The Commoner.
Volume 6, number i
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coupled with present intornal disturbances in the
czar's domain, contains its lesson.
As oarly as -1901 a commission was appointed
to oxamino and report on all proposed measures
affecting the organization and administration of
the government, and in 1904 a general assembly
of tho ministers of the principal boards was pro
"vlded for. While theso newly croatod bodies have
no legislative power, they indicato tho trend
toward a moro popular government. The con
Htitutipn, when adopted, lis it ultimately will bo,
will inaugurate a parliamentary system. There
is, therefore, a distinct advanco along govern
mental Unes, and this in itself means muoh for
China and for the outsldo world. , ;
A revision of the criminal codo is also being
perfected. Tho Hon. Wu Ting Fang, former min
ister to tho "United States and now vice-president
of tho board of foreign affairs, has boon made a
momber of tho board of punishments. He and
Shon Ohla Pen, tho vice-president of the board
of punishments, have by Imperial decree been in
trustod with tho revision and codifying of tho
laws of China. They have established a bureau
with a start of secretaries and translators and
have spont two years In tho examination of tho
civil and criminal codes of tho different countries
in order to select laws which are applicable to
the conditions existing in China. Ex-Minister Wu
has taken a deep interest in this subject and
kindly furnished mo with tho following list of
reforms to which tho imperial sanction has been
secured.
1. Ling Chi, slow death by slicing to pieces,
has been abolished. It wag- the punishment
formerly prescribed for one found guilty of para
cldo. high treason, wilful murder of husband ( the
'. murder of husband by wife was according to
...Chinese law a muoh graver offense than the mur
der of wife by husband.)
2. The heads of criminals were formerly ex
posed to the public after execution. This has
also beon abolished.
3. Tho beheading of a corpse of a criminal
who died boforo execution, is no longer permitted.
4. According to tho old law, parents, rela
tives and friends of one convicted of serious
. crimes wore subject to punishment; now the pun
ishment is confined to the guilty party. (While
tho practice of including innocent relatives in tho
sontenco seonis barbarous in the extreme, It was,
after all, not so different in principle from the
practice of tho western nations which in thries
of war Inflict punishment Indiscriminately upon
innocent and guilty alike.)
5. The branding of criminals has been aban
doned. G. Corporal punishment of criminals is also
abolished.
. 17, The torturing of accused persons during
"trXalr except where tho accused is charged with
murder, and whore the evidence of guilt is clear,
1 has also been abolished. According to the Chl
neso law a person convicted of murder cannot
bo put to death until he confesses, and torture
has been retained in a case of this kind as a
moanB ,of compelling confession whon tho guilt
has been otherwise established, but Mr. Wu ex
presses the hope that torture in such cases will
be abolished in the near future.
Tho revision commission has also succeeded
in obtaining an imporial decree ordering the con
struction of more modern prisons, requiring the
inspection of prisoners and compelling humane
treatment. Formerly relief from cruel treat
ment could only bo secured by paying the official
in charge.
The commission is now working upon a code
of procedure and intends among other things the
recommendation of -a system of trial by jury,
tho admission of lawyers to practice in the courts
and tho relieving of prisoners and witnesses from
tho humiliating practice of kneeling In court.
In order to secure competent judges and
lawyers for tho carrying out of the new code, the
commission have obtained the sanction of the
government for the establishment of a law school
at Pekin (the site has already been purchased)
and tho high schools and colleges of the various
provinces have been instructed to add law to tho
curriculum of their studies.
-Minister Wu called attention to other re
forms that have been introduced Into China within
the last few years, among which may be men
tioned tho construction of railways, the estab
lishment of a government board of commerce,
the formation of a police force, municipal and
provincial, tho promulgation of incorporation
laws and the establishment of mints.
At first the railroads were built by conces
sions issued to foreign companfes, but because
: of -the constant difficulties which grew out of
such, concessions, there fs a growing sentiment in
favor of government railrdads. It was in the pur
suance of this policy that tho government ac
quired tho rights of the American company
which was projecting a road from Hankow to
Canton. Somo of tho Americans residing in
China have expressed regret that this road should
-have passed out of American hands, but I am
satisfied that it is better for tho United States
that China should dwn the road than that it
should be In tho hands of foreigners or even in
the hands of Americans. It would be impossible
to operate the raod without moro or less fric
tion which would involve tho countries in diplo
matic controversies. If China operates the road
herself, we will have equal rights with foreigners
without the riBks involved in private ownership.
And, speaking of roads, tho city of Pekin is pass- ,
ing through an era of street improvement. Somo
eleven miles of pavement has been laid within
three years, and concrete sidewalks are making
their appearance.
' The finances of China have been in a misera
ble condition. Cash is the money in common
use, and these brass coins, running about one
thousand to the dollar, are too heavy for any
excepting the smallest transactions. Think of
doing business with money so heavy that you
must carry a hundred pounds of money to make
a ten dollar purchase. Some complained of silver
in the United States because of its weight, but
the silver certificates completely answered this
argument, for a silver certificate is as convenient
as a gold certificate and more convenient than
gold coin; but in China they had no paper sub
stitute. The monetary unit is called a tael and,
if coined, would weigh about one and one-third
times tho Mexican dollar, but -no coins of this
denomination are in circulation. The Mexican
dollar is in common use, and in some of the pro
vinces there are fractional silver coins. But the
Mexican dollar is so often counterfeited that it
is customary to test each coin as it passes from
hand to hand. I secured one of the "threL-piece
dollars" as they are called. These are made by
sawing a thin disc from each side of the dollar;
the silver is then removed from the center and
the cavity filled with lead and the two faces
soldered on. The work is done so skillfully that
the counterfeit can only, be detected by the ring".
Several of the banks issue paper notes payable
in Mexican dollars, but they are discounted in
the various cities so that a traveler's currency
is always undergoing a shave. The government
has decided to establish a uniform system of cur
rency consisting of gold, silver and copper, the
silver tael to remain the unit.
Patent laws and trade mark laws are now be
ing prepared; in fact, China is being quickened in
many ways by the increasing knowledge which
she is acquiring tho ways of western civilization.
They are considering a change in the alphabet
and characters in order that the language may be
more .easily learned.
I have already referred to the fact that
China has until recently been practically with
out newspapers. There is no better evidence of
the progress which China is maldng than is to
be found in the increase in the number of her
newspapers. While the circulation of these
papers Is small as compared with the circulation
of similar papers in the United States and Japan,
still tho growth is constant and the colloquial
dialect sometimes employed bring the news and
editorial pages within the comprehension of
those who cannot read books. Many of these
newspapers are published in the interest of re
forms. Onoof the papers started at Hong Kong
opposes the examination system by which civil
officials were selected, the foot-binding custom
and the habit of wearing the queue. The. editor
cut off his own queue as an example and is now
encouraged by the fact that the soldiers are
gradually adopting a like course. He Is also able
to note progress in the matter of foot-binding.
An imporial edict has been Issued exhorting the
people to abandon the practice, and numerous
societies are engaged in spreading literature upon
this subject
But more important Btjll is the recent aboli
tion of the examinations. This is a revolution
that has shaken the ancient empire to Its founda
tion, for tho examination system not. only af
fected the government, but moulded the educa
tional system as well. In the larger cities elabor
ate provisions were made for these examinations,
in some places from ten to 'fifteen thousand
stalls, being constructed. These stalls were about
three feet wide ,by six deep and high enough to
permit the student to stand erect. The Only
furniture was a board for a seat and another for
n desk. At a given liour the students entered
theso stalls, were given their themes and kept in
their stalls without communication until their
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tasks were" finished. Now tho stalls stand idlov,.
and the officials are chosen from the raduateSygg!
of the newly established schools. A.-.V
Wo visited the examination stalls at Pokin:".;
and found them in ruins. They had been occu; :
pied by the Boxers fn 1900 and the rafters were'V :. -
torn out and used for fuel. After the roofs -had
fallen in, the unprotected walls rapidly crumbled.
The conservatives have been, very much In
censed by the abandonment of the examinations,-
but the reformers regard it as a long step in the
right direction.
On every hand one seessigna of intellectual,
development. As stated in "another article, -the ; '
private school was "for centuries the only source
from which instruction in books could be gained
Now a complete system of schools is being estab'
llshed consisting of primary, middle and high,
schools, with colleges in the. larger cities. Vice
roy Yuan Shih Kai, who presides over the dis
trict in which Pekin is situated, and "whom
through the courtesy of Minister Rockhill I had
an opportunity to meet, informed me that he had,
established three thousand schools within his
jurisdiction within the past four years. The
viceroy is the successor of Li Hung Chang and
is considered the most influential man in the" .
empire. He is about forty-six years old and im
presses one as a man of great mental vigor and
alertness. He seems to take a deep Interest in
the reforms now being worked out and is cordial s
in his treatment of Americans.
Consul General Rodgers of Shanghai hap
pened to be in Nanking during our visit there,
and we paid our respects to Viceroy Chou Fu.
This viceroy is quite old and feeble but he is -grappling
with the new problems and is a patron
of education. He has established one thousand -schools
during the last few years and estimated
the number of Chinese, students in Japan at this ,
time at five thousand.
At Shanghai there is a government univer
sity, the buildings of which cost two hundred and
ten thousand dollars. Wo learned that in- some .
places Buddhist temples were being converted
into schools; that girls' schools are already being,
provided for This is even a greater evidence of
progress than the. opening., of schools for boys,
because of the inferior position. which vc-mari has
occupied in the celestial empire. ' - -
Besides the government schools there' T are
numerous missionary schools in which Instruction
is given to both boys and girls. We visited some
of these schools at Pekin, Nanking and Shanghai,
and found the instructors, encouraged by the at
tendance and the interest taken. A number of
Americans, and a still larger number of Japa
nese, are teaching in the government schools. " -
But enough has been said to indicate the
regeneration through which the Flowery Kingdom
is passing. What will be tho effect of the change -upon
the world? Who is wise enough to peer
into the future and outline the record of the next
century? Japan furnishes the nearest parallel.
Compare the Japan of fifty years ago with the ,
Japan of today and some conception can be
formed of China fifty years hence. As Japan's
commerce increased, so is China's commerce in
creasing; as Japan sent statesmen abroad to in- '.
vestigate the methods of other governments, so
China is now sending inquirers abroad; as Japan
turned her attentlono to schools and colleges, so
China is learning the advantage of universal
education; as Japanese students journeyed into;,
distant lands in search of knowledge, so Chinese."
students are in increasing numbers studying in
foreign colleges. Even in the enlargement and
training of her army she Is patterning after
japan ana employing Japanese drill masters.
It need not be thought strange that there is
an anti-foreign sentiment in China. Was there .
not an anti-foreign sentiment fn Japan forty years
ago? The Shimonoseki affair was not unlike the
Boxer trouble, except that it was less fatal" to .
life, but it exerted . a large influence in the over
throw of the shogun and in the restoration of the
emperor. Just as in Japan the old finally gave
way the new and progress took the place of stag
nation, so in China the old must give way to the
new. - ,
Advance is inevitable and tho world need 'not '
fear the result. If China were strong enough" to
give effect to the hostility which some of her
people now feel, she might be a menace to the
peace of the world, Tnit she cannot grow in
strength faster than she grows in knowledge, "
and as she grows , in knowledge she will learn
as other nations haye learned that nations help
rather than injure each other by tho mnfhMoi:'-':
intellectual and moral development of ' their "eo- ' m. v
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