one branch continuing north-west to Kuei-hua ch'êng (f), and one north-east to Chang-chia k'ou (I), Kalgan-cuts this line of hills immediately after leaving the gates of t provincial center. The ascent from the south, through the cutting, worn by the travel of centuries, in the loess of whi hills are composed, may be two or three hundred feet in e the descent upon the north side, which is slight. The road straight, and good, but not equal to the dands of tra are very great indeed. These hills, being of rocks, are, for the most part, under cul forms a water-shed between the head-wat to the Huang-ho () and the Pei-ho of this range finding their way into the for the latter. Having passed this water-s himself upon a plateau of slightly rolli diameter of which runs nearly due east and by what may fairly be called mountains, up and by hills of moderate elevation, upon th of the soil indicate a higher altitude than th Oats, Irish potatoes, and millet are the stay in but small quantities. Coal, or coke prep the only fuel used, and it is abundant, an cheap. Hsin-cho ( #f J), and Taicho cipal cities, while there are a large nu towns scattered about. The population tion to area than in the center of the and gives evidence of a fair degree of very fair quality of slate is found in the mountains at the east of this which here enters the mountains of Chih-li, near Ching-ting fu whe somewhat above their fellows, in plateau, are the mountains famou as Wu-t'ai shan (). T peaks of all these lines of hills summits are not clothed in ever to stand in everlasting sterility. narrow ravines, are found the o inhospitable neighbourhood, oa are of good quality, but the yield is ample, but the qualit ble from three points. A their fastnesses in four or f city they lie due west.

(f), the one city of importance upon it, has considerable trade in these two commodities, but seems to be in a chronic condition of demoralization and decay. A large proportion of the area inclosed within the city walls is vacant, only occupied with the debris of fallen buildings, and, so far as could be discovered, not a single public building was in a creditible state of repair.

It should be said, in conclusion, that the observations recorded here, were made during a missionary tour of about three months' duration. This may serve to account for the somewhat superficial character of the observations, as the traveller's time was mainly given to other things than to the study of the geography, or the resources of the country.

As illustrating the peaceful nature, and kind disposition, of the people, it should also be remarked that throughout the entire journey no trouble of any sort was experienced from them, and as a rule, to which there were at most but few exceptions, cordial greetings and a pleasant reception were everywhere met with. Landlords were for the most part courteous in their treatment, and moderate in their charges; officials showed no disposition to place obstacles of any sort in the traveller's way; and the people, few of whom had met with foreigners before, were curious, but as a rule, not rude.

The journey was throughout pleasant, instructive, and satisfactory beyond expectation.

SHORT NOTES ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE YUE-TI AND KIANG TRIBES OF ANCIENT CHINESE HISTORY.*

By T. W. KINGSMILL.

WH

HEN engaged last year in preparing some notes on the probably recent elevation of Central Asia, I had occasion to insert some remarks with regard to the tribes handed down in Chinese history as the (in modern Chinese Yuèti). None of the identifications usually accepted for those tribes seemed to tally with the circumstances of the case, and finding myself without external evidence, I suggested from philological motives alone that the word Vidal would be found an approximation to the actual name of the tribes.

I was unaware at the time that M. Vivien de St. Martin had, in a review of the destruction of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, from historic grounds identified the so-called Yuèti with the White Huns, the Haiáthalah, the Ephthalites of the Greek writers, who about the year 134 B. c. overran that country, and finally destroyed the Grecian dynasty which from the time of Alexander's death had been paramount.

Vidhal rather than Vidal should have been the rendering of the old Chinese name, and as this may be considered as identical with the Greek name for the tribe,-the Ephthalites, as well as its Arabic form Haiáthalah, it may be interesting to review the grounds on which this reconstruction of the ancient sounds of the characters was founded.

The characters made use of to express the name of the tribes, have in their present form no meaning; they were at first only used as phonetic elements. To arrive at their archaic sounds it will be necessary, however, to analyse their separate meanings; and endeavour if possible to find their analogues in some language making use of an alphabet. Such we find in Sanscrit,-a language having many relations with primitive Chinese.

Taking then the Chinese characters separately, we find the first Yue, the moon, in Cantonese, the nearest existing dialect to

Read before the Society on June 7th, 1875.

72

SHORT NOTES ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF THE YUÈTI

same

that spoken at the beginning of Chinese history, Üt or Yüet; the second ti, in Cantonese tai, meaning fundamental, radical, reaching to the ground. Comparing these words with Sanscrit we find the first represented by a word vidhu, with the meaning. Bopp gives no derivation, nor does he mention any analogues amongst Aryan languages. It may therefore be fairly accepted as a non-Aryan term for the moon which found acceptance in Sanscrit. The form tai for the second syllable seems to point to a lost liquid termination, 1 or r, more probably the former. Tai will thus agree in its original sound with the Sanscrit tal, condere. This root is one of extensive distribution; in Sanscrit it gives tala, solum, fundus; in Latin tellus; in Chinese ti, the earth, ti, fundamental, &c.

From analogy therefore the combination of the two characters would have been pronounced Vidh-tal, Vidal or Vidhal; thus corresponding with the actual name of the tribes as handed down from other sounds.

Similar reasons would lead me to identify the Kiang tribes of the Chinese with the Kurus of the Indian legends. The change of r into Chinese ng is of the commonest; Çûra, hero, reads Kung in Chinese; kara, tribute, Kung; mri, mori, mong or wang, &c.

The dawn of Hindoo story finds the Kurus in Central Asia, whence they succeeded in effecting a lodgment in North-western India. The dawn of Chinese legends brings them in contact with the ancestors of the Chinese along their western frontier.

They are more or less allied to the Yuèti, but there is some difficulty in agreeing with the Chinese as to their descent from the Sanmiaou of the Shooking.

The contest of the Kurus and the Pândavas in early Indian legend seems to indicate a struggle between the Scythian and Aryan races for supremacy. The Chinese describe the Kiang as nomadic and little given to agriculture, and this character would probably best suit their compatriots in India.

The Kurus were, however, advanced to a certain stage of civilization, and Kurukshetra, the plain of the Kurus, becomes the cradle of Indian culture. It is there that the gods themselves offer sacrifice, and here was fought the battle of Panniput. The eponym Kuru founds the two families of the Pandavas by whom the arts were introduced into Hindoostan. He therefore appears to correspond with the Chinese mythical hero Shin-nung or Kiang who fashioned timber into ploughs and taught the people husbandry. The legend of Shin-nung belongs to a different cycle. from that of the Chow tribes. We read nothing of it in the earlier