Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-07-20
NO SUCH THING AS CHINA.

we are accustomed 10 speak of
Chine. and the Chinese people as if
ltfsy Mers distinct entities saws a
writer in the Nineteenth Century Re-
view, Who declares that
This is an error at the bottom Of
lmanyof our mistakes AND coEftsons.,
We may use the word China as a con-
Nenient EXPRESSION 10 denote a certain
vast portion of the earths surface, but5
in no more exact sense. What lgures
as China on the map is a number al
districts often separated from eachSeth-
5er and from the5center BY i!nmellse6(lis-
3tanees. differing nideiy iii climate re-
sources and cunfisuratien Inhabited by
people of largely VARYING ra temper
.ament. habit, religion and language.
The Mohammecians. Of Mhom there
are thirty millions, regard the Budd-
snists as irrel!eious Foreigners. TIE
inhabitants of the central and northern
provinces. says Mr.. keane. scarcely
regard those OF the extreme southeast
districts as FELLOW cbuntrSmen at ali,
A native az Shanghai was heard to sa s..
There were seven Cinnamon and tw9
Cantonese. A man from Tien Tsii,
and aman from Canton can no more
talk 20 each other than can a French
man and a nutchnlan, Moranver. there
Exists between them a viruient race ha-
tired. lost the best Chinese servant l
eyer had because, being from the north
nothing would induce him Il accom-
panS me In the south of China whsrs
his speech would have betrayed him
s.Gantonese seli. bad man. master, le
said to me: Il 81 home. This curious
sintsr-hatred is conspicuous where CHS
gnese from different parts Of China meet
together. as, for example, in BanglSals.
or on the plantations In MALAGA or the
Dutch indies, savage faction fights are
of constant occurrence. Consequently
II is easy TO raise a force Of Chinese in
one place to fight Chinese in another.
4 1t is because thera is no such thing
as China that the military caste Of
the Manchus. comparatively il.tipitesi-
NAL in numbers. have been able to im-
pose their rule upon the enormous
masses Of Chinese. Thus it is unwisa
to predicate anything OF China as a
whole or 10 believe tha what suits one
part will necessarily suit another.
Over the heterogeneous and conflicting
masses of China there has never beer
any effective central control. and what
control there has been has steadily
grown weaker. Tbs. aNermillion pencii,
makes a faint mark in the south, while
in the southwest and extreme north
west 1t has littf but an academic in
,fuence. and on the Thibs,an borders
none at all. " Respect this.s appended
to every imperial rescript in the Pekin
Gazette is az farfron actually as the
Dyes of the usher with us. or the
challenge Of the queens champion at
the coronation. There is, therefore, not
the slightest possibility of the estab-
3lishment by Chinese authority of n ma
tional army or navy. or CIVIL service.
And the corruption whIcnis the fatal
curse of China IS directly due TO the
fact that there is not and can not be
any central authority to exercise cor
troll over local officials, or. in the abb
sence of this. to pay them. The Chi
nese people, in the language of phys
les. is mechanical mixture and not a
chemical compound and therefore il is
irresponsive to the action of any single
regent. and incapable9of exhibiting any
common property