The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-09-14

! -&sL said that they
! ~ S| are t'the same
| El.,5I0(! yesterday, today
| llllA-=EE-521 and forever" As
, they are today
they were at the dawn of their history,
/ which goes back 5000 years. Explorers
| from the Roman world in the days of
| the great emperors came back to re-
port the existence of civilization in
! China superior to any other then
known. The inhabitants were opulent
, and peaceful above all the nations of
the earth, and Persia, the great and
powerful kingdom, avoided war with
the Chinese in the time of the Roman
! emperor Valerian. In ancient times
the warlike Turks invaded China, but
refrained from attempting conquest.
What then is the secret of China's
stability and endurance? Primarily the
Chinese political system is that of home
rule and generally that Of popular
rule. cit is the peasant who rules"
/, says one modern authority, ''by hui
man right which no son of heaven
| dare question. When he does, he for
| feits his own right and another will
soon occupy his seat. It has been the
wisdom Of successive dynasties to re-
spect this law of the land, to protect
the people In all their privileges and
to base on this universal suffrage their
own right to reign. In the Sinking,
that most ancient classic, three canons
of government are laid down, one Of
which Is that the people have the
right to depose sovereign who either
from active wickedness or vicious indo-
lence gives cause to oppressive or ty-
rannical rule.''
The same writer, Mr.. A. r. Colqu-
houn, an Englishman, who has lived
long in the east, says that the rights
Of the people are primarily the possess
sion of the land, freedom of industry
and trade and the control of their local
affairs. In theory the emperor is the
sole proprietor of the soil, but in eff
feet his right is limited to the collection
Of the land tax, excepting in cases Of
rebellion or similar act Of forfeiture.
The land tax can never be increased,
and in comparison with other countries
the people are exceptionally free from
official interference.
Home rule in China has two sep
-arate spheres of action, that of the
province, which is autonomous and
answers closely to the American state
in the days of state rights, and that
Of the circuits, districts and villages
wi fy1fn hn
present crisis the anxiety of the mo-
ment is how will this or that province
or belt of provinces stand if it comes
to a collision between China and the
world. The wise ones know that the
decision will be free one and that
the voluntary attitude of 100000
to 100000 people means much in
the way Of permanent peace and order.
Like the emperor the governor of
province is politically powerless. He
must side with the people or take the
consequences. The tenure of office of
a Chinese governor is brief. He is not
citizen of the province which he gov
erns and has no future there, hence
he does not wait for open rebellion tic
warn him that he Is unpopular nor
exert himself to stamp out dsaffection.
The mainsprings of power are far be-
low him, down among the district and
village officials. 1t goes without say
ing, therefore, that in times of political
foment local interests prevail Politi-
cally there is no state, either national
or federal. An agreement with a Chi
nese emperor or governor is not bind
ing upon the nation nor the province.
The people never have had Caesar
nor a czar nor Napoleon to overawe
them with war club and sword. They
obey creeds, not manifestoes, and
march freely to martyrdom, while they
refuse to dance one measure to the
| tune of the war drum. Call it fanati-
cism. 1t is Chinese patriotism and
springs from love of country and race
cult. The only way to make such
people over is to exterminate 1t, and
Ii Hung Chang suggests that it would
be a tough Job to wipe out 50O,OOO,tOO
souls.
Taking the case broadly. the Chinese
social state is held together by commu-
nifty of interest, solidarity of purpose,
the force Of personal honor and public
compulsion. Every man is upon his
! honor to do what his ancestors did and
his contemporaries do, and to fail In
one jot or little is to incur eternal in
J fanny. The moral faint, the unsettled
debt, falls upon the family and the
community. There is no living down q
crime, no purchase of oblivion by exile.
The individual inherits no rights nor
/ substance, nor can he acquire any. He
! is one of tribe, and all that he is and
ali that he creates belong to the tribe.
The social status of the Chinaman is
like that of club member. If club
man obeys the rules, well and good; If
not, he is cast out. There is no appeal
and no mitigation of penalty. But the
Chinese rules cover every act of life
from the cradle to the grave and even
overshadow the beyond. One infrac-
ton means death or what is worse. out
! lawry, exile and the anger of the gods.