Kublai plays the same part in Japanese history that Philip ii plays in the history of England.  He prepared an Invincible Armada, or rather two successive armadas, to conquer Japan, but they were defeated, partly by storms, and partly by Japanese valour.

After Kublai, the Mongol Emperors more and more adopted Chinese ways, and lost their tyrannical vigour.  Their dynasty came to an end in 1370, and was succeeded by the pure Chinese Ming dynasty, which lasted until the Manchu conquest of 1644.  The Manchus in turn adopted Chinese ways, and were overthrown by a patriotic revolution in 1911, having contributed nothing notable to the native culture of China except the pigtail, officially abandoned at the Revolution.

The persistence of the Chinese Empire down to our own day is not to be attributed to any military skill; on the contrary, considering its extent and resources, it has at most times shown itself weak and incompetent in war.  Its southern neighbours were even less warlike, and were less in extent.  Its northern and western neighbours inhabited a barren country, largely desert, which was only capable of supporting a very sparse population.  The Huns were defeated by the Chinese after centuries of warfare; the Tartars and Manchus, on the contrary, conquered China.  But they were too few and too uncivilized to impose their ideas or their way of life upon China, which absorbed them and went on its way as if they had never existed.  Rome could have survived the Goths, if they had come alone, but the successive waves of barbarians came too quickly to be all civilized in turn.  China was saved from this fate by the Gobi Desert and the Tibetan uplands.  Since the white men have taken to coming by sea, the old geographical immunity is lost, and greater energy will be required to preserve the national independence.

In spite of geographical advantages, however, the persistence of Chinese civilization, fundamentally unchanged since the introduction of Buddhism, is a remarkable phenomenon.  Egypt and Babylonia persisted as long, but since they fell there has been nothing comparable in the world.  Perhaps the main cause is the immense population of China, with an almost complete identity of culture throughout.  In the middle of the eighth century, the population of China is estimated at over 50 millions, though ten years later, as a result of devastating wars, it is said to have sunk to about 17 millions.[13] A census has been taken at various times in Chinese history, but usually a census of houses, not of individuals.  From the number of houses the population is computed by a more or less doubtful calculation.  It is probable, also, that different methods were adopted on different occasions, and that comparisons between different enumerations are therefore rather unsafe.  Putnam Weale[14] says:—­