The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-06-02

Inc aubnOT Ol Jnb OOoh' hONoNei, 10
convinced that there are three other In
ventions' or improvements Of known arts
which deserve notice in connection with
the period Of the Later Ham The in
veRtions To which ne refer are pen. paper
and printing, ali obviously instruments
Of peaceful culture. The pen, which In
China is a hair pencil resembling a paint
brush, was invented by Mung-tien in the
third century D. G. Paper was invented
By Tsai LSa 100 B. C.. and printing was In
vented by Fungtao In the tenth century of
the present esh. What Is meantby printing
in this case, however. is merely the substi'
tutioh OF wood for stone. the Chinese having
been for ages IN the habit OF taking rubbings
from stone inscriptions. Il was no long
before they divided the slab into movable
characters and earned for themselves
the honor Of having anticipated Gutenberg,
Their divihible types we're never In gen.
eral use, however. and to this day block
printing continues In vogue: but Western
methods are in the way OF ~supplanting
the old system Of printing
-
W.
The three States into which China was
divided after the collapse Of the first Han
dynasty were reunited under the house
Of Tsin in 2e5 A. d. This dynasty lasted
for a century and q half and then after a
succession OF fifteen emperors went down
In q sea Of anarchy. from the froth OF which
arose more than half a score OF contending
factions. among which four were sufficiently
conspicuous to make for themselves a place
in history. Their period is described as
that Of the Northern and Southern King
doms. The names Of the principal realms
we're Sung, Wei, LANG and Chin. The
first only was Chinese, the others belonging
to various branches Of the Tartar race
The chiefs OF the Eang family were OF
TibetAn ortRin-a circumstance which per-
haps ccounts for their prediction for
Buddhism. The second emperor Of that
house became a Buddhist monk and re.
tired to q monastery. where he lectured
on the philosophy Of Buddhism.
Behind these warning factions was in
progress d war OF races. T Tartars were
forever encroaohing on the Flowery Land.
Repulsed or expelled. they returned with
augmented force, and even at this early
epoch the shadow OF their ultimate con
quest wa plainly visible. Yan KEN. a
Chinese General In the service Of a Tartar
prinoipality, tool advantage Of Chinese
divisions to rally q strong body OF his
countrymen, by whose aid he cut of in
detail the four independent kings and set
up the Sui imperial dynasty. DR.. Martin
points out that the Tartars have always
made use OF Chinese in the invasion OF
China, and he is convinced that II the
Chinese were always faithful to their own
country no invader could conquer It. The
Sui dynasty lasted less than thirty years
(bSs-gls A. d.. but it makes a conspicuous
figure in Chinese history by reason OF two
events: First, a victorious expedition in
the north, which reached the borders OF
Turkestan, and, secondly. the opening of
canals between the Hoang Ho. or Yellow
River. and the Yangtse Kiang. AS it
happened. the latter enterprise only has
tened the fall OF the dynasty. 1t was effected
by forced labor. and the discontented
people were made TO believe hat its chief
object was to enable a luxurious emperor
to display his grandeur to the people Of
many provinces. At a later epoch the
extension of the same canal precipitated
the overthrow OF the Mongol Emperors
lust as the completion OF the Great Wall
caused the downfall Of the house Of Ts'in.
In els A. d. Ii Yuen. n Of the Generals
of the second emperor of the Sui dynasty,
succeeded by wisdom and courage in setting
up a new ~reigning family, which he called
Tang and which held the field for nearly
three hundred years. 1t surpassed all
it's predecessors in splendor and after q
long period Of unrest brought TO the dis
tracted provinces an era of unwonted
prosperity. The Tang dynasty is pre-
eminently the Augustan age OF China.
Literature reappeared in a more perfect
form than it had exhibited under many
preceding reigns. The prose writer's OF
the Tang period are even to the present
day studied as models of composition,
a thing which cannot be affirmed of the
writer's Of any earlier epoch. Poetry, too,
shone forth with ~spiendor. a galaxy of
poets made their appearance, among whom
two particular stars were Tufu and Lipat,
the Dryden and Fope C.ain"Se.
A system of OWL service examinations
which had sprung up will he revival OF
learning under the ga. y Hans was o
brought to maturity, For good or for
evil, the system has dominated the minds
OF the Chinese Empire for twelve centuries.
II il only very recently that Chinese think
ers nave begun &c suspect that the system
is out Of date. h new education re-
quires new tests; but what, asks DR.. Mar
tin, is to hinder the incorporation Of them
in the old systemH To bolish it would
be fraught with danger, although to modify
il would be OF course a delicate task for
the Government Of the present day.
-
VII.
In the interval OF about half a century
between the fall Of the House Of Tang
auu the establishment Of the Sungs a score
Of factions contended for the succession,
and five Of them rose to sufficient prom
inence to admit OF being dubbed sdynas-
ties Collectively they are spoken OF as
the Five pvnasties" (sO7-90O). The I'M
divided s ing dynasty held sway from
900 to 1887 that Of the southern Sung from
1927 to 1905 The two main features Of the
Sung period are the rise Of a great school
Of philosophy and the constant enoroach-
ment Of Tartars on the Middle Kingdom.
In the northeast, beyond the Great Wall,
we're two Tartar kingdoms, one Of which
was the Kin, or Golden Horde"-remote
ancestors OF the present Manchu dynasty.
- -. .-AAI.1