eggplant, ginseng, cabbage, bamboo, indigo, pepper, tobacco, camphor,
tallow, ground-nut, poppy, water-melon, sugar, cotton, hemp, and
silk. Among the fruits grown are the date, mulberry, orange, lemon,
pumelo, persimmon, lichi, pomegranate, pineapple, fig, coconut, mango,
and banana, besides the usual kinds common in Western countries.

The wild animals include the tiger, panther, leopard, bear, sable,
otter, monkey, wolf, fox, twenty-seven or more species of ruminants,
and numerous species of rodents. The rhinoceros, elephant, and tapir
still exist in Yünnan. The domestic animals include the camel and the
water-buffalo. There are about 700 species of birds, and innumerable
species of fishes and insects.


Sociological Environment

On their arrival in what is now known as China the Chinese, as already
noted, fought with the aboriginal tribes. The latter were exterminated,
absorbed, or driven south with the spread of Chinese rule. The Chinese
"picked out the eyes of the land," and consequently the non-Chinese
tribes now live in the unhealthy forests or marshes of the south,
or in mountain regions difficult of access, some even in trees (a
voluntary, not compulsory promotion), though several, such as the Dog
Jung in Fukien, retain settlements like islands among the ruling race.

In the third century B.C. began the hostile relations of the Chinese
with the northern nomads, which continued throughout the greater
part of their history. During the first six centuries A.D. there was
intercourse with Rome, Parthia, Turkey, Mesopotamia, Ceylon, India,
and Indo-China, and in the seventh century with the Arabs. Europe