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XIX. EvGRAPHiA Sinensis; or, the Art of Writing the Chinese 

 Character with Correctness : contained in Ninety-two Rules and Ex- 

 amples. To "which are prefixed. Some Observations on the Chinese 

 Writing. By John Francis Davis, Esq., M.R.A.S., F.RS., S^c. 



Read June 18, 1825. 



ON THE CHINESE WHITING. 



The graphic beauty of a written language, which approaches so near to 

 the hieroglyphic as the Chinese, where many of the characters are intended 

 as pictures of the idea to be conveyed, where the variety of the lines, or 

 strokes, is so great, and their combinations are so numerous, must be allowed 

 at once to exceed, and to be more difficult of attainment than, that of the 

 alphabetic writing of Europe. The number of the simple characters, or 

 elements, of which all the compounds of the language are formed, greatly 

 exceeds that of any one alphabet ; but, when compounded, their relative 

 juxta-position and arrangement, the shortening of some strokes and the 

 lengthening of others, is of course subject to some general rules ; which, 

 from the very nature of the subject, must be more numerous and com- 

 plicated, than the mere joining together of our European letters. The 

 advantage of simplicity (and a very great advantage it is) constitutes the 

 chief merit of alphabetic writing; that of variety and graphic beauty may 

 fairly be claimed by the Chinese. 



It must be observed, however, that there are two forms, under which the 

 character generally appears : of these, the Sung pan,* in which books are 

 commonly printed, being stiff and inelegant, lays claim only to correctness ; 

 the other, viz. the Keae shoo,f in which all papers of consequence are 

 written, and which occasionally is also used in print, combines both cor- 

 rectness and beauty ;t it is at once the most elegant, the most useful, and 



• See Plate IV, No. /. f See Plate IV, No. //. 



I There are several other forms, and among the rest the seal character, which is somewhat 

 analogous to our black letter; and which being hardly ever used, does not deserve much attention 

 from Europeans. 



I 



