The Awakening of China by W.A.P. Martin

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Japan was obliged to waive her claim to a war indemnity and to
allow Russia to retain half the island of Saghalien. Neither nation
was satisfied with the terms, but both perceived that peace was
preferable to the renewal of the struggle with all its horrors
and uncertainties. For tendering the olive branch
[Page 193]
and smoothing the way for its acceptance, President Roosevelt merits
the thanks of mankind.[*] Besides other advantages Japan has assured
her position as the leading power of the Orient; but the greatest
gainer will be Russia, if her defeat in the field should lead her
to the adoption of a liberal government at home.

[Footnote *: Since this was written a Nobel Peace Prize has justly
been awarded to the President.]

"Peace hath her victories,
No less renowned than war."

The Czar signified his satisfaction by making Witte the head of
a reconstruction ministry and by conferring upon him the title
of Count; and the Mikado showed his entire confidence in Baron
Komura, notwithstanding some expressions of disappointment among
the people, by assigning him the delicate task of negotiating a
treaty with China.

Though the attitude of China had been as unheroic as would have
been Menelaus' had the latter declared neutrality in the Trojan
war, the issue has done much to rouse the spirit of the Chinese
people. Other wars made them feel their weakness: this one begot
a belief in their latent strength. When they witnessed a series
of victories on land and sea gained by the Japanese over one of
the most formidable powers of the West, they exclaimed, "If our
neighbour can do this, why may we not do the same? We certainly
can if, like them, we break with the effete systems of the past.
Let us take these island heroes for our schoolmasters."

[Page 194]
That war was one of the most momentous in the annals of history.
It unsettled the balance of power, and opened a vista of untold
possibilities for the yellow race.

Not slow to act on their new convictions, the Chinese have sent a
small army of ten thousand students to Japan--of whom over eight
thousand are there now, while they have imported from the island
a host of instructors whose numbers can only be conjectured. The
earliest to come were in the military sphere, to rehabilitate army
and navy. Then came professors of every sort, engaged by public
or private institutions to help on educational reform. Even in
agriculture, on which they have hitherto prided themselves, the
Chinese have put themselves under the teaching of the Japanese,
while with good reason they have taken them as teachers in forestry
also. Crowds of Japanese artificers in every handicraft find ready
employment in China. Nor will it be long before pupils and apprentices
in these home schools will assume the role of teacher, while Chinese
graduates returning from Japan will be welcomed as professors of a
higher grade. This Japanning process, as it is derisively styled, may
be somewhat superficial; but it has the recommendation of cheapness
and rapidity in comparison with depending on teachers from the
West. It has, moreover, the immense advantage of racial kinship and
example. Of course the few students who go to the fountain-heads
of science--in the West--must when they return home take rank as
China's leading teachers.

All this inclines one to conclude that a rapid transformation in
this ancient empire is to be counted on.
[Page 195]
The Chinese will soon do for themselves what they are now getting
the Japanese to do for them. Japanese ideas will be permanent; but
the direct agency of the Japanese people will certainly become
less conspicuous than it now is.

To the honour of the Japanese Government, the world is bound to
acknowledge that the island nation has not abused its victories to
wring concessions from China. In fact to the eye of an unprejudiced
observer it appears that in unreservedly restoring Manchuria Japan
has allowed an interested neutral to reap a disproportionate share
of the profits.

[Page 196]
CHAPTER XXIX

REFORM IN CHINA

_Reforms under the Empress Dowager--The Eclectic Commission--Recent
Reforms--Naval Abortion--Merchant Marine--Army Reform--Mining
Enterprises--Railways--The Telegraph--The Post Office--The Customs--Sir
Robert Hart--Educational Reform--The Tung-Wen College--The Imperial
University--Diplomatic Intercourse--Progressive Viceroys--New Tests
for Honours--Legal Reform--Newspapers--Social Reforms--Reading
Rooms--Reform in Writing--Anti-foot-binding Society--The Streets._

"When I returned from England," said Marquis Ito, "my chief, the
Prince of Chosin, asked me if I thought anything needed to be changed
in Japan. I answered, 'Everything.'" These words were addressed in my
hearing, as I have elsewhere recorded, to three Chinese statesmen,
of whom Li Hung Chang was one. The object of the speaker was to
emphasise the importance of reform in China. He was unfortunate in
the time of his visit--it was just after the _coup d'etat_,
in 1898. His hearers were men of light and leading, in sympathy
with his views; but reform was on the ebb; a ruinous recoil was
to follow; and nothing came of his suggestions.

[Page 197]
The Emperor had indeed shown himself inclined to "change everything,"
but at that moment his power was paralyzed. What vicissitudes he
has passed through since that date! Should he come again to power,
as now seems probable, may he not, sobered by years and prudent
from experience, still carry into effect his grand scheme for the
renovation of China. To him a golden dream, will it ever be a reality
to his people?

Taught by the failure of a reaction on which she had staked her
life and her throne, the Dowager became a convert to the policy
of progress. She had, in fact, outstripped her nephew. "Long may
she live!" "Late may he rule us!" During her lifetime she could be
counted on to carry forward the cause she had so ardently espoused.
She grasped the reins with a firm hand; and her courage was such
that she did not hesitate to drive the chariot of state over many
a new and untried road. She knew she could rely on the support
of her viceroys--men of her own appointment. She knew too that
the spirit of reform was abroad in the land, and that the heart
of the people was with her.

The best embodiment of this new spirit was the High Commission
sent out in 1905 to study the institutions of civilized countries
east and west, and to report on the adoption of such as they deemed
advisable. The mere sending forth of such an embassy was enough
to make her reign illustrious. The only analogous mission in the
history of China, is that which was despatched to India, in 66 A.
D., in quest of a better faith, by Ming-ti, "The Luminous." The
earlier embassy
[Page 198]
borrowed a few sparks to rekindle the altars of their country;
the present embassy propose to introduce new elements in the way
of political reform. Their first recommendation, if not their first
report, reaches me while I write, and in itself is amply sufficient
to prove that this High Commission is not a sham designed to dazzle
or deceive. The Court _Gazette_, according to the _China
Times_, gives the following on the subject:

"The five commissioners have sent in a joint memorial dealing with
what they have seen in foreign countries during the last three
months. They report that the wealthiest and strongest nations in
the world to-day are governed by constitutional government. They
mention the proclamation of constitutional government in Russia, and
remark that China is the only great country that has not adopted that
principle. As they have carefully studied the systems of England,
the United States, Japan, etc., they earnestly request the Throne
to issue a decree fixing on five years as the limit within which
'China will adopt a constitutional form of government.'

"A rescript submits this recommendation to a council of state to
advise on the action to be taken."

If that venerable body, consisting of old men who hold office for
life, does not take umbrage at the prospect of another tribunal
infringing on their domain, we shall have at least the promise of
a parliament. And five years hence, if the _conge d'elire_
goes forth, it will rend the veil of ages. It implies the conferment
on the people of power hitherto unknown in their history. What a
commotion will the ballot-box excite! How suddenly will it arouse
the dormant
[Page 199]
intellect of a brainy race! But it is premature to speculate.

In 1868 the Mikado granted his subjects a charter of rights, the
first article of which guarantees freedom of discussion, and engages
that he will be guided by the will of the people. In China does
not the coming of a parliament involve the previous issue of a
Magna Charta?

It is little more than eight years since the restoration, as the
return of the Court in January, 1902, may be termed. In this period,
it is safe te assert that more sweeping reforms have been decreed
in China than were ever enacted in a half-century by any other
country, if one except Japan, whose example the Chinese profess to
follow, and France, in the Revolution, of which Macaulay remarks
that "they changed everything--from the rites of religion to the
fashion of a shoe-buckle."

Reference will here be made to a few of the more important innovations
or ameliorations which, taken together, made the reign of the Empress
Dowager the most brilliant in the history of the Empire. The last
eight years have been uncommonly prolific of reforms; but the tide
began to turn after the peace of Peking in 1860. Since that date
every step in the adoption of modern methods was taken during the
reign or regency of that remarkable woman, which dated from 1861
to 1908.

As late as 1863 the Chinese Government did not possess a single
fighting ship propelled by steam. Steamers belonging to Chinese
merchants were sometimes employed to chase pirates; but they were not
[Page 200]
the property of the state. The first state-owned steamers, at least
the first owned by the Central Government, was a flotilla of gunboats
purchased that year in England by Mr. Lay, Inspector-General of
Maritime Customs. Dissatisfied with the terms he had made with the
commander, whom he had bound not to act on any orders but such as
the Inspector should approve, the Government dismissed the Inspector
and sold the ships.

In the next thirty years a sufficient naval force was raised to
justify the appointment of an admiral; but in 1895 the whole fleet
was destroyed by the Japanese, and Admiral Ting committed suicide.
At present there is a squadron under each viceroy; but all combined
would hardly form the nucleus of a navy. That the Government intend
to create a navy may be inferred from the establishment of a Naval
Board. In view of the naval exploits of Japan, and under the guidance
of Japanese, they are certain to develop this feeble plant and to
make it formidable to somebody--perhaps to themselves.

Their merchant marine is more respectable. With a fleet of fifty
or more good ships the China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company
are able by the aid of subsidies and special privileges to compete
for a share in the coasting trade; but as yet they have no line
trading to foreign ports.

In 1860 a wild horde with matchlocks, bows, and spears, the land
army is now supplied in large part with repeating rifles, trained
in Western drill, and dressed in uniform of the Western type. The
manoeuvres that took place near Peking in 1905 made
[Page 201]
a gala day for the Imperial Court, which expressed itself as more
than satisfied with the splendour of the spectacle. The contingent
belonging to this province is 40,000, and the total thus drilled
and armed is not less than five times that number. In 1907 the
troops of five provinces met in Honan. Thanks to railways, something
like concentration is coming within the range of possibility. Not
deficient in courage, what these raw battalions require to make
them effective is confidence in themselves and in their commanders.
Lacking in the lively patriotism that makes heroes of the Japanese,
these fine big fellows are not machines, but animals. To the mistaken
efforts recently made to instil that sentiment at the expense of the
foreigner, I shall refer in another chapter. A less objectionable
phase of the sentiment is provincialism, which makes it easy for an
invader to employ the troops of one province to conquer another.
In history these provinces appear as kingdoms, and their mutual
wars form the staple subject. What feeling of unity can exist so
long as the people are divided by a babel of dialects? More than
once have Tartars employed Chinese to conquer China; and in 1900 a
fine regiment from Wei-hai-wei helped the British to storm Peking.
It may be added they repaid themselves by treating the inhabitants
as conquered foes. Everywhere they were conspicuous for acts of
lawless violence.

Three great arsenals, not to speak of minor establishments, are
kept busy turning out artillery and small arms for the national
army, and the Board of Army Reform has the supervision of those
forces, with
[Page 202]
the duty of making them not provincial, but national. Efforts of
this kind, however, are no proof of a reform spirit. Are not the
same to be seen all the way from Afghanistan to Dahomey? "To be weak
is to be miserable"; and the Chinese are right in making military
reorganisation the starting-point of a new policy. Yet the mere
proposal of a parliament is a better indication of the spirit of
reform than all these armaments.

In the mind of China, wealth is the correlative of strength. The
two ideas are combined in the word _Fuchiang_, which expresses
national prosperity. Hence the treasures hidden in the earth could
not be neglected, when they had given up the follies of geomancy
and saw foreigners prospecting and applying for concessions to work
mines. At first such applications were met by a puerile quibble
as to the effect of boring on the "pulse of the Dragon"--in their
eyes not the guardian of a precious deposit, but the personification
of "good luck." To find lucky locations, and to decide what might
help or harm, were the functions of a learned body of professors of
_Fungshui_, a false science which held the people in bondage
and kept the mines sealed up until our own day. Gradually the Chinese
are shaking off the incubus and, reckless of the Dragon, are forming
companies for the exploitation of all sorts of minerals. The Government
has framed elaborate regulations limiting the shares of foreigners,
and encouraging their own people to engage in mining enterprises.

"Give up your _Fungshui_;
It keeps your wealth locked up,"

says a verse of Viceroy Chang.

[Page 203]
A similar change has taken place in sentiment as regards railways.
At first dreaded as an instrument of foreign aggression, they are
now understood to be the best of auxiliaries for national defence.
It has further dawned on the mind of a grasping mandarinate that
they may be utilised as a source of revenue. If stocks pay well,
why should not the Government hold them? "Your railways pay 10
per cent.--that's the sort of railway we want in China," said one
of the commissioners at a banquet in England.

It would not be strange if the nationalisation of railways decided
on this spring in Japan should lead to a similar movement in China.
In a country like America, with 300,000 miles of track, the purchase
would be _ultra vires_ in more senses than one, but with only
1 per cent. of that mileage, the purchase would not be difficult,
though it might not be so easy to secure an honest administration.

Trains from Peking now reach Hankow (600 miles) in thirty-six hours.
When the grand trunk is completed, through trains from the capital
will reach Canton in three days. Set this over against the three
months' sea voyage of former times (a voyage made only once a year),
or against the ten days now required for the trip by steamer! What
a potent factor is the railroad in the progress of a great country!

The new enterprises in this field would be burdensome to enumerate.
Shanghai is to be connected by rail with Tientsin (which means
Peking), and with Nanking and Suchow. Lines to penetrate the western
provinces are already mapped out; and even in Mongolia it is proposed
to supersede the camel by the iron
[Page 204]
horse on the caravan route to Russia. "Alas! the age of golden
leisure is gone--the iron age of hurry-skurry is upon us!" This
is the lament of old slow-going China.

When China purchased the Shanghai-Woosung railway in 1876, she
was thought to be going ahead. What did we think when she tore up
the track and dumped it in the river? An aeon seems to have passed
since that day of darkness.

The advent of railways has been slow in comparison with the telegraph.
The provinces are covered with wires. Governors and captains consult
with each other by wire, in preference to a tardy exchange of written
correspondence. The people, too, appreciate the advantage of
communicating by a flash with distant members of their families,
and of settling questions of business at remote places without
stirring from their own doors. To have their thunder god bottled
up and brought down to be their courier was to them the wonder of
wonders; yet they have now become so accustomed to this startling
innovation, that they cease to marvel.

The wireless telegraph is also at work--a little manual, translated
by a native Christian, tells people how to use it.

Over forty years ago, when I exhibited the Morse system to the
astonished dignitaries of Peking, those old men, though heads of
departments, chuckled like children when, touching a button, they
heard a bell ring; or when wrapping a wire round their bodies,
they saw the lightning leap from point to point. "It's wonderful,"
they exclaimed, "but we can't use it in
[Page 205]
our country. The people would steal the wires." Electric bells
are now common appliances in the houses of Chinese who live in
foreign settlements. Electric trolleys are soon to be running at
Shanghai and Tientsin. Telephones, both private and public, are
a convenience much appreciated. Accustomed as the Chinese are to
the instantaneous transmission of thought and speech, they have
yet to see the _telodyne_--electricity as a transmitter of
force. But will they not see it when the trolleys run? The advent
of electric power will mark an epoch.

China's weakness is not due wholly to backwardness in the arts
and sciences. It is to be equally ascribed to defective connection
of parts and to a lack of communication between places. Hence a
sense of solidarity is wanting, and instead there is a predominance
of local over national interests. For this disease the remedy is
forthcoming--rail and wire are rapidly welding the disjointed members
of the Empire into a solid unity. The post office contributes to
the same result.

A postal system China has long possessed: mounted couriers for
official despatches, and foot messengers for private parties, the
Government providing the former, and merchant companies the latter.
The modernised post office, now operating in every province, provides
for both. To most of the large towns the mails are carried by steamboat
or railroad--a marvellous gain in time, compared with horse or
foot. The old method was slow and uncertain; the new is safe and
expeditious.

That the people appreciate the change is shown by
[Page 206]
the following figures: In 1904 stamps to the amount of $400,000
(Mexican) were sold; in 1905 the sale rose to $600,000--an advance
of 50 per cent. in one year. What may we not expect when the women
learn to read, and when education becomes more general among men?

Sir Robert Hart, from whom I had this statement, is the father
of China's postal system. Overcoming opposition with patience and
prudence, he has given the post office a thorough organisation and
has secured for it the confidence of princes and people. Already
does the Government look to it as a prospective source of revenue.

To the maritime customs service, Sir Robert has been a foster-father.
Provided for by treaty, it was in operation before he took charge,
in 1863; but to him belongs the honour of having nursed the infant
up to vigorous maturity by the unwearied exertions of nearly half
a century. While the post office is a new development, the maritime
customs have long been looked upon as the most reliable branch of
the revenue service. China's debts to foreign countries, whether
for loans or indemnities, are invariably paid from the customs
revenue. The Government, though disinclined to have such large
concerns administered by foreign agents, is reconciled to the
arrangement in the case of the customs by finding it a source of
growing income. The receipts for 1905 amounted to 35,111,000 taels
= L5,281,000. In volume of trade this shows a gain of 11-1/2 per
cent. on 1904; but, owing to a favouring gale from the happy isles
of high finance, in sterling value the gain is actually 17 per
cent.

[Page 207]
To a thoughtful mind, native or foreign, the maritime customs are
not to be estimated by a money standard. They rank high among the
agencies working for the renovation of China. They furnish an
object-lesson in official integrity, showing how men brought up
under the influence of Christian morals can collect large sums and
pay them over without a particle sticking to their fingers. While
the local commissioners have carried liberal ideas into mandarin
circles all along the seacoast and up the great rivers into the
interior, the Inspector-General (the "I. G." as Sir Robert is usually
called) has been the zealous advocate of every step in the way of
reform at headquarters.

Another man in his position might have been contented to be a mere
fiscal agent, but Sir Robert Hart's fertile brain has been unceasingly
active for nearly half a century in devising schemes for the good of
China. All the honours and wealth that China has heaped on her trusted
adviser are far from being sufficient to cancel her obligations.
It was he who prompted a timid, groping government to take the
first steps in the way of diplomatic intercourse. It was he who
led them to raise their school of interpreters to the rank of a
diplomatic college. He it was who made peace in the war with France;
and in 1900, after the flight of the Court, he it was who acted
as intermediary between the foreign powers and Prince Ching. To
some of these notable services I shall refer elsewhere. I speak
of them here for the purpose of emphasising my disapproval of an
intrigue designed to oust Sir Robert and to overturn
[Page 208]
the lofty structure which he has made into a light-house for China.

In May, 1906, two ministers were appointed by the Throne to take
charge of the entire customs service, with plenary powers to reform
or modify _ad libitum_. Sir Robert was not consulted, nor was
he mentioned in the decree. He was not dismissed, but was virtually
superseded. Britain, America, and other powers took alarm for the
safety of interests involved, and united in a protest. The Government
explained that it was merely substituting one tribunal for another,
creating a dual headship for the customs service instead of leaving
it under the Board of Foreign Affairs, a body already overburdened
with responsibilities. They gave a solemn promise that while Sir
Robert Hart remained there should be no change in his status or
powers; and so the matter stands. The protest saved the situation
for the present. Explanation and promise were accepted; but the
Government (or rather the two men who got themselves appointed
to a fat office) remain under the reproach of discourtesy and
ingratitude. The two men are Tieliang, a Manchu, and Tang Shao-yi,
a Chinese. The latter, I am told on good authority, is to have
L30,000 per annum. The other will not have less. This enormous salary
is paid to secure honesty.

In China every official has his salary paid in two parts: one called
the "regular stipend," the other, a "solatium to encourage honesty."
The former is counted by hundreds of taels; the latter, by thousands,
especially where there is a temptation to peculate. What a rottenness
at the core is here betrayed!

[Page 209]
A new development worthy of all praise is the opening, by imperial
command, of a school for the training of officials for the customs
service. It is a measure which Sir Robert Hart with all his public
spirit, never ventured to recommend, because it implies the speedy
replacement of the foreign staff by trained natives.

Filling the sky with a glow of hope not unlike the approach of
sunshine after an arctic winter, the reform in the field of education
throws all others into the shade. By all parties is recognised
its supremacy. Its beginning was feeble and unwelcome, implying
on the part of China nothing but a few drops of oil to relieve
the friction at a few points of contact with the outside world.

The new treaties found China unprovided with interpreters capable
of translating documents in foreign languages. Foreign nations
agreed to accompany their despatches with a Chinese version, until
a competent staff of interpreters should be provided. With a view to
meeting this initial want, a school was opened in 1862, in connection
with the Foreign Office, and placed under the direction of the
Inspector-General of Maritime Customs, by whom I was recommended
for the presidency. Professors of English, French, and Russian
were engaged; and later on German took a place alongside of the
three leading languages of the Western world.

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