Passing down a coast on which colleges are more numerous than lighthouses, one comes to Canton, where, near the “Great City” and beautifully conspicuous, rises the Canton Christian College.

These are mentioned by way of example, to show what missionaries are doing for the education of China.  It is a narrow view of education that confines it to teaching in schools.  Missionaries led the way in Chinese journalism and in the preparation of textbooks in all branches of science.  The Society for the [Page 266] Diffusion of Useful Knowledge is spreading broadcast the seeds of secular and religious truth.

Gratitude for the good they have already done, as well as for benefits to come, ought to lead the Chinese Government to accord a generous recognition to all these institutions.  At the opening of the Union Medical College, Mr. Rockhill, the American minister, in a remarkable address, proposed the recognition of their degrees by the Government; and as a representative of the Empress Dowager was in the chair on that occasion, there is reason to hope that his suggestion will not be overlooked.

[Page 267] CHAPTER XXXII

THE MANCHUS, THE NORMANS OF CHINA

The Ta-Ts’ing Dynasty—­The Empress Dowager—­Her Origin—­Her First Regency—­Her Personality—­Other Types—­Two Manchu Princes—­Two Manchu Ministers—­The Nation’s Choice—­Conclusions

In a wide survey of the history of the world, we discover a law which appears to govern the movements of nations.  Those of the north show a tendency to encroach on those of the south.  The former are nomads, hunters, or fishers, made bold by a constant struggle with the infelicities of their environment.  The latter are occupied with the settled industries of civilised life.

The Goths and Vandals of Rome, and the Tartars under Genghis and Tamerlane all conform to this law and seem to be actuated by a common impulse.  In the east and west of the Eastern hemisphere may be noted two examples of this general movement, which afford a curious parallel:  I refer to the Normans of Great Britain and the Manchus of China.  Both empires are under the sway of dynasties which originated in the north; for the royal house of Britain, though under another title, has always been proud of its Norman blood.

The Normans who conquered Britain had first [Page 268] settled in France and there acquired the arts of civilised life.  The Manchus coming from the banks of the Amur settled in Liao-tung, a region somewhat similarly situated with reference to China.  There they learned something of the civilisation of China, and watched for an opportunity to obtain possession of the empire.  In Britain a kindred branch of the Norman family was on the throne, and William the Conqueror contrived to give his invasion a colour of right, by claiming the throne under an alleged bequest of Edward the Confessor.  The Manchus, though