Buffon's Natural History. Volume 04 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &cBuffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
History
Buffon's Natural History. Volume 04 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &c
Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
Natural history
Inigo de Biervillas asserts, that the women of China are better made
than the men. Of the latter, he says, their visages are large and
complexions rather yellow; their noses broad, and generally compressed,
and their bodies are of a thickness greatly resembling that of a
Hollander. The women, on the contrary, though they are generally
rather fat than otherwise, are however of a free and easy shape; their
complexion and skin are admirable; and their eyes are incomparably
fine; but from the great pains taken to compress it in their infancy,
there are few to be seen of whose nose the shape is even tolerable.
All the Dutch travellers allow that the Chinese have in general broad
faces, small eyes, flat noses, and hardly any beard; that the natives
of Canton, and the whole of the southern coast, are as tawny as the
inhabitants of Fez, in Africa, but that those of the interior provinces
are mostly fair. Now if we compare the descriptions we have already
given, from the above authors, of the Chinese and Tartars, hardly
will a doubt remain that, although they differ a little in stature
and countenance, they originate from one stock, and that the points
in which they differ proceed entirely either from the climate, or
the mixture of races. Chardin says, "the size of the little Tartars
is commonly smaller than the Europeans by four inches, and they are
thicker in the same proportion. Their complexion is of the colour
of copper; their faces are flat, large, and square; their noses
compressed, and their eyes are little. Now these are exactly the
features of the inhabitants of China; for I have found, after the most
minute investigation, that there is the same conformation of face and
body throughout the nations to the east and north of the Caspian Sea,
and to the east of the peninsula of Malacca. From this circumstance
I was inclined to believe that, however different they may appear
either in their complexion or manners, they proceed from one stock, for
difference of colour depends entirely upon the quality of the climate
and the food; and difference in manners is determined by the nature of
the soil, and by the greater or less degree of opulence."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account