In physical conformation the Chinese have a yellow-brown complexion, a broad face, and a scanty beard, lank black hair, dark irides, and a stature below that of the European. This is what we expect, as part and parcel of the common Mongol characteristics. Harshness of feature they have in a less degree than the true Mongolians; a tendency to obesity in a greater. In this respect, they have been called _Mongols softened down_. This is what they really are. One point of physiognomy, however, is more peculiarly Chinese than aught else,--viz. the linear character, and oblique direction of the opening of the eyes. This is _narrow_, so that little of the eye is seen. It is also drawn upwards at its outer angle, and so becomes oblique in its position. Sometimes in addition to this the upper eyelid hangs heavy and tumid over the eyeball; and sometimes the skin forms a crescentic fold between the inner angle of the eye and the nose; as may be seen in individuals out of China, and which is not uncommon in England. Now the peculiarity that I have just attempted to describe, is one of the minute points of difference between the Chinese and several other Mongol nations. The _oblique eye_ will often be noticed in the following pages; sometimes from the fact of its presence, sometimes from that of its absence. It is not exclusively Chinese: but it is found in its most marked form in China. THE TIBETANS. _Localities._--Tibet, Bután, Ladakh, Bultistan, or Little Tibet. _Political relations._--Tibet, subject to China, Ladakh a part of the Sikh empire, Bultistan and Bután, independent. _Divisions._--1. The Bhot of Tibet. 2. The Bhután Tibetans. 3. The Ladakh Tibetans. 4. The Bulti. _Conterminous._--Taking the family altogether, with the Chinese, Mongolians, Turks, Northern tribes and nations of Hindostan, North-Western tribes of the Burmese empire, and certain tribes akin to the Persians. _Religion._--Chiefly Buddhism. Brahminism on the Indian frontier. Shia Mahometanism in Little Tibet. _Language._--Dialects, in some cases, perhaps, independent languages, of the Tibetan. _Alphabet._--Derived from the Pali of India. _Physical appearance._--Mongol. 1.--_The Bhot._--These are the inhabitants of Tibet Proper, and Tangut. They are all Buddhists in the more exaggerated form; and it is in the Tibetan monasteries where the greatest abundance of Buddhist literature is to be found. This is almost wholly religious, and in a great measure a translation from either the Sanskrit or the Pali. The first century after Christ is generally considered as the epoch at which the religion was introduced into Tibet: and this epoch is a likely one. 2.--_The Tibetans of Bután._--Although Buddhists, the Tibetans of Bután have been modified by Hindu influences. Their government is that of a Rajah, and many of their outlying tribes are extended to the south of the Himalayan range.