In view of the numerous speculations anent the Chinese Republican five-coloured Flag and its signification, it may be permissible to offer a common-sense and rational solution of the problem, instead of soaring into realms of arbitrary ipso digits. It has been seriously asserted in various quarters and argued at length in a whole chapter of the book you recently criticized, "Sun, Yat-sen and the Awakening of China" by Dr. Cantho and Mr. Jones, that these five colours are for five races; Red, China proper; Yel-w, Manchus; Blue, Mongol hire, Tibetans; Black, Mohamm come to actual facts, we must ntly allow that the above distinctions are purely imaginary. No such hard and fast lines of cleavage exist. Moreover, it ie fatuous to imagine that cerions men, embodying the main features of a revolution in a new national flag, sudden ly cut themselves adrift from all race traditions and symbolisms in order to speculate upon imaginary ethnography.
The real reasons would seem not to seek, and are far-more credit able to the founders of the flag than any hypotheses as yet put forward.
Five. was a mystic number amongst all the ancient civilized nations of the East, even including therein the Mayas and Quiches of Mexico, with their still unexplained but yet manifold connexion with an-lent China. Geomancy, astrology and the anystie sciences all emphasized the mystic Five. In ayer's "Chinese Readers' Manual" no less than sixty-two special instances are given. First, amongst! these appears No. 118 3 9 Wu Ch'ang, the five constituents of worth (or constant virtues,) displayed, according to the teachings of Confucius, by the perfect man.
Would not the Republican leaders have welcomed so time-honoursd an association? In 179% 8 Wa Yun, we have the Five Coloured Clouds, omens, when seen, of good thru Mercury Water Red.
Hua Mars Fire White return Earth Black, "These are invariably quoted in the same order by all Chinese even down to the peripatetic jugg'1 la his patter. The colours would seem to have been transposed in the case of Blue and Red probably ensure greater visibility at a dir tance, but how eloquent is the symbolism thus portrayed of one united and homogeneous unit under the new Republic.
The classic reply of Mr. Yuan at close of the Chow Dynasty ver sifed by Mr. Giles on p. 23 of "Bir toric China" may" also be of interest in this connexion. It must be re embered that each element has its appropriate colour as shown above, "The Earth supports the sky, the sky supports the earth.
Fine is the mystic number which the universe gave birth.
From the sky come the eddying ves of the river rolling might. In the Kunlun range we must seek the germ of the mountain's tower height.
By truth, of the elements five, can ost good work be done; And of all the ten thousand things that are, man is the wondrous one." This stanza in its completeness, is the link between the Chow and the Han dyn In conclusion we may refer to No.
122 3 Fy The five Points.
These were, anciently, N. 8. E. and Centre or '"middle kingdom as opposed to the Outer Barbarians.
it not more reasonable to sup-ose that the five stripes n0¥ adopted symbolize that under the New Republic the more enlighten ed motto of "All within the four as are brethren" ig acclaimed!
The Chinese were ever, in theory, democratic people, as is com clusively proved by the survival of the censorship. The censors the right of criticizing be actions of the Throne itself, whilst their personnel was derived from_ the people and distinct from the oficial cliques. Their conservatism is 1 torious. Why should they suddenly speculate in ethnography of wildest description, when they available the grandest symbolim, already sanctioned by their eres! sage Confucius "Common Sexst al fron
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.