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[[underlined]] APPENDIX II. [[/underlined]] 29. About this time too the government of Wu built public granaries for the storage of its tribute rice, and opened mines of various metals in the hills back of the river. Iron seems to have been coming into use in both Wu and Yüeh by the close of the 6th century B.C., although swords were apperently still being made of bronze; for they are spoken of as cast, not forged; in some instances at least, human victims were sacrificed, that their life-essence might pass into the blades. [[superscript]](75)[[/superscript]] ------------------------- (75) From their first appearance in the world, swords and their making seem to have associated themselves with magical or religious rites; [[underlined]] cf. [[/underlined]] those attending the swordmaker's craft in Japan almost or quite within living memory. --------------------------- [[underlined]] Conclusion. [[/underlined]] Thus our study of the successive foundings of states along the Yang-tze has shown that the movement has been outward and downward, following the current of the great river. The earliest recorded beginnings of the phenomenon we found have occurred in what is now the province of Sze-chuan, in Shu and Pa; next, it produced Ch'u, near the lower end of the Gorges and just below them; and finally, as it proceeded downstream, it reached its mouth and the sea, in Wu and Yüeh. In not a few instances the records tell us specifically that sundry "civilizers" and certain definite culture-elements accompanied the movement. Moreover the order in which the states themselves successively appear in history affords additional proof of the direction taken by civilization in its spread over what is today central China. °°°°° °°° °