This book has been written in the hope of interesting the British and the Chinese in the development of the vast natural resources of China. It was commenced in the early days of the war; many Of the ideas set forth were thought out during the long night-watches on searchlight duty. Notes for the book have been jotted down in queer places and in various countries. Some were made on steamers off the China coast; others in a sedan chair in a Chinese city; one was written in the Forbidden City in Peking; and yet another in a Chinese gaming-house at Canton. A few are survivals of pre — war journeys in Siberia, the United States, and Canada. One was put down in Egypt, others in Europe, but the book was written in hong-kong. The self-imposed task has given me more pleasure than any other piece of work, not excluding scientific research, which I have been able to finish. In times of disappointment, after my day's work was over, there was always encouragement in the wonderful story of men of my own race in China, and I have turned to the task now ended for relief during those long absences from home life which are inevitable for those of us who live in the Far East. Perhaps the chief stimulus was the desire to record some facts which I want my three boys, now at school in England, to appreciate. For they spent with me many happy hours of their young lives in China, and I hope that some day they will be ready and eager to maintain the best traditions of their race. There have been, as always, difficulties. First of all,, there was the groping for the desired information and finally the less exciting, indeed the distressing, duty of eliminating much of it. For in its original form the book was at least twice the Size of this volume; but it became Obvious, even to the author, that neither a sympathetic reader nor a kindly publisher could maintain an interest in such a long story.
