Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1900-10-11

always opened with n.nch ceremony ia
nc peserce of the Chief Magistrate.
who G. 'iveIed a discourse to the boVs,
exhorting them to be dlligent and
submissive to The master, and setting
for the the advantages of learning,
which has been, in every age, the only
road to wealth and honors in China.
At fifteen, those who had most dis
tingushed themselves were sent to
higaer schools, where public lectures
were given by learned professors on
the laws and government of the en-
pire and such subjects as were best
calculated to fit them for offices of
state, to which those who attended
these schools usually asDired, but
which were never bestowed on any but
such as had studied profoundly and
given proofs of their knowledge. Sub
ordination. submission to the laws, to
parents and to all superiors, and
peaceful demeanor, were strictly incul-
Gated. This instruction has contin
led unchanged. THE Chinese" says
a modern writer, "teach contempt of
the rude. instead of fighting with
+ EN-: and the man who unreasonably
insults another has public opinion
against him, whilst he who bears and
dsepises the affront is esteemed. A
Chinese would stand and reason with
a man when an Englishman would
knock him down, or an Italian stab
him. 1t is needless to say which is the
more rational proceeding"
Among the arts that are held in
high estimation among the Chinese is
that of writing, which was known at
so distant a period of their history
that it must have been one of their
earliest steps in civilization. That
art. as practiced in China, is rather
difficult of attainment, on account of
the number and not very simple for
nation of the characters; yet it was
rare to meet even with a poor peasant
who could not read and write, for rich
and poor were all educated alike, in
the manner just described, which is
mentioned as the ancient system in
books that were written more than
two thousand years ago. The auto
graphs of distinguished men are high
ly priced by the generations of today.
nd ,,,onn.npintc
f0und only in the nobleman's castle in
Europe. almost every Chinese peasant
possessed a scant library, and in every
d tfict there was a public library
where choice manuscripts could be
found.
About $50 B. c., there was bornin the
Kingdom of Su, babe that afterwards
grew 10 be one of the wisest men of
China. His name was Confucius.
The ancient Greek republics were in
all their glory and Rome was just be-
ginning to rise into power and great
ness. The princes of China were war
ring among themselves and the several
states were in disorderly condition.
Most of the states were trying to rem
der themselves free from the rule of
the emperor. The laws were not en-
forced and generally those whose bus
mess it was 10 enforce them We're the
principal culprits.
The age of Confucius was the great
turning-point in the history of China,
He was to eastern Asia what Martin
Luther was to western Europe, the
great harbinger of the departure of an
old, corrupt, and iron age, and of the
advent of a new, thinking, progressive,
silver age. Or we might compare the
new era of Chinese history from the
beginning of the Han dynasty (249 b.
c. to that of the Roman empire in
the Augustan age.
The proper name of Confucius was
Kung-Chung-ni, the first, according to
the Chinese order, being the family
name. He is popularly styled Kung-
! h-lHH' tilc last NOlu 10 a lItll NHlCH
we may translate doctor" or "profes-
sor.' Confucius has been given us by
the French missionaries as the Latin
equivalent. One of his contemporar-
les was the Jewish prophet Daniel.
His father held a high government po-
si5ion, but dying some three years
after his birth, seems to have left the
fnure philosopher very indifferently
provided for. He was a native of
wat is now Shan-tung in the north
east corner of the empire, the province
W ere he grew up to manhood. In his
nineteenth year he married, but di-
yorced his wife after she had borne
'him a son. The Chinese tell marvel
ons stories of his love of study when a
Child and of his early proficiency.
They also record a little fact which
may interest nologists-namely,
that Confucius' head was remarkable
for the elevation of its crown. In
summing up the work of this great
philosopher we can see that his only
object in life was TO reform the coun-
TTv and after Vparg of toll and hand