in appreciating the real value of the Yüan-ch'ao-pi-shih. His translation of the work into Japanese dated from this time, and after several years of tremendous assiduity, completed it in 1907. This was his Chingis-khan-jitsuroku 成吉思汗實錄.
The chief characteristic of the Chingis-khan-jitsuroku consists in the various vocabularies and styles of the past and present, which Dr. NAKA cleverly mixed and compromised in translating the original text word by word in strict accordance with the context and grammar of the original. His utmost care, painstaking and efforts in trying accurately to express the meaning of each original word, to preserve the sentiment of the original, and to give full play to the sprit of the original document may readily be observed in his choice of each word translated, in his manner of composition, and in his artistic sentiment pervading the whole text. It also accounts for his adopting a unique style somewhat unfamiliar to the reader. Indeed, Dr. NAKA, thoroughly acquainted with Japanese literature of the past and present, versed in the classics and modern literature of China, and appreciating the essence of the Mongolian language, was the only scholar qualified for this task. Moreover, it may be seen that his was of a most disinterested scholastic conscience. It goes without saying that this made a new epoch in the study of Mongolian history in the country and an immense contribution in the progress of Orientalism. When the book was first published, however, the public scarcely realized its real value, even among scholars, few appreciated Dr. NAKA's labour and achievement. This serves to prove that thirty years ago the level of our culture was not very high and the study of science was not of so high degree. The present editor sincerely regretted it, and, on behalf of the academic world, hoped that the time would soon come when Dr. NAKA's supreme achievement would be recognized.
It was under these circumstances that Dr. NAKA'S Japanese translation of the Yüan-cha'o-pi-shih was completed. However, the Mongolian language of the book, unlike the original which was represented by Uigur characters, being one transliterated into Chinese ideographs, it was impossible to assert the absolute accuracy of this book in giving the original words and sounds. Hence the necessity of transliterating the text back to accurate Mongolian. Not until then could be established the real value of A Serect History of the Mongols. It was indeed Nr. DAKA, Dr. Naka himself that, feeling this necessity, contemplated undertaking the task. Unfortunately, however, before embarking himself in the work, he passed away. The present editor who devoted himself to the study of Mongolian history and the Mongolian language, suffered the greatest loss the in death of Dr. NAKA and secretly pledged himself, in pursuance of the deceased doctor's will, to consider it his own duty to accomplish the task. Only more urgent scholarly matters demanding immediate attention intervened, and a number of years elapsed before he, spending a few years at the work, succeeded in finishing it roughly in the 6th year of the Taishô era （1917）. The first draft of the present book was thus made.
The draft was revised and supplemented several times for more than twenty years and the time has at last come to publish the book for the first time. editor, Though the of course, regards it, not as a perfect work, but as one having a great deal to be corrected by other scholars, he is somewhat satisfied with himself recalling his determination a number of years ago to undertake Dr. NAKA's unfinished task.
In spite of the fact that the value of the Yüan-ch'ao-pi-shih as a foundamental material in the study of the founding of Mongolian state was long ago noticed by CH'IEN Ta-hsin 錢大昕 and others, there was no printed copy available of the work when Dr. NAKA's Chingis-khan-jitsuroku was published. But the following year （the 34th year of Kuang-hsü 光緖） saw the publication of a new edition by YEH Tê-hui 葉德輝, which came to attract the attention of scholars in the East and West. The original text on which the edition by YEH Tê-hui was based probably the MS. copy possessed by WÊN T'ing-shih as has already been pointed out by CH'ÊN Yüan 陳垣. The edition has some omissions and errors. The edition included in the third series of the Ssǔ-pu-ts'ung-k'an
