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CA. II.
INTRODUCTION.
Hsiao Kăng, in 1 Section,' with a note by the editor that it was compiled by Tà Tài. This little tractate may, or may not, have been also included in one of the 13 Sections. There are entries also about Ta Tai's work in the catalogues of the Thang and Sung dynasties, which have given rise to many discussions. Some of the Sung scholars even regarded it as a 14th King. In the large collection of Books of Han and Wei,' a portion of the Li of Tà Tài is still current, 39 Books in 10 Sections, including the fragment of the Hsiâ dynasty, of which a version, along with the text, was published in 1882 by Professor Douglas of King's College, under the title of •The Calendar of the Hsià Dynasty. I have gone over all the portion in the Han and Wei Collection, and must pronounce it very inferior to the compilation of the Hsiao or Lesser Tâi. This inferiority, and not the bulk, merely, was the reason why from the first it has been comparatively little attended to.
CHAPTER II. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHINESE CHARACTER CALLED
LÎ. MEANING OF THE TITLE LI KT. VALUE OF
THE WORK. 1. The Chinese character Li admits of a great variety of terms in translating a work where it abounds into any of our western languages. In order fully to apprehend its significance, we must try to get hold of the fundamental ideas which it was intended to convey. And these are two. First, when we consult the Shwo Wăn, the oldest Chinese Lt is a symbol
dictionary, we find Li defined as a step or of religious act; that whereby we serve spiritual beings import.
and obtain happiness. The character was to the author, Hsü Shăn, an ideagram of religious import; and we can see that he rightly interpreted the intention of its maker or makers. It consists of two elements, separately called khih and lil. That on the left is the symbol,
"Ti +
=19
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