CH'AO TS'O (perished B.C. 155), a leading Chinese 

 statesman, popularly known as "Wisdom-Bag'', who liv- 

 ed under the First Emperor of the glorious House of 

 Han, in memory of whom the Chinese are still proud to 

 call themselves the Sons of Han, wrote as follows in an 

 essay : 



"On the Value of Agriculture" 



"Crime begins in poverty; poverty in insufficiency 

 of food ; insufficiency of food in neglect of agriculture.. 

 Without agriculture, man has no tie to bind him to the 

 soil. Without such tie he readily leaves his birthplace 

 and his home. He is like unto the birds of the air or the 

 beasts of the field. Neither battlemented cities, nor deep 

 moats, nor harsh laws, nor cruel punishments, can subdue 

 this roving spirit that is strong within him. 



"He who is cold examines not the quality of the 

 cloth; he who is hungry tarries not for choice meats. 

 When cold and hunger come upon men. honesty and 

 shame depart. As man is constituted, he must eat twice 

 daily, or hunger ; he must wear clothes, or be cold. And if 

 the stomach cannot get food and the body clothes, the 

 love of the fondest mother cannot keep her children at 

 her side. How then should a sovereign keep his subjects 

 gathered around him? 



"The wise ruler knows this. Therefore he concen- 

 trates the energies of his people upon agriculture. He 

 levies light taxes. He extends the SYSTEM OF GRAIN 

 STORAGE, to provide for his subjects at times when 

 their resources fail." 



