B.C.--Decline of the imperial power until its extinction in 250
B.C.--The Five Tyrant or Protector period--Natural movement to
keep pace with political development--Easier system of writing--
Development of trade and industry--Living interests clash with
extinct aspirations--From 722 B.C. to 480 B.C. is the period of
change covered by Confucius' history

CHAPTER III

_THE NORTHERN POWERS_

The state of Tsin in Shan Si--In 771 B.C.: its ruler escorts the
Emperor to his new capital--Only in 671 B.C. does Confucius
mention Tsin--Divided from Ts'in by the Yellow River--Important
difference between the sounds Tsin and Ts'in--Importance of the
whole Yellow River as a natural boundary--The state of Ts'i also
engaged in buffer work against Tartar inroads--Remote origin of
Ts'i-Ts'in, Tsin, and Ts'i grow powerful as the Emperor grows
weaker--The state of Yen in the Peking plain--The founder of Yen
immortalized in song--Complete absence of tradition concerning
Yen's origin--Its possible relations with Corea and Japan--Centre
of political gravity transferred for ever to the north--Tartar
movements in Asia generally 800-600 B.C.--Never was a Tarter
empire--Reason for using the loose word "Tartars"--Race divisions
then probably very much as now--Attempt to classify the Tartars in
definite groups--Ch'wan unknown by any name--Nothing at all was
known in China of the north and west: _a fortiori_ of Central
Asia

CHAPTER IV