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DECEMBER, 1881.]
BOOK NOTICES.
373
Edicts of Asoka to be mainly right: and if it is so, of this undertaking may be easily imagined. stronger support could hardly be desired. Though Mr. Wylie in the Preface to his Notes on Chinese he thus abandons the traditional B. c. 543, he
Literature has named some of the earlier catalogues gives Buddhist antiquity an advantage of many of Chinese books compiled in European languages, years over the dates of Mr. Rhys Davids (412) among which we find that by Fourmont--being a and those of Professors Westergaard and Kern complete list of the Chinese books in the Royal (388-370).
Library at Paris; by Remusat and Jules Klaproth, The Dhammapada consists of 423 stanzas: and of the same books; .by Father Avakum of the when taken without the prose commentary (which St. Petersburg Library; and by Siebold and is of the common Buddhist kind, giving at length Schott, of the books at the Hague and Berlin ; the occasion of Buddha's pronouncing each separ. but none of these are to be compared either for ate stanza) is, though the sequence of idea is method or extent with that now before us. Mr. not always clear, a piece of literature as likely to Bullen, the keeper of the department of printed please and interest the European reader as any books, is therefore so far correct in saying that part of the PAli scriptures. There are here none
"this is the first catalogue ever published in of the repetitions or trivialities so common in the
Europe of an extensive Chinese library." prose parts: the thoughts are of the highest Bud.
The character of the work necessary to the dhist strain, and the manner is generally solemn
production of this book may be understood, and fine. The Sutta-nipdta is a worthy companion
partially at least, by quoting one or two examples. to the Dhammapada in all these respects. It is
Thns under the heading "Bible" we have some hardly necessary to say that the translators' names
seventy-four translations of the Christian Scrip. are a guarantee both for the accuracy and for the
tures or portions of them made by various style of the translation.
writers and at different times. Each of these The gnomic character of Buddhist works like has its dose, translator's name, and place of these probably exerted some influence on non
publication, affixed to it. Among them we find a Buddhist Indian literature: and it is an interesting
copy made by order of the Taeping Teen Wang, question how far the latter literature in its
containing the Gospel of St. Mark only; and in gnomio part is indebted to Buddhist sources.
immediate connection with this, translations by R. A. NEIL R. Morrison, printed at Malacca, by the Basel
Evangelical Mission ; by Dr. Marshman; by GütCATALOGUE of CHINESE PRINTED Books, MANUSCRIPTS, zlaff, Medhurst, Bridgman and others. The ar
and DRAWINGS in the Library of the British Museum, by Robert Kennaway Douglas. Printed by order of the rangement of these translations alone, selected Trustees of the British Museum. London, Longmans. | from such a large body of books, must have re
This Catalogue was eagerly looked for by quired much time and patience, and the books 80 students interested in the history of Chinese arranged form a Thesaurus for a comparison of literature. And now it is before us, we are idioms and phrases which it is of the highest imastonished at the amount of labour it must have portance to have definitely understood and acceptrequired, and are gratified to think that such a ed in their true sense. We are most of us familiar task has been done in England by one of our own with the controversy which is still continuing in scholars. Professor Douglas tells us that the num. China, or what is known as the Term question; ber of Chinese volumes named in his Catalogue but this controversy is really of less consequence amounts to upwards of 20,000. These have accu- than others which might, and doubtless will be mulated during the last fifty years, but hitherto raised over phrases which, when thoroughly exahave remained practically useless on the shelves mined, will be found to be inadequate as vehicles of his department. The labour of reducing these of the sense intended in Holy Scripture. To take to an orderly arrangement can scarcely be under- one example, we will select a passage given us in stood by those not conversant with Chinese books. Mr. Douglas' Catalogue at the bottom of the third Mr. Douglas has adopted a very convenient page, viz., that used in a sermon by the preachers method for reference, by following the alphabeti- of the Chinese Union on the Text, "Blessed are the cal order of the different authors' names. After poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the name follow the different works composed by heaven.” Passing by the phrase "her sin chay" the several writers. The tables of the works are for "poor in spirit," about which grave doubts translated into English, and where it is possible, might arise, the phrase "teen kuoở" for “Kingdum the year of publication is added with the size of the of Heaven" must be entirely unintelligiblo in the book. To accomplish this, every volume must sense designed, unless explained by a note or parahave been examined, and the author's name 48- phrase. In fact 'teen kuo' is not unfrequently certained from actual inspection. The difficulty used in Chinese books as the equivalent of India,"
