A strong military China would be
a disaster; therefore Socialism in Europe and America affords the only
ultimate solution.
After these preliminary remarks, I come to the theme of this chapter,
namely, the present internal condition of China.
As everyone knows, China, after having an Emperor for forty centuries,
decided, eleven years ago, to become a modern democratic republic. Many
causes led up to this result. Passing over the first 3,700 years of
Chinese history, we arrive at the Manchu conquest in 1644, when a
warlike invader from the north succeeded in establishing himself upon
the Dragon Throne. He set to work to induce Chinese men to wear pigtails
and Chinese women to have big feet. After a time a statesmanlike
compromise was arranged: pigtails were adopted but big feet were
rejected; the new absurdity was accepted and the old one retained. This
characteristic compromise shows how much England and China have in
common.
The Manchu Emperors soon became almost completely Chinese, but
differences of dress and manners kept the Manchus distinct from the
more civilized people whom they had conquered, and the Chinese remained
inwardly hostile to them. From 1840 to 1900, a series of disastrous
foreign wars, culminating in the humiliation of the Boxer time,
destroyed the prestige of the Imperial Family and showed all thoughtful
people the need of learning from Europeans.
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