1697.] HOAXGTI-XAO. 243 



Accident, an Assessment is immediately laid according to 

 each Man's Ability, in order to restore the unfortunate 

 Person to his former Condition. 



The charitable and speedy manner with which these 

 People relieve each other when in Want, insomuch that 

 there is neither a Beggar, nor a dissatisfy 'd Person among 

 them, has somewhat so surprizing and astonishing in it, that 

 we must own it is a Pteproach to the greatest part of us 

 Christians. And as the Principles of the C/iinescs concerning 

 this sort of Charity are very near those of Ifoscs,'^ according 

 to whose Laws there was to be no needy Person in Israel, 

 and the same likewise that are establish'd, and so often 

 repeated in the Gosjk'I, I thought I could not any ways 

 disoblige the Eeader if I gave him an Extract of some 

 Sentences out of the Book entituled The Golden Book, or 

 the Golden Sentences of Hoangti-Xao, one of the Lxxii most 

 excellent Disciples. 



It is their celebrated Confucius whom they commonly 

 stile the Sage King of Letters, and they say he had Lxxii 

 principal Disciples, of which number was Hoangti-Xao.^ 



The Golden Bool? contains Political and Moral Maxims, 

 which having for the most part coherence with one another 

 not unlike that Book of Solomon, which it has pleas'd our 



1 Deut. XV. 



2 "It is true that among the multitude of Confucins's disciples 

 seventy-two are enumerated as 'scholars of extraordinary ability'; but 

 there was no Iloangti-Xao among them. At the earliest periods of 

 Chinese history there are placed two sages, Hoang-ti (b.c. 2697), and 

 Yao (B.C. 2357) ; and if we were to read after 'disciples', 'and his 

 doctrines were those of Hoang-ti and Yao', the statement would be 

 correct." {J. Legge.) 



3 " The Golden Book and Golden Sentences of Hoangti-Xao are also 

 coinages of Leguat's own. You illustrate the 'sentences' by quota- 

 tions from the writings of Chuang Tsze ; and this has made me think 

 that Hoang-ti Xao may be misprints for Chuang Tze and Sao ; but then 

 Chuang Tsze and Sao were neither of them disciples of Confucius, but 

 the chief writers of the school antagonistic to his.'' (,/. Legge.) 



K 2 



