TuR invention of printing is justly believed to have had in Europe an extensive influence in promoting the spread of knowledge and in expanding human thought. In China, having been sooner practised, it cannot have been without its effect in stimulating the activity of the mind and creating a thirst for knowledge. The practice of this new art dates from the period known as the Wa Tai in the first half of.the tenth osntury. The effect of the invention should be seen in the Sung dynasty which commenced in A.D. 960. What peculiarity do we find there? Curiously enough, a long string of philosophers appeared in the 11th 12th and 13th centuries who discoursed in an interminable way and very learn. edly upon what they called Heiag-li, which may be roughly translated by the words "moral nature of: man," This is quite a new feature in Ohinese literature, In the preceding age, that of the Tang dynasty, a philosopher was a rarity. Bat in the Sung ago you mot one at every corner. Now' it la quite certain that the multiplication of books rendered education more general than before, The services of high-class literati werein demand. Mon of repntation easily found occupation as instructors, and when any one became celebrated pupils would crowd his door. Ta addition to the stimulus thus afforded to learned men, they would also obtain the uso of much more extensive private libraries. Without books a man who might become a great scholar could only be the oracle of a limited circle. Edi. tions wore printed of all old books, and it was possible with money to obtain a complete library. For the poor men who loved study, it might of conrad still be said, in Gray's words, Ohill pooury repressed his noble rag, and froze the genial current of the soul." But for those who loved learning with passion, and at the same tinie had pecuniary means, it became much easier than before, feom the middle. of. the tenth century onwards, to collect a lie brary containing all the more important works of old times. The historian of the Sung dynasty puts the matter very impressively, "La the time of the five dynasties (A.B, 907 to 960) when spear and shield wore constantly colliding and the empire jnsb cauldron kept at boiling point, the people could not reosive the civilizing, inflacnces of the poems, histories, rales of conduct, and music of the ancient ages. This was Ching's condition when in the closing years of: that period the printing of books was introduced. It than became possible for the scholar without the labour: of writ. ing out copies, to get sight of the oom plete books of all the old authors."
Tu the publication of various' wark of great magnitude in the Sung dynasty we see a brilliant result of the inven. tion of printing. These were not: merely editions of earlier works, nor were they only largo collections of the. separate works of old authors, but consisted of new and extensive compilations. Among them the most celebrated are the Wen-hsien T"ung-kao of MaTuan-lia, 348 chapters contained in about 100 volarness, the T'ung-tien and the Pung. chih, These are called "The Three Tong." They contain extracts from.old books arranged in the order of subject, each being provided: with: e full index. They are intended for reference and not for continuous reading, and" they present at one view all snbjeota of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.