CHAPTER V.
THE WORD TAO (道)
It has been seen that different opinions have been held by Western scholars as to the material resources of the Chinese language. Some regard this as poor, and others consider it to be rich in its vocabulary. But a liberal study of the language will shew that it is, as to terms, well supplied in some respects and poorly furnished in others. So also are all other languages known to us, and, as has been said, their vocabulary is considered to be a sort of index to the character of a people. But in the case of the Chinese, the judgments of foreign writers on this subject should be received with great caution. The words of the language are spread over a vast field of space and time, and the means of research are even now very imperfect. Nor can the opinions of native students be taken as authoritative, for they are based either exclusively on a knowledge of their own language, or on that and a slight acquaintance with some others, and they have seldom, if ever, given special study to the subject. The right course is to make a careful examination for oneself of the contents of the language as used in the literature of the country and the conversation of the people, to collect facts respecting its means for denoting material objects and spiritual conceptions, and the manner of employing particular terms and phrases.
In the present investigation, a single word, tao, is taken, and an attempt is made to shew the chief of the many ways in which that word has been used. No pretense is made to trace the historical development of these uses, or to shew how they are connected or related. To do these things thoroughly would require a knowledge of all the early literature of China and of the modes of the people. Even with this it is doubtful whether the task could be accomplished in a satisfactory manner. In what is
