Pauthier’s Chinese authority gives a puerile interpretation of _Papesifu_ as signifying “the kingdom of the 800 wives,” and says it was called so because the Prince maintained that establishment. This may be an indication that there were popular stories about the numerous wives of the King of Laos, such as Polo had heard; but the interpretation is doubtless rubbish, like most of the so-called etymologies of proper names applied by the Chinese to foreign regions. At best these seem to be merely a kind of _Memoria Technica_, and often probably bear no more relation to the name in its real meaning than Swift’s _All-eggs-under-the-grate_ bears to Alexander Magnus. How such “etymologies” arise is obvious from the nature of the Chinese system of writing. If we also had to express proper names by combining monosyllabic words already existing in English, we should in fact be obliged to write the name of the Macedonian hero much as Swift travestied it. As an example we may give the Chinese name of Java, _Kwawa_, which signifies “gourd-sound,” and was given to that Island, we are told, because the voice of its inhabitants is very like that of a dry gourd rolled upon the ground! It is usually stated that Tungking was called _Kiao-chi_, meaning “crossed-toes,” because the people often exhibit that malformation (which is a fact), but we may be certain that the syllables were originally a phonetic representation of an indigenous name which has no such meaning. As another example, less ridiculous but not more true, _Chin-tan_, representing the Indian name of China, _Chínasthána_, is explained to mean “Eastern-Dawn” (_Aurore Orientale_). (_Amyot_, XIV. 101; _Klapr. Mém._ III. 268.) The states of Laos are shut out from the sea in the manner indicated; they abound in domestic elephants to an extraordinary extent; and the people do tattoo themselves in various degrees, most of all (as M. Garnier tells me) about Kiang Hung. The _style_ of tattooing which the text describes is quite that of the Burmese, in speaking of whom Polo has omitted to mention the custom: “Every male Burman is tattooed in his boyhood from the middle to his knees; in fact he has a pair of breeches tattooed on him. The pattern is a fanciful medley of animals and arabesques, but it is scarcely distinguishable, save as a general tint, except on a fair skin.” (_Mission to Ava_, 151.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Indeed documents in Klaproth’s _Asia Polyglotta_ show that the _Papé_ state was also called _Muang-Yong_ (pp. 364–365). I observe that the river running to the east of Pu-eul and Ssemao (Puer and Esmok) is called _Papien_-Kiang, the name of which is perhaps a memorial of the Papé.