Page:A wandering student in the Far East vol.1 - Zetland.djvu/50

22 area of 147,467 square miles in the case of Japan, China can boast of territory not far short of 4,000,000 square miles in extent: against Japan's 49,000,000 of population, China can probably pit 400,000,000 souls. In the matter of natural resources there is no comparison between the two countries, as may be seen from a glance at the opening pages of the following chapter, in which I have given, in faint outline, some suggestion of the almost incalculable wealth of China in this respect. Moreover, just as the aptitude of the Japanese as a people is for war rather than for commerce, so the philosophy of the Chinese has condemned and despised the profession of arms and applauded the pursuit of more peaceful avocations. The Samurai is the archetype of the Japanese gentleman; Bushido—the Fighting-knight ways—the accepted code of his conduct and honour. "In early youth the Samurai was put to the task of bearing and daring. Boys, and girls also, were trained in a Lacedemonian fashion to