The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-03-03
China and Japan at the Worlds
Peace Table.

upon japan as only semi-civiliZed
and pupil nation. New japan she
considered conceited young upstart.
Her dlsdnin amounted to insult. when
the once island hermlts turned their
faces away from China and the grave
yards that had so long dominated her
culture and looked to the west. ia
pan was all the more denounced Us n
traitor to Asia when she sought not
only a new civilization but the worlds
brotherhood. Sending her sons by the
thousands to America and Europe,
she invited out. in a refluent stream,
hundreds Of experts In every line
OF human achievement; the United
States being the most favored nation
and the American contingent the larg-
est in peaceful army Of Intellectual
Invasion. In word. Japan led the
van in the awakening Of Asia. She
met the impending clash Of the Occi.
dental advance more than half way.
What promised to be a collision be-
came new resultant Of forces, hardly
matched In the worlds history.
As showing the depth and intensity
of their adaptive conversion, the jap
anese scholars virtually transformed
their Language. Out Of the inexhaust-
ible thesaurus Of the Chinese charac-
ters they coined new Geographic COM
binntlons to meet the needs of the
new mind. To-day 1t is actually pos
sible to take copy Of THE Sun,
which daily pictures the world In
print. and to reproduce in japanese,
even to delicate shades Of meaning,
every news item, editorial article or
report Of learned societies. More
than once has this test been made.
AS an aside to this assertion. it may
be remarked that though the Japa-
nese language as spoken by the wom-
en- seems a silvery cascade of vowels
and liquids, while from the mascu-
line tongue drop marsh sounds. this
Is no sex question or purposed vocal
rivalry. Men make use Of the new
tangled terms more numerously. The
feminine voice Is the vehicle of the
pure and musical vernacular Of old
Japan. Chinese editors and authors,
who once scorned these useful verbal
devices made in Japan, now use them
daily.
We cannot here even epltomize the
progress Of japan, which went on
steadily while in Chinese documents
the Mikado's subjects were styled
barbarians. While the Chinese fought
among themselves, the islanders
studied national development. Yet all
the material triumphs from the day
Commodore PERRY showed his rail-
way and telegraph at Yokohama In
1853 until the year 1919 are what
our older thinkers would style "sec
ond causes" Back Of all things seen
or felt Is philosophy-the guide Of
life and Interpreter of things. To put
into sentence whole libraries printed
on both sides Of the Yellow Sea, the
theory OF life and thought taught in
Nippon since A. d. 1000 has been the
real creator of the new japan. Long
ago rejected in China, this philosophy
found congenial home In Japan. 1t
was there developed, making ready
welcome to the olive branch proffered
by our President FILLMORE. China
is still in the letters of the Confucian
philosophy, which, in all its ramlfica-
tons. Is based solely on ancient au-
thority. "Gashmu saith it, may be
good scripture, but the American peo-
pie are accustomed to test even the
oracular dellverances of men in high
places, however cryptic or whatever
their alleged infalllbility, by reason
and experience; and In this japanese
and Americans are alike.
Why does the mind Of Japan differ
from that of Gilman The answer Is
best given in fact. not opinion. With
out exception the japanese prophets
and the many martyrs before 1868
and since 1900, the statesmen, Gen
erals and Admirals since 1900. have
been devotees of the Oyomei, the in
pragmatlc philosophy. In
this eystem Of ideas vision and duty
are one. Seeing what ought to be
done, a man does not inquire of the
graveyard. He honors the ancients,
but he asks also OF science, expert
ence. expedlency and right In order
to find "the True Way between heaven
NM ca rtfrA< Hts4s not a-~1Sse ideat
ism, but a looking ut duty in all its
relations, without fear or filnching
At Paris it Is pre-ancient ConfucIan-
ism and clear provision of the future
that are In friction, though we hope
not in irrepressible conflict.
For, granted that China's sover-
eighty seems to be threatened and
that Japan has bullied her big neigh.
Dor, whose fault is it? Can the Chi
nese Government be trusted to fulfil
its promises without pressure Of mod
ern ideas and resources? Generous
Americans might at once say, yes but
II japanese can no more forget the
past than we can ignore WASHING
TOMS warning against "entangling al
liances," under whatever name called
or notion classified. The burnt child