The evening times., 1900-09-14

red Edict,'' for the simple reason that
food and rainent are the two essentials
for every people, Also, prize order and
economy and save out of your riches"
not forgetting that the fourteenth pre-
cept of your Sacred Edict" enjoins that
you be exact in the payment OF your
taxes" Young China is eXhOrted. as is
young England in our catechisms, to do
the duty entertaining to your station IN
life. but. in addition, the former has
it authoritatiyefy explained to him that
the scholar, the agriculturist, the ar
tiSan, the tTadeSman, the soldier, each
has his obligations to fulfill and in that
respect ali are equal" He also has the
satisfaction OF knowing that what We
in Europe term the liberal professions
are IN his country on the same social
level as hS2dicrafts, and are moreover,
open by means of competitive examina-
u0ps TO all classes with but four in
significant eXceptious} of China men He
also has what TO him may perhaps be
the additional satisfaction OF knowing
that q certain Book OF Rites has map
ped out the possibilities Of his career,
and laid down strict regulations for his
conduct from the age of seven to that of
seventy At seven he should be taught
to count and name the cardinal points
At eight he must learn to wait on his
supeTlorS. At ten he should be sent to
a private tutor TO study writing and
arithmetic. At thirteen he learns music
and poetry At fifteen he must practice
archery and charioteering. Al twenty
he is formally admitted TO the rank of
manhood At thirty he may marry and
set up in business. AT forty he may
enter the service of the State. At fifty
he may become a Minister and at sew
enty he must retire from public life.
Legal ena2tments have great effect in
stereatyping the ethical conceptions of a
people, and it is a significant fact that. ac-
cording to law, the sacred edict'' has
been read 10 the people by high officials
throughout the land every month for the
last two centuries. But in spite OF one of
its prominent precepts, in which suing at
the law is denounced as unequiVocaly as
in the Sermon on the Mount, litigation is
very common in China and is frequently
carried TO ruinous extremes, while at the
same time the prevalence of bribery and
perjury constantly defeats the ends OF JUS
tice. Solicitors and barristers. however.
are dispensed with, the plaintiff and de-
fendant each conducting his own case and
the magistrate giving his decision in pub
hcs~<~Whether the Chinese possess any
thing corresponding to cur jury system
IS point upon which the best autherf-
ties happen at the moment to be at di-
Yergence- In many cases a kind of do
heStic arbitration is reSoTted TO- and re-
sponsIble members Of the families of the
contending parties adjudicate. with prob
ably as much satisfaction. or dissatisfac-
tion, to plaintiff and defendant as attends
the decision of the paid magistraey
Johns public benevolent institutions.
which are the practical outcome of
his system of ethics, must be passed
over for want Of space, but a word
must be said concerning the respect
for labor. which is such a cardinal
principle of Chinese ethics Man. accord
ing to their philosophy, is from the nature |
Of his being a Creator and a worker. and
labor. whether mental or manual. is held
to be both his duty and his privilege In |
certain industries labor is paid on the
piecework principle, in others on the prin-
ciple OF profit sharing but in most dis |
tricts individuals or families work for |
their own direct benefit and not as wage |
Combinations of workingmen are !
not only allowed but encouraged by law, |
and, although laborers are strictly con-
lined to their own districts, there is so
efficient system for the transferrence of |
labor according to the varying require |
ments of distant places that Europe may !
learn with envy that a congested labor
market or strike is thing totally un-
Globe