The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-06-20

~ Chinese problem is eX-Gover-
nor Bookwalter of Ohio, also
an authority on Russian affairs, and
we observe that in a recently published
interview he offers reasons for doubt
ing that the present internal troubles
in China will result in an Obliteration
of Chinese nationality.
IN making any predictions as to
Chna's possible future you must" he
says, always take into account the
history of this marvellous nation. For
5000 years now China has been ma
ton and has preserved her integrity
rs such, and has maintained her ma
tional life. During that period she has
seen the birth, growth to maturity and
decay of every civilization in the
world. Chaldean, Egyptian, Greek,
Roman and a hundred other peoples
have arisen, lived their appointed time
as nations and passed away, while
China, nation before those periods,
a nation today, has inscrutably looked
on and pursued her appointed course.
During this great cycle of years, China
has faced crises that make the pres
ent outlook there seem trivial by COM
parison. The Tartars under Grengis
khan, Kubla Khan and Tamaran
twice conquered her in war, and China
Iccamc Tartar possession; but
China, in the lapse of time, absorbed
her conquerors and later emerged an
integral nation and still holds fate
fully to her appointed destiny. The
Boxer riots find their predecessor in
the great Tai-Ping rebellion, in which
10 less authority than Chinese Gordon
places the loss of life at $4,000, 900; and
was over China had wholly recovered
from this tremendous blow.
IN these 80 centuries of national
life the Chinese have become the most
fixed and persistent type of humanity
known to ethnOloSists. The Chinese
are more homogeneous than any other
people Take a Chinaman and let him
live 80 years among an alien people;
at the end of that time he is a China
man still. He picks up no charaCteris-
ties of the people he lives among; he
does not amalgamate with them. All
other nations are new when compared
with the Chinese. They constantly
undergo change; China never does.
Taking these conditions into cOnsid-
Grafton, l do not believe China will
lose her national existence. An at
tempt may be made to control the in
tcrnal government of China by some
sO-called concert or agreement of the
powers. In such case it would be well
to remember that no matter what
China is or what the occidental people
think she is, the everlasting fact
stare3 us in the face that for g.
coo years China has had a vital living
government that has afforded protec-
tion for one-third of the human race,
and has that government today. l be-
lieve she could be able to preserve
that government by sheer force of her
own inherent strength (and the
strength in the absolute passivity of
the oriental is incalculable); but in
case of a proposed partition she would
have outside assistance, in my opin-
ion. chronological afIinities must be
counted on, and an attempted parti-
tion of China would draw together the
orient and array it against the occi-
dent; and it looks to me as though,
| concealed beneath the surface of the
present difficulty, there might be the
beginning of a war between the civil
| lizations of the east and west.
"'rhe uncertain problems in the Chi
nese situation are Russia and Japan,
and the former is a tremendously Sc
rious factor. Russia is quasi oriental,
and for that reason can better appre-
ciate and understand the motives and
ambitions of China. She and China
are friendly. Everyone conversant
with eastern affairs acknowledges
that. For half century and more
Russia has had a college at Peking,
where her young men have gone for
the sole purpose of receiving education
in Chinese affairs. For nearly 5000
miles the boundaries of the two coun-