London Through Chinese Eyes

LONDON THROUGH CHINESE EYES BY MIN-CHIEN T Z. TYAU OR MY SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS IN LONDON FOREWORD In dedicating the present volume to the British People a word or two seems not unnecessary We have called it London through Chinese Eyes or My Seven and a half Years in London but there is no pretence whatsoever at discussion of serious or weighty subjects affecting politics, industry, commerce, etc The chapters here deal only with superficial topics and repre sent merely ones impressions and reminiscences The best title to this volume is the Chinese legend to be read vertically from top downwards: Liu Ying Kuan Kuei Chi, which literally means looking at London through the opening of a bamboo pole We started to write soon after we had returned from England and succeeded in getting through Chapter XVIII before we had to leave the quiet atmosphere of Tsing Hua College for the more exciting task of starting a Chinese daily newspaper in the English language. That caused an interruption of eighteen months, since a journalists life is never one of ease and luxury But the continuance of the submarine warfare has also been responsible for this delay: we sent off the first half of our MS to the publishers in December 1917, but their letter of acknow ledgment never arrived in Peking until November 1918, although it was dated February of that year This change of profession during the intervening period is therefore responsible for the I in the first half of the book and the habitual editorial We in the latter half. We have to express our indebtedness to His Excellency Sir John Newell Jordan, His Britannic Majestys Minister in Peking since 1906, who has been in China for over forty years and therefore one of the Republics best friends j to Miss Kong Sing for supplying the illustrations and to Messrs Headley Brothers for doing the entire publication as well as proof reading. M. T Z. X Peking Leader, Peking, China, August 4th, 1919 PREFACE The Author of London through Chinese Eyes is one of the brilliant band of young Chinese who have not only passed through a University course in England with great credit and marked success, but who have entered fully into the spirit of our social life and national institutions .All Chinese who have studied abroad are popularly known in China as Returned Students of whom there are now many thousands engaged in high and responsible work all over this vast country and to whom their compatriots generally look for national uplift and regeneration, America has been especially active and successful in promoting Chinese education, but no country can claim a monopoly of furthering a cause to which all have made valuable contributions. American and English trained students are to be found in every department of the Government: students who have received their education in France or Belgium are almost equally pro minent in public life: and amongst the Japanese students is the distinguished Governor of Shansi who has shown what a Chinese province can become under modern administrative methods wisely and justly applied.