Early Chinese Printing - Hien wun shoo - Chinese Moral Maxims - John Francis Davis - P. P. Thoms Macao 1823

"Hien wun shoo - Chinese moral maxims"

"With a free and verbal translation; affording examples of the grammatical structure of the language."

"Compiled by John Francis Davis, F.R.S., Member of the Asiatic Society."

London : John Murray, Albemarle Street.  Macao, China.  Printed at the Honorable Company's Press, by P. P. Thoms, 1823. 

-Printed in Macao by P.P.Thoms (and sold in London by John Murray). 

-First edition. Octavo (220 x 140 mm), 20th Century quarter leather over red buckram, spine lettered in gilt.losses to head and foot of spine,

-Complete: pp. viii; [1]-199, [1 blank]. Lacking the front free end paper.

-Clean throughout, small 2mm closed tear to title page. Near Fine. Printed on Chinese paper.

This book contains 200 Chinese moral maxims which are printed in Chinese characters and translated into English. Although first written in 1818 and initial sent to London for printing, the lack of Chinese characters meant that it was sent to Macao where it was printed on P.P.Thoms East India Company Press.

In the early 19th century maxims and proverbs were thought to be an excellent way to understand other cultures and their characters. The introductory advertisment notes that many of these maxims are of ancient origin and draw on Confucian teaching.

John Francis Davis (1795-1890) was a British sinophile and the second Governor of Hong Kong (1844-48). He lived to the grand age of 95 and later became a Doctor of Civil Law at Oxford University

Peter Perring Thoms (1791-1855) ran the first English Press in China - established by the East India Company in Macao in 1814. The press was able to print in both European and Chinese characters and would produce Morrisons famous six volume Chinese Dictionary from 1815-1823.

References: Cordier, BS, 1429. Lust, 725.