Cathay and the Way Thither

Chapter XIII. 

How our Brother Benedict died in the Chinese territory, after the arrival of one of our members who had been sent from Pekin to his assistance.

Towards the northern extremity of the western frontier of China the celebrated wall comes to an end, and there is a space of about two hundred miles through which the Tartars, prevented by the wall from penetrating the northern frontier, used to attempt incursions into China, and indeed they do so still, but with less chance of success. For two very strongly fortified cities, garrisoned with select troops, have been established on purpose to repel their attacks . These cities are under a special Viceroy and other officials deriving their orders direct from the capital. In one of these two cities of the province of Scensi, which is called Canceu, is the residence of the Viceroy and other chief officers; the other city called Socieu, ' has a governor of its own, and is divided into two parts. In one of these dwell the Chinese, whom the Mahomedans here call Cathayans, in the other the Mahomedans who have come for purposes of trade from the kingdom of Cascar and other western regions . 

There are many of these who have entangled themselves with wives and children, so that they are almost regarded as natives, and will never go back. They are much in the position of the Portuguese who are settled at Amacao in the province of Canton, but with this difference, that the Portuguese live under their own laws and have magistrates of their own, whereas these Mahomedans are under the government of the Chinese. Indeed they are shut up every night within the walls of their own quarter of the city, and in other matters are treated just like the natives, and are subject in every thing to the Chinese magistrates. The law is that one who has sojourned there for nine years shall not be allowed to return to his country. To this city are wont to come those western merchants, who, under old arrangements between seven or eight king doms in that quarter and the Empire of China, have leave of admission every sixth year for two-and- seventy persons, who under pretence of being ambassadors go and offer tribute to the Emperor. This tribute consists of that trans lucent marble of which we spoke before, of small diamonds, ultramarine, and other such matters; and the so-called ambassadors go to the capital and return from it at the public expense. The tribute is merely nominal, for no one pays more for the marble than the Emperor does, consider ing it to be beneath his dignity to accept gifts from foreigners without return. And indeed their entertainment from the Emperor is on so handsome a scale, that, taking an average of the whole, there can be no doubt that every man pockets a piece of gold daily over and above all his necessary expenses. This is the reason why this embassy is such an object of competition, and why the nomination to it is pur chased with great presents from the chief of the caravan, Iwith whom it lies . When the time comes the soi-disant ambassadors forge public letters in the names of the kings whom they profess to represent, in which the Emperor of China is addressed in obsequious terms. The Chinese receive embassies of a similar character from various other kingdoms, such as Cochin-China, Sian, Leuchieu, Corea, and from some of the petty Tartar kings, the whole causing incredible charges on the public treasury. 

The Chinese themselves are quite aware of the imposture, but they allow their Emperor to be befooled in this manner, as if to per suade him that the whole world is tributary to the Chinese empire, the fact being rather that China pays tribute to those kingdoms. Our Benedict arrived at Socieu in the end of the year 1605, and it shows how Divine Providence watched over him, that he came to the end of this enormous journey with ample means, and prosperous in every way. He had with him thirteen animals, five hired servants, two boys, whom he had bought as slaves, and that surpassing piece of jade; the total value of his property being reckoned at two thousand five hundred pieces of gold. Moreover both he and his com panion Isaac were in perfect health and strength. At this city of Socieu he fell in with another party of Saracens just returned from the capital, and these confirmed all that he had already been told about our fathers at Pekin, adding a good deal more of an incredible and extravagant nature; for example, that they had from the Emperor a daily allowance of silver, not counted to them, but measured out in bulk! 

So he now wrote to Father Matthew to inform him of his arrival. His letter was intrusted to certain Chinamen, but as he did not know the Chinese names of our fathers, nor the part of the city in which they lived, and as the letter was addressed in European characters, the bearers were unable to discover our people. At Easter however he wrote a second time, and this letter was taken by some Mahomedan who had made his escape from the city, for they also are debarred from going out or coming in, without the permission of the authorities. In this letter he explained the origin and object of his journey, and begged the fathers to devise some way of rescuing him from the prison in which he found himself at Socieu, and of restoring him to the delight of holding intercourse with his brethren , in place of being perpetually in the company of Saracens. He mentioned also his wish to return to India by the sea route, as usually followed by the Portuguese. The fathers had long ere this been informed by the Superior's letters from India of Benedict's having started on this expedition, and every year they had been looking out for him, and asking diligently for news of him whenever one of those companies of merchants on their pretended embassy arrived at court. But till now they had never been able to learn any news of him, whether from not know ing the name under which he was travelling, or because the ambassadors of the preceding seasons really had never heard of him. The arrival of his letter therefore gave great pleasure to the fathers at Peking. It was received late in the year, in the middle of November, and they lost no time in arranging to send a member of the Society to get him away some how or other and bring him to the capital. However on reconsideration they gave up that scheme, for the bringing an other foreigner into the business seemed likely to do harm rather than good. So they sent one of the pupils who had lately been selected to join the Society but had not yet entered on his noviciate. His name was John Ferdinand, he was a young man of singular prudence and virtue, and one whom it seemed safe to entrust with a business of this nature. One of the converts acquainted with that part of the country was sent in company with him. His instructions were to use all possible means to get away Benedict and his party to the capital, but if he should find it absolutely impossible either to get leave from the officials or to evade their vigilance, he was to stop with our brother, and send back word to the members of the Society. In that case it was hoped that by help of friends at Court, means would be found to get him on from the frontier.

Excertos de "Cathay and the Way Thither: Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of China, Vol. 2, de Odorico (da Pordenone), Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb, Francesco Balducci Pegolotti, Joannes de Marignolis, Ibn Batuta, Bento de Góis, publicado em 1866. Trata-se da reprodução de relatos destes autores traduzido por Henry Yule, responsável pela edição.

O excerto que aqui apresento refere-se ao relato de Bento de Goes sobre a sua viagem à China - entre 1603 e 1607 - conhecida na época por Cataio ou Grão-cataio, daí o nome em inglês "Cathay".