The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1878-10-26

VI FOIJ lhtCAOStihS essay ShSASJ 90 AHN
our Eastern exchanges. The title was, The
Educational Element in Chinese Civilization - ae
follows:
Chinese civilization, from its unique character. pre-
SCENTS to the world many problems for study and solution.
to speak only Of its educational element and to enquire
waat part nth that tb es sePPo tsyee eu tn 1e' we seVf fndP fsat that atom in-
wolves a thorough acquaintance with the classics, history
mences his hrst lesson as a philosopher. He is at once
put to the trimetrical classics, whose first sentences as
1t is not to be supposed that the tyro understands the
meaning. He is required to learn by rote. His memory.
and his memory alone, Is exercised and cranIned Tor AT
least three years, in learning uiUG UOce the Analects of
Odes, and the Book of Changes, before the explanation of
what he has committed to memory is made by the in
exercise any judgment in his lessons, much less can he
give his thought freedom and original force. School
houses and graded colleges are scattered throughout the
empire. Although schools are not public in the sense
that they are supported by the state, yet they are made
common by their cheapness. and are available To all
classes, so that education in China is universal. Chi
nese education is voluntary, but behind this popular en-
thusiasm for mental training 1t has its ultimate interest
the httest. The highest political honor is opened to the
hn mDn IN every Sit sPnef f6e o state tme an a spery mar cd dnag . 9
caste. In this respect 1T is purely democratic, not demo-
cratic in the sense in which we sometimes understand it
in this country, where quantity is measured against
quality. and demagoguism supplants true craftsmanship,
of 4OOO.O DOC, 600 of people all striving with equal chances
to repair the waste OF the state by evolving the best and
fttest talents for the public service. And these talents
are sifted and resifted through a srEtem of competitive
@ore appreciated and honored both by the people and
the government, than in China. But on the one hand,
alive the patriarchal system which forms the corner
stone upon which the structure of society rests; and on
the other, safety of the state necessitates the repression of
originality of the mind. Hence the prescribed studies
and the immutable rules and directions within which
essays for all competitive examinations are restricted.
This repressive policy had its origin in the Ming dynasty
and gives to the Chinese civilization that stiffness and
rigidity which are by no means conducive to progress.
The question is often asked what is the religion of the
Chinese? 1t Is, we may say, mater1al1stlc panthe1sm.
1t is a matter of fact religion. According to their philo-
sophy, mind is matter, and matter tangible expression of
mind. 1t is not that God is over and above nature and
thus becomes supernatural. but that God is nature. and
have their Gods. Hence come the manifold forms of
apotheosis, such as ancestral, hero and sage worship,
together with all the nsmeless forms of feticism.
MahOmmedanism and Buddhism are not indigenous;
they have their foundation in the supernatural and are
not strictly the religion Of China. Religious culture hay-
ness is confined within material limits. and, like the ma
tional intellect, is deprived of that spiritual liberty which
the ideal and supernatural world opens TO the soul.
But over and above a mechanical and monotonous sys-
ply founded on material nature. all weighted down by a
the great qualification of nature, they have the further
incubus of rites and ceremonies which by their rightly
and their traditional conventionalism square into nathe-
NAUTICAL precision all their etiquettes and fashions, their
manners and customs, till all expressions of finer senti-
In view of the nature of the educational element as de
shaping the character of the Chinese civilization? The
narrowness and repression, which its uniformity and
ity and deprive the mind of its natural freedom. Hence
comes the universal conclusion that the Chinese are imi.
times on a grand scale, but all their constructions,
whether they be works of art, architecture, literature or
political administration. are greatly wanting in those
aesthetic elements, which characterize western civiliza-
ton. There is a dull monotony throughout the whole
Chinese culture, and if the educational element aimed at
securing nol9ogshei,y ana loneSsI'y IN e hatlonai me
usI development. The individual is sacrificed to the
without any essential change. Had China remained in
her exclusiveness, she would have been a world by her
self: her civilization would have been adequate for her
requirements, and she might have continued her national
existence for another thousand years; but the progress of
events has forced her from her isolation, and in coming
in contact with the other nations she is put to great dis
advantages, and her position even now is at best anoma-
lous. In our opinion, the first thing needed to meet her
present wants is a change OF language.
The Chinese Language is pictorial and hierogyphical
in its nature and origin. 1t cannot be reduced TO q gram
nor infections: its verbs cannot be, corrugated; and the
nice distinctions of time, rs observed in the Greek verbs,
t %nert III n bDit nf m w mi sgSe cbsTsc : Il foRR nUne no r Sys-
By which they can be spelled or pronounced. SO that no
character can be formed and universally recognized
by the people. Furthermore the language is unique in
Itself, and has a growth altogether independent Of other
Hence it cannot be enlarged by introduction
or Incorporation OF foreign words, nor can II give en-
largement to other languages. When a language from its
sarily be confined and be made TO move in 8 narrow chan
NJ n~aSress a. is TOO concrefe sn1 . sbstrect epnn1h
to give the human mind elasticity and freedom. Al
though we do not know of any historic nation, whether
adopted the written language of another, nor can we con-
that such a phenomenon is at all probable. yet We
are convinced that unless a change OF some kind in the
language is made, China will always have a milestone to
her neck in her struggle for new national life. Her sec
lnd requisite is the sciences. The study Of science is
excluded from their schools. Even the study of srith-
is regarded IS compromising the character of a
literary student. Astronomy is studied on account of its
supposed bearings on the destiny OF the state and fate Of
distinguished individuals But neither arithmetic or
astronomy is studied in the schools. Nature with her
nexhaustible resources, and her endless laws, is s closed
7oIume to her. China needs the supernatural in religion
% free her from the shackles of materialism and its con
,eQuent feticism.
In view of radical defects in the educational element of
Ter civilization, what China really needs, then. is a
'hange of her language, the introduction of scientific
in her schools and the supernatural element in
Ter religious belief. Already the introduction of the
ast two elements hRs wrought within the past quarter of
century great changes. She is now evidently entering
uture, and her future, Judging from her antecedents, is
ull OF encouragement. Her great age. after making full
for isolation as s favorable circumstance for
Is attainment, must be founded ON substantial qualities.
Qualities which, when wisely directed will place her in
he front rank Of nations.
Finally, in religious tolerance China yields the palm
o no country. There we find Professionalism and Roman
with all their different sects, side by side,
and PROSECUTING; Buddhism and Mahommed-
nism quietly following out their respective convictions
nmolested. A nation with these elements of character
furnishes us with abundant hopes for the future, provi-
ed western nations at the present juncture deal with
er justly and wisely, and do not allow national greed
nd ambition to destroy her autonomy and TO sap her life
y wholesale poisoning, or in any way 20 trample on her
-ghts.