Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/488

 CHINA (LANGUAGE AND LITEBATUBE) and a new edition was issued in 91 books, un- der the title Yu p'e fung keen kang muh. The Fung-chow kang keen teeuen p&n is an ab- breviated history in 32 books, by Wang Fung- chow, and embraces the period from Fuh-he down to the end of the Ming dynasty. Mor- rison drew his historical information from this work, when composing his "View of China for Philological Purposes" (Macao, 1817). The Kang keen e ehe luh, by Woo Shing-keuen, is an abridgment of the T^ung keen kang muh, from the commencement of history to the close of the Ming dynasty. A considerable portion of this work, from the time of the monarch Yaou to B. C. 722, has been translated by Med- hurst, and printed as an appendix to his Shoc- king. In this class of books, every year, be- sides being headed by the year of the monarch's reign, or some portion of his reign with a spe- cial designation, is also marked by two charac- ters of the sexagenary cycle, thus providing a double check against error in the chronology. This cycle is formed by the combination in pairs of two series of characters, one number- ing 10 and the other 12. In the most ancient works the cycle of 60 is never used for the years, but only for the days. In the dynastic histories it is used for both the years and days. In the Kang-muh it is very sparingly employed for the days. A third class of histories may be designated "complete records," deviating as they do from the formal divisions of the dynas- tic histories, and paying little regard to the restraints of mere chronological technicalities. Dealing with every historical event per se, they bring all kinds of incident and information to bear on the matter in hand, regardless of con- temporary questions which have no immediate bearing upon it. The histories of several of the dynasties have been written on this plan ; but one of the principal works of the kind is the Ylh she, a chronicle by Ma Suh of the present dynasty, in 160 books. The subjects treated extend from the creation down to 206 B. C. The T'ung che is a historical work be- longing to still another class, which has been termed " separate histories." The plan is very much the same as that of the dynastic histories, but they are not limited as to the stretch of time they embrace, whether it include a great number of dynasties or merely one. The work just named is a history of the empire from Fuh-he down to the Tang dynasty. The divi- sion of the work is into imperial records, biog- raphies of empresses, registers, compendiums, and narratives. Matters of much interest are found in the compendiums. It was composed in the Sung dynasty by Ch'ing Tseaou, and is in 200 books. The T^ung teen is a work not unlike the preceding in character, though some native writers place it in a different class. It also consists of 200 books, and was composed by Too Yew, a scholar of the Tang. It is di- vided into eight sections, on political economy, literary graduation, government offices, rites, music, military discipline, geography, and na- tional defences. It extends from the earliest period of history to the middle of the 8th cen- tury, and is a work highly esteemed by the Chinese. The Wdn heen fung Waou, by Ma Twan-lin of the Sung, is a work well known to European scholars, from the frequent quota- tions and extracts made by sinologues. It con- sists of 848 books, which include a period from the commencement of history to the early part of the 18th century, very near the author's time. He has expanded the eight sections of the TJung teen into 19, and added five more, on bibliography, imperial lineage, appoint- ments, uranography, and phenomena. It has been wrongly named a cyclopaedia by Euro- peans. These three works are looked upon as a set by the natives, who call them the San teen, or " Three Canons." A supplement to Ma Twan-lin's work was completed by Wang K'e in 1586, consisting of 254 books, bringing it down nearly to the end of the Ming. This continuation was revised by imperial commis- sion, and an order issued in 1767 for the com- position of analogous supplements to the T^ung teen and T'ung che, which were completed, bringing the whole down to the close of the Ming. A second supplement to all the three was also executed by imperial commission, ex- tending the details to the 18th century. These contain a great fund of valuable and interesting matter, but unfortunately the text is very full of typographical errors. There is a class called "Miscellaneous Histories," as a specimen of which may be mentioned the Nan keang ylh she, a work in 80 books, composed about the end of the last century, under imperial patronage. The subject is the unsuccessful efforts of the last three descendants of the Ming family, Fuh- wang, Tang-wang, and Yung-ming-wang, to reestablish the falling dynasty. It contains records of the princes and biographies. Many eventful episodes find a place in this class. Biographies, including autobiographies, per- sonal adventures, and travels, form a very nu- merous and interesting class, and extend over the whole range of Chinese history from sev- eral centuries before the Christian era. The Kaou sze chuen, composed about the 4th cen- tury, contains the biographies of 96 scholars. The T^ang tsae Uze chuen, the work of a foreigner from the west during the Yuen dy- nasty, contains the biographies of 397 authors and authoresses during the T'ang and succeed- ing five dynasties. The Mwan chow ming chin ehuen is an imperial work in 48 books, contain- ing biographical memoirs of all the famous Mantchoo ministers up to the middle of the last century. There is a similar record of the Chi- nese ministers of the present dynasty, entitled Han ming chin, chuen. The Koo lee neu chuen is a biography of famous women, written by Lew Heang in the 1st century B. C. There are a great many female biographies published at various times. The To, tsze gdn sze an tsang fa sze chuen is a history of the life and travels of the famous Buddhist priest Heuen-chwang,