But the soldiers were much more exhausted, as proper nutrition and rest were far beyond the possibility of their reach. The triumphant joys of those who had suffered for the Republic compensated them for hardships better than any material reward.

The fall of Nanking was the beginning of the new government. During the truce between the revolutionists and the imperialists the latter had made thorough preparations and obtained new equipment. When it expired, they were able to take possession of the cities of Hankow and Hangyang. Had the revolutionists failed in the siege of Nanking, it would have meant their end. The most critical hours were when my companions and myself were doing our work in the suburb of the city. Soon after the triumph, Sun Yat Sen took up his residence in this provincial capital, and the provisional republican form of government was for the first time in the Far East inaugurated with representatives from the different provinces of the country.

As the fighting was carried on by troops from different sections of the nation, naturally the field of operations was extended to a vast area; and what I have related is only a fractional part of the occurrences and incidences of the whole campaign. I do not attempt to dwell on topics concerning happenings that I did not see for fear of misrepresentation or misinterpretation.

To an observer of this revolution, it is interesting to notice that the spirit of the people of every corner of the nation favored the revolutionists. It may be said that every citizen was a revolutionist. It was most wonderfully impressed upon the minds of the whole populace that the old government had to lose and the revolutionists had to win; that the question of success or failure was a question of the life or death of the country at large, not a question of individual interest. On hearing the firing of rifles or the cannonading of guns, even the ignorant country folks would yell from the bottom of their hearts "Woe to the government!" or "Hail for the people!"

How the Chinese, numbering one quarter of the human race, have been able to agree unanimously on the over

throw of the Manchurian yoke; how the revolution has been completed in so vast a country in so short a space of time with comparatively so small a cost of life is really a mystery that no one can yet fully explain.

Here I shall mention briefly some factors, which seem to me to be causes of the revolution. In tracing the remote causes, I must say that the general awakening of the conservative Chinese began in the year 1894 when China was defeated in the Chino-Japan war. The second period of awakening began in 1900 when the allied troops besieged the capital of the empire. Since then, the tide of new learning has rushed in with full speed until the minds of the scholars have been saturated with the translations from works of Montesquieu and of Rousseau, their brains have been permeated with the accounts of the lives of Peter the Great and of George Washington. It is the education that pushes the people ahead. Corruption of the government, however, was not a small contributing factor of this gigantic revolt. Everywhere the people realized the weakness and pessimism of the government which could never be trusted and would never raise the standard of the nation's prestige. Favoritism and bribery were almighty. The sluggish, selfish and oppressive nature of the Manchu government had led us to overthrow it entirely, after gentle appealings were unsuccessfully and ineffectively resorted to. One of the immediate causes was the railway riot in Szechuan. The government attempted to buy the people's bonds with the loans from foreign nations. The shareholders rejected this. The government applied force and oppression. Troops were summoned to fight against the disobedient people. This aggravated the revolutionary idea. Soon after, the revolution started in Wuchang.

One of the factors last mentioned, although by no means of least importance, was the activity of the newspapers. They preached political sermons, awakened the people and informed them of the aggressiveness of some nations against our country, and encouraged the revolution from the beginning to the end.

In conclusion, I would like to draw your attention to the

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fact that the Manchus, although our enemies for awhile, yet as soon as they gave up their arms, have beèn looked upon as our own countrymen, having the same privileges and rights as enjoyed by the Chinese. In additon to the royal pension and that for the imperial clan, we are supporting them individually with regular monthly allowances, as was done previously, until they are able to earn their livings. So it is manifest that one-eighth of the whole population of China is living parasitically at the expense of the rest. It has been calculated that this enormous sum of money would be sufficient to pay the indemnities of the past years, if we simply abolish this imperial clan payment. This is a matter of generosity and love of brethren which has simAplified the revolution and shortened its course.

As to the future of China, no observer has any doubt that the recent revolution marks the dawn of a new era. It would be only too natural that the country must take some time to recover peace and order. Soon a firm and responsible government will be established, the people united, integrity promoted, education enforced, natural wealth developed, industry improved and commerce facilitated-every possible reform will be gradually carried out, and our relations with other nations will be more intimate and friendly, especially with the sympathizing Americans, who assist and understand us better than other nations. Like American citizens and patriots of one hundred and thirty-seven years ago, we fought for freedom, liberty, and self-government. May the Coasts of the Pacific Ocean be the regions of the two Republics everlasting! May we join our hands closer and closer to keep the world at peace to encourage arbitration and to do away with war!

THE EFFECT OF THE REVOLUTION UPON THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM OF CHINA

By P. W. Kuo, M.A., Ex-President of Chinese Students' Alliance in America

In describing China's early attempts to introduce modern education a certain writer compared her to “an infant sea-bather in the act of taking his first plunge, touching the water and then running away, wading out and then tearing back. He did not dare to succumb to the allurements of the fascinating element and though the sight of adult bathers frolicking and playing 'hide and seek' with waves shot an arrow of envy through him, he never undertook the attempt." This attitude, no matter how true it was at the beginning, was certainly not true at the dawn of the revolution. At that time China's attitude toward modern education was not the attitude of the timid sea-bather. She had taken her first plunge, also the second, and even the third, and had fully determined to make modern education accessible to her people at any cost. Evidences of this attitude were seen on every hand. It was seen in the earnestness with which the government carried out its educational policy and in the marvelous development of the modern educational system since its inception in 1905. It. was seen in the rapid growth of popular interest toward education shown in the numerous gifts and benefactions given by the wealthy as well as the poor for the extension of educational privileges through the establishment of schools and colleges. It was seen in the presence of an increasingly large number of men and women who were willing to devote their time and talent to the advancement of modern education. These are but a few of the signs which clearly indicate that at the dawn of the revolution the attitude of China toward improving her educational system in modern lines was not at all equivocal and that modern edu

cation had come to China to stay and to exercise its influence over the life of the nation as well as that of the people. In order to appreciate fully the effect of the revolution upon the educational system of China, it is necessary to examine first the status of education at the dawn of the revolution. According to the third annual report of the ministry of education, published in 1911, there were in China during 1910, 52,650 schools of different types, including normal, vocational and technical schools, with a student body numbering 1,625,534, a teaching corps numbering 89,766, and a corps of administrative officers numbering 95,800. Aside from the schools there also existed during that year 69 boards of education, 722 local, provincial, and national educational associations, 1558 educational exhorting societies, and 3867 public lecture halls. The total income for educational purposes during that year was Taels 23,331,171, and the expenditure for the same year was Taels 24,444,309. The educational property possessed by the government was valued at Taels 70,367,882.

Some idea as to the quality of the work done in the schools of that period may be gained from many of the educational exhibits that were given in different parts of the country. At the Nanking Industrial Exhibition held in 1910, more than 34,000 pieces of articles, including apparatus, textbooks, charts, drawings, hand-writings, etc., all products of schools, were collected and exhibited, and the list of prizes awarded to the articles at the exhibition shows that no less than 966 prizes, which is about half of the total number of prizes given out, were awarded to articles in the educational exhibit. Much highly favorable comment was also received from educators of the west who visited the exhibit. A similar but smaller collection of educational articles was sent to the exhibition not long ago held in Italy, and there again many prizes were received owing to the high standard reached both in skill and in thought content.

The status of education before the revolution is perhaps best seen in the influence which modern education had exerted upon the intellectual or thought life of the people. It is the opinion of many who are in a position to judge that