New-York tribune., 1902-12-31
4 CHINESE PROTINCE-
Notes Of an Observer IN Obscene
T,n7raS.

THROUGH HrDEN sHENsI BY Francis II II
and foi the Author. Octave. % XXI 800
Charles Scrihner's Sons.
The visit of Mr. Nichols 10 the province oi
sstensi in Northwestern China. occasioned
hy the raising Of a fund by The Christian Her
aid" To relieve the sufferers from the famine IN
,be region due 20 a drouth lasting from the
sn,ins Of 1898 to Nav 1901. Mr. Nichols was
sont oiit 10 investigate and report on famine
conditions and found that Shensi was so seques-
tered that little more was known Of it in Pekins
than i'm New York Few foreigners have pene-
t~ated 10 the land where the Chinese first MADE
u -rnselves felt and where the hrunf of Genshis
f>hap-s invasion was borne and its force broken.
Il oas the spot selected by the Empress Dow
..~e~ as = refuge for the Emperor and his court
q. riny the late exile from Pekins. and current
dispatches bring rumors OF new rising against
foreigners there at the present moment MI
Hichols was warned of the intense hatred of
foreigners and the strength of the Boxer move
mont there. hut he insisted on seeing for him
self His description Of his travels in land
fhat is almost unknown is interesting and SYM
pathetic. Admitting that he entered upon the
journey with all the prejudices of foreigner
lac had even more faith in a passport obtained
through the United States Legation than in the
irresistible taIisman conferred on him by Prince
Ching in the Prime Minister'S personal card
he acquired that admiration and understanding
of a dissinilar people that alone can make a
foreign account Of them valuable and illumi-
mating He proceeded to the heart of the tam
inc district at Sian. through the intervening
provinces Of Chill and Shensi and over the Vel
low River. On his return he went to Shanghai
Crossing the watershed south of Sian and fol-
lowing the Han River in canoe and junk TO
4angkow. he sought the coast by the Yang
tse
In Shensi. the centre of the world to all in
tents and r,Irposes is Shensi. But the author
found that a foreigner was treated there with
1,i+ving condescension rather than with bitter
ness: it would exaggerate his dignity to hate
him. On the part of the mandarins and on
cisls the travellers reception was always
marked with courteous savoir-faire and quiet
refined cordality These generalizations from
the authors experience are worth noting;
mandarin is always quiet and dignified he
has none Of the effusiveness and gush of the
Latin races; he has sense OF hGnor, ne can
tell story well and his conversation Is often
tnterlarded with bits Of cynical persifiaSe which
he does not object having answered IN hlIlo ,9 nH
q man from the West a mandarin is usually
adaptable: he can be serious or gay as the oc-
casion demands. He never overWhelnls A stra11-
ger with politeness, but usually asks as an
American might. is there anything ] can DO
for YOU" A mandarin must of necessity he
well educated. and he is an authority on every
thing that has to do with the history or monu-
1nents Of the district over which he rules Not
withstanding squeezing in all transactions
with individuals. he has a mans sense Of honor
and his word once given viii surely be kept-
Some Shensi towns too obscure to appear on
snv man are ruled by mandarins who in any as
selnblage in New York would be called men of
the world.
4 mandarin in Shensi would " lose his face
for life and probably be banshed or impris-
ored" if he allowed gambling house to exist
anywhere within his jurisdiction. The people of
ShelSi drink little liquor. and never to excess
No --dves'' are known in Sian. Altogether il is
quite evident. on reading such account as
this that il is very hazardous to generalize
-l,o,,t China as whole unless one has gone be
,and the foreign concessions and treaty ports
A. for the Cinnamon seen in other parts of the
world the opiuion seemed quite general in
~heusi that our exclusion act fair and
natural - the mere fact that a Chnarnan
should desire 10 leave his country showed
that there must he something wrong with him
TINS opinion is of course, shared the
crest. II would add considerably 10 exact
knowledge and clear thinking on this and cog
nate subjects if could stop talking vaguely of
China and Cinnamon. and recognize such dis
tinctions as Cantonese. Sianese and Pekingese.
There are so many racial and local differences
among the people of this and unveiled
nation that there is practically no Chinese type,
except that of popular concepton-a Cantonese
American laundryman. Books like Mr.. Nicbols's
do 4 distinct service in affording better ap-
probation of the empire that actually exists.
The photographs used in illustration are helpful
to the text. The snapshot Of Prince Ching which
appears as frcntispiece. is. according the
princes assurance. his only picture.