Influence of the Chinese language upon its literature, 578; Native accounts of the origin of their characters, 580; Growth and development of the language, 581; Characters arranged into six classes, 583; Development from hieroglyphics, 584; Phonetic and descriptive properties of a character, 587; Arrangement of the characters in lexicons, 589; Classification according to radicals, 591; Mass of characters in the language, 593; Six styles of written characters, 597; Their elementary strokes, 598; Ink, paper, and printing, 599; Manufacture and price of books, 601; Native and foreign movable types, 603; Phonetic character of the Chinese language, 605; Manner of distinguishing words of like sound, 609; The _Shing_, or tones of the language, 610; Number of sounds or words in Chinese, 611; The local dialects and patois, 612; Court or Mandarin dialect, 613; Other dialects and variations in pronunciation, 614; Grammar of the language, 617; Its defects and omissions, 621; Hints for its study, 623; Pigeon English, 624. CHAPTER XI. CLASSICAL LITERATURE OF THE CHINESE, 626-673 The Imperial Catalogue as an index to Chinese literature, 626; The Five Classics: I. The _Yih King_, or ‘Book of Changes,’ 627; II. The _Shu King_, or ‘Book of Records,’ 633; III. The _Shí King_, or ‘Book of Odes,’ 636; IV. The _Lí Kí_, or ‘Book of Rites,’ and other Rituals, 643; V. The _Chun Tsiu_, or ‘Spring and Autumn Record,’ 647; The Four Books: 1, The ‘Great Learning,’ 652; 2, The ‘Just Medium,’ 653; 3, The _Lun Yu_, or ‘Analects’ of Confucius, 656; Life of Confucius, 658; Character of the Confucian System of Ethics, 663; 4, The Works of Mencius, 666; His Life, and personal character of his Teachings, 667; Dictionary of the Emperor Kanghí, 672. CHAPTER XII. POLITE LITERATURE OF THE CHINESE, 674-723 Character of Chinese Ornamental Literature, 674; Works on Chinese History, 675; Historical Novels, 677; The ‘Antiquarian Researches’ of Ma Twan-lin, 681; Philosophical Works: Chu Hí on the _Primum Mobile_, 683; Military, Legal, and Agricultural Writings, 686; The _Shing Yu_, or ‘Sacred Commands’ of Kanghí, 687; Works on Art, Science, and Encyclopædias, 692; Character and Examples of Chinese Fiction, 693; Poetry: The Story of Lí Tai-peh, 696; Modern Songs and Extempore Verses, 704; Dramatic Literature, burlettas, 714; ‘The Mender of Cracked Chinaware’--a Farce, 715; Deficiencies and limits of Chinese literature, 719; Collection of Chinese Proverbs, 720. CHAPTER XIII. ARCHITECTURE, DRESS, AND DIET OF THE CHINESE, 724-781