390 Notices respecting New Books. 



ready become extremely complicated by the necessary employ- 

 ment of the five tones, either simple or aspirated, placed over 

 each word to indicate the various pronunciations. 



" I have replaced the letters m and ii bv the French letters 

 u an.d on, and the words su and zmi bv the words sse and tse, 

 conforniinsj myselt" to the pronunciation which I learnt during 

 my residence in China, a promuiciation similar in other re- 

 spects to that of the Latin and Portuguese Dictionary which the 

 Royal Library afforded me. 



'•' Thus freed by these slight changes from every thing that 

 can embarrass it, the pronunciation which I have made use of 

 approaches the true pronunciation most clo!-ely ; and this is all 

 that is necessary for persons who wish merely to translate. As 

 to such as wish to learn to speak the Chinese language, they 

 can oniy expect to acquire it with the assistance of a Chinese 

 master ; otherwise tney will never succeed m pronouncing, as I 

 can, the words, vgo (I), naay (to love), vgcin (repose), nor even 

 other words less difficult, such as hie)} (city), and Into (good). 



" I have placed over each word the tone which is proper to 

 it. This tone is simple, or aspirated : it belongs to the entire 

 word, and may be placed indifferently over anyone of the letters 

 of which it is composed. The words with a simple tone are 

 pronounced without any effort : this is not the case when we 

 wish to articulate those which have the aspirated tone, in which 

 tiie first letter is pronounced as if it was double : thus piao to 

 strike is pronounced ppiun. 



" Such are tlie facts relative to the publication of a work, the 

 printing of which was ordered at the end of ISOP, and termi- 

 nated in 181t5, under the auspices of the Minister of the Interior, 

 7. e, about a century after the first attempt at its execution. It 

 only remains for me to solicit the indulgence of my readers ; 

 and I flatter myself with obtaining it, if they are pleased to re- 

 collect that the Chinese Dictionary which was to have been 

 published long since by Messrs. Fourmont and de Guignes, both 

 known throughout all Europe for their erudition and their 

 writings, has now been brought out by a man who has no pre- 

 tensions to such titles, and whose only honour consists in being 

 attached to a distinguished ministerial department of state, 

 several of the members of which are eminent for talents and ex- 

 tent of knowledge." 



We have thus endeavom-ed to discharge the humble, but we 

 trust not unprofitable, duty which we undertook, namely, that 

 of giving an account of a great novelty in the literary world. 

 ^'iewing it as a specimen of typography, it exhibits no want of 

 due care and attention ; and we have no doubt it will be found as 

 accurate a guide to the Chinese language as can be expected 



from 



