Account of the crafts in which the Chinese have special skill. The Chinese are of all peoples the most skilful in crafts and attain the greatest perfection in them. This (262) is well known and people have described it and spoken at length about it. No one, whether Greek or any other, rivals them in mastery of painting. They have prodigious facility in it. One of the remarkable things I saw in this connection is that if I visited one of their cities, and then came back to it, I always saw portraits of me and my companions painted on the walls and on paper in the bazaars. I went to the Sultan’s city, passed through the painters’ bazaar, and went to the Sultan’s palace with my companions. We were dressed as Iraqis. When I returned from [892] the palace in the evening I passed through the said bazaar. I saw my and my companions’ portraits painted on paper and hung on the walls. We each one of us looked at the portrait (263) of his companion; the resemblance was correct in all respects. I was told the Sultan had ordered them to do this, and that they had come to the palace while we were there and had begun observing and painting us without our being aware of it. It is their custom to paint everyone who comes among them. They go so far in this that if a foreigner does something that obliges him to flee from them, they circulate his portrait throughout the country and a search is made for him. When someone resembling the portrait is found, he is arrested.
Ibn Juzayy said: ‘This is like what historians relate about the case of Sabur Dhu’l-Aktaf King of Persia when he went to Rum in disguise and was present at a banquet given by the king. There was a portrait of him on one of the vessels. One of the attendants of Qaysar noticed it and that Sabur’s portrait was impressed on it. He said to the king: “This portrait (264) tells us that Kisra is among us in this assembly.” It was as he said and what ensued is written in books.’