88 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



If not, what shall be done to hinder their progress? (3) The develop- 

 ment of commerce raises the question of distribution. Are the goods 

 distributed in a just manner? Are all the people of the country re- 

 ceiving their equitable portion ? Manifestly the introduction of modern 

 commercial and industrial methods will in time involve a tremendous 

 change in the economic life of the Chinese. There are indications in 

 China to-day of the beginning of an industrial revolution similar to 

 the one in Europe in the second half of the eighteenth century. Rail- 

 way transportation of commercial products has affected thousands of 

 wheelbarrow coolies. The introduction of cotton and wool clothing 

 has thrown large numbers of silk weavers out of employment. Modern 

 machines are rapidly being introduced in the larger and more accessible 

 cities and will soon follow in all parts of the country. Situations of 

 this sort give rise to urgent moral problems and result in moral advance. 



While educative and commercial forces have been operative, the in- 

 troduction of Christianity into China through missionary enterprise in 

 chapels and hospitals, has also greatly furthered moral progress. Chris- 

 tianity has called attention to moral evils and has created a sense of sin 

 and unworthiness which has helped many to break away from pernicious 

 customs. It has engendered a more adequate appreciation of the ideals 

 of brotherhood and social justice and thereby has stimulated new con- 

 ceptions of the relation of man to man, and of mutual responsibility. 

 It has emphasized the worth of the soul, and in so doing has given added 

 worth to individual life. Thousands have accepted the principles of 

 Christianity — some consciously, other unconsciously. Many of these — 

 especially women — have been encouraged to learn to read, and the ability 

 thus acquired has served not only the immediately desired end of read- 

 ing the Bible, but has also widened the intellectual horizon and created 

 new and larger interests. Christianity has probably done more during 

 the last hundred years than all other forces combined to liberate Chinese 

 women from the shackles of custom. 



China has entered a period of transition comparable to the period 

 of the Sophists of ancient Athens, the Eenaissance and the Reformation 

 in western Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the indus- 

 trial revolution of the eighteenth century, and the French Revolution. 

 Old landmarks are being swept away; foot-binding will probably never 

 reappear, and it is highly probable that opium will be effectually 

 driven from the country. But certain old landmarks will be reinstated 

 ■ — in a modified form, perhaps, though not necessarily. At a feast given 

 in the city of Nanking shortly after the formation of the Provisional 

 Republic of China, one of the prominent officials of Sun Yat-sen's gov- 

 ernment informed the guests that "Confucianism is forever dead." 

 Since that time it has received official recognition from President Yuan 

 Shih-kai, and the titles and privileges which the lineal descendants of 



