The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1909. THE FUTURE OF CHINA.

Auckland Star, Volume XL, Issue 204, 27 August 1909, Page 4

The Auckland Star WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1909. THE FUTURE OF CHINA.

»— ii » m JTor the cause that looks assistance. For the wrong that needs resistance. For the future in the distance, And the good that toe out do.

Few men are so well qualified to pronounced authoritatively on Oriental ques- . tions as Prince Ito, the Japanese Governor of Korea. Ito was one of the leaders of the great revolutionary movement which half a century ago started Japan on her career as a world-power, and he has thus had a unique experience of the difficulties involved in applying the principles of Western civilisation to Oriental conditions of life- As one of the Elder • Statesmen of Japan he has enjoyed the confidence of the Mikado and his subjects throughout a long career, and in his various public capacities he has displayed not only a high degree of disinterested patriotism, bt.it remarkable political sagacity and statesmanship of a rare order. Ito is to-doy unquestionably the greatest of the Japanese, and even though Japan's policy in Korea has not satisfied the expectations of the Powers, and is open to certain grave objections, it is generally admitted that Ito as Resident-General in Korea has done his best to carry out the Mikado's instructions humanely and honestly. The views of such a man on ' the condition and the prospects of China ' are thus well worthy of careful con- ' sideration; and it will surprise most ' European readers to learn that in Ito's opinion the Chinese will not be able successfully to adopt Western methods of rule and administration. The conserva- ' tism of the Chinese, their lack of experi- ' ence in managing local affairs, and the ' mere vastness of their Empire seem to ' the Japanese statesman to present in- ' superable obstacles to the introduction ' of constitutional government there. And he adds the impressive warning that the failure of the attempt now being made in this direction is likely to imperil the peace of the Far East. 1 To estimate tho value of these opinions, it may be as well to glanca briefly at the present condition of China as viewed by competent (European observers. China, as the celebrated! missionary, Dr. Martin, tells us, has never been so apathetic and conservative as the outside world has imagined. "The false impression on that subject i 3 partly due to ignorance of Chinese history, and partly to a sort of optical illusion, which makes us see distant bodies as if they were standing still even when they are in rapid motion." Another error of judgment into which Europeans constantly 'fall about China is the idea that the people are not only lethargic and ignorant, but devoid of intelligence and personal or patriotic sensibilities. On this point Lord William Cecil has recently contributed some valuable comments to the "National Review." "Before I went to China," he tells us, "I had a dim idea that the Chinese gentleman was a very stupid and unintelligent being; but the moment I came in contact with him I saw my error. A Chinese gentleman is an extremely able and intelligent man; the weakness that besets China certainly does not come from his intellectual inferiority" It is true that he has very little knowledge of the physical sciences, but he is no worse off in that respect than many European literary men; and he is by no means so lacking in public spirit or keenness of insight as to ignore the insults to which his race and his country have been exposed by the Western nations, and more especially the injuries inflicted upon China by Russia and Japan. And it is through their keen realisation of these wrongs that the Chinese are now bending their energies to the task of raising themselves in the scale of nations and asserting their rights against their oppressors. To quote Lord William Cecil again: "The Chinese gentleman has been trained in the philosophy, history, and culture of his race, and both in his speech and in his thought he bears markß of the excellency of that training. He has now thoroughly realised his national weakness and his consequent humilia'iiton, and the whole of that mass of irf.elligent thought in China which was a few years ago conservative to obscurantism has now become progressive, even rc-olutionary." 3ut what ground is there for the assertiusi that China has really aroused herself from her self-contented lethargy, and h*s entered upon the path of Progress in the sense dn which the term is understood by Europeans ? The answer to this question is to be found dn the record ot that {has hanpened in China du£jg&

the past ten years. So far as the outward forms and signs of civilisation are concerned, there is no doubt that China ia rapidly undergoing a marvellous transfiguration. In Peking the "runners" are dressed like English policemen, and the soldiers wear German uniforms, and the ;band plays French military airs. Motorcars tear through the streets of Poking, and tramways run up and down tho highways of Mukden. China has post and telegraph offices run on European lines, it 'has in theory a new currency, and a new educational system, and it Is thinking about a new Church and a new system of constitutional government; and all this is the work of ten short years. Along with the growth of new ideas amo/ig the people has come an increase of strength -to the Throne, The telegraphs allow the Emperor to transmit his commands to the distant limits of his realm, the railways will soon enable him to concentrate troops and to enforce his authority where he will. Though the Southern viceroys who initiated the reform movement have been superseded or kept in check by the Emperor and his advisers, their policy is still maintained. The single fact that a Commission of three princes was appointed to study the art of government ii\ the great capitals of the world, and to report their experience to the Chinese, is a convincing proof of the reality of this great 'but peaceful revolution. The crusade against the crippling of girls' feet goes on side by side with a movement in favour of higher educa/tion for girls, and even elderly women have formed associations for their own mental enlightenment and instruction. Newspapers of a surprising!)' outspoken kind are everywhere on the increase, the prestige of the old examination system, with all its attendant abuses, has been and China is rapidly transforming itself into a country where the primary features of Oriental civilisation will be combined with some of the most important essentials of modern social, intellectual, and political progress. It would be easy to multiply these proofs indefinitely; but even this cursory survey of the present Btate of China suggests that a people so obviously in earnest about improving themselves and raising themselves to an equality with the nations "foremost in the files of time," must possess many of the essentials of true national greatness. Regarded in the light of what China has already done for herself, the criticisms offered by Prince Ito upon the reality and the effect of this wonderful transformation certainly seem severe and even ungenerous. As to the immense extent of the Empire and the consequent difficulty of establishing a uniform system of representative government, that dlffirulty will be constantly diminished with the improvement of the internal means of communication and the spread of railways. As to the "immovable conservatism" with which the Chinese are charged, we have seen that this feature jf the national character has not maintained itself against the pressure of circumstances; indeed, the fear is, as Ito's Dbjections suggest, that China may go too .fast in the way of reform rather than too glow, Experience in administrative duties will come soon enough when the Chinese, an essentially practical and businesslike people, have once secured the right to manage their own local affairs. In fact, the case made out by Ito against the Chinese reform movement strikes us as singularly weak and unconvincing; and it is difficult to avoid the suspicion that the Japanese, having learned from their own history liow a nation may be strengthened by constitutional government, are apprehensive lest China should profit by their example and should develop too soon for their purposes a sense of nationalism and patriotism that would prove an effective bar to Japan's ambitions in the Far East.