The Problem of China

Name: The Problem of China
Author: Bertrand Russell

The Problem of China presents Bertrand Russell's account, based on his residence and travels there, of China's civilization, its confrontation with Western and Japanese power, and the possible outcomes for its future. Russell frames China's questions as economic, political, and cultural, insisting that cultural questions matter most: whether Chinese virtues of instinctive happiness, art, courtesy, and tolerance can survive contact with the "efficiency" and militarism of Western and Japanese civilization, or whether China must adopt the vices that make Western nations powerful but destructive. He contrasts Chinese civilization favorably with the West's, arguing China achieves its way of life without oppressing other nations, unlike European and American prosperity, which depends on exploitation abroad. Russell traces Chinese history from legendary Emperors Yao and Shun through the Chou dynasty, the First Emperor Shih Huang Ti (unifier, builder of the Great Wall, burner of books), the Han dynasty's imperial greatness, the Tang dynasty's cultural peak, the Mongol conquests of Jenghis Khan and Kublai Khan, and the Ming and Manchu dynasties, down to the 1911 revolution. He highlights three distinctive features of traditional China: ideographic writing, Confucian ethics (secular, focused on filial piety and courtesy rather than religious dogma), and the examination system for selecting officials, which replaced hereditary aristocracy but calcified into the sterile "Eight Legs" essay form. He then narrates China's nineteenth- and twentieth-century humiliations at Western hands: the Opium Wars, the burning of the Summer Palace, unequal treaties fixing the Customs tariff, the Boxer Rising and its indemnities, and the loss of fiscal autonomy. He contrasts Emperor Chien Lung's confident 1793 rebuff of Lord Macartney with China's subsequent military defeats, attributing Western dominance solely to superior science and weaponry, not superior civilization. Russell describes the chaotic post-1911 Republic: Yuan Shih-k'ai's presidency and failed monarchical ambitions, the ensuing warlordism of the Tuchuns, the rival Peking and Canton (Sun Yat Sen) governments, and the poverty and famine of peasant agriculture, while arguing Chinese disorder is less severe than Europe's wars. He praises "Young China," the modern-educated intelligentsia, as the nation's best hope, contrasting their idealism with Western "mechanistic" ideologies like Bolshevism and the Y.M.C.A. A major portion covers Japan: its history of Mikado-worship, the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Meiji Restoration's blend of ancient revival and Western militarized efficiency, and the oligarchic rule of the Genro. Russell details Japan's aggressions against China — the Sino-Japanese War, annexation of Korea, the Twenty-One Demands, seizure of Shantung during World War I, exploitation of Chinese civil strife, and manipulation of China's entry into the war — alongside the complicity of Britain, France, and America through secret wartime agreements. He closes by discussing the Washington Conference's partial concessions on Shantung and tariffs, Japan's precarious economic and demographic position, and the unresolved role of Bolshevik Russia in the Far East, concluding that China's fate hinges on whether it can preserve its cultural values while gaining enough strength to resist domination — with the narrative breaking off partway through the account of the Washington Conference negotiations.

By Bertrand Russell · First published 1920 · Genre: Political Text, History, Philosophy · 15 chapters · 81,453 words

First lines

A European lately arrived in China, if he is of a receptive and reflective disposition, finds himself confronted with a number of very puzzling questions, for many of which the problems of Western Europe will not have prepared him. Russian problems, it is true, have important affinities with those of China, but they have also important differences; moreover they are decidedly less complex. Chinese problems, even if they affected no one outside China, would be of vast importance, since the Chinese are estimated to constitute about a quarter of the human race. In fact, however, all the world will be vitally affected by the development of Chinese affairs, which may well prove a decisive factor, for good or evil, during the next two centuries. This makes it important, to Europe and America almost as much as to Asia, that there should be an intelligent understanding of the questions raised by China, even if, as yet, definite answers are difficult to give.

What this Textopian page supports

The Problem of China is listed on Textopian as an essay by Bertrand Russell, dated 1920 CE.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

Work type: Essay
Author: Bertrand Russell
Date: 1920 CE
Language: English
Genres: Political Text, History, Philosophy, Non-Fiction
Length: 81,453 words
Structure: 15 chapters, 788 paragraphs
Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)

Good citation fit

Work identity for The Problem of China by Bertrand Russell
Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
Readability and classroom-planning context
Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph

Discussion starters

What should a reader notice first when entering The Problem of China?
How does this essay by Bertrand Russell fit its genre, period, or classroom use?
Where does Political Text first become important in the reading?

Similar titles

Genres

Political Text — The book primarily analyses the political situation of China in the early to mid-20th century.
History — It extensively covers the history of China, its culture, its relations with the rest of the world, and the significant historical events leading up to its contemporary situation.
Philosophy — Bertrand Russell, being a philosopher himself, philosophically discusses the cultural, political, economic, and social issues that China faced during that period.
Non-Fiction — The work presents factual accounts of the situation in China during the time of writing.