The evening times., 1900-09-14
CHINA'S CODE OF ETHICS
Preeepts Laid Down to Lead Men
Into Yirtu0us Paths.
Western World misconceptions Con-
cernInE the Character of Citizens
iu the Celestial Empire-Some of
the AdmORitioRs Given in the Sa
cred EdIct of Emperor IS'anG-Hsi.

The like Of Bret Harte's Heather
Chinee," with smile that is pensive and
childHke. and twenty-four packs of cards
up his sleeve for use in a game he did
not understand" may doubtless be found
frequently in his own country as well as
among immigrants 10 the United States:
but to take Ah Sin as the typical speci
men of four hundred millions OF human
beings would surely be the most gigantic
libel on record, For. strange as it may
sound TO the man in the street, John
Chinaman is essentially i moral person
age. Perhaps his practice, considered all
round Is not quite up to the mark of his
preaching, bu; we need not go all the way
to Chira te find an iGCongruity of that
kind! No nation, a body, ever did
or is ever likely to live up 10 the stan
dard OF its prophets and lawgiyers, but
neither, On the other hand, do great
ethical teachers arise among a race of
savages or "Hooligans. China has pro-
duced ethical teachers in abundance, and
it may be not unintereSting to compare
some of their maxims with our own.
Toward the end OF the seventeenth
century, in the reign OF the Emperor
K'ang-Hs1, a code OF ethics. known as
the Sacred Edict" and containing pre-
cepts handed down from time imme-
mortal, was published and diffussd
throughout the Empire. by royal COM
mand, with the express object of stimu
lating the people to virtue. Curious as
We may think some of the commands to
be, and even more curious some of the
omissions, Ii must be admitted that were
All Sin to practice sincerely but small
fraction of the course of conduct there
latt Il for l.if Tafa -I.-z 4
be compelled to describe him, even in the
light of the nonconfornist conscience, as
highly respectable man. The Sacred
Editc" contains nothing quite eompar-
able to the first four comma nds- of our
Mosaic deealogue; while our sixth
seventh, eighth, and tenth command
ments, though, perhaps, to be deduced
from some OF its precepts, are nowhere
definitely expressed, But our fifth com
mandment which, by the way the rising
generation seems to consider a counsel
of perfection in Christian countries is
the bedrock of all Chinese moral phiios-
ophy and ethics. Filial piety, and the
necessity of obedience and submission
first to the father then to all the aged
and. thirdly, to all superiors, are so seiu-
logs1y inculcated on the youthful Chimes
as to profoundly influence even the polit-
ical condition of the country and TO
generate an extreme veneration for their
governors Again the twelfth preceps
of the Sacred Edict'' is equivalent to
our ninth commandment, forbidding the
bearing OF false witness. and the second
and third precepts are SO expounded as to
bring them almost On level with the
Christian maxim that man should love
his neighbor as himself. although thare
are evident indications that in China as
elsewhere. this was looked upon as no
easy task. Promise nothing more than
you mean to perform says one mofer-
ate and sensible commentator but he
adds, Remember that if poor relation
needs assistance il is your duty to give
it, and, moreover, you should enhance
your good Offices by the graceful manner
in which you do them
Hold agriculture in honor and cuIti-
vate the mulberry tree says the Sac