"Tuer were giants in those days." This la the short sentence in which many of us sum up the result of even 'a cursory glance at the writings of the distinguished group of Frenchmen who sought to pluck out the heart from the "Asian mystery" in the later years of the seventeenth and during the early portion of the eighteenth century. ''o the rank and file of meu who are vow fairly and properly called sinologues, the works of this band of profound scholars are only imperfectly known. Their books ate so voluminous and 80 difficult to procure that they cannot be generally read. To the majority they are mere names but it may be worth while to give few brief notes on the lives and writings of meu who were pioneers through the tangled and difficult wilderness of Oriental lore, and who have left works which are monuments of erudition and research which still stand conspicuous and splendid.
Tt is tov much the fashion to talk as if the Chinese language had been discovered by Morrison, and the Chinese ational peculiarities by Williams and Davis; but the foundations of sinology were firmly and deeply laid by the distinguished scholars of an earlier generation, There are four names worthy of mention, who are too little remembered. First and foremost we meet with the name of D'Herbelot, called by Klaproth "lo pere de nos conunissances sur orient." "His dictionary is still an indispensable book of reference with respect to Asiatic History and Geography." He is a mine. From the depths of his learn. ing every writer on Eastern subjects Las drawn up precious ore. If, as has been pointed out, he merely gives translations from Mohammedan authors without criticising them or weighing the value of their statements, it is sufficient to say that he does not profess to do so, All he undertakes to do, he does Second to the great D'Herbelot comes a less celebrated but really equally illustrious name, Claude Visdelow. This mau was probably the most accomplished sinologue among the old Jesuit Missionaries of China, Dr. Bretschneider says of him, " With respect to China, Visdelow takes the same place as Klaproth assigned to D'Her-helot with reference to Western Asia, and well deserves to be termed the father of our knowledge of Chinese historical records, and especially the History of the nations of Central and Eastern Asia." The researches of Visdelow are contained in @ very valuable appendix to the Bibliothque Orientale. He explains from Chinese sources proper names and terms used by the Mohammedan authors with reference to China; he gives a history of the nations and tribes of Mongolia and Central Asia, and descants on the introduction and use of gunpowder and firearms among the Chinese. This dis-sortation was largely used by the late
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.