Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 17.djvu/206

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Cliina (cf. C. E^ III-663b) .— Abea and Pofxtla- of War, and General Staff. A special envoy for TiON.< — ^The Chinese Republic, situated in Eastern foreign affairs iWai Chiao Pu T'e Pai Chiao) is Asia, includes China proper or the Eighteen Prov- stationed in each province to conduct the relations inces (She-pansheng), the so-called New Dominion with foreigners. The Chief of the Department of of Sinkiang (including East Turkestan), Man- Finance supervises the collection of taxes. There churia, Outer Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Tibet, are aisp the Departments of Education and In- with a total area of 3,913,560 square miles, of which dustry. The chief judge of the Higher Court iKao China proper extends over 1^32,420 square miles. Teng Shen P*an Tmg) is the principal judicial These figures are given bv the Government Gazette authority in the province. Each province is divided (27 February, 1911), which estimates the totalpopu- into a number of large circuits, var3ring between lation at 320,650,OiOO. The Almanach de Gotna" two and seven, and called Tao, each under the (1914) and the Statesman's Year-Book" (1921) give jurisdiction of an official, called a Taoyin, who acta for the Eighteen Provinces an estimated population under the supervision of the governor of the of 325317,760 and 302,110,000 respectively. The province. These circuits are subdivided into di»- population of each province is as follows: Chi-li, tricts iHien), authority over which is vested in 32^71,000; Shan-ttmg, 29,600,000; Shan-si, 60,700,- district magistrates, also subject to the governor. (KX); Ho-nan, 25,600,(>0; KiangHsu, 17,300,(XX); Ngan- Rival factions within the Republic during recent hwei, 17,300,000; KiangHsi, 14^500,000; Che-kiang, years have united under the leadership of the mili- 17,000,000; Fu-kien, 13,100,000; Hu-pe, 24,900,000; taiy governors, whose power in their respective Hu-nan, 23,600/)00; Ewang-timg, 27,700,000: Kwang- spheres has thus become supreme. The Unification si, 6,500/X)0; Yun-nan, SfiOOJ^: Kwei-cnou, 11,- Mandate, issued in 1920, attempted to restore cen- 300,000; ShenHsi, 8300,000; Ean-su, 5,000,000; tral control. Sze-ch'wan, 23fiOOflQO. Calendar.— According to a resolution passed by

(jovebnment.-— The government of China is re« the Tse Cheng Yuan on 20 November, 1911, China publican in form. The source of all executive adopted the western calendar. The old method of powers is the president (elected for five years, reckoning dates has not been entirely abolished in and eligible for one re-election), who promulgates the provmces, but all official documents aie marked the lawB^ issues orders for their execution, is com- according to the European calendar, mander-m-chief of the army and navy, and appoints Education. — Great progress has been made in all civil and military officials. If he dies in office education in China since the change in the educa- he is succeeded by the vice-president. The National tional system in 1905, and especially of recent years. Assembly, the legislative oranch of the Govern- A phonetic script system, invented in 1913^ serves ment, is made up of a Senate (Tsan 1 Yuan) and to unify the spoken dialects, help the study of a House of Representatives {Chung I Yuan), The Chinese characters, and educate the illiterate. The Cabinet is composed of a Premier (Kuo Wu Tsung Board of Education supervises higher education, Ld) and the ministers of nine executive depart- and primary education is imder provincial control, ments. or Ministries (Pu) of Foreign Affairs (Wat Schools have been established in eveiy town, and Chiao), Interior {Nei Wu), Finance (Ta'ai Cheng), an attempt has been made to make primary educa- War {Lu Chun), Marine {Hai Chun), Justice iSsu tion compulsory. Thirty-four technical colleges and Fa), Education {Chiao Yu), Agriculture and Com- six higher normal schools have been founded. The merce {Nung Shang), and Communications {Chiao Peking Government University, completely reor- T'ung), Eight councillors are attached to the Cab- ganized in 1917, has 1,500 students and 90 teachers, inct Office, also a number of semi-independent There are many missionary schools and colleges, bureaus, as the Bureaus of Laws, of Statistics, of The extension of medical science in recent years Printing, the Civil Service Bureau, etc. Chiang is noteworthy. Since 1900 China has sent about Chun Fu is a military advisory board of the Presi- 400 students to be educated in the United States, dent. The Central Salt Administration was or- a special preparatory institution in Peking having ganized in 1913, comprising a Chief Inspectorate of been established. In 1920 there were 175 students salt revenues under a Chinese chief inspector in the United States receiving support from the {Tsung Pan) and a foreign associate chief inspector Chinese government, 168 in Europe, and 1,241 in {HuiPan), The Revenue Coimcil (S/im IFw C/i'u), Japan. There were altogether 1,600 Chinese formed in 1906, supervis s the maritime customs students in the United States. The total number through the foreign Inspectorate General of Cus- of schools in China in 1919 was 134,000, with 5,500,- toms at Peking and the Chinese superintendents of 000 students.

customs at the different ports. The General Staff Religion.— The native religions of China are is organized on the same l)asis as a ministry under Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Proposals a Chief of Staff. The Supreme Court is the highest to make Confucianism the state reliacion have failed, judicial tribunal in the country. The Administra- though it is the basis of ethical teaching in national tive Court {Fing Cheng Yuan) tries the impeach- education. The Constitution accords freedom of mcnt of officials. The Department of Tibetan and worship to the people. In an audience given to Mongolian Affairs {Meng Tmng Yuan) has charge the Bishop of Peking on 26 February, 1912, the of the affairs of the outlying Chinese territories of president assured full relieious liberty to all, and Mongolia and Tibet. the abolition of old disabilities. A Presidential

At the beginning of the Republic many of the Mandate of 30 August, 1918, appointed the Minister provinces under their military governors were slip- of the Interior to reverently perform, in behalf of ping from the control of the Central Government, the president, the ceremomes connected with the In 1914 a new system of provincial administration worship of Confucius.

was promulgated. In each province there is a civil Mohammedans are numerous in China, but ac- govemor {Seng Chang), appointed by the president, curate statistics for them are unavailable. Accord- and controlling the civil officials, police, and militia, ing to Broomhall there are in China 8,500,000 He also exercises direct control over the lessef Mussulmans, of whom 3,500,000 are in Ean-su and territorial officials in the province, the Taoyins over 1,000,000 in Yun-nan. D'OUone brings the and district magistrates. The military governor total down to 6,000,000. The Chinese Year Book {Tu Chun) has authority over military matters, (1919) gives from 15,000,000 to 20,000,000. Accord- subject to the orders of the president, the Ministry ing to the last source there are 600 Jews in China.