C. MARTIN WILBUR
registering himself and his land. A second psychological attitude of the people is one of profound indifference to the government. This circumstance seems to be based upon at least two cultural factors: the idea that government is only for the lawless, and secondly, Taoism, which teaches the unimportance of any government at all. Occasions arise, however, when the villages are compelled in the defense of their rights to revolt against the government of the magistrate. This direct action is very effective as it is liable to cause the official to lose his position.
The National Government is attempting at present to introduce profound changes in the government of rural areas, changes which if put into practice should give the villager much more power than he now enjoys in controlling his own political destiny and the affairs of the state. At present, however, very little seems to have been accomplished along this line.
The greatest hope in the new situation is the emphasis which responsible groups and individuals are putting upon the education of the rural masses both in letters and in the duties of citizenship. With the basis of the “village republics" to build upon, and with an educated population, it is not impossible that a democratized state with a representative government may some day evolve.
The evolutionary development of village government has been an extremely slow process. On the whole, it seems to have differed from movements for self-government in the West in that it has not been marked by concentrated efforts on the part of the people themselves for this end directly. The succeeding gains seem more to have been the result of official government action in the form of altered legislation. These reforms have been made, in the main, because the government understood the fundamental connection between a prosperous and contented people and a strong state. Changing conditions brought about by the development of civilization or the forces of nature have necessitated modified legislation to meet them.
At the same time, the people have themselves slowly evolved the customary practices by which they governed themselves—the practices of the family, the clan, and finally the situation of the multiple clan village. By the end of the Manchu regime, they had fully developed a technic of self-government which could effectively handle
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C. MARTIN WILBUR
registering himself and his land. A second psychological attitude of the people is one of profound indifference to the government. This circumstance seems to be based upon at least two cultural factors: the idea that government is only for for the lawless, and secondly, Taoism, which teaches the unimportance of any government at all. Occassions arise, however, when the villages are compelled in the defense of their rights to revolt against the government of the magistrate. This direct action is very effective as it is liable to cause the official to lose his position.
The National Government is attempting at present to introduce profound changes in the government of rural areas changes which if put into practice should give the villager much more power than he now enjoys in controlling his own political destiny and the affairs of the state. At present, however, very little seems to have been accomplished along this line.
The greatest hope in the new situation is the emphasis which responsible groups and individuals are putting upon the education of the rural masses both in letters and in the duties of citizenship. With the basis of the “village republics" to build upon, and with an educated population, it is not impossible that a democratized state with a representative government may some day evolve.
The evolutionary development of village government has been an extremely slow process. On the whole it seems to have differed from movements for self-government in the West in that it has not been marked by concentrated efforts on the part of the people them- selves for this end directly. The succeeding gains seem more to have been the result of official government action in the form of altered legislation. These reforms have been made, in the main, because the government understood the fundamental connection between a prosperous and contented people and a strong state. Changing conditions brought about by the development of civiliza- tion or the forces of nature have necessitated modified legislation to meet them.
At the same time the people have themselves slowly evolved the customary practices by which they governed themselves-the prac- tices of the family, the clan, and finally the situation of the multiple clan village. By the end of the Manchu regime they had fully deve- loped a technic of self-government which could effectively handle
Page 180Page 181
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