This  work  relates  to  two  great  Continents  and  one
large  group  of  Islands.  Consequently  it  is  divided
into  three  Parts — namely,  I.,  India;  II.,  Japan;
III.,  China.  I  have  narrated  in  a  succinct  manner
the  progress  during  the  nineteenth  century  of  three
peoples,  the  Indian  with  a  population  of  about  three
hundred  millions,  the  Japanese  with  a  population  of
nearly  forty-five  millions,  the  Chinese  with  a  popu-
lation of  over  three  hundred  and  fifty  millions;  or
about  seven  'hundred  millions  in  all.  Now  if  the
usually  accepted  estimate  of  the  population  of  all
countries  in  the  world  put  together — namely,  four-
teen hundred  millions — approaches  the  truth,  it  fol-
lows that  this  work  has  to  summarise  the  progress  of
half  the  human  race  for  a  century.  The  space  of
time,  1800  to  1899,  has  been  borne  in  mind.  The
information  in  all  cases  has  been  brought  up  to  date
as  nearly  as  possible,  and  in  many  cases  up  to  the
time  of  writing.  Moreover  these  countries  have
during  the  century  been  the  scenes  of  grave,  and
often  complex,  events.  Each  country,  too,  has
undergone  momentous  changes.       Thus  the  ground


Vi  PREFACE.
covered  is  most  diverse,  and  the  details  are  enor-
mous. Consequently  much  allowance  is  claimable  for
the  summary  character  of  the  narrative,  the  conden-
sation of  facts,  the  omission  of  many  particulars
which  might  have  been  useful  had  space  permitted.
