o of the nobles created to form
an aristocracy after the feudal system had been swept away and replaced
by the old Imperial rule, about 200 B.C.

Part III consists of eight important and interesting chapters: (1) on
the Rites and Ceremonies of the period covered, (2) on Music, (3) on the
Pitch-pipes, a series of twelve bamboo tubes of varying lengths, the
notes from which were supposed to be bound up in some mysterious way
with the good and bad fortunes of mankind, (4) on the Calendar, (5) on
the Stars, (6) on the Imperial Sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, (7) on
the Waterways of the Empire, and lastly (8) on Commerce, Coinage, etc.

Part IV deals with the reigns, so to speak, of the vassal nobles under
the feudal system, the reigns of the suzerains having been already
included in Part I.

Part V consists of biographies of the most eminent men who came to the
front during the whole period covered.

These biographies are by no means confined to virtuous statesmen or
heroic generals, as we might very reasonably have expected. The Chinese
historian took a much broader view of his responsibilities to future
ages, and along with the above virtuous statesmen and heroic generals
he included lives of famous assassins, of tyrannical officials, of
courtiers, of flatterers, of men with nothing beyond the gift of the
gab, of politicians, of fortune-tellers, and the like.

This principle seems now to be widely recognised in the compilation of
biographical collections. It was initiated by a Chinese historian one
hundred years B.C.

His great work has come down to us as near as possible intact. To the
Chinese it is, and always has been, a priceless treasure; so much so
that every succeeding Dynastic History has been modelled pretty much
upon the same lines.

The custom has always been for the incoming dynasty to issue the history
of the dynasty it has overthrown, based upon materials which have been
gathered daily during the latter's lease of power. At this moment the
Historiographer's Department in Peking should be noting down current
events for the use of posterity, in the established belief that all
dynasties, even the most powerful, come to an end some day.

In addition to the Dynastic History proper, a custom has grown up of
compiling what is called the "Veritable Record" of the life of the
reigning Emperor. This is supposed to be written up every day, and with
an absolute fidelity which it is unnecessary to suspect, since