as high as he does. Yet he gives an individuality to the history of Kashgar that it would otherwise lack. The recent triumphs of the Chinese received all their attraction to Englishmen from the decline and fall of Yakoob Beg, the hero they had erected in the country north of Cashmere. In the second place, the following pages strive to bring before the English reader the great merits of China as a governing power; and this object is really the more important of the two. It is absolutely necessary for this country to remember that there are only three Great Powers in Asia, and of these China is in many respects the foremost. Whereas both England and Russia are simply conquering Governments, China is a mighty and self-governing country. China's rule in Eastern Turkestan and Jungaria is one of the most instructive pages in the history of modern Asia, yet it may freely be admitted that the brief career of Yakoob Beg gave an interest to the consideration of the Chinese in Central Asia that that theme might otherwise have failed to supply. The authorities used in the compilation of the facts upon which the following pages have been erected are principally and above all the official Report of Sir Douglas Forsyth, and the files of the _Tashkent_ and _Pekin Gazettes_ since the beginning of 1874. Mr. Shaw's most interesting work on "High Tartary," Dr. Bellew's "Kashgar," and Gregorieff's work on "Eastern Turkestan," have also been consulted in various portions of the narrative. A vast mass of newspaper articles have likewise been laid under contribution for details which have not been noticed anywhere else. In conclusion, the author would ask the English reader to consider very carefully what the true lesson of Chinese valour and statesmanship may be for us, because those qualities have now become the guiding power in every Indian border question, from Siam and Birma to Cashmere. Mr. Schuyler's "Turkestan," which still maintains its place as the leading work on Central Asia, although not treating on the affairs of Kashgar, has been frequently referred to for the course of affairs in Khokand; but, in the main, Dr. Bellew's historical narrative in Sir D. Forsyth's Report has been followed. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KASHGAR 1 CHAPTER II. ETHNOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KASHGAR 14 CHAPTER III. HISTORY OF KASHGAR 22 CHAPTER IV. THE CONQUEST OF KASHGAR BY CHINA 41 CHAPTER V. THE CHINESE RULE IN KASHGAR 54 CHAPTER VI. THE BIRTH OF YAKOOB BEG AND CAREER IN THE SERVICE OF KHOKAND 76 CHAPTER VII. THE INVASION OF KASHGAR BY BUZURG KHAN AND YAKOOB BEG 92 CHAPTER VIII. WARS WITH THE TUNGANI 119 CHAPTER IX. YAKOOB BEG'S GOVERNMENT OF KASHGAR 137 CHAPTER X. YAKOOB BEG'S POLICY TOWARDS RUSSIA 173 CHAPTER XI.