It is with the province as a whole much as it is with the
individuals of that province. The raising of opium to supply this enormous
demand crowds off the land the grains and vegetables that are absolutely
needed for human food. The manufacture of opium and its accessories
absorbs the energy and capital that should go into legitimate industry.
The government of the province and the government of the empire have
become so dependent on the immense revenue from the taxation of this
"vicious article of luxury" that they dare not give it up. In the body
politic an unhealthy condition not only exists, but also controls.
Drifting into it half-consciously, the province has been sapped by a
vicious economic habit. That is what is the matter with Shansi. That is
what is the matter with China. All the way along my route in Shansi I
photographed the ruins that typify the disaster which has overtaken this
opium province. And a few of these photographs are reproduced here, all
showing houses of men who were well-to-do only a few years ago. It will be
plainly seen from the cuts, I think, that these ruins are not the result
of age. The sun-dried bricks of the walls show few signs of crumbling.
The walls themselves are not weather-beaten, and have evidently been
destroyed by the hand of man, and not by time.

[Illustration: WRECK AND RUIN IN CHINA These Houses were Torn Down by
their Owners, the Woodwork and Bricks Sold, and the Money Used to Purchase
Opium]

IV

CHINA'S SINCERITY

China is the land of paradox. If it is an absolute, despotic monarchy, it
is also a very democratic country, with its self-made men, its powerful
public opinion, and a "states' rights" question of its own. It is one of
the most corrupt of nations; on the other hand, the standard of personal
and commercial honesty is probably higher in China than in any other
country in the world. Woman, in China, is made to serve; her status is so
low that it would be a discourtesy even to ask a man if he has a daughter:
yet the ablest ruler China has had in many centuries is a woman. It is a
land where the women wear socks and trousers, and the men wear stockings
and robes; where a man shakes his own hand, not yours; where white, not
black, is a sign of mourning; where the compass points south, not north;
where books are read backward, not forward; where names and titles are put
in reverse order, as in our directories--Theodore Roosevelt would be
Roosevelt Theo