New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-29
III HING CHANG.

The oldest and the newest civilizations meet
to-day in the presence Of ii Hung Chang upon
American soil. There have been many illustri-
Gus visitors 10 this country, but none whose
coming has been more suggestive and signi-
cant than his II well that Lafayette
should be Hospitality entertained by the Nation
whose independence he had assisted TO secure,
and that KoSSuth. who had lost all bNt honor
in the struggle for European republicanisn.
should be similarly received. Great men OF
Anglo-SaXOn blood have come hther as our
own kinsmcn. and those of other lands have had
apprcciativc welcome at divers times ana be-
cause of special circumstances. But here is
man of vast rcnOwn. not only OF alien nativity,
bur actually outside the Caucasian race. the
representative Of n country that is at the anti
podcS of ours. socially and politically even more
than geographically. between whom and the
average American there appears TO exist scarce
~ n trace of sympathy. and who has in prac-
teal detail only the slightest claim upon Amerl-
can consideration Yet he is as he should he,
welcomed with every mark Of honor and with
every respectful courtesy the people and the
Government can show.
The reason is not difficult to find. The mod
crn man can recognize distinction Of personal
iiy. by whomSoevor displayed. The time when
a mans standing was determined by the color
Of his skin or by the race from which he sprang
is past. Greatness is greatness everywhere.
Humanity is humanity everywhere. nation
is nation nc matter how far removed from
our artificial standard. and he who comes to us
as a representative of it must be esteemed for
that nations sake and for the sake Of the multi
tudinous humanity it embOdes. This man.
moreover. is more than a representative OF
$50. 900 of or fellow-mcn. lie is in HIM
self, according to the ways Of his people, one OF
the greatest men Of the age-intellecuay. po-
litically socially. And that greatness must he
recognized by those whose ways are not the
ways Of China. To him. no doubt, General
Grant seemed as strange and foreign and out
landish as he himself to us. Yet 10 more
promptly and generously recognized Grants
greatness than did Ii Hung Chang. who ever
since their memorable meeting has reckoned the
American cheftain one Of he two men whom
alone. of all he has ever met. he deems entirely
great. II would be scant credit 10 our courtesy
if should be less generous in our recognition
Of the illustrous Chinaman.
There is a superb symbolism in this mingling
of two widely sundcred civilizations. 1t typi-
fes. as nothing else in human power could do,
the ultimate and essential unity Of mankind in
origin and in destiny. The nation that has
grown hoary with age not merely through
centuries but through menniumS. comes in The
person Of lis greatest son 10 visit 10 fraternize
with. ana to learn from the Nation whose very
birth occurred within the memory of the last
generation. The hateful echoes Of foreign
devils" on the one hand and Of "hcathen Chi.
nee on the other die in wcl-mcritcd oblivion rs
Yankee and Mongol clasp hands and give each
other loyal greeting. as man 10 man and as
brother 20 brnlheT. We need not submerSo all
practically in sentiment. But he needs not to
Ice an over imaginative man who hears the open
ing promise of a trucr humanity and more
actual brotherhood Of all the nations in the
words Of welcome which the American people
offer To ii Hung Chang