Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, Vol. 12

Page 2

The Islamic Religion original: 回回 (Huihui); a historical Chinese term used to refer to Islam and Muslim peoples

In the religion of the Muslims, once they drink fermented wine, they are filled with joy, as if the flowers of their hearts have all bloomed. The farmers are industrious in planting wheat, but because there are no irrigation ditches, they are unable to cultivate rice. Grapes grow in abundance in the interior of the country. The pasture lands are extremely vast, used for grazing horses and sheep. They shear the sheep's wool to manufacture scarves and fine woolens original: 毳 (cui); refers to the fine, soft down of animals or fabrics made from it, which are very expensive. The northern regions produce copper and petroleum original: 土油 (tuyou); literally "earth oil," likely referring to bitumen or crude oil seepages known in the region. Because the ground contains salty soil, the fields are not particularly fertile.

The local people are fond of calligraphy and composing poetry; they never tire of the joy of singing and responding to one another's verses. The local accent is harmonious and elegant; listening to it is like listening to music. They are fond of adorning their bodies, which wastes much silver and money. They also purchase fine horses, brandishing spears as they leap into the saddle, galloping for thousands of miles. They are devoted to ritual and perform many prostrations, though their speech is often flattering and lacks substance. They spend their time smoking and amusing themselves, living within circular earthen walls where they spread out woolen carpets original: 呢氈 (nizhan); refers to heavy, woven woolen cloth or rugs.

They bathe in both summer and winter. They possess refined features, with clear brows and bright eyes. The women have an elegant and charming demeanor, yet the men do not value the local women; they must purchase women from foreign countries to serve as concubines. This beauty, however, is easily faded; seven or eight years after marriage, their appearance? The original text uses "形谷" (xinggu), which is a clerical error for "形容" (xingrong), meaning appearance or countenance. becomes haggard and worn. The men strictly confine the women to the inner chambers; if they must go out through the marketplace, their entire bodies are completely covered and veiled.

original: 「形谷」應為「形容」之訛誤。 (The characters "形谷" should be a clerical error for "形容".)

Vocabulary from the original text: Islam/Muslims (回回), fermented wine (醖酒), fine wool (毳), woolen carpets (呢氈), foreign countries (番國), haggard (憔悴), covered/veiled (蓋蔽), earth oil/petroleum (土油).