Na an Interpretation (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Na an Interpretation<br><br>Every thoughtful man holds fundamental views of human nature which constitute the preconceptions with which he comes to his tasks. In a country so large as China, with so immense a population, whatever ones preconceptions, he can easily find materials to confirm them. Every view advanced can be supported by numerous illustrations, or it can be challenged, and so many exceptions can be cited as to make the opposite opinion credible. Recognizing this danger, we have meditated for years upon both sides of every problem which has confronted us. We have aimed in dealing with so large a portion of the human race not simply to state facts but also to analyze and sift facts, and to derive from them the truth. We have been governed by the purpose not to discover in the Chinese what we wish were true, but, rather, to recognize those dominant characteristics, those fundamental traits of Chinese character, with which the rest of the world must reckon. All writers should aim to portray, not the countless eddies and cross currents which are so likely to confuse hasty observers, but the deep main current which reveals the trend of a race and forecasts its goal. To do this we must know something more than its external history.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.