VIII PREFACB. 



ter very little is known. My learned Mend Dr. J. Hoffmann, professor of the Chinese language 

 in Leiden, wrote me in answer to a question on this point: //Of the symbolisrn of the Tao- 

 kia, which seenis to be much in vogue with the Chinese in the Indian Archipelago, we 

 know yet very little." 



It was of no use to consult the Taoisfc priests at the place. We found all of them most 

 ignorant concerning their own religion, and none of them could even explain to us the 

 meaning of the amulets found at the end of this work. 



The illustrations in the text were cut in wood by a Chinese xylographer, the best, or 

 rather the least unskilful, workman of the place. He was, however, unable to cut with 

 sufficiënt neatness the plates at the end of this work. As the execution of these plates could 

 not be trusted to a person unacquainted with Chinese, on account of the numerous characters 

 occurring in them, we had to take the task upon ourselves. The plates were drawn with 

 lithographic ink on so-called transfer-paper , and then turned over on a stone prepared for their 

 reception. This method lias answered well in printing Mr. Medhurst's Chinese Dictionary, 

 and can always be availed of, in cases like the present. Care lias been taken to imitafce, 

 as far as possible, the Chinese original, so that these plates ought rather to be looked 

 upon as fac-similes, than as copies. 



With a few exceptions the Chinese text will be found to be arranged in the European 

 marnier of writing, in order to save space. So ifc must be read horizontally from the left 

 to the right, exactly like any European sentence. 



Lastly, we would observe that we have written this work in the English and not in our 

 own language, because the fermer is more generally known by educated persons, and be- 

 cause the Hung-league does not count so many members in the Dutch colonies, as it does 

 in others where Chinamen are found. We claim, finally, the indulgence of the reader for 

 the numerous typographical errors occurring in this work. It was, perforce, composed by 

 compositors unacquainted with the language; whilst the correction devolved entirely on the 

 author, and had to be done amidst constant interruptions occasioned by his official duties. 



QTTSTA.VE SOBDLEGEL, 



BATAVIA, Marel 1866. 



