CHINESE AND JAPANESE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XL, Issue 4, 5 January 1907, Page 4

CHINESE AND JAPANESE.

In the Asiatic Quarterly Review Sir R. K. Douglas discussed.China's attitude towards Japan and Russia. It is one continuous plea for distrust of Russia and trust of Japan. In the course of his discussion he points out the kinship cf life between Japan and China, and then proceeds to indicate marked differences. He says:—"ln tlie peace-loving philosophies of Confucius and Mencius there is no place, for^ example, for the 'Bushido,' of which we have heard so much lately. No amount of teaching will ever make this flower of chivalry take root and blossom in the very uncongenial soii of China. Thus, while the two nations have much to unite them, it would be practically impossible to unify them. During the whole stages of their histories they have followed divergent courses. The Japanese have from their earliest days been a fighting race, while the Chinese have as persistently followed the peaceful pursuits of literature and commerce." Speaking of the batches of Chinese students sent recently to Japan for study, he remarks: —"It is easy to imagine the omnese youths, straight from vie self-seeking society of their fellow-countrymen, being struck dumb with amazement when they learned to realise that it was owing mainly to the absolute selfabnegation of the- official classes that such a reform became possible." The writer pronounces "selfish individualism" as the leading characteristic of the Chinaman.