King; in 1910 a plot was unearthed at Canton. Many returned students and bright young men sacrificed their lives in these attempts; but repeated failure only helped to arouse the public sentiment of the people and contributed to popularise revolutionary actions. It was generally admitted, however, that the Szechuan riot had no other signification than a movement against the nationalization of railways and that of Changsha was a protest against the rice monopoly. No one has been able to ascertain the object of the bomb thrown at the five commissioners when they started from Peking to investigate into the constitutional governments of the world. The fear that the adoption of a constitution by the Manchu government might defeat the cause of the anti-Manchu movement has been considered as the most plausible interpretation. There is no necessity for us to analyze all these preliminary plots. Suffice it to say, the ramifications of the secret societies were rapidly being extended throughout the country. The leaders of the revolution intended to start it simultaneously in eight provinces, four months later than the actual date of the outbreak. The modus operandi and the personnel were fully prepared; proclamations for the public and badges for adherents were made; secret parties were traveling about winning sympathizers and supporters. General Hwang Shing at Hankow, General Wu Loh-tsun of the Northern Army, Liu King and Sun Wu at Wuchang and Chen Ki Mei at Shanghai were the chief leaders from Japan. General Li Yuan Hung from Japan played the most important part, but he was forced to join by the soldiery. Very few students from Europe and America were members of the "Tung Men Hwei," and judging from their actions only Mr. C. T. Wang, Drs. Chen Hui Wang and Chintao Chen from Yale were the only possible ones, while the rest were taken by surprise. Not counting Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Dr. Wu Ting Fang was the first returned student from England or America who joined the revolutionary cause at a critical moment, and he was supported in the revolutionary camp by many returned captivated a large number of students in Japan by the organization of the "Tung Men Hwei." The aim of the said "Tung Men Hwei" society was to alienate the feelings of the people and to stir up a revolution against the Manchu government. The weekly called The People was published by them which contained articles depicting the corruption, tyranny and impotence of the Manchus. It was a short-lived paper for the Japanese government, seeking to strengthen her friendship with China, suppressed it. Another department of the "Tung Men Hwei" was called the "Kung Ching" which undertook to send agents to the various provinces of China to convert the officers and soldiers to become revolutionaries, while others were sent to the Chinese settlements to raise funds for the same cause. They also manufactured bombs and threatened to kill those soldiers who refused to join them. Among these, Hwang Shing, Liu King and Sun Wu were the greatest leadIn Europe and America, there were no special organizations of that character. Quite a few, however, were members of the "Tung Men Hwei." ers. In Europe, a revolutionary publication called Le Nouveau Siècle was published at Paris, but no secret organization was known to exist. PRELIMINARY PLOTS UNDER THE DIRECTION OF STUDENTS Previous to the revolution of October 11, 1911, several preliminary plots were attempted under returned student leadership. The earliest one on record was in 1900, directly after the Boxer uprising, when Dr. Yung Wing was elected president of a secret organization at Shanghai, consisting of leading officials, merchants and students who were exasperated at the most stupid political blunder of the Manchu government in making use of patriotic fanaticism as a means of stemming the onslaught of western nations. This plot was soon detected and ever after Dr. Yung Wing lived an exile at Hartford, Connecticut until his death last year. In 1907, there was a plot at Ping Shang in Anhui Province; in 1909, the Governor of Anhui was assassinated at An King; in 1910 a plot was unearthed at Canton. Many returned students and bright young men sacrificed their lives in these attempts; but repeated failure only helped to arouse the public sentiment of the people and contributed to popularise revolutionary actions. It was generally admitted, however, that the Szechuan riot had no other signification than a movement against the nationalization of railways and that of Changsha was a protest against the rice monopoly. No one has been able to ascertain the object of the bomb thrown at the five commissioners when they started from Peking to investigate into the constitutional governments of the world. The fear that the adoption of a constitution by the Manchu government might defeat the cause of the anti-Manchu movement has been considered as the most plausible interpretation. There is no necessity for us to analyze all these preliminary plots. Suffice it to say, the ramifications of the secret societies were rapidly being extended throughout the country. The leaders of the revolution intended to start it simultaneously in eight provinces, four months later than the actual date of the outbreak. The modus operandi and the personnel were fully prepared; proclamations for the public and badges for adherents were made; secret parties were traveling about winning sympathizers and supporters. General Hwang Shing at Hankow, General Wu Loh-tsun of the Northern Army, Liu King and Sun Wu at Wuchang and Chen Ki Mei at Shanghai were the chief leaders from Japan. General Li Yuan Hung from Japan played the most important part, but he was forced to join by the soldiery. Very few students from Europe and America were members of the "Tung Men Hwei," and judging from their actions only Mr. C. T. Wang, Drs. Chen Hui Wang and Chintao Chen from Yale were the only possible ones, while the rest were taken by surprise. Not counting Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Dr. Wu Ting Fang was the first returned student from England or America who joined the revolutionary cause at a critical moment, and he was supported in the revolutionary camp by many returned students from Europe and America. Some of them joined the Red Cross Society as M. D. T. Yu of Harvard and Yang Paoling of Purdue, while twenty of them returned from America to take an active part in fighting. For example, T. S. Ma of Columbia and E. M. Ho of Chicago University. In passing, we must not fail to mention how the success of the revolution was in a great measure due to the sympathy of foreign nations. Judging from past experiences, uprisings in China were always associated in the minds of men with imminent danger to foreign lives and property; but during the last revolution, foreigners were most scrupulously protected, which fact won for the revolutionists, the confidence of the world, as it was clear evidence of intelligent leadership and superior organization. It will be in order, perhaps, to give a comparative estimate of the parts played by the two groups of students showing why those from Japan were more energetic and revolutionary. The charge has been made against the returned students from Europe and America of being materialistic and self-seeking, and this charge has been repeated by some of the students themselves. Why more students in America did not join in the revolutionary movement before the revolution? The answer, I believe, is better made by presenting the causes and circumstances which made the students in Japan so radically revolutionary. First of all, the chief cause was the environment. With some 15,000 students located in the few educational centers of Japan; with a steady stream of political news from China; with numerous organizations for discussion, with lively topics furnished by the revolutionary organs as the magazine -The New People-published by Liang Chi Chiao and The People by the "Tung Men Hwei," the revolutionary spirit was carefully nurtured. Moreover, the Chinese students could master the Japanese language in a few months, and as the curriculum was elementary, it was not too difficult for them. So that much of their time was spent discussing political questions and transcribing such views into Chinese for publication at home. Furthermore, this grouping together of a large body of young men with similar political views made them feel the power of union, as the mob psychologist would say. That is why in California, Hawaii, Singapore and Java the like spirit is seen. Secondly: they were mostly older students of the old school and well versed in Chinese literature. The Japanese curriculum offers courses on modern Chinese history, giving the details of the Manchurian conquest which would naturally tend to stir up anti-dynastic feelings. Moreover, the Japanese friends of China who still reverence the past history of China did advise, time and again, for the restoration of the government to the Chinese proper. During the time of the Boxer uprising, quite a number of Japanese writers counseled for the assassination of the imperial family while fleeing to Shensi. Besides, undoubtely the ultra-radical propensities and the military atmosphere of Japan exerted a great influence upon the temperament of these earnest students. So likewise, the liberal atmosphere of France instilled revolutionary ideas and military Germany gave a martial spirit to students studying in those two countries. Lastly: Japan's high-handed actions in Korea and Manchuria together with the general attitude of the Japanese towards the Chinese, stirred their blood to boiling point, while a study of Japan's recent history, dates their modern era of progress to the restoration of the Meiji House. Hence, their logical deduction led them to pin their faith upon a revolution for a new China. By tracing the transition of medieval Japan into modern Japan they could almost map out step by step the course China should take; but the first step according to their conception, was a change of government. Besides, a large number of them were poor and had to undergo a great deal of hardship and privation. Loving their fatherland strongly, desiring to save her from a great national calamity and having nothing to lose personally, they became a vociferous, destructive and desperately revolutionary body of men. On the other hand, in Europe and America, the handful of students was scattered over large areas; news from home was scanty with long intervals between; the difficulties with the language and the exacting curriculum occupied much of |