The Chinese
father and mother will sail in the wooden ships which their sons and
daughters are beginning to leave for barks of steel.
There is little doubt that new China will be Westernised in every
department of her being. No friend of China hopes for such sudden
changes, however, as will prevent the Chinese themselves from
permeating the new with their own distinctive individuality. There is a
charm about old China that only those who have lived there can
understand, and there is a charm about these dainty ladies, secluded
within their walls, which the modern woman may lose in a too sudden
transition into the air of the Western day.
Let Europe, let America, let the West come to China, but let the day
be far distant when we shall find no longer in the women's courtyards
such mothers as Kwei-li.
1
My Dear Mother,
Thy son has received his appointment as governor of this province,
and we are at last settled in this new and strange abode. We are
most proud of the words pronounced by His Excellency Yuan when
giving him his power of office. He said:
"You, Liu, are an example of that higher patriotism rarely met with in
official life, which recognises its duty to its Government, a duty too
often forgotten by the members of a great family such as that of which
you are the honoured head, in the obligation to the Clan and the
desire to use power for personal advantage.
Pages:
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89