Tr is curious that students of Chinese so seldom turn their attention to the more respectable literature of the nation. We find abundance of extracts from novels of all sorts, and sometimes even references to such semi-historical works as the San-kwoh-chi, Now and then some one quotes Dr. Legge's translations of Confucius or Mencius, but, except at second-hand, we seldom find any acquaintance with these works, notwithstanding the influence they have always possessed over the Ohinese mind. Again, the long series of dynastic histories which the Chinese possess, is passed over, not indeed without comment but without a knowledge of their contents, which a comparatively short period of study would enable a fair Chinese scholar to attain. Many of the false ideas usually held about the early Chinese would be dispelled, if instead of taking the bald sketches, to be found repeated in European histories ad nauseam, we were to go to the real fountain head and study the originals themselves. In China, as elsewhere, we have to examine the old books critically, and this is what has hitherto in a great measure failed to be done. We find writers quoting the Bamboo Annals, the Shan-bai-king, the Shen-sion-tung-kien, and others; and supposing that they had got to the ground work of Chinese history, and that these were to be placed on the same footing as the Shi-ki, the Tsien-han-shu, and other works which denote a conscientious care on the part of the authors. With reference to one of the latter books quoted, the Shi-ki, we often hear of its author, Sze-ma Tsien, as the Herodotus of China, yet we venture to say that of ten who speak thus complacently of his works, nine have never seen more than the backs of the volumes lying on a shelf, some have not even this distant quaintance with the work. It wasa glib phrase, easy to remember, and contained just so much truth as to save it from utter absurdity. Yet Sze-ma and Herodotus were very different, Both indeed were alike in the care with which they collected and compiled records of the past, yet we are disposed to attribute a rather more critical judgment to the Chinese writer, Both dipped deeply into mythology and tra. dition; and have earned our gratitude by the faithful manner in which they have preserved those traditions current in their day. There is possibly a brander line drawn between tradition and his. tory in the Chinese than in the Greek writer, and though he does not men. tion his disbelief in the former, the change of style when he comes to tell of what he has authentic records for, is very conspicuous. Sze-ma was, however, a stay-atchome, while Hero. lotus was, for his day, a remarkable traveller; and that in some respects enlarged his mind, The Chinese writer did not, however, despise foreign countries, merely because they were foreign, though he does pretend to look upon thecivilisations of Indiaand Parthia as something inferior to that of the Chinese. Many curious things he tells of foreign countries, It seems strange that the Parthians should have coins of the precious metals, and' that those should be impressed with the effigies of their sovereign. He notes that they carried on a large trade with foreign countries, and used carriages and ships for transporting their goods. He speaks of the Jarge trade with India, and is much struck with the idea of using elephants in war, More curious still, we have from him that before his time, considerable intercourse existed between the west of China and India; and that not only was much im. portant knowledge thus communicated between the two countries, but that much profit was made by the mer chants. The Bhamo route is thus no newinyention, Communication was finally put an end to, not by the jealousy of the Governments of the day, but by the irruptions of the Hinngnoo, who rendered commercial intercourse impossible. In those old days, we learn from a curious proverb, communication between China and the West must have been more constant than we might otherwise suppose. "There are three things it says, "abundant in China—China-men,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.