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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/609-h.zip b/609-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..13b1351 --- /dev/null +++ b/609-h.zip diff --git a/609-h/609-h.htm b/609-h/609-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0f77fe4 --- /dev/null +++ b/609-h/609-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6570 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<HTML> +<HEAD> + +<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + +<TITLE> +The Project Gutenberg E-text of America Through the Spectacles of an Oriental +Diplomat, by Wu Tingfang +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +PRE { font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: small } + +P.footnote {font-size: smaller ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.intro {font-size: smaller ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.transnote {font-size: smaller ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.blockquote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.finis { text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + + +</STYLE> + +</HEAD> + +<BODY> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of America Through the Spectacles of an +Oriental Diplomat, by Wu Tingfang + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: America Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat + +Author: Wu Tingfang + +Posting Date: August 3, 2008 [EBook #609] +Release Date: August, 1996 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECTACLES, ORIENTAL DIPLOMAT *** + + + + +Produced by A. Light. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +America +<BR> +Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat +</H1> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="transnote"> +[Note on text: Italicized sections are capitalized. A few obvious +errors have been corrected. Some footnotes have been added, and are +clearly marked.] +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Introduction: +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P class="blockquote"> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> + Alan R. Light. Birmingham, Alabama. May, 1996. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +AMERICA +<BR> +Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat +</H1> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +by Wu Tingfang, LL.D. +</H2> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> + 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. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="preface"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Preface +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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.[1] 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.[2] 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;[3] 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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] 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. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] 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. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[3] This was several years ago. Fashions change every year. The +present type is equally ludicrous. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +Contents +</H2> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> + <A HREF="#preface">Preface</A><BR> + Chapter 1. <A HREF="#chap01">The Importance of Names</A><BR> + Chapter 2. <A HREF="#chap02">American Prosperity</A><BR> + Chapter 3. <A HREF="#chap03">American Government</A><BR> + Chapter 4. <A HREF="#chap04">America and China</A><BR> + Chapter 5. <A HREF="#chap05">American Education</A><BR> + Chapter 6. <A HREF="#chap06">American Business Methods</A><BR> + Chapter 7. <A HREF="#chap07">American Freedom and Equality</A><BR> + Chapter 8. <A HREF="#chap08">American Manners</A><BR> + Chapter 9. <A HREF="#chap09">American Women</A><BR> + Chapter 10. <A HREF="#chap10">American Costumes</A><BR> + Chapter 11. <A HREF="#chap11">American versus Chinese Civilization</A><BR> + Chapter 12. <A HREF="#chap12">American versus Chinese Civilization (Continued)</A><BR> + Chapter 13. <A HREF="#chap13">Dinners, Banquets, Etc.</A><BR> + Chapter 14. <A HREF="#chap14">Theaters</A><BR> + Chapter 15. <A HREF="#chap15">Opera and Musical Entertainments</A><BR> + Chapter 16. <A HREF="#chap16">Conjuring and Circuses</A><BR> + Chapter 17. <A HREF="#chap17">Sports</A><BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +AMERICA +<BR> +Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 1. The Importance of Names +</H3> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "What's in a name? That which we call a rose<BR> + By any other name would smell as sweet."<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 2. American Prosperity +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 3. American Government +</H3> + +<P> +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'. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 4. America and China +</H3> + +<P> +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.[1] 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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3> + Article I +</H3> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<BR> + +<H3> + Article II +</H3> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] 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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 5. American Education +</H3> + +<P> +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.[1] I +question whether any other nation can produce such an excellent example +in the cause of education. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<PRE> + (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. +</PRE> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] 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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 6. American Business Methods +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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.[1] +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] "To call" in the sense of "to visit".—A. R. L., 1996. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 7. American Freedom and Equality +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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."[1] 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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] The names of the parties and places were given in full in the +"China Press". +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 8. American Manners +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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". +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 9. American Women +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 10. American Costumes +</H3> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P CLASS="blockquote"> + "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." +</P> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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! +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 11. American versus Chinese Civilization +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"He guards his body as if holding jade"; i.e., he will not contaminate +himself with mental or moral filth. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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:[1] "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.[2] +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"Undoubtedly the reform was gaining ground and the Chinese would have +to be in the future depicted dressed up as a Caucasian. +</P> + +<P> +"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...." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] "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. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] 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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 12. American versus Chinese Civilization (Continued) +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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." +</P> + +<P> +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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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." +</P> + +<P> +This is what the late Sir Robert Hart, to whom China owes her Customs +organization, said about us: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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: +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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". +</P> + +<P> +Listen to these noble lines from the ninth canto of his "Excursion". +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Alas! what differs more than man from man,<BR> + And whence that difference? Whence but from himself?<BR> + For see the universal Race endowed<BR> + With the same upright form. The sun is fixed<BR> + And the infinite magnificence of heaven<BR> + Fixed, within reach of every human eye;<BR> + The sleepless ocean murmurs for all years;<BR> + The vernal field infuses fresh delight<BR> + Into all hearts. Throughout the world of sense,<BR> + Even as an object is sublime or fair,<BR> + That object is laid open to the view<BR> + Without reserve or veil; and as a power<BR> + Is salutary, or an influence sweet,<BR> + Are each and all enabled to perceive<BR> + That power, that influence, by impartial law,<BR> + Gifts nobler are vouchsafed alike to all;<BR> + Reason, and, with that reason, smiles and tears;<BR> + Imagination, freedom in the will;<BR> + Conscience to guide and check; and death to be<BR> + Foretasted, immortality conceived<BR> + By all—a blissful immortality,<BR> + To them whose holiness on earth shall make<BR> + The Spirit capable of heaven, assured.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + ..............................The smoke ascends<BR> + To Heaven as lightly from the cottage hearth<BR> + As from the haughtiest palace. He whose soul<BR> + Ponders this true equality, may walk<BR> + The fields of earth with gratitude and hope;<BR> + Yet, in that meditation, will he find<BR> + Motive to sadder grief, as we have found;<BR> + Lamenting ancient virtues overthrown,<BR> + And for the injustice grieving, that hath made<BR> + So wide a difference between man and man."<BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 13. Dinners, Banquets, Etc. +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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"[1] 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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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.[2] +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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"[3], 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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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? +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] 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. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] 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. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[3] "The Living Temple", by J. H. Kellogg, pp. 282 et al. Published by +Good Health Publishing Co., Battle Creek, Mich., U.S.A. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 14. Theaters +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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.[1] 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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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. +</P> + +<P> +"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.'" +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"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." +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 15. Opera and Musical Entertainments +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +"'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'. +</P> + +<P> +"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: +</P> + +<P> +"'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.'" +</P> + +<P> +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.[2] 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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Can't you spare a glance?<BR> + Have we got a chance?<BR> + You've got a knowing pair of eyes;<BR> + When it's 2 to 1<BR> + It isn't much fun,"<BR> + This is what she soon replies:<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> + "Oh, won't you buy a race-card,<BR> + And take a tip from me?<BR> + If you want to find a winner,<BR> + It's easy as can be<BR> + When the Cupid stakes are starting,<BR> + Your heads are all awhirl,<BR> + And my tip to-day<BR> + Is a bit each way<BR> + On the race-card girl."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +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." +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] 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. +</P> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[2] 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. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 16. Conjuring and Circuses +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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.[1] 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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] This is a rather unorthodox view, but nonetheless interesting, +especially as it pertains to his following statements.—A. R. L., 1996. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +Chapter 17. Sports +</H3> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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.[1] 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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<P> +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. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[1] E. B., 9th ed., vol. 33, p. 649. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of America Through the Spectacles of an +Oriental Diplomat, by Wu Tingfang + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECTACLES, ORIENTAL DIPLOMAT *** + +***** This file should be named 609-h.htm or 609-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/609/ + +Produced by A. Light. HTML version by Al Haines. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: America Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat + +Author: Wu Tingfang + +Posting Date: August 3, 2008 [EBook #609] +Release Date: August, 1996 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECTACLES, ORIENTAL DIPLOMAT *** + + + + +Produced by A. Light. HTML version by Al Haines. + + + + + + + + +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.[1] 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.[2] 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;[3] 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. + +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. + + +[1] 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. + +[2] 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. + +[3] This was several years ago. Fashions change every year. The +present type is equally ludicrous. + + + + +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.[1] 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. + +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. + + +[1] 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. + + + +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.[1] I +question whether any other nation can produce such an excellent example +in the cause of education. + +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. + + +[1] 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. + + + +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.[1] +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. + +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. + + +[1] "To call" in the sense of "to visit".--A. R. L., 1996. + + + +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."[1] 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. + +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. + + +[1] The names of the parties and places were given in full in the +"China Press". + + + +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:[1] "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.[2] + +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. + + +[1] "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. + +[2] 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. + + + +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"[1] 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. + +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.[2] + +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"[3], 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 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. + + +[1] 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. + +[2] 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. + +[3] "The Living Temple", by J. H. Kellogg, pp. 282 et al. Published by +Good Health Publishing Co., Battle Creek, Mich., U.S.A. + + + +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.[1] 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. + +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.[2] 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. + +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." + + +[1] 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. + +[2] 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. + + + +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.[1] 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. + +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. + + +[1] This is a rather unorthodox view, but nonetheless interesting, +especially as it pertains to his following statements.--A. R. L., 1996. + + + +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.[1] 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. + +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. + + +[1] E. B., 9th ed., vol. 33, p. 649. + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of America Through the Spectacles of an +Oriental Diplomat, by Wu Tingfang + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPECTACLES, ORIENTAL DIPLOMAT *** + +***** This file should be named 609.txt or 609.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/609/ + +Produced by A. Light. HTML version by Al Haines. + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +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 + diff --git a/old/asbod10.zip b/old/asbod10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8db1763 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/asbod10.zip |