VOYAGES AND ADVENTURES*

[INTRODUCTION]

Femão Mendes Pinto [°ca1522-†1591] was perhaps the most famous Portuguese writer and traveller of the sixteenth century. Embarked for India in 1537, in search of fame and fortune, in the following two decades he wandered incessantly throughout of the Orient, particularly the regions 'found' west of Ceylon [presently Sri Lanka]. He regularly visited the maritime limits of the southern Chinese provinces and was one of the first Portuguese to visit Japan. During his exciting and improbable overseas journey he was a soldier, a merchant, ambassador and missionary, shipwrecked and a slave, telling in the meantime of his personal association with eminent European and Asian personages, the last being Fr. Francisco [Francis] Xavier, with whom he often crossed the routes of the Far East. In 1558 he returned to Portugal, in possession of a considerable fortune, he dedicated his time from then on to the writing of a long-winded account of his memoirs which he based not only on his own experiences but also on the reports collected in the huge number of works printed about Oriental affairs which he had collected with the care of a specialist.

Peregrinaçam de Fernam Mendez Pinto. Em qve da conta de mvytas e mvyto e∫tranhas cou∫as que vio & ouuio no reyno da China, no da Tartaria, no de Sornau, que vulgarmente ∫e chama Sião, no de Caliminhan, no de Pegu, no de Martauão, & em outros mvytos reynos & ∫enhorios das partes Orientais, de que ne∫tas no∫∫as do Occidente ha muyto pouca ou nehũa noticia. [...] (The Voyages and Adventures of Fernand Mendez Pinto, a Portugal: During his Travels for the space of one and twenty years in The Kingdoms of Ethiopia, China, Tartaria, Cauchinchina, Calamiminharn, Siam, Pegu, Japan and a great part of the Ea∫t-Indias [...]) would be basically finished around 1576 and the manuscript's fame brought the author the reputation of a devoted orientalist: however the work did not end up being published until after Mendes Pinto's death. The large work would be published only in 1614 at a stage when much of the information transmitted by the author had already been superseded. However the work constituted a real printing success not only for the thrilling narrative plot, but also because it gave special attention to Far Eastern regions which the official Portuguese 'expansion' had never reached but where small communities of merchants and Lusitanian adventurers had sprung up. Logically these regions had been places disregarded by the great national chroniclers who mainly favoured the history of settlements in the [Portuguese] State of India.

Chinese material takes up approximately a third of the pages in Peregrinaçam [...] (The Voyages and Adventures [...]), making it one of the fundamental cores of the work. Mendes Pinto relates in a very factual way many of his journeys along the routes of the Chinese coast between 1540 and about 1550; but he also presents, with the help of various sources, a long and fantastic account of journeys throughout the interior of the Middle Kingdom, where he was allegedly taken prisoner. The true extent of his travels in China is still being carefully investigated even today; yet Peregrinaçam [...] (The Voyages and Adventures [...]) presents us with an extraordinary description of this country in the sixteenth century, which is accentuated by the attitude of enormous sympathy and openness in an anthropological sense towards the Chinese. Macao is never referred to by Mendes Pinto, however the author introduced a certain reference in description of a" [...] Portuguese city of Liampoo • [...]," which would have been based on accounts from the Macanese settlement that had been founded at a stage when Mendes Pinto was already in the [Portuguese State of] India preparing to return to Portugal.

22

CHAPTER XIII

Antonio de Faria 's navigation till he came to the port of Liampoo ; his arrival and gallant reception there by the Portugals.

[...]

Sailing in this manner we arrived ∫ix dayes after at the Ports of Liampoo, • 1 which are two I∫lands, one ju∫t again∫t another, di∫tant three Leagues from the place, where at that time the Portugals u∫ed their commerce; There they had built above a thou∫and hou∫es, that were governed by Sheriffs, Auditors, Con∫uls, Judges, and ∫ix or ∫even other kinde of Officers, where the Notaries underneath the publique Acts, which they made, wrote thus, I ∫uch a one, publique Notarie of this Town of Liampoo for the King our Soveraign Lord. And this they did with as much confidence and a∫∫urance, as if this place had been ∫ituated between Santarem and Lisbon ; 2 ∫o that there were hou∫es there which co∫t three or four thou∫and Duckats the building, but both they and all the re∫t were afterwards demoli∫hed for our ∫ins by the Chine∫es, as I hope to relate more amply hereafter: 3 Whereby one may ∫ee how uncertain our affairs are in China, whereof the Portugals di∫cour∫e with ∫o much curio∫ity, and abu∫ed by apparances make ∫uch account, never con∫idering what hazard they hourly run, and how they are expo∫ed to infinite di∫a∫ters. <1>

§.2.

Between the∫e two I∫lands, which the Inhabitants of the Country, and they that ∫ail in tho∫e Seas, call the Ports of Liampoo, there is a channel, ∫ome two Harquebu∫e ∫hot over, and five and twenty fathom deep, where in certain places is very good anchoring, as al∫o a plea∫ant River of fre∫h water, which takes his beginning from the top of a mountain, and pa∫∫eth by thick woods of Cedar, Oak, and Firr trees, whereof many Ships make their provi∫ion for Sail-yards, Ma∫ts and Planks; never co∫ting them a penny. At the∫e I∫lands Antonio de Faria4 ca∫t anchor on Wedne∫day morning, and there Mem Taborda, and Antonio Anriquez de∫ired him to give them leave to go and adverti∫e the Town of his Arrival, as likewi∫e to under∫tand the news of the Country, and whether there was any ∫peech of that which he had done at Nouday ; 5 For in ca∫e his coming ∫hould prove never ∫o little prejudicial to them, he was re∫olved (as I have formerly related) to winter in the I∫le of Pullo Hinhor, 6 concerning the which they promi∫ed with all diligence to advertize him ∫o much as they could learn: To this reque∫t of theirs, Antonio de Faria conde∫cended very willingly, and withall ∫ent certain Letters by them, directed to the Principal Governours of the Town, whereby he made them a brief Recitall of the ∫ucce∫∫e of his Voyage, and in∫tantly de∫ired them to advi∫e him what they would have him to do, being ready to obey them accordingly, with many other complements of kindne∫∫e, from whence oftentimes much profit ari∫es, without any charge at all. Antonio Anriquez and Mem Taborda departed about evening, and within two hours of night, they arrived at the Town, where as ∫oon as the Inhabitants heard the effect of their Me∫∫age, they pre∫ently a∫∫embled upon the ringing of a Bell, at the Church of the conception of our Lady, baing the Cathedral of ∫ix or ∫even others in Town, there they deliberated upon the Letters which Antonio Anriquez and Mem Taborda had delivered, and in the end having con∫idered the great liberatie that Antonio Faria had u∫ed, as well to them as to all the re∫t that had part in the Junk, they concluded to acknowledge it unto him by all demon∫trations of affection; For which purpo∫e they returned him a Letter, ∫igned by them all, as the Re∫olution of a General A∫∫embly, and ∫ent it him together with two Lanteaas7 full of divers refre∫ments, and that by an ancient Gentleman, named Jeronimo de Rego, a Per∫onage of great wi∫dome and authoritie among∫t them: In this Letter they gave him thanks in very courteous termes, both for the exceeding favour he had done them by re∫cuing their goods out of the enemies hands, and for the noble Te∫timonie he had given them of his affection by his extraordinary liberality towards them, for which they hoped that God would throughly requite him: 8 9 10 11As for the fear he was in touching his wintering there, by rea∫on of what had pa∫t a Nouday, he might be confident that way, becau∫e the Country was ∫o full of trouble, by occa∫ion of a mighty uprore that was then among∫t the people thereof, as if he12 had razed the very Citie of Canton • it ∫elf, they would not much regard it, whereof he might well thinke they would care much le∫∫e for that which he had done at Nouday, which in China, compared with many others, was no greater then Oeyras in Portugal is, being equally with Lisbon: And concerning the good news he had ∫ent them of his arrival in their Port, they earne∫tly de∫ired him to continue ∫till at anchor there ∫ix dayes longer, that they might in the mean while make ∫ome fit preparation for his entertainment, ∫eeing that thereby onely they ∫hould be able to te∫tifie their good will unto him, having not the power other wayes to acquit ∫o many obligations, wherein they ∫tood ingaged unto him. The∫e words of kindne∫s were accompanied with many other complements, whereunto Antonio de Faria returned them a mo∫t curteous An∫wer, and conde∫cending to their de∫ire, he ∫ent all his ∫ick men on ∫hore in the two Lanteaas, which brought the refre∫hments, whom tho∫e of Liampoo received with great ∫hew of affection and charity, for pre∫ently they were lodged in the riche∫t hou∫es of the Town, and plentifully accommodated with all things nece∫∫ary for them, wanting nothing. Now during the ∫ix dayes Antonio de Faria remained in that place, there was not a man of may qualitie in all the Town, but came and vi∫ited him with many pre∫ents, and divers ∫orts of provi∫ions, refre∫hments, and fruits, and that in ∫uch abundance, that we were amazed to behold them, the more too for the good order and magnificence wherewith every thing was accompanied. 12

§.3.

During the ∫ix dayes that Antonio de Faria continued in the Port according to his promi∫e to them in Liampoo, he never budgd from his Ships. At length on Sunday morning before day, which was the time limited for our going to the Town, an excellent con∫ort of Mu∫ick was heard, both of In∫truments and Voyces, the harmony whereof was wonderfully plea∫ing, and after that a Triumph of Drums and Trumpets together, according to the manner of our own country: Then ∫ome two houres before Sun-ri∫ing, the night being very quiet, the Moon exceeding bright, Antonio de Faria ∫et ∫ail with his whole Fleet, having all his Ships decked with Silken Flaggs, and ∫treamers of ∫undry Coulours, and every ∫cuttle both of the greater and le∫∫er ma∫ts hung round about with cloth of Silver, and many brave Standards of the ∫ame: After the∫e Ve∫∫els followed a number of row-Barges, wherein were a great many of Trumpets, Hoboyes, Flutes, Fifes, Drums, and other ∫uch In∫truments, each one of a ∫everal Invention.

When it was broad day the winde began to calm, as we were within half a League of the Town, whereupon there came pre∫ently to us ∫ome twenty Lanteaas, very well ∫et forth, and full of Mu∫icians, that played on divers In∫truments; So in le∫∫e then an hour we arrived at the Road, but fir∫t there came aboard Antonio de Faria about three∫core Boats13 and Manchaas, 14 adorned with Pavilions and Banners of Silke, as al∫o with Turkie Carpets of great value; In the∫e Boats were about three hundred men, all richly apparrelled, with chains of Gold, and guilt Swords, hanging Belts after the fa∫hion of A∫∫rick, every thing ∫o well accommodated, that we which beheld this Equipage, were no le∫∫e contented then a∫toni∫hed therewith. With this train Antonio de Faria came to the Town, where there ∫tood ranged in excellent order twenty ∫ix ∫hips, and four∫core ∫unks, be∫ides a great ∫ort of Vancons15 and Barca∫∫es, all in File one after another, ∫o making as it were a fair long ∫treet, every where beautified with Pines, Laurels, and green Canes, with many Triumphal Arches, be∫et with Cherries, Pears, Lemons, Oranges, and ∫undry odoriferous green Herbs, wherewith the Ma∫ts and Cordage were covered all over. As ∫oon as Antonio de Faria came neer the place, which was prepared for his landing, he ∫aluted the Town with a great peal of Ordnance, which was in∫tantly an∫wered with the like by all the Ships, ∫unks and Barques before mentioned, in order, a matter very plea∫ing, and wherewith the Chine∫e Merchants were ∫o taken, as they demanded of us, Whether this man, unto whom we did ∫o much honour; was either the brother of kin∫man of our King? whereunto certain chief men of the Town an∫wered, That this Father ∫hod the Hor∫es, whereon the King of Portugal rode, and that in that regard all this honour was done him ; adding withall, That they thought them∫elves ∫carce worthy to be his ∫laves, much le∫∫e his ∫ervants ; the Chine∫es beleeving all this to be true, ∫aid one to another, as it were in admiration; Verily, there be great Kings in the world, whereof our ancient Hi∫torians for want of knowledge of them have made no mention in their Writings, and it ∫eems that above them all, the King of the∫e Portugals is to be mo∫t e∫teemed, for by that which is delivered to us of his greatne∫∫e, he mu∫t needs be richer, more mighty, and greater then either the Tartar, or the Cauchin, 16 as is mo∫t apparent, ∫ince he that ∫hooes his hor∫es, which is but an ordinary and contemptible trade in every Country, is ∫o re∫pected by tho∫e of his Nation; Whereupon another that heard his Companion ∫ay thus, Certainly, ∫aid he, this Prince is ∫o great, that if were not a bla∫phemy, one might a∫mo∫t compare him to the Son of the Sun; 17 The re∫t that were about him added, It well appears to be ∫o by the great riches which this bearded Nation get in every place where they come by the power of their armes, wherewith they affront all the People of the world. This ∫alutation being ended on either part, a Lanteaa came aboard Antonio de Faria's ∫unk, gallantly equipped, and covered all over with boughs of Che∫nut trees, full of their bri∫tied fruit ju∫t as they grew, and intermingled with delicate ∫mall green trees, which tho∫e of the Country call Lechias, ∫tuck every where with mo∫t fragrant Ro∫es and Violets, all pla∫hed ∫o clo∫e together, that we could not ∫ee the Rowers; now upon the upper end of the Deck of this Ve∫∫el, there was a kinde of State ∫et up, made of Tyn∫ell, under the which ∫tood a ∫ilver chair, and about it ∫ix girles of about ∫ome ten or eleven yeares of age a piece, wonderful beautiful, and that very harmoniou∫ly accorded their voyces, to certain In∫truments of Mu∫ick whereon they playd: In this Lanteaa then Antonio de Faria embarqued him∫elf, and ∫o arrived at the Key with a great noy∫e of Hoyboys, Trumpets, Drums, Fifes, and other ∫uch like, after the manner of the Chine∫es, Malayoes, Champaas, Siamites, Borneos, Lequios, and other people, that were then in the Haven under the protection of the Portugals, for fear of the Pirates, which in great numbers over ran all that Sea. Being landed he found a chair of State provided for him, like unto one of tho∫e wherein the principall Chaems • 18 of the Empire19 re∫ually carried; In this, but with much refu∫all fir∫t of his ∫ide, was he placed, and it being ∫upported by eight ∫ilver pillars, it was taken up by eight of the chiefe∫t per∫ons among∫t them, apparrelled in gowns of cloth of Gold richly imbroidered, and ∫ was he carried on their ∫houlders into the Town, environed with three∫core Halberdeers, bravely ∫et forth, and their Halberds Damasked with Gold and ∫ilver; before him al∫o marched eight Sergeants at Armes, carrying great guilt Maces, clothed in Hongarlines of Crim∫on Velvet embroidered with Gold; In the head of them rode eight Knights mounted on gallant white Steeds, and attired in Sattin of the ∫ame colour, with white Damask En∫igns, and brave plumes of white Feathers, and foremo∫t of all were eight other men likewise on Hor∫eback, wearing Crim∫on, and green Velvet Caps, which ever and anon cryed out after the manner of China20 for people to make way. In this fort was Antonio de Faria carried along till alighting out of his chair he went to vi∫it the Governours of the Town, who in way of complement pro∫trated them∫elves at his feet, wherein ∫ome ∫mall time being ∫pent, two ancient Gentlemen, who had lived long in that place, the one named Tristan de Gaa, and the other Jeronimo de Rego, made an eloquent Oration in the commendation of him: 21 That done, he was led from thence to the Church through a long ∫treet, adorned on both ∫ides with Laurel and Firr Trees, below ∫trewed with Ru∫hes, and above hung, with Satin and Dama∫k, among∫t the which divers court-cupboards were placed, whereon ∫tood very curious perfuming pans of Silver, from whence mo∫t plea∫ing and delicious odours breathed forth: Neer to the end of this ∫treet was a Tower of Deal Boards erected, painted all over, as if it had been ∫tone, on the top whereof, under a Banner of white Damask, the Royal" Arms of Portugal were limned in Gold; and a window of the ∫ame Tower, certain little Boyes were drawn, attired after the Portugal fa∫hion, as al∫o an old Woman, that ∫eemed to weep, and hold a man lying di∫-membred at her feet, whom ∫ome eleven or twelve armed Ca∫tillians were a killing, having their Halberds and Partizans dyed with his bloud; All which Figures were done ∫o to the life, that one would have thought them to have been the very per∫ons they repre∫ented. Now this was to ∫ignifie how Nimo Gonócalles de Faria, chief of that Noble Family, gave for his armes his own body, at ∫uch time as he was ∫lain in the Wars, that had been anciently between Ca∫tile and Portugal. 22 Pre∫ently hereupon as ∫oon as a clock, that was on the top of the ∫aid Tower, had ∫truck thrice, and that the people upon this ∫ignal were all ∫ilent, there came a venerable old man out of the principall gate, apparelled in a robe of Crim∫on Damask, accompanied with four Beadles, which carried ∫ilver Maces before him: Having made a low reverence to Antonio de Faria, he told him in termes full of re∫pect, how much all the Inhabitants were obliged unto him, as well for the great liberality he had u∫ed towards them, as for the favour he had done them, by having been the onely cau∫e of the recovery of their goods, in acknowledgement whereof they all offered them∫elves to be his Va∫∫als for the time to come, and to do him the Homage of the Tributaries as long as he lived: 23 And further, if he plea∫ed to ca∫t his eye upon the Table before him, he ∫hould behold there as in a clear Mirror, with how much fidelity his Ance∫tors had gained the honourable name of his Family, as it was manife∫t to all people in Spain, whereby he might well perceive how much it was for his honour that he had performed ∫uch generous actions, in regard whereof he mo∫t eame∫tly be∫ought him, and that in the Name of them all, that for a beginning of the Tribute, which they offered to give him by way of Va∫∫alage, he would plea∫ed to accept of a ∫mall Pre∫ent, they now had brought him, onely for to defray the charge of Match for his Souldiers, and that for the re∫t wherein they ∫tood ∫o far ingaged to him, they promi∫ed to di∫-oblige them∫∫elves in time and place convenient; whereupon they pre∫ented him with five Ca∫es full of Lingots of Silver, to the value often thou∫and Taeis. Antonio de Faria having very courteou∫ly thanked the good old man for this many Honours had hitherto been done him, as al∫o for the pre∫ent they now offered unto him, excu∫ed him∫el from receiving of it, though he were very much importuned thereunto. <3>

§.4.

Antonio de Faria ∫etting forward then to go to the Church, whither he was to have been conducted under a rich Canopie, which ∫ix of the chiefe∫t and honourable∫t Inhabitants of Liampoo were there with ready for him, he would by no means accept it, telling them that he was not born to have ∫o much honour as they would do him, and ∫o he proceeded on without other pompe then ordinary, being accompanied with a world of people, as well Portugals as others of divers Nations, who for commerce ∫ake were come to that Port, as the be∫t and riche∫t that was then in that. Country. In the mean ∫pace where∫oever he ca∫t his eye he ∫aw nothing but publique rejoycings, which con∫i∫ted in daunces, Masks, and Playes of ∫everal kindes, invented by tho∫e of the Country that lived among∫t us; all which became more ∫plendidious by the Trumpets, Cornets, Hoboys, Flutes, Harps, Vials, Fifes and Drums, that were heard in every corner, and confounded together in a Labyrinth of Voyces after the manner of China, which ∫o amazed the ∫en∫e, that one knew not whether it were a dream or no, ∫o extraordinary if ∫eemed: Beeing arrived at the Church door, eight Prie∫ts came forth to receive him covered with Copes all embroidered with Gold and Silver, who going in Proce∫∫ion began to ∫ing Te Deum, whereunto many excellent voyces tuned to the Organs an∫wered, which made up as harmonious Mu∫ick as could be heard in the Chappel of any great Prince: In this ∫ort he was carried up to the High Altar, where there was a State of White Damask, and under it a Chair of Carnation Velvet, and at the foot of it a Cu∫hion of the ∫ame; In this Chair he ∫ate him down and heard Ma∫∫e which was celebrated with a great deal of Ceremonie, and a marvellous con∫ort both of Voyces and In∫truments. Ma∫∫e being ended, the Sermon followed, that was made by E∫tevano Nogueyra, an ancient man, and Curate of the place, who, to ∫peak the truth through di∫continuance of preaching, was but little ver∫t in Pulpit matters, and illiterate withall, howbeit de∫iring to ∫hew him∫elf that day a learned man in ∫o remarkable a ∫olemnity, he laboured to make demon∫tration of his be∫t Rhetorick: To which effect he grounded all his Sermon on the Pray∫es of Antonio de Faria, and that in words ∫o ill placed, and ∫o far from his Text, as our Captain was much a∫hamed at it, wherefore ∫ome of his friends pluckt him threee or four times by the Surplis for to make him give over, wherewith being netled, he turned him about to tho∫e that would have had him leave off, I will not, ∫aid he unto them, but will rather ∫ay more, for I ∫peake nothing but that which is as true as Go∫pel, in regard whereof, let me alone I pray you, for I have made a vow to God never to de∫i∫t from commending this noble Captain, as he more then de∫erves at my hands, for ∫aving me ∫even thou∫and Duckats venture, that Mem Taborda had of mine in his Junk, and was taken from him by that dog Coia Acem, • for which let the ∫oul of ∫o cur fed a rogue and wicked Devil be tormented in Hell for ever and ever, whereunto ∫ay all with me, Amen. This Conclu∫ion provoked all the A∫∫embly ∫o to laugh, that we could not hear one another in the Church for the noi∫e that was made there. This tumult over, there came out of the Ve∫try ∫ix little Boyes, attired like Angels, with In∫truments of Mu∫ick in their hands guilt all over, and then the ∫ame Prie∫t falling on his knees before the Altar of our Lady, and lifting up his hands, began to ∫ing aloud the∫e words, Virgin, you are a Ro∫e, whereunto the little Boyes an∫wered very melodiou∫iy with their In∫truments, all being performed with ∫uch harmony and devotion, as it drew tears from mo∫t of the A∫∫i∫tants. <4>

§.5.

Ma∫∫e being fini∫hed, the four principal Governours of the Town, namely, Mateus de Brito, Lançarote Pereyra, Jeronimo de Rego, and Tristan de Gaa, came unto Antonio de Faria, and being accompanied with all the Portugals, which were above a thou∫and in number, they conducted him into a great place before the Town Hall, that was compa∫∫ed about with a ∫mall thick wood of Che∫nut Trees, all full of Fruit ju∫t as they grew, adorned above with Standarts and Banners of Silk, and ∫trewed below with Flower de luces, and Red and White Ro∫es, whereof there is a great abundance in China. In this Wood were three long Tables ∫et, under a goodly ∫pacious Arbor, that was covered over with Myrtle, and round about were divers Conduits of Water, which ran from one to the other by certain Inventions of the Chine∫es, that were ∫o ∫ubtile, as one could not po∫∫ibly di∫cern the ∫ecret; For by the means of a kinde of Bellows like unto that of an Organ, that was joyned to the principall Conduit; the water rebounded up ∫o high, that when it came to de∫cend again it fell as ∫mall as dew, ∫o that with one onely pot full of water, they could gently moi∫ten that great place; before the∫e three Tables were three Court-cup boards placed, upon the which was a great deal of very fine Pourcelain, and ∫ix huge Ve∫∫els of Gold, that the Chine∫e Merchants had borrowed of the Mandarins of the Town of Liampoo; 24 For in that Country Per∫ons of quality are ∫erved all in Gold, silver being for tho∫e of meaner condition: they brought likewi∫e divers other pieces all of Gold, as great Ba∫ons, Salt∫ellers and Cups. After they were di∫mi∫∫ed which were not for the Banquet, there onely remained tho∫e that were invited, being four∫core in number, be∫ides fiftie of Antonio de Faria's Souldiers: There being ∫et at Table were ∫erved by young Wenches, ver beautiful and finely apparrelled, according to the manner of the Mandarins; At every cour∫e that was ∫erved up they ∫ung very melodoiu∫ly to the tune of certain In∫truments whereon ∫ome of their companions played: As for Antonio de Faria he was ∫erved by eight Maidens, the Daughters of worthy Merchants, exceeding fair and comely, whom their Fathers had brought thither for that purpo∫e at the reque∫t of Mateus de Brito, and Tristan de Gaa ; They were attired like Mermaids, and carried the meat to the Table, dancing to the ∫ound of divers In∫truments, a marvelous thing to behold, and where withal the Portugals were ∫o mightily taken, as they could not ∫ufficiently commend the excellent Order and Gentilene∫∫e of the∫e Magnificencies, by which their eyes and eares were ∫o charmed; Remarkable was al∫o, that at every health, the Trumpets, Hoboys, and Drums plaid their parts. In this ∫ort of Banquet continued two hours, during which there was always one device or other after the Portugal or Chine∫e fa∫hion. I will not ∫tand here to recount the delicacy or abundance of the meats, that were ∫erved up in it, for it would be a matter not onely ∫uperfluous, but even infinite to recite every thing in particular. After they were ri∫en from Table, they went all to another great place, that was invironed with Scaffolds, all hung with Silk, and full of People, where ten Bulls and five wild Hor∫es were baited, being accompanied with the ∫ound of Trumpets, Fifes, and Drums; in ∫equel whereof, divers Mummeries of ∫everal Inventions were repre∫ented. Now becau∫e it was late Antonio de Faria would have imbarqued him∫elf again for to have returned unto his Ships, but they of the Town would by no mean ∫uffer him, for they had prepared the Hou∫es of Tristan de Gaa, and Mateus de Brito for his lodging, having cau∫ed a Gallerie to be built from the one to the other for that purpo∫e; There was he lodged very commodiou∫ly during the ∫pace of five Months that he abode in that place, alwaies entertained with new ∫ports and delights of Fi∫hing, Hunting, Hawking, Comedies, and Ma∫ques, as al∫o with ∫umptuous Fea∫ts, as well on Sundays and Holydayes, as other Dayes of the Week ∫o that we pa∫∫ed the∫e five Months in ∫uch plea∫ure, as at our departure we did not thinke we had been there five dayes. This term expired Antonio de Faria made preparation of Ve∫∫els and Men, for his Voyage to the Mines of Luoaniaparu, for in regard the ∫ea∫on was then proper for it, he re∫olved to be gone as ∫oon as po∫∫ibly he could, but in the mean time it happened that Quiay Panian fell into a dangerous ∫ickne∫s, whereof not long after he died, to the extreme grief of Antonio de Faria, who exceedingly affected him for many good qualities that were in him, worthy of his friendship, and therefore he cau∫ed him to be honourably buried, as the la∫t dutie he could do to his friend. After the death of Quiay Panian he was coun∫elled not to hazard him∫elf in that Voyage, becau∫e it was reported for a certainty, how all that Country was up in arms by rea∫on of the Wars which the Prechau Muan had with the Kings of Chamay, 25 and Champaa; And withall he had Information given him of a famous Pirate, named Similau, whom he went pre∫ently to ∫eek out, and having found him, the ∫aid Similau related ∫trange wonders unto him of an l∫land, called Calempluy, 26 where he a∫∫ured him there were ∫eventeen Kings of China interred in Tombes of Gold, as al∫o a great number of Idols of the ∫ame Mettal, and ∫uch other immense trea∫ures, as I dare not deliver, for fear of not being credited. Now Antonio de Faria, being naturally curious, and carried with that ambition, whereunto Souldiers are for the mo∫t part inclined, lent ∫o good ear to this Chine∫es report, as looking for no other a∫∫urance of it then what he gave him, he pre∫ently re∫olved to undertake this Voyage, and expo∫e him∫elfto danger, without taking further coun∫el of any man, whereat many of his friends were with rea∫on offended. <5>

Revised reprint of:

[PINTO, Fernão Mendez] The Voyages and Adventures of Ferdinand Mendez Pinto,/ a Portugal: During his TRAVELS / for the space of one and twenty years in / The Kingdoms of Ethiopia, China, Tartaria, Cauchinchina, Calamiminharn, Siam, Pegu, Japan and a great part of the Ea∫t-Indiaes / with a Relation and De∫cription of the mo∫t of the Places thereof, their Religion, Laws, Riches, Customs, and Government in the time of Peace and War. / were he five times ∫uffered ∫hipwrack, was ∫ixteen times ∫old, and thirteen times made a slave. / written Originally by himself in the Portugal Tongue and Dedicated to the Majesty of Philip King of Spain / Done into English by H. C. Gent. / London, / printed by J. Macock, for Henry Cripps, and Ludowick Lloyd, and are to be sold at their ∫hop in Popes head Alley neer Lumbar-street. 1653, pp. 82-87 [2nd edition: 1663; 3rd edition: 1692]

For the Portuguese translation see:

PINTO, Fernão Mendes, LOUREIRO, Rui Manuel, intro., Peregrinação, in "Antologia Documental: Visões da China na Literatura Ibérica dos Séculos XVI e XVII", in "Revista d e Cultura", Macau, 31 (2) Abril-Junho [April-June] 1997, pp. 145-151 & For the Portuguese modernised version by the author of the original text, with words or expressions between square brackets added to clarify the meaning.

For the original source of the Portuguese translation, see:

PINTO, Fernão Mendes, MONTEIRO, Adolfo Casais, ed., Peregrinacão,. Lisboa, Imprensa Nacional - Casa de Moeda, 1988, pp. 187-202 & Partial transcription.

NOTES

[PINTO, Fernão Mendes,] CATZ, Rebecca D., ed. and trans., The travels of Mendes Pinto, Chicago - London, The University of Chicago Press, 1989.

<1>[CATZ, p. 127]

"[...]

We went sailing along in this manner, and within six days we reached the Gates of Ning - po, which are actually two islands located three leagues from where the Portuguese traded in those days. It was a town they had built ashore with over a thousand houses that was governed by a city council, a high court magistrate, constables, six or seven judges, and administrative officers of state, where the notaries would sign the legal documents they drew up in the following manner: "I, So-and-So, Notary Public of the Archives and Judiciary of the city of Ning - po, in the name of His Majesty, the King...," as though it were situated between Santarém³ and Lisbon. And they felt so sure of themselves and were so complacent about it that they had gone so far as to build homes costing between three and four thousand cruzados, all of which, from large to small, were later destroyed and completely levelled by the Chinese &for our sins & with not a trace of them left to show for it, as I will explain more fully at the proper time when I come to it. ⁴ And then it will be plain to see how uncertain things are in China, about which there is such a great interest in Portugal and for which some people mistakenly have such high regard, for at every hour of the day they are exposed to all kinds of disasters and misfortunes."

3 [CATZ, p.570] Santarém: City in west Portugal, on the right bank of the Tagus River, about forty-five miles northeast of Lisbon.

4 [CATZ, pp. 570-571] city of Ningpó: See Chapter 40, note 5 above. Pinto's description of a Portuguese enclave in Ning - po is believed to be highly exagerated. While it is true that the Portuguese carried on a more or less clandestine trade along the coasts of Chenkiang and Fukien for some thirty-five years before settling down in Macao (1557), no trace of such enclave of Ning - po has ever been found. For more information on the subject, see William C. Milne, "Notes of a Seven Month's Residence in the City of Ningpo", Chinese Repository (Canton) 13. no. 7 (1844): 338-57; Donald W. Ferguson, "Letters from Portuguese Captives in Canton, Written in 1534 and 1536", Indian Antiquary (Bombay) 30 (October 1901): 439-41; Henri Cordier, "L'Arrivée des Portugais en Chine", T'oung Pao, 2d ser., 12 (1911): 483-543; L. da Cunha Gonçalves, "A famosa cidade de Liampó segundo Fernão Mendes Pinto e a sua verdade histórica", O Instituto, 4th ser., 75-76 (1928): 113-20; and Albert Kammerer, "La Découverte de la Chine par les Portugais au Xiéme siècle et la cartographie des portulans", T'oung Pao, 2d. ser., 39, supplement (1944): 71-82. Also of interest in Lagoa's article, "A Dupla Liampó das crónicas portuguesas", Anais da Junta de Investigações Coloniais (Lisbon, 1950), in which he claims that Pinto uses the toponym Liampó (or Ning - pó) to refer indifferently to two different cities, one the river port of Ningpo, and the other the seaport of China Chin - Hai, at the mouth of the Yung River, the latter being once visited by Pinto in this chapter.

> [CATZ, pp. 127-129]

"67 A Message from Ning - po

Between these two islands -- which are called the Gates of Ning-po¹ by the natives and navigators who frequent that coast -- there runs a channel a little wider than twice the distance of a musket shot and about twenty to twenty-five fathoms deep; and in some parts it has small inlets with good anchorage and freshwater streams that descend from the mountaintop among forests thickly wooded with cedar, oak, and different varieties of pine, where many ships stop to gather the lumber they need for making spars, masts, planking and other sorts of timber, at no cost themselves.

On a Wednesday morning, shortly after Antonio de Faria had dropped anchor at these islands, Mem Taborda and Antonio Henriques requested permission to proceed to Ning - po to inform the town of his arrival and to find out what was going on in the country and whether or not there was talk or any rumours about what he had done in Nouday; for it should turn out that his presence would in any way be harmful to the peace and security of the Portuguese living there, then he would go on to spend the winter on the island of Pulo Hinhor as he had originally planned to do; but that in any event, they would let him know one way or the other in very short order.

To this he replied that he approved of the idea and granted permission for them to proceed as requested. He also wrote a few letters for them to deliver to the most hororable members of the local government, relating all the events of his voyage and asking them to advise him and to command him to do as they wished inasmuch as he was ready to obey them at a moment's notice, and other gracious words to that effect which cost nothing and turn out to be quite advantageous at times. Antonio Henriques and Mem Taborda departed that same afternoon, and Antonio de Faria remained there at anchor, waiting for a reply.

It was two hours after dark by the time these two reached the city, where the townspeople reacted with deep amazement, as was only to be expected, when they had seen them and heard the full story of the voyage. Appearing in response to the bells of the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception -- which was the mother church of six or seven others throughout the land -- they assembled to discuss among themselves the news that these two men had brought; and in view of Antonio de Faria's generosity towards them and all the others who had a share in the junk's cargo, they decided, since their means were limited and they could not repay him in full for what he had done, that they would repay him in part, with a demonstration of love and gratitude.

In reply to his letter they composed one in common that was signed by all, as though it had come out of a special session of the council; and they had it delivered to him along with two lanteias laden with a good supply of fresh food by a gray-haired nobleman called Jerónimo do Rego, who was a very learned man and a leading member of the community. And in the letter, which contained many expressions of deep gratitude, they told him how highly obliged they all felt towards him, not only for the favor he had done them by recovering their merchandise from the hands of the ennemy, but also for the great love he had shown them by his generous treatment of them, for which they hoped that the Lord our God would repay him with a great abundance of blessings in His glory; and that, as for his fear of spending the winter there because of what he had done in Nouday, thee was no reason to worry about it since there was too much unrest in the country at the moment for anyone to take notice of it, not only on account of the death of the king of China, ² but also because of the dissensions that had broken out all over the kingdom among the thirteen pretenders to the throne, all of whom were already encamped in the field with their armies, fully determined to effect a decision through force that could not be reached through justice; and that the Tutão Nay, who, after the king, held the highest position in the government, with all the supreme and divine powers of royal majesty, was surrounded in the city of Quoansy, by the Prechau Muão, ³ emperor of the Cochinese, to whose side the king of the Tartars was expected to rally with an army of 900,000 men; and that as a result, there was so much confusion and division among them that, even if his lordship had destroyed the city of Canton, they would hardly have paid any attention to it, let alone the city of Nouday, which in China, compared to many other cities, was of far less importance than in Portugal, Oeiras⁴ is, compared to Lisbon; as that as a favor, in return for such reassuring good news, they requested his lordship to remain anchored where he was for six more days, in order to give them time to prepare suitable accomodations for him, since they could be of no other use to him for the time being, nor were they able to show him at the moment, much as they all desired, how deeply indebted they were to him; and other corteous words to that effect which were used profusely throughout the letter; and since he wanted to let them have their way, he replied in a manner he thought was proper, by agreeing to do what they asked of him.

And on the two lanteias that they had used to bring him fresh food, he sent back the sick and wounded of the fleet, whom the people of Ning - po received most charitably, dividing them up among the wealthiest households where they nursed them back to health and provided them with everything necessary, in the most solicitous manner, seing to it that nothing was overlooked. And throughout the six days that Antonio de Faria waited here at anchor, not a single person of any importance in the town, or city, failed to come and pay his respects to him, bringing him many gifts of ingeniously prepared delicacies, fresh food, and fruit, in such abundance that we were amazed by what we saw, and particularly by the lavish display and pageantry that accompanied all these things."

1 [CATZ, p.571] Gates of Ning - po: Z. Volpicelli identifies the Gates of Ning - po with the islands forming the Blackwell Channel. He also places the Portuguese settlement of Ning - po at Chin - Hai, twelve miles from the seaport of Ning - po, or Hangchow Bay. See his "Early Portuguese Commerce and Settlements in China", Journal of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 2d ser. 27 (1892): 69. See chapter 36, note 9, above. -> ([CATZ, p.561] Prechau Saleu: The word prechau is used by Pinto and other writers, mainly in connection with Burma, Siam and the countries of the Indochinese peninsula. C. Eckford Luard, in the Travels of Fray Sebastien Manrique (I:195 n.10), says that prechau appears to be Siamese word phra-chao, phra meaning "excellent" and chao meaning "lord". According to Donald F. Lach (Southeast Asia, 526, n.156), Prechau Saleu represents P 'ra Chao Chang Phenak, meaning "lord of the white elephant.").

2 [CATZ, p.571] death of the king of China: The emperor Chia-Ching died in 1567 and not 1541.

3 [CATZ, p.571] Prechau Muão: See chapter 36, note 9, above.

4 [CATZ, p.571] Oeiras: Town on the right bank of the Ragus River, about ten miles below Lisbon.

<3> [CATZ, pp. 129-132]

"68 Antonio de Faria Reception at Ning - po

Antonio de Faria remained anchored off these islands for all six of the days he waited here, as the people of Ning - po had asked him to do. At the end of that time, in the predawn hours of a Sunday, which was the day appointed for him to enter the port, they came to serenade him with a beautiful sunrise song, performed by an excellent chorus, to the accompiment of soft musical instruments, that was a pleasure to hear. And they gave it a typical Portuguese ending when they struck up a frolic in double time, performed to the beat of drums, tambourines, and sistra, which we thoroughly enjoyed because it made us feel at home.

Slightly more than two hours before dawn, in the still of night, under a bright moon, he got under way with the entire fleet, the ships gaily bedecked with many silken flags and awnings, the topsails and topgallant sails decorated with fine silver mesh and very long streamers of the same stuff, escorterd by numerous rowing barges from which could be heard the sounds of many trumpets, shawms, flutes, fifes, drums, and many other musical instruments both Portuguese and Chinese; and every one of the musical groups on board these boats had a different style of playing, each one better than the other. Then, at daybreak, when he still had a little more than half a league to go to reach port, the wind died down, and immediately, twenty well-equipped rowing lanteias appeared on the scene and took the entire fleet under tow, bringing it to its berth in less than an hour.

However, before it got there, more than sixty boats, balões and manchuas, moved in alongside Antonio de Faria's junk. They were bedecked with silk awnings and flags and plush carpets and were carrying over three hundred men on board who were dressed in all their finery with many gold collars and chains around their necks, and with their swords, also decorated in gold, worn bandolier style, as they do in Africa. And all these things were done to perfection, with such good taste, that everyone looking on was extremely pleased and no less astonished.

In this manner Antonio de Faria arrived in port, where he found anchored and lined up in order, twenty six naos and eighty junks, and much greater number of vancões and barges, tied one behind the other and lined up in two rows to form a long passegeway; and all of them were decorated with branches of pine, laurel, and green cane, shaped into many arches covered with cherries, pears, lemons, oranges, and many other kinds of green foliage and fragant herbs, which were also entwined in the masts and rigging.

After he had dropped anchor in the spot specially prepared for him near shore, Antonio de Faria fired his salvos with many a piece of artillery, to which all the naos, the junks, and the other craft mentioned responded in order, one by one, in what was indeed a remarkable sight that left the Chinese merchants gaping in amazement. And they asked who was that man that was getting such a splendid receptioon, was he a brother or relative of our king, or did he have some other connection with the royal family. Some of the courtesans replied by saying no, that he was not related, but that his father was in fact the blacksmith who shoed horses that the king of Portugal rode and that that was why he was so honorable a personage that all the others there might well be his servants, fit to wait on him hand and foot like slaves. The Chinese believing every word of it, looked at each other in amazement.

"There are undoubtedly very great monarchs in the world," they exclaimed, "who are not mentioned in our ancient chronicles because our authors never heard about them. And it seems that one of them, who should be shown great respect, must be the king of these men, for according to what we have heard of him, he is richer, more powerful, and the lord of much more territory than either the Tartar or Cochinese kings; and one might even go so far as to say& if it were not a sin &that he is the equal of the Son of Heaven, the Crowned Lion on the Throne of the World." All those listening agreed.

"Of course," they replied. "That's perfectly obvious, judging from the enormous wealth these bearded men have acquired throughout the world by sheer force of arms, in defiance of all other nations."

Once all the ships had completed their salvos, an expertly rowed lanteia moved in alongside Antonio de Faria's junk. It was completely covered with a fresh forest of chestnut trees with their great prickly burrs just as nature created them, the branches all decorated with great quantities of roses and carnations intertwined with some other greenery a lot fresher and sweeter smelling than those which the natives call "lichees." And all this foliage was so thick, you could not see the oarsmen, who were also decorated in the same manner. On top of the quarterdeck of this vessel there was a richly adorned platform mounted on six legs and draped with brocade that had a silver chair on it surrounded by six pretty young girls ranging in age from twelve to fifteen who were professional musicians and singers with beautiful voices that had been hired for the occasion and brought there from the city of Ning - po, seven leagues away, for this type of entertainment and many others like it are available for a price whenever necessary, and many merchants grow rich just from providing these things which are in great demand there for parties and other pastimes.

Antonio de Faria embarked on this lanteia and when he arrived at the pier there was a deafening reacket of trumpets, shawms, timbals, fifes and drums, and many other instruments used by the Chinese, Malays, Chams, Siamese, Borneans, Ryukyu Islanders, and other nations who came to that port seeking the protection of the Portuguese against the pirates infesting those waters. And there they took him ashore in a luxurious sedan chair used for state occasions, as though he were one of the twenty-four chaens who comprise the governing body of this empire. It was carried by eight bearers dressed in fine mesh cloth, accompanied by twelve footmen holding silver maces, and sixty halbardiers, their panouras¹ and poleaxes inlaid with gold, who had also been hired out from the city, and by eight men on horseback holding white damask banners, and as many more, with crimson and green satin parasols, who every now and then shouted in the charachina style to make the crowds fall back.

After he had landed and been officially welcomed, the noblest and richest people in town came to call on him, and one by one, as gesture of courtesy, they prostrated themselves on the ground before him, which took up some time.

This done, two elderly noble gentlemen who resided there, one called Tristão de Gá² and de other Jerónimo do Rego, approached him, and in the name of all delivered a speech to him in which they praised him highly in rather eloquent and elegant terms, giving him a place, for his generosity, far above Alexander's, using very forceful and factual arguments to prove it, and comparing him advantageously, for his courage, with Scipio, Hannibal, Pompey, Julius Caesar, plus a lot of other things to that effect.

From there they took him to the church, passing through a very long street lined with laurel and pine trees, the walks completely strewn with flowers and shaded above with awnings made of many bolts of satin and damask. And in many places along the way there were tables set up with silver incense burners giving all sorts of fragances and perfumes, and some very clever theatrical interludes going on, that had been produced at great expense.

Fairly close to the end of the street there was a wooden tower constructed of pine and painted to look like stone, with three spires, each one topped by a gilded weather vane and with a white damask banner displaying the royal coat of arms in gold. Framed in a window of this tower, two children and a middle-aged woman were weeping, and down below at the foot of the tower there was a man, his body drawn and quartered, in what was a very realistic depiction of his slaying by ten or twelve Castilians who were fully armed, with their lances and halberds painted blood red; and altogether it was a very enjoyable spectacle because of the great pomp and pageantry with which it was presented. And they say the inspiration for it came from the life of a certain John Doe from whom the true F arias³ are descended, for they say that that was the way he earned his patent of nobility during the wars that were fought in ancient times between Portugal and Castile.

About this time, a bell at the very top of the tower, like a lookout point, was struck three times, signalling the crowds to be silent; and when the hubbub, which was considerable, had subsided, an old man wearing a purple damask surplice stepped out, accompanied by four attendants carrying silver maces; and after bowing deeply to Antonio de Faria, he told him, in carefully chosen words, how much they were all obliged to him for the great generosity he had shown by restoring their goods; and that as a result, they would henceforth regard themselves as his subjects and vassals and pay him due hommage as his tributaries for as long as he lived. And he told him to gaze upon the figure of the hero close by, wherein he would see, as clearly as in a mirror, the manner in which his ancestors' great devotion to duty had earned so honourable a name for his descendants, as was well known to all the people's of Spain; ⁴ and therein, he would also see how perfectly natural it was for him to do what he had done, and this applied to the courage he had shown as well as to all his other actions with respect to them; and that therefore, speaking in the name of all, he was asking him to accept this small token he was offering him in the meantime, to defray the cost of fuses for the soldiers, and to consider it as the initial payment of the tribute that they, as his vassals, were obliged to give him; and as for the rest of what they owed him, they promised to pay it in due time; and with that they presented him with five cases of silver bullion containing a total often thousand taels.

Antonio de Faria thanked them at great lenth for the honors they had already shown him and for the gift they were offering him, but under no circumstances would he accept it, now matter how hard they all insisted upon it."

1 [CATZ, p.571] panoura: The word appears to be of Maly origin, but Dalgado is unable to identify it. It is not used by any of the Portuguese chroniclers of the period, nor is it mentioned by Yule and Burnell. In this chapter it is used in the sense of a "ceremonial weapon or sword". Elsewhere, Pinto uses the same word for a ship.

2 [CATZ, p.571] Tristão de Gá: Not to be confused with Tristão de Gá mentioned in chapter 20 (see Chap. 20, n. 3 above).

3 [CATZ, p.571] Farias: One of the oldest and noblest families of Portugal, which traces its ancestry back to the founding of the nation in the twelfth century. Of course, we have no way of knowing if the pirate Antonio was a member of that family or if the author is speaking tongue in cheek. The tableau described by Pinto depicts the death of the most famous member of the Faria family, a Nuno Gonçalves de Faria, who was captured and slain by the Castilians while defending his country in the year 1373, an episode which has been romanticized in Portuguese poetry and prose, as a symbol of patriotism, down to modern times. The other Farias that appear in the boook, Francisco, Pero, and Alvaro, are indeed historical figures.

4 [CATZ, p.571] Spain: In this instance, Spain means the Iberian peninsula.

<4> [CATZ, pp. 132-133]

"69 The Vicar of Ning - po

Setting out from here, they wanted to lead Antonio de Faria beneath a richly adorned canopy being held in readiness for him by six of the most prominent men in the community. But he flatly refused, protesting that he had never been born for so high an honor as they wished to confer him, and he continued on his way in the same manner, with no more ostentation than before, still accompanied by a large crowd of people, Portuguese, natives of the area and of many other nations who came there to trade, for in those days it was known as the best and richest port in all that part of the world. Moving ahead of him there were many dancers, pélas, ¹ frolics, games, and different kinds of dramatic interludes which the local people who traded with us & some upon request and others forced by the penalties imposed on them & also performed like the Portuguese. All this was accompanied by the music of many instruments, trumpets, shawms, flutes, horns, flageolets, harps, rebecs, together with fifes and drums, and a heavy babble of voices in the singsong of charachina style, producing such an incridible racket that made it all seem unreal. When he reached the church door, eight priests, ceremoniously arrayed in cloacks of brocade and richly wrought fabrics, came out to meet him, accompanied by a procession singing the Te Deum Laudamus, while another excellent choir sang the response with organ music that was as fine as any ever heard in the private chapel of a great prince.

And in the midst of this splendid procession he marched with measured steps up to the main altar of the church, where a white damask dossel had been hung, right next to as crimsom velvet chair with matching footrest. And seated in this chair he heard a beautifully arranged vocal and instrumental mass, at which the vicar Estêvão Nogueira, a very honorable old man, officiated. But since, for the lack of practice, he was not well versed in pulpit usage & to say nothing of the fact that he was a weak preacher and had little or no learning to begin with and, on top of this, was vain and conceited about being almost noble & in his anxiety to show how much he knew and what an expert orator he was, since this was an auspicious occasion, he devoted the entire sermon exclusively to a eulogy of Antonio de Faria, speaking in such an incoherent and generally disorganized manner that, when it became apparent to his listeners that Antonio de Faria was showing signs of discomfort bordering on annoyance, some of the vicar's friends tugged on his surplice three or four times to make him shut up. And when he finally caught on, he reacted like someone waking up to a fight. "By God!" he exclaimed in a voice loud enough to be heard by all, though he pretended that he was responding to his friends. "I'm speaking the Gospel truth, so leave me alone! I swear to God that I would be willing to butt my head against the walls for the men who saved me seven thousand cruzados that I invested on the junk, which that dog Khoja Hassim had already made off with, like ball player, using the fender timber for his stick. May God grant his sould the torments of hell where he now lies, and let us say amen!"

And this conclusion to the sermon followed by such a loud roar of laughter that it was impossible for anyone in the church to be heard above the noise they were making.

When the laughter had died down and everyone was quiet, six little boys came out of the sacristy, dressed like angels and carrying gilded harps. Then the vicar himself knelt down before the altar of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, and gazzing upon the image with upraised arms, his eyes brimming with tears, he intoned a prayer in a voice choked with emotion, as though he were speaking directly to the image: "Our Lady, thou art the rose"; to which the six little boys responded in unison, "Our Lady, thou art the rose," harmonizing so sweetly as they accompanied themselves on their harps that everyone there without exception burst into tears, overwhelmed by the deep devotion that it inspired in them.

After this, accompanying himself on a large old-fashioned viol he was holding, the vicar intoned a few stanzas of thys hymn in the same chanting voice, which were extremely devout and most appropriate to the occasion. And at the end of each stanza the children responded with the refrain, "Our Lady, thou art the rose."

It was generally so well liked by everyone, not only because of the excellent musical arrangement with which it was presented, but also of the deep devotion it inspired in all, and as a result, there were many tears shed throughout the church."

1 [CATZ, p.571] péla: A type of public entertainment in which the dancer practices certain movements of the head and arms leaping in the air, like a ball.

<5> [CATZ. pp. 133-135]

"70 A Banquet in Honor of Antonio de Faria

Once mass was over, the four leading members of the governing body of the town, or city, of Ning-po, as our people call it - namely, Mateus de Brito, ¹ Lançarote Pereira, ² Jerónimo do Rego e Tristão de Gá - came over to Antonio de Faria. Placing themselves on either side of him, they led him off, accompanied by the whole Portuguese colony of probably over a thousand men, to a large garden terrace fronting their homes which was completely enclosed by a dense hedge of chestnut trees, heavily laden with burrs, fresh from the forest, their boughs decorated above with may silk banners and flags, and the ground below covered with arrowhead, mint, and roses, both red and white, which grew abundantly in China.

Within this hedged area, three very long tables had been set up along some myrtle bowers running all around the terrace where many sprinklers had been installed with water flowing through pipes, from one to the other by means of some mechanical devices invented by the Chinese, which were so highly sophisticated and ingenious that no one was ever able to figure out how they were operated, for with the force of the blast of air from something like an organ bellows, to which they were all connected, they squirted the water so high that when it fell to earth it came down in tiny droplets as gentle as dew, requiring only a single jug of water to spray the entire terrace, which was as large as a big city square.

In front of these three tables there were three matching buffets laden with a large quantity of extremely fine porcelain and six oversized gold pitchers which the Chinese merchants had brought from the city of Ning-po, where they had borrowed them from the mandarins, whose table service consists exclusively of gold vessels because silver is used for people of lesser quality and lower station of life. They had also brought many other serving pieces, such as large platters, saltcellars, and goblets, also made of gold, which were indeed delightful to behold, if the sight did not bring on an occasional twinge of envy.

After the people who had not been invited to the banquet bade their farewells, only the guests remained, and there were perhaps seventy or eighty of them, not counting Antonio de Faria's soldiers, who numbered above fifty. And once they were seated at table, they were waited on by very pretty girls, richly clad in mandarin style, who sang a song, accompanied by background music played by others, every time they served a dish. And Antonio de Faria was waited on personally by eight extremely fair gentlewomen, the daughters of honorable merchants, whose fathers had brought them from the city, out of consideration for Mateus de Brito and Tristão de Gá. These girls were all dressed like sirens, and they waited on table with mincing steps, as though they were dancing, to the sound of instrumental music which simply delighted everyone listening and left the Portuguese gaping with amazement but full of praise for the perfection with which everything they were seeing and hearing had been arranged and presented. And when it was time to serve the drinks, they struck up the band with shawms, trumpets, and timbals. The banquet went on like this for nearly two hours, and during that time they also presented some theatrical interludes, one in Chinese and the other in Portuguese.

As for the excellence and abundance of food, I will not even touch upon the subject, for if I were to try to describe in detail all the things that were served that day it would take forever; but one thing I will say, and it is that I doubt very much that in few places in the world, could a banquet be given that would surpass this one in any respect.

When the tables were cleared, and it must have been close to two in the afternoon by then, they moved on to another terrace enclosed all around with many reviewing stands that were crowded with people who watched the running of ten bulls and five wild horses, which was the most enjoyable spectacle ever seen, accompanied by the playing of many trumpets, timbals, fifes and drums, and many diffeent kinds of theatrical interludes.

By the time this was over it was almost evening, and Antonio de Faria wanted to return to his ship, but they would not hear of it, and instead, Tristão de Gá and Mateus de Brito offered him their homes, which had already been prepared for him with connecting passageways from one to the other, where he remained very comfortably installed for the entire five months of his stay in Ning-po. And during that time there were always many diversions such as fishing trips, falconry and hawking, hunting for deer, boar, bulls, and wild horses which abound on this island, in addition to nany other sports and pastimes in the form of plays and all sorts of variety performances, along with splendid banquets that were given on Sundays, feast days, and a great number of weekdays; so that the five months we spent here seemed like barely five days to us.

At the end of that time Antonio de Faria made ready with men and ships for the voyage to the mines of Quoangeparú. However, owing to the death in the meantime of Quiay Panjão, which he sorely regretted, he was advised not to attack them because there were rumours, which were believed to be true, that there was a great deal of unrest in that country due to the wars carried on by the Prechau Muhão³ against the kings of Chiang Mai, ⁴ the Pafuás, and Champa. But they suggested that he get together with a very famous pirate there called Similau, ⁵ whom he then contacted. He had a long talk with him, and this fellow told him many wonderful things about an island called Calempluy, ⁶ where there were seventeen tombs of the kings of China, who had been buried in some golden chapels with a huge number of idols, also of gold, where he said that the only trouble or difficulty they would encounter was no more than that of loading the ships. And he also told him many other things of such great majesty and splendour that I will pass over for fear they may raise doubts in the mind of the reader.

And since Antonio de Faria was by nature a very curious person, and not wholly devoid of greed either, he immediately became so taken by the ideas of this Chinese that, on his word alone, without any other proof, he decided to throw all caution to the winds and undertake the voyage; and he was unwilling to seek anyone else's advice on the matter, which scandalized a few of his friends somewhat, and not without reason."

1 [CATZ, p.571] Mateus de Brito: A Mateus de Brito was taken prisoner by the Chinese, probably off Fukien, in the year 1548 or 1549, and later sent to Canton, where he was ransomed in 1556 by the Jesuit father Melchior Nunes Barreto. In a letter dfrom Macao on 23 November 1555, Father Melchior describes his efforts to ransom Mateus de Brito, along with several other Portuguese held by the Chinese. Pinto himself, who accompanied the father on one of his trips to Canton, mentions the ransoming of Mateus de Brito in a letter from Macao, dated 20 November 1555. Upon his release, Mateus de Brito wrote a report on China ("Informação da China"), which was sent by the Jesuits, via Malacca, to Portugal. See Jack Braga, "Some Portuguese Captives in China," Mosaico (Macao) I, no. I (September 1950), 112-16. See also Rebecca Catz, Cartas, document 9, 59-65 (Pinto's letter), and document 10 65-73 (Melchior's letter).

2 [CATZ, pp. 571-572] Lançarote Pereira: In this chapter Pinto introduces a Lançarote Pereira who is a distinguished member of the Portuguese enclave of Ning-po (1541?). In chapters 140 and 221 he places the blame for the destruction of that enclave (1548-1549?) on a Lançarote Pereira, described as a native of the town of Ponte de Lima in Portugal. Castanheda, alone of all the Portuguese chroniclers, mentions a Lançarote Pereira (vol.2, bk.9, 902) who was one of the captains in the armada sent to the Red Sea (1539) by the viceroy Garcia de Noronha to destroy some Turkish ships said to be anchored there. Other modem sources consulted repeat Pinto's version of the destruction of the Portuguese enclave of Ning-po, owing to the high-handed conduct of Lançarote Pereira, or deny its existence as a year round settlement.

3 [CATZ, p.572] Prechau Muhão: For prechau, see chapter 36, note 9 above. Also, Muhão is spelled Muão in chapter 67.

4 [CATZ, p.572] Chiang Mai: Or Chieng Mai. Province of northwest Thailand and name of capital city located on the upper course of the Ping River about eighty miles east of the Burma border. Formerly the capital of the united Lao kingdom, later subject to Burma.

5 [CATZ, p.572] Similau: The pirate killed by Antonio de Faria in chapter 40 was also named Similau.

6 [CATZ, p.572] Calempluy: As island never identified with certainty, but vaguely placed in Korea by some investigators, among them Lagoa (Glossário) and A. J. H. Charignon and M. Médard (À propos des voyages aventureux de Fernand Mendez Pinto, [Peking: Imprimerie des Lazaristes, 1935], 138-45), and by E. H. Parker, who informs us that Korea was once called Kalo or Kara ("Pinto in Corea," China Review (Hongkong) 16, no.3 (November-December 1887): 182.

Numeration without punctuation marks follow that in Fernão Mendes Pinto's original text selected in Rui Loureiro's edited text in "Revista de Cultura" (Portuguese edition), Macau, 31 (2) Abril-Junho [April-June] 1997, p.151.

The spelling of Rui Loureiro's edited text [Port.] is indicated between quotation marks and in italics <" " > & unless the spelling of the original Portuguese text is indicated & followed by the spelling of H. C. Gent's English translation [HCG], indicated immediately after, between quotation marks within parentheses < (" ") >.

1 "Liampó" • ("Liampoo") : meaning in this context, a temporary Portuguese factory in the Shuangyu• Islands, which belong to the Zhoushan• archipelago near the Chinese city of Ningbo. • This trading place is also well documented in Chinese sources. (See: Note 24)

2 This description of Liampoo is greatly exagerated. It is possible that the author might have adapted descriptions of Macao to this small settlement, which he might have consulted after his return to Portugal.

3 The factory of Liampoo was destroyed by the Chinese navy on 1548-1549 during a fierce campaign against foreign maritime trade along the coasts of Fujian • and Zhejiang • provinces.

4 António de Faria was the captain of a group of Portuguese pirates and one of the major characters of the author's Peregrinaçam [...] (The Voyages and Adventures [...]). Although the verity of this character has been questioned by historians, the surviving text of his testament confirmed by Fr. Francis Xavier, relates his lenghty and agitated adventures in the Far East.

5 "Noudai" [original Port.] ("Nouday") : a non-identified toponym. The author is referring to the Portuguese plundering commanded by António de Faria to the Chinese city of Nouday, described earlier on in the text.

6 "Pulo Hinhor" [original Port.] ("Pullo Hinhor") : a nonidentified toponym.

7 "lanteia[s] " [original Port.] ("Lanteaa[s] ") : a particular kind of Chinese barge with six or seven oars used mainly to carry goods.

8 The author's passage is anachronic. No Chinese Emperor died around 1541, Jiajing (r. 1522-†1566) the contemporarily ruling sovereign only dying twenty-five years later. This anachronism might be somehow validated by assuming that the author wrote this section of passage of Peregrinaçam [...] (The Voyages and Adventures [...]) around 1566, indiscriminately mixing in its text memories of the past with real events of the present.

Editor's addendum: This section of the text has been supressed in H. C. Gent's translation. (See: Rebecca Catz's translation for this passage).

9 "tutão" • [Port.] ("{not translated}")= dutang • [Chin.]: the Viceroy or governor general of a Chinese province.

Editor's addendum: This section of the text has been supressed in H. C. Gent's translation. (See: Rebecca Catz's translation for this passage).

10 "Quoansi" • [Port.] ("{not translated}") = Wuzhou • [Chin.]: in this context possibly being a reference to this city in Guangxi • province.

Editor's addendum: This section of the text has been supressed in H. C. Gent's translation. See: (Rebecca Catz's translation for this passage).

11 "Prechá Muão". 'Prechau' might be an honorific title in Siamese. This unidentified character might be inspired by the Siamese monarch P'rajai Xaja-Thirât (r.1534-†1547), who never made war against the Empire of China. It seems that here once again fiction blends with reality in the author's narrative.

Editor's addendum: This section of the text has been supressed in H. C. Gent's translation. (See: Rebecca Catz's translation for this passage).

12 "Sua Mercê" (lit.: 'Your Grace') or ("he"): meaning, António de Faria.

13 "balões" [singular: 'balão'] [original Port.] ("Boat[s]"): a small boat propelled by oars bottom of which is made by a single board.

14 "manchua[s] "("Manchaa[s] ") : a small boat, sometimes fitted with a rectangular sail.

15 "bancões" [singular: 'bancão'] [original Port.] ("Vancon[s]"): a small boat which long oars are manoeuvered by two standing men.

16 A legendary Emperor of Cochin-China.

17 "Filho do Sol" (lit.: 'Son of the Sun') or ("Son of Suns"): one of the honorific titles traditionally attributed to the Emperor of China.

18 "chaém" • [original Port.] ("Chaem[s]") =chayuan• [Chin.]: an itinerant Imperial censor invested with the functions of Imperial commissioner during his obligatory yearly inspection rounds to a number of the country's provinces.

19 The author's definition has no parallel in the contemporary governmental structure of the Empire of China. It might derive from the 'Casa do Vinte e Quatro' (lit: 'The Chamber of the Twenty Four'), at the time functioning in Lisbon, Portugal.

20 "charachina" [original Port.] ("[...] after the manner of China[...]"): possibly meaning, 'ao modo da China' ('on the Chinese way').

21 Famous historical characters of classical Greece and Rome.

Editor's addendum: This section of the text has been supressed in H. C. Gent's translation. (See: Rebecca Catz's translation for this passage).

22 The author is refering to the clashes between the kingdoms of Portugal and Castille in 1383-1385.

23 During his incursions on the coast of China, António de Faria managed to recover goods which had been taken to the Portuguese in Liampoo.

24 "Liampó" [Port.] ("Liampoo") =Ningbo [Chin.]: meaning in this context the city of this name. (See: Note 1)

25 "Chian-mai" [Port.] ("Chamay"): an old kingdom in Indochina, later incorporated into the kingdom of Burma (presently Myamar).

26 "Calemplui" [original Port.] ("Calempuy"): a mysterious region of Asia which some historians have identified as Korea.

* First edition: Lisbon, 1614.