China: Her History and Development 267 



The Mong^ol sway degenerated. The 

 famous Ming dynasty was ushered in 

 about the middle of the 14th century, 

 in 1365, and remained in power for two 

 •centuries. Romantic as it may seem, 

 the first of the Mings was the son of a 

 poor laborer in the Yangtze Valley, 

 who saw his opportunity, seized it, led 

 the Chinese armies to victory, estab- 

 lished his capital at Nankin on the 

 ^ Yangtze, declared himself emperor under 

 the name of Taitsu, and made a success- 

 ful expedition to Pekin, entering the 

 northern capital unopposed with flying 

 banners. The story of the Mings is one 

 for the greater part of wars with the 

 Tatars, insurrections, expeditions, and 

 disturbances, with now and then a period 

 ■of quiet and content, when education, 

 art, literature, and agriculture were fos- 

 tered. 



When the assertion is made that the 

 Chinese are not a warlike people, it as- 

 suredly is not based on the martial rec- 

 ords of the bloody past. It seems that 

 the major portion of Chinese history is 

 like a prize fight, if I may use the homely 

 figure. There is a round of hot, fast 

 blows ; then there is a minute of rest and 

 a breathing spell, followed b}' another 

 period of merciless hammering, until 

 one man succumbs and the other wins. 

 China for nearly fifty centuries has been 

 a ring, and the emperors, dynasties, and 

 different races or tribes have been the 

 fighters for the prizes of dominion and 

 empire. 



This incessant warring by Cathay of 

 75 cycles has in it a suggestion of warn- 

 ing for the rest of the world which must 

 not be despised. Shall we not studj^ the 

 Chinese all the more carefully that the 

 American people may cooperate with 

 rather than antagonize such a powerful 

 and persistent race in Asia ? No other 

 people of intense political activity, from 

 the earliest records of man to the present 

 hour of writing, has had such a marvel- 

 ous historj^ of persistent success over all 

 difficulties. What are America's 400 



3^ears since Columbus compared to 

 China's fifty centuries? 



As we are now approaching the mod- 

 ern era, I shall bring my hurried view of 

 China's history to an early conclusion. 

 It has been my chief purpose to reach 

 back to that far-distant past of which 

 the world knows too little. What has 

 occurred in later times and in recent 

 days is so well known and so well de- 

 scribed in numerous books that I shall 

 not endeavor to even carefully sum- 

 marize it. We are too apt to look upon 

 China's past as a blank, when in reality 

 it is a well-nigh limitless period of cease- 

 less activity. China need not be other 

 than proud of it. She has produced 

 warriors, statesmen, philosophers, and 

 poets that equal those of other great 

 peoples. The more she is studied the 

 more profound will be our admiration 

 of her and her people, and the less we 

 will think of her as a weak state, and of 

 her people as dirty, cruel coolies, with- 

 out credit for the past or hope for the 

 future. China and the Chinese have 

 abundant shortcomings, but none can 

 deny that they have a wonderful history. 



THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE 

 MANCHUS 



The end of the Ming dynasty brings 

 us to the beginning of that of the Man- 

 chus, which now controls the throne of 

 China. In 1644, 257 years ago, the 

 present dominant dynasty began its 

 reign. In view of the events of years 

 gone by, it would not be surprising if 

 the time were approaching for a new 

 dynasty that will make China again one 

 of the great powers of the world. Pos- 

 sibly a Wan Wang, a Kublai Khan, or 

 a Taitsu is needed for the successful 

 consummation of a radical movement 

 for progress. May Kwangsu himself 

 prove that he is equal to the opportu- 

 nity and responsibility. 



The achievements of the Manchus 

 have not been limited or small. They 



