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Problems Of The Far East: Japan, Korea, China (1894) Hardcover – 2 June 2008
by George N Curzon (Author)
""Problems of the Far East: Japan, Korea, China"" is a book written by George N. Curzon in 1894. The book is a comprehensive analysis of the political, social, and economic issues faced by Japan, Korea, and China during the late 19th century. Curzon, who was a British politician and diplomat, provides a detailed account of the history, culture, and political systems of these countries. The book covers a wide range of topics including the Opium Wars, the Boxer Rebellion, the Meiji Restoration, and the Sino-Japanese War. Curzon also delves into the role of foreign powers in the region, particularly the influence of Western imperialism and the impact of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Curzon's analysis is based on his personal experiences and observations during his travels to the Far East. He provides a critical perspective on the challenges faced by these countries in modernizing and adapting to the changing global landscape. Overall, ""Problems of the Far East: Japan, Korea, China"" is an important historical document that sheds light on the complex issues faced by these countries during a pivotal period in their history. It remains a valuable resource for anyone interested in the history and politics of the Far East.This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the old original and may contain some imperfections such as library marks and notations. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions, that are true to their original work.
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Full text of "Problems of the Far East: Japan - Korea - China"
BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
PERSIA AND THE PERSIAN QUESTION.
With 9 Maps, 96 Illustrations, Appendices,
and an Index.
2 vols. 8m, 42s.
LONDON* AND NKW YORK : LONGMANS, GKEEN, & CO.
HIS MAJESTY LI HSI, KING OF KOREA
PEOBLEMS OF THE EAR EAST
BY THE HON. GEOEGE N. CUEZON, M.P.
FELLOW OP ALL SOULS COLLEGE, OXFORD
AUTHOR OF 'RUSSIA IN CENTRAL ASIA1 AND 'PERSIA*
JAPAN-KOREA-CHINA
'And first we must begin with Asia, to which the first place is
due, as being the place of the first Men, first Religion, first Cities,
Empires, Arts ; where the most things mentioned in Scripture were
done ; the place where Paradise was seated, the Arke rested, the Law
was given, and whence the Gospell proceeded ; the place which did
beare Him in His flesh, that by His Word beareth up all things '
PUKCHAS, His Pilgrimes
SECOND EDITION
LONDON
LONGMANS, GEEEN, AND CO.
AND NEW YOKE: 15 EAST 16th STREET
1894
WHO BELIEVE THAT THE BRITISH EMPIRE
IS, UNDER PROVIDENCE, THE GREATEST INSTRUMENT FOR GOOD
THAT THE WORLD HAS SEEN AND WHO HOLD, WITH THE WRITER, THAT ITS WORK IN THE FAR EAST IS NOT YET ACCOMPLISHED
THIS BOOK IS INSCRIBED
2GCGC8
PREFACE
THE work of which I here publish the first part,
though the outcome of two journeys round the world
in 1887-8 and in 1892-3, does not pretend to be a
book of travel. Bather is it an attempt to examine,
in a comparative light, the political, social, and
economic conditions of the kingdoms and princi-
palities of the Far East. By this title I signify the
countries that lie between India and the Pacific Ocean.
They include both the best known and the least
known of Oriental nations — Japan and China in the
former category ; Korea, Tongking, Annam, Cochin
China, Cambogia, and Siam in the latter. In respect
of race, religion, and habits, Burma should fall within
the same class ; but since it is now an integral portion
of the Indian Empire, it will be purposely excluded
from this survey.
The above-mentioned countries have each their
special features of climate, scenery, architecture, reli-
gion, and life, differentiating them from each other,
and still more from the rest of the world. To the tra-
veller these idiosyncrasies cannot fail to appeal ; nor
can he be indifferent to the atmosphere of romance
in which those fanciful regions, when once he has
viii PREFACE
left them, appear ever afterwards to float. To such
aesthetic impressions I would profess no invulnera-
bility ; and the descriptions which will be found in
these pages of the capitals of Korea and China, and
of other scenes, will prove the completeness of my
occasional surrender. On the whole, however, I have
relegated these aspects of my journeys to the back-
ground, and have preferred to discuss the problems,
perhaps less superficially interesting, but incompara-
bly more important, and vastly more abstruse, which
are suggested by the national character, resources, and
organisation of those countries as affected by their
intercourse with foreign or Western Powers. What
is the part which they are now playing, or are capable
of playing, on the international stage ? What is the
political future that may, without foolhardiness of
prediction, be anticipated for the peoples and lands
of the Far East ?
In preparing and comparing my observations
upon these countries, I very early found that to
attempt to deal with the political features of eight
different States within the compass of a single volume
could only be achieved at the expense both of unity
and exactitude — a conviction which was fortified by
the natural subdivision of my subject into a twofold
heading. Japan, Korea, and China suggest a number
of problems, substantially similar if not actually inter-
connected. Their maritime outlook is towards the
Pacific Ocean. The remaining countries of the Far
East are in a different stage of evolution ; and partly
owing to their intrinsic weakness, partly to the degree
PREFACE • ix
in which they have already been brought under
European control, illustrate a different argument.
They are also alike in turning a backward gaze
upon the Indian Seas. Following this natural classi-
fication, I have confined the present volume to the
examination of the three first-mentioned States,
reserving for a future work the territories of the
Indo-Chinese peninsula.
In the case of Japan I must confess to having
departed widely from the accepted model of treat-
ment. There will be found nothing in these pages of
the Japan of temples, tea-houses, and bric-a-brac —
that infinitesimal segment of the national existence
which the traveller is so prone to mistake for the
whole, and by doing which he fills the educated
Japanese with such unspeakable indignation. I have
been more interested in the efforts of a nation, still in
pupillage, to assume the manners of the full-grown
man, in the constitutional struggles through which
Japan is passing, in her relations with foreign Powers,
and in the future that awaits her immense ambitions.
Similarly in China I have been more concerned
with the internal structure of that mysterious archaism,
with the policy of its rulers, the strength or weak-
ness of its resources, and with the pulse that throbs
so defiantly beneath the bosom of its amazing people,
than with the sights and scenes of Treaty Ports, or the
superficial features of native existence. In Korea I
hope that I may claim in some respects to break
almost new ground. In the few and singularly
inadequate accounts of that kingdom that have
x PREFACE
appeared in Europe, and that have left it, next to
Tibet, the least known part of Asia, no serious
endeavour has been made to examine its political
status — a question of great complexity and of inter-
national importance— or to determine its bearing
upon surrounding States; and I doubt whether to
most persons at home Korea is known except as a
land of white clothes and black hats. If a dispropor-
tionate space may appear to have been allotted to its
treatment, as compared with that of China and Japan,
it will be because of an intrinsic novelty that is not
yet exhausted, and of a general ignorance that in
view of present events deserves to be appeased.
If, in spite of a good deal of descriptive matter
that may perhaps interest or assist both the reader
and the traveller, it be objected that the trail of poli-
tics is over all this work, I answer that such is the
principal claim that I venture to make for it. Other
writers of great ability have recorded their impres-
sions of the social or artistic sides of Eastern life.
But, in their interest in the governed, they have too
frequently forgotten the government; nor does the
photograph of a fleeting moment lend much assistance
to the forecast of a wider future. For myself, in essay-
ing this more ambitious task, I can honestly disclaim,
on the several occasions when I have travelled in the
East, any a priori prepossession for this or prejudice
against that people. I have no anterior theory to sup-
port, and no party interest, unless the British Empire
be a party interest, to serve. But to my vision all the
nations of the East seem to group themselves as sec-
PREFACE xi
tions or parts, of varying age and utility, in the most
wonderful piece of natural and human mechanism that
the world now presents, namely, the political evolu-
tion of the Asiatic Continent. What function is ful-
filled by each in the movement of this vast machine,
how far they individually retard its progress or con-
tribute to the collective thunder of its wheels, is to me
the most absorbing of problems. What will become
of this great fabric in the future, whether its minor
atoms will break up and split asunder, thereby adding
to the already formidable strain upon the larger units,
whether the slow heart of the East will still continue
to palpitate beneath the superimposed restraints of
Western force or example, or whether as has been
predicted, some tremendous cataclysm may be ex-
pected, in which the tide of human conquest shall
once more be rolled back from East to West, are
speculations to the solution of which I have no
fonder wish than to subscribe my humble quota of
knowledge.
Finally, these volumes are part of that scheme of
work, now nearly half realised, which ten years ago
I first set before myself in the examination of the
different aspects of the Asiatic problem. What I
have already endeavoured to do for Eussia in Central
Asia, and for Persia, or the countries on this side of
India, i.e. the Near East — what I hope to be able
to do hereafter for two other little-known Asiatic
regions, directly bordering upon India, i.e. the
Central East — I attempt to do in. this volume, and
in that which will follow it, for the countries lying
xii PREFACE
beyond India, i.e. the Far East. As I proceed with
this undertaking, the true fulcrum of Asiatic domi-
nion seems to me increasingly to lie in the Empire of
Hindustan. The secret of the mastery of the world,
is, if only they knew it, in the possession of the
British people.
No Englishman need grudge the splendid achieve-
ments and possessions of the mighty Power whose
hand is outstretched over the entire north of Asia,
from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific. He need
not be jealous of the new-born Asiatic zeal of our
next-door neighbour in Europe. He may respect
alike the hoary pride of China, and the impetuous
exuberance of renascent Japan. But he will find that
the best hope of salvation for the old and moribund
in Asia, the wisest lessons for the emancipated and
new, are still to be derived from the ascendency of
British character, . and under the shelter, where so
required, of British dominion. If in the slightest
degree I succeed in bringing home this conviction to
the minds of my countrymen at home, I shall never
regret the years of travel and of writing which I
have devoted and hope still to devote to this con-
genial task.
My sincere thanks are due, for revision or advice
in different parts of this work, to Mr. Cecil Spring-
liice, of H. B. M.'s Diplomatic Service, the delightful
companion of my later journeys ; to Mr. W. C. Hillier,
late Consul-General in Korea ; and to Mr. J. N. Jordan,
of the British Legation at Peking.
GEOKGJS N. CURZON.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I THE FAB EAST
The enchantment of Asia — Her products — Homogeneousness —
Contact with civilisation — Moral lessons — The Far East — Its
idiosyncrasies — India the pivot ...... 1
JAPAN
CHAPTER II TH^ EVOLUTION OF MODERN JAPAN
Japanese railways — The streets of Tokio — The Diet — Public
opinion — Parliamentary symptoms — Rocks ahead — The Minis-
ters and Parliament— The Ministry of All the Talents-
Expectations— Session of 1892-3— Session of 1893— The crisis
— General Elections of 1894— Real points at issue— 1. Clan
government — Oligarchy v. Democracy — 2. Position of the
Sovereign — 3. Ministerial responsibility — The issue— Japanese
Navy — Army — Corroborative opinion — Finances — Trade —
Manufacturing industries — Attitude of Japanese towards
foreigners — Schoolboy patriotism — Chances of Christianity in
Japan . . 1!
CHAPTER III JAPAN AND THE POWEBS
Treaty Revision — History of the Treaties— Postponement of Re-
vision—The case of Japan — The case of the Powers— Previous
attempts at Revision. Count Inouye, 1882-7— Count Okuuia,
1888-9— Viscount Aoki, 1890— Bases of settlement — Position
of the Codes — Further postponement — Address to the Throne
in 1898 — Anti-Mixed residence agitation — The Chinese Ques-
tion— Agitation against foreign ownership of property — Other
demands — Prospects of settlement GO
KOREA
CHAPTER IV LIFE AND TRAVEL IN KOEEA
The fascination of Korea— Literature of the subject— The Treaty
Ports — Fusan — Gensan — Chemulpo — The Korean people —
Total population— Ethnology and language— National cha-
racter— The extremes of society — Necessities of travel — Visit to
the Diamond Mountains — Korean monks — Monastic life and
habits — Buildings — Korean religion — Spirit- worship and Con-
fucianism— Conditions of travel — Sport — Peasant life — Eural
habits— Memorial tablets— Tombs— Wayfarers— The Korean
inn ......
CHAPTER V THE CAPITAL AND COUET OF KOEEA
Name of the capital — "Walls and gates of Soul— Its situation—
Beacon-fires — Population and streets — Dirt and ditches
Houses — Street-life and costume — Dancing-girls — Hats •
Amusements — The Big Bell — Shops —Stone pagoda and pillar -
Temples— Red Arrow Gate— The painted Buddha— Execution-
place— Royal fortresses— Sovereignty in Korea — Royal Palaces
—East, or New Palace— West, or Old Palace— Great Hall of
Audience— Summer Palace— The King of Korea— The Tai
Wen Kun— The King's reign— His character— The Queen
The Crown Prince— Theory of monarchy — Audience with the
Foreign Minister— Court dress and etiquette— Audience with
the King — Royal procession— Korean army— State review . 120
CHAPTER VI POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL SYMPTOMS IN KOREX \ '\' '
-•-• -PAGE
An Asiatic microcosm —Korean administration— Revenue and
debt — Foreign Treaties — Foreign Advisers — Projects and
speculations — The currency — New Mint and silver coinage •
Banks — Obstacles to commercial development. Means of
communication. Roads — River navigation — Coast navigation
—Railways — Growth of trade — Steamship service — Customs
Service — Smuggling — Native standpoint — Mines and minerals
— Gold — Future prospects — Missionary work in Korea. 1.
Persecution — 2. Toleration — English Protestant Mission —
Native sentiment 171
CHAPTER VII THE POLITICAL FUTURE OF KOREA
Anomalous political status of Korea — Connection with Japan-
Tribute Missions — Friction and rupture — Recovery of influ-
ence. Treaty of 187G— Convention of Tientsin in 1885 — Com-
mercial ascendency — Recent bluster — True policy of Japan —
Recent complications — Connection with China — Existing evi-
dences of Korean vassalage — Death of the Queen Dowager in
1890 — Thread of Chinese policy. 1. Repudiation — 2. Neutral-
isation— Terms of the Treaties — Question of envoys — Ques-
tion of troops at Soul — 3. Practical sovereignty — The Chinese
Resident — Position of the King — Justification of Li Hung
Chang — Connection with Russia— Aggressive designs — Ad
interim plans— Attitude of Great Britain — Occupation of Port
Hamilton in 1885 — The other Powers — The carcase and the
eagles— Conclusion 198
CHINA
CHAPTER VIII THE COUNTRY AND CAPITAL OF CHINA
Transition to China — Tientsin — The Viceroy Li Hung Chang —
Interview— Journey to Peking — Chinese rural life— Entrance
to Peking — Ground-plan — The three Pekings — Panorama of
the streets —Native practitioners — The Imperial Palace — The
Emperor Tung Chih — The two Empresses Regent— The Em-
press Dowager— The Emperor Kuang Hsu — Palace routine—
The Temple of Heaven— Difficulty of admission— The Annual
Sacrifice — The Observatory — Examination building— Drum
and Bell Towers— Temple of Confucius— Hall of the Classics-
Great Lama Temple— Outside the walls— The Great Bell —
The Summer Palace — Yuan-ming-yuan — Wan-shou-shan — The
Great Wall— The Ming Tombs— British Legation . . . 287
CHAPTER IX CHINA AND THE POWEES
Relations between Chinese and Europeans— The Tsungli Yamen
— A Board of Delay —Chinese diplomacy — The Right of Audi-
ence— History — English embassies Lord Macartney in 1793
— Lord Amherst in 1816 — Interval — Audience with Tung Chih
in 1873 — Audience with Kuang Hsu in 1891 — Subsequent
audiences — Summary of achievement — True significance of
the dispute — Foreign policy of China — Attitude towards Russia
— China and the Pamirs — Attitude towards Great Britain —
Anglo-Chinese Trade — Opium Question — Missionary Question
— Protestant Missions — Their good service — Sowing the seed —
Objections and drawbacks — 1. Religious and doctrinal. Hos-
tility to Chinese ethics— Disputes as to name of the Deity — As
to the form of religion — Unrevised translations of the Scrip-
tures—Christian dogma — Irresponsible itinerancy— 2. Political
—History of the Treaties— Subsequent understanding— Impe-
rial Edict of 1891— Chinese sentiments— The appeal for gun-
boats—Privileges claimed for converts — An imperium in
imperio—?\e& of political agitation— 3. Practical Mission life
—Employment of women— Situation of buildings— Refusal of
converts to subscribe— Belief in witchcraft —Horrible charges
—Summing up— Results— The right policy. Respect for the
Treaties— Stricter precautions— Choice of material . . . 280
CHAPTER X THE SO-CALLED AWAKENING OP CHINA
Is China awake?— A tactical surrender— Railways in China—
Manchurian Railway— Line to Peking— Great Trunk Line-
Hankow Line and factories -Formosa Railway- Other com-
CONTENTS xvii
PAGE
munications— Military reform — The Manchu and National
Armies — Discipline — Native officers— European officers— Cost
— Alleged successes — General Gordon's opinion — General
Prjevalski— Colonel BeU— The Chinese Navy— The false and
the real dangers — The mercenaries of Europe — The Press in
China — Native enterprise — The curse of officialism — The Man-
darinate — The Chinese standpoint — The picture of progress —
The reality of standstill 336
CHAPTER XI MONASTICISM IN CHINA
Chinese Buddhism — Its superstitious sanction — Contradictory
opinion of monks — Its explanation — Original conception of
monasticism — Its inversion — A spiritual insurance — Ostracism
of the cloister — Popular odium — Common imposture — Different
classes of recruits — Means of subsistence — Monastic temples —
Entrance gateway — Main temple — Service — Vox et pr cuter ea
niliil — Tenants of glass houses — Procession — Reliquary —
Domestic premises — Cremation 372
THE PROSPECT
CHAPTER XII THE DESTINIES OF THE FAR EAST
Summary — The future of Japan — The Great Britain of the Far
East — Future of Korea — Future of China — The Chinese as
aliens — The theory of Chinese resurrection — Mr. Pearson's
arguments in its favour — The new march of the Mongols —
Lords of the future — Objection of unoccupied area at home —
Reasons for disputing Mr. Pearson — Alleged successes of China
— The Colonial question — Character of Chinese colonists —
Military weakness of China — Chinese reconquest impossible —
The dream of social apotheosis — Influence of national character
— Lessons of history — Danger of rebellion — The real destiny —
Race and empire
a
xviii CONTENTS
CHAPTEE XIII GREAT BRITAIN IN THE FAR EAST
PAGE
The role of Great Britain — Reflex influence upon England — Com-
mercial supremacy of Great Britain — Our rivals— Contraction
of business — Christian Missions — English life in the Far East
— The Press — Domestic life — English character- — British diplo-
macy— British representatives — Suggested libraries of special
reference — Diplomatic anomalies — Future of Great Britain in
the Far East — The English language 418
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