The present study is the fruit of the author's investigations in Siberia, Mongolia and Northern China made in 1912, 1913, 1915-7 and 1918 under the auspices of the Russian Academy of Sciences at Petrograd and the Russian Committee for Investigations in Central and Eastern Asia. During these investigations the author was always assisted by his wife Mrs. Shirokogoroff, who was charged with ethnographical observations of the life of women and with geographical description. The author, during his archeological excavations on the banks of the Amur River, was also assisted by the curator of the Museum at Blagoveschensk, M. K. Tolmacheff, and the non-professional archeologists Messrs. Guroff and Fedoroff.
Some ethnographical and geographical materials have been published already in Russian, but the major part is only in manuscript. In 1919 there were published an «Essay on the General Theory of Shamanism among the Tungus» (Vladivostok. 1919) the conclusion of which is now published in Vol. LIV of the Journal of N. C. B. R. A. S. and «North-Western Manchuria. A geographical Description based on the Materials of the Expedition» (Vladivostok. 1919). «The Social Organization of the Manchus. The Clan Organization,» is now published by the N. C. B. R. A. S. The author has also under preparation the following: «The Ethnography of the Reindeer Tungus of Transkaikalia,» «Anthropology of the Nomad Tungus of Transbaikalia,» «The Tungus Folk-lore, Vol. I. The Tungus Proper. Texts, Translations and Notes,» «The Tungus Folk-lore, Vol. II. The Manchus. Nisan Saman. Text and Translation of a Shamanist Manchu Manuscript.» Besides the above mentioned works many data concerning the anthropological, linguistical, ethnographical and archaeological observations have not yet been dealt with. The author has not been able to publish all these works because of the political troubles in Russia and does not expect to be able to publish them soon in the Russian language. The present study does not exhaust all the anthropological materials collected. The author also limited his work to the anthropometrical data' on the Chinese only and now publishes some other material as illustrating the principal subject, — the Chinese people. On account of the technical difficulties the individual data concerning the Chinese could not be published in the present study. The author hopes to publish them in his further publications on the Anthropology of this part of Asia. Furthermore, the principal purpose of the present study is to offer a summary description of the physical characteristics of the Chinese and to discover the constituent types. This study, therefore, cannot be considered as a final investigation of the Anthropology of the Northern Chinese — it attempts only to outline further investigations. The author also hopes that anthropological investigation in Central and Southern China, made according to the programme elaborated by the International Commission in Geneva in 1912, is well under way. The author has already started the measurements of Chinese from the Central Provinces, and Prof. D. H. Kulp, of the Columbia University, collaborating with the author, has already effected the measurements of over 200 Chinese from Southern China. It is also hoped that the author's attempt to propagate the anthropological study of the Chinese will have promising results.
It must also be noted, that the conditions for working out anthropological materials in China are very unfavorable because of the lack of necessary libraries. The author could not find in Shanghai even very popular books on anthropology and was deprived of the possibility of illustrating his deductions by the evidence of other anthropologists. In spite of these conditions he decided to publish this work, postponing for later publication discussion of the theories of the origin of the Chinese and other ethnical groups which have been proposed by other authors. The present works deals with anthropometrical material while the other authors have used for their generalization and deductions, linguistical, ethnographical and very scanty osteological material which would not bear comparison with measurements taken on the living persons.
The taking of anthropometrical measurements, working out and writing of a study do not exhaust all the conditions of complation of an anthropological research. The publishing of such works is also a necessary condition of a favourable end of anthropological investigations. The history of these investigations abounds in examples when the works have been accomplished, but not published, and in this way lost for science. Another impediment that must be overcome by the author, is the putting of his writing into correct English. The North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society helped the author to carry out his works to this end. The author is extremely indebted to the Rev. Mr. Evan Morgan, who proposed the author's work to the Council for publication, to Prof. Kulp, who helped the author to put his first essays into correct English, to the Committee composed of Mr. Abraham, Dr. Chatley and Mr. Stark-Toller, who have been charged by the Council of N. C. B. R. A. S. with the publishing and correcting.