Page:The problem of China - Russell 1922.pdf/30

28 superiority in civilization is a mere delusion. Our histories, which treat the Mediterranean as the centre of the universe, give quite a wrong perspective. Cordier, dealing with the campaigns and voyages of discovery which took place under the Han dynasty, says:—

In our day, this provincialism, which impregnates all our culture, is liable to have disastrous consequences politically, as well as for the civilization of mankind. We must make room for Asia in our thoughts, if we are not to rouse Asia to a fury of self-assertion.

After the Han dynasty there are various short dynasties and periods of disorder, until we come to the Tang dynasty ( 618–907). Under this dynasty, in its prosperous days, the Empire acquired its greatest extent, and art and poetry reached their highest point. The Empire of Jenghis Khan (died