64 CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA, ETC. to this monarch, he prostrates himself at the foot of the steps, utters his prayer, and retires." " The men of this country are tall, handsome, and in- telligent, and as they much resemble the inhabitants of the Central Kingdom, they have been called Ta-Thsin, that is, as if one said, ' tall Chinese.' " " The people of this kingdom seldom see the face of their king. When he goes out he is mounted on horse- back, and over his head, and over his horse, are held parasols, ornamented with gold, pearls, and diamonds. Every year, the king of the kingdom of the Ta-chi (Arabs), who bears the title of Sou-tan (Sultan), sends ambassadors to offer him tribute. If any disturbance takes place in the kingdom, he orders the Ta-chi to arm themselves with lances and cuirasses, and restore tran- quillity. Their food is principally composed of cakes of rice and meat. They do not drink wine, but they eat out of vessels of gold and silver, and make use of spoons. After their meals, they pour water into a golden basin to wash their hands." " This country produces lapis-lazuli, coral, silk stuffs, ornamented with golden flowers, red cornelian, pearls, rhinoceroses, &c."* The Syriac language, says M. Ernest Renan, was at that time (the 5th century) the ecclesiastical language of the Persian Christians, as indeed it still is. Bahrain the Fifth, yielding no doubt to the pressure of public
- Extract from a work entitled " Tchou-Fan-Tchi," " History of the
Barbarous Nations," by Tchao-Jou-Kouo, who lived under the dynasty of Song, between 960 — 1278. Bibliotheque Imperiale nouv. fonds. Chinois, No. 696. f Ilistoire Generale des Langues Semitiques : Paris, 1855, p. 264.
