David, John Francis. Hien wun shoo. Chinese Moral Maxims, with a free and verbal translation; affording examples of the grammatical structure of the language.

€ 6,500.00

Only edition. The book entitled in Chinese "Hsien-wen-shu", or "Book of Good Lore", containing 200 moral proverbs, was meant to serve as an exercise book for the beginner of Chinese studies. "The learned translator, Mr. Davis, appears, from the preface, to have drawn up his work at Macao, and to have sent home to the library at the India House his manuscript-version for impression: but as the requisite types were not to be found in that institution, it was, at the recommendation of Dr. Wilkins, sent back to Asia" (The Monthly Review 107 [1825], p. 197). Ultimately, the book was printed in Macao, as stated on the bottom of the final leaf (and distributed in England by John Murray).

A few corner defects, otherwise a good copy in a modern period-style binding.