Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog Project Gutenberg 2018-09-08 Public domain in the USA. 659 Williams, S. Wells (Samuel Wells) 1812 1884 Williams, Samuel Wells 卫三畏 衛三畏 The Middle Kingdom, Volume 1 (of 2) A Survey of the Geography, Government, Literature, Social Life, Arts, and History of the Chinese Empire and its Inhabitants E-text prepared by Henry Flower and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) "The Middle Kingdom, Volume 1 (of 2)" by S. Wells Williams is a comprehensive historical account written in the late 19th century. This detailed work explores the geography, government, literature, social life, arts, and history of the Chinese Empire and its inhabitants. It aims to provide an insightful overview of Chinese civilization, describing its remarkable attributes and addressing the transformations influenced by external interactions and internal reforms. The opening of the text begins with a contextual preface that reflects on the significant advancements China made politically and intellectually over the preceding thirty-five years. Williams outlines his intent to present a reformed image of China, emphasizing changes in governance and society that have taken root, particularly in the context of foreign relations. He describes the structure of the Chinese Empire, reserving particular attention for its vast geography, rich historical narratives, and unique culture—a foundation upon which he builds the subsequent chapters discussing specific aspects of Chinese life. The opening establishes a foundational understanding of China’s historical context, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of its complexities in the chapters that follow. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 52.5 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read. en China DS Text Category: History - Other 2330044 2025-07-23T06:30:47.532568 text/html 2347169 2018-09-08T16:20:58 text/html 11047383 2025-07-23T06:31:20.776429 application/epub+zip 11077829 2025-07-23T06:30:54.038574 application/epub+zip 1001195 2025-07-23T06:30:50.552547 application/epub+zip 11683499 2025-07-23T06:31:38.995373 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 11526918 2025-07-23T06:31:15.918470 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1418571 2022-09-26T07:40:08.391297 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 2057248 2025-07-23T06:30:44.035609 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 2057384 2020-06-15T03:41:09 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18366 2025-07-23T06:31:39.472299 application/rdf+xml 23538 2025-07-23T06:30:50.800553 image/jpeg 3444 2025-07-23T06:30:50.678556 image/jpeg 791905 2020-06-15T03:41:09 application/octet-stream application/zip 10447469 2018-09-08T16:26:58 application/octet-stream application/zip 10461764 2025-07-23T06:30:48.666551 application/octet-stream application/zip en.wikipedia