Alleged Anticipations of Modern Science 1. Introductory. —Some intimate students of Chinese literature and life, notably Dr. W. A. P. Martin, claim that in many cases Chinese philosophy has anticipated the doctrines of modern science. The same may be said of the ancient Greek thinkers, whose speculations have had a direct and large influence in the development of modern thought, such as the Chinese philosophers have not had. For it seems likely that the physical speculations of the Greeks, from which European science started, were a true native growth of the Greek mind and owed nothing to the lore of Egypt or of the east. And it is true that the honors, if there be any, of having made such guesses, must be awarded in part to the Chinese as well as to the Greeks with this great difference, that in many cases the Greeks were true students of nature and checked their speculations by observation—a course which, though entertained by some Chinese philosophers, was not sufficiently appreciated by either them or their disciples to be put into practise. The speculations to which we refer were developed during the glorious Sung dynasty, in the century a.d. 1020-1120, which stands preeminent among the forty centuries of Chinese recorded history as the age of philosophy. Their works derive importance from the fact that for 500 years, since the publication by imperial authority of the great "Encyclopædia of Philosophy," they have been the government standard, to which all aspirants for honors in the civil service examinations had to conform. They therefore represent the views of the educated men of  ​ China to-day, not counting, of course, the few who thus far have been strongly influenced by western learning. 2. The Ether. —In the writings of these five worthies. Dr. There is a vast chasm between rampant imagination and scientific imagination, starting with observed facts and following paths that lead to results which can be directly or indirectly verified. It is not enough to find in an ancient writer a few or even a considerable number of sentences seemingly anticipatory of modern thought. Nor must we neglect the hundreds of other ideas embodied in the context which distinctly are not in accord with modern science. We must observe the scope and design of the writer; inquire into his full aim and end in that book, or section, or paragraph, which will help to explain particular sentences. Too often these Chinese philosophers (as did the Greeks) assumed innate tendency as the basis of their crude and vague speculations. But innate tendencies are not looked upon with as much favor in the philosophy of to-day as in that of past ages, and suggestions so incapable of verification have little or no value as scientific hypotheses. However interesting and worthy of notice the results of this guesswork may be as representing the philosophical creed of China, they are in the present connection simply a mass of cosmological conjectures into the details of which it would be unprofitable to follow.     ​ IV. To be precise requires a clumsy use of words and thus the character of the language has inhibited precise statements and so precluded accurate thinking, without which there can be no proper science. On the other hand, the European tongues existed in a highly inflected state as derived from the more ancient Greek and Latin, and hence by their very character aided in the conquest of nature by affording clearness and precision in the expression of thought, and thus fostered the validity of the conclusions reached. But the Chinese mind has been hampered by a language the most tedious and inflexible, and has been wearied with a literature abounding in unsatisfactory theorizings. Europeans were employed for many years in compiling the calendar, but they were not allowed to interfere in the astrological part. The Chinese government apparently has deemed and still deems it necessary to uphold ancient superstitions, in order thereby to influence its own security and strengthen the reverence due it.     ​ V. The Outlook 1. The language difficulty is being struggled with, style is being simplified, punctuation has been introduced. The language is growing and becoming clearer in the hands of modern trained Chinese. Because of its contact with the west in trade, religion and education, and chiefly under the influence of mission schools the Chinese government has altered its educational policy, and the changes in the method of instruction and the system of education are for the most part tending to develop a spirit of inquiry and an appreciation of the inductive method, which will after a while begin to yield due fruit. The wide diffusion of Christianity in its best form will not suddenly introduce the millennium into China, for all intermediate stages must be passed through before the goal is reached, but it will for the first time in Chinese history, realize the motto of the ancient Tang repeated so impressively in these latter days by Chang Chi Tung: "Renovate, renovate the people." Thus alone can the empire be adapted to the altered conditions brought about by the impact of western thought. Christianity has been tried as yet upon a small scale only, but has already brought forth fruit after its kind. When it shall have been thoroughly tested and have had opportunity to develop its potentialities in a manner specially adapted to the situation, it will give to China intellectually, morally and spiritually the long sought for elixir of a new life.  ↑ See "The Content of Chinese Education," The Popular Science Monthly, January, 1906, and "The Passing of China's Ancient System of Literary Examinations," The Popular Science Monthly, February, 1906.