REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 227 



The work gives an excellent review of land conditions in China 

 from Ancient to Present times. Students of economics and others will 

 find it most useful. The author has relied on the histories of China, 

 especially on the Wen Hsien T'ung K'ao for records up to the 

 thirteenth century. It would have been convenient if he had inserted 

 Chinese characters in addition to the romanized forms. Such works as 

 these are very welcome. 



Prof. Asakawa's essays is a clear and concise account of Feudal 

 institutions. It is very well done. M. 



Gramatica Chino=Espanola. By Rev. Father P. A. Gonzalez, 

 Agustinian Missionary of Southern Hunan (China). Quarto, 290 

 Pages. Printed by "The Central China Post," Hankow, 1917. 



Those who have learned Chinese cannot help thinking that a 

 Chinese Grammar is not a very necessary part of one's equipment to 

 study the language, for as far as it is known, the Chinese have no idea 

 of grammatical distinctions, as we are accustomed to, indeed, we do 

 no know of any Chinese work on such a subject. 



In China, a word may be used as a substantive, adjective or verb, 

 the user following his own judgment, and its position only serves as a 

 clue in what sense it should be understood. 



Chinese, one of the most monosyllabic tongues known, is rich in 

 ideographic symbols. Hence, the vulgar saying that other languages 

 speak to the ear, while Chinese speaks to the eye. 



Undoubtedly, to this fact is due that men like Giles, Wade, Parker 

 and other well-known sinologues, who have eliminated from their 

 work any serious mention of Chinese Grammar, although Abel-Remusat 

 (French), Morrison (English), Bazin (French), 1854, Philo-Sinensis 

 (Latin), 1842, Edkins (English), Rev. C. W. Mateer and some others, 

 have bequeathed to us more or less classical attempts which are more 

 confusing than practical, in our opinion. 



It is, therefore, more to be admired, when we think of the en- 

 ormous love-labour it represents to compile a Chinese Grammar, in 

 Spanish, especially so. Unfortunately, must we confess regretfully, 

 that very few of our compatriots dedicate themselves to this language, 

 except in the case of a few Spanish Missionaries who reside in China, 

 principally in Hunan and Fokien. 



However, it is with natural pride that we go through this work, 

 especially as it reminds us that it is not by any means the first attempt 

 at a Chinese Grammar in Spanish. In fact, one of the first works of 

 this kind ever written in any European language was "Arte de la 

 Lengua Chinica, que vulgarmente se llama Mandarina," composed by 



