A scholar in the old days doubtedly enjoyed the highest social status to which none belonging to ther castes could aspire. Ile was treated with great respect by the public, He was presumed to be a man of etiquette and refinement vith a high sense of morality. His hands must be soft with his finger nails growing to a considerable: length us a visible proof that he lad not done any menial work. Yas not expected to take any' kind physical exercise, nor was he supposed to possess sufficient. strength to enable him "to cope: with a chicken." Whenever a local question arose, the officials appealed to him for advice and nobody else.
private individual, having a alf Zerenee with another, did not 0 to court of justice to settle their disvite, he, too, referred his affairs to scholar living near by, The word scholar in the Chinese language is "a book reader," which term of course, included all those who had successfully passed the examina~ tions us well as. those who had Wen qualified to attend. The fact that a student having sufficient eonfidence in himself to attend, ivvespective of the result, in itself seem-to have enhanced his prestige among his villagers, 'The holder the first literary degree was addressed by all as a teacher, and that of the second degree as' "Old Father," the same title of respect ted when addressing magistrate or chih hsien, The popular estimat tion of his knowledge was without Hinit, he was presumed to know everything, What he did not know could be made known by referring to his books, the classics, and all that was not mentioned therein were not worthy of notice. This was no doubt one of the many re suns that made "a book reader" a elf-conceited, bigoted, narrowed rainded and conservative man, but} far as modern education is' con~ cored, he was the least educated for outside his books he know next} to nothing.
Unrecognized Books as a matter of fact, arks of equal merit fin existence which can compare favourably with the classies so far az literary attainment is concerned. Those have never been regarded standard classics and have not been enshrined in. the highest pinnacle in Chinese literature. All literary men of the Innd must bow to one great master, Confucius, and were forbidden to advance" any now {ideas contrary to or inconsistent with his, Any thinker bold enough to transcend (his rule was punished with the zeal and energy that <n Grthodox churchman in Europe in the middle ages "used to the re-
The Chinese been blamed by many for as possessing a mind incapable, of originality—a most unjust acetisation. Quite a few of the most important inventions came from China. It was was due to the selfish policy of her rulers and a dete educational institution, that intellectual development. has deen kept at a standstill. As soon as this artificial check is removed, reaction at once sct in. The present danger lies in the fact that it is going too fast. The world is taken aback at the recent events taking place in the country. What had, deen the most conservative clements, the literati, less than thirty years iyo, are to-day ready to absorb and assimilate all kinds of modern ideas including communism. Chi is subject to the universal law nature. The pendulum set 1 on release, it has gone over to the other end, but in time will settle at some' mid:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.