These Accounts made me the more desirous to understand somewhat of the Reality and Truth, of what is related concerning the Knowledge of Literature and manual Arts, which these People of _China_ are said to have possessed so long a time in so great Perfection, and without Alteration from the primitive Institution, especially upon the Account of their Art of Printing, which gave a hint to the Inventors of that admirable and most useful of all Inventions (for the Common Wealth of Learning) the way of Printing here in _Europe_. For _Paulus Jovius_ affirms that the first occasion of that Invention in _Germany_, was a _German_ Merchant, who returning out of _China_ into his own Country, related what he had observed concerning the Practice of it as used in that Country. And tho' the _Chinese_ way be wholly differing as to the method of composing, from what was invented and perfected here: Yet such an intimation was enough to an ingenious Artist to improve the first Contrivance, and make it more accomodate to the literal way of Writing with us: And as our way may possibly be now brought to the greatest Perfection for exactness and expedition, so without doubt must be their way of Printing any thing just as it is written, since I find, that they can engrave their Stamps for a Sheet, as soon as one of our Compositers can set and correct a Sheet of our literal Character, and when so done, one Man alone will print off 1500 Sheets in one Day. And though 'tis generally believed to be much the same with our Wooden Cuts for Printing, yet from some Observations I have made, I believe it to be much another way; of which I shall hereafter say more when I describe their other Arts of Pottery, Staining, Varnishing, _&c._ By a _Chinese_ Manuscript, out of which I transcribed the Lord's Prayer in the Year 1666 (when it was lost) I found that the Pronunciations had no affinity with the stroaks of the Character. Whence I conceived it was either a numeral Character consisting of Numbers, or else a real Character, but not a literal, unless it were a literal Character of some other Language than that by which it was pronounced, whose pronunciation is lost though the significancy be retained, as if one should read what is written in _Hebrew_ בראשיהברא into the _Latin_ or _Roman_ Language, _In Principio Cræavit_ instead of _Brasit bra_, or _Beresith Bara_ according to the _Masorethæ_.