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Cracking the SAT with 5 Practice Tests 2019 Edition The Strategies Practice and Review You Need for the Score You Want Princeton Review
Published in the United States by Penguin Random House LLC, New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd., Toronto.
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Editor: Aaron Riccio
Production Editors: Liz Dacey and Emily Epstein White
Production Artist: Deborah Weber
Cover art by Joshua Rainey / Alamy Stock Photo
Cover design by Suzanne Lee
v5.4
Acknowledgments
The following people deserve thanks for their help with this book:
Many thanks to John Fulmer, National Content Director for the GRE, Kyle Fox, Chris Benson, Brian Hong, and Jim Havens for their contributions to the 2020 edition of this title. Much appreciation as well to the stellar production team of Deborah Weber, Liz Dacey, and Emily Epstein White.
The Princeton Review would also like to give a special thank-you to Jim Havens for his dedication and leadership in coordinating this project, as well as the following top-notch contributors: Doug Scripture, Marty Cinke, Kevin Kelly, Sara Kuperstein, and Derek Smith.
Special thanks to Adam Robinson, who conceived of and perfected the Joe Bloggs approach to standardized tests, and many of the other successful techniques used by The Princeton Review.
Part IV: How to Crack the Analytical Writing Section
15 The Geography of the Analytical Writing Section
16 The Issue Essay
17 The Argument Essay
Part V: Answers and Explanations to Drills and Practice Sets
Part VI: Practice Tests
18 Practice Test 1
19 Practice Test 1: Answers and Explanations
20 Practice Test 2
21 Practice Test 2: Answers and Explanations
Appendix: Accommodated Testing
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Part I
Orientation
1 Introduction
2 General Strategy
Chapter 1 Introduction
What is the GRE? Who makes the test? What’s a good score? The answer to these questions and many others lie within this chapter. In the next few pages, we’ll give you the lowdown on the things you need to know about the GRE.
CRACKING THE GRE
For a lot of people, taking a standardized test such as the GRE usually engenders a number of emotions—none of them positive. But here’s the good news: The Princeton Review is going to make this whole ordeal a lot easier for you. We’ll give you the information you will need to do well on the GRE, including our time-tested strategies and techniques.
Strategies Galore
In this book, you’ll find The Princeton Review’s trusted test-taking strategies to help you crack the GRE.
The GRE supposedly allows graduate schools to get a better sense of an applicant’s ability to work in a post-graduate setting—a goal that is unrealistic indeed, considering that the people who take the GRE are applying to programs as diverse as physics and anthropology.
However, it’s safe to say that the GRE is not a realistic measure of how well you’ll do in grad school, or even how intelligent you are. In fact, the GRE provides a valid assessment of only one thing:
The GRE assesses how well you take the GRE.
Got it? Even so, you still want to do well on the GRE, because you want grad schools to take you seriously when they consider your
application. With this in mind, you should cultivate several very important skills when you’re preparing for the test; each of them is attainable with the right guidance (which we’ll give you), a strong work ethic (which you must provide), and a healthy dose of optimism. Who knows? Maybe after working through this book and learning how to crack the test, you’ll actually look forward to taking the GRE.
So what exactly is this test you’ve heard so much about?
Fun fact: It’s possible your GRE score could come in handy if you are interested in law school. Check a school’s admissions page for more info, as some schools are (or are considering) accepting GRE scores in lieu of LSAT scores. Your grad school options may have opened up even further!
WHAT IS THE GRE?
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is a 3-hour, 45-minute exam that’s used to rank applicants for graduate schools. The scored portion of the GRE consists of the following sections:
One 30-minute Analysis of an Issue essay
One 30-minute Analysis of an Argument essay
Two 30-minute Verbal Reasoning sections
Two 35-minute Quantitative Reasoning sections
The Verbal Reasoning sections test your skills on three different types of questions:
Text Completion
Sentence Equivalence
Reading Comprehension
The Quantitative Reasoning sections measure your prowess in four areas:
Arithmetic and Number Properties
Algebra
Geometry
Data Analysis
WHY DO SCHOOLS REQUIRE IT?
Even though you will pay ETS $205 to take the GRE, it is important to note that you are not their primary customer. Their primary customers are the admissions offices at graduate programs across the United States. ETS provides admissions professionals with two important services. The first is a number, your GRE score. Everyone who takes the test gets a number. It is difficult for admissions committees to make a decision between a candidate with a 3.0 and a 3.2 GPA from drastically different schools and in two different majors. A GRE score, on the other hand, provides a quick and easy way for busy admissions offices to whittle a large applicant pool down to size.
A few countries outside of the United States, such as Australia and China, charge slightly more than $205 for the administration of the GRE You can find the most recent pricing at www ets org/gre/revised general/about/fees
Applicants could come from all over the world and will certainly have an enormous range in academic and professional experience. How does one compare a senior in college with a 32-year-old professional who has been out of college working in a different industry for the past 10 years? A GRE score is the only part of the application that allows for an apples-to-apples comparison among all applicants.
The second service that ETS provides is mailing lists. That’s right; they will sell your name. You can opt out, but when you sit down to take the test, ETS will ask you a whole bunch of questions about your educational experience, family background, race, and gender, as well as other biographical data. All of this information goes into their database. In fact, ETS is one of the most important sources of potential applicants that many graduate programs have.
Another reason schools require the GRE is that it ensures that most graduate school applicants are qualified. It helps to weed out the people who might be considering grad school, but who can’t get their act together enough to fill out applications. When you ask a program how important the GRE score is to the application, they may say, “it depends” or “not very” and that may be true as long as your score is in the top half. If your score is in the bottom half, however, it may mean that your application never gets seen.
So the GRE may have little relevance to any particular field of study you might be pursuing, but as long as it helps graduate programs
uncover potential candidates, and as long as it is the only tool available to compare a diverse candidate pool, the GRE is here to stay.
WHO IS ETS?
Like most standardized tests in this country, the GRE is created and administered by Educational Testing Service (ETS), a private company located in New Jersey. ETS publishes the GRE under the sponsorship of the Graduate Record Examinations Board, which is an organization affiliated with the Association of Graduate Schools and the Council of Graduate Schools in the United States.
ETS is also the organization that brings you the SAT, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the Praxis, and licensing and certification exams in dozens of fields, including hair styling, plumbing, and golf.
TEST DAY
The GRE is administered at Prometric testing centers. This company specializes in administering tests on computer. They administer citizenship exams, professional health certifications, dental exams, accounting exams, and hundreds of other exams on computer. When you arrive at the center, they will check your ID, give you a clipboard with a form to fill out, and hand you a locker key. Despite the fact that they already have your information, you will be asked to fill out a long form on paper. This form includes an entire paragraph that you have to copy over—in cursive (they specify this)—that states that you are who you say you are and that you are taking the test for admissions purposes. This process will take you about 10 minutes, and you can complete it while you wait for them to call you into the testing room. The locker is for all of your personal belongings, including books, bags, phones, bulky sweaters, and even watches. You are not allowed to take anything with you into the testing room.
When they call you into the testing room, they will first take a photo of you and, in some cases, fingerprint you before you go in. They will give you six sheets of scratch paper, stapled together to form a booklet, and two sharpened pencils with erasers. Then they lead you into the room where someone will start your test for you. The room itself will hold three or four rows of standard corporate cubicles, each with a monitor and keyboard. There will be other people in the room taking tests other than the GRE. Because people will be entering and exiting the room at different times, you will be provided with optional headphones.
What to Take to the Test Center:
1 Your registration ticket
2 A photo ID and one other form of ID
3. A snack
Test Day Tips
Dress in layers, so that you’ll be comfortable regardless of whether the room is cool or warm.
Don’t bother to take a calculator; you’re not allowed to use your own—just the one on the screen.
Be sure to have breakfast, or lunch, depending on when your test is scheduled (but don’t eat anything weird). Take it easy on the liquids and the caffeine.
Do a few GRE practice problems beforehand to warm up your brain. Don’t try to tackle difficult new questions, but go through a few questions that you’ve done before to help you review the
problem-solving strategies for each section of the GRE. This will also help you put on your “game face” and get you into test mode.
Make sure to take photo identification to the test center. Acceptable forms of identification include your driver’s license, photo-bearing employee ID cards, and valid passports.
If you registered by mail, you must also take the authorization voucher sent to you by ETS.
Stretch, drink some water, go to the bathroom, and do whatever you need to do in order to be prepared to sit for this four-hour test.
TEST STRUCTURE
While your test structure may vary, you should expect to see something like this when you sit down to take the exam:
The first section of the test collects all of your biographical information. If you fill this out, you will start getting mail from programs that have bought your name from ETS. In general, this is not a bad thing. If you don’t want them to sell your name, or you don’t want to spend the time answering their questions, you can click on a box that tells ETS not to share your information.
Once all of that is done, you will begin your first scored section, the essays. The two essays will be back to back. You have 30 minutes for each essay. Immediately after your second essay, you will get your first multiple-choice section. It may be math or verbal. You will have a 1-minute break between sections. Here is the structure of the test:
More Online
For tons of information about the GRE, check out PrincetonReview com/grad/greinformation
Here are some things to keep in mind:
You will see five multiple-choice sections, but only four will count. The fifth will either be mixed in with the other sections as an unidentified “experimental” section or as a final, identified “research” section.
Math sections are 35 minutes. There are 20 math questions in each section. If your experimental section is math, your test will be five minutes longer than someone whose experimental section is verbal.
Verbal sections are 30 minutes. There are 20 verbal questions in each section.
For the computer-delivered test, the optional 10-minute break comes after the second multiple-choice section. For the paperbased test, the 10-minute break comes after the second Analytical Writing section.
You may or may not get a research section. If you do, it will come last; it does not count toward your score, and it is optional.
You must accept your scores and, if you choose, send your scores to selected programs prior to seeing your scores.
If you choose not to accept your scores, neither you nor any program will ever see them.
You may choose to send your scores to up to four graduate programs on the day of the test. This service is included in your testing fee.
A Note on the Paper-Based GRE
The computer-delivered GRE is the standard format for test takers The paper-based GRE is far more rare and offered up to only three times a year. But if you want to learn more about the paper-and-pencil test, visit ETS.org.
The Experimental Section
ETS administers the experimental section to gather data on questions before they appear on real GREs. Because there are only two scored math sections and two scored verbal sections, you’ll know by that last section whether the experimental section is math or
verbal. However, you will have no way of knowing in advance which multiple-choice section is experimental, so you need to do your best on all of them. Don’t waste time worrying about which sections count and which section does not.
Research Section
Instead of an experimental section, you may find that the last section of your test is marked as an unscored research section. This section is used only to help develop and test questions for the GRE and you have the option to skip it if you want. You may be offered some sort of prize to induce you to take it, but by that point in the test you will probably be exhausted. If you’re offered a research section, you must choose your own ending: decline, get your scores, and go home, or forge ahead with the research section in the name of science, or something.
Practice Like You Play
When tackling practice tests during your test preparation, be sure to mimic the real GRE and give yourself these timed breaks.
The 10-Minute Break
You are given 1 minute between sections except for the second multiple-choice section, when you get a 10-minute break. Go to the bathroom, splash water on your face, wave your arms around. You want to re-oxygenate your brain. The goal, as much as it is possible, is to hit your brain’s reset button. When you sit back down for the third multiple-choice section, you want to feel as if you are just sitting down at that computer for the first time that day. Your GRE
test day is going to be a long and intense day, so be sure to take full advantage of break time.
Accepting Your Scores
Before you see your scores, you will be given the opportunity to cancel them. There are very few reasons to do so. First, if you cancel your scores, you will never see them and you will have to go through the whole experience again, including paying an additional $205 to take the test again. Second, GRE scores are curved. Most people believe that they are doing worse while taking the test than they actually are. Third, you can make use of the GRE ScoreSelect® service.
ScoreSelect®
ScoreSelect® allows you to select which scores get sent to which schools. Options for sending scores depend on whether you are sending scores on the day of your test or after your test day. On test day, you have the following options for sending scores:
Most recent. This option sends the results of the test you just took.
All. This option sends all your scores from the last five years.
If you send your scores to schools after test day, you have even more options. After test day, your options are:
Most recent. This option sends the scores from the test you took most recently.
All. As above, this option sends all your GRE scores from the last five years.
Any. Send just the scores you want to send. You can send one score or multiple scores. For example, if you have taken the GRE three times and your second score is your best, you can send just that score.
When you use ScoreSelect® after your test day, the score report that is sent to schools shows only the scores that you choose to send. The report does not indicate how many times you have taken the GRE, nor does it indicate that you have sent, for example, your scores from the second time you took the test and you took the test a total of three times.
ScoreSelect® is another reason to think twice before cancelling your scores. Provided that you send your scores after your test date, your schools will never know that you didn’t do as well as you would have liked or even that you took the test more than once if you don’t want them to know.
Sending Additional Score Reports
On the day of your test, you can send your scores to up to four schools using the ScoreSelect® test day options. These score reports are included as part of the $205 fee that you pay to take the GRE. If you wish to send reports to additional schools, you’ll need to request that these additional reports be sent after your test day. Each additional report costs $27. The fastest way to send additional score reports is to order them online using your My GRE® account that you create when you register to take the test.
WHAT DOES A GRE SCORE LOOK LIKE?
Every GRE score has two components: a scaled score and a percentile rank. GRE scores fall on a 130–170 point scale. However, your percentile rank is more important than your scaled score. Your percentile rank indicates how your GRE scores compare to those of other test takers. For example, a scaled score of 150 on the GRE translates to roughly the 43rd percentile, meaning that you scored better than 43 out of every 100 test takers—and worse than the other 57 percent of test takers. A score of 152 is about average, while scores
of 163 and above are very competitive. Get the latest reported scores and percentiles at PrincetonReview.com and at www.ets.org/gre, the official ETS website for the GRE.
Plenty o’ Practice Tests
Head over to your Student Tools to gain access to online practice tests that include detailed score reports These score reports can help guide and focus your test preparation time
The Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning sections are each reported on a scale of 130–170 in 1-point increments. For each section, a raw score is computed; this raw score is the number of questions you answered correctly. Each raw score is then converted to a scaled score through a process known as equating, which accounts for minor variations in difficulty between different test administrations as well as for differences in difficulty that occur as a result of the adaptivity of the test. These scaled scores are what are listed on your score report and lead to the percentile ranks referred to above.
The essays are scored a little differently than the Verbal and Quantitative sections. Each essay receives a scaled score of 0–6, in half-point increments, that is the average of two scores for that essay. The scores of the two essays are then averaged to produce a single score that is reported for the Analytical Writing section. The corresponding percentiles for this section are as follows:
In other words, a score of 5 on the essay portion of the GRE means you performed better than 93 percent of test takers.
Do Your Research
GRE scores are used in a number of different ways. The first step in figuring out how to prepare for the GRE is figuring out how your scores will be used. The only way to do that is to contact the programs to which you plan to apply. Larger programs may have many of these questions already spelled out on their websites. Smaller programs, on the other hand, may not want to be pinned down to specific answers, and the answers may change from year to year. If you are applying to a smaller program, you will have to dig a bit deeper to get answers to some of these questions. Here are some things you should be asking.
1. What scores do I need to be accepted? The answer to this question is always “It depends.” The GRE is not the only part of the application, and the quality of the applicant pool varies from year to year. Nevertheless, you need to have a target score so you can figure out how much work you need to put in between now and test day. If the school doesn’t have or won’t quote you a cutoff score, see if you can at least find out the average scores for last year’s incoming class.
2. Will you look at all parts of my score? Some programs may care about your math score, but not your verbal score, and vice versa. Many programs don’t use the essay scores at all. If a program doesn’t care about your math or your essay score, then you know exactly where to put your prep time.
3. Are scores used for anything else? If your scores are to be used for placement or for scholarship, it would be good to know that now, while you still have time to prepare.
4. How important are my scores? In many ways, the importance of scores is a function of how competitive the program is. The scores may not matter much, but if it is a competitive program, every number will count. You might be confident that a master’s program in English literature won’t evaluate the GRE the same way as a PhD program in physics. But in a situation where most applicants may have high verbal scores, a strong math score might help you stand out.
5. What do you do with multiple scores? Depending upon your first scores, you may have to take the test a second time. It would be good to know, however, the importance of that first score. If a school is going to take the highest score, then you can relax a bit on test one, knowing that you can take it again if you need to.
Grad School Info
Our Princeton Review homepage has tons of informational articles about graduate school Head over to PrincetonReview com/gradschool-advice and check them out! Also check out the GRE Insider at the end of this book for even more admissions guidance and need-to-know info.
If you plan your testing schedule well, you can send only your highest scores to the school using ScoreSelect® . Remember, however, that you must send your scores after your test day to use the select any option for ScoreSelect® .
In any case, remember that the GRE is only one part of an application to grad school. Admissions officers also consider many other factors, including:
undergraduate transcripts (that is, your GPA, relevant courses, and the quality of the school you attended) work experience any research or work you’ve done in that academic field subject GREs (for certain programs) essays (Personal Statements or other essays) recommendations interviews
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armor from sixteen to twenty-four inches thick, and measures 11,400 tons.
The Egyptian forts constituted two distinct systems of defence. The first consisted of those which protected the new port and eastern town; and the second those which covered the entrances to the outer western harbor. Seymour divided his fleet so as to simultaneously bombard the whole. His ironclads and wooden gunboats were fitted, in addition to heavy guns, with torpedoes, and Nordenfelt and Gatling machine guns.
The Invincible (flag-ship), Monarch and Penelope, with the Téméraire outside, took up a position at the entrance of the western harbor, about opposite Fort Meks, and about twelve hundred yards from another important work, Fort Marsa-el-Kanat.
They attacked these forts, on the shore of the mainland, while the Superb, Sultan, and Alexandra attacked and totally destroyed the lighthouse fort, and another near it on the peninsula. The Inflexible took up a position between the two divisions, and with her enormous guns, assisted in the work of both.
The gun-boats attacked the “Marabout” batteries, at the entrance of the harbor, running close in, and soon silencing them. One of the gun-boats afterwards covered a landing party, which blew up the heavy guns in Fort Meks.
The Egyptian artillerists surprised the English by the determination with which they fought their guns; but they were all silenced by four o’clock in the afternoon—rather a long time, it would seem, for vessels carrying guns of such power, if they were properly pointed. By this time four of the forts had been blown up, and the Khedive’s palace and harem was in flames. The English fire ceased about halfpast five in the afternoon.
The casualties of the English were five killed and twenty-eight wounded. This is rather a high number, considering the character of the vessels employed. The Egyptians seemed to have fired only solid shot, and these, in some cases, entered the ships, and caused most of the injuries by splinters.
The Egyptian loss was great, but will probably never be known. It is said that the gunners in the forts were mostly blacks—Soudanese
—who are as remarkable for their bravery and bull-dog tenacity, as they are for the very dark color of their skin.
The English are reported to have burst the guns in the ruined forts with dynamite.
Fort Napoleon, a very strong work, somewhat inland, and dating from the French occupation, and Fort Gabarrie, had not been thoroughly bombarded on the first day, and still held out; and arrangements were made to have the Invincible, Monarch and Penelope go in the next day to attack them. In the meantime the Invincible had silenced some outlying batteries, and had sent on shore a party which had burst nine large guns. During the night the Egyptians had repaired an outside battery, but when the Inflexible and the Téméraire opened on it, it did not reply, and was found to be abandoned. On the morning after the bombardment the Khedive’s palace was still burning, and there were other fires in the town.
The wind had risen, and a swell was coming in, which prevented accurate firing, and at one P. M. all fire ceased, on both sides, having not, of course, been so sustained and continuous as on the preceding day. A white flag was now shown in the town, and a gunboat was sent up the inner harbor to the Arsenal, with a flag of truce flying. The Arsenal is the official residence of the Ministers of War and Marine, but the gun-boat found no one there, in authority, and no one, in consequence, able to tell the meaning of the white flag flying in the city. The officer sent up, therefore returned to Seymour. Night now drew on, and the fires in the town were evidently extending.
At daybreak, next morning, the whole of the forts were found to be abandoned, and the English Admiral telegraphed to the fleet not to open fire. Half the city appeared to be in flames, with a dense cloud of smoke hanging over it. The conflagration was, in fact, tremendous, and involved the whole European quarter and the Grand Square. The Egyptian army had retreated.
Towards morning a body of about one hundred Europeans fought their way down to the beach, and were taken off by armed boats from the fleet. They had spent a terrible night, defending themselves in the building of the Ottoman Bank, and other buildings adjacent. During the night hundreds of people were massacred, mostly
Christians, and for the two succeeding days Alexandria was the scene of horrors hardly equalled by Paris during the Commune.
An uncontrolled soldiery, released convicts and the scum of the population were let loose, and murder and pillage went on. Petroleum was used to fire many buildings in the best part of this fine and flourishing city.
The Khedive was helpless, and really in great danger of his life, in his palace at Ramleh.
Seymour and his officers and men looked on at “this sad spectacle of awful and unexpected catastrophe, which they had no power to prevent.”
It is hard to tell whether to blame most the want of statesmanlike forethought, or the want of military perception in the English naval Commander, who precipitated this dreadful state of affairs, without having the means, in the shape of troops, to land and seize the town.
To disinterested observers it was an indefensible act, to bombard a city with such a mixed population, many of whom were prone to rapine and murder, without having the power promptly to put things in order.
Section of the Alexandra, showing working of Guns.
BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, 1882.
The English Government seems to have thought Admiral Seymour’s conduct good, for they have just made him a Baron.
The sailors and marines of the fleet were landed as soon as it was ascertained that Arabi’s forces had retreated. These were joined by detachments from the German and American men-of-war, for the purpose of protecting their consulates, in the first place, and then they assisted in extinguishing fires, seizing marauders, and rescuing many terror-stricken people from the most imminent danger; patrolling the streets, and assisting, in every way, to restore order.
As regards the bombardment itself, it may be said that the Egyptian batteries were served steadily and rapidly; and their aim was good. The officers appear to have set a good example to their men, appearing often upon the parapet, to watch the effect of their shot. All the batteries facing the sea were destroyed by the heavy guns opposed to them, and their guns dismounted. An explosion of a magazine, in one fort, is said to have killed all of the garrison. The
faces of the batteries were pulverized, and large holes were made in the masonry of the lighthouse, and the large stone fort adjoining was reduced to ruin, and all its guns dismounted. The loss of life in the garrisons of these forts must have been frightful. The harem palace was damaged extensively by shell and by fire.
The Arab quarter behind Fort Pharos caught all the shell which missed the batteries; and here all was chaos and destruction.
Of the English ships, the Penelope was struck five times, and had eight men wounded, and one gun disabled. The Invincible was struck many times, and six shots penetrated. She had six wounded, and some spars shot away. The Monarch, which kept under way, was not hit. The Superb had her funnel injured, and plates damaged. The Alexandra suffered slight damage in her hull. The Sultan had her main-mast and funnel shot through, and her hull pierced several times in the unarmored part. Two of the 18-ton guns of the Alexandra were disabled by shot, which passed in at the port-holes.
THE ALEXANDRA. 1877. (Ironclad, English Navy. Her appearance after being launched.)
THE WAR BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN.
T O J F N .
e may well be proud of the fact that our country was the first to open the empire of Japan to the free intercourse which, in common with the rest of the world, we now enjoy with that formerly mysterious country. In former years the Dutch, Portuguese, English, and others had a limited intercourse with the Japanese, but were cut off from that, and, with the exception of the Dutch, entirely expelled from the country two centuries and a half ago. The Dutch alone, of all Christian nations, were allowed to remain for the purposes of traffic, “and they purchased the privilege at the price of national humiliation and personal imprisonment, for which all the profits of gainful barter offer but an inadequate compensation.”
This self-isolated empire, Japan, has experienced more radical and startling changes within the last generation than any people or nation of which history treats. It seemed as if, once freed from the trammels which had so long confined it, the empire was determined, at one bound, to place itself abreast of other nations which had attained a high civilization and enlightenment by slow and painful steps. With a wealth of the best models before them, and the intelligence to be able to throw off their prejudices and avail themselves of those models, the feat was easier, but still remains wonderful, the more we consider it.
Situated at the eastern extremity of Asia, between 31° and 49° north latitude, the empire consists of a large group of islands, many
of them small and surrounded by a sea which is not very easy to navigate at all times.
There are three very large islands—Niphon, or Nippon, seven hundred miles long, but so narrow that its breadth in the centre is not more than fifty miles; Kiusiu, about two hundred miles long and fifty miles wide; and Yesso, formerly sometimes called Xicoco, eighty-five or ninety miles long and fifty wide.
There are many mountains, some of them volcanic, and the country is subject to earthquakes, often of a serious character.
The number of inhabitants is given as about forty millions; but it is said by late observers that, dense as the population appears to be in certain regions, the country could support many more.
The Japanese appear to be a mixture of the Malay and Mongolian races, like the Chinese, from whom there seems little doubt they derived their civilization, ages ago.
The first knowledge of Japan which the Western world had was given by the Venetian traveller, Marco Polo, at the end of the thirteenth century. When he returned from a long sojourn in Asia he was hardly believed when he spoke of a large island off the coast of Cathay, or China, which he called Zipangu. That island is the modern Nippon.
There is no doubt that Marco Polo’s written story and accompanying maps had much to do with the determination of Columbus to find the farthest east by sailing west. Although he was not able to find and open Japan, he did discover a country which has performed a part of his contemplated work—a nation which, if it did not discover Zipangu, was to become the instrument of bringing it into free and full communication with the rest of the world.
It is to the Portuguese that we owe the first real knowledge of Japan. When Mendez Pinto, on a voyage to China in 1542, was driven by a storm to Japan and landed there, the event was considered so important by the authorities of that isolated country that they not only entered it in their archives, but preserved portraits of persons who seemed most strange to them in complexion, features, dress, and language.
The authorities and the visitors were so much pleased with each other that an arrangement was entered into by which a Portuguese
ship was to be yearly despatched—probably from Macao—laden with articles of trade. The returns were made in gold, silver, and copper, of which latter metal there was abundance in Japan.
Then came the establishment of a mission under Francis Xavier, afterwards canonized by the Catholic Church, and a man of wonderful ability and with all the requisites for a Christian missionary of his time. He and his assistants did not meddle with Japanese affairs or politics, soon made friends, and many converts; but St. Francis Xavier died in 1552, and his successors were not so wise or so Christian-like as he had been. They differed among themselves and meddled with matters which did not concern them. The Franciscans and Dominicans quarrelled with the Jesuits, but they obtained, among them, a very large number of converts, among whom were numbered some of the princes or feudal lords.
The Dutch came next in establishing a footing in Japan, about 1598. One of their first vessels had an English pilot named William Adams, who has left us a narration of his long residence there—a romantic story, but which can only be alluded to here. He arose to high distinction, and, among other things, instructed the Japanese in the art of ship-building and mathematics.
An English factory was established at Hirado in 1613, but the enterprise was soon abandoned.
All went well with the Portuguese until about the year 1617, when a revolution occurred in Japan which placed in power those who were hostile to both foreign traders and to missionaries. This revolution had a fatal effect upon the Portuguese influence, especially as they had, as has been said, showed imprudence in mingling in the politics of the country, while their ambassador exhibited great pride and haughtiness, in marked contrast with the Dutch. The latter, attending strictly to their mercantile transactions and moved by hatred and jealousy of their rivals, the Portuguese, took good care to give the assurance that they themselves were of a different creed from the Jesuits.
When, therefore, in 1637, the Portuguese—traders, missionaries, and all—were banished from the country, after many persecutions and much bloodshed, the Dutch were allowed to keep up an intercourse, but under severe restrictions.
Once rid of the Portuguese, there then began a persecution of the native Christians, which continued for many years, during which it is said that several millions suffered for their faith. The number sounds large, but all accounts agree in regard to it.
Then the Dutch fell under suspicion, for several good reasons, and were only permitted to remain at all on condition of residing at one spot, where they could be guarded and every motion observed. In 1641 they were ordered to remove to Dezima, a small island near Nagasaki, which Kæmpfer said “was more like a prison than a factory.” But, unwilling to quit the prospect of profitable trade, they willingly underwent this imprisonment and agreed to forego any of the outward signs of Christianity, such as leaving off divine service, etc.
The island Dezima is shaped like a fan, and is very small, only about six hundred by two hundred and fifty feet, and mostly of artificial construction. It was connected with the town of Nagasaki by a bridge, on which there was always a strong guard. The whole island was surrounded by a high fence with iron spikes. No stone houses were permitted to be built, and the interpreters, clerks, and servants were spies, whom the Dutch were obliged to pay. The few ships allowed to come annually were searched and their arms and powder taken away. “A more annoying and thorough system of imprisonment and espionage was never devised.”
Although subject to this oppression and contumely, the Dutch continued their trade—one or two ships going from Batavia every year—until Japan was thrown open to the world by means of the action of the American expedition of 1853. But before speaking of that expedition we must allude to the idea which has been extensively entertained that there were formerly, and until quite recently, two Emperors at the same time in Japan. This erroneous idea was conceived in this way. About the year 1200, of our era, the then Emperor created a supreme general, called Shógun. Each Shógun owed allegiance to the Emperor, and was invested by him, but his position as supreme head of the military organization, which gave him immense influence with the powerful nobles or feudal lords, made him almost the equal of the sovereign. Several years after Japan had been opened to the world and treaties made with
many nations, in 1868, the Shógun’s power was shattered during a war which might be denominated a revolution. Military domination was swept away and the Mikado reinstated in his position of supreme authority. In that year the powerful Tokugawa clan, and others who supported the Shógun, were overcome by the great clans of Satsuma, Choshin, and Tosa, and a powerful northern opposition was put down by the Mikado’s forces.
It is a curious fact that the Stonewall Jackson, an ironclad, took part in this war. She had been built in France for the Confederates, taken to Havana, and then claimed by our government as a spoil of war. She was sold by the United States to Japan, and taken out there and delivered by one of our naval officers.
And now to relate some of the events in Japan in which our country was most concerned.
In 1831 our first effort at intercourse began. A Japanese junk which had been blown off their coast had drifted about the Pacific for a long time, and at length went ashore near the mouth of the Columbia River. Her crew were kindly treated and sent to China, whence they were sent, on board an American merchant ship, the Morrison, to Japan. People were not then aware of a Japanese law which prohibited the return of any Japanese who had left their country. At any rate, it was an errand of mercy. When the Morrison entered Jeddo Bay the Japanese, finding she was unarmed, fired at her with shotted guns, and she was forced to go to Kagosima. Meeting the same reception there, she returned to Macao with the shipwrecked Japanese on board.
Complaints having multiplied that American seamen wrecked on the coast of Japan had been harshly treated by the authorities of that country—which was very true, for the writer was a shipmate of one who had been so treated, and often talked with him of his adventures —our government was anxious to make a treaty which would provide that such unfortunates should be kindly treated, and also that American vessels in distress should be able to enter Japanese ports for needed supplies. So Commodore Biddle, with the Columbus, of 90 guns, and the sloop-of-war Vincennes, of 20 guns, entered the Bay of Jeddo, in 1846. The ships were at once surrounded by guard boats—four hundred of them. The ships remained ten days, but no
one belonging to them landed, and an application for license to trade was met by the answer: “No trade can be allowed with any foreign nation but Holland.”
The next attempt was in 1849, when the United States sloop-ofwar Preble, Commander Glynn, was sent to inquire as to the detention in Japan of sixteen American seamen who had been shipwrecked on the coast of the islands. As the Preble approached Nagasaki harbor she was surrounded by boats and warned off. But the ship stood in with a fair breeze, and anchored in spite of them. Troops were hurriedly gathered and heavy batteries erected on the elevated shores, all bearing upon the ship. But Commander Glynn persisted, in spite of threats and subterfuge, demanding the prisoners and saying that the government meant to protect its citizens and means would be at hand to enforce its demands. Afterwards he sent word that the men must be delivered to him in two days’ time; and then the Japanese, finding him in earnest, gave them up. They had been very cruelly treated. Other attempts than those we have mentioned were made at different times, without success, by other nations, the English and the Russians especially.
Commodore Perry’s successful expedition left the United States in November, 1852, several vessels intending to join it being already in Chinese ports.
It was well known that our government contemplated such an expedition, and it had been the subject of much comment in several European countries more immediately concerned. The general opinion was that the mission would, like the many others which had been attempted by various powers, prove fruitless, from the prejudices and obstinacy of the Japanese. But they did not reckon upon the great tact, skill, and firmness which were to be displayed in the accomplishment of this difficult task. The President’s letter was presented on July 14th, 1853, when the squadron left with a promise to return next season for an answer. On March 31st, 1854, a treaty of peace and amity, providing especially for the protection of American sailors, was signed.
In June, 1857, a new treaty was made at Simoda, by Townsend Harris, American Consul-General to Japan, who succeeded in the next year in reaching Jeddo in spite of opposition, where he
negotiated a third treaty, covering many more points than the first ones.
Other nations soon followed us in making treaties, until Japan was in full intercourse with the world at large.
It is impossible, here, to give more than a sketch of the many interesting incidents of Perry’s first visit, but we will endeavor to give a few points.
On the 7th of July, 1853, the Susquehanna and the Mississippi, paddle-wheel frigates, with the Plymouth and the Saratoga, sloopsof-war, entered the Bay of Yedo, the sailing sloops-of-war being in tow of the steamers, and the crews of the junks which were overhauled showed every evidence of surprise at the sight of the first steamships they had ever seen, taking to their oars and sweeps and hastily getting out of their course. At 5 o’clock in the afternoon the squadron anchored off the city of Uraga, and from their position distinctly saw the sacred mountain, Fusiyama, although it was at a distance of about sixty miles. Previous to anchoring a number of guard boats were observed coming off, and, contrary to the practice permitted during the visit of the Columbus, the Commodore determined to exclude casual visitors, so that they were not permitted even to make fast their boats to the ships, much less to come on board—a proceeding which seemed to anger the Japanese officials, but had a good effect in the end. Soon after an official came to warn the ships off, and he made signs to have the gangway ladder of the flag-ship lowered for him. But the interpreter told him that the Commodore was a very high officer of his government, and that he would receive no one but a functionary of the highest rank, and was asked why the Governor himself did not come off. He replied that he was forbidden by law to do so, and asked that he (the speaker, who was Vice-Governor,) should be received. After some delay this was done, but he only saw the Commodore’s aide, who told him that the Commodore’s intentions were perfectly friendly, and that he brought a letter from the President of the United States addressed to the Emperor. The Japanese official insisted that the ships must go to Nagasaki and there deliver the letter, as that was the only place, under their law, for the transaction of business with foreigners. He was told that the Commodore would not go to Nagasaki, but
expected to be duly and properly received where he was, near Yedo, and intimated that force might be used to deliver the message with which he was charged. He was prepared to meet the Japanese on their own ground and imitate their own policy. The result was that the squadron was left free from all annoyance, an event unprecedented in the intercourse of Japan with foreign ships for two centuries.
There were a good many forts and batteries to be seen on the shore, however, and every precaution was taken against a sudden attack, especially as bodies of soldiers could be seen moving about. But the next day the Governor of the city appeared and came on board. Being an official of the third rank, however, the Commodore would not personally meet him. The Governor still insisted upon the ships leaving there and going to Nagasaki, and was again told that they would deliver the letter there, as the nearest point to the capital. At a later interview he was informed that unless an answer was given in three days, and the business which had brought the squadron there was arranged at the present visit, the Commodore would be obliged to return with a larger force, and, as Uraga was an unsafe anchorage, he should go much nearer to Yedo.
It would take many pages to give all the arguments for delay offered by the Japanese; but the firmness of Perry, who had not been personally seen—as too exalted a person—at last gained the day. The Emperor consented to have a meeting of high officers deputized by him and Commodore Perry in a house built for the purpose, on shore, where the letters could be formally exchanged. All the officers of the squadron who could be spared accompanied the Commodore, in full uniform, and a large force of marines and sailors, under arms, formed a guard of honor. The United States flag and the Commodore’s pennant were borne in front by two stalwart seamen, and two boys, appropriately dressed, bore, in an envelope of scarlet cloth, the President’s letter and the Commodore’s credentials.
After long ceremonial conversations, everything was settled pleasantly, and an answer promised upon the return of the squadron the next spring.
On the 12th of the following February, Perry returned for his answer. The Japanese were quite friendly, and the squadron, of
three steamers and four sailing men-of-war, anchored about twelve miles beyond the town of Uraga and about twenty miles from the capital city, Yedo. Even then the Japanese tried to change the place of meeting, but without success, for the Americans persisted in having it at that place, which is now known as Yokohama. Here a fine building was erected as a “Treaty House,” and, on the 8th of March, 1854, Perry landed in state for the second time, and on that and the following days conferences were held and handsome presents interchanged. Among arms, implements, wines, and other things, was a small locomotive and tender, with a passenger car, and enough rails to form a track. The Japanese Government sent to the President a great quantity of things peculiar to the country, and all ended in a good understanding and the granting of the demands of the American Government.
Thus, not within the lifetime, but within the naval lifetime of the writer, has a nation emerged from complete isolation and become so powerful as to challenge and successfully meet in battle a neighboring nation, some of the provinces of which contain as many inhabitants as the whole of Japan.
No matter what may be the result of the war which is now going on, it is certain that none of the great Western nations which have hitherto controlled, more or less directly, the course of events in the extreme East, will in future venture to take political steps without reckoning Japan as a first-class power. Her resources, military and naval, are present, while those of the Western nations must be transported halfway round the world to reach them.
Before war was actually proclaimed the ships of China and Japan had two or three conflicts on the Korean coast, one of which involved quite a battle, and the destruction of a small Chinese cruiser which was protecting the landing of Chinese troops, from transports, on the coast of Korea. The second was the sinking of the Kow-Shing, which steamer, in spite of her Chinese name, was an English vessel, and one of the fastest and best employed in the Chinese coast trade.
When the news of the sinking of the Kow-Shing, which took place on the 25th of July, first appeared, there was great bluster in the English papers about holding Japan responsible; but, when the true facts came to light all this talk quickly died away, as it was clearly
seen that the Japanese were within their own right in preventing the landing of their enemy’s troops in Korea. Of their merciless treatment of the Chinese when struggling in the water a difference of opinion may probably be held.
The “Kow-Shing incident” was as follows:—This vessel, of about 1400 tons, had a crew of Chinese, but the captain, the three mates, and three engineers were Englishmen. She was chartered by the Chinese government, by the month, for military purposes. Toward the end of July she took on board twelve hundred Chinese troops, with two generals, and their body-guards, of about one hundred and fifty men.
War was not formally declared, but two other Chinese troop ships trying to land men, and under escort of men-of-war, accomplished their purpose, but an action succeeded between the convoying vessels and some Japanese cruisers, in which one of the Chinese ships suffered great loss, and was set on fire. Her commander ran her on shore, where she shortly blew up.
The Japanese succeeded in intercepting the Kow-Shing, and determined to force her to return without landing the troops she had on board.
But one of the Chinese cruisers, the Tsi-Yuen, accompanying the two which had landed troops, observing the Japanese cruiser Naniwa taking note of the operation, is said to have approached the Naniwa with the Japanese flag flying and suddenly opened fire upon her, as evidence of which an officer of the Kow-Shing was shown a shell, which happily did not explode, in the ward-room of the Naniwa. “What happened afterwards was probably done, at least in part, as retaliation for this act of fighting under false colors.”
On July 25th at 8 o’clock in the morning, the Kow-Shing, with the Chinese troops on board, sighted the Naniwa, which signalled her to stop and then to anchor; she did so, and then signalled “Can we proceed?” As an answer to this the Japanese cruiser sent a boat, with an armed crew and two officers, who proceeded to the captain’s cabin, where they examined the ship’s papers. They were told that the Kow-Shing was a British steamer, with the British Consul’s clearance, flying the British flag, and that war had not been declared when she left port.
Major Von Hanneken, the German officer in Chinese employ, told the Chinese generals what had passed, and the latter said they had rather die where they were, and said that if the British officers attempted to leave the Kow-Shing they would be killed by their bodyguard. The English captain tried his hardest to show them how useless it was to resist the Naniwa, but without success. By this time the boat had returned to the Naniwa, and the latter signalled, “weigh, cut or slip, wait for nothing” meaning that the English captain was to carry his ship back to the place whence she had come, and not attempt to land the generals and their troops in Korea. If they had obeyed the order there would have been no loss of property or life. But the Chinese would not allow the captain to move, and threatened death again if he did so. The Naniwa then steamed abeam of the Kow-Shing, on the port side, about 500 yards off. Then she blew her whistle, ran a red flag up to her foremast head, and discharged a torpedo, which however fell short. Immediately afterward, seeing that the torpedo had missed, the Naniwa fired a broadside which hulled the Kow-Shing, which keeled over to starboard and immediately began to sink.
The English officers at once jumped overboard, and began to swim for the land, through swarms of Chinamen, dead or drowning. Bullets were striking on every side. They came from the Chinese soldiers who were herded on the only part of the Kow-Shing left above water. Then the Englishmen swam toward the Naniwa, and after being a long time in the water were picked up by her boats. By this time only the Kow-Shing’s masts were visible, and two of her boats, while crowds of Chinese in the water were swimming about. The officer of the Japanese cutter which had picked up the Englishmen said he was ordered to sink the boats. He did fire at them and then returned to the Naniwa without picking up any of the Chinese. The next day the Naniwa joined the rest of the Japanese fleet, and the Englishmen were sent by despatch boat to Japan, where they were set at liberty a few days afterwards.
The Chinese and Japanese have for ages been in communication, mercantile and otherwise, but there has always, so far as history goes, been an underlying hostility in the feelings of the two nations. These feelings have been aggravated by collisions at various
periods in regard to sovereignty, and the commercial intercourse with the Loo-choo Islands, as well as in regard to Formosa, a very large and immensely valuable possession for the nation which may be fortunate enough to hold it. At present the greater part of the island is in the possession of native clans, and the Chinese control the country for only a short distance inland, upon the southwestern portion mostly.
Then again, China and Japan have been at difference for a long time in regard to the Korean territory, over which China has always claimed a jurisdiction, which however she has not practically exercised, except by intriguing in the state affairs of the country and demanding acts of vassalage. When Japan, whose interests in her neighbors are very important, protested against Chinese intrigue and influence, she was received with ill-disguised contempt. Upon war being declared by Japan, the Emperor of China and his advisers, not recognizing the forward state of preparation of the Japanese, is said to have ordered his military and naval commanders to “exterminate the Japanese vermin.” How far the effort at “extermination” went, the whole world now knows.
Japan solemnly declared, in a diplomatic note, that her whole object in the war was to settle and secure once for all the separation and independence of Korea. Of course, if successful, she would demand compensation for the immense outlay incurred in her campaigns by land and sea; and, while not approaching the sum paid by France to Germany at the close of the Franco-German war, it will be very large indeed, and one which will hamper the Chinese government for a generation to come, as their fiscal methods do not readily lend themselves to such an emergency.
T N B Y , S . 17, 1894.
Since the advent of modern battle-ships of the new type, armed with high-powered rifled ordnance, naval officers of all nations had been eagerly looking for an occasion when the use of such ships and guns would be an object lesson to them, and various theories in
regard to naval warfare would be put to the test of actual practice. While most people were looking to movements in other and widely distant parts of the world—some predicting a naval battle in the North Sea, while others looked for a battle of giants in the Mediterranean—the problem was in part solved for them by a pitched battle in the far Orient, between the Japanese and Chinese fleets, and which will be known in history as the battle of the Yalu.
The rival fleets may be said to have illustrated each a different principle. That represented by the Chinese was the principle of the school which puts material above personnel, for their fleet contained the heaviest ships and the largest guns, although these were not so numerous as those of the Japanese. They had also the most extensive torpedo equipment.
The Japanese represented the school which believes in lighter, more active ships, and in “the man behind the gun”—that is, the greater rapidity and accuracy of fire and ability in manœuvring— much the same as Farragut’s conviction that the best protection for a ship was a rapid and accurate fire from her battery.
BATTLE OF THE YALU SINKING OF THE CHIH-YUEN.
Before proceeding to describe the battle it would be well to give some account of the strength of the contending fleets. By this we mean the available naval strength of each nation at the outbreak of the conflict.
The Chinese navy owes its existence principally to the fostering care of the Imperial Viceroy, Li Hung-Chang, now in disgrace. He employed Captain Lang, an Englishman, and other Europeans to drill the ships’ companies. But Captain Lang was forced to leave that service some time before the war began, and Captain Von Henneken, a German, who constructed the forts at and near the naval port of Wei-hai-wei, appears to have taken his place as adviser to Admiral Ting—as much as a military man can advise upon naval matters. The Chinese had five heavy ironclads—Ting-Yuen, ChenYuen, King-Yuen, Lai-Yuen, and Ping-Yuen—with armor from fourteen to eight inches thick, and armed with Krupp guns, from twelve-inch to eight-inch calibre, mounted in barbette. They had also
