The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-02-20
CIIINA'S IMPERIAL HISTORY
REV. J0HN GARDNER's STUPENDOUs
TASK.

Engaged IN TRANSMITTING the ontcihi HIS
tory of the Chinese People-Chronicies
Covering a Period of Six Thousand Years
viii Consist of Thirty Volumes.
Thirteen years ago the Rev Joha
Gardner, of this city, conceived the
large design of writing an English
TRANSCRIPTION of the enormous bulk Oh
the imperial or official history of the
Chinese people. He was not then a
clergyman, and not much more than
boy. Since then, without relaxation OF
the energy which prompted him to UNI
dertake this herculean task, he has as
siduously labored and-he is about nalf
through with his task.
This is the first account published Of
what will at first glance appear to be
an astonishing enterprise for any one
person to make his own. When the
collateral enterprises are considered
which Mr.. Gardner has accomplished
by the way, these growing out OF the
pursuit of his original design, public
wonderment is certain, for the official
history of China dates back to period
between three and four thousand years
before the birth of Christ. 1t has been
continued onward to the present time.
So Mr. Gardner has essayed to repro
duce chronicles written in the Chinese
language in their entirety, covering a
period of approximately six thousand
years in detail.
The imperial history of China has
never been translated. Historians and
political economists Of all nations, con-
sidering the marvel of the continuance
Of China as an entity century after
century during the time when Rome
and Greece and other nations ripened
ard decayed have never had more than
! a very small part of the history of thai
great portion of the world in their pos
session. The great official work con-
ssts of thirty volumes the whole ag-
gregating at least ten thousand pages,
closely strewn with Chinese characters.
from four hundred and fifty to five
hundred to the page. At the outset,
therefore, Mr.. Gardner faced the GER
tainty that he would have at least a
million characters to translate. AS
three Chinese characters need, on the
average, five words to give them eX-
pr ession in the English language, the
number of words which will be in the
history when it is completed in English
will be nearer two million words than
one million.
Mr.. Gardner is doing the work prac-
tically unaided. Like all men who I'M
dertake such exploits, or nearly all, he
is poor, depending sometimes on q
small salary as an interpreter and
anon on his salary as Chinese mis-
slonary for his subsistence and that OF
his family. Before he can complete the
history, if he makes no more rapid pro.
gress than he has been enabled to re
cord up to the present time, at least ter
years more will pass. That is, he vii
have toiled nearly or fully a quarter O
a century to place in the hands of sue
ceeding historians every fact known t
the Chinese about themselves, and alst
the gigantic myths with which a highly
imaginative nation peopled their world
and accounted for the existence of thu
earth and the remainder of the uni
verse.
The Rev. Mr.. Gardner seemed t.
think that there was very little 10 b.
surprised at in these amazing inciden
tai labors. He spoke very simply an,
modestly of the whole work Enough
curiosity must have been excited con
corning unique personality by thi
time to make some description in order
Ir the first place, it may be said tina
Mr. Gardeners mother is a full-bloode,
Chinese woman. She has been engage
many years in the labor of Christiani
zing Chinese. His father was al
American.
The Rev. Mr. Gardner was born il
Canton, China, and lived there until h
was seventeen years old. He the
went to Australia and lived there thre
years. Then he came to San Francisco
and he has resided on the Pacific coas
of the United States thirteen years
He first became publicly known in Sa
Francisco as an interpreter of Chimes
; in the custom house and the FEEDERS
courts, where his ability and great pro
fciency as a Chinese scholar speedil
distinguished him. From San Francis
co he went to Victoria, B. c., and be
came official interpreter of Chinese fo
tine Canadian government. He re
: NAMED there until the office was abo
: ished, finding time while he was inter
: preting for salary to serve gratu
tously as a Christian missionar
: among the Chinese. Then he held til
place of superintendent of the Chimes
Methodist Episcopal churches ana mis-
sions in British Columbia.
my purpose in the MAN, he saic
lis to put into English an extract refie
of the history of three hundred and fiji
: ty million people from the standard hi.
tory of the great empire. The meas
ures adopted by the ancient founders
I Chinese laws and customs and schen
{ of government may have lessons for III
l present if they can be ascertaiued !
E the main I am translating the Chimes
: imperial history but am finding sidt
S lights in many other Chinese mani
4 scripts. The ancient history of the Oh
r nese people extends back to betwee
three and four thousand years befol
1 Christ Prior to that is a period
[ Chinese mythology. The antiquity
e the Chinese may be imagined from Il
D fact that Confucius, $50 B. c., Studio
e Chinese poets, who were then consit
4 cred very ancient.
: This earth, so the Chinese mythol,