AND THE WORLD-WAR BY W. REGINALD WHEELER OF THE FACULTY OF HANGCHOW COLLEGE, ILLUSTRATED New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1919 All rights reserved LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PREFACE AFTER the war, the attention of the world will more and more shift to China and the Far East. The greatest potential market of the world lies there: the greatest need for industrial and economic development is there. The Far East, in general, and China, in particular, have been profoundly affected by the war: they will be even more deeply influenced during the peace which is to follow. All of the great powers have financial interests in China; after the war, these interests will come into sharp competition and rivalry. In their relations with China and with each other, the nations will face two alternatives: on the one hand, a policy leading to an imperialism and oppression which eventually will endanger the dearly-bought worldpeace: on the other, a course of action based on international justice and the development of a democracy in the Far East that will be safe for the world. These alternatives in Asia are, and will be, the same as those which the world is facing in Europe today: the writer believes they should be viewed in the light of the principles for which the larger part of mankind is now fighting and that unless this is done, on the Eastern horizon will surely gather the dark clouds of another world-storm. In this volume accordingly, the author who has lived in China for the past three years has tried to |