Page:China- Its State and Prospects.djvu/179

Rh of the Chinese, at a very early period, to classification and order. The radical is generally discernible without much difficulty; and by a calculation of the additional number of strokes, the position of the given character in the dictionary is ascertained, almost as readily as by the alphabetic mode. Each character occupies an exact square, of whatever number of strokes it be composed, and the Chinese delight in writing it in such a uniform manner, that the page shall appear as though divided into an equal number of sections, as pleasing to the eve as instructive to the mind. The whole is surrounded by a border, with the title of the book, and the number of the volume, section, or page, noted on the side, instead of the top of the leaf. The Chinese read from top to bottom, and commence at the right hand, going regularly down each column till the end of the book. Chinese paper being thin, they write and print only on one side; and doubling each page, leave the folded part outside. The edges are not cut in front, but on the top, bottom, and back of the book, where it is stitched and fastened. Their volumes contain about eighty pages or leaves, and are about half an inch in thickness. The Chinese use no thick covers for their books: but instead of these, make a sort of case or wrapper, in which about eight or ten volumes are inclosed, and placed flat on the shelf. In some books, the typographical execution and binding are superior; but in most instances, they are turned out in a slovenly manner, and sold at as cheap a rate as possible.

The modes of writing to be met with in Chinese books are various, viz., the ancient form, the seal character, the grotesque, the regular, the written, and the