| BOOK THE FIRST—THE FEUDAL PERIOD (B.C. 600-200) |
| CHAP. | PAGE |
| I. LEGENDARY AGES—EARLY CHINESE CIVILISATION—ORIGIN OF WRITING | 3 |
| II. CONFUCIUS—THE FIVE CLASSICS | 7 |
| III. THE FOUR BOOKS—MENCIUS | 32 |
| IV. MISCELLANEOUS WRITERS | 43 |
| V. POETRY—INSCRIPTIONS | 50 |
| VI. TAOISM—THE “TAO-TÊ-CHING” | 56 |
| BOOK THE SECOND—THE HAN DYNASTY (B.C. 200-A.D. 200) |
| I. THE “FIRST EMPEROR”—THE BURNING OF THE BOOKS—MISCELLANEOUS WRITERS | 77 |
| II. POETRY | 97 |
| III. HISTORY—LEXICOGRAPHY | 102 |
| IV. BUDDHISM | 110 |
| BOOK THE THIRD—MINOR DYNASTIES (A.D. 200-600) |
| I. POETRY—MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE | 119 |
| II. CLASSICAL SCHOLARSHIP | 137 |
| BOOK THE FOURTH—THE T’ANG DYNASTY (A.D. 600-900) |
| I. POETRY | 143 |
| II. CLASSICAL AND GENERAL LITERATURE | 189 |
| BOOK THE FIFTH—THE SUNG DYNASTY (A.D. 900-1200) |
| I. THE INVENTION OF BLOCK-PRINTING | 209 |
| II. HISTORY—CLASSICAL AND GENERAL LITERATURE | 212 |
| III. POETRY | 232 |
| IV. DICTIONARIES—ENCYCLOPÆDIAS—MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE | 238 |
| BOOK THE SIXTH—THE MONGOL DYNASTY (A.D. 1200-1368) |
| I. MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE—POETRY | 247 |
| II. THE DRAMA | 256 |
| III. THE NOVEL | 276 |
| BOOK THE SEVENTH—THE MING DYNASTY (A.D. 1368-1644) |
| I. MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE—MATERIA MEDICA—ENCYCLOPÆDIA OF AGRICULTURE | 291 |
| II. NOVELS AND PLAYS | 309 |
| III. POETRY | 329 |
| BOOK THE EIGHTH—THE MANCHU DYNASTY (A.D. 1644-1900) |
| I. THE “LIAO CHAI”—THE “HUNG LOU MÊNG” | 337 |
| II. THE EMPERORS K’ANG HSI AND CH’IEN LUNG | 385 |
| III. CLASSICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS LITERATURE—POETRY | 391 |
| IV. WALL LITERATURE—JOURNALISM—WIT AND HUMOUR—PROVERBS AND MAXIMS | 425 |
| BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE | 441 |
| INDEX | 443 |
