^ m u. ->', y.' ^^.^ a-.' ■l-. - .. f -* • • J,'..' ^rv- V 1^1 rffc M* # k ■ 9 r #■' • ■>■ aissfSi; *^"" -^X CORNELL UNIVERSITY 7C^S LIBRARY LIBFMMBEX gETrrq?^ Maj^-*«S»wf«^25 S EP 1 -e-lQZiF Us l»i^Rrn ^ 2 ?- GAYLORD PRINTED IN U.S.A. DS 703.C55 'lUilt "'"" '■"'""' 3 1924 023 128 444 jl Cornell University J Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/cletails/cu31924023128444 CHINA IN ENGLISH LITERATURE BY G. CURRIE MARTIN, M.A., B.D. Ji 'Paper read before the China SOCIETY at Caxton Hall, Westminster, on 'December 4, 1916 EAST AND WEST, LTD. 3, VICTORIA STREET, LONDON. S.W. CHINA IN ENGLISH LITERATURE • By G. Currie Martin, m,a., b.d. Were one to ask the ordinary educated Englishmgtn or Englishwoman for references to China in EngUsh Uterature, they would probably be exhausted by two well-known quota- tions, one from Tennyson and one from Dr. Johnson. " Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay."t This in itself betrays an ignorance of the land to which the poet refers, for it obviously did not enter into his mind that a real " cycle of Cathay " only amounted to sixty years. In the second, China is nothing more than a geographical term. " Let observation with extensive view Survey mankind from China to Peru."f Were the person interrogated to extend his definition of English literature so as to include American, he might quote to you Bret Hafte's " Heathen Chinee," and who knows how much influence that amusing set of verses has had on the mind of the average man in giving him altogether erro- neous ideas about the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire ? J " The smile that is childlike and bland " is supposed to be a characteristic expression of the wily Oriental, who hides under that cloak all sorts of subtleties and chicaneries which * A paper read before the China Society at Caxton Hall, Westminster, on December 4, 1916, Dr. Timothy Richard in the chair, t "Locksley Hall." j " The Vanity of Human Wishes," 2 China in English Literature are destined to ruin the prospects of the trustful Westerner, He knows nothing of the rehabihty, honourable deaUng, and pledged word of the Chinese gentleman. He is unaware of what a Chinese lawyer once told us from this platform — that the Chinese did not require written receipts and elaborate systems of law until they came into close contact with Western civilization. I remember dining with a lady on the eve of my journey to China some years ago, and she expressed great wonder that I should visit such a country. On my asking why, she replied: " Oh, I should hate to go, for I should expect to be murdered in my bed every night !" One would have thought one such experience would suffice, but the mental attitude betrays the distrust that arises from ignorance. Yet, as I hope to show, English readers had comparatively little excuse for their lack of knowledge, for there has existed for centuries in their own language very excellent accounts jof that land, and very just estimates of some of the finer •qualities displayed by its inhabitants. This paper is a mere ballon d'essai, in order to stir up interest in a. subject not hitherto examined, and incite some members of this Society better qualified than myself to make fuller investigatipn. I wish I could claim for the father of English poetry a knowledge of China, and an attempt on the part of him " Who left half told The story of Cambuscan bold "♦ to familiarize his countrymen with the wonders of Cathay. In spite of the effort^ of Professor Skeate to prove that Chaucer's " Squire's Tale " is indebted to Marco Polo, I feel constrained to say that more careful and impartial study has forced us to abandon that idea. There were other accounts of what seemed the mythical wonders of these far off lands that with far greater probability furnished our poet with the foundations of his tale. Neither can we any longer claim Sir John Mandeville as the father of English prose. The real author of that ibook * Milton, " II Penseroso," 1. no. China in English Literature 3 b almost certainly Jiean de Bourgdgne, and his sources Friar Odoric and others, whom he unblushingly plagiiarizes, having probably never gone farther than the Holy Land on his own account. The English version of the work^ originally written in French, exerted a strong influence on English prose for five centuries, and the velrsion made about the year of Chaucer's death familiarized English readers with the mar- vellous romance of the East. He tells tales of the court of the Grand Cham and PreSJter John, and of those other islands (for everything is an inland in these far Eastern lands), whither one must sail from Venice or Genoa. As Miss GreMwood * says of him, " This grieater than Defoe used before Defoe the art of introducing, such little details as give to fiction the appearance of personal recoitectioh." He had, moreover, skilful devices for creating the feeling, of reality; the wonders he relates are sometimes accounted for by what appears a rational cause; touches df criticism or personal reflection contradict the supposition of simplicity; with equal circumstantial gravity he describes the trees which bear " boumbe," or cottoti, and those which bear the very short gourds " which, when ripe, men open and find a little beast with flesh and blood and bone, like a little lamb with- out wool." He " improves " his authorities. Thus, where Odoric sa5ra the hangings of the Great Cham's court were of red leather, Mandeville describes them "as of panther skins as red as blood." He had the quaUfications of a good journalist, and had an excellent eye for a telling phrase. He has an air of dealing faithfully with his readers, for he writes: "He that will trow it, trow it, and he that will not, leave. For I will never the latter tell somewhat that I saw, whether they will trowe it or they nill." He has boundless stories of adventures that remain untold. We can well believe it, if many emanated from his own brain. But he will not " queer the pitch " for subsequent adventurers, " wherefore," says the gallant knight, " I will h'olde me stille." * " Camb. Hist, of Eng. Lit.," vol. ii., chap. ii. 4 China in English Literature Already travellers had been busy in these far Eastern lands — Odoric of Pordenone (1330), whom I have already mentioned, and others more famous, including the best known of all, Marco Polo. The latter is particularly poor in his accounts of China proper, but in one or other of the versions of his book was doubtless known to many EngUsh readers, and anyhow, tales from his pages would be widely familiar. It is, therefore, surprising that among the great Eliza- bethans we have no more frequent reference to Cathay. In the splendid verse of Marlowe's " Tamburlane the Great " ;we look for it in vain. In his sweep of the world, and his grandiloquent speeches as to what he has or what he longs to conquer, Cathay is never mentioned; yet the colour and .splendour of it would have suited his genius^-^had he only known. Why did not Shakespeare, with his universal mind and gift to turn all things to account, discover some of China's secrets ? One can only suppose that in spite of all that had been written no traveller had told anything of China's history, and there was no dramatic situation for him to choose. Ho\v many magnificent lines might have been added to Othello's speech had he only taken him to far Cathay. As it is, the inhabitants of that land were for Shakespeare only synonyms of cheatery and chicanery. Oh, the pity of it I In the " Merry Wives " * Page and Ford discuss Falstaff. " FoYd: I will seek out Falstafi. " Page: I never heard such a drawling, affecting rogue. " Ford,: If I do find it— weU. "Page: I will not beUeve puch a Cataian, though the priest o' the town commended him for a true man." Falstaff as a typical Chinese is too ludicrous for words ! Again, in " Twelfth Night "f Sir Toby Belch in the hour of revelry cries out: " My lady's a Cataian; we are poUti- * " Merry Wives," Act II., Sc. i., 148. + " Twelfth Night," Act II., Sc. iii., 80. China in English Literature 5 cians; Malvolio's a Peg-a- Ramsey, and ' Three merry men be we,' " the context proving the contemptuousness of the reference. Had Spenser known of the riches of the land, we had surely met it in the " Faery Queene." Once he seems all but on the verge of the discovery : * " But let that man with better sense advise, That of the world least part to us is red; And daily how through hardy enterprise Many great Regions are discovered, , Which to late age were never mentioned. Who ever heard of th' Indian Peru ? Or who in venturous vessel measured The Amazon huge river, now found trew ? Or fruitfuUest Virginia who did ever view ?" The hour was at hand when that new knowledge should be within everyone's reach. These were the days of the Elizabethan voyagers, and once, at least, Drake himself came into touch with a Chinaman. This was during a visit to the East Indies. A Chinese refugee begged Drake to take him back to his own land, but the Commander was not prepared to go so far. The Chinese listened to all Drake's adventures " with the utmost attention and delight, and having fixed them in his mind," we are told, " thanked God for the knowledge he had gained. "-j- There was one that has been termed " the busiest mole that burrowed beneath those infloriate lawns. . . ." In a century of the creative genius of such diverse men as Mar- lowe and Nash, Sidney and Raleigh, Drake and Bacon and Donne, he steadfastly fulfilled the office of an editor, second to none in the modest virtues which should adorn it, yet confident of the loftiness of his ideal and the significance of his self-imposed duty. He produced what Froude calls " the great epic of modern England." This man was Richard Hakluyt. " In his rectory at Wetheringsett, when he closed his study door on Suffolk he flung open his window * " Faery Queene," Book II., Introduction. t Johnson, " Life of Drake." 6 China in English Literature to Cathay,"* writes the author of the most recent study on his great book, and he thus brought the magic vision near to his contemporaries. The " Voyages " is a wonderful book — occasionally dull and slow, but ever leading us on by its vistas of wider horizons; filled with dramatic incidents, coloured with all the glory of East and West, for in these pages they inseparably meet. Nothing comes amiss to him, and in his fine English he translates the monkish chronicle, the Romanist missionary, or the pages of Marco Polo into that living tongue that was being moulded into incomparable majesty under the hand of his contemporary, WiUiam Shake- speare. Hakluyt's multifarious riches spilled over into the hands of another and younger clergyman, Samuel Purchas, who styled the five folios he produced " Hakluytus Post- humus, or Purchas his Pilgrimes." The good man tells us that he never travelledi more than two hundred miles from his two Essex livings; but he loved; his work, and though he has little discrimination, he has preserved for us much valuable material, often doubling his predecessor's pages, but at the same timie giving us many new sources of information. From these two storehouses Englishmen learned much, and might have learned far more. Their modern sumptuous editions give us no excuse for leaving unexamined the riches they amassed. Purchas himself has a pertinent passage in one of his numerous quaint editorial notes, which even now, after three hundred years, has its sting of truth. " And so," he writes, " has it fared with all Tarta;rian and Chinesian affaird, of which we had so little knowledge as of Tamerlan, further than terrors of Tartarian armies and some men's special occasions and travels have given us light. Even the sun riseth in those parts whiles it is not day breake with us, and hath attained almost his noon-point before we see him : and worthy we are to abide in a black night of ignorance, if we welcome not what light we can get (if we cannot get what we would) from so remote an East. ... To reconcile all doubts is for me too hard a * Times Lit. Supp., Oct. 26, 1916. China tn English Literature 7 taske, because Cataia and China are even still bemysted^ and leave their surveyors perplexed."* Many of us have crossed in the luxury of the Siberian express these lands once traversed in far more arduous fashion by those early pioneers. We have books written for our instruction by men and women who have spent their lives in China, but we remain ignorant still, and perplexed! by Eastern problems, and many of those who live within her own cities are blind to the riches and wealth of suggestion at their own doors ! For the early seventeenth century there was much excuse, but for the twentieth little save indolence and indifference ! Let us now turn to a brief examination of some of the riches contained in the pages of these two writers drawn from contemporary narratives. Hakluyt, for example, gives a picturesque dialogue printed at Macao in iS90,t which presents a wonderfully accurate picture of China as then known, and many of the names in their quaint spelling are perfectly recognizable. It consists of fifteen provinces, we are told, among those on the coast being Coantum, Foquien, Chequian, Nanquin, Xantum, and Paquin; while among the inland ones are Xiensi, X-ansi, Suchuon, and Junan. The Chinese Wall is described for us, and we are also told how densely populated is all the land. The distinction between what the author terms fu, cheu, and Men towns is clearly given. The soil is described as "fertile, the air wholesome, and. the whole kingdom at peace." Great stores of silver, gold, silk, spices, cotton, and porcelain are everywhere to be found. The system of graduation is explained, the love of literature, the method of Government postal arrangements, and the variety of religions. It is an illuminating document. As we turn over the pages we find in Caspar dia Cruz's " Treatise on China "% a wonderfully fascinating picture of Canton, which in many of its details would still serve as a good; account. It is possessed of " very strong walls, very well made,, audi of a good height, and to the sight they seem * Purchas, xi^ 399. The quotations from Hakluyt and Purchas are from Maclehose's Edition, and the complete Indexes will give references, t Hakluyt, vi. 348 ff. % Purchas, xi. 474 §. 8 China in English Literature almost new, being i,8oo years since they were made, as the Chinese did affirm. They are very clean, without any cleft, hole or rift, or anything threatening rents." Some of us who know the city might have other views about the next passage to be quoted, but one must remember that the conditions of our city streets in the Western world at that time doubt- less left much to be desired, and Ghina might well show to advantage by contrast. " All the streets and traverses are well paved, the pavements going along the houses (whatever that may mean !) and lower in the middles for the course of water. The principal streets have triumphant arches which do cross them, high and very well made, which make the streets very beautiful and enoble the city. " The houses of the common people in the outward show are not commonly very fair, but within are much to be admired, for commonly they are white as milk (the writer must confess he has not seen many Chinese houses to which this epithet would apply !), that they seemed like sheeted paper. They are paved with square stones along the ground of a spanne little more or less, they are dyed with vermilion or almost blacke. The timber is all very smoothe and even, and finely wrought and placed, that it seemeth to be all polished or dyed or in white, and some there is in white so fair and pleasant to the sight, waved Damaske-like as it were gold, and so bright that they should do it injurie in painting it." The next description might have been written yesterday. " It is very populous and the people so much, that at the entering of the gates on the Riverside you can scarce get through. Commonly the people that goeth out and in doe cry and make a great noyse to give place to them that Carrie burdens." The traveller is a native of Portugal, and notes that the poverty is not so great as in his own country, nor the con- ditions of the worker so trying. " Idle people," he affirms, " be much abhorred in this country." Another of his remarks we know to be true, though we will not pursue him with his proof of it — our own recollection of city and country China in English Literature 9 smells in China will suffice to make us agree. " There is nothing lost in this country, be it never so vile." He has great admiration for the Chinese carrying-chairs — ^vehicles doubtless familiar to him in the West, but appar- ently, from his admiration for them, the Chinese variety excelled those which he knew at home. " The chairs have a little window in each side very fair with a net made of ivory or of bone or of wood, through the which they that go within doe see on the one side and on the other of the street without being seen." We have heard that the tricks of butchers and poulterers which he mentions are not unknown in China at the present day. " There are infinite swine, which is the flesh they most love — that it may weigh more they fill it first with meat and drenk, and the hens to make them weigh the more they fill theme likewise with water, and their crops full of sand and other things." The modern method of incubators, he asserts, was not unknown to the Chinese poultry farmer, though one he names is extremely primitive, and I fear he is altogether drawing on his imagination, or has been " fed up " with fabulous tales. " In summer laying 2,000 or 3,000 eggs in the dung, and with the heat of the weather and the dung the eggs are hatched. In the winter they make a hurdle of canes very great upon the which they lay this great number of eggs, under the which they make a slack fire, continuing it of one sort a few days till the eggs be hatched." He is greatly interested in their method of rearing ducks, and has quite a pleasing picture of the daily scene, as well as a description of the wild fowl, which remains as one of our own most vivid recollections of travel on the Yangtse. " After it is broad day they give them a little sodden rice not till they have enough; when they have given it them they open a door to the River where is a Bridge made of canes — and the noise they make at their going forth is wonderful to see them goe tumbling one over another for the great abundance of them, and the time they take in lo China in English Literature going out. They feed all the day until night among the fields of rice. Those which are owners of the shipping doe receive a fee of them that own the fields for letting them feed in them, for they doe cleanse them, eating the grass that groweth among them. When night tometh they call with a little taber, and though they be ih sundry Barkes, every one knows their own by the sound of the taber, and goe into it, and because always in time some remayne without that come not in, there are everywhere many flocks of wild ducks and likewise of geese." He saw the method of fishing with cormorants, which he accurately describes. Apparently, Chinese roadways at that period were superioi" to those of Europe, and the lines which follow must recall to many here days of travel over mountain and valley when these same ways were trodden, and the beauty of many lonely spots disclosed. To me there was always a poetry in these paved ways of China, which countless multitudes had trodden. They had something of the marvel of the Roman roads, but one felt they were not made primarily for piilitary purposes, but for trade and peaceful intercourse. This is how our author describes them : "In all the mountains and hills where there are ways they are very well made, cut with the Pick-axe, and paved where they are needful. This is one of the good works of China, and it is very general in every place of it. . . . Many hills are cut in steps very well made." Finally he is brought in touch with a novelty which is evidently not much to his hking. " He (the Chinaman) hath a custom to offer in a fine basket one porcelain with a kind of drink which they call cha, which is somewhat bitter, red, and medicinal, which they are wont to make of a certain concoction of herbs somewhat bitter." What would our good Portuguese have said could he have had a vision of the time when men and women all over the world drink that same " bitter, red, and medicinal " drink, not only with China in English Literature 1 1 dielfight, but Ipng for it, if it is withheld, and the attempt to abolish " afternoon tea " might end in a revolution ? Surely the next statement — tbie last I have time to quote from his fascinating record — ^is an inference, not a statement of what he had seen. " There are some Chinaes that weare very long nails, of half a quarter and a quarter long, wl?i^h they keep very clean, and these nails doe serve them instead of the sticks for to eat withal." These rich stores did not seem to be drawn on to as great an extent as we should suppose by subsequent writers. It is true that Robert Burton, with his massive learning, has many shrewd references to China in his " Anatoipy." He praises them for not allowing many bachelors to live in their midst. He quotes the Jesuit father Riccius (apparently his main authority) on " that flourishing Commonwealth of China." He is full of admiration, as we shall find Thomas Carlyle was at a later time, of their method of choosing^ magistrates. " Out of their philosophers and doctors they choose magistrates, their publick Nobles are taken from such as be moraliter nobiles, virtuous noble; nobilitas ut olim ab officio, non a natura, as in Israel of old, and their office was to defend and govern their Country in war and peace, not to- hawk, hunt, eat, drink, game alone, as too many do. Their Loysii, Mandirini, literati, licentiati, and such as have raised themselves by their worth, are their Noblemen only, thought fit to govern a state."* He quotes a Chinese proverb tO' the effect that they have two eyes, Europeans one, and the rest of the world blind. He makes numerous references to- their prosperity, customs, and superstitions. Later in the seventeenth century we have Sir Thomas Browne writing: " The Chinese, who live at the bounds of the earth, who have admitted little communication and suflFered successive incursions from one nation, may possibly give account of a very ancient language; but consisting of many nations and tongues, confusion, admixtion, and cor- ruption in length of time might probably so have crept in, * " Anat. of Mel.," Part II., Sect, iii., Mem. ii. 12 China in English Literature as, without the virtue of a common character and lasting letter of things, they could never probably make out those strange memorials which they pretend, while they still make use of the works of their great Confucius many hundred years before Christ, and in a series ascend as high as Pon- cuus [P'an Ku], who is conceived our Noah."* This sentence is as involved as Sir Thomas's often are, but we can gather from it that he has some hope of discovering in China the origin of language ! Our second great national poet, John Milton, did not allow China to go altogether unnoticed in his epic. He has a metaphor descriptive of the issue of sin and death from the mouth of Hell, and driving thither all they met : " As when two polar winds, blowing adverse Upon the Cronian Sea, together drive Mountains of ice, that stop the imagined way Beyond Petsora eastward to the rich Cathaian coast, "f In the vision granted to Adam from the highest hill of Paradise we have a gorgeous passage of magnificent names in which occur these lines : " His eye might there command wherever stood City of old or modern fame, the seat Of mightiest empire, from the destined walls Of Cambalu, seat of Cathaian Can, And Samarchand by Oxus, Temir's throne, To Paquin, of Sinaean kings, and thence To Agra and Lahor of Great Mogul."J And one further reference shows he knew little about the solidity of Peking carts : " On the barren plains Of Sericana, where Chineses drive With sails and wind their cany waggons light. "§ Among Milton's prose works is a " Brief History of Mus- covia," in the preface to which he says: " What was scat- tered in many volumes, and observed at several times by eye * " Of Languages." Works, vol. iv., p. 197 (ed. 1835), f " Paradise Lost," x. 289 §. % " Paradise Lost," xi. 387 ff. § " Paradise'Lost," iii. 438. China in English Literature ■ 13 witnesses, with no cursory pains I laid together, to save the reader a far longer travail of wandering through so many desert authors: who yet with some delight drew me after them, from the eastern bounds of Russia to the walls of Cathay." When we turn to the chapter that deals with Cathay we find that he is solely dependent on Hakluyt and Purchas for his information. These quotations show that what Sir R. K. Douglas wrote was true. " All the names which had been made familiar by Marco Polo were exchanged for modern forms. Cathay, Cambalec, Campsay, Zayton, and Chiukalan had become China, Peking, Hangchow, Chinchow, and Canton; but it was some considerable time before it was generally accepted that the Cathay of the fourteenth, century was identical with China, and even as late as the seventeenth century map- makers laid it down as a country lying to the North of China." None of us will have forgotten our childhood's memories of the great romance written early in the eighteenth century by Daniel Defoe, " Robinson Crusoe," and we shall remember that towards the end of that book the hero finds his way to China and visits Nanking and Peking. Defoe is evidently not favourable to the Chinese, and writes of them in a very insular and parochial spirit. " What are their buildings," he insolently cries,* " to the palaces and royal buildings of Europe ? What is their trade, to the universal Commerce of England, Holland, France, and Spain ? What are their Cities to ours, for Wealth, Strength, Gaiety of Apparel, rich Furniture, and an infinite Variety? What are their ports, supplied with a few Jonks and Barks, to our Navigation, our Merchant fleets, our large and powerful Navies ? Our City of London has more Trade than all their mighty Em- pire. . . . But the Greatness of their Wealth, their Trade, the Power of their Government, and Strength of their Armies, is Surprising to us, because, as I have said, considering them as a barbarous Nation of Pagans, little better than S^yageSj we did not expect such things among them ; and this is * " Robinson Crusoe." Farther Adventures apud finem. 14 China in English Literature indeed the Advantage with which all their Greatness and PoWer is represented to us ; otherwise it is in itself nothing at an." Here is nd sympathy, and therefore no insight, and it may be that such writing on Defoe's part, in a book so popular and so widely read, may have had a large share in creating common misconceptions that are current about China to this very day. Still worse follows: "I saw andi knew that they were a contemptible Herd or Crowd of i^orant sordid Slaves, subjected to a Government qualified only to rule such a people." His picture of the Chinese gentleman is a horrible caricature, and there is only one curious and interesting incident — that of the house " plais- tei'ed with the earth that makes China ware. On the out- side it was perfect white, and painted with blue figures, as the large China ware in England is painted, and hard, as if it had been burnt." Walls and floors within were of tiles, the figures on which were " exceeding fine indeed, with ex- traordinary Variety of Colours mixed with Gold . . . arid after all, the Roof was covered with Tiles of the same, but 6f a deep shining Black." Perhaps it was of some such' house- that our Portuguese friend was thinking in his de-' SCfiptibn quoted earlier in this paper. A v^y different atmosphere surrounds us when we come tft' the gentle htiWiour of Oliver Goldsmith. Here, for the first time in the middle of the eighteenth century, do we find a gracious and imaginative use made h^ an English literary man of his knowledge of China. In the "Citizen of the World " the letters are supposed to be written by a Chinese philosopher, who was a native of Honan. " The- Chinese," says Goldsmith, " are always concise, so is he; they are simple, so is he; the Chinese are grave and sententious, so is he." And then with a quaint turn, laughing as much' at himself as the Chinese, he adds, " But in one particular the resemblance is peculiarly striking— the Chinese are often dull, so is he !" There are many sly hits at the general English ignorance of the country; while they boast themselves of their know- China in English Literature 1 5 ledge they speculate much on the antiquities of the country, though they know little of its present condition. A con- temporary letter of a Mr. James written in 1756, tb be found in NichoUs' " Literary Illustrations'," gives proof of this. This gentleman had met the Chinese Ambassador, and goes on to write of the people as follows: " Their antiquity makes them a proper study of an universal Antiquary. What I have read of them shows that they are descendants of Noah and his wife after they came out of the Ark, and that they are the likeliest persons in the known world to read the Hieroglyphrcal Signatures of Thebes and Egypt, not being used to read by an alphabetical character, as the manner was in more enlightened later days." Goldsmith nlakes much fun of such learned trifling in his pages, thus: " Fohi and Noah are the same person, since they have each four letters, of which two are the same. Fohi had no father, and Noah's was presumably drowned in the flood, which amounts to the same thing in the end, therefore they are identical." We have quotations from Confucius and Mencius, and tales of China, like that of th6 truth-telling mirror of Lao, The Chinese philosopher is pictured in a pleasing and gracious way, and he is allowed to criticize and satirize the foibles of English society, at least as much as Englishmen do those of his own land. In Gibbon's " Decline and Fall " there are several refer- ences to China, but to one characteristic paragraph I may be permitted to devote a few moments. In discussing the trade between China and Rome, and the silk brought to the West from that land, he says: " I reflect with some pain that if the importers of silk had introduced the art of print- ing already practised by the Chinese the comedies of Menan- der and the entire decades of Livy would have been perpetu- ated in the editions of the sixth century. A larger view of the Globe might at least have pronioted the improvement of! speculative science, but the Christiaij geography was the surest symptom of an unbelieving mind. The orthodox faith confined the habitable world to one temperate zone^ 1 6 China in English Literature and represented the earth as an oblong surface, four hun- dred days' journey in length, two hundred in breadth, en- compassed by the ocean, and covered by the solid crystal of the firmament."* Here is a generous recognition of what international intellectual intercourse might have accom- pHshed had the West only sought to draw wisdom from Oriental springs. In another of his writings Gibbon eulo- gizes the family of Confucius, which he reckons the most illustrious in the world. " In the vast equality of the Empire of China the posterity of Confucius have maintained above 2,200 years this peaceful honour and perpetual suc- cession. The chief of the family is still revered by the sovereign and the people as the lively image of the wisest of mankind." In the general turmoil of a few years ago, it was at least rumoured that the then head of the family, living in a very humble position in Peking, might be made head of the Chinese State. In this rapid survey we come next to William Cowper, in whose poems we find two casual references to things Chinese. In the "Progress of Error " occurs the following couplet: " Gorgonius sits abdominous and wan. Like a fat squab upon a Chinese fan"; and in the " Epistle to Joseph Hill " the lines: " Once on a time, an emperor, a wise man. No matter where, in China or Japan, Decreed that whosoever should offend Against the well-known duties of a friend. Convicted once, should ever after wear But half a coat, and show his bosom bare; the punishment importing this, no doubt. That all was naught within and all found out." There is no need to enlarge on Charles Lamb's delightful Chinese fantasy on the discovery of roast pig, but in Leigh Hunt's " World of Books " there is an interesting and curious passage: " China, sir, is a very unknown place to us — ^in one sense of the word unknown, but who is not intimate with it as the land of tea, and china, and kotous, and pago- das, and mandarins, and Confucius, and conical caps, and * " Bury's Edn.," iv. 534. China in English Literature 17 people with little names, little eyes, and little feet, who sit in little bowers, drinking little cups of tea, and writing little odes ? The Jesuits, and the tea-cups, and the novel of Ju-Kiao-Li have made us acquainted with it; better a great deal than millions of its inhabitants are acquainted, fellows who think it in the middle of the world, and know nothing of themselves. With one China they are totally unacquainted — to wit, the great China of the poet and old travellers, Cathay, the seat of Cathaian Can, the country of which Ariosto's Angelica was princess royal. Yes, she was a Chinese, the fairest of her sex, Angelica." We remember that Coleridge, writing in 1797, founded on an imperfectly remembered sentence in Purchas his fragment of " Kubla Khan " : " In Xanadu did Kubla Khan A stately pleasure-dome decree: Where Alph, the sacred river, ran Through caverns measureless to man Down to a sunless sea. So twice five miles of fertile ground With walls and towers were girdled round, And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills. Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree. And here were forests ancient as the hills. Enfolding sunny spots of greenery." In Byron's " Don Juan " (xii. 9) we have: "The ship From Ceylon, Inde, or far Cathay unloads." One other poet, Thomas Moore, derives a line from these same Chinese beauties in the couplet : " From Persian eyes of full and fawn-like ray. To the small half-shut glances of Cathay."* But our great poets have not yet turned to China for inspiration. What would not Browning have made of it I How wonderful would have been some parleyings with certain people Chinese, some monologue of a great sage, or some dramatic incident in Chinese history ! One would have given a great deal to possess Browning's analysis, e.g., of * " Lalla Rookh." 1 8 China in English Literature the soul of the Empress Dowager. The inscrutable nature of much in the deepest Chinese character it would take a master like him to unravel. In Carlyle's " Heroes " we find him sympathizing with Chinese methods, as if they at least had ventured on Plato's plan of making kings philosophers and philosophers kings. " The most interesting fact," he says, " I hear about the Chinese is one on which we cannot arrive at clearness; but which excites endless curiosity even in the dim state, this, namely, that they do attempt to make their Men of Letters their Governors ! . . . There does seem to be all over China a more or less active search everywhere to discover the men of talent that grow up in the young generation. . . . These are they whom they try first, whether they can govern or not. And surely with the best hope, for they are the men that have already shown intellect. Try them; they have not governed or administered as yet; perhaps they cannot; but there is no doubt they have some Understanding without which no man can ! . . . Surely there is no kind of govern- ment, constitution, revolution, social apparatus or arrange- ment, that I know of in this world, so promising to one's scientific curiosity as this. The man of intellect at the top of aifairs; this is the aim of all constitutions and revolutions, if they have any aim."* And now China is trying the ex- periment with more vigour and, let us hope, prospect of success than ever before. Among the " Imaginary Conversations " of W. S. Landor is to be found a very long one consisting of eight audiences between the Emperor of China and his Ambassador, Tsing- ti. The latter had been sent to Europe in order to find some zealous religious bigots who might sow dissension among the Emperor's enemies, the Tartars, The description given of England is very severely satirical, but we do not fiijd very much about China, save by way of contrast, as when the Emperor asks him to amuse the children with part of his adventures, but adds, " Pry thee * " On Heroes "— " The Hero as Man of Letters." China in English Literature ig do not relate to them any act of intolerance or inhumanity ; the young should n6t be habituated to heair or see what is offensive to our nature and derogatory to the beneficence of our God." The whole dialogue is well worth study. De Quincey wrote a pamphlet in 1857 in support of the war against China, which is full of the most atrocious mis- statements and prejudice. The following sentence will suffice : In the case of China this apostrophe, The nations hate thee ! — would pass by acclamation, without needing the formality of a vote. Such has been the inhuman insolence of this vilest and silliest among nations." The adjectives could scarcely have been worse chosen. As is the case with our great poets, so with our great novelists — no one has taken China for a background, or has endeavoured to interpret to us Chinese thought and life. Obviously the long and intimate connection of India with England gave that land a better opportunity, but China awaits, in the realm of fiction, her equivalents to Kipling, Flora Annie Steele, and other lesser lights. Japan has been more fortunate than she. Mr. Putnam Weale has blazed a trail in " The Human Cobweb," " The Eternal Priestess," and " The Unknown God." In these books there are some very living descriptions of things Chinese, and the reader gets memorable pictures of the great scenes in Peking and on the Yangtse. The atmosphere is often correct, but there is no real insight into Chinese character, or any setting forth of all that is most beautiful and worthy in the life of the land. A great novel revealing to the English people something of the heart of China would be one of the greatest gifts that could bef besto^Jved upon us.* Dickens only once describes a member of the race— in a * By a curious coincidence, just as these pages were being written there came into my hands a novel by an American writer (A. H. Fitch) under the title "The Breath of the Dragon," w^iich comes nearer what I have desired to see than any other book I know. It gives a good account of Ufe under the Einpress Dowager, and almost all the characters and incidents move in Chinese and not in Western circles. The book is a proof of what can be done, and a promise of more perfect attainment. 20 China in English Literature filthy opium den in the opening chapter of " Edwin Drood." Thackeray, so far as I know, touches it not at all, save in trifling verse in the ballads, which may form an amusing interlude : A TRAGIC STORY There lived a sage in days of yore, And he a handsome pig-tail wore, But wondered much and sorrowed more, Because it hung behind him. He mused upon this curious case. And swore he'd change the pig-tail's place. And have it hanging at his face. Not dangling there behind him. Says he, the mystery I've found, I'll turn me round — he turned him round. But still it hung behind him. Then round and round, and out and in All day the puzzled sage did spin; In vain — it mattered not a pin — The pig- tail hung behind him. And right and left, and round about. And up and down, and in and out He turned, but still the pig- tail stout Hung steadily behind him. And though his efforts never slack. And though he twist, and twirl, and tack, Alas ! still faithful to his back, The pig-tail hangs behind him ! If this seems to any learned readers too frivolous, it scarcely needs to be pointed out that such a poem easily lends itself to various forms of allegorical interpretation, which I shall leave to their ingenuity to discover ! In John Stuart Mill's famous essay " On Liberty," in addition to two or three passing references to China, he has one rather significant passage in which he does justice to that people as " a nation of much talent, and, in some respects, even wisdom, owing to the rare good fortune of having been provided at an early period with a particularly good set of customs, the work in some measure of men to whom even the most enlightened European must accord, China in English Literature 21 under certain limitations, the title of sages and philoso- phers."* Further, he praises their faculty for impressing their best collective wisdom on the community, but in thus attempting to mould all on one pattern he sees the fatal weakness of the method, and warns his own countrymen against copying so dangerous a rdgime. Books on China and Chinese affairs, accounts of travel in China, studies in her literature and ideas, have been written in ever increasing numbers within the last century, but what among them will be reckoned as permanent additions to English literature it is, happily, not for me to decide. (The latest and by no means the least significant is from the pen of our learned and versatile president of this afternoon.) Many of the ablest have been written by members of this Society, and it would not be fitting to appraise them amongst ourselves. Curiously enough, the only English poem known to me that is really interpretative of China is written by a man who, so far as I know, has never visited that country. Happily, he is still living, and his messages are full of stirring thoughts and energizing power to those who receive them. In his volume of poems entitled " Towards Democracy " Edward Carpenter has given a marvellous picture of that land, and has sought to bring it nearer to the imagination and heart of the English people. It was written in the year 1900. I cannot quote it all, but enough, I trust, to show you its power. Carpenter generally writes in the manner of Walt Whitman, and he does so here : " Far in the interior of China, Along low-lying plains and great rivers, valleys, and by lake-sides, and far away up into hilly and even mountainous regions, Behold ! an immense population, rooted in the land, rooted in the clan and family The most productive and stable on the whole Earth. A garden, one might say — a land of rich and recherche crops, of rice and tea, and silk, and sugar, and cotton and oranges ; Do you see it ? — stretching away endlessly over river-lines and lakes, and the gentle undulations of the lowlands, and up the escarpments of the higher hills ; * J. S. Mill, " On Liberty," chap. iii. 22 China in English Literature "The innumerable patchwork of cultivation ; the poignant verdure of the' young rice; the sombre green of orange groves; the lines of tea- shrubs, well-hoed and showing the bare earth beneath; the pollard mulberries; the plots of cotton and maize and wheat, and yam and clover; The little brown and green-tiled cottages with spreading recurved eaves, the clumps of feathery bamboo, or of sugar canes ; The endless silver threads of irrigation-canals and ditches, skirting the hills for scores and hundreds of miles, tier above tier, and, serpen- tining down to the lower slopes and plains; if -t * if *■ The endless hills and cascades flowing into pockets and hollows of veiidijre, and on fields of steep and plain; The bits of rock and wild wood left here and there, with the angles of Buddhist temples projecting from among the trees; The azalea and rhododendron bushes, and the wild deer and pheasants unharmed; The sounds of music and the gong — the Sinfa sung at eventide — aiid the air of contentment and peace pervading; A garden you might call the land, for its wealth of crops and flowers, A town almost for its population." * The poet then goes on to describe its condition, " rooted in the family," touched hut hghtly by Government, and by religious theorizing: " By the way of abject common sense they have sought the gates of' Paradise and to found on human soil their City Celestial !" Then he concludes : " And this is an outline of the nation which the Western nations would fain remodel on their own lines. The pyramids standing on their own apexes wanting to overturn the pyramid which rests four-square on its base !" The general outcome of this examination of our literature is to display the poorness rather than the richness of its acquaintance with China, and the strange lack of apprecia- tion on the part of literary interpreters of the wonderful store of material that hes ready to their hand. They have enough history, description, and translation to supply them with a background on which their imagination may work, even without a visit to the magical land itself. But what a land it is ! Soon we shall not be able to find medievalism anywhere as we can there. Even now, I suppose, things are * " China," 1900. China in English Literature 23 altering with such rapidity that it is not easy to do it so well as six years ago. With what marvellous pictures are our minds stored who have seen it all ! Those great street scenes in the crowded cities ; the vast grandeur of Peking, the sunrises and sunsets on the stupendous Northern plain; the nights in the court- yards of inns, with Rembrandt-like effects of light and shadow; and the weird suggestions of it all, as if somehow it called up familiar scenes out of our own past. Then the scenery of rivers, lakes, mountains, beautiful a thousandfold more than we had dreamed. Visions abide with us of city fronts almost magical in the semi-darkness, their sordidness kindly hidden, and only their majestic gran- deur and impressiveness revealed; of exquisitely situated pagodas and sleepy temples ; of noble vistas over wild moun- tain ranges and brooding plains. And then the people — their endless fascination; their sterling qualities of character ; their patience ; their frequent brilliance; their courtesy; their depths of possibility. Oh, if one had only the power to set it all out in poetry, fiction, or drama, so as to touch one's country men and women ! And to think that so many judge China from some play of the class of " Mr. Wu," or from the miserable creations of Chinese scoundrels in popular books of detective stories ! What is probably wanted, more than anything else, is an interpretation in English poetry or fiction from the pen of a Chinese author who knows his own people, and can enable us to see into their souls. We eagerly await the day — surely not far off — when someone from China will do for his people what Rabindranath Tagore has done for India. If the practical outcome of this paper could be that we should arouse some of our friends who have the real literary gift to turn to China for their next subject, or if some of us who possess that gift would so use it, we might be rendering a splendid service to the cause of international fellowship, to the uplift of the whole world, and to the best interests of that land and people which, next to our own, some of us here love best in all the world. 24 DISCUSSION ON THE FOREGOING PAPER The Chairman (Dr. Timothy Richard) having expressed his high appreciation of the paper, Mr. George Jamieson rose to propose a very hearty vote of thanks to the Lecturer. With great industry, he said, Mr. Martin had travelled through the whole range of English literature and culled from it here and there extracts bearing on China. The paper began with an account of how certain interesting tales of China had been preserved to us. In the Elizabethan period, when great com- mercial and maritime development was proceeding, after the dis- covery of the New World and the road to the Far East, when travellers were bringing back stories of distant lands, it so happened that there was a quiet clergyman living in Suffolk : who, although he had never made a voyage in his life, was interested in the voyages of others. He gathered round him these travellers and got them to tell him their stories and to lend him their ships' logs. Thus, he collected stories of the whole world, among which a few referred to China. In that way refer- ences to China were preserved which otherwise would not have been available, and Hakluyt's accounts were fortunately free from a great deal of the imagination which characterized other writers' descriptions. The speaker considered that Caspar da Cruz's de- scription of Canton was still a very good one, recalling scenes which were familiar to most of them. That, incidentally, wa,s another source of inforaiation which by the industry of this unpretentious clergyman had been preserved. But subsequent authors did not know much about China, nor did they take the trouble to inform themselves, for the next hundred years or so. The majority of the writers who had touched upon the subject of China had given an ounce of fact for a pound of fancy. In the case of Milton, for in- stance, following upon that magnificent description of Satan's voyage through Chaos and Darkness, when finally he reached the rim of the new-born world, the poet likened him to a vulture find- ing his way from the Far North to the plains, " To gorge the flesh of lambs and yearling kids . . .," China in English Literature 25 but, on his way, lighting " On the barren plains Of Sericana, where Chineses drive With sails and wind their cany waggons light." If by Sericana the poet meant the Ordos Desert, he would not have been. far out, but he would not have found many "Chineses" there. Besides, he need not have gone all the way to Hindustan; on the fertile plains of China the vulture would have found prey enough to batten upon. With regard to Coleridge, it was true that Khubla Khan had a summer palace in Shangtu, but as for Alf, the sacred river, and so on, he thought that was all fancy. This was one of the many instances of fact and fancy being mixed together, as occurred in so many references to China. Dr. Lionel Giles, the Secretary of the Society, endorsed what Mr. Jamieson had said in praise of the lecture, and seconded the vote of thanks. He said he agreed with the Lecturer's favourable estimate of Goldsmith's " Citizen of the World." It deserved to be much more widely read than it was at present, though rather for the purpose of studying English manners and customs of the eighteenth century than of obtaining correct information on China. There were some amusing blunders. For instance, the name of the hero. Lien Chi Altangi, was an impossible compound. " Lien Chi " might perhaps pass muster as a real Chinese name, but why tack on the Turkish " Altangi " ? Again, the oaths he swore — " Head of Confucius," " Sun of China " — and th^ way he addressed his friend — " O Fum, thou son of Fo "—were Oriental perhaps, but certainly not Chinese. Then there was the Chinese bride, who spoke of going out shopping with her mamtna, and purchasing ribbons from a female milliner! There were also several sayings of Confucius in the book which would not be found in the Chinese Canon. With regard to Dickens, Mr. Martin had stated that the only reference to China was to be found in the opening chapter of " Edwin Drood." That was not quite literally correct, although' to all intents and purposes it was true. It might interest Mr. Martin to know that the hero of "Little Dorrit" was stated to have spent more than twenty years in China. Arthur Clennam, the gentleman in question, was one of those colourless nonentities whom we find serving as a foil to Dickens' more highly coloured creations. As to his haying been in China at all, we must simply decline to believe it. Not a single reminiscence of that wonderful country or her no less wonderful people escaped his lips from the first page to the last. Dr. Giles went on to say that his real purpose in rising was to bring to the notice of those present a small book published in the reign of Queen Anne, in 1711, entitled "An Account of the Trade in India," by Charles Lockyer. " India" was a vague term applied in those days to the Far East generally, and that was perhaps the reason why the work seemed to be so little known to students of China. Two chap- ters were taken up almost entirely by a description of Canton, and 26 China in English Literature it appeared to be the most excellent account that had been produced up to that date, or for as long as a century afterwards. The follow- ing paragraph seemed to confirm Caspar da Cruz's description of the whiteness of the walls of dwelling-houses there: Papered Walls. — " Instead of white Washing, they cover the Walls of their Chambers with a sort of thin white Paper, which the Stationers paste on, for a small matter; it looks very well, but will not last." The following further extracts might be interesting : Canton. — The City Wall is of Stone to a great thickness, very high, and fortified with Guns and Outworks at irregular distances. The Guns are marked with China characters, whence I doubt not of their being made here; they are about 8 or 9-Pounders, some mounted on short Carriages^ others without any, some very much Honeycomb'd, and all out of order. ... Food. — Rice is their general Diet, which they shove out of small Bowls so greedily into their throats that 'tis impossible for them oftentimes to shut their Mouths. They are likewise fond of several Kinds of Meat, that we think but one Degree better than Poison. DogSj Cats, Rats, Snakes, and Frogs are Daintys; the last bear almost double the Price of other Flesh in the Bazars. ... Rats are good meat to unprejudiced Eaters, Snake-Broth is very nour- ishing to sick Persons; but for Dogs and Cats I cati speak nothing experimentally. Fruits. — ^The Fruits they abound in are Oranges, Water Melons, Limes, Pairs, Red Plumbs, Pine Apples, Plantains, Bonanps, Ches- nuts, Pumplemusses, and in general whatever the most fertile Parts of India produce, only coconuts and Palm Fruit they want. , The Pumplemus is like a pale Orange, contains a substance much like it, and is five times as big. Some have white, and others red cloves within, but the Colour makes no Alteration in the Tast. Tartars and Chinese. — I could see no Difference in the Jijen of those Nations. *rhey are of an equal Bulk and Stature, and so well alike in Features, that tho' I was 5 months among them, I could not distinguish one from another by his Face. Plays.— Their Sinest Plays are but Sadness well acted; nor would a Strangfer think their best Singing any other than artificial Crying; for they raise and fall their Voices in such harsh, squally and un- griateful tones, that there is neither Head nor Tail to be found in it. Their Plays are wholly Tragick, acted by Eunuchs with great Pas- sion, and are entertaining to Strangers, tho' they know nothing of their Language; for there is something of Novelty in every Act, which Gesture alone very agreeably imprints in our Minds Manners.— Tht better Sort of People are Civil and Complaisant to Strangers; but the Commonalty often Rude and Troublesome When I have been buying of Toys in their Shops, of which here are such Variety, that a Man cannot tell when he has all. the Doors China in English Literature 27 in an instant have been throng'd with a larger gazing Mob, than in London attends the Morocco Embassador. They are here civiller than at Amoy, where I have been told the Boys often throw Sticks and Stones, and otherwise insult Europeans, without Correction from their Parents. Dress. — The Tartars oblige 'em to shave their Heads, all but about the bteadth of a Crown, where the Hair is carefully preserved to be plaited, and hang like a Whip down the Back. The longer this is the more Beauish they are counted, therefore they often help it with Art. The Beaus, or Men of Dress, are never compleat without short Boots on, made of quilted Sattin, with Soles an inch thick, no Heels, and a fine Border on the Tops. Nor do they ever go abroad with- out Fans, instead of Canes in their Hands, which has given Birth to a Saying frequent among them, that the Tartars came on them with Swords, when they had nothing but these Women's Weapons to oppose them with; thereby justly attributing their Subjection to their Effeminacy. When they go abroad in Winter, they keep their Fingers warm with live Quails instead of Muffs. Lanterns. — In the Feast of Lanthorns, I counted seven Hundred in one short Street ; some of them were very large, with little ones hanging round them, like a Paper Hen and Chickins in a Farmer's Hall; and others in such figures as their Fancys lead them to. I know nothiilg but the Candles in Cheapside, on a Rejoycing Night, comparable to it in England. Mosquitoes. — Muschetos, or Gnats, are so plenty in the Summer, that what with their Bitings, and Musick, it is a hard matter to sleep among them. Gauze curtains are a mean defence, and smoking the Rooms signifies nothing; so that the only Remedy is Patience per- force. One thing is remarkable in them, they don't disturb their old Acquaintance half so much as new Ones, who in the morning will be as spotted as if they had been ill of the Small Pox, when others of a longer Standing in the Country shall not have a mark about them. . . . The Chairman observed that he took it they had already thanked Mr. Martin for his lecture. They might also thank Dr. Giles for the excellent appendix which he had given them. He would like to congratulate the Society on the work they were doing. As the Japan Society had resulted in an alliance between Great Britain and Japan, so he hoped that at no distant date the China Society would result in an alliance between Great Britain and China. (Applause.) Mr. Arthur Diosy referred to the honour which had been done the meeting by the presence of Dr. Timothy Richard. He need say no more than that. All who had the interests of China at heart knew what Dr. Timothy Richard's name meant to China, what he had done fpr China, and what he was still doing. THE POET LI PO A.D. 701-762 By ARTHUR WAL^Y A Paper read before the China Society at the School of Oriental Studies ' on November 21, igi8 EAST AND WEST, LTB. 3, VICTORIA STREET, LONDON. S.W. i THE POET LI PO (a.d. 701-762) By Arthur Waley INTRODUCTION Since- the Middle Ages the Chinese haVe been almost unanimous in regarding Li Po as their greatest poet, and the few who have given the first place to his contemporary Tu Fu have usually accorded the second to Li. One is reluctant to disregard the verdict of a people upon its own poets. We are sometimes told by Frenchmen or Russians that Oscar Wilde is greater than Shakespeare. We are tempted to reply that no foreigner can be qualified to decide such a point. Yet we do not in practice accept the judgment of other nations upon their own literature. To most Germans Schiller is still a great poet ; but to the rest of Europe hardly one at all. It is consoling to discover that on some Germans (Lilienkron, for example) Schiller makes precisely the same impression as he does on us. And similarly, if we cannot accept the current estimate of Li Po, we have at least the satisfaction of knowing that some of China's most celebrated writers are on our side. About a.d. 816 the poet Po Chii-i wrote as follows (he is discussing Tu Fu as well as Li Po) : " The world acclaims Li Po as its master poet. I grant that his works show unparalleled talent and origin- ality, but not one in ten contains any moral reflection or deeper meaning. 2 The Poet Li Po " Tu Fu's poems are very numerous ; perhaps about 1,000 of them are worth preserving. In the art of stringing together allusions ancient and modern and in the skill of his versification in the regular metres he even excels Li Po. But such poems as the ' Pressgang,'* and such lines as " ' At the Palace Gate, the smell of wine and meat; Out in the road, one who has frozen to death ' form only a small proportion of his whole work." The poet Yiian Chen (779-831) wrote a famous essay comparing L*i Po with Tu Fu. " At this time," he says (i.e., at the time of Tu Fu), " Li Po from Shantung was also celebrated for his remarkable writings, and the names of these two were often coupled together. In my judgment, as regards impassioned vigour of style, freedom from conventional restraint, and skill in the mere description of exterior things, his ballads and songs are certainly worthy to rub shoulders with Fu. But in disposition of the several parts of a poem, in carrying the balance of rhyme and tone through a composition of several hundred or even in some cases of a thousand words, in grandeur of inspiration combined with harmonious rhythm and deep feeling, in emphasis of parallel clauses, in exclu- sion of the vulgar or modern — in all these qualities Li is not worthy to approach Fu's front hedge, let alone his inner chamber !" "Subsequent writers," adds the " T'ang History" (the work in which this essay is preserved), " have agreed with Yuan Chen." Wang An-shih ( 102 1- 1086), the great reformer of the eleventh century, observes : " Li Po's style is swift, yet never careless ; lively, yet never informal. But his intel- lectual outlook was low and sordid. In nine poems out 01 ten he deals with nothing but wine or women." In the " Yii Yin Ts'ung Hua," Hu Tzii (circa 1120) says : "Wang An-shih, in enumerating China's four * Giles, " Chinese Poetry," p. 90. The Poet Li Po 3 greatest poets, put Li Po fourth on the list. Many vulgar people expressed surprise, but Wang replied : ' The reason why vulgar people find Li Po's poetry congenial is that it is easy to enjoy. His intellectual outlook was mean and sordid, and out of ten poems nine deal with wine or women ; nevertheless, the abundance of his talent makes it impossible to leave him out of account.' " Finally Huang T'ing-chien (a.d. 1050-1110), accepted by the Chinese as one of their greatest writers, says with reference to Li's poetry : " The quest for unusual expres- sions is in itself a literary disease. It was, indeed, this fashion which caused the decay which set in after the Chien-an period {i.e., at the beginning of the third cen- tury A.D.)." To these native strictures very little need be added. No one who reads much of Li's poetry in the original can fail to notice the two defects which are emphasized by the Sung critics. The long poems are often ill-constructed. Where, for example, he wishes to convey an impression of horror he is apt to exhaust himself in the first quatrain, and the rest of the poem is a network of straggling repetitions. Very few of these longer poems have been translated. The second defect, his lack of variety, is one which would only strike those who have read a large number of his poems. Translators have naturally made their selections as varied as possible, so that many of those who know the poet only in translation might feel inclined to defend him on this score. According to Wang An-shih, his two subjects are wine and women. The second does not, of course, imply love-poetry, but sentiments put into the mouths of deserted wives and concubines. Such themes are always felt by the Chinese to be in part allegorical, the deserted lady symbol- izing the minister whose counsels a wicked monarch will not heed. Such poems form the dullest section of Chinese poetry, and are certainly frequent in Li's works. But his most monotonous feature is the mechanical recurrence of certain 4 The Poet Li Po reflections about the impermanence of human things, as opposed to the immutability of Nature. Probably about half the poems contain some reference to the fact that rivers do not return to their sources, while man changes hour by hour. The obsession of impermanence has often been sub- limated into great mystic poetry. In Li Po it results only in endless restatement of obvious facts. It has, I think, been generally realized that his strength lies not in the content, but in the form of his poetry. Above all, he was a song-writer. Most of the pieces translated previously and most of those I am going to read to-day are songs, not poems. It is noteworthy that his tombstone bore the inscription, " His skill lay in the writing of archaic songs." His immediate predecessors had carried to the highest refinement the art of writing in elaborate patterns of tone. In Li's whole works there are said to be only nine poems in the strict seven-character metre. Most of his familiar short poems are in the old style, which neglects the formal arrangement of tones. The value of his poetry lay in beauty of words, not in beauty of thought. Unfortunately no one either here or in China can appreciate the music of his verse, for we do not know how Chinese was pronounced in the eighth century. Even to the modern Chinese, his poetry exists more for the eye than for the ear. The last point to which I shall refer is the extreme allusiveness of his poems. This characteristic, common to most Chinese poetry, is carried to an extreme point in the fifty-nine Old Style poems with which the works begin. Not only do they bristle with the names of historical personages, but almost every phrase is borrowed from some classic. One is tempted to quarrel with Wang An-shih's statement that people liked the poems because they were easy to enjoy. No modern could understand them without pages of commentary to each poem. But Chinese poetry, with a few exceptions, has been written on this principle The Poet Li Po 5 since the Han dynasty ; one poet alone, Po Chu-i, broke through the restraints of pedantry, erasing every expression that his charwoman could not understand. Translators have naturally avoided the most allusive poems and have omitted or generalized such allusions as occurred. They have frequently failed to recognize allusions as such, and have mistranslated them accordingly, often turning proper names into romantic sentiments. Li's reputation, like all success, is due partly to accident. After suffering a temporary eclipse'during the Sung dynasty, he came back into favour in the sixteenth century, when most of the popular anthologies were made. These com- pilations devote an inordinate space to his works, and he has been held in corresponding esteem by a public whose knowledge of poetry is chiefly confined to anthologies. Serious literary criticism has been dead in China since that time, and the valuations then made are still accepted. Like Miss Havisham's clock, which stopped at twenty to nine on her wedding-day, the clock of Chinese esteem stopped at Li Po centuries ago, and has stuck there ever since. But I venture to surmise that if a dozen representative English poets could read Chinese poetry in the original, they would none of them give either the first or second place to Li Po. XXXL 25. LIFE OF LI PO, FROM THE "NEW HISTORY OF THE T'ANG DYNASTY," COMPOSED IN THE ELEVENTH CENTURY. Li Po, styled T'ai-po, was descended in the ninth genera- tion from the Emperor Hsing-sheng.* One of his ancestors was charged with a crime at the end of the Sui dynasty,! and took refuge in Turkestan. At the beginning of the period Shen-lungJ the family returned and settled in * I.e., Li Kao. t a.d. 581-618. I A.D. 705-707. 6 The Poet Li Po Pa-hsi.* At his birth Po's mother dreamt of the planet Ch'ang-keng [Venus], and that was why he was called Po.f At ten he had mastered the Book of Odes and Book of History. When he grew up he retired to the Min Mountains, and even when summoned to the provincial examinations he made no response. When Su T'ing \ became Governor of I-chou, he was introduced to Po, and was astonished by him, remarking : " This man has con- spicuous natural talents. If he had more learning he would be a second Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju."§ However, he was interested in politics and fond of fencing, becoming one of those knight-errants who care nothing for wealth and much for almsgiving. Once he stayed at Jen-ch'eng || with K'ung Ch'ao-fu, Han Chun, P'ei Cheng, Chang Shu-ming, and T'ao Mien. They lived on Mount Ch'u Lai, and were dead drunk every day. People called them the Six Hermits of the Bamboo Stream. At the beginning of the T'ien-pao period If he went south to Kuei-chi, and became intimate with Wu Yun. Wu Yiin was summoned by the Emperor, and Po went with him to Ch'ang-an. Here he visited Ho Chih-chang. When Chih- chang read some of his work, he sighed and said : " You are an exiled fairy." He told the Emperor, who sent for Po and gave him audience in the Golden Bells Hall. The poet submitted an essay dealing with current events. The Emperor bestowed food upon him and stirred the soup with his own hand. He ordered that he should be unofficially attached to the Han Lin Academy, but Po went on drink- ing in the market-place with his boon-companions. Once when the Emperor was sitting in the Pavilion of Aloes Wood, he had a sudden stirring of heart, and wanted Po to write a song expressive of his mood. When Po * In Szechwan. t " Po," " white," was a popular name of the Planet Venus. X Giles, Biog. Diet., No. 1,789. § Giles, No. 1,753. II In Shantung. H Circa a.d. 742. The Poet Li Po 7 entered in obedience to the summons, he was so drunk that the courtiers were obliged to dab his face with water. When he had recovered a little, he seized a brush and without any effort wrote a composition of flawless grace. The Emperor was so pleased with Po's talent that when- ever he was feasting or drinking he always had this poet to wait upon him. Once when Po was drunk the Emperor ordered [the eunuch] Kao Li-shih to take off Po's shoes. Li-shih, who thought such a task beneath him, took revenge by affecting to discover in one of Po's poems a veiled attack on [the Emperor's mistress] Yang Kuei-fei. Whenever the Emperor thought of giving the poet some official rank, Kuei-fei intervened and dissuaded him. Po himself, soon realizing that he was unsuited to Court life, allowed his conduct to become more and more reckless and unrestrained. Together with his friends Ho Chih-chang, Li Shih-chih, Chin, Prince of Ju-yang, Ts'ui Tsung-chih, Su Chin, Chang Hsu, and Chiao Sui, he formed the association known as the Eight Immortals of the Winecup. He begged persistently to be allowed to retire from Court. At last the Emperor gave him gold and sent him away. Po roamed the country in every direction. Once he went by boat with Ts'ui Tsung-chih from Pien-shih to Nanking. He wore his embroidered Court cloak and sat as proudly in the boat as though he were king of the universe. When the An Lu-shan revolution broke out, he took to living sometimes at Su-sung, sometimes on Mount K'uang-lu. Lin, Prince of Yung, gave him the post of assistant on his staff. When Lin took up arms, he fled to P'eng-tse. When Lin was defeated, Po was condemned to death. When Po first visited T'ai-ytian Fu, he had seen and admired Kuo Tzu-i.* On one occasion, when Tzu-i was * A famous General, the saviour of the dynasty. 8 The Poet Li Po accused of breaking the law, Li Po had come to his assistance and had him released. Now, hearing of Po's predicament, Tzil-i threatened to resign unless Po were saved. The Emperor remitted the sentence of death and changed it to one of perpetual exile at Yeh-lang.* But when the amnesty was declared he came back to Kiukiang. Here he was put on trial and sent to gaol. But it happened that Sung Jo-ssu was marching to Honan with three thousand soldiers from Kiangsu. He passed through Kiukiang on his way, and released the prisoners there. He gave Li Po an appointment on his staff. Po soon resigned. When Li Yang-ping became Governor of T'ang-tu, Po went to live near him. The Emperor Tai Tsungf wished to raise him to the rank of Senior Reviser. But when the order came Po was already dead, having reached the age of somewhat over sixty. His last years were devoted to the study of Taoism. He once crossed the Bull Island Eddies and, reaching Ku-shu, was delighted by a place called the Green Hill, which lay in the estate of the Hsieh family. He expressed a desire to be buried there, but when he died they buried him at Tung-lin. At the end of the period Yuan-ho,J Fan Ch'uan-cheng, Governor of the districts Hsuan and She [in Anhui], poured a libation on his grave and forbade the woodmen to cut down the trees which grew there. He sought for Li Po's descendants, but could only find two grand-daughters, who had both married common peasants, but still retained an air of good breeding. They appeared before the Governor weeping, and said : " Our grandfather's wish was to be buried on top of the Green Hill. But they made his grave at the eastern hill-base, which is not what he desired." Fan Ch'uan-cheng had the grave moved and set up two tombstones. He told the ladies they might change their * In Yunnan. t Reigned 763-780. \ 806-821. The Poet Li Po 9 husbands and marry into the official classes, but they refused, saying that they were pledged to isolation and poverty and could not marry again. Fan was so moved by their reply that he exempted their husbands from national service. A rescript of the Emperor Wen Tsung created the category of the Three Paragons : Li Po, of poetry ; P'ei Min, of swordsmanship ; and Chang Hsii, of cursive calligraphy. Most of the accounts of Li Po's life which have hitherto appeared are based on the biography given in vol. v. of the " Mdmoires Conceriiant Les Chinois." It is evident that several of the frequently quoted anecdotes in the " Memoires " are partly based on a misunderstanding of the Chinese text, partly due to the lively imagination of the Jesuits. The Sung writer Hsieh Chung-yung arranged in chronological order all the information about the poet's life that can be gleaned not only from the T'ang histories, but also from the poems themselves. In the communications of the Gesellschaft fiir Natur und Volkerkunde, 1889, Dr. Florenz makes some rather hap- hazard and inaccurate selections from this chronology. The Life in the " New T'ang History " has, I believe, never before been translated in full. The Life in the so-called "Old T'ang History" is shorter and contains several mistakes. Thus Li is said to have been a native of the Province Shantung, which is certainly untrue. The following additional facts are based on statements in the poet's own works. With regard to his marriage in a.d. 730 he writes to a friend : " The land of Ch'u has seven swamps ; I went to look at them. But at His Excellency Hsti's house I was offered the hand of his grand-daughter, and lingered there during the frosts of three autumns." He then seems to have abandoned Miss Hsii, who was impatient at his lack of promotion. He afterwards married successively Miss Lin, Miss Lu, and Miss Sung. These were, of course, wives, not concubines. We are told that he was fond of lo The Poet Li Po " going about with the dancing-girls of Chao-yang and Chin-ling." He had one son, who died in a.d. 797. With regard to 'his part in the revolution, the " New History" seems somewhat confused. It is probable that his sojourn in the prison at Kiukiang took place before and not after his decree of banishment. It is also uncertain whether he knew, when he entered the service of Lin, that this prince was about to take up arms against the Emperor. The Chinese have reproached Po with ingratitude to his Imperial patron, but it would appear that he abandoned Prince Lin as soon as the latter joined the revolution. A mysterious figure mentioned in the poems is the " High Priest of Pei-hai " [in Shantung], from whom the poet received a diploma of Taoist proficiency in a.d. 746. Li Yang-ping gives the following account of Po's death : " When he was about to hang up his cap [an euphemism for " dying "] Li Po was worried at the thought that his numerous rough drafts had not been collected and arranged. Lying on his pillow, he gave over to me all his documents, that I might put them in order." The " Old T'ang History " says that his illness was due to excessive drinking. There is nothing improbable in the diagnosis. There is a legend * that he was drowned while making a drunken effort to embrace the reflection of the moon in the water. This account of his end has been adopted by Giles and most other European writers, but already in the twelfth century Hung Mai pointed out that the story is inconsistent with Li Yang-ping's authentic evidence. The truth may be that he contracted his last illness as the result of falling into the water while drunk. * The legendary Li Po is the subject of the sixth tale in " Chin Ku Ch'i Kuan, translated by T. Pavie in " Contes et Nouvelles," 1839. He also figures in the Mongol dynasty play, " The Golden Token." The Poet Li Po n THE TEXT OF THE POEMS. The first edition of the poems was in ten chiian, and was published by Li Yang-ping in the year of the poet's death. The preface tells us that Li Po had lost his own MSS. of almost all the poems written during the eight years of his wanderings — that is, from about 753 to 761. A few copies had been procured from friends. About 770 Wei Hao produced an edition of twenty chiian, many additional poems having come to light in the interval. In 998 Yo Shih added the prose works, consisting of five letters and various prefaces, petitions, monumental inscrip- tions, etc. In 1080 Sung Min-ch'iu published the works in thirty chiian, the form in which they still exist. There are just under i ,000 poems and about sixty prose pieces. In 1759 an annotated edition was published by Wang Ch'i, with six chiian of critical and biographical matter added to the thirty chiian of the works. It is this edition which has been chiefly used by European readers and to which references are made in the present paper. It was reprinted by the Sao Yeh Co. of Shanghai in 1908. The text of the poems is remarkable for the number of variant readings, which in some cases afifect crucial words in quite short poems, in others extend to a whole line or couplet. A printed text of the thirteenth century containing the annotations of Yang Tzu-chien is generally followed in current editions. This is known as the Hsiao text ; a Ming reprint of it is sometimes met with. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, a Sung printed edition came into the hands of a Mr. Miu at Soochow ; he reprinted it in facsimile. This is known as the Miu text. As there is no means of deciding which of these two has the better authority, my choice of readings has been guided by personal preference. 12 The Poet Li Po TRANSLATIONS II. 7. Ku Feng, No. 6 The T'ai horse caanot think of Yiieh ; The birds of Yiieh have no love for Yen. Feeling and character grow out of habit ; A people's customs cannot be changed. Once we marched from the Wild .Goose Gate ; Now we are fighting in front of the Dragon Pen. Startled sands blur the desert sun ; Flying snows bewilder the Tartar sky. Lice swarm in our plumed caps and tiger coats ; Our spirits tremble like the flags we raise to the wind. Hard fighting gets no reward or praise ; Steadfastness and truth cannot be rightly known. Who was sorry for Li, the Swift of Wing,* Wnen his white head vanished from the Three Frontsi*! III. I. The Distant Parting Long ago there were two queensj called Huang and Ying. And they stood on the shores of the Hsiao- hsiang, to the south of Lake Tung-t'ing. Their sorrow was deep as the waters of the Lake that go straight down a thousand miles. Dark clouds blackened the sun. Shojo§ howled in the mist and ghosts whistled in the rain. The queens said, " Though we speak of it we cannot mend it. High Heaven is secretly afraid to shine on our loyalty. * Li Kuang, died 125 e.g. + Manchurian, Mongolian and Turkestan frontiers. \ These queens were the daughters of the Emperor Yao, who gave them in marriage to Shun, and abdicated in his favour. Shun's ministers con- spired against him and set " the Great Yii " on the throne. A legend says that the spots on the bamboo-leaves which grow on the Hsiang River were caused by the tears of these two queens. § I use the Japanese form as being more familiar. A kind of demon- monkey is meant. The Poet Li Po 13 But the thunder crashes and bellows its anger, that while Yao and Shun are here they should also be crowning Yii. When a prince loses his servants, the dragon turns into a minnow. When power goes to slaves, mice change to tigers. " Some say that Yao is shackled and hidden away, and that Shun has died in the fields. " But the Nine Hills of Deceit stand there in a row, each like each ; and which of them covers the lonely bones of the Double-eyed One, our Master ?" So the royal ladies wept, standing amid yellow clouds. Their tears followed the winds and waves, that never return. And while they wept, they looked out into the distance and saw the deep mountain of Tsang-wu. " The mountain of Tsang-wu shall fall and the waters of the Hsiang shall cease, sooner than the marks of our tears shall fade from these bamboo-leaves." [Of this poem and the " Szechwan Road " a critic has said : " You could recite them all day without growing tired of them."] III. 4. The Szechwan Road Eheu ! How dangerous, how high ! It would be easier to climb to Heaven than to walk the Szechwan Road. Since Ts'an Ts'ung and Yu Fu ruled the land, forty- eight thousand years had gone by ; and still no human foot had passed from Shu to the frontiers of Ch'in. To the west across T'ai-po Shan there was a bird-track, by which one could cross to the ridge of O-mi. But the earth of the hill crumbled and heroes* perished. So afterwards they made sky ladders and hanging bridges. Above, high beacons of rock that turn back the chariot of the sun. Below, whirling eddies that meet the waves of the current and drive them away. Even the wings of the * The " heroes " were five strong men sent by the King of Shu to fetch the five daughters of the King of Ch'in. 14 The Poet Li Po yellow cranes cannot carry them across, and the monkeys grow weary of such climbing. How the road curls in the pass of Green Mud ! With nine turns in a hundred steps it twists up the hills. Clutching at Orion, passing the Well Star, I look up and gasp. Then beating my breast sit and groan aloud. I fear I shall never return from my westward wandering >' the way is steep and the rocks cannot be climbed. Sometimes the voice of a bird calls among the ancient trees — a male calling to its wife, up and down through the woods. Sometimes a nightingale sings to the moon, weary of empty hills. It would be easier to climb to Heaven than to walk the Szechwan Road ; and those who hear the tale of it turn pale with fear. Between the hill-tops and the sky there is not a cubit's space. Withered pine-trees hang leaning over precipitous walls. Flying waterfalls and rolling torrents mingle their din. Beating the cliffs and circling the rocks, they thunder in a thousand valleys. Alas! O traveller, why did you come to so fearful a place? The Sword Gate is high and jagged. If one man stood in the Pass, he could hold it against ten thousand. The guardian of the Pass leaps like a wolf on all who are not his kinsmen. In the daytime one hides from ravening tigers and in the night from long serpents, that sharpen their fangs and lick blood, slaying men like grass. They say the Embroidered City is a pleasant place, but I had rather be safe at home. For it would be easier to climb to Heaven than to walk the Szechwan Road. I turn my body and gaze longingly towards the West. [When Li Po came to the capital and showed this poem to Ho Chih-ch'ang, Chih-ch'ang raised his eyebrows and The Poet Li Po 15 said : " Sir, you are not a man of this world. You must indeed be the genius of the star T'ai-po " (xxxiv.36).] in. 15. Fighting Last year we were fighting at the source of the San-kan ; This year we are fighting at the Onion River road. We have washed our swords in the surf of Indian seas ; We have pastured our horses among the snows of T'ien Shan. Three armies have grown gray and old, Fighting ten thousand leagues away from home. The Huns have no trade but battle and carnage ; They have no pastures or ploughlands, But only wastes where white bones lie among yellow sands. Where the house of Ch'in built the great wall that was to keep away the Tartars, There, in its turn, the house of Han lit beacons of war. The beacons are always alight ; fighting and marching never stop. Men die in the field, slashing sword to sword ; The horses of the conquered neigh piteously to Heaven. Crows and hawks peck for human guts, Carry them in their beaks and hang them on the branches of withered trees. Captains and soldiers are smeared on the bushes and grass ; The General schemed in vain. Know therefore that the sword is a cursed thing Which the wjse man uses only if he must. III. 16. Drinking Song See the waters of the Yellow River leap down from Heaven, Roll away to the deep sea and never turn again ! See at the mirror in the High Hall Aged men bewailing white locks — In the morning, threads of silk ; In the evening flakes of snow ! i6 The Poet Li Po Snatch the joys of life as they come and use them to the fill; Do not leave the silver cup idly glinting at the moon. The things Heaven made Man was meant to use ; A thousand guilders scattered to the wind may come back again. Roast mutton and sliced beef will only taste well If you drink with them at one sitting three hundred cups. Master Ts en Ts'an, Doctor Tan-ch'iu, Here is wine : do not stop drinking, But listen, please, and I will sing you a song. Bells and drums and fine food, what are they to me, Who only want to get drunk and never again be sober ? The Saints and Sages of old times are all stock and still ; Only the mighty drinkers of wine have left a name behind. When the king of Chen gave a feast in the Palace of P'ing-lo With twenty thousand gallons of wine he loosed mirth and play. The master of the feast must not cry that his money is all spent ; Let him send to the tavern and fetch more, to keep your glasses filled. His five- flower horse and thousand-guilder coat — Let him call his boy to take them along and sell them for good wine, That drinking together we may drive away the sorrows of a thousand years. HI. 26. The Sun O Sun that rose in the eastern corner of Earth, Looking as though you came from under the ground, When you crossed the sky and entered the deep sea, Where did you stable your six dragon-steeds ? The Poet Li Po 17 Now and of old your journeys have never ceased : Strong were that man's limbs Who could run beside you on your travels to and fro. The grass does not refuse To flourish in the spring wind ; The leaves are not angry At falling through the autumn sky. Who with whip or spur Can urge the feet of Time ? The things of the world flourish and decay, Each at its own hour. Hsi-ho, Hsi-ho,* Is it true that once you loitered in the West While Lu Yang f raised his spear, to hold The progress of your light ; Then plunged and sank in the turmoil of the sea ? Rebels against Heaven, slanderers of Fate ; Many defy the Way. But / will put I the Whole Lump | of Life in my bag, And merge my being in the Primal Element. IV. 19. On the Banks of Jo-yeh By the river-side at Jo-yeh, girls plucking lotus ; Laughing across the lotus-flowers, each whispers to a friend. Their powdered cheeks, lit by the sun, are mirrored deep in the pool ; Their scented skirts, caught by the wind, flap high in the air. * Charioteer of the Sun. t Who, like Joshua, stopped the sun during a battle. See Huai-nan Tzti, chap. vi. 1 8 The Poet Li Po Who are these gaily riding along the river-bank, Three by three and five by five, glinting through the willow-boughs ? Deep the hoofs of their neighing roans sink into the fallen leaves ; / The riders see, for a moment pause, and are gone with a pang at heart. IV. 24. Ch'ang-kan Soon after I wore my hair covering my forehead I was plucking flowers and playing in front of the gate, When jj/<9^ came by, walking on bamboo-stilts Along the trellis,* playing with the green plums. We both lived in the village of Ch'ang-kan, Two children, without hate or suspicion. At fourteen I "became your wife ; I was shame-faced and never dared smile. I sank my head against the dark wall ; Called to a thousand times, I did not turn. At fifteen I stopped wrinkling my brow And desired my ashes to be mingled with your dust. I thought you were like the man who clung to the bridge :t Not guessing I should climb the Look-for-Husband Terrace^ But next year you went far away, To Chu-t'ang and the Whirling Water Rocks. In the fifth month "one should not venture there "§ * It is hard to believe that " bed " or " chair " is meant, as hitherto translated. " Trellis " is, however, only a guess. \ A man had promised to meet a girl under a bridge. She did not come, but although the water began to rise, he trusted so firmly in her word, that he clung to the pillars of the bridge and waited till he was drowned. X So called because a woman waited there so long for her husband that she turned into stone. § Quotation from the Yangtze boatman's song : " When Yen-yii is as big as a man's hat One should not venture to make for Ch'ii-t'ang." The Poet Li Po 19 Where wailing monkeys cluster in the cliffs above. In front of the door, the tracks you once made One by one have been covered by green moss — Moss so thick that I cannot sweep it away, -^ And leaves are falling in the early autumn wind. Yellow with August the pairing butterflies In the western garden flit from grass to grass. , The sight of these wounds my heart with pain ; As I sit and sorrow, my red cheeks fade. Send me a letter and let me know in time When your boat will be going through the three gorges of Pa, I will come to meet you as far as ever you please. Even to the dangerous sands of Ch'ang-feng. VII. 4. River Song Of satin-wood our boat is made, Our oars of ebony ;* Jade pipes and gold flutes Play at stern and prow. A thousand gallons of red wine We carry in the ship's hold ; With girls on board at the waves' will We are glad to drift or stay. Even the rishif had to wait For a yellow crane to ride ; But the sailor J whose heart had no guile Was followed by the white gulls. Ch'U P'ing's§ prose and verse Hang like the sun and moon ;|| The king of Ch'u's arbours and towers Are only hummocks in the ground. * A phrase from the Li Sao. t Tou Tzii-an, who was carried to Heaven by a yellow crane near Wu-ch'ang. X A story from Lieh Tzu. t § I.e., Ch'ii Yiian. II Practically a quotation from Ch'ii Yiian's " Life," by Ssii-ma Ch'ien. 20 The Poet Li Po With my mood at its height I wield my brush And the Five Hills quake ; When the poem is done, my laughter soars To the Blue Isles* of the sky. Riches, Honour, Triumph, Fame, Than that you should long endure, It were likelier the stream of the River Han Should flow to the North-West ! XIII. II. Sent to the Commissary Yuan of Ch'iao City, in Memory of Former Excursions Do you remember how once at Lo-yang, Tung Tsao- ch'in built us a wine-tower south of the T'ien-ching Bridge? With yellow gold and tallies ol white jade we bought songs and laughter, and we were drunk month after month, with no thought of kings and princes, though among us were the wisest and bravest within the Four Seas, and men of high promotion.! (But with you above all my heart was at no cross- purpose.) J Going round mountains and skirting lakes was as nothing to them. They poured out their hearts and minds, and held nothing back. Then I went off to Huai-nan to pluck the laurel-branches,§ and you stayed north of the Lo, sighing over thoughts and dreams. We could not endure separation. We sought each other out and went on and on together, exploring the Fairy Castle. II We followed the thirty-six bends of the twisting waters, and all along the streams a thousand different flowers were in bloom. We passed through ten thousand valleys, and in each we heard the voice of wind among the pines. * Fairyland, sometimes thought of as being in the middle of the sea, sometimes (as here) in the sky. t Lit. " blue clouds people." I A phrase from Chuang Tzii. § Huai-nan is associated with laurel-branches, owing to a famous poem by the King of Huai-nan. 11 Name of a mountain. The Poet Li Po 21 Then the Governor of Han-tung came out to meet us, on a silver saddle with tassels of gold that reached to the ground. And the Initiate of Tzu-yang* summoned us, blowing on his jade sheng. And Sennin music was made in the tower of Ts'an Hsia,-j- loud as the blended voices of phoenix and roc. And the Governor of Han-tung, because his long sleeves would not keep still when the flutes called to him, rose and drunkenly danced. Then he brought his embroidered coat and covered me with it, and I slept with my head on his lap. At the feast our spirits had soared to the Nine Heavens, but before evening we were scattered like stars or rain, flying away over hills and rivers to the frontier of Ch'u. I went back to my mountain to seek my old nest, and you, too, went home, crossing the Wei Bridge. Then your father, who was brave as leopard or tiger, became Governor of Ping-chouJ and put down the rebel bands. And in the fifth month he sent for me. I crossed the T'ai-hang Mountains ; and though it was hard going on the Sheep's Gut Hills, I paid no heed to broken wheels. When at last, far on into Winter, I got to the Northern Capital,§ I was moved to see how much you cared for my reception and how little you cared for the cost — amber cups and fine foods on a blue jade dish. You made me drunk and satisfied. I had no thought of returning. Sometimes we went out towards the western corner of the City, to where waters like green jade flow round the temple of Shu YU.|| We launched our boat and sported on the stream, while flutes and drums sounded. The little waves were like dragon-scales, and the sedge-leaves were pale green. When it was our mood, we took girls with us * I.e., Hu Tzii-yang, a Taoist friend of the poet's. t Lit. " Feeding on sunset-cloud " Tower, built by Hu Tzii-yang. X I.e., t'ai-yiian Fu. § I.e., T'ai-yuan Fu. II A brother of Prince Ch'Bng, of the Chou dynasty. 22 The Poet Li Po and gave ourselves to ihe moments that passed, forgetting that it would soon be over, like willow-flowers or snow. Rouged faces, flushed with drink, looked well in the sunset. Clear water a hundred feet deep reflected the faces of the singers — singing-girls delicate and graceful in the light of the young moon. And the girls sang again and again to make the gauze dresses dance. The clear wind blew the songs away into the empty sky : the sound coiled in the air like moving clouds in flight. The pleasures of those times shall never again be met with. I went West to offer up a Ballad of Tall Willows,* but got no promotion at the Northern Gate and, whjte- headed, went back to the Eastern Hills. Once we met at the Southern end of Wei Bridge, but scattered again to the north of the Tso Terrace. And if you ask me how many are my regrets at this parting, I will tell you they come from me thick as the flowers that fall at Spring's end. But I cannot tell you all I feel ; I could not even if I went on talking for ever. So I call in the boy and make him kneel here and tie this up, and send it to you, a remembrance, from a thousand miles away. XV. 2. A Dream of T'ien-mu Mountain (Part of a Poem in Irregular Metre. ) On through the night I flew, high over the Mirror Lake. The lake-moon cast my shadow on the waves and travelled with me to the stream of Shan. The Lord Hsieh's f lodging-place was still there. The blue waters rippled ; the cry of the apes was shrill. I shod my feet with the shoes of the Lord Hsieh and " climbed to Heaven on a ladder of dark clouds." | Half-way up, I saw the unrisen * Yang Hsiung, died a.d. i8, having lived all his life in obscurity, obtained promotion in his old age by a poem of this title. t Hsieh Ling-yiin {ana a.d. 400) was a famous mountain-climber who invented special mountain-climbing shoes. I A quotation from one of Hsieh's poems. me i^oet Li Po 23 sun hiding behind the sea and heard the Cock of Heaven crowing in the sky. By a thousand broken paths I twisted and turned from crag to crag. My eyes grew dim. I clutched at the rocks, and all was dark. The roaring of bears and the singing of dragons echoed amid the stones and streams. The darkness of deep woods made me afraid. I trembled at the storied clififs. The clouds hung dark, as though they would rain ; the air was dim with the spray of rushing waters. Lightning flashed : thunder roared. Peaks and ridges tottered and broke. Suddenly the walls of the hollow where I stood sundered with a crash, and I looked down on a bottomless void of blue, where the sun and moon gleamed on a terrace of silver and gold. A host of Beings descended — Cloud-spirits, whose coats were made of rainbow and the horses they rode on were the winds, XV. 16. Parting with Friends at a Wineshop IN Nanking The wind blowing through the willow-flowers fills the shop with scent ; A girl of Wu has served wine and bids the traveller taste. The young men of Nanking have come to see me off; I that go and you that stay | must each drink his cup. I beg you tell the Great River | whose stream flows to the East That thoughts of you will cling to my heart | when he has ceased to flow. XV. 28. At Chiang-hsia, parting from Sung Chih-t'i Clear as the sky the waters of Hupeh Far away will join with the Blue Sea ; We whom a thousand miles will soon part Can mend our grief only with a cup of wine. 24 The Poet Li Po The valley birds are singing in the bright sun ; The river monkeys wail down the evening wind. And I, who in all my life have seldom wept, Am weeping now with tears that will never dry. XX. I. The White River at Nan-yang Wading at dawn the White River's source, Severed a while from the common ways of men, To islands tinged with the colours of Paradise, Where the river sky drowns in limpid space. While my eyes were watching the clouds that travel to the sea. My heart was idle as the fish that swim in the stream. With long singing I put the sun to rest: Riding the moon,* came back to my fields and home. XX. I. The Clear Cold Spring {Literal Version.) Regret that dropping sun's dusk ; Love this cold stream's clearness. Western beams follow flowing water ; Stir a ripple in wandering person's mind. Idly sing, gazing at cloudy moon ; Song done — sound of tall pines. XX. 8. Going down Chung-nan Mountain and SPENDING THE NiGHT DRINKING WITH THE HerMIT Tou-ssu At dusk we left the blue mountain-head ; The mountain-moon followed our homeward steps. We looked round : the path by which we had come Was a dark cleft across the shoulder of the hill. Hand in hand we reached the walls of the farm ; A young boy opened the wicker-gate. Through green bamboos a deep road ran Where dark creepers brushed our coats as we passed. * I.e., " availing myself of the moonlight." The Poet Li Po 25 We were glad at last to come to a place of rest, With wine enough to drink together to our fill, Long I sang to the tune of the Pine-tree Wind ; When the song was over, the River-stars* were few. / was drunk and you happy at my side ; Till mingled joy drove the World from our hearts. XXIII. 3. Drinking alone by Moonlight (i) A cup of wine, under the flowering-trees : I drink alone, for no friend is near. Raising my cup, I beckon the bright moon, For he, with my shadow, will make three men. The moon, alas ! is no drinker of wine : Listless, my shadow creeps about at my side. Yet with the moon as friend and the shadow as slave I must make merry before the Spring is spent. To the songs I sing the moon flickers her beams ; In the dance I weave my shadow tangles and breaks. While we were sober, three shared the fun ; Now we are drunk, each goes his way. May we long share our odd, inanimate feast. And meet at last on the Cloudy River of the Sky.f (2) In the third month the town of Hsien-yang Is thick-spread with a carpet of fallen flowers. Who in Spring can bear to grieve a,lone ? Who, sober, look on sights like these ? Riches and Poverty, long or short life. By the Maker of Things are portioned and disposed. But a cup of wine levels life and death And a thousand things obstinately hard to prove. When I am drunk, I lose Heaven and Earth ; Motionless, I cleave to my lonely bed. At last I forget that I exist at all. And at that moment my joy is great indeed. (3) If High Heaven had no love for wine, There would not be a Wine Star in the sky. * Stars of the Milky Way. + The Milky Way. 26 The Poet Li Po If Earth herself had no love for wine, There would not be a city called Wine Springs.* Since Heaven and Earth both love wine, I can love wine, without shame before God. Clear wine was once called " a Saint ;" Thick wine was once called "a Sage."| Of Saint and Sage I have long quaffed deep, What need for me to study spirits and hsien ?\ At the third cup I penetrate th5 Great Way ; A full gallon — Nature and I are one. . . . But the things I feel when wine possesses my soul I will never tell to those who are not drunk. XXIII, 9. In the Mountains on a Summer Day Gently I stir a white feather fan. With open shirt, sitting in a green wood. I take off my cap and hang it on a jutting stone : A wind from the pine-trees trickles on my bare head. XXIII. 10. Drinking together in the Mountains § Two men drinking together where mountain flowers grow : One cup, one cup, and again one cup. " Now I am drunk and would like to sleep : so please go away. Come back to-morrow, if you feel inclined, and bring your harp with you." XXIII. 10. Waking from Drunkenness on a Spring Day " Life in the World is but a big dream : I will not spoil it by any labour or care." So saying, I was drunk all the day, Lying helpless at the porch in front of my door. * Chiu-ch'iian, in Kansuh. \ "History of Wei Dynasty" (Life of Hsii Mo): "A drunken visitor said, ' Clear wine I account a Saint : thick wine only a Sage.' " X Rishi, Immortals. § Cf. Little Review, June, 191 7, version by Sasaki and M.Bodenheim. The Poet Li Po 27 When I woke up, I blinked at the garden lawn ; A lonely bird was singing amid the flowers. I asked myself, had the day been wet or fine ? The Spring wind was telling the mango-bird. Moved by its song, I soon began to sigh. And as wine was there, I filled my own cup. Wildly singing, I waited for the moon to rise, When my song was over, all my senses had gone. XXIII. 13. i Self- Abandonment I sat drinking and did not notice the dusk, Till falling petals filled the folds of my dress. Drunken I rose and walked to the moonlit stream ; The birds were gone, and men also few. XXV. I. To Tan Ch'iu My friend is lodging high in the Eastern Range, Dearly loving the beauty of valleys and hills. At Green Spring he lies in the empty woods ; And is still asleep when the sun shines on high, A pine-tree wind dusts his sleeves and coat ; A pebbly stream cleans his heart and ears. I envy you, who far from strife and talk Are high-propped on a pillow of blue cloud. XXX. 8. Clearing up at Dawn The fields are chill ; the sparse rain has stopped ; The colours of Spring teem on every side. With leaping fish the blue pond is full ; With singing thrushes the green boughs droop. The flowers of the field have dabbled their powdered cheeks; The mountain grasses are bent level at the waist. By the bamboo stream the last fragments of cloud Blown by the wind slowly scatter away. [Many of the above poems have been translated before, in some cases by three or four dififerent hands. But III. 4, III. 26, XV. 2, and XXIII. 9 are, so far as I know, translated for the first time.] 28 DISCUSSION ON THE FOREGOING PAPER The Chairman (Mr. George Jamieson) : Mr. Li T'ai-po was, I am afraid, a bit of a Bohemian (laughter), and his Bacchanalian experiences have been repeated in later days even with the great poets. I am sure you will all join with me in expressing a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Waley for his address and the very felicitous language in which he has translated a number of these ancient poems. I trust his paper will be printed and pre- served with the rest of our^publications, because these poems, as far as I can judge— but hearing them read does not impress one so much as reading them at leisure — are well worthy of careful perusal. It is curious to note how unchangeable and immobile China is. At the time these poems were written we in Great Britain were living under King Alfred and trying to keep out the Danes and other things. (Laughter.) I can tell you that the Szechwan Road as described in the poem that Mr. Waley has read is just the same now as it was when the poem was written. And the social conditions of the people are the same now as they were at that time. I have often thought that Chinese poets are very limited in their range. They seem to be deficient in the quality of imagination. China has never produced a great epic poem. Of course I speak subject to correction, but I believe I am right in saying that China has never produced a poet com- parable with Homer, Dante, Virgil, or Milton. There has been no one born with the power of telling a story like Homer. The poets of China appear to me to be emotional and descriptive, but incapable of any high flights of imagination. I think that Macaulay says that great flights of imagination are peculiar to the early periods of a nation's civilization, and that story-telling reaches its highest form as an art before printing has been much in vogue. Mr. M. F. A. Eraser : I have listened to this lecture with the greatest interest. The English was particularly pleasing, and I am glad that the lecturer has broken away from the old custom of seeking rhymes, and followed the French custom in the translation of these poems. A man may be an excellent writer and translator, and not be a poet, but to translate foreign poetry into English considerable literary gifts are required. Mr. Paul King ; All of you who have been lately in China must be struck with the extraordinary difference between the China described in these poems and the China which has come into being since the revolution. Ideas of a very practical nature have now taken possession of the people. And then, what about modern Chinese poets ? Do any of us know of any? In my intercourse with the Chinese I cannot recall a modern Chinese who was a poet. It is possible that I may have met one, and that he concealed his poetic gifts. (Laughter.) Our lecturer tells us, how- The Poet Li Po 29 ever, that he knows certain Chinese poets. It would be interesting to know if they are publishing their poems, and how they would compare with the work of the older poets in our possession. Mr. L. Y. Chen : I should like to join in congratulating Mr. Waley on his very learned paper and beautiful translations. It is quite true that there are no epic poems in Chinese literature. This form of poetry has not been introduced in China, but I differ with your statement, Sir, that Chinese poetry lacks imagination. (Applause.) I could give you many instances to the contrary, though not from memory. The last speaker's remark that the present China is different from what China is in Chinese poetry may be true, but I may well retort that the England as represented in Shakespeare is very different from the England of to-day. (Laughter and cheers.) And Li T'ai-po lived many hundred years ago, but Shakespeare lived at a more recent period. Human nature has two states, the spiritual and the practical. You can combine the two. If you have the practical it does not necessarily follow that you are lacking in the spiritual. As for present-day Chinese poets, there are several famous ones in China. Since the lecturer has raised the question whether Li T'ai-po or Tu Fu is the greater poet, I would say that the Chinese of the present day consider Tu Fu to be the greater. It strikes me as curious that European people who know something about Chinese poetry should prefer Li T'ai-po. Perhaps very few people have heard of Tu Fu. Certainly there is no translation of the most important of Tu Fu's poems in the English language. In China every child who has studied poetry knows something about Tu Fu's poems. Tu Fu is placed first by the Chinese because he is the greatest national poet. He expresses national feelings in a way that can be appreciated by everybody. Li T'ai-po's poems deal chiefly with wine and women, love and sensual things, but Tu Fu's poems are full of men and women, elderly people and children, their joy, their anguish, the hardship of the soldier, and things of that sort. In a word, Tu Fu's poetry expresses what we ordinary men and women wish to express and cannot. Mr. G. Willoughby-Meade : One or two observations occur to me in connection with the translation of this poetry into English. The two greatest reading publics are the Anglo-American and the Chinese. The Anglo-American people have produced an enormous amount of poetry which they do not often quote, and the Chinese have produced an enormous amount of poetry which, according to experts, they quote a great deal. Now, at the present moment that peculiar British shyness for quoting poetry seems to have largely disappeared in consequence of the writings of soldier poets. These poems have been written under condi- tions of great danger, difficulty, and discomfort, and \% seems to me that it would be a very good thing if poetry illustrating the thought of these men could be placed before the Anglo-American public. The Chairman proposed a hearty vote of thanks to the Lecturer, which was carried by acclamation. PRINTED BY BILLING AND SONS, LTD. GUILDFORD, ENGLAND THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE CHINESE COOLIE BY A. NEVILLE J. WHYMANT, Ph.D. (Late Lieutenant of the Chinese Labour Corps- in France) A Paper read before the CHINA SOCIETY on March 3, 1921 EAST AND WEST. LTD. 3 VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, S.W. 1 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE CHINESE COOLIE By a. Neville J. Whymant, ph.d. {Late Lieutenant of the Chinese Labour Corps in France) Many eminent scholars have written on China and things Chinese, but mostly their efforts have been directed towards the upper classes — their attention has been claimed by the mandarins, by the high officials. This is perhaps the first occasion on which it is claimed that the key to the psychology of the Chinese race is to be found in the examination of the nature of the humble coolie. For the coolie contains in himself all the characteristics of the nation in general. Whatever may be said for or against the Chinaman, he is certainly primarily a puzzle. He is a mosaic of bizarre pieces, capable of irifinite adaptability, while yet preserving his indi- viduality. While yet being profoundly national, his ability to the end of self-adjustment makes him pre-eminently inter- national. To his varied nature nothing comes amiss, and he encounters new sensations and records his feelings thereon with the enthusiasm of the explorer breaking virgin soil. His primi- tive clan instincts are perhaps the strongest to be discovered an5rwhere, and still his devotion to one of another race who studies and knows him well is yet almost as strong. So far as book-learning is concerned he is practically unlettered, but he has a full share of that real wisdom which in life and work is the more valuable. To come from the general to the particular, I propose to divide my paper into the following, subdivisions : (o) Pride of Race. ib) Histrionic Ability, (c) Simplicity of Outlook. ((£) Duality of Personality, (e) Resignatioti and Fatalism. 2 The Psychology of the Chinese Coolie (/) Clanship and Fidelity. Ig) Emotional Phases. (h) Predilections. (i) Ambitions. (a) Of all the outstanding characteristics of the coolie, Pride of Race is undoubtedly the first. It needs not the deep classical training of the University to impress upon him the fact that his ancestry is a long and glorious one. The reverence toward the long line of the departed displayed by his parents in the home life early arouses in him a realization of the funda- mentals underlying ancestor-worship. In later life it becomes for him a perplexing fact that foreigners are quite content to remain barbarians and do not try to emulate the great ones of the Middle Kingdom. And yet the coolie is not above copy- ing those fashions and points of Western conduct which appeal to his sense of the desirable or proper. Chiefly this plagiarism takes the form of clothing the two extremities in Western fashion. While retaining his own native garb, he will consider himself the last word in smartness if he can boast a new pair of boots and a foreign hat. A neatly mended and quite efficient pair of boots arouses no enthusiasm whatever — they must be new, and the happiest and proudest coolie I ever met was one who had spent six months' pay on hats and caps, purchased as opportunity offered when we were near a town. Every kind of headgear from the gay Homburg of the boulevardier to the ordinary cloth cap of the errand-boy made its appearance on our coolie's head according to the occasion, and on the day of the Dragon Festival he appeared in all the glory of an Apache hat, wide-brimmed and complete with flowing plumes ! In this he sees nothing incongruous : he is a Chinese, and he fully realizes that his fellows are all over the world, and to his mind a Chinese can do no wrong. One has merely to mention another race in comparison with the Chinese to find the fires of national pride still burning beneath the placid exterior. As an interest- ing sidelight on the coolie's appreciation of the West, I trans- late the following conversation which took place in the com- pound one evening behind the lines, with the sound of distant The Psychology of the Chinese Coolie 3 firing as an accompaniment : ' ' These guns and aeroplanes are wonderful things. I have not seen an aeroplane in China." " No ; you cannot see what you hit when you fire a big gun like that. There is a devil in it that travels many miles and then kills. ' ' A third broke in with these words : " I don't like these things at all. One might kill the wrong people, not seeing." " Still, they are wonderful, all the same," said the first. "I should like to know about them." "No," said another ; " don't you see, these foreigners have to work with the devil to make wonders like that, and nobody lives long with the devils. Because we appease the devils with our ceremonies and presents we are much happier than other people. I'm glad I'm a Chinaman." The Chinese, moreover, have a belief that they are pre- destined to continue as a race to the end of time, even as they believe they began with it — that never was there a time when there was no Chinese race. A Westerner may not consider the Chinese, and least of all one so generally despised as a Chinese coolie, qualified to judge members of other races. Neverthe- less, the utterances of a coolie on the Japanese, the French, the Americans, Germans, and other races, show a deep insight into human nature. My notes made amongst the coolies con- tain statements concerning all of these races ; some of them, however, it is politic to suppress. The native's pride of race causes him to base all his judgments on the, to him, axiomatic truth that the Chinese nation is pre-eminently the greatest. But this racial pride is not to be confused with what we know as patriotism — that is to the Chinese mind a thing apart, though also of great importance. The division between these two is something the Western mind fails to appreciate to anything like the same degree as the Celestial. The persistent cere- monial of thousands of years and the deep ingrained con- servatism of the race as a whole seems to have bred in the bone of the native a deep conviction that when one member is dis- graced the insult strikes to the very root of the whole nation. Thus is explained the solidarity of the Chinese under oppression or upon aggression from outside. 4 The Psychology of the Chinese Coolie (b) Histrionic Ability. — Those who have had occasion to observe coolies during their leisure moments must have been struck by the infinite variety of postures assumed. In point of fact, the Chinaman considers himself an actor of no mean ability, and his confidence in himself is not misplaced, since he can readily assume any r61e which pleases him. The Chinese as a whole are an imaginative race, and the coolie is never so happy as when acting a part. Although his estate is low, yet in imagination he enjoys the rank of a mandarin or hears the plaudits acclaiming his actor's merit. The prominent native festivals were always religiously observed as holidays in the Labour Corps, and entertainments arranged by the officers were given. The collaboration of the coolies was invited, and there were not lacking thosfe who promised to perform in some way or other, to the amusement of the lazy onlookers. Some paired off for exhibitions of wrestling, and it was indeed strange to see two coolies, very lightly clad indeed, proceeding to the tussle with all the grossly exaggerated gestures and posturings of the professional wrestler. Some again obtained by means mysterious enough chalks, dyes and grease-paints, and made themselves up to look as fierce and repellent as the central figure of a Chinese stage-scene. They played at being doctor, fortune-teller, priest and magistrate, and all with an air of deadly seriousness which amused and yet carried conviction. It was obvious that as long as the per- formance lasted the participants were tasting the joys of another station of life, far removed from their common lot. And this histrionic ability is not merely brought into play on such happy and light-hearted dccasions. Those who have seen the Chinese as witness, as prisoner or as advocate will know that here, subconsciously often, comes into existence that power to assume a role at will. It has indeed frequently hap- pened that the general conduct of a Chinese has been more per- suasive and convincing than his tongue. Passing now to (c) Simplicity of Outlook, we happen again on a curious contradiction of terms. Admitting that the vul- garism ' ' as mischievous as a waggon-load of monkeys ' ' so The Psychology of the Chinese Coolie 5 often applied to the Celestial has in it a great deal of truth, yet the general run of Chinese have very simple ideas on life and its various activities. Their passivity, their calmness under stress of embittering circumstances, their easy valuation of life, and calm acceptance of the phenomena of Nature in general, point to the possession of a nature childlike in its sim- plicity. To a people accustomed to monstrous tragedies like the overflowing of the Yang-tse Kiang, with its accompanying slaughter ; again, accustomed to droughts reducing millions to a state worse than death itself, such things as life and death assume an importance of far less significance than is the case with us. It is, perhaps, not surprising, considering all the circumstances which have moulded the Chinese temperament, to find that the Chinese philosophy of daily life is of a carpe diem nature. The moral division of the Far Eastern tempera- ment is not so clearly defined as it might be. That which serves the purpose of the moment is most likely instinctively to be adopted to the exclusion of moral considerations calculated to prejudice the issue. There is no need, therefore, to differentiate between a white or any other kind of lie, since useless falsehoods find no favour with the Oriental. In my duties as interpreter I frequently found that the question of mendacity was a relative one, and only that lie which was likely to serve its purpose was persisted in. One reason for this is that the Chinese hates to be beaten in argument, and will thus hold his ground in any case. The simplicity of the native view- point may again be illustrated by the fact that he asks only that his side of the case may be heard fully before punishment is meted out to him. Often from the labyrinth of words and subtle arguments with which his Western judges have been regaled nothing definitely relevant may emerge, or, if relevancy is found, then there is nothing extenuating. But above all is it necessary, if he is to feel that justice has been done, to hear him out to the last syllable. The coolie is then convinced that his words have had their due weight and he has failed, and he takes his punishment like a man. The Chinese vanquished have an admiration for ^e victor that is whole-hearted and 6 The Psychology of the Chinese Coolie sincere. Cases there are, of course, where he feels that he has been most unjustly treated, and he will act accordingly. Herein enters (d) Duality of Personality. But feelings, outraged or otherwise, must go very deep for that terrible vengeance of the Chinese to show itself. Where it is felt that personal animosity or race questions enter there is indeed a bitterness that beggars description. One such case occurs to my mind. An officer who despised the race from highest to lowest made a target of one particularly inoffensive but unhandsome coolie. This was naturally resented, not merely by the man in question, but by all the coolies generally. A peculiarly Chinese transgression had taken place in the company, and this coolie was nominated as the prime mover. Never before had he shown spirit even before his fellows, being a quiet, easygoing, happily natured worker. But from the first, suspecting the instigator, the coolie displayed another side to his nature ; he became aggres- sive, abusive, and openly mutinous where this officer was con- cerned. Terrible curses streamed from his lips whenever he encountered the latter. On the day of the court of inquiry, when he, his witnesses, and advocates were lined up outside the orderly-room, and the prosecuting officer passed within, a perfect tornado of abuse in English came from the prisoner ! Later I discovered from conversation in the compound that he had been saving up every vile word used by N. CO. 's or drivers in difficulties with their horses, and had memorized them as a monologue for some such occasion as this. (e) The Chinese at heart are fatalists, and their attitude of resignation saves for them much nervous energy, so freely dis- sipated by Western peoples . Time is a matter of little moment in the Far East, and life is as uncertain as prosperity. An examination of the historical records of China shows long periods of oppression, and not for long at a time has the man- darinate of that empire been guiltless of gross extortion and injustice. So far from the law being hailed as the guardian of the poor and ill-used, it has passed into proverbial wisdom as something to be avoided like the plague. Hence the Chinese leave litigation severely alone, preferring rather to struggle The Psychology of the Chinese Coolie 7 under injustice than to enforce their rights against such heavy odds. Thus, had not the moral teaching and cosmogony of the Chinese tended to emphasize the predestination of things, the manner of events and long custom must have of itself brought about this effect. So long as the average native can manage by ever so narrow a margin to live and have a little leisure for his dreams, he is content not to struggle and to accept his hardships as inevitable. Nor was it advisable to strive to attain high office, for those above delegated their duties, burdens, and censures to you, while those below were plotting and conniving at your downfall, that they might fill your vacated seat. The severity of the punishments enumerated in the old- time penal code brought an indifference to pain and suffering that is the wonder of the outside world. Stimulus and enthusiasm were thus alike to be avoided ; better be content with the present than strive after an unknown which conceivably hid greater evils than those of which they knew. Not so much was it laziness which prevented their striving as a nature exemplifying the famous dictum of Horace : "No one desires the unknown." (/) Something has been already said as to the Clanship and Fidelity of the Chinese. It is common knowledge that the early Chinese were clearly divided into actual clans, and that well-defined laws were drawn up as to blood-relationships and marriage. There seems to have been an unerring instinct at work in this connection, and under stress of historical circum- stance the whole empire became a family under the Emperor — himself the Son of Heaven — each clan a subdivision of the great family. In the "Great Learning," one of the Four Books, there is a luminous passage showing how the peace and pros- perity of the empire depend upon the individual himself, so that each personally is brought to realize his tremendous responsi- bility to the State. And through the years a new idea is born — an idea that not merely is it one's duty, but a lovable service, so to behave that the benefaction visits the State. So deeply rooted is this idea that it is frequently employed between natives and foreigners. The native is in effect a psychologist — not. 8 The Psychology of the Chinese Coolie perhaps, academically so qualified, but is, by virtue of his instinct and his accutijulated experience, competent to appraise those who come in his path. Once the affectioti is fixed, there it remains ; it is a case of fidelity difficult to parallel. The Hebrews and the ancient Greeks and Romans quote examples of marvellous friendships, but it is not an exaggeration to say that modern Chinese friendships are of a more enduring nature than any known in the West. The swearing of friendship is a ritual, the preservation of it essential, and through all kinds of troubles and difficulties it will hold fast. {g) Emotional Phases. — Contrary to general opinion, the Chinese is an essentially emotional being. His outward bear- ing has tended to obscure his real feelings, and his calm, sullen demeanour under cruel torture has hidden his innate sensitive- ness. One has only to consider the importance given to the idea of ' ' losing face ' ' to understand that the Chinaman hides more than he shows. A case comes to mind of a coolie who was deemed by the Commanding Officer of his company intractable. He had not only pleaded "sick" on three successive mornings, but had refused food (a most incredible happening). I was asked to interrogate him, and found that he was mourning the loss of his mother. On inquiry of the native interpreter, I discovered that no letter bearing such news had arrived. I challenged the coolie, who, however, persisted in stating that he had had news of his mother's death. Two days later a letter addressed to this coolie was delivered at the camp, in which was communi- cated the death of his mother. The coolie was inconsolable, and three days later he hanged himself in a latrine. Thus is a curious sidelight thrown on the emotional nature of the Chinese. Another coolie, giving way to the tremendous passion for gambling, not only gave away all he had in liquidation of his debts, but gambled on his contract, which at fruition would be worth between two and three thousand dollars. He then invented an ingenious explanation intended to enlist the sym- pathies of the white officers, and brought the winner into court on a charge of attack on personal and jealous grounds. His The Psychology of the Chinese Coolie 9 accusation, after due cross-examination, failed, and he took his defeat manfully. Yet a further instance. Each coolie, in addition to his monthly pay in France, had a sum paid to his nominee in China. Had he no father, then, generally speaking, he nominated his elder brother as recipient of the money, to guard and hold it until his return. On this occasion a coolie, having no father, nominated his elder brother as trustee for his moneys . A letter arrived announcing this brother's defalcation, and the coolie appeared at the orderly-room asking what could be done. Apparently, the absconded sum was the total of eighteen months' value, and as such was viewed seriously by the Officer Commanding. Finally, the coolie was told that inquiries would be instituted and justice would be done ; whereupon he drew himself up to his full height and ejaculated : "You shall not prosecute my brother, sir ! " (h) Predilections. — Many stories might be told of the coolies and their predilections. Some had brave ideas of deserting (instead of returning to China, as provided in their contracts) and buying up hotels in London ! All this on 3,000 dollars at the very outside ! It is difficult indeed to know where toi stop in recounting these stories, but if one more carefully considered the existing data concerning China it would be found that, not among the highest in the land, but alongside the lowest, is to be found the key which will unlock the door of the mystery of the Far East. (i) Ambitions. — With regard to his ambitions the coolie is as great a puzzle as ever. What has been said before as to the lack of stimulus and enthusiasm toward any given achievement, while true, yet receives its negation in the wild flights of imagination in which the coolie indulges as soon as a doorway of possibility is thrown open to him. Let him unexpectedly receive money and immediately he projects schemes of a finan- cial magnitude far beyond his means. Praise his judgment, his discretion, and at once he imagines that he will some day be fitted to be chief counsellor at Court. He has ambitions toward the betterment of social conditions only to see his superiors lo The Psychology of the Chinese Coolie broken on the wheel of their efforts. He thinks of the Great Yu and his wonderful system which succeeded in draining the Empire, and he himself will be a great engineer even surpassing his illustrious predecessor. And then he sees the foreigner using devices he cannot even comprehend and achieving with- out difficulty what his compatriots have failed to do through the centuries. In short, in every direction he finds himself beaten back by force of circumstances over which he has no control and cannot understand. Thus is he turned in upon himself, and his philanthropic daydreams are stultified. In this way the ambitions of the native become personal and self- centred, and the lofty ideal of the best for the many becomes a creed of personal satisfaction. And even here he is not exces- sive — ^he seeks for himself a little indulgence, a little pleasure, a little learning, sons to cheer his old age, to perform the necessary rites after his death, and to carry on the illustrious name he received from his father — and the world may go by. In truth this seems pathetic, hopeless, but in his fertile and active brain the coolie lives the lives of all the great illustrious ones before himj he is many times Son of Heaven, and he rules the world. From the beginning of time he has dreamed, and he will dream on yet through countless ages. Let us leave him with his things of gossamer and sunlight and return to our books. TKINTBD IN GREAT BKITAIN BY B(J.I,IKC AND SONS, ITD., GUILDFOSD AND ESHEp The China Society The Mohammedans OF China By ISAAC MASON, F.R.G.S. Read before the China Society March 15th, 1922. THE MOHAMMEDANS OF CHINA, By Isaac Mason, F.R.G.S. Most Westerners who have resided in China, or who have read widely about the Chinese, are aware that Mohammedans form an appreciable part of China's population. It is also known that in the Republican flag of five strips of colour, the white strip is considered to represent the Moslem inhabitants of the land. Yet comparatively few know much about the Far- Eastern followers of the Arabian Prophet, so it may be that the China Society will find it not without interest to spend a little time hearing something further about the Mohammedans of China. Estimates as to their present numbers vary all the way from four millions to thirty millions. There can be little doubt that the larger figure is excessive, and on the other hand, the estimate of Commandant d'Ollone, which is the lowest, is probably much too low. Mr. G. F. Andrew — who lives in Kansu — in his recent book, "The Crescent in North West China," estimates the number in Kansu alone at about three millions. The most careful calculation I know of is found in Mr. Marshall Broomhall's " Islam in China," and is based on over 200 replies to questions sent to missionaries ; the estimates so obtained range between five and ten millions ; in the absence of a reliable census, we may assume the number to be about eight millions, scattered over the whole country, but found in larger proportions in Kansu, Yunnan, Szechwan and Chihli, of China Proper, and in Sin Kiang and Chinese Turkestan on the North Western borders. When, and how, Moslems first entered China, are matters of uncertainty about which many differing views have been held. The traditions of the Moslems are interesting, but mostly rest on very slender foundations. We do not know of any Chinese Moslem book written as long ago as three hundred years ; a bibliography of about 150 titles is known to exist — of which I have collected over 100 ; some of these profess to be historical, and tell of Moslems reaching China 1,300 years ago ; but no satisfactory proofs are given for such claims, and the silence which covers 1,000 years from the supposed entry down to the 17th Century, and the absence of documents, must be regarded as unfavourable to the claim. There exist a few monuments which are referred to in support of the early-entry claim ; the most famous of these is a stone tablet in a mosque at Si-an fu, and it is dated A.D. 742. The inscription on it says, among other things, " The teaching of Mohammed pre- vailed at first only in the West and was not heard of in China until the time of the Emperor K'ai Huang of the Sui dynasty (A.D. 581-601), when it entered China and gradually spread throughout the Empire." The evidences for and against the genuineness of this monument have been carefully weighed by Mr. Broomhall, who concluded that it is an " extraordinary forgery," a conclusion in which I concur. I need not here enter fully into the reasons for this judgment, but just remark that the date given is prior to the Hegira, and before Mohammed had received his first revelations. As the stone claims to have been erected only 140 years after the events referred to, it is not easy to account for such a discrepancy of dates ; it is most likely due to the copying of an erroneous calculation made centuries after the date claimed for the stone, and is therefore one of the reasons for rejecting the monument as a forgery. The mosque at Si-an fu is a very old one, and from Chinese writings it is known to have been repaired on several oc- casions, under the Sung dynasty in 1127 A.D., under the Yaan dynasty in 1315 A.D.,' and again under the Ming dynasty in the 14th and 15th centuries ; it is probable that the monument re- ferred to was erected on one of these occasions to perpetuate the supposed history ; it is frequently referred to in Moslem books, and is considered by Chinese Moslems to be genuine. Another ancient monument is found in the " Prophet- Remembrance " mosque at Canton; it is dated 1351 A.D., and has a bilingiial inscription in Arabic and Chinese, recording the rebuilding of the premises ; there is a vague allusion to a Sahib who went to the East " by command of the Prophet about 800 years " previous to the inscription, which would take us back to some little time before Mohammed's birth, and is therefore valueless for our purpose. To continue with Moslem traditions before turning to other sources of information as to the entry of Islam into China, we next refer to the writings of L,iu Chai-lien of Nanking, the most famous of Chinese Moslem writers, who, 200 years ago, after long preparation wrote " The True Annals of the Prophet of Arabia." This is the standard "Life" of Mohammed in Chinese, and an English translation by the present writer is now available,* The account given of the first entry of Moslems into China says that in the sixth year of K'ai Huang of the Sui dynasty, (A.D. 586) there was seen in the sky a strange star ; the Emperor commanded the Chief Astronomer to divine its meaning, and he said that an extraordinary person was appear- ing in the West. The Emperor sent an envoy to investigate, and he arrived in Mecca after about a year's travelling. The envoy desired Mohammed to proceed to the East, but he de- clined ; he sent, however, his maternal uncle Saad Wakkas, and three others, to accompany the envoy to China. The envoy secretly had a portrait of the Prophet made to take back with him ; this was given to the Emperor who proceeded to worship it, and when he arose, the scroll was there but the picture had vanished. Saad Wakkas explained that this was due to the influence of the Prophet who had forbidden to men the worship of images and the "kowtow." The Emperor was so impressed that he gave directions for the building of the " Prophet- Remembrauce " mosque at Canton. There is still to be seen at Canton an ancient tomb which Moslems say is the tomb of Saad Wakkas, the " maternal uncle " of the Prophet. The Wakkas mentioned in Muir's " Life of Mohammed " never travelled to the East ; his son Saad fought at Bedr and Ohod in Arabia, and was ultimately buried at Medina, never having been near China. The date given for the arrival of the apostle is prior to the Hegira, and as the accounts are otherwise contradictory, it is evident that we are dealing with tradition only. The tomb is probably that of some Moslem pioneer, but of a much later period than is claimed by tradition. Two small Moslem books written in Chinese and named '■ Hui Hui YUan Lai " (The First Coming of the Moslems), and " Hsi Lai Tsung P'u " (The First Entry of the Moslems from the West), contain traditions of the coming to China of Moham- medans by overland routes. There is the same story of an omen being given to the Emperor about a wonderful man appearing in the West ; the Emperor referred to here is T'ai Tsung of the T'ang dynasty (A.D. 628) some years later than is given in the previous tradition. An envoy was sent, and apostles went to China and were received with favour ; they were encouraged to practise their religion and eventually it was arranged that 3000 »"The A.ra,bi.an Pfophet," Ti;ansl^te4 by I, MASON, F,R,G,S. (LuzAc & Co., 1921.) Moslem soldiers should take up residence in China, wives being found for them from the province of Kiangsu. It is implied that we have here the source of the Moslem population of China Proper as apart from those of the outlying dependencies who were probably made Moslems by contact with their Moslem neighbours of Central Asia. Turning now to the available records apart from those found in purely Moslem books, mention should be made of an Arab geographer, Ibn Khurdadhbeh, who, in a book composed in A.D. 846 gives descriptions of the roads leading to China both by sea and land. Relations were principally maintained by sea, and the geographer describes the harbours and cities of the sea border, and says it is two months' journey along the coast. Another Arab writer, Abu Zaid, says that in 878, after the capture of Khanfu (Canton), a large number of foreigners perished, among them being Moslems, Jews and Christians. The same writer mentions an Arab trader who went from Canton to Si-an fu. These accounts apparently imply the quiet observance of the Moslem religion by traders and others who arrived from abroad and brought their faith with them for their own satis- faction rather than with propagandist aims among the Chinese. It is probable that many small communities of foreign Moslems were formed in this way. There is a record in stone at Ch'iian- chou Fu, the nearest commercial town to the north of Canton, which, if we may trust the inscription of 13 10, proves the existence of a mosque there in icio. In the Chinese T''ang shu there are records of several embassies of the Caliph to the Chinese Court in the 7 th and 8th centuries. Bretschneider says that ''there can be no doubt that at the time of the T'ang, many Mohammedans were settled in China." In the Liao dynasty an embassy from the Ta Shih — by which name the Arabs were known — was received in 924, and it was during that dynasty that the term " Hui hui" for Moslems was first used. The History of the Sung (960 — 128c) mentions some twenty embassies sent by the Ta Shih. The first European mention of the Saracens in China appears to be that of Marco Polo who came across them in his travels in the latter part of tlie 13th century. We may sum up by saying that while the Moslem claims for a phenomenally early and somewhat sensational entry gannot be accepted, yet there is suliicient evidence to justify the belief that some Mohammedans reached China during the early centuries of the Moslem era ; there were two routes of arrival, by sea and by land ; that by sea went as far as Hangchow, and very little attempt was made to advance into the interior. So Moslems arriving by water remained at the coast, and those by land remained in the interior, forming communities at certain centres. In all probability the arrivals were not numerous, nor were the Moslems of much prominence before the 13th century of our era. In 1262, after the accession of Kublai Khan, a decree ap- peared ordering that the Moslems, among others, should do their share of military duty, which would imply that they were then regarded as an integral part of the nation. In 1271 a Mussulman observatory was established at Peking, with a Persian at the head of it ; in the following year a Medical Hall was started at Peking by a Moslem. In 1289 a Moslem High School was established in Honan province, and about 200 families were given grants of land. It is recorded that Sayid Adjal — a reputed descendant of the Prophet — was appointed by Kublai Khan as governor of Yunnan, perhaps from 1273 to 1279. His son Nasir-ud-Din, mentioned by Marco Polo, did much to spread Islam. He also became governor of Yunnan, where he died in 1292. From the time of Kublai Khan the number of Moslems increased considerably, by immigrations and intermarriages, by conversions, and by the adoption of children ; the increase was most evident in the western parts of China, Kansu and Yunnan having become especially the strong- holds of Islam ; it was in these provinces that political risings took place during the Manchu reign, when the Moslems made attempts to become independent. The Mohammedans of China style themselves the " Ch'iug Ch^n Chiao," the Pure and True Religion. More familiarly they use the term " Chiao m€n " which is often seen written on a small signboard exposed in the shops of believers, especially those dealing in food stuffs. The most common term in general use by believers and others alike is "Hui hui chiao." The character " Hui " is well understood in its general meaning of "To return," or "go back,"; but it is by no means clear how the term came to be used in connection with the Moslems. Famous sinologues disagree on this matter, and Moslem books give varying interpretations ; it would take too long to give the several attempted explanations, and as I have not at present a 6 satisfactory theory to advance myself, I will not delay over the point. It is sometimes asserted that the Moslems of China form a type which can be easily distinguished from other Chinese, thus indicating their foreign origin, and that the type has persisted through centuries. Mr. G. F. Andrew in his recent book ex- presses this view very decidedly ; he says : " Although they have adopted the Chinese style of dress they indulge nevertheless in peculiarities sufficiently marked to distinguish them on sight. In features, the high nasal bridge, the absence of the pro- nounced Oriental cheek-bone, the splendid build and haughty carriage, the tendency to cultivate the beard, in contrast to the Chinaman who usually objects to such an appendage till he has reached the age of forty, all single out the Hui-hui from among the sons of Han." Many notable observers deny that this is the case, though it is admitted that individuals are found with faces differing from the accepted Mongolian type. I have seen such individuals, but in the main I have found little in the facial or physical appearance of Moslems I have known to distinguish them from their neighbours of other faiths. Chinese faces vary very considerably, and differences exist among the Moslems as amongst all other sections. In habits and deportment, and by their clannish social and religious life, Moslems may be de- tected from others, but not, in my experience, by special racial features. In political and social status the Moslems have long stood on practical equality with the general population; in places where they have been very numerous a more rigid Mohammedan social life has been possible and religious zeal has occasionally led to fanaticism and rebellion. The Government has at times used strong methods of repression, and at other times has given great power to Mohammedan officials and followed conciliatory methods. In the greater part of the country, where Moslems are few and scattered, they seem to have been treated with fairness, and in general they are law-abiding and dutiful citizens. In official life they have been much more prominent on the military side than as civil rulers ; their traditions as warriors may partly account for this, but it may also have been in part due to the fact that civil official life necessitated much more contact with religious and social duties at variance with their own religious beliefs and practices than was called for from military officers. Another reason why few rose high in civil officialdom may have been that Moslems in general are not great students of Chinese classical literature. Boys spend some of their time in Moslem schools learning something of their faith and traditions, and often the rudiments of Arabic. There has not been the same ambition to master Chinese literature, except on the part of a few, therefore in the days when this was the only gate of entrance to civil official life, it is not surprising that few Moslems found entry through it, and their young men pre- ferred to ride the horse and draw the bow in the military competitions of the "Wu hsiii-ts'ai." It may be added that military officials in the Manchu times were not altogether exempt from certain ceremonies of worship at temples ; but Moslems seem to have made a compromise with conscience and went with the rest; one said to me long ago in Szechwan that though his bodily presence was there, and he shared in the pros- trations, his heart was not there, so it didn't matter! Polygamy exists amongst Moslems in China as elsewhere. The Koran allows believers to have four lawful wives at the same time, but for obvious reasons this permission is taken advantage of by comparatively few. As polygamy has long been practised among the wealthier Chinese, the Moslems have not on that account been regarded as peculiar; probably the practice has been one which has lessened religious diversity. Footbinding has been practised among Chinese women in general, and no difference has been made by Moslem women. This strengthens the belief that very few women entered China as Moslems immigrants; the marriages were with women of the country who retained footbinding as a matter of common custom. Women from outside would not have been likely to adopt it. The veil for women is seldom seen in China ; it is found only at and around Ho Chou in Kausu of the Moslem com- munities. It is made of black silk and is worn below the eyes. Chinese Mohammedans practically all speak the Chinese language as their mother tongue; only one group is distin- guished by their language — the Salars — who live at Hsun- hua T'ing, on the right bank of the Huang Ho ; they speak a corrupt form of Turki. A considerable number learn more or less Arabic; the a-hong or mullahs use it in conducting services, and others repeat transliterations of Arabic sounds represented by Chinese characters. Believers who make the Pilgrimage often learn some Arabic, and the ordinary Moslem is proud 8 to display his knowledge of even a few words of " tlie tongue oi the angels." In decorations and on utensils the Arabic script is found in abundance. Yet there is no linguistic differ- ence between the Moslem and his neighbours of other faiths in the ordinary affairs of life. The occupations of Mohammedans are various ; some follow the military profession, while large numbers are engaged in trade, dealers in tea, wool, hides, etc. In country districts many are engaged in cattle-rearing ; the position of mafoo (ostler) is often filled by Moslems. Keepers of inns and restaurants are also numerous, and in cities and towns many follow trades and industries. It is in the religious beliefs and practices that Moham- medans are clearly marked off from their countrymen of other religions. The absence of idolatry, and the utter contempt which the Moslem has for polytheistic worship, at once puts a great gap between him and the vast majority of Chinese. The Mohammedans have their own places of worship, known by the names " li pai ssii " or " ch'ing chen ssii." It is exceptional to have minarets such as are known in other countries, and the call of the muezzin is rarely heard ; there are, however, to be fre- quently seen towers or pavillions which give ornamentation and distinction to the mosques. The interiors are often spacious, and are usually very simply furnished ; there is a cleanliness which Chinese temples lack. The portion reserved for worship is covered with matting, and shoes are removed before going on it. The Mihrab or prayer-niche is a conspicuous part of the building. In the Shanghai mosque there are preaching stairs, on which the a-hong or mullah stands with staff in hand, while preaching. Worship may take place daily, but the weekly worship-day is Friday (Chu ma er), when the faithful are expected to attend. Women do not share in the ordinary public worship, but in some places there are mosques specially for women ; I have seen one which I was told had a woman a-hong. Pork is rigidly abstained from on religious grounds, and those who know the Chinese will appreciate how this marks off the Moslem from the great majority of his neighbours. The hog is an abomination to the Moslem ; I heard of a case where a neighbour's pig strayed into the gateway of a Moslem's house, this giving rise to a great quarrel which resulted in the owner of the animal having to replace the stonework defiled by the four-footed intruder. Moslems will seldom eat with those of other religious, fearing that hog lard may have been used in the cooking ; in travelling they sometimes take with them their own cooking utensils, and in Szechwan they are nicknamed the "pei kuo chiao" — the sect which carries its kettle on its back. The customs of marriage, burials, etc., differ from those of non-Moslems ; religious ceremonies enter into all such events, as they do into practically all the affairs of life. Moslem girls are not given in marriage into Chinese families, but a Moslem may marry a wife of another religion, who is, however, expected to become a Moslem. At the marriage ceremony the a-hong recites passages from the Koran. At funerals the body is wrapped in white bandages, and covered with a bottomless coffin and then conveyed to the grave, where the body is interred ; the coffin is then taken back to the mosque, where it is kept ready for further use. Moslems have their own burial grounds distinct from others, if possible. To obtain a satisfactory idea of Mohammedan beliefs, and practices in China, it is necessary to investigate Moslem literature in Chinese, and it may be well to give here a few remarks on such literature in general. Mr. Wylie in his comprehensive "Notes on Chinese L,iterature" 50 years ago said, "Although the disciples of Mohammed have been in China now for more than twelve centuries, yet we do not find that they have done much towards the introduction of a native literature in con- nexion with their religion. . . . and the publications they have in the native language are quite insignificant." He then pro- ceeds to mention five works. But there were others available, which apparently he was not acquainted with; and of recent years there has been quite a little activity in producing tracts and magazines, so that a complete list of Moslem productions will number about 150 titles. Some of thet recent literature is polemical, attacking both Christianity and Buddhism. For the most part, recent writers add little or nothing to our knowledge or understanding of their beliefs and practices, and in some cases only succeed in beclouding matters. The variety of different characters used to represent the same names or subjects is a continuous annoyance to anyone reading after different authors; we have noted ten different names for the Koran, half a dozen for Mecca, and about as many different ways of writing Allah and Abraham, and nearly always two or three ways of writing other names. Sometimes the same writer will, in the lO same book, give different versions of the same names. As re- gards the style of language used, while in the main it is Mandarin (kuan hua) and sometimes colloquial (pai hua or fu hua), yet the standard works are in Win li of good style. I^iu Chai-lien — referred to above — who lived and wrote some 20o years ago, had a clear and scholarly style ; he was a voluminous writer on different aspects of Islam, and was well qualified for his work. Telling of his preparatory work Liu Chai-lien says that, beginning at fifteen )-ears of age, he spent eight years in study of Confucian books and Chinese literature generally, followed by six years at Arabic, three years at Buddhist, and one at Taoist books. He then gave attention to one hundred and thirty-seven " Western books," after which he concentrated on Arabic studies. He wrote several hundreds of manuscripts, and printed about one-tenth of them, chiefly along the lines of the Canons of the Rites and Ceremonies, and of Philosophy, and finally his " Annals " of the life and times of Mohammed. Many of the Chinese Moslem works appear to have been piiblished by private subscription, and the re-issue of them has been considered a work of merit. There are quite a number of prefaces or commendations at the commencement of the more famous works, written by persons who either hoped their names woiild add lustre to the work. Or probably thought thereby to be themselves enshrined in history. The books frequently contain Arabic words and sentences ;, some are almost entirely in Arabic, while others give transliterations of the Arabic in Chinese characters. No complete translation of the Koran into Chinese is known, but there are several partial ones ; in these the Arabic is given first, then sometimes a transliteration of the same, followed by the translation, or commentary (chu) as it is some- times styled. It is a simple matter for anyone to read about Mohamme- danism in the excellent books available in English ; but for our present purpose of learning more of this religion as it is found in China, it will be of interest to mention some things contained in Chinese works, written by Chinese Moslems. The conception of God, as to His Unity and His attributes, is much the same as in the Jewish or Christian faiths. No single article of faith is more insisted upon by the Moslem than that God is One and only One. In a booklet entitled. " The Correct Foundation of Religion " the writer, a Tientsin Moslem, says, " God is without beginning and without end. He is eternal, II and not affected by the dnal powers ' Yin ' and ' Yang.' He is withont peer or mate, the Only One most honourable. He is not restricted to certain regions ; there are no traces of His form. He cannot be said to be above or below, to be near or distant. He is without likeness, and there is nothing to which he" can be compared." The Moslem belief in angels is very prominent. The four principal angels, who are styled the "Ssu Shih " (four attendants) are Gabriel, Michael, Asrafil, and Azrail. There are also two recording angels, and two inquisitors of the dead. As an example of Chinese-Moslem reasoning the following may be given : — " Christians say God created man in His own image, made him the same as God ; and moreover male and female were both of the same order. Now having said that God has no equal and has no likeness or comparison, how can they say that God made man in His own likeness ? Furthermore, male and female are spoken of; is it the male or the female which is in the likeness of God ? Truly, though we think over- this a hundred times, we cannot understand it." " The Prophet said ' God truly created Adam after his likeness, that is Adani's likeness.' Before God created anything He first fixed its like- ness on the immortal tablets in the seventh heaven, and afterwards created things according to the likeness already fixed ; and so it was with Adam," The same writer continues: — "God commanded Adam to establish religion, and the first thing to make clear was the doctrine of the recognition of God. The next was to firmly establish the moral obligations, and then religion was on a good foundation. The Doctrines which Adam propagated were those which God commanded. What are they ? They are : Recogni- tion of God; Purification; Fasting; Prayer and Worship; the Pilgrimage to Mecca; Sacrifice; Almsgiving, etc." It is inter- esting to note that our author gives Adam a share in the -pilgrimage to Mecca ! Who built the city, or who lived there, are apparently minor considerations. Adam was one of the Six Eminent Prophets, the others being Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jesus. Of other special prophets there were 313, and of ordinary prophets over 100,000. We are told that " The Sacred Books given by God from the beginning number 104. Of these only four remain, the Tourat, given to Moses ; the Psalms, given to David ; the Injil 12 (Gospel), given to Jesus, and the Koran, given to Mohammed. For over 1,300 years the Koran of Islam has never been altered in a single letter ; the Bible of the Christians has been altered many times." While the Moslems profess to accept the Tourat of Moses, and the Psalms and the Gospel, it must be mentioned that their versions of these differ in some matters from those accepted by Christians. It is said that the Kaaba, or heavenly Cube, T'ien Fang — which gives one of the Chinese names for Arabia— was erected by Adam ; it was destroyed by the Flood, and rebuilt by Abraham. The Moslem books record that Abraham offered up Ishmael, not Isaac ; that the Greatest Prophet was to come through the line of Ishmael ; that the well of Zem-Zem at Mecca is the one made by God to relieve the thirst of Hagar. Coming to the New Testament, the Moslems acknowledge Jesus as one of the Eminent Prophets. He was the son of Maryam " the sister of Aaron," so that Maryam is sometimes confused with Miriam, and chronology is hopelessly mixed. It is claimed that Jesus bore testimony to Mohammed by saying : — " The Tourat which bare witness before me is true, and it testifies that after me there will appear a Great Appointed One, whose name is Mohammed the Prophet." The Moslems assert that Jesus was not crucified, but was taken up to God, while Judas suffered on the cross, having first been given such a like- ness to Jesus as to mislead the persecutors. In a booklet written by a Honan Moslem in 1914 this story is given in detail, and at the conclusion the writer says : — " Heretics fabricated false reports saying that Jesus died upon the cross, and on the third day rose again, and forty days afterwards ascended to heaven. Gentlemen, reflect a little ; if Jesus really arose thus miraculously from the dead, the religion of Jesus would have flourished at that time and since ; how is it that the place where Jesus lived is now under Moslem rule ? " That writer has probably now heard of the change of government in Palestine, and may be re-considering this portion of his argument. It may be suitable at this point to refer briefly to what Chinese- Moslem books say about Mohammed as the The Highest Prophet. The standard " Life of Mohammed " in Chinese is true to its class in that it tells of miracles taking place at the birth and during the infancy of the Prophet. His mother heard a voice in the air announcing that her son was the chief of all the prophets ; birds gathered round to look at the babe, and all the spirits hastened to offer 13 their services. All kinds of animals came and gambolled before the child ; a white cloud always floated above his head, so when- ever he was missed he could easily be found. Perhaps one remarkable sentence is worth translating in full, as follows : — " In the year when Mohammed was born, only male children were born during that year ; the old regained their youth, and all white hair became black again; never before nor since have there been such remarkable and auspicious events." I do not propose in this paper to detail the life of Mohammed as found in Chinese records, fascinating as the subject is. The name Mohammed means " The Praised One," and the biographer does his best to treat his subject according to a literal interpre- tation of the name. The Prophet's grandfather is called a king, and his father and mother were very exceptional people, while Mohammed himself is beyond all comparison. Among the phenomena claimed for Mohammed is (a) that his body cast no shadow on the ground ; (b) he caused at least one person to rise from the dead ; (c) he cleft the moon with his finger ; (d) he made a journey into the ninth heaven, and returned the same night. It is interesting to read what is offered in the way of proof for these miracles, as follows : — " Christians ask why it is that the cleaving of the moon was seen only in Arabia, and not elsewhere. We answer that some people from Persia also saw it ; moreover there are differences of time and location to take into account ; daytime in China is night-time in America, so it can be understood that all the world could not see the moon at the same time. But if you still doubt, look at the Old Testament in the book of Joshita, chap. x. 12, 13, and you will see that Joshua commanded the sun to stand still in the midst of heaven, and it hasted not to go down for about a whole day. Who witnessed that event ? "If it be queried ' How could Mohammed ascend into heaven ? Heaven is a place of solid substance, how could it be pierced (by a material body) ? We answer, have you not heard that Enoch, at the age of 365 years, ascended into heaven ? Again, the prophet Elijah also ascended into heaven. More- over, when Jesus was being baptized by John, the heavens suddenly opened, and a dove came forth and alighted upon Jesus. Are not these proofs that heaven has been opened, and that our Prophet ascended into heaven ? . 14 " Christians say that our Prophet used force to propagate his Faith ; this was not so. The Prophet divided people into three classes ; those who submitted were to be left alone ; those who would not obey were to be punished ; those who after punishment still remained obdurate, were to be killed. The women and children, and the aged, in all cases, were to be for- given. The benevolence of the Prophet was unequalled. But Christians should know that the methods of Moses were the same as those of Mohammed. It is said in Exodus that Moses commanded the Levites to kill the worshipper of the calf, and they killed 230,000 people. Again, it is said in the first book of Kings, that the punitive wars and other good deeds of David were pleasing to God. This is sufficient to prove the falsity of the Christians' slander of our Prophet. "People of other religions consider that our Prophet acted contrary to reason and good principles in the matter of having nine wives. But these people only know one side of the matter. The wives of Mohammed were all women of excellent character, so they assisted in bringing out the perfect character of the Prophet. The case is not to be compared to one of inordinate desire and love of beauty. Moreover, the prophet Jacob married four women ; David at first had seven, and afterwards more than 90 wives ; Solomon had 1,000, one hundred times as many as our Prophet had; how can Mohammed be said to have been extravagant in this respect ? " It may be mentioned here that the biographers of the Prophet have so far considered Chinese ideas of propriety and good taste as to tone down or entirely change some of the facts. The Arabic records state that all the wives of Mohammed save one had been previously married ; in the Chinese accounts the women are all virgins who, in view of the high destiny awaiting them, refuse advantageous offers of marriage in order to keep themselves unsullied for the Prophet. In the Chinese view there is impropriety in a widow remarrying, which may account for this change in the records. In the case of Zeinab, the wife of Mohammed's adopted son Zeid, who was divorced in order that the Prophet might marry her, the Chinese account says that she refused to marry anyone but the Prophet. The Arabs were scandalised at Mohammed's action in this case, and the Chinese would be equally or more so, hence the changed story. Time does not permit me to deal more fully with the Chinese accounts of Mohammed, nor with the doctrines of Mohamnie- 15 danism. But I wish to say something about the Five Practices — or the Five Pillars, as they are called — of the Faith. The Recognition and Confession of the Only True God is regarded as fundamental ; then follow Purification and Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving, and the Pilgrimage. (i) Recognition and Confession are briefly summed up in the words of the Kalima ; — " I testify that there is no God but only the True God, and Mohammed is the chief Prophet of God, the chosen and sent of God-" The Kalima is printed in Arabic and Chinese, and is widely circulated and well-known among the Moslems. Fuller statements of the Creed, and expositions of it are to be found in many of the books and tracts, bnt these probably interest the a-hongs more than the ordinary believers who have often no clear idea of the doctrines of Islam, and are content with a more or less satisfactory observance of the rites. In a small booklet in my possession, printed in green ink, and entitled " The Root of all Goodness," a statement of the Creed is as follows : — " Verily there is no God but only the True God, and Mohammed is His Prophet. I believe in the True God; I believe in all the angels; I believe in all the Sacred Books ; I believe in all the Prophets ; I believe in the world to come ; I believe that good and evil are determined by God ; I believe in the resurrection." (2) The purification required as a necessary preparation for prayer is purity from outward and material, as well as from legal and ceremonial uncleanness. In China two kinds of outward purification are spoken of as the " Ta ching " and "Hsiao ching" respectively, the former being much more com- plete than the latter. I must not enter into the details here, but let it suffice to say that they are interesting and curious, and remind one of some of the proceedings described in the Levitical law. All mosques of importance have bathing places annexed, usually small stalls about three feet square, and supplied with running water. At some places a pail or pitcher of water is all that is available, and is considered sufiicient for the smaller ablution ; representations of pitchers or other water- holding utensils are found on some signs of Mohammedan shops and inns. It is very important that at least the hands be thoroughly cleansed before one attempts to touch the Holy Koran. Shoes are removed at the door of the mosque, and i6 ceremonial little round caps, which rnn up to a peak at the top, are worn by the worshippers, The Imams and A-hong who read the Koran wear turbans of white or green colour, the latter colour distinguishing the Haji, that is those who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca. It may be mentioned that an old term for Moslems is " ch'an t'ou ti " — the turbaned ones ; but in Western China many who are not Moslems wear turbans. The prostrations and bowings and other ceremonies of worship are similar to those of other Moslem countries. The prayers repeated are in Arabic, or an attempted imitation of that language. The five daily prayer-times are observed by few, and then only in the mosques or private places, never in public places as is the custom in other lands. Prayer is begun by placing the thumbs behind the ears, with the fingers extended. This is the attitude of adoration of God. A Mullah once explained to me that this is the nearest approach to the attitude in which a man is born into the world, and is therefore fitting for reference. (3) Fasting is observed in the month of Ramadan with more or less strictness throughout China among Moslems. During this month a devout observer will not allow any food or drink to pass his lips during the hours that daylight permits a white thread to be distinguished frorh a black one. Eating and drinking take place freely after the sun has set each day ; when the fasting month falls during the hot weather many allow them- selves to rinse out the mouth with water, but without swallowing it. (4) Almsgiving as a religious act has always been a matter of importance among Moslems ; in China it is limited almost exclusively to the helping of their own poor ; but on the occasions of funerals, alms are also given to the public, a custom which results in many beggars being attracted at such times. A devout Moslem is supposed to set aside one-fortieth of his income for legal alms ; the sum of 14 taels has been fixed as the minimum income necessitating the legal alms, and 35 tael cents are required on every multiple of 14 taels. (5) The Pilgrimage : considering the distance and the difficulties of travel it is not surprising that no large number of Chinese Moslems are able to obtain their heart's desire by a visit to Mecca. Yet pilgrims do go from all parts of China, and it is said there is a special part of Mecca where they congregate, and where they are looked after by Chinese who reside there. i7 Those who have made the pilgrimage and are entitled to the name of Haji are very proud of it, and often wear a distinctive badge ; they are delighted to exhibit their Meccan passport. Those who cannot go will frequently contribute towards the expenses of an a-hong or other devout believer who can attempt the journey, hoping thus to share in the merit. Some few a-hong find their way to the Mohammedan University Al Azhar at Cairo. Those who have been to Mecca sometimes complain of the bad treatment meted out to them in Arabia, where they have been fleeced by their co-religionists. The orthodox Turks and Arabs scarcely acknowledge them as good Moslems, this being probably due to the irregularities known to exist in China. The Chinese character cKao which is used for the Pilgrimage, also means "facing towards," so the prostrations towards Mecca are considered to share, in some measure, in the merits of Pilgrimage. The first season of worship in the mosque in the morning is called " The Pilgrimage," and regular attendance at this service is held to make up, to some extent, for failure to visit Mecca. The two great divisions of Islam are known in China as the White Caps (Sunnite) and the Red Caps (Shiite). There are many sects, and it is quite beyond the limits of this paper to discuss them ; the reasons for divisions are often obscure. A few extracts from Mr. G. F. Andrew may be of interest, and must sufiice on this matter. He says : — " It is very difiicult to get at the real root of these sectarian divisions. One suggestion is that before the coming of the Salars (to Kansu) there was but one sect, but that sect had become corrupt through constant intercourse with the Chinese. The Salars on their arrival noticed the general state of apathy into which their co-religion- ists had lapsed, and determined upon a revival. With this end in view they formed themselves into the Hsin Chiao (New Sect), the other Hwei-hwei becoming known as the Lao Chiao (Old Sect). These two remain the principal sects to the present day. "Visiting Moslems from the West usually prefer to associate with the Hsin Chiao, as do also those mullahs who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca. They are more fanatical than the Lao Chiao, with whom they are frequently having severe quarrels ending, as often as not, in dangerous fights. So fierce and bitter have been the sectarian strifes, and so deep the hatred born of them, that it is a question whether the members of the i8 Old and New Sects are not, in some instances, as heartily hated each by the other as the ' unbeliever ' is by both. " The Old Sect has invariably gained the upper hand, and holds to-day the civil power, though religious fervour and zeal remain with the New Sect." The latest " New Sect " has suffered much persecution, and has also at times dealt severely with its opponents ; the leader of this new sect, Ma Ch'i-hsi, became known as the " Holy Man Ma," because of his devout life ; in 1914 he was shot on the roof of his house, while at his devotions. In 1916 the leader, named Min, proclaimed himself to be the long-expected Jesus, returned to earth ; he has been accepted and reverenced as such by many followers, and the Chinese authorities have felt it wise, in the interests of public safety, to imprison him at Lan Chou, in Kansu, where he has been visited by Mr. Andrew. In addition to sectarian differences, we must count among the reasons for the weakness of Islam in China the great lack of organization ; the local communities are perfectly independent of each other, and recognize no authority above them, in China or elsewhere. I have not been able to discover that Chinese Moslems pay any attention to any Caliphate, nor have they much, if any, regard for Turkey and the Sultan. The Caliphate is seldom referred to in speech or in literature, except in spas- modic magazines ; in one of these I saw a reference to drunken foreign soldiers and sailors in Constantinople, which it was said was, under Moslem rule, a " dry " place long before the United States " went dry " ! There are no indications that Chinese Moslems feel strongly on the political situation in the Near East as Indian Moslems are said to do. Nor have I seen much of the pan-Islamic movement in China. Some two years ago a magazine with this motive was started by a clever young Moslem at Shanghai, but it never went beyond its second number, for lack of support, and those of us who responded so far as to send a year's subscription, lost not only some anticipated interesting reading, but our money as well ! The same fate has overtaken other magazines started at various times, which is another indi- cation of the lack of cohesion and mutual support among Mohammedans themselves, and also of their indifference as to the progress of Islam. There seems to be little or no active propaganda among non-Moslems, but there is a strong and watchful sentiment against any Moslems accepting another faith, Speaking generally, the Chinese Moslems are much 19 more approachable on religious matters than are their co- religionists in other lands ; I have always found them friendly when approached with consideration and tact, and it is easy to find much common ground on which Moslem and Christian may meet as friends. Further investigations will doubtless reveal much more of interest about the Moslems of China, and, it is to be hoped, will lead to still better mutual understanding and fuller appreciation between the peoples of the East and the West. EDUCATION IN CHINA BY DR. S. LAVINGTON HART Read before the China Society on Afril 24, 1923 LONDON EAST AND WEST LIMITED 3, VICTORIA STREET, S.W. EDUCATION IN CHINA By Dr. S. Lavington Hart That the subject which I have the honour to discuss is a large one is evident from the fact that there are in the elementary schools of China, apart from all other grades of institutions, more than four million scholars. If for a moment or two we try to envisage this huge number, and reflect that before long there will be many more ; while at the same time we remember that the education of all these masses is in a state of transition and that the next few years will be the formative period during which the character must finally be given to the instruction of one- quarter of the human race, we must be driven to the conclusion that, there are very few questions that can exceed it in magnitude. Even if our survey of this theme prove of necessity to be but partial, it may be that it will help us at some further time to enter upon a fuller and more comprehensive study. The subject is certainly worth it. The revolution dates back, as everyone knows, to the days after the war with Japan and the Boxer rising. But revolutions are never produced suddenly, nor are they spontaneous. However rapid the outburst and sweeping the changes, there is always a long time of preparation. The accumulation of conditions which make the old impossible, and the spreading of the spirit which ushers in the new, are there long before the arrival of the circumstances which force on the revolution. The unexpected failure of the Chinese army when con- fronted with Japan, and the tragic ending of the Boxer endeavour for freedom from the presence of foreign in- 2 Education in China fluences, these constituted the needed circumstances. The conditions which were gradually though imperceptibly- rendering a continuation of the old regime impossible it is not for us to consider here ; but with the new spirit that had been at work and at last gave direction to the outburst for freedom, we as educationalists are concerned. For more than a half-century it had been spreading and growing, like the leaven in the meal or the seed in the ground. Robert Morrison was there early, even perhaps earlier than R. S. Brown, who opened a school at Macao in 1839. Although not on Chinese soil, Morrison's Anglo-Chinese school at Malacca was for the Chinese, and as soon as possible — that is, in 1842 — it was removed to Hong Kong. Another equally striking and significant beginning was made in the early forties at Ningpo by Miss Aldersey, an English lady, who must have been gifted with the rarest enterprise and fortitude to have been able to conduct a school for girls in that city so long ago, and to succeed in having some sixty scholars, the majority of whom were boarders. It must never be forgotten that the education of girls will prove the crucial point in the history of China, as in every other country. How much is owing to Miss Aldersey for the new departure she originated eighty years ago it would be hard to estimate. Many others went forth who had continued in their narrow spheres. Need we mention the names of the founders of the schools that have influenced China } St. John's University ; Nan Yang University ; Pei Yang University at Tientsin ; the Tung Wen Kuan ; the origin of the Government University, in Peking, and the Pei Yang Medical College in Tientsin ; all these were founded by men, let it be remembered, who had gone to China as Christian missionaries. Names like Boone, W. A. P. Martin, Kenneth Mackenzie, Timothy Richard, and those of many others still living, will long be remembered. One of the earliest results was that Chinese students, Education in China 3 amongst them T'ang Shao-yi, Liang Ming-ting, and their comrades, were sent abroad, to the United States for the most part. This small beginning of a very large move- ment was due to the foresight of statesmen like Li Hung- chang, and if his example had been more freely followed, the changes introduced by the revolution would have come more peacefully to China, For although the educa- tional reformation in itself was bloodless, it was not possible that some should not have to pay the price, and this they did right nobly. My first years in China were spent at Wuchang. The grandson of T'an, the governor of that city, was brought under the new influences, and alone in all his entourage he was being prepared for martyrdom. K'ang Yu-wei, profoundly impressed by the necessity for radical reforms, had found in the Emperor Kuang Hsti a ready convert, for his heart also had proved fertile soil for the new seed. The famous edicts were issued in 1898, and among other reforms was the proposal for the organization of modern schools throughout the whole Empire wherein Chinese and Western learning should be taught. There were to be district schools and colleges in the prefectural cities and provincial capitals, all leading up to the University in Peking. Though the old system of literary examinations was still to continue, its days could not but be numbered, for through the edict it was plain that the State considered it to be its duty to educate and not only to examine. Opposition to radical changes of this order was certain, and the celebrated coup d'itat showed how strong the opposition was. The young Emperor found himself a prisoner in his own palace, and the Reformers had to flee for their lives. K'ang Yu-wei escaped through the help of his friend Timothy Richard, but young Mr. T'an and some of his comrades in the movement were seized and put to death. Just as he was condemned, T'an said some memorable words : " I am glad," he declared, " to die for my couatry ; 4 Education in China but be assured that for every one of us who die here to-day there will arise ten thousand to carry on the work." Prophetic words that have proved true indeed, for through the death of T'an and his friends was born Young China, and the success of the revolution was assured ! All this was before the Boxer troubles. After the failure of this rising the Empress Dowager showed that she had learnt some wisdom, for in 1901 she issued an edict furthering the plans already proposed by Kuang Hsii. The examination halls were to be turned into colleges, but the examination system was to continue. However, at last, in 1905, the age-honoured old-style literary examinations were abolished. The political revolution of 191 1 added still more radical changes, for the new provisional Government eliminated the study of the classics from the primary schools, and ordered the preparation of new textbooks, which were to be in 'harmony with the new spirit of the age. But enough of dates and bare recapitulation of facts. To me, and I hope to most, the significant thing about these changes is not that certain edicts were issued in Peking, or that such and such a far-seeing statesman promulgated certain reforms, but that the spirit of the people themselves was changed, and that instead of the old-style scholar there was rising fast in every part of the Empire the new Chinese student. And China owes as much to-day to the new student as the Empire did in the former days to the well-known classical scholar. I noticed this change in the attitude towards Western learning very forcibly, for just before the Boxer troubles I had ventured on certain very mild suggestions for altera- tion in the curriculum of a small school in Tientsin ; indeed, it was merely the addition of arithmetic to the Chinese abacus system, which was already being taught, A teacher, himself a distinctly bright and clever Chinese scholar, deprecated the innovation, which he spoke of as Education in China 5 being stupid. The innovation was not much of a success, I am bound to admit. I came home in 1899, and returned soon after things were beginning to settle down after the shock of the anti- foreign uprising. I found everything changed : people were thinking differently ; instead of having to suggest in a tentative way that some Western learning might prove useful, I discovered that there was an eagerness to learn on the part of even those who had held aloof before. It was then that the college over which I have had the honour to preside was started ; and I, for one, must always consider the founding of this institution as a direct outcome of the change in the popular estimate of the value of the new learning. At the suggestion of two eminent Chinese scholars the Chinese name of " Hsin hslieh," new learn- ing, was given to it, and this title helps one to remember to-day that in 1901 the education which is now so common and widespread in China was a new thing, but a new thing to which the people with unexpected favour turned most readily ; for the revolution in education was not a matter of official dictation, it was essentially a desire on the part of the Chinese man in the street. This fact needs to be pointed out; for we have to assert that "China" is, not the Government nor the Tuchuns, but the people. And if we spell this word with a capital P, we can allow to the people of China the famous words of Le Grand Monarque : " L'Etat— c'est moi !" I am far from wishing, while speaking of purely educa- tional matters, to slip into national or political questions ; but it is allowable to point out one lesson, that all might learn with advantage, from the readiness I have been referring to on the part of the people of China to alter their standpoint on a matter which had always been held of the first importance in that country — namely, the instruction and education of their young men and the preparation of their rulers and officials. It is a proof of the alertness of the nation, of the juve- 6 Education in China nility, one might say, of this ancient race, that they can show themselves capable of understanding the signs of the times and profiting from almost overwhelming disaster, turning even their reverses into gains because of the elasticity of their national life. It is not difficult to give way to pessimistic views when considering the present position of China ; but these reflections on the power of China to recover and improve her position, which, I believe, follow naturally from the review of the intellectual revolu- tion of the early days of this century, should help to stay our yielding to despair, and give us fresh stimulus to offer any help in our power to a country so well fitted to profit from our aid. It must also be remembered that the revolution was a perfect reversal of things held inviolable and sacred up till then. Tradition was ignored. The whole policy of trusting their nation to the highest of their classical scholars, indeed, the system itself of making all instruction turn on the gain- ing of the time-honoured classical degrees — all this was given up. If we try to picture what a similar change might mean in this country, we shall understand the change more fully. Think of the institutions in Great Britain which are hoary with age and endowed with the richest tradition ; for instance, the training and the degrees at Oxford and Cam- bridge, the public school life of Eton or Harrow and other great schools, not to speak of all the primary instruc- tion throughout the land, being given up as out of date and sacrificed in order to introduce a new plan from abroad. Would we ever prove willing, even when faced with the gravest national peril ? Anyhow, there is some room for us to reflect on the suggestive comparison as we close this first part of our review, the revolution in education of twenty-five years ago. The next point to consider is the fear of denationaliza- tion, or, shall I say at once, the alleged fear of de- Education in China 7 nationalization ? For I fear that even if I have succeeded in bringing you with me so far in our survey, ways may begin to part just at this point, for there has been not a little controversy as to the existence of this danger. Not that anyone will be found who is anxious to de- nationalize ; we are all against such a process, be it for China or any other country. The controversy lies not there, but in the actual question as to whether there is fear or not that modern education, as it is at present and as it is going to be, is likely to weaken the strong characteristics of the Chinese people. Care must be exercised as to the precise meaning we attach to the word, and also as to the special direction which the dreaded process is supposed to take. Generally speaking, what is meant is that the scholar or student becomes unfitted by his studies and his life in the school for the ordinary occupations that lie before him and the plain duties of citizenship. The result of education in such a case is that he is either removed from his proper surroundings or feels himself above them because of the new ideas he has received. Now, to be quite fair, one must recognize that this charge may be levied against any school or any education if it is at all " modern," whether the school be under foreign or Chinese supervision. Indeed, in this sense similar accusations might be brought against education at home, for the same results can be seen at times in this country. And yet who would wish to con- demn educational endeavours on this ground ? " Denationalization " of this order is not confined, how- ever, to education. The same phenomenon is in clear evidence as the natural result of " modern " commerce. It is distinctly a breaking away from the honoured past when, instead of the old-fashioned and harmless water tobacco- pipe, cigarettes are indulged in, or other articles of foreign origin are bought and used to the detriment of the in- digenous produce. 8 Education in China A remarkable commentary on this charge of denationali- zation is, however, found in the fact that quite recently — that is, within the last two or three years — a determined effort has been made by the leaders of associated schools under Christian management to supply a new type of school altogether for the large country districts. In these new institutions education would be given to the children of farmers so as to fit them for remaining on the land as agriculturists, but with enlarged views as to their calling and fresh insight into their duties as citizens. The very reverse of denationalization ! At times, however, another meaning is attached to the word, and as the question is sufficiently important, it may be well to enquire into it further. Do we mean that there is danger that through modern education in China there will be produced a loss of love of country or a neglect of national customs ? Or is the fear founded on the dread that the new learning will lead to slackness in the cultivation of the language of China ? It is not necessary to say anything on the first of these three causes for alarm. It has been proved again and again during the last decade that of all the classes of the people the student class is the most patriotic, the most willing to think out the great problems of the country, and the most willing to sacrifice interests and prospects in order that the country may be saved. And this is true not only of those who are studying in their own country and see its need with their own eyes. It is especially true of the students who are studying away from their home — for instance, those at work in this country. Where are there any more enthusiastic believers in the pre-eminence of China than the Chinese living here in Great Britain } Where are there any, even among the ranks of the old-style scholars, who are so confident that China will pull through or so determined to help her do it ? No ; there has been no loss of patriotism through the pursuit of the most modern education. Education in China 9 Now as to the second of the indictments. Is it true that educationalists are responsible for changes in the habits of the people, and even for neglect of some of the national customs ? We plead guilty to the charge, and, moreover, would do so again if the need and the opportunity arose. Not that all the customs are to be changed ; perhaps none know better than educationalists the excellence of the ancient practices and quiet virtues that happily abound still in China ; but many things have changed, and if the responsibility is laid at our doors, we do not refute the charge. Let me be a little more precise. Everyone knows, for instance, the fashion of the old-style scholar in China : a little ponderous, slow-moving, with most con- scious dignity and impressive importance. Was this to continue? In 191 1 the Government emphasized the need of physical exercises for students, and recommended the practice of games and sports. But years before this became a matter of official recommendation, we had decided upon this very course in our own college as in many other colleges. It was in 1904, if I remember right, that we decided upon having an athletic meet in our college, the events of which were to be open to all students in Tientsin. These were the first sports- for Chinese students to be held in that place, as far as I know. The results were far from bad, though I remember that we became quite excited when one of our fellows cleared 6 feet 6 inches at the pole vault competition. We did not anticipate then that one of his successors would prove the champion at the same event in the Far Eastern Olympic meeting at Tokyo, and win the place for his country with a far higher record. Some Chinese officials were present, and in his kindness at the end of the meeting one of them declared to me that we were doing a splendid thing for China that day. But not all were so free to appreciate the new thing lo Education in China in the life of students. One of our men had brought his uncle to see the sports. The old gentleman was a fine example of the Chinese scholar, with a high literary degree. He witnessed a part of the proceedings, and then went off in high dudgeon, declaring to his nephew that he had always heard of the cruelty of the foreigners, but had never been willing to believe in it ; but now he knew that it was true, for he had seen foreigners that day drive Chinese students so that they had to run like horses and jump like dogs ! In those days we were breaking through certain customs roughshod ; nevertheless, it had to be done, and we are glad to-day that we had a part in bringing the new and very sturdy Chinese athlete into existence. He will have to be reckoned with, not only in Far Eastern competitions, but here at home and in America. One of the beautiful things in China is the spirit of reverence towards seniors and especially towards teachers. When our college began a little over a score of years ago, that spirit was freely shown to me and others — that is, it was shown in the old and recognized way. If a student saw me while he was riding in his rickshaw, he would of his own free will and in obedience to the fine feeling I am referring to stop his rickshaw at once and jump off, so as not to be seen riding when his teacher was afoot. And if he was wearing his spectacles, off they would come. To-day these things are not to be seen. Is it that the feeling of respect has grown less ? Many would say so ; I do not. Now our scholars are riding, not only in rick- shaws, but, as most do, on bicycles, and especially motor- cycles. Or else it is the electric tramcar. Shall I be foolish enough to expect my students in the midst of fast, busy traffic to stop and descend from motor-bicycles or tramcars .'' Naturally not. I look for the respect, which I know they are only too willing to give, not along the old lines, but along the new, which must prevail under the changed conditions of modern life. Education in China 1 1 Forgive my labouring this self-evident point. It is but an example of much that has to be done to-day. We must cease judging by the criterion of the past ; we must look for the reality, and be willing to admit a complete change in form. To-day, and it may be to-morrow, we must exercise understanding leniency, for it is hard for a whole nation to change within a few years its standards of what is right and seemly. Much has changed, and we educationalists have had no small part in bringing it about. But there remains the last criticism — namely, the lessen- ing love and study of the language of China. Now this is confessedly a difficult subject. Nor is the solution easy to find. It must be admitted that if Western learning is to be added to the study of Chinese literature and language, there must be less time for the acquisition of that proficiency in Chinese which is both the admiration and the envy of even Sinologists. As a well-known Chinese, a member of one of the former Cabinets, said to me recently : " Something must be done about the study of Chinese ; boys cannot be expected now to give the time they used to devote years ago ; besides, it may be seriously questioned whether the absorption of the mind of the child or young student in a single pursuit for such a length of time can be justified from an edu- cational standpoint." Modernists among both teachers and students have been accused of sacrificing the interests of Chinese studies for better proficiency in mathematics or some other branch of Western learning. While this may be true in a few cases, it is to be doubted whether it is generally true ; and where the impeachment has to be admitted, the pressure of a too full curriculum is to blame rather than any lessening of the regard for the language of China or a failure to recognize the beauty of its literature. That those who have drunk deeply at the well of Western learning have not lost their love for Chinese lore 12 Education in China is evident from the great part that has been taken by Chinese trained abroad or on modern lines in China in the recent revival of thought and writing that is one of the out- standing features of the third decade of this century : I refer to the Renaissance Movement. Apart from the greatness of the topics discussed in this new movement, it seems that from it will come a new language to China, a language that will serve to unite the country and express in a living way the mind of this new China. The hope must be expressed that in this way some lightening of the task of acquiring a thorough understanding, and a capacity for clearness of expression, may come to those on whom the double burden rests of being masters of their own tongue and of at least one foreign language as well. Perhaps the question might be asked : Why not give up English then ? If we on this side of the world could agree that this would be the wisest course, it is much to be doubted if in China the step would be taken. English has come and come to stay, for better or for worse. It is our duty to ensure that it shall be for better, for better mutual understanding, better mutual intercourse, better inter- national relations. It is hopeless to expect that in this country there will be a turning towards Chinese as a vehicle of thought ; it is almost too much to expect that Britons in China will do much in business or other walks of life through their pro- ficiency in Chinese, though happily there is marked im- provement in that direction. If China and Great Britain are to understand one another, if we are mutually to learn from one another, it follows that all this must come through the knowledge the Chinese gain of our language, while we passively sit still and allow others to work out the approach. Let us for all our sakes hope that the knowledge of English will spread and increase in China ; much depends on it, even in the region of politics and international relations. So we who have been at it may plead in extenuation of Education in China 13 some of our grave faults that we have done something for both countries, though at times it seemed as if we were merely there for teaching the ABC. What enthusiasm there was for it when once the tide turned ! We had a number wishing to be taught as soon as we opened the college early in 1902. Men as well as youths came, and we did our best to accommodate them all. The result was that classes were somewhat mixed ; young and old had to be put together. There is a story told of those early days in our own college. As everyone here knows, the number of surnames in China is somewhat restricted, so that many must be called by the same name. There are many Wangs, or Lius, or Changs, and so on. Two students of the same surname Wang were in one of these early classes, a young fellow, and one distinctly his senior. They went on with their studies day by day until the examination, when unfortunately the junior passed and the senior did not. This might not matter much in ordinary circumstances, but in this case it was fatal, for they were father and son! And when they got home, so the story runs, the son caught it well at the hands of his father. The story may be apocryphal, but I fear that it is true. English has come to stay, and so has Western learning in all its branches. But there is no fear that through this spread of learning from abroad the Chinese are going to lose the valuable characteristics which have marked them out from other races. They will absorb a great deal ; but all the learning they will absorb will be assimilated and adapted to their own special purposes, and the national traits, though they change somewhat in form, will remain always characteristically Chinese. Whenever there has been known a process of absorption and assimilation in which both Chinese and foreigners have been involved, it has never yet been the Chinese who has been absorbed. 14 Education in China The Power of Education over the Nation In China it is impossible to exaggerate the influence of education, or rather the influence of educators and of students in the affairs generally deemed to belong strictly to the statesman. Of course, this was true for the old regime during which great scholars held unbounded power in the land ; but to-day, when all that has been changed, the power of the student world in the affairs of State has been one of the unexpected manifestations of the new order. Who could have foreseen the position of dictatorship that was assumed by the combined student forces of China, a dictatorship before which even high officials had to bow ? The student strike of four years ago and all its strange revelations of co-operation and executive ability may not be repeated ; but one fact will prove permanent, and that is the powerful influence of Chinese students over public opinion. Whether this is a salutary feature of public life or not is not the point. There is this huge power of the student body, and it must be taken into account. The question to con- sider is this: If students are moulding the public opinion of the country, who is moulding the thoughts and opinions of the students? And, above all, who is moulding the men themselves? For, after all, it is the man who counts in these things even more than his opinions. If we had not known this before, we learnt the siilutary lesson at the time of the strike of the students in 1919. When the day came that had been settled as the date for ceasing study, the leaders in our college came to me, and in a gentlemanly way explained the situation. They asked that all the students be marshalled in the hall of the college, and further requested me to speak to the assembled body. I was glad to do so, though taking no part in the movement of protest against the action of the Government, I wondered what the outcome of it all would be. The seniors among them had read their Greek history and knew their French Revolution ; there were models enough Education in China 15 for them to choose from in all these studies for their rising against the authorities. But had they learnt anything else to guide them? This was my anxiety. For now they were to be left to themselves, and we had to retire. My fears were set at rest, for the leaders, both of them non-Christian, made a further request on behalf of the students, and that was to the effect that each day they might meet in the hall before they went out to their public duties. When asked the purport of such a gathering, they said they wanted to meet daily to pray to God for their country. And so they did, for weeks, though the large majority of them were non-Christian. And during the anxious days that followed it was a relief to find that in Tientsin not a small part of the leadership in that move- ment was under the sway of the same wholesome and strong influences. Seeking to mould character had not been in vain. If it is not presumption to mention personal experiences, I should like to mention two other examples of the result of education (as distinct from instruction) on matters that affect the welfare of the State. What I say about one college is doubtless true of many others. A few years ago a young student left us before his course was completed, as a rich relative, the owner of a large cotton mill in the neighbourhood, wanted him to begin work at once in his mill. We were sorry to lose him, as he had given promise of repaying any care bestowed on him. He came to see me not long ago to tell me of his experiences. In the five years he had worked his way through, so that he was now manager ; this being no small thing, as the mill in question is one of the largest in China. He told me of what he had tried to do for the hundreds of workmen employed under him. I need not say that the state of factory life in some parts of China leaves much room for reform. He told me of the rooms he had built for them, of the special accommodation for the women, of the recreation 1 6 Education in China room he was running for the young boys, of the night- school he not only had started for them but was teaching in himself, though manager of the whole mill, and of a special lecture that he had started for the workmen on Friday evenings, at which he wanted to reproduce some of the things he had learnt in the college chapel, although he was not a professed Christian. We had not included the new term "Civics" in our curriculum, but he was busy in his new sphere building up a model factory and founding his endeavours on what he had learnt while with us. We talked the matter out of the two twelve-hour shifts, night and day, which even in his place are the regular thing, and he is now trying to intro- duce the three shifts of eight hours each instead ; if he can succeed against the inclination of the owners, something will have been done for the improvement of industrial life over there. A few days after the visit of this old student, another came to see me. He was at work in the salt gabelle in another province. While in Tientsin he had never been a brilliant student, but had a bright spirit with plenty of love for sports, and he had proved himself a good footballer. Away in Shansi he had made himself busy ; with some others he had started night-schools for teaching English to the young fellows in the city, and other meetings as well ; he had got into touch with the three Government middle schools, and was giving them real live football ; in short, he had, altogether on his own initiative, constituted himself an apostle of his Alma Mater, and was carrying out there in a distant place what he had received while with us. I mention these few instances of what I have myself seen, as I know that similar instances could be reported from other colleges, and because to me facts of this kind are so many proofs of the vigorous influences that are being exercised by students in China, influences felt not only in the doubtful field of politics, or even the formation of public Education in China 17 opinion, but in the rapidly developing industrial life of the country, and in the realm of social affairs. In every land this is true to a certain extent, but in China to-day, where the new order has not yet been set up, and things are beginning to crystallize into a final form, it is hard to exaggerate the importance of the young fresh life of the student, or the result of his impact on the still plastic industrial and social conditions of his country. In expressing my thoughts under this second head of "The Power of Education " in the land, it is already clear that I am not thinking in the first instance of education in the abstract, or of any definite programme of instruction, but of education as represented by the student himself, and there- fore also behind the student by the teacher if he can but climb out of his rdle of instructor and become an educator, a friend, and a leader of his students. There are many influences at work in China at this time : there is the new force of the Renaissance Movement ; there is the rising pressure of commercial competition ; there are the excite- ments of international questions, and the quickening impulses of patriotism and race feeling ; is there any influence more quieting and strengthening, more likely to heal the ills of the land and bind two countries together in amity, than that of the happy, lasting relations between master and student, who are bound together by mutual respect and affection, when they work together for the highest ends.? I commend this thought to all, but especially to politicians, those who are looking for solutions for the problems of the day. Our survey, such as it is, is almost at an end ; I need not add that it is partial and incomplete. Especially does it fail if what is looked for is a categorical statement of the chief institutions of learning in China, or a technical de- scription of the curricula followed in the various departments of instruction. May I remind you of the Report of the Educational Commission, in which much of this information may be found. 1 8 Education in China For instance, to some it proves of interest to know that in the Government schools of China of the elementary type there are some four million scholars, the proportion of girls to boys being 4^ per cent. The numbers for the Christian schools are 185,000 in the primary department, the proportion of girls being 45 per cent. Another interest- ing comparison may be found by putting together the numbers in middle schools, when it transpires that i"6 per cent, of the whole number of scholars or students in the Government schools are in the middle grade, while the proportion for the Christian schools is 7 "6 per cent. Yet again we find from these tables of statistics that of the whole population of China i '3 per cent, are in the Govern- ment schools, while 10 per cent, of the total Christian population are at school. I do not feel like pressing these comparisons ; indeed, in what I have sought to bring before you, I have not drawn distinctions between Christian institutions and those of the Government, judging that it would be well if the same great principles should apply to the one kind of school as to the other. The above remarks are those of one engaged in a survey of the field, and not, be it understood, as one holding a brief for Christian schools. At the same time, to be honest, it is necessary to add that all our experience teaches us that the greatest gains for the student himself and for his country are seen only when the culture of the mind and the training of the character are carried on pari passu ; and that, although ethics may form part of a curriculum, no strong or lasting result can follow except under the influence of the living ethical principle which is the essence of the highest religious training. I repeat that I am anxious not to draw comparisons, and especially would it be invidious to make rapid con- clusions as to the two classes of schools at such a time as this ; for the last year or two have been exceedingly Education in China 19 difficult for those in Government institutions. Salaries have not been paid ; students, teachers, and college officials have gone on strike to enforce payment of arrears of salaries, and even the staff in the Ministry of Education have had to follow suit. All these evils are temporary, it is to be hoped ; and before long the interesting programme for the education of all parts of China may begin to be carried out in earnest. That this programme is a living one may be seen from the principles laid down at the last meeting of the National Educational Association held in Canton in October, 192 1. From this may be quoted the following : 1. The new system is to be in accordance with the republican form of government, and to develop the spirit of democratic education. 2. It is to be in harmony with the requirements of social education. 3. It is to develop the individuality of youths and allow them freedom of choice. 4. It is to allow for variation in different localities. Perchance something might be learnt in this country from the suggestiveness of such a programme. But it has not been my purpose to deal with technical matters or the details of educational work in China, and as I close I Would return to the main theme. May I express it in a phrase or two, and say that education in China is a big thing already, and that it is growing fast ; also that it is fraught with consequences of the greatest significance not only for China, but for its relations with other countries as well ; and that therefore it behoves us not only as lovers of China, but also in the interests of our own country, to treat this matter seriously, and to see to it that if there is any help available, we should render it both speedily and wisely. There is in all our minds the consciousness that precisely at this time of China's awakening and of her consolidation, there is help that is within our power as a nation to give 20 Education in China to her, and it would be foolish for us to ignore this epoch- making possibility, merely because it is hard to avoid controversy while discussing it. At the very least we can all agree on certain broad lines of procedure. Thus, since the proposal for help is made from one nation to the other, for the mutual benefit of both, it is evident that China must be consulted before the final form of the assistance to be rendered is settled. Also, that it is impossible that any narrow views can be held when religious questions have to be discussed. In common with many others, doubtless, I have thought this matter out and come to conclusions as to what would constitute the most efficient contribution which this country might make, but I do not propose to bring forward these special suggestions of my own. It is better to refer to the position taken up by the Associated British Chambers of Commerce in China, inasmuch as this body is an exceedingly influential one, destined, we feel sure, to play no small part in the administra- tion of this fund. A report of their conference, held in Shanghai in February of this year, has already appeared in the Press, so that there is no need to reproduce their decisions at any length. Briefly, then, they advocate that the funds should be devoted in the first place to the support of secondary schools in China under British control, so long as they are efficient ; together with provision to strengthen feeder primary schools through scholarships to the secondary school ; scholarships also to be given to students proceeding from those secondary schools to Hong Kong University, and in certain cases to universities in Great Britain. They advise that assistance be given to Hong Kong University, to certain Union institutions, and to girls' schools. They also state that there must be ample provision for the representation of Chinese opinion. I believe I am right in declaring that the feeling in Education in China 21 China, among British residents, is in favour of these pro- posals ; there is also a conviction that better results will follow from the strengthening of two or three institutions so as to make them thoroughly efficient, than by scattering help over a larger number of schools ; and, further, that more will be gained by building on foundations already laid than by starting de novo on untried ground. In China gain of confidence counts for a great deal. In a word or two, the aim is to set up in China a few examples of the highest type of British educational institutions. This does not mean any estrangement from Chinese wishes and ideas ; indeed, the contrary would be true if care were taken to select those colleges that have already proved themselves acceptable to the Chinese. Another form of contribution to the forces of education in China might consist in sending to definitely Chinese institutions teachers and professors from some of our home universities. An excellent way of helping China, but not likely to produce such permanent or far-reaching results as the former plan. It is a matter of general agreement that only well-qualified students should be sent to this country, the large majority of those educated under the auspices of this special move- ment remaining to study in their own country. I would take this opportunity of appealing for special interest to be taken in the Chinese students who come to this country to study; a great deal has already been done in certain quarters, but much more must be attempted if the number of these students is considerably increased, as we hope it will be. Sometimes a mistaken and very misleading view of this question has been advanced. It has been stated that Great Britain is out to gain as much as possible for herself by this return of the indemnity money : so long as there are definite prospects of immediate cash returns at least equal in amount to the money returned, the thing is worth doing; if not, leave it alone. 22 Education in China To my mind, this is an entirely wrong position to take up, and an unnecessary one. Unless I have been altogether deceived in the conclusion to which the survey of the educational problem in China forces me, there is, linked up with the right kind of educational work, the possibility of reaching results of such magnitude, results which, though indirect, affect the whole relations between the two countries, that there is no need to be considering such financial returns. The interests at stake are immeasurably great ; if once the two nations are linked together by mutual understanding and friendliness, who is going to measure by so many pounds a year the benefits that will accrue to both countries, and I may add, to the rest of the world ? PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY BILLING AND SONS, LTD., GUILDFORD ANO SSHi^S THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE EDUCATION BY YUAN-PEI TSAI, LL.D. (Chancellor of the National University of Peking) A PAPER READ BEFORE THE CHINA SOCIETY ON APRIL to, 1924 EAST AND WESTi LTD. 3 VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, S.W. 1 1924 THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE EDUCATION ( Translation) By Yuan-Pei Tsai, ll.d, (Chancellor of the National University of Peking) To study the development of Chinese education some early historical review is an indispensable preliminary. In ancient China it has been found that education had always been a favourite problem with the sages or emperors. These sages or emperors who had wished a betterment of the world, being confronted with difficulties in admin- istering State and social welfare in the mass of grown-up people, came to give their attention to the more bright and hopeful side of the educational problem. This was, of course, a subject of anxious solicitude to the Sage Shun, who was recorded as having been the first sage to appoint a Minister of Instruction to teach the basis of human relationship. After having taught the people to sow and to reap, and furthermore to cultivate the five kinds of grain, the Sage Shun appointed Chi to teach the people " how between father and son there should be affec- tion ; between Sovereign and minister, righteousness ; between husband and wife, discernment of their duties ; between old and young, a proper order ; and between friends, loyalty." This was quoted by Mencius twenty centuries after Sage Shun's death. Although little was known about the origin of the quotation which he had made, yet its worth as an historical fact possesses some importance as being the earliest mention of Chinese educa- tion in classical literature. Of educational development, from the Shu Ching we read another fact which throws more light upon the question. " K'wei," the Emperor Shun was reported to say in the Canon of Shun, "I 2 The Development of Chinese Education appoint you to be Director of Music, and to teach our sons, so that the straightforward may yet be mild, the gentle may yet be dignified, the strong not tyrannical, and the impetuous not arrogant " (Legge's translation). Music, evidently, was considered as a complementary training, and accounted as instrumental in modulating the emotions of youth. This seemed to be a necessary development, and dated as far back as the twenty-third century B.C. By that time the main subjects of education were, on the one hand, emphasizing moral duties, and, on the other hand, teaching the virtuous habits of the mind — that is, ethical training for being a good citizen and social training for being a moral being. These two ideas, mutually inclusive, aimed at the good relationship in the community, and that our ancient educationists endeavoured to realize, and actually did realize. At a later period (twelfth century B.C.) more subjects were introduced, and a series of studies were brought into use, and were composed of three virtues, three conducts, six arts, and six cultures or orders of nobility for the aristo- cratic class ; and six virtues, six conducts, six arts for the people. In some respects the methods of our ancient educationists appeared to be very similar to those of modern times which China has introduced from Western countries. Analytically speaking, what they called moral instruction took the same place practically as moral science in our modern curriculum, while among the six arts — viz., rite or propriety, music, writing, mathematics, archery, and charioteering — ^^the last two corresponded to our physical training. Closely connected with moral instruction and physical culture is the art of calculation, and this also formed what we now call abstract or intellectual training. The teaching of rite is considered a science between the range of moral instruction and intellectual training. Ex- amined from our modern point of view, and its entire attention to the welfare of mind and body, the period from the twenty-third century BjC. until the time of Mencius The Development of Chinese Education 3 seems an epoch of remarkable achievement in education. A still greater development was the passing away of the older institutions and the rising in their place of a great academic institute called Cheng Chun on a larger scale ; an accomplishment the results of which cannot be exaggerated, resulting as they did in creating the rudimentary form of present university education provided by the State. About the sixth century b.c. some form of private insti- tution on the lines of Greek academies became a promi- nent and influential element in the educational world. This period began to witness (among others) two great schools of philosophy which became a matter of vital interest and gave different solutions to various problems. On the one hand, Confucius was teaching China four faculties of learning — namely, morals, politics, rhetoric and literature ; while Mo Tzti, on the other hand, was in- structing China in strategy and a working method of dialectics that was logical and descriptive. Nevertheless, Mo Tzu seems to have emphasized in no less a degree than Confucius his teaching of politics and moral conduct. Not the least curious of his teaching dealt with light and dynamics, with which modern science is conversant. As a matter of fact, the physical and chemical sciences were mentioned in Mo Tzii's work, but this genius was doomed to struggle alone. Had not the great ideas of Mo Tzu regarding science remained pitifully barren of results for lack of sufficient aid from contemporaries or successors, China might have been very different. The handicap referred to above was no doubt due to the predominance of Confucianism mixed with necromancy. The necromancers represented the Confucian tradition in combating the teaching of Mo Tzu. From animism they had come to adopt a mystic explanation regarding all social and natural phenomena as mere functions of two forms, negative and positive ; and of five elements — water, fire, wood, metal and earth. They were narrowly restricted in the amount of information they possessed. Thus, unfortu- 4 The Development of Chinese Education nately, the Necromancian-Confucianism prevailed in the meantime both in the national institutions and in the academies which were under the management of private professors. A philosophical change of great importance in education became prominent in the first century a.d., when Indian philosophy was introduced into China. The Indian philosophy found affinity with the teachings of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, whereupon a tendency along a common path developed. Even Confucians abandoned their conception of moral conduct and politics as secondary items, and developed their metaphysical theory. In the fifth century A.D., institutes for the propagation of the science of metaphysics were established. With the eighth century A.D., Confucianism once again controlled the educational world ; and particularly, the teaching of the four faculties again appeared as contents of the educational doctrine ; what had been the time-honoured widening of the boundaries of knowledge occasioned by the Indian philosophy gradu- ally faded away. From that time until the nineteenth century, schools had been only seeking to adopt the Confucian canons as their text-books, with an addition of works dealing with metaphysics. These forty centuries of Chinese education, except for the short beginnings of science and for the success of metaphysics in establishing itself, can be said to have incurred practically no interrupting changes. Only a development from the simple to the complex was taking place. Hitherto, we have been concerned mainly with the development of ancient Chinese education, in so far as it was determined only by Eastern ideas. We have still to compare the development of Chinese education with that of English. There were the same ideas for arranging the instruction equally favourable for physical training and mental culture, the same attempt to make learning systematic. In respect to the teaching of rites or cere- monies, we find the same encouragement of what may be The Development of Chinese Education 5 called " good forms " in the education of the respective nations. Some analogy can also be formed between Chinese archery and charioteering and the English spirit of sport. Both the Chinese and English education aim at forming character and personality. In this respect they approach one another most nearly in their ideal of what education should imply. Character and learning, as inter- preted by Confucius alone, were to be brought into harmony ; now, this is parallel to the lines which English education has also followed. The school of Confucius put forth the " gentleman " as the ideal of education — desiring that everyone who was educated should reach that attainment. This indeed cor- responds with the education of the English " gentleman." We who read Confucian classics come again and again to the allusion of the term Chun-tzu, with which, as with the word gentleman in English, we find the same difficulty in connotating the greatness and wealth of meaning to be conveyed. To get glimpses of the Chlin-tzu, let us now listen to the sayings of one or two of the representatives of the Confucian school and to a few words of the Master himself, taken at random. The philosopher Ts^ng, one of the disciples of Confucius, once said to M^ng Ching-tzu : "There are principles of conduct which the man of high rank should consider as specially important : in his deportment he should refrain from violence, in his expressions he should keep himself near to sincerity, and in his words and tones he should avoid as far as possible impropriety." Others consider that the gentleman "should adjust his garments and hat in a proper manner and should preserve a dignity in his looks." It follows that he can behave with a dignified ease without being proud, and be majestic without being fierce. These and other statements as to the attitude of a gentleman centre round the point which the English educationists have advocated just as emphatically. In the temper and disposition of a gentleman, the Chinese find the characteristic of appreciating righteousness as an 6 The Development of Chinese Education essential. "He performs everything according to the rules of propriety, brings it forth in humility, and completes it with sincerity." Furthermore, " he honours the talented and virtuous, and bears with all. He glorifies the good and pities the incompetent." In the gentleman himself, we find these characteristics : " being benevolent and free from worry ; being wise and free from doubtful hesitation ; and being courageous, free from fear." In his accomplish- ments, we find the " right harmony of simple plainness and elegance." In respect to moral power, the Chinese educationist stipulates as gentlemen those " who can be entrusted with the charge of a young orphan prince, or be commissioned to deliver a message to a State hundreds of miles away, and whom no emergency, however great, can drive from his principles." " He harmonizes himself with his surroundings, but does not compromise his principle." " He stands erect, and does not lean on anyone or on any- thing apart from himself." Such is his strength and reliance in a trustworthy self. The above are a few of the positive examples of the gentleman's achievements ; but negatively there is the strong warning and denunciation against the "false gentleman" or "mere aristocrat" — just as in Western lands there is terrible and keen criticism of the hypocrite. This kind of training for a gentleman has undoubtedly the same importance in the development of Chinese as in English education. In passing from the resemblances to the differences between English and Chinese educational ideals, we find two divergent points. The first and the most obvious cause of difference lies in the fact that an Englishman, while in infancy, is fostered in his higher development by some religious conceptions, and consequently forms his beliefs which will be a guide to his after-life. In China the parents, save in very exceptional cases, do not interfere with the freedom of their son's beliefs, and they therefore are entitled to assert their right of belief — public opinion generally expressing itself in f&vour of it. Secondly, we The Development of Chinese Education 7 feel the advantages in the scientific teaching and equipment in England and our defects in this respect. The former point is, however, of no concern to us here at this juncture. Concerning the latter point we must express a desire that our education should make headway towards a much greater development of scientific education. In England, not only the laboratories in the Universities, but also the societies for the research of science, are all well equipped. There are four national museums controlled by the Board of Education here, in which whole collections and unique specimens are accumulated. Consequently, there exists here in England such an atmosphere of science that though the scientists have to bear the burden of extending the boundaries of the realm of science, yet the work can be appreciated and shared by the general public — who themselves realize the importance and far-reaching effects of science. Also, philosophical and other thinkers and writers naturally acknowledge their debts to science and run less danger of trying to build their thoughts in the empty air. In this respect, China has nothing to corre- spond to it. You have both the ideal scheme and the actual establishment exemplified in the Science Museum and Natural History Museum at South Kensington, whose influence can be seen to have been exercising a consider- able effect upon education. But in China our education for at least two thousand years has aimed at no higher scientific teaching than to mould the man with a perfect character and give him a literary equipment. Though in contact with the West from the thirteenth century a.d., we have learned very little about physical science, except the evil effects of it. A few centuries elapsed before the Catholic missionaries came to China with their knowledge of Aristotle's Logic, Euclid's Geometry, and other applied sciences. Until recently, in the last half-century, China has undertaken no educational reform, so far as natural science is concerned. She has now recognized that the regeneration of her ancient 8 The Development of Chinese Education civilization will be a reality if the rising generation can be educated on new lines. What China in her first attempt at educational reform wished to accomplish has been realized in founding colleges and special institutions. In 1865 there was founded in Shanghai a Kiang Nan (Munition) factory on a scientific and technical basis, which to-day occupies a spacious ground on a magnificent scale. The example was quickly followed by the establishment of colleges on European lines, a pioneer school of mechanics being started in 1867. After this, in all the earlier efforts to develop our education, schools or colleges of technical science maintained their lead, with other schools following at a respectful distance. A school of shipbuilding was also founded in 1867, and a school of telegraphy (1876), a naval school (1880) ; Pei-Yang University (1889), Nan- Yang College (1897), and Peking U ni versity ( 1 896), were established successively. Again, a body of young students was sent to England, France, and Germany, with a view to studying shipbuilding, engineering, and other subjects. As bearers of knowledge and ideas from the outside world to China they were by far the most effective and efficient. But the privilege of studying abroad could only be enjoyed by a limited number of selected students and even for them we did not provide an adequate school for their preparation. The opening of these colleges, as stated above, so valuable in themselves, could not be regarded as having solved the problem. Our difficulty consisted mainly in the shortage of the existing colleges. Something more than sending students abroad and establishing colleges was needed to remedy the defects. Because of the insufficient accom- modation of colleges, a number of students went to the missionary schools, where they acquired the knowledge of a foreign language and some elementary sciences, both applied and pure. For this much we give them credit. The Government were, however, not behind-hand in desir- ing to substitute in their place other institutions of equal or higher standard. A circular of regulations, based on the The Development of Chinese Education 9 resolutions, adopted in some conferences of professional educationists and teachers, for providing facilities for our schools, was promulgated in 1902, since when the number of students in the missionary schools and colleges has pro- portionately decreased. In 19 10, statistics showed that the number of Chinese students in fourteen British and American Missionary Universities only just exceeded 1,000, while in the National University of Peking alone we had more than 2,300 students. This was, of course, due to the fact that the door of the newly established Chinese national institutes was opened wide to them, but certain defects inherent in the missionary schools, such as neglecting Chinese history, literature, and other subjects, were also apparent. As we all know, whenever a missionary school is founded, religious instructions of some sort are propagated, bringing about new effects and influences, thereby contra- dicting the Chinese educational tradition. There is much to be said on this point, but there are signs that a certain tendency in the direction of development of our own educa- tion is in progress. It is interesting to outline the growth of interest in the study of physical science in China and the urgent need for the extension of education both in pure and applied science. The last twenty or thirty years have given birth to a new spirit in the pursuit of science throughout China. Nearly every school there possesses some apparatus and instru- ments similar to those employed for scientific investigations in European schools, and also laboratories, in each of which are to be found teachers and students studying sciences, such as physics, chemistry and biology, etc. Especially our Universities, by devoting their supreme strength and energy to the development of scientific educa- tion and its application, hope that China will soon be able to contribute, through scientific discovery and industrial development, new culture in the modern world ; but their effort has not so far been crowned with success. It is perfectly true that though we have already recognized the lo The Development of Chinese Education value of scientific research as one of the most important factors both in the material and intellectual progress in China, yet how far the scientific spirit is really influencing our thought, and how far it is likely to find expression in reality, is still doubtful. It is simply and purely due to the fact that no facilities have been granted to those who are engaged in research for maintenance, appliances, and other expenses ; and that those who have received a scientific or technical education abroad find, when they return to China, few opportunities of continuing their important studies. Our educationists have, however, a project of establishing an institute on a larger scale, after the fashion of the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum at South Kensington, together with research departments. The in- stitute will consist of two departments : one to contain scientific instruments and apparatus, models and diagrams, and machinery, illustrating the different stages of develop- ment of physical, chemical and other natural sciences, and also the evolutionary processes of industrial art. Zoological and all other natural history specimens will be exhibited therein, their proper relation, showing the germs and species of flora and fauna, and leading up to anthropology. The funds necessary for making a start with such an insti- tute were estimated at ;^ 10,000,000, and the site proposed is either at Nanking or Pekin. But at present our educa- tionists are confronted by the stringent financial conditions prevailing throughout the country, and under these circum- stances it seems very difficult for China to carry out the scheme. We are confident, however, that other great nations will help us to some extent by co-operating with China in her scientific enterprise. The forthcoming remis- sion of the Boxer indemnity on the part of Great Britain we deem as an act of generosity and good-will. This was verbally communicated to the Chinese Government in 1922, and has since raised an increasing interest in the respective countries. It now appears to be the considered view of the Chinese educationists that the Boxer indemnity, when re- The Development of Chinese Education 1 1 mitted, should be used for the purpose of commemorating the friendship of Great Britain and China in a permanent form, and therefore it should be utilized for the establish- ment of this great institute. There seems every prospect that the proposed institute, entrusted with the responsibility of giving higher education and inspiration in science, will become a centre of reference and research. This suffices to show the general hope of the Chinese people as a whole, and of the educationists in particular, regarding the ques- tion of the remission of the indemnity. In educational development in China there may be other tendencies, but so important and desirable is the need for creating a new centre of scientific studies that this should be especially emphasized. What has been outlined, how- ever, is the general development of our educational reform rather than its details, however interesting each may be in itself. FRIITTSD IH OKKAT BRITAIN BT BILLlUa AMD SOSia, LTC, GUILnFOBD AMD ESUlSK. .(•'JIJP AN -ANCIENT PHILOSOPHER'S VIEW o/THE PERFECT LIFE TRANSLATIONS FROM HUAI-NAN TZtj (2ND CENTURY B.C.) BY THE REV. EVAN MORGAN A PAPER READ BEFORE THE CHINA SOCIETY ON APRIL 17, 1924 EAST AND WEST, LTD. 3 VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, S.W.1 1924 AN ANCIENT PHILOSOPHER'S VIEW OF THE PERFECT LIFE By the Rev, Evan Morgan No man can be a worthy citizen of any earthly State unless he be first a citizen of the heavenly. Robert Bridges. The ancient philosopher is Huai-nan Tzii, the Prince of Huai-nan : the Perfect Life is that based on the nature of the things— the soul of the universe. The perfect man, therefore, is in harmony with the Tao within, and his actions conform with righteousness without. The move- ments of desire aroused by the impingement of the senses create no confusions of the law within his mind. He maintains the initial constant of the flux issuing from the Tao, and his energies are not lost and scattered. There is no diplomatic scheming nor mental cunning in his life. There can be no crooked actions. There is no striving after ostentatious effect. Personal aggrandizement finds no place in his scheme of life ; even organized plans are absent. The practices of horoscopy and divination are not required, since " he embodies the principles of Heaven and Earth and envisages the spirit of Yin and Yang." Being in accord with the spirit of the universe, under his rule there can be no outrageous manifestations of nature. The Phoenix and the Lin nestle in the land ; the divining grass and tortoise appear ; the fattening dews descend ; the bamboo flowers ripen and the yellow jade is found — omens, these, of a happy state. For the harmonious co- operation of Heaven and Earth and the due evolution of creation depend on the spirit of man. Since, if there is any estrangement between the rulers and the people, the very air of Heaven becomes noxious ; and when prince and minister disagree, the crops in the fields refuse to ripen. 2 An Ancient Philosopher s View Let us return to the Prince of Huai-nan. He lived in turbulent times. Political factions rent the country ; rulers animated by personal ambition strove for the mastery. Where could peace be found ? Certainly not in force Qp^rms nor in league of Principalities, but rather in the return of the human mind to fundamental principles. The true secret of life is found within ; and the government of men and the ordering of the State must also be sought from within and not from without. It cannot be had from the militarist who relies on outward force, nor yet from the sage scholar who depends on the outward varnishes of ceremonies and the aid of artificial virtues. The secret is rather to be sought in the inexhaustible reservoirs within the self, as explained by Lao Tzu in the " Tao Te Ching." The prince and his wife were diligent students of this incomparable manual. But the sententious sayings of the book were hard to be understood. So a company of scholars were called together, and the results of their discus- sions were embodied in twenty-one essays which posterity esteems as the works of the philosopher of Huai-nan. These essays treat the esoteric philosophy of Lao Tan and amplify the recondite sayings of the Tao Te Ching. Concrete examples are given of abstruse ideas, and liberal historical examples are presented of the profound theories of life in action. Each essay deals with a particular theme, and there is a unity running through all. Some were evidently written to prevent misconceptions of others. For instance, one fundamental conception underlying the idea of the perfect life is stated to be Inaction. Lest this be misunderstood, an essay is devoted to the Strenuous Life. The man of inaction therefore is the man of the most strenuous life, only he works through the principles of inaction. Again, the essay on the Course of Civilization is inserted to show that in the life of the world education is useful, which statement should serve to correct a false idea that might be inferred from the statement that the man who works through the spirit has no need of such accretions as of the Perfect Life 3 the accumulation of knowledge. The theory is that these extraneous matters are not relied on as of the first importance since they easily lead men astray. The accumu- lation of learning and knowledge tends to increase clever- ness and to encourage the competition of intellects. Life under such conditions would become a match of diplomats and a competition of wits. So in this artificial cleverness the constant law would be confused by the spirit of self- seeking, of ambition, and haughtiness. Reality would be lost in the vanity of an outward show — a show of honours and emoluments. The art of the perfect life, on the other hand, is diametrically opposed to this. It is majestic in its simplicity. Like the cerulean arch, it is great in its tranquillity. It shines, it acts without apparent effort, yet there is nothing not included in its scope, and everything is efficiently done under its guidance. And the secret lies here, that the possessor of the perfect life is in touch with the forces of the Great Unity. This is the Formless which lies at the back of all form. The name Ch'i has been given to it by some writers, but they are careful to say that it is far different in nature from the material ether of the heavens. No words can define it ; but as the mind must have some word to convey the idea, they have compromised and given it the name of the Tao. Thinkers looked round the Universe and saw the evidences of life everywhere — life informed by a spirit that was all- pervading and all-sustaining. In great diversity they felt the unity, so there was no break into separate parts. Yet it was not a purely pantheistic view of creation, since in their view the Tao maintained a supremacy and an independence which did not belong to phenomena or their activities. Now, the merit of the perfect man is that he sees these things and enters into the secret of the Tao. He works in co-operation with it and wins all its powers. Others see only the form — ^^the phenomena — and they acit under the 4 An Ancient Philosopher' s View emotion of the senses. Browning's lines aptly describe the difference : " All earth's crammed with heaven And every common bush afire with God, But only he who sees takes off his shoes ; The rest sit round and pluck blackberries." The art of life lies in the ability to see the flame. Even the Confucian sage has missed the mark here. He has failed to see the bush afire, with the result that his scheme of things is all incomplete. There can be no room for his tinkering in the true art of life. The method of the sage may be compared to the action of Emma in " The Young Visiters," who explained to her companions that she rouged her face to give a touch of colour to her complexion, because the bad drains in the house had made her sallow and pale. The sage, likewise, to cure the ills of society applied an outward salve in the shape of ceremonies, enactments, benevolence, justice, education, and the restraints of punishments, as if these could heal the defects of life and produce the perfect state. The true tonic must come from within, and the outward colour of health can only flow from a stream of life in the spirit. Away, then, with the vanities of the sage, with his weights and measures, with his essays and standards of false culture. These are only so much rouge that clog the free circulation of life. In other words, these are similar to the adoption of barbarian music, or, shall we say, a preference of the jazz band for the classic harmonies. In the art of the perfect life it is necessary to be clear on the meaning of one term which is of great importance, and underlies the whole conception of its fabric — it is the term Wu Wei. Literally, it means Inaction or Not-doing. However, it does not imply a mere negation of work. It carries a very positive content. In a negative form there is conveyed and implied a most comprehensive activity. The negation refers to the method of doing rather than to the doing itself. It is not doing according to the use of of the Perfect Life 5 knowledge, logic, intelligence, education, and reason. Rather it is the doing which conies naturally from inward illumination and the energies of the all-informing Tao. In the Quaker's theory of the Inward Light and the mystical religious enthusiasts we have a hint of the same thing. The Quietists hold that perfection on earth consists in a condition of uninterrupted contemplation. In this state of quiet the soul ceases to reason, its sole function being passively to receive the heavenly light. The most famous devotees were Molinos and Madame Guyon. The gentle and powerful influence of Madame Guyon greatly influenced French life. The ancient philosopher, too, claims that his devotee wields incomparable sway — sway which comes by way of Yieldingness, of Not-doing, and so on. It is explained in this way in one essay. Inaction implies that no personal will or selfish idea must enter the mind to interfere with the law of things. No human device or clever opportunities must wrench the course of nature. Such, then, is the meaning of Wu Wei. The next term we must examine is the Tao. Many words have been given us in translating it. Law, Supreme Being, Nature, Reason have been tried and found wanting. No English equivalent can be entirely satisfactory, since the original is vague, and at best is only a compromise. Lao Tan was not satisfied that Tao expressed his idea of the all-pervading spirit, which was the cause of all things ; which was so great as to fill all space and so small that it was finer than the " autumn hair," and could enter the in- finitesimally small. It was the macrocosmos and the microcosmos. And the best that could be done was to attempt a description of its state and operations. References are made in most of the essays to its all-comprehensiveness. In the first essay of the work an elaborate description is made in these words : " The Tao enfolds Heaven and supports Earth. It stretched the four quarters of the Universe and generated 6 An Ancient Philosopher's View the eight points of the firmament. Its height is limitless and its depth unfathomable. It shaped Heaven and Earth. When they were as yet without form, the Tao endowed them. Its energies bubbled forth in the vast void and filled space. Through its continuous effervescence the slimy ooze of chaos became transparently clear. It filled Heaven andEarth,and stretched to the uttermost parts of the sea. It distributes itself without limit, never ceasing night nor day without undergoing any change of rise or decay. Expanding, it overspread every part of the firmament and the Earth ; rolled together, it is not a fistful. Compressed, it can expand ; abstruse, it can yet be clear ; most yielding yet most strong ; most soft and most firm. It is so from its nature. The Tao links together the Four Poles and comprehends the Yin and Yang of creation. It binds the Universe into a whole and hangs out the lights of the firmament. Having a great penetrative power it enters every pore; it is exceedingly fine and delicate. It gives height to the mountain and depth to the abyss. It fashioned beasts to walk and birds to fly. Sun and Moon are lumi- nous by its power, and the planets revolve in their orbits through its might. Moved by its energies the Ch'i-lin comes forth and the Phoenix wheels in the empyrean. "It was through it that the Heavens first revolved and the Earth was made fast ; they are sure in their appbinted courses. The waters eternally flow for the benefit of creation. The winds rise and the clouds steam ; there is nothing in a state of disorganization. The thunder sounds, the rains fall, and one thing answers to the other seasonably. Mysterious in its operations, nevertheless vestiges of its workings can be traced. In the universal flux organisms proceed to their perfection and revert again to their primi- tive elements. Without apparent doing the Tao brought everything into existence. Without sound or speech the successive evolutions proceed with energies permeating all. Placid and serene, without show of boasting, the Tao attains the perfect harmony of all. So the myriad varieties of the Perfect Life 7 are organized, each endowed with its own particular nature. The Tao imparts its energies to the minutest thing, and yet is so great as to compose the mighty universe. Its energies gave flexibility to nature and harmonized into unity the operations of the Yin and Yang. It divided the Four Seasons and co-ordinated the Five Elements Its beneficent spirit breathed on all, fructifying creation and the world of life. It sent forth its ' fattening dews ' on grass and tree and bathed metal and stone with lustre ; it made bird and beast strong and gave sheen to scale and feather and strength to wing. It gave the horn to cattle. Through its powers the embryos of beasts do not miscarry nor the eggs of birds addle. " Further, it is through the Tao that fathers have no mourning for sons, nor need brother weep in grief for a dying brother ; nor are children orphans and women widows. The rainbow does not appear nor the comet career in the sky — unlucky omens. A state of comfort due to the benevolence of the Tao. Thus we see it is not simply a huge mechanical engine, but the Tao contains the elements of love and kindness to comfort the distressed and the bereaved." But more of this later on. The description of the Tao continues : " Whilst the supreme Tao animates everything, yet its presence is not noticed, reminding us of the Psalmist's words : ' Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself.' The Tao produces all phenomena, yet without giving the appearance of direct control. Whilst all creatures that walk and breathe, that fly to and fro, and every creeping thing depend on it, yet they are unconscious that they owe all to the Tao. Besides, they await the behests of the Tao for death, and bear no resentment at the change. The gift of life is taken for granted ; the decay of death is looked upon as natural. Thus its accumulation of great reserve powers is not counted as wealth, nor is the infinite 8 An Ancient Philosopher's View distribution of its virtues over the vast field of creation looked upon as any impoverishment of its resources. Its fluxes are incomprehensible, its delicate operations are in- terminable. Add to it and no addition can be made to its powers. Draw upon its store and you rob it of none of its wealth. Multiply it and it is the same ; subtract from it and it is no smaller. Hack it and it is no thinner ; stab it and you will not destroy it. Dig into it and it seems without depth ; add to it and its depth will not be increased. Without definite form indeed ! It is impossible to give it a form or define it. The very fact that it is without form and undefinable shows it can never be exhausted. Again, how profound and mysterious are its operations in its in- fluence on the spiritual vitality of mind and life. Creating, permeating all spirit and matter, none of its movements are without effect. It expands and contracts synchronously with the negative and positive movements of nature. Firm and pliant it ascends and descends with the polarity of creation." Such, then, is the nature of the Tao. It is of the essence of the Taoist philosophy that the real devotee is allied with this supreme power and partakes of its nature. His genius and his character are derived from the flux of the Tao which endows him with supernatural powers, thus making his life so efficient. The art of the perfect life begins and ends in this identity and alliance. The many descriptions given of the activities of the Perfect man are mystical in their content. There is a touch of the Immortals about him. Now, whether the creation of the mystic Immortals arose from this conception of the devotee, gifted with the powers of the Tao, or whether the idea existed anterior to the Taoist theory of life, I am unable to say. Drs. Yetts and Giles may be able to throw some light on the matter. It only need be said here that the later developments of Taoism in magical tendencies must have received some of the Perfect Life 9 encouragement from the standards of the pure philosophy of Taoism itself. Let us take an example of men who are endowed with the power of the Tao, The writer of the first essay found it in two men whose story was old and mythical in his day. They are F6ng I and Ta Ping, two renowned charioteers. Their powers are described in these words : "In olden times F6ng I and Ta Ping were experts in their art by reason of the Tao. They rode on the chariot of cloud, entering the rainbow and floating on the lambent air. They crossed the hoarfrost and snow without leaving any vestiges. No shadow fell when the sun shone on them. They mounted aloft in circling spirals like those of the ram's horn. They crossed mountains and rivers and vaulted the K'un Lun. They mounted aloft, opening and shutting the gate of Heaven, the abode of the deity. The finest chariot of these latter days, hitched to the fleetest horses, urged by the sharpest thongs, could not compete with them in the race. Thus we see that the great man endued with the Tao lives in peace, undisturbed with the motions of thought. His outlook is without anxiety because he feels that the Heaven is a cover, the Earth a chariot, the Four Seasons steeds, and Yin and Yang drivers. He rides on the pinnacle of the clouds through space, a com- peer of the Creator. He gives rein to his will ; he opens out his mind to travel the great empyrean. He walks when he so desires, or rushes on when he so wills. He commands the Rain spirit to irrigate his ways, and employs the Wind spirit to sweep away the dust. The lightning he takes for whip, the revolving wind for his chariot wheels. Above he travels in the boundless waste of space ; below he comes forth by the gate of the great void. " Under the inspiration of the Tao they looked around in space and abroad on everything, yet all was kept under the central organ — the authority of their personality ; con- trolling the Four Quarters, yet everything was brought 10 An Ancient Philosopher's View within the range of the master spirit within. Thus under the canopying Heaven there was nothing without the pale of their influence ; with Earth as chariot there was nothing outside the range of action ; with the Four Seasons as steeds they had all things as ministers. Yin and Yang being their charioteers the processes of creation were completely within purview." There are many such magniloquent descriptions of the Tao-inspired man in the essays of the ancient philoso- pher. And here it may be well asked whether the words are greatly rhetorical and only flights of fancy, or whether they imply a certain reality and contain a fact of human experience. To say that they mean no more than a state- ment conveying an account of the operations of the mind and transference of thought will not satisfy the case, since the Taoists claim a reality in these migrations of the spirit, which some have notably experienced in the state of trance. A full discussion of this subject is outside the range of this paper. But the opinion is advanced that in psychology a solution of the problem may be found. The writings of Dr. Hadfield are suggestive. The volume prepared by Canon Streeter on the Sadhu Sundar Singh is particularly valuable. Now, men like these were such because they acted naturally in harmony with nature. They allowed the Tao to have free play in them. They reflected its merits and virtues. To make this idea clear examples are taken from water and a mirror. What these do is to receive the picture of the object and reflect it without change or accre- tions. There is a true reproduction of the lineaments of the object. The echo is true to the sound and the shadow is not different from the substance. There is perfect corre- spondence. There is thus a real responsiveness in Nature. There is a law operating without friction and quiescently. We have a hint here of Not-doing. It all comes from within, apparently without effort. It is the nature of this law to of the Perfect Life 1 1 act quiescently. If this is extended to human nature the same principle operates. On the other hand, when the mind responds to the outward influence of the senses con- fusion follows, and harm ensues to the constant law. The spirit responds to the impact of matter which comes in through the avenue of the senses, giving rise to perception and desire. So the impingement of outward things on the mind begets love and hate. When these have taken form perception is led to deviate from the right way by outward suggestion, and Nature is unable to find itself. Here we find once more what has already been mentioned — the difference between the man who is possessed of the Tao and others. We may be allowed two well-known theological phrases to express the difference — but corre- sponding words are in the original — the spiritual man and the carnal man. It is unnecessary to say that they do not have the same content. At the same time the perfect man of Taoist philosophy is not governed by the sensual. He will not replace the faculty of the spirit by the carnal. Like other men, he too is subject to all impressions of the outer world, but he does not suffer these to disturb the inner mind. The impact of the world does not move desire ; he remains dominated by the spiritual faculty. Just as in Nature the seasons run their courses and the ever- circling times circulate without confusing the basal unity, so he too responds to every call of duty and the demands of office without departing from the central pivot of his being. Creation in all its mighty leaps and constant move- ments proceeds without any dislocation ; everything is in its own place. The small and great, the long and short, are each and severally in their appointed place. So he who moves under the impulse of the spirit, placed though he be in a position of authority, wins the regard of the people. The art of the perfect life comes from co-operation with the law of things, and its energies are derived from an alliance with the universal spirit, which is the source of the 12 An Ancient Philosopher's View law of things. For this reason the person who follows it is supremely efficient, much more efficient than even the sage of Confucian philosophy and the worldly-wise who act according to their experience and sensual knowledge. The difference is illustrated by the following examples : A fishing- rod in the hands of an expert cannot compete with a net in the quantity of fish caught. An archer with the best bow, even though he applies the skill of I and Sh^ng M^ng Tzu, cannot be as successful as one with a net. The capacity of the instrument is unequal. Similarly the comparison between the exercise of a great principle and the applica- tion of policy and opportunism in the affairs of men. The latter is like setting a shrimp to catch a fish, or a frog to catch a flea. The opportunistic policy will never stem wickedness. It tends, on the contrary, to enhance wrong- doing. An example of the application of the two methods may be found historically in the action of Emperor Kun of Hsia, who, to protect himself, acted on the worldly policy of building a huge tower. But this show of force alienated his adherents and caused the Lords to rebel against him ; the distant peoples became suspicious and restless and so policy was met with policy and force with force. On the other hand, Yii, the wise king, seeing the opposition of the country, razed the tower, scattered the accumulated wealth, burnt the implements of war, and ordered his government on the principles of the law of things. The result was seen in the immediate adherence of those who had been estranged, and the offering of tribute from distant peoples. He made himself strong not by fortifications but by dis- armament, and by acting according to the eternal law of the nature of things. Thus we conclude that the man of many schemes and diplomatic policies, who works after his own intelligence and not in accordance with spiritual principles that move and control men, never can offer an assured sincerity of purpose, nor can his spiritual energies be complete. In a word, that singleness of mind which of the Perfect Life 13 comes from action based on the law of things is wanting. The opportunist, ruled by a limited experience, and acting on the outlook of the senses as they inform his intelligence, necessarily has only a narrow vision, and inevitably fails in commanding the allegiance of men. Thus we see that militarism only tends to beget militarism, and the building of armaments will never ensure the interests of peace. I f more examples be asked here they are. If boiling water be added to boiling water the whole becomes more violent. If Yin I and Tsao Fu, masters in the art of training animals, were to apply the whip to a vicious dog or a kicking horse, they would never succeed in correcting their bad habits. The work of reform must come from within. When the disposition has been quelled and trained the tail of the hungry tiger can be played with, and the dog and the horse may be made docile. It may therefore be confidently asserted that he who is in sympathy with the Tao and works under its guidance will win his ends with ease and gain his object without apparent effort. The opportunist, on the other hand, fails of success, however hard he may labour. Thus mere human strength, however much, can never regulate a large domain. But the man who conforms to the art of Tao in accordance with the law of Heaven and Earth would find it easy to manage the whole world. Creation is mighty in its Naturalness. And so in the field of human affairs we shall find no room for the Sage with his proprie- ties and nostrums. Only the man who follows the Tao and rests in it can have the true art of life. They nourish their life on quietism and their spirit on unemotionalism. Such a disposition leads them to the gate of Heaven. By this is meant that they have purity, clarity, a pristine spirit grounded on reality. They are free of the mists that surround the individual who works after the suggestion of the senses — the carnal mind, which implies accidental accretions, sharpness of intellect leading to schemes and duplicity. The latter are the hucksters of the world who 14 An Ancient Philosophers View traffic in the mefe conventional. Clever and brilliant men must fail if the root of action is superficial. It is he alone who is identified with the spirit and who is in the stream of creation's flux that is capable of governing men. In the simple affairs of life, too, in social duties, and communal affairs the same principles hold good. The man imbued with the Tao exercises a profound influence in the community. His example of unselfishness and yield- ingness transforms the aggressive and rude actions of his fellows. Take Shun for instance. "He cultivated his land at Li Shan, and as a result of his courteous concessions to his neighbours every tiller of the soil struggled for the crooked and angular corners, each anxious to concede to his neighbour the fertile spot. It was the same when he fished on the river's bank for a whole year. Other fisher- men, looking at him, strove together for the rapids and currents, each keen to give the deep pools and quiet waters to another. Shun at these times gave no lectures on morality and lessons in conduct, but maintaining the great way in his heart, his influence sped over all as though divine. Suppose now he were without this uprightness of character, do you suppose he would convert a single individual by preaching in public or by going from house to house to talk on socialism ?" These men had none of the aggressive spirit. The characteristic methods of their action were yieldingness and complaisance, not those of arrogance, aggressiveness and force. Apparently feeble in their methods, nevertheless they were overwhelming in their results. Thus we may observe that the silent Tao has a mighty sweep. It brings the aborigines under the sway of civilizing influences and the unclad nations to a glad obedience without even the issue of mandates. It can reform custom and change habits with no other instrument than that of the spirit. Hence the perfect man pays attention to inward culture of the spirit rather than the adornments of accidental means. In apparent tranquillity of the Perfect Life 15 as though there was no exertion of authority, there remains nothing which is uncontrolled by the Tao. We may there- fore conclude that he who will be firm must be so by yielding- ness. He who would be strong shall ensure it by tender- ness. Water supplies the example. It is the most yielding and pliant of all things, yet its greatness is immense. It floats in the clouds, it descends as rain. "It swells in seas and rivers, and as dew and moisture enables creation to spring into birth and fructify. Its operations are never ended. It is so fine that it is impossible to grasp a handful of it : strike it and it does not hurt : stab it and it is not wounded : sever it and it is not divided : burn it and it is not ignited. Lost in the slush, flowing into invisibility, disappearing in the earth, it is not scattered into nothing- ness. Its utility is that it will enter into every crevice : its strength that it reaches every shore, bearing ships for mankind. Moving full and free in ether, wheeling on high as clouds, it returns as rain, filling the rivers and valleys in swelling flood over the wide plains, and distributing its bounty to all creation. Its heaving movements are mighty, concurring with the activities of nature." Lao Tan was led to look upon it as the most yielding and at the same time as the most firm substance in the world. Its transcends all other matter and forms the best example of the Tao. The Tao in the spiritual realm is the great unity : it is the absolute. It gives life to the myriad generations. Without beginning it is everlasting in its existence. It abides in perfection with undiminished power, ever giving forth its energies, but without exhaustion : always functioning, yet never wearying. Unseen, we behold it not : silent, we never can hear a sound of its operations. " The unique Tao is broad and level. It is not far from men. They who seek it find it within themselves. The man who finds it treads on it in all his excursions, and acts upon it in all the multitudinous affairs that press upon him. In its strength he solves all the recondite problems that face him. And these various duties of life are done with 1 6 An Ancient Philosopher' s View deliberation and serenity, each affair finding a fit solution, even as an echo answers to the sound. The Tao is never forgotten in the face of danger or in the path of peril. It is the unfailing companion and guide," The Personal Life Something more should be said about the personal life of the person who has seen and incorporates the ideal. First of all, he has profound joy and peace of mind. These do not come from the possession of abundant wealth or the contemplation of luxury in the home. Convinced that the true greatness of life comes from the self within, there is no striving after conventional honours. These may be dis- regarded as not worth the chase, since they are accidents of life and in nowise constitute its reality. Real joy does not imply the possession of palaces and towers for outlook and defence. It is unnecessary to it to have gardens and lakes for serenading to the soft strains of music. It is not essential to the true enjoyment of life to hear the orchestras of Chin Shao and Lin Ying, or partake of spiced meats or ride in the broad avenues of the park. Joy comes from the finding of the self within, not from ostentatious expenditure without. The outward state, whether it be high or lowly, is a matter of indifference. Both afford an opportunity of contentment. Look at the flower ; it opens and shuts as the seasons pass over it. Now this Tao-man can never be enticed by any social conventions, " Were he placed in a poor hamlet or with- drawn into the solitariness of sonje jungle ; cribbed in a small hut which has fresh grass for thatch, an old crock for window, and|a door hung by wisps of the mulberry, leaking above and dank below ; what a place ! but the resident has himself, as discovered by the Tao. And his food ? He plants his few melons in the sleet and his poor corn in the rain. What a table 1 the epicure will say. And should he desire a little physical exercise, he has to take it in the Of ine ferfect Life 17 slush of winter or the morass of summer. What a life! Enough to appal the worldly man, but the resident is neither distressed nor downcast, for the luminous source of pleasure lies in himself and issues from the realm of the spirit." The body is the overwhelming thing to most. Yet, after all, the body is only life's tenement ; the spirit is life's fullness. And the man who is under the influence of the latter never allows himself to become the instrument of matter and the senses. His peace is not disturbed by desire. Circumstances ever change ; there is no stability about life's conditions. " Nevertheless, the Tao-man lives triumphantly. Chang- ing circumstances and varying fortunes do not affect his mind. His nature is in harmony with the law. Therefore he who has found himself, whether his pilgrimage be under a lofty and shady tree, or his dwelling be in a secluded cave, he has full satisfaction. On the contrary, the man who has not found his true self, though he possess the empire for home and the myriad people for servitors, he will not for these conditions find the satisfaction of life. He who has reached the condition of non-joy, or, in other words, who does not lean on outward conditions for happiness, will find that there is no condition but will minister joy to his person. He who enjoys everything has found the true joy." Let us amplify this important subject by considering the case of individuals who have the resources for creating worldly joys at their service. " Let us suppose that they had at their command every imaginable pleasure. They visit the ball and the concert-room, where the bells and drums are prepared and the pipes and organs are arranged ; the floors are soft with the richest carpets ; the ivory poles richly carved and gay with bunting ; the dulcet notes of the passion-moving music of Chao Ko and Pei Pi fill the ear ; beautiful women gaily dressed use their seductive arts. The whole night is spent in carousings till dawn bids the company separate. The day is spent in the hunting field, 1 8 An Ancient Philosopher's View where the dart of the strong bow is aimed at the high bird on the wing, and the hound loosed from the leash pursues the wily hare. Such are the pleasures they enjoy ! Glowing with excited passions under every form of sensual entice- ments, I will not deny that they have a kind of pleasure that meets their taste and which satisfies their senses. But wait ; look at them a little more closely. Think of the time when the carriage is unhitched and the horses un- harnessed ; when the wine has ceased to flow and the music is ended, and the passions burnt out ; the heart is chilled as though the frost of death had passed over it. The mind is filled with vexation for something wanting. And the reason ? They have not taken the self within to regulate the pleasure without, but rather have used adventitiotis means to create an inward pleasure. Their pleasure lasts no longer than the music. When the song is ended, sadness and weariness creep in. In their case sadness and joy are mutually allied. In all sorts of artificial pleasures no rest is found. There is no reality. The true centre of being is untouched." The Place of Death in the Art of Life The treatment of the art of life would not be complete without a reference to death. The subject is frequently touched upon, generally in a casual way. It could not be otherwise, seeing that it is the gloomy crisis that looms ahead of all lives. It follows inevitably in the natural course of things. But in the view of the ancient philosopher it is an event not to be dreaded. It should be as gladly accepted as life, for it is a change operating in the universal flux of creation. The Creator has been pleased to endow man with life, and the transit of death has been equally provided for his comfort. The material organism is evolved and perfected and resolves again into its primitive elements. But what of the personality, that which is allied to the unchanging Tao ? There is no oj me ferfect Life 19 scientific treatment of the point, and no definite argument advanced. But there is a beautiful possibility suggested. We have all experienced the world of dreams. We have passed through a vivid experience, and lived for some moments amidst the baseless fabric of a vision. But with our waking thought the apprehension dawns upon us that those visions that were seen and remembered were but a passing show of certain mental impressions and no real part of life. And the suggestion is made that this real life of ours may be but a dream, and reality has not yet come. The truly real life may come with the transit of death. That will be the great awakening, for then we shall have thrown off this composite body with its nerves and senses, which are physical avenues of impressions for bodily service. But even now they have to be kept under strict control by the central being of personality. This central being is the question. What about it .-^ No clear theory can be formu- lated, but a veiled hint is thrown out that being allied with the imperishable Tao it may have an emancipation when decay dissolves the material elements of the organism. In the Taoist doctrine of the flux of things, corresponding, in some respects, to the modern theory of the conservation of energy, we may have a clue to their position. They held the view of death that it was natural, which is different from that of the savage, who does not regard it as natural. For the savage, the air is peopled by invisible spirits, and he is prone to suspect witchcraft and poison. The Chinese, too, hold many like superstitions, but there is no reason to think that the early philosophy of the Taoists was influenced by any such ideas. It was too firmly based on spiritual law and the natura rerum for it to be led astray by popular fallacies. rsINTED IN GREAT BKITAIN BY BILLING AND SONS, LTD., GUILDFORD AND BSHEK THE HUM ANN ESS OF GHU Hsr BY J. PERCY BRUCE, M.A., D.Litt. A PAPER READ BEFORE THE CHINA SOCIETY ON JANUARY 15, 1925 EAST AND WEST, LTD. 3 VICTORIA STREET, LONDON. S.W. 1 1925 THE HUMANNESS OF GHU HSI BY J. PERCY BRUCE, M.A., D.Lit. A Paper read before the China Society on January 15, 1925 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE Chu Hsi was born in the year 1130 a.d. at Yu Hsi in the Prefecture of Yen P'ing in Fukien. He was the last of the famous school of Sung philosophers, of whom the first, and founder of the school, was Chou Tzu. Among Chou Tzti's pupils were the two brothers Ch'^ng Hao and Ch'^ng I, both famous philosophers. Chu Hsi's own teacher was Li Yen-p'ing, who in his turn was a pupil of Lo Ts'ung-yen and Yang Kuei-shan, the latter of whom was a pupil of the two Ch'^ngs. Chu Hsi in his early years was under the guardianship of three friends of his father, all of them with strong leanings towards Buddhism ; and Chu Hsi was an ardent devotee of that religion. Later, however, he came under the influence of Li Yen-p'ing, the philosopher just mentioned, and through him was converted to orthodox Confucianism, to the vindication and exposition of which he devoted his great intellectual powers for the rest of his life. He was a voluminous writer, and his com- mentaries on the classics are remarkable for their clarity and fulness ; for many centuries they have been regarded as the standard of orthodoxy and used in all schools. His philosophy in its method was not unlike that of the European Schoolmen, and, like his commentaries, has dominated the intellect of China since his day, A states- man of no mean ability, he held offices at various places in the Empire, and finally at the Court itself. In his old age, partly owing to his zeal for purity of administration, and partly owing to the machinations of jealous enemies, he was disgraced, and retired into private life. He died at the age of seventy, in the year 1 200. THE HUMANNESS OF GHU HSI There are two preliminaries concerning which I must ask your patience. The first is a plea for indulgence, and the second a word of explanation. With regard to the first : those who have read anything of Chinese history or biography will understand the extreme difificulty that the Western student experiences owing to the bareness, if I may use that word, of the material. I do not mean that the facts are few — on the contrary, they are plentiful. But each fact is bereft of detail, and often the biography itself is hardly more than a collocation of incidents, each incident being condensed into a sentence, so that the task of the Western interpreter demands a liberal use of the imagination. Not, of course, that he can thereby supply the lack of detail. To do so, even if it were possible, would be a violation of the first essential — truth. But he is called upon to supply the atmosphere, which in itself is a sufficiently difficult thing to do. My object this evening is to present to you, as far as I am able, such an atmosphere ; so that you may have pictured before you the personality, or some aspects of the personality, of the great philosopher who is the subject of this paper. It may be that in the process I shall go beyond the proper limits of my subject, and present to you some incidents or qualities which do not come under even my own definition of that subject. But if I transgress in that respect, it is in the assurance that I may rely on your for- giveness, in view of my objective as I have just stated it. The second point is with regard to the meaning to be attached to " humanness." A dictionary defines it as " the state or quality of being human," or "humanity," a definition which is sufficiently obvious. You will probably agree, however, that our general use of the word expresses some- 4 The Humanness of Chu Hsi thing more. At any rate I will take upon myself to state what that word conveys to my own mind, with the intimation that this evening, for the purposes of my paper, I am using it in that sense. As I understand the word " humanness," it suggests that its possessor is a man of generous affections combined with certain temperamental qualities, which may or may not be described as weaknesses or faults, but in either case are of such a nature that they stamp him as one of our own kin, and for that reason endear him to us. Such humanness is always pleasing, but particularly so when discovered in great and good men. In fact, we usually associate the term with such men, and those great qualities, which otherwise would produce a feeling of unapproach- ableness and awe, serve only as a foil which accentuates the delight with which we discover that after all their possessor is very human. So with our philosopher. When we read the story of his prodigious achievements, it is a relief to find some weaker qualities ; and when his biographers regale us with incidents of the prodigy's childhood — how he would sit apart from his playmates and draw in the sand the Eight Diagrams of the Canon of Changes, or write on the cover of his copy of the Classic of Filial Piety, " Not to fulfil the injunctions of this book is not to be a man " — it is an agree- able surprise to find that as a grown man he was quite human. Or when, we read of his pre-eminent virtue, the almost superhuman patience with which he accepted mis- fortune and suffered injustice, it is with something akin to pleasurable satisfaction that we discover that on occasions he could be impatient and even angry. Three ideas, I submit then, are suggested by this word "humanness," as applied to Chu Hsi — generous affections, certain temperamental qualities, and the association of these with greatness and goodness. Beginning with the last-named, his greatness cLndgoodness, I wish first of all to link it on to what I regard as the The Humanness of Chu Hsi 5 fundamental features of his philosophic thought. Chu Hsi was a philosopher, and if it be true that what we think we become, we may expect some sort of relation between his life and character on the one hand, and his philosophy on the other. It will help us, therefore, to a better understand- ing of our subject if I sketch as briefly as I can what I regard as the essence of that philosophy. The great subject of his investigations was the nature of man. All his metaphysical thinking started from this point. In fact, we may go further and say that it began with the constitution of his own nature. What did he find as a result of his investigations .<* To put it in language reiterated again and again all through his writings, he finds a dualism, the two elements of which are an ethical principle and a physical element. The ethical principle, which is absolutely pure, he analyzes, like a pencil of white light under the prism, into four component principles, each with its own individual colour, as it were. They are Love, Righteousness, Reverence, and Wisdom, among which Love, the first of the four, is the source and sum of all the rest. You will recognize at once that really they comprise the three phases of mind of the Western psychologist with an ethical import. They are right thinking, right feeling, and right willing. From this starting-point, the examination of man's own nature, Chu Hsi looks out into the universe and finds four analogous principles operating there — namely. Origin, Development or Beauty, Utility, and Potentiality ; and he declares that these principles, manifest in the world around us, are identical with the ethical principles of man's nature. That is, the principles which, when operating in the animate and inanimate world, originate things, develop them, consummate them, become, when operating in moral beings, the four virtues which we have named. The relation between these two sets of principles, as Chu Hsi expounds it, is interesting. The principle which in man is Love, in the universe becomes, we are told, the principle of Origin, exemplified in the season of spring ; 6 The Humanness of Chu Hsi and, just as the three later seasons are the outgrowth of spring, so, from Love in the one case, and from the prin- ciple of Origin in the other, the remaining three principles proceed. This is especially the case with the one exemplified in the summer season. The Chinese word for this is Mng, the most natural and usual rendering of which is "to pervade," but as used by Chu Hsi is rather " continuance " or "development." Summer is the first development of spring. Similarly, according to our philosopher, Reverence in man is peculiarly the outgrowth of Love. There is another meaning of this word Mng which is even more interesting. In the Canon of Changes it is defined as " the assemblage of excellences " — (I use Legge's translation); that is, it is the prodigality of beauty, which is peculiarly the characteristic of the summer season. The idea is beauty in the broadest and deepest sense, the beauty which has its basis in that all-pervading harmony and excellence which inspires wonder and reverence in us as we contem- plate the cosmos. Similarly again, in the case of man, one of the chief elements in all ceremony or worship is Beauty, with which Reverence is so intimately associated. The third of these principles permeating the universe is Utility, the special characteristic of the autumn, or harvest and fruiting season, when all nature gives of itself to be of service to others — the principle which, according to this system, underlies Righteousness. When man fulfils his obligation to be of service to his fellows, he is righteous ; and when all things are interrelated on the basis of mutual benefit, there is order in the universe. The last of the four principles is Potentiality. In winter all things seem to have died down, " The world stops dead ; Under snowy coverlid Flowers lie abed." But it is only that they may live again. There are stored up in them resources of new life and power which do but The Humanness of Chu Hst 7 await the return of spring for them to reappear in glory and beauty. And so with man : one of the essential principles of his nature is this potential capacity, a reserve of know- ledge and ability, which we call Wisdom, ready to be called forth to meet every situation in life as it arises. These in brief are what I understand to be the most fundamental conceptions of Chu Hsi's philosophy. It is a question of supreme interest to ask, " What was the effect of such thinking upon himself ?" The answer is one that redounds to his honour. Chu Hsi was pre-eminently a man of righteousness, in the sense in which he himself expounded that word. His life was a life of service. His one purpose was to serve his sovereign, to serve his state, to serve the people, to serve his friends, and nobly did he carry out that purpose. His reforming energies at T'ung-an, his first official post, were all directed towards improving the lot of the people. The " White Deer Grotto " near Kuling is to-day a standing monument to the signal service he ren- dered the inhabitants of that region, when in office at Nank'ang, by establishing a college which for many cen- turies had a national reputation. The calamities which then, as now, periodically visited the people were a call upon his sympathies which found a ready response. Many times he refused high office and lucrative posts rather than leave his books, "Volumes that He prized above his dukedom." But when floods, followed by famine, devastated the country where he was born, he instantly laid aside those books, left his retirement, and set himself with indefatigable energy to mitigate the distress. Not less characteristic of the man was his reverence. That a public man in China, in any age, should be marked by punctiliousness in ceremonial observance is only what we should naturally expect. But in Chu Hsi there was much more than punctiliousness. Whether it be in his attitude to his elders, such as his father, his guardians to whose care 8 The Humanness of Chu Hsi he was entrusted when his father died, and his teacher Li Yen-p'ing ; or whether it be in his relations with his prince, or in his intercourse with his fellow-seekers after truth, his conduct was invariably inspired by reverence. Again, when we look at his administration in every office which he held, or at his conduct as a statesman at the Court, the confidential adviser of his sovereign, his actions were always marked by profound wisdom, a reserve of knowledge and ability adequate for every emergency. Well would it have been for the nation if the Emperors who reigned in Chu Hsi's day had trusted him more and followed his counsel ! Such was Chu Hsi, a great man and a good man. With his greatness and goodness, however, were associated such human qualities as call out not only our admiration, but our affection. The first of the characteristics of humanness which I mentioned earlier, and which we will now consider, is \h& generosity of his affections. According to his teaching, the first of the four virtues was the fountain from which the other three flowed. The Chinese word for this virtue is j'^n, which, with no little temerity, I have, in my work on Chu Hsi's philosophy, ventured to translate " love." The reasons why I have felt compelled to depart from the renderings adopted by many distinguished scholars this is neither the time nor the place to go into, nor does it affect the subject of my paper. In fact, it is one of those other renderings rather than my own, that I wish to associate with what I am saying this evening. Professor Giles, to whom every student of Chinese owes an incalculable debt, translates the word as "charity, in the old theological sense, or the kindly feeling of the heart." This is undoubtedly an important part of the content of the word, and it is precisely that to which I want to call your attention in this connection. In speaking just now of the "generosity of the affections," as one of the qualities of humanness, we might equally well have said " the kindly feeling of the heart." And in The Humanness of Chu Hsi 9 this sense Chu Hsi was pre-eminently human. He was a man oijin. There is little doubt that he owed this kind feeling of the heart in large part to the influence of his father, Chu Sung, notwithstanding the fact that his father died when Chu Hsi himself was only fourteen years of age;. Chu Sung had shown earnest solicitude in the education of his son, and particularly in the development of his character. On his death-bed he had affectionately committed him to the guardianship of his three most intimate and trusted friends. The record of the events which preceded and accompanied these incidents is tantalizingly meagre, but what they imply doubtless had much to do with the sympathetic nature that always characterized Chu Hsi. No man was more loyal and affectionate in his friendships. One of those friendships, the one that had the greatest influence upon his own mental life, was with Li Yen-p'ing, who in his younger days was an intimate friend of his father, and was described by those who knew him as " like sparkling ice in a bowl of water, clear and pure, without a spot or stain." While still a young man, Chu Hsi paid a visit to this famous scholar, and from that visit there began a stream of mutual affection hardly less than that between father and son. More than once Chu Hsi journeyed all the way from the modern Changsha in Hunan to Li's home in Fukien simply in order to visit his friend. These visits were the occasions of his deepest happiness. He tells us how "he ministered to his father," while he pursued his studies ; how, " though poor in material things," he was " rich in joys that satisfy the heart." Probably there was no greater influence upon Chu Hsi's life and character than that of this man, and it was largely due to the strong tie of affection that bound them together. This was the earliest important friendship that Chu Hsi formed. His latest friendships were equally characterized by the depth of his affection. His last interview with his pupil Ts'ai Chi-t'ung, for instance, reveals much concerning lo The Humanness of Chu Hsi Chu Hsi's personality. It was just after his downfall. He had for some time been tutor to the Emperor Ning Tsung. Soon after his appointment he had found to his great griet that the Emperor was under the influence of an adventurer named Han Ni-chou. Always courageous in representing to his sovereign what he conceived to be of grave concern for the government of the State, the aged statesman no sooner discovered the extent of Han's influence than he took steps to make representations to the Prime Minister, his own I friend Chao Ju-yu, and to the Emperor himself. The result was a catastrophe. Both the Prime Minister and the philosopher were disgraced. Chu Hsi was deprived of his office and at once returned to his home at Chien Yang in Fukien. On leaving the capital he was escorted for some distance on his way by several hundreds of friends. But, among them all, this one, Ts'ai Chi-t'ung, was singled out to remain with him at his first stopping-place until the following morning. The whole night was spent in the most intimate fellowship, and before they separated they plighted anew their covenant of friendship. It is not a little moving to see how, in the hour of disaster, the heart of this man, great though he was, welcomed, perhaps with something of wistfulness, the solace which this friendship gave. It was the son of Ts'ai Chi-t'ung, Ts'ai Ch'^n, who was with the aged -philosopher in his last hours, and the master's affection was shown in his very last utterance. Seeing his beloved pupil standing by his bed, he gently grasped his coat-sleeve, and, drawing him down to sit by his side on the bed, said : " If there is anything we wish to say to each other, and do not say it now, it will be too late." It was already too late. They were his last words. In all this, though the details of the incidents are few, the atmosphere is unmistakable. They reveal to us the warm heart of a great man. Not less significant of Chu Hsi's kindly feeling of the heart was his affectionate intimacy with his opponents in philosophical controversy. Whilst living in retirement in The Humanness of Chu Hsi 1 1 a temple on a sacred mountain, the H^ng Shan, near Changsha, a friendship began with Chang Nan-hsien, One of th6 most interesting glimpses that we have of the character of Chu Hsi was when these two men conversed and argued together for three days and nights in succession, each unable to convince the other, and at the close ascended the mountain on their way to Chu Hsi's temple, but wandered on for miles beyond it, so absorbed were they in their battle of words. And thus they went on through life, these recluses, or would-be recluses, fighting each other's opinions, but with the warmest affection for each other's hearts. So again with Chu Hsi's friendship for the two brothers, Lu Tzu-shou and Lu Tzu-ching ; though less intimate, it exhibited the same generosity of feeling. Chu Hsi met them for the first time in a temple called the " Goose Lake Temple," and on that occasion had a prolonged argument on some abstruse philosophical question. He wrote to Chang Nan-hsien describing this interview in warmest terms of praise for his opponents, notwithstanding his strong antagonism to their views. And later, when Chu Hsi was at Nank'ang in Kiangsi, he invited one of the two brothers to visit the College at the "White Deer Grotto," to which we referred just how. There his friend delivered a lecture to the students which Chu Hsi felt to be of such value that he induced the lecturer to leave it in writing for his permanent use. These incidents are sufficient to show something of the breadth, as well as of the depth, of Chu Hsi's affections. They are a revelation of his humanness most welcome to the student of his philosophy. The other characteristic of humanness to which I ventured to draw your attention at the beginning of my paper is a vein of temperamental qualities, which may not necessarily be designated faults, or even weaknesses, but which never- theless stamp their possessor as one of our own kith and kin. In Chu Hsi's case the majority of instances to which 12 The Humanness of Chu Hsi I shall refer are not by any means suggestive of weakness, but rather of his strength ; nevertheless, they bring him near to us, they stamp him as human. The qualities which I have more particularly in mind generally took the form of impatience with superficial thinking, with anything in the nature of unreality, and not least with stupidity. He did not suffer fools gladly ; and much of the superficial reason- ing of the scholars of his day, their way of talking of names as if they were things, called forth his irony, and in some cases his scornful, not to say scathing, denunciation. In his controversy with the Buddhists, the chief point that roused his strenuous opposition was their doctrine of the negation of the individual mind — the doctrine, that is, which taught that our individuality consists in our entangle- ment in the mesh of connexions with external things, that what we call our mind is not our real mind, and therefore our business is to lose our individual mind, in order that we may find what is our true mind, the universal mind of Buddha. We need not enlarge upon the arguments by which Chu Hsi met this teaching. I will simply quote one passage which illusttates his use of irony in his controversial method. He maintained that such teaching postulated two minds, by one of which the other was to be controlled. Comparing this doctrine with that of the ancient teachers of Confucianism, he says : " The teaching of the Sages is that with the mind we exhaustively investigate the principles at work in the world around us, and by following those principles we determine our attitude to external things, as simply as the body uses the arm and the arm the hand. . . . The teaching of Buddhism, on the other hand, is that with the mind we are to seek the mind, with the mind we are to control the mind, like the mouth gnawing the mouth, or the eye gazing at itself !" One of the schools of thought opposed to Chu Hsi maintained that when the Sages defined human nature as the embodiment in man of the Divine Ordinance or Decree, they merely borrowed a phrase to represent what in itself The Humanness of Chu Hsi 13 had no real existence, and that they did this as a concession to man's erroneous ideas at a certain stage in the evolution of his knowledge. Chu Hsi, in his reply, shows the scorn with which he regarded the type of mind that could suppose that men like the Sages would be capable of such insincerity. " It is as much as to say," he contends, "that without any apparent cause men inherited this gross error, and the Sages deliberately concealed it, using a fictitious name to cover it up !" The same school maintained that there is a pre-existent nature, and that this nature, with the principles of which Chu Hsi held it to be composed, belong to man, not by Divine endowment, but by his own voluntary appropriation of them at some time or other after his birth ; and Chu Hsi answered : " Exponents of this view do not realize that before man has received this nature he is, according to their own theory, already in existence as a man. What is it then," he asks, " that enables him, before he appropriates this nature, to breathe and eat ? If they really knew the true meaning of man's nature and Heaven's Decree, and still wished to maintain that the Nature was pre-existent before Heaven and Earth and all life, they surely would have some regard to reason and not indulge in such irrelevant talk." All this shows his love of intellectual sincerity and his impatience with anything superficial or unreal in men's mental processes. " Plausible statements without regard to underlying principles " were his abomination. Not only does this impatience manifest itself towards his opponents, but also towards those whose opinions more or less coincided with his own, but who, because of their pedantry and intolerance of attitude, antagonized rather than helped those whom they were trying to convince. With reference to such an attitude he is very scathing. " Scholars of the present day," he says, " busy themselves with irrelevant matters, and even those who understand where truth lies can do no more than with beetling brows 14 The Humanness of Chu Hsi and glaring eyes shout and swear away the views they are opposing. They do not realize that if there is no thorough examination of those views, no careful explanation of their own convictions, then all this beetling of the brows and glaring of the eyes resolves itself into selfish thoughts and human passion, and the more earnestly sincere it is, the more wild will it be." Even in the criticism of his own friends and pupils, in whom at times he found, not unreality or insincerity indeed, but some density of understanding, this same spirit of impatience reveals itself. One of them, Yii Fang-shu, stated the difficulty he experienced with regard to Chu Hsi's doctrine of the uniformity of Nature. How could a nature, composed of such principles as Love and Righteous- ness, possibly be the same in inanimate things as in moral beings like man ? The problem to us also may present some considerable difficulty, but to Chu Hsi it was as clear as daylight, and he answers : " Although we cannot predicate these principles of things in the same sense as of man, yet neither can we say that things are wholly without them," and adds : " The meaning is clear enough and there is no difficulty in understanding it ; but Fang-shu is dull and dogged, and it is not worth while to correct him severely." Perhaps our sympathies will be with Fang-shu. At least we may congratulate him that he was spared what the Master called severity. To another, in reply to an essay on a noted saying of Mencius, he says : " You need to rid yourself of superfluous methods and useless verbiage, of which you have far too much, to look only at what is meant by the saying, ' Hold fast to the spiritual mind and you will preserve it,' and not to add redundant comments." One of these students, Lii Tzu-yo, came in rather frequently for rebukes of this kind. For example, when Tzu-yo retailed to Chu Hsi the argument he had used with a fellow-student, Chang Yiian-t^, on the real meaning of the term Tao, Chu Hsi corrected his argument. But Tzu-yo was not content, and replied to the Master's criticism, ex- The Humanness of Cku Hsi 15 plaining again that part of his argument with Yuan-te which he thought was misunderstood by his teacher. To this Chu Hsi replied again : "The fault in Yuan-t6's statement I have fully explained already ; but your way of putting the case will not meet his point. I fear you can only see your own view to be right and have not fully examined what I said." And he goes on to say, referring to some particularly inadequate explanation of Tao given by Tzu- yo : " This really does not amount to a serious statement, and is not what I should have expected from Tzu-yo. That you can write in such a way is quite sufficient to account for your other statements not being correct." On another occasion, discussing another subject, the Master crushes his pupil, by telling him : " Seeking to clothe your exposition in swelling words and masking it with your own vivid imagination, you fail to realize that the more grandiose your language, the less trenchant it will be." Podr Tzu-yo ! how much he must have envied his more or less distant cousin Lii Tzu-chung, to whom Chu Hsi, when speaking in his usual scornful terms of the pedants of his day, says : " Now that we have you with your depth of thought and clear discrimination, scholars will have someone on whom they can rely." It must be borne in mind that all this arose from the Master's keen desire for the same reality in thinking on the part of his pupils and friends as he sought for himself. With him it amounted to a passion. It had been one of the most potent factors in his own intellectual development. In early years he had been much under the influence of Buddhism. Through his friend and teacher Li Yen-p'ing he had obtained his emancipation. But it was not without hard struggle continued through years of battling with his earlier prepossessions. Those years of fierce conflict were the measure of his love of truth, of the earnestness with which he sought it. One effect of this was the large-hearted candour with which he was always ready to acknowledge error when he discovered it in himself. In writing to one 1 6 The Humanness of Chu Hsi of his opponents who had criticized a former essay of his he confesses that its arguments were crude and ill-expressed, pleading that it was written at an early stage of the contro- versy, and that in the light of later experience he found himself objecting to his own statements on manypoints. In the same spirit, on another occasion in the lecture-room, acknowledg- ing his error in having corrected one of his pupils, he owns that he had misunderstood him, and that the student's state- ment was correct. How interesting it would be if we could throw ourselves back through the centuries and listen to those Platonic dialogues ! How tantalizing, again, is the sparseness of detail furnished us by the biographers ! How much we should like, for instance, to have some description given to us of the Master as he lectured to his students in his lecture- hall, which he named the " House of Rest." It was situated apparently in a bamboo grove on a little island at his home in Fukien, and almost his last act was to superintend the pouring of a libation on the foundations of a new kiosk to be built facing it. In this hall his students, to be numbered in three figures, assembled daily to listen to their Master. There were no flashlight photographs in those days unfor- tunately, or fortunately. And yet, now and again, some homely illustration which he used gives us a glimpse of his habits, and serves to bring the man himself nearer to us. On one occasion he was insisting on his favourite doctrine that there is not a single thing in the universe which does not possess the very same nature as that which we ourselves possess as the law of our being ; and we are told that walking up some steps the philosopher said, " The bricks of the steps have the law of bricks," and sitting down, he said, " A bamboo chair has the law of the bamboo chair." Those who have lived in China and have entered scores upon scores of Chinese houses, built after the same fashion to-day as they were 700 years ago, can mentally see the aged man passing sedately through the courtyard sur- rounded by a group of student friends, ascending the two The Humanness of Chu Hsi ij or three steps into the hall, and sitting down in the bamboo arm-chair at the lecturer's table, to resume perhaps an interrupted lecture. And presently we may see him take up a pen from the table in front of him, and, still harping on this theme — the omnipresence of law — he tells us : " Even in the case of a pen — though not produced by Heaven, but by man, who takes the long soft hairs of the hare and makes them into pens — as soon as the pen exists, law is inherent in it." And later still, as he comes to another abstruse philosophical point — the difference between sub- stance and operation — he takes the fan with which he fans himself as he talks, as any old-time Chinese professor would do to-day, and, pointing to it, says : " A fan has its handle, its bones, and the paper pasted on it : this is its substance ; wave it," he adds, suiting the action to the words, "and you have its operation." The illustrations were homely enough, as his illustrations mostly were, but we are grateful for them because they help to create for us the setting in which we can see the man himself. One other incident, with which I close. Perhaps one of the most tragic moments, if not the most tragic moment, of Chu Hsi's life was that of his downfall, to which I have already referred. The tragedy was not because of his own disgrace — he was far too great a man for that to disturb his spirit. Never, indeed, in all his life was his greatness so manifest as in this calamity. One cannot repress one's admiration for the unruffled dignity with which he accepted his defeat, and the patience with which he bore all this ignominy which was heaped upon him, an old man, at the close of a long period of faithful service. It was while he was lecturing to his students that the Imperial document depriving him of all his honours was handed to him. He simply glanced at it, says his biographer, then laid it down on the table and calmly went on with his lecture. The spirit in which he faced his misfortune was that depicted for us by one of our own poets : 1 8 The Humanness of Chu Hsi " Count each affliction, whether light or grave, God's messenger sent down to thee ; do thou With courtesy receive him ; rise and bow ; And, ere his shadow pass thy threshold, crave Permission first his heavenly feet to lave ; Then lay before him all thou hast j allow No cloud of passion to usurp thy brow, Or mar thy hospitality ; no wave Of mortal tumult to obliterate The soul's marmoreal calmness. Grief should be Like joy, majestic, equable, sedate ; Confirming, cleansing, raising, making free ; Strong to consume small troubles ; to commend Great thoughts, grave thoughts, thoughts lasting to the end." No, the tragedy for him was not because of the conse- quences to himself : those he could bear with " marmoreal calmness." It lay in the fact that his downfall involved the disgrace and banishment of his intimate friend, Chao Ju-yii, the Prime Minister, The facts have been already stated. The calamity arose from what some might call the some- what impulsive action of Chu Hsi in seeking to rid his sovereign of the incubus of the mountebank Han Ni-chou ; and that action brought upon the Prime Minister as well as himself irretrievable ruin. The generosity of his affection and loyalty urged the aged statesman to make one more effort to save his friend. Full of indignation, he prepared a lengthy memorial, insisting in vigorous terms on the injury that would result to the State if the Emperor allowed himself to be deceived by traitors. His friends, however, convinced that no good would be served, nor any benefit conferred upon his friend, but only that further disaster would be brought upon himself, entreated him to forbear. But all their entreaties were of no avail, until Ts'ai Chi-t'ung persuaded him to refer the matter to divination. The result indicated that the memorial should not be sent in, and, though contrary to his impulse both of patriotism and friendship, he did not venture to disobey the oracle. But we are told that when he drew the lot that decided the course to be taken, he was speechless. Surely The Humanness of Chu Hsi 19 we can see the look of blank despair that settled upon his face as he realized that he was compelled to inaction, com- pelled, as it seemed to him, to desert his friend, while that friend was sent away to the unknown wilds. As I have said, I think there was no more tragic moment in his life than that. But that moment of silence is a revelation to us of his humanness : the philosopher and the statesman are gone, and the man alone remains ! TRIKTED IN CRBAT BKITAIN BY BILUHG AND SONS, LTD., GOILDFOBD AKD ESHHR GHOST AND VAMPIRE TALES OF CHINA BY G. WILLOUGHBY-MEADE, A.I.A. A PAPER READ BEFORE THE CHINA SOCIETY ON MAY 28, 1925 EAST AND WEST, LTD. 3 VICTORIA STREET, liONDQN. S.W. 1 192 5 GHOST AND VAMPIRE TALES OF CHINA "This is our natural reason, which is surrounded with a great mist, having yet the judgment of good and evil, and of the distance of truth and falsehood, though it be unable to fulfil all that it approves ; neither does it now enjoy the full light of the truth." These remarks of a great European mystic were applied by him to the motives and actions of daily life ; but we do well to bear them in mind in examining the records of abnormal manifestations, whether here or in China. In submitting my notes to this meeting, and citing examples of ghost tales, I must disclaim, to begin with, any intention of attacking or defending the subjective character of the phenomena. Those who see or hear strange things while suffering from excitement, fear, or illness cannot be expected to draw a firm line between fact and fancy; it is the more surprising, therefore, that the ghost-lore of most races, local colour apart, has so much in common. This similarity would appear to be due to the common sources to which anthropologists trace, more or less clearly, the folk-tales examined by them in Europe and the Near East — viz., animism, or the tendency to attribute life and personality to everything ; the contact of races of different degrees and kinds of culture, resulting in the distortion of historical and geographical facts ; totemism, or the semi- heraldic worship of animals and plants ; magic and the erroneous ideas of pathology which accompany it. If we keep these four sources of folk-lore well in mind, we shall notice that China — almost a virgin land to the English-speaking folklorist — differs from the better- explored countries only in the greater wealth and variety of its popular mythology. This variety will not surprise us when we find that there 2 Ghost and Vampire Tales of China are three view-points from which a Chinese may regard the ghost question — namely, the Taoist, the Buddhist, and the Confucian^ , The Taoist view-point, being closely allied to the animistic beliefs common to most men in early times, may be considered first. The Tao, or original vital principle, operating through the Yang and the Yin, was held to be the cause of all existence, and to permeate every creature in varying degrees, but in much the same manner. Mystics of the school of Chuang Tzu, like the prehistoric rain-priests and the latter-day necromancers, drew but little distinction between stellar deities, hsien, or immortal men, ordinary people, and animals. Even trees, plants, and oddly-shaped stones were related to have done un- canny things at times, as in the folk-tales of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. The Confucian view — possibly of later growth, though far older than the master's teaching — is profoundly important. Confuciu? had a systematic mind ; he was a man of hierarchies and categories, a true Chinese. Unquestionably a Monotheist, he laid great stress on the temporal rewards of good social morality, while implying, rather than teaching, that the other world, of which he said little, was one of principalities and powers, of spirits in higher and lower places. The emperor had the privilege of worshipping God ; the people confined their attention to the shades of their fathers, and to the patrons of their cities, wards, or trade-guilds. The spirits of the earth, of grain, and of certain hills were also worshipped by princes and high officials ; but the providence of God was delegated to underlings, as it were, in a kind of celestial Government service. In these matters, Confucius would have been the first to disclaim the r6le of an innovator ; but the celebrated Chu Hsi, by his rationalistic comments, so attenuated the misty monotheism of his master, that he unwittingly fostered, by a natural reaction, an inordinate devotion to ghost and demon lore among the masses. Further, Chu Ghost and Vampire Tales of China 3 Hsi's theory that souls,* after death, are diffused and mingled not only with dust and vapour, but with other liberated souls, has been utilized as the groundwork of tales in which the souls of persons dreamirig or apparently dead have found their way into the wrong bodies. For example, we hear of a dying priest, a very ascetic Buddhist over eighty years of age, changing souls with a wealthy young official cut off in the flower of his youth. When the worthy old. gentleman's soul woke up in the mandarin's body, he was puzzled and disconcerted at his luxurious surroundings, and grieved the wife, or widow, pf the mandarin by failing to recognize her or her children. The Buddhist point of view need be touched upon in very few words. The Buddhism of China and the adjoin- ing countries accepted every manifestation and adopted every kind of ghost, demon, or monster that came in its path as a matter of course. Karma, the mathematically exact reward of every past action, good or bad, of every creature that ever existed, enabled the Buddhist to attribute all events to past causes, exactly commensurate with them, and inevitably linked with them. Buddhism also added Indian and Tibetan myths to the immense spirit world of China. Buddhism, an alien faith, brings us to the question of •' foreign devils." Before China had contact with the West, shipwrecked sailors and others brought home to China tales of their adventures among the black-skinned head hunters and cannibals of the South Seas. These were summarily dubbed " devils." Islands inhabited by devils are con- stantly referred to in old Chinese travel books ; and the same thing is true of early European writers. The Goths were so frightened of the Huns that they called them the " offspring of witches and devils " ; vampires, in Hungary, Roumania, and the adjacent lands, were believed in some cases to be of similar ancestry. * /.«., the hun, or superior soul. 4 Ghost and Vampire Tales of China Here we have the well-known case of the contact of races, unlike in culture, producing folk-lore based upon inaccurate and prejudiced observation. Not only Europeans, but various Turkish and Ugrian invaders on the north-western frontiers of China, have been credited, at times, with certain diabolical powers; and propitiation of these malign entities, in various forms, is a matter of history. It is only fair, however, to say that when we speak of devils being " worshipped" in China, it must be remembered that such " worship " was intended to prevent, not to deify, evil. In this respect China has consistently takien a higher stand than ancient Greece and Rome, and Post-Vedic India. Further, too great credulity about ghosts, or terror ol them, is held to be discreditable. The brave, clean-living man who boldly faces or attacks a phantom, or who calmly pursues his studies in ethics or philosophy regardless of spooks, appears in a large number of Chinese ghost stories ; while the craven, the secret sinner, the slave of drink or drugs, is held to be rightly punished by heaven through the agency of uncanny visitors, and sometimes even by the spectres of things in themselves harmless or useful. "Conscience makes cowards of us all," or, as Chuang Tzii put it, " the open criminal is punished by law ; the secret sinner is tormented by devils." Hauntings, retributory or otherwise, would seem to be attributed to the following classes of spirits : SMn, a term widely used for spiritual beings, including minor deities, and beneficent as well as avenging spirits. The shin are of Yang origin, while the kuei, although capable of good as well as evil, are of Yin origin, and connected with death and darkness. Many kuei are the ghosts of human beings, and are consequently both feared and respected ; elves and goblins of other kinds may be included, with human ghosts, in the kuei class. Mo, a wicked spirit, probably identified with Mara the tempter. Ghost and Vampire Tales of China 5 the enemy of Buddha. Ya-cKa, the Indian Yaksha, also a Buddhist importation meaning wild and ugly hill-devils. Yao, a wide term for prodigies and monsters, for any in- explicable sight or sound usually regarded as an omen of impending evil. Of such it is commonly stated that yao yujin hsing irh pu tzu tso : "yao arise from man, and have no existence of themselves." Yao, with hsieh, evil or demoniacal things or happenings, come under the heading oi pu ching chih cHi, "abnormal breaths," or kuei ch'i, "ghostly influences." Hsiung, "bad luck" in a general sense, is mostly associated with evil spirits. Seventeen other classes of spectres are mentioned in the K'ang Hsi Dictionary, but they need not be detailed here. All we need notice is that the traditions of older and presumably more credulous days are preserved in books and quotations innumerable, side by side with later legends. We must now glance at a few typical cases, and hazard a guess, here and there, at the theories they appear to illustrate. Members are requested to supply their own atmosphere. Unfortunately, we are not seated around a dying fire, in a lonesome, draughty mountain hut, or gathered in the mouldering guest room of a derelict temple ; we cannot hear the moan of the wind, the whispering and rustling of trees, or the stealthy scratchings and scurryings of nocturnal insects. The appropriate setting for uncanny happenings should be the dead of night ; the third watch, from 1 1 p.m. to I a.m., when Yin, the dark principle, reigns supreme. Then one might expect to hear noises such as ju, the "moaning of ghosts," or chin chin, "ghostly warning cries " such as the Shuo wen (first century a.d.) describes, prog- nosticating war, famine, or pestilence. Before the Chou Dynasty was overthrown, before the Emperor and Empress both died in the J6n Shou period (a.d. 601-605), before a revolt was put down with great slaughter in a.d. 616, the ghosts are said to have moaned and cried with prophetic warning, like the "banshees" of Ireland. In the small and ghostly hours, too, might be expected 6 Ghost and Vampire Tales of China the visit of a small paper effigy in the guise of a huge, fearsome demon. We know that, to obviate human sacrifices and to save expense, paper attendants were often fabricated and burnt at funerals, in order to supply retainers to the dead ; thus, the association of paper men with death invested them with uncanny properties. For a small fee, a soothsayer would make a little paper man or devil, and launch it with a magic formula against one's enemy ; but frequently the haunted one, if a clever or high-principled man, would keep his head, and force the demon to resume its diminutive size and harmless nature by boldly challenging or attacking it, or by repeating a Buddhist dhdrani or a passage from a good book. A weapon of iron or steel, as in European folk-lore, mostly reveals the nature of the visitation ; its mere touch cancels the magic of the wizard, and deprives the spectre of its power. We shall notice this detail in other tales as we proceed. Iron, a later importation into the arts than bronze or stone, would naturally figure in a conflict between the cultures of unequally advanced races. In Chinese folk-lore, demons sometimes have sufficient malice and aplomb to work mischief in broad daylight. Poor men sleeping on the roadside are found dead with- out a visible wound ; healthy men develop a boil or tumour from some unknown cause and succumb to it. They are victims of "ghostly arrows" — or, as we should say, of germs whose infection was conveyed in ways incompre- hensible to the untutored rustic. Diseases, of course, are attributed to devils in all countries to which Western medicine has no access. Sometimes demons are bold enough to appear in gangs and hordes : in Chin-yang, province of Shansi, rumours of the approach of a spectral army were rife in the year a.d. 564, and the people gathered together and beat on copper and iron utensils to drive them away. Again, in 781, stories of cannibal demons or hairy men, coming from Hunan, spread through the Yangtsze valley ; fires Ghost and Vampire Tales of China 7 were kept alight at night, and clamour of copper pans was raised to drive them ofiF. Invasions of savages are evidently indicated here ; hairy, dark-coloured beings, with sharp teeth and glowing eyes, their natural ferocity of expression heightened by the frizzled locks and war-paint dear to the Melanesian islander. The fact that the emperors sometimes addressed official memorials to them and even offered sacrifices, probably tribute, would appear to show that a vague tradition of landing-parties of savage islanders lingered for centuries in the popular memory. The data point to the contact of alien races as a source of folk-lore. Rocky and hilly places are famous for kuai, for manifestations of goblins and elves of every kind. Generically termed "hill spectres" (shan ching), it would appear that many of them must have been animals or savages ; in folk-lore they inevitably become hybrid monsters. The Shuo wen describes one of them, the k'uei,* as a dragon with one leg, hands, a human face, and horns. The Shan hai ching mentions a cow-shaped animal, with a blue body, no horns, and one leg. It had a loud voice, like thunder ; it lived in a region of rolling waves, away in the eastern sea. Its hide was good for making drums. Probably a dugong or sea-lion is intended. A rain-priest's drum, made from the hide of an amphibious beast with a thunderous voice, would naturally be prized as efficacious for the purposes of mimetic magic, for imitating the effect it was hoped to produce. The western mountains of China, says the Shin i ching, are haunted by unclad giants, more than a chang in height. They eat frogs and crabs. People passing through those hills light fires and explode joints of bamboo in the fires to scare them off. If these giants are attacked, they infect their assailants with fever. * The yao kuai are by some writers identified with asuras. 8 Ghost and Vampire Tales of .China This association of fever with spectres is important, and must be referred to again later on. Another kind of hill demon, also very tall, wears a fur coat and a bamboo hat — doubtless a Siberian savage, and not a Melanesian islander. Sometimes we read of these demons being rounded up with rings of bonfires and burnt to death or killed with spears ; another statement supporting the theory that they were human beings of low culture, quite different from the wraiths of the departed or evil spirits in the Western sense, which have no mortal body. A type of manifestation familiar to readers of European folk-lore has its parallel in Chinese were-tigers and were- wolves. The following is a fairly representative example : Ch'^n Tsung, a native of Tan-yang, plied the trade of diviner near the capital city of the district. The governor of Ku-shu, adjoining, was a great tiger-hunter. One day, two men in rough fur breeches offered the diviner ten coins and asked him: "Must we go west to find some- thing to eat, or would it be better to go eastward ?" Tsung set out the divining stalks, and declared that the easterly direction was auspicious, but the westerly (which led to the dwelling of the tiger-hunting governor) unfavourable. The two men then asked for a drink, and put their mouths inside the cups like cattle : then they went off towards the east, and a few hundred paces from the house one of the men and the horse he was riding turned into tigers. Since then the district became infested with unusually fierce tigers. (Period, a.d. 405-419.) About A.D. 556, the wife of one Huang Chien, a Kwang- tung man, went into the mountains with his younger sister, Hsiao Chu (Little Pearl), to gather certain seeds. Passing a temple on the way, Hsiao Chu felt an irresistible impulse to enter. When the wife tried to get her home she fled away into the hills, re-entered the temple, and hid there. The girl's affianced husband, Li Hsiao, passed by with a friend some nights later, and as it began to rain the two Ghost, and Vampire Tales of China 9 men took shelter in the temple. They found a fire in one of the rooms, and gladly entered to dry their clothes. Suddenly they heard footsteps outside, and feeling rather uncomfortable they hid behind a screen. A tiger bounded in towards the fire, took off its skin, rolled it up, and put on some garments which were lying ready by the fire. It was Hsiao Chu. Li recognized and spoke to her, but she would make no reply, so at daybreak she was conducted to the home of her married brother Huang and locked up in an outhouse. Raw meat was thrown to her, which she devoured without a word. A few days later she again turned into a tiger, so the villagers shot arrows into the outhouse, and she was apparently killed. During the following year the district was so intimidated by the ravages of a tiger that the people had to keep their houses shut up even in the daytime, and the prefect reported it to the Throne. Another were-tiger story relates how a man, attacked by tigers in the mountains, wounded one in the fore-paw with his axe. It ran away with its companions. Next day he told the villagers, mentioning that the tigers had talked to one another, and that the wounded one was addressed as Chu Tu-shih. So they said, " Oh yes ! A man of this name lives to the east of our district ; let us visit him and see if it is he." When they called, he refused to see them and ex- plained that he was suffering from a wounded hand. So the villagers denounced Chu Tu-shih to the prefect as a were- tiger, and the prefect sent some men to set fire to the house and kill the monster. But at their approach Chu Tu-shih jumped out of bed, changed into a tiger, charged at the besiegers and escaped, no one knew whither. Similarly, in the folk-lore of Eastern Europe, were-wolves who had been wounded while in animal form were said to have been identified later by the finding of similar wounds on their human bodies. Some of these tales were told as late as the sixteenth century, and as far west as in France. It is impossible to explain them satisfactorily, and very strange that in countries so far apart as France and China lO Ghost and Vampire Tales of China the agreement in details should be so close. In one of the Chinese tales, a young official of the Chin Dynasty, a.d. 376, confessed that, during a certain severe illness, he had taken the form of a tiger and eaten several people ; he may, of course, have attacked or bitten someone in delirium, or have imagined it. The tales of European lycanthropy may have arisen in the same way. 'Here is a Chinese were-wolf story on quite Eurdpean lines. About a.d. 765, a certain old man, who had been ill some months, refused to take any food for ten consecutive days ; then one evening he disappeared. Some nights later, a villager who had been out gathering mulberry leaves was pursued by a he- wolf. He climbed a tree, but the wolf reared up against the tree and seized his coat in its teeth. The villager aimed a blow at it with his axe, and wounded it in the forehead. The wolf crouched down, but stayed at the foot of the tree so long that the villager did not dare to climb down until daylight. He tracked the wolf to the old man's house, went in, and told the old man's sons what had happened. The sons looked at the old man's forehead and saw a wound just where the wolf had been hit. For fear of his attacking any more people, they throttled him, seeing him turn into an old wolf before their eyes as he died. They confessed what they had done to the district magistrate and were acquitted. This power of turning into a wolf at will was particularly attributed to the Mongol or Hunnish peoples on the north and west of China — another example of the idea that fpreigners were necessarily of .a devilish disposition. The commonly used names, Ulf in Norse, and Vuk in Serbian, both mean "wolf": apd the history of savage warriors in the Balkans and Scandinavia has a background, in both countries, of were-wolf traditions in great numbers ,and variety. In A.D. 380, a poor man named Yiian Hsiaqg met a beautiful girl one day at dusk, and eventually married her. In five or six years their affairs improved ; they, had two Ghost and Vampire Tales of China 1 1 sons ; by degrees they became better off, and in ten years from the date of their marriage they were quite weahhy. Just then, a death occurred in the village. The night of the burial, Yuan's wife hurried to the grave, changed into a tiger, dragged the coffin out of the ground, opened it, and devoured the corpse. When the corpse was eaten, she resumed her human form and went home. A neighbour saw what she did and told her husband, but he refused to believe it. Later on, another villager died, and the same thing happened. So Yiian went out and watched her, and learned the truth. But his wife remained a tiger and took to the hills, scouring the district and devouring one corpse after another. About the year a.d. 765, a village lad of twenty, after a severe illness, " lost one of his souls," which became a were- wolf. Many boys were missed from the village from that time onward, and no one knew what had happened to them. One day, while passing the dwelling of a family from whom a child had been taken, he heard the father call out to him, " Come to-morrow. I have a job for you to do, and I'll give you a good meal in payment." He had worked for the father before, so he gave a loud laugh and replied, " Why should I ? Do you think your son was so particularly savoury a morsel ?" The father was astonished and questioned him. " Nature orders me to devour men," he answered. " Yesterday I ate a boy five or six years old ; his flesh was most delicious." The father then noticed some traces of stale blood near the lad's mouth, so he attacked him fiercely with a stick ; whereupon the lad turned into a wolf and expired. There is a Croatian tale of a soldier who, watching one night in a haunted mill, saw a wolf enter, take off its skin, and come out in the form of a maiden. The soldier seized the skin, nailed it to the mill-wheel, and married the were- wolf. They had two sons, the elder of whom heard people say that his mother was a wolf. He questioned his father and eventually learned all about his mother and the skin 12 Ghost and Vampire Tales of China attached to the mill-wheel. The mother, enraged, ran away and was seen no more. There seems little doubt to me that animal stories about foreigners must be connected with totemism. Many beasts, on account of their strength and cunning, are raised in some cases to an heraldic, and in others to a religious, level in barbarous communities. The bear, the wolf, the beaver, the snake, and the fox — to name a few examples — were eventually adopted as tribal badges or clan patrons ; family and personal names were taken from them. If the famous Red Indian chief, Sitting Bull, had fought with the ancient Greeks instead of the modern Americans, he would probably have passed into history as a sort of Minotaur ; and his portrait would have been rather like the ox-headed T'ang demons described and illustrated by Mr. Hobson and Dr. Laufer, or the bronze devil-statuettes of the Sumerians. The Yellow Emperor of prehistoric China was said to have birds and beasts in his army — presumably savage mercenaries known by their totems : just as among the Redmen of America we hear of the Crows, the Snakes, and so forth, the tribal totem-names being used for the people themselves. The real importance of totemism is its connection with marriage — that is, in fixing degrees of kindred, and generally serving the social purpose of a modern surname, with a view to securing exogamous unions. The confusion of animal totems with human beings, however, is what we are concerned with now ; the inaccurate history of dealings with foreigners as a source of folk-lore. Next to the tiger and the wolf, the fox is one of the most important animal spectres in the world. Cunning, greedy, and cowardly, it is a byword everywhere; but the word Fox is very commonly used as a surname in various European countries, and is also found in China. One may therefore lay some of its spectral misdeeds at the door of certain tribes or individuals to whom it served the purpose of a totem. Ghost and Vampire Tales of China 13 It is held by some authorities that a folk-tale is generally a deposed religious myth, one which has lost ground on account of improved culture — native or foreign — and which, therefore, survives among the more credulous only. To go back a stage further, the myth itself may very well have been based upon a ritual whose meaning is obscured by time or other causes, or upon an historical tradition. On this understanding, the " totem " — of supreme ritual and social value as a regulator of marriage and otherwise — would degenerate into a mere badge or tribe-name ; and the folk-tales based upon it, especially at contact with alien cultures, would tend to " explain away " the unmeaning remnants of totemism in the higher race, by attributing animal ancestry or a bestial name and nature to its adherents among the lower. A parallel from Western Europe may be helpful at this point. The seal plays a large part in the legendary lore of the West of Ireland and the Hebrides. For many centuries, no one bearing the surname of Coneely would kill a seal, for fear of incurring bad luck ; the reason given being that, at a remote date in the past, certain Coneelys had been turned into seals by enchantment. Coneely meant "seal," and to avert the ill-omen the name is said to have been changed to Connolly. When seals were caught in the Island of Harris, a seal was set apart to offer to the minister, doubtless as a precau- tion against misfortune. Formerly it would no doubt have been sacrificed to the gods. In the district of Ossory, Ireland, the people were re- ferred to in an old MS. as "descendants of the wolf," and there was a strong prejudice against killing wolves in that part of Ireland, so that these animals did not become extinct until the eighteenth century. Aubrey mentions that a wolf fang was worn as a charm "as we do coral," and — more significant still — the men of Ossory were mentioned in a folk-tale quoted 1603 by Fynes Moryson, as having the 14 Ghost and Vampire Tales of China power of " turning into wolves yearly." That is, they were were-wolves. In Erris, a district of Connaught, foxes were formerly believed to understand human language ; there was quite a friendly feeling towards the animal, whereas, in another place — viz., Claddagh, Co. Galway — there was a fear of the fox, and a Claddagh fisherman would not put to sea on the day he saw a fox. The latter incident is attributed to the ancient belief that a totem animal should not be looked at by the tribe of which it was the heraldic or eponymous emblem. The legendary hero Cuchulain (whose name meant " the dog of Culain ") was forbidden to eat the flesh of a dog ; and it was after transgressing in this manner against his totem that his death occurred. Diarmid suffered from the same disability in respect of the boar, and when a certain boar died, his life was forfeit. The hare was not eaten in Wilts nor in certain parts of Scotland in former times, and it was held to be a bad omen if one met a hare. Other creatures were evidently totems in certain parts of the British Isles, but none of them fill so large a space in popular superstition as the seal, the wolf, or the fox. From the earliest times the fox has been held to be of evil omen in China. As a harbinger of misfortune, as a bringer of disease, as an enchanting female of evil character, or as a mere ordinary spectre, the fox figures in an enormous number of tales in China ; and in Japan the same supersti- tion has produced a considerable were-fox literature, some of which is familiar to English readers. Much of it is, of course, of Chinese origin. The fox tales are monotonous, because, as a rule, some wise or brave person finds out the deception and forces the creature to resume its fox form j or kills it, and finds the corpse to be the body of a fox. Even the harmless necessary donkey is known to do un- canny things at times. In the year a.d. 742, we are told, a certain Wang Hsiin Ghost and Vampire Tales of China '1$ lived in the village of Yen-shou, district of Ch'ang-an. One night three people came to supper with him. They had just finished eating, when a large, black, hairy arm appeared under the candle-light. Hsiin and his friends were startled ; still more, when a voice was heard, coming from the other side of the light, saying : " Sir, you have guests, but may I call on you for one moment ? I want some meat ; put it into my hand." HsUn handed some meat to the arm, which took it and withdrew. Again it appeared, demanded meat, grasped it, and vanished. The next time it appeared, Hsiin and his friends drew their swords and hacked at it. It fell to the ground, and behold ! there was the leg of a donkey lying bleeding on the floor. Next morning they found a track of blood leading from the amputated leg to a house in the village. The occupants said they had had a donkey for dver twenty years, which last night had lost a leg, apparently 'froma sword cut : they were very perturbed and unable to account for it. On hearing of the spectral arm they decided to kill the donkey and eat it. Other domestic animals are credited with playing devilish pranks at night, and goats — which for some reason were formerly associated with earth spirits — are more often mentioned than pigs, cows, or asses. The goat is also an important figure in European demonology. The Tai pHng kuang chi contains a tale of a were-snake or serpent demon that molested Confucius himself. Yen Hui and Tzu Lu were seated at the gate of the master when a spectre called to see him. Its eyes glared like suns, and its terrible appearance threw Tzii Lu into a fainting-fit. Yen Hui, however, armed himself, stepped forward, and grappled the spectre by the loins to wrestle with it. It immediately turned into a snake, which he slew with his sword. The master came out to see what had happened, and said with a sigh, " The bold man has no fear, wisdom is not misled ; the wise man is not bold, the bold man does not of necessity possess wisdom." We are 1 6 Ghost and Vampire Tales of China told in the Analects that Confucius did not talk about marvels, feats of strength, treasons, rebellions, and ghosts ; but seeing how he loved and respected Yen Hui, and mourned at his early death, one would expect a better acknowledgment of his pluck and presence of mind than the tepid platitude put into the Sage's mouth by the writer of this story ! Other snake demons were feared as causing leprosy, ulcers, madness, and a host of different ailments ; toads, likewise, were credited with evil powers. During the T'ang Dynasty the daughter of a petty official fell ill. She ate and drank irregularly ; sometimes sang, sometimes wept without cause, or tore her clothes and ran madly about. A diviner was called in, but his sacri- fices, spells, and music had no effect. While the medicine- man was at his antics, a passenger-boat was moored close to the dwelling of the sick girl ; and a man, lying on the boat to rest, saw in a deep ditch a huge toad as big as a bowl, with red eyes and hairy legs, dancing to the magic drums. The man hauled the beast up with a bamboo, and tied it to an oar. At that moment he heard the girl cry out, " Why do you bind my husband ?" Whereupon he knocked at the door, saying, " I can cure diseases like this." The father, overjoyed, asked his fee. " Not more than a few thousand coins," said the visitor. " I love my daughter above everything," said the father. " I have spent so much in vain trying to cure her that I don't care how much I pay now ; I'll double your fee." So the passenger boiled the toad in oil, and next day the girl was quite cured. Owls, as in Europe, are unlucky. They steal human souls at night, and their cries forebode evils of various kinds. Centipedes, and occasionally fishes, appear in spectral form. Of dogs, however, it must be stated that their blood was widely credited with the power of breaking spells and Ghost and Vampire Tales of China 17 forcing evil entities to reveal themselves. The straw dogs used in sacrifices — referred to in the well-known passage of the Tao U ching — would seem to point to real dogs as being used in sacrificial rites in very early times ; so their sacred character might well render them efficacious in vanquishing evil '' ktiei." To cut short the catalogue of creatures which, in popular tales, are described as possessed by, or acting like, evil spirits, we may remind ourselves that animism exaggerates the cunning and venom of animals, insects, and so forth, while it draws no fine distinction between the mind of man and the mysterious instinctive wisdom of certain lower creatures. The Chinese people, anxious out of politeness to conceal emotion in obedience to the rules of etiquette, have an extremely lively imagination ; savage enemies, wild creatures, and diseases caused by bad drainage and a trying climate are clearly at the back of their world of grotesque horrors, a mere bold outline of which would fill a large volume. A type of spectre markedly characteristic of Chinese folk-lore is the ghost of a tree, plant, or even of an inanimate object, especially of any article of organic origin such as wood or rope. Tree-worship, of course, existed in pre-Christian Scan- dinavia as well as in China, and sacred groves were common to Britain, Syria, Italy, and Greece ; magical and auspicious plants- are heard of all over the world. In China, lucky or beneficent trees had a certain amount of shen spirit in them ; the other kind harboured more objectionable entities. A Japanese superstition held that, after dark, some trees were able to pull up their roots and move about; New Zealand mythology says that when the gods made men, they planted some of them in the earth upside down, their hair becoming roots and their limbs branches. The Greeks imagined graceful dryads as the spirits of trees ; in China, however, snaky or monstrous forms were held to haunt i8 Ghost and Vampire Tales of China particular trees, and woe betide the unlucky wight who felled the trunk in search of building material or firewood ! Towards the end of the Liang Dynasty, an empty house in Pu-hsi-chia was declared by various former occupants to be unlucky and not habitable. One day a certain Wei Fu-t'o entered at twilight and saw a monster with a human face and a dog's body running about. He shot an arrow at it and it vanished. Next day the house was opened, and the arrow was found, buried in a rotten tree-stump, with some dried blood coagulated under it. Thereafter the house ceased to be haunted. Tree-spirits, however, were generally said to appear as tall, dark-coloured men, who were easily put to flight by a trenchant sword-cut or well- directed arrow. The tree, on subsequent inspection, generally showed where the "spirit" had been wounded by the marks on its bark. On account, perhaps, of their inflammable nature, trees and tree-ghosts are associated with fire-worship in many countries, and with incendiary devils in China. The subjective nature of these manifestations is well brought out by the sequel to this and other such tales ; the level-headed fellow who attacks the apparition with the nearest weapon goes unhurt, and "lays the ghost" into the bargain. The spectres of rotten utensils* made from wood deserve a few words. At certain stages of putrefaction wood is slightly phosphorescent in the dark ; and if any of the wooden articles are connected with people now dead, or have ever been used in funeral rites, the uncanny associa- tion is quite enough to give them superstitious importance. Liu Hsiian, of Yiieh, was surprised one evening after sunset to see a visitor, dressed in black, approaching him. He lit a torch and saw that it had no face, so that it blundered against everything in its way. So he consulted a soothsayer, who replied thus : " This is a thing coeval with your ancestors ; if it is allowed to exist any longer, it * In Chinese, mei. Ghost and Vampire Tales of China 19 will become a dangerous spectre and kill men, but having no eyes yet, you may still avert its evil intentions." Liu caught it and tied it up with a rope ; then, on his striking it with his sword, it turned into a wooden pillow, of the style of his grandfather's time. In times of storm, passenger boats on the P'o-yang Lake used to be attacked by a black snakish object, and were always damaged. At length, after a .long drought, part of the lake ran dry ; and a rotten rope was found lying on the sand. A farmer chopped it to pieces, where- upon blood gushed from it, so he burnt the fragments, and thereafter the rope, an old ship's cable, no longer haunted the lake or damaged the boats. Once upon a time, a rice dealer of Chia-hsing, province of Chekiang, had to cross a yellow muddy canal in which many persons had been suffocated. As he rode across it on his buffalo, a black hand rose from the mud to grasp his foot. As he drew up his legs, the hand seized the hoof of the buffalo and held it fast. The rider called for help, and after much effort the buffalo was dragged out. An old broom was found atta,ched to its body. The broom was so putrid and offensive that it was hardly possible to approach it. When it was struck with sticks it made a moaning sound, and black blood trickled from it. Knives were brought, and the thing was cut off and burnt, but it left an evil stench for some time. Since then, no more people were suffocated in the yellow mud canal. It is often asserted, by the way, that the Chinese are very chary of helping a drowning man, lest the water demons may be angry at losing their prey and take the opportunity of drowning the rescuer. Against this allega- tion, one is pleased to state that on the great rivers there are life-saving societies which possess boats and suitable tackle for rescuing persons in danger of drowning. There is a Lithuanian tale of a changeling which was left by the elves in place of a stolen human baby,; at cock- crow the changeling resumed the shape of a broom. 20 Ghost and Vampire Tales of China Another tale, from the same country, relates that the head of the changeling was chopped off; blood flowed, but on examination the neck was found to contain a wisp of straw instead of the usual organs. Brooms are much feared by ghosts and vampires in China, and evidently are credited with occult powers even before they have decayed into goblins. The punishment of incendiary fire as a penalty for offend- ing elves and goblins occurs in a Norse tale, in which the trolls exclaim : "The red cock shall crow over thy dwelling !" The cock and the red colour, as connected with heat or the sun, are strongly reminiscent of Chinese tradition ; and we know that the Norse folk-tales hinge largely upon the magical powers and exploits of the Lapps and Finns, and are thus in intimate connection with the old-time beliefs of North-Eastern Asia. The soothsayer Kuan Lu was once sent for by the prefect of Hsin-tu, whose wife and daughters lived in a state of nameless terror, and were often ill. Kuan Lu divined the reason as follows : "On the west side of your hall are buried two corpses, one with a spear the other with a bow and arrow. The one with the spear pierces the heads of your family, and affects them with dire headaches ; the one with the arrows aims at their breasts, and makes them anxious and miserable." Whereupon the prefect had the ground dug up, and the skeletons and their weapons removed, and everybody in the house recovered. [ Here we have a case of the articles buried with the dead being invested with spectral powers of causing illness. In a Scottish folk-tale from Dornoch, Sutherland, a man who had to attend a funeral on New Year's Day, and there- by miss the festivities of the season, happening to see a skull at his feet, hit it with his staff, saying, " You are alone and uncared for like me. No one has invited me to the New Year's festivity ; I invite you !" That night, as he Ghost and Vampire Tales of China 21 and his wife sat down alone to supper, a venerable man entered and shared the meal in silence. He came again and again for six nights, but never uttered a word. At last, the old man being induced to speak, invited his host to a feast in the churchyard in an imperious manner that brooked no refusal. The host, shaking with fear, went to the graveyard and found there a gaily lit house, full of people eating, drinking, and dancing. After an apparent lapse of a few hours, the old man warned the mortal visitor to go home ; and when he got there he found his wife ready to remarry, as a year had elapsed since the graveyard feast of her husband. The " Rip Van Winkle " element is here combined with the haunting power of a skull, in a place where the infiltra- tion of an East Asiatic superstition was possible, by way of Lapland and Norway. The spectres who are blamed for causing nightmares and more serious illnesses, abundant as they are in Chinese folk-lore, are too much like similar spectres elsewhere to detain us this evening ; but I am inclined to put forward the theory that they are closely connected with the most gruesome of all spectres — the vampire — not only in China, but in other parts of the world. Strictly speaking, the vampire* is a demon which inhabits a corpse and preserves it from decay by preying upon other corpses or upon living creatures. This demon - agent, in Chinese belief, is the p'o, the lower or animal soul, which remains with the corpse instead of being dissipated into vapour, or going elsewhere in one form or another. So long as the skull, the skeleton, or — better still — the whole body is undecayed or apparently so, the ghost is active and powerful ; and if the sun or the moon is allowed to shine directly upon the body before buria],t or if a cat should jump over it — thereby imparting * In Chinese, ch'iang shih. t Thereby endowing it with a certain amount of Yang, or positive force. * 22 Ghost and Vampire^ Tales of China a certain amount of tiger-nature to it — the dead body is likely to become a vampire. Chinese vampires generally have glaring eyes, long, sharp claws, and a body covered with white or greenish-white hair. Vampires of long standing acquire the art of flying, and in this guise are sometimes confused with the Yakskas of Buddhism. Such spectres are destroyed by a flash of lightning, which may mean that they are conquered by one of the Indian weather-deities whom the Buddhist pantheon brought into China — Indra, for example, who, by all accounts, was a stout fellow ! We may now turn to a few vampire stories. Liu, a lower-grade literate, tutor to a family living some distance from his home, obtained a holiday at Ch'ing Ming time to tend his ancestral tombs. The day of his return to duty his wife, entering his room to call him in the early morning, found his headless body on the bed, and no trace of blood. The woman gave the alarm, but was arrested on suspicion of having murdered her husband, and remanded in gaol for further enquiries to be made. Then, one day, a neighbour gathering firewood on an adjoining hill, saw a good, sound coffin, its lid partly raised, Jying near a neglected grave. Suspecting robbery, he called some neighbours, and they approached and took off the lid. Within was a corpse with the face of a living man, its body covered with white hair. Between its arms it held the missing head of Liu ! The corpse held the head so tightly that its arms had to be chopped off" to release the head ; fresh blood gushed from its arms, but the head of Liu was dry and bloodless. The magistrate ordered the corpse to be burnt, aiid Liu's widow to be set free. One night four travellers, very tired, turned up at an inn in Ts'ai-tien, Shantung. The inn was full, but the travellers pressed the innkeeper to shelter them, and with much hesi- tation he put them in a lonely house near by, in which his daughter-in-law had recently died. The house was lit by a Ghost and Vampire Tales of China 23 dim lamp, and behind a curtain lay the uncoffined body of the girl. The four weary men flung themselves down on the beds provided, and three of them were soon snoring lustily. One of them was not quite asleep when he heard a creaking sound behind the curtain. He opened his eyes and saw the corpse rise up, push aside the curtain, and approach., It stooped over the three sleepers and blew thrice upon them ; the fourth, in terror, hid his head under the coverlet and held his breath. The corpse breathed on him also and withdrew. Hearing a rustling sound, he peeped out and saw that it had returned to its couch, and was lying as still as before. Afraid to call out, the traveller stealthily kicked his sleeping comrades, but they did not stir; so he quietly reached for his clothes and hoped to creep away. Every time he moved, however, he heard the creak of the bier, and he dived under the blanket again and again, listening all the time to the corpse, who came across and breathed on him. At last a pause, followed by the rustling of the shroud, nerved him to a final effort. He put out his hand, seized some clothes, scrambled into them, and rushed, bare- footed, from the house. The corpse jumped up, and although he bolted the door in its face, it chased him a long way, gaining on him until, in desperation, he dodged behind a willow-tree four or five feet thick. As the corpse darted to the right, he darted to the left ; this went on some time until the enraged corpse rushed at him, missed him as he fell in a faint, and embraced the tree with a rigid grip. At daybreak it was found, when the corpse was pulled away, that its fingers had bored into the tree like an auger. The traveller eventually recovered, but his companions all died of the effects of the corpse's breath. Outside the southern gate of Tan-yang, Kiangsu, a certain Lu had an orchard which brought him a fair profit every year. Naturally he kept watch, with his sons' help, night and day when the fruit was ripe. One moonlight night he was seated, watching, upon a stone, when he sud- 24 Ghost and Vampire Tales of China denly saw among the trees a head, covered with disordered hair, appear out of the ground. He called his sons, and they all went to see what it was. A woman, dressed in red, rose before them ; whereupon the old man fainted and the sons ran away terrified. The woman pursued them to the door of their house ; there she stopped with one foot inside the threshold and the other outside. At the cries of the sons a number of people ran to the rescue ; but the icy breath of the spectre kept them back. The woman entered, glided under a bed, and disappeared. Then the sons went to their father and brought him round with a strong decoc- tion of ginger ; but after that they were afraid to guard their fruit trees, and a thief entered the orchard one night. Next morning he was found lying on the ground almost frightened to death. He said he had seen a man without a head. Thereupon they dug in the garden in the place where the manifestations had taken place, and discovered a red coffin containing the body of the woman whose ghost had appeared, and a black one containing the corpse of a decapitated man. Both bodies were perfectly preserved. They were burnt, and thereafter all was quiet. One asks oneself the question, how could this belief in vampires have arisen? I confess I have not so far found any explanation of it, so perhaps you will pardon me for suggesting one. To begin with, spectres are credited with causing diseases, and the fevers associated with swamps, old battle-fields, and such places are attributed to the will- o'-the-wisps and fireflies seen hovering over them ; mists and vapours are said to be unwholesome and uncanny ; fevers cause delirium and anaemia. Secondly, strange savages — that is, " foreign devils " — are charged with cannibalism and head-hunting in numerous folk-tales, in China and elsewhere ; even in Europe there are many people who have the unconscious power of exhausting the energy of those with whom they come in contact, and are actually dubbed " psychic sponges " by certain medical Ghost and Vampire Tales of China 25 practitioners. The glaring eyes and hairy white bodies of vampires suggest a comparison with wreaths of mist and marsh-fires, although the hairy covering may be derived from the fungi and moulds which attach themselves to shrouds after burial; and the notion that bad deeds are punished^ — subject to the decrees of heaven — by ghosts of various kinds is very ancient, and appears to be sanctioned by the classical writers of China. There is also the important influence of the Central Asian races — Turks, Uigurs, Mongols, and so forth — people more fierce than the Chinese, and associated in the popular mind with witchcraft, spiritualism, and lycanthropy ; and the belief in vampires is notably prevalent in that part of Eastern Europe with which the same Central Asian races are in contact. We have seen, further, that the lively imagination of the Chinese people invests every article connected with death, or the rites of burial, with horror and fear ; that their popular mythology is crammed with monstrous shapes and characters in greater variety than that of any other people ; that they have suffered from the invasions of savages, Melanesian and others ; from wild beasts and venomous reptiles ; from the scourges of tropical disease and the misuse of opium ; from ignorance of medicine and hygiene. Given, then, these mingled terrors of this world and the next, it is hardly to be wondered at that a belief in vampires has arisen — as so many other errors arise — from a mixture of inaccurate history, illness, and sheer subjective " funk." Though negative evidence is of little value, it has been noticed that tales of vampires, in the European sense of the word, are infrequent in ancient Chinese folk-lore, but are more frequently met with in story-books of the last two centuries, whereas other spectres are described in works of high antiquity. The foreign element — largely Central Asian — in modern Chinese tales is often clearly recog- nizable, and confirms the theory put forward above, that 26 Ghost and Vampire Tales of China mixed or garbled traditions of aliens are great stimulants of folk-lore. The Manchus may thus have influenced Chinese superstition in the same way as the Hungarians and the Turks have coloured the beliefs prevalent in Eastern Europe. Mr. Robertson Scott, author of "The Foundations of Japan," quotes an interesting remark made to him by a Westernized Japanese with whom he was discussing " The Golden Bough." The Japanese said, " There are things in our life which are too near to criticize. Do you know that there are parts of Japan where folk-lore is still being made ?" There is little doubt that the same could be said of China. The late Sir Lawrence Gomme, in his " Folk-lore as an Historical Science," mentions that a woman buried at Croxton, near Rochester, England, insisted upon being buried in a coffin with a lock and key, and had a key placed in her hand in case she might feel inclined to leave her coffin from time to time. Unfortunately, no date is given, but the tale has a very Oriental flavour, coming as it does from a place quite close to London. In English folk-lore there are very few like it. I must conclude by apologizing for touching, in so hasty a manner, upon so vast a subject. Many members of our Society have a far better knowledge of Chinese folk-lore than myself, but few have written upon it. Professor Herbert Giles and one or two other writers have translated a number of interesting ghost tales from the Chinese, but they have merely whetted our appetite. China evidently possesses a vast body of written record — and who knows how much more in the form of verbal tradition ? — exemplifying practically every superstition known to man, and linking up the primitive beliefs of Northern Europe with the ghost-lore of Eastern Asia and dim, fearful traditions of Melanesian cannibals. Chinese art, ethics, philosophy, and history are gradually Ghost and Vampire Tales of China 27 becoming known — albeit at second-hand — to educated Europeans; but the folk-tales which, in other countries, are sedulously collected and analyzed by careful specialists, have received but little attention from Chinese scholars. May one venture to hope that this meeting will draw attention to the possible value of further research among the ghost and vampire tales of China ? In conclusion, I must thank the scholarship of othei* people for the material of this paper. Particular gratitude is due to Dr. de Groot and P^re Leon Wieger, as well as to Professor Giles ; and last, but not least, I have to thank our chairman, Mr. Clennell, to whom we are all indebted to-day, and who, I am sure, could have given you a far better introduction to Chinese mythology than that pre- sented in the foregoing paper. rEINTEO IN GREAT BKITAIK SV BILLING AND SONS, LTD., CVILDPORD AND E&HER THE ROMANIZATION of CHINESE BY BERNHARD KARLGREN Professor of Sinology in thi Uniwersity of Gotehorg A PAPER READ BEFORE THE CHINA SOCIETY ON JANUARY 19, 1928 THE CHINA SOCIETY LONDON 1928 THE ROMANIZATION OF CHINESE By Bernhard Karlgren A paper read before the China Society on January 19, 1928. For many /years it has been a matter of astonishment and regret that it has not been possible to create a system of transcription for Chinese which is scientifically adequate and at the same time simple and practical and internationally accepted. There is, in fact, a terrible confusion in this field. There are as many romaniza- tion schemes as days in the year, and in spite of energetic efforts of international congresses it has never been possible to get any one of them generally accepted. And many an outsider has told himself : Chinese must be an awful language with many weird sounds, as there is hardly one sinologue who transcribes it in the same fashion as another. In point of fact, however, the difficulty is not the curious nature of the Chinese sounds. There are some peculiar sounds, it is true, such as the vowels in " sMh, ssu," and there are the tones, the musical accents (in Pekingese four) . But on the whole the phonetic system is not nearly as complicated as, e.g., in Russian, in Danish, or, for the matter of that, in English. It is really no wonder at all that we have not arrived at a definite result so far, for we have never made it quite logically clear to ourselves what it is we want. Suppose you go to an automobile firm and want to buy a car. You state what you want. The car should be a first-class racer ; but it must do also as a freight car and as a touring car with four or five beds. And A 2 The Romanization of Chinese it must be a cheap, handy Httle thing, which uses very Httle oil. Everybody will agree that this demand is absurd. But it is equally absurd to demand a transcription of Chinese which could be used in any newspaper and which at the same time is scientifically faultless, and can serve in Chinese dictionaries and text-books and in the most technical philological treatises. We must reahze that such a wonderful system does not exist and will never exist. I will even go so far as to say, that even two, one scientific and one popular system, will not be sufficient. What we need are systems of three entirely different kinds : A. A philological system, strictly phonetic, for scientific language study. B. A sinological system, for dictionaries, text-books, treatises on Chinese history, etc. C. A popular system to be used by the Chinese them- selves in creating a new colloquial literature and for use in newspapers, etc. It is easy to realize why three systems are a minimum. A philologist cannot do with notations like Wade's cha or chih, where ch may mean a dozen different things, and where ih does not in any way whatever indicate what kind of vowel is meant. He needs something more exact from a scientific phonetical point of view. On the other hand, the general sinologue will not in daily use employ weird phonetic letters ; he wants to use convenient, simple notations like cha. Again, a system like Wade's may be quite all right in general sinological literature, but it will never do as a popular, practical script. A line like : t'a^ k'u^-liao^ ko^ ssu^-ch'u^ huo^-lai^-ti^ with three aspirates, two other diacritical marks, "' and ", and nine tone figures, is such as will never be used in practical Chinese new literature in Roman letters. But, on the other hand, if you were to do away with The Romanization of Chinese 3 tone marks and diacritical marks and replace them by other devices, you will come away so far from phonetic truth, with a view to purely practical script advantages, that a Western sinologist will not be ready to use such a popular system in his Chinese dictionaries and text- books. So each of the three kinds of systems, which I called A, B, and C, has its rights and cannot be ousted by any of the others. Now let us discuss them one by one. A. I will not waste much space on the A system. It is the business of the phonetician and comparative philologist to decide which one of the many existing phonetic notations he wants to choose. He may go in for a very detailed system, where there are special letters for every fine nuance in the spoken language, such as the Swedish Dialect Alphabet, which I have used in my Etudes sur la Phonologie Chinoise. Or he may be satisfied with a rougher, less detailed system, such as that of the International Phonetic Association, or such as I have used in my Analytic Dictionary of Chinese, with only a few peculiar letters, e.g. x for Wade's h- (as in Russian), 3 for Wade's S (as in general phonetic literature), ts for Wade's ch- (as in Indology) . Whichever system he adopts, he will inevitably have to use a larger or smaller number of special phonetic letters, which do not exist in an ordinary printing office, but have to be specially cast ; and for this reason alone his A system, be it elaborate or rough, will not be generally accepted in sinological literature. One might object to this view. It may be argued, perhaps, that the few extra letters of the International Phonetic Association scheme will have to be forced upon every printing office in the world, and so an effective phonetic transcription of Chinese could become current also in general sinological literature. I must confess that I am wholly sceptical in this respect. It might be possible, perhaps, in Germany, but hardly in France, 4 The Romanization of Chinese England, or America. In the transcription of Pekingese used in my Analytic Dictionary there are really only two letters necessary, s and z, which do not exist in an ordinary printing office (for ts can be simphfied to ts, X can be printed x, and 3 is an e turned upside down) ; but though I am sure, and have seen it stated by several philologists, that this simple system of mine is above reproach from a phonetical point of view, I have been firmly convinced from the start that it would never be generally accepted, because of these small peculiarities. No ; a scientific phonetic transcription with special letters, an A system, will never be accepted in general sinological works : in other words, it will never be a practical romanization. B. For a B system we have to be satisfied with less phonetic strictness. In ordinary dictionaries, in text- books, handbooks, and treatises of Chinese history, art, religion, folklore, and so on, we need a B system which is phonetically as good as it can be with the resources of an ordinary printing office. It must do with as few diacritical marks as possible, in order not to be too complicated. But when necessary it must not hesitate to make use of letters hke i, e, i, u, and such like, which are current in the great European languages. Now it is just B systems of this kind, so-called romanizations, which exist in great numbers, and every year new ones are created. It is not my intention to make a comparative study of all those systems, and it is not necessary. In the choice between them one must be guided, not only by their intrinsic value, but also by their actual extension. A system which has already gained ground to such an extent as that of Wade or as that of the Ecole Frangaise d'Extreme-Orient is eo ipso entitled to a greater regard than the numerous other systems, which might be better on single points. The romanization of Mr. (later Sir) Xhomas Wadei was a great achievement. It has furthered sinological The Romanizqtion of Chinese 5 studies enormously. Tens of thousands of students have learnt their Chinese by aid of books in this romaniza- tion, and many of the most important standard books have adopted it. I may mention only Giles's Chinese- English Dictionary, Giles's Biographical Dictionary, MacGillivray's Mandarin Dictionary, standard works on art by Hobson and others, the grand works of Sir Aurel Stein, and so on. Even among the Chinese it has been widely adopted. The excellent dictionary by O. Z. Tsang has Wade's romanization, and even the English newspapers in China use this system (though, it must be added, in a deplorably corrupt form : ssu for ssic, yu for both yu and yii, etc.). It maybe said to have great claims to be recognized as the system which should become an international B system. But this historical point of view is not sufficient. Once Wade's system has been admitted to be one of the favourite horses in the great contest, we must examine, on the one hand, why it has been so successful, and if the reasons are strong enough to carry it home ; on the other hand, why it has not already been entirely successful, and if some shght modifications could make it universally acceptable. The first of these questions can be easily answered. The merit of Wade was not so much that he invented- new and ingenious notations for peculiar sounds. Most of his transcriptions had been used before him. His greatness was his typically EngHsh common sense and a broad-minded and scholarly freedom from national prejudice. There are two salient features in Wade's system which made it a great success. The first one was that he decided to depict one single, living Mandarin dialect, the Pekingese, without the slightest regard to any other dialect. This was, in a way, a revolution. For a long time the Nanking pronunciation had been predominant in the Western transcriptions of 6 The Romanization of Chinese Mandarin, but various modifications had always been made with a view to other dialects. And when the importance of Nanking had been reduced by the T'ai- p'ing rebellion, Western scholars had tried a medium between various Mandarin dialects. Thus the dictionary of Wells Williams, a great work for its time, had a romanization which answered to no living dialect but was a middle way between several, based as it was on the sound categories of the Chinese dictionary, Wu fang yuan yin. The Mandarin grammar of Edkins, pub- lished as early as 1857, ^ remarkably scholarly work, in the same way gave a theoretical system not founded on any single dialect. Isolated Chinese dialects had certainly been romanized, those of Canton and Shanghai for instance, but in regard to the many varying Mandarin dialects Wade was certainly a pioneer, when he boldly decided to depict Pekingese and nothing but Pekingese, the language of the capital. The old idea abandoned by Wade, to render phonetically a medium between all the Mandarin dialects, has revived from time to time, and in recent years quite a strong movement in China has endea- voured to create a kuo yii, " national language," of this artificial kind, and make it not only a written but also a spoken language. I do not believe for a moment that this will succeed, and the reformers seem to be coming round more and more to the same opinion. No ; Wade was right when he decided that the written form of a language must be based on a real, living, spoken one, not on an imaginar}' creation. This principle, good as it is, must not, however, be carried in absurdum. There are cases — of which I will give an example presently — ^where so much might be gained by abandoning it and modifying the romaniza- tion with regard to the older language, and to the sister dialects, that it is worth while to do so. But such cases must always be exceptions, and on the whole Wade was The Romanization of Chinese 7 right. His new departure showed that he had a strong sense of realities, and he was successful. The second and even more important feature, which made his system a success, was its international character. As I have said already, he was not always the inventor of the notations he chose, but his cleverness appears in the way he made his choice. In a few cases he preferred the English spellings, but only when those could be said to be the shortest, clearest, and best. Thus he wrote sha, etc., because there could never be any doubt as to its value. Among the three alternatives : Engl. sha cha ch'a Fr. cha tcha tch'a Germ. scha tscha tsch'a the EngUsh one was obviously the shortest and clearest, and so he adopted it. But in most other cases the English spelling is very national and pecuhar, and he was always ready to sacrifice it. Often this was but natural. A few examples : Instead of koo he wrote ku new „ niu ,, lie or lye „ lai fay .. fei and so on. Similarly, as English has no way of denoting ii (Fr. tu), he chose the German ii as being entirely unambiguous. All these decisions of Wade's were but natural, and he had earlier examples to follow. But in other cases his choice was not so easy, and that is where he showed his good judgment and independence. There are, for instance, the sounds yew, jan, ju, etc. The initial is similar to Fr. jeu, jour, but the tip of the tongue rests a little more backwards, at the back of the alveolus. Thus the consonant comes very near the English r- in 8 The Romanization of Chinese ran, run, roof. Why, then, did not Wade write ren, ran, ru, etc. ? Because he knew that this Enghsh ran is something highly pecuUar in Enghsh, that the notation ran, etc., would be an extreme anglicism, that this letter r- would give an international public the idea of a tremu- lant, rrran, etc., and that therefore foreign scholars would never adopt it. Moreover, even in English r has often quite another value, e.g. in far, and so the letter was unpractical. The sound in French jeu (Engl, pleasure) is in French written j, and j in French serves no other purpose. Most educated Europeans know something of French, and as the letter j was not needed in its Enghsh value {dj), which does not exist in Mandarin, Wade wisely adopted it : jan, jen, ju, etc. In recent years people have tried to introduce romanizations with ran, ren, etc. ; but this is, in my opinion, not an improvement but a step backwards from the judicious system of Wade. In the same way he rejected the anglicism kwan, kwei, kwo, etc., for the internationally more acceptable kuan, kuei, kuo. And he preferred kou. chou, etc., which looks un-English but is internationally clear and unambiguous, to the kow, chow, etc., which are a constant nuisance to this very day. The syllable -ow in English may mean ou as in low, but much more often (because of the common words how, now) it is ao as in cow, and the consequence is that Hank'ow will in nine cases out of ten be pro- nounced Hank'ao (curiously enough even by people knowing Chinese), though there is not a single Mandarin dialect, as far as I know, where d k'ou is pronounced k'ao ! Wade was wise enough to reject -ow. Wade's leading principle thus was to choose his notations from all the three leading European languages in such a way that he always got short, clear, practical, internationally acceptable forms. In this respect I think he is more or less superior to all other systems of the B type. His Enghsh rivals have a greater number of The Romanization of Chinese 9 unnecessary and unpractical anglicisms. The German systems are either more or less Wade with some German modifications, as tschou, or frankly national ones with unnecessary teutonisms, e.g. Udn for lien. And if we go to Wade's most prominent competitor, the French system, nowadays used by nearly all French sinologues and carried through in the leading periodicals, T'oung Pao, B.E.F.E.O., Journal Asiatique, we shall find that this is so frankly national that no foreigner can dream of using it except when he writes in French himself. When the French write kou for ku this is just as bad as when an Englishman writes koo : nieou for niu is just as national as the anglicism new ; tseu for tst {tzii) is demonstratively French ; as they cannot for chou write tcho-oti, they have to abandon the Pekingese pronunciation and write tcheou — a dreadful form ; lii they write liu, where in order to make clear the palatal value (m) of the vowel one has introduced an i which does not exist in the real pronunciation. In other words, while Wade did not at all favour the English spelling customs more than the continental, but always looked for the most practical and logical ones, the French sinologues have made a purely French system which disregards entirely the value of the letters in all other languages, and which is based almost exclusively on French pronunciation usages. This method of the French was certainly not necessary : French indologues do not write a Sanscrit u with ou (hhikchou for bhiksu), nor do they transcribe Hebrew or Babylonian in a less international way than other scholars. Why the French sinologues have chosen this ultra-French transcription for Chinese I do not know, and need not discuss it. The fact remains, that whereas the French system is strictly national, and cannot reasonably be used except in books written in French, the Wade system is not a national system, suitable mainly for English people, but the most international in principle of all B systems existing, and 10 The Romanization of Chinese deserves to be accepted by the international sinological circles, German and French as well as English. We now have arrived at the question, why is it, then, that many sinologues, especially non-British, still hesitate to adopt it ? The true answer, I think, is that the Wade system has some weak points which are too bad to be accepted. There is nothing astonishing in this. It would have been almost inhuman, if Wade had been able to invent a system which turned out to be absolutely faultless when tried in practice. His improvements on earlier systems were big enough, and some failures do not diminish his honour. A phonetician or a general sinologue would have no difi&culty at all in pointing out quite a series of alterations which would mean so many improvements. But we must remember, here again, that the wisest course is to be conservative. Wade's system is widely current. Our principle must be : do not touch it more than is absolutely necessary. Hence I shall try to point out what I consider to be a reform minimum ; and then I shall consider some proposed alterations, which I think are unwarranted, or at least so unimportant that it is better to give them up. In point of principle there are only two things which decidedly must be altered. I. The first one concerns the syllables for which Wade erroneously indicates shortness, either by a final -h or by a hook ^. There are the finals -ieh, -iieh, -ih, as in hsieh, hsiieh, shih, and the syllable erh ; and there are the syllables ssii, tzu, tz'u. If -h has to indicate anything at . all, it must be shortness, I imagine. But those syllables are by no means short ; in the third tone, as in hsieh^, " to write," shih^, " to use," gr¥, " ear," sszi^, " to die," tz'u^, " this," the vowels are, on the contrary, very long. If, however. Wade has not meant that these syllables are short, but simply that the vowels have the quality of the corresponding short vowels in EngUsh, so that shih has the vowel of Engl, ship, ssH the vowel of The Romanization of Chinese ii Engl, sun, then again he is quite wrong. In shih and SS14, the tongue stays in the position of sh and s, and is only relaxed sufficiently to let through enough air to make the following sound {ih and u), a vowel and not a fricative consonant {j as is Fr. jeu, z as in lazy). They have no connection with the Engl, vowels in ship and sun. Consequently Wade's notation is on this point a great failure, and I do not think those ugly forms will ever be generally accepted. It is significant that people who invent new systems never adopt Wade's notations for these syllables. As far as -ieh, -ueh, and erh are concerned the help is near at hand : you can simply cut out the meaningless -h and write -ie, -He, er. But the syllables ssH, tziX, tz'u, and chih, ch'ih, shih must be entirely remade. For the latter Edkins, and later on Mateer, wrote cht, ch'i, sM, and I think this is as good a way out of the difficulty as can be found. For the former you have the choice between writing them also si, tst, ts'i, as did Edkins and Mateer, or to write them sz, tsz, ts'z as did Parker. Both methods can be defended. There is sufficient acoustic similarity between the vowels of shl and si to allow us to consider them as two nuances of the same vowel. But, on the other hand, the formation of the vowel in si is very sirnilar, in regard to the tongue position, to that of z, and so sz is not a bad notation at all. Personally I prefer to write si, tsi, in order to indicate clearly that after all it is a question of a vowel, not of a consonant. As you notice, I have proposed nothing new, only the adoption of a modification carried through already by Mateer in his widespread text-books. II. The second point where a reform is absolutely necessary concerns ch before i and U {ch/i, chfii, e.g. chia, chien, chin, chii, chUan, etc.), and hs before i and ii {hsi, hsia, hsien, hsu, hsiian, etc.). I think this point is just as important as the first one. There are in Pekingese two absolutely different sounds, which W^ade has confounded by writing them both with 12 The Romanization of Chinese ch : cha and chi. In cha the tip of the tongue is raised and touches the- back of the alveolus : it is a strongly supradental or " retroflex " consonant. In chi, on the other hand, the blade of the tongue rests against the alveolus, as in Italian citta, somewhat like, though not identical with, the Engl, ch in church. It is a mouille, a palatal sound. Now, by writing both cha and chi with ch Wade has made countless Western students pronounce cha in palatal fashion : tja, tjao, tjou, etc., which is as bad as it can be. There must be a different notation for these historically and phonetically absolutely different sounds. Phonetically it would be most correct to keep ch for the palatal sound of chi and invent something else for the retroflex sound in cha. But here again we must be conservative rather than strictly scientific. From the very beginning all English scholars have used ch for cha, but for chi many of them have had other devices. Hence, from sheer conservatism, we reserve ch for the retroflex {cha, chou, chu, etc.) and try to find something else for chi. The device of the German scholar Lessing is ingenious : he writes tji, tju, etc. But there is, I think, a still better way out of the difficulty, invented long ago. This is just a point where it is expedient to write historically, with consideration for the old language and for the sister dialects. As a matter of fact it is old H ki and old ^ tsi sounds which have been con- founded in Pek. chi. But in some parts of Shantung they are still kept apart : ki and tsi. And in the Yangtse valley, though old ki has become chi, old tsi is still pre- served as such. Therefore, on this particular point we would do wisely in abandoning Wade's principle of depicting Pekingese and nothing but Pekingese. We ought to write cha, but H ki or ^ tsi according to the pronunciation in other dialects, and establish the reading rule : The Romanizaiion of Chinese 13 ch is read in retroflex fashion, cha, not as in Engl. charm ; k and tsji, u are read as c in Italian citta, similar to Engl, chief. This would give very great advantages. In hundreds of names we would come closer to traditional spellings. We would transcribe Pei-king instead of Pei-ching, T'ien-tsin instead of T'ien-chin, K'len-lung instead of Ch'ien-lung, etc. And, above all, the greatest obstacle for an international adoption of the Wade system would be obviated. For not only all, or nearly all, French sinologues, but most other non-British sinologues prefer to write ki, tsi in historical fashion. And many of the most prominent of the older English sinologues {e.g. Edkins) have done the same. I have often heard it asserted by leading sinologues, e.g. by Chavannes, that they could not think of adopting Wade's system as long as it does not keep up the important historical distinction ki : tsi, but confounds those syllables (and analogous ones) in chi. This is, in fact, the heel of Achilles of the whole Wade system. In analogy with the division of chi in ki and tsi we shall have to write hi and si, in historical fashion, for hsi : K'ang-hi instead of K'ang-hsi, Shan-si instead of Shan-hsi. This is so much the more important, as the notation hsi is phonetically absurd. Wade did really believe that there was first an aspiration and then a sibilant s in hsi, i.e. a compound consonant, and so he described it. But that was a mistake. The sound is a palatal sibilant (similar to the sound in German ich but not quite the same). So there is every reason to abandon the misleading hs. Thus, in my opinion, all the reforms necessary in order to make the Wade system universally acceptable and above reproach as a B system can be expressed by the following table : 14 The Romanization of Chinese ie[h], ue[h], er[h] sh[ih], ch[ih], ch'[ih] ill s[su], t[zu], t[z'u] i St s'i [ch]i, etc. [hs]i, etc. kfts h/s As I said, however, there have been proposed various modifications which I think are either unwise or unnecessary. I will mention only a few of them. (a) In the first place, some people wish to write che, chen, cheng instead of che, chin, cheng. This may be convenient, but I do not see that the system gains very much by it. (6) Very strong wishes have been expressed for the change of jan, jen, ju, etc., into ran, yen, ru, etc. I have already given my reasons for considering this a change for the worse. (c) Most important of all is the demand, that instead of writing pa : p'a, ta : t'a, ku : k'u, tsu : ts'u, etc., one should adopt the simpler spelling ba : pa, da : ta, gu : ku, dzu : tsu, etc. I am strongly against this, both for theoretical and practical reasons. In order to study this question theoretically, we shall have to consider a few phonetic facts. Everybody knows that the most important difference between b and p is that b is voiced whereas p is voiceless. In pronouncing a b, simultaneously with the action of the lips the vocal chords vibrate so as to produce voice. In pronouncing p, your vocal chords are sufficiently open not to produce any voice. But matters are not so simple that there exists only one kind of b and one kind of p. Various things concur to create a whole series of b's and ^'s. There is first the full-blooded, clearly voiced b in French &on, English about, German haften, etc. But if you start a sentence with Engl, bnt, Germ, bitte, then the The Romanization of Chinese 15 b- is only half-voiced, because the vocal chords begin to vibrate only a short moment after the beginning of the consonant : but. Then again, if you say lofister, Germ. Ans&ach, the b, influenced by the s at its side, loses its voice and becomes voiceless : lo&ster ; and yet it does not become a p : loj^ster, because the muscle action in the explosion is weaker. We call it a voiceless b, but that is to say that it is not a genuine b but a corrupted b, half on the way to p. Further, if we come to the p's, there is first the clear-cut French p in ^eu. It is absolutely voiceless, strongly articulated but unaspirated, i.e. it is not followed by an air current. You have the same unaspirated p in Germ. Kneipe, Engl, am^le. But if you say Engl, ^ut. Germ. Paar, then you have an equally voiceless but aspirated p, i.e. it is followed by an air current which resembles an h. And finally, if you say Chinese p'a. you have a much more strongly aspirated p. We have thus got six distinct consonaj;its : I 1 3 4 5 6 Strong strong strong voiceless Half- Weak voiceless voiceless extra Voiced. voiced. voiceless. unaspirated. aspirated. aspirated 6on but lo&ster ^eu ^Ut P'2. a&out fiitte Ans&ach Kneipe Paar ha&en '■■••-.,, \ am^le / Chin. pa. The Chinese pa. vacillates between 4 and 3. In stressed syllables, the p is just hke French ^eu, in unstressed syllables it is rather like loftster, and occasionally, in quick speech, it may even be No. 2, half -voiced as in but. But it is never, at least as far as I am aware, identical with No. i, Fr. bon, Engl, a&out, i.e. with what we have to consider as the normal, unadulterated, typical, main type of European b (voiced explosive). Why, then, in writing the Chinese sound in ffi, should we substitute i6 The Romanization of Chinese ba for Wade's pa? It would be directly misleading. The theoretically correct notation is evidently not 6 (i), but p (4), as in Fr. ^eu, Germ. Knei^e, Engl, am^le. And further: the Chinese 'tfi "to fear" is No. 6, different from all English, French, and German sounds. It is much more strongly aspirated than Engl, ^ut, Germ. Paar (5) ; it is strikingly different from the un- aspirated p (4). Why, then, should we write it pa? This, again, would be directly misleading, and the old sinologues were very wise in adding a special diacritic mark : P'a, to indicate the extra strong aspiration. So, theoretically, I think this reform proposal is a failure. But also, practically, I think it is just as bad for a B system. We must remember that a B system is not a popular system for writing new Chinese hterature, but a means of depicting Chinese words in Western sinological works as faithfully, phonetically, as it is possible with the resources of ordinary printers, in order to make Western students pronounce the Chinese words as exactly as can be. Already now, with the text-books in Wade's transcription, with pa : p'a, ta : t'a, etc., it is very difficult to prevent Western students from pronouncing ba, da (with voiced initials), which makes the impression of a foreigner's distortion on the ear of a Chinese. How much the more will this be the case if we cheat our Western students into saying ba instead of pa by tran- scribing bal The best plan will be to stick to old Wade.* {d) There is one point more where reformers are busy. It is the question of the tone marks. Here, curiously enough. Wade has not stuck to his general principle, directly to render the sound conditions of Pekingese. He gives general symbols chur^, chu^, chu^, chu^, but those do not depict the musical quality of the tones in Pekingese, * It is true, as Professor Bruce has pointed out to me, that the graph pa, on the other hand, is liable to make the student pronounce the syllable too much aspirated ; but the risk of this is, after all, smaller, for here we have the p'a as a point of comparison and contrast. The Romanization of Chinese 17 but only number the tone classes, and they might do equally well for a great number of other Mandarin dialects, with the same tone classes but with different musical inflections in the actual tones. The reformers generally want to replace the figures by accents : thus the " stan- dard romanization" writes chu, chic, chU, chu. But the expedient of putting the tone marks over the vowel is theoretically false and practically inappropriate. A hen (Wade hen^) gives the impression that the long, rising tone curve takes place on the vowel, whereas it really is executed during the long n : henn'. And as the printer cannot, as everybody knows, put an accent over a letter without casting a whole new letter : e, e, e, and so on, this method of denoting the tones would be very expensive. Much better is it, then, to place the tone marks after the whole syllable, as I have done in my Mandarin Phonetic Reader : hen~, hen' , hen^, etc. But in fact I see no valid reason to reject Wade's figure marks. It is not as if Wade by a non-Pekingese vowel or consonant notation tried to strike a medium between Pekingese and other Mandarin dialects : as if he, for example, wrote cheu instead of the correct Pekingese chou, in order to accom- modate the system to Southern Mandarin. A chu^ is not a notation which deviates from the true conditions in Pekingese, it simply does not convey any information about the musical nature of the third tone in Peking. But as no accent can give a sufficiently correct idea of this musical nature, if one has not heard it pronounced at least once. Wade's chu^, etc., may be said to be just as good as any other device. And to the printer, who can easily put small figures at the upper corners. Wade's system is easier than any other system. So let us keep it. C. I have spoken in detail about the B system of Chinese romanization, as this is the most important to the general sinologues in Europe and America. The C system, which will have to be created in order to make it possible for the Chinese to write a new, modem, i8 The Romanization of Chinese colloquial literature in Roman letters, must be very different from the Wade system or any other of our Western systems with their numerous apostrophes, tone marks, diacritical marks, and so on. The Chinese must demand a spelling which runs easily, with only the ordinary letters on a typewriter, and with no time- wasting signs or marks. And yet these simple letters must be capable of expressing not only the consonants and vowels of Pekingese, but also the tones, for otherwise the romanized text would be unreadable. There would be too many homonyms, syllables which look identical in script, though they are different to the ear because of the tones. It is evident, that in order to create such a simple, practical, easy-running system, the Chinese will have to sacrifice to a certain extent the phonetic truth. They cannot afford to be particular and keep the more scientifically correct pa:p'a, ku : k'u, etc., for the apostrophes will be too cumbersome. They will have to write fearlessly ba : pa, gu : ku without worrying about the precise values of h and p in English or French. They will have to grab them and adopt them for the peculiar sounds of their own language, and tell Western sinologues that they do not care the least if it is not correct from an international phonetic point of view. And as they cannot write figures or accents for their tones, which would be too awkward and slow, they will have to express the tones by variations in the spelling of a syllable accordmg as it has the ist, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th tone. There is a society of very energetic young reformers in China, one of the leaders of whom is Professor Chao Yiian-jen (Y. R. Chao, the well-known author of A Phonograph Course in the Chinese National Language, 1925), and their C system is already on the market. I confess that I am not a great admirer of it. Here are some examples : The Romanization of Chinese 19 Tones: 1 ta lo 2 tar jer lor 3 taa jee loo 4 tah jeh loh Wade = t'a^' 2, = che = lo 3, 4 tan tang tarn tarng taan taang tann tanq = fan = fang , di hu shiu dyi hwu shyu dii huu sheu dih huh shiuh = ti = hu , = hsU shia shian shya shyan shea shean shiah shiann = hsia = hsien , hua huan huen hwa hwan hwen hoa hoan hoen huah huann huenn = hua = huan , = hun , shiuan shiun shyuan shyun sheuan sheun shiuann shiunn = hsuan , = hsun , hai hau hair haur hae hao hay haw = hai = hao , As you notice, the 2nd tone is marked in certain syllables by an r which has to be mute, in other syllables by -i- and -u- being changed into -y-, -w-. The 3rd tone is marked by doubling the vowel, or by changing -i-, -u- into -e-, -0-. The 4th tone is marked by a final -h, or by doubling the final -n, or by changing the -ng into -nq. This is aU very ingenious, but in my opinion it has the fault of deviating too far from phonetic truth to be practical. Observe the following fatal points : (a) The r in the 2nd tone has, of course, no equivalence in real pronunciation. ifi) -h, which is commonly used to indicate shortness, is no good in the 4th tone, which is not particularly short. It could with much better right be used as a general mark of the 2nd tone, which is decidedly shorter than the three other tones. 20 The Romanizaiion of Chinese (y) There exists no y distinguishing M : dyi (Wade ti^ : ti^), nor any w distinguishing hu : hwu (Wade hu^ : hu^). (8) It is not true that the vowel is longer in the 3rd tone in words ending in -n and -ng : it is really not taan but tann (Wade t'an^), not taang hnt tanng (Wade t'ang^). (e) It is not true that the 4th tone has a long (double) n : tann (Wade t'an^), shiann (Wade hsien^). On the contrary, -n is remarkably weak in the 4th tone, in words like yuan^-i^, " to be willing," almost disappearing : yua{n)-i. {t) It is not true that the -t- and -u- in the 3rd tone are opened into -e-, -0- : shea (Wade hsia^), hoa (Wade hua^). {rj) It is not true that words like shiu (Wade hs'u}), shyu (Wade hsii^), sheu (Wade hsii^), shiuh (Wade hsii^) have two vowels : ^ is a single sound. Hence this system, ingenious though it may be, is based on a series of very fatal phonetic lies, and for this very reason it will be very difficult to learn, and consequently unpractical. I think it possible to invent a much more logical, true and simple C system, with very few diacritical marks. For this purpose we seize upon the following phonetic truths : (aa) The 2nd tone, being the shortest, can be con- sistently marked by a final -h. But as words in m~ (e.g. mau), n- (e.g. nu), I- (e.g. lai),j- {e.g.jen), and the syllable er (which was an earlier ji) do not exist in the 1st tone but only in the 2nd, no 2nd tone -h need be applied to words with these initials. (j8;8) The 3rd tone has a long (" double ") vowel in cases like hu^, a long consonant in cases like hun^. (yy) The finals -iu and -ui are distinctly heard as -iou and uei in the 3rd tone and equally often as -io and -ue in the 4th tone. (88) The finals -ai {-uai), -au {-iau) are often heard as -ae, -ao in the 4th tone. The Romanization of Chinese 21 Most tone differences can be expressed by making use of these laws, and there is only a comparatively small number of 4th tone words which need be indicated by a diacritical mark, the x' traditionally used for this purpose in Chinese philology. The C system, which seems to me the most reasonable, therefore, is the following : Initials (with exemplifying vowels) : fu, hu, ju, lu, mu, nu, su, shu as in Wade's system. dju, chu = = Wa( ie chu , ch'u gi and dsi, ki and tsi chi , ch'i hi and si hsi gu, ku ku, k'u bu, pu pu, p'u du, fu tu, t'u dsu, tsu tsu , ts'u Finals : Tones: i 2 3 4 Wade : a ah aa a' = fll, 2, 3, 4 ai aih aai ae = ai an anh ann an' = an , ang angh anng anq = ang , au auh aau ao = ao , e eh ee e' = ^ , ei eih eei ei' = ei en enh enn en' = tn eng engh ekng enq =: tng er erh err er' = erh , z zh zz z' = {ss)u , 'i ih ■ij ..J I = ih i ih a = i ia iah iaa ia' = ia , iang iangh ianng ianq r= iang , iau iauh iaau iao = iao , ie ieh iee ie' = ieh , ten ienh ienn ien' = ien , 22 The Romanization of Chinese Tones: i 2 3 4 Wade: in inh inn in' = in^' 2. 3. ing ingh inng inq = ing „ iu iuh iou io = iu iung iungh iunng iunq r= iung „ oh 00 o' = ,, ou ouh 00 u ou' = ou ,, u uh uu u' = u ua uah uaa ua' = ua uai uaih uaai uae = uai „ uan uanh uann uan' = uan ,, uang uangh uanng uanq = uang ,, ui uih uei ue = ui „ un unh unn un rr un ,, ung ungh unng unq = ung „ uo uoh uoo uo' = uo y yh yy y'* = u yan yanh yann yan' = Uan ,, ye yeh yee ye' = ue yn ynh ynn yn' r= un ,, Observe that, as said above, in the numerous words in m-, n-, 1-, j- (and the syllable er), the 2nd tone -h need not be added, as there can be no confusion by its omission. Here, then, we have obtained a system in which the bodies of the syllables are on the whole identical or very similar in the four tones — a great advantage over the extremely puzzling Chinese scheme ; and yet no tone marks need be used in the ist, 2nd, and 3rd tones, and only in twenty-four out of the thirty-seven 4th tone finals of the table. This means that the accents in a printed Chinese page will not be nearly as numerous as those in a printed French page, a very favourable result when it is a question of a tone language. Experience, however, has taught that, in order to make a transcribed text easily readable, it is a useful * As in the International Phonetic Association system. The Romanization of Chinese 23 expedient to make special, irregular spellings for a few auxiliary words, which thus become particularly easy to recognize. We might choose the following " special symbols " : ^ ds,7^ hwu, ^ sh, ffl ge, 7 lea,, M djoa. As a specimen I give here a few lines of the first story in Hillier, The Chinese Language and How to Learn It, Vol. II (for its exact phonetic transcription, see my Mandarin Phonetic Reader) : The present C system. Djaochengh Men' chengh uae iou igiads lianngkoou jen, ige tsishi'h do suedi laaupohds gen tadi erds. Tsulea kan' changh yan'di igien tsaau/anghds dju'. Na laaupohds tientien dsio djanq-djoa ta erds shanq shan daa idierr chaihhuoo, dae dao chenghlii ky', maelea tsienh, maai idierr mii jou'rdi nahuihlai guo' j't'ds. Lie'ue tsinng sianng dje' ianqrdi jen kuudi koolien bwu koolien. Wade's system. Chao^ ch'eng^ hsien^ ch'eng^ wai^ yu^ i^ chia^ tzu^ liang^ k'ou^ jen^, i^ ko^ ts'i^ shi^ to^ sui^ ti ^ lao^ p'o^ tzu^ kin^ t'a^ ti^ erh^ tzu^. Tsu^ liao^ k'an^ ch'ang^ yiian^ ti^ i^ chien^ ts'ao^ fang^ tzu^ chu^. Na^ lao^ p'o^ tzu^ t'ien^ t'ien^ chiw^ change cho^ t'a^ irh^ tzu^ shang^ shan^ ta^ i^ tien^ erh^ ch'ai^ huo^, tai*^ tao^ ch'eng^ li^ ch'ii^ mai* liao^ ch'ien^, mai^ i^ tien^ erh^ mi^ jou^ erh^ ti^ na^ hui^ lai^ kuo^ jt^ tzit^. Lie* wei ch'ing^ hsiang^ chi* yang* trh^ ti^ jen^ k'u^ -ti^ k'o^ lien^ pu* k'o lien^. 1 think this is as good as can be obtained for a C system, and it could even at a pinch do for a B system. But it is perhaps futile for a Westerner to experiment with these things. To make a good B system is the business of Western sinologues ; but to work out a good, practical C system for use in a new, romanized, colloquial literature in China must be a task principally for the Chinese themselves, and it is for them to decide how far they 24 The Romanization of Chinese will listen to a European phonetician. Here as in other respects the Chinese ought to be allowed to mould their own destiny without too much foreign meddling. What we can do, however, and should do, is to give them our warm sympathy, and with keen interest observe and follow their progress. PKIHTED IN GREAT BSITAIH By WIL&IAH CLOWES AND SONS, LTD., LONDON AND BECCLES. CHINA REVISITED m PHILIP BURTT A LECTURE DELIVERED BEFORE THE CHINA SOCIETY WITH REPORT OF THE ANNUAL DINNER THE CHINA SOCIETY 173, EUSTON ROAD, LONDON, N.W. 1 ^ 1930 CHINA REVISITED By Philip Burtt I AM going to arrange my account of my second visit to China under the three headings of " The Coming of the Motor-Car," "The Memory of Dr. Sun Yat Sen," and "The Dominance of Militarism throughout China.',' These were the factors which left the most permanent impression on our minds. The Coming of the Motor-Car As soon as we set foot on China soil — that was at Caiiton on December 6 — we were met by my friend f rbm the university with his car. We went by car through the main streets of Canton, and visited the hill on which stands the temple of the goddess of Mercy, near which is the new memorial to the seventy heroes of Canton who lost theii: lives in the revolutionary campaigns of three years ago . The Government are gradually developing the ground adjacent to this memorial into a people's park. There were several things reminding us of the change that has come over China since I was there twenty years ago : absence of queues, women working on boats, women coolies carrying suit-cases. The broad, well-paved streets through which we travelled by car are a great contrast to the narrow, old-fashioned Chinese streets or alley-ways which still make up the greater part of Canton. Twenty years ago a motor-car would have been impossible in Canton. This change—widening of streets and roads — is typical of what is going on through- out China. I think every town that we went to had its big road, or broad street {ma lu it was usually called), and was proud of it. -- '■ Twenty years ago when I was in China it is no exaggera- tion to say that there was not a road in China as we under- stand the term "road" at home. Now I calculate there are between six and seven thousand miles of road, and more are being rapidly made. Nearly every province is busy roadmaking, though there are five provinces that have not yet begun to construct. Shansi, the model governor's province, seems to be at the ihead of the list for roaidm'aking, and I believe this province has between fifteen hundred and two thousand miles already completed. 2 China Revisited The map, which is supposed to show the roads at present built or actually under construction, brings out this feature of Shahsi's pre-eminence in road building; and another factor it also brings out is the way in which the province of Sze-chuan, the largest and richest province in China, is cut off from the rest of the great country by mountain heights and the difficult navigation of the Upper Yangtse. The Yangtse Kiang is the great highway of communica- tion between Western China and the sea and " down river " China, the great transport connection between East and West. And here, too, a vast change is taking place. When I went up the river from Ichang to Wan Hsien twenty years ago it took me nearly three weeks on a Chinese junk. This visit I went up by steam, and it took me four days to do double the distance. It is not easy for us to realize what changes of this kind mean as we read of them in two or three lines of our daily newspaper. There is now a daily service of mails by air each way between Shanghai, Nanking, and Hankow; and whilst I was at Chung King, when in conversation with one of the authorities — he was civil governor over the eastern half of the province — he. told me how he had received a telegram from Nanking — i.e., from the Government — saying they were sending twenty or more aeroplanes over to Chung King and the municipality must make arrangements to house and care for these. It is one of the very extraordinary factors in the develop- ment of transport in China that she is able to skip over whole stages of progress that other parts of the world have had to pass through. When railways are constructed in Sze-chuan they will probably be electric. The steam train stage will simply be omitted, as also the horse traction stage. West China will take a great leap from wheelbarrows to electric trains, as many provinces today are going from the stage of human power or pony or donkey power in road transport to motor-cars. Now, before passing on to memories of Sun Yat Sen, I must say a few words about the railways of China. I always associate Sun Yat Sen with a great railway policy, for I remember how, when at the call of the Revolution, Dr. Sun went back to China some eighteen years or so ago, he propounded a great scheme for building seventy thousand miles of railway, the furtherance of which was to be one part of his great task for the future progress and develop- ment of China. China sadly needs a great extension of her railway China Revisited 3 system ; she has at present, including her northern provinces, about six thousand five. hundred miles of railway. With a better system of communication there need be no perishing of millions of people, as in the famine-stricken provinces today, for want of food. Whilst Sun Yat Sen was an idealist, he was a practical idealist, and he recognized that an industrial programme was the material basis for the establishment of a modern state in China, and his industrial programme included, as finally worked out and expounded, a scheme for building one hundred thousand miles of railway in China. No doubt he had in mind these perishing millions in the famine areas, as well as the general question of commercial expansion, when he spoke of railways as occupying ' ' a paramount position as the means of enhancing the development of our national economy." This is only a modern expression from an Eastern thinker of what great minds in the West have said before him. Adam Smith: "Good roads, canals, and navigable rivers, by diminishing the expense of carriage, put the remote parts of the country more nearly on a level with those of the town. They are on that account the greatest of all improvements." Francis Bacon: "There be three things which make a nation great and prosperous : a fertile soil, busy workshops, and easy communication of men and things between one place and another." If I were to put China's deficiency in the matter of rail- ways into figures, I would point out that whilst the United States have constructed a mile of railway on the average for every three hundred and fifty of her population, and Great Britain one mile for every two thousand two hundred and fifty, the railways of China constructed up to date represent one mile for each seventy thousand of her population ! The Memory of Sun Yat Sen All over China one sees portraits of Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the Republic and the originator of the Revolu- tion. His portrait is in every school, and once a week — on Monday morning — ^by Government decree the scholars do obeisance to Dr. Sun's portrait. The reading of his will, three ceremonial bows before his portrait^ and then three minutes of silence, is the formula prescribed and carried out throughout China, with the exception of a few institutions whose principles are opposed to the whole 4 China Revisited affair. I don't think this exceptional stand applies to very many, but there is, let it be said, a very large proportion of those who carry out this ceremony who feel that it is a routine business shewing a spirit of loyalty to the Govern- ment or to the idea of Nationalism, which is not likely to have much permanence as an act of worship ; these do not regard the ceremony as having any religious significance. But it is, of course, throughout China a matter of very grave controversy. More serious really is the daily teaching of the Three Principles which is given effect to to the extent of half an hour a day under Government requirement. Personally, I see nothing wrong in these Three Principles as I understand Sun Yat Sen laid them down; but in the amplification of them into book form for the schools and for popular con- sumption there is so much of anti-foreign propaganda embodied and inculcated (which I cannot think the founder ever intended) that its practical effect, especially in the far-away districts, is to instil in all school children a rooted dislike to everything non-Chinese and an active hatred of the foreigner, whom they have never seen or come into con- tact with, but whom they are learning to regard as an arch- enemy of China, on the watch every moment to do her injury. It is in the far-away districts like Sze-chuan one finds very friendly feeling between Chinese and foreigners wherever contact is being made ; and yet in these same districts the abstract teaching which is being given in the schools, based on the teaching of Nationalism in the Three Principles, gives the children a rooted objection to foreigners which expresses itself in ribald remarks and insulting epithets shouted along the streets whenever any foreigners appear on the scene. Many of the teachers them- selves acknowledge they only carry out this teaching because they have to. There are, of course, some districts which are much worse than others in this connection. Going up the river as we crossed the frontier, between Hupei and Sze-chuan is a well-known anti-foreign district, and here was placarded in Chinese characters very conspicuously four sentiments, in full view of all the strangers, which I was told were : "Down with imperialism!" "Out with the foreign steamers!" " Complete the Revolution ! " " Uphold the Three Principles!" Hankow and Changsha are in the midst of a very unsettled area, being geographically in Mid-China and China Revisited 5 some halfway between the north and south factions. Feel- ing at Hankow is nothing like so tense or so bitter as it was three years ago, when the British Concession was perforce surrendered to the Chinese authorities. There are still two of the five Concessions at Hankow which continue " foreign " and show no disposition to surrender, and this keeps the anti-foreign feeling alive. There is much propa- ganda in this city, showing itself by notices (these were printed in English): "Support our Nationalist Govern- ment so as to abolish consular jurisdiction;" and another : "No matter at what cost of life and property, we must abolish the consular jurisdiction." If these were printed in English, one can only draw on one's imagination as to the extent and effect of the Chinese placardings, con- spicuous throughout the town, which in extent must be ten times that of the English printed notices. Propagandist leaflets and handbills are distributed in the towns, on trains, and on steamers in a very aggressive manner. But whilst all this is very apparent throughout China, we need hardly regard it as directly attributable to Sun Yat Sen. He was much more concerned about the upbuilding of China than with denunciation of the foreign element in the country, though a great deal of the anti-foreign doctrine seems almost the necessary corollary of his Nationalist teaching. I have already spoken of his great industrial programme, and this we are reminded of as we move about Nanking. The present Government are rebuilding Nanking. East to west and north to south are two great roads, the north to south road being continued to the river five miles away at Hsia Kwan, and the east to west road being carried forward through the wall of the city to the western hills, on the slopes of which has been erected the great monument to Sun Yat Sen and over his tomb. We arrived in Nanking one Sunday evening late, and our first outing the next morning — Monday morning — was to the great tomb, an imposing structure set on the slopes of the hills to the west of the city and commanding a magnificent view of the latter. Moreover, from all the higher parts of the city, and from any point on the walls, twenty-two miles in length, which surround the city, a view of the tomb in white marble is conspicuous and is in evidence before the eyes of all the people in this capital city to remind them that the spirit of Sun Yat Sen, their great deliverer, still watches over their fortunes and destiny. The Government authorities are developing a people's 6 China Revisited park around the beautiful monument, and this, when com- pleted, will be a magnificent and very attractive resort not only for the people of Nanking but for pilgrims from all parts of China and the world at large. The monument is quite near, perhaps three-quarters of a mile away from the great tombs of the Ming Dynasty — that is, of those of the Ming Emperors who found their last resting-place here — and one remembers as a great historic incident that occasion on which, when Sun Yat Sen was recalled to China to take up the Presidency, his first act was to visit these tombs — the tombs of the Mings — to do reverence at the shrine of the pre-Manchu Emperors, and to invoke their support in the great political task he was about to undertake. Driving out to the west, we passed the Manchu city, or what was the Manchu city. It is absolutely razed to the ground, and now the present authorities are building up a new city on the ruins of the old. Many new Government buildings are going up along the new roads; new offices are being built for the Ministry of Railways, and Sun Fo, the Minister, is now living in a delightful new official residence near to the large new suite of offices. We had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Chahg Kai Shek when we were at Nanking, and she was very insistent that we should go and look at three great institutions that the Government have erected — I believe not a little at her instigation. She and the President are very much interested in these buildings. First, there is a hospital with three hundred beds, equipped in very modern and up-to-date style — six wards with fifty beds each-^intended primarily for soldiers injured in the revolutionary battles ; but, as the Minister of Health who took us round told us, they hoped it would soon be available for general civil purposes. Secondly, a splendid set of buildings as an orphanage, intended for the orphan children of soldier^s whose lives were sacrificed in the revolutionary wars. There were five or six dormitories accommodating fifty children each; splendid playground accommodation, a large dining-hall, and a very imposing auditorium for entertainments, cinemas, lectures, etc. It was interesting to observe the hortatory mottoes and advice displayed. In the dining- hall, for instance — "Don't talk whilst you are eating " ; and near the entrance : " Before you eat, don't forget to wash your hands ; after you've eaten, don't forget to wash your China Revisited 7 faces." Dr. Sun's picture was, of course, prominent in both auditorium and dining-hall. The third institution was the club-house of the Officers' Moral Endeavour Association. Its name pretty well des- cribes its function — a club for all officers, military or Government, intended to inculcate and encourage social pleasantry, moral aspirations, and high character. It has been referred to as similar in aim to a Y.M.C.A. without the C. It comprises a large auditorium, a reading and games-room, a physical training department, a canteen, or, rather, cafetaria, where Chinese food, excellently cooked, can be obtained ; a co-operative store is also a very popular institution. The foundation of its morals is embodied in ten commandments, all negative, and differing in a good many respects from the Mosaic decalogue ; it may interest readers to see them. They run : Thou shalt not covet riches. Thou shalt not fear to die. Thou shalt not advertise thyself for vainglory. Thou shalt not be proud. Thou shalt not be lazy. Thou shalt not commit adultery nor gambling. Thou shalt not smoke. Thou shalt not drink wine. Thou shalt not borrow money. Thou shalt not lie. These ten commandments are preceded by wise advice that the only way in which the outward revolutionary move- ment in the nation at large can be satisfactorily pressed forward is by individuals first undergoing a thorough revo- lution of their inner hearts, whence come all kinds of out- ward misbehaviours. The Dominance of Militarism Throughout China The dominance of militarism, so evident everywhere to- day, cannot but be a passing phase, for China is not, and, I believe, can never become, a warlike nation. The Chinese are a quiet, peace-loving people : as to ninety per cent, or more, a rural population industriously employed in agri- culture, and who have been inculcated in peace principles from time immemorial. In this respect there is no more likelihood of change than in the spots of the leopard or in the skin of the Ethiopian. Soldiers who carry umbrellas as they march to battle. 8 China Revisited who run like wildfire when they hear the sound of a big gun, and whose generals carry both cash and cartridges as weapons of attack, to be used alternatively, whichever they think will have the most effective results in the securing of their aim, are never likely to loom large in the military world as we know it today. But undoubtedly and unfortunately China is overrun with militarism at this moment. One sees it everywhere. On the first train that we made use of, travelling from Canton to Kowloon, there were thirty or more soldiers on guard, and soldiers were picketed all along the railway line. This is characteristic of what we saw throughout China : on every train a strong posse, probably thirty to forty soldiers ; every steamer on the Upper Yangtse (and, I believe, on other rivers as well) carries its military escort. Soldiers are acting sentry at nearly every public institu- tion : at all Government offices, at post offices, hospitals, all official residences, many private houses — ^wherever there is thought to be wealth in a form that might be looted or is tempting to bandits, there you see armed men on guard. Everywhere soldiers, soldiers, soldiers. The number runs into millions. And what little money there is available in China goes into their pockets instead of into productive enterprise ; and the military are felt to be, and are, a stand- ing menace to the industrial population. The temples are in many cases simply turned into military camps, often into military stables. Schools also are commandeered for the same purpose. The development of ,this military spirit has turned China into a system or series of armed camps under various generals. They are the bane of China today. There is not, unfortunately, one amongst them, of so outstanding a per- sonality as to stand out as the man for China rather than for a section of it. There >srould appear to be three alternative ways of emeirgence from the present anarchic and militaristic condi- tions which are or have been under discussion : 1. A Government such as the present, representiiig the Nationalist spirit, guaranteed permanence by the offices of the foreign Powers (possibly through the League of Nations). 2. Separate local governors, say one North, one South, one Central, and one West China commanding territorial districts, but acting in harmony in fegard to foreign alnd international affairs, and matters affecting the nation as a whole. China Revisited g 3. That a new leader should arise who, with a keen Nationalist instinct and a loyal devotedness to the teaching of Confucius on this question of peace, could hold together the people at large and unite them in a common aim for the future. The Confucian Society of New York has published a short summary of Confucius' contributions to world peace, from which I quote a few sentiments and some of Confucius' principles. Universal peace was Confucius' goal. For centuries every child in China began its study in school from the "Great Learning," a book or series of volumes which seems to embody the Great Sage's system of philosophy, beginning with the investig^ation of things, leading on to the extension of knowledge, then to sincerity of thought, and so on by careful gradation to the regulation of family life, then of the State, and ending with the equali- zation of the whole world. So that for ages past every child has been trained through study of the Great Learning to enter life with the idea of world equalization or an idea of purposive unity in the world as the goal towards which we are all moving. Amongst the principles enunciated under this teaching are : 1. Universal Love of Mankind, irrespective of racial differences. 2 . Truthfulness is the real binding force in international relations. 3. War cannot be justified, because all nations standing on an equal footing have no right to make war against each other. 4. The whole world is a Great Unity disregarding national strength and geographical advantages of locations. If I have digressed a little from speaking about China today to refer to these principles enunciated in the Great Learning of the Great Sage of China, it is, firstly, because in the light of present happenings it seems as though some evidence were necessary in support of my statement that China is not a warlike nation; and, secondly, because with- out in any way wishing to belittle — I would rather whole- heartedly encourage — the ' ' moral endeavour ' ' effort of the general who today presides at Nanking, I cannot but feel the insufficiency of the Republican doctrine as now being taught or the ten negative commandments which I have referred to as a basis upon which to build China's future 'greatness. If only some new leader would arise who, loyal to the great principles of the Old Sages and possessing the moral lo China Revisited fervour of a man like Mahatma Gandhi, could call the people of China back again to the great aims of Confucius, what a power he might have \rv once more making China a great and united nation ! For we cannot deny the greatness of China. Whether we think of the development of her internal industries or of the growth of her educational work and institutions, both of these going steadily, if not remarkably, forward during all these recent years of civil strife and bloodshed ; whether we think of that extraordinary coup through which a quarter of a century agoy by a stroke of the pen in Peking, she put an end to the educational system of centuries throughout her Empire; or whether we remember the valiant effort she made twenty years ago, made successfully at the time, to put an end to her national bad habit of opium smoking, we have to admit that, whatever superficial happenings may show or newspaper reports at a distance may try to persuade us of, the people of China still constitute a great nation, and one we should be proud to help and befriend. APPENDIX REPORT OF THE ANNUAL DINNER June i8, 1930 13 ANNUAL DINNER OF THE CHINA SOCIETY The annual dinner of the China Society was held this year at the Hotel Rubens, Buckingham Palace Road, on Wednesday evening, June i8. As is always the case with the functions arranged by the China Society, the dinner, which was followed by dancing, was intimate and friendly. The room at which it took place in the hotel was charmingly decorated with iris, and the three long tables which seated the guests were arranged in the form of the three sides of a square, so that all the guests could converse freely with one another. There were about thirty-five people present. Sir Denison Ross being in the chair, and the function was specially honoured by the presence of His Excellency Dr. Sze, Madame Sze, and their son, Mr. Szeming Sze. Others present included Dame Adelaide Anderson, Dr. W. C. Chen and Mrs. Chen, Lady Ross, Pro- fessor Bruce, Mr. Archibald Rose, Dr. Kuangson Young, Mrs. Ellert, and Mr. T. H. Chiu. There were about an equal number of Chinese and British, and the high-necked dresses of the Chinese ladies contrasted charmingly with the evening toilettes of the English. Before the Chairman gave permission to smoke, toasts to the King and the Republic of China were drunk, and while the people were standing ' the orchestra played the English National Anthem and the Chinese National Anthem. In opening the dinner, the Chairman called upon Dame Adelaide Anderson to propose " The Chinese in England." Dame Adelaide said that on being asked to speak, she had been assured that the function was a family party. She was sure the Society would wish her to say that the Chinese in England were welcome, and they wanted to see more and more kinds and more representatives of different sets of Chinese life, such as some of them were privileged to hear and see a little when they visited China. The China Society would also like to say to the Chinese in England that they wished them to feel as much at home in England as the English themselves did when they were entertained as individuals by the Chinese in China. In the China Society surely they had the seat of unity and of brotherhood. In speaking of this unity, she said that she knew the Chinese in England and Scotland more than she knew them in the other component parts of our unity (Wales and Ireland), although she did hear a learned professor say that easily the first among his students in Dublin was a Chinese woman. That was before the war, and she heard that there were not so many in Dublin now. Her own personal experience of Ireland was that if they went there they would find it one of the most lovable countries of the world. Continuing, she said that she had mentioned they wanted an increase in variety. First of all she 14 Annual Dinner of the China Society wished that the Chinese farmer could come in his majesty, especially to Scotland. (Laughter.) She thought they would find a great deal in common, and they might come to know each other at least as well as the traders of China and England. They would also like to see medical men and women, who were engaged in colossal tasks in China, come and visit England more than they do. Much could be done by coming together in that way to further internal unity between both countries. She; would also like to see the return of naval lieutenants who were trained here. She had noticed that the Chinese everywhere were very welcome. She would like to add one word about the community of tastes. There were so many things that English and Chinese had in common — the clinging to old things and traditions. Perhaps they were not so strong as in the past, but they were there still. They both had a very queer taste in monuments. (Laughter.) She told an amusing story of the erection of a monument in the Far West in China to commemorate a railway which had not got built j she caused great amusement by mentioning our " monument " to the Great Fire and the controversy which had raged over the date of its erection, which was finally left at 1831. Mr. Szeming Sze replied to the toast. In introducing him, the Chairman said that one of the conditions of the dinner was that the Chinese Minister and the Chairman would say nothing. As he had no son, he would have to speak, but the Chinese Minister had a son, and so he would speak. The Chairman explained the charming meaning of Mr. Sze's first name; he was born apparently on Easter Day. As regards the surname, Sir Denison said it was so famous it had no meaning other than connected with his distinguished father. Mr. Sze, in replying to the toast, said that he had received such an introduction as he had never received before. Sir Denison !B.oss had given them a complete history of himself. He wished he could trace back Sir Denison's name to William the Conqueror. He thanked them all very warmly indeed for giving him the privilege of replying to the toast, and also Dame Adelaide for so graciously proposing it. Like Dame Adelaide, he really wondered why he was standing up. If their disr tinguished Secretary, Mr. Silcock, had been a little less insistent on having his way, and if he (Mr. Sze) had been a little more insistent on having his own way, the task would have fallen on the shoulders of someone more heavily weighed down in years than he was. He proposed to restrict himself to one section of the Chinese community in England, the students, a section numbering from three to four hundred persons. He would assure Dame Adelaide that these three or four hun- dred comprised every possible variety, not excluding persons like himself, who had had, like Mr. Silcock, to arrange dinners like this. This variability on such occasions had been rather a burden on his shoulders, but none the less he appreciated the remarks, and he hoped that before long airships loaded with Chinese farmers would be landing on the shores of Scotland. (Laughter.) Their Chairman and their Secretary were Annual Dinner of the China Society 15 good enough to say that they wished to knoV and help Chinese students, and they asked him to speak that night about the Chinese students in this country, of their purposes, their impressions, and their difficulties, so that the members of the China Society might do their best to help. He would try to do his best to tell them, but he was afraid his remarks would be very inadequate. Every time he thought of the problem there seemed to be more and more factors involved, and the more he thought of it the more complex it seemed, but he would try and keep it as simple as he could. The various affiliated Chinese Student Unions in this country had been for many years trying to do something to help students with the limited resources at their disposal, and had had some rewards for their efforts. As they would expect, however, they had not found any magical formula for general application. The problem needed tackling from every side and every angle, and he was confident that the China Society and their English friends would be able to help them there. Might he at the outset emphasize that Chinese students came here not only to study, but also to learn the customs and traditions of this country. As regards facilities for study, the Chinese Student Unions were doing something in the way of securing information as to how to enter the various schools and universities. But actual admission was quite another matter. Chinese students, when they arrived, told him and others how surprised and how disappointed they were at the difficulty of admission to English schools, being misled, no doubt, by comparisons with universities, such as those in America and Germany, where there was no limit to foreign students — not only no limitation, but actual encouragement. In contrast, he recalled one Cambridge college which fixed a quota of two foreign students a year, and he was told, further, that application for admission to such colleges was virtually useless unless accompanied by letters of introduction. That was where their English friends could help them very considerably, by giving them letters of introduction where they were required. As regards learning the customs and traditions of this country, he thought obviously this was a matter in which they themselves could do little. That they all wanted them to carry home with them the best of England he need not say. He would like to say, however, that the Anglophobes, who made themselves heard sometimes in his country, were people who had had little opportunity of knowing the real England. Let them in future make it essential that every Chinese student over here had the best opportunities of expanding his knowledge of England, and by no means allow him to confine it to his boarding-house in Bloomsbury or Clapham. It was highly important that Chinese students should carry home with them the best impressions as well as the worst. Not only should the impression of England be the best, but the impressions of the attitude of the English toward them should also be favourable. Invariably one was asked how did English people regard Chinese? Well, he could not insult the China Society to answer 1 6 Annual Dinner of the China Society them. He did not think there was any need for him to speak of the common misbeliefs of the least educated persons — that all Chinese were of the kind that one read about in penny dreadful novels or saw in popular thriller plays. Nor was there need to speak of the common misbelief that all Englishmen wore monocles and top-hats, and were the kind of person described by the Americans as having ' ' a pain in the neck. ' ' Such national misportrayals were not the monopoly of any one nation, and need not be enlarged upon specifically. Proper international educa- tion had a long way to go, and he was sure they hoped with him that it would soon follow the opening of this international age. So much for what Chinese students could learn from England. It must be apparent to them, as it was to him, that there were very many difficulties connected with helping these students to learn. He thought himself that the average Chinese student suffered from at least two things which tended to make him elusive. In the first place so many felt that their English was not sufficiently fluent, and in the second place many were shy because of a possible ignorance of the proper English etiquette. He thought that these were the problems to be faced by the average student, but he hoped they would remember that he spoke of the average. He did not pretend to ignore the existence of persons at either extreme. The Chinese admitted that the worst of them were quite as bad as the worst of the English, and perhaps the Chairman would concede that the best of them might be as good as the best of the English ! He caused amusement by saying that the average Chinese student would very cheerfully bear the common faux pas of being mistaken for a Japanese and also of being called a " Chinaman," or even of being the victim for the umpteenth time of well-meaning evangelists. Of course, all members of the China Society knew better than to do any of those things. It might be as well, nevertheless, to remember that such were the average, and not to forget that such things might not be quite so tolerated by those extraordinary people at the extremes. He had taken much more of their time than he had intended, but he could only remember what he had often preached, and he could only practise it^namely, when there was to be music and dancing, cut the speeches short. He would just add an expression of thanks to those many members of the China Society who had with considera;ble self-sacrifice continually given their time to help Chinese students. With their co-operation and that of the Chinese Student Unions he was confident that they would make good in promoting a better Anglo-Chinese understanding. Dr. Young proposed " The China Society." He said he was at a loss to say anything of additional value to what was said by Mr. Sze. He thanked the Society in England for their kindness in asking him and his wife. He hoped those present would forgive his foreign accent American ! For many years there had been strained relations between his country and theirs. Such circumstances invariably came in the wake of a revo- Annual Dinner of the China Society 1 7 lution, and such events were really out of the control of the best elements of the Chinese. They as a people had no wish to be in opposition to the policy or the Government of any other nation unless it was directly put in the path of the aspirations their nation was trying to arrive at. The result was sometimes rather mischievous, and it had been accentuated, especially by a single group of foreigners, including the British, who had been living in China and had been looking to their private interests rather than to the far-reaching effects. Happily these conditions had changed since the end of 1926. He had lived in China during the last three years, and he had noticed with much satisfaction that there was a certain change, also among the British people over there, in trying to achieve understand- ing between the two peoples ; and on the part of the Chinese he was happy to say, although they had not got an American or English Society, they had got an International Society at Nanking, whose main aim was to achieve understanding among all the foreigners who were living in Nanking; and with the able assistance of their Minister and Consul-General con- ditions during the last year had changed to such an extent that goodwill prevailed among the Chinese for Britain. It was his desire and the desire of other Chinese to see that that condition continued to exist. He was there, not as an official, but as a Chinese citizen, carrying to them a message of goodwill, and he hoped by the efforts of the Society the friendliness and goodwill would continue. Sir Denison Ross responded to the toast in an amusing and interesting speech. He congratulated Mr. Szeming Sze on his admirable per- formance; he did not think there was any young man in England who could get up and make a better speech on any subject. He would, however, like to disagree with one or two things he said. One of them was this. They had very serious rivals in their flirtation with young China in America and Germany, as Mr. Sze had pointed out, but he would lay stress on one thing. Germany had upwards of 50 universities, England had 5, and America might have 500, including Hollywood. (Laughter.) There was that difference, therefore, that there was more room in these other countries. We had a population of about 45 millions, and we had very few universities, and everyone crowded into them. He knew the difficulty experienced by foreign students in England, but this difficulty was also experienced by English students in getting into the universities. So much for the question of the quota business. There was then the question of association. Again he would Join issue with Mr. Sze. It only required the Chinese students to come forward them- selves and join in with their little Society, which he was afraid had a great struggle to exist. He was rather inclined to think that it did not altogether fulfil its function, because it did not bring together the Chinese in the way it should. They welcomed tonight His Excellency and Madam Sze, who, as long as they were in the country, had always helped to their utmost and done all they were asked to do. All students, he thought, had at the back of their minds the desire for good relations between England and China, 1 8 Annual Dinner of the China Society and the Society would help. People should write to them and suggest gatherings in which these students could be met. There was no possible question that everyone present was not delighted to entertain anyone coming from their country. He would emphasize that there was an affection for the Chinese in the innermost core of the heart of every Englishman who had been in China or had met Chinese. They had a feeling of regard towards them — a feeling of oneness, and a feeling which had no equivalent in any other nation east of Suez. He hoped they would come and meet them half-way, and they would be sure of a welcome. PRINTED IH GREAT BRITAIN BV SILLING AND SONS LTD., CUILDfOKD AND ESHBR CHINESE STUDENTS IN GREAT BRITAIN BY SZEMING SZE A Lecture before the China Society, London, November 21, 1930 THE CHINA SOCIETY 173 EUSTON ROAD, LONDON, N.W. 1 1931 CHINESE STUDENTS IN GREAT BRITAIN BY SZEMING SZE PUBLISHED BY THE CHINA SOCIETY 173 EUSTON ROAD, LONDON, N.W. i 1931 POINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY BILLING AND SONS LTD., GUILDFORD AND ESHER CHINESE STUDENTS IN GREAT BRITAIN Introduction In introducing to you the subject "Chinese Students in Great Britain," there is a general aspect, besides a dis- tinctive aspect, which I wish to emphasize. The subject is, in fact, a general one, in that it essentially resembles any other section of human society. In human society one finds a delightfully uncertain mingling of all types ; Chinese students are no exception. Among them one can distin- guish the sociable ones from the shy ones, the rich from the poor, the good from the bad, the bookworm from the athlete, and so forth. In short, there is not, nowadays, any single distinctive type of Chinese student. Well, I shall not waste too long on these general aspects of the subject, as these things any observer may recognize. You can all, no doubt, with your keen powers of observation, recognize at a glance a sociable student from a shy one, you can observe after a minute's introduction whether he is rich or poor, you can note after two minutes of conversation whether you are talking to a good egg or a bad egg, and after five minutes you will have undoubtedly sized him up completely. Having drawn your attention to the general aspects, may I next direct it to some more distinctive points — points on which your uninitiated observations are less easy. Statistics are usually unintelligible to the best of us, and I for one could not possibly read out long rows of figures. I have therefore put up on the board, in as unstatistical a way as possible, some figures which illustrate these points. A quick survey and a general study of these points will help us to get the correct perspective — always an important 4 Chinese Students tn Great Britain factor of any study — and this is also perhaps the best way in which to learn the essentials of the subject. Statistics Total: 450. I. Homes: China 240 (London, 140; Edinburgh, 20; Manchester, 13) Hongkong 35 (London, 20) Malaya 120 (London, 60; Edinburgh, 30) British West Indies and British Guiana 25 Burma ... 10 Java ... 10 Australia, Indo-China, etc. II. " Centres " : I. London ... 270 2. Edinburgh... 60 3. Cambridge... 22 4. Manchester 16 5. Oxford 12 Plymouth ... 12 Liverpool ... 7 Birmingham 6 Glasgow, Leeds, Bristol, etc. III. Studies: General and Preparatory Edu- cation 80 (London, 60) *Social, Economic, and Political Sciences 70 (London, 40) Medicine 70 (Edinburgh, 40; London, 20) *Law 60 (London, 40) Engineering . . . 35 (Manchester, 15) Naval 25 (Plymouth, 12; Greenwich, 10) MiUtary 20 Banking and Accountancy . . 20 Architecture ... IS Aviation 10 Commerce 10 Music and Art 10 Natural Sciences 10 English, Literature, Philosophy, Education, Agriculture, etc. The Chinese student population of any country is necessarily a constantly changing one, so that statistics are at all times difficult. The figures I quote here are some compiled with the help of the Directory of the Central Union of Chinese Students and are, in my opinion, as accurate as it is perhaps possible to get them. Chinese Students in Great Britain 5 In the first place, taking the total as a maximum of 450, you will note that not all come from China. In fact, nearly- half have come from homes in various parts of the British Empire, so that, while for all practicable purposes here there is no difference, it is nonetheless suitable to remember this fact in comparison with the numbers of Chinese students in other countries. (Since it is perhaps of interest to make some such comparisons, let me digress for a moment to give you the figures in other countries : Japan 2,500, U.S.A. 2,000, France 1,500, Germany 300. These figures are some which have been computed with the help of a publication by the World's Chinese Students Federation, with the exception of the figure for Japan, which is the estimate of the Chinese Educational Commissioner in Japan. I must say myself, however, that I should have placed them all, but especially the figure for U.S.A., considerably higher.) You will see, therefore, that the number of Chinese students in Great Britain is comparatively small. In the second classification, you will note that a good 60 per cent, of the total have London as a headquarters. The obvious facilities of London as an international centre probably account for the large number, though the fact that London is the port of arrival of most, and also the fact that there are plenty of Chinese restaurants in London, must play important contributory parts. The first five in this classification are what we call the regular "Centres"; Oxford and Cambridge where one gets the so-called Varsity type together with one or two research students, Edinburgh with its large quota of medical students, and Manchester where most of the Chinese students study either textiles or electrical engineering. In the third classification, there are two main types to be noted, the first being the 70 odd studying Social, Economic, and Political Sciences, virtually all of whom come from China, and many of whom are postgraduates and attending lectures in the London School of Economics ; the second type are the 60 or so reading Law, virtually all coming 6 Chinese Students in Great Britain from Malaya and studying at the Inns and Temples in London. These striking categories, I feel, reflect the desires of the families of the students concerned ; the families of the former have an eye on Government service in China, while a knowledge of law would be very suitable to the families of the latter, who have in most cases large businesses and large family estates in Malaya. (I may add here that most of the 80 classed under General and Pre- paratory Education probably should also be classified to swell up the totals of these two types — especially the Social and Political Sciences — so that the respective totals will look more like 1 10 and 80.) These two types, then, form a large proportion of the Chinese students in London. In fact, as a factor of practical convenience in the matter of sizing up a Chinese student (mentioned just now), if the student speaks fluent English (though with an obvious accent) and if he wears clothes of perfect cut (perhaps the best in London), you may almost be sure that he comes from Malaya and is reading Law at the Bar ; on the other hand, if he speaks hesitating English and wears clothes betraying American influence, then he is probably a student from China and a prospective Government official studying at the London School of Economics. So much, then, for these aids to diagnosis. Now there are just one or two more points left with regard to the third classification which perhaps just deserve mention in passing. You will note the attraction to Edin- burgh of medical and to Manchester of engineering stu- dents ; and I might add that the present comparatively high figures for naval and military students are due to the recent arrival of students sent here by the Chinese Government. Then, in addition, there are three more numerical points outside these statistics which may be of interest, and which I shall quickly mention : I. The total number of students supported by the national and provincial governments — including the naval Chinese Students in Great Britain 7 and military students already mentioned — is about 80. Otherwise practically all are private students. 2. Re the number of women students, I have not attempted to differentiate between girl students pure and simple and wives of students who may or may not be students as well as acting in a domestic capacity. The total estimate then, without differentiations, is 45. 3. The great public schools of this country are so highly esteemed generally that I feel it of general interest to mention that Chinese have been educated at most of the big schools, including Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Charter- house, Clifton, Cheltenham, Haileybury, St. Paul's. How- ever, they are the exception rather than the rule, and amongst other obvious factors, that of the very young age required for entry of names precludes any but the smallest numbers ever securing an English public school education. The majority of Chinese students arrive in Great Britain at the university age, i.e. 18-19 years, an appreciable minority being, however, the number of considerably older students doing research or other postgraduate studies. As regards the length of stay in this country, those learning the profes- sions (viz. law, medicine. Chartered accountancy, engineer- ing, etc.) stay 5, 6 or more years ; those studying social and political sciences usually much less, 2 to 3 years. Difficulties And now for some of the difficulties. As regards the life of students over here, the times are indeed hard just now, for one's mode of living is truly governed by one's finances. The recent fall of silver has hit China so badly that the allowance of a Chinese student, by the time it reaches this country, is now worth, thanks to the movements in the exchange, just about half of what it used to be worth. Nor are the Chinese students from Malaya, who normally are considerably more fortunate in the matter of allowances, much better off, for there has also 8 Chinese Students in Great Britain been a great fall in rubber and tin, the staple commodities of Malaya. In the matter of board and lodgings, there is also much to be desired. A few students, who have guardians, live with them and thus have the home life of that particular family. The great majority, however, have to find lodgings for themselves, the more wealthy in flats in St. John's Wood or Maida Vale, and the less wealthy in rooms in Bloomsbury or Clapham. Then, many have more difficulty in adapting themselves to English food than to the English climate. But most have to put up with both of these horrors, as for the sake of convenience and economy lunch has usually to be taken at the school or college, and dinner in the lodgings, which are often very far away from the neighbourhood of the Chinese restaurants. In spite of this, many can be seen each evening in the restaurants, which would not exist without them ! I think there would be many more Chinese students in Great Britain, if admission into universities and schools, and into firms and factories, was less difficult than it is. Compared to other countries, admission is very difficult indeed. As regards universities, lack of a knowledge of English is sometimes the cause of the difficulty, but the actual fewness of vacancies, especially at Oxford and Cambridge, accentuated by the absence of letters of intro- duction, is the root of the difficulty in most cases. Un- fortunately the relative rarity of British to American and Japanese degrees in China makes the demand for them greater, so that in many cases the disappointment is made all the keener. As regards admission to factories and firms for practical experience — a very necessary part of technical training — there has been considerable reluctance on the part of the companies and firms to admit Chinese students. In this respect British firms are far behind American firms, who take the long view that Chinese students trained by them will mean purchase of machinery or goods learnt from them, and events have certainly borne them out in this Chinese Students in Great Britain 9 policy. I have been assured that it is not because Chinese students are undesirable elements that there is this difficulty of admission, because the firms, and the universities too, themselves say that Chinese students, unlike some other foreign students, invariably mix extraordinarily well with their colleagues. I am told there is considerable trouble with the workers' trades unions, while another factor, which omits the long view, is that Chinese students will learn about their machinery, so that on their return they will use this knowledge to compete against them. Well, these are some of the difficulties facing Chinese students ; let us leave them now, and review briefly the activities which they have undertaken among themselves. Activities Inevitably, wherever a group of Chinese students gathers, a small society has been formed, and where the numbers have not fallen, has invariably flourished, so that now there are local societies in Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Man- chester and London, and these local societies are united in the Central Union of Chinese Students. Fortunately, un- like some unions in France and the United States, ours in this country are non-political, but are, first and foremost, social and intellectual. I shall not say more in passing than that the unions are so organized that the local societies plan the activities during term time — viz., weekly social gatherings, etc. — while the Central Union undertakes the general activities — viz., a week's conference in the summer and an annual luncheon on October lo (our National Day) — maintains a clubroom and library, publishes a magazine in Chinese and a yearbook in English, keeps a Directory of Chinese students and has a Social Secretary who helps students with lodgings and admission to colleges ; while it should not be overlooked that considerable time and work are expended on the requests for Chinese lecturers and teachers and with the several general invitations to Chinese students for which the Union acts as a medium. lo Chinese Students in Great Britain Then there is another type of Chinese student union — namely, the C. S. Christian Union, which exists for religious and social purposes. In fact, the C. S. Christian Union is the oldest union, though it really is not very old as it happens to be the same age as I am! It was first on the scene, rather in the same way that missionaries and other Christian organizations with their superior zeal have paved the way in other fields, so that for many years many of the social activities of Chinese students were undertaken by that union. Now, however, the non-religious unions have properly undertaken this work, and it has turned its attention more to the religious side. One of its most delightful functions is the annual Christmas party which it organizes in the East End of London for the poor Chinese children there. In this connection, I might add that the London C.S.U. also helps these children in that they are supporting the Chinese language classes recently organized for them. I have perhaps spent an unwarrantable part of my time on telling you of these unions, but, believe me, for those who interest themselves in their welfare and administration, such work plays a very large part in their days spent abroad. Such work is at once useful and pleasant — useful in that, besides achievement, it is the best training ground for getting invaluable experience for the future, and pleasant in that not only does one develop from acquaintances in co- operation some of the firmest friendships possible ; but one can also expect in such work the willing co-operation of the Legation, the Consulate, the Bank of China, Chinese busi- ness men and other bodies in London as well as of Anglo- Chinese societies such as the China Society. Contacts I will proceed at this stage to discuss a matter which touches more closely the China Society — namely, the con- tacts between Chinese students and the people of Great Britain. Of the contacts with British students, I have already mentioned that fortunately there is not, as a rule, Chinese Students in Great Britain 1 1 the difficulty of mixing badly in the social sense. In fact, it has often amazed me in comparison how differently some students from the slightly darker races of mankind have fared in their contacts. I cannot help feeling, however, that a very appreciable obstactle, beyond racial, is the language factor. No one with ears and eyes can fail to observe at once what a difference an unorthodox accent makes in everyday life in this country ; in the light of such estimation, the unfortunate foreign student who cannot speak the language well, even with the wrong accent, is truly at a disadvantage. But, in spite of all these difficulties with their source thousands of years back in the Tower of Babel, there is some special affinity between Chinese and British which has expressed itself not only in the existence of the China Society here in London, but in the Sino-Scottish Societies of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and the Anglo-Chinese Society of Cambridge. Then, besides, Chinese students receive many invitations from private individuals to teas and social functions, while there are other types of invitation — viz., for international student gatherings, for League of Nations Union meetings, and for Church functions. Many of these invitations are sent through our Student Union, and it is our experience that the difficulty is usually to get a sufficient number of acceptances. And yet, many a student arrives in London full of the joie-de-vivre, then feels lonely, only to end up by stagnating in his lodgings. Many a student, it seems, declines such invitations because the name of his host or hostess is unknown to him ; still more are shy of their lack of a knowledge of English etiquette or of fluency in the language. Most are only human and decline out of apathy ; while there are a few with an antipathy against religious or commercial or colonial governing persons, types which may have been encountered in unfavourable circum- stances out East. On the whole, then, there are many who should have more of the proper contact with proper English people, a contact which should not be too impersonal or formal, for the reason that they will soon return to China, 12 Chinese Students in Great Britain and on their return will acquire the title of "returned student." " Returned Students " Unfortunately, for those of us who become " returned students " and for the others who so regard us, there exists in China today a high estimation of " returned students." This high estimation is natural in that students who have been abroad are (compared to the population who have never left China) relatively the privileged few. A returned student, besides having supposedly learnt the secrets of the greatness of the country he has been living in for the last few years, is expected to know a great deal besides — in fact, practically everything — in much the same way that some English expect us students here to know everything about China ; in my experience, anything from the valuation of antiques to a knowledge of the flora and fauna of China ! I am afraid we make very poor imparters of information about China to you now. Imagine the situation, when we are expected to be bureaux of information about England after having spent a comparatively short time here ! This indiscriminate high estimation of returned students cannot and should not last, by reason of the existence of the undeserving ones who inevitably prejudice the deserving. Fortunately for those of us from Great Britain, we seem to have been less prejudiced in this way than those from countries where Chinese students are much more numerous, for there has pervaded throughout China an impression that Chinese students from Great Britain are relatively fewer in number but higher in quality. For this excellent impression, we of the present generation have to thank a number of distinguished former Chinese students of Great Britain, and I can do no better than conclude by giving you a list of some of their names. This list includes some of the most famous names in China, rulers and leaders of our country in every walk of life, who, while comparatively un- known here, are considered in China as of national standing. Chinese Students in Great Britain 13 In the political world, let me mention, first, the first two Nationalist Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Chen Yu-jen (Eugene Chen) who qualified as a solicitor in London, and C. C. Wu, who won law prizes and scholarships in the University of London and in Lincoln's Inn, and who is at present Minister in the United States, and also China's Delegate to the League of Nations. There are also other great lawyers who have risen to the highest Government posts : Wang Chung-hui, the present Minister of Justice, and also Judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice at The Hague, who was a member of the Inner Temple in London, and Lo Wen-kan, an M.A. of Oxford and also a member of the Inner Temple. Cambridge Chinese students have made good diplomats : Lo Tsung-yi, the Minister in Denmark ; T. K. Tseng, until recently Minister in Sweden and Norway ; P. K, C. Tyau, former Minister in Cuba and Panama, were all educated at Cambridge. In the realm of medicine Cambridge and Edinburgh share the honours : Wu Lien- teh, the international expert on Plague, was a scholar of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, before going with another scholarship to St. Mary's Hospital, London ; Dr. New Hui-lin of Shanghai was an Exhibitioner of Downing College, Cambridge ; while the Liang brothers of Tientsin, and S. P. Chen of Peking were all at Gonville and Caius College. On the Edinburgh side, Dr. Lim Boon-keng, President of Amoy University and versatile in many fields ; his son Robert K. S. Lim, Professor of Physiology at Peking Union Medical College ; and C. Y. Wang, Professor of Pathology in Hong Kong University (another member of the distinguished family of which Wang Chung-hui is a member) were all gold medallists of Edinburgh University. Then Glasgow and Cambridge have combined in producing another very eminent scientist, V. K. Ting, the very able Director of the National Geological Survey. Then I might add a few more names picked out at random : the late Ku Hung-ming, philosopher and writer, who was at 14 Chinese Students in Great Britain Edinburgh ; M. T. Z. Tyau, an LL.B. of London, the well- known editor and publicist ; M. Thomas Tchou, the expert on Labour who studied in Glasgow ; Cheng Fat-ting and Hsia Ching-lin, the Shanghai lawyers, educated in London and Edinburgh respectively ; Song Ong-siang, and the late Yeoh Guan-seok, both Cambridge graduates and Queen's Scholars, who became legislators in the Straits Settlements ; while there might be added another long list of distinguished research students who come for a year or so — viz., T. Z. Koo, the National Secretary of the Y.M.C.A. of China, and a leader of Chinese thought, who recently spent a year in Oxford, and Francis C. M. Wei, President of Boone University. And there are a thousand other names working less spectacularly beyond the public gaze in work in which they apply the British ideals they have learnt over here. They, too, deserve our attention, and, I venture to hope, our interest as well. And now, I feel I have given to you, very inadequately, a cursory review of our little group of students — a review which I hope has left you with some impressions and some idea of the existence of this group. If there are further points, for this is not a full account, of which you wish discussion, and with the permission of the Chairman, I shall feel privileged to try to discuss them with you. Whatever idea I leave with you, may I leave this final impression, that I and all Chinese students thank you all very warmly indeed for your interest in us. CHINESE ARCHITECTURE BY ARNOLD SILCOCK F.R.I.B.A. A Lecture delivered before the China Societg PUBLISHED BY THE CHINA SOCIETY 173 EUSTON ROAD, LONDON, N.W. 1 1931 . PU LO SZE, JEHOL (From Boerschmann, ChineJsche Architektur.) Copyright reserved. CHINESE ARCHITECTURE BY ARNOLD SILCOCK F.R.I.B.A. PUBLISHED BY THE CHINA SOCIETY 173 EUSTON ROAD, LONDON, N.W. i 1931 PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BV SILLING AND SONS LTD., GUILDFORD AND ESH£R CHINESE ARCHITECTURE I HAVE chosen as my first slide the Temple of Heaven in Peking, partly because it is sure to be known to all of you, and partly because it contains in its various elements many of the principal features which make Chinese architecture distinct from any other style. The beauty of the whole conception is the first attribute which strikes everybody who sees this building. As you know, it stands on a high terraced platform of white marble. Its columns and other woodwork are dull red and its roof glistening deep blue tiles surmounted by a golden finial. Although this building is not the original structure, it was rebuilt in exactly the same style in the 'eighties, the original building having been burnt to the ground. A legend has already grown up to the effect that it had been struck by lightning because an impious centipede had dared to crawl on to the golden ball! The circular marble terrace has magnificent carved balu- strades, and the ample stairs have the usual slab running up the centre, carved with dragons. To Western eyes it seems extraordinary that such a monumental building, so important in its purpose and its setting, should be con- structed, not of the same marble as the terrace, but merely of wood and glazed earthenware tiles. This, however, is one of the very characteristic features of Chinese architec- ture. The beauty of the building seems to us an evanes- cent beauty, and the Chinese do not seem to have laid any stress on the desirability of permanence in any but their military and engineering structures. This is in complete contrast with the attitude of most other cultures, such as the Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek, Roman and subsequent civilizations, which have all desired to leave permanent 4 Chinese Architecture monuments of their greatness. Many theories have been advanced to account for this characteristic, but none of them have a satisfactory ring about them. Stone is plenti- ful, and the Chinese have known how to make bricks for some thousands of years. If we now compare this building with other typical build- ings of previous centuries we find much the same attributes common to them all. There is the same feeling for unity and beauty from the time of the Han dynasty onwards. There is the same dignified simplicity of plan and arrange- ment of the various elements. There is the same love of brilliant colours and the same success in the com- position of colour harmonies. Another attribute of which we are apt to lose sight is the feeling for spaciousness, the instinctive achievement of good proportions without the aid of tricks or any conscious attempt at clever massing. All this sounds strange to those who are familiar only with the modern examples of Chinese architecture, which are some- times, unfortunately, unworthy successors of the great traditions of the past ; and some of us are too apt to think of Chinese architecture as something flimsy, rather meretricious and over-decorated. These characteristics, however, are merely the manifestations of a decadent art which are to be found in the declining periods of all civiliza- tions, and in the case of China it is lamentable that Western importations which have afifected recent fashion there have contributed an evil influence. The great cultural periods in China show us once more how universal are the canons of art. If we now consider in detail the typical features of a Chinese building like the Temple of Heaven, we note the most striking departure from Western custom perhaps in the curvature of the roof. Many theories have been advanced to explain this, and it may be interesting to see in passing a lantern slide which proves that this very typical feature was not always a sine qua non of Chinese building. This slide is a photograph of a sculptured slab dating Chinese Architecture 5 from the Han dynasty, in which you can clearly see that the roof of the building is in a straight line and not curved up at the eaves. On the other hand, the construction of the timbering of the roof, including the bracketing under the eaves and the disposal of the columns, bears a very close resemblance to the methods practised even to the present day. Though this does not prove that the curved roof was unknown at the time when this slab was carved, it is yet a piece of evidence that the curved roof was not universal, as it is now, in buildings with any claim to be regarded as architecture. It was, as you know, during the Han dynasty that Buddhism began to penetrate into China, brought there by missionaries from India, One theory, which is more acceptable than most, accounts for the curved roof by attributing the origin to the importation of paintings of Buddhist temples and other buildings in India in which the curved roof was a distinctive feature. Examples of curved roofs frequently occur in the wall paintings in the caves at Ajanta in India. Another very reasonable theory is that the climate of China necessitates widely jutting eaves, not only as a protection from the sun, but also to throw off running rain- water during the torrential storms, and the curving up of the eaves enabled a wide spread to be contrived without seriously interfering with the flow of air and light into the building. There are one or two other theories which have little to recommend them, one being that the aboriginal Chinese were nomads living in tents, and the curve of the tent roofs was transferred to the roof of the more permanent buildings when the nomads settled down. Another theory is that the curves are taken from the curved branches of pine trees, and that the little animal figures which sit on the hips of the roof are meant to represent squirrels. This suggestion, put forward by a certain Surgeon Lamprell in the eighteenth century, is typical of the rather foolish things which have been said about Chinese architecture in the past. Actually the ugly little figures are friendly creatures. 6 Chinese Architecture and both they and the screen wall, which one so often sees standing in front of the entrance to all sorts of buildings, are features connected with " feng-shui "; a system of geomancy which embodies certain rules for the selection of suitable sites for buildings and the construction of build- ings so as to protect them from evil spirits. Evil influences come from the north, so that the building should face the south, and Peking itself is an excellent example of a whole city laid out on this principle. It has a range of protective hills on the north and open plain on the south. Architecture has always been officially recognized and encouraged by the Government in China, yet curiously enough there have been almost no books written about it except the famous "Ying tsao fah shih" or "Method of Architecture," published about a.d. iioo. Yet there has always been a very strict architectural tradition, rigidly adhered to, although the rules and principles have not been written down. Buddhist influence on Chinese art was very great in other directions as well as in the curved roof, and the first Buddhist missionaries who came over from India about 2 b.c> brought with them the form of monument or tower which is called a "stupa." These were Buddhist reliquaries, and the form was adopted, and with slight alterations built at this time in China, and certainly influenced the design of pagodas. At Bodh-Gaya in India there is a very famous Buddhist temple, and it is believed that models of this and other temples were brought to China by some of the first mis- sionaries, and from the slide you will see that there is quite a resemblance to some pagodas. Some features of the pagoda seem to have come origin- ally from Egypt. On ancient Egyptian pictures occur umbrellas held above the heads of monarchs. They can be seen again in Assyrian bas-reliefs and, still as a symbol of sovereignty, in Persian sculptures at Persepolis. In India when Buddhism became the State religion, the stilpa. :'ifiwi Kliiaii tin a A^;i ."nf//i//n'/<\\' iiiif-th- PLAN AND SECTION, PU LO S^E, JEHOL (From Boerschmann, Chinesische Architektur.) Crpyyight reserved. o 5 -S w M H Front a photograph by the Author. YUAN MING YUAN PAGODA : AT THE SUMMER PALACE OUTSIDE PEKING Copyright reserved. ^^Kiatm:^;,, PAGODA, EARLY TYPE CFron. a photosratk in the fossession of the writer.) Copyright reserved. THE WILD GOOSE PAGODA AT HSI-AN, SHENSI (From Boerschmann, Ckinesische Architektur.) Copyright reser^>ed. Photo by Norths Cheng-tu, West China. TOWER OF THE CHIN^ESE. TIBETAN BORDERLAND Copyright reserved. From a photograph hy Mr. \V. Perceval Yetts. ANCIENT PAGODA AT SHE SHAN, KIANGSU Copyright reserved. ANCIENT PAGODA AT SUNG SHAN, HONAN (From Siren, Chinese Sculpture.) Ernest Benn Ltd ^ CofiyH^kt ■y-cservc^. Photo by Mactavish, Shanghai. THE JADE FOUNTAIN PAGODA OUTSIDE PEKING Copyright reserved. Chinese Architecture 7 or domed monument which it had been customary to erect over the tombs of Buddhist saints, was protected by having an imperial umbrella fixed over the top. This was attached to the topmost lid of the square coffer which contained the relics. The fact that the umbrella was the emblem of the king and a symbol of sovereignty would deter the evil-intentioned from tampering with the coffer. Later on the umbrella was formed of gilt copper, and this evolved into a stone-sculptured umbrella as seen on the slides. As it became the custom to add more umbrellas these were placed one above the other on gne central shaft, and this arrangement in turn evolved into the stone shaft carrying a series of stone discs. Typical forms, of which illustrations are given, are found in Nepal, in China, and Tzagalao in Chinese Tibet. The Sung Shan pagoda is probably a development, and later on the courses of projecting mouldings became a series of projecting roofs, and then balconies and roofs at each storey. The form spread up into Japan and Korea and is still being built. Major Longhurst fully discusses this theory in a recent article in the R. I.B.A. Journal. Another feature of the Indian stupa which also spread to China is the ceremonial archway placed in the surround- ing wall. This is a gateway in a fence, originally a timber form, but at this time executed in stone, and you will note how very like the Chinese memorial archways it is. This form also spread to Japan and Korea. Thus we see that the origin of pagodas is a very com- plicated and interesting problem. Earlier than these stijpas we know that there were very tall stone towers known as "t-ai" which were built at the time of the Shang dynasty and which are often mentioned in Chinese liter- ature. They were of three or four different kinds. One was a lofty look-out tower situated in parks and used by the emperor and his court for watching the progress of the hunt in the grounds of the palace. Possibly the stone towers of the Tibetan borderland west of Szechuan are survivals of this type. 8 Chinese Architecture These towers, as you will see from the slides, are really fine landmarks in the landscape of the hill-country. Another type of tower was used as a treasure-house, and the last emperor of the Shang dynasty is reputed to have fled into such a tower and set fire to it, burning himself and his treasures together. Still another kind was storeyed and terraced. We have no contemporary illustrations of this type, but from descriptions they appear to have been very like the stage- towers of Chaldea. Various writers have attempted to prove that Chinese civilization had its origin in Persia, or one of her colonies in Mesopotamia, and some have tried to trace the pagoda to these stage towers of Chaldea. The subject is again very popular just now owing to the problems raised by the International Exhibition of Persian Art, to which I have the honour to be Architect, and an attempt is also being made to prove that later Persian architecture directly influenced Romanesque and Gothic architecture. Evidence from the ancient Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia and the recent Indo-Sumerian discoveries in Northern India go to show that these very early cultures arose in Persia, and Professor Ball has prepared a comparative lexicon of Chinese and Sumerian in an attempt to prove his theory that the latter is the parent language of Chinese. The Wild Goose pagoda at Shi-an in Shensi illustrates a type which might have come from a Chaldean original. This pagoda dates from about a.d. 650. Another very early pagoda, dating from about a.d. 500, was built during the Northern Wei period at Sung Shan in Hunan. It will be seen that these two early pagodas are not very different from the types which are being built at the present day, and the latter clearly is influenced by the umbrella motif which I mentioned just now. It is now known that China had relations with various countries in very early times ; and particularly during the Han dynasty trade was carried on with Persia, Rome and other contemporary civilizations. Chinese Architecture 9 Following on the conquests of Alexander the Great, Greek culture was introduced into Northern India, influ- encing Indian art, especially in sculpture and painting. These influences spread to China, but they do not seem to have had a very great effect upon the architecture of the country, except in ornamental motifs which the Chinese adopted and incorporated. Owing to the semi-permanent nature of most of the buildings, which, as we have seen, were largely constructed of timber, very few examples of early work remain, and perhaps the best indication we have of the conservatism of Chinese designers is the fact that the later buildings, such as those of the Yuan and later dynasties in the city of Peking, closely resemble the still extant wood-cuts or stone carvings illustrating buildings many hundreds of years older which have long since disappeared. Even though China has been ruled by foreign invaders such as the Mongols and the Manchus, yet the native style has not suffered any drastic changes such as we see in the development of architecture in all Western countries. At the time of the Yuan dynasty, a certain merchant of Venice, whose family carried on a precarious trade with China, travelled across Asia along the trade route north of the Gobi Desert, and eventually reached the court of Khublai Khan, where he lived for many years. In his book, "The Travels of Marco Polo," he describes the magnificent buildings which Khublai Khan erected in Peking, and he especially praises the numerous beautiful bridges, many of which can be seen at the present day. You remember the poet Coleridge's unfinished poem in which the opening lines are : " In Xanadu did Khubla Khan a stately pleasure dome decree." I wish I could show you a picture of this building, but no pleasure dome exists, if it ever did exist, and, though Khublai Khan built many palaces, it is unlikely that any- thing in the nature of an actual dome was built. The dome was never a feature of the Chinese style. lo Chinese Architecture The Mings added their share to the magnificent schemes of previous dynasties, and when the Manchu conquerors founded the Ching dynasty, Kang-Hsi also continued building in the same style. He, however, was the first deliberately to copy foreign architecture, and at his summer palace at Jehol he erected copies of French architecture with the help of French Roman Catholic missionaries. Here again, however, these innovations had little or no effect on traditional Chinese design. In the eighteenth century Sir William Chambers, after- wards a famous architect, and designer of Somerset House, went out to China as a young man and brought back many drawings and details to this country. One of his unhappy ventures was the pagoda in Kew Gardens ; but he was the founder of a new fashion for Chinese ornament, and Chip- pendale adopted these designs and used them in his furni- ture — so much so that he is sometimes known as " Chinese Chippendale." If I now show you some slides of buildings more or less in historical sequence, you will see how little variety there has been in elemental design. But you will also note that the style gradually became lighter, more fanciful and rather more over-decorated under the Ching dynasty, especially towards the later period of Chien-Lung and at the end in the eighteenth century, which is the beginning of the period of decadence. The last century has seen the culmination of this decline, in which the buildings put up under the Empress Dowager at the summer palace became merely copies of earlier work. On the other hand, we find that Western architecture repre- sented in the buildings in the foreign settlements begins to have a very bad effect on the previous high standard of taste, so that now many cities like Peking are being defaced by new buildings which are neither Chinese nor foreign, but which seem to contain the worst features of both. A cure for this state of affairs seems to be a reawakening Chinese Architecture 1 1 amongst the Chinese themselves of interest in and apprecia- tion of traditional Chinese architecture, together with a determination to adapt and develop the native style, so that it shall become suitable for modern buildings and present- day requirements in so far as planning accommodation, providing efficient labour-saving fittings and general sanita- tion are concerned. So far very little has been done on these lines except by foreign architects, but I here show a few slides illustrating this development. All these buildings were designed by foreign architects in China, and we shall no doubt see in the future that Chinese architects can develop this principle and evolve a modern Chinese style with greater success than any Western designer can be expected to achieve. THE ARTISTIC POSSIBILITIES OF LITERARY CHINESE BY Professor G. MARGULIES (A LECTURE DELIVERED BEFORE "THE CHINA SOCIETY") THE CHINA SOCIETY Friends' House, Euston Road, London, N.W. 1 THE ARTISTIC POSSIBILITIES OF LITERARY CHINESE By Professor G. MarguliJis {Lecturer at the Ecole des Langues Orientates Vivantes) To produce objective and general values literary history must necessarily proceed by a method of comparisons. It is the only way to make the distinction between original qualities and those which are shared in common with the country, the epoch, or the literary school. The method must always be the same, the element that can vary is the point of view from which the aforesaid com- parative study is made. There the difference is consider- able. We can easily observe it in a concrete example. The critic who wishes to study literature from the point of view of the individuality of the artists would doubtless find an unending variety. He will compare characters, technique, theories of art, notice the deviations that personal reasons bring to the general development ; he will not be able to draw any general line, his point of view being strictly analytical. In the particular case of China, which interests us in the present instance, the variety will certainly be greater than anywhere else. In Europe already, where countries and populations are small, where all civilizations are in constant contact with each other, where literatures are not more than six or seven centuries old, we may easily observe considerable differences due to countries, epochs, literary schools, and personal temperament. There can be no doubt that the difference must be still greater in China, with its 2,500 years old literature and its immense population. We see that this kind of analytical process cannot lead to any general conclusion ; it would serve only for the examina- tion of details. But if one takes the opposite point of view, if, leaving aside every personal, individualistic element of literary production, one tries to find out all the similar ele- ments typical of the whole production of an author, an epoch, a country, or a civilization, instead of an analysis, as was the case with the former point of view, one comes to a synthesis. That kind of study is the one necessary for every general work, examining not the differentiating elements in the data, but the common chriracteristics of the group that is being taken into consideration. In the present paper I ■ shall try to consider Chinese literature as a whole and, taking it in as wide and general 2 The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese an aspect as I can, compare the peculiarities of the whole of Chinese literary production, not only with single Western countries, but also with the whole of European literary activity from classical antiquity up to modern times. I shall take no notice of country, language, and artistic principles, differences which, from the generalizing point of view, become but secondary details. I shall have to define what are the qualities typical to each of those two groups and, comparing them, point out the differences and their reasons, leaving aside the qualities which all groups of human beings share in common as typical of human mentality in general. Having thus defined the limits of the problem which interests us now, we must see what the elements of the study will be. It would be prudent not to consider literary themes. When considered superficially, they seem of an endless variety, dependent on epoch, personal temperament, many quite occasional and merely personal events, and thus belonging to a detailed and not to a general study. If one tries to lay aside all the individual elements of the themes and reduces them to mere outlines, it will be easy to maintain that every literature, however small it may be, has passed through them all. The number of themes, considered from the synthetic point of view, will be extremely small and, moreover, the same in every country. It corresponds to the initial similarity of human beings whatever their nationality and epoch ; this already belongs to human nature, which, as we already stated, is above all racial differentiations and therefore cannot enter as an element of comparative study. Moreover, the subject is not an essentially literary element, it does not belong to that peculiar art, but is taken very often as a pretext. If you admit that the difference between a poet and a narrator of events is analogous to the one between a painter and a photographer, you will at once see that it would be useless to study outlines that can be identical, while artistic render- ings of them will be of infinite variety. It appears, then, that we must base our study on the elements essential and exclusive to literary art ; we will try to see, whatever the subject may be, by what means a Chinese author tries to impress his reader, compare his methods and achievements with those of Occidental writers and see what qualities are peculiar to Chinese literary technique. Such a comparison must be based on data essential to literature. It is easy to state that every literary work has in it two elements : a theme whose expression is the aim of The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese 3 the author and the pretext of every particular work, and the material of which the work is shaped, and which is the same for all works — I mean the language. We saw that the former was of no use for our study ; let us consider the latter. When considering Chinese language and comparing it to Western languages, we immediately observe two pecu- liarities which no Western language possesses. These peculiarities are : monosyllabism and the exclusively ideo- graphical writing. It is known, of course, that Chinese is a monosyllabic language, which means to say there are in Chinese no conjugations, no inflections of words whatever ; all words are absolutely unchangeable. It is known also that Chinese writing is ideographic, which means to say that every word has its peculiar writing sign composed of elements expressing its meaning. As these two elements are wholly unlike anything we can find in Europe, we shall take them as the basis of our comparative study ; let us therefore examine in detail what those qualities really are and what effects they have on Chinese literary technique. We shall start with the element more exclusively con- fined to literary art, the writing system. All European languages, all writing systems actually in use throughout the world, except those derived from Chinese, use phonetical writing. By phonetical writing is meant a more or less conventional notation of the sounds that, when pronounced, give the word in its standard pronunciation ; this sound evokes in our mind the idea corresponding to the word. When we are accustomed to do much reading, we do not need any longer to repeat aloud the sounds noted down by conventional letters, we can generally imagine them by merely seeing their notation. It is, nevertheless, true to state that in the process of reading a phonetically written text, it has to come to the audition first, and only then becomes intelligible ; it calls up sounds and not ideas, so that we can read any given text, written with Roman characters, but should not be able to understand its nieaning, unless we knew the language. By such principles of writing, literature comes necessarily to be a notation of direct speech. The advantage of written matter is that one can read it over several times, and thus examine and under- stand it more slowly and thoroughly ; still it can by no means pretend to express thought better than speech. With ideographical writing the case is different. Ideo* graphical signs do not necessarily and exclusively express 4 The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese phonetical aggregates, as does the alphabet. They are direct written interpreters of ideas in the same way as words are their sound interpreters. So the effect of read- ing will be the opposite of that of phonetical writing stated above, and we see that Japanese, Coreans, and Annamites who use Chinese writing signs will read and understand Chinese texts, but will be wholly unable to reproduce the sounds of Chinese language ; the meaning is always the same, but words sound differently in different languages. That this may be better understood by Westerners I may take the example of the Arabian number signs ; their meaning is the same for all European countries, though everyone pronounces them in his own language. Such a writing system caused the Chinese to take par- ticular care of their literature, and to attach much more importance to it than has been the case in the West. In Europe writing allows people to concentrate their thought and express it in a more precise form, speech being more difificult to follow ; still it uses almost the same language, only a richer and conciser one. In China writing tends to separate the written language from the spoken one ; the latter expresses ideas for the ears, the former writes them down for the eyes. The principle of ideographical writing has allowed Chinese literature to be developed into a wholly independent art. It had its own ways of ex- pression and suggestion proper to the writing itself, it kept the development of literary language apart from the evolution of the spoken one. Considering all these pecu- liarities, would it be too much to state that, by using ideo- graphical methods of writing, Chinese becomes the only language whose literature is a real, self-contained art, independent of speech, and superior to it in its richness of expression.'' I know that in the Occident as well as in China there is always a distinction between written and spoken language. The spoken language has a rather small vocabulary to meet the ordinary needs without precise interpretation of thought. It further uses long and often intricate grammatical con- structions. Since thought is expressed spontaneously, the speaker has not the time to build up the period in the concisest form, and the sentence has to be understood in its general lines through quickly moving speech. Writing, on the contrary, gives the writer all the time necessary to find out the most suitable expressions and the most logical and short grammatical forms for them ; it can be read over and over again, and difficult words may be sought for. The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese 5 For that reason written language is perforce more concise in its structure, and uses a considerably larger vocabulary. That makes the distinction between written and spoken language which is to be observed in every country, however slightly its literature may be developed. Yet Western written languages are still closely connected with the spoken ones, as they merely note down their sounds, so that their evolution is subordinate to the evolution of the spoken language, and has no independent development. In Chinese the distinction is much sharper, as we saw that ideographical writing permitted the written language to be independent of the spoken one. On the other hand, monosyllabism makes the vocabulary of spoken Chinese still smaller than is the case with Western languages, as sound distinctions are very poor, and increasing the vocabulary would perforce lead to a too great number of homonyms. Further, all words being unchangeable, spoken language needs quite elaborate and long syntactical structures to make clear the development of the sentence. We see that the peculiarities of Chinese language help, too, to make the distinction between written and spoken language as great as possible, the spoken one being quite poor, having little phonetic variety. But this phonetical consideration disap- pears when we pass from the spoken to the written language, as the sound has but little importance for the latter. Monosyllabism then becomes a new reason to increase the number of words. In polysyllabic languages nuances are always expressed by derived forms from the same roots by mere grammatical changes. This is non- existent in Chinese, where the invariability of all words makes it impossible to apply to Chinese the very gram- matical distinctions of Western languages, such as a noun, a verb, an adjective, and so on. The same unchangeable form assumes in Chinese all these functions according to the structure of the sentence. That lack of grammatical derivatives obliges Chinese to create new words for the expression of every particular nuance ; of course, the greater part of this very large number of words is confined to written language only. In Western languages those derivatives are built by the ap- plication of grammatical rules, and the phonetical additions that make them out of the roots can be easily followed by the ear. In Chinese it is scarcely possible to recognize by audition similar roots in the immense quantity of homo- nyms. Writing, on the contrary, possesses much more perfect means of pointing out those connections. Every 6 The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese Chinese character possesses an element called a key, com- mon to all the words dealing with similar ideas ; that key shows which are the characters that belong to the same circle of ideas, whatever phonetical differences there may be between them. The number of those keys is, however, limited, so that they naturally can express only the most general outlines of the ideas, and every character, though possessing a key, is still entirely independent. In this way Chinese words, though belonging to the same order of ideas, do not depend on each other, as do the words in polysyllabic languages. They form sets of ideas independent of each other, though very closely connected, and express all the changes of an object, all its different aspects, yet every one strictly con- fined to its peculiar moment and form — something one might compare to the photographs from which cinemato- graphical films are made. Polysyllabic languages, on the contrary, develop all the nuances from the same root by mere grammatical changes. They possess in this process a strong tie that binds together all the single aspects expressed by each of the words ; it is always ea-sy to fix the exact place of each word in connection with the others and to follow their progressive development. Thus we see that in polysyllabic languages the creation of new words and the creation of nuances are based on con- tinuity. Further, identical methods of formation of the words allowed comparisons and established a sort of grada- tion, showing the relative value of each term. Finally, these two elements, continuity and gradation, bring forth the principle of movement, a continuous and progressive evolution, whose development is united through all the changes. That system emphasizes the unity of the whole evolution or aspect, but the very tie that so visibly binds together every distinct phase or view of the whole, makes its individualizing elements less conspicuous. It shows more the general movement, leads to generalization, and shows just the outlines without pointing out the independ- ence of the details. Chinese structure, on the contrary, is based on the precise notation of every single detail in its individual aspect, as considered independently from all the others — i.e., on the element of discontinuity. Further, as there are no possible rules for the formation of words, no common roots as they exist in polysyllabic languages, no gradation can be observed ; all words are of equal quality and im- portance, they have absolute and not comparative value. The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese 7 Finally, those two elements, discontinuity and the absolute value of all words, bring out the lack of movement ; the language gives rather a series of unmoving pictures, independent of each other and self-sufficing, although they may be bound together by a common idea or general aspect. Words having absolute value, the language, not bound to follow the spoken one, having the possibility of creating as many new words as necessary, nuances are noted with great preciseness and exactitude : every slightest difference has its appropriate expression and yet forms always a whole in itself, containing all the elements of the whole necessary to make of it a picture in itself and not merely a part of a picture. /'If the Occidental linguistic system is adapted to show the relations between the different aspects of one development, the Chinese system shows rather the peculiarities proper to every one of them. Thus the language compels Chinese authors to reproduce separate and unmoving moments rather than general development, gives to their work a static aspect, while Occidental works are more dynamic. We have considered the tendencies of the language in its most general form. In its more elaborate and artistic form, which is literature, the tendency to immobility is again strongly helped by monosyllabism and ideographical writ- ing. All words have in Chinese the same length of one syllable and the ideograms can all occupy practically an equal space. Moreover, as grammatical value is determined by the position of words in the sentence and the forms remain unchangeable, theoretically at least all words must be interchangeable, and Chinese poets never know the difficulties of their Western colleagues of dealing with words of unequal length. That explains the fact that even Chinese prose has a rhythmical regularity that could not be thought of in polysyllabic languages ; parallel structure is one of the most essential elements of Chinese literary art. By parallelism is meant an exact correspondence in structure and meaning of two or several sentences, in which the number of words is the same and their grammatical disposition most strictly repeating itself. No Occidental literature can have anything of the kind ; even if it succeeded in having exactly identical sentences, the words would still not be of the same length, nor occupy graphically the same space. But this regard for rhythm and parallelism — still emphasizing the general static tendencies of the language — makes Chinese authors con- sider the structure of the sentence rather as a decorative 8 The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese element, and, the number of rhythms being scarce, just as in the West, the number of poetical metres is scarce ; Chinese authors do not seek for great variety in structure ; a few classical models are sufficient for them, and all the power of expression lies in the choice of words. When composing a literary work, the author executes a sort of mosaic ; and this once more leads the author to produce pictures rather than express movement. The case of the polysyllabic languages is wholly different. We may see it better when examining Western poetry. The regularity of rhythm and metre — necessary even in Western poetical works — finds a strong opposition in the variety, in the length and accentuation of the words. Therefore a Western poet has generally a very limited choice of words that will fit his poem, and he is often obliged to use inexact and vague terms, sacrificing exacti- tude to harmony. Further, he must quite often lengthen his poem to be able to include in it all the words necessary to a complete expression of his idea ; vacant spaces left in verses have to be filled by more or less useless words whose meaning adds nothing to the expression of the thought. Occidental poetry being thus compelled to use too many words, and yet without being able to express its thought precisely, is naturally led to effects of harmony and poetical movement rather than analysis and preciseness. These are emotional elements, inclined to vagueness, often personal and individualistic. Utterly different is the case of a Chinese poet. His vocabulary is unlimited, and he can always use the word that best suits the most precise expression of his thought. His skill will consist in conciseness, and the effort of thought and attention necessary in the choice of words leads him to abstraction. Ideographical writing helps, too, to fortify those tendencies to abstraction. We saw that Chinese characters expressed thoughts and not merely sounds, so their form is already a first abstraction in itself. But, further, this writing system allows very skilful allusions of characters, analogies between different elements of characters bringing forth most subtle thought-complexes and leading the reader often a long way from the strict meaning of the character used. Needless to say, all this technique exists only in writing, and nothing remains when merely the sounds of the words are spoken. This once more proves to us the utter independence of written Chinese from the spoken language, the independence of literary art from speech, and the very great importance of The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese 9 the writing system as an artistic element. It may explain, too, the importance attached by Chinese to calligraphy ; in fact, only with ideographic writing systems can calligraphy be an art, as it then expresses ideas and not mere sounds. To Chinese literature calligraphy is about the same as oratorical art is to speech^it emphasizes the qualities of the work. Now that we have gathered a sufficient amount of material, we may try to sum up what are the peculiarities of Chinese literary technique due to monosyllabic language and ideographical writing. We see great care in the choice of words, an unlimited vocabulary, a tendency to rhythm and parallelism in every literary work, great conciseness, and yet fullness of expression. So much for the exterior, merely technical side. As far as the ideas are concerned, we may point out the tendency to abstraction and static character of expression, preferring pictures to movement. Having thus considered the peculiarities of the language in its most direct expression and before coming to the domain of thought, we may still add a few more remarks. We have already noticed that syntactic forms were very often stereotyped, aiid authors frequently repeated them in the very form in which they found them in th^ works of their predecessors. The importance of the work lies always in the choice of the words, and fixed grammatical forms are most convenient to the constant parallelism of Chinese literary productions. In Western works the originality of an author — his expressive power— lies chiefly in the develop- ment of the sentence, in the movement of the period ; the particular and personal elements of the thought, the nuances of expression are given chiefly by syntactical structure. Words are but elements necessary to form a whole sentence and express its movement ; the author does not always insist on their separate value, but considers the sentence as a homogeneous entity. On the contrary, Chinese words and their written expression form indepen- dent self-sufficing entities, often expressing complex ideas ; every one of them is to be considered apart. Thus the power of expression, the originality of the author and his work lie in the choice of terms, details of thought are expressed by precise characters, and grammatical structure serves mostly as an impersonal framework to them. That individual value of characters and impersonality of the structure of sentences explains a point in Chinese literature of which Westerners have often made a reproach to Chinese writers. Noticing that Chinese authors imitate 10 The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese very closely the works of their predecessors in the structure of sentences and the development of periods, they came to the conclusion that plagiarism was a frequent thing in China. The remark would be right, were Chinese structure analogous to the European one. As it is, it is very super- ficial and unjust. The syntactic frame has merely to satisfy necessities of parallel structure, so that the reader's mind, seeing the habitual forms, may concentrate all his attention on the characters themselves. Independent as they are, it is sufficient to change one or two of them in the whole sentence to bring forth an utterly different meanings a new idea, and the author will show the originality of his observation and thought — the only kind of originality really important in artistic productions. Under such circum- stances to accuse a Chinese author of plagiarism would be as wrong as to accuse every European poet writing a sonnet or a stanza, of copying all the earlier poets who wrote in similar forms. In the last example I am purposely comparing the whole of Chinese literature to Western poetry only. Accustomed to rhythmical and parallel structures, Chinese prose uses grammatical sentence-frames very much in the same way as Western verse technique uses different poetical metres ; in fact, we must not forget that parallelism wants the same number of words in parallel sentences, and, Chinese being monosyllabic, the number of words in a sentence could just as well make the number of syllables in a verse. More- over, as written language is different from the spoken one, previous compositions are tha only source from which it may be studied ; in Europe poetry only is studied in this way. Prose takes its technique from the spoken language, whereas Western poetry, as well as all Chinese literary production, is forced to reproduce more or less strictly earlier models, having no other elements of creation. That may explain with sufficient clearness why I had to compare Chinese literature reproducing grammatical structures to Western poetry reproducing poetical rhythms. Further, Chinese prose being so analogous to what in the West is considered as poetical technique, it is natural that Chinese poetry must use still more elaborate distinctions in order to be different from prose. In fact, Chinese poetical technique uses very strict phonetical distinctions in the rhythm and in the structure of every verse, based on monosyllabism and polytony of the language and therefore wholly unknown in polysyllabic languages. They may seem extremely difficult to foreigners, but, considering the The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese 1 1 peculiarities of the language, they are not more rigorous than laws of prosody and rhyme in European poetical art. Coming now to the ideas, the interior structure of literary works, we can easily see that the qualities we noticed in the technique are also characteristic for the mind. Polysyllabic languages borrow their literary effects chiefly from the syntax — the general structure of the work ; Western literary works must therefore be based on movement, be it narrative, if the subject is concrete, or emotional, if the subject is abstract. Monosyllabic languages have conciseness and precision ; so their literary works avoid expression of movement and prefer to give successions of statics. Thus linguistic considerations guide not only the structure of every sentence, but the structure of the whole work as well. Western works give movement, Chinese works give pictures. And, as the writing system leads the language to abstraction, those pictures never have a profusion of personal details: they present a sort of scheme, indicating only the few characteristic details strictly necessary to reveal the universal, typical aspect of the picture. Here, though always keeping as a basis the linguistic starting-point, we already reach the highest element of literary works — I mean, the ideas that inspire the author and guide the work. The transposition of the same elements into this new domain will at once show us the differences. Western authors, forced by their language to indicate movement, study and reproduce things that move and change, life in the personal aspect, considering every episode, every being from within, which makes it seem unique in its way ; they are concrete and human. Chinese authors have at their service an instrument of great pre- cision and considerable power of abstraction, so they are attached to the unchanging, nature, life, and feelings con- sidered from without ; and thus generalized and universal, they seek the universal elements of every isolated case, and come to abstraction through characteristic exterior details. Both Western and Chinese authors are inclined to give pictures of human feelings. Yet Western authors have a language which has too much movement in it to be pre- cise, so they generally give only the general outlines of the feeling, but can show its evolution and development. Chinese authors, maybe, will not succeed in giving such a mobile picture of its gradual development, but they will have a far more precise and delicately shaded picture of every phase of the evolution considered separately. Western works attempt to seem real by all and every 12 The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese means, to the risk of appearing commonplace ; they are looking for individual, living details, characteristic of only one moment or one person. They make the differentiation between particular cases by multiplying the number of details observed. Western authors are inclined to invent the subject, so as to have more freedom in building up their work. Chinese works are concise and clear. Even when reproducing a great number of facts, they do not make of them living and individual episodes, but merely note down the elements they need ; this allows them to deal with very great numbers of facts and persons, and yet the work need not seem confused. Yet generally Chinese artistic work reduces the elements of its subject to the very strict minimum ; from accidental exterior forms they always develop abstract, generalizing .elements, showing the thoughts or the feelings for which the exterior story serves only as an illustration. They like historical allusions and examples, but not in the way Western authors do when they try to revive history in a more or less changed and modernized way, unable to reproduce the past, since they are taking only the living detail, which disappears for ever, and is unique for every moment and every person. Historical allusions in a Chinese work are by no means revivals ; they are only quotations of well- known cases, admitted as characteristic for some given nuance of thought or feeling, and known by everybody as such. So the author takes them from the immense repertory of examples gathered by many centuries of literary practice merely to make his thought clear ; he never treats them otherwise than as abstract typical cases apart from personal or circumstantial elements. Both Western and Chinese authors are looking for details, but Western authors want them to be numerous and diversified, to make the individuality of the living particular case they are seeking to set forth ; Chinese authors want a detail that will be characteristic for the universal aspect of the case. However fine the nuances may be, they always seek to make them general ; an abstract observation, and not rr^erely a reproduction of occasional and secondary circumstances. To generalize this remark and see the interior aspect of it, one may say that Occidental authors reproduce the variety of events and personalities, while Chinese authors reproduce the variety of feelings and thoughts, the first giving the exterior aspect of things, the second their interior causes. It is still the same aspect that we saw in comparing phonetic to ideographic writing, The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese 13 one noting down the sounds of words, which is their exterior aspect, changing and uncertain ; the other noting down the meaning of words, which is their inner content, and remains unaltered in all phonetic changes. Thus, starting from the data of language and writing, we come to the definition of the very soul of literary creation. It is certain that the characteristics of a litera- ture are not proper to that art only, but are to be observed in every branch of art and spiritual activity of the nation, as the expression of its soul. For that reason we can see the same elements of notation of characteristic detail, abstraction, discontinuity, independent static value of data in painting, philosophy, music, and so on. Here a question arises : can we pretend that it is the language that has guided Chinese mentality on that way, writing being a mere consequence of the linguistic system ? I certainly should answer the question in the affirmative, but it is not a thing to be admitted on a simple assertion, and the ques- tion is certainly too wide to be discussed here. I will now recapitulate all the elements we pointed out to make a short rdsumd of what may be called the artistic qualities of Chinese literary language. The distinct qualities given to it by its peculiarities are the following : richness of vocabulary, precise and capable of endless increase, excelling in description, both abstract and concrete, by its preciseness and the independent value of the words ; rhythmic and parallel effects of structure, often reducing syntactic structure to a mere ornamental element ; visual literary effiects, allowed by ideographical writing, rendering most subtle and complex allusions and thoughts ; a vast repertory of quotations, allusions, and historical examples. Having such qualities, Chinese literature is naturally rather descriptive than narrative. Nature has a still more important place than in Europe ; love-stories, on the con- trary, that form the immense majority of Western poetry and even prose, are not so highly regarded in China. The cause must not be merely moral ; it is one more consequence of the analytic and generalizing, impersonal spirit of Chinese literature, already noted above. Chinese authors do not use the direct expression, as being often brutal — they analyze the feeling and the state of minds ; while Western authors narrate exterior effects, Chinese analyze interior causes and note successive psychological aspects. The soul of a Chinese is poetic, almost romantic. But the expression, using the most perfect instrument of literary Chinese, is purified and condensed ; by the notation of a few essential 14 The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese details it brings the particular case to the level of an all- human and not merely occasional and personal feeling. Thus, while the Chinese soul is romantic, yet of all Western literary forms, romanticism, with its vehement movement and insistent emphasizing of personality, is the remotest from the Chinese. Naturalism, too, is not very much nearer to them. On the contrary, classical poetry, didactic and miscellaneous works of the ancient times, literary productions of the Middle Ages, and, lasdy, some of the tendencies of the sixteenth century, come often very near to Chinese forms and ways of expression. Certain tendencies of modern literature do the same, but often intentionally. I have now, within the limits of my capacities, exhausted my task, giving a rapid list of the peculiarities of literary Chinese and explaining them by the particular qualities of the language. AH the time I was making a parallel between Chinese and Western, monosyllabic and polysyllabic technique, and emphasized all the elements characterizing each of the two groups. The impression doubtless is that the two groups of literature are as far from each other as can be, that there can scarcely be any common interest. This would be, needless to say, far too quick and super- ficial a conclusion. Let us remember what was said in the very beginning of this paper : I wished to show the differences between Western and Chinese literature, and thus based my whole comparison on the differentiating elements of the language, peculiar to every literature. No wonder the differences appeared essential and numerous, affecting the whole structure of the works. But should this be a sufficient reason to neglect Chinese literature as Europeans do ? Certainly not. Considering literary evolution, not from the point of view of its interior unity, but of its exterior variety, we may say that every literature contains all tendencies, however opposed to each other they may be ; there are Western authors seeking conciseness and abstraction, and there are Chinese narrators — though the former often suffer from the incompatibility of the language with this tendency, and the latter appear in China in a period when literature is either not yet formed or already showing the first signs of decay. But the fact is, that differentiations do not alter the essential problems of human thought and feeling, which are the same all over the earth. Thus, peculiarities of Chinese artistic method of thought and feeling are not essential differences but differences of conceiving the same problems. There can be no incompatibility of minds, there are only new and The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese 15 different views of problems, and this is the more inter- esting. I should like, after this theoretical analysis, to give a few examples taken from both Chinese and Western literature, to show how very alike they can be in their form and even expression, and yet what di^erences may be observed. As the differentiation belongs to the language, while the similarity belongs to the thought, I have preferred to take examples of the latter, still showing in every case, behind the exterior likeness, differences of conception. I take the examples at random, as I encountered them among many similar ones while reading, merely to show that, generally speaking, all human literatures have points of similarity, and that differences due to the characteristics of languages do not impede that similarity. I preferred not to take modern Chinese productions, to avoid any suspicion of imitation. Here are, first, two descriptions of autumn landscapes : " The dew is icy at dawn. It is autumn. Everything is melancholy, quiet, limpid. Clouds, like swans, are floating in the sky." " What is the aspect of autumn ? Mist is gathering and clouds are floating away. The air is pure and clear, the sky seems higher, and the light is limpid." The elements noted in these two pictures are identical ; they seem to be taken in the same climate at the same season. Yet I translate the first from Russian and the second from Chinese; the first piece was written in Northern Russia and the second in Central China, the first in the twentieth, the second in the eleventh century. The Russian text is that of M. Remisoff, one of the best contemporary Russian authors; he was very much aston- ished when I told him I intended to make the above parallel, as he had never read any Chinese literary work. The second piece was written by the great writer, poet, and statesman, Ou-yang Siou. In that very simple example of artistic production, a pure and impersonal description, we can register only similarity ; the author's point of view is not shown. Now let us proceed further. As we have had deiscriptions of autumn, here are two more, unveiling the symbolism of the landscape : " A year has three hundred and sixty-five days ; wind and frost, like sword-points, are restlessly pricking us. Beauty's charm and freshness last but little ; there comes a day when they vanish and no one can get them back again." "A day passes— another— unsafe and vague as ships under the wind. Here have I seen shades and flowers, water and grass. . . . Now all is silent and quiet." Those variations on the theme of autumn seem very close in their inspiration. Yet I translate the first from 1 6 The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese the Chinese text of Ts'ao Hs'ue-chin of the seventeenth century, and the second from the Portuguese text of Francisco Sa de Miranda, sixteenth century. And, as it is more than a bare statement, we can easily find character- istic differences in the ending of the two poems. Here are the last verses of the Portuguese sonnet : " I had still other causes of grief. But though everything can be renewed, that alone is without remedy." This explains the whole poem as lyrical allegory of love ; the author reduces nature to the state of a picture of his personal feelings. Here is the end of the Chinese poem, fairly long, inserted in a novel, both conditions which may have allowed it to display strong personal feeling : "Some day the spring is over, rosy faces become old. Then flowers fade, young girls die. . . . They never knew each other," The conclusion is generalizing ; from the particular case of the young girl to whom the whole poem is ascribed the author comes to a consideration of the brevity of youth and its charms. The vanity of life is a subject that poets like to develop. It naturally brings out the brevity of life. Here is an illustration : " His battle ships covered a thousand miles, his banners hid the sky. He was a hero of the time, and yet, where is he now ? But where are the saint apostles, where the noble kings of France? So much the wind blows away." This is not, as it seems to be, one single poem. The beginning is translated from the Chinese text of Su Shi, eleventh century ; the end, starting with the words " But where," etc., is translated from the French of Fran9ois Villon, fifteenth century. Once more the ending of the two poems shows clearly the difference of conception, though the passages taken are strikingly similar. The French author makes a long list of famous people of the past, and comes to the conclusion : " So much the wind blows away." He takes the personal point of view and deplores the complete disappearance of everything. In the Chinese text the author says to a friend who makes analagous observations : " Do you know the water and the moon? This water, that flows away, is never gone ; that moon, now full, now decreasing, in fact never changes. If we consider every- thing from the point of view of that which changes, then heaven and earth will vanish in a second. But if we The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese 17 consider everything from the point of view of that which does not change, then all beings and ourselves are endless ; what else could we wish ?" That is the difference between personal Western philo- sophy and impersonal Chinese conceptions. The idea of brevity of life naturally brings forth the idea of the vanity of human deeds. Here are two striking pictures of it : " I met a traveller from an antique land Who said : Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command. Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed : And on the pedestal these words appear : My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings ; Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair. Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away." " In ancient times the king of Liang was rich and magnificent. Many a man of valour came to his court. But a thousand years rolled indolently by, and this high terrace is now the only survival of the past. Silent and deserted, it is invaded by autumnal herbs, and mournful winds blow there from a thousand miles afar." The first poem, of course, is written to Shelley, the second by Kao Shi, eighth century. Here, too, under the striking analogy of the development, we note the same characteristic differences between Western and Chinese mentality : the English poet shows the vanity of personal effort, of the glorification of individuals ; the Chinese poet shows the brevity of human life, the instability of human works. One fact is characteristic of both mentalities : Shelley gives the name of the king, who for him is rather a fictitious person ; Kao Shi does npt give the name of the King of Liang, though he was a well-known historical person. If we come to more exclusively lyrical poems, in the Occidental meaning of the word, we can as easily find the same analogy in their work,, and yet the same characteristic difference of the author's point of view. Here is one of the most frequently treated subjects — parting lovers : " We had much love for each other, but it seemed to us we had none. Only, at the moment we parted we saw we could laugh no more. We did not cry, we did not sigh ; tears and sobs came later." 1 8 The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese Once more, this is not one single poem. The beginning of it is Chinese, the end German (Heine, nineteenth century). And, though the two fragments seem perfectly homogeneous, it is sufficient to consider the end of the Chinese poem and the beginning of the German one to see the usual differences. The end of the Chinese poem says : " The candle, though without feeling, pities our parting and sheds tears for us up to the dawn." This gives the only concrete detail of the parting, char- acteristic for the whole scene, giving at once the whole picture. At the same time it is of an exquisite sentimental delicacy ; the poet says nothing about the lovers' tears, he says only they can laugh no more, yet things themselves are crying over them. Now the beginning of the German poem : " When two persons are parting, they stretch their arms, they start to cry and sob continuously." This gives a very general picture of parting in its most common aspect, and thus emphasizes the strictly personal character of the parting described in the end, as something quite individual. These examples, as can be seen, might be continued indefinitely. I shall give but one more, in which the similitudes and differences are particularly well seen. Here are two poems in which a married woman is supposed to refuse gifts from a man whom she still likes. The first says : " Though your jewels are as beautiful as you say, you came in an improper moment to show them. I should have loved to see their splendid display if you had come earlier, but you came late. What would people say of me, married, and expecting the arrival of my noble husband, if I was not grieved, but pleasantly surprised at the sight of this heart of diamonds ? Take your diamonds back, although I know that, losing them, I lose a beautiful and lasting light, equal to the sun himself. Do not complain of my fierce temper, accuse yourself, you that come when the time is passed, when circumstances are no more favourable." The second says : " You know I have a husband, and yet you offer me two shining pearls. I pitied your anxiety and fixed them on my red silk dress. The high pavilions of my home are close to the Imperial Park, my husband is on duty in the Emperor's palace. I know that the feelings of your heart are as pure as the sun and the moon, but you will understand that I. must serve my husband, to whom my faith is given for life and death. I give you back your shining pearls, but two tears are slowly falling. Why did we not meet at the time when I was not yet married." The Artistic Possibilities of Literary Chinese 19 It is difficult indeed to obtain more perfect analogy. But the circumstances of the composition of the texts reveal their deep differentiation. I translated the first of them from a play of Pedro Calderon de la Barca, "A secreto agravio secreta venganza," seventeenth century. The plot shows us how, after this refusal, the woman still secretly meets the man who courts her, and finally both perish by the hand of the jealous husband. The whole story is an action. As to the second poem, I translated it from the Chinese text of Chang Chi, ninth century, and the commen- tators explain it as an allegory. Chang Chi was on imperial service when a mighty rebel-chief solicited him to join his party ; in this poem, though flattering the mighty rebel, Chang Chi explains he is bound to be faithful to the Emperor. Never, I think, two poems as close as these in their form and meaning were inspired by more different intentions. I can now close my list of examples. It is sufficient to have taken them from Russian, English, German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese literatures, from the sixteenth, seventeenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, to show that constant analogies may be found between Western and Chinese literature, and the differences being permanent and great, nevertheless do not indicate incompatibility of minds, or the impossibility of mutual study and translation, but, on the contrary, make this study the more interesting and useful, showing a different mentality, a different way of thought, due, as we saw, to the differences in the principles of the languages. PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY BILLING AND SONS LTD., GUILDFORD AND ESHER