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xiv
INTRODUCTION

XXVII. 食貨 'Foods and other Articles of Commerce' is a section of even more varied contents than its name would imply. With such subheads as Population, Agriculture and Sericulture, Land Regulations, Land-tax and personal service, Tribute, Textiles, Precious Stones, Wine, Tea, and Money, it covers several categories which in other encyclopaedias are usually found separate.

XXVIII. 禮儀 'Ceremonial Usages' opens with a general subhead on Ceremonies and Music (habitually classed together by the Chinese), although Music is also allotted a section to itself. The chief ceremonies dealt with here are those connected with the attainment of manhood, the celebration of marriage, funerals and mourning, and sacrifices to popular deities who have already appeared in section XVIII. The section concludes with a number of articles of clothing. As in XXVII, there are a good many subheads of considerable length, notably Mourning and Funeral Rites (68 chüan), Canonisation and Ancestral Worship (25 each), Sacrifices to Heaven and Earth (23), Court Congratulation (18), and Marriage (17).

XXIX. 樂律 'Music' consists mainly in an enumeration of different musical instruments, among which the Lute (琴瑟) holds the premier place. There is a long subhead on Music in general, and another on the Pitchpipes and musical scale.

XXX. 戎政 'Military Administration' includes a gigantic subhead of 132 chüan (longer than several whole sections) on Military History, and another of 52 chüan on Military Organisation. Others that may be mentioned are Imperial Hunting Expeditions and Naval Warfare. The complete text of several noted military treatises is given under 'The Art of War'. The biographies of famous generals will not be found here, as one might expect, but under section XI.

XXXI. 祥刑 'Punishments a Blessing' is a curious heading which could not be properly understood unless recognised as a classical allusion.[1] 'Law and punishment' is perhaps a better description of the contents than Mayers' 'Administration of Justice'. These include, among other subheads, The Penal Code in 80, Thieves and Robbers in 34, and Pardons in 16 chüan. Most of the others are devoted to different forms and instruments of punishment.

XXXII. 考工 was translated by Mayers 'Handicraft', which is certainly an improvement on Klaproth's 'Ouvrages publics'. But, as usual with these headings, it is impossible to find any single term that will fit the contents exactly. There are 154 subheads —more than in any other section except those enumerating zoological, botanical, or proper names —but none of them is of any great length. The longest, it is rather surprising to find, is that on 儀仗 'Insignia carried in processions', including all sorts of banners and emblems (15 chüan), while 'Cities' and 'Palaces' only claim 14 each, 'Vehicles' coming next with 12. These examples may serve to give an idea of the scope of the section, which deals first with industries and handicrafts, and then with the products of these industries, ranging from bridges and parks to umbrellas and lanterns, and including a particularly large and varied assortment of vases and jars. It does not clash with section XXVII, as that treats of raw materials, while this is concerned only with the manufactured article.

  1. The passage occurs in the 書經 Book of History, V. xxvii. § 14: 王曰,吁來,有邦有土,告爾祥刑 'The King said, Ho! come, ye rulers of states and territories, I will tell you how to make punishments a blessing.'