The Porcelain Tower: said to be built by Chinese on a Tartar's orders
Editorial contextNieuhof admired the nine-storey glazed Porcelain Tower of Nanjing and repeats what he was told: the Chinese built it at their own cost on the orders of a Tartar conqueror seven hundred years before, and the new Tartar conquerors chose to spare it. In fact the tower was built by the Ming Yongle emperor in the early 1400s, so the story he was told is wrong, but it shows buildings being linked to Tartar conquerors in popular memory.
This wonderful Pile (as they inform us) the Chineses built at their own charges, commanded by the insulting Conquerour the Tartar, to them a Pillar of Honour, to the Subdued of Obloquie, seven hundred years since, when in like manner, as lately, they over-ran all China
About Tartars (an earlier conquest, and the Manchus)
Keep in mind
The dating and the Tartar command are hearsay and do not match the tower's known Ming date.
A Tartar lady tries on the ambassador's hat
Editorial contextRiding past the old imperial court at Nanjing, the Dutch were invited in by a Tartar lady of about forty, 'very debonair and free'. She came out to meet the ambassador, admired how their swords bent without breaking, put his hat on her own head and unbuttoned his doublet. She then served them a strong drink made of beans. A lively picture of a Manchu noblewoman's easy manners with strangers.
we past by the Gate of the old Imperial Court, where sat a great Tartar Lady, with her servants waiting upon her, about forty years of Age: She very civilly sent to our Interpreter to invite the Embassadours into her House … She was very debonair and free, looked upon our Swords, and much admired their bending without breaking: She took the Embassadours Hat, and put it on her own Head
About Tartars (Manchu noblewoman)
Continue in this sourceNieuhof's Dutch embassy to the 'Great Tartar Khan' in Beijing1655 to 1657 · 14 passagesAt Nanjing the conquerors live in huts; the Chinese keep the stone city
Editorial contextDescribing the ruined Ming imperial palace at Nanjing, Nieuhof notes that the Tartar garrison settled near a temple and built themselves huts, leaving the Chinese to live and trade in the city. The palace buildings, of hard stone painted yellow, were Chinese work. On the same page he says the Tartars destroyed the palace out of hatred for the Ming family.
The Tartars seated themselves near to an Idol Temple called Paolinxi, where they built themselves several Hutts, leaving the Chineses to dwell in the City, and there to drive their Trade. The buildings are all of a hard sort of Stone, which the Natives have most curiously Painted with a Yellow Colour, that when the Sun reflects on them, they shine like Gold.
About Tartars (Manchu garrison of about 40,000)
Continue in this sourceNieuhof's Dutch embassy to the 'Great Tartar Khan' in Beijing1655 to 1657 · 14 passagesThe court moved to Beijing to face the Tartars
Editorial contextDescribing the province of Nanjing, Cruz says the king once lived there because the land is fertile and pleasant, but moved his court to Beijing ('Paquim') to be nearer the wars against the Tartars. It is an early European statement of why Beijing became the capital.
This province has sixteen cities. The king anciently resided in this city, because it is a very fertile, fresh and pleasant land, and moved the court to Paquim [Beijing] in order to attend more closely to the wars of the Tartars.
Working translation
Original wording
Tem esta prouincia dezaseys cidades, residio ãtiguamẽte nesta cidade el Rey por ser terra muy fertil, fresca e apraziuel, e mudou a corte pera ho paquim pera de mais perto acudir aas guerras dos Tartaros.
About Ming emperors; Tartars on the northern frontier
A note on this quote
Transcribed from the page image (corpus OCR of this blackletter print is garbled); long s normalized, the Tironian sign for 'and' given as 'e', a few contractions (de, per, pro, terra) expanded, other abbreviation marks kept as printed.