The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-11
Chinese Art = Science = Literature
Education.
ARTICLE XII.

Chinese Art - Science = Literature
Education.
From the Occidental point of view a
chapter on the literature. science and
education of the Chinese might be made
as short as the famous chapter on Snakes
III ireland. But everything depends upon
the point of view. Every statement with
regard to China must be made with am
PIE reservations. If for instance we
state that their literature is-of no i'm
poftance, we are confronted by the un-
deniable fact that it is voluminous; that
1t contains ethical instruction of the
highest order; that this is seduIousIy in
stilled into the mind of every boy from
childhood up, and that familiarity there
With Is the only door to an official career.
If we sneer at their art and sciences.
similar difficulties arise. They had gun
powder, the compass, paper, silk, types,
printing, hthographing, chess, astronoml-
cal records and many siIlled Crafts long
before Europe. The governmental reform
and social politeness to which we are
even now painfully aspiring were second
nature to the Chinese long before the
Christian era. pTEz4tss
So of education. we pride, ourselves
on our system Of public schools, and we
our institutions. Yet in China the public
appreciation Of education is so strong that
private subscriptions for centuries have
established schools everywhere, without
government aid, more men can read and
write than In any other country. and
those who have completed their education
are held in the highest respect. What Is
more to the point, every Chinese boy is
taught persistently from the beginning,
that he must be respectful to his superiors
and elders. polite to his equals, kind to
all, modest, Industrious and virtuous.
There are things in which even Chinese
can give US points for they are the po-
litest people in the world.
When they observe the loud, brusque
speech of Europeans and Americans,
their Indifference to etiquette or even
common civility, the boldness of their
women, they are moved to contempt and
disgust and say "barbariansn They are
amazed to see the Indifference WITH which
foreigners throw away printed and writ
ten paper. To them everything pertain
ing to learning is SO sacred that they
have baskets hung in public places with
this sign, Have respect for the written
characters" Into these all scraps of
writing or printing are put, and the con-
tents are burned with much ceremony
This may be heather superstition, but it
is certainly an Improvement on our style
of strewfng the streets with castaway
newspapers.
In China government and education are
mere closely united than anywhere else
not excepting even this great home Of
the public school. They do not need civil
service reform. for they have never
had anything else Admittance to an Of
fetal career has always been through
the government literary examina Se~ns,
and they are open to every man in. the
empire. with the exception of criminals
and some others. We are proud to point
to such men as Lincoln and Garfield,
to show how in the great free republic
the humblest may rise to the highest
place; but in China that has been true
for centuries, and explains the unfyer-
sal thirst for knowledge. Secure ed
ucation and become an official" is the
first maxim impressed on a youths mind.
This method of selecting government
officials was established by a Chinese en-
-peror over $500 years ago, at a time
when intrigue, bribery and violence were
the accepted methods in the rest of the
world. The method, unchanged for cen
turtles like everything else is as fol-
lows: Yearly eXamina tons are held in
the authority and direction of the vicerov.
The candidate must pass three of these
before he Is eligible for the next higher
examination, held in the capital Of his
province If he passes that, he is then
allowed to enter the highest of all, held
IN Pekln once in three years If he passes
That, his reward is to be given the high
est degree and to be placed on the wait
ing list.
The degrees conferred are: First, bud
ding talent; second, promoted men;
third, entered scholar. The examina
tions are no childs play; their severity
increases with each step up, and the
ranks thin fast 1t is estimated that
as many as 100000 scholars enter the first
heat all over the empire, but the average
at the Pekin finals is only 14.O0O and
less than 10 per cent of them pass under
the Wire
There is no limit on age or number of
trials, and those Of seventy and eighty
years old are frequently seen in the
finals. One man of ninety years Of age
dled In his stall under the nervous stress
OF the final examination. An honorary
degree was conferred upon his cornse
IN recognition of his perseverance, for
he had already failed three times. 1t ia
almost as pathetic as the office-seekfng
tragedies with which Washington is ia
miliar.
Is all this struggle due to place-hunt-
ing fever only? Not exactly. It is that
plus something more. In the first place
1t Is to be remembered that there is no
in China, no ranks or titles
to be striven for, the only door to pre-
ferment, distinction and power is this
one Once man has passed his first
examination, he begins to be a person of
and his friends who have
made sacrifices to prepare him. share in
his honor. If he returns from Pekin
with the degree of Entered Scholar. the
whole town turns out 20 honor him
There is but one bigger man in the prov
lnce-the viceroy-and even he is ternpor-
ar1ly eclipsed The neighbors vie with