CHINESE GRAMMAR.* THE study of the Chinese language is becoming

a matter of practical importance. Hitherto, Sinologues, as the French call them, or what, if we were to coin a corresponding English word, we should call Chinologists, have been rarer amongst us than Egyptologists ; but now that the whole Chinese empire, compris- ing a population of three hundred millions, has by treaty been declared open to travellers with passports, it may be presumed that scientific and mercantile enterprise will soon penetrate to the interior of this mysterious realm, and the advantage of an acquaintance with the language of the people will make itself felt. The Chinese is, moreover, a kind of classical language to several other important nations, particularly the Japanese, and-to the inhabitants of Corea, Cochin China, and Annam, to whom it is more or less what Sanscrit is to the Inde-Germanic races, or perhaps rather what Greek and Latin are to us. The philoso- phers; historians, and poets of China are studied by the Japanese, and every child of respectable parentage begins the study of Chinese as soon as he goes to school, and carries it on simul- taneously with that of his native tongue.

Up to the present time the acquirement of a knowledge of Chinese has been hedged about by tremendous difficulties. Not

* A Handbook of the Chinese Language. Parts I. and II. Grammar and Cliresto- mathy. By Janes Summers. Oxford: University Preis. 1853.

that works upon the subject do not exist, but they are rare and expensive, and when obtained are found insufficient for the wants of the student. The grammars of Marsh man and Morrison and the dictionary of the latter are admirable monuments of labour and zeal, while the grammar of M. Abel-Remusat, which followed them, is remarkable for clear and scientific analysis. A. work in Portuguese, by Pere J. A. Gonsalves, is said to be the most complete treatise on Chinese. Several other works on the literature, and upon the system of writing, by English, French, and German scholars might be mentioned, and collectively they might be said to supply all that could be known upon the subject ; but if an English student were to ask the question, "How do the Chinese represent words in writ- ing ? — how do they pronounce ? — how do they distinguish one syllable from another of the same sound ?—how are their words constructed ?—where shall I obtain copies for writing, text to read, and explanation of this text ?" the reply must be, " You must purchase the works of Morrison, or Schott, or Wil-

liams for one thing, you must buy those of Edkins and Wade for another, you must send to China for a text, and buy a dictionary which will cost you from four to ten guineas for explanations, and then you will find you want a native teacher or a European proficient in the language to help you. The work of Professor Summers, of which the first two parts, forming an octavo volume of moderate size, have recently appeared from the Oxford University Press, will undoubtedly meet most of these wants, and will Loin a valuable addition to the library of the linguist. If we mistake not it will mark an epoch in our relations with China. It is the first treatise on the subject that has been, published in England, and it at once traverses the whole of the ground. Part I. ,4 contains the grammar, and Part IL contains a chrestomathy, or selection of native texts, transcribed into English letters, and accompanied by translations. Parts III. and IV., yet to come, will contain a collection of exercises and a dictionary of all the characters in general use.

The difficulty of mastering the Chinese language and writing will probably be found less than is ordinarily supposed when the subject is presented in a methodical and convenient form. The Chinese, it is true, have no alphabet, but only a set of characters, apparently complicated and arbitrary, standing for syllables, no one of which affords any clue to the pronunciation of another.

Our own language is not without specimens of something analogous, for although we profess to spell every word alpha- betically, there is a very large number of syllables of which the pronunciation has little or no relation to the standard sound of the letters which compose them, and of which we only know the sound by assiduous practice and teaching. The number of characters in Chinese is tinder 2,000, of which 214 are called radicals or keys, which have both a meaning of their own when standing alone, and are also joined with others which are merely phonetic or representatives of syllables (of which the number in common use is about 1,040) to determine and

distinguish the meaning of the latter. For instance, sup-

pose a particular symbol to represent the syllable " box"— a sound of which the multifarious meanings in English can only be known from the csntext, the addition of a key or radical

sign signifying house, wood, fight, &c., might indicate which of the senses was to be taken. The Chinese keys perform the same

functions as the determinative symbols of the Egyptologists, but the old Egyptian differed from the Chinese in this, that the phonetic symbols were alphabetic, so that the syllables were

spelt, instead of being represented by separate figures having no

connection or relation with one another. Had it not been so the recovery of the old Egyptian language would have been impos- sible, and were the living tradition of the Chinese to be lost the problem of reproducing the language from the writing alone seems one beyond the reach of human ingenuity. By the method which has been stated the number of separate symbols which the student has to learn, although sufficiently large, is yet reduced to limits -within the compass of human memory, and although one native dictionary contains forty-four thousand characters, the greater part of these are obsolete, rare, or unimportant. The small dictionary which is to form a part of Professor Summers'a work will contain about three thousand five hundred groups, which it is stated will be found sufficient for all ordinary pur- poses.

The invention of writing in China is evidently of great antiquity, indeed, the Chinese histories attribute it to their first historical king, Fuhi, B.C. 2200, or perhaps a century or two earlier. The most ancient book is one called the " Five Classics," being a collection of old wsrks on poetry, history, philosophy, and juries prudence made by Confucius in the sixth century B.C. He professed to edit them without alteration, and their style is, in fact, rude and archaic, and some parts are not well under- stood by the Chinese themselves. About B.C. 220 the Emperor Ching, the most famous ruler whom China ever had, and the builder of the great wall, made an attempt to destroy all the then existing literature and records, and put many learned men to death, fear- ing that they might excite the people to rebellion. This revolu- tionary monarch seems to have nearly succeeded in accomplishing his destructive purpose, but on the revival of literature under the dynasty which succeeded him, the text of the most ancient historic work which Confucius had included in his collection was partly recovered from a blind old man, who was able to repeat it from memory. A copy of the original was afterwards discovered in the ruins of the house of Confucius, and from these sources the now current text is derived.

Of philosophical and political works of later date there is no scarcity, and those which have been translated into European languages prove that the Chinese literature is worthy of more general attention than has hitherto been bestowed upon it. The maxims 'and doctrines of the various schools of philosophy from Confucius downwards are truly remarkable. The Chinese reckon ten great philosophers. Many of their sayings match those of the sages of Europe. " Our life has limits, but know- ledge is without limits," was the maxim of one who flourished about B.C. 368, and is said to have been a giant of knowledge. A few years later in Greece Aristotle arrived at the same con- clusion, and expressed it in the well-known antithesis, " Art is long, life is short."

Dictionaries and works on language abound in Chinese. The earliest dictionary mentioned dates B.C. 150. The "Thesaurus of Literary Phrases" was a work compiled, by order of the Em- peror Kanghi, by seventy-six literati, who took seven years to complete it. It was published in 1711 in 131 volumes, and in bulk surpasses all other similar collections in the world. One very important work of the encyclopaedic kind is entitled a " Thorough Examination into Antiquity," by a writer who lived A.D. 1275. It is contained in 110 volumes, and includes articles upon ancient government and tenures, literature and writing, and an immense number of other subjects. M. Abel-Remusat speaks of it with rapturous admiration.

The bulk of some of the works mentioned in Professor Sum- mers's list is indeed appalling,—one book relating to the civil code and statistics of a particular dynasty runs to 260 volumes. The complete history of China from the highest antiquity down to the middle of the fourteenth century is in 282 volumes, of what size and thickness we are not told. A geography of the Chinese Empire is in 240 volumes.

Whether the Chinese ever had a Shakespeare we do not know, but should not be surprised to hear that such was the case. They have at any rate a collection of a hundred old plays, some few of which have 'been translated into French and English. One novel, called the "Story of the Fortunate Union," has long been known in Europe, an English translation, under the title

• of the " Pleasing History," having been edited by Bishop Percy in 1761. A better translation was made in 1820 by Sir John F. Davis, who recommends the work as pourtraying the Chinese in almost every variety and condition of life. The short extracts given by Professor Summers are humorous and picturesque ; the work may perhaps bear some comparison with Le Sage's Gil Bias.

Of the old mythology and legendary anecdotes of the Chinese we should b.: glad to know more. Some curious analogies to stories that have been current in the Western world would pro- bably be found. We find it told of a certain Pikau, who lived B.C. 1140, that being a great saint he was hated by his sister-in- law Tawki on account of his admonitions. She remarked to her husband, the Emperor Cheu, the brother of Pikau, that it would be easy to ascertain whether the latter was a saint or not, for if so be would have seven holes in his heart. Chen ordered his brother's heart to be extracted, and seven holes were found in it. Pikau survived the operation,—and went into another country. Here meeting a man who was selling onions, he asked him what vegetable it was, and the man answering that it was one without a heart, Pikau recollected that he himself had none, and swooned and died forthwith. Thiswild and incomprehensible story has some singular points of resemblance to the old Egyptian tale of the "Two Brothers," the younger of whom is unjustly accused by his brother's wife. Pursued by his elder brother with purposes of vengeance, the youngei himself abstracts his own heart and places it in a tree. Subsequently, when the tree is cut down and

the heart dries up, he himself faints and dies. These resem- blances may be merely accidental, but it does not appear impos- sible that some snatches of Egyptian romance may have been carried across Asia and penetrated as far as China.

Some large collections of Chinese works have been formed in this country, the beat being that of the British Museum, which possesses 30,000 volumes.