Show ARE NEVER IN A HURRY Chinese Always Take Things as They Come L TIME IS NO OBJECT TO THEM Chinese Minister Wu Lectures in Chicago on tho Civilization His Native Land His Defense of That cf His Country in His Comparisons With the Civilization of the Occident Occi-dent Woe Much Applauded He Delivers De-livers Hie Address in the Studc baker Theater Chicago March 10Wu Ting Fang Chinese Minister to the United States delivered the convocation address of the University of Chicago at the Studcbakar theater this afternoon before be-fore the faculty of the institution and an audience that packed the theater to the doors Mr Wu took for his subject sub-ject Chinese Civilization His defense de-fense of the civilization of his native country in his comparisons with that of the civilization of the Occident was much applauded In beginning his address Mr Wu said China had been to other nations like the recluse community In the heart of a mountain as told by a Chinese writer of 1500 years ago a community that fleeing from the persecutions of the China dynasty had found peace and tranquility and content with their lot had no desire to emerge into the turmoil and excitement of a more active ac-tive life This mountain community may be said to bo China In miniature Mr Wu continued To her isolation she undoubtedly pwes her long freedom from foreign domination Foreign Influence In-fluence Indeed has had very little to do wlth the national development of China Before the nineteenth cftnCUry the only possible foreign enemies she had to meet were the nomads of the Mongolian plateau who occasionally made sudden Incursions upon the settlement set-tlement along the northern portions and the Malayaslan Islands and sometimes some-times spread to the seacoast The warlike war-like encounters fortunately1 were not very frequent Far from the conflicts and strifes of the West the Chinese have been able to give through the past centuries almost al-most their exclusive attention to Internal In-ternal development They have accordingly accord-ingly solved their political problems In their own way and worked out their destiny without foreign Interference Nature has blessed the country with every variety of soil and climate so that the people have never been obliged tb look to other countries for supply of their wants They have been able to live within themselves without difficulty diffi-culty and to get along without having to d6 with outside nations Their long seclusion has been not only a matter of necessity but also a matter of choice True IS it that Chinas Isolation has tended to strengthen the nations char ncler7 nnd give It a marked Individuality Individua-lity but this has not been gained without with-out great losses The most serious Is that the Cation has not been able to profit by i the trials experience and achievements of the rest of the world This Ms especially true with scientific knowledge and mechanical Inventions It must be admitted that today China is centuries behind the age In her knowledge of chemistry electricity steam navigation rapid transit and other arts and sciences AH these things she must learn from other nations na-tions before she can hope to put herself her-self abreast of the times But does civilization consist of railroads rail-roads telegraphs telephones electric lights battleships rapidfiring guns magazine rifles and a thousand and one things which are often regarded as necessary for a progressive nation Thls would bo a very narrow Inter prctatlon of the word Civilization has I believe a broader meaning with Intelligence In-telligence order morality and refinement refine-ment for Its essential elements Such a civilization China undoubtedly has a civilization different to bo sure from that of the West but a civilization nevertheless In other words civilization civiliza-tion Is the elevation a nation has reached In its progress from a lower to a higher slate of society It is to be expected that the civilization attained by China should be different from that attained from the nations of the West by reason of their difference In national nation-al development Chinese ways are not necessarily bad because they often seem strang to Western eyes It Is merely a question whether one is accustomed ac-customed to them or not The Chinaman Is the principal type of Oriental civilization Ho Is phlegmatic phleg-matic and sluggish Time is no object ob-ject with him He takes things as they cOme and never seems to be in a hurry How different is the American the highest type of Occidental civilization civiliza-tion He Is nervous and energetic Ho acts on the principle that time Is ihoney and accordingly Is Impatient of restraint and always on a rush When old Oriental civilization meets the new Occidental civilization It Is to be expected that there will bo a clash Which will have to give way to the other Is by no means certain for the race Is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong There has lately been a great deal of newspaper talk about civilizing China I give credit to those people who advocate such a course for their good Intention but Its desirability to say nothing qf Its difficulty should not be overlooked China has already a civilization of her own It is the growth of lime Long before the ancestors an-cestors of time people of the West qeoscd to be naked savages and emerged torn the primeval forests of central Europe the Chinese had known the iu > e of the compass and the art of printing Now for the people of the West to turn around and then ask the Chinese to put away their old civilization civiliza-tion Is rather novel The people of the West may know more than the Clii nese about the building of railroads the floating of foreign loans the com bination of capital the development of restfuicca and the like All this la granted But the Chinese naturally lea thatthey are In a better position to judge what Is beat for thejr own Interest and welfare than any outsider out-sider can be Therefore any iittcmpt to Impost upon them any reform or religion they do not feel the need of is apt to create trouble The use of force Is especially to be deprecated as this eeiVflS only to Inflame thch1 passions pas-sions and rouse their resentment and opposition But on tim other hand I much can ho accomplished by exorcising S exor-cising fact and dlBcrotlon and above all by giving due consideration to their aentlnjcnts and prejudices If the people pf the West would tudy tho civilization of China Instead I Of trying to pull It down they will save thoniaolves a great deal of trouble They will find that the Chinese are not addicted to Avays that are dark and tricksth 1 arp vain as they are rep uesencd tobe by an American poet They will find that China old as she Is still eXhJbitH all the strength and vigor of full rraturity They will find that the civilisation that has stood the teaL of forty centuries In far from being effete They will find that the proper course to he pursued In putting China on the road to prosperity and happiness happi-ness Is i not to shake the foundations of her social and political fabric but to allow her to Incorporate such elements of Western civilization as she can assimilate as-similate On the other hand China must kedp up with the times in the onward march of progress To this end It is necessary for her to take lessons les-sons from the Western world But sho need not be a servile Imitator Her roquIiomentRarc peculiar to her posi LiOn among nations and to the growth of her natural life |