lation of these six stories, especially as we have in them no "adaptation," but an honest and by no means unsuccessful attempt to grapple with the Chinese text. Each story is followed by a few notes which will be useful to readers who are not familiar with things Chinese. The book is illustrated by a dozen drawings from the brush of a young Pekingese artist.

Common Chinese Coins. This pamphlet, by Mr. J. G. Watson, consists of a number of articles reprinted from "The Numismatic Circular," which are intended to satisfy the demand for a short popular exposition of the subject for the benefit of collectors. After a few introductory remarks, the chapters deal with Early Round Coins down to the reign of the usurper Wang Mang (14 A.D.), and afterwards with coins of the T'ang and subsequent dynasties, excepting the Yuan, when but few bronze coins were put into circulation. Some attempt might have been made to fill the long gap between Wang Mang and the T'ang period with a few specimens of the 5-shu coins which were issued at intervals during seven centuries, and are not altogether uncommon. It is a pity that Mr. Watson has not been consistent in his transliteration: while the Wade spelling has been generally adopted, we find Tchu for Chu, and a hybrid form like Chia King for the 5th Manchu Emperor. There are also mistakes in translation: chia-yu, on p. 12 does not meaning "increasing assistance, but "excellent assistance"; "prepared people" on p. 19 should be "enriching the people"; and the inscription on the elongated coin shown on p. 15 and on the cover reads Chun san po (not wu pei) win shẳng, the numeral being 300, not 500. This mistake has been copied from Lockhart's book. Yuan-shou was not the first nien-hao, as stated on p. 6, but the fourth of Wu Ti's reign. The illustrations are not very successful, being the work of a draughtsman evidently ignorant of Chinese.

The Simple Way of Lao Tsze.

The Tao Te Ching is universally acknowledged to be one of the great works of the human intellect, and for this reason it is well that it should be frequently translated. For it is characteristic of great works that they never grow stale, but constantly reveal new aspects of truth as they pass through the alembic of different minds. This is especially true of Lao Tzŭ's pregnant little treatise, in which the combination of simple language with profundity of thought will always tempt men to further exploration. It goes without saying, however, that the work of each new interpreter must be based on a sound knowledge of the Chinese language; otherwise he will be building on the sand.

The present translation is described as "an analysis of the Tao Têh Canon with comments by the editors of the Shrine of Wisdom," and there is no further indication as to the actual author or translator. Whoever he may be, signs are not wanting in the book itself that he is more of a philosopher than a scholar, for he is too apt to read his own mystic conceptions into obscure passages, instead of sticking closely to the text. Thus, in chapter 28 we are told that the Sage becomes "a universal channel of Everlasting Grace," or “a universal chalice." The Chinese is, literally, "The valley of the Empire.” What that may mean is perhaps open to doubt. The Chinese commentators explain it as the centre towards which the whole world naturally gravitates, just as water flows down into a valley. But nothing is said about "everlasting grace, and to introduce this essentially Christian idea is only to mislead the reader. Many other examples of this laxity

in translation might be cited. The order of the chapters in the Tao te ching is

disregarded. This is of no great consequence, since there is but little continuity in the original. But it is not so easy to justify the arbitrary classification of the sayings under four headings: Tao, Yang and Yin, Têh, and Wu Wei. The Yin and the Yang, or Positive and Negative Principles in Nature, are mentioned only once by Lao Tză, and they are of no particular importance in his system. Another strange feature is the separation of Wu and Wei into two distinct entities. This is an idea quite foreign to Lao Tzŭ; and even if it were admissible, Wu alone does not mean non-action, but not-being.

Zen: Der Lebendige Buddhismus in Japan.

An uninstructed person might easily rise from the perusal of this work under the impression that he had been reading extracts from the Buddhist literature of Japan. All the proper names are in Japanese dress, and neither from the title nor from the translator's preface, to say nothing of the editor's preliminary note or the "Geleitwort" by Herr Otto, could one possibly gather that all the texts given in the volume, with the exception of a short choral song by Haku-in, had been translated from Chinese originals. This strange conspiracy of silence is hardly to be excused on the plea that Zen is now almost forgotten in the land of its birth, while it still flourishes in the Island Empire. For, at any rate, the whole development of the sect, from Bodhidharma downwards, took place in China, and all the more important Zen teachers and writers have been Chinese.

This grumble apart, nothing but praise can be accorded to Professor Ohasama's book. The texts are well chosen, and will enable the reader to obtain a very good idea of the somewhat elusive Zen doctrine. They include "The Stamp of Faith" by the third patriarch Sêng-tsan, a much longer song on "The Experience of Truth" by a disciple of the sixth patriarch Hui -nêng, and 31 of the "problems" (that is to say, certain symbolic acts and sayings with a significance that lies below the surface) over which it was the habit of Zen devotees to ruminate. Care has been taken to make the translation, if not perfectly literal, as faithful as possible to the original. Modernisation of the phraseology has been avoided even at the risk of retaining locutions which may appear somewhat strange to the European reader. In this connexion one may note Prof. Ohasama's opinion that the German language forms a surprisingly apt vehicle for the rendering of Chinese, being far superior in this respect to English. The excellence of the paper and printing of this most attractive little book deserves a special word of commendation.

Recently we had the pleasure to call the attention of our readers to the appearance of the first volume of a new edition of Kautilya's Arthasåstra, or manual of political science, prepared by Professor J. Jolly and R. Schmidt and published in the Punjab Sanskrit Series at Lahore; and we have now to report the publication of the second volume, which contains explanatory and critical notes by the same scholars, followed by a Sanskrit commentary by Mâdhava Yajvan, edited by Udayavira Sâstri of Lahore. Thus a very important literary enterprise is happily completed. As was to be expected, the notes, though brief, are very illuminative and sound, admirably supplementing the text published in the first volume, which critically is considerably better that the Mysore edition. The text of the commentary of Mâdhava unfortunately is not in a very satisfactory state of preservation; nevertheless it will be useful in settling a number of difficult points.

The second volume of the Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics, by Dr. Sushil Kumar De, has lately appeared, completing the author's survey of the Sanskrit literature on the art of poetry by giving a full exposition of the various systems and theories to which the study of the subject gave rise from the earliest period down to comparatively modern times. He here traces with exact and penetrating scholarship the doctrines of the great masters-notably Bharata, Bhâmaha, Udbhata, Rudrata, Dandin, Vâmana, Lollata, the Dhvanikára and Anandavardhana, Abhinavagupta, and Mammata, not to mention many others—and presents a valuable exposition of the evolution of Hindu aesthetics. The work thus completed is a monument of strenuous labour and constructive skill.

In The Glories of Magadha, a series of lectures delivered in the University of Patna in 1922, Professor J. W. Samaddar presents series of studies of the history of Bihar from the earliest times down to the fall of the country before the Moslem invaders, the capitals of the country and the part played by them in history, the light thrown on the administration of Magadha by the inscriptions of Asoka, and the fortunes and constitution of the local Universities of Nâlandâ, Vikramasilâ, and Odandapura. Mr. Samaddar has collected much useful information, and Professor A.B. Keith, who contributes an introduction, is justified in describing the work as "an earnest and able contribution to an important field of study."

Aventyr fra mange lande, Under Medvirkning af Arthur Christensen, H. O. Lange, D. Simonson og J. Ostrup udgivet af Poul Tuxen.

G.E.C. Gads Forlag: Köbenhavn, 1924.-8vo., Persiske Aeventyr. Oversatt a Arthur Christensen. pp. 158. Price 6 kr. 50 öre.

This is one of five volumes devoted to giving a selection of typical folktales in a Danish translation, so chosen as to give a fair idea of the usual lines of thought of the five cultures represented, viz., India, Persia, Arabia, the Jews and Egypt.

The particular contents of this Persian Volume are taken from old and new collections and contain some pieces from works familiar to every beginner in Oriental languages-and to many others. Thus the Chihal tuti is drawn upon and some sources that recall the Gesta Romanohrm as well as the inevitable Sinbad,

The introduction speaks of the Arabian Nights based upon a Persian kernel, but one had rather thought the mass of its material could be traced back to ancient Egypt. Perhaps the volumes on Arabia and Egypt will give us a lead on this point,

The translation, despite some deliberate deviations from Danish idiom designed to preserve the Oriental turn of phrase, allows the reader to enjoy the story and to study its mental background quite freely, even if the language of the translator is not his own.

The method of selection is excellently stated at the beginning and is calculated to serve its purpose while whetting the appetite for more, which Danish scholars are quite capable of producing.

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Ancient Egypt.-Edited by Sir Flinders Petrie, F.R.S.
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Die Landschaft 8vo., pp. XII,