Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Descended from French Protestants who had emigrated to Geneva, Leopold de Saussure (1866-1925) began his career in the French navy. Before retiring with the rank of lieutenant in 1899, he had learned Chinese and how to accurately observe the stars. The study of ancient Chinese astronomy then became the focus of his scholarly energies, and he made a number of significant contributions. Posthumously published in 1930, this work gathers together eleven of the twelve articles that originally appeared in the journal T'oung Pao between 1907 and 1922. In his preface, the French orientalist Gabriel Ferrand (1864-1935) quotes a letter, written by Saussure a month before his death, noting a shift of opinion: he now believed China had been influenced by the Middle East rather than vice versa. Irrespective of the question of priority, Saussure's work here reveals the depth of his understanding of the Chinese system.

Gabriel Ferrand (1864-1935) travelled widely as a French diplomat and pursued scholarly passions as a polyglot orientalist. He served as consul to Madagascar and published several works about the island, noting the Arab influence that preceded the arrival of Europeans. A member of the Societe Asiatique, and editor of its journal from 1920 until his death, Ferrand sought in particular to make Arabic geographical and nautical writings more accessible to fellow scholars and students. Forming part of that project, this work appeared in two volumes in 1913-14. It presents annotated French translations of mainly Arabic texts relating to the Far East. Brief biographical notes on the authors are given for the benefit of non-specialists. Volume 2 contains texts from the thirteenth century onwards, and includes a section of translated extracts from Chinese, Japanese, Tamil, Kawi and Malay texts.

Gabriel Ferrand (1864-1935) travelled widely as a French diplomat and pursued scholarly passions as a polyglot orientalist. He served as consul to Madagascar and published several works about the island, noting the Arab influence that preceded the arrival of Europeans. A member of the Societe Asiatique, and editor of its journal from 1920 until his death, Ferrand sought in particular to make Arabic geographical and nautical writings more accessible to fellow scholars and students. Forming part of that project, this work appeared in two volumes in 1913-14. It presents annotated French translations of mainly Arabic texts relating to the Far East. Brief biographical notes on the authors are given for the benefit of non-specialists. Volume 1 contains the preliminary matter explaining Ferrand's approach to transcription and translation. This is followed by texts up to the thirteenth century, including extracts from the ninth-century author Sulaiman al-Tajir.