ONE OF the longest-lived cultural realities in the history of the Orient was the concept of the Chinese Empire.' For more than two thousand years the tradition of imperial China dominated the life of the peoples of the East. When the waning of Chinese military influence led to the successful invasion by border peoples, or when internal revolt led to the overthrow of the reigning family, succeeding dynasties usually continued the policies of the traditional empire. In the political effectuation of these policies, however, there was a constant ebb and flow. In the periods of military ascendancy Chinese armies spilled over into the border areas and extended the territorial limits of the state. In periods of decline, however, the peripheral peoples asserted their independence and often enchroached upon the core of China. In analyzing these periods of decline, three general categories of alienation of Chinese territory may be observed. In the first category are those instances of the rise of mighty kingdoms and empires in the border regions, of peoples who succeeded either in acquiring a portion of the China heartland or in conquering the entire empire. In this group we may include the founders of the Liao, Chin, Yuan, and Ch'ing dynasties. In the second category a phenomenon of more recent origin may be noted: the alienation of small but strategic areas designed to be commercial entrep6ts or military and naval bases. Starting in 1842 with the acquisition of Hong Kong by Great Britain, this type of alienation