Extent of Empire
One of the results of the settled form of government enjoyed by China for the last forty centuries, has been its gradual growth and extension to its present gigantic proportions; and this notwithstanding the rebellions and dynastic changes whiclf have taken place. The Chinese empire, far exceeding in extent the whole continent of Europe, comprises one-third of the continent of Asia, and one-tenth of the habitable world. The following statistics will give the reader some idea of the size of this empire, as compared with other portions of the world: —
Area of square miles
Europe, with its islands ... 3,797,256
Asia „ ... 15,174,534
Africa ,, ... 11,901,274
N. AMERICA. North America, including the
West Indies ... ... 7,929,231
South America, with its islands 6,410,610
Australasia and Polynesia ... 5,198,500
s. AMERICA. jotal area of the habitable
parts of the globe ... 50,411,405
AND
CHINESE EMPIRE, 5,300,000
be seen from this diagram.
By way of illustrating the
extent of the above continents,
we give the accompanying
lines, which may assist the
mind to grasp their relative
size. Many fail to realise how
small Europe is compared with
other continents; and still more
are insufficiently impressed with
the dimensions and importance
of the Chinese empire. It will
that to benefit China means to benefit a much
Extent of Empire.
larger territory than Europe. Australia, vast as it is, together with Tasmania, New Zealand, and all the archipelagoes of the South Sea Islands, put together do not equal the Chinese empire in extent. Some, again, as they look at the lines representing North and South America will, perhaps, be surprised to see the extent of China in comparison. What must be the spiritual need and claims of a country like this?
It may further impress the mind if we take some smaller and more familiar standards of comparison: the area of the Chinese empire exceeds 44 times that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 104 times that of
Area 120,000 square miles.
Area, 30,000 square miles.
Area, 5,300,000 square miles.
England alone, and 176 times that of Scotland. Could the empire of China be changed from its present form to that of a long strip of land a mile in breadth, a person walking 30 miles a day would require more than 483 years to walk from one end of it to the other. Of its area, Chinese Tartary and Thibet contain rather more than three-fifths, the remaining two-fifths being contained in. China Proper.
Population of China.