Directory_and_Chronicle_1850 — Page 594

552

Corrections in the Syrian Monument.

Ост.

ART. VII. Corrections in the Inscription on the Syrian Monument,

erected in a. n. 781, contained in Vol. XIV.

In our fourteenth volume, pp. 202–222, a copy of this inscription was given, taken from Kircher's China Illustrata. Recently, by the kindness of William Lockhart, Esq. of Shánghái, we have obtained what purports to be a copy of the Inscription, printed from the stone monument itself: if such be the fact, then of course this copy is a facsimile of the inscription. Dr. Lockhart's copy was given to him by some of the Roman Catholics. In Vol. XIV., there are three transla- tions; and as we suspected at the time, there are some errors in the Chinese characters; we now give a list of them, noting the places where they occur. We also improve this opportunity to correct a few other errors, which we have detected in the same notice. In the heading on Vol. XIV. page 201, the monument is said to have been erected in a. D. 718; the date given on page 222, a. d. 781, or the 3d year of the reign of Kienchung is the correct one.

In the introductory note on page 201, it is stated that there are 28 lines in the inscription of 26 characters each, which would make 728 characters; but there are in fact, according to this impression, 1,764 Chinese characters on the monument, besides the names of the priests in Syriac. The heading given from Kircher on the top of page 202 is wanting in the copy before us. The corrections are as follows:-

Corrections in the Chinese text.

Vol. XIV. Page 202, 3d column from the right hand, and 10th charac- ter from top; for [P] read. in the proper name Aloah.

Page 204, 3d column, 6th character, for

an incorrect form of the second.

Page 208, 3d column, 11th character, for

read ; the first is

read ; the trans-

read ; the transla-

lation is correct, “9th year of Chingkwán,” i. e. A.D. 636.

Page 208, 6th column, 9th character, for

tion is correct.

Page 210, 5th column, 21st character, for

read; the trans-

Jation would then read, "The country produces a cloth that can be cleansed by fire."

Page 218, 6th column, 18th character, for read; the trans-

lation is correct.

Page 220, 4th column, 22d character, for read ; the version

is correct.