2o6 A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



officials a " living wage " it could then have expected and 

 demanded an honest, civil, and mihtary service. Instead of 

 this, offices were commonly sold by the Government for large 

 sums, and the purchasers allowed to farm them to their own 

 advantage. 



It has been a rule in China that no important office could 

 be held by an official in his native province. Theoretically, 

 like much else in the Chinese system of government, this was 

 an excellent rule, but in practice it had decided drawbacks. 

 All officials, in consequence, were in the nature of aliens coming 

 as they did from other provinces. At best they were strangers 

 and, according to their strength of character, usually became 

 subservient to, or at variance with, the local gentry. In 

 wealthy provinces like Szechuan and Hunan, for example, 

 these local gentry wield enormous power and are, in fact, the 

 real rulers of the province. Local patriotism and self-interest 

 are combined in this class, which commands a large following. 

 The policy and actions of the late Government at Peking 

 were very often antagonistic to the views of these gentry. 

 Especially was this so in the matter of mining-concessions, 

 open ports, and foreign loans. The Provincial Governments 

 were frequently in a quandary in their efforts to harmonize 

 the diametrically opposed views of both authorities. As the 

 Central Government weakened, the provinces became more 

 and more under the power of the gentry. The climax as the 

 world now knows was reached in the early autumn of 191 1, 

 when the local gentry of Chengtu Fu induced open rebeUion 

 which, spreading with marvellous rapidity, very soon brought 

 about the dethronement of the Dynasty. 



The Provincial and National Assembhes which the late 

 Government was virtually forced to call into existence were 

 mainly composed of gentry. The student class, both of the 

 old and new schools of learning, in the main is made up 

 of the sons of this same body. These students are far 

 from being seekers after knowledge for knowledge's sake. 

 In Chengtu they were several times openly mutinous, setting 

 the Viceroy's authority at naught, and compelling him to grant 

 their desires. In many parts of the country the authorities 

 were almost openly afraid of these headstrong students, and 



