Page:China- Its State and Prospects.djvu/178

154 characters appear, they are all composed of six kinds of strokes; which, variously combined and repeated, constitute the formidable emblem, which startles and confounds the beginner. These strokes are the horizontal, the perpendicular, the dot, the oblique slanting to the right, that to the left, and the hooked. On further examination it will appear, that the characters are resolvable into elements as well as strokes, some of which occur very frequently, and are frequently repeated several times in a single character. The whole number of elements is two hundred and fourteen, but only fifty of these enter into frequent composition with other characters; and about ten or a dozen may be recognised, in some form or another, in every sentence. Indeed the component parts of a character may be familiar to the student, while both the sound and meaning are unknown.

The elements, or radicals, of the Chinese language refer generally to very simple and well known things, such as the human species, man and woman; the parts of the body, head, mouth, ear, eye, face, heart, hand, foot, flesh, bones, and hair; human actions, such as speaking, walking, and eating; things necessary to man, such as silk, clothes, dwelling, door, and city; celestial objects, such as sun, moon, and rain; the five elements, such as wood, water, fire, metal, and earth; the vegetable kingdom, such as grass, grain, and bamboo; the animal kingdom, such as birds, beasts, fishes, and insects; with the mineral kingdom, such as stones, gems, &c. Most of the words referrible to these substances or subjects, are classed under them; and though the arrangement may not appear to us exactly philosophical, yet it evidences the inclination