The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-10-25


dition and custom are everything to thett.
They are linked to the dead past by the
unbreakable bonds of precedent; they
are chained to an historical corpse. Their
Go4bthment, as has been seen,, 10 crude;
their languags, without alphabet, infec,,
tion or grammar, Is urwieldly and
unsuitable for q progressive literature !;
their blind prejudice against post. mortSm
examinations still leaves them in igno.
rance of fhuman anatomy the functions OF
the heart, lttngn, liver, and other organs
ore sealed books to.thetn they make no
distinction between veins and arteries, or
nerves and tendons. By mere guess
work they have hit upon the gall bladder
as the seat of courage and assurance,
which, according to modern slang, is not
30 far arniss. In medicine ignorance and
superstition prevail, and the medical
board at Pekin, in the exercise of its pro.
found wisdom, has sanctioned such
remedies as dried red spotted lizards, silk
worm moths, t6ftois and oyster shells,
dragons teeth, verdigris, bears gall,
shaVings of rhinoceros' horns, elephants
skin, &c. In astronomy, their Chaldean
heritage, they have progressed no further
than popularly, to believe that the earth
is sa1are and fiat; and that eclipses are
caused by sotne monster attacking the
sun or moon. Their agricultural meth.
DDS are of The most primitive sort. And
so it goes through all their SO; called arts
and sciences: They have not the inner
ent life and power to break their way out
Of the cocoon of early superstition.
Although as nation they are forty cen.
turies old, they are yet in the first stages
of evolution. We Americans live more
in one year than they in forty; we have
made more progress In one hundred years
than they ID four thousand.
But in spite Of their Inherent draw
backs to progress, the past of the Chinese
would not have been so barren of achieve.
ment and the future would not be 80
discouraging of any improvement if the
Mongolians were not 60 impregnable to
the influences of outside civilization.
Some of the barriers to foreign influence
are natural, some artificial. Among the
former is their language. 1t is almost
impossible for foreigner to learn their
inchoatc language, which, as has been
stated, has no alphabet of syptax, which
is made up of about 10000 different CHAR
acters, and in which the slightest, varia.
tion of intonation makes vast difference
in signiHcanGe. The dialect of Canton
contains about 700 different sounds. It
is literal fact that Englisbmen 60 crazy
trying to learn it. As consequences, it
is rare, if ever, that foreign resident
masters the native tongue, and our Gov.
ernment representatives conduct their
official business through the medium of
native writers and speakers. As the
gateway to the heart and mind of peo.
pie is through their language, this
obstacle is q serious one.
Besides these natural impediments
artificial .hindrances are raised. The
Chinese Government is as anxious to
exclude foreigners as we are to exclude
the Chinese, Every substantial conces.
sion which the civilizaed world has
obtained from, and every inch Of foothold
which it has secured in; The Flowery
Kingdom has been achieved III ct arnats.
One of the most striking evidences of the
Mopgolian prejudice against innovations
is the utter absence of railroads in the
country. A few years ago some foreign.
ers secured the right to build dozen
miles of railroad and operate it for short
time. The Chinese viewed it askance,
and at length purchased it-not to run it
themselves, but deliberately to tear it up.
America and China are as complete anti
podes in this respect as they are
geographically. We have half the rail
road mileage of the world; they none;
and when one considers the vast civiliz.
ing influence and the great potency for
progress of q great railroad system, which
brings the ends of country together,
gives quick communication among the
people, excites ambition, opens avenues
for enterprise, develops community of
interest and makes nation homoge.
neous, it is evident that here one finds
great factor of the disparity between
American and Chinese people.
While there are q few miles of tele.
graph, the use of this means of commu-
nication.is hampered by the unwieldiness
of the language and the impossibility of
expressing it in telegraphic symbols,
except through the cumbersome and
inadequate method of conversion into
numbers.
Another evidence of wilful coDserva.
tism of the Chinese Government may be
cited in the recent recall Of the Chinese
students who were being educated in this
country and who were becoming too
much imbued with the spirit of enlight'
ened, Cbristianizel civilization. In
Justice to the capacity of the Chinese for
development and expansion when remov-
ed while young from their own depressing
atmosphere and placed in the inspiring
and stimulating surroundings of an
energetic and progressive people, it must
be said that these selected youths showed
evidence of high powers of acquisition.
If all Chinese immigrants to this country
were persons of the same age and ability
and it were possible to arouse in them
tie same aspirations and ambitions,
China would not be what she is to day,
and America would not be confronted
with the problem which faces her to day.
From even this cursory glance over
vast subject it is apparent that the rea
sons for the Mongolian's inability to
assimilate with Americans are radical.
We see here the leaves and branches, but
there are long, deep roots, beyond super.
fetal notice, striking back into past
centuries. China presents great oppor.
tunities and great inducements for
enlightened government, but the nation
is so iuseparably Joined to its idols
literal and 6gurative-that were the most
intelligent, progressive and powerful
mind Of the age to be given omnipotent
sway over that people to day, it would
be centuries before the enormous mass
with its popderoas inertia, could be
severed from its dead weights, set in
motion and raised to the plane which
American civilization now occupies.
A Bible Puzzle.