[25] See Legge's _Chinese Classics_, vol. iii. pt. 1. pp. 18-23. [26] _Ibid._, vol. iii. pt. 1. pp. 162 _seq._ [27] The _Shan Hai Ching_ mentions an island in the Wên-têng district, off the south-east coast, called Su-mên-tao, which still bears that name; and describes it as _jih yüeh so ch'u_--"the place where the sun and moon rise." This part of the ocean, though not the island itself, is visible from the sandy strip mentioned in the text. [28] See the _T'ai Ping Huan Yü Chi_ (_chüan 20_). [29] The offensive appellation is preserved to this day in the name of a small island 120 _li_ south-west of the Shantung Promontory, known as Dwarfs' Island. The term is still frequently used by the people, and it often occurred in formal petitions addressed to my own Court until I expressly forbade, under penalty, its further use. [30] _T'ai P'ing Huan Yü Chi_, 174th _chüan_, pp. 3 _seq._ [31] See pp. 12 _seq._ [32] For notices concerning the _ch'ien-hu_ and _pai-hu_ of the tribes of far-western China at the present day, see the author's _From Peking to Mandalay_ (John Murray: 1908), pp. 172, 176, 190, 425-7, 429. [33] See p. 31. [34] See p. 25. [35] See pp. 14, 98. [36] See p. 98. [37] This is a village in British territory near Ai-shan Miao, a temple described on pp. 385-6. [38] See p. 1. CHAPTER IV CHINESE CHRONICLES AND LOCAL CELEBRITIES Since February 1895 Weihaiwei has never been out of the hands of a foreign Power. At the conclusion of the war the place was retained in the hands of the Japanese as security for the due fulfilment of the conditions of peace. Then followed the concerted action of the three States of Germany, Russia and France to rob Japan of some of the fruits of her victory. The moving spirit in this coalition was Russia, who ousted Japan from Port Arthur and took possession of it herself. As a result of this manœuvre Great Britain demanded that Weihaiwei should be "leased" to her "for as long a period as Port Arthur remains in the occupation of Russia." It may be noted that the original "lease" of Port Arthur by China to Russia was for twenty-five years, which period will not elapse till 1923. Another almost simultaneous attack on Chinese integrity was made by Germany, whose long-sought opportunity of establishing herself on the coast of China was thrust in her way by the murder of two of her missionaries in Shantung. (Is it to be wondered at that the Chinese have at times regarded European missionaries as the forerunners of foreign armies and warships, in spite of the missionary's assertion that he is the apostle of universal love and has come to preach the Golden Rule?)