[1788, Jean-Baptiste Grosier, “The Province of Kiang-nan”, in anonymous translator, A General Description of China : Containing the Topography of the Fifteen Provinces which Compose this Vast Empire; that of Tartary, the Isles, and other Tributary Countries; The Number and Situation of its Cities, the State of its Population, the Natural History of its Animals, Vegetables and Minerals. Together with the latest Accounts that have reached Europe, of the Government, Religion, Manners, Customs, Arts and Sciences of the Chinese. Illustrated by a New and Correct Map of China, and other Copper-plates.[2], volume I, London: G. G. J. and J. Robinson, translation of De la Chine: ou Description générale de cet empire, rédigée d'après les mémoires de la mission de Pé-Kin (in French), →OCLC, page 29:
Silk ſtuffs, lacquer-ware, ink, paper, and, in general, every thing that comes from Nan-king, as well as from the other cities of the province, are much more eſteemed, and fetch a higher price, than thoſe brought from the neighbouring provinces. In the village of Chang-hai alone, and the villages dependent on it, there are reckoned to be more than 200,000 weavers of common cotton cloths.]
