Some time ago, when the "Provisional Government" was first set up in Peiping, 1 happened to be dining with some Chinese friends, among whom were several ex-ofüci the present war among even the educated classes, is the following remark made to me by a young student. A group of them were coming off the ice at the North Lake with their skates slung over their shoulders. We fell into conversation and soon got on to the war, they being very anxious to know what their armies were doing and fervent ly expressing their hopes that they were winning.
"Why do you ask me that," said I. "Strong, healthy chaps like you, what. are you doing here skating? Why haven't you gone off to fight for your country?"
"Oh, we are not soldiers," said one of them, highly amused at the idea.
"Well, why don't you become soldiers then?"
"Why?" said another of them quite We might get killed, if He said this quite simply, without an after-thought, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
This reminds me of the similar experience of a friend in Shanghai. He was shopping in Wing On's, jus about the time when the Japanese had broken the Chinese resistance round Shanghai. "Why," said the shop-assistant who was serving him. a strong, healthy. elegantly-dressed young fellow. "Why are Chinese Soldiers so lazy, to lose Shanghai?"
This comforting habit of being able to do your thinking in water-tight compartments 15, of course, not confined to the Chinese, though I have found it more prevalent with them than most other peoples. But the attitude described in the last two examples provides much food for thought and must greatly increase one's admiration and respect for Gen. Chiang Kai-shek and what he has been able to achieve in keeping
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.