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+America Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat
+
+by Wu Tingfang
+
+August, 1996  [Etext #609]
+
+
+******The Project Gutenberg Etext of America, by Wu Tingfang*****
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+
+
+
+America
+Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat
+
+
+
+
+[Note on text:  Italicized sections are capitalized.
+A few obvious errors have been corrected.
+Some footnotes have been added, and are clearly marked.]
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Introduction:
+
+
+
+While this book is by no means famous, it is a remarkable chance
+to look at America of 1914 through the eyes of an outsider.
+Wu Tingfang shows evidence of having thought through many issues
+of relevance to the United States, and while some of his thoughts
+are rather odd -- such as his suggestion that the title of President
+be replaced by the title of Emperor; and others are unfortunately wrong --
+such as his hopes for peace, written on the eve of the First World War;
+they are all well-considered and sometimes show remarkable insight
+into American culture.
+
+Even so, it should be remarked that he makes some errors,
+including some misunderstandings of American and Western ideas
+and an idealization of Chinese culture, and humanity in general,
+in some points -- while I do not wish to refute his claims about China,
+I would simply point out that many of the things he praises
+have been seen differently by many outside observers,
+just as Wu Tingfang sometimes looks critically at things in America
+which he does not fully understand (and, unfortunately,
+he is sometimes all too correct) -- in all these cases (on both sides)
+some leeway must be given to account for mutual misunderstandings.
+Still, his observations allow us to see ourselves as others see us --
+and regardless of accuracy those observations are useful,
+if only because they will allow us to better communicate.
+
+The range of topics covered is also of particular interest.
+Wu Tingfang wrote this book at an interesting juncture in history --
+airplanes and motion pictures had recently been invented,
+(and his expectations for both these inventions have proven correct),
+and while he did not know it, a tremendous cultural shift
+was about to take place in the West due to the First World War
+and other factors.  I will leave it to the reader to see
+which ideas have caught on and which have not.  The topics include:
+    Immigration; the Arms Race and changes in technology;
+    one-time six year terms for the office of President;
+    religion and/or ethics in the classroom; women's equality;
+    fashion; violence in the theatre (violence on television);
+    vegetarianism; and, cruelty to animals.
+
+I will also note that a few passages seem satiric in nature,
+though I am not certain that it isn't merely a clash of cultures.
+
+
+                    Alan R. Light.  Birmingham, Alabama.  May, 1996.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+AMERICA
+Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat
+
+by Wu Tingfang, LL.D.
+  Late Chinese Minister to the United States of America, Spain, Peru,
+  Mexico and Cuba; recently Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister
+  of Justice for the Provincial Government of the Republic of China, etc.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Preface
+
+
+
+Of all nations in the world, America is the most interesting to the Chinese.
+A handful of people left England to explore this country:
+gradually their number increased, and, in course of time,
+emigrants from other lands swelled the population.  They were governed
+by officials from the home of the first settlers, but when it appeared to them
+that they were being treated unjustly, they rebelled and declared war
+against their rulers, the strongest nation on the face of the earth.
+After seven years of strenuous, perilous, and bloody warfare,
+during which thousands of lives were sacrificed on both sides,
+the younger race shook off the yoke of the older, and England was compelled
+to recognize the independence of the American States.  Since then,
+in the comparatively short space of one hundred and thirty years,
+those revolutionists and their descendants, have not only made
+the commonwealth the richest in the world, but have founded a nation
+whose word now carries weight with all the other great powers.
+
+The territory at first occupied was not larger than one or two
+provinces of China, but by purchase, and in other ways,
+the commonwealth has gradually grown till now it extends
+from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, from the north where ice is perpetual
+to the south where the sun is as hot as in equatorial Singapore.
+This young republic has already produced many men and women
+who are distinguished in the fields of literature, science, art and invention.
+There hosts of men, who in their youth were as poor as church mice,
+have, by dint of perseverance and business capacity,
+become multi-millionaires.  There you may see the richest man in the world
+living a simple and abstemious life, without pomp and ostentation,
+daily walking in the streets unattended even by a servant.
+Many of them have so much money that they do not know what to do with it.
+Many foreign counts, dukes, and even princes have been captured
+by their wealthy and handsome daughters, some of whom have borne sons
+who have become high officers of state in foreign lands.
+There you find rich people who devote their time and wealth
+to charitable works, sometimes endowing libraries not only in their own land,
+but all over the world; there you will find lynching tolerated,
+or impossible of prevention; there one man may kill another,
+and by the wonderful process of law escape the extreme penalty of death;
+there you meet the people who are most favorably disposed
+toward the maintenance of peace, and who hold conferences and conventions with
+that object in view almost every year; there an American multi-millionaire
+devotes a great proportion of his time to the propaganda of peace,
+and at his own expense has built in a foreign country a palatial building
+to be used as a tribunal of peace.*  Yet these people have waged war
+on behalf of other nationalities who they thought were being unjustly treated
+and when victorious they have not held on to the fruits of their victory
+without paying a reasonable price.**  There the inhabitants are, as a rule,
+extremely patriotic, and in a recent foreign war many gave up
+their businesses and professions and volunteered for service in the army;
+one of her richest sons enlisted and equipped a whole regiment
+at his own expense, and took command of it.  In that country
+all the citizens are heirs apparent to the throne, called the White House.
+A man may become the chief ruler for a few years, but after leaving
+the White House he reverts to private citizenship; if he is a lawyer
+he may practise and appear before a judge, whom he appointed
+while he was president.  There a woman may become a lawyer
+and plead a case before a court of justice on behalf of a male client;
+there freedom of speech and criticism are allowed to the extreme limit,
+and people are liable to be annoyed by slanders and libels
+without much chance of obtaining satisfaction; there you will see
+women wearing "Merry Widow" hats who are not widows but spinsters,
+or married women whose husbands are very much alive,
+and the hats in many cases are as large as three feet in diameter;***
+there you may travel by rail most comfortably on palace cars,
+and at night you may sleep on Pullman cars, to find in the morning
+that a young lady has been sleeping in the berth above your bed.
+The people are most ingenious in that they can float a company
+and water the stock without using a drop of fluid; there are bears and bulls
+in the Stock Exchange, but you do not see these animals fight,
+although they roar and yell loudly enough.  It is certainly
+a most extraordinary country.  The people are wonderful
+and are most interesting and instructive to the Chinese.
+
+--
+* This magnificent building at The Hague, which is aptly called
+  the Palace of Peace, was formally opened on the 28th of August, 1913,
+  in the presence of Queen Wilhelmina, Mr. Carnegie (the founder)
+  and a large assembly of foreign representatives.
+** I refer to the Spanish-American War.  Have captured the Philippine Islands,
+   the United States paid $20,000,000, gold, for it to the Spanish Government.
+*** This was several years ago.  Fashions change every year.
+    The present type is equally ludicrous.
+--
+
+Such a race should certainly be very interesting to study.
+During my two missions to America where I resided nearly eight years,
+repeated requests were made that I should write my observations
+and impressions of America.  I did not feel justified in doing so
+for several reasons:  first, I could not find time for such a task
+amidst my official duties; secondly, although I had been travelling
+through many sections of the country, and had come in contact
+officially and socially with many classes of people, still there might be
+some features of the country and some traits of the people
+which had escaped my attention; and thirdly, though I had seen
+much in America to arouse my admiration, I felt that here and there,
+there was room for improvement, and to be compelled to criticize people
+who had been generous, courteous, and kind was something I did not wish to do.
+In answer to my scruples I was told that I was not expected
+to write about America in a partial or unfair manner,
+but to state impressions of the land just as I had found it.
+A lady friend, for whose opinion I have the highest respect, said in effect,
+"We want you to write about our country and to speak of our people
+in an impartial and candid way; we do not want you to bestow praise
+where it is undeserved; and when you find anything deserving
+of criticism or condemnation you should not hesitate to mention it,
+for we like our faults to be pointed out that we may reform."
+I admit the soundness of my friend's argument.  It shows the broad-mindedness
+and magnanimity of the American people.  In writing the following pages
+I have uniformly followed the principles laid down by my American lady friend.
+I have not scrupled to frankly and freely express my views,
+but I hope not in any carping spirit; and I trust American readers
+will forgive me if they find some opinions they cannot endorse.
+I assure them they were not formed hastily or unkindly.
+Indeed, I should not be a sincere friend were I to picture their country
+as a perfect paradise, or were I to gloss over what seem to me
+to be their defects.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+
+Preface
+Chapter 1.  The Importance of Names
+Chapter 2.  American Prosperity
+Chapter 3.  American Government
+Chapter 4.  America and China
+Chapter 5.  American Education
+Chapter 6.  American Business Methods
+Chapter 7.  American Freedom and Equality
+Chapter 8.  American Manners
+Chapter 9.  American Women
+Chapter 10.  American Costumes
+Chapter 11.  American versus Chinese Civilization
+Chapter 12.  American versus Chinese Civilization (Continued)
+Chapter 13.  Dinners, Banquets, Etc.
+Chapter 14.  Theaters
+Chapter 15.  Opera and Musical Entertainments
+Chapter 16.  Conjuring and Circuses
+Chapter 17.  Sports
+
+
+
+
+
+
+AMERICA
+Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 1.  The Importance of Names
+
+
+
+  "What's in a name?  That which we call a rose
+  By any other name would smell as sweet."
+
+Notwithstanding these lines, I maintain that the selection of names
+is important.  They should always be carefully chosen.
+They are apt to influence friendships or to excite prejudices
+according to their significance.  We Chinese are very particular
+in this matter.  When a son is born the father or the grandfather
+chooses a name for the infant boy which, according to his horoscope,
+is likely to insure him success, or a name is selected which indicates
+the wish of the family for the new-born child.  Hence such names
+as "happiness", "prosperity", "longevity", "success", and others,
+with like propitious import, are common in China.  With regard to girls
+their names are generally selected from flowers, fruits, or trees.
+Particular care is taken not to use a name which has a bad meaning.
+In Washington I once met a man in an elevator whose name was "Coffin".
+Was I to be blamed for wondering if the elevator would be my coffin?
+On another occasion I met a man whose name was "Death",
+and as soon as I heard his name I felt inclined to run away,
+for I did not wish to die.  I am not superstitious.
+I have frequently taken dinner with thirteen persons at the table,
+and I do not hesitate to start on a journey on a Friday.
+I often do things which would not be done by superstitious persons in China.
+But to meet a man calling himself "Coffin" or "Death" was too much for me,
+and with all my disbelief in superstition I could not help showing
+some repugnance to those who bore such names.
+
+Equally important, if not more so, is the selection of a name
+for a state or a nation.  When the several states of America
+became independent they called themselves the "United States of America" --
+a very happy idea.  The Union was originally composed of thirteen states,
+covering about 300,000 square miles; it is now composed of forty-eight states
+and three territories, which in area amount to 3,571,492 square miles,
+practically as large in extent as China, the oldest nation in the world.
+It should be noted that the name is most comprehensive:  it might comprise
+the entire continent of North and South America.  It is safe to say that
+the founders of the nation did not choose such a name without consideration,
+and doubtless the designation "United States of America"
+conceals a deep motive.  I once asked a gentleman who said he was an American
+whether he had come from South or North America, or whether he was a Mexican,
+a Peruvian or a native of any of the countries in Central America?
+He replied with emphasis that he was an American citizen of the United States.
+I said it might be the United States of Mexico, or Argentina,
+or other United States, but he answered that when he called himself a citizen
+it could not mean any other than that of the United States of America.
+I have asked many other Americans similar questions and they all have given me
+replies in the same way.  We Chinese call our nation "The Middle Kingdom";
+it was supposed to be in the center of the earth.  I give credit
+to the founders of the United States for a better knowledge of geography
+than that possessed by my countrymen of ancient times
+and do not assume that the newly formed nation was supposed to comprise
+the whole continent of North and South America, yet the name chosen
+is so comprehensive as to lead one naturally to suspect that it was intended
+to include the entire continent.  However, from my observation
+of their national conduct, I believe their purpose was just and humane;
+it was to set a noble example to the sister nations in the Western Hemisphere,
+and to knit more closely all the nations on that continent
+through the bonds of mutual justice, goodwill and friendship.
+The American nation is, indeed, itself a pleasing and unique example
+of the principle of democracy.  Its government is ideal,
+with a liberal constitution, which in effect declares
+that all men are created equal, and that the government is "of the people,
+for the people, and by the people."  Anyone with ordinary intelligence
+and with open eyes, who should visit any city, town or village in America,
+could not but be impressed with the orderly and unostentatious way
+in which it is governed by the local authorities, or help being struck
+by the plain and democratic character of the people.
+Even in the elementary schools, democracy is taught and practised.
+I remember visiting a public school for children in Philadelphia,
+which I shall never forget.  There were about three or four hundred children,
+boys and girls, between seven and fourteen years of age.
+They elected one of their students as mayor, another as judge,
+another as police commissioner, and in fact they elected
+for the control of their school community almost all the officials who
+usually govern a city.  There were a few Chinese children among the students,
+and one of them was pointed out to me as the police superintendent.
+This not only eloquently spoke of his popularity, but showed
+goodwill and harmony among the several hundred children,
+and the entire absence of race feeling.  The principals and teachers
+told me that they had no difficulty whatever with the students.
+If one of them did anything wrong, which was not often,
+he would be taken by the student policeman before the judge,
+who would try the case, and decide it on its merits,
+and punish or discharge his fellow student as justice demanded.
+I was assured by the school authorities that this system of self-government
+worked admirably; it not only relieved the teachers of the burden
+of constantly looking after the several hundred pupils,
+but each of them felt a moral responsibility to behave well,
+for the sake of preserving the peace and good name of the school.
+Thus early imbued with the idea of self-government, and entrusted
+with the responsibilities of its administration, these children when grown up,
+take a deep interest in federal and municipal affairs,
+and, when elected for office, invariably perform their duties efficiently
+and with credit to themselves.
+
+It cannot be disputed that the United States with its democratic
+system of government has exercised a great influence over
+the states and nations in Central and South America.  The following data
+showing the different nations of America, with the dates at which
+they turned their respective governments from Monarchies into Republics,
+all subsequent to the independence of the United States, are very significant.
+
+Mexico became a Republic in 1823, Honduras in 1839, Salvador in 1839,
+Nicaragua in 1821, Costa Rica in 1821, Panama in 1903, Colombia in 1819,
+Venezuela in 1830, Ecuador in 1810, Brazil in 1889, Peru in 1821,
+Bolivia in 1825, Paraguay in 1811, Chile in 1810, Argentina in 1824,
+and Uruguay in 1828.
+
+These Republics have been closely modelled upon the republican
+form of government of the United States; thus, nearly all
+the nations or states on the continent of America have become Republics.
+Canada still belongs to Great Britain.  The fair and generous policy
+pursued by the Imperial Government of Great Britain accounts for
+the Canadians' satisfaction with their political position,
+and for the fact that they do not wish a change.  It must be noted,
+however, that a section of the American people would like to see Canada
+incorporated with the United States.  I remember that at a public meeting
+held in Washington, at which Sir Wilfrid Laurier, then Premier of Canada,
+was present, an eminent judge of the Federal Supreme Court
+jocularly expressed a wish that Canada should be annexed to the United States.
+Later, Mr. Champ Clark, a leader of the Democratic party
+in the House of Representatives, addressed the House
+urging the annexation of Canada.  Even if these statements
+are not taken seriously they at least show the feelings of some people,
+and he would be a bold man who would prophesy the political status of Canada
+in the future.  There is, however, no present indication of any change
+being desired by the Canadians, and it may be safely presumed
+that the existing conditions will continue for many years to come.
+This is not to be wondered at, for Canada though nominally a British colony
+practically enjoys almost all the privileges of an independent state.
+She possesses a constitution similar to that of the United Kingdom,
+with a parliament of two houses, called the "Senate",
+and the "House of Commons".  The Sovereign of Great Britain
+appoints only the Governor General who acts in his name,
+but the Dominion is governed by a responsible Ministry,
+and all domestic affairs are managed by local officials,
+without interference from the Home Government.  Canadians enjoy as many rights
+as the inhabitants of England, with the additional advantage
+that they do not have to bear the burden of maintaining an army and navy.
+Some years ago, if I remember rightly, in consequence of some agitation
+or discussion for independence, the late Lord Derby, then Secretary of State
+for the Colonies, stated that if the Canadians really wished for independence,
+the Home Government would not oppose, but that they should consider
+if they would gain anything by the change, seeing that they already
+had self-government, enjoyed all the benefits of a free people,
+and that the only right the Home Government reserved was the appointment
+of the Governor-General, although it assumed the responsibility
+of protecting every inch of their territory from encroachment.
+Since this sensible advice from the Colonial Secretary,
+I have heard nothing more of the agitation for independence.
+
+From a commercial point of view, and for the welfare of the people,
+there is not much to choose to-day between a Limited Monarchy and a Republic.
+Let us, for instance, compare England with the United States.
+The people of England are as free and independent as the people
+of the United States, and though subjects, they enjoy as much freedom
+as Americans.  There are, however, some advantages in favor of a Republic.
+Americans until recently paid their President a salary of only $50,000 a year;
+it is now $75,000 with an additional allowance of $25,000
+for travelling expenses.  This is small indeed compared with the Civil List
+of the King or Emperor of any great nation.  There are more chances
+in a Republic for ambitious men to distinguish themselves; for instance,
+a citizen can become a president, and practically assume the functions
+of a king or an emperor.  In fact the President of the United States
+appoints his own cabinet officials, ambassadors, ministers, etc.
+It is generally stated that every new president has the privilege
+of making more than ten thousand appointments.  With regard to
+the administration and executive functions he has in practice
+more power than is usually exercised by a king or an emperor
+of a Constitutional Monarchy.  On the other hand, in some matters,
+the executive of a Republic cannot do what a king or an emperor can do;
+for example, a president cannot declare war against a foreign nation
+without first obtaining the consent of Congress.  In a monarchical government
+the king or the cabinet officials assume enormous responsibilities.
+Lord Beaconsfield (then Mr. D'Israeli), while he was Prime Minister
+of England, purchased in 1875 from the Khedive of Egypt
+176,602 Suez Canal shares for the sum of 3,976,582 Pounds
+on his own responsibility, and without consulting the Imperial Parliament.
+When Parliament or Congress has to be consulted about everything,
+great national opportunities to do some profitable business
+must undoubtedly be sometimes lost.  No such bold national investment
+as that made by Lord Beaconsfield could have been undertaken
+by any American president on his own responsibility.  Mr. Cleveland,
+when president of the United States, said that "the public affairs
+of the United States are transacted in a glass house."
+
+Washington, in his farewell address, advised his compatriots
+that on account of the detached and distant situation of their country
+they should, in extending their commercial relations with foreign nations,
+have as little political connection with them as possible;
+and he asked this pertinent and pregnant question, "Why, by interweaving
+our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity
+in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice?"
+In 1823, twenty-seven years after Washington's celebrated address,
+President Monroe in his annual message to Congress warned the European Powers
+not to plant any new colonies on any portion of the American hemisphere,
+as any attempt on their part to extend their system in that part of the world
+would be considered as dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States.
+This "Monroe Doctrine", as it has since been called, practically protects
+every state and country on the American continent from attack or interference
+by any foreign power, and it cannot be denied that it has been and is now
+the chief factor in preserving the integrity of all the countries
+on that continent.  Thus the United States is assuming the role of guardian
+over the other American nations.  In the city of Washington
+there is an International Bureau of the American Republics,
+in which all the Republics of Central and South America are represented.
+It is housed in a magnificent palace made possible by the beneficence
+of Mr. Andrew Carnegie, the American multi-millionaire and philanthropist,
+and the contributions of the different governments.  It cost 750,000
+gold dollars, and Mr. John Barrett, the capable and popular director
+of the Bureau, has well called it "a temple of friendship and commerce
+and a meeting place for the American Republics."  The Bureau is supported
+by the joint contributions of the twenty-one American Republics,
+and its affairs are controlled by a governing board
+composed of their diplomatic representatives in Washington,
+with the American Secretary of State as chairman ex officio.
+This institution no doubt strengthens the position of the United States
+and is calculated to draw the American Republics into closer friendship.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 2.  American Prosperity
+
+
+
+One of the main causes of the prosperity of the great American Republic
+is its natural resources.  It possesses coal, oil, silver, gold, copper,
+and all the other mineral ores.  Nature seems, indeed, to have provided almost
+everything that man needs.  The soil is rich; wheat and every kind of fruit
+can be grown; but favorable as are these native conditions
+they could not be turned to any great advantage without the skill and industry
+of enterprising men.  Many countries in Africa and Asia
+possess equal advantages, but they are not equally prosperous.
+This leads me to the consideration of another reason for America's growth.
+The men who have migrated to the United States have not been rich people.
+They went there to make a living.  They were prepared to work,
+their purpose was to improve their condition, and they were willing
+to undertake any manual or mental labor to accomplish their object.
+They were hardy and strong and could bear a heavy strain.
+Their children inherited their good qualities, and so an American
+is generally more hard working and enterprising than most of the people
+in Europe and elsewhere.
+
+Another reason for America's success is the great freedom
+which each citizen enjoys.  Every man considers himself the equal
+of every other, and a young man who is ambitious will not rest
+until he reaches the top of his profession or trade.  Thousands of Americans
+who were once very poor, have become millionaires or multi-millionaires.
+Many of them had no college education, they taught themselves,
+and some of them have become both literary and scholarly.
+A college or university education does not necessarily make a man learned;
+it only gives him the opportunity to learn.  It is said
+that some college men have proven themselves to be quite ignorant,
+or rather that they do not know so much as those who have been self-taught.
+I do not in any way wish to disparage a college education;
+no doubt men who have been trained in a university start in life
+with better prospects and with a greater chance of success,
+but those men who have not had such advantages have doubtless done much
+to make their country great and prosperous, and they ought to be recognized
+as great men.
+
+The general desire of the American people to travel abroad
+is one of their good traits.  People who never leave their homes
+cannot know much.  A person may become well-informed by reading,
+but his practical knowledge cannot be compared with that of a person
+who has travelled.  We Chinese are great sinners in this regard.
+A Chinese maxim says, "It is dangerous to ride on horseback or to go
+on a voyage":  hence until very recently we had a horror of going abroad.
+A person who remains all his life in his own town is generally narrow-minded,
+self-opinioned, and selfish.  The American people are free from these faults.
+It is not only the rich and the well-to-do who visit foreign countries,
+but tradesmen and workmen when they have saved a little money
+also often cross the Atlantic.  Some years ago a Senator in Washington told me
+that he crossed the Atlantic Ocean every summer and spent several months
+in Europe, and that the next trip would be his twenty-eighth voyage.
+I found, however, that he had never gone beyond Europe.  I ventured to suggest
+that he should extend his next annual journey a little farther
+and visit Japan, China, and other places in the Far East
+which I felt sure he would find both interesting and instructive.
+I have travelled through many countries in Europe and South America,
+and wherever I have gone and at whatever hotel I have put up,
+I have always found some Americans, and on many occasions I have met
+friends and acquaintances whom I had known in Washington or New York.
+But it is not only the men who go abroad; in many cases ladies
+also travel by themselves.  On several occasions lady friends
+from Washington, Philadelphia, and New York have visited me in Peking.
+This is one of the Americans' strong points.  Is it not wiser
+and much more useful to disburse a few hundred dollars or so
+in travelling and gaining knowledge, coming in contact with other peoples
+and enlarging the mind, than to spend large sums of money in gaudy dresses,
+precious stones, trinkets, and other luxuries?
+
+In a large country like America where a considerable portion of the land
+still remains practically uncultivated or undeveloped,
+hardy, industrious, and patient workmen are a necessity.
+But the almost unchecked influx of immigrants who are not desirable citizens
+cannot but harm the country.  In these days of international trade
+it is right that ingress and egress from one country to another
+should be unhampered, but persons who have committed crimes at home,
+or who are ignorant and illiterate, cannot become desirable citizens anywhere.
+They should be barred out of the United States of America.  It is well known
+that foreigners take part in the municipal and federal affairs of the country
+as soon as they become citizens.  Now if such persons really worked
+for the good of their adopted country, there could be no objection to this,
+but it is no secret that many have no such motives.  That being so,
+it is a question whether steps should not be taken to limit their freedom.
+On the other hand, as many farms suffer from lack of workmen,
+people from whatever country who are industrious, patient, and persevering
+ought to be admitted as laborers.  They would be a great boon to the nation.
+The fear of competition by cheap labor is causeless; regulations might
+be drawn up for the control of these foreign laborers, and on their arrival
+they could be drafted to those places where their services
+might be most urgently needed.  So long as honest and steady workmen
+are excluded for no reason other than that they are Asiatics, while white men
+are indiscriminately admitted, I fear that the prosperity of the country
+cannot be considered permanent, for agriculture is the backbone
+of stable wealth.  Yet at present it is the country's wealth
+which is one of the important factors of America's greatness.
+In the United States there are thousands of individuals
+whose fortunes are counted by seven or eight figures in gold dollars.
+And much of this money has been used to build railways,
+or to develop manufactories and other useful industries.
+The country has grown great through useful work, and not on account
+of the army and navy.  In 1881 America's army numbered only 26,622 men,
+and her navy consisted of only 24 iron-clads, 2 torpedo-boats, and 25 tugs,
+but in 1910 the peace strength of her army was 96,628 and the navy boasted
+33 battleships and 120 armored cruisers of different sizes.
+
+Within the last few years it has been the policy of many nations
+to increase the army and to build as many Dreadnaughts and super-dreadnaughts
+as possible.  Many statesmen have been infected by this Dreadnaught fever.
+Their policy seems to be based on the idea that the safety of a nation
+depends on the number of its battleships.  Even peaceful and moderate men
+are carried away by this hobby, and support it.  It is forgotten
+that great changes have taken place during the last twenty or thirty years;
+that a nation can now be attacked by means quite beyond the reach
+of Dreadnaughts.  The enormous sums spent on these frightful monsters,
+if applied to more worthy objects, would have a greater effect
+in preserving the nations' heritages than anything these monstrosities can do.
+
+The nation which has a large army and a strong navy may be called powerful,
+but it cannot be considered great without other good requisites.
+I consider a nation as great when she is peacefully, justly,
+and humanely governed, and when she possesses a large number
+of benevolent and good men who have a voice in the administration.
+The greater the number of good men that a nation possesses
+the greater she becomes.  America is known to have a large number
+of such men and women, men and women who devote their time and money
+to preaching peace among the nations.  Mr. Andrew Carnegie is worth
+a hundred Dreadnaughts.  He and others like him are the chief factors
+in safeguarding the interests and welfare of America.  The territory
+of the United States is separated from Europe and other countries
+by vast oceans; so that it would be difficult, if not impossible,
+for a foe to successfully attack any portion of that country.
+But who wishes to attack her?  She has scarcely an enemy.
+No country is invaded by another without cause, and as the United States
+is in friendly relations with all the Powers, there is no reason
+to fear foreign invasion.  Even should a foreign power
+successfully attack her and usurp a portion of her territories,
+a supposition which is most improbable, would the enemy be able
+to hold what he seized?  History shows that no conquered country
+has ever been successfully and permanently kept without the people's consent,
+and there is not the least chance that the Americans will ever consent
+to the rule of a foreign government.
+
+It is to be hoped that the United States will not follow
+the example of other nations and unduly increase her armaments,
+but that she will take the lead in the universal peace movement
+and show the world that a great power can exist and maintain her position
+without force of arms.  I am aware that general disarmament is not popular
+among statesmen, that it has been denounced by an eminent authority
+as a "will-o'-the wisp", that arbitration has been styled a "Jack-o'-lantern",
+but this is not the first time a good and workable scheme has been branded
+with opprobrious names.  The abolition of slavery was at one time considered
+to be an insane man's dream; now all people believe in it.
+Will the twentieth century witness the collapse of our present civilization?
+
+Why are the world's armaments constantly increasing?
+To my mind it is due to two causes, one of which is mistrust.
+One nation begins to build Dreadnaughts, another does the same
+through fear and mistrust.  The second cause is that
+it is the fashion of some nations to follow the example of others
+that they may preserve their position as great naval powers.
+But it is unnecessary for the United States to show such mistrust or to follow
+such fashion.  She should rather, as becomes a great and powerful nation,
+take an independent course of her own.  If she sets the example
+other nations in due time will follow her.  The peace of the world
+will be more surely guarded, and America will win the approbation,
+the respect, and the gratitude of all peace-loving people.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 3.  American Government
+
+
+
+Democratic principles were enunciated by Chinese philosophers as long ago
+as 4,500 years, and from time to time various emperors and statesmen
+have endeavored to apply them to the government of China,
+but these principles in all their minute details have been exemplified
+only by the wisdom of the statesmen in the West.  In the United States
+they are in full swing.  As China has now become a Republic, not in name only
+but in fact, it will be well for her statesmen and politicians
+to examine the American constitution, and to study its workings.
+To do this at close range it will be necessary for the student
+to visit Washington, the Capital of the United States of America.
+Here he will find the President, or the chief of the nation.
+With the co-operation of his Cabinet and a large staff of assistants,
+the President administers the affairs of the Federal Government.
+He may be a new man and have had no previous training in diplomacy,
+and little administrative experience, but in all probability
+he is a man of resource and adaptability, who has mastered every detail
+of his high office.  All important matters are referred to him,
+so that his daily work taxes his whole strength and energy.
+Another part of his function is to see the Congressmen, Senators,
+or Representatives, and others who call to see him on business,
+and this takes up a great part of his time.  In fact, he is expected to be,
+and generally is, `Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re'.
+
+In Washington the National Congress, which is composed of the Senate
+and of the House of Representatives, holds its sittings in the Capitol,
+and passes bills subject to the approval of the President.
+If he signs a bill it becomes law, and binds the nation.
+The basic principle of democracy is the sovereignty of the people,
+but as the people cannot of themselves govern the country,
+they must delegate their power to agents who act for them.
+Thus they elect the Chief Magistrate to govern the country,
+and legislators to make the laws.  The powers given to these agents
+are irrevocable during their respective terms of office.  The electors
+are absolutely bound by their actions.  Whatever laws Congress may pass,
+the people must strictly obey; thus the servants of the people
+really become their masters.  There is no fear, however,
+that their masters pro tempore will betray their trust, as any neglect
+of duty on their part, or disregard of the wishes of their constituents,
+would most likely destroy their chances of re-election.
+
+According to the terms of the Constitution, the senators and representatives
+must be residents of the states for which they are chosen.
+This is an excellent provision, insuring that the people's delegates
+possess local knowledge and know how to safeguard the interests and welfare of
+the states which sent them to Washington.  On the other hand, as each state,
+irrespective of its size, is entitled to elect only two Senators,
+and to send only a limited number of Representatives to the House,
+proportionally to its population, unfortunately it frequently happens
+that eminent, capable, and well-known public men, of large experience,
+are deprived of an opportunity to serve their country.  In England,
+and in some other lands, the electors may choose as their representative
+a resident of any city, borough, or county as they please,
+and it only occasionally happens that the member of Parliament
+actually lives in the district which he represents.  Is it advisable
+to adopt a similar system in the United States?  It could not be done
+without amending the Constitution, and this would not be easy;
+but every nation, as well as each individual, should be prepared,
+at all times, to receive fresh light, and be willing to change old customs
+to suit new conditions, and so I make the suggestion.
+
+The fixing of four years as the term of office for the President
+was an excellent idea, intended no doubt to prevent an unpopular
+or bad President from remaining too long in power.  It is, however,
+gradually dawning on the minds of intelligent people that this limited term,
+though excellent in theory, is very inconvenient in practice.
+However intelligent and capable a new President may be,
+several months must elapse before he can thoroughly understand
+all the details incidental to his exalted position, involving,
+in addition to unavoidable social functions, the daily reception of callers,
+and many other multifarious duties.  By the time he has become familiar
+with these matters, and the work of the office is running smoothly,
+half of his term has gone; and should he aspire to a second term,
+which is quite natural, he must devote a great deal of time and attention
+to electioneering.  Four years is plainly too short a period
+to give any President a chance to do justice either to himself
+or to the nation which entrusted him with his heavy responsibilities.
+Presidential elections are national necessities, but the less frequently
+they occur the better for the general welfare of the country.
+Those who have been in the United States during campaign years,
+and have seen the complicated working of the political machinery,
+and all its serious consequences, will, I feel convinced,
+agree with what I say.  During the greater part of the year in which
+a President has to be elected the entire nation is absorbed in the event,
+all the people, both high and low, being more or less
+keenly interested in the issue, and the preparations leading up to it.
+They seem to put everything else in the shade, and to give more attention
+to this than to anything else.  Politicians and officials who have
+a personal interest in the result, will devote their whole time and energy
+to the work.  Others who are less active, still, directly or indirectly,
+take their share in the electioneering.  Campaign funds have to be raised
+and large sums of money are disbursed in many directions.
+All this sadly interrupts business; it not only takes many business men
+from their more legitimate duties, but it prevents merchants
+and large corporations from embarking in new enterprises,
+and so incidentally limits the demand for labor.  In short,
+the whole nation is practically hurled into a state of bustle and excitement,
+and the general trade of the country is seriously affected.
+A young man in Washington, who was engaged to be married, once told me
+that he was too busy to think of marriage until the election was over.
+
+If the French system were followed, and the President were elected by a
+majority of the combined votes of the Senate and the House of Representatives,
+the inconveniences, the excitements and expense above enumerated
+might be avoided, but I think the people of America
+would rather endure these evils than be deprived of the pleasure
+of electing their President themselves.  The alternate remedy,
+so far as I can see, is to extend the presidential term to, say,
+six or seven years, without any chance of a re-election.
+If this proposal were adopted, the President would be
+more free and independent, he would not be haunted by the bugbear
+of losing his position by temporarily displeasing his political friends,
+he could give his undivided attention, as he cannot do now,
+to federal affairs, and work without bias or fear, and without interruption,
+for the welfare of his nation.  He would have more chance
+of really doing something for his country which was worth while.
+A further advantage is that the country would not be so frequently troubled
+with the turmoil and excitement arising from the presidential election.
+If I were allowed to prophecy, I should say that the young Republic of China,
+profiting by the experiences of France and America, will most likely adopt
+the French system of electing its President, or develop a system
+somewhat similar to it.
+
+One of the defects in the American way of government is the spoils system,
+in accordance with the maxim, "To the victor belongs the spoils."
+The new President has the right of dismissing a large number
+of the holders of Federal Offices, and to appoint in their places
+his friends, or men of his party who have rendered it services,
+or who have otherwise been instrumental in getting him elected.
+I am told that thousands of officials are turned out in this way
+every four years.  President Jackson introduced the practice,
+and almost every succeeding President has continued it.
+This spoils system has been adopted by almost every state and municipality;
+it forms indeed the corner-stone of practical politics in the United States.
+In every country, all over the world, there are cases where positions
+and places of emolument have been obtained through influential friends,
+but to dismiss public servants who are doing useful work,
+for no better reason than simply to make room for others,
+is very bad for the civil service, and for the country it serves.
+Attempts to remedy these evils have been made within recent years
+by the introduction of what is called "Civil Service Reform",
+by which a candidate is appointed to a post after an examination,
+and the term of his service is fixed.  If this is to be strictly adhered to
+in all cases, the President will be, to a great extent,
+deprived of the means of rewarding his political friends.
+In that case I doubt if the professional politicians and wire pullers
+will be so active and arduous as they have hitherto been, as the chief aim
+in securing the election of the nominee will have been taken away.
+Great credit is due to President Taft for his courage and impartiality,
+in that after assuming the duties of the high office to which he was elected,
+he gave appointments to men according to their ability,
+irrespective of party claims, and even went so far as to invite
+one or two gentlemen of known ability, who belonged to the opposite party,
+to become members of his Cabinet.
+
+In America men are not anxious for official offices.
+Men possessing talent and ability, with business acumen, are in great demand,
+and can distinguish themselves in their several professions in various ways;
+they can easily attain a position of wealth and influence, and so such men
+keep out of politics.  It must not, however, be inferred from this
+that the government officials in America are incompetent.
+On the contrary I gladly testify from my personal experience
+that the work done by them is not only efficient, but that, taken as a whole,
+they compare most favorably with any other body of government officials
+in Europe.  Still, on account of the small salaries paid,
+it is not to be wondered at that exceptionally good men cannot be induced
+to accept official positions.  I have known several Cabinet Ministers who,
+after holding their offices for two or three years, were obliged to resign
+and resume their former business, and a President has been known to experience
+great difficulty in getting good and competent men to succeed them.
+
+These remarks do not apply to the President, not because the President's
+salary is large, for compared with what European Kings and Emperors receive
+it is very small, but because the position is, far and above any other,
+the largest gift the people can bestow.  No one has ever been known
+to refuse a presidential nomination.  I believe anyone to whom it was offered
+would always gladly accept it.  I have conversed with some in America
+who told me that they were heirs apparent to the White House,
+and so they are, for they are just as eligible candidates for the position,
+as is the Crown Prince to succeed to a throne in any European country.
+Even a lady was once nominated as a presidential candidate,
+although she did not obtain many votes.
+
+One of the things which arouses my admiration is the due observance
+by the people of the existing laws and the Constitution.
+Every one obeys them, from the President to the pedler, without any exception.
+Sometimes, however, by a too strict and technical interpretation of the law,
+it works a hardship.  Let me quote a case.  According to Article 1,
+Section 6, of the Constitution, "no Senator or Representative shall,
+during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office
+under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created,
+or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased, during such time."
+A certain Senator was appointed by the President to a Cabinet office,
+but it happened that the salary attached to that office had been raised
+during the time he was in the Senate, and so it was held that he could draw
+only the salary which was allowed before he became a Senator,
+and that he was not entitled to the increase which was sanctioned by Congress
+while he was in the Senate, although at the time he had not
+the slightest notion that the increase would ever affect his own pocket.
+
+The relation of the states to the Federal Government is peculiar and unique.
+I will illustrate my point by correcting a mistake often made by foreigners
+in regard to the different provinces of China.  It is generally assumed
+by Western writers that each province in China is self-governed,
+and that the provincial authorities act independently and in defiance of
+the injunctions of the Peking Government.  The facts, however, are that
+until the establishment of the Republic, all the officials in the Provinces
+were appointed or sanctioned by the Peking Government, and that
+by an Imperial decree even a Viceroy or Governor could, at any moment,
+be changed or dismissed, and that no important matter could be transacted
+without the Imperial sanction.  How does this compare with the states
+in America?  Every American boasts that his state is independent
+of the Federal Government.  All officials, from the Governor downward,
+are, in every state, elected by the people.  Each state is provided
+with a Legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives,
+also elected by the popular vote.  The state has very large,
+and almost absolute, legislative and executive powers,
+and is competent to deal with all matters not reserved by the Constitution
+for the Federal Government.  Each state is also independent
+of every other state.  The criminal and civil laws, including all matters
+pertaining to the transfer of and the succession to property,
+as well as marriage, divorce and fiscal laws, are within the scope
+of the state administrations.  The authorities of each state
+naturally do their best to make their own state as populous and prosperous
+as possible.  Thus in some states the laws concerning divorce, corporations,
+and landed property, are more favorable than in other states.
+A person, for example, unable to obtain a divorce in his own state,
+can, without difficulty, attain his object in another state.
+What is expressly prohibited by statute in one state
+may be perfectly legitimate in the neighboring state.
+It is the same with the local taxes; fees and taxes are not uniform;
+in one state they are heavy, while in another they are comparatively light.
+A stranger would naturally be surprised to find such a condition of things
+in a great nation like America, and would wonder how the machinery
+of such a government can work so well.  Nevertheless he will find
+that everything goes on smoothly.  This can be explained only by the fact
+that the inhabitants of one state often remove to other states,
+and by commercial and other dealings and social associations
+they mix together, so that, notwithstanding the dissimilarity of conditions
+in different states, the people easily adapt themselves
+to the local surroundings, and, so far as I can find,
+no friction or quarrel has ever arisen between two states.  However,
+would it not be better for all the states to appoint an interstate committee
+to revise and codify their laws with a view to making them uniform?
+
+Foreigners living in America sometimes find themselves at a disadvantage,
+owing to the state being independent of the control of the Federal Government.
+This point can be better illustrated by a case which happened some years ago
+in one of the states.  A foreigner, who was the subject of a European country,
+was attacked by a mob, and his property destroyed.  He laid his complaint
+before the local authorities, but it appeared that he could not obtain
+the redress he sought.  His consul did all he could for him
+by appealing to the local authorities, but without success;
+finally the matter was reported to his ambassador in Washington,
+who immediately interested himself in the affair and brought it before
+the Secretary of State.  The Secretary, after going into
+the facts of the case, said that all he could do was to write to
+the Governor of that state and request him to take the matter up,
+but the Governor, for some reason or other, did not take any such action
+as would have given satisfactory redress to the foreigner.
+His ambassador made frequent appeals to the Secretary of State,
+but the Secretary was powerless, as the Constitution
+does not empower the Federal Government to interfere in state matters.
+This seems a blemish in the administration of foreign affairs
+in the United States of America.  Suppose a foreigner should be
+ill-treated or murdered in a state, and no proper redress be given,
+the Federal Government cannot send its officers to arrest the culprit.
+All it can do is to ask the Governor of that state to take action,
+and if he fail to do so there is no remedy.  Fortunately such a case
+rarely happens, but for the more efficient carrying on of their state affairs,
+is it not better in special cases to invest the Federal Government
+with larger powers than those at present possessed by it?
+I am aware that this opens up a serious question; that Congress will be
+very reluctant to confer on the Federal Government any power to interfere
+in the state affairs, knowing that the states would not tolerate
+such an interference; but as there is a large and ever increasing number
+of aliens residing in the United States, it naturally follows that riots,
+and charges of ill treatment of foreigners now and then do occur.
+Now state officials can, as a rule, be trusted to deal with
+these matters fairly, but where local prejudice against a class of aliens
+runs high, is it not advisable to leave to the Federal officials,
+who are disinterested, the settlement of such cases?  For the sake
+of cordial foreign relations, and to avoid international complications,
+this point, I venture to suggest, should be seriously considered
+by the Federal and the State Governments.
+
+The question as to what form of government should be adopted by any country
+is not easy to decide.  The people of America would no doubt claim
+that their system is the best, while the people of the monarchial governments
+in Europe would maintain that theirs is preferable.  This is mostly
+a matter of education, and people who have been accustomed
+to their own form of government naturally like it best.
+There are communities who have been long accustomed to the old system
+of monarchial government, with their ancient traditions and usages.
+There are other communities, with a different political atmosphere,
+where all the people share in the public affairs of State.
+It would be manifestly improper to introduce a democratic government
+among the former.  It would not suit their tastes nor fit in with their ideas.
+What is good for one nation is not necessarily good for another.
+Each system of government has its good points, provided that
+they are faithfully and justly carried out.  The aim to secure
+the happiness and comfort of the people and to promote
+the peace and prosperity of the nation should always be kept in view.
+As long as these objects can be secured it does not matter much
+whether the government is monarchial, republican, or something else.
+
+It may pertinently be asked why China has become a Republic,
+since from time immemorial she has had a monarchial form of government.
+The answer is that the conditions and circumstances in China are peculiar,
+and are different from those prevailing in Japan and other countries.
+In Japan it is claimed that the Empire was founded by the first Emperor,
+Jummu Tenno, 660 B.C. and that the dynasty founded by him
+has continued ever since.  It is well known that the Chinese Imperial family
+is of Manchu origin.  The Ching dynasty was founded in 1644 by conquest,
+not by succession.  Upon the recent overthrow of the Manchu dynasty
+it was found very difficult to find a Chinese, however popular and able,
+who possessed the legal right of succeeding to the throne.
+Jealousy and provincial feelings placed this suggestion absolutely
+beyond discussion.  Disagreements, frictions, and constant civil war
+would have ensued if any attempt had been made to establish a Chinese dynasty.
+Another fact is that a large majority of the intelligent people of China
+were disgusted with the system of monarchial government.
+Thus it will be seen that for the sake of the peace and welfare of the nation
+there was no other course for the people but to take a long jump
+and to establish the present Republic.  The law of evolution
+has been very actively at work in China, and no doubt it will be
+for her ultimate good, and therefore for the benefit of all mankind.
+China is now an infant republic, but she will grow into
+a healthy and strong youth.  Her people have the kindest feeling
+for the people of the elder republic across the Pacific.
+There are excellent reasons why the two republics should be
+in closer friendship.  It is well known that there are great potentialities
+for the expansion of trade in China, and as the Philippine Islands
+are close to our shores, and the completion of the Panama Canal
+will open a new avenue for the enlargement of trade from America,
+it will be to the interest of both nations to stretch out their hands
+across the Pacific in the clasp of good fellowship and brotherhood.
+When this is done, not only will international commerce greatly increase,
+but peace, at least in the Eastern Hemisphere, will be better secured
+than by a fleet of Dreadnaughts.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 4.  America and China
+
+
+
+America has performed great service for the Orient and especially for China.
+If, however, the people of the latter country were asked to express their
+candid opinion on the matter, the verdict would not be altogether pleasant,
+but would be given with mixed feelings of gratitude and regret.
+Since the formal opening of China to foreign trade and commerce,
+people of all nationalities have come here, some to trade, some for pleasure,
+some to preach Christianity, and others for other purposes.
+Considering that the Chinese have a civilization of their own,
+and that their modes of thoughts, ideas, and habits are, in many respects,
+different from those of the western people, it is not surprising
+that frictions and disputes have occasionally occurred
+and that even foreign wars have been waged between China and the Occident,
+but it is gratifying to observe that no force has ever been resorted to
+against China by the United States of America.  Now and then
+troublesome questions have arisen, but they have always been settled amicably.
+Indeed the just and friendly attitude taken by the American officials in China
+had so won the esteem and confidence of the Chinese Government that in 1867,
+on the termination of Mr. Anson Burlingame's term as American
+Minister to Peking, he was appointed by the Manchu Government
+as Chief of a special mission to America and Europe.  In that capacity
+he performed valuable services for China, although his work was unfortunately
+cut short by his untimely death.  The liberal and generous treatment
+accorded to the Chinese students in America is another source of satisfaction.
+They have been admitted freely to all educational institutions,
+and welcomed into American families.  In whatever school or college they enter
+they are taught in the same way as the American boys and girls, and enjoy
+equal opportunities of learning all that the American students learn.*
+That America has no desire for territorial acquisition in China is well known.
+During the Boxer movement the American Government took the lead
+in initiating the policy of maintaining the open door,
+and preserving the integrity of China, a policy to which
+the other great powers readily consented.  It was well known at the time,
+and it is no breach of confidence to mention the fact here,
+that Mr. John Hay, American Secretary of State, with the permission
+of President McKinley, was quite willing that America's indemnity
+demanded from China as her share of the compensation for losses sustained
+during the Boxer upheaval, should be reduced by one-half,
+provided the other powers would consent to similar reductions.  Unfortunately,
+Mr. Hay's proposal could not be carried out for want of unanimity.
+However, to show the good faith, and the humane and just policy of America,
+she has since voluntarily refunded to China a considerable portion
+of her indemnity, being the surplus due to her after payment
+of the actual expenses incurred.  This is the second occasion on which
+she has done this, although in the previous case the refund was smaller.
+These are some of the instances for which the people of China
+have good reasons to be grateful to America and her people.
+
+--
+* I need hardly say that our students are also well treated
+  in England, France, Germany, Japan, and other countries in Europe,
+  but I am dealing in this chapter with America.
+--
+
+There is, however, another side to the picture; the Chinese students
+in America, who may be roughly calculated by the thousands,
+and whose number is annually increasing, have been taught
+democratic principles of government.  These could not but be detrimental
+to the welfare of the late Manchu Government.  They have read the history
+of how the American people gained their independence,
+and naturally they have been imbued with the idea of inaugurating
+a similar policy in China.  Chinese merchants, traders, and others
+who have been residing in America, seeing the free and independent manner
+in which the American people carry on their government, learned, of course,
+a similar lesson.  These people have been an important factor
+in the recent overthrow of the Manchu dynasty.  Added to this,
+the fact that America has afforded a safe refuge for political offenders
+was another cause of dissatisfaction to the Manchus.
+Thus it will be seen that the Manchu Government, from their point of view,
+have had many reasons for entertaining unfavorable sentiments toward America.
+
+This view I need hardly say is not shared by the large majority of Chinese.
+Persons who have committed political offenses in their own country
+find protection not only in America but in all countries in Europe,
+Japan, and other civilized lands.  It is an irony of fate
+that since the establishment of the Chinese Republic,
+Manchu and other officials under the old regime, now find secure asylums
+in Hongkong, Japan, and Tsingtao, while hundreds of ex-Manchu officials
+have fled to the foreign settlements of Shanghai, Tientsin,
+and other treaty ports, so reluctantly granted by the late Manchu Government.
+Thus the edge of their complaint against America's policy
+in harboring political refugees has been turned against themselves,
+and the liberality against which they protested has become their protection.
+
+The more substantial cause for dissatisfaction with the United States is,
+I grieve to say, her Chinese exclusion policy.  As long as
+her discriminating laws against the Chinese remain in force
+a blot must remain on her otherwise good name, and her relations with China,
+though cordial, cannot be perfect.  It is beyond the scope of this chapter
+to deal with this subject exhaustively, but in order to enable my readers
+to understand the exact situation it is necessary to supply
+a short historical summary.  In 1868, on account of the pressing need
+of good laborers for the construction of railways and other public works
+in America, the Governments of China and the United States,
+concluded a treaty which provided that "Chinese subjects
+visiting or residing in the United States shall enjoy the same privileges,
+immunities, and exemptions in respect to travel or residence
+as may be enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of the most favored nation."
+It was a treaty negotiated by that great American statesman, Secretary Seward,
+and announced by the President of the United States to Congress
+as a "liberal and auspicious treaty".  It was welcomed by the United States
+as a great advance in their international relations.
+It had also the double significance of having been negotiated
+by a Chinese special embassy, of which a distinguished American diplomat,
+Mr. Anson Burlingame, who was familiar with the wishes and interests
+of the American people, was the head.
+
+But within a few years the labor unions on the Pacific coast
+began to object to the competition of Chinese laborers.
+Soon afterward the Chinese Government, to its intense surprise,
+was informed that the President of the United States
+had delegated a commission to come to Peking to solicit
+an abrogation of the treaty clause to which reference has been made.
+The Chinese Government was naturally unwilling to abrogate a treaty
+which had been urged on her by the United States with so much zeal,
+and which had so lately been entered upon on both sides with such high hopes.
+Long and tedious negotiations ensued, and finally a short treaty
+was concluded, the first and second Articles of which are as follows:
+
+
+        Article I
+
+"Whenever in the opinion of the Government of the United States,
+the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States,
+or their residence therein, affects or threatens to affect the interests
+of that country, or to endanger the good order of the said country
+or of any locality within the territory thereof, the Government of China
+agrees that the Government of the United States may regulate, limit,
+or suspend such coming or residence, but may not absolutely prohibit it.
+The limitation or suspension shall be reasonable and shall apply
+only to Chinese who may go to the United States as laborers,
+other classes not being included in the limitations.  Legislation taken
+in regard to Chinese laborers will be of such a character only as is necessary
+to enforce the regulation, limitation, or suspension of immigration,
+and immigrants shall not be subject to personal maltreatment or abuse."
+
+
+        Article II
+
+"Chinese subjects, whether proceeding to the United States
+as teachers, students, merchants, or from curiosity,
+together with their body and household servants, and Chinese laborers
+who are now in the United States shall be allowed to go and come
+of their own free will and accord, and shall be accorded
+all the rights, privileges, immunities, and exceptions which are accorded
+to the citizens and subjects of the most favored nations."
+
+
+It would seem reasonable to expect that in yielding so fully
+to the wishes of the United States in this second negotiation
+the Chinese Government would not be called upon to make
+any further concessions in the interests or at the demand of
+the labor unions on the Pacific coast, but in this China was disappointed.
+Within a period of less than ten years an urgent application was made
+by the American Secretary of State for a new treaty amended so as to enable
+the Congress of the United States to still further restrict
+the privileges of Chinese laborers who had come to the United States.
+And when the Chinese Government hesitated to consent
+to the withdrawal of rights which the United States granted to the subjects
+of other Governments, Congress passed the Scott Act of 1888
+prohibiting any Chinese person from entering the United States
+except Chinese officials, teachers, students, merchants
+or travellers for pleasure or curiosity and forbidding also
+Chinese laborers in the United States, after having left,
+from returning thereto.  This, in the words of Hon. J. W. Foster,
+ex-Secretary of State and a distinguished international lawyer,
+"was a deliberate violation of the Treaty of 1880 and was so declared
+by the Supreme Court of the United States."  In order to save
+the Executive of the United States from embarrassment, the Chinese Government,
+contrary to its own sense of justice, and of international comity,
+for a third time yielded to the wishes of the United States,
+and concluded the amended treaty of 1894 which gave Congress
+additional power of legislation respecting Chinese laborers.
+By Article I of this treaty it was agreed that for a term of ten years
+the coming of Chinese laborers to the United States
+should be absolutely prohibited.  Article III distinctly provided
+that "the provisions of this convention shall not affect the right
+at present enjoyed of Chinese subjects, being officials, teachers,
+students, merchants, or travellers for curiosity or pleasure,
+but not laborers, of coming to the United States and residing therein."
+Thus it is clear that the prohibition affects only laborers,
+and not the other classes of Chinese.  For a few years
+after the signing of this convention this was the view adopted and acted upon
+by the immigration officials, but afterward they changed their attitude,
+and the foregoing Article has since been interpreted to mean that only
+the above-mentioned five classes can be admitted into the United States,
+and that all the other classes of Chinese, however respectable and honorable,
+must be refused admission.  Will my readers believe that a Chinese banker,
+physician, lawyer, broker, commercial agent, scholar or professor
+could all be barred out of the United States of America under the provisions
+of this convention?  In the face of the plain language of the text
+it seems too absurd and unreasonable to be contemplated, and yet it is a fact.
+
+This convention was proclaimed in December, 1894.  According to
+its provisions, it was to remain in force only for a period of ten years,
+but that if six months before the end of that period
+neither Power should give notice of denunciation it should be extended
+for a similar period.  Such notice was, however, given by China
+to the United States and accordingly the convention expired in December, 1904,
+and is now no longer in force.  No serious attempt has since been made
+by the United States Government to negotiate a new treaty
+regarding Chinese laborers, so the customs and immigration officials
+continue to prohibit Chinese laborers from coming to America
+by virtue of the law passed by Congress.  It will be seen
+that by the treaty of 1868, known as the "Burlingame Treaty",
+the United States Government formally agreed that Chinese subjects,
+visiting or residing in the United States, should enjoy
+the same privileges and immunities as were enjoyed by the citizens or subjects
+of the most favored nation; that being so, and as the convention of 1894
+has expired, according to the legal opinion of Mr. John W. Foster,
+and other eminent lawyers, the continuation of the exclusion
+of Chinese laborers and the restrictions placed upon Chinese merchants
+and others seeking admission to the United States are not only
+without international authority but in violation of treaty stipulations.
+
+The enforcement of the exclusion laws against Chinese
+in the Hawaiian and Philippine Islands is still more inexcusable.
+The complaint in America against the immigration of Chinese laborers
+was that such immigration was detrimental to white labor,
+but in those Islands there has been no such complaint; on the contrary
+the enforcement of the law against the Chinese in Hawaii has been, and is,
+contrary to the unanimous wish of the local Government and the people.
+Free intercourse and immigration between those Islands and China
+have been maintained for centuries.  What is most objectionable and unfair
+is that the Chinese should be singled out for discrimination,
+while all other Asiatics such as Japanese, Siamese, and Malays
+are allowed to enter America and her colonies without restraint.
+It is my belief that the gross injustice that has been inflicted
+upon the Chinese people by the harsh working of the exclusion law
+is not known to the large majority of the American people,
+for I am sure they would not allow the continuation of such hardships
+to be suffered by those who are their sincere friends.  China does not wish
+special treatment, she only asks that her people shall be treated
+in the same way as the citizens or subjects of other countries.
+Will the great American nation still refuse to consent to this?
+
+To solve the problem of immigration in a manner that would be satisfactory
+to all parties is not an easy task, as so many conflicting interests
+are involved.  But it is not impossible.  If persons interested
+in this question be really desirous of seeing it settled
+and are willing to listen to reasonable proposals, I believe
+that a way may be found for its solution.  There is good reason
+for my optimistic opinion.  Even the Labor Unions, unless I am mistaken,
+would welcome an amicable settlement of this complicated question.  In 1902,
+while at Washington, I was agreeably surprised to receive a deputation
+of the leaders of the Central Labor Union of Binghamton, New York,
+inviting me to pay a visit there and to deliver an address.
+As I did not wish to disappoint them I accepted their invitation.
+During my short stay there, I was very cordially and warmly received,
+and most kindly treated not only by the local authorities and inhabitants,
+but by the members of the Labor Union and the working men also.
+I found that the Union leaders and the working men were most reasonable,
+their platform being, as far as I could learn, to have no
+cheap labor competition but not necessarily discrimination against any race.
+If the United States Government would appoint a commission composed of
+members representing the Labor Unions, manufacturers and merchants,
+to treat with a similar commission nominated by the Chinese Government,
+the whole question in all its bearings could be discussed,
+and I feel certain that after free and candid exchange of views,
+the joint Commissioners would be able to arrive at a scheme
+which would put at rest once for all the conflicting claims,
+and settle the matter satisfactorily to both China and the United States.
+
+When this disagreeable difference has been removed, the friendly relations
+between the two Republics, cordial even while one was yet an Empire,
+will leave nothing to be desired and cannot but help
+to largely affect the trade between the two countries
+and to contribute to the peace of the Far East.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 5.  American Education
+
+
+
+Out of a total population of 91,972,266 in the United States
+there were, in 1910, 17,506,175 pupils enrolled.  Few nations can show
+such a high percentage of school students.  The total number of teachers
+was 506,040.  Educational efficiency on such a scale can be maintained
+only by a large expenditure of money, and from the statistics of education
+I find that the sum received from tuition fees was $14,687,192 gold,
+from productive funds $11,592,113 gold, and from the United States Government
+$4,607,298 gold, making a total of $70,667,865 gold.*
+I question whether any other nation can produce such an excellent example
+in the cause of education.
+
+--
+* There appears to be $39,781,262 missing from these figures.
+  Possibly Wu Tingfang's figures are incorrect, but it seems more likely
+  that he neglected to include expenditures by state and local governments.
+  -- A. R. L., 1996.
+--
+
+In every state there are very many schools, both public and private.
+There are public schools in every town, and even the smallest village
+has its school, while in some agricultural states, such as Wyoming,
+where the population is very scattered, teachers are provided by
+the government to teach in the farmers' homes wherever three or four children
+can be gathered together.  The public schools are free and open to all,
+but in some towns in the Southern States special schools are provided
+for the colored people.  Having such facilities for gaining knowledge,
+it naturally follows that the Americans, as a whole, are an educated people.
+By this I mean the native American, not the recent immigrants and negroes,
+but even as regards the latter a reservation should be made,
+for some of the negroes, such as Booker T. Washington and others,
+have become eminent through their learning and educational work.
+
+The distinguishing feature of the school system is that it is
+cheap and comprehensive.  In the primary and high schools the boys and girls,
+whether they come from the wealthy or aristocratic families, or from
+more straitened homes, are all studying together in the same class-room,
+and it is known that a President sent his son to study in a public school.
+There is, therefore, no excuse for even the poorest man in America
+being an illiterate.  If he wishes he can obtain a degree in a university
+without difficulty.  Many of the state universities admit the children
+of citizens of the state free, while their tuition fees for outsiders
+are exceptionally low, so that it is within the power of the man
+of the most moderate means to give his son a university education.
+Many of the college or university students, in order to enable them to go
+through their courses of study, do outside jobs after their lecture hours,
+and perform manual, or even menial work, during the vacations.
+I frequently met such students in summer resorts acting as hotel waiters
+and found them clean, attentive, and reliable.  During a visit
+to Harvard University, President Eliot took me to see the dining-hall.
+Many students were taking their lunch at the time.  I noticed that the waiters
+were an unusually clean set of young men, and upon inquiry was informed
+that they were students of the University, and that when a waiter was wanted
+many students applied, as the poorer students were glad to avail themselves
+of the opportunity to earn some money.
+
+Honest labor, though menial, is not considered degrading,
+and no American of education and refinement is above doing it.
+In some of the states in the East, owing to the scarcity of servants,
+families do their own cooking and other household work.
+Some few years ago I was on a visit to Ashburnham, Massachusetts,
+and was surprised to find that my hostess not only did the cooking
+but also cleaned my room.  I was invited to a formal luncheon by a professor,
+and to my astonishment his two daughters waited at the table.
+This is not unlike what occurs in some parts of China in the interior.
+The members of families, although in good circumstances,
+do their own household work.  In some towns, not far from Canton,
+wealthy farmers and country gentlemen hire out their sons as menials,
+so that these youngsters, when they have grown up,
+shall know the value of money and not squander the family wealth.
+I cite a typical case of a millionaire who had only one son.
+In order to make him appreciate the worth of money he took his boy to Canton,
+and allowed him to be hired out as an ordinary servant.
+The boy was ordered by his master to look after a certain part of the house,
+and also to take care of a little garden.  One day he carelessly broke
+a valuable gold-fish jar much prized by the family.
+His master naturally became enraged and reproached him for his negligence.
+The young man coolly told him that if he would come to his father's house
+he could replace the broken vessel by making his own selection
+from his father's collection of gold-fish jars.  This irritated the master,
+who thought that the lad was adding insult to injury.  However, ultimately,
+his master was persuaded to go with him to his father's house,
+and to his great astonishment he found there many gold-fish jars
+which were more precious than that which the lad had broken.
+Household work, however mean it may be, is not considered degrading in China,
+but the difference between China and America is that in America
+the people are compelled to do it from necessity, while in China
+it is resorted to as a matter of policy to make the young men
+realize the value of money, and not spend it wastefully.
+
+The curriculum prescribed in the schools covers a wide range of subjects,
+and the graduates are well equipped to face the battle of life.
+Not only are drawing, sketching and other fine arts taught,
+but also carpentry and other trades.  I was once shown a fairly made box
+which was the product of a very small boy.  I did not at first perceive
+the use of teaching a boy to do such work in school, but I learned
+that its object was to instruct the pupil how to think
+and arrange his materials systematically.
+
+With the exception of those schools established by Christian societies,
+or endowed by religious sects, all educational institutions,
+especially those established by the state authorities, are secular.
+Religion is not taught.  Neither the Bible nor any other religious work
+is used in the schoolroom.  The presidents, professors, and tutors
+may be strict churchmen, or very religious people, but, as a rule,
+they are not permitted to inculcate their religious views on the students.
+The minds of the young are most susceptible, and if no moral principles
+are impressed upon them at school or college they are apt to go astray.
+It should be remembered that men of education without moral principles
+are like a ship without an anchor.  Ignorant and illiterate people
+infringe the law because they do not know any better,
+and their acts of depredation are clumsy and can be easily found out,
+but when men of education commit crimes these are so skilfully
+planned and executed that it is difficult for the police
+to unravel and detect them.  It has been known that frauds and forgeries
+perpetrated by such unscrupulous persons were so cleverly designed
+that they bore the evidence of superior education, and almost of genius.
+The more a man is educated the more is it necessary, for the welfare
+of the state, to instruct him how to make a proper use of his talents:
+Education is like a double-edged sword.  It may be turned to dangerous usages
+if it is not properly handled.
+
+As there is no established church in the United States,
+and in view of the numberless different sects, it is not advisable
+to permit any particular phase of religion to be taught.
+But why not consent to allow the cardinal principles of morality
+to be taught in every school?  The following may serve as examples:
+
+  (1)  Honesty is the best policy.
+  (2)  Honor thy father and thy mother.
+  (3)  Universal brotherhood.
+  (4)  Love of mankind.
+  (5)  Charity to all.
+  (6)  Purity in thought and action.
+  (7)  Pure food makes a pure body.
+  (8)  Happiness consists of health and a pure conscience.
+  (9)  Live and let live.
+ (10)  Respect a man for his virtues, not for his money or position.
+ (11)  `Fiat justitia, ruat coelum' (Let justice be done,
+         though the Heavens should fall).
+ (12)  Bear no malice against anyone.
+ (13)  Be equitable and just to all men.
+ (14)  Liberty and freedom but not license.
+ (15)  Do not unto others what ye would not that others should do unto you.
+
+I have jotted down the above just as they occurred to me while writing.
+They can easily be amplified, and be made the basis of an ethical instruction
+in all the schools.  In any case, every nation should aim
+at the highest standard of morals.
+
+Co-education in the United States is not so unpopular as in some
+other countries, and it is increasing in favor.  In all the primary schools,
+and in most of the high schools, boys and girls study in the same class-room,
+and girls are admitted as students even in some colleges and universities.
+This principle of admitting the fair sex to equal educational privileges
+is slowly but surely being recognized everywhere.  In some universities
+the authorities have gone half-way; lectures are given to the girl students
+in separate rooms, or separate buildings, or halls, are provided
+for the girl students.  With regard to the teaching staff,
+in the primary schools nearly all the teachers are women,
+and in the high schools their number is at least half, if not more.
+In some of the universities there are lady professors or tutors.
+It goes without saying that girls have the natural talent
+for learning everything that boys can learn.  The objections raised
+by the opponents of co-education seem to rest chiefly upon the danger
+of the intellectual or physical overstrain of girls during adolescence,
+and upon the unequal rate of development of boys and girls
+during the secondary school period.  It is further alleged
+that in mixed schools the curriculum is so prescribed
+that the girls' course of study is more or less adapted to that of the boys,
+with the result that it cannot have the artistic and domestic character
+which is suitable for the majority of girls; but why should not the curriculum
+be arranged in such a way as to suit both sexes?  Is it not good for both
+to learn the same subjects?  That which is good for a boy to learn
+is it not equally advisable for a girl to know, and vice versa?
+Will not such a policy create mutual sympathy between the sexes?
+The opponents of the co-education policy assert that it makes
+the girls masculine, and that it has a tendency to make the boys
+a little feminine.  It cannot, however, be doubted that the system
+reduces the cost of education, such as the duplication of the teaching staff,
+laboratories, libraries, and other equipment.
+
+It is objected that the system has done more than anything else
+to rob marriage of its attractions, by divesting man of most of his
+old-time glamour and romance.  It is claimed that this early contact
+with the other sex, on a footing of equality, and the manner in which
+the majority of the girl students more than maintain
+their intellectual standing with the boys, has tended to produce
+that contempt of the much-vaunted superiority of man, that, as a rule,
+is reserved for those post-nuptial discoveries which make marriage
+such an interesting venture.  But they forget that marriages
+are frequently contracted in places where girls and boys are taught together,
+and where they have had ample opportunities for knowing each other intimately,
+and that experience proves that such marriages are happy and lasting unions.
+It is interesting to observe, however, that as the number
+of educational institutions has increased, the number of unmarried women
+has been correspondingly augmented.  It is easy to explain this
+by the fact that a large number of women earn their own livelihood
+by going into business and the professions.  As they become more educated,
+and are allowed to participate in many of the same privileges as men,
+it is only natural that they should show their independence
+by remaining single.  The same thing would occur in any country,
+and we may expect a like state of things in China as greater facilities
+for instruction are afforded to women.  I do not feel alarmed at the prospect;
+indeed, I would welcome it if I could see my country-women acting
+as independently and as orderly as their American sisters.
+
+The games and sports sanctioned and encouraged in schools and universities
+are useful, in that they afford diversion of the pupils' minds
+from their school work.  They should not, however, be indulged in
+in such a way as to interfere with their studies.  Take, as an example,
+boat racing; several months of preparation are necessary
+before the event takes place, and during a great portion of this time
+the students do not think much of their studies; they are all
+mad with excitement.  The contest between the two rival parties is very keen;
+they have but one thought, and that is to win the race.  In this way,
+at least so it seems to me, the main object of recreation is entirely
+lost sight of; it becomes no longer an amusement, but labor and work.
+I am told that the coxswain and the other members of the boat race
+generally have to take a long rest when the race is over,
+which clearly shows that they have been overworking.
+I favor all innocent games and sports which mean recreation and diversion,
+but if it be thought that without a contest games would lose
+their relish and their fun, then I would suggest that the aim should be
+the exhibition of a perfect body and absolute health.  Let the students,
+when they come to the recreation ground, indulge in any sport they please,
+but make them feel that it is "bad form" to overstrain, or do anything which,
+even temporarily, mars the perfect working of their physical organisms.
+Let each student so train himself as to become healthy and strong
+both physically and mentally, and the one who, through reasonable
+and wholesome exercises, is able to present himself in the most perfect health
+should be awarded the highest prize.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 6.  American Business Methods
+
+
+
+If I should be asked what is most essential for the successful carrying on
+of business in America I would say advertising.  A business man in America
+who intends to succeed must advertise in the daily, weekly,
+and monthly papers, and also have big posters in the streets.
+I do not believe any up-to-date merchant in America fails to do this.
+Every book and magazine contains many advertisements; sometimes fully half
+of a big magazine is covered with notices or pictures of articles for sale.
+Wherever you go the inevitable poster confronts you; and even when
+you look out of the window of the train you see large sign-boards
+announcing some article of trade.  The newer the brand the bigger the picture.
+If when you get into a street-car you look around you will see nothing
+but advertisements of all kinds and sorts, and if you answer an advertisement
+you will keep on receiving notices of the matter about which you inquired.
+Even now I receive letters urging me to buy something or other
+about which I sent a letter of inquiry when I was in America.
+At night, if you stroll round the town you will be amazed by the ingenious
+and clever signs which the alert minds of the trades people have invented,
+such as revolving electric lights forming the name of the advertiser
+with different colors, or a figure or shape of some sort
+illustrating his wares.  But even this is not thought sufficient.
+Circulars are often sent to everyone, making special offers,
+setting forth forceful reasons why the commodity advertised is indispensable.
+Certain stores make it a point to announce cheap sales once or twice a year,
+with from 10 to 25 per cent. reduction.  It should be noted
+that no tradesman voluntarily sells his goods at a loss,
+so that if during a sale he can give as much as 25 per cent. discount
+we can easily calculate the percentage of profit he generally makes.
+There are cases where men who started as petty dealers have,
+after a few years, become millionaires.
+
+To show the importance of advertising I cite the well-known sanitary drink
+which is a substitute for tea and coffee, and which by extensive advertising
+in almost every paper published in every country has now become
+a favorite beverage.  The proprietor is now a multi-millionaire and I am told
+that he spends more than a million dollars a year in advertising.
+
+Another thing inseparable from American business is the telephone.
+A telephone is a part of every well-appointed house, every partner's desk
+is provided with a telephone, through which he talks to his clients
+and transacts business with them.  In all official departments in Washington
+scores of telephones are provided; even the secretary of the department
+and the chief of the bureau give orders by telephone.
+It goes without saying that this means of communication
+is also found in the home of almost every well-to-do family.
+The invention of a telephone is a great blessing to mankind;
+it enables friends to talk to each other at a distance without the trouble
+of calling.*  Sweethearts can exchange their sweet nothings,
+and even proposals of marriage have been made and accepted
+through the telephone.  However, one is subjected to frequent annoyances
+from wrong connections at the Central Office, and sometimes
+grave errors are made.  Once, through a serious blunder,
+or a mischievous joke, I lost a dinner in my Legation in Washington.
+My valet received a telephone message from a lady friend
+inviting me to dine at her house.  I gladly accepted the invitation,
+and at the appointed time drove to her home, only to find
+that there was no dinner-party on, and that I should have to go hungry.
+
+--
+* "To call" in the sense of "to visit".  -- A. R. L., 1996.
+--
+
+With some trades, in order to create a new market,
+commercial travellers or "drummers" give their goods away for nothing.
+Experience has proved that what they lose at the start they recover
+in the course of time, receiving in addition triple or tenfold more business
+than the cost of the original outlay.  These commercial agents travel
+through all sections of the country to solicit business;
+they call upon those who can give them orders; they look up those
+who are engaged in similar businesses to their own,
+and, if they are retailers, they invite their orders, or ask them
+to become sub-agents.  These gentlemen practically live on the trains:
+they eat, sleep, and do their business while travelling.
+One of them told me that in one month he had covered 38,000 miles,
+and that he had not been back to his firm for three months.
+
+There is no doubt that the American people are active, strenuous workers.
+They will willingly go any distance, and undertake any journey,
+however arduous, if it promises business; they seem to be always on the go,
+and they are prepared to start anywhere at a moment's notice.
+An American who called on me a short time ago in Shanghai
+told me that when he left his house one morning at New York,
+he had not the slightest notion he was going to undertake
+a long journey that day; but that when he got to his office
+his boss asked him if he would go to China on a certain commission.
+He accepted the responsibility at once and telephoned to his wife
+to pack up his things.  Two hours later he was on a train
+bound for San Francisco where he boarded a steamer for China.
+The same gentleman told me that this trip was his second visit to China
+within a few months.
+
+American salesmen are clever and capable, and well know how to recommend
+whatever they have to sell.  You walk into a store just to look around;
+there may be nothing that you want, but the adroit manner
+in which the salesman talks, and the way in which he explains
+the good points of every article at which you look,
+makes it extremely difficult for you to leave the store
+without making some purchases.  Salesmen and commercial travellers
+in the United States have certainly learned the art of speaking.
+I once, however, met a remarkable exception to this rule
+in the person of an American gentleman who was singularly lacking in tact;
+he was in China with the intention of obtaining a concession,
+and he had nearly accomplished his object when he spoilt everything
+by his blunt speech.  He said he had not come to China
+for any philanthropic purposes, but that he was in the country to make money.
+We all know that the average business man is neither a Peabody nor a Carnegie,
+but it was quite unnecessary for this gentleman to announce
+that his sole object was to make money out of the Chinese.
+
+Up to a few years ago business men in America, especially capitalists,
+had scarcely any idea of transacting business in China.
+I well remember the difficulty I had in raising a railway loan in America.
+It was in 1897.  I had received positive instructions from my government
+to obtain a big loan for the purpose of constructing the proposed railway
+from Hankow to Canton.  I endeavored to interest well-known bankers and
+capitalists in New York City but none of them would consider the proposals.
+They invariably said that their money could be just as easily,
+and just as profitably, invested in their own country,
+and with better security, than was obtainable in China.
+It was only after nearly twelve months of hard work,
+of careful explanation and much persuasion, that I succeeded in finding
+a capitalist who was prepared to discuss the matter and make the loan.
+Conditions have now changed.  American bankers and others have found
+that investments in China are quite safe.  They have sent agents to China
+to represent them in the matter of a big international loan,
+and they are now just as ready to lend money in China as in Europe,
+and on the same terms.  In conjunction with the representatives
+of some large European capitalists they even formed a powerful syndicate
+in China, for the purpose of arranging loans to responsible Chinese investors.
+In the spring of 1913, however, they withdrew from the syndicate.
+
+The opportunities to make money in America are great
+and a young man with only fair ability, but an honest purpose,
+will always get something to do; and if he is industrious
+and ready for hard work, if he possess courage and perseverance,
+he will most surely go forward and probably in time become independent.
+There are hundreds of millionaires and multi-millionaires in America who,
+in their younger days, were as poor as sparrows in a snowstorm,
+but through perseverance, combined with industrious and economical habits
+they have prospered far beyond their own expectations.
+The clever methods they adopt in the carrying on of their business
+cannot but arouse our admiration, and Chinese merchants would do well
+to send some of their sons to America to study the various systems
+practised there.  But no nation or any class of people is perfect,
+and there is one money-making device which seems to me
+not quite sound in principle.  To increase the capital of a corporation
+new shares are sometimes issued, without a corresponding increase
+in the actual capital.  These new shares may represent half,
+or as much of the actual capital as has been already subscribed.
+Such a course is usually defended by the claim that as the property
+and franchises have increased in value since the formation of the corporation
+the increase of the stock is necessary in order to fairly represent
+the existing capital.  It is said that some railway stock
+has been "watered" in this way to an alarming extent,
+so that a great deal of it is fictitious, yet though it exists only on paper
+it ranks as the equal of the genuine stock when the dividends are paid.
+Whether or not such an action really is justifiable, or even moral,
+I leave to the Christian clergy and their followers to decide.
+The promoters and directors of such concerns have at least hit upon
+a very clever method for becoming rich, and if the securities
+of the original shareholders are not injured, and the holders
+of the genuine and the watered stock can share equally without endangering
+the interests of all, perhaps such an action may be less blamable,
+but it is a new kind of proceeding to Orientals.
+
+I must not omit to mention, however, the confidence which is placed
+in the honesty of the people in general; for example, you enter an omnibus,
+you will find the driver, but no conductor to collect the fare.
+"It is up to you" to put the fare into a box, and if you do not pay
+no one will ask for it.  Yet every fare is paid.  I have never seen
+a dishonest man who omitted to pay.  This is a remarkable fact
+which I have noticed nowhere but in America.  I suppose it is because
+the people are not poor, and as they are always able to pay the fare
+they do so.  They are too honest to cheat.  It is certainly a good way
+to encourage people to be honest, to put them on their honor
+and then rely on their own sense of uprightness.
+
+The most curious sight I have ever seen was the Stock Exchange in New York.
+It is used as a market for the purchase and sale of various articles,
+but there were no goods exposed for sale.  I saw a good many people
+running about talking, yelling and howling, and had I not been
+informed beforehand what to expect I should have thought that the men
+were getting ready, in their excitement, for a general all round fight.
+However, I did not see any exchange of blows, and I did not hear
+that any blood was shed.
+
+Another remarkable feature of the scene was that I did not see
+a single woman there; she was conspicuous by her absence.
+Whether or not the rules of the Exchange allow her to become a member
+I do not know; that is a question for the woman suffragists to investigate,
+but I learned that it is a wealthy association consisting of 1,100 members,
+and that to become a member one must be a citizen of the United States
+of 21 years of age or more.  The number of members is limited.
+Persons obtain membership by election, or by the transfer
+of the membership of a member who has resigned or died.
+A new member who is admitted by transfer pays an initiation fee
+of 2,000 gold dollars, in addition to a large fee to the transferrer,
+for his "seat in the House".  A member may transfer his seat to his son,
+if the Committee of the Exchange approve, without charging for it;
+but in all cases the transferree pays the above-mentioned initiation fee
+of 2,000 gold dollars.
+
+The prices for these seats vary, the fluctuations being due
+to the upward or downward trend of the stock market.  Within recent years
+the price has risen considerably, and as much as 95,000 gold dollars
+has been paid to the transferrer.  This is much higher than the price
+usually paid by new members in Stock Exchanges in Europe,
+yet when a seat becomes vacant there is no lack of purchasers.
+It is clear that a seat in the "House" is very valuable to the holder.
+In the building each member has a stall allotted to him
+where he has a telephone for his exclusive use; this enables him
+to communicate every transaction done in the Exchange to his business house,
+and to keep up connections with his constituents in other cities.
+When one of his constituents, say in Washington, D.C.,
+desires to buy a certain security the order is conveyed to him direct,
+and executed without delay.  I have seen a transaction of this kind
+executed in ten minutes, though there was a distance of several hundred miles
+between client and broker.  The amount of business transacted
+in the "House" every day is enormous, aggregating many millions of dollars.
+New York also has other Exchanges, where different articles of merchandise
+are purchased and sold, such as corn, coffee, cotton, etc.,
+and the volume of business transacted daily in that "Empire City"
+must be immense, and almost beyond calculation.
+
+Of course there are Exchanges in Chicago, Boston, Cincinnati,
+St. Louis, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington and other cities,
+all conducted on similar lines, but the prices are always governed
+by the quotations from New York.  This skilful and systematic
+way of doing business is remarkable, and I am inclined to believe
+that New York is ahead of many cities in South America and in Europe.
+No wonder that the services of Americans are required by other countries
+in industrial and technical concerns.  Some years ago,
+when I was in Madrid, I noticed that the street tram-car
+was running according to the American system, and upon inquiry
+I was told it was controlled by an American syndicate.
+
+The pursuit of wealth in America is intense; it is apparent everywhere
+and seems to be the chief aim of the American people.
+Because of their eagerness to become rich as soon as possible
+they are all in a constant hurry.  You may see people in the streets
+almost running to their offices, at luncheon they do not masticate their food,
+they bolt it, and in less than ten minutes are on their way
+back to their office again.  Everyone is urged on by this spirit of haste,
+and you frequently hear of sudden deaths which doctors attribute
+to heart failure, or some other malady, but which I suspect
+are caused by the continual restless hurry and worry.
+People who are so unnaturally eager to get rich naturally suffer for it.
+
+It is the general belief that Americans do not live as long as Europeans.
+They make money easily and their expectations are high.
+I have known many Americans who, in my opinion, were wealthy people,
+but they themselves did not think so; in fact, they said they were poor.
+Once I asked a gentleman, who was known to be worth
+half a million of gold dollars, whether it was not time for him to retire.
+He pooh-poohed the idea and said that he could not afford to give up his work.
+In reply to my inquiries he informed me that he would not call a man wealthy
+unless he should be possessed of one or two millions of dollars.
+With such extravagant ideas, it is no wonder that Americans work so hard.
+I grant that a man's mission in this world is to attain happiness.
+According to Webster, happiness is "that state of being
+which is attended with enjoyment," but it is curious to observe
+what different notions people have as to what happiness is.
+I know an Englishman in China who by his skilful business management,
+combined with good luck, has amassed immense wealth; in fact,
+he is considered the richest man in the port where he resides.
+He is a bachelor, over seventy years old, and leads a very simple life.
+But he still goes to his office every day, and toils as if he had to work
+for a living.  Being told that he should discontinue his drudgery,
+as at his death he would have to leave his large fortune to relatives
+who would probably squander it, he gave an answer which is characteristic
+of the man.  "I love," he said, "accumulating dollars and bank notes,
+and my enjoyment is in counting them; if my relatives
+who will inherit my fortune, take as much pleasure in spending it
+as I have had in making it, they will be quite welcome to their joy."
+Not many people, I fancy, will agree with the old bachelor's view of life.
+I once suggested to a multi-millionaire of New York that it was time for him
+to retire from active work, leaving his sons to carry on his business.
+He told me that he would be unhappy without work and that he enjoyed
+the demands his business made on him each day.
+
+Many a man's life has been shortened by his retiring from business.
+It is the mind rather than the body that lives, and apart from their business
+these men have no thoughts and therefore no life.  A man's idea of happiness
+is greatly governed by his personal tastes, and is influenced
+by his environment, his education and the climate.
+The form which it is to assume may vary with persons
+of different tastes and positions, but it should not be carried out
+for his own benefit solely and it should not be injurious to his health
+or to his intellectual and spiritual improvement, nor should it be detrimental
+to the interests of other people.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 7.  American Freedom and Equality
+
+
+
+When an Oriental, who, throughout his life, has lived in his own country
+where the will of his Sovereign is supreme, and the personal liberty
+of the subject unknown, first sets foot on the soil of the United States,
+he breathes an atmosphere unlike anything he has ever known,
+and experiences curious sensations which are absolutely new.
+For the first time in his life he feels that he can do whatever he pleases
+without restraint, and that he can talk freely to people without fear.
+When he takes up a newspaper and reads statements about different persons
+in high positions which are not at all creditable to them,
+and learns that no serious consequences happen to the writers,
+he is lost in wonderment.  After a little time he begins to understand
+that this is the "land of the free and the home of the brave",
+and that in America everybody is on an equality.  The President,
+the highest official in the United States, is neither more nor less
+than a citizen; and should he, which is very unlikely, commit an offense,
+or do anything in contravention of the law, he would be tried in
+a Court of Justice in the same manner as the lowest and the poorest citizen.
+Naturally the new visitor thinks this the happiest people on earth,
+and wishes that his own country could be governed as happily.
+Until that lucky day arrives he feels that he would rather
+stay in free America than return to his native land.
+
+One of the first lessons which is learned by the American child in school,
+and which is deeply impressed on its mind by its teacher,
+is that according to the Constitution all persons are born equal,
+and that no distinction is made between sections, classes, or sects.
+
+No slaves, or persons under bonds, have been allowed in the United States
+since the abolition of slavery by President Lincoln.  The moment a slave,
+or anyone in bonds, steps on the shores of the United States he is free,
+and no one, not even his former master, can deprive him of his liberty.
+America also affords an asylum for oppressed people and for
+political offenders; people who have been persecuted in their own land,
+on account of their religion, or for political offenses, find a safe refuge
+in this country.  Every year large numbers of Jews, and other foreigners,
+emigrate to America for the sake of enjoying religious freedom.
+Perfect religious liberty is guaranteed to everyone in the United States.
+There is equal religious liberty in England, but the King is compelled
+to belong to a particular section of the Christian Church,
+whereas in the United States no restriction is placed
+on the religious belief of the President; thus one President was a Baptist,
+another a Unitarian, and a third a Congregationalist; and, if elected,
+a Jew, a Mohammedan, or a Confucianist could become the President.
+Several Jews have held high Federal offices; they have even been
+Cabinet Ministers.  Article VI of the Constitution of the United States says:
+"No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification
+to any office or public trust under the United States."
+
+So ingrained in the minds of the American people is this principle
+of liberty and freedom of action that I do not believe they would resign it
+for any consideration whatsoever.  Once an English Duke was asked
+whether he would accept the throne of China on the sole condition
+that he must reside in the Palace of Peking, and act as the Chinese Emperors
+have always been accustomed to act.  He replied that such an exalted position
+of power and responsibility would be very great and tempting,
+but that he would on no account accept such an honor on such terms,
+as it would practically make him a prisoner.  Though a subject
+under a monarchial form of government, he would not forfeit
+his right of freedom of action; and much less would a democratic American
+give up his birthright for any price.  I knew an eminent and learned
+Judge of the Supreme Court in Washington, who used to say
+that he would never bend his knees to any human being,
+and that to the Almighty God alone would he ever do homage.
+He no doubt acted up to his principles, but I much doubt if all Americans
+observe so lofty an ideal.  A young lover in proposing to his sweetheart
+would not mind kneeling down to support his prayer.
+I have seen penitent husbands bending their knees to ask the forgiveness
+of their offended wives.  This, however, can be explained by the fact
+that the act of kneeling is not, in such cases, a sign of inferiority,
+but the act of one equal asking a favor from another;
+still it is the bending of the knee which was so solemnly abjured
+by the learned Judge.
+
+The dislike of distinction of classes which arises from
+the principle of equality is apparent wherever you go in the States.
+The railroad cars are not marked first, second, or third,
+as they are in Europe.  It is true that there are Pullman cars,
+and palace cars, with superior and superb accommodation,
+and for which the occupant has to pay an extra fare;
+but the outside of the car simply bears the name "Pullman"
+without indicating its class, and anyone who is willing to pay the fare
+may share its luxuries.  I should mention that in some of the Southern states
+negroes are compelled to ride on separate cars.  On one occasion,
+arriving at the railroad station in one of those states,
+I noticed there were two waiting-rooms, one labelled "For the White",
+and the other "For the Colored".  The railway porter took my portmanteau
+to the room for the white, but my conscience soon whispered
+I had come to the wrong place, as neither of the two rooms was intended
+for people of my complexion.  The street-cars are more democratic;
+there is no division of classes; all people, high or low,
+sit in the same car without distinction of race, color or sex.
+It is a common thing to see a workman, dressed in shabby clothes full of dirt,
+sitting next to a millionaire or a fashionable lady gorgeously clothed.
+Cabinet officers and their wives do not think it beneath their dignity
+to sit beside a laborer, or a coolie, as he is called in China.
+
+Foreign Ministers and Ambassadors coming to Washington soon learn to follow
+these local customs.  In a European country they ride in coronated carriages,
+with two liverymen; but in Washington they usually go about on foot,
+or travel by the street-cars.  I frequently saw the late Lord Pauncefote,
+the celebrated British Ambassador to Washington, ride to the State Department
+in the street-car.  My adoption of this democratic way of travelling
+during the time I was in America was the cause of a complaint
+being made against me at Peking.  The complainants were certain
+Chinese high officials who had had occasion to visit the States;
+one of them had had a foreign education, and ought to have known better
+than to have joined in the accusation that my unpretentious manner of living
+was not becoming the dignity of a representative of China.
+They forgot that when in Rome you must do as the Romans do,
+and that to ride in a sumptuous carriage, with uniformed footmen,
+is in America not only an unnecessary expense, but a habit which,
+among such a democratic people as the Americans, would detract from,
+rather than add to, one's dignity.  An envoy residing in a foreign country
+should be in touch with the people among whom he is sojourning.
+If he put on unnecessary airs, there will be a coldness and lack of cordiality
+between him and the community; his sphere of usefulness will be curtailed,
+and his knowledge of the people and their country limited.
+Of course, in a European Capital, where every diplomat drives in a carriage,
+I should follow the example of my colleagues.  But even in England,
+I frequently met high statesmen, such, for example, as Lord Salisbury,
+walking in the streets.  This unrestrained liberty and equality
+is remarkably conspicuous in the United States; for instance,
+at the White House official receptions or balls in Washington,
+I have seen ladies in ordinary dress, while on one occasion
+a woman appeared in the dress of a man.  This was Doctor Mary Walker.
+
+In a democratic country, such as the United States, one would
+naturally suppose that the people enjoyed a greater degree of freedom
+than is possible in monarchial countries.  But, so far from this being so,
+in some respects, they appear to be in a worse position.
+On my return journey from South America, some years ago,
+our steamer had to stay for four hours outside of New York harbor.
+We had first to wait for the doctor to come on board to make
+his inspection of all the passengers, then the Customs officials appeared
+and examined the luggage and boxes of all the passengers,
+and then, last but not the least, we had to wait for the immigration officers.
+All this necessarily took time, and it was not until all these inspections
+were completed that the steamer was allowed to enter the harbor,
+and to tie up alongside the dock.  And this occurred in the land
+of freedom and liberty!  I spoke to some of my American fellow passengers
+about the inconvenience and delay, and though they all murmured
+they quietly submitted.  Customs and sanitary inspection
+should be so conducted as to cause as little delay as possible.
+I have visited many countries in Europe, in South America, and in Asia,
+but I have never known of a ship having to stay outside
+the harbor of the port of her destination for so long a time.
+
+Take another case; some months since, I wished, in compliance with the request
+of a lady in America, to send her a chow-dog.  A mutual friend was willing
+to take it to her, but, upon making inquiries at the American Consulate
+as to the Customs regulations, he was informed that it would be impossible
+for him to undertake the commission, as the Customs officers at San Francisco,
+besides imposing a heavy duty on the dog, would keep the ship in quarantine
+because the dog was on board.  I could scarcely believe this,
+but inquiries confirmed the truth of my friend's statement.
+Customs and immigration laws and sanitary regulations must, of course,
+be observed, but they should be enforced in such a way as not to work hardship
+on the people.  Officers entrusted with the performance of such duties,
+while faithfully and conscientiously performing their work,
+should yet exercise their power with discretion and tact.
+They are the servants of the people, and ought to look after
+their interests and convenience as well as after the interests of the State.
+I would be the last one to encourage smuggling, but would
+the national interests really suffer if the Custom House officers
+were to be a little more ready to accept a traveller's word,
+and if they were less ready to suspect everyone of making false declarations
+when entering the country?  Smuggling must be repressed,
+but at the same time is it not true that the more imports enter the country
+the better it is for the State and for the people?
+
+There are no peers in the United States, as the Government has no power
+to create them; and although America is nominally a free country,
+yet if a foreign government should confer a decoration on an American citizen
+for services rendered, he cannot accept it without the consent of Congress,
+just as under a monarchy a subject must obtain his sovereign's permission
+to wear a foreign decoration.  It is true that there are
+some such titled persons in America, but they are not treated
+with any greater respect or distinction than other citizens;
+yet you frequently find people in America who not only would not disdain,
+but are actually anxious, to receive decorations from foreign governments.
+Once, at least, an American high official, just before leaving the country
+to which he had been accredited, accepted, without permission, a decoration,
+knowing, that if he had asked for the consent of Congress,
+he would not have been allowed to receive it.
+
+It is human nature to love change and variety, and for every person
+to be designated "Mister" is too tame and flat for the go-ahead Americans.
+Hence many of the people whom you meet daily have some prefix to their names,
+such as General, Colonel, Major, President, Judge, etc.
+You will not be far wrong to call a man "Judge" when he is a lawyer;
+or "General" or "Colonel" if he has served in the army;
+or "Admiral" or "Captain" if he has been in the navy.  Though neither
+the Federal nor the State Government has power to confer titles,
+the magnates do so.  They see that dukes and other peers are created
+in Europe, and that the partners in the big, wealthy firms over there,
+are called "merchant princes", and so to outdo them,
+they arrogate to themselves a still higher title.  Hence there are
+railroad kings, copper kings, tobacco kings, etc.  It is, however,
+manifestly improper and incongruous that the people should possess
+a higher title than their President, who is the head of the nation.
+To make it even, I would suggest that the title "President"
+be changed to "Emperor", for the following reasons:  First,
+it would not only do away with the impropriety of the chief magistrate
+of the nation assuming a name below that of some of his people,
+but it would place him on a level with the highest ruler of any nation
+on the face of the earth.  I have often heard the remark
+that the President of the United States is no more than a common citizen,
+elected for four years, and that on the expiration of his term
+he reverts to his former humble status of a private citizen;
+that he has nothing in common with the dignified majesty of an Emperor;
+but were the highest official of the United States to be in future
+officially known as Emperor, all these depreciatory remarks would fall
+to the ground.  There is no reason whatever why he should not be so styled,
+as, by virtue of his high office, he possesses almost as much power
+as the most aristocratic ruler of any nation.  Secondly,
+it would clearly demonstrate the sovereign power of the people;
+a people who could make and unmake an Emperor, would certainly
+be highly respected.  Thirdly, the United States sends ambassadors
+to Germany, Austria, Russia, etc.  According to international law,
+ambassadors have what is called the representative character,
+that is, they represent their sovereign by whom they are delegated,
+and are entitled to the same honors to which their constituent
+would be entitled were he personally present.  In a Republic
+where the head of the State is only a citizen and the sovereign is the people,
+it is only by a stretch of imagination that its ambassador can be said
+to represent the person of his sovereign.  Now it would be much more
+in consonance with the dignified character of an American ambassador
+to be the representative of an Emperor than of a simple President.
+The name of Emperor may be distasteful to some, but may not a new meaning
+be given to it?  A word usually has several definitions.
+Now, if Congress were to pass a law authorizing the chief magistrate
+of the United States of America to be styled Emperor, such designation to mean
+nothing more than the word "President", the title would soon be understood
+in that sense.  There is no reason in history or philology why
+the word "Emperor" should never mean anything other than a hereditary ruler.
+I make this suggestion seriously, and hope it will be adopted.
+
+Marriage laws in the United States, as I understand them,
+are more elastic than those in Europe.  In England, until a few years ago,
+a man could not contract a legal marriage with his deceased wife's sister,
+although he could marry the betrothed wife of his deceased brother.
+It is curious to compare the Chinese view of these two cases.
+Marriage with a deceased wife's sister is, in China, not only lawful,
+but quite common, while to marry a dead brother's betrothed
+is strictly prohibited.  Doubtless in the United States
+both are recognized as legal.  I was not, however, prepared to hear,
+and when I did hear it, I could not at first believe
+that a man is permitted to marry his deceased son's wife.
+Let me quote from the "China Press" which has special facilities
+for obtaining news from America.  "Boston, March 24.
+The engagement of Mrs. Katherine M. B., widow of Charles A. B.,
+and daughter of George C. F., chairman of the ........, Board of ........,
+to her father-in-law, Frank A. B., of ........, became known to-day.
+Charles A. B. was killed at the ........ Road crossing in ........
+on March 29, 1910, by a locomotive which struck a carriage
+in which he was driving to the First Congregational Church,
+to serve as best man at the wedding of Miss H. R. F.,
+another daughter of S. F., to L. G. B. of ........  His wife,
+who was in the carriage with him and was to have been matron at the wedding,
+was severely injured.  Her mother-in-law, Mrs. Frank A. B.,
+died some months later."*  I suppose the marriage has since been consummated.
+If a father is permitted to marry his deceased son's wife,
+in fairness a son should be allowed to marry his deceased father's wife.
+I presume that there is a law in the United States or in some of the states
+against marriages within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity and affinity,
+but I confess that the more I study the subject the more I am confused
+as to what is or what is not within the prohibited degrees.
+
+--
+* The names of the parties and places were given in full in the "China Press".
+--
+
+In China the law on this subject is extremely rigid, and consequently
+its infraction is exceedingly rare; I have, as a matter of fact,
+never heard of the marriage laws in China being broken.
+In "Liao Chai", a famous collection of Chinese tales, it is recorded
+that a young widow married her son and moved to another part of the country,
+so that their identity and relationship should be concealed.
+They seemed to have lived very happily together.  After many years,
+when they had had children and grandchildren, their true relationship was
+accidentally discovered.  A complaint was laid before the local authorities.
+After a long deliberation and careful review of the case, and to eradicate
+such "unnatural offspring", as they were termed, it was decided
+that the two offenders, and all their children and grandchildren
+should be burned to death, which sentence was duly carried out.
+I doubt if the story is authentic.  It was probably fabricated by the author
+that it might serve as a warning.  The sentence, if true, was too severe;
+the offspring who were innocent contributories to the crime deserved pity
+rather than punishment; the judgment passed on the real offenders
+was also unduly harsh.  My object in citing this unsavory tale
+is to show the different views held in regard to incestuous marriage in China
+with its serious consequences.
+
+It is commonly supposed that all men are born equal, and that
+the United States is the land of perfect equality.  Now let us see
+if this is really so.  There are men born into high stations of life,
+or into wealthy families, with "silver spoons" in their mouths;
+while there are others ushered into this world by parents who are paupers
+and who cannot support them.  Then there are people born with wit and wisdom,
+while others are perfect fools.  Again there are some
+who are brought to this life with strong and healthy constitutions,
+while others are weak and sickly.  Thus it is plain that men
+are not born equal, either physically, intellectually, or socially.
+I do not know how my American friends account for this undoubted fact,
+but the Chinese doctrine of previous lives, of which the present
+are but the continuation, seems to afford a satisfactory explanation.
+
+However, this doctrine of equality and independence has done immense good.
+It has, as a rule, caused men to think independently, and not to servilely
+follow the thoughts and ideas of others, who may be quite wrong.
+It has encouraged invention, and new discoveries in science and art.
+It has enabled men to develop industries and to expand trade.
+New York and Chicago, for example, could not have become
+such huge and prosperous cities within comparatively short periods,
+but for their free and wise institutions.  In countries where personal liberty
+is unknown, and the rights of person and property are curtailed,
+people do not exert themselves to improve their environments,
+but are content to remain quiet and inactive.
+
+By the constitution of the State of California it is declared
+that "all men are free and independent".  It must be conceded
+that the American people enjoy a greater amount of freedom and independence
+than other people.  But are they perfectly free, and are they
+really independent?  Are they not swayed in politics by their "bosses",
+and do not many of them act and vote as their bosses dictate?
+In society are they not bound by conventionalities and,
+dare they infringe the strict rules laid down by the society leaders?
+In the matter of dress also are they not slaves, abjectly following
+new-fangled fashions imported from Paris?  In domestic circles are not
+many husbands hen-pecked by their wives, because they, and not the men,
+rule the roost?  Are not many women practically governed by their husbands,
+whose word is their law?  The eager hunger for "the almighty dollar"
+leads most Americans to sacrifice their time, health, and liberty
+in the acquisition of wealth, and, alas, when they have acquired it,
+they find that their health is broken, and that they themselves
+are almost ready for the grave.  Ought a free and independent people
+to live after this fashion?
+
+In every well organized community it is essential that people should obey
+all laws and regulations which are enacted for the greatest good
+of the greatest number.  In domestic circles they should willingly subordinate
+their own wishes to the wishes of others, for the sake of peace,
+concord and happiness.  Happy that people whose laws and conditions
+are such that they can enjoy the greatest amount of freedom
+in regard to person and property, compatible with the general peace
+and good order of the community, and if I should be asked my opinion,
+notwithstanding all that I have above said concerning the United States,
+I should have to acknowledge that I believe that America
+is one of the few nations which have fairly well approximated
+the high ideal of a well-governed country.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 8.  American Manners
+
+
+
+Much has been written and more said about American manners,
+or rather the American lack of manners.  Americans have frequently
+been criticized for their bad breeding, and many sarcastic references
+to American deportment have been made in my presence.  I have even been told,
+I do not know how true it is, that European diplomats dislike being stationed
+in America, because of their aversion to the American way of doing things.
+
+Much too has been written and said about Chinese manners,
+not only by foreigners but also by Chinese.  One of the classics,
+which our youth have to know by heart, is practically devoted
+entirely to manners.  There has also been much adverse criticism
+of our manners or our excess of manners, though I have never heard
+that any diplomats have, on this account, objected to being sent to China.
+We Chinese are therefore in the same boat as the Americans.
+In regard to manners neither of us find much favor with foreigners,
+though for diametrically opposite reasons:  the Americans are accused
+of observing too few formalities, and we of being too formal.
+
+The Americans are direct and straight-forward.  They will tell you
+to your face that they like you, and occasionally they also have
+very little hesitation in telling you that they do not like you.
+They say frankly just what they think.  It is immaterial to them
+that their remarks are personal, complimentary or otherwise.
+I have had members of my own family complimented on their good looks
+as if they were children.  In this respect Americans differ greatly
+from the English.  The English adhere with meticulous care
+to the rule of avoiding everything personal.  They are very much afraid
+of rudeness on the one hand, and of insincerity or flattery on the other.
+Even in the matter of such a harmless affair as a compliment to a foreigner
+on his knowledge of English, they will precede it with a request for pardon,
+and speak in a half-apologetic manner, as if complimenting
+were something personal.  The English and the Americans are closely related,
+they have much in common, but they also differ widely,
+and in nothing is the difference more conspicuous than in their conduct.
+I have noticed curiously enough that English Colonials,
+especially in such particulars as speech and manners,
+follow their quondam sister colony, rather than the mother country.
+And this, not only in Canada, where the phenomenon might
+be explained by climatic, geographic, and historic reasons,
+but also in such antipodean places as Australia and South Africa,
+which are so far away as to apparently have very little in common
+either with America or with each other.  Nevertheless, whatever the reason,
+the transplanted Englishman, whether in the arctics or the tropics,
+whether in the Northern or the Southern Hemisphere,
+seems to develop a type quite different from the original stock,
+yet always resembling his fellow emigrants.
+
+The directness of Americans is seen not only in what they say
+but in the way they say it.  They come directly to the point,
+without much preface or introduction, much less is there any circumlocution
+or "beating about the bush".  When they come to see you they say their say
+and then take their departure, moreover they say it in the most terse,
+concise and unambiguous manner.  In this respect what a contrast they are
+to us!  We always approach each other with preliminary greetings.
+Then we talk of the weather, of politics or friends, of anything, in fact,
+which is as far as possible from the object of the visit.
+Only after this introduction do we broach the subject uppermost in our minds,
+and throughout the conversation polite courtesies are exchanged
+whenever the opportunity arises.  These elaborate preludes and interludes may,
+to the strenuous ever-in-a-hurry American, seem useless and superfluous,
+but they serve a good purpose.  Like the common courtesies
+and civilities of life they pave the way for the speakers,
+especially if they are strangers; they improve their tempers,
+and place them generally on terms of mutual understanding.
+It is said that some years ago a Foreign Consul in China,
+having a serious complaint to make on behalf of his national,
+called on the Taotai, the highest local authority in the port.
+He found the Chinese official so genial and polite that
+after half an hour's conversation, he advised the complainant
+to settle the matter amicably without troubling the Chinese officials
+about the matter.  A good deal may be said in behalf of both systems.
+The American practice has at least the merit of saving time,
+an all important object with the American people.  When we recall
+that this remarkable nation will spend millions of dollars
+to build a tunnel under a river, or to shorten a curve in a railroad,
+merely that they may save two or three minutes, we are not surprised
+at the abruptness of their speech.  I, as a matter of fact,
+when thinking of their time-saving and abrupt manner of address,
+have been somewhat puzzled to account for that peculiar drawl of theirs.
+Very slowly and deliberately they enunciate each word and syllable
+with long-drawn emphasis, punctuating their sentences with pauses,
+some short and some long.  It is almost an effort to follow a story
+of any length -- the beginning often becomes cold before the end is reached.
+It seems to me that if Americans would speed up their speech after the fashion
+of their English cousins, who speak two or three times as quickly,
+they would save many minutes every day, and would find the habit
+not only more efficacious, but much more economical than many
+of their time-saving machines and tunnels.  I offer this suggestion
+to the great American nation for what it is worth, and I know
+they will receive it in the spirit in which it is made,
+for they have the saving sense of humor.
+
+Some people are ridiculously sensitive.  Some years ago, at a certain place,
+a big dinner was given in honor of a notable who was passing through
+the district.  A Chinese, prominent in local affairs, who had received
+an invitation, discovered that though he would sit among the honored guests
+he would be placed below one or two whom he thought he ought to be above,
+and who, he therefore considered, would be usurping his rightful position.
+In disgust he refused to attend the dinner, which, excepting for what
+he imagined was a breach of manners, he would have been very pleased
+to have attended.  Americans are much more sensible.
+They are not a bit sensitive, especially in small matters.
+Either they are broad-minded enough to rise above unworthy trifles,
+or else their good Americanism prevents their squabbling
+over questions of precedence, at the dinner table or elsewhere.
+
+Americans act up to their Declaration of Independence,
+especially the principle it enunciates concerning the equality of man.
+They lay so much importance on this that they do not confine its application
+to legal rights, but extend it even to social intercourse.  In fact,
+I think this doctrine is the basis of the so-called American manners.
+All men are deemed socially equal, whether as friend and friend,
+as President and citizen, as employer and employee, as master and servant,
+or as parent and child.  Their relationship may be such
+that one is entitled to demand, and the other to render,
+certain acts of obedience, and a certain amount of respect,
+but outside that they are on the same level.  This is doubtless a rebellion
+against all the social ideas and prejudices of the old world,
+but it is perhaps only what might be looked for in a new country,
+full of robust and ambitious manhood, disdainful of all traditions
+which in the least savor of monarchy or hierarchy, and eager to blaze
+as new a path for itself in the social as it has succeeded
+in accomplishing in the political world.  Combined with this
+is the American characteristic of saving time.  Time is precious to all of us,
+but to Americans it is particularly so.  We all wish to save time,
+but the Americans care much more about it than the rest of us.
+Then there are different notions about this question of saving time,
+different notions of what wastes time and what does not,
+and much which the old world regards as politeness and good manners
+Americans consider as sheer waste of time.  Time is, they think,
+far too precious to be occupied with ceremonies which appear
+empty and meaningless.  It can, they say, be much more profitably filled
+with other and more useful occupations.  In any discussion of American manners
+it would be unfair to leave out of consideration their indifference
+to ceremony and their highly developed sense of the value of time,
+but in saying this I do not forget that many Americans are devout ritualists,
+and that these find both comfort and pleasure in ceremony,
+which suggests that after all there is something to be said for the Chinese
+who have raised correct deportment almost to the rank of a religion.
+
+The youth of America have not unnaturally caught the spirit of their elders,
+so that even children consider themselves as almost on a par
+with their parents, as almost on the same plane of equality;
+but the parents, on the other hand, also treat them as if they were equals,
+and allow them the utmost freedom.  While a Chinese child
+renders unquestioning obedience to his parents' orders,
+such obedience as a soldier yields to his superior officer,
+the American child must have the whys and the wherefores
+duly explained to him, and the reason for his obedience made clear.
+It is not his parent that he obeys, but expediency and the dictates of reason.
+Here we see the clear-headed, sound, common-sense business man in the making.
+The early training of the boy has laid the foundation for the future man.
+The child too has no compunction in correcting a parent even before strangers,
+and what is stranger still the parent accepts the correction in good part,
+and sometimes even with thanks.  A parent is often interrupted
+in the course of a narrative, or discussion, by a small piping voice,
+setting right, or what it believes to be right, some date, place, or fact,
+and the parent, after a word of encouragement or thanks, proceeds.
+How different is our rule that a child is not to speak until spoken to!
+In Chinese official life under the old regime it was not etiquette
+for one official to contradict another, especially when
+they were unequal in rank.  When a high official expressed views
+which his subordinates did not endorse, they could not candidly
+give their opinion, but had to remain silent.  I remember that
+some years ago some of my colleagues and I had an audience
+with a very high official, and when I expressed my dissent
+from some of the views of that high functionary, he rebuked me severely.
+Afterward he called me to him privately, and spoke to me somewhat as follows:
+"What you said just now was quite correct.  I was wrong,
+and I will adopt your views, but you must not contradict me
+in the presence of other people.  Do not do it again."
+There is of course much to be said for and against each system,
+and perhaps a blend of the two would give good results.
+Anyhow, we can trace in American customs that spirit of equality
+which pervades the whole of American society, and observe the germs
+of self-reliance and independence so characteristic of Americans,
+whether men, women, or children.
+
+Even the domestic servant does not lose this precious American heritage
+of equality.  I have nothing to say against that worthy individual,
+the American servant (if one can be found); on the contrary,
+none is more faithful or more efficient.  But in some respects he is unique
+among the servants of the world.  He does not see that there is any inequality
+between him and his master.  His master, or should I say, his employer,
+pays him certain wages to do certain work, and he does it,
+but outside the bounds of this contract, they are still man and man,
+citizen and citizen.  It is all beautifully, delightfully legal.
+The washerwoman is the "wash-lady", and is just as much a lady
+as her mistress.  The word "servant" is not applied to domestics,
+"help" is used instead, very much in the same way that Canada and Australia
+are no longer English "colonies", but "self-governing dominions".
+
+We of the old world are accustomed to regard domestic service
+as a profession in which the members work for advancement,
+without much thought of ever changing their position.
+A few clever persons may ultimately adopt another profession,
+and, according to our antiquated conservative ways of thinking,
+rise higher in the social scale, but, for the large majority,
+the dignity of a butler, or a housekeeper is the height of ambition,
+the crowning point in their career.  Not so the American servant.
+Strictly speaking there are no servants in America.  The man, or the woman
+as the case may be, who happens for the moment to be your servant,
+is only servant for the time being.  He has no intention
+of making domestic service his profession, of being a servant
+for the whole of his life.  To have to be subject to the will of others,
+even to the small extent to which American servants are subordinate,
+is offensive to an American's pride of citizenship, it is contrary to
+his conception of American equality.  He is a servant only for the time,
+and until he finds something better to do.  He accepts a menial position
+only as a stepping stone to some more independent employment.
+Is it to be wondered at that American servants have different manners
+from their brethren in other countries?  When foreigners find
+that American servants are not like servants in their own country,
+they should not resent their behavior:  it does not denote disrespect,
+it is only the outcrop of their natural independence and aspirations.
+
+All titles of nobility are by the Constitution expressly forbidden.
+Even titles of honor or courtesy are but rarely used.  "Honorable" is used
+to designate members of Congress; and for a few Americans, such as
+the President and the Ambassadors, the title "Excellency" is permitted.  Yet,
+whether it is because the persons entitled to be so addressed do not think
+that even these mild titles are consistent with American democracy,
+or because the American public feels awkward in employing such stilted
+terms of address, they are not often used.  I remember that on one occasion
+a much respected Chief Executive, on my proposing, in accordance with
+diplomatic usage and precedent, to address him as "Your Excellency",
+begged me to substitute instead "Mr. President".  The plain democratic "Mr."
+suits the democratic American taste much better than any other title,
+and is applied equally to the President of the Republic and to his coachman.
+Indeed the plain name John Smith, without even "Mr.", not only gives
+no offense, where some higher title might be employed, but fits just as well,
+and is in fact often used.  Even prominent and distinguished men
+do not resent nicknames; for example, the celebrated person
+whose name is so intimately connected with that delight
+of American children and grown-ups -- the "Teddy Bear".
+This characteristic, like so many other American characteristics,
+is due not only to the love of equality and independence,
+but also to the dislike of any waste of time.
+
+In countries where there are elaborate rules of etiquette
+concerning titles and forms of address, none but a Master of Ceremonies
+can hope to be thoroughly familiar with them, or to be able
+to address the distinguished people without withholding from them
+their due share of high-sounding titles and epithets;
+and, be it whispered, these same distinguished people,
+however broad-minded and magnanimous they may be in other respects,
+are sometimes extremely sensitive in this respect.
+And even after one has mastered all the rules and forms,
+and can appreciate and distinguish the various nice shades which exist
+between "His Serene Highness", "His Highness", "His Royal Highness",
+and "His Imperial Highness", or between "Rt. Rev." and "Most Rev.",
+one has yet to learn what titles a particular person has,
+and with what particular form of address he should be approached,
+an impossible task even for a Master of Ceremonies,
+unless he always has in his pocket a Burke's Peerage to tell him who's who.
+What a waste of time, what an inconvenience, and what an unnecessary amount
+of irritation and annoyance all this causes.  How much better
+to be able to address any person you meet simply as Mr. So-and-So,
+without unwittingly treading on somebody's sensitive corns!
+Americans have shown their common sense in doing away with titles altogether,
+an example which the sister Republic of China is following.
+An illustrious name loses nothing for having to stand by itself
+without prefixes and suffixes, handles and tails.  Mr. Gladstone
+was no less himself for not prefixing his name with Earl,
+and the other titles to which it would have entitled him,
+as he could have done had he not declined the so-called honor.
+Indeed, like the "Great Commoner", he, if that were possible,
+endeared himself the more to his countrymen because of his refusal.  A name,
+which is great without resorting to the borrowed light of titles and honors,
+is greater than any possible suffix or affix which could be appended to it.
+
+In conclusion, American manners are but an instance or result of
+the two predominant American characteristics to which I have already referred,
+and which reappear in so many other things American.
+A love of independence and of equality, early inculcated,
+and a keen abhorrence of waste of time, engendered by the conditions
+and circumstances of a new country, serve to explain practically all
+the manners and mannerisms of Americans.  Even the familiar spectacle
+of men walking with their hands deep in their trousers' pockets,
+or sitting with their legs crossed needs no other explanation,
+and to suggest that, because Americans have some habits
+which are peculiarly their own, they are either inferior or unmanly,
+would be to do them a grave injustice.
+
+Few people are more warm-hearted, genial, and sociable than the Americans.
+I do not dwell on this, because it is quite unnecessary.  The fact
+is perfectly familiar to all who have the slightest knowledge of them.
+Their kindness and warmth to strangers are particularly pleasant,
+and are much appreciated by their visitors.  In some other countries,
+the people, though not unsociable, surround themselves with so much reserve
+that strangers are at first chilled and repulsed, although there are
+no pleasanter or more hospitable persons anywhere to be found
+when once you have broken the ice, and learned to know them;
+but it is the stranger who must make the first advances,
+for they themselves will make no effort to become acquainted,
+and their manner is such as to discourage any efforts on the part
+of the visitor.  You may travel with them for hours in the same car,
+sit opposite to them, and all the while they will shelter themselves
+behind a newspaper, the broad sheets of which effectively prohibit
+any attempts at closer acquaintance.  The following instance,
+culled from a personal experience, is an illustration.  I was a law student
+at Lincoln's Inn, London, where there is a splendid law library for the use
+of the students and members of the Inn.  I used to go there almost every day
+to pursue my legal studies, and generally sat in the same quiet corner.
+The seat on the opposite side of the table was usually occupied
+by another law student.  For months we sat opposite each other
+without exchanging a word.  I thought I was too formal and reserved,
+so I endeavored to improve matters by occasionally looking up at him
+as if about to address him, but every time I did so he looked down
+as though he did not wish to see me.  Finally I gave up the attempt.
+This is the general habit with English gentlemen.  They will not speak
+to a stranger without a proper introduction; but in the case I have mentioned
+surely the rule would have been more honored by a breach
+than by the observance.  Seeing that we were fellow students,
+it might have been presumed that we were gentlemen and on an equal footing.
+How different are the manners of the American!  You can hardly take a walk,
+or go for any distance in a train, without being addressed by a stranger,
+and not infrequently making a friend.  In some countries
+the fact that you are a foreigner only thickens the ice,
+in America it thaws it.  This delightful trait in the American character
+is also traceable to the same cause as that which has helped us to explain
+the other peculiarities which have been mentioned.  To good Americans,
+not only are the citizens of America born equal, but the citizens of the world
+are also born equal.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 9.  American Women
+
+
+
+It is rather bold on my part to take up this subject.  It is a path
+where "fools rush in where angels fear to tread".  No matter what I say
+it is sure to provoke criticism, but having frequently been asked
+by my lady friends to give my opinion of American women, and having given
+my solemn promise that if I ever should write my impressions of America
+I would do so, it would be a serious "breach of promise" if I should now
+break my word.
+
+In general there are three classes of women:  first, those who wish
+to be praised; secondly, those who wish to be adversely criticized
+and condemned; and thirdly, those who are simply curious to hear
+what others think of them.  American women do not as a rule belong
+to either the first or the second class, but a large majority of them
+may be ranged under class three.  They wish to know what other people
+honestly think of them and to hear their candid views.
+They are progressive people who desire to improve their defects
+whenever they are pointed out to them.  That being the case
+I must not swerve from my duty of sitting in a high court of justice
+to pass judgment on them.
+
+To begin with, the American women are in some respects dissimilar to the women
+of other nations.  I find them sprightly, talkative and well informed.
+They can converse on any subject with ease and resource,
+showing that they have a good all-round education.  Often have I derived
+considerable information from them.  The persistence with which
+they stick to their opinions is remarkable.  Once, when I had a lady visitor
+at my Legation in Washington, after several matters had been discussed
+we commenced talking about women's rights.  I was in favor of giving women
+more rights than they are enjoying, but on some points I did not go so far
+as my lady friend; after arguing with me for several hours,
+she, seeing that I did not coincide with all her views,
+threatened that she would not leave my house until I had fully digested
+all her points, and had become converted to her views.
+
+I have observed that many American women marry foreigners,
+but that an American rarely has a foreign wife.  It may be said
+that foreigners marry American girls for their money, while American women
+marry distinguished foreigners for their titles.  This may have been true
+in some cases, but other causes than such sordid motives must be looked for.
+It is the attractiveness and the beauty of the American girls
+which enable them to capture so many foreign husbands.
+Their pleasant manners and winsome nature predispose a person in their favor,
+and with their well-grounded education and ready fund of knowledge,
+they easily win any gentleman with marital propensities.
+Had I been single when I first visited America I too might have been a victim
+-- no wonder then that American men prefer American wives.
+Once I was an involuntary match-maker.  Some years ago,
+during my first mission in Washington, I was invited to attend
+the wedding of the daughter of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
+When I entered the breakfast room, I saw the bridesmaids
+and a number of young men.  Going up to one of the bridesmaids
+whom I had previously met, and who was the daughter of a Senator,
+I asked her when it would be her turn to become a bride.
+She modestly said that she did not know, as she had not yet had an offer.
+Turning to the group of young men who were in the room,
+I jocularly remarked to one of them, "This is a beautiful lady,
+would you not like to marry her?"  He replied, "I shall be most delighted to."
+Then I said to the young lady, "Will you accept his offer?"
+She seemed slightly embarrassed and said something to the effect
+that as she did not know the gentleman she could not give a definite answer.
+After a few days I met the young lady at an "At Home" party
+when she scolded me for being so blunt with her before the young men.
+I told her I was actuated by the best of motives, and a few months later
+I received an invitation from the young lady's parents
+inviting me to be present at their daughter's marriage.
+I thought I would go and find out whether the bridegroom was the young man
+whom I had introduced to the young lady, and as soon as I entered the house,
+the mother of the bride, to my agreeable surprise, informed me
+that it was I who had first brought the young couple together,
+and both the bride and bridegroom heartily thanked me for my good offices.
+
+One very conspicuous feature in the character of American women
+is their self-control and independence.  As soon as a girl grows up
+she is allowed to do what she pleases, without the control of her parents.
+It is a common occurrence to see a young lady travelling alone
+without either a companion or a chaperon.  Travelling on one occasion
+from San Francisco to Washington I met a young lady on the train
+who was still in her teens.  She told me that she was going to New York
+to embark on a steamer for Germany, with the intention of entering
+a German college.  She was undertaking this long journey alone.
+Such an incident would be impossible in China; even in England,
+or indeed in any European country, I hardly believe that
+a respectable young girl would be allowed to take such a journey
+without some trusty friend to look after her.  But in America
+this is a common occurrence, and it is a credit to the administration,
+and speaks volumes for the good government of the country,
+that for sensible wide-awake American girls such undertakings
+are perfectly safe.
+
+This notion of independence and freedom has modified the relation
+of children to their parents.  Instead of children being required
+to show respect and filial obedience, the obligation of mutual love and esteem
+is cultivated.  Parents would not think of ordering a girl or a boy
+to do anything, however reasonable; in all matters they treat them
+as their equals and friends; nor would a girl submit to an arbitrary order
+from her mother, for she does not regard her as a superior,
+but as her friend and companion.  I find it is a common practice
+among American girls to engage themselves in marriage
+without consulting their parents.  Once I had a serious talk on this subject
+with a young couple who were betrothed.  I asked them if they had the consent
+of their parents.  They both answered emphatically that it was not necessary,
+and that it was their business and not their parents'.
+I told them that although it was their business, they might have shown
+some respect to their parents by consulting them before committing themselves
+to this important transaction.  They answered that they did not agree with me,
+and as it concerned their own happiness alone, they had a perfect right
+to decide the matter for themselves.  This shows the extreme limit
+to which the Americans carry their theory of independence.  Unless I am
+greatly mistaken, I fear this is a typical and not an isolated case.
+I believe that in many cases, after they had made up their minds to marry,
+the young people would inform their respective parents of their engagement,
+but I question if they would subordinate their own wishes
+to the will of their parents, or ask their consent to their engagement.
+
+Now let us see how all this is managed in China.  Here the parties
+most interested have no voice in the matter.  The parents,
+through their friends, or sometimes through the professional match-makers,
+arrange the marriage, but only after the most strict and diligent inquiries
+as to the character, position, and suitability of temper and disposition
+of the persons for whom the marriage contract is being prepared.
+This is sometimes done with the knowledge of the interested parties,
+but very often they are not consulted.  After an engagement is thus made
+it cannot be broken off, not even by the young people themselves,
+even though he or she may plead that the arrangement was made without
+his or her knowledge or consent.  The engagement is considered by all parties
+as a solemn compact.  On the wedding day, in nine cases out of ten,
+the bride and bridegroom meet each other for the first time,
+and yet they live contentedly, and quite often even happily together.
+Divorces in China are exceedingly rare.  This is accounted for
+by the fact that through the wise control of their parents
+the children are properly mated.  In saying this I do not wish to be supposed
+to be advocating the introduction of the Chinese system into America.
+I would, however, point out that the independent and thoughtless way
+in which the American young people take on themselves the marriage vow
+does not as a rule result in suitable companionships.
+When a girl falls in love with a young man she is unable to perceive
+his shortcomings and vices, and when, after living together for a few months,
+she begins to find them out, it is alas too late.  If, previous to
+her engagement, she had taken her mother into her confidence,
+and asked her to use her good offices to find out the character
+of the young man whom she favored, a fatal and unhappy mistake
+might have been avoided.  Without interfering, in the least,
+with the liberty or free choice, I should think it would be a good policy
+if all young Americans, before definitely committing themselves
+to a promise of marriage, would at least consult their mothers,
+and ask them to make private and confidential inquiries as to the disposition,
+as well as to the moral and physical fitness of the young man or lady
+whom they contemplate marrying.  Mothers are naturally concerned
+about the welfare and happiness of their offspring, and could be trusted
+in most cases to make careful, impartial and conscientious inquiries
+as to whether the girl or man was really a worthy and suitable life partner
+for their children.  If this step were generally taken
+many an unfortunate union would be avoided.  It was after this fashion
+that I reasoned with the young people mentioned above,
+but they did not agree with me, and I had to conclude that love is blind.
+
+Before leaving this subject I would add that the system of marriage
+which has been in vogue in China for so many centuries has been
+somewhat changed within the last few years.  This is due to the new spirit
+which has been gradually growing.  Young people begin to exert their rights,
+and will not allow parents to choose their life partners
+without their consent.  Instances of girls choosing their own husbands
+have come to my knowledge, and they did not occur during leap-year.
+But I sincerely hope that our Chinese youth will not go to the same lengths
+as the young people of America.
+
+The manner in which a son treats his parents in the United States
+is diametrically opposed to our Chinese doctrine, handed down to us
+from time immemorial.  "Honor thy father and thy mother"
+is an injunction of Moses which all Christians profess to observe,
+but which, or so it appears to a Confucianist, all equally forget.
+The Confucian creed lays it down as the essential duty of children
+that they shall not only honor and obey their fathers and their mothers,
+but that they are in duty bound to support them.  The reason is that
+as their parents brought them into the world, reared and educated them,
+the children should make them some return for their trouble and care.
+The view of this question which is taken in America seems to be
+very strange to me.  Once I heard a young American argue in this way.
+He said, gravely and seriously, that as he was brought into this world
+by his parents without his consent, it was their duty to rear him
+in a proper way, but that it was no part of his duty to support them.
+I was very much astounded at this statement.  In China such a son
+would be despised, and if he neglected to maintain his parents he would
+be punished.  I do not believe that the extreme views of this young man
+are universally accepted in America, but I am inclined to think
+that the duties of children toward their parents are somewhat ill-defined.
+American parents do not apparently expect their children to support them,
+because, as a rule they are, if not rich, at least in
+comfortable circumstances; and even if they are not, they would rather
+work for their livelihood than burden their children and hinder their success
+by relying on them for pecuniary aid.  It may have escaped my observation,
+but, so far as I know, it is not the custom for young people
+to provide for their parents.  There was, however, one exceptional case
+which came to my knowledge.  Some years ago a young Senator in Washington,
+who was famous for his eloquence, had his father living with him.
+His father was eighty years of age, and though in robust health was a cripple,
+and so had to depend on him for support.  I was informed that he and his wife
+were very kind to him.  Many young men treat their parents
+kindly and affectionately, but they do it more as a favor than as a duty;
+in fact, as between equals.
+
+In connection with this subject I may mention that as soon as a son marries,
+however young and inexperienced he may be, he leaves his parents' roof.
+He and his bride will set up a separate establishment so that
+they can do as they please without the supervision of their parents.
+The latter do not object, as it gives the young folk an opportunity
+to gain experience in keeping house.  Young wives have a horror
+of having their mothers-in-law reside with them; if it be necessary
+to have an elderly lady as a companion they always endeavor
+to get their own mothers.
+
+American women are ambitious and versatile, and can readily
+apply themselves to any task with ease.  They are not only employed
+in stores and mercantile houses but are engaged in different professions.
+There is scarcely any store in America where there are not some women
+employed as typists, clerks, or accountants.  I am told that
+they are more steady than men.  Even in the learned professions they
+successfully compete with the men.  Some years ago the Attorney-Generalship
+of one of the states became vacant.  Two candidates appeared;
+one was a gentleman and the other a young lady lawyer.
+They both sought election; the gentleman secured a small majority,
+but in the end the lady lawyer conquered, for she soon became the wife
+of the Attorney-General, her former opponent during the election campaign,
+and after her marriage she practically carried on the work of her husband.
+Some years later her husband retired from practice in order to farm,
+and she continued to carry on the law practice.  Does not this indicate
+that the intellect of the American woman is equal, if not superior,
+to that of the men?  American women are good conversationalists,
+and many of them are eloquent and endowed with "the gift of the gab".
+One of the cleverest and wittiest speeches I have ever heard
+was from a woman who spoke at a public meeting on a public question.
+They are also good writers.  Such women as Mrs. Ella Wheeler Wilcox,
+Mrs. Mary N. Foote Henderson, Mrs. Elizabeth Towne and many others,
+are a great credit to their sex.  The writings of such women
+show their profound insight and wide culture.  Naturally such women
+cannot be expected to play second fiddle.  They exercise great influence,
+and when married "they rule the roost".  It should be mentioned
+that their husbands submit willingly to their tactful rule,
+and gladly obey their commands without feeling that they are servants.
+I would advise any married woman who complains of her husband
+being unruly and unpleasant to take a lesson from the ladies of America.
+They are vivacious, bright, loquacious and less reserved than European ladies.
+In social functions they can be easily recognized.  If, however,
+an American lady marries a foreigner and lives abroad,
+she soon loses her national characteristics.  Once on board a steamer
+I had an American lady as a fellow passenger; from her reserved manner
+I mistook her for an English lady, and it was only after some days
+that I discovered she was born in America, but that she had been
+living in England for many years with her English husband.
+
+There is one fault I find with American women, if it can be so called,
+and that is their inquisitiveness; I know that this is a common fault
+with all women, but it is most conspicuous in the Americans.
+They have the knack of finding out things without your being aware of it,
+and if they should want to know your history they will learn all about it
+after a few minutes' conversation.  They are good detectives,
+and I think they should be employed in that line more than they are.
+
+A nation's reputation depends upon the general character of its women,
+for they form at least half, if not more, of the population.
+In this respect America stands high, for the American woman is lively,
+open-hearted and ingenuous; she is also fearless, independent,
+and is almost without restraint.  She is easily accessible to high and low,
+and friendly to all, but woe to the man who should misunderstand
+the pure and high character of an American girl, and attempt to take liberties
+with her.  To a stranger, and especially to an Oriental, she is a puzzle.
+Some years ago I had to disabuse a false notion of a countryman of mine
+respecting a lady's behavior toward him.  The keen observer will find that
+the American girl, having been educated in schools and colleges with boys,
+naturally acts more freely than her sisters in other countries,
+where great restraint is imposed upon them.  Her actions may be considered
+as perilously near to the border of masculinity, yet she is as far
+from either coarseness or low thoughts as is the North from the South Pole.
+The Chinese lady is as pure as her American sister, but she is brought up
+in a different way; her exclusion keeps her indoors,
+and she has practically no opportunity of associating with male friends.
+A bird which has been confined in a cage for a long time, will,
+when the door is opened, fly far away and perhaps never return,
+but if it has been tamed and allowed to go in and out of its cage
+as it pleases it will not go far, but will always come back in the evening.
+When my countrywomen are allowed more freedom they will not abuse it,
+but it will take some little time to educate them up to
+the American standards.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 10.  American Costumes
+
+
+
+Fashion is the work of the devil.  When he made up his mind to enslave mankind
+he found in fashion his most effective weapon.  Fashion enthralls man,
+it deprives him of his freedom; it is the most autocratic dictator,
+its mandate being obeyed by all classes, high and low, without exception.
+Every season it issues new decrees, and no matter how ludicrous they are,
+everyone submits forthwith.  The fashions of this season
+are changed in the next.  Look, for example, at women's hats; some years ago
+the "merry widow" which was about two or three feet in diameter,
+was all the rage, and the larger it became the more fashionable it was.
+Sometimes the wearer could hardly go through a doorway.
+Then came the hat crowned with birds' feathers, some ladies even placing
+the complete bird on their hats -- a most ridiculous exhibition of bad taste.
+The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals should take up
+the question of the destruction of birds for their plumage,
+and agitate until the law makes it illegal to wear a bird on a hat.
+Some may say that if people kill animals and birds for food
+they might just as well wear a dead bird on their hats, if they wish
+to be so silly, although the large majority of America's population,
+I am sorry to find, sincerely believe meat to be a necessary article of diet;
+yet who will claim that a dead bird on a hat is an indispensable article
+of wearing apparel?  Why do we dress at all?  First, I suppose,
+for protection against cold and heat; secondly, for comfort; thirdly,
+for decency; and, fourthly, for ornament.  Now does the dress of Americans
+meet these requirements?
+
+First, as regards the weather, does woman's dress protect her from the cold?
+The fact that a large number of persons daily suffer from colds
+arouses the suspicion that their dress is at fault.  The body is neither
+equally nor evenly covered, the upper portion being as a rule nearly bare,
+or very thinly clad, so that the slightest exposure to a draught,
+or a sudden change of temperature, subjects the wearer
+to the unpleasant experience of catching cold, unless she is
+so physically robust and healthy that she can resist all the dangers
+to which her clothing, or rather her lack of clothing, subjects her.
+Indeed ladies' dress, instead of affording protection sometimes
+endangers their lives.  The following extract from the "London Times"
+-- and the facts cannot be doubted -- is a warning to the fair sex.
+"The strong gale which swept over Bradford resulted in
+an extraordinary accident by which a girl lost her life.
+Mary Bailey, aged 16, the daughter of an electrician,
+who is a pupil at the Hanson Secondary School, was in the school yard
+when she was suddenly lifted up into the air by a violent gust of wind
+which got under her clothes converting them into a sort of parachute.
+After being carried to a height estimated by spectators at 20 feet,
+she turned over in the air and fell to the ground striking the concreted floor
+of the yard with great force.  She was terribly injured and died
+half an hour later."  Had the poor girl been wearing Chinese clothing
+this terrible occurrence could not have happened; her life would not
+have been sacrificed to fashion.
+
+As to the second point, comfort, I do not believe that the wearer of
+a fashionable costume is either comfortable or contented.  I will say nothing
+of the unnecessary garments which the average woman affects,
+but let us see what can be said for the tight corset binding the waist.
+So far from being comfortable it must be most inconvenient,
+a sort of perpetual penance and it is certainly injurious to the health.
+I feel confident that physicians will support me in my belief
+that the death-rate among American women would be less
+if corset and other tight lacing were abolished.  I have known of instances
+where tight lacing for the ballroom has caused the death of enceinte women.
+
+As to the third object, decency, I am not convinced that the American dress
+fulfils this object.  When I say American dress, I include also
+the clothing worn by Europeans for both are practically the same.
+It may be a matter of education, but from the Oriental point of view
+we would prefer that ladies' dresses should be worn more loosely,
+so that the figure should be less prominent.  I am aware that this is a view
+which my American friends do not share.  It is very curious
+that what is considered as indecent in one country is thought to be
+quite proper in another.  During the hot summers in the Province of Kiangsu
+the working women avoid the inconveniences and chills of perspiration
+by going about their work with nothing on the upper part of their bodies,
+except a chest protector to cover the breasts; in Western countries
+women would never think of doing this, even during a season of extreme heat;
+yet they do not object, even in the depth of winter,
+to uncovering their shoulders as low as possible when attending
+a dinner-party, a ball, or the theater.  I remember the case
+of a Chinese rice-pounder in Hongkong who was arrested
+and taken to the Police Court on a charge of indecency.
+To enable him to do his work better he had dispensed with all his clothing
+excepting a loin cloth; for this he was sentenced to pay a fine of $2,
+or, in default of payment to be imprisoned for a week.
+The English Magistrate, in imposing the fine, lectured him severely,
+remarking that in a civilized community such primitive manners
+could not be tolerated, as they were both barbarous and indecent.
+When he said this did he think of the way the women of his country dress
+when they go to a ball?
+
+It must be remembered that modesty is wholly a matter
+of conventionality and custom.  Competent observers have testified
+that savages who have been accustomed to nudity all their lives
+are covered with shame when made to put on clothing for the first time.
+They exhibit as much confusion as a civilized person would
+if compelled to strip naked in public.  In the words of a competent authority
+on this subject:  "The facts appear to prove that the feeling of shame,
+far from being the cause of man's covering his body is, on the contrary,
+a result of this custom; and that the covering, if not used
+as a protection from the climate, owes its origin, at least in many cases,
+to the desire of men and women to make themselves attractive."
+Strange as it may seem, it is nevertheless true, that a figure partially clad
+appears more indecent than one that is perfectly nude.
+
+The fourth object of clothes is ornament, but ornaments should be harmless,
+not only to the wearer, but also to other people; yet from
+the following paragraph, copied from one of the daily newspapers,
+it does not appear that they are.
+
+  "London, May 7.  The death of a girl from blood-poisoning caused by a hatpin
+  penetrating her nose was inquired into at Stockport, Cheshire, yesterday.
+  The deceased was Mary Elizabeth Thornton, aged twenty-four, daughter of
+  a Stockport tradesman.  The father said that on Saturday evening, April 20,
+  his daughter was speaking to a friend, Mrs. Pickford, outside the shop.
+  On the following Monday she complained of her nose being sore.
+  Next day she again complained and said, "It must be the hatpin."
+  While talking to Mrs. Pickford, she explained, Mrs. Pickford's baby
+  stumbled on the footpath.  They both stooped to pick it up,
+  and a hatpin in Mrs. Pickford's hat caught her in the nostril.
+  His daughter gradually got worse and died on Saturday last.  Mrs. Pickford,
+  wife of a paper merchant, said that some minutes after the deceased
+  had picked up the child she said, "Do you know, I scratched my nose
+  on your hatpin?"  Mrs. Pickford was wearing the hatpin in court.
+  It projected two inches from the hat and was about twelve inches in length.
+  Dr. Howie Smith said that septic inflammation was set up
+  as a result of the wound, and travelling to the brain caused meningitis.
+  The coroner said that not many cases came before coroners
+  in which death was directly traceable to the hatpin but there must be
+  a very large number of cases in which the hatpin caused injury,
+  in some cases loss of sight.  It was no uncommon sight to see
+  these deadly weapons protruding three or four inches from the hat.
+  In Hamburg women were compelled by statute to put shields or protectors
+  on the points of hatpins.  In England nothing had been done,
+  but this case showed that it was high time something was done.
+  If women insisted on wearing hatpins they should take precaution
+  of wearing also a shield or protector which would prevent them
+  inflicting injury on other people.  The jury returned a verdict
+  of accidental death, and expressed their opinion that long hatpins
+  ought to be done away with or their points protected."
+
+To wear jewels, necklaces of brilliants, precious stones and pearls,
+or ribbons with brilliants round the hair is a pleasing custom and
+a pretty sight.  But to see a lady wearing a long gown trailing on the ground
+does not impress me as being elegant, though I understand the ladies
+in Europe and America think otherwise.  It would almost seem
+as if their conceptions of beauty depended on the length of their skirts.
+In a ballroom one sometimes finds it very difficult not to tread
+on the ladies' skirts, and on ceremonial occasions each lady has two page boys
+to hold up the train of her dress.  It is impossible to teach an Oriental
+to appreciate this sort of thing.  Certainly skirts which are not made
+either for utility or comfort, and which fashion changes,
+add nothing to the wearer's beauty; especially does this remark apply
+to the "hobble skirt", with its impediment to free movement of the legs.
+The ungainly "hobble skirt" compels the wearer to walk carefully
+and with short steps, and when she dances she has to lift up her dress.
+Now the latest fashion seems to be the "slashed skirt" which, however,
+has the advantage of keeping the lower hem of the skirt clean.
+Doubtless this, in turn, will give place to other novelties.
+A Chinese lady, Doctor Ya Mei-kin, who has been educated in America,
+adopted while there the American attire, but as soon as she returned to China
+she resumed her own native dress.  Let us hear what she has to say
+on this subject.  Speaking of Western civilization she said:
+"If we keep our own mode of life it is not for the sake of blind conservatism.
+We are more logical in our ways than the average European imagines.
+I wear for instance this `ao' dress as you see, cut in one piece
+and allowing the limbs free play -- because it is manifestly
+a more rational and comfortable attire than your fashionable skirt from Paris.
+On the other hand we are ready to assimilate such notions from the West
+as will really prove beneficial to us."  Beauty is a matter of education:
+when you have become accustomed to anything, however quaint or queer,
+you will not think it so after a while.  When I first went abroad
+and saw young girls going about in the streets with their hair falling loose
+over their shoulders, I was a little shocked.  I thought how careless
+their parents must be to allow their girls to go out in that untidy state.
+Later, finding that it was the fashion, I changed my mind,
+until by degrees I came to think that it looked quite nice;
+thus do conventionality and custom change one's opinions.
+But it should be remembered that no custom or conventionality
+which sanctions the distorting of nature, or which interferes with
+the free exercise of any member of the body, can ever be called beautiful.
+It has always been a great wonder to me that American and European ladies
+who are by no means slow to help forward any movement for reform,
+have taken no active steps to improve the uncouth and injurious style
+of their own clothes.  How can they expect to be granted the privileges of men
+until they show their superiority by freeing themselves from
+the enthrallment of the conventionalities of fashion?
+
+Men's dress is by no means superior to the women's.  It is so tight
+that it causes the wearer to suffer from the heat much more than is necessary,
+and I am certain that many cases of sunstroke have been chiefly due
+to tight clothing.  I must admire the courage of Dr. Mary Walker,
+an American lady, who has adopted man's costume, but I wonder that,
+with her singular independence and ingenuity she has not introduced
+a better form of dress, instead of slavishly adopting the garb of the men.
+I speak from experience.  When I was a law student in England,
+in deference to the opinion of my English friends, I discarded Chinese clothes
+in favor of the European dress, but I soon found it very uncomfortable.
+In the winter it was not warm enough, but in summer it was too warm
+because it was so tight.  Then I had trouble with the shoes.
+They gave me the most distressing corns.  When, on returning to China,
+I resumed my own national costume my corns disappeared,
+and I had no more colds.  I do not contend that the Chinese dress is perfect,
+but I have no hesitation in affirming that it is more comfortable and,
+according to my views, very much prettier than the American fashions.
+It is superior to any other kind of dress that I have known.
+To appreciate the benefits to be derived from comfortable clothing,
+you have to wear it for a while.  Dress should not restrain
+the free movement of every part of the body, neither should it be so tight
+as to hinder in any way the free circulation of the blood,
+or to interfere with the process of evaporation through the skin.
+I cannot understand why Americans, who are correct and cautious
+about most things, are so very careless of their own personal comfort
+in the matter of clothing.  Is anything more important than that
+which concerns their health and comfort?  Why should they continue wearing
+clothes which retard their movements, and which are so inconvenient
+that they expose the wearers to constant risk and danger?
+How can they consistently call themselves independent
+while they servilely follow the mandates of the dressmakers
+who periodically make money by inventing new fashions
+necessitating new clothes?  Brave Americans, wake up!  Assert your freedom!
+
+It would be very bold, and indeed impertinent, on my part
+to suggest to my American friends that they should adopt the Chinese costume.
+It has much to recommend it, but I must candidly confess
+that it might be improved.  Why not convene an international congress
+to decide as to the best form of dress for men and women?
+Male and female delegates from all over the world might be invited,
+and samples of all kinds of costumes exhibited.  Out of them all
+let those which are considered the best for men and most suitable for women
+be recommended, with such improvements as the congress may deem necessary.
+The advantages of a universal uniformity of costumes would be far-reaching.
+There would be no further occasion for any one to look askance at another,
+as has frequently happened when some stranger has been seen
+wearing what was considered an uncomely or unsuitable garb;
+universal uniformity of costume would also tend to draw people
+closer together, and to make them more friendly.  Uniforms and badges
+promote brotherhood.  I have enough faith in the American people to believe
+that my humble suggestion will receive their favorable consideration
+and that in due time it will be carried into effect.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 11.  American versus Chinese Civilization
+
+
+
+This is a big subject.  Its exhaustive treatment would require a large volume.
+In a little chapter such as this I have no intention of doing more
+than to cast a glance at its cuff buttons and some of the frills on its shirt.
+Those who want a thesis must look elsewhere.
+
+Now what is Civilization?  According to Webster it is "the act of civilizing
+or the state of being civilized; national culture; refinement."
+"Civilization began with the domestication of animals,"
+says Alfred Russell Wallace, but whether for the animal that was domesticated
+or for the man domesticating it is not clear.  In a way the remark
+probably applies to both, for the commencement of culture,
+or the beginning of civilization, was our reclamation from a savage state.
+Burke says:  "Our manners, our civilization, and all the good things
+connected with manners and civilization have in this European world of ours
+depended for ages upon two principles -- the spirit of a gentleman,
+and the spirit of religion."  We often hear people, especially Westerners,
+calling themselves "highly civilized", and to some extent
+they have good grounds for their claim, but do they really manifest
+the qualifications mentioned by Burke?  Are they indeed
+so "highly civilized" as to be in all respects worthy paragons
+to the so-called semi-civilized nations?  Have not some of their policies
+been such as can be characterized only as crooked and selfish actions
+which less civilized peoples would not have thought of?
+I believe that every disinterested reader will be able to supply
+confirmatory illustrations for himself, but I will enforce the point
+by giving a few Chinese ideals of a truly civilized man:
+
+"He guards his body as if holding jade"; i.e., he will not contaminate himself
+with mental or moral filth.
+
+"He does not gratify his appetite, nor in his dwelling place
+does he seek ease"; i.e., he uses the physical without being submerged by it.
+
+"Without weapons he will not attack a tiger, nor will he dare to cross a river
+without a boat"; in other words he will never ruin himself and his family
+by purely speculative practices.
+
+He will "send charcoal in a snowstorm, but he will not add flowers
+to embroidery", meaning that he renders timely assistance when necessary,
+but does not curry favor by presents to those who do not need them.
+
+Our most honored heroes are said to have made their virtue "brilliant"
+and one of them engraved on his bath-tub the axiom --
+"If you can renovate yourself one day, do so from day to day.
+Let there be daily renovation."  Our ideal for the ruler is that
+the regulation of the state must commence with his regulation of himself.
+
+It is too often forgotten that civilization, like religion,
+originally came from the East.  Long before Europe and America
+were civilized, yea while they were still in a state of barbarism,
+there were nations in the East, including China, superior to them
+in manners, in education, and in government; possessed of a literature
+equal to any, and of arts and sciences totally unknown in the West.
+Self-preservation and self-interest make all men restless,
+and so Eastern peoples gradually moved to the West taking their knowledge
+with them; Western people who came into close contact with them
+learned their civilization.  This fusion of East and West
+was the beginning of Western civilization.
+
+A Chinese proverb compares a pupil who excels his teacher to the color green,
+which originates with blue but is superior to it.  This may aptly be applied
+to Westerners, for they originally learned literature, science, and other arts
+from the East; but they have proven apt pupils and have excelled
+their old masters.  I wish I could find an apothegm concerning
+a former master who went back to school and surpassed his clever pupil.
+The non-existence of such a maxim probably indicates that no such case
+has as yet occurred, but that by no means proves that it never will.
+
+Coming now to particulars I would say that one of the distinguishing features
+in the American people which I much admire is their
+earnestness and perseverance.  When they decide to take up anything,
+whether it be an invention or the investigation of a difficult problem,
+they display indomitable perseverance and patience.  Mr. Edison, for example,
+sleeps, it is said, in his factory and is inaccessible for days
+when he has a problem to solve, frequently even forgetting food and sleep.
+I can only compare him to our sage Confucius, who,
+hearing a charming piece of music which he wanted to study,
+became so engrossed in it that for many days he forgot to eat,
+while for three months he did not know the taste of meat.
+
+The dauntless courage of the aviators, not only in America,
+but in Europe also, is a wonderful thing.  "The toll of the air",
+in the shape of fatal accidents from aviation, mounts into the hundreds,
+and yet men are undeterred in the pursuit of their investigations.
+With such intrepidity, perseverance, and genius, it is merely
+a question of time, and I hope it will not be long, when the art of flying,
+either by aeroplanes or airships, will be perfectly safe.
+When that time arrives I mean to make an air trip to America,
+and I anticipate pleasures from the novel experience such as I do not get
+from travelling by land or sea.
+
+The remarkable genius for organization observable anywhere in America
+arouses the visitor's enthusiastic admiration.  One visits a mercantile office
+where a number of men are working at different desks in a large room,
+and marvels at the quiet and systematic manner in which
+they perform their tasks; or one goes to a big bank and is amazed
+at the large number of customers ever going in and coming out.
+It is difficult to calculate the enormous amount of business
+transacted every hour, yet all is done with perfect organization
+and a proper division of labor, so that any information required
+is furnished by the manager or by a clerk, at a moment's notice.
+I have often been in these places, and the calm, quiet, earnest way
+in which the employees performed their tasks was beyond praise.
+It showed that the heads who organized and were directing the institutions
+had a firm grasp of multiplex details.
+
+We Chinese have a reputation for being good business men.
+When in business on our own account, or in partnership with a few friends,
+we succeed marvelously well; but we have yet much to learn
+regarding large concerns such as corporations or joint stock companies.
+This is not to be wondered at, for joint stock companies and corporations
+as conducted in the West were unknown in China before the advent
+of foreign merchants in our midst.  Since then a few joint stock companies
+have been started in Hongkong, Shanghai, and other ports;
+these have been carried on by Chinese exclusively, but the managers have not
+as yet mastered the systematic Western methods of conducting such concerns.
+Even unpractised and inexpert eyes can see great room for improvement
+in the management of these businesses.  Here, I must admit,
+the Japanese are ahead of us.  Take, for instance, the Yokohama Specie Bank:
+it has a paid-up capital of Yen 30,000,000 and has branches and agencies
+not only in all the important towns in Japan, but also in different ports
+in China, London, New York, San Francisco, Honolulu, Bombay, Calcutta
+and other places.  It is conducted in the latest and most approved
+scientific fashion; its reports and accounts, published half-yearly,
+reveal the exact state of the concern's financial position
+and incidentally show that it makes enormous profits.  True,
+several Chinese banks of a private or official nature have been established,
+and some of them have been doing a fair business, but candor compels me to say
+that they are not conducted as scientifically as is the Yokohama Specie Bank,
+or most American banks.  Corporations and joint stock companies
+are still in their infancy in China; but Chinese merchants and bankers,
+profiting by the mistakes of the past, will doubtless gradually improve
+their systems, so that in the future there will be less and less cause
+to find fault with them.
+
+One system which has been in vogue within the last ten or twenty years
+in America, and which has lately figured much in the limelight,
+is that of "Trusts".  Here, again, it is only the ingenuity of Americans
+which could have brought the system to such gigantic proportions
+as to make it possible for it to wield an immense influence over trade,
+not only in America but in other countries also.  The main object of the Trust
+seems to be to combine several companies under one direction,
+so as to economize expenses, regulate production and the price of commodities
+by destroying competition.  Its advocates declare their policy to be
+productive of good to the world, inasmuch as it secures regular supplies
+of commodities of the best kind at fair and reasonable prices.
+On the other hand, its opponents contend that Trusts are injurious to
+the real interests of the public, as small companies cannot compete with them,
+and without healthy competition the consumer always suffers.
+Where experts differ it were perhaps wiser for me not to express an opinion
+lest I should show no more wisdom than the boy who argued
+that lobsters were black and not red because he had often seen them
+swimming about on the seashore, but was confuted by his friend
+who said he knew they were red and not black for he had seen them
+on his father's dinner table.
+
+The fact, however, which remains indisputable, is the immense power of wealth.
+No one boycotts money.  It is something no one seems to get enough of.
+I have never heard that multi-millionaires like Carnegie or Rockefeller
+ever expressed regrets at not being poor, even though they seem more eager
+to give money away than to make it.  Most people in America are desirous
+for money, and rush every day to their business with no other thought
+than to accumulate it quickly.  Their love of money leaves them scarcely time
+to eat, to drink, or to sleep; waking or sleeping they think of nothing else.
+Wealth is their goal and when they reach it they will probably be
+still unsatisfied.  The Chinese are, of course, not averse to wealth.
+They can enjoy the jingling coin as much as anyone,
+but money is not their only thought.  They carry on their business
+calmly and quietly, and they are very patient.  I trust they will
+always retain these habits and never feel any temptation
+to imitate the Americans in their mad chase after money.
+
+There is, however, one American characteristic my countrymen
+might learn with profit, and that is the recognition of the fact
+that punctuality is the soul of business.  Americans know this;
+it is one cause of their success.  Make an appointment with an American
+and you will find him in his office at the appointed time.
+Everything to be done by him during the course of the day has its fixed hour,
+and hence he is able to accomplish a greater amount of work in a given time
+than many others.  Chinese, unfortunately, have no adequate conceptions
+of the value of time.  This is due, perhaps, to our mode of reckoning.
+In the West a day is divided into twenty-four hours, and each hour
+into sixty minutes, but in China it has been for centuries the custom
+to divide day and night into twelve (shih) "periods" of two hours each,
+so that an appointment is not made for a particular minute,
+as in America, but for one or other of these two-hour periods.
+This has created ingrained habits of unpunctuality which clocks and watches
+and contact with foreigners are slow to remove.  The time-keeping railway is,
+however, working a revolution, especially in places
+where there is only one train a day, and a man who misses that
+has to wait for the morrow before he can resume his journey.
+
+Some years ago a luncheon -- "tiffin" we call it in China --
+was given in my honor at a Peking restaurant by a couple of friends;
+the hour was fixed at noon sharp.  I arrived on the stroke of twelve,
+but found that not only were none of the guests there,
+but that even the hosts themselves were absent.  As I had several engagements
+I did not wait, but I ordered a few dishes and ate what I required.
+None of the hosts had made their appearance by the time I had finished,
+so I left with a request to the waiter that he would convey my thanks.
+
+Knowing the unpunctuality of our people, the conveners of a public meeting
+will often tell the Chinese that it will begin an hour or two before
+the set time, whereas foreigners are notified of the exact hour.
+Not being aware of this device I once attended a conference
+at the appointed time, only to find that I had to wait for over an hour.
+I protested that in future I should be treated as a foreigner in this regard.
+
+As civilized people have always found it necessary to wear clothes
+I ought not to omit a reference to them here, but in view of what has already
+been said in the previous chapter I shall at this juncture content myself
+with quoting Mrs. M. S. G. Nichols, an English lady who has written
+on this subject.  She characterizes the clothing of men as unbeautiful,
+but she principally devotes her attention to the dress of women.
+I quote the following from her book:*  "The relation of a woman's dress
+to her health is seldom considered, still less is it contemplated
+as to its effect upon the health of her children; yet everyone must see
+that all that concerns the mothers of our race is important.
+The clothing of woman should be regarded in every aspect if we wish to see
+its effect upon her health, and consequently upon the health of her offspring.
+The usual way is to consider the beauty or fashion of dress first,
+its comfort and healthfulness afterward, if at all.
+We must reverse this method.  First, use, then beauty, flowing from,
+or in harmony with, use.  That is the true law of life" (p. 14).
+On page 23 she continues:  "A great deal more clothing is worn by women
+in some of fashion's phases than is needed for warmth,
+and mostly in the form of heavy skirts dragging down upon the hips.
+The heavy trailing skirts also are burdens upon the spine.
+Such evils of women's clothes, especially in view of maternity,
+can hardly be over-estimated.  The pains and perils that attend birth
+are heightened, if not caused, by improper clothing.
+The nerves of the spine and the maternal system of nerves
+become diseased together."  And on page 32 she writes:
+"When I first went to an evening party in a fashionable town,
+I was shocked at seeing ladies with low dresses, and I cannot even now
+like to see a man, justly called a rake, looking at the half-exposed bosom
+of a lady.  There is no doubt that too much clothing is an evil,
+as well as too little; but clothing that swelters or leaves us with a cold
+are both lesser evils than the exposure of esoteric charms
+to stir the already heated blood of the `roue'.  What we have to do,
+as far as fashion and the public opinion it forms will allow,
+is to suit our clothing to our climate, and to be truly modest and healthful
+in our attire."  Mrs. Nichols, speaking from her own experience,
+has naturally devoted her book largely to a condemnation of woman's dress,
+but man's dress as worn in the West is just as bad.  The dreadful high collar
+and tight clothes which are donned all the year round,
+irrespective of the weather, must be very uncomfortable.
+Men wear nearly the same kind of clothing at all seasons of the year.
+That might be tolerated in the frigid or temperate zones,
+but should not the style be changed in the tropical heat of summer common to
+the Eastern countries?  I did not notice that men made much difference
+in their dress in summer; I have seen them, when the thermometer was ranging
+between 80 and 90, wearing a singlet shirt, waistcoat and coat.
+The coat may not have been as thick as that worn in winter,
+still it was made of serge, wool or some similarly unsuitable stuff.
+However hot the weather might be it was seldom that anyone was to be seen
+on the street without a coat.  No wonder we frequently hear of deaths
+from sunstroke or heat, a fatality almost unknown among the Chinese.**
+
+--
+* "The Clothes Question Considered in its Relation
+  to Beauty, Comfort and Health", by Mrs. M. S. G. Nichols.
+  Published in London, 32 Fopstone Road, Earl's Court, S.W.
+** There have been a few cases of Chinese workmen who through carelessness
+   have exposed themselves by working in the sun; but such cases are rare.
+--
+
+Chinese dress changes with the seasons, varying from the thickest fur
+to the lightest gauze.  In winter we wear fur or garments lined with
+cotton wadding; in spring we don a lighter fur or some other thinner garment;
+in summer we use silk, gauze or grass cloth, according to the weather.
+Our fashions are set by the weather; not by the arbitrary decrees
+of dressmakers and tailors from Peking or elsewhere.
+The number of deaths in America and in Europe every year,
+resulting from following the fashion must, I fear, be considerable,
+although of course no doctor would dare in his death certificate
+to assign unsuitable clothing as the cause of the decease of a patient.
+
+Even in the matter of dressing, and in this twentieth century,
+"might is right".  In the opinion of an impartial observer
+the dress of man is queer, and that of woman, uncouth;
+but as all nations in Europe and America are wearing the same kind of dress,
+mighty Conventionality is extending its influence, so that even
+some natives of the East have discarded their national dress
+in favor of the uglier Western attire.  If the newly adopted dress were,
+if no better than, at least equal to, the old one in beauty and comfort,
+it might be sanctioned for the sake of uniformity, as suggested
+in the previous chapter; but when it is otherwise why should we imitate?
+Why should the world assume a depressing monotony of costume?
+Why should we allow nature's diversities to disappear?
+Formerly a Chinese student when returning from Europe or America
+at once resumed his national dress, for if he dared to continue
+to favor the Western garb he was looked upon as a "half-foreign devil".
+Since the establishment of the Chinese Republic in 1911,
+this sentiment has entirely changed, and the inelegant foreign dress
+is no longer considered fantastic; on the contrary it has become a fashion,
+not only in cities where foreigners are numerous, but even in
+interior towns and villages where they are seldom seen.
+
+Chinese ladies, like their Japanese sisters, have not yet,
+to their credit be it said, become obsessed by this new fashion,
+which shows that they have more common sense than some men.
+I have, however, seen a few young and foolish girls imitating
+the foreign dress of Western women.  Indeed this craze for Western fashion
+has even caught hold of our legislators in Peking, who, having fallen under
+the spell of clothes, in solemn conclave decided that the frock coat,
+with the tall-top hat, should in future be the official uniform;
+and the swallow-tail coat with a white shirt front the evening dress in China.
+I need hardly say that this action of the Peking Parliament
+aroused universal surprise and indignation.  How could the scholars and gentry
+of the interior, where foreign tailors are unknown, be expected to dress
+in frock coats at formal ceremonies, or to attend public entertainments
+in swallow-tails?  Public meetings were held to discuss the subject,
+and the new style of dress was condemned as unsuitable.  At the same time
+it was thought by many that the present dresses of men and women
+leave much room for improvement.  It should be mentioned
+that as soon as it was known that the dress uniform was under discussion
+in Parliament, the silk, hat and other trades guilds, imitating the habits
+of the wide-world which always everywhere considers self first,
+fearing that the contemplated change in dress might injuriously affect
+their respective interests, sent delegates to Peking to "lobby" the members
+to "go slow" and not to introduce too radical changes.
+The result was that in addition to the two forms of dress above mentioned,
+two more patterns were authorized, one for man's ordinary wear
+and the other for women, both following Chinese styles,
+but all to be made of home-manufactured material.  This was to soothe
+the ruffled feelings of the manufacturers and traders,
+for in purchasing a foreign suit some of the materials at least,
+if not all, must be of foreign origin or foreign make.
+
+During a recent visit to Peking I protested against this novel fashion,
+and submitted a memorandum to President Yuan with a request
+that it should be transmitted to Parliament.  My suggestion is that
+the frock-coat and evening-dress regulation should be optional,
+and that the Chinese dress uniform as sketched by me in my memorandum
+should be adopted as an alternative.  I am in hopes that my suggestion
+will be favorably considered.  The point I have taken
+is that Chinese diplomats and others who go abroad should,
+in order to avoid curiosity, and for the sake of uniformity,
+adopt Western dress, and that those who are at home,
+if they prefer the ugly change, should be at liberty to adopt it,
+but that it should not be compulsory on others who object
+to suffering from cold in winter, or to being liable to sunstroke in summer.
+I have taken this middle course in order to satisfy both sides;
+for it would be difficult to induce Parliament to abolish or alter
+what has been so recently fixed by them.  The Chinese dress,
+as is well known all over the world, is superior to that worn
+by civilized people in the West, and the recent change favored by the Chinese
+is deplored by most foreigners in China.  The following paragraph,
+written by a foreign merchant and published in one of the Shanghai papers,
+expresses the opinion of almost all intelligent foreigners on this subject:
+
+"Some time back the world was jubilant over the news that among
+the great reforms adopted in China was the discarding of the Chinese tunic,
+that great typical national costume.  `They are indeed getting civilized,'
+said the gossip; and one and all admired the energy displayed
+by the resolute Young China in coming into line with the CIVILIZED world,
+adopting even our uncomfortable, anti-hygienic and anti-esthetic costume.
+
+"Foreign `fashioned' tailor shops, hat stores, shoemakers, etc.,
+sprang up all over the country.  When I passed through Canton
+in September last, I could not help noticing also that
+those typical streets lined with boat-shaped, high-soled shoes,
+had been replaced by foreign-style boot and shoemakers.
+
+"Undoubtedly the reform was gaining ground and the Chinese
+would have to be in the future depicted dressed up as a Caucasian.
+
+"In my simplicity I sincerely confess I could not but deplore
+the passing away of the century-old tunic, so esthetic, so comfortable,
+so rich, so typical of the race.  In my heart I was sorry for the change,
+as to my conception it was not in the dress where the Chinese had
+to seek reform. . . ."
+
+I agree with this writer that it is not in the domain of dress
+that we Chinese should learn from the Western peoples.
+There are many things in China which could be very well improved
+but certainly not dress.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 12.  American versus Chinese Civilization (Continued)
+
+
+
+The question has often been asked "Which are the civilized nations?"
+And the answer has been, "All Europe and America."  To the query,
+"What about the nations in the East?" the answer has been made
+that with the exception of Japan, who has now become a great civilized power,
+the other nations are more or less civilized.  When the matter
+is further pressed and it is asked, "What about China?" the general reply is,
+"She is semi-civilized," or in other words, not so civilized
+as the nations in the West.
+
+Before pronouncing such an opinion justifiable, let us consider
+the plain facts.  I take it that civilization inculcates culture,
+refinement, humane conduct, fair dealing and just treatment.
+Amiel says, "Civilization is first and foremost a moral thing."
+There is no doubt that the human race, especially in the West,
+has improved wonderfully within the last century.  Many inventions
+and discoveries have been made, and men are now able to enjoy comforts
+which could not have been obtained before.
+
+From a material point of view we have certainly progressed,
+but do the "civilized" people in the West live longer
+than the so-called semi-civilized races?  Have they succeeded
+in prolonging their lives?  Are they happier than others?
+I should like to hear their answers.  Is it not a fact
+that Americans are more liable to catch cold than Asiatics;
+with the least change of air, and with the slightest appearance of an epidemic
+are they not more easily infected than Asiatics?  If so, why?
+With their genius for invention why have they not discovered means
+to safeguard themselves so that they can live longer on this earth?
+Again, can Americans say that they are happier than the Chinese?
+From personal observation I have formed the opinion that the Chinese
+are more contented than Americans, and on the whole happier;
+and certainly one meets more old people in China than in America.
+Since the United States of America is rich, well governed,
+and provided with more material comforts than China,
+Americans, one would think, should be happier than we are, but are they?
+Are there not many in their midst who are friendless and penurious?
+In China no man is without friends, or if he is, it is his own fault.
+"Virtue is never friendless," said Confucius, and, as society is constituted
+in China, this is literally true.  If this is not so in America
+I fear there is something wrong with that boasted civilization,
+and that their material triumphs over the physical forces of nature have been
+paid dearly for by a loss of insight into her profound spiritualities.
+Perhaps some will understand when I quote Lao Tsze's address to Confucius
+on "Simplicity".  "The chaff from winnowing will blind a man.
+Mosquitoes will bite a man and keep him awake all night, and so it is
+with all the talk of yours about charity and duty to one's neighbor,
+it drives one crazy.  Sir, strive to keep the world in its original simplicity
+-- why so much fuss?  The wind blows as it listeth,
+so let virtue establish itself.  The swan is white without a daily bath,
+and the raven is black without dyeing itself.  When the pond is dry
+and the fishes are gasping for breath it is of no use to moisten them
+with a little water or a little sprinkling.  Compared to their original
+and simple condition in the pond and the rivers it is nothing."
+
+Henry Ward Beecher says, "Wealth may not produce civilization,
+but civilization produces money," and in my opinion while wealth may be used
+to promote happiness and health it as often injures both.
+Happiness is the product of liberality, intelligence and service to others,
+and the reflex of happiness is health.  My contention is that the people who
+possess these good qualities in the greatest degree are the most civilized.
+Now civilization, as mentioned in the previous chapter,
+was born in the East and travelled westward.  The law of nature is spiral,
+and inasmuch as Eastern civilization taught the people of the West,
+so Western civilization, which is based upon principles native to the East,
+will return to its original source.  No nation can now remain
+shut up within itself without intercourse with other nations;
+the East and the West can no longer exist separate and apart.
+The new facilities for transportation and travel by land and water
+bring all nations, European, American, Asiatic and African,
+next door to each other, and when the art of aviation is more advanced
+and people travel in the air as safely as they now cross oceans,
+the relationships of nations will become still closer.
+
+What effect will this have on mankind?  The first effect will be,
+I should say, greater stability.  As interests become common,
+destructive combats will vanish.  All alike will be interested in peace.
+It is a gratifying sign that within recent years the people of America
+have taken a prominent part in peace movements, and have inaugurated
+peace congresses, the members of which represent different sections
+of the country.  Annual gatherings of this order must do much to prevent war
+and to perpetuate peace, by turning people's thoughts in the right direction.
+Take, for instance, the Lake Mohonk Conference on International Arbitration,
+which was started by a private gentleman, Mr. A. K. Smiley,
+who was wont every year to invite prominent officials and others
+to his beautiful summer place at Lake Mohonk for a conference.
+He has passed away, to the regret of his many friends,
+but the good movement still continues, and the nineteenth annual conference
+was held under the auspices of his brother, Mr. Daniel Smiley.
+Among those present, there were not only eminent Americans,
+such as Dr. C. W. Eliot, President Emeritus of Harvard University,
+Ex-American Ambassador C. Tower, Dr. J. Taylor, President of Vassar College,
+and Dr. Lyman Abbott, but distinguished foreigners such as J. A. Baker, M.P.,
+of England, Herr Heinrich York Steiner, of Vienna, and many others.
+Among the large number of people who support this kind of movement,
+and the number is increasing every day, the name of Mr. Andrew Carnegie
+stands out very prominently.  This benevolent gentleman is a most vigorous
+advocate of International Peace, and has spent most of his time and money
+for that purpose.  He has given ten million dollars (gold)
+for the purpose of establishing the Carnegie Peace Fund; the first paragraph
+in his long letter to the trustees is worthy of reproduction,
+as it expresses his strong convictions:
+
+"I have transferred to you," he says, "as Trustees of the Carnegie Peace Fund,
+ten million dollars of five per cent. mortgage bonds, the revenue of which
+is to be administered by you to hasten the abolition of international war,
+the foulest blot upon our civilization.  Although we no longer
+eat our fellowmen nor torture our prisoners, nor sack cities,
+killing their inhabitants, we still kill each other in war like barbarians.
+Only wild beasts are excusable for doing that in this the Twentieth Century
+of the Christian era, for the crime of war is inherent,
+since it decides not in favor of the right, but always of the strong.
+The nation is criminal which refuses arbitration and drives its adversary
+to a tribunal which knows nothing of righteous judgment."
+
+I am glad to say that I am familiar with many American magazines and journals
+which are regularly published to advocate peace, and I have no doubt
+that in every country similar movements are stirring,
+for the nations are beginning to realize the disastrous effects of war.
+If I am not mistaken, however, Americans are the most active in this matter.
+The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, whose members belong
+to nearly every nation, is a significant index of the spirit of the times.
+Yet what an irony of fate that while people are so active
+in perpetuating peace they cannot preserve it.  Look at the recent wars
+in Europe, first between Italy and Turkey, and afterward in the Balkans,
+to say nothing of disturbances in China and other parts of the world.
+It is just like warning a child not to take poison and then allowing him
+to swallow it and die.  Sensible men should consider this question
+calmly and seriously.  We all agree as to the wickedness of war
+and yet we war with one another; we do not like war yet we cannot help war.
+There is surely some hidden defect in the way we have been brought up.
+
+Is not the slogan of nationality, to a great extent, the root of the evil?
+Every schoolboy and schoolgirl is taught the duty of devotion,
+or strong attachment, to his or her own country, and every statesman
+or public man preaches the doctrine of loyalty to one's native land;
+while the man who dares to render service to another country,
+the interests of which are opposed to the interests of his own land,
+is denounced a traitor.  In such cases the individual is never allowed
+an opinion as to the right or wrong of the dispute.  He is expected
+to support his own country and to cry at all times, "Our country,
+right or wrong."  A politician's best chance to secure votes
+is to gloss over the faults of his own party or nation,
+to dilate on the wickedness of his neighbors and to exhort his compatriots
+to be loyal to their national flag.  Can it be wondered at
+that men who are imbued with such doctrines become selfish and narrow-minded
+and are easily involved in quarrels with other nations?
+
+Patriotism is, of course, the national life.  Twenty-four centuries ago,
+speaking in the Greek Colony of Naxos, Pythagoras described this emotion
+in the following eloquent passage:  "Listen, my children, to what the State
+should be to the good citizen.  It is more than father or mother,
+it is more than husband or wife, it is more than child or friend.
+The State is the father and mother of all, is the wife of the husband
+and the husband of the wife.  The family is good, and good is the joy
+of the man in wife and in son.  But greater is the State, which is
+the protector of all, without which the home would be ravaged and destroyed.
+Dear to the good man is the honor of the woman who bore him,
+dear the honor of the wife whose children cling to his knees;
+but dearer should be the honor of the State that keeps safe
+the wife and the child.  It is the State from which comes all
+that makes your life prosperous, and gives you beauty and safety.
+Within the State are built up the arts, which make the difference
+between the barbarian and the man.  If the brave man dies gladly
+for the hearthstone, far more gladly should he die for the State."
+
+But only when the State seeks the good of the governed,
+for said Pythagoras on another occasion:  "Organized society exists for
+the happiness and welfare of its members; and where it fails to secure these
+it stands ipso facto condemned."
+
+But to-day should the State be at war with another,
+and any citizen or section of citizens believe their own country wrong
+and the opposing nation wronged, they dare not say so,
+or if they do they run great risk of being punished for treason.
+Men and women though no longer bought and sold in the market place
+are subjected to subtler forms of serfdom.  In most European countries
+they are obliged to fight whether they will or not, and irrespective
+of their private convictions about the dispute; even though, as is the case
+in some European countries, they may be citizens from compulsion
+rather than choice, they are not free to abstain from active participation
+in the quarrel.  Chinese rebellions are said to "live on loot",
+i.e., on the forcible confiscation of private property, but is that worse
+than winning battles on the forcible deprivation of personal liberty?
+This is nationalism gone mad!  It fosters the desire for territory grabbing
+and illustrates a fundamental difference between the Orient and the Occident.
+With us government is based on the consent of the governed
+in a way that the Westerner can hardly understand, for his passion to expand
+is chronic.  Small nations which are over-populated want territory
+for their surplus population; great nations desire territory to extend
+their trade, and when there are several great powers to divide the spoil
+they distribute it among themselves and call it "spheres of influence",
+and all in honor of the god Commerce.  In China the fundamentals
+of our social system are brotherhood and the dignity of labor.
+
+What, I ask, is the advantage of adding to national territory?
+Let us examine the question calmly.  If a town or a province is seized
+the conqueror has to keep a large army to maintain peace and order,
+and unless the people are well disposed to the new authority
+there will be constant trouble and friction.  All this, I may say, in passing,
+is opposed to our Confucian code which bases everything on reason
+and abhors violence.  We would rather argue with a mob and find out,
+if possible, its point of view, than fire on it.  We have yet to be convinced
+that good results flow from the use of the sword and the cannon.
+Western nations know no other compulsion.
+
+If, however, the acquisition of new territory arises from a desire
+to develop the country and to introduce the most modern and improved
+systems of government, without ulterior intentions, then it is beyond praise,
+but I fear that such disinterested actions are rare.
+The nearest approach to such high principle is the purchase
+of the Philippine Islands by the United States.  I call it "purchase"
+because the United States Government paid a good price for the Islands
+after having seized the territory.  The intentions of the Government
+were well known at the time.  Since her acquisition of those Islands,
+America has been doing her best to develop their resources
+and expand their trade.  Administrative and judicial reforms
+have been introduced, liberal education has been given to the natives,
+who are being trained for self-government.  It has been repeatedly
+and authoritatively declared by the United States that as soon as
+they are competent to govern themselves without danger of disturbances,
+and are able to establish a stable government, America will grant
+independence to those islands.  I believe that when the proper time comes
+she will fulfill her word, and thus set a noble example to the world.
+
+The British in Hongkong afford an illustration of a different order,
+proving the truth of my contention that, excepting as a sphere
+for the exercise of altruism, the acquisition of new territories
+is an illusive gain.  When Hongkong was ceded to Great Britain
+at the conclusion of a war in which China was defeated,
+it was a bare island containing only a few fishermen's huts.
+In order to make it a trading port and encourage people to live there,
+the British Government spent large sums of money year after year
+for its improvement and development, and through the wise administration
+of the local Government every facility was afforded for free trade.
+It is now a prosperous British colony with a population of nearly
+half a million.  But what have been the advantages to Great Britain?
+Financially she has been a great loser, for the Island which she received
+at the close of her war with China was for many years a great drain
+on her national treasury.  Now Hongkong is a self-supporting colony,
+but what benefits do the British enjoy there that do not belong
+to everyone else?  The colony is open to all foreigners, and every right
+which a British merchant has is equally shared with everyone else.
+According to the census of 1911, out of a population of 456,739
+only 12,075 were non-Chinese, of whom a small portion were British;
+the rest were Chinese.  Thus the prosperity of that colony
+depends upon the Chinese who, it is needless to say, are in possession
+of all the privileges that are enjoyed by British residents.
+It should be noticed that the number of foreign firms and stores
+(i.e., non-British) have been and are increasing, while big British hongs
+are less numerous than before.  Financially, the British people
+have certainly not been gainers by the acquisition of that colony.
+Of course I shall be told that it adds to the prestige of Great Britain,
+but this is an empty, bumptious boast dearly paid for
+by the British tax-payer.
+
+From an economic and moral point of view, however, I must admit
+that a great deal of good has been done by the British Government in Hongkong.
+It has provided the Chinese with an actual working model
+of a Western system of government which, notwithstanding many difficulties,
+has succeeded in transforming a barren island into a prosperous town,
+which is now the largest shipping port in China.  The impartial
+administration of law and the humane treatment of criminals
+cannot but excite admiration and gain the confidence of the natives.
+If the British Government, in acquiring the desert island, had for its purpose
+the instruction of the natives in a modern system of government,
+she is to be sincerely congratulated, but it is feared that her motives
+were less altruistic.
+
+These remarks apply equally, if not with greater force, to the other colonies
+or possessions in China under the control of European Powers,
+as well as to the other colonies of the British Empire, such as Australia,
+New Zealand, Canada, and others which are called "self-governing dominions".
+The Imperial Government feels very tender toward these colonists,
+and practically they are allowed to manage their affairs as they like.
+Since they are so generously treated and enjoy the protection
+of so great a power, there is no fear that these self-governing dominions
+will ever become independent of their mother country; but if they ever
+should do so, it is most improbable that she would declare war against them,
+as the British people have grown wiser since their experience with
+the American colonists.  British statesmen have been awakened to the necessity
+of winning the good-will of their colonists, and within recent years
+have adopted the policy of inviting the Colonial premiers to London
+to discuss questions affecting Imperial and Colonial interests.
+Imperial federation seems to be growing popular with the British
+and it is probable that in the future England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland
+will each have its own parliament, with an Imperial Parliament,
+sitting at Westminster, containing representatives from all parts
+of the British Empire, but America is the only nation
+which has added to her responsibilities with the avowed purpose
+of making semi-civilized tribes independent, self-governing colonies,
+and America is almost the only great power that has never occupied
+or held territory in China.
+
+Let me ask again what is the object of nations seeking new possessions?
+Is it for the purpose of trade?  If so, the object can be obtained
+without acquiring territory.  In these days of enlightenment
+anyone can go to any country and trade without restriction,
+and in the British colonies the alien is in the same position as the native.
+He is not hampered by "permits" or other "red-tape" methods.  Is it for
+the purpose of emigration?  In Europe, America and all the British colonies,
+so far as I know, white people, unless they are paupers or undesirables,
+can emigrate to any country and after a short period become naturalized.
+
+Some statesmen would say that it is necessary for a great power
+to have naval bases or coaling stations in several parts of the world.
+This presupposes preparations for war; but if international peace
+were maintained, such possessions would be useless and the money
+spent on them wasted.  In any case it is unproductive expenditure.
+It is the fashion for politicians (and I am sorry to find them supported
+by eminent statesmen) to preach the doctrine of armaments; they allege
+that in order to preserve peace it is necessary to be prepared for war,
+that a nation with a large army or navy commands respect,
+and that her word carries weight.  This argument cuts both ways,
+for a nation occupying such a commanding position may be unreasonable
+and a terror to weaker nations.  If this high-toned doctrine continues
+where will it end?  We shall soon see every nation arming to the teeth
+for the sake of her national honor and safety, and draining her treasury
+for the purpose of building dreadnaughts and providing armaments.
+When such a state of things exists can international peace be perpetuated?
+Will not occasion be found to test those war implements and to utilize
+the naval and military men?  When you purchase a knife don't you expect
+to use it?  Mr. Lloyd George, the English Chancellor of the Exchequer,
+in a speech in which he lamented the ever-increasing but unnecessary
+expenditure on armaments, said in Parliament:  "I feel confident
+that it will end in a great disaster -- I won't say to this country,
+though it is just possible that it may end in a disaster here."
+A man with a revolver sometimes invites attack, lest what was at first
+intended only for a defense should become a menace.
+
+When discussing the craze of the Western nations for adding to
+their territories I said that white people can emigrate to any foreign country
+that they please, but it is not so with the yellow race.  It has been
+asserted with authority that some countries are reserved exclusively
+for the white races, and with this object in view laws have been enacted
+prohibiting the natives of Asia from becoming naturalized citizens,
+besides imposing very strict and almost prohibitory regulations
+regarding their admission.  Those who support such a policy hold that they,
+the white people, are superior to the yellow people in intellect,
+in education, in taste, and in habits, and that the yellow people
+are unworthy to associate with them.  Yet in China we have manners,
+we have arts, we have morals, and we have managed a fairly large society
+for thousands of years without the bitter class hatreds, class divisions,
+and class struggles that have marred the fair progress of the West.
+We have not enslaved our lives to wealth.  We like luxury but we like
+other things better.  We love life more than chasing imitations of life.
+
+Our differences of color, like our differences of speech, are accidental,
+they are due to climatic and other influences.  We came originally
+from one stock.  We all started evenly, Heaven has no favorites.
+Man alone has made differences between man and man, and the yellow man
+is no whit inferior to the white people in intelligence.
+During the Russo-Japan War was it not the yellow race that displayed
+the superior intelligence?  I am sometimes almost tempted to say
+that Asia will have to civilize the West over again.
+I am not bitter or sarcastic, but I do contend that there are yet many things
+that the white races have to learn from their colored brethren.
+In India, in China, and in Japan there are institutions which have a stability
+unknown outside Asia.  Religion has apparently little influence
+on Western civilization; it is the corner-stone of society
+in all Asiatic civilizations.  The result is that the colored races
+place morality in the place assigned by their more practical white confreres
+to economic propositions.  We think, as we contemplate the West,
+that white people do not understand comfort because they have no leisure
+to enjoy contentment; THEY measure life by accumulation, WE by morality.
+Family ties are stronger with the so-called colored races
+than they are among the more irresponsible white races;
+consequently the social sense is keener among the former
+and much individual suffering is avoided.  We have our vices,
+but these are not peculiar to US; and, at least, we have the merit
+of being easily governed.  Wherever there are Chinese colonies
+the general verdict is:  "The Chinese make good citizens."
+
+This is what the late Sir Robert Hart, to whom China owes
+her Customs organization, said about us:
+
+"They (the Chinese) are well-behaved, law-abiding, intelligent,
+economical, and industrious; they can learn anything and do anything;
+they are punctiliously polite, they worship talent,
+and they believe in right so firmly that they scorn to think
+it requires to be supported or enforced by might; they delight in literature,
+and everywhere they have their literary clubs and coteries
+for learning and discussing each other's essays and verses;
+they possess and practise an admirable system of ethics,
+and they are generous, charitable, and fond of good work;
+they never forget a favor, they make rich return for any kindness,
+and though they know money will buy service, a man must be more than wealthy
+to win esteem and respect; they are practical, teachable,
+and wonderfully gifted with common sense; they are excellent artisans,
+reliable workmen, and of a good faith that everyone acknowledges and admires
+in their commercial dealings; in no country that is or was,
+has the commandment `Honor thy father and thy mother',
+been so religiously obeyed, or so fully and without exception given effect to,
+and it is in fact the keynote of their family, social,
+official and national life, and because it is so their days are long
+in the land God has given them."
+
+The cry of "America for the Americans" or "Australia for the Australians"
+is most illogical, for those people were not the original owners of the soil;
+with far greater reason we in the far East might shout,
+"China for the Chinese", "Japan for the Japanese".  I will quote
+Mr. T. S. Sutton, English Secretary of the Chinese-American League of Justice,
+on this point.  "The most asinine whine in the world," he says,
+"is that of `America for the Americans' or `China for the Chinese', etc.
+It is the hissing slogan of greed, fear, envy, selfishness,
+ignorance and prejudice.  No man, no human being who calls himself a man,
+no Christian, no sane or reasonable person, should or could ever be guilty
+of uttering that despicable wail.  God made the world for all men,
+and if God has any preference, if God is any respecter of persons,
+He must surely favor the Chinese, for He has made more of them
+than of any other people on the globe.  `America for the aboriginal Indians'
+was once the cry.  Then when the English came over it changed
+to `America for the English', later `America for the Puritans',
+and around New Orleans they cried `America for the French'.  In Pennsylvania
+the slogan was `America for the Dutch', etc., but the truth remains
+that God has set aside America as `the melting pot' of the world,
+the land to which all people may come, and from which there has arisen,
+and will continue to rise, a great mixed race, a cosmopolitan nation that may,
+if it is not misled by prejudice and ignorance, yet lead the world."
+Although Mr. Sutton's phraseology is somewhat strong,
+his arguments are sound and unanswerable.
+
+I now pass to some less controversial aspects of my theme,
+and note a praiseworthy custom that is practically unknown in the Far East.
+I refer to the habit of international marriages which are not only common
+in cosmopolitan America but are of daily occurrence in Europe also,
+among ordinary people as well as the royal families of Europe,
+so that nearly all the European courts are related one to the other.
+This is a good omen for a permanent world-peace.  There have been
+some marriages of Asiatics with Europeans and Americans,
+and they should be encouraged.  Everything that brings
+the East and West together and helps each to understand the other better,
+is good.  The offspring from such mixed unions inherit the good points
+of both sides.  The head master of the Queen's College in Hongkong,
+where there are hundreds of boys of different nationalities studying together,
+once told me that formerly at the yearly examination
+the prizes were nearly all won by the Chinese students,
+but that in later years when Eurasian boys were admitted,
+they beat the Chinese and all the others, and generally came out the best.
+Not only in school but in business also they have turned out well.
+It is well known that the richest man in Hongkong is a Eurasian.
+It is said that the father of Aguinaldo, the well-known Philippine leader,
+was a Chinese.  There is no doubt that mixed marriages of the white
+with the yellow races will be productive of good to both sides.
+But do Chinese really make good husbands? my lady friends ask.
+I will cite the case of an American lady.  Some years ago
+a Chinese called on me at my Legation in Washington accompanied by
+an American lady and a girl.  The lady was introduced to me as his wife
+and the girl as his daughter; I naturally supposed that the lady
+was the girl's mother, but she told me that the girl was the daughter
+of her late intimate friend, and that after her death, knowing that
+the child's father had been a good and affectionate husband to her friend,
+she had gladly become his second wife, and adopted his daughter.
+
+Those who believe in reincarnation (and I hope most of my readers do,
+as it is a clue to many mysteries) understand that when people
+are reincarnated they are not always born in the same country or continent
+as that in which they lived in their previous life.  I have an impression
+that in one of my former existences I was born and brought up
+in the United States.  In saying this I do not express the slightest regrets
+at having now been born in Asia.  I only wish to give a hint
+to those white people who advocate an exclusive policy
+that in their next life they may be born in Asia or Africa,
+and that the injury they are now inflicting on the yellow people
+they may themselves have to suffer in another life.
+
+While admitting that we Chinese have our faults and that in some matters
+we have much to learn, especially from the Americans, we at least possess
+one moral quality, magnanimity, while the primal virtues of industry, economy,
+obedience, and love of peace, combined with a "moderation in all things",
+are also common among us.  Our people have frequently
+been slighted or ill-treated but we entertain no revengeful spirit,
+and are willing to forget.  We believe that in the end
+right will conquer might.  Innumerable as have been the disputes
+between Chinese and foreigners it can at least be said,
+without going into details, that we have not, in the first instance,
+been the aggressors.  Let me supply a local illustration showing how
+our faults are always exaggerated.  Western people are fond of horse-racing.
+In Shanghai they have secured from the Chinese a large piece of ground
+where they hold race meetings twice a year, but no Chinese are allowed
+on the grand-stand during the race days.  They are provided with
+a separate entrance, and a separate enclosure, as though they were
+the victims of some infectious disease.  I have been told that a few years ago
+a Chinese gentleman took some Chinese ladies into the grand-stand
+and that they misbehaved; hence this discriminatory treatment of Chinese.
+It is proper that steps should be taken to preserve order and decency
+in public places, but is it fair to interdict the people of a nation
+on account of the misconduct of two or three?  Suppose it had been Germans
+who had misbehaved themselves (which is not likely), would the race club
+have dared to exclude Germans from sharing with other nations
+the pleasures of the races?
+
+In contrast with this, let us see what the Chinese have done.
+Having learned the game of horse-racing from the foreigners in China,
+and not being allowed to participate, they have formed their own race club,
+and, with intention, have called it the "International Recreation Club".
+This Club has purchased a large tract of land at Kiangwan,
+about five miles from Shanghai, and has turned it into a race-course,
+considerably larger than that in Shanghai.  When a race meeting is held there,
+IT IS OPEN TO FOREIGNERS AS WELL AS CHINESE, in fact complimentary tickets
+have even been sent to the members of the foreign race club inviting
+their attendance.  Half of the members of the race committee are foreigners;
+while foreigners and Chinese act jointly as stewards and judges;
+the ponies that run are owned by foreigners as well as by Chinese,
+and Chinese jockeys compete with foreign jockeys in all the events.
+A most pleasing feature of these races is the very manifest
+cordial good feeling which prevails throughout the races there.
+The Chinese have been dubbed "semi-civilized and heathenish",
+but the "International Recreation Club" and the Kiangwan race-course
+display an absence of any desire to retaliate and sentiments of
+international friendship such as it would, perhaps, be difficult to parallel.
+Should such people be denied admission into Australia, Canada,
+or the United States?  Would not the exclusionists in those countries
+profit by association with them?
+
+The immigration laws in force in Australia are, I am informed,
+even more strict and more severe than those in the United States.
+They amount to almost total prohibition; for they are directed
+not only against Chinese laborers but are so operated
+that the Chinese merchant and student are also practically refused admission.
+In the course of a lecture delivered in England by Mrs. Annie Besant in 1912
+on "The citizenship of colored races in the British Empire",
+while condemning the race prejudices of her own people, she brought out a fact
+which will be interesting to my readers, especially to the Australians.
+She says, "In Australia a very curious change is taking place.
+Color has very much deepened in that clime, and the Australian has become
+very yellow; so that it becomes a problem whether, after a time,
+the people would be allowed to live in their own country.
+The white people are far more colored than are some Indians."
+In the face of this plain fact is it not time, for their own sake,
+that the Australians should drop their cry against yellow people
+and induce their Parliament to abolish, or at least to modify,
+their immigration laws with regard to the yellow race?
+Australians are anxious to extend their trade, and they have sent
+commercial commissioners to Japan and other Eastern countries
+with the view to developing and expanding commerce.  Mr. J. B. Suttor,
+Special Commissioner of New South Wales, has published
+the following advertisement:
+
+"NEW SOUTH WALES.  The Land of Reward for Capital Commerce and Industry.
+Specially subsidized steamers now giving direct service between Sydney,
+THE PREMIER COMMERCIAL CENTER OF AUSTRALIA, AND SHANGHAI.
+Thus offering special facilities for Commerce and Tourists.
+NEW SOUTH WALES PRODUCTS ARE STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE."
+
+Commerce and friendship go together, but how Australians
+can expect to develop trade in a country whose people are not allowed
+to come to visit her shores even for the purposes of trade,
+passes my comprehension.  Perhaps, having heard so much
+of the forgiving and magnanimous spirit of the Chinese,
+Australians expect the Chinese to greet them with smiles
+and to trade with them, while being kicked in return.
+
+I believe in the doctrine of the universal brotherhood of men.
+It is contrary to the law (God) of creation that some people
+should shut out other people from portions of the earth solely from motives
+of selfishness and jealousy; the injury caused by such selfish acts
+will sooner or later react on the doers.  "Every man is his own ancestor.
+We are preparing for the days that come, and we are what we are to-day
+on account of what has gone before."  The dog-in-the-manger policy
+develops doggish instincts in those who practise it; and, after all,
+civilization without kindness and justice is not worth having.
+In conclusion, I will let the English poet, William Wordsworth,
+state "Nature's case".
+
+Listen to these noble lines from the ninth canto of his "Excursion".
+
+  "Alas! what differs more than man from man,
+  And whence that difference?  Whence but from himself?
+  For see the universal Race endowed
+  With the same upright form.  The sun is fixed
+  And the infinite magnificence of heaven
+  Fixed, within reach of every human eye;
+  The sleepless ocean murmurs for all years;
+  The vernal field infuses fresh delight
+  Into all hearts.  Throughout the world of sense,
+  Even as an object is sublime or fair,
+  That object is laid open to the view
+  Without reserve or veil; and as a power
+  Is salutary, or an influence sweet,
+  Are each and all enabled to perceive
+  That power, that influence, by impartial law,
+  Gifts nobler are vouchsafed alike to all;
+  Reason, and, with that reason, smiles and tears;
+  Imagination, freedom in the will;
+  Conscience to guide and check; and death to be
+  Foretasted, immortality conceived
+  By all -- a blissful immortality,
+  To them whose holiness on earth shall make
+  The Spirit capable of heaven, assured.
+
+  ..............................The smoke ascends
+  To Heaven as lightly from the cottage hearth
+  As from the haughtiest palace.  He whose soul
+  Ponders this true equality, may walk
+  The fields of earth with gratitude and hope;
+  Yet, in that meditation, will he find
+  Motive to sadder grief, as we have found;
+  Lamenting ancient virtues overthrown,
+  And for the injustice grieving, that hath made
+  So wide a difference between man and man."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 13.  Dinners, Banquets, Etc.
+
+
+
+Dinner, as we all know, indicates a certain hour and a certain habit
+whose aim is the nourishment of the body, and a deliverance from hunger;
+but in our modern civilized life it possesses other purposes also.
+Man is a gregarious animal, and when he takes his food he likes company;
+from this peculiarity there has sprung up the custom of dinner parties.
+In attending dinner parties, however, the guests as a rule do not
+seek sustenance, they only go to them when they have nothing else to do,
+and many scarcely touch the food that is laid before them.
+Their object is to do honor to the host and hostess, not to eat,
+but to be entertained by pleasant and congenial conversation.
+Nevertheless, the host, at whose invitation the company has assembled,
+is expected to provide a great abundance and a large variety of savory dishes,
+as well as a good supply of choice wines.  Flesh and wine are indispensable,
+even though the entertainers eschew both in their private life,
+and most of the guests daily consume too much of each.
+Few have the courage to part with conventional practices
+when arranging a social function.
+
+American chefs are excellent caterers, and well know how to please
+the tastes of the American people.  They concentrate on the art
+of providing dainty dishes, and human ingenuity is heavily taxed by them
+in their efforts to invent new gustatory delicacies.
+The dishes which they place before each guest are so numerous that even
+a gourmand must leave some untouched.  At a fashionable dinner no one
+can possibly taste, much less eat, everything that is placed before him,
+yet the food is all so nicely cooked and served in so appetizing a manner,
+that it is difficult to resist the temptation at least to sample it;
+when you have done this, however, you will continue eating
+until all has been finished, but your stomach will probably be a sad sufferer,
+groaning grievously on the following day on account of the frolic
+of your palate.  This ill-mated pair, although both are chiefly interested
+in food, seldom seem to agree.  I must not omit to mention however
+that the number of courses served at an American millionaire's dinner
+is after all less numerous than those furnished at a Chinese feast.
+When a Chinese gentleman asks his friends to dine with him
+the menu may include anywhere from thirty to fifty or a hundred courses;
+but many of the dishes are only intended for show.  The guests are
+not expected to eat everything on the table, or even to taste every delicacy,
+unless, indeed, they specially desire to do so.  Again,
+we don't eat so heartily as do the Americans, but content ourselves
+with one or two mouthfuls from each set of dishes,
+and allow appreciable intervals to elapse between courses,
+during which we make merry, smoke, and otherwise enjoy the company.
+This is a distinct advantage in favor of China.
+
+In Europe and America, dessert forms the last course at dinner;
+in China this is served first.  I do not know which is the better way.
+Chinese are ever ready to accept the best from every quarter,
+and so many of us have recently adopted the Western practice
+regarding dessert, while still retaining the ancient Chinese custom,
+so that now we eat sweetmeats and fruit at the beginning, during dinner,
+and at the end.  This happy combination of Eastern and Western practices is,
+I submit, worthy of expansion and extension.  If it were to become universal
+it would help to discourage the present unwholesome habit,
+for it is nothing more than a habit, of devouring flesh.
+
+One of the dishes indispensable at a fashionable American dinner
+is the terrapin.  Those who eat these things say that their flesh
+has a most agreeable and delicate flavor, and that their gelatinous
+skinny necks and fins are delicious, but apparently the most palatable tidbits
+pall the taste in time, for it is said that about forty years ago
+terrapins were so abundant and cheap that workmen in their agreement
+with their employers stipulated that terrapin should not be supplied
+at their dinner table more than three times a week.  Since then terrapins
+have become so rare that no stylish dinner ever takes place without this dish.
+Oysters are another Western sine qua non, and are always served raw.
+I wonder how many ladies and gentlemen who swallow these mollusca
+with such evident relish know that they are veritable scavengers,
+which pick up and swallow every dirty thing in the water.
+A friend of mine after taking a few of them on one occasion,
+had to leave the table and go home; he was ill afterward for several days.
+One cannot be too careful as to what one eats.  The United States
+has a Pure Food Department, but I think it might learn a great deal
+that it does not know if it were to send a commission to China
+to study life in the Buddhist monasteries, where only sanitary, healthful food
+is consumed.  It is always a surprise to me that people are so indifferent
+to the kind of food they take.  Public health officers are useful officials,
+but when we have become more civilized each individual
+will be his own health officer.
+
+Some of the well-known Chinese dishes are very relishable
+and should not be overlooked by chefs and dinner hostesses.
+I refer to the sharks' fins, and birds' nest -- the Eastern counterpart
+of the Western piece de resistance -- the terrapin.
+From a hygienic point of view sharks' fins may not be considered
+as very desirable, seeing they are part of the shark,
+but they are certainly not worse, and are perhaps better,
+than what is called the "high and tender" pheasant,
+and other flesh foods which are constantly found on Western dining tables,
+and which are so readily eaten by connoisseurs.  Birds' nest soup
+is far superior to turtle soup, and I have the opinion
+of an American chemist who analyzed it, that it is innocuous
+and minus the injurious uric acid generated by animal flesh,
+the cause of rheumatic and similar painful complaints.
+
+The "chop suey" supplied in the Chinese restaurants in New York, Chicago,
+and other places, seems to be a favorite dish with the American public.
+It shows the similarity of our tastes, and encourages me to expect
+that some of my recommendations will be accepted.
+
+Will some one inform me why so many varieties of wines are always served
+on American tables, and why the sparkling champagne is never avoidable?
+Wealthy families will spare neither pains nor expense
+to spread most sumptuous dinners, and it has been reported
+that the cost of an entertainment given by one rich lady
+amounted to twenty thousand pounds sterling, although, as I have said,
+eating is the last thing for which the guests assemble.
+
+I do not suppose that many will agree with me, but in my opinion
+it would be much more agreeable, and improve the general conversation,
+if all drinks of an intoxicating nature were abolished from the dining table.
+It is gratifying to know that there are some families (may the number increase
+every day!) where intoxicating liquors are never seen on their tables.
+The first instance of this sort that came under my notice was in the home
+of that excellent woman, Mrs. M. F. Henderson, who is an ardent advocate
+of diet reform and teetotalism.  Mr. William Jennings Bryan,
+the Secretary of State, has set a noble example, as from newspaper reports
+it appears that he gave a farewell dinner to Ambassador Bryce,
+without champagne or other alcoholic drinks.  He has a loyal supporter
+in Shanghai, in the person of the American Consul-General, Dr. A. P. Wilder,
+who, to the great regret of everybody who knows him in this port,
+is retiring from the service on account of ill-health.  Dr. Wilder
+is very popular and figures largely in the social life of the community,
+but Dr. Wilder is a staunch opponent of alcohol, and through his influence
+wines at public dinners are always treated as extras.
+So long as the liquor traffic is so extensively and profitably carried on in
+Europe and America, and so long as the consumption of alcohol is so enormous,
+so long will there be a difference of opinion as to its ill effects,
+but in this matter, by means of its State Prohibition Laws,
+America is setting an example to the world.  In no other country are there
+such extensive tracts without alcohol as the "Dry States" of America.
+China, who is waging war on opium, recognizes in this fact
+a kindred, active moral force which is absent elsewhere,
+and, shaking hands with her sister republic across the seas,
+hopes that she will some day be as free of alcoholic poisons
+as China herself hopes to be of opium.  Every vice, however, has its defense.
+Some years ago I met a famous Dutch artist in Peking, who,
+though still in the prime of life, was obliged to lay aside his work
+for a few days each month, due to an occasional attack of rheumatism.
+I found he was fond of his cup, though I did not understand
+that he was an immoderate drinker.  I discoursed to him somewhat lengthily
+about the evil effects of drink, and showed him that unless he was willing
+to give up all intoxicating liquor, his rheumatism would never give him up.
+He listened attentively, pondered for a few minutes, and then gave
+this characteristic answer:  "I admit the soundness of your argument
+but I enjoy my glass exceedingly; if I were to follow your advice
+I should be deprived of a lot of pleasure.  Indeed, I would rather have
+the rheumatic pains, which disappear after two or three days,
+and continue to enjoy my alcoholic drinks, than endure the misery
+of doing without them."  I warned him that in course of time
+his rheumatism would be longer in duration and attack him more frequently,
+if he continued to ignore its warnings and to play with what, for him,
+was certainly poison.  When anyone has a habit, be it injurious or otherwise,
+it is not easy to persuade him to abandon it.
+
+"The Aristocracy of Health" written by the talented Mrs. Henderson
+is an admirable work.  I owe much to it.  The facts and arguments
+adduced against tobacco smoking, strong drink and poisonous foods,
+are set forth in such a clear and convincing manner,
+that soon after reading it I became a teetotaler and "sanitarian"*
+and began at once to reap the benefits.  I felt that I ought not to keep
+such a good thing to myself, but that I should preach the doctrine
+far and wide.  I soon found, however, that it was an impossible task
+to try to save men from themselves, and I acquired the unenviable sobriquet
+of "crank"; but I was not dismayed.  From my native friends
+I turned to the foreign community in Peking, thinking that the latter
+would possess better judgment, appreciate and be converted
+to the sanitarian doctrine.  Among the foreigners I appealed to,
+one was a distinguished diplomat, and the other a gentleman
+in the Chinese service, with a world-wide reputation.
+Both were elderly and in delicate health, and it was my earnest hope
+that by reading Mrs. Henderson's book, which was sent to them,
+they would be convinced of their errors and turn over a new leaf --
+I was disappointed.  Both, in returning the book, made substantially
+the same answer.  "Mrs. Henderson's work is very interesting,
+but at my time of life it is not advisable to change life-long habits.
+I eat flesh moderately, and never drink much wine."  They both seemed
+to overlook the crucial problem as to whether or not animal food
+contains hurtful poison.  If it does, it should not be eaten at all.
+We never hear of sensible people taking arsenic, strychnine,
+or other poisons, in moderation, but many foolish women, I believe,
+take arsenic to pale their complexions, while others, both men and women,
+take strychnine in combination with other drugs, as a tonic,
+but will anyone argue that these substances are foods?
+The rule of moderation is applicable to things which are nutritious,
+or at least harmless, but not to noxious foods, however small
+the quantity of poison they may contain.
+
+--
+* I have never been a smoker and have always eschewed tobacco,
+  cigarettes, etc.; though for a short while to oblige friends
+  I occasionally accepted a cigarette, now I firmly refuse
+  everything of the sort.
+--
+
+Pleasant conversation at the dinner table is always enjoyable,
+and a good talker is always welcome, but I often wonder why Americans,
+who generally are so quick to improve opportunity,
+and are noted for their freedom from traditional conventionalisms,
+do not make a more systematic use of the general love of good conversation.
+Anyone who is a witty conversationalist, with a large fund of anecdote,
+is sure to be asked by every dinner host to help to entertain the guests,
+but if the company be large the favorite can be enjoyed by only a few,
+and those who are too far away to hear, or who are just near enough
+to hear a part but not all, are likely to feel aggrieved.
+They cannot hear what is amusing the rest, while the talk elsewhere
+prevents their talking as they would if there were no interruptions.
+A raconteur generally monopolizes half the company,
+and leaves the other half out in the cold.  This might be avoided
+if talkers were engaged to entertain the whole company during dinner,
+as pianists are now sometimes engaged to play to them after dinner.
+Or, the entertainment might be varied by engaging a good professional reciter
+to reproduce literary gems, comic or otherwise.  I am sure the result
+would bring more general satisfaction to the guests
+than the present method of leaving them to entertain themselves.
+Chinese employ singing girls; Japanese, geishas to talk, sing or dance.
+The ideal would here again seem to be an amalgamation of East and West.
+
+It is difficult for a mixed crowd to be always agreeable,
+even in the congenial atmosphere of a good feast, unless the guests
+have been selected with a view to their opinions rather than
+to their social standing.  Place a number of people whose ideas are common,
+with a difference, around a well-spread table and there will be no lack
+of good, earnest, instructive conversation.  Most men and women
+can talk well if they have the right sort of listeners.
+If the hearer is unsympathetic the best talker becomes dumb.
+Hosts who remember this will always be appreciated.
+
+As a rule, a dinner conversation is seldom worth remembering,
+which is a pity.  Man, the most sensible of all animals, can talk nonsense
+better than all the rest of his tribe.  Perhaps the flow of words
+may be as steady as the eastward flow of the Yang-tse-Kiang in my own country,
+but the memory only retains a recollection of a vague, undefined -- what?
+The conversation like the flavors provided by the cooks has been evanescent.
+Why should not hostesses make as much effort to stimulate
+the minds of their guests as they do to gratify their palates?
+What a boon it would be to many a bashful man, sitting next to a lady
+with whom he has nothing in common, if some public entertainer
+during the dinner relieved him from the necessity of always thinking
+of what he should say next?  How much more he could enjoy
+the tasty dishes his hostess had provided; and as for the lady --
+what a number of suppressed yawns she might have avoided.
+To take great pains and spend large sums to provide nice food
+for people who cannot enjoy it because they have to talk to one another,
+seems a pity.  Let one man talk to the rest and leave them leisure to eat,
+is my suggestion.
+
+The opportunities afforded at the dining table may be turned
+to many useful purposes.  Of course not all are ill-paired,
+and many young men and ladies meet, sit side by side, engage in a friendly,
+pleasant conversation, renew their acquaintance at other times,
+and finally merge their separate paths in the highway of marriage.
+Perhaps China might borrow a leaf from this custom and substitute
+dinner parties for go-betweens.  The dinner-party method, however,
+has its dangers as well as its advantages -- it depends on the point of view.
+Personal peculiarities and defects, if any, can be easily detected
+by the way in which the conversation is carried on, and the manner in which
+the food is handled.  It has sometimes happened that the affianced
+have cancelled their engagement after a dinner party.  On the other hand,
+matters of great import can often be arranged at the dinner table better
+than anywhere else.  Commercial transactions involving millions of dollars
+have frequently been settled while the parties were sipping champagne;
+even international problems, ending in elaborate negotiations and treaties,
+have been first discussed with the afterdinner cigar.
+The atmosphere of good friendship and equality, engendered by
+a well-furnished room, good cheer, pleasant company, and a genial hostess,
+disarms prejudice, removes barriers, melts reserve, and disposes one to see
+that there is another side to every question.
+
+In China when people have quarreled their friends generally
+invite them to dinner, where the matters in dispute are amicably arranged.
+These are called "peace dinners".  I would recommend that
+a similar expedient should be adopted in America; many a knotty point
+could be disposed of by a friendly discussion at the dinner table.
+If international disputes were always arranged in this way
+the representatives of nations having complaints against each other
+might more often than now discover unexpected ways of adjusting
+their differences.  Why should such matters invariably be remanded
+to formal conferences and set speeches?  The preliminaries, at least,
+would probably be better arranged at dinner parties and social functions.
+Eating has always been associated with friendship.  "To eat salt" with an Arab
+forms a most binding contract.  Even "the serpent" in the book of Genesis
+commenced his acquaintance with Eve by suggesting a meal.
+
+It almost seems as if there were certain unwritten laws in American society,
+assigning certain functions to certain days in the week.
+I do not believe Americans are superstitious, but I found that Thursday
+was greatly in favor.  I remember on one occasion that Mrs. Grant,
+widow of the late President, sent an invitation to my wife and myself
+to dine at her house some Thursday evening; this was three weeks in advance,
+and we readily accepted her invitation.  After our acceptance,
+about a dozen invitations came for that same Thursday, all of which we had,
+of course, to decline.  Curiously enough we received no invitations
+for any other day during that week, and just before that eventful Thursday
+we received a letter from Mrs. Grant cancelling the invitation on account of
+the death of one of her relations, so that we had to dine at home after all.
+Now we Chinese make no such distinctions between days.
+Every day of the week is equally good; in order however to avoid clashing
+with other peoples' engagements, we generally fix Fridays
+for our receptions or dinners, but there is not among the Chinese
+an entertainment season as there is in Washington, and other great cities,
+when everybody in good society is busy attending or giving
+"At Homes", tea parties or dinners.  I frequently attended
+"At Homes" or tea parties in half-a-dozen places or more in one afternoon,
+but no one can dine during the same evening in more than one place.
+In this respect America might learn a lesson from China.  We can accept
+half-a-dozen invitations to dinner for one evening; all we have to do
+is to go to each place in turn, partake of one or two dishes,
+excuse ourselves to the host and then go somewhere else.
+By this means we avoid the seeming rudeness of a declination,
+and escape the ill feelings which are frequently created in the West
+by invitations being refused.  The Chinese method makes possible
+the cultivation of democratic friendships without violating
+aristocratic instincts, and for candidates at election times
+it would prove an agreeable method by which to make new friends.
+We are less rigid than Americans about dropping in and taking
+a mouthful or two at dinner, even without a special invitation.*
+
+--
+* Since writing the above, I have heard from an American lady
+  that "progressive dinners" have recently been introduced
+  by the idle and rich set of young people in New York.
+  The modus operandi is that several dinners will, by arrangement,
+  be given on a certain day, and the guests will go to each house alternately,
+  eating one or two dishes only and remaining at the last house for fruit.
+  I can hardly believe this, but my friend assures me it is a fact.
+  It seems that eating is turned into play, and to appreciate the fun,
+  I would like to be one of the actors.
+--
+
+Washington officials and diplomats usually give large entertainments.
+The arranging of the seats at the dinner table is a delicate matter,
+as the rule of precedence has to be observed, and inattention to the rule,
+by placing a wrong seat for a gentleman or lady who is entitled
+to a higher place, may be considered as a slight.  It is at
+such functions as these that the professional story-teller,
+the good reciter, the clever reader, the perfect entertainer
+would make the natural selfish reserve of mankind less apparent.
+
+Fashionable people, who entertain a good deal, are, I understand,
+often puzzled to know how to provide novelties.  In addition to
+the suggestions I have made, may I be pardoned another?
+There are many good cooks in the U.S.A.  Why not commission these
+to sometimes prepare a recherche Chinese dinner, with the food served
+in bowls instead of plates, and with chop-sticks ("nimble lads" we call them)
+for show, but forks and spoons for use.  I see no reason why Chinese meals
+should not become fashionable in America, as Western preparations
+are frequently favored by the Elite in China.  One marked difference
+between the two styles is the manner in which the Chinese purveyor
+throws his most delicate flavors into strong relief by prefacing it
+with a diet which is insipid, harsh or pungent.  Contrasts add zest
+to everything human, be it dining, working, playing, or wooing.
+
+This suggests an occasional, toothsome vegetarian repast
+as a set-off to the same round of fish, flesh, fowl and wine fumes.
+No people in the world can prepare such delicious vegetarian banquets
+as a Chinese culinary artist.
+
+A banquet is a more formal affair than the dinner parties
+I have been discussing.  It is generally gotten up to celebrate
+some special event, such as the conclusion of some important business,
+or the birthday of some national hero like Washington, Lincoln, or Grant;
+or the Chambers of Commerce and Associations of different trades
+in the important cities of America will hold their annual meetings
+to hear a report and discuss the businesses transacted during the year,
+winding up by holding a large banquet.
+
+The food supplied on these occasions is by no means superior
+to that given at private dinners, yet everybody is glad to be invited.
+It is the inevitable rule that speeches follow the eating, and people attend,
+not for the sake of the food, but for the privilege of hearing others talk.
+Indeed, except for the opportunity of talking, or hearing others talk,
+people would probably prefer a quiet meal at home.
+Speakers with a reputation, orators, statesmen, or foreign diplomats
+are frequently invited, and sometimes eminent men from other countries
+are the guests of honor.  These functions occur every year,
+and the Foreign Ministers with whose countries the Associations
+have commercial relations are generally present.
+
+The topics discussed are nearly always the same, and it is not easy
+to speak at one of these gatherings without going over the same ground
+as that covered on previous occasions.  I remember that a colleague of mine
+who was a clever diplomat, and for whom I had great respect,
+once when asked to make an after-dinner speech, reluctantly rose and,
+as far as I can remember, spoke to the following effect:
+"Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I thank your Association for inviting me
+to this splendid banquet, but as I had the honor of speaking at your banquet
+last year I have nothing more to add, and I refer you to that speech;"
+he then sat down.  The novelty of his remarks, of course, won him applause,
+but I should like to know what the company really thought of him.
+For my part, I praised his wisdom, for he diplomatically rebuked
+all whose only interest is that which has its birth with the day
+and disappears with the night.
+
+Banquets and dinners in America, as in China, are, however,
+often far removed from frivolities.  Statesmen sometimes
+select these opportunities for a pronouncement of their policy,
+even the President of the nation may occasionally think it advisable
+to do this.  Speeches delivered on such occasions are generally reported
+in all the newspapers, and, of course, discussed by all sorts of people,
+the wise and the otherwise, so that the speaker has to be
+very careful as to what he says.  Our President confines himself
+to the more formal procedure of issuing an official mandate, the same in kind,
+though differing in expression, as an American President's Inaugural Address,
+or one of his Messages to Congress.
+
+Commercial men do not understand and are impatient with the restrictions
+which hedge round a Foreign Minister, and in their anxiety to get speakers
+they will look anywhere.  On one occasion I received an invitation
+to go to Canada to attend a banquet at a Commercial Club
+in one of the principal Canadian cities.  It would have given me
+great pleasure to be able to comply with this request,
+as I had not then visited that country, but, contrary to inclination,
+I had to decline.  I was accredited as Minister to Washington,
+and did not feel at liberty to visit another country
+without the special permission of my Home Government.
+
+Public speaking, like any other art, has to be cultivated.
+However scholarly a man may be, and however clever he may be
+in private conversation, when called upon to speak in public
+he may sometimes make a very poor impression.  I have known
+highly placed foreign officials, with deserved reputations
+for wisdom and ability, who were shockingly poor speakers at banquets.
+They would hesitate and almost stammer, and would prove quite incapable
+of expressing their thoughts in any sensible or intelligent manner.
+In this respect, personal observations have convinced me that Americans,
+as a rule, are better speakers than. . . .  (I will not mention
+the nationality in my mind, it might give offense.)  An American,
+who, without previous notice, is called upon to speak,
+generally acquits himself creditably.  He is nearly always witty,
+appreciative, and frank.  This is due, I believe, to the thorough-going nature
+of his education:  he is taught to be self-confident, to believe in
+his own ability to create, to express his opinions without fear.
+A diffident and retiring man, whose chief characteristic is extreme modesty,
+is not likely to be a good speaker; but Americans are free from this weakness.
+Far be it from me to suggest that there are no good speakers
+in other countries.  America can by no means claim a monopoly of orators;
+there are many elsewhere whose sage sayings and forcible logic
+are appreciated by all who hear or read them; but, on the whole,
+Americans excel others in the readiness of their wit,
+and their power to make a good extempore speech on any subject,
+without opportunity for preparation.
+
+Neither is the fair sex in America behind the men in this matter.
+I have heard some most excellent speeches by women, speeches which
+would do credit to an orator; but they labor under a disadvantage.
+The female voice is soft and low, it is not easily heard in a large room,
+and consequently the audience sometimes does not appreciate lady speakers
+to the extent that they deserve.  However, I know a lady who possesses
+a powerful, masculine voice, and who is a very popular speaker,
+but she is an exception.  Anyhow I believe the worst speaker,
+male or female, could improve by practising private declamation,
+and awakening to the importance of articulation, modulation, and -- the pause.
+
+Another class of social functions are "At Homes", tea parties, and receptions.
+The number of guests invited to these is almost unlimited,
+it may be one or two dozen, or one or two dozen hundreds.
+The purpose of these is usually to meet some distinguished stranger,
+some guest in the house, or the newly married daughter of the hostess.
+It is impossible for the host or hostess to remember all those who attend,
+or even all who have been invited to attend; generally visitors
+leave their cards, although many do not even observe this rule,
+but walk right in as if they owned the house.  When a newcomer is introduced
+his name is scarcely audible, and before the hostess,
+or the distinguished guest, has exchanged more than one or two words with him,
+another stranger comes along, so that it is quite excusable
+if the next time the hosts meet these people they do not recognize them.
+In China a new fashion is now in vogue; new acquaintances exchange cards.
+If this custom should be adopted in America there would be less complaints
+about new friends receiving the cold shoulder from those who they thought
+should have known them.
+
+In large receptions, such as those mentioned above, however spacious
+the reception hall, in a great many instances there is not even standing room
+for all who attend.  It requires but little imagination to understand
+the condition of the atmosphere when there is no proper ventilation.
+Now, what always astonished me was, that although the parlor might be crowded
+with ladies and gentlemen, all the windows were, as a rule, kept closed,
+with the result that the place was full of vitiated air.
+Frequently after a short time I have had to slip away
+when I would willingly have remained longer to enjoy the charming company.
+If I had done so, however, I should have taken into my lungs
+a large amount of the obnoxious atmosphere exhaled from
+hundreds of other persons in the room, to the injury of my health,
+and no one can give his fellows his best unless his health is hearty.
+No wonder we often hear of a host or hostess being unwell
+after a big function.  Their feelings on the morning after
+are often the reverse of "good-will to men", and the cause
+is not a lowered moral heartiness but a weakened physical body
+through breathing too much air exhaled from other people's lungs.
+When man understands, he will make "good health" a religious duty.
+
+In connection with this I quote Dr. J. H. Kellogg,
+the eminent physician and Superintendent of the Battle Creek Sanitarium.
+In his book, "The Living Temple"*, the doctor speaks as follows
+on the importance of breathing pure air:  "The purpose of breathing
+is to obtain from the air a supply of oxygen, which the blood takes up
+and carries to the tissues.  Oxygen is one of the most essential
+of all the materials required for the support of life. . . .
+The amount of oxygen necessarily required for this purpose
+is about one and one-fourth cubic inches for each breath. . . .
+In place of the one and one-fourth cubic inches of oxygen
+taken into the blood, a cubic inch of carbonic acid gas is given off,
+and along with it are thrown off various other still more poisonous substances
+which find a natural exit through the lungs.  The amount of these
+combined poisons thrown off with a single breath is sufficient to contaminate,
+and render unfit to breathe, three cubic feet, or three-fourths of a barrel,
+of air.  Counting an average of twenty breaths a minute
+for children and adults, the amount of air contaminated per minute would be
+three times twenty or sixty cubic feet, or one cubic foot a second. . . .
+Every one should become intelligent in relation to the matter of ventilation,
+and should appreciate its importance.  Vast and irreparable injury
+frequently results from the confinement of several scores
+or hundreds of people in a schoolroom, church, or lecture room,
+without adequate means of removing the impurities thrown off
+from their lungs and bodies.  The same air being breathed over and over
+becomes densely charged with poisons, which render the blood impure,
+lessen the bodily resistance, and induce susceptibility to taking cold,
+and to infection with the germs of pneumonia, consumption,
+and other infectious diseases, which are always present
+in a very crowded audience room.  Suppose, for example,
+a thousand persons are seated in a room forty feet in width,
+sixty in length, and fifteen in height:  how long a time would elapse
+before the air of such a room would become unfit for further respiration?
+Remembering that each person spoils one foot of air every second,
+it is clear that one thousand cubic feet of air will be contaminated for
+every second that the room is occupied.  To ascertain the number of seconds
+which would elapse before the entire air contained in the room
+will be contaminated, so that it is unfit for further breathing,
+we have only to divide the cubic contents of the room by one thousand.
+Multiplying, we have 60*40*15 equals 36,000, the number of cubic feet.
+This, divided by one thousand, gives thirty-six as the number of seconds.
+Thus it appears that with closed doors and windows,
+breath poisoning of the audience would begin at the end of thirty-six seconds,
+or less than one minute.  The condition of the air in such a room
+at the end of an hour cannot be adequately pictured in words,
+and yet hundreds of audiences are daily subjected to just
+such inhumane treatment through ignorance."
+
+--
+* "The Living Temple", by J. H. Kellogg, pp. 282 et al.
+  Published by Good Health Publishing Co., Battle Creek, Mich., U.S.A.
+--
+
+The above remarks apply not only to churches, lecture rooms, and other
+public places, but also with equal force to offices and family houses.
+I should like to know how many persons pay even a little attention
+to this important subject of pure air breathing?  You go to an office,
+whether large or small, and you find all the windows closed,
+although there are half-a-dozen or more persons working in the room.
+No wonder that managers, clerks, and other office workers often break down
+and require a holiday to recuperate their impaired health at the seaside,
+or elsewhere.
+
+When you call at a private residence you will find the same thing,
+all the windows closed.  It is true that there are not so many persons
+in the room as in an office, but if your sense of smell is keen
+you will notice that the air has close, stuffy exhalations,
+which surely cannot be sanitary.  If you venture to suggest
+that one of the windows be opened the lady of the house
+will at once tell you that you will be in a draught and catch cold.
+
+It is a matter of daily occurrence to find a number of persons
+dining in a room where there is no opening for the contaminated air
+to leak out, or for the fresh air to come in.  After dinner
+the gentlemen adjourn to the library to enjoy the sweet perfumes of smoking
+for an hour or so with closed windows.  What a picture would be presented
+if the bacteria in the air could be sketched, enlarged,
+and thrown on a screen, or better still shown in a cinematograph,
+but apparently gentlemen do not mind anything so long as they can inhale
+the pernicious tobacco fumes.
+
+It is a common practice, I fear, to keep the windows of the bedroom closed,
+except in hot weather.  I have often suggested to friends that,
+for the sake of their health, they should at least keep one of the windows,
+if not more, open during the night, but they have pooh-poohed the idea
+on account of that bugaboo -- a draught.  It is one of the mysteries
+of the age that people should be willing to breathe second-hand air
+when there is so much pure, fresh air out of doors to be had for nothing;
+after inhaling and exhaling the same air over and over again
+all through the night it is not strange that they rise in the morning
+languid and dull instead of being refreshed and in high spirits.
+No one who is deprived of a sufficiency of fresh air
+can long remain efficient.  Health is the cornerstone of success.
+I hear many nowadays talking of Eugenics.  Eugenics was founded ten years ago
+by Sir Francis Galton, who defined it thus:  "The study of agencies
+under control that may improve or impair the racial qualities of
+future generations, either physically or mentally."  The University of London
+has adopted this definition, where a chair of Eugenics has been founded.
+This science is undoubtedly of the first importance,
+but what advantage is good birth if afterward life is poisoned with foul air?
+A dust-laden atmosphere is a germ-laden atmosphere,
+therefore physicians prescribe for tubercular convalescents
+conditions in which the air is 90% free from dust.  However,
+the air of the city has been scientifically proven to be as pure
+as the air of the country.  All that is necessary to secure proper lung food
+is plenty of it, -- houses so constructed that the air inside
+shall be free to go out and the air outside to come in.
+Air in a closed cage must be mischievous, and what are ill-ventilated rooms
+but vicious air cages, in which mischiefs of all sorts breed?
+
+America professes to believe in publicity, and what is "publicity"
+but the open window and the open door?  Practise this philosophy
+and it will be easy to keep on the sunny side of the street
+and to discourage the glooms.  The joys fly in at open windows.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 14.  Theaters
+
+
+
+The ideal of China is sincerity but an actor is a pretender.
+He appears to be what he is not.  Now our ancient wise men felt
+that pretense of any sort must have a dangerous reactionary influence
+on the character.  If a man learns how to be a clever actor on the stage
+he may be a skilled deceiver in other walks of life.  Moreover,
+no one to whom sincerity is as the gums are to the teeth,
+would wish to acquire the art of acting as though he were some one else.
+Hence actors in China have from ancient times been looked down upon.
+Actresses, until the last decade or so, were unknown in China,
+and a boy who became an actor could never afterward occupy
+any position of honor.  He, his children and his grandchildren
+might be farmers, merchants or soldiers, but they could never be teachers,
+literary men or officials.  The Chinese feeling for sincerity,
+amounting almost to worship, has caused the profession of an actor in China
+to be considered a very low one, and so until the new regime
+the actor was always debarred from attending any literary examination,
+and was also deprived of the privilege of obtaining official appointment;
+in fact he was considered an outcast of society.  No respectable
+Chinese family would think of allowing their son to go on the stage.
+As a natural consequent the members of the Chinese stage have, as a rule,
+been men who were as much below the level of moral respectability
+as conventionalism had already adjudged them to be below the level
+of social respectability.  Regard anyone as a mirror with a cracked face
+and he will soon justify your opinion of him.  If the morals of Chinese actors
+will not bear investigation it is probably due to the social ostracism
+to which they have always been subjected.  The same phenomenon may be seen in
+connection with Buddhism.  As soon as Buddhism in China ceased to be a power
+the priests became a despised class and being despised
+they have often given occasion to others to despise them.
+
+I am aware that quite a different view is held of the stage
+in America and Europe, and that actors and actresses
+are placed on an equal footing with other members of society.
+This does not, of course, mean that either America or Europe
+lays less stress on sincerity than China, but simply that we have developed
+in different ways.  I have heard of the old "morality plays",
+I know that English drama, like the Egyptian, Greek, and Indian,
+had its origin in religion, but this alone will not explain
+the different attitude assumed toward actors in the West
+from that taken up in China.*  I am inclined to think that the reason
+why actors are not despised in the West as they are in China
+is because the West considers first the utility of pleasure,
+and the East the supremacy of sincerity.  Here, as is so frequently the case,
+apparent differences are largely differences of emphasis.
+The West would seem to emphasize the beauty of the desire to please
+where Chinese consider the effect on character or business.
+The expensive dinners which no one eats and which I discussed
+in a previous chapter are an illustration.  No one in China
+would spend money in this fashion excepting for some definite purpose.
+
+--
+* In his discussion of actors, Wu Tingfang does not seem to be aware
+  that the idealization of actors in the West is comparatively recent,
+  and that historically, and even now in some parts of society,
+  actors and the acting profession have been looked down upon in the West
+  for many of the same reasons he gives for the same phenomenon in China.
+  -- A. R. L., 1996.
+--
+
+We Chinese like to flatter, and to openly praise to their faces
+those whom we admire.  Most Westerners, would, I think,
+please rather than admire; most men and women in America and Europe
+enjoy applause more than instruction.  This recognition
+of the delicate pleasure of being able to please some one else
+naturally attracts quite a different type to the Western stage
+from the material usually found in Chinese dramatic companies,
+and in a society where everyone acknowledges the beauty of pleasing another,
+the position of the actor naturally becomes both envied and desirable.
+When therefore a man or woman succeeds on the European or American stage
+he or she is looked up to and welcomed in fashionable society,
+e.g., Henry Irving had the entree to the highest society,
+and his portrait was always found among the notables.  Newspapers published
+long notices of his stage performances, and when he died he received
+as great honors as England could give.  During his lifetime he enjoyed
+the royal favor of Queen Victoria, who conferred a knighthood upon him.
+After his death his biography was published and read by thousands.
+All this is quite contrary to the spirit of the Chinese who,
+no matter how clever a man may be as an actor, can never forget
+that he is a pretender and that the cleverer he is the greater care exists
+for guarding one's self against his tricks.
+
+Actresses are no less respected and honored in the West,
+whereas in China there are positively no respectable women on the stage.
+Yet in the West it is a common occurrence to hear of marriages of actresses
+to bankers, merchants, and millionaires.  Even ballet-girls have become
+duchesses by marriage.  The stage is considered a noble profession.  Often,
+when a girl has a good voice, nothing will satisfy her but a stage career.
+A situation such as this is very difficult for a Chinese to analyze.
+The average Chinese woman lacks the imagination, the self-abandon,
+the courage which must be necessary before a girl can think of herself
+as standing alone in a bright light before a large audience waiting
+to see her dance or hear her sing.  Chinese actresses were quite unknown
+until very recently, and the few that may be now found on the Chinese stage
+were nearly all of questionable character before they entered the theater.
+In the northern part of China some good Chinese women may be found
+in circuses, but these belong to the working class and take up the circus life
+with their husbands and brothers for a livelihood.
+
+The actresses of the West are different.  They are drawn to the stage for
+the sake of art; and it must be their splendid daring as much as their beauty
+which induces wealthy men, and even some of the nobility,
+to marry these women.  Man loves courage and respects all who are brave enough
+to fight for their own.  In a world where self-love (not selfishness)
+is highly esteemed, manhood, or the power of self-assertion,
+whether in man or woman, naturally becomes a fascinating virtue.
+No one likes to be colleague to a coward.  The millionaires and others
+who have married actresses -- and as actresses make plenty of money
+they are not likely to be willing to marry poor men --
+meet many women in society as beautiful as the women they see on the stage,
+but society women lack the supreme courage and daring of the stage girl.
+Thus, very often the pretty, though less educated, ballet-girl,
+wins the man whom her more refined and less self-assertive sister --
+the ordinary society girl -- is sorry to lose.
+
+The suffragettes are too intent just now on getting "Votes for Women"
+to listen to proposals of marriage, but when they succeed in obtaining
+universal suffrage I should think they would have little difficulty
+in obtaining brave husbands, for the suffragettes have courage.
+These women, however, are serious, and I do not think that men in the West,
+judging from what I have seen, like very serious wives.
+So perhaps after all the ballet-girl and actresses will have more chances
+in the marriage (I had almost written money) market than the suffragettes.
+
+I may be mistaken in my theories.  I have never had the opportunity
+of discussing the matter with a millionaire or an actress,
+nor have I talked about the stage with any of the ladies
+who make it their home, but unless it is their superb independence
+and their ability to throw off care and to act their part
+which attract men who are looking for wives, I cannot account
+for so many actresses marrying so well.
+
+What, however, we may ask, is the object of the theater?  Is it not amusement?
+But when a serious play ending tragically is put on the boards
+is that amusement?  The feelings of the audience after witnessing such a play
+must be far from pleasant, and sometimes even moody;
+yet tragedies are popular, and many will pay a high price
+to see a well-known actor commit most objectionable imitation-crimes
+on the stage.  A few weeks before this chapter was written
+a number of men of different nationalities were punished
+for being present at a cockfight in Shanghai.  Mexican and Spanish bullfights
+would not be permitted in the United States, and yet it is a question
+whether the birds or the animals who take part in these fights
+really suffer very much.  They are in a state of ferocious exaltation,
+and are more concerned about killing their opponents
+than about their own hurts.  Soldiers have been seriously wounded
+without knowing anything about it until the excitement of the battle
+had died away.  Why then forbid cockfighting or bull-baiting?
+They would be popular amusements if allowed.  It is certain that animals
+that are driven long distances along dirty roads, cattle, sheep, and fowl
+that are cooped up for many weary hours in railway trucks,
+simply that they may reach a distant market and be slaughtered
+to gratify perverted human appetites, really suffer more than the cock or bull
+who may be killed or wounded in a fight with others of his own kind.
+What about the sufferings of pugilists who take part in the prize-fights,
+in which so many thousands in the United States delight?  It cannot be pity,
+therefore, for the birds or beasts, which makes the authorities
+forbid cockfighting and bull-baiting.  It must be that although these
+are exhibitions of courage and skill, the exhibition is degrading
+to the spectators and to those who urge the creatures to fight.
+But what is the difference, so far as the spectator is concerned,
+between watching a combat between animals or birds and following
+a vivid dramatization of cruelty on the stage?  In the latter case
+the mental sufferings which are portrayed are frequently more harrowing
+than the details of any bull- or cockfight.  Such representation, therefore,
+unless a very clear moral lesson or warning is emblazoned throughout the play,
+must have the effect of making actors, actresses and spectators
+less sympathetic with suffering.  Familiarity breeds insensibility.
+What I have said of melodrama applies also, though in a lesser degree,
+to books, and should be a warning to parents to exercise proper supervision
+of their children's reading.
+
+Far be it from me to disparage the work of the playwright;
+the plot is often well laid and the actors, especially the prima-donna,
+execute their parts admirably.  I am considering the matter, at the moment,
+from the view-point of a play-goer.  What benefit does he receive
+from witnessing a tragedy?  In his home and his office has he not enough
+to engage his serious attention, and to frequently worry his mind?
+Is it worth his while to dress and spend an evening watching a performance
+which, however skilfully played, will make him no happier than before?
+It is a characteristic of those who are fond of sensational plays
+that they do not mind watching the tragical ending of a hero or a heroine,
+and all for the sake of amusement.  Young people and children
+are not likely to get good impressions from this sort of thing.
+It has even been said that murders have been committed by youngsters
+who had been taken by their parents to see a realistic melodrama.
+It is dangerous to allow young people of tender age to see such plays.
+The juvenile mind is not ripe enough to form correct judgments.
+Some time ago I read in one of the American papers that a boy
+had killed his father with a knife, on seeing him ill-treat his mother
+when in a state of intoxication.  It appeared that the lad had witnessed
+a dramatic tragedy in a theater, and in killing his father
+considered he was doing a heroic act.  He could, by the same rule,
+have been inspired to a noble act of self-sacrifice.
+
+After all, the main question is, does a sensational play exercise
+a beneficial or a pernicious influence over the audience?  If the reader
+will consider the matter impartially he should not have any difficulty
+in coming to a right conclusion.
+
+Theatrical performances should afford amusement and excite mirth,
+as well as give instruction.  People who visit theaters
+desire to be entertained and to pass the time pleasantly.
+Anything which excites mirth and laughter is always welcomed by an audience.
+But a serious piece from which humor has been excluded,
+is calculated, even when played with sympathetic feeling and skill,
+to create a sense of gravity among the spectators, which, to say the least,
+can hardly be restful to jaded nerves.  Yet when composing his plays
+the playwright should never lose sight of the moral.
+Of course he has to pay attention to the arrangement
+of the different parts of the plot and the characters represented,
+but while it is important that each act and every scene
+should be harmoniously and properly set, and that the characters
+should be adapted to the piece as a whole, it is none the less important
+that a moral should be enforced by it.  The practical lesson
+to be learned from the play should never be lost sight of.
+In Chinese plays the moral is always prominent.  The villain is punished,
+virtue is rewarded, while the majority of the plays are historical.
+All healthy-minded people will desire to see a play end with virtue rewarded,
+and vice vanquished.  Those who want it otherwise are unnatural
+and possess short views of life.  Either in this life or in some other,
+each receives according to his deserts, and this lesson
+should always be taught by the play.  Yet from all the clever dramas
+which have been written and acted on the Western stage from time to time
+what a very small percentage of moral lessons can be drawn,
+while too many of them have unfortunately been of an objectionable nature.
+Nearly everyone reads novels, especially the younger folk;
+to many of these a visit to a theater is like reading a novel,
+excepting that the performance makes everything more realistic.
+A piece with a good moral cannot therefore fail to make
+an excellent impression on the audience while at the same time
+affording them amusement.
+
+I am somewhat surprised that the churches, ethical societies
+and reform associations in America do not more clearly appreciate
+the valuable aid they might receive from the stage.  I have been told
+that some churches pay their singers more than their preachers,
+which shows that they have some idea of the value of good art.
+Why not go a step further and preach through a play?  This does not mean
+that there should be no fun but that the moral should be well thrust home.
+I have heard of preachers who make jokes while preaching,
+so that it should not be so very difficult to act interesting sermons
+which would elevate, even if they did not amuse.  People who went to church
+to see a theater would not expect the same entertainment
+as those who go to the theater simply for a laugh.
+
+In China we do not expend as much energy as Americans and Europeans
+in trying to make other people good.  We try to be good ourselves
+and believe that our good example, like a pure fragrance, will influence
+others to be likewise.  We think practice is as good as precept,
+and, if I may say so without being supposed to be critical of a race
+different from my own, the thought has sometimes suggested itself to me
+that Americans are so intent on doing good to others,
+and on making others good, that they accomplish less than they would
+if their actions and intentions were less direct and obvious.
+I cannot here explain all I mean, but if my readers will study what
+Li Yu and Chuang Tsz have to say about "Spontaneity" and "Not Interfering",
+I think they will understand my thought.  The theater, as I have already said,
+was in several countries religious in its origin; why not use it
+to elevate people indirectly?  The ultimate effect, because more natural,
+might be better and truer than more direct persuasion.  Pulpit appeals,
+I am given to understand, are sometimes very personal.
+
+Since writing the above I have seen a newspaper notice of
+a dramatic performance in the Ethical Church, Queen's Road, Bayswater, London.
+The Ethical Church believes "in everything that makes life sweet and human"
+and the management state that they believe -- "the best trend
+of dramatic opinion to-day points not only to the transformation of theaters
+into centers of social enlightenment and moral elevation,
+but also to the transformation of the churches into centers
+for the imaginative presentation, by means of all the arts combined,
+of the deeper truths and meanings of life."  Personally,
+I do not know anything about this society, but surely
+there is nothing out of harmony with Christianity in these professions,
+and I am glad to find here an alliance between the two greatest factors in
+the development of Western thought and culture -- the church and the theater.
+The newspaper article to which I have referred was describing
+the "old morality play, Everyman" which had been performed in the church.
+The visitor who was somewhat critical, and apparently unused
+to seeing the theater in a church, wrote of the performance thus:
+"Both the music and the dressing of the play were perfect,
+and from the moment that Death entered clad in blue stuff
+with immense blue wings upon his shoulders, and the trump in his hand,
+and stopped Everyman, a gorgeous figure in crimson robes and jewelled turban,
+with the question, `Who goes so gaily by?' the play was performed
+with an impressiveness that never faltered.
+
+"The heaviest burden, of course, falls on Everyman, and the artist
+who played this part seemed to me, though I am no dramatic critic,
+to have caught the atmosphere and the spirit of the play.
+His performance, indeed, was very wonderful from the moment when
+he offers Death a thousand boons if only the dread summons may be delayed,
+to that final tense scene, when, stripped of his outer robe,
+he says his closing prayers, hesitates for a moment to turn back,
+though the dread angel is there by his side, and then follows
+the beckoning hand of Good Deeds, a figure splendidly robed
+in flowing draperies of crimson and with a wonderfully expressive mobile face.
+
+"At the conclusion of the play Dr. Stanton Colt addressed a few words
+to the enthusiastic audience, `Forsake thy pride, for it will
+profit thee nothing,' he quoted, `If we could but remember this more carefully
+and also the fact that nothing save our good deeds shall ever go with us
+into that other World, surely it would help us to a holier and better life.
+Earthly things have their place and should have a due regard paid to them,
+but we must not forget the jewel of our souls.'"
+
+I have, of course, heard of the "Passion Play" at Oberammergau in Germany
+where the life of Jesus Christ is periodically represented on the stage,
+but I say nothing about this, for, so far as I know, it is not performed
+in America, and I have not seen it; but I may note in passing
+that in China theaters are generally associated with the gods in the temples,
+and that the moral the play is meant to teach is always well driven home
+into the minds of the audience.  We have not, however,
+ventured to introduce any of our sages to theater audiences.
+
+The theater in China is a much simpler affair than in America.
+The residents in a locality unite and erect a large stage
+of bamboo and matting, the bamboo poles are tied with strips of rattan,
+and all the material of the stage, excepting the rattan,
+can be used over again when it is taken down.  Most of the audience
+stand in front of the stage and in the open air, the theater generally being
+in front of the temple; and the play, which often occupies three or four days,
+is often performed in honor of the god's birthday.  There is no curtain,
+and there are no stage accessories.  The audience is thus enabled
+to concentrate its whole attention on the acting.  Female parts
+are played by men, and everything is beautifully simple.  There is no attempt
+to produce such elaborate effects as I have seen in the West,
+and of course nothing at all resembling the pantomime,
+which frequently requires mechanical arts.  A newspaper paragraph
+caught my eye while thinking of this subject.  I reproduce it.
+
+"The Century Theater in New York City has special apparatus
+for producing wind effects, thunder and lightning simultaneously.
+The wind machine consists of a drum with slats which are rotated
+over an apron of corded silk, which produces the whistling sound of wind;
+the lightning is produced by powdered magnesium electrically ignited;
+thunder is simulated by rolling a thousand pounds of stone, junk and chain
+down a chute ending in an iron plate, followed by half-a-dozen cannon balls
+and supplemented by the deafening notes of a thunder drum."
+
+Although, however, Chinese play-goers do not demand
+the expensive outfits and stage sceneries of the West, I must note here
+that not even on the American stage have I seen such gorgeous costumes,
+or robes of so rich a hue and displaying such glittering gold ornaments
+and graceful feathers, as I have seen on the simple Chinese stage
+I have just described.  Western fashions are having a tendency
+in our ports and larger cities to modify some things that I have stated
+about Chinese theatrical performances, but the point I wish especially
+to impress on my readers is that theatrical performances in China,
+while amusing and interesting, are seldom melodramatic,
+and as I look back on my experiences in the United States,
+I cannot but think that the good people there are making a mistake
+in not utilizing the human natural love for excitement and the drama
+as a subsidiary moral investment.  And, of course, all I have said of theaters
+applies with equal force to moving-picture shows.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 15.  Opera and Musical Entertainments
+
+
+
+Opera is a form of entertainment which, though very popular
+in America and England, does not appeal to me.  I know that those
+who are fond of music love to attend it, and that the boxes in an opera house
+are generally engaged by the fashionable set for the whole season beforehand.
+I have seen members of the "four hundred" in their boxes
+in a New York opera house; they have been distinguished
+by their magnificent toilettes and brilliant jewelry; but I have been thinking
+of the Chinese drama, which, like the old Greek play, is also based on music,
+and Chinese music with its soft and plaintive airs is a very different thing
+from the music of grand opera.  Chinese music could not be represented
+on Western instruments, the intervals between the notes being different.
+Chinese singing is generally "recitative" accompanied by long notes, broken,
+or sudden chords from the orchestra.  It differs widely from Western music,
+but its effects are wonderful.  One of our writers has thus described
+music he once heard:  "Softly, as the murmur of whispered words;
+now loud and soft together, like the patter of pearls and pearlets
+dropping upon a marble dish.  Or liquid, like the warbling of the mango-bird
+in the bush; trickling like the streamlet on its downward course.
+And then like the torrent, stilled by the grip of frost,
+so for a moment was the music lulled, in a passion too deep for words."
+That this famous description of the effects of music which I have borrowed
+from Mr. Dyer Ball's "Things Chinese" is not exaggerated,
+anyone who knows China may confirm by personal observation
+of the keen enjoyment an unlearned, common day laborer will find
+in playing a single lute all by himself for hours beneath the moon
+on a warm summer evening, with no one listening but the trees
+and the flitting insects; but it requires a practised ear
+to appreciate singing and a good voice.  On one occasion
+I went to an opera house in London to hear the world-renowned Madame Patti.
+The place was so crowded, and the atmosphere so close,
+that I felt very uncomfortable and I am ashamed to acknowledge
+that I had to leave before she had finished.  If I had been educated
+to appreciate that sort of music no doubt I would have comprehended
+her singing better, and, however uncomfortable, I should no doubt
+have remained to the end of the entertainment.
+
+While writing this chapter it happened that the following news from New York
+was published in the local papers in Shanghai.  It should be interesting
+to my readers, especially to those who are lovers of music.
+
+"`Yellow music' will be the next novelty to startle and lure
+this blase town; amusement forecasters already see in the offing
+a Fall invasion of the mysterious Chinese airs which are now having
+such a vogue in London under the general term of `yellow music'.
+
+"The time was when Americans and occidentals in general
+laughed at Chinese music, but this was due to their own ignorance
+of its full import and to the fact that they heard only
+the dirges of a Chinese funeral procession or the brassy noises
+that feature a celestial festival.  They did not have opportunity
+to be enthralled by the throaty, vibrant melodies --
+at once so lovingly seductive and harshly compelling --
+by which Chinese poets and lovers have revealed their thoughts
+and won their quest for centuries.  The stirring tom-tom,
+if not the ragtime which sets the occidental capering to-day,
+was common to the Chinese three or four hundred years ago.
+They heard it from the wild Tartars and Mongols -- heard it and rejected it,
+because it was primitive, untamed, and not to be compared
+with their own carefully controlled melodies.  Mr. Emerson Whithorne,
+the famous British composer, who is an authority on oriental music,
+made this statement to the London music lovers last week:
+
+"`The popularity of Chinese music is still in its childhood.
+From now on it will grow rapidly.  Chinese music has no literature,
+as we understand that term, but none can say that it has not
+most captivating melodies.  To the artistic temperament, in particular,
+it appeals enormously, and well-known artists -- musicians, painters,
+and so on -- say that it affects them in quite an extraordinary way.'"
+
+Chinese music from an occidental standpoint has been unjustly described
+as "clashing cymbals, twanging guitars, harsh flageolets, and shrill flutes,
+ear-splitting and headache-producing to the foreigner."
+Such general condemnation shows deplorable ignorance.*
+The writer had apparently never attended an official service
+in honor of Confucius, held biennially during the whole of the Ching dynasty
+at 3 A.M.  The "stone chimes", consisting of sonorous stones varying in tone
+and hanging in frames, which were played on those solemn occasions,
+have a haunting melody such as can be heard nowhere else.
+China, I believe, is the only country that has produced music from stones.
+It is naturally gratifying to me to hear that Chinese airs are now having
+a vogue in London, and that they will soon be heard in New York.
+It will take some little time for Westerners to learn to listen intelligently
+to our melodies which, being always in unison, in one key and in one movement,
+are apt at first to sound as wearisome and monotonous
+as Madame Patti's complicated notes did to me, but when they understand them
+they will have found a new delight in life.
+
+--
+* Wu Tingfang is quite correct to deplore this statement as a description
+  of Chinese music.  However, in all fairness, it is an accurate description
+  of how a Western ear first hears CERTAIN types of Chinese music.
+  After successive hearings this impression will fly away, but until then
+  CERTAIN types are reminiscent of two alley-cats fighting in a garbage can.
+  This is not meant as a degrading comment, any more so than Wu Tingfang's
+  comments on opera.  Some music is an acquired taste, and after acquirement,
+  its beauty becomes not only recognizable but inescapable.
+  Certain other types of Chinese music can easily be appreciated
+  on the first hearing.  -- A. R. L., 1996.
+--
+
+Although we Chinese do not divide our plays into comedies and tragedies
+there is frequently a good deal of humor on the Chinese stage; yet we have
+nothing in China corresponding to the popular musical comedy of the West.
+A musical comedy is really a series of vaudeville performances strung together
+by the feeblest of plots.  The essence seems to be catchy songs,
+pretty dances, and comic dialogue.  The plot is apparently immaterial,
+its only excuse for existence being to give a certain order of sequence
+to the aforesaid songs, dances, and dialogues.  That, indeed,
+is the only object for the playwright's introducing any plot at all,
+hence he does not much care whether it is logical or even within
+the bounds of probability.  The play-goers, I think, care even less.
+They go to hear the songs, see the dances, laugh at the dialogues,
+and indulge in frivolous frivolities; what do they want with a plot,
+much less a moral?  Chinese vaudeville takes the form
+of clever tumbling tricks which I think are much preferable
+to the sensuous, curious, and self-revealing dances one sees in the West.
+
+Although musical comedy, or, more properly speaking, musical farce,
+is becoming more and more popular in both Europe and America
+it is also becoming proportionately more farcical; although in many theaters
+it is staged as often as the more serious drama, in some having
+exclusive dominion; and although theater managers find that these plays
+draw bigger crowds and fill their houses better than any other,
+in the large cities running for over a year, I cannot help regarding
+this feature of theatrical life as so much theatrical chaos.
+It lacks culture, and is sometimes both bizarre and neurotic.
+I do not object to patter, smart give and take, in which the comical angles
+of life are exposed, if it is brilliant; neither have I anything to say
+against light comedy in which the ridiculous side of things is portrayed.
+This sort of entertainment may help men who have spent a busy day,
+crowded with anxious moments, and weighted with serious responsibilities,
+but exhibitions which make men on their way home talk not of art,
+or of music, or of wit, but of "the little girl who wore a little black net"
+are distinctly to be condemned.  Even the class who think it waste of time
+to think, and who go to the theater only to "laugh awfully",
+are not helped by this sort of entertainment.  Such songs as the following,
+which I have culled from the `Play Pictorial', a monthly published in London,
+must in time pall the taste of even the shallow-minded.
+
+    "Can't you spare a glance?
+    Have we got a chance?
+    You've got a knowing pair of eyes;
+    When it's 2 to 1
+    It isn't much fun,"
+    This is what she soon replies:
+
+    "Oh, won't you buy a race-card,
+    And take a tip from me?
+    If you want to find a winner,
+    It's easy as can be
+    When the Cupid stakes are starting,
+    Your heads are all awhirl,
+    And my tip to-day
+    Is a bit each way
+    On the race-card girl."
+
+Yet this, apparently, is the sort of thing which appeals
+to the modern American who wants amusement of the lightest kind,
+amusement which appeals to the eye and ear with the lightest possible tax
+on his already over-burdened brain.  He certainly cannot complain
+that his wishes have not been faithfully fulfilled.  It may be due
+to my ignorance of English, but the song I have just quoted seems to me silly,
+and I do not think any "ragtime music" could make it worth singing.
+Of course many songs and plays in the music halls are such
+as afford innocent mirth, but it has to be confessed
+that there are other things of a different type which it is not wise
+for respectable families to take the young to see.
+I would not like to say all I think of this feature of Western civilization,
+but I may quote an Englishman without giving offense.  Writing in
+the `Metropolitan Magazine', Louis Sherwin says:  "There is not a doubt
+that the so-called `high-brow dancer' has had a lot to do
+with the bare-legged epidemic that rages upon the comic-opera stage to-day.
+Nothing could be further removed from musical comedy than the art
+of such women as Isadora Duncan and Maude Allen.  To inform Miss Duncan
+that she has been the means of making nudity popular in musical farce
+would beyond question incur the lady's very reasonable wrath.
+But it is none the less true.  When the bare-legged classic dancer
+made her appearance in opera houses, and on concert platforms
+with symphony orchestras, it was the cue for every chorus girl
+with an ambition to undress in public.  First of all
+we had a plague of Salomes.  Then the musical comedy producers,
+following their usual custom of religiously avoiding anything original,
+began to send the pony ballets and soubrettes on the stages
+without their hosiery and with their knees clad in nothing
+but a coat of whitewash (sometimes they even forgot to put on the whitewash,
+and then the sight was horrible).  The human form divine,
+with few exceptions, is a devilish spectacle unless it is properly made up.
+Some twenty years from now managers will discover what audiences found out
+months ago, that a chorus girl's bare leg is infinitely less beautiful
+than the same leg when duly disguised by petticoats and things."
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 16.  Conjuring and Circuses
+
+
+
+After what I have said as to the position of the actor in China my readers
+will not be surprised at my saying that the performance of a conjuror
+should not be encouraged.  What pleasure can there be in being tricked?
+It may be a great display of dexterity to turn water into wine,
+to seem to cut off a person's head, to appear to swallow swords,
+to escape from locked handcuffs, and to perform the various cabinet tricks,
+but cleverness does not alter the fact that after all it is only deception
+cunningly contrived and performed in such a way as to evade discovery.
+It appears right to many because it is called "legerdemain" and "conjuring"
+but in reality it is exactly the same thing as that by which
+the successful card-sharper strips his victims, viz., such quickness of hand
+that the eye is deceived.  Should we encourage such artful devices?
+History tells many stories as to the way in which people
+have been kept in superstitious bondage by illusions and magic,
+and if it be now held to be right to deceive for fun
+how can it be held to have been wrong to deceive for religion?
+Those who made the people believe through practising deception
+doubtless believed the trick to be less harmful than unbelief.  I contend,
+therefore, that people who go to see conjuring performances derive
+no good from them, but that, on the contrary, they are apt to be impressed
+with the idea that to practise deception is to show praiseworthy skill.
+It is strange how many people pay money to others to deceive them.
+More than ever before, people to-day actually enjoy being cheated.
+If the tricks were clumsily devised and easily detected
+there would be no attraction, but the cleverer and more puzzling the trick
+the more eagerly people flock to see it.
+
+Christian preachers and moralists could do well to take up this matter
+and discourage people from frequenting the exhibitions of tricksters.
+There are doubtless many laws in nature yet undiscovered, and a few persons
+undoubtedly possess abnormal powers.  This makes the cultivation
+of the love of trickery the more dangerous.  It prevents the truth
+from being perceived.  It enables charlatans to find dupes,
+and causes the real magician to be applauded as a legerdemainist.
+This is what the New Testament tells us happened in the case of Jesus Christ.
+His miracles failed to convince because the people had for a long time
+loved those who could deceive them cleverly.*  The people said to him,
+"Thou hast a devil," and others warned them after his death saying,
+"That deceiver said while he was yet alive `After three days
+I will rise again.'"  When people are taught not only to marvel
+at the marvelous but to be indifferent to its falsehoods
+they lose the power of discrimination, and are apt to take
+the true for the false, the real for the unreal.
+
+--
+* This is a rather unorthodox view, but nonetheless interesting,
+  especially as it pertains to his following statements.  -- A. R. L., 1996.
+--
+
+For an evening's healthy enjoyment I believe a circus is as good a place
+as can be found anywhere.  The air there is not close and vitiated
+as in a theater; you can spend two or three hours comfortably
+without inhaling noxious atmospheres.  It is interesting to note
+that the circus is perhaps the only form of ancient entertainment
+which has retained something of its pristine simplicity.
+To-day, as in the old Roman circuses, tiers of seats run round the course,
+which in the larger circuses is still in the form of an ellipse,
+with its vertical axis, where the horses and performers enter, cut away.
+But the modern world has nothing in this connection to compare
+with the Circus Maximus of Rome, which, according to Pliny,
+held a quarter of a million spectators.  It is singular, however,
+that while the old Roman circuses were held in permanent buildings,
+modern circuses are mostly travelling exhibitions in temporary erections.
+In some respects the entertainment offered has degenerated with the change,
+for we have to-day nothing in the circus to correspond to
+the thrilling chariot races in which the old Romans delighted.
+I wonder that in these days of restless search for novelties some one
+does not re-introduce the Roman chariot race under the old conditions,
+and with a reproduction of the old surroundings.  It would be
+as interesting and as exciting as, and certainly less dangerous than,
+polo played in automobiles, which I understand is one of the latest fads
+in the West.  A modern horse-race, with its skill, daring and picturesqueness,
+is the only modern entertainment comparable to the gorgeous races
+of the Romans.
+
+The exhibition of skillful feats of horsemanship and acrobatic displays
+by juvenile actors, rope-dancing, high vaulting and other
+daring gymnastic feats seen in any of our present-day circuses
+are interesting, but not new.  The Romans had many clever tight-rope walkers,
+and I do not think they used the long pole loaded at the ends
+to enable them to maintain their equilibrium, as do some later performers.
+Japanese tumblers are very popular and some of their tricks clever,
+but I think the Western public would find Chinese acrobats
+a pleasant diversion.  With practice, it would seem as if
+when taken in hand during its supple years there is nothing
+that cannot be done with the human body.  Sometimes it almost appears
+as if it were boneless, so well are people able by practice
+to make use of their limbs to accomplish feats which astonish
+ordinary persons whose limbs are less pliable.
+
+The trapeze gives opportunity for the display of very clever exhibition,
+of strength and agility; at first sight the gymnast would appear to be flying
+from one cross-bar to the other, and when watching such flights
+I have asked myself:  "If a person can do that, why cannot he fly?"
+Perhaps human beings will some day be seen flying about in the air like birds.
+It only requires an extension of the trapeze "stunt".  Travelling in the air
+by means of airships or aeroplanes is tame sport in comparison
+with bird-like flights, whether with or without artificial wings.
+
+There are many advantages in being able to travel in the air.
+One is a clear and pure atmosphere such as cannot be obtained
+in a railway car, or in a cabin on board a ship; another is
+the opportunity afforded of looking down on this earth, seeing it
+as in a panorama, with the people looking like ants.  Such an experience
+must broaden the mental outlook of the privileged spectator,
+and enable him to guess how fragmentary and perverted must be
+our restricted view of things in general.  There is, however,
+danger of using such opportunities for selfish and mischievous purposes.
+A wicked man might throw a bomb or do some other wicked nonsense
+just as some one else, who really sees things as they are
+and not as they seem to be, might employ his superior knowledge
+to benefit himself and injure his fellows; but the mention of the trapeze
+and its bird-like performers has diverted me from my theme.
+
+I suppose that a reference to the circus would be incomplete which overlooked
+the clowns, those poor survivals of a professional class of jesters
+who played what appears to have been a necessary part in society
+in ruder days, when amusements were less refined and less numerous.
+The Chinese have never felt the need of professional foolers,
+and I cannot say that I admire the circus clown, but the intelligence
+which careful training develops in the horse, the dog, etc.,
+interests me a good deal.  An instance of this came under my own observation
+during a recent visit to Shanghai of "Fillis' Circus".  Mr. Fillis had a mare
+which for many years had acted the part of the horse of a highway robber.
+The robber, flying from his enemies, urges the animal beyond its strength,
+and the scene culminated with the dying horse being carried from the arena
+to the great grief of its master.  When this entertainment
+was given in Shanghai this horse -- "Black Bess" -- fell sick.
+A tonic was administered in the shape of the lively tune
+which the band always played as she was about to enter the arena
+and play her part as the highwayman's mare.  The animal made
+pitiable attempts to rise, and her inability to do so apparently suggested
+to the intelligent creature the dying scene she had so often played.
+She lay down and relaxed, prepared to die in reality.  The attendants,
+ignorant of the manner in which the horse had let herself go,
+tried to lift her, but in her relaxed condition her bowels split --
+Black Bess had acted her part for the last time.
+
+
+
+
+Chapter 17.  Sports
+
+
+
+Perhaps in nothing do the Chinese differ from their Western friends
+in the matter of amusements more than in regard to sports.
+The Chinese would never think of assembling in thousands
+just to see a game played.  We are not modernized enough
+to care to spend half a day watching others play.  When we are tired of work
+we like to do our own playing.  Our national game is the shuttlecock,
+which we toss from one to another over our shoulders,
+hitting the shuttlecock with the flat soles of the shoes we are wearing.
+Sometimes we hit with one part of the foot, sometimes with another,
+according to the rules of the game.  This, like kite-flying,
+is a great amusement among men and boys.
+
+We have nothing corresponding to tennis and other Western ball games,
+nor, indeed, any game in which the opposite sexes join.
+Archery was a health-giving exercise of which modern ideas of war robbed us.
+The same baneful influence has caused the old-fashioned
+healthful gymnastic exercises with heavy weights to be discarded.
+I have seen young men on board ocean-going steamers
+throwing heavy bags of sand to one another as a pastime.
+This, though excellent practice, hardly equals our ancient athletic feats
+with the bow or the heavy weight.  Western sports have been introduced
+into some mission and other schools in China, but I much doubt
+if they will ever be really popular among my people.  They are too violent,
+and, from the oriental standpoint, lacking in dignity.
+Yet, when Chinese residing abroad do take up Western athletic sports
+they prove themselves the equals of all competitors, as witness
+their success in the Manila Olympiad, and the name the baseball players
+from the Hawaiian Islands Chinese University made for themselves
+when they visited America.  Nevertheless, were the average Chinese
+told that many people buy the daily paper in the West
+simply to see the result of some game, and that a sporting journalism
+flourishes there, i.e., papers devoted entirely to sport,
+they would regard the statement as itself a pleasant sport.
+Personally, I think we might learn much from the West in regard to sports.
+They certainly increase the physical and mental faculties,
+and for this reason, if for no other, deserve to be warmly supported.
+China suffers because her youths have never been trained to team-work.
+We should be a more united people if as boys and young men
+we learned to take part in games which took the form of a contest,
+in which, while each contestant does his best for his own side,
+the winning or losing of the game is not considered so important
+as the pleasure of the exercise.  I think a great deal
+of the manliness which I have admired in the West must be attributed
+to the natural love of healthy sport for sport's sake.
+Games honestly and fairly played inculcate the virtues of honor, candidness,
+and chivalry, of which America has produced many worthy specimens.
+When one side is defeated the winner does not exult over
+his defeated opponents but attributes his victory to an accident;
+I have seen the defeated crew in a boat race applauding
+their winning opponents.  It is a noble example for the defeated contestants
+to give credit to and to applaud the winner, an example which
+I hope will be followed by my countrymen.
+
+As an ardent believer in the natural, healthy and compassionate life
+I was interested to find in the Encyclopaedia Britannica
+how frequently vegetarians have been winners in athletic sports.*
+They won the Berlin to Dresden walking match, a distance of 125 miles,
+the Carwardine Cup (100 miles) and Dibble Shield (6 hours)
+cycling races (1901-02), the amateur championship of England
+in tennis (four successive years up to 1902) and racquets (1902),
+the cycling championship of India (three years), half-mile running
+championship of Scotland (1896), world's amateur cycle records
+for all times from four hours to thirteen hours (1902),
+100 miles championship Yorkshire Road Club (1899, 1901),
+tennis gold medal (five times).  I have not access to later statistics
+on this subject but I know that it is the reverse of truth to say,
+as Professor Gautier, of the Sarbonne, a Catholic foundation in Paris,
+recently said, that vegetarians "suffer from lack of energy
+and weakened will power."  The above facts disprove it,
+and as against Prof. Gautier, I quote Dr. J. H. Kellogg,
+the eminent physician and Superintendent of Battle Creek Sanitarium
+in Michigan, U.S.A., who has been a strict vegetarian for many years and who,
+though over sixty years of age, is as strong and vigorous as a man of forty;
+he told me that he worked sixteen hours daily without the least fatigue.
+Mrs. Annie Besant, President of the Theosophical Society,
+is another example.  I am credibly informed that she has been
+a vegetarian for at least thirty-five years and that it is doubtful
+if any flesh-eater who is sixty-five can equal her in energy.
+Whatever else vegetarians may lack they are not lacking
+in powers of endurance.
+
+--
+* E. B., 9th ed., vol. 33, p. 649.
+--
+
+It is needless for me to say that hunting, or, as it is called, "sport",
+is entirely opposed to my idea of the fitness of things.
+I do not see why it should not be as interesting to shoot at "clay pigeons"
+as to kill living birds; and why moving targets are not
+as suitable a recreation as running animals.  "The pleasures of the chase"
+are no doubt fascinating, but when one remembers that
+these so-called pleasures are memories we have brought with us
+from the time when we were savages and hunted for the sake of food,
+no one can be proud of still possessing such tastes.
+To say that hunters to-day only kill to eat would be denied indignantly
+by every true sportsman.  That the quarry is sometimes eaten afterward
+is but an incident in the game; the splendid outdoor exercise
+which the hunt provides can easily be found in other ways without inflicting
+the fear, distress, and pain which the hunted animals endure.
+It is a sad commentary on the stage at which humanity still is
+that even royalty, to whom we look for virtuous examples,
+seldom misses an opportunity to hunt.  When a man has a strong hobby
+he is unable to see its evil side even though in other respects
+he may be humane and kind-hearted.  Thus the sorry spectacle is presented
+of highly civilized and humane people displaying their courage
+by hunting and attacking wild animals, not only in their own native country
+but in foreign lands as well.  Such personages are, I regret to have to add,
+not unknown in the United States.
+
+The fact that hunting has been followed from time immemorial,
+that the ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians
+indulged in this pastime, does not make it any more suitable an occupation
+for us to-day.  The good qualities of temper and patience
+which hunting demands are equally well developed by athletic sports.
+I understand that a good hunting establishment will cost as much as
+$10,000 (2000 Pounds) a year.  Surely those who can afford so much on luxuries
+could find a more refined amusement in yachting and similar recreations.
+To sail a yacht successfully in half a gale of wind, is, I should imagine,
+more venturesome, more exciting, and a pastime requiring a manifestation
+of more of the qualities of daring, than shooting a frightened animal
+from the safe retreat of the saddle of a trusty horse;
+and not even the hunt of the wild beast can equal in true sportsmanship
+a contest with the wind and the waves, for it is only occasionally
+that a beast shows fight because he is wounded, and even then
+man is well protected by his gun; but whether yachting or swimming
+the sportsman's attitude of watchfulness is uninterrupted.
+I fancy it is convention and custom, rather than conviction
+of the superiority of the sport, that has given hunting its pre-eminence.
+It is on record that four thousand years ago the ancient emperors of China
+started periodically on hunting expeditions.  They thus sought relief from
+the monotony of life in those days; in the days of the Stuarts, in England,
+royalty found pleasure in shows which were childish and even immoral.
+Of course in barbarous countries all savages used to hunt for food.
+For them hunting was an economic necessity, and it is no slander
+to say that the modern hunt is a relic of barbarism.
+It is, indeed, a matter of surprise to me that this cruel practice
+has not ceased, but still exists in this twentieth century.
+It goes without saying that hunting means killing the defenseless,
+inflicting misery and death on the helpless; even if it be admitted
+that there is some justification for killing a ferocious and dangerous animal,
+why should we take pleasure in hunting and killing the fox,
+the deer, the hare, the otter, and similar creatures?
+People who hunt boast of their bravery and fearlessness,
+and to show their intrepidity and excellent shooting
+they go to the wilderness and other countries to carry on their "sport".
+I admire their fearless courage but I am compelled to express my opinion
+that such actions are not consistent with those of a good-hearted
+humane gentleman.
+
+Still less excuse is there for the practice of shooting.
+What right have we to wantonly kill these harmless and defenseless birds
+flying in the air?  I once watched pigeon shooting at a famous watering place,
+the poor birds were allowed to fly from the trap-holes simply that
+they might be ruthlessly killed or maimed.  That was wanton cruelty;
+to reprobate too strongly such revolting barbarity is almost impossible.
+I am glad to say that such cruel practices did not come under my observation
+during my residence in the States, and I hope that they are not American vices
+but are prohibited by law.  No country, with the least claim to civilization,
+should allow such things, and our descendants will be astonished
+that people calling themselves civilized should have indulged
+in such wholesale and gratuitous atrocities.  When people allow animals
+to be murdered -- for it is nothing but murder -- for the sake of sport,
+they ought not to be surprised that men are murdered by criminals
+for reasons which seem to them good and sufficient.
+An animal has as much right to its life as man has to his.
+Both may be called upon to sacrifice life for the sake of some greater good
+to a greater number, but by what manner of reasoning can killing for
+killing's sake be justified?  Does the superior cunning and intellect of man
+warrant his taking life for fun?  Then, should a race superior to humanity
+ever appear on the earth, man would have no just cause of complaint
+if he were killed off for its amusement.  There formerly existed in India
+a "well-organized confederacy of professional assassins" called Thugs,
+who worshipped the goddess Kali with human lives.  They murdered according to
+"rigidly prescribed forms" and for religious reasons.  The English,
+when they came into power in India, naturally took vigorous measures
+to stamp out Thuggeeism; but from a higher point of view
+than our own little selves, is there after all so much difference
+between the ordinary sportsman and the fanatic Thuggee?  If there be,
+the balance is rather in favor of the latter, for the Thug at least had
+the sanction of religion, while the hunter has nothing to excuse his cruelty
+beyond the lust of killing.  I do not understand why the humane societies,
+such as "The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals",
+are so supine in regard to these practices.  The Chinese
+are frequently accused of being cruel to animals, but I think
+that those who are living in glass houses should not throw stones.
+
+In this connection I would remark that birds are shot not only
+for pleasure and for their flesh, but in some cases for their plumage,
+and women who wear hats adorned with birds' feathers, do, though indirectly,
+encourage the slaughter of the innocent.  Once a Chinese was arrested
+by the police in Hongkong for cruelty to a rat.  It appeared that the rat
+had committed great havoc in his household, stealing and damaging
+various articles of food; when at last it was caught the man nailed its feet
+to a board, as a warning to other rats.  For this he was brought
+before the English Magistrate, who imposed a penalty of ten dollars.
+He was astonished, and pleaded that the rat deserved death,
+on account of the serious havoc committed in his house.
+The Magistrate told him that he ought to have instantly killed the rat,
+and not to have tortured it.  The amazed offender paid his fine,
+but murmured that he did not see the justice of the British Court
+in not allowing him to punish the rat as he chose, while foreigners in China
+were allowed the privilege of shooting innocent birds without molestation.
+I must confess, people are not always consistent.
+
+The Peace Societies should take up this matter, for hunting
+is an imitation of war and an apprenticeship to it.
+It certainly can find no justification in any of the great world religions,
+and not even the British, or the Germans, who idolize soldiers,
+would immortalize a man simply because he was a hunter.
+From whatever point the subject be viewed it seems undeniable
+that hunting is only a survival of savagery.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of AMERICA
+  Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat
+
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