1842.
Topography of Chekiung
101
ART. IV. Topography of Chckiúng; extent of the province, its population, subdivisions, rivers, lakes, mountains, produc- tions, &c.
SEVERAL. considerations conspire, at the present moment, to render this province one of the most interesting portions of the empire. Rich, populous, and very productive, it has recently become the scene of contest between two great empires, and many of its islands and some of its strongest military positions have already been wrested from the jurisdiction of their old master. And yet this is but the opening scene. Chekiáng too, in olden times, was the theatre of great events.
In or near one of its chief cities, the modern traveler is pointed to the tomb of that king who, according to tradition, drained off the waters from the earth after the deluge. Near its modern capital, terminates the Grand canal, which crosses sevon degrees of latitude, affording one of the greatest inland channels of navigation ever formed by the hands of man. It is not, however, to the history, but to the topography of the province that we have now to invite the attention of our readers; and we commence with this, rather than with the province of Chilí, because it is at present the point to which the public mind is so much directed.
The name Che-king means the winding or crooked river-or the country of the meandering stream; such, at least, is the signification given by some Chinese authors, which seems to indicate that they imagine the course of this river to be unusually crooked.
The province of Chekiáng, as laid down on native maps, presents a circular form, extending from latitude 27° 20′ to 31° 20′ N., and from long. 1° 40′ to 6° 30′ E. of Peking, and includes the principal islands of the Chusan archipelago. These limits correspond nearly to those given by Du Halde. On the north it is bounded by the province of Kiángsú; on the east, by the sea; on the south, by Fukien; and on the west, by Kiángsí and A ́nhwui.
By Macartney, the province was computed to contain 39,150 square miles, and 25,056,000 Eng. acres. Its area is a little less than that of the state of Tennessee or of Kentucky in the United States, a little more than that of Portugal, one third larger than Scotland or Ireland, and nearly twice the size of Denmark, or of the island of Ceylon.
Its population, according to the last census, taken by imperial authority, amounts to 26,256,784 souls, or 674 inhabitants to a square mile.