Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-03

English, French, German or Russian.
English is now the most popular. and
about eighty students are studying 1T.
French ranks next, and then German
and after them Russian and Japanese.
| visited this school yesterday. 1t is
within the walls of the imperial city and
not far from the Forbidden city in which
the emperor lives. l had to go mile
or SO around the wall before I reached
the gate of the compound where the col
lege buildings are located. They are OF
modern style. and of one and two stories
The material is gray brick with doors
and balconies of wood. The latter are
painted bright blue. making the buildings
look gaudy.
The school has a campus. drill ground,
and large examination hall where
the students sit at tables under the
eyes of their instructors and write
their essays and answers to the test
questions The examinations usually last
about three days. Upon finishing his
paper, each student writes his name on
a corner in such a place that it can be
rolled up and sealed. The paper is then
numbered and the Judges must pass
upon it without knowing to whom 1t be-
longs Only after the decision Is made
Is the name unSealed.
AS went through the clasSrooms OF
this academy 1 saw many OF the things
that are now turning China upside down.
Every schoolroom had maps showing that
the world is round and not fiat or square.
On the walls hung maps OF the various
continents, and some represented China
In its proper scale in Asia. These maps
are u constant reminder of the big world
away from home They are in strange
contradiction to the plans of the world
which the Chinese used only few years
ago. The latter represented a vast space
devoted to China, with d few patches
around the edges. These were the lands
of the barbarlans, and comprised all of
the world that belonged to the rest OF
mankind. In one classroom l saw d
large wall map of the United States, with
Boston, ST Louis, New York and Chicago
printed in type half an inch long, and
in other rooms were mineral maps and
others illustrating physical geography.
] heard a lecture on ethics delivered In
Chinese by celestial professor. and saw
about thirty-two boys practicing mathe-
NAUTICAL drawing. In the latter room l
asked one of the boys if he understood
English. He replied:
only a little but added that he was
studying German. | then addressed him
In German. and found that he could
speak the language better than could.
| examined the dormitores to see how
the boys live. There are six students to
every room of about fifteen feet square.
The beds are sina<> and are arranged
against the walls d, the two ends of the
room. II the center is the study table,
and about stand the boxes where the
young men keep their clothes. There is
no privacy. and an American boy could
hardly study in such surroundings. "A.
the rate for tuition and board is all told
less than So a month. and many of the
students who have scholarships are
charged only for their food. The boys
work hard and learn easily.
From this language academy, in COM
pany with DR.. Tenney, the Chinese secre-
tary Of our legation, l went to the I'm
perial University of Picking. This is also in
the Imperial city. not far from Coal Hill,
in which the emperor was temporarily
buried a few months ago. The buildings
are altogether Chinese. They are low
one-story structures running around paved
courts. The walls have large windows of
a beautiful lace work of wood. backed
with white paper. and the heavy tiled
roofs SO overhang that each court has