=The Chinese Classics= comprise the Sacred Books already alluded to, viz., the Five King; also the Four Shoo, or Books of the Philosophers (Confucius and the writers of his school). _King_ is the equivalent of our word _text_, and the Five Sacred Texts are the YIH King, Book of Changes; the SHOO King, Book of History; the SHE King, Book of Poetry; the _Le Ke_ King, Book of Rites; and the Spring and Autumn, an historical record of events in the native state of Confucius, from 721 to 480 B.C. It was written by that philosopher himself, who so entitled it because “its commendations were life-giving like spring, and its censures life-withering like autumn.” The first four King, which rank with the most ancient creations of the human mind, were compiled and published by Confucius; the Book of Rites, originally drawn up by the ruler of Chow in the twelfth century B.C., received additions from subsequent writers. (_See Johnson’s “Oriental Religions: China.”_) Little is known of the true nature of the mysterious Book of Changes; it apparently relates to divination. The Shoo King gives us the history of China from the earliest periods to about 720 B.C., and contains, besides, discourses on music, astronomy, and the principles of government. Part of it was dictated from memory by a blind man after the destruction of the original tablets. In the She King, we have a collection of 305 odes and hymns. Many of them, more than three thousand years old, were written while the Chinese Empire was as yet a mere bundle of feudal states; here, as in all other lands, the first grand thoughts of the people were cast in the mould of poetry. The odes are in rhyme, and mirror the every-day life and simple manners of antiquity—often in a highly metaphorical style, but with a dignity and attractiveness which the later poetry fails to exhibit. They paint pleasing pictures of rural quiet, contain delicate touches of nature, and in some few cases display a high appreciation of woman’s worth; on the whole, however, the status assigned to the gentler sex is low. Extracts from the Book of Poetry follow. FESTAL ODE. (Celebrating a feast given by an ancient king.) “See how the rushes spring Thickly along the way! Ye browsing herds, no foot Upon those rushes lay! Grown to their height ere long, They soft and rich shall shine; Close as the rushes grow, Should brethren all combine. Let all at feast appear, None absent, none thought mean. Mats for the young be spread! On stools let elders lean! Lo! double mats are spread, And stools are featly set. Servants in waiting stand; See! host and guests are met. He pledges them; they him; He drinks, again they fill. Sauces and pickles come, Roast meat, and broiled; and still Palates and tripe are brought. Then lutes and drums appear, Singers fine concord make— The joyous feasters hear.