CHINESE LITERATURE.

1. Chinese literature.--2. The Language.--3. The Writing.--4. The five
Classics and four Books.--5. Chinese Religion and Philosophy, Lao-tse,
Confucius, Meng-tse or Mencius.--6. Buddhism.--7. Social Constitution of
China.--8. Invention of Printing.--9. Science, History, and Geography.
Encyclopaedias.--10. Poetry.--11. Dramatic Literature and Fiction.--12.
Education in China.


1. CHINESE LITERATURE.--The Chinese literature is one of the most
voluminous of all literatures, and among the most important of those of
Asia. Originating in a vast empire, it is diffused among a population
numbering nearly half the inhabitants of the globe. It is expressed by an
original language differing from all others, it refers to a nation whose
history may be traced back nearly five thousand years in an almost
unbroken series of annals, and it illustrates the peculiar character of a
people long unknown to the Western world.

2. THE LANGUAGE.--The date of the origin of this language is lost in
antiquity, but there is no doubt that it is the most ancient now spoken,
and probably the oldest written language used by man. It has undergone few
alterations during successive ages, and this fact has served to deepen the
lines of demarkation between the Chinese and other branches of the race
and has resulted in a marked national life. It belongs to the monosyllabic
family; its radical words number 450, but as many of these, by being
pronounced with a different accent convey a different meaning, in reality