New-York tribune., 1901-11-02
CHINESE CULTURE.
DIR. MARTINS RICH SURVEY OF THE
SUBJECT.

THE LORE OF CATHAY; OR: THE l; ISTE+LJEIpl = ~ d
OF CHINA. BY W. A p. Martin. d D" IL po a.
Illustrated octave, PIP 4oo flerii'ss u "
veil Company
DR. Martin, president Of the Chinese IN
nerial University has been brought into long
and intimate contact with Chinese culture ~
this book he has written with knowledge anu
ryerhaps. with more sympathy for the Chlflese
ideals and points of view than most occlde1llals
have acquired. drawing his material from native
sources through original research Inc ciose
view he gives Of the Chinese culture ana OF li1e
workings Of the Chinese mind Is deeply lh'et
astinC To begin with pr. Martin expresses iii
helief that the recent CONFUSION IN Chlild "i-
,.,-o tho affacr Of awakening the reform move
roent there into fresh activity; that the Ciiiiie
,,aopla will welcome new ideas with more eager
ase thar, eyer before They not stohd-"e
have no medium sufficiently transparent to con-
w ,7,r ideas TO them: want the breadth 10
onnrebend their civilization; they are mol mere
irnitators and the many changes lheS nav
nassed through show that they have nol ciuiis
blindlv TO a heritage Of traditions, nor beeh
stationary race.
w., We come TO a clear exposition Of what
the Chinese have done and thought, ana 10 'he
r.resent character OF their doing and thinking
We are always confronted with disappointment
after the enthusiastic preliminaries OF their ao-
,-oca+es Their discoveries of gunpowder' OF
firearms. Of the compass. Of printing, OF porce-
lain and silk making. with the exception OF the
last two all halted at a point that LETT liie1il
practically sterile; and when DR.. Martin tries 10
show that the Chinese a thousand years aso
reached the modern physical conceptons oI d
lurainiferous ether, the conservation OF energy
tho molecular constitution of matter and Of eVo-
1ution in general he can show little more than
s,,ch vague guesses as those of the Greek PM
,,rs,,ed l,v the Chinese with all its mystic nom
sense: its development into any Of the reahues
of chemistry has been comparatively unfrul'lui'
Not much more could be expected OF SUCH d SCI
entifc point Of view this from thA laols'
STANDARD textbook direction for making the
elixir of life:
Plant the yang and grow the yin; cultivate
and cherish the precious seed " hen II stIIIso
,In il shows a yellow bud; the bud produces
mercury and the mercury cryslalilZtS t LLIto
granules like grains OF golden mlIlet oriS t1lt3 d
Is 70 be taken as dose, and the doses feiet''tI
for a hundred days when the Doug ~
transformed and the bones converted INTO 8oii-
Body and spirit will both be endowed WI, NIIn M l
.ocI;Io,1s rororerties and their duration Will nave
end.
Literature in prose and verse is a chief corner
stone Of Chinese life and poity. AS all Know
poiitical preferment is dependent on prohclehcy
in il and the higher classes are sleeDed III H.
Some of the most interesting chapters IN DF-
Chinese conception Of it and attitude toward
Il Poetry in the East as in the ives" i co
sidered its highest manifestation:
An educated Chinese is, of all men, the most
devoted TO the cultivation OF poetry nc
makes remarkable voyage, he Is sure 10 sINe
the world his impressions IN Nefst. N III Il y,
fresh couplers or his doorpostS every New ear >
day Poetical scrolls the gift OF frlehos aooIn OH:
the walls of his shop or study he SPENDS me-
leisure in tinkering sonnets and when ne esCoiIS
2 euest as far as some pretty pavilion on a MIL
side he never fails TO extract from MS hoot Top
the ready pencil. and TO indite in verse an adleu,
which passes for an inpromTtu- scraWIlllg, al
the same time wall or pillar record OF the
occasion
China has no epic poetry, its place being sup
rlied by historical romance: dramatic poetry Is
abundant: didactic poetry is so common tla'
official procIarnations are frequently couched IN
that form. OF lyric poetry, the Chinese nave
r,-od,lced vast quantities. and Dr. Martin be
1iaxes that in the face of all competitors they
are able 20 yindicate high position in il Con-
f,cfus that wiser. better solomon. collected
an anthology of the Oldest verse standing IN
point Of morality far ~bove any similar coIiec-
ton that has come down TO US from pagan an
tiouiry." having undergone a Bowderizing proc
ess a. the hands Of the great sage Here is a
specinen that certainly is without guile:
a speck upon your ivory fan
You soon may wipe away:
But stains upon the heart or tongue
Remain, alas, for aye
Hearing young man repeat these lines from
time to time Confucius selected him for his SON
ir-law. Yet the same sage admitted into his
collection this upon the .!rth of daughter.
that has been the cause OF iumeasuraDle cruelty
that might have been averted if ne had but at
tached TO il a note of disapprovaI:
r-be, : girl is borr-in coarse cloth wound.
N-i1h tile fer 4 toy, let her lie on the ground;
In her bread and her beer be her praise or feF
blame,
The sentinae. Of the following touching ode
addressed by II WI TO his wife u? the eve OF q
r,erilous mission TO TartarT has penetrated
Chinese literature that it has had imitators in
every age. even down 10 our own day:
Twin trees. whose boughs together twine,
Two birds that guard one nest,
Wen soon be far asunder torn
AS sunrise from the west
Hearts knit in chfdhood's innocence
Long bound IN Hymens ties,
One goes to distant battlefields,
One sits hC1ne and sghs.
Prose coroposition is cultivated with intense
ardor which Is chiefly devoted to perfection of
style the art of producing the 'wenG chang,
or standard polished essay limited to seven hun
dred words and compared by DR. Martin TO
short ra1ers such as those Of The Spectator or
The Rambler This is the leading test OF lit
,.rarv ability from the scboolboy TO the gray
haired competitor in the government exanna-
lions In Il the world there kind Of lit
,rattIr. produced in equal quantity except, per
faI,s sermons" and their only practical utility
IS as 2 mental gymnastic. An eminent mandarin
once told Dr. Martin that the stress laid on these
e,,-,e~fi~ial amenities o Stvle "a clever