The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1878-09-20

! CoDIFIcATToN OF A NATIONS LITEBA
| TURE.
| The great Chinese Encyclopedia recently
purchased for the British Museum certainly
ought to be bargain. We cannot do fol
it as Macauly once did for somebody's book
give its dimensions and it's weight ayoirdu
pois--but 1920 volumes for 81 800 certain
ly looks cheap. Il no doubt would have
been q good deal dearer but for the peculiar
circumstances under which it was purchas-
ed. Mr.. Mayors, our Secretary of Legation
at Pekin, had, it appears, to carry on nego-
tions not only with the utmost secrecy as
regards the Chinese people, but bad care
carefully to guard the fact of its being sold
to foreigner from the knowledge even of
the vendor himself.
The purchase was completed many months
ago, but the transportation of this curious
literary treasure had to be deferred on ac-
count of the setting in of winter, and not
at Bloomsbury, where it is now in course Of
arrangement In the presses of the Chinese
Library, under the supervision of Mr..
Douglas, the Chinese Librarian.
That it is a great acquisition seems to be
very generally the opinion of all who
know, or pfofess to know, anything of Chi
nese affairs and if it really is what it pur-
ports to be, it cannot but be So It is a
work due to the wisdom and energy of
Kang-he, whom all historians of China
extol as the greatest and wisest of their
EN- perors. He conceived the plan Of a
great Chinese dictionary, and also set about
the really remarkable undertaking now
represented by 5000 volumes at the British
Museum. He was it appears q great ad-
mirer Of ancient Chinese literature, and
was deeply grieved to perceive that exten-
siYe CORFU ptions were everywhere creeping
into the texts of ancient works tllaS were
reproduced. To pat stop TO this. he de-
termined to gather together III one author
native work the entire. mass of Chinese
literature from the earliest times until his
~
carried out with the ability for which Kang-
he was conspicuous. A learned commits
sion was appointed to eollate and verify all
Chinese works, and the Jesuit missionaries
were simultaneously employed in casting
a vast fount of coppertype. The collection
and examination occupied the commission
for forty years. and before it was fully COM
pleted the wise old monarch died, leaving
the completion of his grand design to
1ung Ching, his successor, who signalled
his accession by dismissing the missionaries
as a dangerous and traltorous set-all but
a few, who were retained at Court as indis-
pensible to the carrying on Of Kang-he's
the printing of the almanac,
and SO on. He seems to have taken up the
great literary scheme with keen interest,
and Mr. Douglass tells us that it was his
hand which wrote the preface to the work
when it was at length published. The
Commissioners professed to have taken al !
works from about 100 B. G. to 1909 A. D.,
and it is supposed that the whole Chimes e
literature of any Importance between these
dates is to be found embodied in these 5000
volumes. The subjects are classified under
SIX hessiitnssh,s saaador which era arran zed
writings relating to the heavens, the earth
mankind, inanimate nature, philosophy and
political economy. Very little seems to be
actually known about the work, even the
Mr.. Mayors, having, as it would
seem, had to buy the books without having
my opportunity of examining them, even |
hough they do not prove to be all they are
to be. The work, however, is
probably all but unique. Tradition affirms
hat only one hundred copies were original
y printed, and that the type was broken
Up. No doubt the majority of the copies
,ave long ago perished, and 1t cannot bnt
,e matter for congratulatioh that one has
,een secured for our great library.
lon Globe.