China and the West

Warburton, William. The divine legation of Moses demonstrated [ID D27219].
Quellen :
Du Halde, Jean-Baptiste. Description géographique... de la Chine [ID D1819].
Le Comte, Louis.
Kircher, Athanasius. China illustrata [ID D1712].
Martini, Martino.
"But the obscurity which attended the Scantiness of Hieroglyphic Characters, joined to the enormous Bulk of Picture Volumes, set Men upon contriving a third Change in this kind of writing : of which the Chinese have given us an illustrious Example.
We have just observed, that the ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic was an Improvement on a more ancient manner, resembling the rude Picture-Writing of the Mexicans ; and joined characteristic Marks to Images. The Chinese Writing went still further, threw out the Images, and retained only the contracted Marks, which they increased to a prodigious number : In this Writing every distinct Idea has its distinct Mark ; which still, like the universal Character of Picture-Writing, is common to divers neighbouring Nations, of different Languages ; the Shapes and Figures of these Marks, however now disguised, do yet betray their Original from Picture and Images ; as the Reader may perceive, by casting his Eye on the Specimen given us by Kircher : For that it is but a more contracted and refined Hieroglyphic, we have the concurrent Testimony of the best Writers on the Arts and Manners of this famous People ; who inform us how their present Writing was brought down, thro' an earlier Hieroglyphic from the first simple Way of painting the human Conceptions.
Thus have we brought down the General History of Writing, by a gradual and easy Descent, from a Picture to a Letter ; for Letters are the very next Step to Chinese Marks, which participate of the Nature of Egyptian Hieroglyphics on the one hand, and of Letters on the other ; (just as these Hieroglyphics equally partook of that of Mexican Pictures, and of the Chinese Characters ;) and are, as we say, on the very Borders of Letters ; an Alphabet being only a compendious Abridgment of that troublesome Multiplicity ; of which this is a Demonstration, that some Alphabeths, as the Ethiopic, have taken in those very Characteristics Marks to compose their Letters, as appears both from their Shapes and Names. This is further seen by the Names which express Letters and Literary-Writing in the ancient Languages…
Here then we see the first Beginnings of Hieroglyphics amongst the Mexicans, and the End of them amongst the Chinese ; in neither of which Places were they ever employed for Mystery of Concealment : What therefore we find of this Practice, in their middle Stage of Cultivation amongst the Egyptians, we may be assured had an extrinsic Cause, and was foreign to their Nature.
But the Mexican Empire did not continue long enough to improve Picture into an Hieroglyphic ; and the Chinese, which in the mighty Course of its Duration hath brought it down thro' Hieroglyphics to a simple Mark, or Character, hath not yet, from the Poverty of its inventive Genius, and Aversion to foreign Commerce, been able to find out an Abridgment of those Marks, by Letters…"

Qian Zhongshu : Horace Walpole considered Chinese writing an improvement upon the Egyptian hieroglyphics which is turn is an improvement upon the picture-writing of the Mexicans. Thus, Chinese characters represent 'the last advance of hierglyphics towards alphabetic writin'. 'The opposite progress in the issue of hieroglyphic writing in Egypt and China... can be the least inventive people upon the earth ; and not much given to mystery'. 'The Chinese, which, in its long duration, hath brought this picture down, through hieroglyphics, to a simple mark, or character, hath not yet (from the poverty of its inventive genius, and its aversion to foreign commerce) been able to find out an abridgement of those marks, by letters'.
William Warburton denied emphatically that the Chinese had borrowed their 'real characters' from Egypt and rightly refuted the opinion of the French academician and orientalist.