Their Intelligence And Capacity For Remembering Facts
Render Them Well Fitted For Use In Modern Warfare, As Do Also The Coolness
And The Calmness Of Their Disposition.
Physically, they are, on the
average, not so strong as Europeans, but considerably more so than most of
the
Other races of the East; and, on a cheap diet of rice, vegetables,
salt fish and pork, they can go through a vast amount of fatigue whether
in a temperate climate or a tropical one, where Europeans are ill fitted
for exertion. Their wants are few; they have no caste prejudices and
hardly any appetite for intoxicating liquors." It is Mr. Colquhoun's
opinion, based upon prolonged observation, that, if China were conquered
by Russia, organized, disciplined and led by Russian officers and Russian
administrators, an industrial and military organization would be developed
which India could not face, and which would shake to its foundations the
entire fabric of the British Empire. If, he says, the Chinese failed to
profit by their numerical superiority and their power of movement in
Tonquin, it must be remembered that they were as ill-equipped and supplied
and nearly as unorganized and unofficered as they were in the Chino-
Japanese war. Transport, commissariat, tents, medical service, all the
paraphernalia employed in organized army work, were then, as in the late
campaign, absolutely unknown. Notwithstanding the unfavorable judgment of
Prjevalski that the Chinese are animated by neither military nor patriotic
spirit, the conviction of many observers is that, however undisciplined
they proved themselves in the Chino-Japanese war; however badly the
undrilled, unfed, unled Chinamen in uniform compared with the highly
organized troops of Japan, their capabilities, as the components of a
fighting machine, should be rated exceedingly high. The apparent
inconsistencies of the Chinese can, in all likelihood, be reconciled. That
they offer excellent military material when shaped and guided by
foreigners may be pronounced certain. If they come from the Manchurian
provinces or from Shantung, they are found to be steady, willing to be
taught and amenable to discipline, of splendid physique and able to bear
hardships and cold without a murmur. If from Honan, they exhibit many of
the best characteristics of highland races - courage and loyalty to their
own leader, but they are more difficult to manage, and they are not steady
in any sense of the word. The southern Chinese seem to be held generally
in low esteem, but one should not forget that the best fighters of the
Taeping army were the men from the Canton province, and that, as seamen,
the coast populations of Southern China are unequaled. The western
highlanders, whether Mohammedans or not, are men of good physique, and
would make good fighting material. The Mongolians are horsemen from their
early years, and are suitable for light cavalry of the Cossack type.
Like the Central Asian peoples, the Chinese possess in a high degree the
virtue of passive bravery. At first the Russians, in their contests in
Central Asia, expended much time and wasted many lives in besieging towns.
They acted with caution, throwing up approaches and opening trenches.
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Words from 190420 to 190937
of 191255
