As in the case of the Waverley novels, a considerable amount of fiction
has been interwoven with truth to make the narrative more palatable
to the general reader; but its basis is history, and the work is
universally regarded among the Chinese themselves as one of the most
valuable productions in the lighter branches of their literature.

The three to four centuries which follow on the above period were a
time of political and social disorganisation, unfavourable, according
to Chinese writers, to the development of both literature and art. The
House of Chin, which at first held sway over a once more united empire,
was severely harassed by the Tartars on the north, who were in turn
overwhelmed by the House of Toba. The latter ruled for some two hundred
years over northern China, while the southern portions were governed
by several short-lived native dynasties. A few points in connexion with
these times deserve perhaps brief mention.

The old rule of twenty-seven months of mourning for parents was
re-established, and has continued in force down to the present day. The
Japanese sent occasional missions, with tribute; and the Chinese, who
had already in A.D. 240 dispatched an envoy to Japan, repeated the
compliment in 608. An attempt was made to conquer Korea, and envoys
were sent to countries as far off as Siam. Buddhism, which had been
introduced many centuries previously--no one can exactly say when--began
to spread far and wide, and appeared to be firmly established. In A.D.
399 a Buddhist priest, named Fa Hsien, started from Central China and
travelled to India across the great desert and over the Hindu Kush,
subsequently visiting Patna, Benares, Buddha-Gaya, and other well-known
spots, which he accurately described in the record of his journey
published on his return and still in existence. His object was to obtain
copies of the sacred books, relics and images, illustrative of the