When I went to China, I went to teach; but every day that I stayed I thought less of what I had to teach them and more of what I had to learn from them.  Among Europeans who had lived a long time in China, I found this attitude not uncommon; but among those whose stay is short, or who go only to make money, it is sadly rare.  It is rare because the Chinese do not excel in the things we really value—­military prowess and industrial enterprise.  But those who value wisdom or beauty, or even the simple enjoyment of life, will find more of these things in China than in the distracted and turbulent West, and will be happy to live where such things are valued.  I wish I could hope that China, in return for our scientific knowledge, may give us something of her large tolerance and contemplative peace of mind.

FOOTNOTES: 

[Footnote 93:  See Cordier, op. cit. i. p. 368, and Giles, op. cit. p. 187.]

[Footnote 94:  With regard to Lao-Tze, the book which bears his name is of doubtful authenticity, and was probably compiled two or three centuries after his death.  Cf.  Giles, op. cit., Lecture V.]

[Footnote 95:  Quoted in Chap.  IV, pp. 82-3.]

CHAPTER XII

THE CHINESE CHARACTER

There is a theory among Occidentals that the Chinaman is inscrutable, full of secret thoughts, and impossible for us to understand.  It may be that a greater experience of China would have brought me to share this opinion; but I could see nothing to support it during the time when I was working in that country.  I talked to the Chinese as I should have talked to English people, and they answered me much as English people would have answered a Chinese whom they considered educated and not wholly unintelligent.  I do not believe in the myth of the “Subtle Oriental”:  I am convinced that in a game of mutual deception an Englishman or American can beat a Chinese nine times out of ten.  But as many comparatively poor Chinese have dealings with rich white men, the game is often played only on one side.  Then, no doubt, the white man is deceived and swindled; but not more than a Chinese mandarin would be in London.

One of the most remarkable things about the Chinese is their power of securing the affection of foreigners.  Almost all Europeans like China, both those who come only as tourists and those who live there for many years.  In spite of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, I can recall hardly a single Englishman in the Far East who liked the Japanese as well as the Chinese.  Those who have lived long among them tend to acquire their outlook and their standards.  New arrivals are struck by obvious evils:  the beggars, the terrible poverty, the prevalence of disease, the anarchy and corruption in politics.  Every energetic Westerner feels at first a strong desire to reform these evils, and of course they ought to be reformed.