[75] 
both the Chinefe and European Commentators affert it to be 
a Conjuring Book, or a Book to tell Fortunes by, and to be 
made ule of by the Chinefe for that purpofe ; whereas by the 
fmall Spcimen I have feen of it, I conceive it to contain the 
whole Ground, Rule or Grammer,of their Character, Lan- 
guage and Philofbphy, ctnd that by the underftanding of it, 
the Foundation and Rule of their Language and Chatacter, 
may be without much difficulty Decipered and Underftood. 
The prefent uie of this Character, I conceive to be diffe- 
ring from what it was at firft, both as to the pofition of 
Writing and Reading it, and as to the Expreffion and Pro- 
nunciation thereof, 
For the way of Writing and Reading it, I conceive might 
at firft be exactly the fame with that of the Greeks, Romans^ 
EngUjhy and all other European Nations, and alfo the jEthy" 
cfick and Copuck. That is, they began at the the top of the 
Page towards the left Hand, and fb proceeded towards the 
right in the Horozontd Line to the end of it, and then be« 
gan at the left end of the next hne under the firft and pro- 
ceeded with that in the fame manner, and fb with the next 
under that and all the remaining. Continuing to Write the 
words of the line towards the right Hand, and the lines of 
the Page one under another till the whole Difcourfe were 
compleated, joyning leafto leaf one under another, after 
the fame manner as the Roules are at preftnt Writ, and as 
the VoluminA were of the Antients. And to make the parts 
of the Volume to be the more cafily to be come at, with®ut 
the trouble of Rouliilgand unrouling as the Kx\QiQX\tRomms 
did,and we do with our Roules they contrived to fold them, 
like the folds of a Fan, forwards and backward: andfd 
ftitchingthem tagether,that the written fides might lye out- 
wards, and open freely one from another, and the fair fides 
might meet together. It came to make the prefent form of 
their book, which being laid as we generally ^place our books 
before us, they ieemto begin at the top of the page on the 
Right-hand^ aud to proceed to the bottom? and then at the 
top 
