Page:The Chinese Repository - Volume 01.djvu/299

 LITERARY NOTICES.

of the Shamans; or the laws and regulations of the priesthood of Budha in China; translated from the Chinese original, with notes and illustrations. By Charles Fried. Neumann. 8mo. pp. 152. London; printed for the oriental translation fund, and sold by J. Murray, &c. 1831.

work is dedicated to Sir George Staunton, Bart, "with profound respect and esteem" by the translator. Sir George is, we believe, one of the most persevering patrons of Chinese literature in Great Britain. And we have heard that he is particularly attentive to continental poor scholars in general, and to sinologues in particular. Of our friend Neumann, too, we cannot but speak in the language of unaffected respect and regard: although we cannot praise him for perfect accuracy, nor yield entire submission to all his German theories. We remember him very well, and always enjoyed his discursive conversation on all subjects, excepting "peculs and catties," to which he had a great aversion. We avow ourselves Neumann's friends, but that shall not prevent our telling him, and the world, (we mean the Chinese reading world—a very small portion of mankind,) what we think of his "Catechism."

In the first place, we object that he has not told us what, in the original, is the name of the book he has translated. We looked over his pamphlet, as critics do, once, and again, and a third time, and after all could find no native name to his catechism. We found, very easily, what he calls "The Breviary of the Shaman," because he gave the name of it both in Chinese and English, "Sha mun jih jung;"—but here, as well as in many other places, he is careless and erroneous in his Chinese spelling; his jung, should be yung; and in other places, his chung should be chwang &c. &c. However these are little faults. We have, by search found out his original, the name of which is Sha-me leuh e,yaou leoh, "an epitome of the most important prohibitions and regulations for Shamans." Our copy is the Chung kan, a new edition; and it contains tsang choo yuen ke so yen—"additional comments, with minute explanations of the causes and rise of things" (or phrases).

This is probably the same edition that the Professor had; but why he has called the ten prohibitory precepts, and twenty-four regulations for personal