CHINA. 



275 



Language. The elementary books are; 1. The Pe-kia-sing, or 

 ~, ' proper names of a hundred families, a book, which con- 



Elemeutary ta ; ng t l ie various names of individuals in the nation, which 

 are all significant words, and require to be known when 

 found in books, that they may not be mistaken for the 

 names of things ; 2. The Tsa-tse or collection of letters, 

 a book, which treats of common things, and the neces- 

 sary articles of life ; 3. The Tsien-tse-ooen, or collection 

 tif a thousand letters, a book which contains 1000 diffe- 

 rent words, arranged as short phrases of three or four 

 characters ; and, -t. The Sau-tsee-king, or verses of three 

 syllables, a book, in which every member of a sentence 

 contains three characters, and which teaches the simplest 

 rroral reflections and historical events. They next pass 

 to the Ssee-shoo, or four books, containing the moral pre- 

 cepts of Confucius, which they commit to memory, and 

 learn to write out without looking at the book. They 

 are then introduced to the perusal of the king, or classi- 

 cal books, of which an account will afterwards be given ; 

 and after being exercised in the elevated style of com- 

 position, by which time they are generally about twenty 

 years of age, they are to enter upon the first examina- 

 tions. 



Kiamina- These take place in the presence of the governor of a 



lions. c ; t y O f tl, c third order, and are generally attended by about 



600 students, of which perhaps about 400, who receive 

 the name of Hien ming, pass to the second examination, 

 before the governor of a city of the first order, when 

 they are employed in producing a piece of literary com- 

 position, and in which case, seldom more than 200 are 

 chosen to receive the title of Foo-ming. Before, how- 

 ever, they can be admitted to the higher offices, they 

 must continue to study, and to undergo examinations, 

 for the space of about ten years more. Every three 

 years, a mandarin from Pekin holds two examinations in 

 the chief city of every province ; and the Foo-ming, ap- 

 pear before him without book*, to prepare their com- 

 positions. Of these he is supposed to judge impartially, 

 without knowing the authors, (though money and in- 

 fluence generally prevail) and a small number of the 

 most eminent, perhaps fifteen out of some hundreds of 

 competitors, receive the title of Sieoo-tsai, or bachelors. 

 All, who are admitted into this class, wear a distinguish- 

 ing badge, and can be punished with the bamboo, only 

 at the judgment of a particular mandarin, to whom the 

 inspection of their conduct belongs. But, as they must 

 continue to produce compositions at the examinations, 

 in order to preserve this degree ; the greater number of 

 candidates purchase, t the rate of 100 sterling, the 

 title of Kien-song, which, though attended with less 

 honour, it also attended with less labour, than that of 

 Sieoo-tsai. Both these classes, repair every three years, 

 to the capital of their province, where they compete, by 

 their compositions, for the title of Kiu-jin ; and, the fol- 

 lowing year, all the Kiu-jin, from the different provinces, 

 are required to attend an examination at Pekin, which 

 takes place every three years, and at which the most ad- 

 vanced receive the title of Tsin tse, or doctors. Those 

 who attain this rank in learning, are eligible to the most 

 important offices in the empire ; but the greater part of 

 the literati remain satisfied with the title of Kiu-jin, 

 which is sufficient to obtain for them very honourable 

 Station*. This course of study is not pursued in China 

 o much from a love of learning as of place ; and a learn- 

 ed man, without wealth or office, is not held in great 

 estimation. These degree* also are frequently purchased ; 



the sons of the higher mandarins are admitted to offices Language, 

 of eminence, without any examinations or degrees; and '*~~~Y~*~' 

 it is not uncommon to find the governor of a city a mere 

 military mandarin, without any literary acquirements, 

 and assisted in his duties by inferior civil officers. These 

 examinations are restricted merely to a knowledge of the 

 language. Each candidate is provided with pencils, 

 ink, and paper, in a separate apartment, and produces 

 a theme upon a given subject in a given time. The ex- 

 cellence of the composition consists in these points, that 

 the characters be neatly and accurately made.; that they 

 be well chosen, and not those which are in vulgar use ; 

 and that none of them occur twice in the same compo- 

 sition. 



There is a variety of styles, or modes of composition, Styles of 

 in the Chinese language : 



1. The Koo-oocn, or the style of the books named 

 King ; and which is subdivided into three kinds, one ex- 

 tremely concise and full of metaphors, which is the style 

 of the King ; a second is that of the books composed af- 

 ter the King, till the destruction of the Chinese books 

 by Shee-hoang-tee, 213 years before Christ ; and a third 

 is the style of the books, produced from the dynasty of 

 the Han until that of the Song. The two last bear a great 

 resemblance to the first, and can be distinguished only, 

 as connoisseurs distinguish an original painting, of some 

 celebrated master from a copy, taken by a skilful hand. 



2. The Ooen-tchang, or the style of elevated composi- 

 tions, which is not so laconic as the Koo-ooen, but is even 

 still more flowery and recondite. In this style, a writer 

 is expected to -choose such characters, as at once give 

 ornament, meaning, and vigour to his sentiment. In 

 speaking, for instance, of the death of the emperor, in- 

 Head of using the ordinary word Sse, to die, he would 

 employ the term Pin-tien, a guest has entered into hea- 

 ven ; or, what would be still more emphatic and sublime, 

 the word Pong, a mountain is burst and tumbled in pieces. 

 Neither must the same sound frequently recur in the 

 perusal of the piece ; a circumstance, which, owing to 

 the small number of sounds in the language, it is most 

 difficult to avoid. To compose, in short, in this style, 

 requires the greatest care and knowledge ; and is a very 

 rare attainment. 



3. The Kooan-hoa, which is the style employed by 

 the mandarins, the literati, and all well educated persons, 

 is much more extended than the last mentioned ; admits 

 of synonymes, and all those connecting particles which 

 give clearness to the discourse ; and allows the words to 

 be arranged in a more simple and natural order ; but 

 cannot be employed so well in writing, and serves only 

 for oral communications. 



4. The Hiang-tan, which is only a corruption of the 

 former, is the ordinary dialect of the populace, and va- 

 ries in the different provinces and districts. Persons of 

 education are able to speak in the common style of their 

 native place, but never employ it in conversation with 

 mandarins or learned men. 



The Chinese make no use of punctuation to distin- 

 guish the conclusion of their sentences ; a circumstance tion. 

 which greatly increases the obscurity of their composi- 

 tions, especially in the elevated style. Sometimes 'in 

 their commentaries, and especially in the Chinese books 

 published by the missionaries,* the mark O is introdu- 

 ced to point out the termination of a sentence. The 

 Chinese authors follow as closely as possible the style 

 and manner of their ancient writers ; and as these never 



t publications are considered ns the best adapted for learners of the language; especially a small theological treatise, entitled, 

 Ooan, one, tcl.in, ioocn, or, Ike true origin "full t/tingi. 



