instituted. The provincial forces, designated the Army of the Green
Standard, were divided into land forces and marine forces, superseded
on active service by 'braves' (_yung_), or irregulars, enlisted and
discharged according to circumstances. After the war with Japan in
1894 reforms were seriously undertaken, with the result that the army
has now been modernized in dress, weapons, tactics, etc., and is by
no means a negligible quantity in the world's fighting forces. A
modern navy is also being acquired by building and purchase. For
many centuries the soldier, being, like the priest, unproductive,
was regarded with disdain, and now that his indispensableness for
defensive purposes is recognized he has to fight not only any actual
enemy who may attack him, but those far subtler forces from over the
sea which seem likely to obtain supremacy in his military councils,
if not actual control of his whole military system. It is, in my view,
the duty of Western nations to take steps before it is too late to
avert this great disaster.


Ecclesiastical Institutions

The dancing and chanting exorcists called _wu_ were the first Chinese
priests, with temples containing gods worshipped and sacrificed
to, but there was no special sacerdotal class. Worship of Heaven
could only be performed by the king or emperor. Ecclesiastical and
political functions were not completely separated. The king was
_pontifex maximus_, the nobles, statesmen, and civil and military
officers acted as priests, the ranks being similar to those of the
political hierarchy. Worship took place in the 'Hall of Light,'
which was also a palace and audience and council chamber. Sacrifices
were offered to Heaven, the hills and rivers, ancestors, and all the