In size, the women are smaller than European females; and in the eyes of those accustomed to the European style of beauty, the Chinese women possess little; the broad upper face, low nose, and linear eyes, being quite the contrary of handsome. Nevertheless, the Chinese face is not destitute of beauty, and when animated with good humor and an expressive eye, and lighted by the glow of youth and health, the features lose much of their repulsiveness. Nor do they fade so soon and look as ugly and withered when old as some travellers say, but are in respect to bearing children and keeping their vigor, more like Europeans than the Hindus or Persians. ~ABORIGINAL TRIBES.~ The mountainous regions in Yunnan, Kwangsí, and Kweichau, give lodgement to many clans of the Miaotsz’ or “children of the soil,” as the words may be rendered. It is singular that any of these people should have maintained their independence so long, when so large a portion of them have partially submitted to Chinese rule. Those who will not are called _săng Miaotsz’_, _i.e._, wild or ‘unsubdued,’ while the others are termed _shuh_ or ‘subdued.’ They present so many physical points of difference as to lead one to infer that they are a more ancient race than the Chinese around them, and the aborigines of Southern China. They are rather smaller in size and stature, have shorter necks, and their features are somewhat more angular. They are divided into many tribes, and have been described by Chinese travellers, who have illustrated their habits by paintings and sketches, from which a good idea can be obtained of their condition. Dr. Bridgman has translated such an account, written by a Chinese native traveller, in which he sketches the manners of eighty-two clans, especially those customs relating to worship and marriage, showing how little they have learned from their rulers or improved from the savage state. An examination of their languages shows that those of the Miaotsz’ proper have strong affinities with the Siamese and Annamese, and those known as _Lolo_ exhibit a decided likeness to the Burmese. The former of these are mentioned in Chinese history during 4,000 years; the latter about A.D. 250, when a Shan nation came under Chinese influence in Yunnan, and was the object of a warlike expedition. The same race still remain on the Upper Irrawadi and in Assam as Shans and Khamti, and in the basins of the Meinam and Mei-lung, all of them akin to the Tibetans and Burmese. They form together an interesting relic of the ancient peoples of the land, and further inquiries will doubtless develop something of their history and origin.[22] An aboriginal race--the _Li-mu_--exists in the centre of Hainan, an offset from the Miaotsz’, judging by the little that is known of their language. The natives of Formosa seem to have more affinity with their neighbors in Luzon and southward than with the Chinese. ~MANCHUS AND MONGOLS.~