Note 2 — XIII.—FABLES AND PROVERBIAL LORE.

Turning from fables to proverbs a very different state of affairs is found to prevail. Not only are the Chinese spoken languages richer in proverbial lore than that of any Western race, but their literature abounds with that description of short pithy saying so well defined as “the wisdom of many expressed by the wit of one.” I would here mention that when this series of chapters on Chinese folklore was first projected the admirable work of Mr. Scarborough, “A Collection of Chinese Proverbs,” had not been published, and Mr Lister’s highly interesting article in the China Review, “Chinese Proverbs and their Lessons,”2 was almost the only essay on the subject which had up to that period appeared in the language. Most works on China indeed give more or less full lists of common sayings, but Mr Lister was the first who endeavoured to direct attention to the coincidences of Chinese thought with that of other peoples. Mr Scarborough’s work has so amply supplemented all that was previously available respecting Chinese proverbs, while his introductory essay gives so comprehensive a view of the whole subject that students of the subject may well be referred to the volume in question. Dealing, however, strictly with the matter of comparison between Chinese and Western proverbs, there is still room for comment. And for this purpose I shall avail myself of Mr Scarborough’s handy collection.