"In the neighbourhood of Tali, one comes suddenly upon a lime-chewing
people, and is at once struck with the strange red hue of their teeth and
gums. That some of the natives used formerly to cover their teeth with
plates of gold (from which practice, mentioned by Marco Polo, and
confirmed elsewhere, the name is generally derived) can scarcely be
considered a myth; but the peculiarity remarked by ourselves would have
been equally noticeable by the early Chinese invaders, and seems not
altogether unworthy of consideration. It is interesting to find the name
'Chin-Ch'ih' still in use.
"When Tu Wen-hsiu sent his 'Panthay' mission to England with tributary
boxes of rock from the Tali Mountains, he described himself in his letter
'as a humble native of the golden-teeth country.'" - H.C.]
Vochan seems undoubtedly to be, as Martini pointed out, the city called
by the Chinese YUNG-CH'ANG-FU. Some of the old printed editions read
Unciam, i.e. Uncham or Unchan, and it is probable that either this or
Vocian, i.e. VONCHAN, was the true reading, coming very close to the
proper name, which is WUNCHEN.
