Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$409.95 + shipping
Condition: Very Good
Description: 1831 first edition 'Printed for the Oriental Translation Fund, And Sold by J. Murray.' (London) 5 5/8 x 8 5/8 inches tall publisher's blue cloth hardbound, gilt lettering over red to spine, 152 pp. Book is preserved in a custom-made Brodart rare book box, made from archival-quality, acid-free, lignin-free, light tan folder stock, with Velcro closures, title page and spine reproduced on front cover and spine of the box. Slight staining, rubbing and edgewear to covers. One light crease and a couple of tiny stains to title page. Otherwise, a near fine copy - clean, bright and unmarked - of an important early book in English about Buddhism, especially uncommon in such pristeen condition in an original binding. A scarce issue, with Copac locating only a half dozen copies, and none recorded at auction over the last 30 years by ABPC. ~NNN~ The first edition of one of the earliest English works on Buddhism, appearing just two years after Edward Upham's eccentric 1829 work, 'The History and Doctrine of Budhism, Popularly Illustrated' (the first book published in English with the word Buddhism in its title). The editor of this work, 'The Catechism,' Charles [Karl] Friedrich Neumann (1793-1870), German orientalist, studied philosophy and philology at Heidelberg, Munich and Gottingen, became a convert to Protestantism from Judaism and took the name of Neumann (from his birth name of Bamberger). From 1822 to 1825 he was a teacher at Speyer; then he learned Armenian in Venice and visited Paris and London. In 1829 he went to China, where he studied the language and amassed a large library of valuable books and manuscripts. These, about 12,000 in number, he presented to the royal library at Munich. Upon his return to Germany in 1831, Neumann published this book, 'The Catechism of the Shamans,' and the also in 1831 two other translations, one from the Armenian, 'Vahram's Chronicle of the Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia' and one from the Chinese, 'History of the Pirates in the China Sea.' He was appointed professor of Armenian and Chinese at the University of Munich, a position he held until 1852, when he was removed for his liberal political and religious opinions. Ten years later he settled in Berlin, where he remained till his death. Neumann's 'Catechism' was generally well received, though an extensive review in the November 1832 journal The Chinese Repository points to a number of translation flubs in the book, saying that while they held Neumann in high regard 'although we cannot praise him for perfect accuracy, nor yield entire submission to all his German theories.' Among the reviewer's greatest critcisms is Neumann's failure to name many of his sources.
Seller: Flamingo Books, Menifee, CA, U.S.A.
Price: US$495.00 + shipping
Description: First edition in English and a scarce work on piracy in China, extracted complete from Neumann's 'Translations from the Chinese and Armenian' which contained other works not related to piracy. With a leaf of Chinese calligraphy as frontispiece, pronunciation marks and symbols throughout. 8vo, bound in later red cloth, the spine lettered and ruled in gilt. xlvii, 128 pp. A very well preserved copy, the text-block in fine condition, the binding with a little bit of age-wear, the front inner hinge slightly open though still holding firmly. FIRST EDITION OF THIS VERY SCARCE EARLY TRANSLATION FROM THE CHINESE AND A RARE LOOK AT PIRACY IN THE CHINA SEA. The author is a certain Yung-lun Yüan, a native of the market town Shun tih, south of Canton, the account was published in Canton in 1830. It is an account of the "extraordinary disturbances caused by pirates" beginning in 1807. Piracy on the coast of China inflicted chaos and serious economic damage, with huge mobs of bandits attacking coastal villages which had little defense. The pirates were also wreaking havoc at sea, making trade and commerce high risk activities. Yung-lun Yüan's account of this period is a very colourful depiction of the pirate scourge; interwoven with narratives of the pirates themselves as well as the courageous civilians who resisted them.
Seller: Buddenbrooks, Inc., Newburyport, MA, U.S.A.
Price: US$1028.50 + shipping
Description: First edition. Large paper copy, 8vo., xlvii, 128; xxxii, 152 [ii]; xix, 110, [ii], pp., 8 pages ads at end, pictorial general title printed in violet, original green cloth, original paper label, a fine copy. Translations from the Chinese and Armenian, with notes and illustrations. I. History of the pirates who infested the China Sea, from 1807 to 1810. II. The catachism of the shamans; or the laws and regulations of the priesthood of Buddha, in China. III. Vahram's chronicle of the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia during the time of the Crusades.
Seller: Shapero Rare Books, London, United Kingdom