The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-03-26
4 Frenchman in Revolutionary
China.

4 Frenchman In Revolutionary
China.
Can heaven favor the republic in
China: What will happen" asked
an old Chinese m~aidservant in "a
French consulate. nov that there is
no longer an Emperor at I'ekin to pray
for rain? What will become of the
harvest"' Perhaps the comment af-
fixed 20 tho quotation by FERSASD
F~ARJENEL. professor in tho College
Libre DIES Sciences Sociales. in his
book Through the chinese Rcroiution
(Stokes). which DR.. Margaret Vivian
translates from the French. is in a
national II equally characteristic
and illuminating: The good woman
need have no anxiety. No~twithstand-
ing the E.mperor's abdication the sun
will still shine and the clouds will con-
tinue to water the earth. There is no
cause 10 fear impartial nature: it is
human passions. such az avaricc and
ambition. both at home and abroad.
that are likely to stir up deadly strife
in China"
Prof. Farjenel left France in the
autumn Of 1911 and travelled through
Indo-China and Yunnan and into the
north, observing events and studying
men. He reports the bitter strife OF
parties and has always a keen eye
for significant social change. He writes
a narrative. not a history: but il is the
narrative of one true to the ideals Of
history writing. For American read
ers IL would have been much better
To 81, the spell!ngs of Chinese names
with which they are familiar instead
OF carrying over the French forms OF
the original text. I'm which a taOtao is
a toutou and Yuan Shih-k'ai is Yuen
Shekai. while ~Scuchoenn Is a mild
Specimen of the havoc worked with
place names.
Necessarily in such a narrative the
name of Yuan is prominent. Tho
Frenchman is less prejudiced in his
attitude TOWARD the colored races than
Is the Englishman, and may or may
not therefore be supposed capable ~
an honester estimate Of people whose
compilations are not European. The
author rests his description of Yuan's
character upon the beautifully simple
view Of him as a man devoid OF all
W. e'V"'N' '''''IdSt pe-
."eeh TWO men eoulu EXIST thah mat
'e'"eei' IT sun ha'-s'h' son or "A
peasant 'hrist'an familiar
WIN european c.'lliZatloh' II the
,oriher >'ceros or iechili' born and
brought up in a high mandarin fam
lily. entirely ignorant" of foreign Ian
guages and unconcerncd as to foreign
customs and institutions.
~ 'a'Se part Vi Tue universe is out
r'"e NV e'op' vi MS intellect, says
."e "",nor, nut ms NINA a never
oeeh u's.orteh by D studie n
"" ~ aole 10 prihS All ms intellectual
powers All ms natural powers or oh
serN"t'"h' 10 near ON the men and
matters that com" within his ken"
Ihis - q considerable advantage
among u crowd or scholars whose
brains are blocked 10y the most useless
i'arilihS' yuan Is "a practical man;
one born to rule. He is not an ideal
ISL heI'hrr are ms learned contempt
raries: they are mere parrots"
fuans mind is not embarrassed with
theories and formulas. lie conforms
to the ancient customs In religion, hut
he has no superstitions. Candor Is n
1901 or ms WHY nature. liz has re-
manned fresh and vigorous amid efete
and degenerate surroundings, and vet
he conceals his bluntness with a pol-
islied n OF refined courtesy"
Prof. F~arjcncl writes of sur Y~at-sen:
He was born in 1865 AZ Hiangshan n
sub-prefccture IN the province OF Can.
ton. His parents were farm lahorers
and until he was IL Sun worked with
them in the fields. lie was an unusu-
ally intelligent boy. and when his upcls
started a school in the village he no.
came a pupil in II, but he had 10 do
all his school work outside OF the hours
Of field labor. a. his parents were too
poor To dispense with his helm. His
uncle came from the south Of Chin,
and never ceased To admire in it's aim
to dcplorc in is result and To cxpound