The Saint Paul globe., 1904-06-05

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cations tof antiquity, is proof that the
Chinese have grown within them
selves, having material for national
growth; this fact relegates to oblivion
the assumption that the. Iethargy Of
China during thirty centuries was due
to lack OF. external stimulant or ex-
periences. The long Inactivity of the
Chinese cannot be explained except
upon the ground that they had attained
their full maturity. Think of what the
japanese have achieved since the visit
OF commodore Perry; prior to that time
their life was anything but inferior to
that Of the Chinese in many respects.
China had been Japan's tutor in relig-
ION, art, literature and law. The am
Dltlon or the Japanese was to become
more like their foreign teachers. We
must remember the fact that It is life
that consumes life In order to create a
new being. Where there is no life
within. the contact with life without
will not produce life. China has been
In touch with Western civilization for
at sleast many centuries, but Is In no
way benefited by the intercourse The
dlfference In progress between the Japa-
nese and the Chinese can be explained
In these words: The japanese are ca
pabie OF grasping the meaning Of Oc-
c1dentalfsm, while the Chinese are in
capable of doing so. Not. that the Japa-
nese are better enlightened or better
matured, but that their mental con-
stitut1on is adapted to evolve a high
er civilization than that produced by
the Chinese
Do Not Want to initiate
1t is commonly remarked that +be
chinese do not want what is not typi-
calIy their own, and for that reason
90 not want to initiate other people.
IhfS may be true to some extent but
what man, capable Of Judgment. would
1ooIlshly adhere to the opinion that a
fdllroad is slower as a transportation
agency than wagon? When the jap
aneSe realized that the cfyiIiza tion of
the West was superior to their own
they forsook everything dear to their
ancestors. This they did because the
new Things adopted Were better than
the DID, That the Chinese do NOT
want good things is not true. IL their
judgment was capable of comparison
they would certainly select the best
The fact that the Chinese are antag
nlstlc TO Occ1dentalism is an evidence
that their mental life is incapahle of
judgment. Then that frequently snolI-
en- sentence with regard to the mental
condition of the Chinese, t'they do not
want to learn" does not express an ex-
act truth. The truth of the matter is
that Chinaman is incapable OF learn
ing-not that he does not want to
learn.
A psychologist may observe very in
terestlng mental phenomena manifest
ed by Japanese and a Chinese. Se-
Iect Chinese man and Japanese
both llliterate, and appeal to their un-
derStandlngS on the same idea. OF which
both are ignorant, at the same time
Nine times out Of ten the Japanese
will grasp the meaning OF the idea ad-
dressed, while corresponding number
of times the Chfnaman will fail to do
so. This illustrates the difference be-
tween the mental constitution of tha
Japanese and Chinese races. This
demonstration shows that the Jana
nese and Chinese are not equally en-
dowed with intellectual power. The
Chinese race is dying.
Do Not Perceive the beautiful
This melancholy fact is more appar-
ent when We analyze the various mem
tai faculties of the Chinese. Their in
tellectual apathy is something remark
able. One of the characteristics of
greatness is intellectual versatility. The
inferior quality of the Chinese intel
fect is evident from the fact that they
are almost absolutely incapable of aes-
thetic emotions. The love of beauty.
which is one of the emotions OF great
soul, is almost lacking iii the Chinese.
It IS true they produce fine arts. bat