Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1900-06-23
THE UPRISING IN CHINA
Minister WI Ting Fang on the
Boxers Outrages.
CAUSE OF OUTBREAK EXPLAINED.

Says, Are at the Bottom or the
Present trouble Rather Than Mall
ice-strange Fear of Chiacse Tor
Their Eyes - Reform Ia Consul
Service Suggested.
WI Ting Fang, the Chinese minister
ut Washington. is one of the most dis
tinguished and enlightened foreigners
in the United States Literally edu-
Gated in the schools of both Europe and
China, he has served his country with
distinction as diplomat. both at home
and abroad Having learned English
In his youth, he is not only perfectly
familiar with our language bat he also
knows our literature, laws and GUS
toms. Probably no other man Of the
time is more in touch with the civilian
ton Of both the occident and the orient
and better understands the questions
that trouble and affect them both.
Although the representative Of the
most conservative nation in the world,
he is invariably on the side Of progress,
and this fact makes his opinion in any
matter of controversy between China
and the outside world Of special inn
portance. He can look at the matter
from both points of view. He appre-
ciates China's strength; he knows her
vast natural resources as no foreigner
can On the other hand. he can COM
pare China with more progressive ma
tons, whose civilization he under
stands as few of his countrymen do.
He has tried by every means in his
power to bring China into closer con-
tact with the outside world. 1t was
he who was chiefly responsible for the
construction of the first railroad in
China The following interview with
representative Of the New York
Journal, after being written out, was
submitted to the Chinese minister, who
revised it carefully and then authoriz-
| ed its publication:
When asked the other day what he
thought about the present uprising of
the Boxers, WI Ting Fang said:
''It is very unfortunate that these
outbreaks should occur. They are to
| be greatly deplored by the enlightened
of all nations. Since ! have been IN
| America l have so frequently had
cause to bemoan the inaccuracy of for
eign dispatches that l am hoping the
reports of this trouble may be greatly
exaggerated.
mot long ago read dispatch from
Picking which stated as fact that a
certain high official had been degraded
| in rank. was astonished, for the
news seemed Incredible to me. l watch
| ed impatiently for the Chinese mail,
but when 1t arrived 1t contained no
| confirmation of the newspaper dis
| patch 1t never came. / can only ex-
plain such inaccuracies by the fact
| that the newspaper correspondents, be-
| ing ignorant of the language of the
| country, are often misled and perhaps
| find 1t difficult to get at the real facts.
| But exaggerated or not, the situation
Is bad enough. There seems to be a
| strong feeling Of antipAthy to foreign
ers among the lower classes Of China.
| Ignorance and superstition underlie
| this feeling. Shut In as the Chinese
| have been for centuries, perhaps it Is
natural that they should feel some fear
| In the presence of foreigners, whose
| ways are so different from theirs.
| ~This fear has ascribed stranger at
| tributes that increase their dread Of
| them. 1t is a current belief, for in
| stance that foreigners are anxious to
| get the pupils of our eyes for medical
purposes. This is an idea about which
| even the learned entertain some doubts.
| l have frequently been asked for my
| opinion on that subject. l remember
assuring the emperor himself at an au-
| dience / had with him that there was
| no foundation for such rumor. / told
him that l had never heard even the
remotest suggestion to warrant it and
| that, as / was able to read English
books, would surely have come across
some reference to such q practice if
| anything of the kind were in vogue.
| Roman Catholic nuns in China fire.
| quently maintain founding homes, but
| in spite of their good intentions they
are undeservedly regarded with sus-
| picion. Unfortunately. there are still
many Chinese who think that they
take the children in simply for the
sake of their eyes.
There was rumor a few days ago
that some Chinese had had their cues
cut off, and this indignity was wrongly
attributed to agents employed by for
eigners. The people commonly believe
them adept, too. In use of poisons.
remember that there was a perfect ep-
idemic of rage against foreigners a
number of years ago owing to the fact
that some had been suspected of poi
soning the water. Fury against them
| spread like wildfre until 1t was not
safe for foreigner to be even seen
near well. Whenever have had the
opportunity l have endeavored to ex-
plain away these fancies and preju-
dices of my countrymen, but too often
they exclaim: oh, you are too much
imbued with foreign ideas. OF course
you will defend them
"That such ignorance and supersti-
| tion are at the bottom of the present
outbreak rather than any malice afore-