How China Saw the Arrival of the Foreigners

It would be wrong to say that we were not impressed by the newcomers.

Continuing China Awakens 1905,
Today is our final installment from Adachi Kinnosuke and then we begin the third part of the series with A Chinese Cambridge Man. The selections total nine easy 5 minute installments. For works benefiting from the latest research see the “More information” section at the bottom of these pages.

Previously in China Awakens 1905.

Time: 1905
Place: China

Now that the guardianship of the territorial integrity of the Chinese empire has been committed not only to England and America, but to Nippon as well, and to the latter particularly, China may, with peace of mind, work for her own military salvation. In fact, we have already heard of the return to China of Yin-Tchang, the Chinese Minister at Ber lin. Yin-Tchang has been appointed to an important post under General Yuan Shi-kai, Viceroy of Pe-chi-li, to create the army of the New China.

China has seen, on her own ground, two great Powers conduct a great war; and the bitter days of the Boxer trouble were not without good lessons for the men of her army. But, unquestionably, the greatest lessons in the conduct of war that China has ever learned have come to her through her students living in a number of cities of Nippon while the recent war was in progress. Those young Chinese students were thus placed in a position to see for themselves the fire of patriotism which is the life of our army; the sacrifices our people have been willing to make, both enthusiastically and cheer fully; how they arose as one individual for the defense of the honor of the empire; and with what care our Government conducted even the most trivial of the many thousand details of the campaign. These students are going back to Hupeh, to Szechuen, to Peking, and to the provinces of the south; and they are to become the prophets and apostles of the New China.

Now the Powers of the world may turn to China, as Sir Robert Peel once did to the merchants of London, and say, “What favor can we show you?” And the New China can say, without a tremor in her voice, as the London merchants said to Sir Robert, “Let us alone!” And very likely they will.

A Chinese Cambridge Man

Now we begin the third part of our series with our selection by A Chinese Cambridge Man, The selection is presented in 5.5 easy 5 minute installments.

A Chinese Cambridge Man was the nom-de-plume of a contemporary anonymous intellectual.

Never has Europe met with a more interesting and startling problem than that of the new era commencing in China, that prehistoric state which, though now a veritable piece of oriental antiquity, was once the “Flower of the East.” It is a flower the pricelessness of whose seed defies all doubt. That her people are intelligent, self-respecting, and hard-working nobody can deny. Her civilization, of time immemorial origin, although with many faults and peculiarities, is a civilization nevertheless; only, it has at last come face to face with its more modern Occidental rival, and is now left to choose between total destruction and accepting those severe mortifications that are being forced upon her. Evidently, she is choosing the second alternative, and the world is awaiting the result.

However, it may be wondered that modern science has not received its due recognition sooner. The intrinsic power of modern science, both terrible and attractive, and, in fact, irresistible, would at once have made a great impression upon a people of much less intelligence than ours. It could not but raise our curiosity, the result of which would be a closer inquiry, and hence would lead us into the understanding of the West. How was it possible, then, that we should remain seemingly blind for at least half a century of close intercourse with Europe?

It would be wrong to say that we were not impressed by the newcomers. For, indeed, even at the time of the Opium War we were considerably annoyed at finding ourselves not a match for those “unimportant barbarians of the sea.” But as the relation remained more or less purely commercial, nothing much was done before the latter half of the nineteenth century. It was only after the conclusion of the Civil War (the Taiping Rebellion) that we began to notice the strange surroundings that were encroaching upon us day by day; and to realize, too, that the blue-eyed and yellow- haired people knew something more than merely money-making.

Many intelligent Chinese of that time who had the opportunity of observing closely and at first hand the Western methods of civilization were entirely convinced of the superiority of the latter, the Marquis Tseng, for example, who, being the son of Tseng Kwob Fan — that distinguished general and thoughtful philosopher, above all, the greatest writer China had in the last century — was carefully educated by his father, and may therefore be called Chinese of the Chinese. Yet he (the Marquis), after being ambassador to the Court of St. James’s, became the most progressive man of his time. The greater part of his writings, however, were suppressed by his family for their own interest, so that it is difficult to say to what extent he understood Western ideas; but, judging from what he did, it is evident that he was entirely converted. The fact that he gave his daughter in marriage to his secretary, an Englishman, is sufficient proof of this. Nor was he the only one who held enlightened views: Kweh Sung Tuo, for instance, who has also been ambassador to England, was his great friend and supporter.

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