Chinese 114 That adopted by the Chi nese. Thus the Chinese, by a different arrangement of Chinese their monosyllables, can compose a regular and ele- Language. gant discoure, and communicate their ideas with energy and precision; nay even with gracefulness and propriety. In these qualities they are not excelled either by the Europeans or Asiatics, who use alphabetical letters. In fine, the Chinese so naturally distinguish the tones of the same monosyllable, that they comprehend the sense of it, without making the least reflection on the various accents by which it is determined. The Greek and Sanscrit (for we have selected them Language. as most highly compounded) exhibit a great deal of art in modifying, arranging, and diversifying their compounds and derivatives, in such a manner as to qualify them for intimating complex ideas; but the Chinese have performed the same office by the help of a race of monosyllabic notes, simple, inflexible, invariable, and at the same time few in number. The question then comes to be, whether more art is displayed in new-modelling ald words by means of declensions, compounds, and derivatives; or by devising a plan according to which monosyllabic radical terms, absolutely invariable, should, by a particular modification of sound, answer all the purposes performed by the other. The latter appears to us much more ingeniously artificial. The former resembles a complicated machine composed of a vast number of parts, congenial indeed, but loosely connected; the latter may be compared to a simple, uniform engine, easily managed, and all its parts properly adjusted. Let us now see in what manner the people in question managed their monosyllabic notes, so as to qualify them for answering all the purposes of speech. Though the number of words in the Chinese language does not amount to above 1200; yet that small number of vocables, by their artificial management, is sufficient to enable them to express themselves with ease and perspicuity upon every subject. Without multiplying words, the sense is varied almost in infinitum by the variety of the accents, inflections, tones, aspirations, and other changes of the voice and enunciation; circumstances which make those who do not thoroughly understand the language frequently mistake one word for another. This will appear obvious by an example. The word teov pronounced slowly, drawing out the v and raising the voice, signifies a lord or master. If it is pronounced with an even tone, lengthening the v, it signifies a hog. When it is pronounced quick and lightly, it imports a kitchen. If it be pronounced in a strong and masculine tone, growing weaker towards the end, it signifies a column. By the same economy, the syllable po, according to the various accents, and the different modes of pronunciation, has eleven different significations. It signifies glass, to boil, to winnow rice, wise or liberal, to prepare, an old woman, to break or cleave, inclined, a very little, to water, a slave or captive. From these examples, and from almost numberless others which might be adduced, it is abundantly evident that this language, which at first sight appears so poor and confined, in consequence of the small number of the monosyllables of which it is composed, is notwithstanding very copious, rich, and expressive. 66 Again, the same word joined to various others, imports a great many different things; for example mou, when alone, signifies a tree, wood; but when joined with another word, it has many other significations. Mou leoo, imports "wood prepared for building" mou lan is "bars, or wooden grates ;" mou hia, “a box ;" mou sang, "a chest of drawers;" mou tsiang, "a carpenter;" mou eul, a mushroom;" mou nu, a sort of small orange;" mou sing, "the planet Jupiter;" mou mien, 66 cotton," " &c. This word may be joined to several others, and has as many different significations as it has .99 different combinations. 66 115 We must not, however, imagine, as some authors have Consequenrelated, that those people cant in speaking, and make a ees of this sort of music which is very disagreeable to the ear; method on these different tones are pronounced so curiously, that ion. even strangers find it difficult to perceive their difference even in the province of Kiang-nan, where the accent is more perfect than in any other. The nature of it may be conceived by the guttural pronunciation in the Spanish language, and by the different tones that are used in the French and Italian; these tones are almost imperceptible; they have, however, different meanings, a circumstance which gave rise to the proverb, that the tone is all. If the fineness and delicacy of their tones are such as to be scarce perceptible to a stranger, we must suppose that they do not rise high, but only by small intervals; so that the music of their language must somewhat resemble the music of the birds, which is within a small compass, but nevertheless of great variety of notes. Hence it will follow, that strangers will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to learn this language; more especially if they have not a delicate ear and a flexible voice, and also much practice. The great difference then between the Chinese and Greek accents consists in this, that the Greeks had but two accents, the grave and acute, distinguished by a large interval, and that not very exactly marked for the acute, though it never rises above a fifth higher than the grave, did not always rise so high, but was sometimes pitched lower according to the voice of the speaker. The Chinese must have many more accents, and the intervals between them must be much smaller, and much more carefully marked: for otherwise it would be impossible to distinguish them. At the same time, their language must be much more musical than the Greek, and perhaps more so than any language ought to be; but this becomes necessary for the purposes above mentioned. Du Halde is positive, that notwithstanding the perpetual variation of accents in the Chinese tongue, and the almost imperceptible intervals between these tones, their enunciation does not resemble singing: many people, however, who have resided in China, are equally positive that the tone with which they utter their words does actually resemble canting; and this, when we consider the almost imperceptible intervals by which they are perpetually raising and lowering the tone of their voice, appears to us highly probable. As the people of whose language we are treating at present communicate a variety of different significations to their monosyllabic words by their different accentuation, so they employ quantity for the very same purpose. By lengthening or shortening the vowels of their words, they employ them to signify very different things. The same they perform by giving their words different aspi rations, Chinese, rations, as likewise by sounding them with different deLanguage grecs of roughness and smoothness, and even sometimes by the different motion, posture, or attitude, with which their enunciation is accompanied. By these methods of diversifying their monosyllables (says Du Halde), they make 330 of them serve all the purposes of language, and these too not much varied in their termination; since all the words in that language either terminate with a vowel or with the consonant n, sometimes with the consonant g annexed. 116 Grammar nese. From this account, we think it is evident that the Chinese, by a wonderful exertion of ingenuity, do, by different tones and prosodical modifications, by means of a very inconsiderable number of words, all invariable radicals, actually perform all that the most polished nations have been able to achieve by their compounds, derivatives, &c. diversified by declensions, conjugations, and flexions of every kind; circumstances which, in our opinion, reflect the greatest honour on their inventive powers. With respect to the grammar of this language, as it of the Chi- admits of no flexions, all their words being indeclinable, their cases and tenses are all formed by particles. They have no idea of genders; and even the distinction of numbers, which in almost all other languages, even the most unimproved, is marked by a particular word, is in the Chinese only indicated by a particle. They have only the three simple tenses, namely, the past, present, and future; and for want of different terminations, the same word stands either for the verb or the verbal substantive, the adjective or the substantive derived from it, according to its position in the sentence. 117 Chinese letters or The Chinese language being composed of monosyllables, and these indeclinable, can scarce be reduced to grammatical rules: we shall, however, attempt to lay before our readers as much of the texture of that singular dialect as may enable them to form some vague idea of its genius and constitution. We shall begin with the letters, and proceed regularly to the remaining parts as they naturally succeed each other. The art of joining the Chinese monosyllables together is extremely difficult, and requires a very long and -characters laborious course of study. As they have only figures by which they can express their thoughts, and have no accents in writing to vary the pronunciation, they are obliged to employ as many different figures or characters as there are different tones, which give so many different significations to the same word. Besides some single characters signify two or three words, and sometimes even a whole period. For example, to write these words, good morrow, Sir, instead of joining the characters which signify good and morrow with that of Sir, a different character must be used, and this character alone these three words. This circumexpresses stance greatly contributes to multiply the Chinese cha Tacters. This method of joining the monosyllables is indeed sufficient for writing so as to be understood; but it is deemed trifling, and is used only by the vulgar. The style that is employed, in order to shine in composition, is quite different from that which is used in conversation, though the words are in reality the same. In writings of that species, a man of letters must use more elegant phrases, more lofty expressions, and the whole must be dignified with tropes and figures which are not in general use, but in a peculiar manner adapt- Chinese ed to the nature of the subject in question. The cha- Language, racters of Cochin-china, of Tong-king, of Japan, are the same with those of the Chinese, and signify the same things; though, in speaking, these nations do not express themselves in the same manner of consequence the language of conversation is very different, and they are not able to understand cach other; while, at the same time, they understand each other's written language, and use all their books in common. : 118 The learned must not only be acquainted with the characters that are employed in the common affairs of life, but must also understand their various combinations, and the numerous and multiform dispositions and arrangements which of several simple strokes make the compound characters. The number of their characters exceeding amounts to 80,000; and the man who knows the greatly numeest number of them is of course the most learned. From rous. this circumstance we may conclude, that many years must be employed to acquire the knowledge of such a prodigious number of characters, to distinguish them when they are compounded, and to remember their shape and import. After all, a person who understands 10,000 characters may express himself with tolerable propriety in this language, and may be able to read and understand a great number of books. The generality of their learned men do not understand above 15,000 or 20,000, and few of their doctors have attained to the knowledge of above 40,000. This prodigious number of characters is collected in their great vocabulary called Hai-pien. They have radical letters, which show the origin of words, and enable them to find out those which are derived from them: for instance, the characters of mountains, trees, man, the earth, of a horse, under which must be sought all that belongs to mountains, trees, man, &c. In this search one must learn to distinguish in every word those strokes or figures which are above, beneath, on the sides, or in the body of the radical figure. Clemens Alexandrinus (see Section Chaldean, &c.) informs us, that the Egyptians employed three sorts of characters: The first was called the epistolary, which was used in writing letters; the second was denominated sacred, and peculiar to the sacerdotal order; the last hieroglyphical, which was appropriated to monumental inscriptions and other public memorials. This mode of representation was twofold: one, and the most simple, was performed by describing the picture of the object which they intended to represent, or at least one that resembled it pretty nearly; as when they exhibited the sun by a circle and the moon by a crescent: the other was properly symbolic; as when they marked eternity by a serpent with his tail in his mouth, the air by a man clothed in an azure robe studded with stars, &c. The Chinese, in all probability, had the same variety of characters. In the beginning of their monarchy, they communicated their ideas by drawing on paper the images of the objects they intended to express; that is, they drew the figure of a bird, a mountain, a tree, waving lines, to indicate birds, mountains, forests, rivers, &c. There were, however, an infinite number of ideas to be communicated, whose objects do not fall under the cognizance of the senses; such as the soul, the thoughts, the Chinese the passions, beauty, deformity, virtues, vices, the acLanguage. tions of men and other animals, &c. This inconvenience obliged them to alter their original mode of writing, which was too confined to answer that purpose, and to introduce characters of a more simple nature, and to invent others to express those things which are the objects of our senses. 119 and truly hierogly phical 120 Peculiari Chinese These modern characters are, however, truly hiero glyphical, since they are composed of simple letters which retain the signification of the primitive characters. The original character for the sun was a circle, thus; this they called ga: They now represent that luminary by the figure, to which they still give the original name. But human institutions having annexed to these last framed characters the very same ideas indicated by the original ones, the consequence is, that every Chinese letter is actually significant, and that it still retains its significancy, though connected with others. Accordingly the word tsai, which imports "misfortune, ealamity," is composed of the letter mien, "a house," and the letter ho, "fire;" so that the symbolical character for misfortune is the figure of a house on fire. The Chinese characters, then, are not simple letters without any signification, like those of the Europeans and other Asiatics; but when they are joined together, they are so many hieroglyphics, which form images and express thoughts. Upon the whole, the original characters of the Chinese were real pictures (see Section of the Egyptian language); the next improvement was the symbolical character; the third and last stage is the present mode, in which artificial signs have been fabricated, in order to represent such thoughts or ideas as could not be represented by one or other of the methods above described. Du Halde, vol. ii. p. 400, et seq. has furnished us with rules for pronouncing the Chinese vowels and consonants; a piece of information which, we apprehend, would be of little consequence to our readers, and which we shall therefore pass over, and proceed to give a brief account of their grammar. As the whole language is composed of monosyllables, and these indeclinable, its grammatical structure must be simple and obvious: we shall only mention what to us appears singular and im portant. In the Chinese language there is no diversity of genties of the ders or cases, and of consequence no declensions. Very.. often the noun is not distinguished from the verb; and the same word which in one situation is a substantive, in another may become an adjective, and even a verb. parts of speech. The adjective always goes before the substantive; but if it follow it, it becomes a substantive. The cases and numbers are known only by the composition. The plural number is distinguished by the particle men, which is common to all nouns; but when the noun is preceded by some word that signifies number, the particle men is not annexed. The Chinese genitive, both singular and plural, when it comes after nouns, is often made by ti; and there is no other case in that language. The same particle is sometimes placed after pronouns, as if they were deri vatives. The comparative degree is formed by adding the particle keng, which is always set before the noun, and sig nifies much. The particle to is sometimes used, which Chinese likewise imports much. Language. The Chinese have only three personal pronouns, ngo, "I," ni, "thou," and ta, "he:" these become plural by adding the syllable men. They are made possessive by adding the syllable ti, as nqo ti, " mine," niti, "thine," ta ti, "his." The patronymics are formed by putting the name of the city, country, &c. after the pronoun chon is the pronoun relative who, what, which 66. Chinese verbs have only three tenses, the preterperfect, the present, and the future. When there is no particle added to the verb, it is the present: the preterperfect is made by adding the particle leao: to distinguish the future tense they use the particle tsiang or hoei; and these are all the varieties incident to their verbs. The Chinese language has no words that are properly adverbs; they only become so by custom, or by the place they possess in discourse. They are often obliged to employ several words to express the adverbs of other languages: they have none that are demonstrative, or proper for calling or exhorting; but in their stead they are obliged to use nouns and verbs. 121 Perhaps our readers may wish to know the Chinese Their nu numerals; and may imagine that they bear a resem-merals. blance to those of the European or other Asiatic dia-, lects. In this, however, they will be disappointed. There are a great many particles proper to numbers in the Chinese language: they are frequently used, and in a way peculiar to it; for every numeral has a particle importing the object to which it is attached. Thus co is used for man, and y co for a woman, &c.; hoei is used for illustrious men ; tche or tchi is used for ships, dogs, hens; mey is used for pearls and precious things; pen is used for books; teng is appropriated to oxen and cows; too is used for letters and little bundles of paper; oo is employed for corn and pulse. Those distinctions indicate a language manufactured on purpose to be em ployed Chinese ployed by people who were too high and too haughty Language. to converse with the vulgar. 122 Chinese writers. The style of the Chinese, in their elaborate composiStyle of the tions, is mysterious, concise, and allegorical, after the eastern manner. It is often obscure to those who do not understand the language thoroughly; and it requires a considerable degree of skill to avoid mistakes in reading an author of elegance and sublimity. Their writers express a great deal in few words; and their expressions are lively, full of spirit, intermingled with bold comparisons and lofty metaphors. They affect to insert in their compositions many sentences borrowed from their five canonical books; and as they compare their books to pictures, so they liken these quotations to the five principal colours employed in painting; and in this their eloquence chiefly consists. They prefer a beautiful character to the most finished picture; and nothing is more common than to see a single page covered with old characters, if they happen to be fair and elegant, sold at a very high price. They honour their characters in the most common books; and when they happen to light by chance upon a printed leaf, they gather it up with the greatest care and respect. In China there are three varieties of language; that of the common people, that of the people of fashion, and that employed in writing books. Though the first is not so elegant as either of the other two, it is not however inferior to our European languages; though those who are but superficially acquainted with the Chinese may, in fact, imagine it uncouth and barbarous. This low and rude language is pronounced and written many different ways, as is generally the case in other countries. But a more polished, and at the same time a much more energetic, language, is employed in an almost infinite number of novels; some perhaps true, but many more the vehicles of fiction. These are replete with lively descriptions, characters highly finished, morality, variety, wit, and vivacity, in such a degree as to equal in purity and politeness the most celebrated authors of Europe. This was the language of the Mandarins ; and though exquisitely beautiful in its kind, was still inferior to the language of books. This last might be styled the hypersublime; and of this there are several degrees and intervals before an author can arrive at what they call the language of the king. This mode of writing cannot be well understood without looking upon the letters; but when understood, it appears easy and flowing. Each thought is generally expressed in four or six characters: nothing occurs that can offend the nicest ears and the variety of the accents with which it is pronounced produces a soft and harmonious sound. The difference between the king and their other books consists in the difference of the subjects upon which they are written. Those of the former are always grand and sublime, and of course the style is noble and elevated : those of the latter approach nearer to the common affairs and events of life, and are of consequence detailed in the Mandarin tongue. In writing on sublime subjects no punctuations are used. As these compositions are intended for the learned only, the author leaves to the reader to determine where the sense is complete; 3 123 merous and Their books are very numerous and bulky, and of Their course exceeding cumbrous. A dictionary of their books nulanguage was compiled in the 18th century. It consisted of 95 large volumes. An appendix was annexed bulky. of 25 volumes. Their other books are voluminous in proportion. proportion. The Chinese, one may say, are a nation of learned men. Few people of rank neglect the belles lettres; for ignorance in a man of any de gree of eminence is deemed an indelible stain on bis character. For their manner of writing, the implements with which they write, and the materials upon which they draw their characters, we must refer our readers to the article WRITING. It would, we believe, afford our readers some pleasure, could we discover and explain the reasons which have hitherto prevented the Chinese from adopting the letters employed from time immemorial by the other nations of Europe and Asia. 124 The Chinese have ever looked upon themselves as Obstacles greatly superior to the rest of mankind. In ancient to their intimes they entertained such contemptible notions of fo-provement in science reigners, that they scorned to have any further commerce and literawith them than to receive their homage. They were ture. indeed, at a very early period, highly revered by the Indians, Persians, and Tartars. In consequence of this veneration, they looked upon themselves as the favourites of heaven. They imagined they were situated in the middle of the earth, in a kind of paradise, in order to give laws to the rest of mankind. Other men they looked upon with contempt and disdain, and deemed them deformed in body and defective in mind, cast out into the remote corners of the world as the dross and refuse of nature. They boasted that themselves only had received from God rational souls and beautiful bodies, in order to qualify them for being sovereigns of the species. Such are the sentiments of the Chinese; and with such sentiments it is by no means surprising that their improvements in language, in writing, and other appendages of the belles lettres, have not been proportioned to their progress in mechanics. When people are once fully persuaded that they have already arrived at the summit of perfection, it is natural for them to sit down contented, and solace themselves with the idea of their own superior attainments. The Chinese had early entertained an exalted opinion of their own superiority to the rest of mankind; and therefore imagined that they had already carried their inventions to the ne plus ultra of perfection; the consequence was, that they could make no exertions to carry them higher. The Chinese, for the space of 3000 years, had almost no intercourse with the rest of mankind. This was the consequence of their insulated situation. They of course, compared themselves with themselves; and finding that they excelled all their barbarian neigh bours, Chinese bours, they readily entertained an opinion that they Language, excelled all the rest of mankind in an equal proportion, This conceit at once stifled the emotions of ambition, and deprived them of all opportunities of learning what was going forward in other parts of the world. 125 Chinese words found in various other languages. They despised every other nation, People are little disposed to imitate those whom they despise; and this perhaps may be one reason why they are at this day so averse from adopting the European inven tions. A superstitious attachment to the customs of the ancients, is the general character of the Asiatic nations. This is evidently a kind of diacritical feature among the Chinese. The institutions of Fohi are looked up to among them with equal veneration as those of Thoth were among the Egyptians. Among the latter, there was a law which made it capital to introduce any innovation into the music, painting, or statuary art, instituted by that legislator. We hear of no such law among the former; but custom established, and that invariably, for a space of 3000 years, might operate as forcibly among them as a positive law did among the people first mentioned. An attachment to ancient customs is often more powerful and more coercive than any law that can be promulgated and enforced by mere human authority. These reasons, we think, may be assigned as the impediments to the progress of the Chinese in the belles lettres, and perhaps in the cultivation of the other sciences. Though the language of the Chinese is confessedly different from all the other known languages in its character and construction, it contains, however, a great number of words evidently of the same origin with those which occur in other dialects, used by people, who, according to the natural course of things, could never have been connected with that remote country. few of those we shall produce before we conclude this section. We shall begin with the import of the name China. A China, or, as the orientals write it, Sin, is perhaps the Latin sinus," the bosom, the heart, the middle." The Chinese actually imagine that their country is situated in the very middle of the earth, and of consequence call it Cham, "the middle, the heart;" a denomination which exactly suits their opinion. Tu, in Chinese, intimates every thing that falls under the cognizance of the senses, every thing that strikes the sight; in Latin, tueor. Ta, a table, a plank, a figure that renders every thing sensible: 2. To see, to look upon, to appear; Greek Tay Tava, whence ruva, tendo. Tue, to examine attentively, to inspect carefully. Tui, the most apparent, chief, principal, first; 2. Lightning, thunder. Teu, a sign by which we know one, letter of acknow. ledgment. All these ideas are contained in the Hebrew, thu, signum, which we believe has produced the Egyptian theuth, the god or godlike man who invented letters, geometry, music, astronomy, &c. Tai, a dye, a theatre; Greek of old saw, then Diαopal, "to see, to look." Tam, Latin tantum, .6 so much." Tan, land, country, region, a syllable annexed to the VOL. XVI. Part I. + end of a great number of words. Aqui tan, Aquitania, Chinese 66 a land of water;" Mauri tan, Mauritania, "the land Language. of the Moors." The orientals prefix s, whence Farsi stan, Farsistan," the land or country of the Persian3:" Chusi stan, Chusistan, "the country of Chuz;” Turque stan, Turquestan," the land of the Turks." Ti, a chief, an emperor, a title of dignity; whence the Greek TIN, "to honour;" hence, too, the word di, "bright, glorious;" whence A, " Jupiter," " As, divine;" the Latin Dius, now Deus, "God," and Divus, with the digamma Æolicum inserted; the Celtic Dhia, &c. It signified originally "bright, glorious," and was an epithet of the Sun. Tum, Latin tumeo, "to swell." Liven," to love;" Hebrew ab, leb," the heart ;" Li, "letters;" Latin, lino, “to daub," as the Chi- "the Xim, " very high, elevated, sacred, perfect;" Latin, eximius. Sin," the heart;" Persian, Sin," the heart.” Sien, "chief, first;" Celtic, can, cean, san, head;" metaphorically, the chief, the first, the principal; Thibet, sen, or ken, "great, elevated;" Arabic, same," to be elevated or raised." Sim, or Sing," a constellation, a star, an element;" Hebrew, shem: Greek, ansior, oque; Latin, signum. Sie, a man of learning;" Goth. Sax. Engl. “ see; to see, seer. ma, animus. To these instances of the analogy between the Chinese language and those of the other people of Asia and Europe many more might be added; but the preceding, it is hoped, will serve as a specimen, which is all that can be expected from an inquiry of the nature of the present. SECT. VII. Of the Greek Language. 126 BEFORE we enter upon the consideration of the esOrigin of sential and constituent parts of this noble language, we the Greeks must, beg leave to settle a few preliminaries, which, we Tt trust, |