, 1877-12-01

at fyr. Their :not1Icrs and nurses arc ifliterAtc
thiucpc women, with sMe exceptions, being I'M
allc 10 read, anil their fathers are distnclnch 10
the task OF teaching, prt:fcrrfh1 to leave this
entirely In the hands oil ttosc who practice II as
arrofcssion.
When the hoy, who has thus far led purely
vcgctat3ve existence. has completed his scycnth
OF eighth ycns, the almanac Is consulted Tor the
choice of lucky day, a,,d on tha he ls deckcd
in his festal rohes and dispatched to the village
se!'ool. Hero for a term OF years he is confined
to tho tedious, dreary process Of committing to
memory the Chinese canontcAl books, and writ
Ing All itanltn number Of dtseracly formed
characters. The language OF the canonfcal
books Is as uninse'IRlble to him as Greek IL to
the young American, for the vfrnhcular Of tho
Chinese e totally different tongue ftom that
employed III literary cpmposltion: Without
understanding ont word Of II all, the child
continues his meaningless tncmorixatfon until
he has stored In his mind the contents OF ths
PRINCIPAL cla7sics,-a chccflcts task occupying
This first stage Of his education being suc-
ressiully accomplished the boy il alowly taught
tho dead tnngne III which are written the encTcd
bucks l,e bag rot by heart With 70 much hard
toll: While learning u translate tho language
Of the books, he is Initiated into the art Of roln.
position. The difficulties which bosct.thfh art.
" account Ut the peculiar contribution 9i Inc
Chlnesc Language, arc Immense and laboriously
overcome. Tits sccund coursc Of instruction
being, like the preceding, at last gonc through,
tho fa'l deFotss Himself more exclusively to tho
s.'.1y Of tS'nN..lton ar;l to .omo su''s,aaty
throughout the entire scheme ut hs education,
the requirement ol knowledge and Of mental
| d!sciplnc ts regarded as ininor matter. tho
cl'lci aim being io gain coin;natd u the liter
ary language aud uf fluent styls Of compost.
| t10u.
/ Tue schools arc generally divided into three
c'a:scs: the primary, in which l!tt'e is done cx-
| ccpt nlcinpsz!nY the saercd books and practlc-
Ing initiative ehrogrnphy; the middle class, IN
| which the sacred books arc expoun1cd; and tho
THIRD class, n which composition Is the leading
'cxcrrisc. The schools and colleges receive al.
jnent, a,nl n. s,istalned ny pirate enterprise
tr public charity. il, tho higher as IN the
lower ir>titutn,s Of learning notlling ID taught
nni studied but tho Chinese langttare. Tleru
Is 10 tystctn Of schools answering 10 our scheme
of pul'lIc schools, and only minority Of the
Chncsc vuuih rrselva my instruction whatever.
a. for Cttcse girls, they arc. sara IN Gxccp.
ttutial Instances, abandoned to tusaf ignorance.
proIortion docs not exceed, ace''rdtng 70 Dr.
afartl.1, ono III twenty OF the male population
anil one III I0,UUo Of the female.
Candidates for the civil service in Chtna are
roctIcal cn1nposition, In Chinese history, philoa
0piy, criticism, and III various branches Of ar
rhavloyy. Regular degrees arc confcrrel upor
tho s,irrtssfut cutnpctftors, and to qualify fol
required after tho erliool co,irses have bet fin
Istied. but when nil 10 done, md the Chinese
student las attained the highest rank OF scho1
aFali,p, Ills M!nl IL poorly dtseiolincd, tho mem
ory. llas been stimulated at tho expense OF the
reasoning faculties, and very littEo knowledge
OF q progressive character has been acquired.
In sending IN CAncsc yuutl to tLls country
to be trained IN our schools, the tioyernmen
l,as taken Atl important step toward The lin
urovc.ncnt Ut the nat10nat System Of education
Yet this must be followed. by 4 luug and con
tlnuuus scsIcs Of rcfornlatory measures ere e1u
Gatiun In Chfra is mndc q PROCESS Of Eeuulnl
! enllgtt euMcAt.