greatest number of adherents, became known to the Chinese in the first half of the 3rd century B.C. Its supernaturalism has always proved very attractive to the masses unable to obtain satisfactory spiritual comfort from the materialism of the Confucian literati. The beneficent influence of this religion as a moral factor is undoubted. Its famous prohibition,-"Thou shalt not destroy life"-which is the first of the Ten Commandments, has operated largely in softening the manners of the Chinese and of her less refined Tartar subjects, and in producing what are on the whole gentle and peace-loving communities. The Canon of Buddhism contains no stirring narratives of bloody wars nor of deeds of merciless vengeance. Many of China's greatest men, rationalists at heart, have yielded to its seductive mysteries and have cultivated lasting friendships with learned Buddhist priests. Ts'ên Ts'an, a poet of the 8th century A.D., ends a short poem on a visit to a Buddhist shrine, as follows: O thou pure Faith, had I but known thy scope, The Golden God had long since been my hope! H. A. GILES CAMBRIDGE 1923 P.S. Extract from a lecture on "Buddhism," delivered by the Rev. W. E. Soothill, Professor of Chinese in the University of Oxford, September, 1922: The past service of Buddhism to the world has been very great. It has tamed savage tribes, given unlettered nations their alphabets and literature, introduced art and architecture, developed an extensive and intricate philosophy, and advocated non-resistance and peace. In its Hînayâna form (see p. xv) it has developed the moral character of nations and peoples and brought comfort into the lives of many millions. In its Mahâyâna form (see p. xv) it has influenced the morals and given hope for a future life to hundreds of millions. The map at the end of this volume is based, by kind permission of the Oxford University Press, on that given in A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms, by Dr J. Legge, 1886, and has been revised by the Rev. A. C. Moule, M.A., to whom my thanks are also due for several luminous suggestions. The "Three Vehicles" (see p. xv) is taken from a volume of reproductions of ancient and, at the date of publication, of modern pictures, known as The Ink-Tablets of the Fan Family, 1588. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE "HE first translation of the Record was in THE French; it was begun by Rémusat and finished by Klaproth and Landresse. It was a brilliant performance, considering the difficulty of the text and the date, 1836, at which it was published; but it ran to 424 large 4to pages, mostly consisting of elaborate notes, and of course failed to attract a wide circle of readers. Rémusat arbitrarily divided the text into chapters, and in this respect he was followed by Beal and Legge; but in the original the narrative is continuous, without break and without punctuation. Its style is terse and difficult, but not without a charm of its own. In 1869, the Rev. S. Beal produced an English translation, really of Rémusat's work, in which he reproduced all Rémusat's mistakes while adding many more of his own. In 1877, I published a new translation, correcting many of Beal's glaring mistakes, but leaving behind some of my own. In 1886, Dr Legge published a fresh translation, in which he borrowed largely, without acknowledgment, from my corrections of Beal, and managed to contribute not a few mistakes of his own. In the present translation, which has been closely revised, I have had the advantage of geo |