Page:Ta Tsing Leu Lee; Being, The Fundamental Laws, and a Selections from the Supplementary Statutes, of the Penal Code of China.djvu/5

ii To account for the limited and defective nature of our information upon thee intereting ubjects, notwithtanding the number and variety of the literary communications concerning the Chinee empire, which we already posses in Europe, through the medium of the European languages, it will be requiite to advert particularly to the circumtances under which thee communications have been made, and to the ources from which they have, for the mot part, been derived.

It will not be neceary, in the coure of this enquiry, to trace back the ubject to any very remote period. It is well known that the Empire of China, bounded on one ide by the ocean, and on the other by ranges of inacceible mountains, or vat and eemingly impervious dearts [sic], continued, until about the commencement of the 13th century of our era, to be effectually ecluded by thee natural barriers from any direct and regular intercoure with the ret of the inhabited globe. The various inquiitive and enlightened nations, which ucceively flourihed in ancient times, both in Wetern Aia and in Europe, carcely appear to have even upected its exitence.

In the mean while, however, the people who, at a remote period of antiquity firt colonized this fertile and extenive region, were gradually emerging from primeval barbarim. Without either receiving aitance, or encountering oppoition, from their les fortunate neighbours, they lowly but regularly advanced upon the trength of their own internal reources and local advantages, nearly, if not entirely, to their preent tate of civilization and improvement.

The commencement of the 13th century is the period at which the Chinee firt ubmitted in a body to the way of a foreign conqueror; and although the dynaty, etablihed by the uccesful invaders, was not of any long duration, it mut have had a material, and even in ome degree a permanent effect, upon the relations between China and contemporary Powers; more epecially, as this revolution in the Eat was, it will be perceived, at no coniderable interval of time, econded