CHINESE CHRONOLOGY 65 



ization for thousands of years, comparatively unmolested 

 by invasion, and, even when overcome by the Tartar 

 hordes, absorbing their conquerors, and thus converting 

 subjugation into a mere change of governing dynasty, 

 there prevailed, among the Chinese, conditions which in- 

 fallibly tended to the promotion of peaceful self-evolution 

 and also the development of an intellectual and material 

 independence of the rest of the world ; an independence 

 which finally hardened into national conservatism of an 

 intolerant type. 



In seeking to discover the chronological periods when 

 events even of great national moment occurred in the 

 history of such a people, the difficulties encountered are 

 by no means trifling. When it comes to fixing, with any 

 degree of certainty, the time of happenings of a specific or 

 less important character, they are practically insurmount- 

 able. No epoch can be assigned as certainly that of 

 the beginning of Chinese history. The national annals, in 

 one form or other, are claimed to extend back through the 

 Kingin-Chan era to the reign of Yao, 2357 B. C. Tradition 

 still more vague reaches to the ascent of the throne by 

 Hoang-ti in 2704 B. C. But there are Chinese authors 

 who gravely assert periods of national existence as elaps- 

 ing prior to the death of Confucius (479 B. C.), ranging 

 from 276,000 to 96,961,740 years. 1 



In China there are no great structures, such as the 

 Egyptian pyramids, which can serve as proof of the civil- 

 ization and attainments which existed at any period prior 

 to that of the building of the great wall. The enlight- 

 ened ruler of the Tsin dynasty 2 who constructed not only 

 that wonderful work (B. C. 204), but provided the country 

 with those potent civilizing agents, good roads, conceived 

 that the services he had rendered were amply sufficient to 



1 Azuni : Dissertation stir la Boussole. Paris, 1809. Quoting De- 

 Guignes: Discours. prelim, au Shoo-king. 



2 Williams: The Middle Kingdom, New York, 1883, ii. 92. 



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