Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/741

* CHINESE EMPIRE. 643 CHINESE EMPIRE. undergo rapid dcvoUipniont as soon as a more stable e-mdition of allaii-s is assured. Agrkt'LTIRE. Cliiua is essentially an agri- cultural eountry, the bulk of the people l>eing tillers of the soil. Agriculture is held in the highest honor, the farmer ranking, in theory at least, next to the scholar, and before the merchant and artisan, in the four classilications of the jieople. With solemn ceremonies the Em- peror, in the Temple of .Vgriculture in I'eking, anniially inaugurates the farming season at the s]>riiig equinox. China has a more equal distri- bution of land than any European or American nation, estates of a few thousand acres being rather rare, and a plot of 10 acres being con- sidered a good-sized farm. Nominally the land belongs to the Emperor, and as a matter of actual practice a man's title to his land ceases as soon as he fails to cultivate it. Owing- to the great congestion of population, extremely small subdivisions of acreage is the rule. How- ever, as it results in a highly intensive method of cultivation, it is by no means an unmixed evil, for the land is cultivated with a, care and an intelligence unrivaled in the world. The sys- tem of rotation of crops has been adopted since time immemorial, and such a high appreciation is shown of the value of fertilizers that no part of the animal and vegetable refuse is wasted. Not satisfied with cultivating every inch of fer- tile land, the Chinaman proceeds with wonderful patience and endurance to create artificial fields wherever he can find place for a layer of soil. Thus, it is a matter of common occurrence to meet in Chinese waters floating fields consisting of large rafts covered with earth. Another and more important extension of arable land is by means of the so-called terrace fields, which are . formed by covering the mountain slopes with fertile soil. Even the shifting sand-tiehls are gradually converted into rich ground. The im- plements of the Chinese are crude and clumsy in construction. Irrigation is as highly de- veloped as fertilization, and the whole country is covered with a network of canals and ditches — even the terrace fields on the mountain slopes are provided with an abundant sujiply of water. The chief agricultural products of China are grain, cotton, and tea. Of grain, rice is the most important staple, and is raised largely in the middle and southern parts. In the north, wheat, corn, buckwheat, oat-s, and a little rice are prod>iced. Tea is grown mostly in the south, although its cultivation is carried as far north as latitude 31° N. It is planted, as a nde, on mountain-sides sloping to the south, and in soil composed mainly of loam. The tea-bushes yield three crops a, year — April, .Inly, and Au- gjist. (For further details, see article on Tea.) Cotton is raised as far north as the Province of Shan-si, but only in the low valleys here. The provuices in which it is considerably grown are Phen-si, Kiang-.su, Nganhwei. Che-kiang, Hu-peh, Kiaug-si, Hunan, and Kwang-si. Tobacco is cul- tivated throughout China, and the opium-smok- ing habit is responsible for an extensive cultiva- tion of the p ippy. Cane-sugar is successfully produced in four southern provinces — Che-kiang, Fu-kien, Kiang-si. and Kwang-tung; indigo in Che-kiang and Kiang-si: and hemp in two middle provinces — Hu-nan and Shen-si. The silkworm culture centres in the Province of Kiang-su. The vegetables include carrots, peas, cabbage, jx-pper. garlic, and beans. Stock-breeding claims little at- tention, ililk, butter, and cheese are practically unknown, and eggs, fish, and game are consiil- ered more important than the llesh of domestic animals. ilAXiFACTi'EES. The Western world is luidcr a great debt to China for many inventions which have been brought to Europe and there improv<il. For many centuries the Chinese alone had silk, ])aper. jade, porcelain, clocks, the art of print- ing, the magnetic needle, and gunpowder. Thej' excel in whatever requires [latieuce and routine skill ; but since they regard originality as in bad taste, if not morally wrong, they make little mechanical progress. The favorite ma- terials of their workmen are silk, cotton, linen, bamboo, clay, and wood. Printing by means of movable tyjies was known in China from an early age. and many books thus made and still extant are older than the time of Gutenberg and Koster. However, the invention so strikingly useful in a system liaving but 20 phonetic let- ters, is of far less value when tens of thousands of characters are used. The making of porcelain goes back to very ancient times, Chinese scent- bottles with inscriptions having been found in Egyptian tombs as early as B.C. 1700. Their weaving, embroidery, engraving on wood, stone, and metal, fine f.old and silver work, ivory-carv- ing, huqucT-ware. and bronze-casting are worthy of high admiration. In recent years foreign methods and machinery have been introduced, but the results thus far seem to demonstrate that the Chinese, at least in the beginning of their newer industrial development, will need foreign guidance. Bricks, cotton goods, matches, powder, lilies, cannon, munitions of war, steel and iron, have thus far, however, been manufactured with success. Tkan.spoutation and CoMMUNtCATiox. There are many roads throughout the well-settled parts of China, but they are in bad repair, and are al- most impassable for wheeled vehicles. As has been seen above, the navigable rivers furnish many avenues of commerce, and these, with the numerous canals, carry a vast volume of trade. The railway question may be said to l)e the pivotal matter of Chinese economic and political life to-day. The immense extent of territory and the wretched condition of Chinese high- roads combine to hinder commercial intercovirse between the various parts of the country, in- deed, to thwart all economic development. At the same time the backward state of tlie Chinese jienplc in all matters requiring advanced indu.s- Irial equipment, and a, genius for and expericiu'e in financial organization and ability to handle undertakings cm so large a scale as a national railway requires, throws the initiative on the foreign nations who are eagerly seeking Chinese trade. Hence, this subiect of ruilroails has bo- come in t'hina a politico-diplomatic matter, each of the great powers endeavoring to secure concessions for what are expected to be the most profitable roads, as well as for such as may have an imnortant strategic value should a partition of China or a conflict of foreign powers in her territory eventually take place. Railway build- ini; in China is in its infancy: but the lines of what will become main trunk roads have not only been mapped out, but actually surveyed, and all preliminary steps, such as securing (Gov- ernment concessions and financial backing, have