the soul of the far east-第27节

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sons　most　astutely　upon　them；　and　still　that　very　man　turns　out　to　be　a　mere　child　when　put　before　problems　a　trifle　out　of　his　beaten　path。　And　all　because　his　forefathers　had　not　the　power　to　imagine　something　beyond　what　they　actually　saw。　　The　very　essence　of　the　force　of　imagination　lies　in　its　ability　to　change　a　man's　habitat　for　him。　Without　it；　man　would　forever　have　remained；　not　a　mollusk；　to　be　sure；　but　an　animal　simply。　　A　plant　cannot　change　its　place；　an　animal　cannot　alter　its　conditions　of　existence　except　within　very　narrow　bounds；　man　is　free　in　the　sense　nothing　else　in　the　world　is。

What　is　true　of　individuals　has　been　true　of　races。　　The　most　imaginative　races　have　proved　the　greatest　factors　in　the　world's　advance。

Now　after　this　look　at　our　own　side　of　the　world；　let　us　turn　to　the　other；　for　it　is　this　very　psychological　fact　that　mental　progression　implies　an　ever…increasing　individualization；　and　that　imagination　is　the　force　at　work　in　the　process　which　Far　Eastern　civilization；　taken　in　connection　with　our　own；　reveals。　　In　doing　this；　it　explains　incidentally　its　own　seeming　anomalies；　the　most　unaccountable　of　which；　apparently；　is　its　existence。

We　have　seen　how　impressively　impersonal　the　Far　East　is。　　Now　if　individuality　be　the　natural　measure　of　the　height　of　civilization　which　a　nation　has　reached；　impersonality　should　betoken　a　relatively　laggard　position　in　the　race。　　We　ought；　therefore；　to　find　among　these　people　certain　other　characteristics　corroborative　of　a　less　advanced　state　of　development。　　In　the　first　place；　if　imagination　be　the　impulse　of　which　increase　in　individuality　is　the　resulting　motion；　that　quality　should　be　at　a　minimum　there。　The　Far　Orientals　ought　to　be　a　particularly　unimaginative　set　of　people。　Such　is　precisely　what　they　are。　　Their　lack　of　imagination　is　a　well…recognized　fact。　　All　who　have　been　brought　in　contact　with　them　have　observed　it；　merchants　as　strikingly　as　students。　　Indeed；　the　slightest　intercourse　with　them　could　not　fail　to　make　it　evident。　Their　matter…of…fact　way　of　looking　at　things　is　truly　distressing；　coming　as　it　does　from　so　artistic　a　people。　One　notices　it　all　the　more　for　the　shock。　　To　get　a　prosaic　answer　from　a　man　whose　appearance　and　surroundings　betoken　better　things　is　not　calculated　to　dull　that　answer's　effect。　　Aston；　in　a　pamphlet　on　the　Altaic　tongues；　cites　an　instance　which　is　so　much　to　the　point　that　I　venture　to　repeat　it　here。　　He　was　a　true　Chinaman；　he　says；　who；　when　his　English　master　asked　him　what　he　thought　of

　　　〃That　orbed　maiden　　　　　With　white　fires　laden　　　　　Whom　mortals　call　the　moon；〃

replied；　〃My　thinkee　all　same　lamp　pidgin〃　（pidgin　meaning　thing　in　the　mongrel　speech；　Chinese　in　form　and　English　in　diction；　which　goes　by　the　name　of　pidgin　English）。

Their　own　tongues　show　the　same　prosaic　character；　picturesque　as　they　appear　to　us　at　first　sight。　　That　effect　is　due　simply　to　the　novelty　to　us　of　their　expressions。　　To　talk　of　a　pass　as　an　〃up…down〃　　has　a　refreshing　turn　to　our　unused　ear；　but　it　is　a　much　more　descriptive　than　imaginative　figure　of　speech。　　Nor　is　the　phrase　〃the　being　（so）　is　difficult；〃　in　place　of　〃thank　you；〃　a　surprisingly　beautiful　bit　of　imagery；　delightful　as　it　sounds　for　a　change。　　Our　own　tongue　has；　in　its　daily　vocabulary；　far　more　suggestive　expressions；　only　familiarity　has　rendered　us　callous　to　their　use。　　We　employ　at　every　instant　words　which；　could　we　but　stop　to　think　of　them；　would　strike　us　as　poetic　in　the　ideas　they　call　up。　　As　has　been　well　said；　they　were　once　happy　thoughts　of　some　bright　particular　genius　bequeathed　to　posterity　without　so　much　as　an　accompanying　name；　and　which　proved　so　popular　that　they　soon　became　but　symbols　themselves。

Their　languages　are　paralleled　by　their　whole　life。　　A　lack　of　any　fanciful　ideas　is　one　of　the　most　salient　traits　of　all　Far　Eastern　races；　if　indeed　a　sad　dearth　of　anything　can　properly　be　spoken　of　as　salient。　　Indirectly　their　want　of　imagination　betrays　itself　in　their　every…day　sayings　and　doings；　and　more　directly　in　every　branch　of　thought。　　Originality　is　not　their　strong　point。　　Their　utter　ignorance　of　science　shows　this；　and　paradoxical　as　it　may　seem；　their　art；　in　spite　of　its　merit　and　its　universality；　does　the　same。　　That　art　and　imagination　are　necessarily　bound　together　receives　no　very　forcible　confirmation　from　a　land　where；　nationally　speaking；　at　any　rate；　the　first　is　easily　first　and　the　last　easily　last；　as　nations　go。　　It　is　to　quite　another　quality　that　their　artistic　excellence　must　be　ascribed。　　That　the　Chinese　and　later　the　Japanese　have　accomplished　results　at　which　the　rest　of　the　world　will　yet　live　to　marvel；　is　due　to　theirtaste。　　But　taste　or　delicacy　of　perception　has　absolutely　nothing　to　do　with　imagination。　　That　certain　of　the　senses　of　Far　Orientals　are　wonderfully　keen；　as　also　those　parts　of　the　brain　that　directly　respond　to　them；　is　beyond　question；　but　such　sensitiveness　does　not　in　the　least　involve　the　less　earth…tied　portions　of　the　intellect。　A　peculiar　responsiveness　to　natural　beauty；　a　sort　of　mental　agreement　with　its　earthly　environment；　is　a　marked　feature　of　the　Japanese　mind。　　But　appreciation；　however　intimate；　is　a　very　different　thing　from　originality。　　The　one　is　commonly　the　handmaid　of　the　other；　but　the　other　by　no　means　always　accompanies　the　one。

So　much　for　the　cause；　now　for　the　effect　which　we　might　expect　to　find　if　our　diagnosis　be　correct。

If　the　evolving　force　be　less　active　in　one　race　than　in　another；　three　relative　results　should　follow。　　In　the　first　place；　the　race　in　question　will　at　any　given　moment　be　less　advanced　than　its　fellow；　secondly；　its　rate　of　progress　will　be　less　rapid；　and　lastly；　its　individual　members　will　all　be　nearer　together；　just　as　a　stream；　in　falling　from　a　cliff；　starts　one　compact　mass；　then　gradually　increasing　in　speed；　divides　into　drops；　which；　growing　finer　and　finer　and　farther　and　farther　apart；　descend　at　last　as　spray。　　All　three　of　these　consequences　are　visible　in　the　career　of　the　Far　Eastern　peoples。　　The　first　result　scarcely　needs　to　be　proved　to　us；　who　are　only　too　ready　to　believe　it　without　proof。　　It　is；　nevertheless；　a　fact。　　Viewed　unprejudicedly；　their　civilization　is　not　so　advanced　a　one　as　our　own。　　Although　they　are　certainly　our　superiors　in　some　very　desirable　particulars；　their　whole　scheme　is　distinctly　more　aboriginal　fundamentally。　It　is　more　finished；　as　far　as　it　goes；　but　it　does　not　go　so　far。　Less　rude；　it　is　more　rudimentary。　　Indeed；　as　we　have　seen；　its　surface…perfection　really　shows　that　nature　has　given　less　thought　to　its　substance。　　One　may　say　of　it　that　it　is　the　adult　form　of　a　lower　type　of　mind…specification。

The　second　effect　is　scarcely　less　patent。　　How　slow　their　progress　has　been；　if　for　centuries　now　it　can　be　called　progress　at　all；　is　world…known。　　Chinese　conservatism　has　passed　into　a　proverb。　The　pendulum　of　pulsation　in　the　Middle　Kingdom　long　since　came　to　a　stop　at　the　medial　point　of　rest。　　Centre　of　civilization；　as　they　call　themselves；　one　would　imagine　that　their　mind…machinery　had　got　caught　on　their　own　dead　centre；　and　now　could　not　be　made　to　move。　Life；　which　elsewhere　is　a　condition　of　unstable　equilibrium；　there　is　of　a　fatally　stable　kind。　　For　the　Chinaman's　disinclination　to　progress　is　something　more　than　vis　inertiae；　it　has　become　an　ardent　devotion　to　the　status　quo。　　Jostled；　he　at　once　settles　back　to　his　previous　condition　again；　much　as　more　materially；　after　a　lifetime　spent　in　California；　at　his　death　his　body　is　punctiliously　embalmed　and　sent　home　across　five　thousand　miles　of　sea　for　burial。　With　the　Japanese　the　condition　of　affairs　is　somewhat　different。　Their　tendency　to　stand　still　is　of　a　purely　passive　kind。　　It　is　a　state　of　neutral　equilibrium；　stationary　of　itself　but　perfectly　responsive　to　an　impulse　from　without。　　Left　to　their　own　devices；　they　are　conservative　enough；　but　they　instantly　copy　a　more　advanced　civilization　the　moment　they　get　a　chance。　　This　proclivity　on　their　part　is　not　out　of　keeping　with　our　theory。　　On　the　contrary；　it　is　precisely　what　was　to　have　been　expected；　for　we　see　the　very　same　apparent　contradiction　in　characters　we　are　thrown　with　every　day。　　Imitation　is　the　natural　substitute　for　originality。　The　less　strong　a　man's　personality　the　more　prone　is　he　to　adopt　the　ideas　of　others；　on　the　same　principle　that　a　void　more　easily　admits　a　foreign　body　than　does　space　that　is　already　occupied；　or　as　a　blank　piece　of　paper　takes　a　dye　more　brilliantly　for　not　being　already　tinted　itself。

The　third　result；　the　remarkable　homogeneity　of　the　people；　is　not；　perhaps；　so　universally　appreciated；　but　it　is　equally　evident　on　inspection；　and　no　less　weighty　in　proof。　　Indeed；　the　Far　Eastern　state　of　things　is　a　kind　of　charade　on　the　word；　for　humanity　there　is　singularly　uniform。　　The　distance　between　the　extremes　of　mind…development　in　Japan　is　much　less　than　with　us。　　This　lack　of　divergence　exists　not　simply　in　certain　lines　of　thought；　but　in　all　those　characteristics　by　which　man　is　parted　from　the　brutes。　In　reasoning　power；　in　artistic　sensibility；