The International Development of ChinaSun, Yat-sen
History
The International Development of China
Sun, Yat-sen
China -- Economic conditions -- 1912-1949; Railroads -- China
This will also be a new industry in China, despite the fact that there
are a few tanneries in the treaty ports. The export of hides from and
the import of leather goods into China are increasing every year. So,
to establish a system of tanneries and factories for leather goods and
foot-gear will be a lucrative undertaking.
f. The Manufacturing of Clothing Machinery
The machinery for the manufacturing of various kinds of clothing
materials is in great demand in China. It is reported that the orders
for cotton mill machinery have been filled up for the next three
years from manufacturers in Europe and America. If China is developed
according to my programs, the demand for machinery will be many
times greater than at present and the supply in Europe and America
will be too short to meet it. Therefore to establish factories for
the manufacturing of clothing machinery is a necessary as well as a
profitable undertaking. Such factories should be established in the
neighborhood of iron and steel factories, so as to save expenses for
transportation of heavy materials. What will be the capital for this
undertaking should be decided by experts.
PART III
The Housing Industry
Among the four hundred millions in China the poor still live in huts
and hovels, and in caves in the loess region of north China while
the middle and the rich classes live in temples. All the so-called
houses in China, excepting a few after western style and those in
treaty ports are built after the model of a temple. When a Chinese
builds a house he has more regard for the dead than for the living.
The first consideration of the owner is his ancestral shrine. This
must be placed at the center of the house, and all the other parts
must be complement and secondary to it. The house is planned not for
comfort but for ceremonies, that is, for "the red and white affairs,"
as they are called in China. The "red affair" is the marriage or other
felicitous celebrations of any member of the family, and the "white
affair" is the funeral ceremonies. Besides the ancestral shrine there
are the shrines of the various household gods. All these are of more
importance than man and must be considered before him. There is not
a home in old China that is planned for the comfort and convenience
of man alone. So now when we plan the housing industry in China in
our International Development Scheme, we must take the houses of the
entire population of China into consideration. "To build houses for
four hundred millions, it is impossible!" some may exclaim. This is
the largest job ever conceived by man. But if China is going to give
up her foolish traditions and useless habits and customs of the last
three thousand years and begin to adopt modern civilization, as our
industrial development scheme is going to introduce, the remodelling
of all the houses according to modern comforts and conveniences is
bound to come, either unconsciously by social evolution or consciously
by artificial construction.
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