I. THE “FIRST EMPEROR”--THE BURNING OF THE BOOKS--MISCELLANEOUS WRITERS 77 II. POETRY 97 III. HISTORY--LEXICOGRAPHY 102 IV. BUDDHISM 110 _BOOK THE THIRD--MINOR DYNASTIES_ (A.D. 200-600) I. POETRY--MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE 119 II. CLASSICAL SCHOLARSHIP 137 _BOOK THE FOURTH--THE T‘ANG DYNASTY_ (A.D. 600-900) I. POETRY 143 II. CLASSICAL AND GENERAL LITERATURE 189 _BOOK THE FIFTH--THE SUNG DYNASTY_ (A.D. 900-1200) I. THE INVENTION OF BLOCK-PRINTING 209 II. HISTORY--CLASSICAL AND GENERAL LITERATURE 212 III. POETRY 232 IV. DICTIONARIES--ENCYCLOPÆDIAS--MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE 238 _BOOK THE SIXTH--THE MONGOL DYNASTY_ (A.D. 1200-1368) I. MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE--POETRY 247 II. THE DRAMA 256 III. THE NOVEL 276 _BOOK THE SEVENTH--THE MING DYNASTY_ (A.D. 1368-1644) I. MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE--MATERIA MEDICA--ENCYCLOPÆDIA OF AGRICULTURE 291 II. NOVELS AND PLAYS 309 III. POETRY 329 _BOOK THE EIGHTH--THE MANCHU DYNASTY_ (A.D. 1644-1900) I. THE “LIAO CHAI”--THE “HUNG LOU MÊNG” 337 II. THE EMPERORS K‘ANG HSI AND CH’IEN LUNG 385 III. CLASSICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE--POETRY 391 IV. WALL LITERATURE--JOURNALISM--WIT AND HUMOUR--PROVERBS AND MAXIMS 425 BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 441 INDEX 443 BOOK THE FIRST _THE FEUDAL PERIOD_ (B.C. 600-200) CHAPTER I LEGENDARY AGES--EARLY CHINESE CIVILISATION--ORIGIN OF WRITING The date of the beginning of all things has been nicely calculated by Chinese chronologers. There was first of all a period when Nothing existed, though some enthusiasts have attempted to deal with a period antecedent even to that. Gradually Nothing took upon itself the form and limitations of Unity, represented by a point at the centre of a circle. Thus there was a Great Monad, a First Cause, an Aura, a Zeitgeist, or whatever one may please to call it.