China.- The Sacred Edict: containing 16 Maxims of the Emperor Kang-He. Amplified by his Son. With a Paraphrase on the whole by a Mandarin. And translated, with Notes, by William Milne, Protestant Missionary at Malacca, first edition in English, half-title, occasional small stain or light marking to margins, ink ownership inscription to head of title verso, paper slip signed "Lieut-General Sir James Outram" laid onto title verso with bookseller's label of Arthur Prosthain, Oriental Bookseller below, faint blind-stamp to title and final f., modern morocco-backed boards, 8vo, 1817.

⁂ Rare first English translation of the Sacred Edict of the Kangxi Emperor, we can trace no copy at auction since 1948.

The edicts were first issued by the Emperor in 1670, consisting of sixteen maxims, each seven characters long, to instruct the average citizen in the basic principals of Confucian orthodoxy. Also published here is Wang Youpu's interpretation of the maxims.