But let us not overlook the work of others in connexion with Shansi's envious position. Governor Yen i Hsi-shan, as is now well known, deservedly enjoys the reputation 'a great statesman and administrator, Born in a small village named Hop-jen in the Wutai Shan district (Wu-tai Shan is one of the five sacred mountains of China and lies in the north of Shansi province) in the! year 1882, Governor Yen is still al young man. His father was a potter. In 1898 Yen became a student in the Military School in Taiyuan fu, six years later being choser to go to Japan to complete his mi tary training. On his return to! Shansi he joined the army, and soon worked his way up to the' command of the 86th Battalion, which he ganized along modern lines. was while in Japan that ko came into contact with the revolutionary movement and adopted its principles In October, 1911, when the Revolution broke out in Taiyuanfe, Yen was unanituously chosen ay military'
Subsequently he was lected as utah (Governor) Shansi by the first Republican Par-Tiament in Nanking, which post he kas held over since under various titles.
After the first outburst of loot: ing and incendiarism that immediarely followed the overthrow of the Manchu Government had been suppressed by Yen and his troops, Yen set to work upon his great task; how well he has carried it out is now a matter of common knowledge, but the great fact remains that this man had vision, and not only vision but} the courage of his convictions and the will to carry out what he thought best for his beloved province.
He had his troubles. Jealousies were to be contended with. There! were warring factions in the pro-wince, but he succeeded in winning. the loyalty of these contending f tions to himself and the things he stood for, and to-day Shansi stands united province, independent of the rest of the country, yet still an in-tegal pact of China, and contributing funds to the Central Government Peking.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.