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185
the eyes of those who made history at that time. The bibliography is limited to "the principal books consulted". As a bibliography it is brief, capricious and inadequate. The following works, central to the theme of this book, were omitted from the bibliography: Arthur Waley, Yuan Mei and also The Opium War through Chinese Eyes; C. H. Philips, The East India Company 1784-1834; J. L. Cranmer-Byng, An Embassy to China (containing Macartney's journal); W. C. Hunter, Journal of Occurrences at Canton (1839) which was printed in vol. 4 of this Journal in 1964; Lo-shu Fu, A Documentary Chronicle of Sino-Western Relations (1644-1820), 2 vols. This last book contains a wide selection of Chinese documents in translation together with ample notes and will supply future historians with some splendid source material when they come to write a full and satisfactory account of the prelude to Hong Kong.
University of Toronto
June, 1967
J. L. CRANMER-BYNG
***
† TM & HSIN-PIEN TUI-HSIANG SZU-YEN): A 15th Century Illustrated Chinese Primer. Facsimile Reproduction with Introduction and Notes by L. Carrington Goodrich. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, pp. 56, H.K.$15.
Over the past decade research undertaken by the international community of sinologists has touched on almost every aspect of China, but until now very little attention has been paid to the traditional Chinese approach in educating the young.
In producing this delightful illustrated primer Professor Goodrich has therefore performed a welcoming service by giving a lead to studies in this field.
The first stage in traditional Chinese education was always the study of the language based on preliminary manuals of instruction, the compilation of which was regarded as a separate field of study. MENG HSÜEH (*), the traditional Chinese name for such work — literally meaning "the study of 'preliminary enlightenment'" — was not treated as an equal branch of scholarship in China although books of this nature have existed since Han times. The aims of this type of book were: (1) to instruct students to acquire a basic vocabulary — characters and phrases;
BOOK REVIEWS
185
the eyes of those who made history at that time. The bibliography is limited to "the principal books consulted". As a bibliography it is brief, capricious and inadequate. The following works, central to the theme of this book, were omitted from the bibliography: Arthur Waley, Yuan Mei and also The Opium War through Chinese Eyes; C. H. Philips, The East India Company 1784-1834; J. L. Cranmer-Byng, An Embassy to China (containing Macart- ney's journal); W. C. Hunter, Journal of Occurrences at Canton (1839) which was printed in vol. 4 of this Journal in 1964; Lo-shu Fu, A Documentary Chronicle of Sino-Western Relations (1644- 1820), 2 vols. This last book contains a wide selection of Chinese documents in translation together with ample notes and will supply future historians with some splendid source material when they come to write a full and satisfactory account of the prelude to Hong Kong.
University of Toronto
June, 1967
J. L. CRANMER-BYNG
*** † TM & HSIN-PIEN TUI-HSIANG SZU-YEN): A 15th Century Illustrated Chinese Primer. Facsimile Reproduction with Introduction and Notes by L. Carrington Goodrich. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, pp. 56, H.K.$15.
Over the past decade research undertaken by the international community of sinologists has touched on almost every aspect of China, but until now very little attention has been paid to the traditional Chinese approach in educating the young.
In pro- ducing this delightful illustrated primer Professor Goodrich has therefore performed a welcoming service by giving a lead to studies in this field.
The first stage in traditional Chinese education was always the study of the language based on preliminary manuals of in- struction, the compilation of which was regarded as a separate field of study. MENG HSÜEH (*), the traditional Chinese name for such work — literally meaning "the study of 'preliminary enlightenment" " was not treated as an equal branch of scholar- ship in China although books of this nature have existed since Han times. The aims of this type of book were: (1) to instruct students to acquire a basic vocabulary — characters and phrases;
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