Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-02
CHE Ubree bellows.
MIR. Cell Writes First About the Vast Chinese Empire-s
Iourneyed Across 1t and Studied People.

have heard of but one accident. and that
was to the bridge at Lao Wa Tan. A fes-
tlval celebrated some doing OF the dragon
The bridge was crowded to witness a COM
petition In the Hen river. Wealthy resi-
dents threw live ducks off the bridge and
the boatmen competed for them. At an un-
usually exciting part of the program the
crowd lunged to the north side OF the struc-
ture. an iron eye-bar snapped making the
frightened people rush back to the other
side or the bridge. with the result that a
larger bar snapped there. and with a tre-
mendous crash and frightful screams bridge
and people went into the river. Four hum
dred lost their lives in falling and drowning
When one considers the very large num-
Der of bridges in China, II is surprising
that there are not as many lives lost as
among us.
They look upon the system of irrigation
on a colossal scale in the far west OF
China l made some observations of the
vast plain, once desolate but now crowded
with thrifty population and become one
OF the richest portions of the empire of
kwang Tsu. The system of dykes and
channels extends a distance of 100 miles
north and south. There are scores of dams
but the Chinese speak of four chief dams
the Capital river dam, the general relief
dam, the Frogs Chin dam and the great
transforming dam. More than twenty CEN
turtles has been worshiped the lord of
streams now worshiped as the god of
the irrigation. Then a man conceived the
plan of cutting a passage through the
La TUT mountain and dividing the Chang
river into many streams. And now the
traveller, as he passes through the irrigated
districts, watered from the four great
DAMS notices the density of the popula-
tion and the prosperity of the people. He
cannot help but be filled with admiration
for people capable of planning and eAe-
cutting a scheme large and advanta-
geous. This is now the richest part of tthe
province, with the bare exception OF the
Salt Beds region.
In passing we should not forget now that
our big canal is under way that millenniums
ago the celestials constructed a colossal
canal and rightly named 1t the Great
Canal. And as We erect huge walls il will
be helpful in keeping down our pride to
its proper altitude. If we recall that the
chinese, two centuries before Christ put
on this earth the greatest wall IL has ever
seen. before or since. alongside which the
walls of the Romans and the mode ms are
but the sand dykes of children. The Great
Walf OF CHINA contains sufficient material
to construct all the public and private build
ings and other structures in GGreat Britain
So much for ingenuity. AS for influence
that Is fast returning to its old time stand
ards. The Chinese now have a current
proverb worth our translating, There Is
no difficulty in the world that cannot be
overcome by the man who husties." The
changes now transpiring in China are al
most IL not quite as remarkable as those in
the early stages of the awakening of Japan.
My third point in this article is impact.
There is blending of the two ideas The
past will here also repeat itself as TO the
principle, but we will hope differently as to
the expression of 1t.
All of the above characteristics are now to
a degree appearing along with the remark
able success of Christian missions on the
Hills of Tang, Take for sample the very
recent revolutionizing order of the governor
general of Manchuria. The story is worth
the telling. In Glasgow there was nine
year-old boy working in a saw mil Then
came accident. and he had but one arm.
He struggled with adversely even when the
tide set fuA against him. He studied; and
at last asked to be sent a missionary to
China.
The missionary societies would not accept
him. although he said he would work his
way out and live best he-coud. He was
of good stuff. Finally Bible society saw
the metal in him and sent him out. The
sight of the many blind impressed h m and
he set to and invented a system whereby
the blind Chinese may read. Then he
thought of the many poor people who cam