Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-11-26
THE CHINESE WAKING Up.
Clubs for the Defense OF the Empire
Reing Formed.

Clubs for the Defense of the Empire
Reing Formed.
From the North ChinR Herald.
The English are great ON clubs. hut the
Chinese can beat them in that line Since
the war with Japan the breaking out Of
clubs has taken the form of an epidemic. OF
the more epRemersl organizations. the most
noted was he Reform Club which gave UNI
bragg to the government and FASTENED its
own death by demanding a free constitution
and all elective parliament. Another formed
about the same time still exists under the
curious title of q School for Shame. Its
prime object is. TO- excite a proper state of
feeling in view of China's humiliation at the
hands of her neighbors, beginning with the
islanders onsthe east
A more formidable society is now looming
on the ergs Of the .uture. 1t ears he name
of Pao-kuotfiui or Patriotic Assocla ion
The account of its origin. as given by one
or its members. is as follows; A, squad of
German soldiers having made their way to
kaomi. town adjacent to kiao-Choll some
of them entered the temple of Confucius
broke off an arm of the sage and carried If
away as rophv. destined 20 figure IN :;
Berlin museum. Z his was II ore than hinese
pride could sand The story vas indus
'riously circulated among the scholars of
The empire assembled for the triennial met
ropoitan examinations Rushing together
like the siversmiths of Ephesus, they an
M
not from missionaries, but from the vandal-
ism of German soldiers The creased car
tridges which lighted the fires of the great
mutiny in India because they were supposed
to be designed to break down the native
castles were not quicker In arousmg popular
Indignation than this broken arm of Con-
fucius.
petition to the throne was drawn I'D. in
which the signers pledged their lives, for
tunes and sacred honor to aid in sweeping
the country of its foes. The next step was
to organize. and this was done by the adop-
ton of a constitution consisting of thirty
articles and twenty-five bylaws. The por-
tentOus document. however, says nothing of
the broken arm of Confucius, who might
now very prudently wear the famous gown
that had one sleeve shorter than the other
but begins by saying: This patriotic club is
formed for the defense of the empire in
view of the fact that our territory Is daily
sliced away. the powers of the government
daily circumscribed. and the people more
and more oppressed (by Whom0.' In the
second article it cites a decree issued short
ly after the late war. which calls on the ma
ton to prepare itself to ayenge the past and
to safeguard the future using a Chinese
classic phrase which might have been Dor
rowed from ViTgiPs yanquished bull, which
lay on stony ground and chewed the cud
of bitterness until able to humble his ad-
versary.. The three things to be defended
are the territory, the people and the re-
ligion.'' 49,
One of the measures proposed was to in
stitute in all meetings OF the central and af-
filiated clubs system of preaching con-
fessedly borrowed from the west. On this
subject bylaw prescribes that the texts
for discourse shall be confined to themes
relating to the preservation of the state the
religion. the people and the race"
The race referred to is not the whole
human race. but that portion of the yellow
race or that branch Of 1t which flourishes on
the mainland. The thing to be sought with
all diligence Is to preserve it from contaml-
nation by intermixture with races of a
lighter shade. This branch of the subject Is
certain to offer unlimited scope for vitupera-
tive eloquence of the Chou-Han type Eff
forts are to be made to extend these clubs
to every town and hamlet in the empire
Any wind is better than dead calm. but
the extension of these clubs is much more
likely to make lively time for missionaries
and their converts than it is to check the
zeal OF the soldiers in quest Of objects of
antiquarian Interest. 'i.f.' -''