CHAP. XVI. A Description of the Men in Formosa.
ALtho' the Country be very hot, yet the Men in all Formosa are very fair, at least those who can live upon their Means; but the Country People, Servants, and others, who are expos'd to the heat of the Sun, and are forc'd to work in the open Air all Day, are very much tawn'd by the burning heat. The Men of Estates, but especially the Wo|men, are very fair; for they during the hot season, live under ground in places that are very cold: They have also Gardens and Groves in them so thick set with Trees, that the Sun cannot penetrate thro' them; and they have Tents which they use to sprinkle with water, so that the heat can do them no Page 222 hurt: And hence it comes to pass, that altho the Formosans live in a hotter Country than the English, yet they cannot so well endure heat.
They use Distill'd Waters, not only to wash themselves, but also to remove any speck upon the skin, which is not rooted in the flesh: And this is one means which makes them so fair.
And here I must not omit to give some account of a Controversie, between the Chi|nese and Japannese on the one side, and the Natives of Formosa on the other, relating to the Customs of these Countries. Ye must know then that the Chinese and Japannese make their Teeth artificially black, but the Formosans preserve theirs white. The Jap|panese plead for their Custom, that all Beau|ty consists in Variety of Colours, and there|fore as an Ethiopian is counted most Beauti|ful, who has a black Face and white Teeth; So the Beauty of the Natives in our Coun|try who have a fair Face, must consist in having black Teeth. But the Formosans granting this argument, answer for them|selves, that Beauty may consist in some things, which cannot be had: Thus it would be Beautiful to have black Eyes, which yet cannot be made so, and therefore, say they, nothing artificial ought to be made use of, to make us appear otherwise than Nature has fram'd us.
Page 223Hence the Reader may observe, that the Formosans are also white and very fair, but chiefly the Women; and if we may believe the Proverb, Turkey and Japan breeds the fairest Women in the World. The Formo|sans, generally speaking, are of a short stature, but they make up in thickness what they want in tallness. They are commonly strong-bodied Men and indefatigable in La|bour; they are very good Souldiers, and love War better then Peace. They are very kind and good-natur'd towards their Coun|trymen: Whom they love, they love so well, that they would lose their Lives for them in a case of necessity; but whom they hate, they hate mortally, and usually con|trive their Death in any way that's possible to them. They are very Industrious and Cunning, and quickly learn any thing they see done before them. They abhor all false|hood and lying, and therefore they have no value for Merchants, because they use many lies to commend their Wares, and put them off at a better Price.
