So unquestionably
is this period 400-375 B.C. taken as one of the great pivot points
in Chinese history, that the great historian Sz-ma Kwang begins
his renowned history, the _Tsz-chi Tung-kien_, published in
1084 A.D., with the words: "In 403 B.C. the states of Han, Ngwei,
and Chao were recognized as vassal ruling princes by the Emperor."
Ts'in took to educating herself seriously for her great destiny,
and at last, in 221 B.C., after the wars already described in
Chapter XXVI., succeeded in uniting all known China under one
centralized sway; rounding off the Tartars so as to make the Great
Wall (rather than the Yellow River, as of old) their southern
limit; conquering the remains of the "Hundred Yueeh" (the vague
unknown South China which had hitherto been the special preserve
of Ts'u;) and assimilating the ancient empire of Shuh (i.e. Sz
Ch'wan, hitherto only vaguely known to orthodox China at all, and
politically connected only with Ts'in).
During this process of universal assimilation and annexation, the
almost supernaturally active First August Emperor made tour after
tour throughout his new dominions, showing a special predilection
for the coasts, for Tartarland, and for the Lower Yang-tsz River;
but not venturing far up or far south of that Great River; and
even when he did so venture a short distance, never leaving the
old and well-known water routes: nor did he risk a land journey to
Sz Ch'wan, to which country there were at the time no roads of any
kind at all possible for armies.
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