Evening star., 1924-09-21

~ HANG TSo-LlN marches
| ~ on PckinS. WI Pei-fu
| rushes troops to Nanking,
| " Sun Vat Sen raises red
army! Feng Yu-hsiang,
| the Christian general, launches two
| divisions Gen. Chi attacks Shang-
! hal" etc, etc.
| Each morning We have read OF an
| other general entering the great con-
| fict in China. Of another tuchun
| taking up arms. of fresh troops and
| fiercer engagements and more fero-
| cious attacks by rival powers. until
we are all but convinced that there
| Is not a single official in that far-off
republic who is not militaristic to the
core, thirsting for power. mad with
war and slaughter and drunk with
| the lust of battle.
OF a hopelessly belligerent ruling
| class let us look in on that province
| called Shansi. or West -of-the- Noun
tains. and modify our opinion of
| Chinese governors and generals by a
| glimpse Of that immensely popular
| tuchun, Yen Hsi Shan.
China is at war China, during her
| long history. has been at war. off and
| on. ever since the days of the good
| Emperor Shun, who ruled in golden
| age and taught rude people the arts
| of civilization. Yet, for all the bat
ties, the conquests. the wars of as-
| Rression and the wars of defense, the
| Chinese are essential a peaceloving
| nation. They have few odes lauding
the conqueror, few paeans Of victory.
but many. many poems of the hard
| ships of campaigns and the horrors
| of battles. the sufTerings of the COM
mon people and the sorrows of wives
and betrothed maidens who wait at
home for the soldier who returns no
4 l. - y
nors, Yen Hsi Shan, the model Tuchun
of Shansi, China personifies the spirit
| of peace. of industry, of order and
| civilization that is the deepest ideal
| Of the race.
| "a great empire should be governed
just as a small fish is fried said the
great sage, Confucius And by this
| admonition Yen Hsi Shan. in the
| rugged districts west of the great
| khingan Mountains, rules over al
| most twelve million of the black
haired people.
Oh. I am tho cook and the captain bold
| And the mate of the Nancy brig.
And II III. ,,h h"n sGt t A.. and the %dshrmite
sang one of the heroes of the Bab
Ballads: and like the redoubtable
singer of Gilberts rollicking verses.
| Yen Hsi Shan unites in his one per-
son the two highest Offices of the
| state, military governor and civil
governor This convenient arrange
ment prevents any possibility of those
disputes between the military and the
| civil ruler which wreck the executive
machinery of almost every other
province in China.
| Gov. Yen does not want additional
| territory; he does not crave greater
i power, he Is not concerned with politics.
domestic or foreign he asks only to be
1 LOT al 10 md
govern his province with that careful
attention to detail. that watchfulness
that Solicitude, which the great master
recommended in the cooking of small
fish,
When 1 called on the model governor
at Taiyuanful this Spring l was pre-
pared for a Chinese general in glittering
uniform, for the most formal ceremony,
for wearisome waiting and a few con-
ventional words The interview would
felt sure, be r trying one, but the
fame of the model tuchun, his reputa-
tion for progressive ideas and broad
mindedness, tempted me to take cour-
age and seek the interview.
Mr.. Williamson of the British mission
in Taiyuanfu, who is a personal friend
of the governors, was more than kind
in helping me, and through his good
offices. at the appointed time, l present
ed myself at the governors yamen, and
after passing the sentry and the guards
and crossing a wide courtyard, was
| ushered into modest hall and on into
room that had not the slightest as
pect Of grandeur, formality or awesome-
ness.
My preconceived notions of guberna-
torial mansions and gubernatorial con-
ventions fell one by one. The recep-
tion hall in which we stood was only
a fairly large room with walls of plain
boarding painted a dull yellow. A lino-
leum carpet covered the stone floor;
small square table, with four chairs up
holstered in red plush, stood in the CEN
ter of the room, and of other furnish
ings there were practically none. The
door through which we had entered was
Of green baiZe, with small window
let into the upper panel, through which
| we could see the guard passing and re-
passing in the hall beyond.
The tuchun himself entered, with no
ceremony, and in a few moments We
were seated in the red plush chairs
around the little table. Over the in
evitable Chinese teacups / was face to
face with the man who stands out in
popular estimation as the best repre-
sentative Of his race.
He wore no uniform, no decorations /;
only the simplest of dark garments,
ISuch as . none too well-to-do merchant
might wear. His hair was cropped
close, and on the scalp could see three