Evening star., 1934-07-29

! X. c. NJ. @. c. B. E, Hon LII. D.
New York: d. Appleton Century Co.
THE boy Emperor, P'u-Yi, in
scribes the preface 70 this book
by the man who was for l3
Il years his companion and tutor
/ in the forbidden city of Man
chu Emperors, in Peiping. Sir Regi-
maid Johnston managed the dramatic
fight of the Emperor 10 Japanese pro-
lection in 1924 and describes the epi-
sode IN the chapter. The Flight of
! the Dragon" His book is really an
intimate history Of China for the 81
years which began In 1893, with the
noble but hopeless attempt Of the un-
happy Emperor TIE Tsung (Kuang-
Hsu) to carry out the comprehensive
program of reform laid before him by
K'ang Yu-wei, and ended with the re-
turn Of the last Of the Manchu En-
perors of China to the land of his
! forefathers at the end of 1881 and
with the emergence Of Manchuria. in
the following year, as one Of the storm
I centers Of world politics" 1t hardly
+ needs saying that Sir Reginald's book
will do nothing to aid Chinese propa-
ganda against Japan and the estab-
lishment Of the so-called independent
| empire OF Manchukuo. To him the
new empire simply means that "the
dragon" has come back to his old
home" The japanese have been the
protectors Of the legitimate Emperor,
and the Chinese generals, Chang Kai-
shek and Chang Hsueh-lang were the
last persons TO whom P'u-Yi would
have appealed for sanctuary.
The twilight" period of Msnchu
rule in the forbidden city is the time
from the establishment of the $50
called republic" in 1912 TO the expul-
sion Of P'u-Yi from the imperial pail
ace by the Christian generals" in
November. 1924. AS background for
the understanding of this debacle
period, the events of the reform move
rnent Of 1893 and its collapse, the re-
action and the Boxer movement, the
reign Of the empress-dowager, the
revolution Of 1911 and the restoration
of 1917 are all briefly described. There
is an interesting appraisal of the char
acter of the enigmatic empress
dowager. 1t is when Sir Reginald
Johnston comes to the description Of
life in the imperial household and the
narration of events in which he took
part that his book becomes unique
His description of the forbidden city,
l9l9-l924, accompanied by skeleton
maps, shows, until toward the end, a
little stronghold in the midst Of the
| capital city which was the last haunt
of ancient peace, in the midst of grow
ing disruption, turmoil, lawlessness,
famine and civil war. The customs of
the court, the organization of the i'm
perial household, the imperial garden,
the Summer palace, the duties of the
imperial tutors, the plots and strate-
gems Of which they came to know
much, and the life and character of
P'u-Yi are all described in detail, from
close and prolonged observation, not
hearsay.
MY relations with my pupil" the
author says, were friendly and har-
monious from the first, and became
increasingly so as time went on. The
qualities that I found most attractive
in him were his general intelligence,
his frankness, his eager interest in the
| affairs not only of China but of the
world, his impulsive generosity, his
artistic gifts, the lack of any indica-
ton Of vindictiveneSs or ill-will
against those who had wronged him
or had been the enemies OF his house,
his kindliness and sympathy with suf-
fering, his courage in the face of grave
| physical danger and a keen sense of
humor." Twilight in the Forbidden
City" has the value of documentary
history, and Sir Reginald Johnston, If
his point OF view Is definitely unfavor-
able to turbulent, revolutionary China
and favorable to the preservation Of
| order in Manchuria under japanese
protection, nevertheless has the his
torian's conscience in the preservation
of perspective as he presents the facts.
After serving as private secretary to
the governor of Hongkong and act
ing as administrator and commits
sioner of the government of Weihaiwei
he was appointed tutor to P'u-Yi, then
ex-Emperor of China Since 1881 he
has been professor of Chinese at the
University Of London.
|
YEARS ARE so LONG. BY Josephine
Lawrence. New York: Frederick
A. Stokes Co.
TN THIS twentieth century world
l. children are no longer an invest
ment, an old-age pension. The patri-
archal theory that children owe par
ents endless and immeasurable graft
tude for bestowing on them existence
is no longer accepted unquestioningly,
or at ell. In this novel of Josephine
Lawrence, tense with the pathetic in
comprehension of the old and the re-
sentiment of the young, Barkley
Cooper has felt no serious disturbance
when, past 10, he has lost his job as
a bookkeeper in a small-town factory.
Has he not five children? He has
always expected them to take care of
him and their mother, has made no
attempt to save, though it is 20 years
since his last child married and left
home. (This failure to provide for
old age is recurrently stressed by the
middle-aged children. though in these
30S if eaSy-going old Barkley had
saved most thriftily he might still
have been in the same situation of
humiliating dependence At the meet
ing of four of the children (the fifth,
in California, has cut loose from the
family in his big, shabby home, he
and his wife Lucy are given enlight-
eminent on the other side of the ques-
ton, of which they thought there
could be no two sides. II expect YOU
to make some return for the
care we've given you, the sacrifices
we've made in your behalf. Isn't that
1t, Lucy? For one thing, you
owe your existence to us. We gave
you life itself" says Barkley Cooper
Bunk" says his son Richard. Not
many Of us are grateful for the
privilege of living"
To reader ready to offer his serv-
ices as a domestic relations adviser
1t seems that a solution is not too
difhcult-a small house in the small
town where the old couple have always
lived, a little money fer their few