From this it would seem that about the time of our era the
Yang-tzu Kiang had three great mouths. The most southerly of these was the
Che-Kiang, which is said to have given its name to the Province still so
called, of which Hang-chau is the capital. This branch quitted the present
channel at Chi-chau, passed by Ning-Kwe and Kwang-te, communicating with
the southern end of a great group of lakes which occupied the position of
the T'ai-Hu, and so by Shih-men and T'ang-si into the sea not far from
Shao-hing. The second branch quitted the main channel at Wu-hu, passed by
I-hing (or I-shin) communicating with the northern end of the T'ai-Hu
(passed apparently by Su-chau), and then bifurcated, one arm entering the
sea at Wu-sung, and the other at Kanp'u. The third, or northerly branch is
that which forms the present channel of the Great Kiang. These branches are
represented hypothetically on the sketch-map attached to ch. lxiv. supra.

(_Kingsmill_, u.s. p. 53; _Chin. Repos._ III. 118; _Middle Kingdom_, I.
95-106; _Buerck._ p. 483; _Cathay_, p. cxciii.; _J.N.Ch.Br.R.A.S._,
December 1865, p. 3 seqq.; _Escayrac de Lauture, Mem. sur la Chine, H.
du Sol_, p. 114.)

NOTE 10.--Pauthier's text has: "_Chascun Roy fait chascun an le compte de
son royaume aux comptes du grant siege_," where I suspect the last word is
again a mistake for _sing_ or _scieng_. (See supra, Bk. II. ch. xxv.,
note 1.) It is interesting to find Polo applying the term _king_ to the
viceroys who ruled the great provinces; Ibn Batuta uses a corresponding
expression, _sultan_. It is not easy to make out the nine kingdoms or
great provinces into which Polo considered Manzi to be divided. Perhaps
his _nine_ is after all merely a traditional number, for the "Nine
Provinces" was an ancient synonym for China proper, just as _Nau-Khanda_,
with like meaning, was an ancient name of India. (See _Cathay_, p. cxxxix.
_note_; and _Reinaud, Inde_, p. 116.) But I observe that on the portage
road between Chang-shan and Yuh-shan (infra, p. 222) there are stone
pillars inscribed "Highway (from Che-kiang) to Eight Provinces," thus
indicating Nine. (_Milne_, p. 319.)

NOTE 11.--We have in Ramusio: "The men levied in the province of Manzi are
not placed in garrison in their own cities, but sent to others at least 20
days' journey from their homes; and there they serve for four or five
years, after which they are relieved. This applies both to the Cathayans
and to those of Manzi.