Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-03-20
Geographic News
Bulletins by the
National Geographic Society
CHINESE CITY OF CHANGsHA

CHINESE CITY OF CHANGSHA
Chinese dispatches indicating tina
the important city of Changsha may
be the scene of the long delayed bat
tie between the southern and north
ern forces, make that one of Chinas
many cities stand out for the moment
from its fellows. The following bull
letin from the Washington, ID. c.,
Headquarters of the National Geo
graphic Society. tells something OF
Changsha and its changing aspect:
In China, if one desires to ex-
press high compliment of a person.
says the bulletin. "the right thumb
Is stuck up in the air above a closed
fist. To extend the little finger,
though, is to suggest that the per-
son in question is beneath contempt.
When the Changsha man refers to
his fellow citizens, he always resem-
bles a patient about to have his
thumb bandaged, for the man of
Changsha is China's 'top-side-man.'
"Yale-in- China"
Capital of a hilly province, n
part of which is occupied by a large
lake which acts as a reservoir for
the Yangtze floods, Changsha main
tanned it's exclusion of the foreign
devil' until the beginning of this
century. Today it is closely linked
with New Haven, for there is, just
outside the rapidly disappearing wall,
In which the inhabitants ono took
pride, one of the best Christian mis-
sion schools in China, which is
Yale's contribution to the education
Of the Chinese who cannot come to
America.
Elm Human, the necromancer has
exerted much power and Changsha
was so we'll protected by the lucky
constellation under which it was
founded and by the Holy Hill which
guards it that it was thought a pro-
fanation for the foreign devil to
enter. In 1910 there were serious
riots, mainly directed against the
gyowing commercial power of foreign
firms, but 1t had too its astronomical
accompaniment, for it was the ap-
proach Of HaIley's comet which
touched off the explosion.
Munitions for Americas "Glorious
Fourth
Long before Yale established the
Yale in China" college and hospital
in Changsha, the city vas closely re-
lated to America for it was in the
capital of Human that many of the
irecrackers which formerly an
nounced the Independence Day cele-
bration were made. While maintain
ing it's own independence, Changsha
furnished the explosives which en-
abied the American boy to proclaim
his Glorious Fourth
"A large part OF Human is an un-
worked field of anthracite and btu
| minous coal and Pinghsiang which
ls connected with Changsha by rail-
road, there is one of the mines which
furnished fuel for the great iron
works at Hanyang.
Produced Great Men.
Among the great men who have
been among Changsha's chief prod.
| ucts the most famous was General
| Tseng Kuo Fan, whose cooperation
with Chinese Gordon was largely in.
istrumental in putting down the Tai
| ping rebellion. General Tseng was
not only a soldier and statesman but
a literary man as we'll and his col
llected works Of 156 books were ed
tied by Lii Hung Chang.
"Changsha lies on the projected
line of railway which, when North
and South are reconciled will con-
Inject Picking and Canton; and trains
have already competed with the light
draft steamers which make the 22C
mile trip from Hankow. With about
500, 900 inhabitants, it rules a prov
ince of 22 million and is one of the
cleanest cities in China.
MANY of the streets are long and
straight and at n time the city it
self was divided between two magis-
tracies. The bazaars are full of life
and interest, some of tie candies
being famous~for miles around.
Boy Scouts Show Western Tricks
zone of the interesting sights OF
the city is the wheelbarrows thai
climb stairs. Some distance ahead
of the regulation wheel there is an
other smaller one. In climbing ovel
fagstone steps or bridges, the han
until the auxiliary wheel rises above
the next higher step. Then the
wheelbarrow, which often carries
three. or four hundred pounds. see
saws from wheel to wheel until the
next level stretch of f1agstones j!
reached.
1.-THE Episcopal Mission has a live
Boy Scout troop and the visitor who
watched t~ent-pegging, fire rescue
stretcher making and other Boy
Scout activities would marvel al
China's quick changes. For unit,
after the Boxer trouble, Humans cap
Iital excluded the dreaded foreigner
from its walls whose brick battle
ments. rising above the site of a for
mer wall constructed in 202 B.. G.
were themselves built while Shakes
peare was alive.
Now. with foreign mission schools
vieing with the ancient university or
the Holy Hill, and with Boy Scouts
teachng first aid to enlisted soldiers
the proud walls of the City of the
Iron Gates which withstood the Tai.
Ipings are no longer respected and
their Manchu bricks are going into
modern homes"