a city of the above province, situated amidst mountains and between three rivers. The Chinese formerly believed this city to be the centre of the earth, because it was in the middle of their empire. Its jurisdiction is very extensive; for it comprehends one city of the second class and thirteen of the third: one of these cities named Teng-fong-hien, is famous on account of the tower erected by the celebrated Tcheou-kong for an observatory; there is still to be seen in it an instrument which he made use of to find the shadow at noon, in order to determine the latitude. This astronomer lived above a thousand years before the Christian era, and the Chinese pretend that he invented the mariners compass.