Estracted from the wartly to be published Euplish Version of "The is Benton of Dr. Ssu By tun Rev, Parwer Pascal M. D'EUA called Syn Chung-shan was born on Nov. 12, 1866 of a family of farmers ina village named Tauiheng (ARM) in the district of Hsiang Clip, miswey between Coe: ton and. Macao. In later years some of his disciples, in an effort to free him from the vexations and Pursuits of the Chinese Imperial Police who trailed hin across continent attempted to pass him off asian American subject, and they spread the rumour that he was a native of Honolulu, in the Havaiian Islands. History denies this rumour.
Lit his childhood, together with his little companions, he attended the school which his uncle had started in the village. But from the very beginning it was evident that he was not—und did not want. to be—like the others. The old method of Chinese pedagogy, according to which the children sing-songed for whole days characters which no one took the trouble to explain them, did not suit the future re-
Yolutionist. One day he revolted: "1 donot understand anything. of this," he said, pointing to_his Classic of Three Characters @B). "What is the good of learning by heart something which I do not) understand?" The old teacher, unused to such outbreaks, had re: course to the rod, but without result. 'The unruly' child persisted: "Why should I from morning till night shriek at the top of my voice things which I do not understand' They tell me to read, and I do not "understand a thing of what they tell me to read. Why not at least explain these things to me?" Fine ally, in order to avoid trouble, he continued to do as his companions, but he kept saying to himself. "There must be a reason even for shall find. it out By and by his mind became alert. He sought the reasons for things: The asked questions; he inquired from his mother, a good countrywoman who never received any, education. "Ilow is it that the em: peror of China ix not a Chinese?
asked one day of his mother.
uch embarrassed, the poor woman swered as best™as she could. Another day, as he was admiring the star-bespangled sky:
"Mother," he said, "What is the blue sky made of?"
"Of an up-turned bowl, the answer he received.
Later on, as if purposely making his questions more and more embarvassing, probably in having witnessed a death, he queried:
"Mother, "what comes after death?"
And the poor woman more than ever bashed by this embryo philosopher answered sadly; "There is nothing after death, Al ends there."
The future reformer was not slow in noticing that all was not well with his country. Around him all Bowed to the simple argument of tradition: "Matters were always thus, hence everything is well as is." But that argument held no Power over the revolutionist of the morrow. His little sister suffered terribly through the Chinese custom of foot-binding. As Sun could no longer bear to see her thus tortured, he said to his mother: "Please, do not bind the feet of my little sister; she suffers so much!" But the hour for reforms had not yet come, and his request, was not considered.
Outside his family circle he was equally unsuccessful, Traffic in children, infanticide, concubinage, Binding of feet, worship of idols, all those customs were repugnant to the young reformer. He uttered his Views to the inhabitants of his village, but he always received the same answer. "All this is right Decause it was always done. Moreover, the Son of Heaven judges it to be right, therefore, it is right.'
1@ answer was not of a nature to satisfy Sun Yatsen. He began to feel himself ill at ease in his home village. "The inhabitants were too deeply rutted in tradition; it was impossible to move such deep inertia. He was consumed with the desire to leave that small place; he 6 ited to see the country, to go far, very far, even to the land of the His aunt, as became a good Chinese woman, did not fail to warn him "against such desires, From time to time she had seen foreign ships anchored in the neighbourhood of Tsuiheng, and the foreigners! had impressed her unfavourably. In her estimation, they" had' quer habits: they did not wear the queues some of them were bald, but they had heay beards, when' they ate, they carried their "knife to the nouth, ard so on. She did not fail to reteat to little Sun Yat-sen: The forviginis are dangers, beings, and Chinese children do well tovkeop at a distance from" arch But while his aunt was warning! him against foreigners, other voices Whispered to him. From emigrants who had come back to their: home-country after having grown wealthy in California, he learned that all was not evil in the country of the foreigners, that on the contrary, there' were some good features there. He saw the gold coins of five, tem, and twenty dollare sparkling in the sunshine, H® admired: the: leather Purves fled with money, One day, as he passed by a tea-shop, he stoped on the threshold. One of the emigrants who had just returned was telling what he had seen. immense sea which it took days and. days to cross} a beautiful land with mountains and rivers; everything was as in China, but with one wold yeh gold difference—over yonder there was
Then one day hiv older brother, Sun. Te-chang (FRAME) oime back after having spent many years Honolulu where. he farmed in tense rice-tolds. "The native. king the isle needed tabourers. Ile had promised to give a hundred dollars for every Chinese—who hi would land at the island. San Te-chang saw an opportunity to increase his wealth. He had come ack to China to organize passenger traffic with Honolulu. He offered to convey Chinese coolies gratis. The hundred dollars which he would receive from the king would not. only pay the expenses, but net him 1 good benefit. He himself had left. the country as @ poor man, and now he returned rich in wealth and in experience after having travelled through many lands and seen many new things.
This was indeed an opportunity for Sun Yat-sen who s0 much desired to see new countries. It was the one chance of going to far-off ands. But his parents were afraid to let him go, lest perhaps they lose two of their children. As soon as Sun Te-chang had made arrang cements for the transportation of the labourers, he left for Horolulu unaccompanied by his younger brother, who ceased not to importune his parents to lot him go to the foreign country. He argued that he was no longer child, and that he had nothing more to learn in the village school. As for being so much afraid of dangers, hho stated that on the journey he would be together with friends and acquaintances, and in the foreign country he would be with his brother. "Ina word, he argued so tenaviously and so eloquently that in the end he obtained what he desired This was in 1877; he was then eleven years old." The first thing which attracted his attention when he embarked was a heavy iron beam which crossed the ship from end to end to make jit strong. "This appeared to me to be gigantic," said Sun Yat-sen later when he related the incident. "I wondered how axufficient number of men could be of together to lift that beam in its place. Then I reflected that just as that beam must have been made by' machinery, so it must have been put in its place by the help of machinery. I concluded immediately that something was wrong in China, since we could not accomplish what foreigners did. Was not that iron beam a sign that they were superior to us?"
That admiration for foreigners increased when he landed in Honolulu. The postal sotvice was 'a revelation to him. The good order that was maintained in the island by the enforcement of the American
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.