But China, no more than any other nation, cannot prosper "if all her women take public positions. She needs those-who stay in the home 'Yo care for' the family. These duties in a Chinese household are far more complex than in the average. western, home. As in the west, so in China it does not follow that because a woman has a strong influence as' a home-maker her interest or influence must be limited to the home. A striking personality in the Chinese life of Shanghai is Madame Nieh. whose family is. one of the best known in al! China. Madame Nieh, as the head of such a family, has great responsibilities, but her interests extend far beyond the four walls of her home. She has made generous contributions to, philamthropic causes and believes that Chinese women should be taught about the world outside her home.
She represents all that' the aristocracy of Chinese life could ask. Her conversation is slow. and gives the impression which it is the true culture of China to convey, that she has plenty of time and leisure. Shoe is 72 years old, and the marks of her years are im the worn and kindly face and in the thoughtful, deeptseti eyes. She tells me that when she first met foreign women who' came to China to help Chinese women, she was inspired by them and she wondered why they should do so much for strange women when Chinese women did nothing fbr themselves. This led her to knowledge and acceptance of Christianity, but even though she is at the head of a large influential family, she shows rare judgment and consideration in that she has not tried to force) her belief on the others. She says it is a thing for them to decide for themselves.
Madame Nieh thinks that it is good for women to work as mani do, but feels that they: do not have enough education. When she asked whether she considered that Chinese women would lose their feminine refinement if they went into public life, she replied that such refinement was wholly in the nature of the individual and that if she could control herself, nothing can change her. Madame Nich. believes that' the most important profession for women to follow is that of teaching, and that through education women can be of benefit of each other and to China.
As the. women of China enter active public life, they naturally gather. together in grow for action. The Shanghai Women's Club is. well known.. Among the most influential of the women's organizations are the Woman's Rights League, the W.C.T.U., the students' organizations that hava their place in the student movement, and the Young Women's Christian Association. Last October this latter organization held the first. national convention lof women ever held in China.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.