THE MONGOLIANS.
THE population of the Asiatic continent, from which Europe is sepa rable neither geographically nor ethnologically, is divided into four prin cipal groups: (1) the Mongolian; (2) the Dravidian; (3) the Arabic-African; (4) the Indo-European.
The first group, which constitutes the chief population of Asia, belongs almost exclusively, and the second, which is the least important, belongs exclusively, to that continent.
These races, with the exception of the Dravidian, have moulded the destiny of the world in the past, and in all probability will shape it in the future. The peoples whom we include under the name of Mongolians have especially influenced the history of mankind, for, like the civilized nations of America, they waged wars not only of defence or retaliation, but also of conquest; and at the same time they exhibited a capacity for founding and maintaining great and despotic governments.
At several points they developed independent and highly important civilizations, as in China, Japan, and Farther India, while other related races show works of civilization less important, but nevertheless worthy of mention. Almost all the peoples belonging here have shown them selves capable of receiving foreign culture, as the Turks, Hungarians, Finns, oftentimes the Chinese, and at present the Japanese. The two latter possess the faculty of receiving such culture without losing their national manners and their originality.
Unity of Type. —The group of peoples whom we class as Mongolians forms an ethnologic division of the human race; that is, a division which is based on the consideration and study of their physical structure, lan guage, character, achievements in religion, art, politics, etc.; in one word, which is based on their psycho-physical growth and condition. Only by a complete investigation of all these things can a truly scientific division of the human race be made.
It is possible that the different peoples of any great division are of dif ferent origin; that is, that they independently separated from the original stock of the human race, and by separate migrations reached new homes, the uniformity of which gradually rendered their various characters homo geneous. But the case seems different with the Mongolian race, which is
spread over regions so vast and diverse that they could not possibly have produced a uniform influence.
The homogeneity which, as we shall see immediately, is shown by these peoples undoubtedly has its origin from common descent and ancient inheritance; their ancestors seem to have emigrated in common from their original home, and later on to have branched into the separate tribes of the Mongolian race. All peoples belonging to the latter are fairly separated from those not Mongolians if we draw a line from Cape Cambodia through the Caucasus to the Crimean peninsula, thence to the extreme western point of the lower Volga, thence northward into the White Sea. Outside of these boundaries there are but few peoples belonging to this race—chiefly the Finnish tribes in Northern Europe, and the Hungarians, and the Turks in Asia Minor, the last two of which, according to his tory, emigrated later. We give to the whole race the usual name of Mongolians, as no one of the geographical names proposed is worthy to supplant it.
Subdivisions.—A race so large has of course subdivisions, and as, in order to draw a boundary-line between the races, their whole existence and growth must be taken into consideration, so must the subdivisions be principally based on linguistic dissimilarities. There result from this two main groups: The first, with monosyllabic languages, the inhabitants of the south eastern portions of Asia, Farther India, Thibet, and China, whom we embrace under the name of the Indo-Chinese peoples.
The second, with polysyllabic languages, who again separate into several independent subdivisions, although they all seem to have pro ceeded from a common centre.