2 22 REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 



cats recur frequently in these sayings indicative of the daily life of the 



people. 



But not only so, proverbs further become a powerful instrument 



in speech. 



Who learns the sayings of the wise 

 Will speak with ease without advice 



is proverb No. 120 and heads the preface. And the author begins by 

 saying that "nowhere is the value of this proverb better illustrated 

 than in south-west Mongolia. Most of the natives are illiterate, a 

 proverb is an argument with them." The most natural way of entering 

 their intellects and hearts is through their own compressed thoughts 

 where a fund of ideas and experience live hid behind a telling couplet. 

 And he who is able to wield these aright has a powerful instrument. 



The work contains exactly 1,000 proverbs or dictons, in two 

 languages — French and Chinese. These are arranged alphabetically as 

 indicated by the author in his preface. But readers must not get 

 bewildered on seeing the sounds sha, shan coming first in the book. 

 For according to the continental sounds these characters are romanized 

 as cha chan, etc., so they are entitled to come first. In the arrange- 

 ment of these, the Chinese text is given first : then come, line for line, 

 the romanized sounds, followed by a translation in French. Lest the 

 significance even now may not be quite clear, an amplification of the 

 meaning and the method of application are further given by the author. 

 So that when done with, the proverb, in all its bearings, should be 

 quite clear. Nevertheless some like No. 291 are even then somewhat 

 obscure. 



Looking at this beautifully arranged volume one would not think 

 there is a war in the world or that paper and ink are scarce and have 

 soared in prices. There is an art in bookbinding with its beautiful 

 tooling and decoration : there is art also in the simpler dress of a 

 volume in paper covers. This book is artistically arranged on lovely 

 paper : there are generous spacings, giving the impression that you are 

 after all living in a liberal world : the type is clear and diversified : 

 different inkings making a distinction between the settings. Great 

 care has been used in the make up ; proof reading has been done 

 carefully. A few errors exist, as chand for chaud (p. 284). In Proverb 

 No. 20 chieh is romanized as ti : this is repeated in the preface, where 

 the proverb is reproduced. Whether this represents local pronunciation 

 or is a mistake we are undecided. It looks like a misprint. 



It is interesting to note that both in Vol. 50 and 49 of this series 

 the sound usually romanized as erh 'is spelt eid. This is interesting, 

 confirming a contention long held that in Chihli and certain parts of 

 North China the terminal I is found. 



