Missionaries and sentimentalists wre, of cou the most conspieuyus workers in this field but by no areans the most influential, In the China Const Treaty Ports one finds scores of merchants of all nationalities at this writing wre losing heavily because of Interruption of all legitimate the interior, who are on ergo of bankruptey because of who the rade the the impoverishment of Chinese farmers and artisans and the ruin of the One does really need humour as much as patience in any sort of relations with the Chinese.
Whether in the household,—where the foreigner carries on, amicably and genially, an eternal warfare with his cook, or in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where the Diplomat fights precisely the same fight with the same weapons,—it pays better to be amused than impatient. he mind of the average Chinese not nearly so complex as most railways, and because of arbitrary] persons <uppose. His—thoughts taxation which stifles business, but] are different from those of tt who nevertheless argue stoutly European because his—traditions against any suggestion of inter-and all his social standards are ference or intervention. They are radically different from ours. ready to perjure themselves to But he is more loyal to his stand-Prove that there is nothing fu nday erds, more faithful in his adhere mentally wrong with China, eye' to them, than most of us; If one goes back through the his-ud his mental processes are real-tory of foreign relations with China, ly very simple, so that if one has slop by step, "one will find that ived jong in intimate touch—wi these conditions have always the Chinese common folk and hi isted, even in euch seasons of learned something of their tradi bid anti-foreignism as the Boxer anal guides to conduct, they are! Movement of 1900. Governments, by no means hard to understand. Kiko individuals, have always been Their standards are not only dif-ready to give complete absolution to ferent from ours but are—often' China for offences which would} in direct conflict with our stand have been eternally resented from xrds, ite of their assertion other nation on orth, and that'"for all under heaven there would have any other] is one rale." This conflict of Griental people their inde- basic ethical principles naturally! jendenee a dozen times over. engenders friction, and in all the China can ignore or evade trea ties, relations with the El violate or forfeit bargains, default on obi fire on ult ese, from cook to highest official, an] the foreigner and the native are: ry or naval} incessantly at war, but if there little other|he understanding on both sides the penalty than a grudging promise} feud is as good natured and polite not to do it again. We have recent/_a combat of wits as the medieval ale well og ancient incidents by tournament was of strength. With which this truth can be demon- some patience and a sense of hum-norated and yet we all cherish a cur on both sides, there is io ocsentimental regard for China which] casion for ill-will or bad feeling of exempts her from all ordinary pen-deny sort. So, in our ordinary eon-allies, Why? The purpose of this|Micts with the quick and acute but article is to tell the reader why.[eseentially simple mind of the Chinese individual, we who live The Lovable Chinese among the people, know them and tchapnens to be because the like them, do develop what can be Chinese of all Kinds and breeds—|sincerely and genuinely described and they are no more a homey gen-las a "sympathetic understanding." ans people than the people are extremely The Ancient System They can be ax naughty, unruly,] As it happens, however, when ilicfous as we come to polities and internation~ Jp al affairs bearing upon overworked] welfare, those of us who know reheeimastes, who is from time] and-like the Chinese "Dest, are to time, prompted to exterminate] usually the frst to be accused of 4 few of his pupils, so] lack of this very quality of nearly moved to crime by bright, precogions ssid "unruly siesby! the: obstinate pidity thoeull ones. Ti warwerd little iéribe: of the classroom appeal Wis "heart, in epite"cf th they cause him, zs she stupid: sullen ones never en.
And: China pathetic understanding", and supposed to have least regard for China's "legitimate "aspirations. This, requires explanation and. a definition of terms, and one has to.
long. way'back: into-the.- past Ching. hes been ruled.for- nestly' iv one of the world's clever nay Jnty °.000 years by absolute monarchs, whose right to rule was founded obedience and respect of their, subjects ty a display of violence, but who nevertheless were credited some of the divine qualities, as "Sons of Heaven," with which the Japanese endow their Mikado. Below these Sons of Heaven for at least 2,500 years there have functioned, as the deputies of almighty monarchs, a caste of scholar-officials, proficient in all) the Chinese arts and even pattern ruskers for all the Chinese crafts, who have held office by virtue of their acknowledged leader: in tie arts and sciences which go to make up Chinese culture. The Chinese civil service system, with its painful examination of aspirants, te official "honours, guaranteed to each community that its governor was not only a deputy of the Son of Heaven and the wielder in emergency of the whole physical force of the Empire, but was also a man of supreme ability in the arts and sciences which all classes traditionally revered.
The Prestige of Officialdom Officialdom in China therefore enjoys a prestige, by virtue of this ancient system, equivalent to that. of the mediaeval aristocracy in, Europe. In normal times the only check upon the local magistrate came from above. The people were. given no voice in his selection or removal. He was the deputy of the throne and, unless he behaved very badly indeed, the common people had no inherent right to question the justice of his administration. Obedience to these local inhabitants of the ydmen—the of-residence—became in the it among the Chinese rank and file which the worst possible misrule could scarcely shake. It was confidently felt that if the local magi were flagrantly unjust, the Son of Heaven all-secing on his high throne would, sooner or later, take rote of it and remove the incubus.
Under efficient dynasties this did truly happen often enough, and over wide enough areas, to justify the ruth of the people in Heaven and Heaven's chosen son. In this way the habit of unquestioning obedience to collapse of the Manchu Dynast, 1911 and the assumption of offices by all manner of petty tarists, ami sot the eld regime and self-styled patriots, with no qualifications, the tradition of obedience persevered, and, some extent, does persevere to this:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.