CHAPTER III.
SINAIC BRANCH.
The nations belonging to the Sinaic branch (from the Latin Sinæ, Chinese) have not the features of the Yellow Race so well defined as those belonging to the Mongolian branch. Their nose is less flattened, their figures are better, and they are taller. They early acquired rather a high degree of civilization, but they have since remained stationary, and their culture, formerly one of the most advanced in the world, is now very second rate compared to the progress made by the inhabitants of Europe and America. Chemical and mechanical arts were early practised and carried very far by nations belonging to the Sinaic branch. Living under a despotic government, and accustomed to abjectly cringe to those in authority, this race developed a peculiar taste for ceremony and etiquette. Their language is monosyllabic, their writing is hieroglyphic, and these facts perhaps account for the scant progress made by their civilization in modern times.
113.—INDO-CHINESE OF STUNG TRENG.
The Sinaic branch comprises the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Indo-Chinese families.
114.—INDO-CHINESE OF LAOS.