On The Nineteenth They Arrived At The Town Of Ata-Sufi, Where Kha
Zadeh Taj'oddin Resided, A Person Descended From The Prophet, Originally Of
The City Of Tormul, And Son-In-Law To Amir Fakr'oddin, Chief Of The Moslems
In Kabul[16].
On the twenty-second of Rajeb they arrived at Kabul[17], in which place
Amir Fakr'oddin had built a fine
Mosque; near which was a temple of the
idolaters, set round with images, and strange figures of various sizes, and
at the doors there were two gigantic statues that seemed to fight. Mengli
Timur Bayri, a handsome young man, was governor of this city. Departing
thence on the twenty-fifth of Rajeb, they entered on the desert of Noman
Cobi, where they only found water once in two days; and on the twelfth of
Shaaban, they saw lions, oxen, and other wild beasts; the oxen, named Gau
Kottahs, are very large and strong, insomuch that they are able to toss a
man and horse into the air. Their tails are remarkably long and hairy, and
are in great estimation all over the East, where they are often carried on
long poles, by way of ornament, and are likewise much employed for driving
away flies. On the fourteenth, they arrived at a place within twelve stages
of Sekju[18], the first city in Kathay. From this time, the Kathayans came
daily to meet them, erecting tents or huts, adorned with green boughs, in
the desert for their accommodation, and plentifully supplied their tables
with fowls, and various kinds of flesh, fruits, fresh and dried, and other
victuals, all served on porcelain or china dishes, besides several kinds of
strong liquors; and henceforwards they were as splendidly regaled in the
desert as they afterwards were in the cities of Kathay. According to the
list taken by the Kathayans, Amir Shadi Khoja, and Gaksheh, had 200 persons
in their retinue; Soltan Ahmed and Gayath-addin, 500; Argdak, sixty;
Ardvan, fifty; and Taj'oddin, fifty; in all 860 persons; among whom were
many merchants, who were passed as belonging to the retinue of the
ambassadors, and who were, afterwards under the necessity of performing the
services which fell to their lot, according to the register. In taking this
list, the Kathayan officers made them swear that there were no other
persons besides those named, and informed them that they would be despised
if they did not tell the truth.
It is remarkable, that among the many viands and liquors supplied to them,
in the before-mentioned entertainment, there was a pot of Chinese tea,
which the Jesuit Trigault imagined had only come into use in China of late
years. Tea is called Tscha by the Chinese, and its use is very ancient,
as the earlier of the two Mahometan travellers, who wrote in 851 and 867,
mention the use, by the Chinese in that early period, of the infusion of
the leaves of a shrub called sah or tsha. Even at that time, the use of
tea must have become an article of constant and extensive consumption in
China, as the emperor derived a large revenue from the tax on that
article[19].
On the sixteenth of the month Shaaban, they were informed that the Dankji,
governor of the borders of Kathay, intended to entertain them that day with
an imperial feast; and on their arrival at his encampment, they found a
square arpent[20] of ground inclosed with tents, the cords of which,
fastened to pegs in the ground, were so interlaced together that there was
no entrance into the inclosure but by four gates, which were left on
purpose.
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