There Arose From
All These Confusions Many Unjust Dealings With The Merchants; And There Was
No Grievance So Intolerable, Or
Treatment so bad, but what was exercised
upon the Arab merchants, and captains of ships, extorting from them what
was
Altogether uncustomary, seizing upon their effects, and behaving
towards them quite contrary to all the ancient usages; so that our
merchants were forced to return in crowds to Siraff and Oman[2].
The punishment of married persons, convicted of adultery, as well as for
the crimes of homicide and theft, is as follows: The hands are bound fast
together, and forced backwards over the head, till they rest on the neck.
The right foot is then fastened to the right hand, and the left foot to the
left hand, and all drawn tight together behind the back, so that the
criminal is incapable to stir; and by this torture the neck is dislocated,
the joints of the arms start from their sockets, and the thigh bones are
disjointed; - in short, the tortured wretch would soon expire without any
farther process; yet, in that state, he is beaten by bamboos till at the
last gasp, and is then abandoned to the people, who devour the body.
There are women in China who refuse to marry, and prefer to live a
dissolute life of perpetual debauchery. A woman who has made this election,
presents herself in full audience before the commanding officer of a city,
declares her aversion to marriage, and desires to be enrolled among the
public women. Her name is then inserted in the register, with the name of
her family, the place of her abode, the number and description of her
jewels, and the particulars of her dress. She has then a string put round
her neck, to which is appended a copper ring, marked with the king's
signet, and she receives a writing, certifying that she is received into
the list of prostitutes, and by which she is entitled to a pension from the
public treasury of so many falus yearly, and in which the punishment of
death is denounced against any man who should take her to wife. Every year,
regulations are published respecting these women, and such as have grown
old in the service are struck off the list. In the evening, these women
walk abroad in dresses of different colours, unveiled, and prostitute
themselves to all strangers who love debauchery; but the Chinese themselves
send for them to their houses, whence they do not depart till next morning.
The Chinese coin no money, except the small pieces of copper like those we
falus, nor will they allow gold and silver to be coined into specie, like
our dinars and drams; for they allege that a thief may carry off ten
thousand pieces of gold from the house of an Arab, and almost as many of
silver, without being much burthened, and so ruin the man who suffers the
loss; but in the house of a Chinese, he can only carry off ten thousand
falus at the most, which do not make above ten meticals or gold dinars in
value.
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