Illustrated Treatise on the Maritime Kingdoms, Volume 38

Page Nine

In general, their rulers currently consist of two types: the King of Spiritual Instruction and the King of Secular Rule. The King of Secular Rule follows the commands of the King of Spiritual Instruction with the utmost diligence. Note: There is only one supreme King of Spiritual Instruction who resides in the country of Italy. He oversees the Catholic religion original: 天主教 (Tiānzhǔjiào) of all Western nations and is called the Pope original: 教皇 (Jiàohuáng), much like the Living Buddha original: 活佛 (Huófó) of Tibet; he is not present in every single country. Among the various nations currently trading in Guangdong, there has never been a claim that each country has two kings. This account mentions that Macau also has a "King of the Law," but this is merely a title for a high priest. If a country had only one King of the Law and he came to reside in Macau, how could his home country still have one? How could he govern from tens of thousands of miles away? The foreign monks of Macau belong to the class of spiritual instruction, while the foreigners who trade belong to the class of secular rule. Every year, the Kingdom of the Great Western Ocean Portugal sends officials and magistrates to govern them.

Macau has always been abundantly wealthy. At the beginning of the current dynasty, when maritime prohibitions were strict, various foreign groups would use Macau's name as a pretext to enter the market, paying significant sums in return. Thus, wealth and goods overflowed. Now that all foreign nations are permitted to trade on their own, the number of Macau-based ships has decreased daily, and its prosperity is not what it once was.

The Great Western Ocean is far from China, taking three years to reach. Slightly to the west lies the Small Western Ocean usually referring to Goa in India, the administrative center of the Portuguese eastern empire, which is ten thousand li from the Central Lands. The Great Western Ocean sends officials to guard it, and the headmen of Macau all receive their orders from the Small Western Ocean yearly...