The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1913-01-15
1.-THE Giants Morning."


In the first place, it is giant that
engages attention; homeless giant
according to the phrase of Gen. j. RI.
Wilson. To China is generally conced-
ed one-tenth of the globe; one fourth
of the human race. Under the empire
there were eighteen provinces, with
the dependencies of Manchura, Mon
golia, Tibet and Chinese Turkestan.
The new tive-colored flag is interpret
ed as having a stripe for each of these
four and one for the native people.
While Japan and her insular posses
sions might be lost in Montana's peck
ct, all the United States, Alaska and
the Hawaiian. Islands could be tucked
away in the folds of Chinas gown
with something like million square
miles to spare. Over in the mikado's
realm we hardly dared tell how big
we are, lest we might seem bombastlc,
like the Down East" preacher who is
reported as seeking to impress his
English hosts with his importance
and, incidentally, with the greatness
of our country by saying: America
is, of course, the center of the uni
verse; Boston is the center of Amer
lea: my church is the center of Bos-
ton, and l am the center of my
church."
But in China our boasting is vain.
What are our coming hundred million
compared with four hundred millions
equal, if not superior, to Anglo Sax
ons in industry, economy and perse-
verance!
This is an ancient giant. One easily
talks in many figures here. At Foo
chow is the Bridge of Ten Thousand
Ages" The country has been old for
four thousand years. 1t saw Persia,
Macedon, Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt,
Greece and Rome rise and fall. It's
legendary history goes back thirty
centuries before the Christian era.
China, the venerable patriarch of the
east" can take up the little nations
of Europe, like children, on his knee,
and tell them tales of by-gone days
--milleniumS before they were born.
He can recount his adventures in ed
ucation long before Samuel kept
school for the prophets of Israel.
The giant was awake. China gave
civilization, arts, letters and language
to the far east. Before Abraham left
Ur of the Chaldees one of its emper-
ors had established a scholastic sys-
TEN which continued to recent times
and produced race whose constant
worship was bestowed upon those men
who taught them the beauty and pow
er of the Chinese language. 1t appears
that as early as the Oath century B.
C. each home had study room, each
township high school, each county
a college, the emperor being patron
of letters and of music. Civil service
examinations have been traced to the
s3d century B. c. At morning we
saw the crumbling stalls where, at
stated times, thirty thousand used to
undergo twenty-four hour written
test, hoping thereby to enter govern
ment service.
When Moses led the 1sraelites
through the wilderness, Chinese laws
and literature excelled those of Egypt.
BEFORE David gave to the world He
brew masterpieces, the emperor,
Wung Wang, composed classics which
have been committed to memory by
advanced scholars to the present
While Homer was singing the lllad,
China's blind MINISTRIES were celebrat-
ing her ancient heroes, whose tOmbs
had already been with them nearly
thirteen centuries. The Chinese in
vented firearms as early as the reign
of England's first Edward, and the
art of printing 500 years before Cax-
ton was born. They are credited with
paper and gunpowder about the begin
ming of the christian era. A thousand
years ago they sold silks to the Ro-
mans when the inhabitants OF the
British Isles wore coats of blue paint.
is said to contain material enough
The great wall was built 22O B. c. and
for an enclosure of five feet high
around the globe In the Hamlin Ii
brary, destroyed during the BoxeN
trouble, was one work comprising 23,-
633 volumes.
Prior to the surpation Of the throne
by the Manchus, the land was open to