This May Be An
Indication That There Were Popular Stories About The Numerous Wives Of The
King Of Laos, Such As Polo Had Heard; But The Interpretation Is Doubtless
Rubbish, Like Most Of The So-Called Etymologies Of Proper Names Applied By
The Chinese To Foreign Regions.
At best these seem to be merely a kind of
Memoria Technica, and often probably bear no more relation to the name
in its real meaning than Swift's All-eggs-under-the-grate bears to
Alexander Magnus.
How such "etymologies" arise is obvious from the nature
of the Chinese system of writing. If we also had to express proper names
by combining monosyllabic words already existing in English, we should in
fact be obliged to write the name of the Macedonian hero much as Swift
travestied it. As an example we may give the Chinese name of Java,
Kwawa, which signifies "gourd-sound," and was given to that Island, we
are told, because the voice of its inhabitants is very like that of a dry
gourd rolled upon the ground! It is usually stated that Tungking was
called Kiao-chi meaning "crossed-toes," because the people often exhibit
that malformation (which is a fact), but we may be certain that the
syllables were originally a phonetic representation of an indigenous name
which has no such meaning. As another example, less ridiculous but not
more true, Chin-tan, representing the Indian name of China,
Chinasthana, is explained to mean "Eastern-Dawn" (Aurore Orientale).
(Amyot, XIV. 101; Klapr. Mem. III. 268.)
The states of Laos are shut out from the sea in the manner indicated; they
abound in domestic elephants to an extraordinary extent; and the people do
tattoo themselves in various degrees, most of all (as M. Garnier tells me)
about Kiang Hung. The style of tattooing which the text describes is
quite that of the Burmese, in speaking of whom Polo has omitted to mention
the custom: "Every male Burman is tattooed in his boyhood from the middle
to his knees; in fact he has a pair of breeches tattooed on him. The
pattern is a fanciful medley of animals and arabesques, but it is scarcely
distinguishable, save as a general tint, except on a fair skin." (Mission
to Ava, 151.)
[1] Indeed documents in Klaproth's Asia Polyglotta show that the
Pape state was also called Muang-Yong (pp. 364-365). I observe
that the river running to the east of Pu-eul and Ssemao (Puer and
Esmok) is called Papien-Kiang, the name of which is perhaps a
memorial of the Pape.
[The old Laocian kingdom of Xieng-mai [Kiang-mai], called
Muong-Yong by the Pa-y, was inhabited by the Pa-pe Si-fu or Bat-ba
T'uc-phu; the inhabitants called themselves Thai-niai or great Thai.
(Deveria, Frontiere, p. 100. Ch. ix. of the Chinese work
Sze-i-kwan-kao is devoted to Xieng-mai Pa-pe), which includes the
subdivisions of Laos, Xieng Hung [Kiang Hung] and Muong-Ken.
(Deveria, Mel.
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