for the Propagation of Christian and General Knowledge, London.
The Rev. A, C. Moule belongs to 'a family of distinguished missionaries of which the late Bishop Moule and Archdeacon Moule were, in early days, well known figures in Shanghai. Rev. A. C. Moule left China in 1907 and is now engaged in the Chinese department of the University of Cambridge in England, It is evident that he has continued his Chinese studies to good purpose for the wealth of documents that have been consulted and the research involved in the preparation of this book are staggering in their multitude and complexity, All the oather's researches failed to find any clear or definite references to Christianity in China before the arrival of the Nestoris whose first churches was bull 638 A.D. Nevertheless the tradition that there were Christians in China earlier than this is so strong that one is inclined to believe that the story of the birth of Christ in fields Judea was carried to China during, or shortly after the time of the Apostles.
The well known tale of the discovery of the Nestorian tablet near Si-an in Shensi is well known to all interested in Christian missions. in China. It reads like a romance and illustrates the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. In the year 1625 some workman, digging foundations for a building, came across a large slab of stone 3 ft. 4 ins, wide 6 ft. 5 ins. high and 11 ins. thick, including the pedestal the height ofthe stone is 9 ft, 1 in, There was an inscription on the stone in Chinese and Syriac which norated the coming of Nestorianism and gave a concise summary of the gospel. The stone was removed by the Provincial officials and set up in a monastery about a mile and a half outside the west gate of, Si-an, the capital of the Province of Shensi. Oddly enough this monastery is situated quite close to the site of the first church erected by the Nestorian missionaries in Si-an in 638 A.D, so that, without premeditation on anyone's' part, it was placed in the site most fitting for it and there it may be seen to this day.
The stone having been so long buried the characters are well preserved and thought there are obsecurities in some parts of the text the meaning, in the main, is quite clear.
Another interesting relic was unearthed by Sir Aureal Stein when in, 1908 he found a multitude of documents in "The cave of the thousand Buddhas," near Tun-huang, on the extreme North-west frontier of China, In this cave there was a small room cat in the rock that had been sealed up for centuries. When it was opened it was found to contain numerous scrolls and parchments. Quit. evidently the Christians in' that district had been passing through a period of persecution and had hidden there the sacred books that would have betrayed them to their enemies. Pere Pelliot found in this roll of manucseript, torn in three pieces but yet quite complete. This was a hymn to the holy trinity and when translated was identified by Dr. A. Mingana, as being East Syrian form of the "Gloria in 'A sample page of the given in a photo cngraving in the book and the characters are as clear and easily deciphered as though they had been written yesterday, There are many obseurities in the text such as names and titles but further study will probably clear up mech that is at present doubtful. At any rate this is a precious relic of Nestorian Christianity which once flourished in many parts of China but had ped out of existence before Ricci and others found to the land of Sinim, There is also an interesting chapter on stones with Christian inscriptions and decorated with crosses which indicate that the knowledge of Christianity was very widespread China from the seventh to the (nth centuries of our era. Kansy, Yonnan, Canton, Kiangsu and other i we' relies that prove churches once exi ed within their bounds. Indeed, it is doubtful whether Christianity. is more widespread in China to-day then it was before the edict issued in 845 A.D. which commanded the suppression of Buddhism and with] Buddhism went that other foreign religion which had come from Syria, There seems to have been date and the coming of Marco Polo about 1275 and John of Monte Corvino in 1290, "These were the days of the more tolerant Mongol prinees and Christians began again to openly profess their faith. And so the lamp shone, though with a flickering flame, till the coming of the moderns in the 16th century, Xavier and Ricei and their coad-jurors down to our own times.
book will be held as the authority for the early diffusion of Christianity in China. Tt shows how the light shone in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not, but it shone on nevertheless and those who want to know these things cannot do better than possess themselves of a copy of Mr. Moule's book—s.o. craft are touched upon and var= ious musical instruments described, Mr. Sowerby describes travelling in Netherland India as a pure delight. A very vivid account of a tour from Shanghai through Java is described; a trip that for sheer interest and enjoyment, it would be difficult to desplicate anywhere in the world, The economic importance of the Netherland East Indies is largely in products of the soil in the way of food stuffs and raw materials, In natural history the distribution of animal and plant forms of the Malayan Archepelago are interesting. The animals include all forms of ape and monkey life, bats, tige rodents, and the like. Bird life is described as being rich and varied, Reptiles abound. Plant life is so luxuriant that it literally clothes the islands in a dense blanket
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.