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Excerpt from Great Names Nations: A First Book in Ancient History The Chinese are a very ancient branch of the great Yellow race whose original home was in faraway Asia; their country was known in Old Testament times as Sinim. Centuries before the Christian era the quiet inhabitants of China had their settled civilization and religion. Although they were sometimes invaded by more restless tribes and even conquered, their culture and learning, as in the case of Greece and Rome, tamed their conquerors. As an old writer declared, "China is a sea that salts all rivers flowing into it." Throughout the ages of migration and the wanderings of the Eastern peoples the Chinese kept their own customs and traditions. They upheld in every way reverence for the past and adherence to established order. Like all nations of antiquity, they believed in a remote and mythic ancestry. Hence they would have no welcome for changes or innovations of any kind. In a way we may say they were like children reluctant to grow up; and the attitude of a child to its parent was never lost, nor its submissiveness outgrown though the son were himself a man of mature years. Habits of life, subjects and methods of study were strictly regulated and carefully guarded from change; behaviour and manners under all circumstances were according to rule. Though in many ways far gentler and less quarrelsome than many of the vigorous, self-assertive peoples of the ancient world, the Chinese were yet capable of much cold cruelty. Penalties under the law were devised with the ingenuity and carried out with the thoroughness which marked all Chinese methods. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst r