Page:To the Court of the Emperor of China - vol I.djvu/33

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xxxiv
NOTES.

Monguls.   See Tartars.


Monqua.

Or, according to the pronunciation, Moncoua, was the Chief of the Company of Cohang, at the time of which the author is speaking. (Fr. Ed.)


Namheuyen.

This is a Mandarin of Justice, whose special business it is to maintain the police, and preserve order among the inhabitants.


Paint.

It appears in the instructions of the Emperor Kang-hi to his sons, given in the Mémoires Chinois, quarto edition, vol. ix. page 226, that under the preceding dynasty, the ceruss and cinnabar consumed by the servant-girls belonging to the palace, cost ten millions of livres. (Fr. Ed.)


Palanquin.

It is, properly speaking, an European sedan-chair, except that the poles are longer, more elastic, and borne upon the shoulders. There are some which are open, and others that are more or less richly painted, according to the uses, and the persons, for which they are intended. The poles or shafts are so contrived, that the number of bearers may be increased; rather out of luxury, and to announce high rank, than for any purpose of real utility. From two to eight porters are generally employed; but the Emperor has no less than thirty-two. (Fr. Ed.)


Peacock's Feather.

This feather, stuck in the cap of a Chinese, announces that he is a great Mandarin of letters, or Military Mandarin of the first rank.