REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 187 



point? Doubtless there are many superstitious elements in Confucian- 

 ism, but there is something of arrogance in labelling the whole- 

 subject so. 



The system of the work is excellent. A sketch of the five classics 

 is followed by a fairly detailed history of the development of the 

 various schools with particular emphasis on the personalities concerned. 

 A summary of the orthodox exegesis of Chu Hsi follows. 



The second half deals with Confucianism in practical life, detailing 

 the twenty-four examples of filial piety and the recognized illustrations. 

 of the Confucian virtues, the popularised aspects of the moral code, 

 and the presentation of the rules of life in proclamation, romances and 

 the press. 



In dealing with the fundamentals of Chinese morality, one cannot 

 help feeling how extraordinarily powerful the moralizing tendencies of 

 the Chinese mind are. No nation has ever expended its mentality so- 

 much on the great problem of human government and while it is per- 

 missible to criticise the practical failure of the Chinese of the present, 

 epoch to work out their own political salvation, it is also but fair to 

 remember how much the disintegration is due to the reaction of 

 violent occidental influence, mental and physical, on conservative- 

 minds, rather than to any necessary great error of principle in Chinese' 

 morals. 



The Author, not unnaturally, cannot refrain from laying down a 

 moral standard by which he measures the Chinese mind, omitting 

 to remember that morality is the outcome of that incessant mutual" 

 suggestion which all the members of a society have upon each other. 

 Similarly in dealing with the Sung philosophy, he appears unduly" 

 severe in his condemnation of what is the nearest approach to a 

 monistic view of phenomena in Chinese literature. Certainly if the 

 literati had been more successful in obliterating the superstitious ideas 

 which Chu Hsi reprobated, the welfare of the country would have now- 

 been more advanced than it is. The Author dubs the doctrine of Chu 

 Hsi "atheism," but a "reign of law," without spasmodic irruptions of" 

 super-cosmic mentality, seems rather to have been the root idea. 

 The volume is very exhaustive, well illustrated with coloured plates- 

 from Chinese drawings and can be strongly recommended to any- 

 serious student of Confucianism. H.C. 



Chinese Junks. A Book of Drawings in Black and White. By Ivon 



A. Donnelly. $2.50. Shanghai : Kelly & Walsh, Ltd. 

 This contains 25 drawings in line representing types of native craft 



