_Sin gan_ is a town of the third rank, and dependent upon Kwang chow foo; distance from Canton in a north-east direction 200 le. Its area amounts to fifty le, and pays in taxes 11,623 leang. There are three towns in the district of Canton, whose names begin with _Sin_, new; _Sin hwy_, _The New Association_; _Sin ning_, _The New Repose_; and _Sin gan_, _The New Rest_. Kwang tung tsuen too p. 3 v. 4 v et r. 8 r, _Ning_ (8026) is now always written without sin or heart, being the _ming_ or proper name of the reigning emperor. By a mistake it is stated in the Indo-Chinese Gleaner (iii. 108.), that _Ning_ was the proper name of Këa king. The proper name of the reigning emperor is considered sacred, and must be spelled differently during his life-time.
[95] A Pa tsung, a kind of inferior military officer, says Dr. Morrison, under the word pa, (8103.)
[96] _Laou ya_, _Laou ya kang_, the mountain ridge of Laou ya, is fifteen le from the town of the third rank called _Sh[)i]h ching_. Shih ching hëen belongs to the district Kaou chow foo. Kwang tung tsuen too, 16v. 9r.
[97] Crackers made of gunpowder, and the gong, are used at every Chinese festival.
[98] The name of a temple which Europeans commonly call a Pagoda.
[99] Keun in Chinese, Kwa according to the Canton pronunciation. It is true it is somewhat awkward to speak of Madam Ching and Mr. Paou, but it may be remarked that the Chinese use their familiar expressions _foo_ or _keun_ in the same manner as we use Mr. and Mrs.
[100] In the text is only Chow (1355); but I think it must here be taken for the city or town of Canton.
[101] About the towns which are mentioned in our text, the reader may compare the notes to the first book. It is quite impossible to ascertain by the text alone if there was only one military officer appointed for all these places or not. In the latter case it would be necessary to read Chuh url and Kang g[)i]h; but we see by p. 95 that Chuh url kang g[)i]h is the name of _one_ commander.
[102] Tung king and Cochin-China now form one empire, under the name of Annam or Annan. The king of this country acknowledges the supremacy of the Chinese emperor, and sends every year a tribute to Pekin. The time of the reign of every king is known by an honorary title, like that of the emperors of China. The honorary title of the period of the reigning king, to whom the message was sent, was _Kea lung_ (good fortune), the younger brother of _King ching_, called by his proper name _F[)u]h ying_ (according to the Chinese Mandarin pronunciation): he is often mentioned in the beginning of the first book of our _History of the Pirates_. The king, commonly called Kea lung, died Feb. 1820, in the 19th year of his reign. His son, who still reigns, mounted the throne on the third day after his father's death, assuming the words _Ming ming_ (Illustrious fortune), as the designation of his reign. See the "Indo-Chinese Gleaner," vol. i. p. 360. It was falsely reported that Ming ming was murdered some days after his succession to the throne (Indo-Chinese Gleaner, l. c. p. 416), and this report is stated as a fact in the generally very accurate work, Hamilton's East-India Gazetteer, vol. i. p. 430. The reader may find some interesting particulars concerning the present state of Cochin-China, in the Canton Register 1829, No. 13. Chinese influence seems to be now predominating in that country.