A third mode occasionally used in conversation to describe a high degree

of excellence, is, that of adding shih fùn 'ten parts,' or wholly,' to an

This mode however is not peculiar to the Chinese language. In Bengal, nothing is more common than to hear the phrase, 'solowanna;' literally, 'sixteen annas,' introduced into a sentence, in order to express wholly, or perfectly. The idea is borrowed from a rupee's containing sixteen annas; hence that expression denotes completeness, from its being the whole number of parts into which the rupee is divided, as does the Chinese expression from ten being the number of parts into which a thing is generally divided among them.

Lastly, a degree of excellence, or the reverse, is sometimes expressed in conversation, by adding to the adjective the phrase}* tuh-hún, which in reality means no more than thoroughly, or certainly;' and which bears some resemblance to the provincial phrase 'good to a fault,' used in some parts of England. It however occurs less frequently than the former two modes. When used, it is in this way;

It is not easy perhaps to particularize every individual character by which the Chinese express the degrees of comparison; but I have reason to think, that there is scarcely any mode of expressing comparison used either in respectable works, or in correct conversation, which will not co-incide with some one of the examples given..

f

In thus tracing the various ways in which the Chinese express the degrees of comparison, it is easy to perceive that the same principle pervades this part of their grammar, which we have already had occasion to notice

*It may be proper to observe, that Chinese characters when placed in a horizontal line, constantly run from the right to the left, like Hebrew and Arabic; hence when a phrase is given which contains two or three characters, the characters themselves are to be read from the right to the left, while the names of them as given in English are to be read from the left to the right in the English mode. In this phrase the character tùh the first to the right, is the verb to get, to obtain &c. and hún that on the left, conveys the idea of disobedience or pertinacity.

in examining the prepositive characters, that of causing certain characters. used occasionally as verbs, even at the present time, to drop all idea of time as well as of mood and person, and to perform the humble office of comparative particles. Of this, kwo, to pass beyond; yuěh, to excel; yih, to add; tchee, to arrive at, and others which have been adduced, furnish sufficient proof. Such indeed might be expected to be the case in a language which rejects all terminations: the relations which things and qualities bear to each other must originally have been expressed either by characters conveying ideas already known, or by certain invented for that purpose and to which no idea had been as yet affixed. Now, although it may be too much to affirm that the latter mode has in no instance been adopted, it still seems reasonable to suppose, that the former, that of employing characters already used to represent ideas, would in general be preferred, as being superior both in perspicuity and certainty. Such we find to be generally the case in the Chinese language; and this, while it plainly shews the nature of Chinese grammar, points out also the nature of the task which one who wishes to elucidate the language has to perform, that of selecting from their most approved works, such examples as shall clearly shew the various ways in which the characters under consideration are actually used.

This affords a hope, that, though we have advanced no farther in our grammatical researches into the language, we shall yet find, if not the greatest yet the most laborious part of our work completed: for although only two of the parts of speech, Substantives and Adjectives, have been as yet professedly considered, these have necessarily involved much that belongs to the Prepositions and Adverbs. The consideration of the Verb includes perhaps the most difficult part of the work which yet remains: the Pronouns,

though numerous, are in general clear and determinate, and will therefore require few examples to illustrate them; the Participles in Chinese are necessarily included in the verb; Adverbs of place, time, &c. require little beyond being mentioned; and the remaining Prepositions, with the Interjections, have in them little of difficulty. So that beside the verbs, we have only the Conjunctions, those links of discourse, which will require any great number of examples to illustrate their force. Before we proceed to the Pronouns however, it is proper to notice a kind of adjectives important in most languages. These are,

THE NUMERALS.

Those adjectives which express Numbers, deserve notice in almost every language; but in Chinese, both the antiquity and the peculiar nature of the language combine to render them interesting.

It

The Nine Figures by which the Chinese express their cardinal numbers, are very ancient; and it is not improbable, that, relative to the invention of figures, the palm of antiquity belongs to the Chinese. In the Annals of China' figures are said to be nearly co-eval with the Chinese characters. is in the reign of Khyen-yuen, the fourth in succession from the celebrated Fooh-hi, that the Chinese annalists place the invention of numbers, which the commentator on that volume describes as including the knowledge of the nine different figures. This account can perhaps scarcely be deemed an authentic record; for the history of all the Chinese monarchs prior to

The fol

Yao, has in it much which militates against its own credit; it is probable however, that the use of figures among the Chinese is very ancient. lowing passage from the Shoo-king, seems indeed to confirm this tradition. In the first volume of that work, which treats of the acts and sayings of the great Yao, that monarch is introduced as thus approving the labors of two of his ministers, who at his command had turned their attention to the re

"How surprizing! ye, Fooh and Ho, of three hundred and sixty-six days have formed the year."

Shoo, vol. i.

The Ee-king, one of the most ancient of their classical books, also uses figures in various passages; and the Lee-khee, supposed to be written chiefly by the great Tchycu, whom Confucius so highly venerated, and who preceded him at least five hundred years, has the figures recurring therein with still greater frequency. In the time of Confucius indeed, numbers formed one of the six liberal arts in which youth were instructed, the other five being good-manners, letters, music, wrestling, and archery. But it is certain, that no traces of figures can be found either among the Romans or the Greeks, as high as the sixth century before the Christian æra. It is a well-known fact, that in the laws of Solon, numbers were represented by the letters of the alphabet; one was denoted by I, while five and ten were expressed