Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/494

 482 CHINA (LANGUAGE AND LITEBATUBE) of the Mongol empire. There is a good deal of miscellaneous information about the affairs of that dynasty, and some few notices re- lating -to countries in the west. The books of the Buddhists alone would form a tolerably extensive library. The translation of Sanskrit works into Chinese was commenced in the 1st century, and continued almost without interruption till the 9th, during which period they added from 2,000 to 3,000 works to the literature of China; and some of these translations are now the only examples of the works to be found in any language, the origi- nals being lost. By far the greater portion of these belong to the three classes King, " Clas- sic," Leuh, "Discipline," and Lun, "Meta- physics;" corresponding to the Sanskrit Su- tra, Vinaya, and Shastra, including the DhA- rani, or " Charms." The remaining are chief- ly biographical and descriptive, including the Avadana* and Agamas. The Lalita vistara, a life of Buddha, has been four times trans- lated into Chinese, with as many different ti- tles, about the years A. D. 70, 808, 652, and one subsequent. An abstract has also been published under the title Ching taou Ice. Be- sides the translations, there is a considerable body of native Buddhist literature, among which may be mentioned the Fd yuen choo lin, in 120 books, completed in 668, a compre- hensive cyclopedia of the Buddhist religion, detailed in 100 sections. Among the writings of the Taouists, the Taou tlh king of Laou Keun, the reputed founder of the sect, will ever stand preeminent. Written in classic diction, and embodying as it does some pro- found speculations, it has attained an excep- tional reputation, and even the fastidious lite- rati think it no shame to study the treatise of the old philosopher. (French by Julien, Paris, 1842; English by Chalmers, London, 1868; German by Planckner and by Strauss, both Leipsic, 1870.) Leih tze and Chwang ttze are two works of the same school, named after their respective authors, who wrote several cen- turies before the Christian era; and the very age of their productions has insured them a certain degree of deference as ancient writers. Later down in the stream of time we find a great deterioration in Taouism. Gradually its professors gave themselves up to the study of alchemy, the search after the philosopher's stone, the use of charms and amulets; rituals were introduced and images set up in the tem- ples. Thus we have the Ts'an fung We, a treatise on alchemy written in the 2d century ; and the well known work of Ko Hung in the 4th century, under the title Paou p"6 t*ze, is a treatise chiefly on the immortals, alchemy, charms, exorcism, &c., with a section on gov- ernment and politics. Leu Tung-pin, who flourished during the Tang dynasty, one of the reputed eight immortals, is also a name recog- nized in the world of letters. His original compositions are published under the title Leu chinjin wan tselh, literary and poetical, color- ed by Taouist views. The Tae shang lean ying peen, or "Book of Rewards and Penalties," professing to be the work of the founder, ap- pears really to be a production of the Sung, but the author is not known. The object of the book is to elucidate the doctrine of future retribution, and it has attained a greater pop- ularity than any other Taouist production. (French by Remusat, Klaproth, and Julien, 1816, 1828, and 1830; English in the " Canton Register," 1830.) In poetry and polite litera- ture, the writings of the Chinese are very vo- luminous. Their poems are most frequently descriptive of nature and natural scenery, do- mestic life, or the cares of the world. Martial odes are not infrequent. Epic poetry is al- most unknown in China; but we find occa- sional details of historical events. Somewhat singularly, the Two sze, or "Elegies of Tsoo," form a class by themselves. These are a series of plaintive poems mainly written by K'etth Yuen, a minister of the kingdom of Tsoo and relative of the prince. Distinguished by prob- ity of character, he was the victim of slander by his envious colleagues, and ended his ex- istence by throwing himself into a river. His fate is still commemorated in the dragon boat festival. His principal piece, Le saou, is a jus- tification of his public character. (German by Pfizmaier, Vienna, 1852 ; French by Saint- Denys, Paris, 1870.) A good many commen- taries have been written on the collection. One of the best editions of the leading piece is the Le saou Iceae, published in 1741, by Koo Ching-t'eSn, with an original exposition. Another class is termed u Individual Collec- tions," containing the original productions of single authors. Writings of the kind made their appearance at an early period in the Christian era, consisting generally of post- mortem compilations. In the 6th century these began to be divided into several sections according to time or subject. This has been a most prolific class, but one in which com- paratively few authors find a place in the ranks of fame. In the bibliographical cata- logues of the Sung dynasty there are not found a tenth part of the names of authors in this class contained in those of the Suy and Tang dynasties; and the catalogues of the present day scarcely contain a tenth part of the titles of those recorded as extant during the Sung. Among the. most famous is found Le fae plh txelh, the productions of Le Tae-pih, the re- nowned poet of the Tang dynasty ; also Tung p'o tseuen teelh, in 115 books, from the pen of the scarcely less celebrated Soo Tung-po, the Sung poet. Both these have been frequently republished with commentaries. The writings of Luh Kew-yuen, a contemporary and friend of the renowned Choo He, were arranged by his son, and edited by his pupil Yuen Se in the 13th century, with the title Seang shan teeth, in 28 books. This holds a prominent place among the elegant writers of the Sung dynasty, and consists of letters, memorials to