In This There Are Eight Bastions, Four Being Pierced By Gates."
"It is one of the largest of Chinese cities, having a circuit of about 12
miles." (Baber, p. 26.) "It
Is now three and a half miles long by about
two and a half miles broad, the longest side lying about east-south-east,
and west-north-west, so that its compass in the present day is about 12
miles." (Captain Gill, II. p. 4.) - H.C.]
NOTE 2. - Ramusio is more particular: "Through the city flow many great
rivers, which come down from distant mountains, and run winding about
through many parts of the city. These rivers vary in width from half a
mile to 200 paces, and are very deep. Across them are built many bridges
of stone," etc. "And after passing the city these rivers unite and form
one immense river called Kian," etc. Here we have the Great River or
KIANG, Kian (Quian) as in Ramusio, or KIANG-SHUI, "Waters of the Kiang,"
as in the text. So Pauthier explains. [Mr. Baber remarks at Ch'eng-tu
(Travels, p. 28): "When all allowance is made for the diminution of
the river, one cannot help surmising that Marco Polo must have felt
reluctant to call it the Chiang-Sui or 'Yangtzu waterway.' He was,
however, correct enough, as usual, for the Chinese consider it to be the
main upper stream of the Yangtzu." - H.C.] Though our Geographies give the
specific names of Wen and Min to the great branch which flows by Ch'eng-tu
fu, and treat the Tibetan branch which flows through northern Yunnan under
the name of Kin Sha or "Golden Sand," as the main river, the Chinese seem
always to have regarded the former as the true Kiang; as may be seen in
Ritter (IV.
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