INTRODUCTION 
rights over Mongolia are only such as she may 
maintain by: force—Mongolia having been tri- 
butary to the Manchu and never to the Chinese— 
is naturally resented by the Mongolians. Thus 
we see armed bands of both nations lining the 
present frontier, in many places far beyond the 
Great Wall, while we hear of depredations and 
incursions made by wild undisciplined horsemen, 
who swoop down from the grassy plain or sandy 
desert to burn, plunder and kill, returning 
whence they came before the slow-moving Chinese 
troops can offer resistance, or strike an effective 
blow in return. 
The most recent political boundary between 
Mongolia and China, that is the one extant before 
the declaration of Mongolian Independence in 
September 1911 and the present ensuing complica- 
tions, extended from the border of Manchuria 
near Liao-chou in the province of Féng-t’ien in a 
west-south-westerly direction north of Lama Miao 
(Dolon Nor) to the north-eastern corner of Shansi 
province. Thence bearing more to the south, 
it kept north and west of K’uei-hua-ch’éng, till 
it reached the Yellow River near He-k’ou. From 
here it followed the course of that river, running 
due south as far as the north-eastern corner of 
Shensi province. From this point on it coincided 
with the course of the Great Wall, extending into 
the heart of Asia, and terminating only with the 
western boundary of Chinese Turkestan. 
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