The National tribune., 1901-07-04
THB GsEAr WALL.

the great wall ofoC China was constructed.
This was approximately 240 b. c., but
some $50 or 900 ailes of the wall were
added nearly ilS eeaturies later, in 1541
a. d., by an fiinaperor of the celebrated
Ming dynastAnF Let Us remember what
this means: A. wall begun at one time
two centuries before Christ was COM
pleted nearly sic hcenturies after Christ.
Can anything, better illustrate the great
age and astonishing conservatism Of China
than this simple, record? What are t'Ie
GO years of Chin9Is presept modern for
eign relations one cycle Of Cathay-in
comparison with these 1S centuries which
history tosses up and off for our study as
il only IS days!
The builder of the wall was, however,
Il great man. Some call him the Napoleon
| of Asia. Chung was his name, or Hwang-
ii, as he called himself. He built magni1-
cent palaces. constructed roads, dug ca
mails, and did all in his power to make
| his kingdom mighty and prosperous, but
was guilty of one objectionable offense.
! Wishing TO 20 down to posterity as the
first King of China, he ordered the de-
| struction of all the old records and libra
ries, and decapitated hundreds of schol-
| ars. For this he was never forgiven by
the Chinese people, and few praises are
now sung in his honor. Fortunately for
| China sufficient records were preserved,
and literary men survived to replace later
| tories. he was succeeded by the Han
| dynasty, which held sway from 206 B. G.
TO 225 A. d.
| RELATIONS WITH THE ROMANS.
| The Han dynasty. that started before
| the Christian era and regned into it over
| two centuries saw the first commercial
| relations established with the Roman
| Empire. The latter even sent an embassy
to China, and presents were exchanged.
| Ptolemy and Pliny wrote of the Seres,
n name which described the Chinese: and
| China WAS distinguished at times far
apart by Sin, Chin and Sinae. The reign
1 of the SercS WIS a vast. poPuiouS ceun-
| try, tore hing on the east the ocean and
/ the limits of the habitable world, and ex-
| tending west nearly to Iinaus aud the con-.
fines of Bactrda" says Yule, adding, at
seems probable that relations exist ed from
| the earliest times between China and In
| lila, and possibly, too, between China and
| thaIdea. The 'Sipim' of the prophet
| Isaiah is by many taken TO mean China.
and the Ptolemys 'Sinae' are generally
understood to have been the Chinese"
| In the 10Th chapter. 18th verse, the
great prophet says. Behold, they shall
come. from. far; and, 10. these from the
| north and from the west; and these from
| the land of Sinim."
] referred to the honesty of the Chi
nese: that same story was told in Europe
% centuries ago. Therefore, the reputa-
| tiOn of the Chinese for integrity, in spite
! nf all that is said against them, has some
good foundation. JustiBian was the next
great writer who, discussed tae Chinese;
| and then Marco Polo, returning from the
magnificent court and mighty empire Of
the imperial cOnqueror Kublai Khan in
the 18th century, awoke the world to its
first actual appreciation of the extent and
power of Cathly..,,,
The Romap, Empire was often de-
scribed by early Chinese historiaas as
nation with which China enjoyed trade
exchange. The land Of Tatsin- Kwoh was
the name of This European kingdom in
Chinese termiqplogy.
While Rome was in the hight of her
glory and preparing the way for her down
fall the Han dynasty was sailing on the
flood tide Of prosperity. great wars, terri
torial ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, and splendid ma
terial progress When we consider that
such an eventful period is included in the
records of Chinese history, we wonder
that we have not given it more attention
in our study of former civilizations
In those days we are told that temples
and palaces were erected larger and
Crander than those Of contenporaneous
Rome and Greece: canals were dug of suf-
ficient depth Ito float ponderous junks;
walls were built that reached over high
mountain tops: roads were opened that
connected capitals and trade centers;
wars were waged that killed millions of
men, and peace and strife alternated from
decade TO decade. There was bloody civil
contention among the feudal chieftains at
one time, and then again war of the en-
tire united empire against foreign en-.
emy. The present Boxer uprising would
have been treated in those martial days
as an amusing incident. and no foreigner
would have been spared to tell the tale
and write lurid accounts for the maya
zines.
The contemplation Of China's wonder
full past suggests at once the question.
Why, if such great deeds were done and
such splendid buildings, palaces and roads
were constructed, are there not more tan.
gible evidences remaining OF these and
later glorious periOdsI The answer is
simple and conclusive. First, every new
Emperor, or the founder of each new
dynasty, who was not friendly to his pre-
decessor seemed prompted by an immediate
and overwhelming desire to destroy all the
signs of his predecessors work and power.
and proceeded TO raze not only to the
ground, but obliterate all monuments of
former glory. Secondly, there are remain.
ing, even against such adverse conditions,
more monuments Of the past than are gen.
orally remembered in a discussion of this
subject, such as the great wall, the Ming
tombs, the Temple of Heaven, the Grand
Canal, paved roads, great arched bridges,
pHPOudS, ana numerous lesser
signs, like the HISTORIAN Monument
Students of China will await, more
over, The new life in the empire and the
opening of the interior in the hope that
excavations in interior cities and the
bringing TO light of old records may tell
us more than we now know and better
explain and illustrate the conditions of the
dazzling past.
China's famous competitive examina-
tons were begun under the Hans; n penal
code, the model of all subsequent ones,
was drawn up, and, as before recorded
Buddhism was first introduced from In,
dia. The limits of the empire were ex-
tended until under the Western and East
ern Han dynasties they included Szech-
uan, Yunnan and Fukien.
Romance tells its story of these times
in the great Chinese historical novel en-
titled The History of the Three States,''
which immortaliZes in a halo of glory that
period, which was at its hight about three
centuries after the birth of Christ. Every
Chinese delights in this graphic story OF |
valorous deeds.
We now pause at the threshold of the |
iliustrious Tang dynasty, that shaped |
Chinese destinies for 300 years, A. d. 6lS-
901. To reach this period we pass the |
Tsin and Eastern Tsin dynasties, that |
succeeded the, Hans and ruled for $50 |
years with another group of Is monarchs. |
A few lesser dyhasties followed, and then |
the first Tang began his beneficent SWAY. |
\. n