The Blue Dragon: A Tale of Recent Adventure in China

The Blue Dragon / A Tale of Recent Adventure in China by Kirk Munroe : (full image Illustrated)The Blue Dragon, chosen as a title for this story, is the national emblem of China, adopted as such by a desire to flatter and propitiate that spirit of evil considered to be the most powerful. As the dragon is believed to be big enough and strong enough to overcome and devour all the other wicked genii who continually vex Chinese life, the wise men of the "Black-haired People" thought it best to have him on their side, and consequently accorded him the highest honor in their power to bestow. As we of America chose the eagle, strongest of visible air spirits, for our national emblem, so the Chinese chose the most powerful of invisible spirits in whose existence they believe as firmly as we do in the existence of things that we can see, hear, or feel.In the story thus entitled, I have endeavored to give an idea of what China has been, is, and may become through education and development, how she is regarded, and how her people are being treated by other nations, and what causes she has for resentment against those who are taking advantage of her feebleness to despoil her.While travelling in China, and trying to gain the Chinese point of view, I met so many charming people, so many men of intelligence and liberal education, honorable, broad-minded, and devoted to the uplifting of their unhappy country, that I became exceedingly interested in their cause, and anxious to aid it. With this object in view I am striving, through the medium of a story, to present it to those young Americans who, in the near future, will be called upon to decide the ultimate fate of the great Middle Kingdom. With them, more than with any other people, even including the Chinese themselves, will rest the decision, whether China shall remain a nation, open to the unobstructed commerce of the world, or become a series of petty colonial possessions devoted only to the interests of their several ruling powers. That my young readers may be guided to a wise and just solution of this great problem, is the sincere hope of their friend,Kirk Munroe.Biscayne Bay, Florida,January, 1904.CONTENTS1. A Stranger in a Strange Land2. America\'s Unfriendly Welcome3. Rob to the Rescue4. A Triumph for Jo\'s Enemies5. Threatened Violence6. The Sheriff Takes Prompt Measures7. The Sentence of the Court8. Jo\'s Enemies Prepare a Trap9. Jo Finds that He is Some One Else10. What Happened on the Way to China11. Accept a Kindness and Pass It Along12. From the Golden Gate to the Pearl River13. In the World\'s Most Marvellous City14. A Turn of Fortune\'s Tide15. In the Heart of Unknown China16. "Fists of Righteous Harmony"17. Leaping into Unknown Blackness18. A Supper of Sacred Eels19. An Exhibition of the Rain-God\'s Anger20. Rob Makes a Startling Discovery21. The Refugees of Cheng-Ting-Fu22. A Charge and a Race for Life23. Stealing a Locomotive24. The Timely Explosion of a Boiler25. In China\'s Capital City26. War Clouds27. China Defies the World28. Fighting Sixty Feet Above Ground29. Jo Heaps Coals of Fire30. The Capture of PekinILLUSTRATIONS"A HORSEMAN FLED BEFORE THEM"MAP SHOWING ROUTE FOLLOWED BY AUTHOR"AS POOR JO LOST HIS FOOTING AND FELL, ROB DASHED INTO THE MÊLÉE""HIS MADLY YELLING PURSUERS WERE NOW CLOSE UPON HIM""THE FUGITIVES MADE A CAUTIOUS ENTRY INTO THE SACRED PRECINCTS""HE WAS ABLE TO GAZE CALMLY AT HER WHEN THEY ONCE MORE WERE ESCORTED PAST THE CATHEDRAL""SO THEY DROVE ON, MILE AFTER MILE""THE SAVAGES FLED IN DISMAY BEFORE THAT CHARGE OF YELLING AMERICANS"