It is interesting to find in this work, claiming so high an antiquity, references to an antiquity which had preceded it--a bygone civilization, perhaps--as follows, in the book called _Yih and Ts‘ih_.[235] The emperor (Shun, B.C. 2255 to 2205) says, "I wish to see the emblematic figures of the ancients--the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountain, the dragon, and the flowery fowl, which are depicted _on the upper garment_; the temple cup, the aquatic grass, the flames, the grains of rice, the hatchet, and the symbol of distinction, which are embroidered _on the lower garment_. _I wish to see_ all these displayed with the five colours, so as to form the official robes; it is yours to adjust them clearly." Here the dragon is chosen as an emblematic figure, in association with eleven others, which are objects of every-day knowledge, and this, I think, establishes a presumption that it itself was not at that date considered an object of doubtful credibility. Similarly, we find the twelve symbolical animals, representing the twelve branches of the Horary characters (dating, see Williams' Dictionary, from B.C. 2637), to be the rat, the ox, tiger, hare, dragon, serpent, horse, sheep, monkey, cock, dog, boar, where the dragon is the only one about whose existence a question can be raised. _From this latter we learn that there was no confusion of meaning then between dragons and serpents_; the distinction of the two creatures was clearly recognized, just as it was many centuries afterwards by Mencius (4th century B.C.), who, in writing of these early periods, says, "In the time of Yaou, the waters, flowing out of their channels, inundated the Middle Kingdom. Snakes and dragons occupied it, and the people had no place where they could settle themselves"; and again, "Yu dug open their obstructed channels, and conducted them to the sea. He drove away the snakes and dragons,[236] and forced them into the grassy marshes." THE "'RH YA." The _'Rh Ya_ or _Urh Ya_,[237] also transliterated _Eul Ya_ and _Œl Ya_, a dictionary of terms used in the Chinese classics, but more especially of those in the _Shi King_, or "Book of Odes," a collection of ancient ballads compiled and arranged by Confucius. There is a tradition that it was commenced by the Duke of Chow 1100 B.C., and completed or enlarged by Tsz Hia, a disciple of Confucius. Dr. Bretschneider suggests that each heading or phrase in the original book merely represents the book names and the popular names of the plants and animals. The bulk of the work at present extant consists of the commentary by Kwoh P‘oh (about A.D. 300) and, in some editions, of additional commentaries by other authors. The illustrations selected from it for the present volume are reduced from those in a very fine folio copy, for the loan of which I am indebted to Mr. Thomas Kingsmill, of Shanghai. [Illustration: FIG. 41.--THE BANNER CALLED TSING K'I. (_From the 'Rh Ya._)]