ABSTRACT
The physical physiognomy of a country, its mineral resources, its vege-tational cover and even, to some extent, the character of its people, are determined, in greater or less measure, by its geology and its structural history. It behoves people to turn their attention at this early stage to the evolution which the topography of present-day China has undergone, to pass in rapid review the main geological successions and to observe the effect of the chief periods of revolution. The east-west axis has been maintained to the present day and is one of the great geographical divides of China. With the geological background in mind, it is possible to take a general view of the relief and drainage of China. Underlying the whole of China, from east to west and north to south, is a floor of ancient rock. Cathaysia is the south-eastern area of China, which was raised by folding in the Sinian and existed throughout Palaeozoic times.
