1921.01.06

Letter from Bertrand Russell to Colette O'Niel. Peking, 6. Jan. 1921.
My Darling Love… I don't think I shall write on China – it is a complex country, with an old civilization, very hard to fathom. In many ways I prefer the Chinese to Europeans- they are less fierce – their faults only injure China, not other nations.
I have a busy life – 3 courses of lectures, a Seminar, and odd lectures – for instance today I lecture on Religion. I like the students, though they don't work hard and have not much brains. They are friendly and enthusiastic, and very open-mined. I hate most of the Europeans, because they are mostly diplomats or missionaries, both professionally engaged in trying to deceive the Chinese, with very little success. There is a man named R.F. Johnston whom I like very much – he wrote a delightful book on Buddhist China, which you would love… I get £200 a month from the Chinese, and £100 a month from the Japs for articles – so I am very well off. I try to save, but men come round with lovely Chinese things, and the money goes. Also of course furnishing costs a good deal. One lives in expectation of a revolution here, but it seems that revolutions make very little difference. There is less government in China than there ever was in Europe – it is delightful. All the gloomy things I wrote you the other day are true, but they are only one side of the picture. Chinese soldiers kill a few compatriots, other kill many foreigners, so Chinese soldiers are best. The state of the world at large makes me very unhappy. Ever since I began to hate the Bolsheviks I have felt more than ever a stranger in this planet… Bless you my Heart's Comrade. B.