Enevuraged, no doubt, by the much greater and more intelligent interest taken nowadays in this country in all that relates to the Middle Kiugtom, Mr, Robert Douglas, of the British Museum, and formerly of U. M.'s Consular Service in China, who, a8 many of your readers will know, is Professor of Chinese at King's College, London, tins published (Triitbner in x handsome little volume, the two lectures on the Langage and Literature of China, which he delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in May and June Inet. Though I have been favoured with an early copy of the work, t attentively and carefully ing to end, the time at my disposal before the departure of the nail is too short to admit of my attempting to send you acritical and detailed review of its contents, but a few words respecting them will, I hope, be acceptable.
Prefacing his essay on the language with a fow sensible remarks,—couched, perhaps, in rather too high-flown a style,—on the tendency of recent events in Chins, &c., Mr. Doughs plunges in medias res, and I can truly affirm that any one who had no previous acquaintance with the subject, would gain from it a very good general idea of the Chinese language and its leading peculiarities. The essay is at once clear and succinct, and though I do not pretend to agree with the lecturer in every respect, and though, I daresay, Sinologues in your part of the world will quarrel with him on several points,—for Sinologues are not always charitable in their criticism of the labours of their brethren,—I have hesitation in saying that Mr, Douglas deserves to be complimented on the ability he has displayed in compressing so much information into so brief a space, as that. necessitated by the short time allowed for the delivery of his lecture, His little volume is printed by Messrs. Stephen Austin and Sons, the well-known Uriental printers of Hertford, and by the aid of the emall font of Chinese type which that enterprising firm procured from Chinn for the catalogue of the Chinese Library of the British Museum, Mr. Douglas has been able to introduce some characters Thanks also to the cour-of Dr. Birch and Mr, George Smith, of the British Museum, he is able to illustrate some of his remarks respecting Chinese by examples drawn from the ancient Eyyptianand Assyrian lan guages. It isto be hoped that this essay may have the effect of inducing scholars in this country to pay some attention to the study of Chinese, for, as Mr. Douglas remarks, it is time that the language was better understood, and at this period of the world's history we cannot afford to leave unnoticed a language so ancient as to dwarf into insignificance the antiquity of Western tongues, and one which is the solitary medium of communication between 400,000,000 of our fellow-men." The essay on the Literature of China does not appear to me to be quite so satisfactory as the other, but then we must bear in nund how utterly impossible it is to do justice to so vast a subject in n brief lecture; indeed, it seems to mo rather a pity that Mr. Douglas has not availed himself of the time which has elapsed since its delivery, to amplify his remarks, The lecturer, of course, discusses the Classics at some length, and he does not omit t to Encyclopedias, éc., intersper observations with pieces of infor which will be uew to most home readers, and for that matter to many in China; but, judging from his treatment of that portion of his subject, fancy that Chinese poetry is his hobby, if go conscientious and painstaking a student of Chinese may, without offence, be suspected of having such a thing. On the whole, Mr. Douglas does not appear to have formed a very high opinion of Chinese Literature. On this Penture to think that fow of your readers joint many will be at issue with him, but
will dissent from the concluding perageaph of this lecture. If then," says Professor Douglas, ' having considered the past and present literature of China, we cast a glance into the future, the prospect is not encouraging. Already every subject with in the scope of Chinese authors has been largely treated of and infinitely elaborated. Every grain of wheat has long ago been beaten out of it, and any further labour expended upon in can but be only as thrashing out straw. The only hope for the future of the literature is that afforded the importation of foreign knowledge and experience into the country. For many years these can only be introduced in the shape of translations of books. But the time will come when Chinese authors will think for themselves; and when that period arrives, they will learn to estimate their present foudly-vaunted literature at its true value."
London, Nov. 5th.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.