24. After several ages of anarchy and despotism, the dynasty
of the Han (before Christ 206) was the era of the revival of
learning. The fragments of ancient literature were restored-
the characters were improved and fixed; and the future
preservation of books was secured by the useful inventions
of ink, paper, and the art of printing. Ninety-seven years
before Christ, Sematsien published the first history of
China. His labours were illustrated and continued by a
series of one hundred and eighty historians. The substance
of their works is still extant; and the most considerable of
them are now deposited in the king of France's library.