24   HISTORIC GROWTH OF MAN.

MONGOLIAN CIVILIZATION.   23

The Emperor was " The Father of his People " not less than the " Son of Heaven." The people were quick to learn and tenacious n remembering. They were patient, industrious and obedient to authority. These were the elements of both their greatness and their permanence in history. Under the impulse of these faculties they developed agriculture as the firm basis of national life, and held this culture of the earth in the highest esteem.

The Chinese teachers preferred solid knowledge to brilliant fancies, and thought that the examples of the successful past were a safer guide than the untried schemes of the present. The minister Yih, addressing the emperor, said that " Virtue is the basis of good government ; and this consists first in procuring for the people the things necessary to their sustenance, such as water, fire, metals, wood and grain. The ruler must also think of rendering them virtuous and of preserving them from whatever can injure life and health." The master, Confucius, taught that " Man is a microcosm, and that by striving to improve himself by acquiring knowledge, by purifying his thoughts, by rectifying his heart and by cultivating his person, lie would then be able to regulate his family. When he could regulate his family, he might then be able to govern a state; and when he could govern a state, he might then be trusted to rule an empire. The empire was as one family; and it was the part of the emperor to cherish and guard his people as a father does his children ; so it was the duty of the people to render willing and submissive obedience to their sovereign. But when a ruler ceases to be a minister of heaven for good he forfeits the title by which lie holds the

throne." The master summed up his morals in this saying, " Reciprocity is the one comprehensive rule of life."

The nation had been slowly developing for three centuries before the time of Yaou. It was averse to foreign wars and conquests. Its riches came from the fertile earth at home. Very early in their history they had invented writing. In the reign of CheHwang-ti, 221 B. C., the Marquis Tsae invented the manufacture of paper from the inner bark of trees, ends of hemp, old rags and fishing nets. Brushpencils with ink were used in writing. This ink, under the misplaced name of India Ink, is now extensively used by artists in Europe and America. The art of block-printing was invented in 593 C. E. and movable types four centuries later.

From the invention of paper on, great libraries became the glory and pride of the people, learning was everywhere encouraged, and a general system ,of education became the settled policy of the nation.

The ruling traits of character and the physical geography of China were well fitted to sustain the expanding growth of the ages into one of the most populous empires of the world. At the present stage of its growth, China requires the fertilizing influence of European science and art before it can reach that high ideal foretold by the great sages, Kong-fu-tse, Lao-tse and Mencius. But it does not need this science and art as enforced by European arrogance, egotism and cannon. We must respect its real attainments and character. A nation must possess strong elements of morality and justice in order to sustain its national unity and integrity during the long lapse of forty centuries.