In the military sphere, the Chinese have come of age, although their fighting strength will be determined by the importance of infantry. If later wars continue to depend upon man power, China will become more and more significant in world politics. Internally, the armies provided (1) a transitional administration from the Empire to the Republic; (2) a physical expression of the ideological confusion and the regional disunity of China from 1916 to 1931 (the period of _tuchüns_); (3) the armed edge of the ideological revolution of 1926-1927; (4) decisive instruments in the conflict between the Communists and Nationalists from 1927 to 1937; and (5) one of the most powerful unifying agencies at the command of the National Government at Nanking. The Chinese military system spread the knowledge of Western warfare and, with it, of modern techniques throughout the country; it shaped the ideological and governmental experience of modern China. NOTES [1] See below, pp. 154 ff. [2] Rodney Gilbert in _The China Year Book_, 1921-2, p. 519, Tientsin, 1921. [3] _Ibid._, 1926, p. 1065. [4] _Ibid._, p. 1062. [5] See above, pp. 51 ff. [6] See above, pp. 58 ff. [7] Gilbert, _loc. cit._, 1928, pp. 1283-1285. [8] _Ibid._, 1931, pp. 251 ff. [9] Source confidential. [10] John H. Jouett, "War Planes over China," _Asia_, vol. 37, pp. 827-830, 1937. [11] See below, pp. 167 ff. [12] _The China Year Book_, 1936, p. 427. [13] Japanese Chamber of Commerce of New York, _The Sino-Japanese Crisis_, 1937, p. 18, New York, 1937. [14] Walter H. Mallory, "Japan Attacks, China Resists," _Foreign Affairs_, vol. 16, pp. 135-136, 1937. [15] Paschal M. d'Elia, S. J., _The Triple Demism of Sun Yat-sen_, pp. 252-273, Wuchang, 1931. This is one of the most useful translations of Sun Yat-sen's lectures on the _San Min Chu I_. Others are Frank Price, _San Min Chu I, The Three Principles of the People_, Shanghai, 1930; and L. S. Hsü, _Sun Yat-sen, His Political and Social Ideals_, Los Angeles, 1933. [16] See below, pp. 167 ff. It is to be noted that the Nanking government did not secure international recognition until 1928--the year following its establishment. [17] Among the more recent discussions of economics in Chinese history is Chi Chao-ting, _Key Areas in Chinese Economic History_, New York, 1936. [18] See Karl August Wittfogel, _Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft Chinas_, Leipzig, 1931, and the same author's outline of one of the boldest programs of Chinese studies, "A Large-Scale Investigation of China's Socio-Economic Structure," _Pacific Affairs_, vol. 11, pp. 81-94, 1938. [19] R. H. Tawney, _Land and Labour in China_, p. 77, New York, 1932. [20] Paul M. W. Linebarger, _Sun Yat Sen and the Chinese Republic_, pp. 67-71, New York, 1924.