war with any one. In an island called Lintao, which is situated near this town [Macao], there is an arsenal, the director or haytao of which is continually occupied in superintending the building and equipment of vessels. The island furnishes timber, but every other necessary for them has to be imported from the continent. There are always more than two hundred and fifty armed vessels in this province of Canton, as far as Chincheo, where a separate jurisdiction begins, and the coasts of which are guarded by another fleet. The admiral has the title of Chunpin; it is a very high rank, although inferior to the tutan; he has a numerous guard and many drums and trumpets, which make a most agreeable music to the ears of the Chinese, but an insufferable din to ours.

"These vessels go out a little when it is fine weather, but hasten back at the least wind. They have some small iron guns, but none of bronze; their powder is bad, and never made use of but in firing salutes; their arquebuses are so badly made that the ball would not pierce an ordinary cuirass, especially as they do not know how to aim. Their arms are bamboo pikes, some pointed with iron, others hardened by fire; short and heavy scimitars, and cuirasses of iron or tin. Sometimes a hundred vessels are seen to surround a single corsair, those which are to windward throw out powdered lime to blind the enemy, and, as they are very numerous, it produces some effect. This is one of their principal warlike stratagems. The corsairs are generally Japanese or revolted Chinese.

"The soldiers of this country are a disgraceful set. The other day they had a quarrel with some other Chinese who were carrying provisions to market, and beat them; the latter went to complain to the governor of Macao, who caused forty soldiers to be arrested and beaten with bamboos. They came out afterwards crying like children. They are mean, spiritless, and badly armed knaves. There is nothing formidable in thousands of such soldiers. Besides what can the soldiers be in a country where their position is looked upon as dishonourable and occupied by slaves. Our Indians of the Philippines are ten times more courageous.

"With five thousand Spaniards, at the most, the conquest of this country might be made, or at least of the maritime provinces, which are the most important in all parts of the world. With half a dozen galleons, and as many galleys, one would be master of all the maritime provinces of China, as well as of all that sea and the archipelago which extends from China to the Moluccas."

Mendoza's work was first published at Rome in 1585, in a small octavo form, under the following title:

"Historia de las cosas mas notables, ritos y costumbres del gran reyno de la China, sabidas assi por los libros de los mesmos Chinas, como por relacion de religiosos y otras personas que an estado en el dicho reyno. Hecha y ordenada por el mvy R. P. Maestro Fr. Joan Gonzalez de Mendoça de la orden de S. Agustin, y penitenciario appostolico a quien la Magestad Catholica embio con su real carta y otras cosas para el Rey de aquel reyno el año 1580. Al illustrissimo S. Fernando de Vega y Fonseca del consejo de su Magestad y su presidente en el Real de las Indias. Con vn Itinerario del nueuo Mundo. Con privilegio y licencia de su Sanctidad. En Roma, a costa de Bartholome Grassi, 1585, en la stampa de Vincentio Accolti."

This edition, of which there is a copy in the British Museum, having on its title-page the autograph of Sir Hans Sloane – is described by Brunet as "rare". The text comprises four hundred and forty pages: it is preceded by the Latin Privilege of Pope Sixtus V, dated June 13th; Mendoza's dedication to Fernando de Vega, dated Rome, June 17th; a note or post-script "al lector", in which Mendoza alludes to the recent receipt of letters from Father Andres de Aguirre, provincial of the Philippines, conveying the startling intelligence that the King of China and his subjects were ready and willing to embrace the Catholic faith; this is followed by Mendoza's Preface to the reader, and two sonnets in Spanish, the first entitled: "Soneto de … en la reduçion del Reyno de la China a la Iglesia Catholica." This interesting and important little volume is also remarkable as being the first European work in which Chinese characters were printed.

We learn from Brunet that two editions of the original Spanish were published the following year (1586), one at Madrid, the other at Barcelona: it was again printed at Medina del Campo in 1595, and at Antwerp in 1596.

An Italian translation by Francesco Avanzo was published at Venice in 1586, 8vo.; at Rome and Genoa in the same year, 4to.; and again at Venice in 1587, in 12mo.; 1588 and 1590 in 8vo.

The English and French translations appeared in the same year, viz., 1588; the rare black-letter English version now reprinted, being made by Parke at the instance of Hakluyt himself, as we learn from the translator's dedication to the celebrated navigator Thomas "Candish" (Cavendish), which is dated on new-year's day, 1589.

The French translation, which was made by Luc de la Porte, was reprinted at Paris in 1589 and 1600; and with a slightly varied title at Geneva in 1606, at Lyon in 1606, and at Rouen in 1604.

A Latin version by Marcus Henning was published at Frankfort in 1589, 8vo.; and that by Joachimus Brulius appeared at Antwerp in 1655, 4to.

Adelung (Fortsetzung zu Jöchers Lexikon) states that a German version was published at Frankfort in 1589, 4to.

On his return, as a recompense for his services, Mendoza was made bishop of Lipari in 1593. In 1607 he went to America with the title of Vicar Apostolic, and in the same year was made bishop of Chiapa; and in 1608 was translated to the bishopric of Popayan. He was the author of several other works, historical and theological. The year of his death is not exactly known, but it was about the year 1620. Ossinger, in his Bibliotheca Augustiniana, describes him as a most eminent historian, a very eloquent orator, and a highly accomplished preacher.