The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-06-23
CHINA AND ITS PEOPLE
Newest Republic a Wonderland of
Which the World Knows Little.

China, the oldest civilization, the
largest nation and the worlds young
est republic! The authentic history of
China as an integral empire goes back
to about 1000 B. c., but the names of
gymnastics reaching back 1000 years
earlier are preserved by the Chinese.
While hundreds of years before Christ
and even during the dark ages, the
civilization of China was more ad-
Vanced than that of the European or
other Asiatic nations, very little prog
ress has been made since that time.
Several explanations for this condition
are given. The Chinese, though pa
tient and painstaking workers, are not
Inherently inventive, and it has fur
ther been the policy of the ruling
power during the modern era to iSO
late China and to discourage advances
on the part of foreign nations seeking
commercial relations. Another him
drance has been the custom of ances-
tor worship, the reverence for old Gus
toms and habits, and so a horror of
all innovations. 1t speaks well for the
organization of the Standard Oil COM
pany that kerosene oil is the only we'll
known product of foreign origin in the
country.
AS early as the seventh century A
d. the Chinese manufactured paper
and printed in a crude sort of way.
The baking of porcelain and the weav-
ing of silk, some processes connected
with which have never been improved
upon, antedate records. One of the
wonders of the world and a remark
able feat of engineering, the great
wall of China, was built in the third
century B. C. as a protection against
the raids Of the Tartars. 1t stretches
for nearly 1900 miles along the north
ern border Of China proper, often
reaching height of so feet, and sup
ported by frequent garrison towers,
and was so thoroughly constructed
that portions of it today remain in
good condition.
Intensive agriculture and horticul-
ture and the processes of irrigation
and fertiliZing have been highly de-
veloped; in China proper, in the val
leyS Of the YangtSe and the Hoang-
Ho. water is pumped to the hill tops.
1000 to 5000 feet above sea level,
and two or three crops year are har-
vested.
These valleys support a denser
population than any similar area in
the world. If all the people in the
United States and 100000 more
were crowded into the state of Texas
the population would be no denser
Yangtse is one of the principal thor
oughfares Of China and is navigable
for nearly 1000 miles, but the Hoang-
Ho is shallow and frequently over
years it has changed its course eleven
times, and the different channels it
has occupied are hundreds of miles
apart. The great loss of 1ife-on one
damage to property resulting from the |
floods accompanying these changes
have given to the river the name of
"China's Sorrow 49,
The natural waterways, supple |
mented by the Grand canal, which is
1900 years old, furnish elaborate |
means of INSTRUMENTATION and
the tonnage of China's inland COM
merce is estimated larger than the |
combined tonnage of all the rest of
the world. The boats and methods |
of handling the cargoes, however, are
and steam is barely |
In all occupations the great
labor. Coolies, or porters, the |
laboring class. earn seven cents a day.
Oxen and mules are used to some ex-
tent at the irrigation pumps and in
packing Cattle and sheep cannot be
raised, for there is no ground that can
be spared for pastures. There are no
roads, only footpaths, and in some
parts of China passengers are trans
ported overland by wheelbarrow.
The great industries outside of the
production of food for home consump-
ton, are the raising of tea and silk
worms and the mulberry trees Tor the
worms to feed upon. While few agr1-
cultural possibilities are now unde-
veloped, that is, land possibilities, for
the tools and methods are unutterably
crude, the mineral resources have
barely been touched. The coal fields,
he largest in the world, alone repre-
sent incalculable wealth, and many
1ther minerals are found IN CONNER
,ial quantities Whenever China does
permit the invasion of foreign capital
and enterprise there will be revolution
n the commerce of the world.-Chi-
,ago Record Herald.
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