from about 700 B.C., belonging to a genuinely historical period. These
annals form Part I of the five parts into which the historian divides
his scheme.

Part II is occupied by chronological tables of the Emperors and their
reigns, of the suzerains and vassal nobles under the feudal system which
was introduced about 1100 B.C., and also of the nobles created to form
an aristocracy after the feudal system had been swept away and replaced
by the old Imperial rule, about 200 B.C.

Part III consists of eight important and interesting chapters: (1) on
the Rites and Ceremonies of the period covered, (2) on Music, (3) on the
Pitch-pipes, a series of twelve bamboo tubes of varying lengths, the
notes from which were supposed to be bound up in some mysterious way
with the good and bad fortunes of mankind, (4) on the Calendar, (5) on
the Stars, (6) on the Imperial Sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, (7) on
the Waterways of the Empire, and lastly (8) on Commerce, Coinage, etc.

Part IV deals with the reigns, so to speak, of the vassal nobles under
the feudal system, the reigns of the suzerains having been already
included in Part I.

Part V consists of biographies of the most eminent men who came to the
front during the whole period covered.

These biographies are by no means confined to virtuous statesmen or
heroic generals, as we might very reasonably have expected. The Chinese
historian took a much broader view of his responsibilities to future
ages, and along with the above virtuous statesmen and heroic generals
he included lives of famous assassins, of tyrannical officials, of