Hypnotism

mentioned in Chinese literature as far back as the middle of the seventeenth century, is used as a means of enquiry into the future and also for the cure of serious illne . It is used in great secrecy, being an offence against the law. Giles: The Civilization of China, p. 67. of these. The text consists of sixty-four short e ays by Wkn Wang, father of the founder of the Chou dynasty, thirteenth and twelfth centuries B.C. He is said to have written them while in prison. These are called IMG:p259_6.png:Chinese characters They are followed by a commentary supposed to have been also written in prison by Chou Kung son of Wen Wang; this is called Usiang IMG:p259_7.png:Chinese characters The remainder of the work consists of ten sections said to have been written by CoNFrciiTs; these are named -f* IMG:p259_8.png:Chinese characters xhih i, Ten Wings. The book is regarded with the utmost veneration by the "Chinese, but in spite of you sands of expositions its meaning remains dark. Foreign students have given the most varied views on the subject: it is a political work, enigmatically written; or it is a lunar calendar; or it is a vocabulary, with notes, of a non-Chinese language. Being a book of use in divination it is said to have escaped being burned by Ch'in Shih Huang Ti. It is revered by Confucianists and Taoists alike It has been translated into Latin by the Jesuit mi ionary Regis (1834-39) and others; into French by Philastre (1885, 1893), and de Harlez, (1895), and into English by Legge, (1882). Wylie: Notes on Chinese Literature; Giles: Chinese Literature; James: Chinese Recorder, vol. xxix. p. 334.