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"Wu"104 CHINA MISSION YEAR BOOK.work, but also the great divergence of type and methodand standard that long establishment without cooperationhas caused. The formation of this association with fullmachinery for conducting four meetings a year, thecollecting of statistics, the holding of institutes andexaminations, and taking the initial steps towards making a normal school possible, ought to bring about someadvance if the support necessary is forthcoming. Thepresident for this year is Dr. E. Z. Simmons, BaptistMission, Canton, and the secretary and treasurer isH. B. Graybill, of the Canton Christian College.P. W. PITCHER.Central and EastCentral China.I have been asked to give some account of theeducational work carried on by Protestant missions inCentral China ;the term being intended to include notonly the central provinces of Honau, Hunan, Hupeh,Anhwei, and Kiangsi, but also the eastern province ofKiangsu and the northern section of Chekiang. Thelast two provinces are so closely allied in dialect andin mission organization that a grouping along educational lines requires that they be considered together.The four central provinces and the northern part ofKiangsu belong to the Kuanhua or Mandarin-speakingsection of China, and their population, according to theStatemen s Year Book, is 142,969,597. The populationof the provinces of Kiangsu and Chekiang, excluding the million in the Wenchow district, is placed at24,560,927. Another authority adds 10,000,000 to this.The dialects of Chekiang and Southern Kiangsu areknown as thedialects," and philologists seem toagree that this family of dialects is nearest to that OldChinese," which was spoken by the writers of theChinese classics. The number speaking the Wu dialectsis estimated by Von Molleiidorff at 44,000,000. This