Книга только для ознакомления
.
It was about this time that the Emperor conceived the plan of
instituting and carrying out one of the most stupendous reforms
that has ever been undertaken in human government--that of
transforming four thousand years of conservatism of four hundred
millions of people in the short space of a few months.
Given: A people who cannot make a nail, to build a railroad.
Given: A people who dare not plow a deep furrow for fear of
disturbing the spirits of the place, to open gold, silver, iron
and coal mines.
Given: A people who in 4,000 years did not have the genius to
develop a decent high school, to open a university in the capital
of every province.
These are three of the score or more of equally difficult
problems that the Emperor undertook to solve in twice as many
days. In order to the solution of these problems there was
organized in Peking a Reform Party of hot-headed, radical young
scholars not one of whom has ever turned out to be a statesman.
They were brilliant young men, many of them, but they so lost
their heads in their enthusiasm for reform that they forgot that
their government was in the hands of the same old conservative
leaders under whom it had been for forty centuries.
They introduced into the palace as the private adviser of the
Emperor, Kang Yu-wei, as we have already shown, to whom was thus
offered one of the greatest opportunities that was ever given to
a human being--that of being the leader in this great reform
|
