Chapter 3

_THE NORTHERN POWERS_

The state of Tsin in Shan Si--In 771 B.C.: its ruler escorts the Emperor to his new capital--Only in 671 B.C. does Confucius mention Tsin--Divided from Ts'in by the Yellow River--Important difference between the sounds Tsin and Ts'in--Importance of the whole Yellow River as a natural boundary--The state of Ts'i also engaged in buffer work against Tartar inroads--Remote origin of Ts'i-Ts'in, Tsin, and Ts'i grow powerful as the Emperor grows weaker--The state of Yen in the Peking plain--The founder of Yen immortalized in song--Complete absence of tradition concerning Yen's origin--Its possible relations with Corea and Japan--Centre of political gravity transferred for ever to the north--Tartar movements in Asia generally 800-600 B.C.--Never was a Tarter empire--Reason for using the loose word "Tartars"--Race divisions then probably very much as now--Attempt to classify the Tartars in definite groups--Ch'wan unknown by any name--Nothing at all was known in China of the north and west: _á fortiori_ of Central Asia