Tue newly-established Peking Oriental Society bids fair to contribute very largely to our knowledge of Chinese matters, For many years it has evident that Peking, a place where ainological subject claim so much attention, and where so many profound bolars live from year to year an-harassed by the cares of markets, should be definitely represented in the sphere of sinological research, Some time ago it was sought to establish @ period the Capital, which should to some extent be to the north of China what the Ohina Review is to the south; bat the scheme proved impracticable, owing primarily to the absence of o printing press and properly ed compositors nce then, however, the Peking Oriental Society has come into existence, and its tratisactions fare to be regularly published in the form of successive fuscioules by the Roman intingeestablishment at the one which calle new Society contain the promise of great fature usefulness and even permanency.
The first namber of the Society's Journal, which uow lies before us, con sists of " paper by Dr. Edkins gi some account of the allusions to China th 6 to be found in the 'Natural History' of Pliny, We have no intention of reviewing the Ductor's essay in the strict souse of the word, bat will content ourselves with drawing attontion to some of the more interesting statements cor it, And ate time when Chi supposed to be on the move, indeed, already commenced ing of her long-in a more or less car-it, worthy of notice that early as AD 79 the iron of China was the best sort of iron known in the Roman Ew The Chinese then not only worked iron but exported it, and so rich was the annual yield, partiou-Inrly in the province of Shansi, that the Government was induced to levy a tax upon it, "The Emperor," remarks Dr. Edkiue, quaintly, "ordered the Whigs and Tories of the Court to discuss the point" whether iron should be subjected to taxation or not, The doctor's definition of these terms strikes ug rather happy. " The Tories whose policy is who oppose innovation and progress in every shape and form. "The Whigs are the states men who judge of questions by utility The one side argues for principle: the other for utility In fact we might all them the and the Futilitariau: Viooroy of Chibli and those who sym-with his views are, we suppose, ige of to-day; Teo was head ud, frcat of the Tories until be reluct tantly recanted upon his death-bed, orate is the slconghold of the Tory Party. As ently as the Chou dynasty, come centuries before Obrist, the iron-trade was in a flourishing state, the metal being extensively used both for agricultural implements and purposes of war} and there is no reason why the industry should not be revived. "Te has been only within the last few years," says Dr. Edkins, "that the immeuse extent of the iron field of north Chins has been known, The largest production at the presen} time is inthe department of Lu-an Fu in Shu Phe iron atone of Chibli is also no! swell in quantity in some places: there is here a rich supply of mnguelio ore." Silk is also associated with the early international history of China, The Chinese, or Seres, are described as having "a noble appearance from their wearing the wool of the woods, which is combed down white from the branches of certain trees, water being poured over it, Ienoo the Inbour entailed on our Roman women of unweaving the threads and weaving them afresh, With such multiplied toil and front so great a distauco.on the globe is this article sought that it may make the matron shine in splendour, robed in transparent gauze, when she appears in public." China silk was much superior to the product of Cos, and from this seems to Lave arisen the idea that it belonged to the vegetable king-dow. Bat it is when we come to the description given by Plivy of the Chinese or Seres themselves interesting statements occur, are mild indeed in their marine: they fly like wild animals from meeting with other mortals. 'They look: for merchants to' currie to them for trade." These two characteristics can only be reconciled by supposing them to upply different sections of the community with this reservation, they prevail to the present day. Further on, however, we come to certain details which are more perplexing, A Cinghalese merchant, accustomed to come and go in the China trade (circed A.D. 41-54) describes the Chinese he met with as exceeding ordinary meu in heigh red hair, blue ayes, a rough and a language to which there was no dae, Here we are confronted with serious difficulty. These people aleo had the carious lu bit of placing their goods for sale on the further bank of a river, to be taken away by the buyers when @ bargain was struck.
hey act in this way," snys the his-"through no other cause than from having too just a hatred of luxury to allow their minds to be drawn away so far as to think what indulgences are to be had, and from whence-they are to be procured." The probable solution of the difficulty is that the red-haired blue-eyed people were not true Chinese at all, but a subject race whose territory formed part of the Chinese Empire.
Dr, Edkins considers that they may have been Persians, and identical with d the inhabitants of the country which lay between Khokaud and Parthia, who fond of trading. says, would naturally be 2 moted by Persian merchants ly, Kashgar country, and they would ette, that country by the passes of the ug, or Imus, as "Pliny only it, with the intention of engaging in that trade. D'Auville was so much stumbled at the description of the personal appearance of the Seres that he abandoned the idea of their being connected with China at all, © Dr. Edkins, on the other hand, suggests that there is no reason. why we should not look upon Seres, and Sire, as comprehensive names including both the Chinese and all races subject to them, But he admits that the difficulty cannot be fally explained, Que or two minor pointe of interest may be mentioned in conclusion, It was in the vene 166 of our era that the first Roman embnesy to China bad an nudionce of the reigning Emperor, Huan Ti, Buddhism had then been lately introduced, and there was a rage at Qunrt for everything foreigu—objete de vertu, music, and even manners, The compiler of the Hou Hau Shu spence severely of this fashion, Need there, then, after all Ubat we have learned, be any grent mystery as to the origin of the Roman coins lately found in the, province of Shansi? Wo are curious to hear Dr, Bushol's theories upon this most interesting subject, and await with engemes the paper he recently read on it before thet poking Oriental
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.