ated what the good
doctor has said; and I said much more and in much more comprehensive
terms. I have no desire to talk about my work, but let my readers
glance through the copies of the _Hsin Min Tsung Pao, Yin Ping Shih
Wen Chi_, the "Fight between Constitutional Advocates" and
"Revolutionary Advocates," the "Question of the Building of the New
China," etc., etc. My regret is that my eyes are not blue and my
hair not brown, and hence my words were not acceptable to the
nation!
III. RES JUDICATA
I do not say that the merits or otherwise of the republican system
should not be discussed, but the time for such a discussion has
passed. The most opportune time for such a discussion was in 1911
when the Revolution had just begun; but since then further
discussions should not be tolerated. There might have been some
excuse if this subject had been brought up for discussion when the
second revolution broke out at Hukow on the Yangtsze river or before
the President was formally inaugurated, or before the Powers
formally recognized the Republic; but the excuse even then would
have been a weak one. Where were you then, advocates of monarchy?
Could you not at that time have brought out an essay by one of the
great scholars of the world as a subject for discussion? Could you
not have cited the cases of American republics as a warning for us
that these republics were by no means peaceful? Yet at that time
when the heroes of discretion were daily pushing the progress of the
republican cause, stating that republicanism was the panacea for all
the world's administrations and that republicanism was not a new
factor in Chinese history, a humble and ignorant man like myself,
then a stranger in a foreign land, was burdened with the fear of the
unsuitability of the republican system to China and wrote articles
in support of his own views and wept till his eyes were dry.
Do you not realize that the State is a thing of great importance and
should not be disturbed carelessly? How can you then experiment with
it and treat it as if you were putting a chest into a dead hole,
saying "Let me place it here for the moment and I will see to it
later." The status of the State can be likened to marriage between
man and woman. The greatest care should be taken during courtship.
The lady should then ex
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