incipient rebellion was crushed with some loss of life, and the fields of poppies were destroyed. It is to be regretted that in other sections of the province the crop was allowed to come to harvest. But those who best understand the purposes of the new government are most certain that this backset in the opium reform in Shansi can be but temporary. For we should remember that General Yen's strong measures were employed at a time when the republic was not firmly established, and when his own position and the position of the central government at Peking was precarious. That he was willing to take such risks at such a time is surely an earnest of the purpose of the new government to fulfil with Great Britain the compact of the old government.

After living for eight years in Shansi and carefully observing the economic, physiological, and moral results of the cultivation and use of opium, I am prepared to say without any reservations that it is an evil and only an evil so far as the Chinese are concerned. A speaker in this conference quoted certain authorities (and in the quoting left the impression that he endorsed their views) as saying that opiumsmoking indicates a racial tendency of the Chinese. As we consider this statement let us briefly review the history of opium in China.

Previous to the famous T'ang dynasty the poppy was unknown to the Chinese. It is first mentioned in Chinese literature in the first half of the eighth century. At that time China had had intercourse with Arabia for about one hundred years. Its second mention in the literature of the country was by Kuo, a Shensi man, toward the end of the eighth century. The poet Yung Tao, a Szechuen man, about 900-906 wrote a poem describing the poppies growing near his home. I have mentioned the localities of these two writers because the provinces of Shensi and Szechuen later extensively cultivated the poppy.

At first the Chinese used only the seeds, but four medical writers, probably of the twelth century, refer to the use of the seed-pods, or capsules. In the thirteenth century three and in the fourteenth century one writer on medicine tell of a drug made from the capsule. When the petals have

fallen away from the seed-pod, and before the latter begins to harden, incisions are made in the pod with some sharp instrument, and the dark, viscous juice that oozes out is carefully gathered. That is the raw opium. Cutting the capsule in this way was first described by Wang Hsi, who died in 1488. He was governor of Kansuh Province for many years. There he saw a great many Mohammedans and learned from them of Arabia. By the end of the fifteenth century the method of preparing opium was introduced to China by the Arabs. Li Ting in the middle of the sixteenth century gives an exact account of the preparation of the opium under the name a-fu-yung. (The Arabs took the Greek name, ŎLOV, and called it afyun. In China's coast provinces this was changed to ya-p'ien. But in Yunnan Province it is still referred to by officials as fu-yung, which is a-fu-yung without the prefix.)

All this while opium was known only as a medicine. As such it is extremely valuable and has a place in the pharmacopeia of every civilized nation. We are dealing, however, with its misuse or abuse. Early in the seventeenth century the Spaniards introduced tobacco smoking to the Chinese. About the middle of the seventeenth century the use of opium mingled with tobacco was introduced by the Dutch. Opium was first smoked by itself (by the Chinese) probably near the end of the eighteenth century. The first edict forbidding the smoking of opium was issued by the Emperor Yung Chêng in 1729. Foreign opium (the prepared drug) was first introduced by the Portuguese at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The illicit trade in the drug was taken up by the British before the end of that century. In line with the Chinese resistance before and after that date the Emperor Chia Ch'ing in 1796 put forth an edict prohibiting the importation of the foreign drug. That the shameless smuggling continued, championed at last by Great Britain, is a matter of common understanding. So China learned of the poppy from the Arabs, was given the pipe by the Spaniards, was taught to mingle opium with tobacco in the bowl of the pipe by the Dutch, had the foreign drug brought to her by the Portuguese, and had the business

in opium forced upon her by the British. Strange that so much foreign assistance should have been necessary in the discovery of a "racial tendency" in the Chinese!

To recapitulate: the Chinese have known of the poppy for twelve centuries, have used opium as a medicine for nine centuries, have known of the method of securing raw opium from the capsule, or seed-pod, for six centuries, and have known of and practised smoking for considerably less than three centuries. China is an old country. She points with pride to an unbroken history of four thousand six hundred years. For three thousand four hundred years of that time she existed in blissful ignorance of the fact that there was any such thing as opium. For more than four thousand three hundred years she failed utterly to reveal what Mr. Bland would have us believe is a "racial tendency." Surely in the light of such facts we may at least assume an attitude of what that gentleman describes as "suspended judgment" before accepting the suggestion that opium smoking indicates a "racial tendency" of the Chinese.

Other lines along which help is needed are, instruction in seed selection, and in the problem of irrigation. The springfed mountain streams reaching the plains are diverted into ingenious and truly admirable systems of irrigating ditches. However, the mountains denuded of their forests frequently allow these streams to become, in the time of the summer rains, uncontrollable torrents that carry destruction instead of blessing to the villages of the plains. Reforestation will help in this matter, but there should also be an improvement in the system of irrigating canals, possibly through the construction of reservoirs, that will conserve the gifts of the summer rains and not allow them to rush into the lower reaches of the Yellow River carrying a wealth of loess soil as they go and leaving destruction in their train. Improvements are possible in the crops now produced in Shansi, both in kind and quality. There should be an extension of sericulture, for thousands of acres in the hills bordering the Yellow River are adapted to the production of the mulberry. The hemp, potatoes, and walnuts of the province should find ready markets at the coast were the problems of transporta

tion not so great. The fundamental question, therefore, in the development of agriculture as of mineral resources is one of transportation.

We take up now the manufacturing possibilities of the province. They may be suggested as we recapitulate some products of the region and mention a few others that have not yet been named. The existence of iron and coal fields side by side suggests the development of iron and steel foundries. Cotton and silk are both produced, and are now woven in primitive fashion in the homes of the peasants. Cotton mills and silk filatures are a possibility of the future. A large amount of excellent earthern and stone ware is turned out in simple kilns in several districts. This industry is capable of great expansion as the markets of the coast are brought nearer through improvements in transportation. The uplands, with their excellent oat straw, suggest possibilities in braid and paper, especially since there is an abundance of water power available. In Tan Ts'un in the Taiyuan prefecture are kilns where glass is produced, some bottles of small size being blown, but the chief products being fragile toys and flimsy ornaments. With modern machinery and methods this industry should be capable of development to commercial importance. Crude presses in many sections produce bean and hemp oil. Sheep and goat-skins and other hides are shipped in large quantities to America and Europe, especially France, but it surely will be possible, in the presence of a plentiful coal supply, abundant water power and cheap labor, to handle this raw product at home and export the manufactured article. Cordage, and willow and wicker ware, now manufactured in crude fashion and for local markets, give promise of great expansion, as there is an abundance of raw material and efficient labor. The vineyards of the Taiyuan prefecture already produce an excellent quality of wine and this industry is capable of great growth as it shall receive intelligent and adequate attention. Other possible lines of manufacture will readily occur to one who is acquainted with the raw products of the province. We have not mentioned flour-milling, nor a score of other industries now carried on by the Chinese. After all, we must

hark back to the question of transportation. Without cheap and adequate transportation none of these industries can be developed much beyond the point demanded by the necessities of the people of Shansi itself. With cheap and adequate transportation the possibilities stagger the imagination.

In closing a word should be said as to the possibilities in water-power in the mountains of the province. Numerous sparkling, spring-fed brooks and rivers of good volume invite the attention of the expert in hydraulics and suggest possibilities of industrial development even in districts where the coal supply is inadequate or inconvenient. This, in common, with the other possibilities mentioned above, sounds a challenge to the engineer, native and foreign, whose spirit of adventure responds to nature's call to unlock the doors of her treasure-houses and release the pent-up forces of her hills and valleys.