comparison only, and not intended as valid for all purposes. (He must acknowledge the stimulating criticism of Mr. Jan Tai, of the Library of Congress, who made it clear that this distortion of Confucius was one which could be excused only if it were admitted.)—An interesting presentation of Confucius as transposed into the older political theory, untouched by sociology, is to be found in Senator Elbert Duncan Thomas, _Chinese Political Thought_, New York, 1927. 26 Granet, _Chinese Civilization_, cited, p. 84. Granet’s work, while challenged by many sinologues as well as by anthropologists, is the most brilliant portrayal of Chinese civilization to the time of Shih Huang Ti. His interpretations make the language of the _Odes_ (collected by Confucius) intelligible, and clear up the somewhat obscure transition from the oldest feudal society to the epoch of the proto-nations and then to the inauguration of the world order. 27 Granet, cited, pp. 87-88. 28 Richard Wilhelm, _Geschichte der chinesischen Philosophie_, Breslau, 1929, p. 19. 29 One could therefore say that membership in a society is determined by the outlook of the individual concerned. 30 In modern Western political thought, this doctrine is most clearly demonstrated in the Marxian thesis of the withering-away of the state. The Marxists hold that, as the relics of the class struggle are eliminated from the new society, and classlessness and uniform indoctrination come to prevail, the necessity for a state—which they, however, consider an instrument of class domination—will decline and the state will atrophy and disappear. 31 Liang Ch’i-ch’ao, _History of Chinese Political Thought during the early Tsin Period_, translated by L. T. Chen, New York, 1930, p. 38. 32 Liang Ch’i-ch’ao (cited, p. 48 and following) discusses these points.—The author is indebted to Mr. Jên Tai for the explanation of the relation of these various factors in the Confucian ideology. 33 Leon Wieger and L. Davrout, _Chinese Characters_, Hsien-hsien, 1927, p. 6. 34 Hsü, cited above, chapter three, contains an excellent discussion of the doctrine of rectification. 35 A stimulating discussion of the pragmatism of early Chinese thought is to be found in Creel, cited.