Is the immaturity of Western social and political sciences one of the factors responsible for China's fortunes during the past generation and a half? Is this condition thus responsible in part for the unrealized dreams of various “modern intellectuals” for immediate representative government in China? Or, to reverse the approach so as to look toward the future, do China's misfortunes and do the thwarted schemes of various Chinese intellectuals, imply the need of certain developments in social and political science? Might such developments in turn permit the social and political sciences to be of greater use in China's further ventures and experiments in the direction of political democracy?—These questions, both practical and theoretical, both retrospective and predictive, call for consideration together.

Some months ago it was suggested that the FAR EASTERN QUARTERLY might render a real service to that part of the reading public interested in Eastern Asia by running a lengthy review article of the ten outstanding popular and semi-popular books of the year relating to the Far East. As the managing editors approved of the idea, a select list of books published in America during 1941 that seemed to fall into that category was drawn up. This list was submitted to the Board of Editors of the QUARTERLY and a number of other students of the Far East with a request that they select from that list or from their own reading in the field their list of the ten best books.

This bibliography is designed to guide the reading of instructors, students, and general readers interested in gaining an understanding of the backgrounds of the present war in the Pacific and the Far East and the problems of peace which will confront the post-war world in that area. It lists 169 of the better and more general introductory books relating to the area. There are 7 5 starred items, 25 of which are double-starred, for the guidance of librarians of institutions with more limited means seeking to build up basic collections of books on the Pacific area. No periodical articles have been included in the list, but a list of the leading periodicals in the field has been given at the end. The Far Eastern Quarterly carries in each issue a classified list of currently appearing articles and books in the field.

During the winter of 1867–1868 the Chinese Foreign Office dispatched its first diplomatic mission to the United States and Europe. The stipulated time for treaty revision was drawing near and the Chinese government had reason to expect that the Treaty Powers, under pressure from their merchants doing business in China, would demand a considerable expansion of the privileges which they had forced the Chinese to grant them on previous occasions. Fearful of the internal effects of a great extension of foreign influence and activity, the Foreign Office decided to send a special embassy directly to the governments of the various Treaty Powers to plead for patience and forbearance.