imth the Nature of the Chinese Language. 17 



the public mind, that it has become one of those axioms which 

 no one will venture to contradict. It recjuires not a little bold- 

 ness to fly in the face of an opinion so generally received, and 

 which has so many respectable authorities in its support, and 

 none against it but those of reason and fair logical deductions 

 from uncontroverted facts. As you have, however, in a man- 

 ner challenged me to produce the proof of my assertions, I do 

 not hesitate to do it, in the spirit of humility which becomes 

 me, and submitting the whole to your candour and better 

 judgement. 



This opinion has naturally led to that of the Chinese wiiting 

 being an universal written language, conveying ideas directly 

 to the mind, and which might be read alike in every idiom upon 

 earth, as our numerical figures and algebraic signs are. This 

 idea has been carried so far that some missionaries have wished 

 that the Chinese iscvitten language, as it is called, should be 

 cultivated through the whole world ; for then, the New Testa- 

 ment, being translated into Chinese, all nations might read it, 

 without learning the spoken idiom, and on a mere inspection 

 of the characters*. And as a proof that this might be done, 

 it has been alleged that the Japanese, Coreans, Cochinchinese 

 and other nations could read Chinese books, without knowing 

 or understanding the oral language of China. But these are 

 not the only wonderful systems to which this opinion has given 

 I'ise. 



This writing having been formed, as is supposed, without 

 any reference to or connection with spoken language, a ques- 

 tion might naturally arise, which of the two was first invented. 

 Nobody, to be sure, has ventured to say, that writing existed 

 before speech ; yet, if that proposition have not been directly 

 advanced, I must say that sinologists have come very near to 

 it. For instance, they affect to call the monosyllabic words of 

 the Chinese language the -pronunciation of the characters; 

 which leads to the direct inference, that the words were made 

 for the signs, and not these for the words. A justly cele- 

 brated French sinologist, M. Abel Remusat, does not, indeed, 

 believe that a language was invented to suit the written cha- 

 racters after they were formed; but he supposes that some 

 then existing popular idiom was adopted, to serve as a pro- 

 nunciation to the graphic signs f . One step more, and hardly 

 tliat, and written characters must have been invented before 

 men learned to speak. 



The English sinologists. Sir George Staunton, the Rev. 



* Remusat : Essai sur la Langue cl la Literature Chinoisc, p. .'Jo. 

 \ Melanges Asialiqncs, vol. ii. p. 32. 



New Series. Vol. 5. No. 25. Jatu 1 829. D Mr. Mor- 



