Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-04-10

H WAS Ill lj6S mat Gnu YuAn-Cnan8
a Buddhist priest. led a successful re-
bellion against the descendants of
kubla Khan, and set up the Ming dy-
nasty in hin That period of rule Is
over. A republic Tor are there two re-
publics?j has been formed. but China
goes on the old appointed way far less
disturbed than would be the case after
Il similar outbreak in western Europe.
There are few books of any value upon
China. But annals and Memories OF
the Court OF Peking,' by E. Backhouse
and j. o. p. Bland (Heinemann, 16s
net), should give he reader an insight
INTO the workings of that realm of
s-trangeness, at least in the quite re-
cent centuries. The illustrations, many
being reproductions of masterpieces,
will Danish the idea that the Chinese
are in n sense backward by co,npari-
Son with he mushroom civilization OF
Europe.
The Empire Of Art.
INT Yuan-Chang accepted, indeed
developed. the traditional strength of
China. In u country ideas are a
luxury, religion the Interest Of a min
ortty. In China ideas have ruled from
line immemorial. The general sense
OF the people has been one of contin-
uity:
During his reign and that Of his il
iustrlous nephew, Yung Lo, literature.
education. arts. industries. and COM
merce were systematically encouraged
With results a conferred great glory
on the dynasty and prosperity on the
people. The founder of the great Ming
dynasty. who's throne was established
by the sword. knew that the pen 10 a
mightier weapon against the vicissi-
tudes Of time-by its aid he hoped to
revive a patriotic spirit and the in
stincts OF nationalfsm, long dormant in
the Chinese people. He therefore re-
organized h whole system Of the pub
lie service and competitive examina-
tons. revised the penal code, regulated
taxation. and introduced a national cur
rency.
That the basis Of all government is
knowledge has been recognized in
China for generations.
No Rule Of Thumb.
1t Is supposed generally that h inn
mense attention bestowed upon liter
ary knowledge has been a curse to
China Yet this was not the case with
the Emperor Chang-Te (160S). He
once came to his secretaries. who were
finishing breakfast, and spoke thus:
You have all been eating rice" said
he. do you know anything about the
method OF its cultivation N the diff
Guilty Of producing a crop? Before i
succeeded to h throne. I used to fancy
that cereals were produced like weeds,
that they grew Of themselves without
any trouble being bestowed on them.
However. now that 1 often roam about
h country and have seen with my
own eyes the hardships which the
peasants endure, j realize the truth
of h old saying. Every grain Of the
rice on your plate is won by the sweat
Of the brow You, my ministers. come
fror, vorS0,,s ontu NJ tho nnDlvo ovN
the customs of north and south differ
greatly. / desire now to extend my
knowledge, and / therefore request that
each OF you will state fully for my In
formation the methods Of sowing,
wedding and harvesting rice in your
respective parts of the empire" 1t so
happened that most of the ministers OF
the day had begun life a farmers sons
and peasants, 30 they were able to
supply the emperor with the informa-
tion he desired. Blu there was one
president of a board. by name Chang
Chin. Of an ancient n arist0cratic
family. who was quite ignorant Of the
said: "How q you perform the func-
tions Of your office If you are so grossly
ignorant about the production OF the
very food you eat? Can o possibly
attend to the daily business of your
board without committing sonhe serious
or O0f9lkCtlOn OF Ouly
Yet the modern European tendency
10 to increased specialism.
The Examinations.
It II impossible to describe in de-
tail the means by which the first great
Manchu chief. Nurchalia. in the Sew
enteenth century. set In motion the
gradual downfall Of the Mings. It is a
fascinating record. and opens up new
fields Of historic study. For the stu
dent of modern life must be aware by
now that the future Of China, AZ a
world force. is a tremendous n One
can Gull. however. various stories that
reveal some essential differences be-
tween the races. And the strangest IL
that concerning examinations. To the
Chinese the examination determined
the whole future life. Whether a man
was to be a serf or q governor was de-
cided by passing literary tests. There
fore the most amazing frauds were
perpetrated. Brides and approximations
were the rule of the day. Let us then
quote the final cen that rang down
the curtain upon one of these examina-
tion frauds:
He had scarcely finished speaking.
when Chao Kuang. the second official
supervising the execution n n of
Pc SUITS Oldest friends. arrived in his
chair. His eye were red with weeping.
fNcl Ann CERTIFYING