Directory_and_Chronicle_1850 — Page 120

1850.

Topography of the Province of Húpch.

97

No one will question the desirableness of settling the controversy, and no one wishes to throw any obstacles in the way of such a consummation. No term has been proposed for the generic name of God, against using which strong arguments might not be urged ; ti, ahdng t, tiên tổ, chim, chủ, chín chủ, chin shin, aloah, all of them are open to objections; but which one shall be taken, as on the whole, the least objectionable? Uniformity among the whole body of Christian writers in Chinese on this vital point is a great object, and one for which every one will, we think, be willing to concede something. We would here add, that it is a subject worthy of consideration, by those missionaries who write in Chinese, whether they ought not to con- form to one way of writing all proper names, and not use different characters to express then. For instance, we have seen Jehovah written Yé-ho-hwá

耶火華,Ye-ho-haoi 耶賀華, Ye-ho-huot 耶和鋪,Ye-huok 耶華 Ye-huod爺華, and You-hat 耀華. Dr. Medhurst writew 阿羅訶 for Aloah instead of 阿羅阿 as it is on the Syriac

monument itself. The charactera for other names are altered or abbreviated in a similar manner, tending to make great confusion in the minds of na- tives, unacquainted with the original languages. For the name Jehovah, we prefer to every other way of writing it.-Ed. Ch. Rep.]

ART. III. Topography of the province of Húpeh; list of its de- partments and districts; description of its principal towns, notice

of its rivers, lakes, productions, &c.

THE province of Húpeh or Northern Lakes, formerly con- stituted part of the province of Húkwáng, and is still under the su. perintendence of a governor-general, styled Liáng Hú tsungtuh, who rules over the united province, and has his residence at Wúcháng fú. The area of Húpeh is between 68,000 and 70,000 square miles, ex- tending from lats. 29° to 33° N., and longs. 109° to 116° E.; it is nearly of a rectangular shape, and enjoys so many advantages of temperate climate, fertile soil, navigable rivers, and beautiful lake and mountain scenery, that it is called the Granary of the Empire. It is bounded north by Honán, east by Ngánhwui and Kiángsí, south by Húnán, and west by Sz'chuen and Shensí.

Húpeh is celebrated for its lakes, and though the largest lake in China is found just across its southern frontier, still the entire lacus-

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