By the nineteenth century, a new flood of Western influence was
sweeping into the Far East. As in the age of exploration and discovery,
the West was knocking at the door.
In those earlier days, we must remember, the West had had little to
offer in the way of progress. In fact, in the arts and in the graces
of civilized life, the East could have given pointers to the West. But
now the West came strong in the might of the industrial revolution.
Master of machine technique, it was turning out manufactured products
in larger and larger quantities. It was extending international trade
by leaps and bounds. It was seeking new markets and sources of raw
materials throughout the world. And the most powerful of the Western
countries were staking out colonies wherever they could.