transcendental, and for that reason have never been popular with the masses. He never traveled, it is said (believing, no doubt, that "travel was a fool's paradise,") and collected no disciples. His philosophy, at first a negation, soon became, in the hands of his followers, a childish form of Positivism.

At least 311 works of considerable note have been written by those who followed in the footsteps of Lao-tse. Tschuang-tse (368-19 B. C.) was the author of the celebrated Nan-koa-King, and two or three satires aimed at the Confucians. In one place he says, "Life has its limits; but knowledge has no limits." A powerful ruler wished to make him prime minister, and sent him a valuable present with the request that he would come to court. But Tschuang-tse returned the present with this answer: "I would rather be a solitary pig and wallow in my own slough, than be a sacrificial bull, gaily adorned, but tied to the leading strings of the great."

3. Works written by the Buddhists. We come now to the third and last class under the head of Religious Works. Books of this class are numerous. Buddha was cotemporary with Lao-tse, but Buddhism was not introduced into China from India until about the first century of our era. This doctrine teaches the deception and falsity of everything that seems to exist, and declares the reality of non-existence. The Buddhist's prayer is, that he may be swallowed up, at last, in Nirvana, the great sea of being. This is the prevailing religion of China to-day. It supplements, among the common people, the philosophy of Confucius. It is a mistake to suppose that the great or mollo are the enlightened and virtuous people that some would have us think; the fact is they roll in the styes of the "Bonzes."

The first ambassador who was permitted to enter China from India, brought with him a Sutra which was speedily translated. In this manner, work after work was introduced. In addition to these "holy books," or King, the Buddhistical literature in China embraces, commentaries, rituals, hymns, catechisms, encyclopedias and travels, written by Chinese monks, who have made pilgrimages to India. One writer, Wang-i-heu, defends Buddhism against the reproach brought upon it by the immoral practices of some who profess this religion. He says, "Should Lao-tse be despised because there are unworthy Tauists? or Confucius be

cause some of his disciples do not walk according to his precepts? Reasonable persons do not reject a truth because it has been spoken by a bad man, how much less then ought we to abandon this doctrine because of the evil practices of some who profess it." He also turns upon those extreme Radicals, within the fold, who deny the existence of a Nirvana, or heaven, outside of one-self. They maintain that Nirvana is to be attained here, in this life, and declare it to be a state of mind. The author controverts this position by quoting from Buddha, "out of whose mouth no lie

There have not been wanting those who forcibly opposed and ridiculed the doctrines of the Rationalists and Buddhists.. As an example of this kind we quote the following extract from the writings of Wang-Yupi:

"Moreover, you say that serving Buddha is a profitable service; that if you burn paper-money, present offerings, and keep fasts before the face of your god Buddha, he will dissipate calamities, blot out your sins, increase your happiness, and prolong your age! Now reflect; from of old it has been said, 'The gods are intelligent and just.' Were Buddha a god of this description, how could he avariciously desire your gilt paper, and your offerings to engage him to afford you protection? If you do not burn gilt paper to him, and spread offerings on his altar, the god Buddha will be displeased with you, and send down judgments on you! Then your god Buddha is a scoundrel! Take, for example, the district magistrate. Should you never go to compliment and flatter him, yet, if you are good people and attend to your duty, he will pay marked attention to you. But transgress the law, commit violence, or usurp the rights of others, and though you should use a thousand ways and means to flatter him, he will still be displeased with you, and will, without fail, remove such pests from society." "You say that worshiping Buddha atones for your sins. Suppose you have violated the law, and are hauled to the judgment seat to be punished; if you bawl out several thousand times: '0, your excellency! O, your excellency!' do you think the magistrate would spare you? You will, however, at all risks, invite several Buddhist and Rationalist priests to your houses to recite their canonical books and make confession, supposing that to chant their mummery drives away misery, secures peace, and prolongs happiness and life. But suppose you rest satisfied with merely reading over the sections of the Sacred Commands (an imperial edict composed of sixteen apothegms) several thousands or myriads of times without acting conformably thereto; would it not be vain to suppose that his imperial majesty should delight in you, reward you with money, and promote you to office?"

II. PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS. Under this head stands first and foremost the works of Chu Hi, the founder of a school of philo

sophy. This writer ranks next to Confucius and Mencius in the estimation of the Chinese, and the title by which he is sometimes designated implies that "his like has never been born." He is called "The One." Just as Jean Paul receives the name, "Der Einziger," or "Only." We translate from Schott the following as being among the best of his sayings:

"Know thyself. One who, ignorant of himself, turns his attention outwards, resembles an unbridled horse; he strays about without any purpose and finally loses himself."

"Let the thought of another ripen in your mind until it becomes your own. The reader nowadays (we discover here the old refrain about the degeneracy of the present times) does not allow the contents of a book to mature in himself. He reads in great haste and with playful delight. How can the subject-matter be absorbed ?"

"Even scholars often complain that they cannot retain the contents of a book. I know of but one remedy for this; read less, and think more concerning what you read, then it will unconsciously take root in your mind."

The following extract will show how this writer reasons concerning the primum mobile:

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"Under the whole heaven there is no primary matter without the immaterial principle, and no immaterial principle apart from the primary matter. Subsequent to the existence of immaterial principle is produced pri mary matter. * Originally, however, no priority or subsequence can be predicted of the immaterial principle and primary matter, and yet if you insist upon carrying out the reasoning to the question of their ori gin, then you must say, that the immaterial principle has the priority; but it is not a separate and distinct thing; it is just contained in the centre of the primary matter, so that were there no primary matter, then this immaterial principle would have no place of attachment. * Should any one ask for an explanation of the assertion that the immaterial principle has first existence, and after that comes primary matter, I say, it is not necessary to speak thus. But when you know that they are combined, is it that the immaterial principle holds the precedence, and the primary matter the subsequence; or is it that the immaterial principle is subsequent to the primary matter? Again I say, we cannot thus carry our reasoning; but should we endeavor to form some idea of it, then we may suppose that the primary matter relies on the immaterial principle to come into action, and wherever the primary matter is coagulated there the immaterial principle is present." *

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"Should any one ask with regard to such expressions as this: 'Heaven in producing things treats men according to their attainments; on those who do good, it sends down a hundred blessings, and on those who do evil, a hundred calamities,' does this and such like expressions imply that above the azure sky there is a Lord and Ruler who acts thus, or is it true that

heaven has no mind, and only men reason? I reply that the immaterial principle of order is thus. The primary matter in its evolution hitherto, after one season of fullness has experienced one of decay; and after a period of decline it again flourishes; just as if things were going on in a circle. There never was a decay without revival."

Chu Hi has found many followers who are known as the Literary Family or School-men. He flourished in the 12th century of

our era.

III. HISTORICAL WORKS. The Hindoo writes poetry, the Chinese writes history. An immense number of historical works exist in this language. They are, for the most part, long, dry annals, arranged according to the reign of the different emperors. We have already alluded to the "Book of Records," and the "Spring and Autumn Annals," under the head of Religious Works. They bring the history of China down from about 2,350 B. C. until the death of Confucius. Aside from these may be mentioned the Sz Ki, or "Historical Memoirs," a great work written about 104 B. C., by Sz'ma Tsien, the Herodotus of Chinese history. It is divided into 130 chapters, and contains in all 526,500 characters.

Sz'ma Kwang wrote the Tung Kien Kangmuh, or General Mirror of History. It is divided into 294 chapters, and is one of the best works ever produced by Chinese historians.

Historical novels are much in vogue in China. The most celebrated is the San Kwoh Chi, or "History of the Three States." It was written by Chin Shan, about 350 A. D.

There are a great many biographies in the language. No country is so rich in this respect as China. The Sing Pu is a biographical dictionary in 120 volumes. Lin Hiang (125 B. C.) wrote the Lieh Nü Chuen, or " Memoirs of Distinguished Ladies of Ancient Times." This work is frequently quoted to show the superior culture and virtue of women in the olden time.

We might elaborate under this head did space permit.

IV. NOVELS. Novels, Siau Shwoh, or "Trifling Talk," as they are called, form the great staple of the Chinese book market. The book stores are filled with them. Little ingenuity is manifested in their plot, and the hero of the story is usually a young student who is struggling for literary honors. Schott divides this kind of

literature into three classes; historical, imaginative, and domestic. Historical romances are the most ancient; they turn upon some memorable period in the history of the country, and are oftentimes profusely illustrated. The most celebrated works of this class are the San Kwoh Chi already alluded to, and the Schui hu tschuan, both of which have been analyzed and partly translated by M. Bazin (Journal Asiatique, vols. 16 and 17). The second class are better described as fantastic than as imaginative. They resemble sometimes the German Mahrchen. The Asiatic Journal for 1838 and 1839 contains translations of two of these stories, entitled, "The Elfin Fox," and "The Spectre Son." In 1834 Julien published, under the title of "Blanch et Blue," his translation of the romance Pe sche ts'ing Ki. We would like to give as a sample under this class a short story, selected from a collection called Liau Chai, or "Pastimes for the Study," a work celebrated on account of the purity of its style and copiousness of its expression.

Remusat says that Chinese novels resemble in their construction those of Richardson. In another respect they certainly call to mind those of Fielding and Smollett. This peculiarity is most noticeable in the case of short stories. An example of this class is the Hung Lau Mung, or "Dreams of the Red Chamber," a very popular work. Novels of any considerable length are free from this objection. The domestic romances are usually a faithful mirror of Chinese family life. Of this class two have found their way into English, Haokieu-tschuan, and Ju-kia-li. The former was first published at London, in 1761, under the title "The Pleasing History," then again in 1829, with the title "The Fortunate Union." Remusat translated the latter, and gave it the name "Les Deux Cousines." None of the books in this last subdivision are probably more than three hundred years old.

V. POETRY. The "morning star" of Chinese poetry was Yuh Yuen, a celebrated minister of state, who wrote in the Chu dynasty, "The Dissipation of Sorrow." His remedy for grief, it may be supposed, was suicide, for he put an end to his life by drowning himself in a canal. The two most celebrated poets are Li Taipeh and Su Tungpo, who are said to have combined the three leading traits of a bard, being lovers of flowers, wine, and song. Very amusing stories are told about the former. The Chi