Page:A history of Chinese literature - Giles.djvu/430

 418 CHINESE LITERATURE

which he operated vigorously against the Annamese pirates and Ts'ai Chien, established the tithing system, colleges, schools, and soup-kitchens, besides devoting himself to the preservation of ancient monuments. As Viceroy of the Two Kuang, he frequently came into collision with British interests, and did his best to keep a tight hand over the barbarian merchants. He was a voluminous writer on the Classics, astronomy, archaeo- logy, &c., an'd various important collections were pro- duced under his patronage. Among these may be men- tioned the Huang CKing Ching Chieh, containing upwards of 1 80 separate works, and the CJiou Jen Chuan, a bio- graphical dictionary of famous mathematicians of all ages, including Euclid, Newton, and Ricci, the Jesuit Father. He also published a Topography of Kuangtung, specimens of the compositions of more than 5000 poets of Kiangsi, and a large collection of inscriptions on bells and vases. He also edited the Catalogue of the Imperial Library, the large encyclopaedia known as the T'ai Ping Yii Lan, and other important works.

Two religious works, associated with the Taoism of modern days, which have long been popular throughout China, may fitly be mentioned here. They are not to be bought in shops, but can always be obtained at temples, where large numbers are placed by philanthropists for distribution gratis. The first is the Kan Ying P'ien, or Book of Rewards and Punishments, attributed by the foolish to Lao Tzu himself. Its real date is quite un- known ; moderate writers place it in the Sung dynasty, but even that seems far too early. Although nominally of Taoist origin, this work is usually edited in a very pronounced Buddhist setting, the fact being that Taoism

�� �