The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-30 00:00:00

REVOLUTION IN CRIN.A.

(Prom the Times.)
the grestelt
The Chinese revolution is, in all respects, e Cede
sr'
revolution the world has yet seen. In mere as
it comprises a poulation equal to that of 01112_, festerse
all America put together. It unites the elliej • toff (If
of all the great changes that stand out in the
the world. As a destruction of temples, and too
a total change of religion, it recalls to us the e hileulhe
of the Christian church, and those later times w' Ao
northern nations embraced Christianity ill Inas, the great
the extermination of a people, it compares wit"
tiisios,
conflicts of races, the irruptions, fusions, elPauthentic
and returns that occupy the earliest ages °f decline
history, and resumed their prominence on the and as
and fall of Rome. As a total change of systel% g day
opening of China to foreigners, it so far does 1 This
the usually slow work of modern civilisetissu'oe not •
mighty change has come so fast on us that we moose
yet realised its consequences. So great is the and the
of China, and so small the sympathy between itkg
rest of the world, that the Emperor of China fa:, es *
figure of speech with his alleged brother the in°°,hing is
being who knows nothing, and of whom nw% bac°
known in this our own sphere, and with wile?), ;:threcis
no imaginable concern. In a moment that wall" t our
down, that gulf is filled up, and that veil is rend that
der. China has hitherto been the very type ef„ddee
is unchangeable, formal, slavish ; all of .°,„" sat 3,
not only yields, but absolutely falls to re`tere e'
foreign impulse. But the most marvellous frsigeia'
this revolution remains. The means are utterly °the h°6
cant. The chief agent appears to be a persoil woo
received some instruction from a missionary,*ethe rnis
conduct or apparent motives were such that wed to
sionary refused to baptize him. In fact, be ssee nth
be a mere charlatan. On comparing his it
the failure of another pretender nearer home' kell
tainl occurs to us that Mr. Provis has ini-I,„nee of
sphere,and that if he had made a dash for the tut.„-0
China he might have succeeded. The huge ballvwso old
collapsed at the prick of a needle. There
saying that every thing has a handle, if we °l3„l3istee;
where to find it. For ages it has been the COu'Ari,
the civilised world that China had no hs111";:litil
could not get at it, or into it, or do anythingftkelessl
The result shows that there was a way, neve., OPer3;,
for somebody has found it. He has pronounced k,
Sesame," and the everlasting hinges begin to cre:Pcierlt
huge gates begin to turn, the deep recesses efweittes
empire are opened to light, we enter, and Chins
part of the world. °jog to
Why, in a couple of years we shall all be goal °ft
China. The last mail left Hong Kong on theAoisg
July, and arrived here on the 27th of August, tills
in 48 days ; and there is every prospect of lope,
being much shortened. People are tired ef
open
now that it is railroaded, handbooked, and “ii,aoCov;
up,"
as the phrase is, to its very backbone• °. stla
has been burnt ; Petersburg is a city of arse, i°l
palaces ; Constantinople, we have been lately •81311947
city of wooden boxes ; Athens is a bad fierf
G t; thn4l,
Germany has been so often scoured out .
years' wars and its seven years' wars that its oP"pris
nothing to show ; Berlin is a poor imitation of
et Pet.
Munich is in pieces, fresh painted, and net Ja eve',
together ; Paris everybody has seen over si,orhere.
again ; and these are the best—the rest are nyetbie6,„.
But there is something new in China-4°,13100'
genuine and undiscovered. It is undoubtedlff yests
ancient, curious, and original. So in a couPle °we in
we shall all be running to the Chinese Censilioreir
Leadenhall-street or Bucklersbury to get onr eYeT
office passport rised by a gentleman with slne Pi"
high-cheeked bones, and yellow skin, but without o,ho
and dressed like everybody else in the city. Theeeeol °f
don't wish to be the pioneers of the grand stand aft;
British tourists may wait another twelvemonth, ,kieii,
Murray will have by that time a "Handbook of4'-'outbere
or perhaps Northern China with Japan, slid 'n of it.
China with the Indian Archipelago. A eollns- a it.
domitable John Bulls, with their carpet bagel, neties
that unmistakeable costume which donotes tne "river*
all over the world, will force its way up all thetio th,°
over all the mountains, and along all the esni,/;ish' ladles.
great wall of China is surmounted by Eng,"ier-fitele
maids and English parasols. What splendid i•-t the ef;
shall have at Pekin, and what incessant jokes °for les,ll
ploded peculiarities of Celestial cookery. s "a -
every lad of twenty will have " done ' eetulciX
have his budget of stories of Chinese collriereipiters ° 00
sionaires, cabs and custom-houses. lirhnt 'tie°
impose'
and by
we have complaining of hotel charges and
travellers, for John Chinaman is a bit of a regr ;fel otl
like the majority of Christians that it is Nvelle;ii ksr
he is not one of them. In ten years time we,,o,„ssia, °
much more of China than we now know of
shall know within fifty years. ofeur;
Then what a country for railways, canals, g''stweell:
nies, water companies, and all sorts of inve t of
The Chinese pay most admirably. The efibr the Pr
charging the opium ransom has contributed t0....04;
sent revolution by the exhaustion of the ttl'adoji):
The people have always been resdY .re Woe
whatever improvements the jealousy of thelo 0u,.•
rulers permitted them to import ; and it aPPetr;cl/61-,,i
Lupo ep
authority of Jesuit and other writers two u ej
ago, that aversion to change is not an orignimere ie. 00
of the Chinese character. We shall have ste‘sh owe
of
out end on the great rivers before long, ,iootle.,Sred
engineers and with Chinese engines. lueass
internal travelling in China is such, that we are
._into _
by those who have managed to penetrate into 011'.. berer'
that there are continuous streams of travellers oeuat ed
on foot, and on litters, from Canton to the gor crOCI io
some fifteen hundred miles ;—in many Part! 8 reoul°of
as to impede one another, and even in teener outore
passes so numerous' as to leave no trace' ibeee
01
sight of others before and behind. Among] 00
long lines of merchandise. What a c'se"of
traffic ! Our children may see China Thais
oisl
a network of railways as England itself.
mere speculation on the possible cool'. wad'.
change, for it is evident that the successful _ and
are as disposed to invoke the aid of progrees°ooo;
lization as defensive auxiliaries against "woe cljt
bigotry of the Mantchoos as the latter :were 'ins. .00
is posedfelt
thatto re
thel y o
most
ot
shte
effectualfixe dness
wayo of their
teoi r
sionsittllit,lietteixogelebs:4l
cba
of the Tartars, and prevent them everungt7l ° 113;01
again in China, is to revolutionise the Btriet 1:311'
as possible, and as far as consistent with be ,she
code. That our new relations with China
ev,v...ion o,„1
out trouble we do not imagine, for the r religion ideetp
conquerors is one which we cannot clelinnitiriou'i3O,se
with our own ; but, at all events, a very .140 „pa
unnatural state of things is removed,' ~7"5 walls qv
population is no longer imprisoned withu l
to red lit
shores, and we shall now no longer be 0 r
threshold of the empire.