hips of
them. They pillage everything and infest all places, and have sacked
and burned many maritime places of that great kingdom. They have been
the cause this year of very few ships coming to these islands to trade;
for the mandarins have put an embargo on all ships, in order to build
a large fleet to oppose the said pirates. A large stone was found
in the interior of China with Chinese and some Chaldean characters,
which tell how preachers of the gospel came to China a thousand years
ago and preached the gospel. They had bishops, and many churches and
Christians, and the mysteries of our faith were established there. As
it is a long matter I shall not relate it here, but shall only say
that after having examined the circumstances, it appears to be true,
without ground for doubt of it. [46]

Father Juan Adan, of the Society of Jesus, wrote the following. He
lives in Pequin.

"The affairs of this kingdom of China are in a condition of perfect
peace. A rumor was current many days ago that the Tartar king, the fear
of this empire, was dead. [47] As he had many sons, and had conquered
many lands from his other neighbors, the sons will be kept quite
busy for some few years in coming to terms with one another, and in
dividing and maintaining what their aged father left them. A few days
ago, a mandarin related to Father Nicolas Longobardo [48] that he had
seen in the palace an image of a woman with two small boys and an old
man. It must be David who was playing the harp for them. It is not an
idol of the Chinese, for the image is about a thousand years old, and
was a present from foreigners in the time of Tam-Chao, when our holy
law entered China, as your Reverence will already know from the stone
which was found, and the painting of the old man on linen, a figure
which resembles us. This point needs investigation, in order that we
may know what it is with greater certainty." The father continues,
making mention of an earthquake that happened in China.

Let us return to the island of Hermosa, whence a boat came on March 13,
with the news that a great mandarin had come from China to our fort,
to ascertain what people they had recently received as neighbors. I
will briefly state the reason for his coming. A Chinaman bribed
by the Dutch took certain memoranda to the mandarins, in which a
thousand evil things were said of the Spaniards (namely, that they
were certain robbers), while the Dutch were praised--all with the
obje