On the part of the author the approach to the subject has been made with full recognition that pitfalls for the unwary were waiting at every turn. The extent of Chinese literature, the niceties of verbal distinction, the various versions of stories which have gradually developed into fixed accounts, the free use of imaginative details by authors who agree only concerning central facts, these and many other similar conditions make the path of one working in this field slippery and dangerous. The hope of the author is that the aid of scholarly Chinese friends has helped him to avoid many mistakes and has enabled him to give a presentation of the outlines of a vast subject which no one up to the present writing has ventured to treat.
JOHN C. FERGUSON
January, 1927
