hwa, tsun chay shin, id quod sapiens pervadit mutatur; quia ubi residet, sicut spiritus. Note. Ubicumque residět, occulta vi, veluti spiritus, omnes animos penetrat, movet, atque virtutis igne, etiam inconscios, inflammat: book 2, page 190;

shing urh puh k'ho che che wei shin, qui sanctus est, et non

potest percipi, dicitur spiritualis-vir, book 2, p. 231.

The same author, in his Vindiciae Sinica, p. 36. says,

E 之教之神也 tsze seen wang che keaou che shin yay, atque is erat priscorum regum docendi spiritualis modus." And in his Exercises Pratiques, p. 193, he has pih shin, à tout les Esprits. Pauthier, in his Reponse a l'examen critiques, p. 60, calls

pih shin, tous les esprits.

The Emperor Yung-ching, in a decree which he published, as quoted by Winterbotham, says, "Some of the principal officers of our provinces, have given a wrong interpretation to the meaning of our orders transmitted to them, regarding the means of preventing the damage occasioned in the country by destructive insects, and have understood them in a sense quite different from our intention. They have erroneously concluded that I have fallen into the ridiculous error of those, who believe in the spirits called Kwei Shins, as if I imagined that prayers offered up to these intended beings, could remedy our present afflictions. My meaning, therefore, is as follows. Between the T'heen, or Supreme Being, and man there is a relation, a certain and infallible correspondence, as to what concerns punishments and rewards. When our plains are desolated by inundation, drought, or insects, what is the cause of our calamities? they are perhaps occasioned by the emperor himself, who deviates from the integrity and justice so necessary to good government, to bring him. back to a sense of duty. To prevent calamities, there are no means more certain, than to keep a strict watch over ourselves, to live in fear, and to strive for perfection. When they tell you to pray and invoke spirits, what do they mean? It is at most only to implore their mediation, to represent to T'heen, Heaven, the sincerity of our respect, and the fervor of our desires."

Sir George Staunton, the elder, in his account of Macartney's Embassy, has rendered Luy-shin, "the spirit which commands thunder."

The present Sir George Staunton, in his translation of the Laws of China, has the following renderings: "RE

電雨等神及聖帝明王忠臣烈士截在爬典

A. fan shay tseih san chuen, fung yun teen yu tang shin, keih shing te ming wang, chung chin lëě sze, tsae tsae sze tëen, ying hŏ che tse shin k'he, the local genii, the genii of the hills, the rivers, the winds, the clouds, and the lightnings, also the ancient holy emperors, enlightened kings, faithful ministers, and illustrious sages, shall all be severally honoured and commemorated by the oblations and other holy rites, which the ritual code prescribes."

“不當奉祀之神而致祭者杖八十 Päh tang fung

sze che shin urh che tse chay, chang pá shih, any officer of government, who commemorates or performs sacred rites to the honour of any spirit or holy personage, to whom neither honours nor oblations are decreed by the laws of the ritual code, shall be punished with 80

blows.”“凡私家告天,拜斗,焚燒夜香,燃點天 ****+, Fan sze këa kaou t’hëen, pae tow, fun shaou yay heang jen teen t’heen tăng tseïh tăng, sẽ tuh shin ming chay chang på shih, If any private family performs the ceremony of the adoration of heaven and the north star, burning incense for that purpose during the night, lighting the lamps of heaven, and also seven lamps to the north star, it shall be deemed a profanation of those sacred rites, and derogatory to the celestial spirits: the parties concerned therein shall accordingly be punished with 80 blows." “凡師巫假降邪神 fan sze woo kèa keang sèay shin, Magicians who raise evil spirits," &c. 凡盗大爬‧天神 地祇御用祭器帷帳等物皆斬. fan taou ta sze. t'heen shin te k'he, yu yung tse k'he wei chang tăng wúh, keae tsan, All persons guilty of stealing the consecrated oblations offered up by the emperor to the spirits of heaven and earth, or any of the sacred utensils, clothes, &c. shall in all cases be beheaded.”

66

In the translation of the testamentary edict of Keen-lung, given by Sir George Staunton, in Appendix, No. 1, he has rendered

theen shin te k'he, the spirits of heaven and earth. So also in the translation of the edict issued by Kea-k'hing, on ascending the throne, (Appendix No. 2,) Sir George has rendered

shin, the Imperial spirit, and

Hwang Shing shin, sacred spirit, both which terms were employed by Kea-k'hing with allusion to the soul of his departed progenitor. In Appendix No. 8, Sir George has rendered shing shin, by Holy Spirit, where the reference is

the same as the preceding.

In the Syrian inscription, theen shin is used for the angels

which came to announce of the introduction of the birth of our Saviour. This inscription gives an account of the introduction of Christianity into China a thousand years ago; it is therefore an entirely original and independent testimony, and presents us with the views of the first Christians in China with regard to the meaning of Shin. From this we learn, that they did not understand Shin in the sense of God, to express which they have adopted a Syrian word Aloha, (and perhaps Te, in the account given of the representation of the Deity, which was painted on the walls of the temple;) but Shin undoubtedly in their view conveyed the idea of spirit, and therefore they have used it for angels, whom they call the spirits of heaven.

The Mahomedans, who came to China as soon, if not sooner than the Syrians, have adopted the word Shin for angel, while they call God simply choo, Lord. In an account of the introduction of Mahomedanism into China, in the second year of Chin-kwan,

A. D. 633, we have a reference to the works of creation, in which the Chin choo, true Lord is said to have made

A

t'heen te jin shin, heaven and earth, inen and spirits. Where it is evident, that Shin is not to be taken in the acceptation of God, both on account of these Shins having been created by God, and from the fact of their being arranged after men. This also we must regard as an independent testimony, that Shin is to be taken in the sense of spirit. A Chinese author thus describes the Mahomedan religion, ·囘囘地雖接天竺而俗與之異不供佛,不 祭神,不拜尸,所尊敬者惟一天字 hwuy hwuy

te, suy tsee t'heen chuh, urh súh yu che e, puh kung fuh, pŭh tse shin, puh pae she, so tsun king chay, wei yíh t'hëen tsze, although the country of the Mahomedans borders upon India, their customs are different; they do not worship Buddha; nor sacrifice to spirits; nor bow down to the representative of the dead; but that which they honour is merely this one word Heaven."

In a brief Chinese lexicon by Bayer, printed at Petersburgh, 1730, we have Shin, spiritus.

Callery, in his Systema Phonetica renders Shin, "spiritus; genius; idolum; mysterium."

Basin, a recent French wri er ca'ls Kwei Shin, the genii. 46 If the Chinese Collie, in his translation of the Four Books, says, mean anything by what they say on this subject, it seems to be that the Kwei Shin is some extremely fine subtile spirit, employed by heaven and earth, the Great Creators, as the substratum of all things

and the secondary cause of all the phenomena of nature; perhaps gravitation or the electric fluid.”

Milne, in his Indo-Chinese Gleaner, Vol. III. no. 16, says, "In native Chinese books, the word Shin seldom, if ever denotes the Deity, and in so far we are of M. Remusat's opinion." Again," Shin is daily and universally used, but rarely in the high sense of Deity." Further, Shin very generally signifies a spirit, a spiritual existence, something divine, an intelligent spirit, like the soul of man," &c.

64

To the above we add the definition of Shin given in Dr. Morrison's Dictionary: Every evanescent, invisible, inscrutable, spiritual operating power or cause, is called Shin; a spirit; the human spirit ; Divinity; God, in the sense of heathen nations; divine; spiritual; the animal spirits." From the above we perceive, that Dr. Morrison considered the first and primary meaning of Shin to be spirit: the human spirit; &c. while divinity or God, in the sense of heathen nations, is given as the secondary meaning; implying that the word is only to be thus rendered, when the exigency of the case requires it. In other parts of Morrison's Dictionary, he has rendered Shin by spirit, as we have previously seen, nearly as often as he has trausiated it God; and in those instances in which he has called Shin, God, the phrases are similarly constructed, and the meaning nearly the same with those in which he has represented Shin and Kwei Shin by our word spirit and spirits. He appears, therefore, to have vacillated in his opinion as to the real signification of the term, and to have thought at one time, that it meant spirit, and at other times God. It is well, known, that he has in his translation adopted the word Shin for God, though not invariably, having sometimes used Shin t'heen, *the spiritual heavens, 1 Cor. 6: 20, which latter term he has adopted in his tracts almost universally. If we carefully examine his translation of the New Testament, we shall find that he was very far from considering Shin as an exact equivalent for Divinity.

* The phrase Shin theen has been already given from Premure, as meaning "spirituale cœlumn." This sense has been attached by Morrison himself to the phrase, as will appear from a work of his own, published shortly before his death, entitled the Domestic Instructor: in the 4th volume of which, he

shews that there are two significations of Heaven, viz. the 形體之天

hing the che t'heen, material and the

Shin ling che t'heen, spiritual heavens; the first of these, he says, is devoid of spirituality and intelligence, while the second possesses both. That which he calls the t'heen, spiritual heavens, is the Creator and governor of all things; and that which he calls the hing theen, material heavens is visible, and to be

Shin

koned among created objects.

Indeed with the exception of employing it to express Theos in the Scriptures, he seems to have taken a view of it very much in accordance with the meaning given to the term by the Chinese and European writers, whom we have quoted above. This will appear very

plainly by referring to those passages of the New Testament in which spirit occurs. These amount to 380, and have been rendered by Morrison in a great variety of ways. He has employed for the purpose of expressing pneuma, the following terms: sin, the heart ;

חוקע

지스.

ling, spirit;ling hwăn, the soul; sing tsing, disposition;k'he, breath; fung, wind;kwei, devil; and The latter two shin, which he has elsewhere adopted for God.

shing, (the word holy not We are not surprised that he

terms have frequently the addition offung to them, and sometimesling is prefixed to Shin. But the cases in which the word 神 Shin occurs as a constituent part, and evidently as the translator thought an important element, in the phrase used in translating pneuma, amount to about 150; and the cases in which Shin is used alone or with the addition of being in the text) amount to 30. should feel dissatisfied with fung as a terin for spirit, as it cannot adequately express the idea intended; but we allude to it now, for the sake of remarking on the term which he has selected to serve as a qualifier, or as a substitute; a term which, notwithstanding he had already adopted it for God, and therefore had strong reason for avoiding it if possible, yet in his estimation conveyed so fully the idea of spirit, that he felt constrained to use it proving in fact, that Morrison did not regard the radical meaning of Shin to be divinity, but that he thought spirit to be the prevailing idea conveyed by it; while it could be considered as only sometimes referring to divinities. But Morrison has not only used Shin in conjunction with other terms to express the idea of spirit, he has actually employed it alone in the sense of spirit, both abstract and concrete, both good and bad, proving, that he considered it as fully conveying that idea. Thus in Luke 17. In the spirit (Shin) and power of Elias; and 1: 47. My spirit (Shin) hath rejoiced in God (Shin) my Saviour; (here spirit and God, in so short a sentence, are translated by the same word.) Again in Gal. 6 : 18. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit (Shin.) 1 Peter 3: 18. Quickened by the spirit (Shin) 1 Peter 1: 11. The spirit (Shin) of Christ which was in them. The same phrase is used, Eph. 1 17. for the God (Shin) of our Lord Jesus Christ The phraseology in Matt 12 43, 45 Seven