utter rout, and headlong flight of the Chinese could explain the abandonment of such valuable guns, gear, and equipment.’[4] I dwell upon this point because there is great danger of it being overlooked at the present crisis—by some from ignorance, by others from design. As the missionary said to M. Leroy-Beaulieu, ‘Those who most despair of China are those who know her best’; and the author’s own conclusion that ‘any reform from the inside is out of the question, no matter from how high the initiative starts,’ is the conviction of all students of China, except those who have never been within ten thousand miles of her coast. This very weakness, coupled with her malleability, even to the profession of arms—witness the gallant conduct of the Chinese Regiment from Wei-hai-wei under its British officers—is the kernel of the danger of the present situation, for the nation that should be free to organize China would be a menace to the rest of the world. Those who aim at conquest are therefore playing for a high stake, and their inspiration is more cogent than that which urges others to the defence of mere trading opportunities. The course of the coming century depends upon the result of this trial of statesmanship. Woe betide England if her leaders fail her now! HENRY NORMAN. CONTENTS PAGE INTRODUCTION xv _PART I.—SIBERIA_ CHAPTER I. THE ORIGINS OF RUSSIAN EXPANSION IN SIBERIA AND THE NATURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COUNTRY 1 II. THE LAND OF SIBERIA AND ITS INHABITANTS 9 III. AGRICULTURAL SIBERIA AND THE RURAL POPULATION 17 IV. MINERAL RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES 27 V. SIBERIAN COMMERCE AND THE TRANSPORT OF TEA 31 VI. SIBERIAN TOWNS 38 VII. IMMIGRATION 43 VIII. MEANS OF COMMUNICATION IN SIBERIA 56 IX. THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY 64 X. THE RAILWAY THROUGH MANCHURIA 71 XI. THE ALTERED RELATIONS BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE FAR EAST RESULTING FROM THE TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILWAY 76 _PART II.—JAPAN_ I. THE ORIGIN AND PAST HISTORY OF JAPAN 81 II. JAPAN AND THE REVOLUTION OF 1868 97 III. MODERN JAPAN 110 IV. JAPANESE INDUSTRY 118 V. RURAL JAPAN 125