98
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
The Life of Motogi Nagahisa, Japan's Pioneer Printer. Tokyo: The Tokyo Tsukiji Type Foundry.
maxim.
+
There
4
His conduct
who
We
if
August 7, 1895.
“Young
Tas
con-
might our knowledge of this unique civiliza | searches a higher compliment than to say that hero he could "claim to be acting for the public tion now be had each of these little pieces of it may fitly take a place beside the late Dr. weal" and that he had no thought for his per- metal brought to us its own eloquent message Lacoup rio's masterly treatise on the British |sonal advantage, for in his introduction he says, from the dark past a little medallion portrait Museum collection and that, like it, the volumes It is not my iutention to laud what be | Motogi of the Great Yu, a chariot of the time of Chou, here reviewed will be indispensable to every Nagahisa accomplished, on account of his or even an outline of the curious robinets which earnest student of Chinese numismatics.
having been the founder of our present Type threw darts at trespassers on imperial tombs.
Foundry; neither would I boastfully speak of It is true that the coins used s amulets, etc.
the prosperity of our firm; nay, I should blush to do so.' (see Vol. II. pp. 150-196), bear here a horse and there a dragon, or a phoenix, or a fish, but
Only those who were in the Far East in the besides being mostly of comparatively modern THIS little book opens with a declaration by the sixties can fully realize that one of the greatest date, they tell us nothing of their time in the author, Mr. Shigeri Magata, as to his own way that the coins of Athens and Sparta and modesty and humility and closes with a moral wonders of modern times is the rapidity and thoroughness with which, at first individual Syracuse do. We can only conclude, with a
After telling us that The charac- Japanese, and latterly the whole nation have sigh of disappointment, that in this department ter of Motogi Nagahisa was mild and calm, taken up, assimilated, and are doing their full truthful and persevering. All that he under-share in advancing modern sciences and arts. as in so many others the Chinese talent was lying unused in uncultivated or barren ground.
took, whether in printing or navigation, was This little book is valuable as showing the Some idea of the scope of the present solely for the benefit of the nation.
and persistency with which energy work and of the labour which must have was always regulated by this public spirit-- Japan" fought to overcome the many difficulties nover influenced by selfish motives," he says which beget it before and after the revolution. It been expended on it may be given by a
those are now-a-days, rapid survey of the periods embraced by the that
is often said that the regeneration of China is specimens described. The Ancient Pu coins, the borrow funds from the Governmont, under impossible, at least from within, as the only deciphering of which in some cases must have specious pretences, and nse them in their own motive of the Chinese in acquiring Western been no easy matter, data from about 770 255 trades. They claim to bo acting for the public knowledge is to enable them to ultimatedly expel B.C. The period 660-336 B.C is represented weal, while in reality they have no thought but the barbarians." Undoubtedly such is their by 9 Yuan Fa coins, and the knife coins of the for their personal advantage. S ch men are sole reason up to the present; but it seems also State of Ch'i and of the City Ming bring us to nothing else than enemies of the nation. the end of the Chon dynasty. The short Ch'ia should never stoop to imitate their sordid to have been the feeling which influenced the dynasty contributed but few additious to the conduct.” Platitudes such as this may read Japanese at first, Shozo, by which name the subject of this memoir was known, belonged to a currency. The coins of the great Han dynasty very well in Chinese and Japanese literature; and those issued by the usurper Wang Mang the motive is good, and they are what those who family which had for generations held the office of hereditary, salaried interpreters, and exhibit a curious variety both in shape and in-are tanght by Confucius and other rap. scription, some being modified reproductions of scallions are accustomed to, but our experience through whom all business with the early Dutch,
Spanish, and Portuguese traders the knife coins of an earlier time. The Period in China does not lead us to believe that they ducted. Notwithstanding his frequent oppor- of the Three Kingdoms, which followed the bave much practical effect. To the European tunities of meeting with foreiguers and his overthrow of the Han dynasty in A.D. 221, mind they have a childish ring, and remind us
acquaintance with several European languages, shows a paucity of specimens which might of an incident in our infancy. After wrestling Shozo, who seems to have ben a very broad- be expected in П time of disunion, and with the sentence "thofcit is cruel to the rat, we after A.D. 27 a gap, corresponding to great should not be crnel to the cat," we induced minded man, declared to bis countrymen, as re- demoralization in the currency and a partial another depraved little wretch to assist us in cently as the time of Lord Elgin, that, "Unless
Indeed our
the Japanese possessed a knowledge of the reversion to barter, occurs until A.D. 424, when tying a tin can to pussy's tail. a series of minor dynasties began to rule the observation leads us to the conclusion that these customs and mauuers of the Occident, its arts empire, producing, in spite of chronic warfare, moral maxims have generally the contrary effect and sciences, how could we resolve upon any some very respectable issues of neat round coins to what the originators and repeaters of them policy to be carried out against Europeans ?" of tolerable uniformity. The Tang dynasty
intended, and our experience of the character of In view of recent events no one will say that (A.D. 618-907) is represented by 33 coins, the Chinese, whose practice is diametrically that feeling influences the ruling classes or, to aome bearing the strange crescent or nail-mark, opposed to the principles laid down by their anything but a small extent, the people of Japan of which various explanations are given by sages, confirms us in that con lusion. It must at the present day. And if that feeling has died out in Japan, is it not possible that, with Chinese authors.
be original sin or what the Yankees call short-lived
closer intercourse, it may likewise die out in dynasties which governed China between the cussedness," but we find that the ordinary human China? No better proof could be given of how Tang and Sung dynasties produced issues of being, especially in the earlier stages of life, rapid and complete has been the change of feeling good make and engraving. The Sang dynasty him, takes much more delight in being" wicked " when moral platitudes are being poured into
in Japan than the fact that so recently as the lasted for over 300 years and is represented in the collection by 329 coins. Theu came the than in being good. This is especially so in the year 1855 Shozo was arrested and imprisoned for three years; the reason being that it was be- northern invaders. the Chiu Tartars, who gentler sex, for, as Sam Slick said long ago, lieved that he intended" to pablish an English- were not expelled before they
there is a great deal of human nature in man, Japanese dictionary. Twelve or fifteen years had left their mark on the history of the currency.
and more in woman." As we grow up we may try later the Governm nt was not only assisting The Yuan (Mongol) dynasty yielded a pretty but it is still there, generally grown in strength. to cover with a reil this tendency of our nature,
largely in the publication of dictionaries large number of various sized coins, including some of the largest ever made in China. On the The motive which mostly moves us is explained and translations of European books, but was fall of this dynasty a “rebel coinage of about by the young lady's criticism on Quida's novels-sending hundreds of young men to Europe and America to acquire the languages, and to gain ac- a dozen pieces made its appearance, and we then
naughty, naughty, but so nice." come to the great Ming dynasty (1368-1644),
Wo may in this connection refer to an article quaiutance with the sciences, arts and literaturo represented by 148 coins of various kinds. The the short-sighted business methods of the of the so recently despised Western countries. coinage of the descendants of the Ming emperors Japanese," reprinted in our columns a few days This change was begun so late as our time, and that issued by rebels at the close of the ago from the Kobe Chronicle, a paper which is yet so extensively has a knowledge of foreign Ming and beginning of the Ching dynasties are
decidedly friendly to the people of Japan. It languages spread and so eager is the desire to next described. Of the coins of the now reigning gives proofs of the well known fact that in basi-attain a knowledge of Western ideas that many dynasty no less than 339 are contained in the uess relations there is often a wide divergence French literature are to-day printed in Japan in of the masterpieces of modern English and between their ethical theories and practice. collection, and there are also many issued by the fiud of course instances of this everywhere, but / their original languages, and the little book be.
The several
Taiping and other rebels.
.
ou
+1
pure
We
reason is to be found in the fact that until re-
The labour of the auther of these volumes it is undoubtedly more marked in the Japanese must not, however, be estimated solely by the than in other civilized nations, and more than in care bestowed on the decipherment and de-crip- the Chinese, who in other respects are morally It does not seem ever to tion of coins issued in China during a period of farbeneath them. 2,500 years. After the analysis of the Chinese occur to them that he high-toned principles of coins there follow equally careful descriptions their philosophers were meant to be applied of the Annamese. Japanese, and Corean portions practically, at least in business. Probably the of the collection, and many pages are moreover devoted to the curious" Coins used as Amulets,"cently the Japanese were not a trading people,
Coins of the Eight Immortals,” "Governinent and Private Bank Notes," etc. We learn something incidentally, too, of the art of wood engraving as practised by the Chinese from the unique collection of woodcuts, execated entirely by Chinese artists, contained in the second
volume.
fore us shows how admirably the typographical execution can be done. We believe that unfor- tunately these are as yet practically, if not legally, piracies; but as the new treaty provides for the protection of trade marks there can be A glauce at the list in The little doubt that an agreement as to copyright will soon be come to. Chronicle and Directory of the professors and subjects taught in the University of Japan will show that there is no branch of moderu scieuce or literature that is not as keenly studied in Japan as in any European country. As a farther proof of how recent this change is we may be allowe i to make the following extract :-
It was just at this time (1861] that all civilised countries were eager to open up intercourse with our pire. The people themselves were divided in their opinions. Some insisted on keeping the country shut out from the rest of the world; others advocated the conclusion of treaties with the Occident. The lord of Choshu strongly urged his neighbour, Lord Kokura,
whereas the Chinese have been a nation of traders for thousands of years. That au im provement in this respect is going ou we are satisfied, and we do not doubt that in the next generation commercial, morality will stand as bigh in Japau as in any other part of the world; but high-sounding moral maxims will have no We must not omit to add a very emphatic had in elevating the character of the Chinese.
more to do with the change that they have word of praise on behalf of the printing and general appearance of these attractive.
Far be it from us to suggest in any way that volumes. We have noticed bil one.
our author "stoops to inuitate their sordid cou-
to make preparation for a war with foreigners. The two unimportant misprints and are pleased duct" but his book, although very interesting to erect a fortress on the coast of his estate in orde prolatter chief made a complaint in this matter to the to testify that both internally and externally and instructive in itself, serves, and was the work is everything that could be desired.bably written partly with tho intection of governor (buggo) of Nagasaki, who sent two of his He Subordinates to bring the disputants to some agres. A careful perusal has disclosed no falling off of serving, as an advertisement for his firm. that scholarship and thoughtful analysis which tells me that he is now managing the Tokyo ment, These two officials were conveyed by Shozo, in his steaner tho Fictoria, to Kokura. On his return Tsukiji Type Foundry in italics), where "overy-
or
experience has taught us to look for in every; thing proceeds orderly and regularly." Indeed trip, he anchored in the harbour of Wakamatau. thing which comes from Mr. Lockhart's pen, audit is quite clear that in writing the life of his One afternoon two Samurai of the Choshu clan
we could not pay this result of his latest ro-
came on board and asked to see the captain. Shozo