Bulletin Spring 1979

lised system o f ethics. They represent the high point of abstract rationality in traditional Chinese civiliza­ tion, and are crucial documents for any inquiry into its achievements and lim itations in logic and science. Unfortunately their formidable textual difficulties have hitherto made it impossible to use them with any confidence, and English translations o f Mo-tzu have omitted them. Western sinologists have generally ignored this rich material w ith the result that they have been forced to draw their conclusions about Chinese logic from the almost negligible remains of the Sophists. The present work begins with a general account of the school o f Mo-tzu,its social basis as amovement of craftsmen, its isolated place in the Chinese tradi­ tion, and the nature of its later contributions to logic, ethics and science. The relation o f Mohist thinking to the structure of the Chinese language is also discussed. The textual problems o f the later writings, the grammar and style, the technical terminology, the significance o f stock examples, and the overall organisation of the documents, are then explored in detail. With the investigation o f these preliminary questions, the possibilities of interpretation are con­ fined w ithin controllable lim its. The edited and annotated Chinese text follows, with an English translation and commentary, a glossary, and a photo graphic reproduction of the unemended text from the Taoist Patrology. Professor A. C. Graham is Professor o f Classical Chinese at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University. This 600-page book is a co-publication o f the Chinese University Press and the School o f Oriental and African Studies, London University. (2) Cold Nights By PaChin Translated by Nathan Mao and Liu Ts'un-yan Available for the first time in English transla tion, Cold Nights (Han-yeh) ranks alongside Pa Chin's earlier novel Family (Chia) in importance both as a masterpiece of fiction and as social commentary about China. It is in literature such as this that we see the work o f a perceptive and critical eye dealing w ith a historic epoch, examining life w ith art and thereby striving to transform both. Pa Chin has long been recognized as a great modem writer, and the growing popularity of his work in translation testifies to his universal appeal and importance. Cold Nights, first published in 1947 ， is set in Chungking at the end of World War II. It describes the strain o f incompatible relationships between amother, son and daughter-in-law as they deteriorate amidst the social weariness and ennui which pervaded China in the 1940's. Victimized by circumstances and by themselves, they are average people seeking average lives; their plight is shared w ith the rest o f humanity and is depicted w ith compassion tempered w ith un­ flinching realism. The book has more than 200 pages and is a co- publication of the Chinese University Press and the University of Washington Press. The translators are Professor Nathan Mao of Shippensburg College and Professor Liu Ts'un-yan of Australian National University. 7