Russian aid to Communist China continued to 1960. Its termination slowed development briefly but was not disastrous. Russian assistance was a "shot in the arm," as stimulating and about as lasting as American aid to Taiwan or to European countries. The stress laid upon heavy industry, in imitation of Russia, increased China's military strength quickly, but the consumer had to wait for goods which would make his life more enjoyable. One cause of friction in China today concerns the relative desirability of heavy industry versus consumer industry, a problem which arose in Russia after the death of Stalin.

China's military strength was first demonstrated in the Korean War when Chinese armies entered Korea (October 1950). Their successes contributed to the prestige of the Peking regime at home and abroad, but they also foreshadowed a conflict with Soviet Russia, which regarded North Korea as lying within its own sphere of influence.

In the same year, China invaded and conquered Tibet. Tibet, under Manchu rule until 1911, had achieved a certain degree of independence thereafter: no republican Chinese regime ever ruled Lhasa. The military conquest of Tibet is regarded by many as an act of Chinese imperialism, or colonialism, as the Tibetans certainly did not want to belong to China or be forced to change their traditional form of government. Having regarded themselves as subjects of the Manchu but not of the Chinese, they rose against the communist rulers in March 1959, but without success.

Chinese control of Tibet, involving the construction of numerous roads, airstrips, and military installations, as well as differences concerning the international border, led in 1959 to conflicts with India, a country which had previously sided with the new China in international affairs. Indeed, the borders were uncertain and looked different depending on whether one used Manchu or Indian maps. China's other border problem was with Burma. Early in 1960 the two countries concluded a border agreement which ended disputes dating from British colonial times.

Very early in its existence Communist China assumed control of Sinkiang, Chinese Central Asia, a large area originally inhabited by Turkish and Mongolian tribes and states, later conquered by the Manchu, and then integrated into China in the early nineteenth century. The communist action was to be expected, although after the Revolution of 1911 Chinese rule over this area had been spotty, and during the Pacific War some Soviet-inspired hope had existed that Sinkiang might gain independence, following the example of Outer Mongolia, another country which had been attached to the Manchu until 1911 and which, with Russian assistance, had gained its independence from China. Sinkiang is of great importance to Communist China as the site of large sources of oil and of atomic industries and testing grounds. The government has stimulated and often forced Chinese immigration into Sinkiang, so that the erstwhile Turkish and Mongolian majorities have become minorities, envious of their ethnic brothers in Soviet Central Asia who enjoy a much higher standard of living and more freedom.

Inner Mongolia had a brief dream of independence under Japanese protection during the war. But the majority of the population were Chinese, and already before the Pacific War, the country had been divided into three Chinese provinces, of which the Chinese Communists gained control without delay.

In general, when the Chinese Communists discuss territorial claims, they appear to seek the restoration of borders that China claimed in the eighteenth century. Thus, they make occasional remarks about the Ili area and parts of Eastern Siberia, which the Manchu either lost to the Russians or claimed as their territory. North Vietnam is probably aware that Imperial China exercised political rights over Tongking and Annam (the present-day North and part of South Vietnam). And, treaty or no, the Sino-Burmese question may be reopened one day, for Burma was semi-dependent on China under the Manchu.

The build-up of heavy industry enabled China to conduct an aggressive policy towards the countries surrounding her, but industrialization had to be paid for, and, as in other countries, it was basically agriculture that had to create the necessary capital. Therefore, in June 1950 a land-reform law was promulgated. By October 1952 it had been implemented at an estimated cost of two million human lives: the landlords. The next step, socialization of the land, began in 1953.

The cooperative farms were supposed to achieve higher production than small individual farms. It may be that any farmer, but particularly the Chinese, is emotionally involved in his crop, in contrast to the industrial worker, who often is alienated from the product he makes. Thus the farmer is unwilling to put unlimited energy and time into working on a farm that does not belong to him. But it may also be that the application of principles of industrial operation to agriculture fails because emergencies often occur in farming and are followed by periods of leisure, whereas in industry steady work is possible.

In any case, in 1956 strains began to appear in China's economy. In early 1958 the "Great Leap Forward" was promoted in an attempt to speed production in all sectors. Soon after, the first communes were created, against the advise of Russian specialists. The objective of the communes seems to have been not only the creation of a new organizational form which would allow the government to exercise more pressure upon farmers to increase production, but also the correlation of labor and other needs of industry with agriculture. The communes may have represented an attempt to set up an organization which could function independently, even in the event of a governmental breakdown in wartime. At the same time, the decentralization of industries began and a people's militia was created. The "back-yard furnaces," which produced high-cost iron of low quality, seem to have had a similar purpose: to teach citizens how to produce iron for armaments in case of war and enemy occupation, when only guerrilla resistance would be possible. In the same year, aggressive actions against offshore, Nationalist-held islands increased. China may have believed that war with the United States was imminent. Perhaps as a result of Russian talks with China, a détente followed in 1959, but so too did increased tension between Russia and China, while the results of the Great Leap and its policies proved catastrophic. The years 1961-64 provided a needed respite from the failures of the Great Leap. Farmers regained limited rights to income from private efforts, and improved farm techniques such as better seed and the use of fertilizer began to produce results. China can now feed her population in normal years.

Chinese leaders realize that an improved level of living is difficult to attain while the birth rate remains high. They have hesitated to adopt a family-planning policy, which would fly in the face of Marxist doctrine, although for a short period family planning was openly recommended. Their most efficient method of limiting the birth rate has been to recommend postponement of marriage.

First the limitation of private enterprise and business and then the nationalization of all important businesses following the completion of land reform deprived many employers as well as small shopkeepers of an occupation. But the new industries could not absorb all of the labor that suddenly became available. When rural youth inundated the cities in search of employment, the government returned the excess urban population to the countryside and recruited students and other urban youth to work on farms. Re-education camps in outlying areas also provided cheap farm labor.

The problem facing China or any nation that modernizes and industrializes in the twentieth century can be simply stated. Nineteenth-century industry needed large masses of workers which only the rural areas could supply; and, with the development of farming methods, the countryside could afford to send its youth to the cities. Twentieth-century industry, on the other hand, needs technicians and highly qualified personnel, often with college degrees, but few unskilled workers. China has traditionally employed human labor where machines would have been cheaper and more efficient, simply because labor was available and capital was not. But since, with the growth of modern industry and modern farming, the problem will arise again, the policy of employing urban youth on farms is shortsighted.

The labor force also increased as a result of the "liberation" of women, in which the marriage law of April 1950 was the first step. Nationalist China had earlier created a modern and liberal marriage law; moreover, women were never the slaves that they have sometimes been painted. In many parts of China, long before the Pacific War, women worked in the fields with their husbands. Elsewhere they worked in secondary agricultural industries (weaving, preparation of food conserves, home industries, and even textile factories) and provided supplementary income for their families. All that "liberation" in 1950 really meant was that women had to work a full day as their husbands did, and had, in addition, to do house work and care for their children much as before. The new marriage law did, indeed, make both partners equal; it also made it easier for men to divorce their wives, political incompatibility becoming a ground for divorce.

The ideological justification for a new marriage law was the desirability of destroying the traditional Chinese family and its economic basis because a close family, and all the more an extended family or a clan, could obviously serve as a center of resistance. Land collectivization and the nationalization of business destroyed the economic basis of families. The "liberation" of women brought them out of the house and made it possible for the government to exploit dissention between husband and wife, thereby increasing its control over the family. Finally, the new education system, which indoctrinated all children from nursery to the end of college, separated children from parents, thus undermining parental control and enabling the state to intimidate parents by encouraging their children to denounce their "deviations." Sporadic efforts to dissolve the family completely by separating women from men in communes—recalling an attempt made almost a century earlier by the T'ai-p'ing—were unsuccessful.

The best formula for a revolution seems to involve turning youth against its elders, rather than turning one class against another. Not all societies have a class system so clear-cut that class antagonism is effective. On the other hand, Chinese youth, in its opposition to the "establishment," to conservatism, to traditional religion, to blind emulation of Western customs and institutions, to the traditional family structure and the position of women, had hopes that communism would eradicate the specific "evil" which each individual wanted abolished. Mao and his followers had once been such rebellious youths, but by the 1960's they were mostly old men and a new youth had appeared, a generation of revolutionaries for whom the "old regime" was dim history, not reality. In the struggle between Mao and Liu Shao-ch'i, which became increasingly apparent in 1966, Mao tried to retain his power by mobilizing young people as "Red Guards" and by inciting them to make the "Great Proletarian Revolution." The motives behind the struggle are diverse. It is on the one hand a conflict of persons contending for power, but there are also disagreements over theory: for example, should China's present generation toil to make possible a better life only for the next generation, or should it enjoy the fruits of its labor, after its many years of suffering? Mao opposes such "weakening" and favors a new generation willing to endure hardships, as he did in his youth. There is also a question whether the Chinese Communist Party under the banner of Maoism should replace the Russian party, establish Mao as the fourth founder after Marx, Lenin, and Stalin, and become the leader of world communism, or whether it should collaborate with the Russian party, at least temporarily, and thus ensure China Russian support. When, however, Chinese youth was summoned to take up the fight for Mao and his group, forces were loosed which could not be controlled. Following independent action by youth groups similar in nature to youth revolts in Western countries, the power and prestige of older leaders suffered. Even now (1969) it is impossible to re-establish unity and order; the Mao and Liu groups still oppose each other, and local factions have arisen. Violent confrontations, often resulting in hundreds of deaths, occur in many provinces. The regime is no longer so strong and unified as it was before 1966, although its end is not in sight. Quite possibly far-reaching changes may occur in the future.

Three factors will probably influence the future of China. First, the emergence of neo-communism, as in Czechoslovakia in 1968, in an attempt to soften traditional communist practice. Second, the outcome of the war in Vietnam. Will China be able to continue its eighteenth-century dream of direct or indirect domination of Southeast Asia? Will North Vietnam detach itself from China and attach itself more closely to Russia? Will Russia and China continue to create separate spheres of influence in Asia, Africa, and South America? The first factor depends on developments inside China, the second on events outside, and at least in part on decisions in the United States, Japan, and Europe.

The third factor has to do with human nature. One may justifiably ask whether the change in human personality which Chinese communism has attempted to achieve is possible, let alone desirable. Studies of animals and of human beings have demonstrated a tendency to identify with a territory, with property, and with kin. Can the Chinese eradicate this tendency? The Chinese have been family-centered and accustomed to subordinating their individual inclinations to the requirements of family and neighborhood. But beyond these established frameworks they have been individualistic and highly idiosyncratic at all times. Under the communist regime, however, the government is omnipresent, and people must toe the official line. One senses the tragedy that affects well-known scholars, writers and poets, who must degrade themselves, their work, their past and their families in order to survive. They may hope for comprehension of their actions, but nonetheless they must suffer shame. Will the present government change the minds of these men and eradicate their feelings?

Communist China has made great progress, no doubt. Soon it may equal other developed nations. But its progress has been achieved at an unnecessary cost in human lives and happiness.

That the regime is no longer so strong and unified as it was before 1966 does not mean that its end is in sight. Far-reaching changes may occur in the near future. Public opinion is impressed with mainland China's progress, as the world usually is with strong nations. And public opinion is still unimpressed by the achievements of Taiwan and has hardly begun to change its attitude toward the government of the "Republic of China." To the historian and the sociologist, the experience of Taiwan indicates that China, if left alone and freed from ideological pressures, could industrialize more quickly than any other presently underdeveloped nation. Taiwan offers a model with which to compare mainland China.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

p. 7: Reference is made here to the T'ung-chien kang-mu and its translation by de Mailla (1777-85). Criticism by O. Franke, Ku Chieh-kang and his school, also by G. Haloun.

p. 8: For the chronology, I rely here upon Ijima Tadao and my own research. Excavations at Chou-k'ou-tien still continue and my account should be taken as very preliminary. An earlier analysis is given by E.  von Eickstedt (Rassendynamik von Ostasien, Berlin 1944). For the following periods, the best general study is still J. G. Andersson, Researches into the Prehistory of the Chinese, Stockholm 1943. A great number of new findings has been made recently, but no comprehensive analysis in a Western language is available.

p. 9: Comparison with Ainu has been made by Weidenreich. The theory of desiccation of Asia is not the Huntington theory, but I rely here upon arguments by J. G. Andersoon and Sven Hedin.

p. 10: The earlier theories of R. Heine-Geldern have been used here.

p. 11: This is a summary of my own theories. Concerning the Tungus tribes, K. Jettmar (Wiener Beiträge zur Kulturgeschichte, vol. 9, 1952, p. 484f and later studies) has proposed a more refined theory; other parts of the theory, as far as it is concerned with conditions in Central Asia, have been modified by F. Kussmaul (in: Tribus, vol. 1952-3, pp. 305-60). Archaeological data from Central Asia have been analysed again by K. Jettmar (in: The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Bulletin No. 23, 1951). The discussion on domestication of large animals relies on the studies by C. O. Sauer, H. von Wissmann, Menghin, Amschler, Flohr and, most recently, F. Hančar (in: Saeculum, vol. 10, 1959, pp. 21-37 with further literature), and also on my own research.

p. 12: An analysis of the situation in the South according to Western and Chinese studies is found in H. J. Wiens, China's March toward the Tropics, Hamden 1954. Much further work is now published by Ling Shun-sheng, Rui Yi-fu and other anthropologists in Taipei. The best analysis of denshiring in the Far East is still the book by K. J. Pelzer, Population and Land Utilization, New York 1941. The anthropological theories on this page are my own, influenced by ideas of R.  Heine-Geldern and Gordon Luce.

p. 14: Sociological theory, as developed by R. Thurnwald and others, has been used as a theoretical tool here, together with observations by A.  Credner and H. Bernatzik. Concerning rice in Yang-shao see R.  Heine-Geldern in Anthropos, vol. 27, p. 595.

p. 15: Wu Chin-ting defended the local origin of Yang-shao; T. J. Arne, J. G. Andersson and many others suggested Western influences. Most recently R. Heine-Geldern elaborated this theory. The allusion to Indo-Europeans refers to the studies by G. Haloun and others concerning the Ta-Hsia, the later Yüeh-chih, and the Tocharian problem.

p. 16: R. Heine-Geldern proposed a "Pontic migration". Yin Huan-chang discussed most recently Lung-shan culture and the mound-dwellers.

p. 17: The original Chu-shu chi-nien version of the stories about Yao has been accepted here, together with my own research and the studies by B. Karlgren, M. Loehr, G. Haloun, E. H. Minns and others concerning the origin and early distribution of bronze and the animal style. Smith families or tribes are well known from Central Asia, but also from India and Africa (see W. Ruben, Eisenschmiede und Dämonen in Indien, Leiden 1939, for general discussion).—For a discussion of the Hsia see E.  Erkes.

Chapter Two

p. 19: The discussion in this chapter relies mainly upon the An-yang excavation reports and the studies by Tung Tso-pin and, most strongly, Ch'en Meng-chia. In English, the best work is still H. G. Creel, The Birth of China, London 1936 and his more specialized Studies in Early Chinese Culture, Baltimore 1937.

p. 20: The possibility of a "megalithic" culture in the Far East has often been discussed, by O. Menghin, R. Heine-Geldern, Cheng Tê-k'un, Ling Shun-sheng and others. Megaliths occur mainly in South-East Asia, southern China, Korea and Japan.—Teng Ch'u-min and others believe that silk existed already in the time of Yang-shao.

p. 21: Kuo Mo-jo believes, that the Shang already used a real plough drawn by animals. The main discussion on ploughs in China is by Hsü Chung-shu; for general anthropological discussion see E. Werth and H.  Kothe.

p. 22: For the discussion of the T'ao-t'ieh see the research by B.  Karlgren and C. Hentze.

p. 23: I follow here mainly Ch'en Meng-chia, but work by B. Schindler, C. Hentze, H. Maspero and also my own research has been considered.

p. 24: I am accepting here a narrow definition of feudalism (see my Conquerors and Rulers, Leiden 1952).—The division of armies into "right" and "left" is interesting in the light of the theories concerning the importance of systems of orientation (Fr. Röck and others).

p. 25: Here, the work by W. Koppers, O. Spengler, F. Hančar, V. G. Childe and many others, concerning the domestication of the horse and the introduction of the war-chariot in general, and work by Shih Chang-ju, Ch'en Meng-chia, O. Maenchen, Uchida Gimpu and others concerning horses, riding and chariots in China has been used, in addition to my own research.

p. 26: Concerning the wild animals, I have relied upon Ch'en Meng-chia, Hsü Chung-shu and Tung Tso-pin.—The discussion as to whether there was a period of "slave society" (as postulated by Marxist theory) in China, and when it florished, is still going on under the leadership of Kuo Mo-jo and his group. I prefer to differentiate between slaves and serfs, and relied for factual data upon texts from oracle bones, not upon historical texts.—The problem of Shang chronology is still not solved, in spite of extensive work by Liu Ch'ao-yang, Tung Tso-pin and many Japanese and Western scholars. The old chronology, however, seems to be rejected by most scholars now.

Chapter Three

p. 29: Discussing the early script and language, I refer to the great number of unidentified Shang characters and, especially, to the composite characters which have been mentioned often by C. Hentze in his research; on the other hand, the original language of the Chou may have been different from classical Chinese, if we can judge from the form of the names of the earliest Chou ancestors. Problems of substrata languages enter at this stage. Our first understanding of Chou language and dialects seems to come through the method applied by P. Serruys, rather than through the more generally accepted theories and methods of B. Karlgren and his school.

p. 30: I reject here the statement of classical texts that the last Shang ruler was unworthy, and accept the new interpretation of Ch'en Meng-chia which is based upon oracle bone texts.—The most recent general study on feudalism, and on feudalism in China, is in R.  Coulborn, Feudalism in History, Princeton 1956. Stimulating, but in parts antiquated, is M. Granet, La Féodalité Chinoise, Oslo 1952. I rely here on my own research. The instalment procedure has been described by H. Maspero and Ch'i Szŭ-ho.

p. 31: The interpretation of land-holding and clans follows my own research which is influenced by Niida Noboru, Katō Shigeru and other Japanese scholars, as well as by G. Haloun.—Concerning the origin of family names see preliminarily Yang Hsi-mei; much further research is still necessary. The general development of Chinese names is now studied by Wolfgang Bauer.—The spread of cities in this period has been studied by Li Chi, The Formation of the Chinese People, Cambridge 1928. My interpretation relies mainly upon a study of the distribution of non-Chinese tribes and data on early cities coming from excavation reports (see my "Data on the Structure of the Chinese City" in Economic Development and Cultural Change, 1956, pp. 253-68, and "The Formation of Chinese Civilization" in Sociologus 7, 1959, pp. 97-112).

p. 32: The work on slaves by T. Pippon, E. Erkes, M. Wilbur, Wan Kuo-ting, Kuo Mo-jo, Niida Noboru, Kao Nien-chih and others has been consulted; the interpretation by E. G. Pulleyblank, however, was not accepted.

p. 33: This interpretation of the "well-field" system relies in part upon the work done by Hsü Ti-shan, in part upon M. Granet and H.  Maspero, and attempts to utilize insight from general anthropological theory and field-work mainly in South-East Asia. Other interpretations have been proposed by Yang Lien-sheng, Wan Kuo-ting, Ch'i Szŭ-ho P.  Demiéville, Hu Shih, Chi Ch'ao-ting, K. A. Wittfogel, and others. Some authors, such as Kuo Mo-jo, regard the whole system as an utopia, but believe in an original "village community".—The characterization of the Chou-li relies in part upon the work done by Hsü Chung-shu and Ku Chieh-kang on the titles of nobility, research by Yang K'uan and textual criticism by B. Karlgren, O. Franke, and again Ku Chieh-kang and his school.—The discussion on twin cities is intended to draw attention to its West Asian parallels, the "acropolis" or "ark" city, as well as to the theories on the difference between Western and Asian cities (M.  Weber) and the specific type of cities in "dual societies" (H. Boeke).

p. 34: This is a modified form of the Hu Shih theory.—The problem of nomadic agrarian inter-action and conflict has been studied for a later period mainly by O. Lattimore. Here, general anthropological research as well as my own have been applied.

p. 36: The supra-stratification theory as developed by R. Thurnwald has been used as analytic tool here.

p. 38: For this period, a novel interpretation is presented by R. L.  Walker, The Multi-State System of China, Hamden 1953. For the concepts of sovereignty, I have used here the Chou-li text and interpretations based upon this text.

p. 40: For the introduction of iron and the importance of Ch'i, see Chu Hsi-tsu, Kuo Mo-jo, Yang K'uan, Sekino, Takeshi.—Some scholars (G.  Haloun) tend to interpret attacks such as the one of 660 B.C. as attacks from outside the borders of China.

p. 41: For Confucius see H. G. Creel, Confucius, New York 1949. I do not, however, follow his interpretation, but rather the ideas of Hu Shih, O. Franke and others.

p. 42: For "chün-tzu" and its counterpart "hsiao-jen" see D. Bodde and Ch'en Meng-chia.

p. 43: I rely strongly here upon O. Franke and Ku Chieh-kang and upon my own work on eclipses.

p. 44: I regard the Confucian traditions concerning the model emperors of early time as such a falsification. The whole concept of "abdication" has been analysed by M. Granet. The later ceremony of abdication was developed upon the basis of the interpretations of Confucius and has been studied by Ku Chieh-kang and Miyakawa Hisayuki. Already Confucius' disciple Meng Tzŭ, and later Chuang Tzŭ and Han Fei Tzŭ were against this theory.—As a general introduction to the philosophy of this period, Y. L. Feng's History of Chinese Philosophy, London 1937 has still to be recommended, although further research has made many advances.—My analysis of the role of Confucianism in society is influenced by theories in the field of Sociology of religion.

p. 45: The temple in Turkestan was in Khotan and is already mentioned in the Wei-shu chapter 102. The analysis of the famous "Book on the transfiguration of Lao Tzŭ into a Western Barbarian" by Wang Wei-cheng is penetrating and has been used here. The evaluation of Lao Tzŭ and his pupils as against Confucius by J. Needham, in his Science and Civilization in China, Cambridge 1954 et sqq. (in volume 2) is very stimulating, though necessarily limited to some aspects only.

p. 47: The concept of wu-wei has often been discussed; some, such as Masaaki Matsumoto, interpreted the concept purely in social terms as "refusal of actions carrying wordly estimation".

p. 49: Further literature concerning alchemy and breathing exercises is found in J. Needham's book.

Chapter Four

p. 51: I have used here the general frame-work of R. L. Walker, but more upon Yang K'uan's studies.

p. 52: The interpretation of the change of myths in this period is based in part upon the work done by H. Maspero, G. Haloun, and Ku Chieh-kang. The analysis of legends made by B. Karlgren from a philological point of view ("Legends and Cults in Ancient China", The Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Bulletin No. 18, 1946, pp. 199-365) follows another direction.

p. 53: The discussion on riding involves the theories concerning horse-nomadic tribes and the period of this way of life. It also involves the problem of the invention of stirrup and saddle. The saddle seems to have been used in China already at the beginning of our period; the stirrup seems to be as late as the fifth century A.D. The article by A. Kroeber, The Ancient Oikumene as an Historic Culture Aggregate, Huxley Memorial Lecture for 1945, is very instructive for our problems and also for its theoretical approach.—The custom of attracting settlers from other areas in order to have more production as well as more man-power seems to have been known in India at the same time.

p. 54: The work done by Katō Shigeru and Niida Noboru on property and family has been used here. For the later period, work done by Makino Tatsumi has also been incorporated.—Literature on the plough and on iron for implements has been mentioned above. Concerning the fallow system, I have incorporated the ideas of Katō Shigeru, Ōshima Toshikaza, Hsü Ti-shan and Wan Kuo-ting. Hsü Ti-shan believes that a kind of 3-field system had developed by this time. Traces of such a system have been observed in modern China (H. D. Scholz). For these questions, the translation by N. Lee Swann, Food and Money in Ancient China, 1959 is very important.

p. 55: For all questions of money and credit from this period down to modern times, the best brief introduction is by Lien-sheng Yang, Money and Credit in China, Cambridge 1952. The Introduction to the Economic History of China, London 1954, by E. Stuart Kirby is certainly still the best brief introduction into all problems of Chinese Economic history and contains a bibliography in Western and Chinese-Japanese languages. Articles by Chinese authors on economic problems have been translated in E-tu Zen Sun and J. de Francis, Chinese Social History; Washington 1956.—Data on the size of early cities have been collected by T. Sekino and Katō Shigeru.

p. 56: T. Sekino studied the forms of cities. G. Hentze believes that the city even in the Shang period normally had a square plan.—T. Sekino has also made the first research on city coins. Such a privilege and such independence of cities disappear later, but occasionally the privilege of minting was given to persons of high rank.—K. A. Wittfogel, Oriental Despotism, New Haven 1957 regards irrigation as a key economic and social factor and has built up his theory around this concept. I do not accept his theory here or later. Evidence seems to point towards the importance of transportation systems rather than of government-sponsored or operated irrigation systems.—Concerning steel, we follow Yang K'uan; a special study by J. Needham is under preparation. Centre of steel production at this time was Wan (later Nan-yang in Honan).—For early Chinese law, the study by A. F. P. Hulsewé, Remnants of Han Law, Leiden 1955 is the best work in English. He does not, however, regard Li K'ui as the main creator of Chinese law, though Kuo Mo-jo and others do. It is obvious, however, that Han law was not a creation of the Han Chinese alone and that some type of code must have existed before Han, even if such a code was not written by the man Li K'ui. A special study on Li was made by O. Franke.

p. 57: In the description of border conditions, research by O. Lattimore has been taken into consideration.

p. 59: For Shang Yang and this whole period, the classical work in English is still J. J. L. Duyvendak, The Book of Lord Shang, London 1928; the translation by Ma Perleberg of The Works of Kung-sun Lung-tzu, Hongkong 1952 as well as the translation of the Economic Dialogues in Ancient China: The Kuan-tzu, edited by L. Maverick, New Haven 1954 have not found general approval, but may serve as introductions to the way philosophers of our period worked. Han Fei Tzŭ has been translated by W. K. Liao, The Complete Works of Han Fei Tzŭ, London 1939 (only part 1).

p. 60: Needham does not have such a positive attitude towards Tsou Yen, and regards Western influences upon Tsou Yen as not too likely. The discussion on pp. 60-1 follows mainly my own researches.

p. 61: The interpretation of secret societies is influenced by general sociological theory and detailed reports on later secret societies. S.  Murayama and most modern Chinese scholars stress almost solely the social element in the so-called "peasant rebellions".

Chapter Five

p. 63: The analysis of the emergence of Ch'in bureaucracy has profitted from general sociological theory, especially M. Weber (see the new analysis by R. Bendix, Max Weber, an Intellectual Portrait, Garden City 1960, p. 117-157). Early administration systems of this type in China have been studied in several articles in the journal Yü-kung (vol. 6 and 7).

p. 65: In the discussion of language, I use arguments which have been brought forth by P. Serruys against the previously generally accepted theories of B. Karlgren.—For weights and measures I have referred to T.  Sekino, Liu Fu and Wu Ch'eng-lo.

p. 66: For this period, D. Bodde's China's First Unifier, Leiden 1938 and his Statesman, Patriot, and General in Ancient China, New Haven 1940 remain valuable studies.

Chapter Six

p. 71: The basic historical text for this whole period, the Dynastic History of the Han Dynasty, is now in part available in English translation (H. H. Dubs, The History of the Former Han Dynasty, Baltimore 1938, 3 volumes).

p. 72: The description of the gentry is based upon my own research. Other scholars define the word "gentry", if applied to China, differently (some of the relevant studies are discussed in my note in the Bull. School of Orient. & African Studies, 1955, p. 373 f.).

p. 73: The theory of the cycle of mobility has been brought forth by Fr. L. K. Hsu and others. I have based my criticism upon a forthcoming study of Social Mobility in Traditional Chinese Society. The basic point is not the momentary economic or political power of such a family, but the social status of the family (Li-shih yen-chiu, Peking 1955, No. 4, p. 122). The social status was, increasingly, defined and fixed by law (Ch'ü T'ung-tsu).—The difference in the size of gentry and other families has been pointed out by a number of scholars such as Fr. L. K.  Hsu, H. T. Fei, O. Lang. My own research seems to indicate that gentry families, on the average, married earlier than other families.

p. 74: The Han system of examinations or rather of selection has been studied by Yang Lien-sheng; and analysis of the social origin of candidates has been made in the Bull. Chinese Studies, vol. 2, 1941, and 3, 1942.—The meaning of the term "Hundred Families" has been discussed by W. Eichhorn, Kuo Mo-jo, Ch'en Meng-chia and especially by Hsü T'ung-hsin. It was later also a fiscal term.

p. 75: The analysis of Hsiung-nu society is based mainly upon my own research. There is no satisfactory history of these northern federations available in English. The compilation of W. M. MacGovern, The Early Empires of Central Asia, Chapel Hill 1939, is now quite antiquated.—An attempt to construct a model of Central Asian nomadic social structure has been made by E. E. Bacon, Obok, a Study of Social Structure in Eurasia, New York 1958, but the model constructed by B. Vladimirtsov and modified by O. Lattimore remains valuable.—For origin and early-development of Hsiung-nu society see O. Maenchen, K. Jettmar, B.  Bernstam, Uchida Gimpu and many others.

p. 79: Material on the "classes" (szŭ min) will be found in a forthcoming book. Studies by Ch'ü T'ung-tsu and Tamai Korehiro are important here. An up-to-date history of Chinese education is still a desideratum.

p. 80: For Tung Chung-shu, I rely mainly upon O. Franke.—Some scholars do not accept this "double standard", although we have clear texts which show that cases were evaluated on the basis of Confucian texts and not on the basis of laws. In fact, local judges probably only in exceptional cases knew the text of the law or had the code. They judged on the basis of "customary law".

p. 81: Based mainly upon my own research. K. A. Wittfogel, Oriental Despotism, New Haven 1957, has a different interpretation.

p. 82: Cases in which the Han emperors disregarded the law code were studied by Y. Hisamura.—I have used here studies published in the Bull. of Chinese Studies, vol. 2 and 3 and in Tôyô gakuho, vol. 8 and 9, in addition to my own research.

p. 85: On local administration see Katō Shigeru and Yen Keng-wang's studies.

p. 86: The problem of the Chinese gold, which will be touched upon later again, has gained theoretical interest, because it could be used as a test of M. Lombard's theories concerning the importance of gold in the West (Annales, Economies, Sociétés, Civilisations, vol. 12, Paris 1957, No. 1, p. 7-28). It was used in China from c. 600 B.C. on in form of coins or bars, but disappeared almost completely from A.D. 200 on, i.e. the period of economic decline (see L. S.  Yang, Katō Shigeru).—The payment to border tribes occurs many times again in Chinese history down to recent times; it has its parallel in British payments to tribes in the North-West Frontier Province in India which continued even after the Independence.

p. 88: According to later sources, one third of the tributary gifts was used in the Imperial ancestor temples, one third in the Imperial mausolea, but one third was used as gifts to guests of the Emperor.—The trade aspect of the tributes was first pointed but by E. Parker, later by O. Lattimore, recently by J. K. Fairbank.—The importance of Chang Ch'ien for East-West contacts was systematically studied by B. Laufer; his Sino-Iranica, Chicago 1919 is still a classic.

p. 89: The most important trait which points to foreign trade, is the occurrence of glass in Chinese tombs in Indo-China and of glass in China proper from the fifth century B.C. on; it is assumed that this glass was imported from the Near East, possibly from Egypt (O. Janse, N. Egami, Seligman).

p. 91: Large parts of the "Discussions" have been translated by Esson M.  Gale, Discourses on Salt and Iron, Leiden 1931; the continuation of this translation is in Jour. Royal As. Society, North-China Branch 1934.—The history of eunuchs in China remains to be written. They were known since at least the seventh century B.C. The hypothesis has been made that this custom had its origin in Asia Minor and spread from there (R. F. Spencer in Ciba Symposia, vol. 8, No. 7, 1946 with references).

p. 92: The main source on Wang Mang is translated by C. B. Sargent, Wang Mang, a translation, Shanghai 1950 and H. H. Dubs, History of the Former Han Dynasty, vol, 3, Baltimore 1955.

p. 93: This evaluation of the "Old character school" is not generally accepted. A quite different view is represented by Tjan Tjoe Som and R. P. Kramers and others who regard the differences between the schools as of a philological and not a political kind. I follow here most strongly the Chinese school as represented by Ku Chieh-kang and his friends, and my own studies.

p. 93: Falsification of texts refers to changes in the Tso-chuan. My interpretation relies again upon Ku Chieh-kang, and Japanese astronomical studies (Ijima Tadao), but others, too, admit falsifications (H. H. Dubs); B. Karlgren and others regard the book as in its main body genuine. The other text mentioned here is the Chou-li which is certainly not written by Wang Mang (Jung-chai Hsü-pi 16), but heavily mis-used by him (in general see S. Uno).

p. 94: I am influenced here by some of H. H. Dubs's studies. For this and the following period, the work by H. Bielenstein, The Restoration of the Han Dynasty, Stockholm 1953 and 1959 is the best monograph.—The "equalization offices" and their influence upon modern United States has been studied by B. Bodde in the Far Eastern Quarterly, vol. 5, 1946.

p. 95: H. Bielenstein regards a great flood as one of the main reasons for the breakdown of Wang Mang's rule.

p. 98: For the understanding of Chinese military colonies in Central Asia as well as for the understanding of military organization, civil administration and business, the studies of Lao Kan on texts excavated in Central Asia and Kansu are of greatest importance.

p. 101: Mazdaistic elements in this rebellion have been mentioned mainly by H. H. Dubs. Zoroastrism (Zoroaster born 569 B.C.) and Mazdaism were eminently "political" religions from their very beginning on. Most scholars admit the presence of Mazdaism in China only from 519 on (Ishida Mikinosuke, O. Franke). Dubs's theory can be strengthened by astronomical material.—The basic religious text of this group, the "Book of the Great Peace" has been studied by W. Eichhron, H. Maspero and Ho Ch'ang-ch'ün.

p. 102: For the "church" I rely mainly upon H. Maspero and W. Eichhorn.

p. 103: I use here concepts developed by Cheng Chen-to and especially by Jung Chao-tsu.

p. 104: Wang Ch'ung's importance has recently been mentioned again by J.  Needham.

p. 105: These "court poets" have their direct parallel in Western Asia. This trend, however, did not become typical in China.—On the general history of paper read A. Kroeber, Anthropology, New York 1948, p. 490f., and Dard Hunter, Paper Making, New York 1947 (2nd ed.).

Chapter Seven

p. 109: The main historical sources for this period have been translated by Achilles Fang, The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Cambridge, Mass. 1952; the epic which describes this time is C. H. Brewitt-Taylor, San Kuo, or Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Shanghai 1925.

p. 112: For problems of migration and settlement in the South, we relied in part upon research by Ch'en Yüan and Wang Yi-t'ung.

p. 114: For the history of the Hsiung-nu I am relying mainly upon my own studies.

p. 117: This analysis of tribal structure is based mainly upon my own research; it differs in detail from the studies by E. Bacon, Obok, a Study of Social Structure in Eurasia, New York 1958, B. Vladimirtsov, O. Lattimore's Inner Asian Frontiers of China, New York 1951 (2nd edit.) and the studies by L. M. J. Schram, The Monguors of the Kansu-Tibetan Frontier, Philadelphia 1954 and 1957.

p. 118: The use of the word "Huns" does not imply that we identify the early or the late Hsiung-nu with the European Huns. This question is still very much under discussion (O. Maenchen, W. Haussig, W. Henning, and others).

p. 119: For the history of the early Hsien-pi states see the monograph by G. Schreiber, "The History of the Former Yen Dynasty", in Monomenta Serica, vol. 14 and 15 (1949-56). For all translations from Chinese Dynastic Histories of the period between 220 and 960 the Catalogue of Translations from the Chinese Dynastic Histories for the Period 220-960, by Hans H. Frankel, Berkeley 1957, is a reliable guide.

p. 125: For the description of conditions in Turkestan, especially in Tunhuang, I rely upon my own studies, but studies by A. von Gabein, L.  Ligeti, J. R. Ware, O. Franke and Tsukamoto Zenryû have been used, too.

p. 133: These songs have first been studied by Hu Shih, later by Chinese folklorists.

p. 134: For problems of Chinese Buddhism see Arthur F. Wright, Buddhism in Chinese History, Stanford 1959, with further bibliography. I have used for this and later periods, in addition to my own sociological studies, R. Michihata, J. Gernet, and Tamai Korehiro.—It is interesting that the rise of land-owning temples in India occurred at exactly the same time (R. S. Sharma in Journ. Econ. and Soc. Hist. Orient, vol. 1, 1958, p. 316). Perhaps even more interesting, but still unstudied, is the existence of Buddhist temples in India which owned land and villages which were donated by contributions from China.—For the use of foreign monks in Chinese bureaucracies, I have used M. Weber's theory as an interpretative tool.

p. 135: The important deities of Khotan Buddhism are Vaišramana and Kubera, (research by P. Demiéville, R. Stein and others).—Where, how, and why Hinayana and Mahayana developed as separate sects, is not yet studied. Also, a sociological analysis of the different Buddhist sects in China has not even been attempted yet.

p. 136: Such public religious disputations were known also in India.

p. 137: Analysis of the tribal names has been made by L. Bazin.

p. 138-9: The personality type which was the ideal of the Toba corresponded closely to the type described by G. Geesemann, Heroische Lebensform, Berlin 1943.

p. 142: The Toba occur in contemporary Western sources as Tabar, Tabgaç, Tafkaç and similar names. The ethnic name also occurs as a title (O.  Pritsak, P. Pelliot, W. Haussig and others).—On the chün-t'ien system cf. the article by Wan Kuo-ting in E-tu Zen Sun, Chinese Social History, Washington 1956, p. 157-184. I also used Yoshimi Matsumoto and T'ang Ch'ang-ju.—Census fragments from Tunhuang have been published by L. Giles, Niida Noboru and other Japanese scholars.

p. 143: On slaves for the earlier time see M. Wilbur, Slavery in China during the Former Han Dynasty, Chicago 1943. For our period Wang Yi-t'ung and especially Niida Noboru and Ch'ü T'ung-tsu. I used for this discussion Niida, Ch'ü and Tamai Korehiro.—For the pu-ch'ü I used in addition Yang Chung-i, H. Maspero, E. Balazs, W. Eichhorn. Yang's article is translated in E-tu Zen Sun's book, Chinese Social History, pp. 142-56.—The question of slaves and their importance in Chinese society has always been given much attention by Chinese Communist authors. I believe that a clear distinction between slaves and serfs is very important.

p. 145: The political use of Buddhism has been asserted for Japan as well as for Korea and Tibet (H. Hoffmann, Quellen zur Geschichte der tibetischen Bon-Religion, Mainz 1950, p. 220 f.). A case could be made for Burma. In China, Buddhism was later again used as a tool by rulers (see below).

p. 146: The first text in which such problems of state versus church are mentioned is Mou Tzŭ (P. Pelliot transl.). More recently, some of the problems have been studied by R. Michihata and E. Zürcher. Michihata also studied the temple slaves. Temple families were slightly different. They have been studied mainly by R. Michihata, J. Gernet and Wang Yi-t'ung. The information on T'an-yao is mainly in Wei-shu 114 (transl. J. Ware).—The best work on Yün-kang is now Seiichi Mizuno and Toshio Nagahiro, Yün-kang. The Buddhist Cave-Temples of the Fifth Century A.D. in North China, Kyoto 1951-6, thus far 16 volumes. For Chinese Buddhist art, the work by Tokiwa Daijô and Sekino Tadashi, Chinese Buddhist Monuments, Tokyo 1926-38, 5 volumes, is most profusely illustrated.—As a general reader for the whole of Chinese art, Alexander Soper and L. Sickman's The Art and Architecture of China, Baltimore 1956 may be consulted.

p. 147: Zenryû Tsukamoto has analysed one such popular, revolutionary Buddhist text from the fifth century A.D. I rely here for the whole chapter mainly upon my own research.

p. 150: On the Ephtalites (or Hephtalites) see R. Ghirshman and Enoki.—The carpet ceremony has been studied by P. Boodberg, and in a comparative way by L. Olschki, The Myth of Felt, Berkeley 1949.

p. 151: For Yang Chien and his time see now A. F. Wright, "The Formation of Sui Ideology" in John K. Fairbank, Chinese Thought and Institutions, Chicago 1957, pp. 71-104.

p. 153: The processes described here, have not yet been thoroughly analysed. A preliminary review of literature is given by H. Wiens, China's March towards the Tropics, Hamden 1954. I used Ch'en Yüan, Wang Yi-t'ung and my own research.

p. 154: It is interesting to compare such hunting parks with the "paradeisos" (Paradise) of the Near East and with the "Garden of Eden".—Most of the data on gardens and manors have been brought together and studied by Japanese scholars, especially by Katō Shigeru, some also by Ho Tzû-ch'üan.—The disappearance of "village commons" in China should be compared with the same process in Europe; both processes, however, developed quite differently. The origin of manors and their importance for the social structure of the Far East (China as well as Japan) is the subject of many studies in Japan and in modern China. This problem is connected with the general problem of feudalism East and West. The manor (chuang: Japanese shô) in later periods has been studied by Y. Sudô. H. Maspero also devotes attention to this problem. Much more research remains to be done.

p. 158: This popular rebellion by Sun En has been studied by W.  Eichhorn.

p. 163: On foreign music in China see L. C. Goodrich and Ch'ü T'ung-tsu, H. G. Farmer, S. Kishibe and others.—Niida Noboru pointed out that musicians belonged to one of the lower social classes, but had special privileges because of their close relations to the rulers.

p. 164: Meditative or Ch'an (Japanese: Zen) Buddhism in this period has been studied by Hu Shih, but further analysis is necessary.—The philosophical trends of this period have been analysed by E.  Balazs.—Mention should also be made of the aesthetic-philosophical conversation which was fashionable in the third century, but in other form still occurred in our period, the so-called "pure talk" (ch'ing-t'an) (E. Balazs, H. Wilhelm and others).

Chapter Eight

p. 167: For genealogies and rules of giving names, I use my own research and the study by W. Bauer.

p. 168: For Emperor Wen Ti, I rely mainly upon A. F. Wright's above-mentioned article, but also upon O. Franke.

p. 169: The relevant texts concerning the T'u-chüeh are available in French (E. Chavannes) and recently also in German translation (Liu Mau-tsai, Die chinesischen Nachrichten zur Geschichte der Ost-Tŭrken, Wiesbaden 1958, 2 vol.).—The Tölös are called T'e-lo in Chinese sources; the T'u-yü-hun are called Aza in Central Asian sources (P.  Pelliot, A. Minorsky, F. W. Thomas, L. Hambis, et al.). The most important text concerning the T'u-yü-hun had been translated by Th. D.  Caroll, Account of the T'u-yü-hun in the History of the Chin Dynasty, Berkeley 1953.

p. 171: The transcription of names on this and on the other maps could not be adjusted to the transcription of the text for technical reasons.

p. 172: It is possible that I have underestimated the role of Li Yüan. I relied here mainly upon O. Franke and upon W. Bingham's The Founding of the T'ang Dynasty, Baltimore 1941.

p. 173: The best comprehensive study of T'ang economy in a Western language is still E. Balazs's work. I relied, however, strongly upon Wan Kuo-ting, Yang Chung-i, Katō Shigeru, J. Gernet, T. Naba, Niida Noboru, Yoshimi Matsumoto.

p. 173-4: For the description of the administration I used my own studies and the work of R. des Rotours; for the military organization I used Kikuehi Hideo. A real study of Chinese army organization and strategy does not yet exist. The best detailed study, but for the Han period, is written by H. Maspero.

p. 174: For the first occurrence of the title tu-tu we used W.  Eichhorn; in the form tutuq the title occurs since 646 in Central Asia (J. Hamilton).

p. 177: The name T'u-fan seems to be a transcription of Tüpöt which, in turn, became our Tibet. (J. Hamilton).—The Uigurs are the Hui-ho or Hui-hu of Chinese sources.

p. 179: On relations with Central Asia and the West see Ho Chien-min and Hsiang Ta, whose classical studies on Ch'ang-an city life have recently been strongly criticized by Chinese scholars.—Some authors (J. K.  Rideout) point to the growing influence of eunuchs in this period.—The sources paint the pictures of the Empress Wu in very dark colours. A more detailed study of this period seems to be necessary.

p. 180: The best study of "family privileges" (yin) in general is by E. A. Kracke, Civil Service in Early Sung China, Cambridge, Mass. 1953.

p. 180-1: The economic importance of organized Buddhism has been studied by many authors, especially J. Gernet, Yang Lien-sheng, Ch'üan Han-sheng, K. Tamai and R. Michihata.

p. 182: The best comprehensive study on T'ang prose in English is still E. D. Edwards, Chinese Prose Literature of the T'ang Period, London 1937-8, 2 vol. On Li T'ai-po and Po Chü-i we have well-written books by A. Waley, The Poetry and Career of Li Po, London 1951 and The Life and Times of Po Chü-i, London 1950.—On the "free poem" (tz'ŭ), which technically is not a free poem, see A. Hoffmann and Hu Shih. For the early Chinese theatre, the classical study is still Wang Kuo-wei's analysis, but there is an almost unbelievable number of studies constantly written in China and Japan, especially on the later theatre and drama.

p. 184: Conditions at the court of Hsüan Tsung and the life of Yang Kui-fei have been studied by Howard Levy and others, An Lu-shan's importance mainly by E. G. Pulleyblank, The Background of the Rebellion of An Lu-shan, London 1955.

p. 187: The tax reform of Yang Yen has been studied by K. Hino; the most important figures in T'ang economic history are Liu Yen (studied by Chü Ch'ing-yüan) and Lu Chih (754-805; studied by E. Balazs and others).

p. 187-8: The conditions at the time of this persecution are well described by E. O. Reischauer, Ennin's Travels in T'ang China, New York 1955, on the basis of his Ennin's Diary. The Record of a Pilgrimage to China, New York 1955. The persecution of Buddhism has been analysed in its economic character by Niida Noboru and other Japanese scholars.—Metal statues had to be delivered to the Salt and Iron Office in order to be converted into cash; iron statues were collected by local offices for the production of agricultural implements; figures in gold, silver or other rare materials were to be handed over to the Finance Office. Figures made of stone, clay or wood were not affected (Michihata).

p. 189: It seems important to note that popular movements are often not led by simple farmers or members of the lower classes. There are other salt merchants and persons of similar status known as leaders.

p. 190: For the Sha-t'o, I am relying upon my own research. Tatars are the Ta-tan of the Chinese sources. The term is here used in a narrow sense.

p. 195: Many Chinese and Japanese authors have a new period begin with the early (Ch'ien Mu) or the late tenth century (T'ao Hsi-sheng, Li Chien-nung), while others prefer a cut already in the Middle of the T'ang Dynasty (Teng Ch'u-min, Naito Torajiro). For many Marxists, the period which we called "Modern Times" is at best a sub-period within a larger period which really started with what we called "Medieval China".

p. 196: For the change in the composition of the gentry, I am using my own research.—For clan rules, clan foundations, etc., I used D. C.  Twitchett, J. Fischer, Hu Hsien-chin, Ch'ü T'ung-tsu, Niida Noboru and T. Makino. The best analysis of the clan rules is by Wang Hui-chen in D. S. Nivison, Confucianism in Action, Stanford 1959, p. 63-96.—I do not regard such marriage systems as "survivals" of ancient systems which have been studied by M. Granet and systematically analysed by C.  Lévy-Strauss in his Les structures élémentaires de la parenté, Paris 1949, pp. 381-443. In some cases, the reasons for the establishment of such rules can still be recognized.—A detailed study of despotism in China still has to be written. K. A. Wittfogel's Oriental Despotism, New Haven 1957 does not go into the necessary detailed work.

p. 197: The problem of social mobility is now under study, after preliminary research by K. A. Wittfogel, E. Kracke, myself and others. E.  Kracke, Ho Ping-ti, R. M. Marsh and I are now working on this topic.—For the craftsmen and artisans, much material has recently been collected by Chinese scholars. I have used mainly Li Chien-nung and articles in Li-shih yen-chiu 1955, No. 3 and in Mem. Inst. Orient. Cult. 1956.—On the origin of guilds see Katō Shigeru; a general study of guilds and their function has not yet been made (preliminary work by P.  Maybon, H. B. Morse, J. St. Burgess, K. A. Wittfogel and others). Comparisons with Near-Eastern guilds on the one hand and with Japanese guilds on the other, are quite interesting but parallels should not be over-estimated. The tong of U. S. Chinatowns (tang in Mandarin) are late and organizations of businessmen only (S. Yokoyama and Laai Yi-faai). They are not the same as the hui-kuan.

p. 198: For the merchants I used Ch'ü T'ung-tsu, Sung Hsi and Wada Kiyoshi.—For trade, I used extensively Ch'üan Han-sheng and J.  Kuwabara.—On labour legislation in early modern times I used Ko Ch'ang-chi and especially Li Chien-nung, also my own studies.—On strikes I used Katō Shigeru and modern Chinese authors.—The problem of "vagrants" has been taken up by Li Chien-nung who always refers to the original sources and to modern Chinese research.—The growth of cities, perhaps the most striking event in this period, has been studied for the earlier part of our period by Katō Shigeru. Li Chien-nung also deals extensively with investments in industry and agriculture. The problem as to whether China would have developed into an industrial society without outside stimulus is much discussed by Marxist authors in China.