IS THE CHINESE HEREDITY 

 INFERIOR? 



Cho Wang 



Cornell University, Ithaca, Neiv York 



ACCORDING to the view of most 

 biologists the ultimate value and 

 accomplishments of any people 

 are determined by its heredity. The 

 negro race has been accused of its 

 relatively low mental ability and con- 

 sequently its poor contribution to 

 civilization. The white race is very 

 proud of its heredity; geographical and 

 other forces have been operating in 

 favor of the showing up of its potential 

 ability. The yellow race, especially the 

 Chinese, has long been regarded as a 

 mystery to the western people, and the 

 value of its heredity is rarely under- 

 stood. 



It is very interesting to note that 

 many foreigners, especially Americans 

 who have been observing and studying 

 the Chinese for many years, have come 

 to the conclusion that the Chinese are 

 hereditarily very strong. Unfortu- 

 nately this worthy idea is often over- 

 looked or unknown to many — particu- 

 larly to the Chinese. In order to 

 accomplish any task the performer 

 must have confidence in his ability, and 

 a friendly, sympathetic understanding 

 of others. A consideration of the Chi- 

 nese heredity, therefore, is not only 

 enlightening to the foreigner, but 

 imperative to all Chinese. 



One of the most accurate criteria 

 with which to measure the heredity of a 

 people is its historical accomplishment. 

 Chinese history and civilization are the 

 longest of the unbroken, living ones of 

 the world, and who has the slightest 

 doubt that they are due to heredity? 

 The Emperor Hwang-ti invented the 

 compass and his Queen the silk-worm 

 culture long before Greece or Rome 

 came into existence. One after an- 

 other of such epoch-making inventions 

 as gun powder, printing, and others 

 were contributed to the world by the 



slant-eyed Chinese. These facts dem- 

 onstrate clearly that the Chinese are 

 not lacking in originality; if they had 

 never accomplished anything else, they 

 would be justified in being proud of 

 themselves. 



The writer is fully aware of the re- 

 peated accusations that the Chinese 

 are a backward people. It is granted 

 that the Chinese developed a high 

 civilization in ancient times, but it is 

 said that their heads are bent to the 

 past, and that, consequently, progress 

 decreased and finally changed to stag- 

 nation; and the glorious days of China 

 are in the past. The writer does not 

 deny that there was a slowing down 

 movement starting about the Christian 

 era, but he does deny that the 

 condition may be termed "backward- 

 ness." The retardation of Chinese 

 civilization was not caused by Chinese 

 religion, philosophy, habit of thinking 

 or any other already attributed agen- 

 cies, but mainly by geographical isola- 

 tion. During the Han Dynasty (85 B.C. 

 to 327 A.D.) the Chinese had conquered 

 all that was to be conquered, secured 

 all their material desires within the 

 boundaries of their Empire, and, above 

 all, attained higher culture and civili- 

 zation than all their neighboring states. 

 Is it not human nature to "slow down," 

 if a people are satisfied with what they 

 have, with no fear of conquerors or 

 competitors? Have not the Chinese 

 been awakened during the last few 

 decades by the influence of Westerners? 

 Has the retardation of Chinese civiliza- 

 tion anything to do with heredity? 



A PHILOSOPHICAL PEOPLE 



The Chinese are proverbially known 

 as a moral people, so it is rather unneces- 

 sary to dwell any longer to prove that 

 they are a superior people morally. 



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