The fubject and the manner o f treating it are o f the leaft
coniideration, but thofe on morality, or hiftory, are generally
preferred. I f the following ftory, as communicated by one o f
the miffionaries, and related, I believe, by the Abbé Grozier,
be true, there requires no further illuftration, o f the ftate o f literature
in -China. “ A candidate for preferment having inad-
“ vertently made ufe o f an abréviation in writing the character
“ ma (which lignifies a horfe) had not only the mortification o f
“ feeing his compofition, very good in every other refpeCt,
“ rejeéted folely on that account ; but, at the fame time, was
“ feverely rallied by the cenfor, who, among other things,
“ afked him. how he could poffibly expeCt his horfe to walk
“ without having all his legs !”
The conltruCtion o f the colloquial, or fpoken language, is
extremely fimple. It admits o f no inflexion o f termination,
either in the verb, or in the noun, each word being the fame
invariable monofyllable in nuipber, in gender, in cafe, mood,
and teufe ; and, ,as moil, o f thefe monofyllables begin with a
confonant and end with a vowel, except a few that terminate
in /, n, or ng, the number o f fuch founds, or fimple fyllables,
is very limited. T o an European they do not exceed three
hundred and fifty. But a Chinefe, by early habit, has acquired
greater power over the organs o f fpeech, and can fo modulate
his voice as to give to the feme monofyllable five or fix diftinCt
tones o f found ; fo that he can utter at lead twelve or thirteen
hundred radical words, which, with the compounds, are found
to be fully fufficieht for expreffing all his wants.
On this curious. fubjeCt I am enabled to ipeak with great
accuracy, through the kind nefs o f Sir George Staunton, to
whom, indeed, I am indebted for more information in this
Work than I am allowed to acknowledge. From the beft ma-
nufcript Chinefe dictionary in his poffeffion, he has obligingly
taken the trouble to draw out the following abftraCt o f all the
fimple founds, or "Words, in the Chinefe language, together
with their inflexions or accentuations, by Which they are extended
as far as any tongue can poffibly articulate; or the
niceft ear difcriminate. The firft column ffiews all thé initial
letters, or their powers in the language ; the fécond, the
number o f terminations, or the remaining part o f the ffiono-
fyllable befide the initial ; and thé third, exprefles the number
o f monofyllabic founds that may be given to each by inflexion,
or modulation o f Voice, and by making ufe o f
afpirates.
In itia ls .
„ R o w e r .
N um b e r o f te r minations
to
each . ' :|
N um b e r o f in fle x io n s
o r ac c en tu a tio n s .
I Ch- as in Child. 20 131 including aspirate's.
• 2 F. IO 30 no afpirates.tt.
3 G * 11 32 no afpirates.
4 between H . & S. 3 6 ■j¿1,14 all ftrong afpirates.
Ç Y . l6 61 no afpirates., 6 J. as in F rench.your 14 34 no afpirates.
7 .K. S 7 206 including afpirates.
8 L . - ïijQ> * 5 66 no afpii*ates.(
9 M. 22 58 np afpirates.
10 N. ' 23 56 no afpirates.
11 O. i 2 no afpirates.
12 P. 2 i 104 including afpirates.
* 3 - S. 29 86 no afpirates.
* 4 T . ,}? • 105 including afpirates.
J 5 T s . } •28 147 including afpirates.
16 between V and W . 13 39 no afpirates. '
I 7 Sh. • ! i 9 ‘ 60 no afpirates.
n 342 13 3 f
M M So