ABSTRACT

This chapter explains the picture of ancient China, with her art, her literature, her philosophy, and her religious aspirations. Far more important and significant than the industrial and political changes in China is the change in her mental and spiritual life. The New Thought Movement is only the latest manifestation of the way in which the life of China is shaped by her scholars. No student of China can be blind to the great influence exerted by the scholars upon her social and political development. The movement towards the unification of the spoken language has also received a great impetus, and even in places where a local dialect has been the only means of intercourse in the past many now learn to speak Mandarin. The leading ideas which are emphasized in the literature of the movement and by its leaders are not unlike those which characterize the movements of youth in other countries.