As we have already mentioned in a former article, students began to return from England and the United States in the eighties of the last century. One of these was Dr. Yen Fah, who studied naval architecture at Greenwich. To him is due the credit of translating the philosophical works of Mon. tesquieu, Spencer, Darwin, Huxley, and Adam Smith, etc. Since his time the number of such translations has multiplied at least a hundredfold, and to-day there is} searcely a publishing house which has not a special translation department attached to it. Consequently, it was not long before Chinese scholars began to discuss the principles of "survival of the fittest." "government of the people, by the people, for the people," "liberty, equality and fraternity,"
Tt may or may not be easy, to single out a contemporary writer as a suitable Chinese H. G. Wells, but there is at least one who has in his own way been compared to the great Englishman namely, Mr. Lin Shu (or Lin Ch'in-nan). Just" as Dr. Yen has familiarized the Chinese scholars with the theories of Western political as well as philosophical thinkers, so Lin has acquainted the Chinese reading public with the treasures of Westera novelists. Speaking no foreign language himself but working only through an interpreter, he it was who introduced Dickens, Rider Haggard, Conan Doyle, Shake-peace, Scott, Dumas and Hugo, ete., to Chinese intellectuals. addition, he writes his own novels. So what Professor Phelps says of H. G. Wells may also be applied to him:—'He writes books faster than one can read them: faster than any one publisher can produce them." Hence, the Commercial Press (Shanghai) alone has published more than 50 of his translations.
Samp Briuuasy Fouowens.
The name of Liang Eh-'ch'ao is, of course, familiar to Chinese as well as most foreigners. But among the contemporary writers of real influence ure also included the following 1 i Yuwei, "Chinas Modern Sage." Teacher of Liang Chu-chao, he it was who advised Kuang-hsu to embark on his hasty reforms and thus precipitated the "Old Buddha's" coup d'etat of 1898. In addition to learned expositions of Confucian doctrines, is also well known for his "Travels in Europe."
2. Chang Ping-lin (or Chang Ta-ven), who is as profound as Liang is popular. He took prominent part in the Revolution of 1911-1912, but is better known as 'a philosophical writer.
3. Tsai Yuan-pei, formerly Minister of Education and now Chancellor of Peking Government University. Whereas Yen Fuh it was who introduced Western rr Moreover, it is said, being! philosophers to Chinese scholars, it ig the erudite Chancellor, however, who deserves the credit of such introduction in a systematic and comprehensive manner.
4. Chang Shih-chao, at present in Shanghai petitioning the Mixed Court on behalf of the Canton Military Government to restrain the various banks from handing over to the veteran diplomat the moneys deposited by Dr. Wu T'ing-fang. On his return from Aberdeen he at once took an active part in the 1911-1912 Revolution and, until recently, was editing "The Tiger' (Chia Yin), a notable liberal daily 1 Penne on-jen, the novelist who is considered by some as one of the really praiseworthy modern writers.
6. Pao Trien-hsiao, the educational novelist. Both in the spoken Janguage and in the classical Wereli he is quite at home, and is withal a promising translator.
Mopernity iN THE THEATRE.
Here is the answer to the query whether or not China has any eon-temporary literature. And this
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.