The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
Importance of, the Newly Estab-
lished Chair of Oriental
Languages.
LEARN CHINESE IN FOUR YEARS
President Kellogg Says Berkeley's S
Prosperity Is Her Mis-.
fortune.


term next Monday morning, and from
present indications it would seem that
there will be more students on the roll
than can be accommodated even TO a
reasonable extent. President kellogg re-
marked to-day that he did not know where
to put them all. "We have been much
overcrowded for the past three or four
years, so the question of looking for more
room has become an old story. But we
will be still more crowded this year than
ever if the class reaches the 500 mark, as
some of the university people think it
will. We will have to use some of the
university cottages. I presume, for class
rooms, in order that the overflow may be
accomm odated.
"The institution is certainly in very
prosperous condition-in fact. our pros
perity is our misfortune just at this time.
We will have to worry along with what
room we have until the next meeting of
the Legislature, with the hope that they
will appropriate enough money to build
suitable and adequate new structures"
The most impol .ant addition to the
university this year has beep the filling of
the chair of Oriental languages, and the
election to it OF DIR. John Fryer, who has
for the past quarter of a century been IN
the service of the Chinese Government as
translator, writer and compiler of books
at the order of the Emperor. Having had
| long experience with the Chinese and
! Japanese people DR.. Fryer is considered
to pc thoroughly familiar with their man.
ners and customs, and is capable of ably
| iEstrrctlng as to their religion, philoso-
ply. ethics and their history. He will
| endeavor to arrange the Chinese courses
so as to enable an intelligent student to
| acquire sufficient command of the Ian
| guage in four years to fit him for taking
up work in the Chinese consular or Gus
toms service. Following are the three
courses which DR.. Fryer has outlined:
First course-The spoken language of China
The Mandarin or court dialect. This is spoken
| with more or less mixture OF patois by all edu-
Gated people throughout the empire, and is the
native tongue of ali the inhabitants OF ALI
northern and central provinces. For official
| purposes the variety spoken at Pekin Is con-
! sidered the standard. The Mandarin has
| literature of its own and involves study OF
large portion of the characters in ordinary use.
| The Cantonese dialect. This is spoken IN the
! two provinces, Kuangtung and kuanghsi, and
is the native tongue of almost all OF the Chinese
| of America, Australia and other lands. 1t has
no recognized literature OF its own, but in
wolves the study of large portion of the
Chinese characters Of ordinary use.
Second course-The written language of
China Current literature, correspondence,
newspaper articles, including official doeu-
ments etc. Three hours per week at least will
be REQUIRED for this course.
Third course-The religions, PHILOSOPHERS
and history of China. This course is indepen-
dent of the other courses and does not require
the tudy of the language. At least one hour
Der week will be required for this course
The establishment OF this chair is looked
upon as being move of no little impor-
tance In the history of the State Univer-
sity. because Of the fact that in only one
other University in America are regular
courses in Chinese and japanese given,
and because of the great and growing
need of Chinese and Japanese speaking
Americans on this coast as result of the
incre asing commercial interests between
the United States and these countries.
Though the Semitic languages taught at
Berkeley by DIR. Voorsanger come under
the head of Oriental languages, it was the
purpose of Edward Tompkins, who be-
queathed the property twenty-four years
ago from which the $50, 900 was recently
realized to found the chair, to broaden the
interest especially in the Japanese and
Chinese, as he indicated in the following
section of his bequest:
1.-THE business between California and
Asia is already very great. Its future is
beyond any estimate that the most san
guine would dare to make. The child is
now born that will see the commerce of
tuc < dCiiiC Slc1pSk sAAe>AA - - -
lantc 1t is carried on with people of
whose language we are wholly ignorant,
and in all the vast transactions that it in
wolves we are dependent upon native in
terpreters, whose integrity will not become
more reliable as the magnitude of their
temptations shall increase. 1t is there
fore of the utmost consequences for Cali
fornia that the means shall be PROVIDED
to instruct our young men preparing for
lives of business activity in the Languages
and Iiteratures of Eastern Asia.
Several new instructors have been en-
gagged in the various departments. DR.. j.
G. Rockw well of Yale has been elected as
sistant Professor of archaeology, in place
of professor Merrill. who is away on a
years leave of absence. K. g. Babcock
has been appointed instructor in history !;
w. L Osterbout instructor IN botany, in
place of M. A. Howe, resigned; J. e.
L Coz assistant In wood work in tha ma.