CHINA AND HER PEOPLE 315 



for the reason that all other methods have been tried and the present one 

 is the survival! The claims made by tlie Ciiinese of priority in tlie 

 use of many articles and methods are not infrequently well taken, and 

 the writer has often l)een surprised in observing the connnon use of 

 articles and their methods of manufacture which in other parts of the 

 world are novelties or inventions of comparatively recent date. 



The opposition of this nation to machinery is well known. It 

 exists not only among the presuma'oly ignorant who labor for their 

 daily support, but among the rich and highly educated as well. The 

 reason for this opposition is founded upon social and economic con- 

 ditions unlike those in any other part of the world. 



The Statement is as follows: First, every man in China is a worker, 

 and only by untiring industr}' is he cai)able of feeding and clothing 

 himself and family. 



Second, all branches of industry are full. There is never lack of 

 labor nor of work to do, and so nicely adjusted have become the eco- 

 nomic conditions through centuries of struggle that practical content 

 reigns among the workers, and any upsetting of the equilibrium of 

 sup))l3^ and demand produces widespread distress. 



The Proposition. — Introduce a machine which shall, by the su])er- 

 vision of one man, be able to do the work of ten men. 



The Result. — Nine men are thrown out of that particular task. There 

 is no outlet for their industry for the reason given in paragraph 2 of 

 the Statement. Tlierefore these nine men must starve, steal, or emi- 

 grate. From m}' observation this is pretty nearly the correct status 

 of the working world in China and is the underl3nng reason for the 

 opposition to labor-saving machiner_y. In this great empire a labor- 

 saving tool or machine is an economic curse, and will remain so until 

 the conditions are greatly modified throughout China. 



It is to be understood, however, that this argument applies alto- 

 gether to existing industries rather than to new forms of production 

 and lal)or. The strength of Chinese performance consists in tlie in- 

 terminable ap})lication of minute e (lb it at a given point. In other 

 wortls, the application of manual labor will, in the long run, carry 

 out any task, however great, and in the doing the man earns his 

 bread l)y the sweat of hisljrow. From his point of view h(! has no rea- 

 son for discontent. He is therefore industriou.'^, frugal, an<l prohahly 

 hap|iy. in (!hina, tlie Chinaman is a good citizen. 



Trade-unions for mutual protection arc priivalent here to an ex- 

 tent undreamed of outside the Floweiy Kingdom. Naturally tlie 



