University of Virginia Library

57. Chap. I. Hsüan Han [OMITTED].

The scholars hold that in olden days there has been a Golden
Age, which is passed and does not come back owing to the badness
of the times. Wang Ch`ung stands up for his own time, the
Han epoch. He enumerates the lucky portents observed under the
Han emperors, and refers to the great achievements of the Han
dynasty in the way of colonising and civilising savage countries.