6
Chinese History.
JAN.
memory. The geography has been traced in such well defimed lines, and the ancient names so compared with the modern, that the whole seem as reality before your eyes, without shadow of error in any way whatsoever. The rivers, too, with their names and all their turnings and windings, are described with faithful precision. Obscure and difficult phraseology, and terms that are unusual or obsolete, are marked and pointed with such clearness and distinctness, that they may be read without impediment or hesitancy.. The writing of the: characters for words) and their words have been attended to and inarked with every possible care; so as to avoid following and perpe- tuating former error and mistakes such as writing loo for t yu,hae for she, &c. If in every place required, notes and explanations were to be introduced, they would be multiplied to an indefinite extent; their entire omission would be a capital defect, their too frequent repetition cumbersome; hence a systein of refer- ences has been adopted, which may serve to give life and animation, and add spirit and unity to the whole, not unlike the blood-vessel's that penetrate every part of the human body! Such, as here deline- ated, is the method of studying history, which, with grateful emotions- for its completion, I now subinit to the reader.
My former condition of inability to read through a single work while possessed of a strong inclination to study history, and the impracticability of obtaining such a method of reading as I desired obtained at length by the completion of the work compiled by my two friends, although unable to read a multitude of books for the perfect- ing of my inquiries or to traverse noted hills and great rivers for the extension of my information-compared with that previous state of having ears devoid of hearing and eyes devoid of sight, differs in a very great degree! Yes, at length I perceive that the disinclination for historical reading, and the inability to understand discourses on this subject, do not result entirely from poor natural endowments and bad masters, but rather from the defective works of compilers, constructed in such a manner that they are unfitted to direct the inclination' or enlighten the understanding.
My two friends desired me to publish our work without delay. To this I replied, that it was not well to give it so hastily to the public, urging that it should be delayed for further correction, so as to allow time to supply its defects-permitting it to be used only as a text-book for the children in private schools. Unexpectedly at this moment my friend Choo Shinghwae sent me the records of the Ming dynasty, which he had copied out in a complete work. These I immediately
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