- The Min, the River of Fu-chau, "varies much in width and depth.
Near its mouth, and at some other parts, it is not less than a mile in
width, elsewhere deep and rapid." It is navigable for ships of large size
20 miles from the mouth, and for good-sized junks thence to the great
bridge. The scenery is very fine, and is compared to that of the Hudson.
(Fortune, I. 281; Chin. Repos. XVI. 483.)
[1] Dr. Medhurst calls the proper name of the city, as distinct from the
Fu, Chinkang (Dict. of the Hok-keen dialect). Dr. Douglas has
suggested Chinkang, and T'swan-kok, i.e. "Kingdom of T'swan"
(chau), as possible explanations of Chonka.
[2] Mr. Phillips's views were issued first in the Chinese Recorder
(published by Missionaries at Fu-Chau) in 1870, and afterwards sent to
the R. Geo. Soc., in whose Journal for 1874 they appeared, with
remarks in reply more detailed than I can introduce here. Dr.
Douglas's notes were received after this sheet was in proof, and it
will be seen that they modify to a certain extent my views about
Zayton, though not about Fu-chau. His notes, which do more justice to
the question than Mr. Phillips's, should find a place with the other
papers in the Geog. Society's Journal.
[3] There is a capital lithograph of Fu-chau in Fortune's Three Years'
Wanderings (1847), in which the city shows as on a river, and
Fortune always speaks of it; e.g. (p. 369): "The river runs
through the suburbs." I do not know what is the worth of the old
engravings in Montanus.
