Old Beliefs in Learning:
Modern Neglect Brom Our Oww London, Feb. 20. far the lecturer had been con-
The Inst of the three lectures wen atthe University of London "The Civilization of China" was ivered yesterday by Dr.
Bruce, and dealt with education in China, Dr. Bruce remarked that it was perhaps a true thing (o say that on most. interesting facts ration in China wa China was the only wu po.sessing a stem of educa than which, if trac ion might be could be taken back the, time of Abraham. Ac~ wording" to ancient records, there existed in those early times Govern-went colleges, a system of education nda Board of Education. In these tarly records three facts might be nuoted which characterized not only the education of that time but ite development all through the 40 centuries which had since elapsed. The first was the second, the existence, side by wt a system of education in colleges end a system of public examina ions. The third was the ethical intent and ideal of this education. Modern methods were not neces:
arily the same as those of thes times.
With regard to the first fact, examinations were held not for those seeking office, but for those office. We did wot know what, the content of this edu tion was, tut here we had the germs, as were, of the system of exami for publ features hi me history. Tt was remarke that all "through this long period it had been for the most bart trig that Chinese statesmen ad been scholars, and, conversely, the greater part of the famous Chinese literature had been" pro duced by men in private life, Scholarship. was accessible to the of the peasant, and relatives of high officials owened their bread in rin labour in the fields. Edueaon was held in high esteem by th masses of the people, and it the ambition even of the poorest mun that one of his sons should be Schoo! v. Examination The second fact indicated in these carly records was the existence of the system of education in colleges by side with that of public nations. The records we events which occurred in the century GG—what had been the semi-tegendury period of the dawn of history. Luter we found a complete aystem of both schools und examinations in existence, and for a period of something like 4,000 years the xehool system ther than the ¢ ion system was in the ascendant. The lecturer cited the many important schools and alleges of ancient Ching, with the object of showing how complete and well organized was the system education at this curly tine, but said that by 221 a.d. the import. nee of the school and college had Degun to wane, The schools were longer the home of education fo its own sake, and under the. chus this trend reached its highest. In spite of the efforts of the rulers: the colleges fell more und more into decay, for the simple reason that they were it necessary as the th to office. The private and lage schools, on the other hand, were many of them of very high trade along their own Tines, and the teaching was almost invariably by the individual method. With the wassing of the Manchu Dynasty there had been a restoration of the school system.
Regarding the third fact, apart from musie—which was speci ally mentioned in these rosen and poetry, in early Chinese educa: tion the study of Confucian polities and the humanities predeminat ed. Turning from the content of the education to ite idols a aims, it would be found that. in its development it had all tended to bbe what it had been in the times—pre-eminently ater times this thi sidering the development of edu ion in China from the earliest time to our own. At this point. ko said, there came a violent break. Tu the year 1905. the system of compe tive examinations was abolished by jone stroke of the vermilion pen, of the Emperor. That was reason for so abrupt a.
vee Went without saying, and more progressive statesmen were convinced that it was the only jes: WHEN the fetainge nf this Jediet, the modern educational system, began to be built up. A Roard Jof Education on modern lines was stituted, and meanwhile a large' number of students had been sent. shroud, some to this country, more. to America, and still more to Japan, and on their return ty their own, vountey there Was an immense impulse forward in favour of modern education. What was the outcome.
it? The Government had act itself the stupendous task of creating fan entirely new aystem of educa Yon for the whole country, and fter the catastrophic change of the Revolution, "with polities! d tion und a bankrupt Treasury, it was little short of marvellous that the result was as efficacious proud a it was to-day this modern system there were well orga equipped and well Universities Peking, ablished schools in sand there were many private schools, At Tientsin and Shanghai there were two motte private te affed and ay pin and there were ore ther The Government—schools varied considerably—on the literary vide of education—efficieney was universal, but on the technical side education lamentably failed. But however ffi 12 school minit be, their number was hope: Horaly inadequate for the need. In 4 population of 400 millions would probably "not Joverveatimate ty record $0 million children of reheel age, but' there [wus provision only for' she due tion of five millions, and a trem ous task had still to be Exec time ago jan article by a \by the Raitor as une of China's Jablest and most distinguished mens [showing the rela the writer said <onat a single fous this problem the Boxer riy Titerates were to be
Indemnity would be a mere drop in. the bucket. But for any develop. ent a stable Government was the necessity, and those who knew China could not but lieve that such a Govern ment would eventually come. A lecrtain revenue 7 ed. shoul the purpose of education, ahd the Government should do. voluntarily: what had been done elsewhere with such excellent result, and collin some experienced foreign education Jat administrators as advisers to sexist them in their task.
Protestant religious education in China boran about the middle of the last century, and from very small beginnings had grown to such 4 point that it constituted a considerable contribution to the edues-[tional output. There were 16 cole Teges "University standing and 7,000 primary and seconde Jury schools. The British share of this wax considerably smaller than [the American. The great dange Chinese education to-day luck of a moral dynamic, se-ts, be religiously neutral.: r. Bruce laid great stress on the decay of schools and colleges in modern, as compared with ancient, times. more pronounced and extensively Guborated, and went further in the conception' of the qualities of th "noble and princely man" which we ewed "t0 Confuein ~The Released Boxer Money Touching on the release of the Boxer Indemnity, the lecturer said hoped the money would not be
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.