The Awakening Of China - free ebook by W. A. P. (William Alexander Parsons) Martin

The Awakening of China

By W. A. P. MARTIN, D.D., LL.D Formerly President of the Chinese Imperial University Author of "A Cycle of Cathay," "The Siege in Peking," "The Lore of Cathay," etc....

6 minute read

Read Chapter

PREFACE

China is the theatre of the greatest movement now taking place on the face of the globe. In comparison with it, the agitation in Russia shrinks to insignificance; for it is not political, but social. Its object is not a changed dynasty, nor a revolution in the form of government; but, with higher aim and deeper motive, it promises nothing short of the complete renovation of the oldest, most populous, and most conservative of empires. Is there a people in either hemisphere that can afford to look

3 minute read

Read Chapter

INTRODUCTION

How varied are the geological formations of different countries, and what countless ages do they represent! Scarcely less diversified are the human beings that occupy the surface of the globe, and not much shorter the period of their evolution. To trace the stages of their growth and decay, to explain the vicissitudes through which they have passed, is the office of a philosophic historian. If the life history of a silkworm, whose threefold existence is rounded off in a few months, is replete wi

2 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER I

CHINA PROPER Five Grand Divisions—Climate—Area and Population—The Eighteen Provinces The empire consists of five grand divisions: China Proper, Manchuria, Mongolia, Turkestan, and Tibet. In treating of this huge conglomerate it will be most convenient to begin with the portion that gives name and character to the whole. Of China Proper it may be affirmed that the sun shines nowhere on an equal area which combines so many of the conditions requisite for the support of an opulent and prosperous pe

3 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER II

A JOURNEY THROUGH THE PROVINCES—KWANGTUNG AND KWANGSI Hong Kong—A Trip to Canton—Macao—Scenes on Pearl River—Canton Christian College—Passion for Gambling—A Typical City—A Chief Source of Emigration Let us take an imaginary journey through the provinces and begin at Hong Kong, where, in 1850, I began my actual experience of life in China. From the deck of the good ship Lantao , which had brought me from Boston around the Cape in one hundred and thirty-four days, I gazed with admiration on the Gi

8 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER III

PROVINCE OF FUKIEN Amoy—Bold Navigators—Foochow—Mountain of Kushan—The Bridge of Ten Thousand Years Following the coast to the north some three hundred miles we come to Amoy, the first important seaport in the adjacent province of Fukien. The aspect of the country has undergone a change. Hills attain the altitude of mountains, and the alluvial plains, so conspicuous about Canton, become contracted to narrow valleys. The people, too, are changed in speech and feature. Taller, coarser in physiogno

3 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER IV

PROVINCE OF CHÉHKIANG Chusan Archipelago—Putu and Pirates—Queer Fishers and Queer Boats—Ningpo—A Literary Triumph—Search for a Soul—Chinese Psychology—Hangchow—The Great Bore Chéhkiang, the next province to the north, and the smallest of the eighteen, is a portion of the highlands mentioned in the last chapter. It is about as large as Indiana, while some of the provinces have four or five times that area. There is no apparent reason why it should have a distinct provincial government save that i

9 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER V

PROVINCE OF KIANGSU Nanking—Shanghai—The Yang-tse Kiang—The Yellow River Bordering on the sea, traversed by the Grand Canal and the Yang-tse Kiang, the chief river of the Empire, rich in agriculture, fisheries, and commerce, Kiangsu is the undisputed queen of the eighteen provinces. In 1905 it was represented to the throne as too heavy a burden for one set of officers. The northern section was therefore detached and erected into a separate province; but before the new government was organised th

5 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER VI

PROVINCE OF SHANTUNG Kiao-Chao—Visit to Confucius's Tomb—Expedition to the Jews of K'ai-fung-fu—The Grand Canal—Chefoo In Shantung the people appear to be much more robust than their neighbours to the south. Wheat and millet rather than rice are their staple food. In their orchards apples, pears and peaches take the place of oranges. At Kiao-chao (Kiau-Chau) the Germans, who occupied that port in 1897, have built a beautiful town opposite the Island of Tsingtao, presenting a fine model for imita

3 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER VII

PROVINCE OF CHIHLI Taku—Tientsin—Peking—The Summer Palace—Patachu—Temples of Heaven, Earth, and Agriculture—Foreign Quarter—The Forbidden City—King-Han Railway—Paoting-fu Crossing the gulf we reach Taku, at the mouth of the Peiho, and, passing the dismantled forts, ascend the river to Tientsin. In 1858 I spent two months at Taku and Tientsin in connection with the tedious negotiations of that year. At the latter place I became familiar with the dusty road to the treaty temple; and at the former

9 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER VIII

PROVINCE OF HONAN A Great Bridge—K'ai-fung-fu—Yellow Jews Passing the border city of Weihwei-fu, we find ourselves arrested by the Hwang Ho—not that we experience any difficulty in reaching the other bank; but we wish to indulge our curiosity in inspecting the means of transit. It is a bridge, and such a bridge as has no parallel on earth. Five miles in length, it is longer than any other bridge built for the passage of a river. It is not, however, as has been said, the longest bridge in the wor

4 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER IX

THE RIVER PROVINCES Hupeh—Hankow—Hanyang Iron Works—A Centre of Missionary Activity—Hunan—Kiangsi—Anhwei—Native Province of Li Hung Chang By the term "river provinces" are to be understood those provinces of central and western China which are made accessible to intercourse and trade by means of the Yang-tse Kiang. Pursuing our journey, in twelve hours by rail we reach the frontier of Hupeh. At that point we see above us a fortification perched on the side of a lofty hill which stands beyond the

5 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER X

PROVINCES OF THE UPPER YANG-TSE A Perilous Passage—Szechuen—Kweichau, the Poorest Province in China—Yünnan—Tribes of Aborigines Thus far our voyage of exploration, like one of Cook's tours, has been personally conducted. From this point, however, I must depend upon the experience of others: the guide himself must seek a guide to conduct him through the remaining portions of the empire. We enter the Upper Yang-tse by a long and tortuous passage through which the "Great River" rushes with a force

3 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XI

NORTHWESTERN PROVINCES Shansi—Shensi—Earliest Known Home of the Chinese—Kansuh Of the three northwestern provinces, the richest is Shansi. More favoured in climate and soil than the other members of the group, its population is more dense. Divided from Chihli by a range of hills, its whole surface is hilly, but not mountainous. The highlands give variety to its temperature—condensing the moisture and supplying water for irrigation. The valleys are extremely fertile, and of them it may be said in

1 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XII

OUTLYING TERRITORIES Manchuria—Mongolia—Turkestan—Tibet, the Roof of the World—Journey of Huc and Gabet. Beyond the eastern extremity of the Great Wall, bounded on the west by Mongolia, on the north by the Amur, on the east by the Russian seaboard, and on the south by Korea and the Gulf of Pechili, lies the home of the Manchus—the race now dominant in the Chinese Empire. China claims it, just as Great Britain claimed Normandy, because her conquerors came from that region; and now that two of her

10 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XIII

ORIGIN OF THE CHINESE Parent Stock a Migratory People—They Invade China from the Northwest and Colonise the Banks of the Yellow River and of the Han—Their Conflicts with the Aborigines—Native Tribes Absorbed by Conquerors That the parent stock in which the Chinese nation had its origin was a small migratory people, like the tribes of Israel, and that they entered the land of promise from the northwest is tolerably certain; but to trace their previous wanderings back to Shinar, India, or Persia w

3 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XIV

THE MYTHICAL PERIOD Account of Creation—P'an-ku, the Ancient Founder—The Three Sovereigns—The Five Rulers, the Beginnings of Human Civilisation—The Golden Age—Yau, the Unselfish Monarch—Shun, the Paragon of Domestic Virtues—Story of Ta-yü—Rise of Hereditary Monarchy Unlike the Greeks and Hindoos, the Chinese are deficient in the sort of imagination that breeds a poetical mythology. They are not, however, wanting in that pride of race which is prone to lay claim to the past as well as to the futu

9 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XV

THE THREE DYNASTIES The House of Hia—Ta-yu's Consideration for His Subjects—Kié's Excesses—The House of Shang—Shang-tang, the Founder, Offers Himself as a Sacrificial Victim, and Brings Rain—Chou-sin Sets Fire to His Own Palace and Perishes in the Flames—The House of Chou The Hia, Shang and Chou dynasties together extend over the twenty-two centuries preceding the Christian Era. The first occupies 440 years; the second, 644; and the last, in the midst of turmoil and anarchy, drags out a miserabl

5 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XVI

HOUSE OF CHOU Wen-wang, the founder—Rise and Progress of Culture—Communistic Land Tenure—Origin of the term "Middle Kingdom"—Duke Chou and Cheng wang, "The Completer"—A Royal Traveller—Li and Yu, two bad kings The merciful conqueror who at this time rescued the people from oppression was Wu-wang, the martial king. He found, it is said, the people "hanging with their heads downward" and set them on their feet. On the eve of the decisive battle he harangued his troops, appealing to the Deity as th

7 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XVII

THE SAGES OF CHINA Confucius—Describes Himself as Editor, not Author—"Model Teacher of All Ages"—Mencius—More Eloquent than his Great Master—Lao-tse, the Founder of Taoism I shall not introduce the reader to all who justly bear the august title of sage; for China has had more and wiser sages than any other ancient country. Some of them may be referred to in the sequel; but this chapter I shall devote chiefly to the two who by universal consent have no equals in the history of the Empire—Confuciu

12 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XIX

THE HOUSE OF TS'IN, 246-206 B. C. (2 Emperors) Ts'in Shi-hwang-ti, "Emperor First"—The Great Wall—The Centralised Monarchy—The title Hwang-ti—Origin of the name China—Burning of the Books—Expedition to Japan—Revolution Places the House of Han on the Throne "Viewed in the light of philosophy," says Schiller, "Cain killed Abel because Abel's sheep trespassed on Cain's cornfield." From that day to this farmers and shepherds have not been able to live together in peace. A monument of that eternal co

5 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XX

THE HOUSE OF HAN, 206—B. C.—220 A. D. (24 Emperors, 2 Usurpers) Liu-pang Founds Illustrious Dynasty—Restoration of the Books—A Female Reign—The Three Religions—Revival of Letters—Sze-ma Ts'ien, the Herodotus of China—Conquests of the Hans The burning of the books and the slaughter of the scholars had filled the public mind with horror. The oppressions occasioned by the building of the Great Wall had excited a widespread discontent; and Liu-pang, a rough soldier of Central China, took advantage o

8 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXI

THE THREE KINGDOMS, THE NAN-PEH CHAO, AND THE SUI DYNASTY, 214-618 A. D. The States of Wei, Wu, and Shuh—A Popular Historical Romance—Chu-koh Liang, an Inventive Genius—The "three P's," Pen, Paper, Printing—The Sui Dynasty After four centuries of undisputed sway, the sceptre is seen ready to fall from the nerveless hands of feeble monarchs. Eunuchs usurp authority, and the hydra of rebellion raises its many heads. Minor aspirants are easily extinguished; but three of them survive a conflict of t

8 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXII

THE T'ANG DYNASTY, 618-907 A. D. (20 Emperors) An Augustan Age—A Pair of Poets—The Coming of Christianity—The Empress Wu—System of Examinations I have seen a river plunge into a chasm and disappear. After a subterranean course of many miles it rose to the surface fuller, stronger than before. No man saw from whence it drew its increment of force, but the fact was undeniable. This is just what took place in China at this epoch. It is comforting to know that during those centuries of turmoil the C

7 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXIII

THE SUNG DYNASTY, 960-1280 A. D. (18 Emperors) The Five Philosophers—Wang Ngan-shi, Economist—The Kin Tartars—The Southern Sungs—Aid of Mongols Invoked to Drive Out the Kins—Mongols Exterminate Sungs On the fall of the house of T'ang, a score of factions contended for the succession. During the fifty-three years preceding the establishment of the Sungs, no less than five of them rose to temporary prominence sufficient to admit of being dubbed a "dynasty." Collectively they are spoken of as the "

5 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXIV

THE YUEN OR MONGOL DYNASTY, 1280-1368 (10 Emperors) Kublai Khan—First Intercourse of China with Europe—Marco Polo—The Grand Canal Parts of China had been frequently overrun by foreign conquerors; but the Mongols were the first to extend their sway over the whole country. The subjugation of China was the work of Kublai, grandson of Genghis, who came to the throne in 1260, inheriting an empire more extensive than Alexander or Cæsar had dreamed of. In 1264 the new khan fixed his court at Peking and

3 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXV

THE MING DYNASTY, 1368-1644 A. D. (16 Emperors) Humble Origin of the Founder—Nanking and Peking as Capital—First Arrival of European Ships—Portuguese, Spaniards, and Dutch Traders—Arrival of Missionaries—Tragic End of the Last of the Mings Humble as was the origin of the founder of the House of Han, spoken of as Pu-i , "A peasant clothed in homespun," that of the Father of the Mings was still more obscure. A novice or servant ( sacrificulus ) in a Buddhist monastery, Chu Yuen Chang felt called t

5 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXVI

THE TA-TS'ING DYNASTY, 1644— The Manchus, Invited to Aid in Restoring Order, Seat their Own Princes on the Throne—the Traitor, General Wu San-kwei—Reigns of Shunchi and Kanghi—Spread of Christianity—A Papal Blunder—Yung-cheng Succeeded by Kieñlung, who Abdicates Rather than Reign Longer than his Grandfather—Era of Transformation The Manchus had been preparing for some generations for a descent on China. They had never forgotten that half the Empire had once been in the possession of their forefa

6 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXVII

THE OPENING OF CHINA, A DRAMA IN FIVE ACTS—GOD IN HISTORY Prologue—Act 1, the Opium War—(Note on the Taiping Rebellion)—Act 2, the "Arrow" War—Act 3, War with France—Act 4, War with Japan—Act 5, the Boxer War If one were asked to name the most important three events that took place in Asia in the last century, he could have no hesitation in pointing to the extension of the Indian Empire and the renovation of Japan as two of them. But where would he look for the third? Possibly to some upheaval i

24 minute read

Read Chapter

ACT 3. WAR WITH FRANCE

The curtain rises on the third act of the drama in 1885. Peking was open to residence, and I had charge of a college for the training of diplomatic agents. I was at Pearl Grotto, my summer refuge near Peking, when I was called to town by a messenger from the Board of Foreign Affairs. The ministers informed me that the French had destroyed their fleet and seized their arsenal at Foochow. "This," they said, "is war. We desire to know how the non-combatants of the enemy are to be treated according

14 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR Russia's Schemes for Conquest—Conflicting Interests in Korea—Hostilities Begin—The First Battles—The Blockade—Dispersion of the Russian Fleet—Battle of Liao-yang—Fall of Port Arthur—Battle of Mukden—The Armada—Battle of Tsushima—The Peace of Portsmouth—The Effect on China To the Chinese the retrospect of these five wars left little room for those pompous pretensions which appeared to be their vital breath. Beaten by Western powers and by the new power of the East, their ca

17 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXIX

REFORM IN CHINA Reforms under the Empress Dowager—The Eclectic Commission—Recent Reforms—Naval Abortion—Merchant Marine—Army Reform—Mining Enterprises—Railways—The Telegraph—The Post Office—The Customs—Sir Robert Hart—Educational Reform—The Tung-Wen College—The Imperial University—Diplomatic Intercourse—Progressive Viceroys—New Tests for Honours—Legal Reform—Newspapers—Social Reforms—Reading Rooms—Reform in Writing—Anti-foot-binding Society—The Streets. "When I returned from England," said Marqu

27 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXX

VICEROY CHANG-A LEADER OF REFORM His Origin—Course as a Student—In the Censorate—He Floors a Magnate—The First to Wake Up—As a Leader of Reform—The Awakening of the Giant If I were writing of Chang, the Chinese giant, who overtopped the tallest of his fellow-men by head and shoulders, I should be sure of readers. Physical phenomena attract attention more than mental or moral grandeur. Is it not because greatness in these higher realms requires patient thought for due appreciation? Chang, the vic

31 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXXI

ANTI-FOREIGN AGITATION American Influence in the Far East—Officials and the Boycott—Interview with President Roosevelt—Riot in a British Concession—Ex-territoriality—Two Ways to an End—A Grave Mistake—The Nan-chang Tragedy—Dangers from Superstition So far from being new, an anti-foreign spirit is the normal state of the Chinese mind. Yet during the year past it has taken on new forms, directed itself against new objects, and employed new methods. It deserves therefore a conspicuous place among t

29 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER XXXII

THE MANCHUS, THE NORMANS OF CHINA The Ta-Ts'ing Dynasty—The Empress Dowager—Her Origin—Her First Regency—Her Personality—Other Types—Two Manchu Princes—Two Manchu Ministers—The Nation's Choice—Conclusions In a wide survey of the history of the world, we discover a law which appears to govern the movements of nations. Those of the north show a tendency to encroach on those of the south. The former are nomads, hunters, or fishers, made bold by a constant struggle with the infelicities of their env

16 minute read

Read Chapter

I.

THE AGENCY OF MISSIONARIES IN THE DIFFUSION OF SECULAR KNOWLEDGE IN CHINA[*] [Footnote *: This paper was originally written for Dr. Dennis's well-known work on The Secular Benefits of Christian Missions. As it now appears it is not a mere reprint, it having been much enlarged and brought down to date.] While the primary motive of missionaries in going to China is, as in going to other countries, the hope of bringing the people to Christ, the incidental results of their labours in the diffusion o

12 minute read

Read Chapter

II.

UNMENTIONED REFORMS[*] [Footnote *: Written by the author for the North-China Daily News .] The return of the Mission of Inquiry has quickened our curiosity as to its results in proposition and in enactment. All well-wishers of China are delighted to learn that the creation of a parliament and the substitution of constitutional for autocratic government are to have the first place in the making of a New China. The reports of the High Commissioners are not yet before the public, but it is underst

12 minute read

Read Chapter

III.

A NEW OPIUM WAR The fiat has gone forth—war is declared against an insidious enemy that has long been exhausting the resources of China and sapping the strength of her people. She has resolved to rid herself at once and forever of the curse of opium. The home production of the drug, and all the ramifications of the vice stand condemned by a decree from the throne, followed by a code of regulations designed not to limit, but to extirpate the monster evil. In this bold stroke for social reform the

14 minute read

Read Chapter