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Page 16 text:
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,7Ae Adforg of Cjlainoz The Chinese claim a history that reaches back fifty centuries or more. There are no monuments, pyramids or other landmarks to prove conclu- sively the antiquity of the nation, so not until about 1125 B.C. can their history be regarded as really authentic. With the Chow dynasty which began to reign in 1122 B.C. better times dawned for the country. The people changed from a wandering people and began cultivating the soil, at which pursuit they are still engaged today. A feudal system grew up, the great land-owners acquir- ing so much land that the country was practically made up of separate states. Each state became so jealous of its rivals that there was constant strife. This so disturbed the empire that finally, in the third century B.C., the Chow dynasty was overthrown by the Chin dynasty from which China takes its name. Though this dynasty ruled for less than half a century it accomplished certain notable things. Among these were the Great Wall of China, which is the most stupendous structure ever built by man, and the feudal system was abolished. The emperor who performed this latter service was so anxious that his own reign should go down in history as the beginning of the empire that he had all the literature dealing with previous ages destroyed and put many hundreds of learned men to death. After the overthrow of the Chin dynasty many other dynasties reigned, some doing much good, others fomenting strife and bloodshed. There were ages of invention and literary activity. Printing was invented in the tenth century A.D. and the practice of bindingthe feet of women was introduced about the same time. In the thirteenth century the Mongols swept over the country under Genghis Kahn and under Kublai Kahn, grandson of that conqueror, estab- lished a firm rule. Never before had China known such splendor and prosperity as it knew then. This dynasty was overthrown in 1368 by the Ming dynasty which reigned for 300 years. During the latter part of the Ming rule there was much rebellion and finally in 1643 the Manchus were invited into the country to establish order. Their object accomplished, the Manchus refused to leave the country but set up a dynasty which lasted 300 years until the establishment of the republic. For two cen- turies internal progress went on slowly, as progress always moves in China, and still the outside world knew little of the great nation with its mixture of advanced civilization and its hatred of anything new. The first sharp dispute between China and the-:outside world was over the opium question. In the latter part of the seventeenth century the Chinese government had declared opium traflic illegal but when these decrees were enforced they met with protest from the British government for the opium trade was worth millions of dollars annually to Great Britain. Finally in 1840 war broke out and at its close China was compelled to sur- render the island of Hong Kong, pay an indemnity of twenty-one million dollars and open to British trade five of its chief ports. Soon after, war again broke out and in 1860 by the treaty of peace, Great Britain secured increased trading privileges and the promise of toleration for the Chris- tian religion. 12
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Page 17 text:
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i 1 In the meantime there was a rebellion inside China, led by a fanatic schoolmaster who wished to make himself head of the nation. The Chi- nese government was unable to cope with the situation but a small army consisting chiefly of Chinese under Charles Gordon soon stamped it out. In 1894 there was war between China and Japan over Korea. The results were the guarantee of Korean independence, the giving up of the island of Formosa and the Liao-tung Peninsula to Japan and the promise of a huge indemnity from China. Foreign powers intervened and made Japan give up much of its gains but they also used the opportunity to secure trade privileges with China. - After the war the need for reform was great and wise statesmen began to see and declare the necessity of introducing Western methods. A committee was selected to study the forms of government in other countries with a View to determining the one best fitted for China. The government promised a Parliament in 1913. But the radical element didn't want half-way measures and demanded the abdication of the emperor. Riot and later organized revolution broke out and in 1912 a provisional republican government was set up with Yuan Shi-Kai as president. The people were not ready for a republic, it seemed, and they failed to grasp many of its main principles. In fact, while a republic in name, it was practically a monarchy. They voted whether to continue this form of government and decided to do so. China remained neutral in World War I until 1917 when it declared war on Germany. At the peace table Japan demanded the Shantung peninsula but through the interference of the United States it was given to China. Now China has been plunged into another war and is a battle ground today. What will be the outcome? No one knows when China will add another page to its long and glorious history. DOROTHY SUMPTION 1 TGTW1. Two. If! 3 l
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