ary, he made thas remark : “ The language moft likely to con-
“ tinue long without alteration, would be that o f a nation
“ raifed a little, and but a little, above barbarity, fecluded
“ from ftrangers, and totally employed in procuring the con-
“ veniencies o f life.”
The invention o f the Chinefe character, although an effort
o f genius, required far lefs powers o f the mind than the difco-
very o f an alphabet; a difcovery fo fublime that, according to
the opinion o f fome, nothing lefs than a divine origin ought to
be afcribed to it. It may, however, be confidered as the
neareft approximation to an univerfal character that has hitherto
been attempted by the learned and ingenious o f any nation ;
each character conveying at once to the eye, not only fimple,
but the moft combined ideas. The plan ofxrur countryman,
Bilhop Wilkins, for eftabliihing an univerfal character is, in all
refpeCts, fo fimilar to that upon which the Chinefe language is
conftruCted, that a reference to the former will be found to conve
y a very competent idea o f the nature o f the latter. The
univerfal character o f our countryman is, however, more fyfte-
matic, and more phllofophical, than the plan o f the Chinefe
character.
Certain figns expreffing fimple objeCts or ideas may be confidered
as the roots or primitives o f this language. Thefe are
few in number, not exceeding two hundred and twelve, one
o f which, or its abbreviation, will be found to comppfe a part
o f every character in the language ; and may, therefore, be confidered
as the key to the character into which it enters. The
eye
eye foon becomes accuftomed to fix upon the particular key,
or root, o f the moft complicated characters, in fome o f which
are not fewer than fixty or feventy diftinCt lines and points, o
The right line, the curved line, and a point are the rudiments
of all the characters. Thefe, variouily combined with one another,
have been extended from time to time, as occafion might
require, to nearly eighty thoufand different characters.
•
T o explain the manner in which their dictionaries are arranged
will ferve to convey a correCt notion o f the nature o f this
extraordinary language. All the two hundred and twelve roots
or keys are drawn fair and diftinCt on the head o f the page,
beginning with the moft fimple, or that which contains the
feweft number o f lines or points, and proceeding to the moft
complicated ; and on the margins o f the page are marked the
.numeral characters one-, two, three, & c . which fignify, that
the root or key at the top will be found to be combined on that
page with one, two, three, & c . lines or points. Suppofe, for
example, a learner fhould meet with an unknown character, in
which he perceives that the fimple fign expreffing water is the
key ox root, and that it contains, befides this root, fix additional
points and lines. He immediately turns over his dictionary
to the place where the character water ftands on the top
o f the page, and proceeding with his eye directed to the margin,
until the numeral character J ix occurs, he will foon perceive
the one in queftion ; for all the characters in the language,
belonging to the root water, and compofed o f Jix other
lines and points, will follow fucceffively in this place. The
name or found o f the character is placed.-immediately after it,
K k 2 expreffed