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THE CHINESE SYSTEM OF 
 PUBLIC EDUCATION 
 
 PING WEN KUO, Ph.D. 
 
 MEMBER OF THE KIANGSTJ PROVINCIAL EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION 
 
 TO EUROPE AND AMERICA AND SOMETIME MEMBER OF 
 
 THE CHINESE MARITIME CUSTOM SERVICE 
 
 TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 
 CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION, No. 64 
 
 PUBLISHED BT 
 
 aitBtlftta (SoUrs^, (Hobmibia Ilnitterattg 
 
 NEW YORK CITY 
 
 1915 
 
COPTRIQHI, 1915, 
 BY 
 
 Ping Wen Kito 
 
 
 
 
 PRESS OF 
 
 'STEINMAN & roUTZ, 
 
 LANCASTER. PA. 
 
to all those who 
 
 are intebested in the development 
 
 of education in china 
 
 This Monograph is Respectfully Dedicated 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The awakened interest in the new educational era in China 
 has brought into existence, within the last few years, several 
 books in English dealing specifically with the subject of Chinese 
 education. Among these are "The Education of Women in 
 China," by Margaret E. Burton; "The Educational System 
 of China as Recently Reconstructed," by Henry Edwin King; 
 and "Chinese Education From the Western Viewpoint," by 
 Yen Sun Ho. Each of these timely works throws some light 
 upon one or another of the many phases of Chinese education, 
 and hence has a place in the literature of the subject. There is 
 still, however, a great demand for a work which will present a 
 connected account of the Chinese Public Educational System 
 in its long process of development, giving a perspective view 
 of the rise and fall of the ancient and traditional systems of 
 education under successive dynasties, as well as a picture of 
 the modern educational system as it is reorganized under the new 
 republic. The present study is an attempt to fill this want, 
 and, so far as the knowledge of the author goes, it represents 
 the first serious attempt to disentangle the complicated history 
 of Chinese education for the English-speaking public. 
 
 In dealing with a subject of this character, the question of 
 selection among the materials available and that of proportion 
 among the parts have been difiELcult to solve. In spite of the 
 care taken, it will doubtless be found that many things have 
 been omitted which were worthy in every way of a place with 
 those which have been mentioned, and that some phases sum- 
 marily dealt with might well have been elaborated. In spite 
 of these limitations, I trust that this general sketch of the 
 development of the Chinese Public Educational System may 
 not only be useful to those who are in any way interested in 
 Chinese education, but may also light the way for future re- 
 search. 
 
 The main portion of the data for this study is derived from 
 two general sources. The facts relating to the ancient and tra- 
 
vi Preface 
 
 ditional system of education are secured from the authoritative 
 encyclopedia by Ma-tuan-lin, entitled "Wen Hsien T'ung 
 K'ao," from the supplement to the same work, and from Biot's 
 work in French, entitled "Essai sur I'Histoire de I'lnstruction 
 Publique en Chine." Those relating to modern education 
 are obtained from Chinese educational laws, reports of the Min- 
 istry of Education and other educational bodies, and the cur- 
 rent numbers of the various educational periodicals, both of- 
 ficial and private. Other sources of information are listed 
 in the Bibliography. 
 
 I wish to express my thanks to Professors Farrington, Monroe, 
 and Hillegas, of Teachers College, Professor Hirth, of Columbia 
 University, and Dr. Sailer, of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign 
 Missions, as well as to my colleagues Messrs. Yu and Chen for 
 reading my manuscript. My thanks are especially due to the two 
 professors in charge of my major studies. Dr. Strayer and Dr. 
 Farrington, who have taken a deep interest in my work from 
 the beginning to the end. 
 
 P. W. Ktjo. 
 New York Citt, 
 June 1, 1914 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Paqb 
 
 Inthodttction, by Paul Monroe, LL.D xi 
 
 Introduction 1 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Oetgin op the Ancient Educational System. (2357-1122 B.C.) 
 
 Beginnings of educational effort 7 
 
 Institution of the examination system 8 
 
 Creation of offices of public education 8 
 
 Earliest schools and colleges on record 9 
 
 Content of ancient education 10 
 
 Method of ancient education 13 
 
 Aims of ancient education 14 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Ancient Educational System and its Decadence. (1122-206 B.C.) 
 
 Name, location, and character of schools 15 
 
 Content of education 18 
 
 Career of a boy 19 
 
 Caxeer of a girl 20 
 
 Method of education 21 
 
 Admission, examination, promotion 22 
 
 School age, term, and year 24 
 
 School offices 25 
 
 Number of schools 25 
 
 Administration of education 26 
 
 Examination or selective system 27 
 
 Ancient school system in its stages of decadence and transition 28 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Bbiep Survey op the Development op Education Dubinq Subsequent 
 Dynasties. (B.C. 206-A.D. 1842) 
 
 Development of education during the Han djmasty 33 
 
 Development of education from the Han to the T'ang dynasty 37 
 
 Development of education during the T'ang dynasty 39 
 
 Development of education during the Sung dynasty 45 
 
 Development of education during the Yuan or Mongol dynasty 51 
 
 Development of education during the Ming dynasty 53 
 
 Development of education during the Ching or Manchu dynasty 58 
 
 vii 
 
viii Contents 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Transition from Traditional to Modern Education. (A.D. 1842-1905) 
 
 Paqe 
 
 Beginnings of modern schools 64 
 
 Early attempts to modernize the examination system 66 
 
 Educational coimnissions to western countries 67 
 
 Effect of the Chino-Japanese war upon educational reform 69 
 
 The book of Chang Chih Tung and his recommendations concerniag 
 
 educational reform 70 
 
 Reforms and coimter-reforms of 1898 71 
 
 Effect of the Boxer and the Russo-Japanese war upon the progress of mod- 
 em education 72 
 
 Recognition by the government of the graduates of modem schools. ... 74 
 
 Effort to modernize the traditional schools 75 
 
 New provisions for the encouragement of study abroad 76 
 
 The first modern school system 78 
 
 Abandonment of the examination system 85 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 Construction of a Modern Educational System. (1905-1911) 
 
 The ministry of education 87 
 
 Aim of the modern educational system 89 
 
 Official regulations of 1906 90 
 
 National educational survey 90 
 
 Educational programs to prepare for constitutional government 91 
 
 System of national inspection 92 
 
 First central educational conference, 1911 93 
 
 Systems of provincial and local administration of education 94 
 
 Chinese educational missions abroad 97 
 
 Separation of the civil service examination system from the educational 
 
 system 98 
 
 Changes and developments in the school organization 99 
 
 Control of text-books 105 
 
 Status of education at the close of the Manchu dynasty 106 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Reorganization op Education under the Republic 
 
 Revolution of 1911 and its effect upon education 110 
 
 Temporary educational policy of the provincial government Ill 
 
 Emergency central educational conference, 1912 113 
 
 New aim of education 114 
 
 Reorganization of the administrative system 115 
 
 Reorganization of the school system 118 
 
 The new curriculum 127 
 
 New rules and regulations 131 
 
Contents ix 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Present-Dat Educational Problems op National Importance 
 
 Page 
 
 Helation of missionary education to the public educational system 136 
 
 Education and the development of moral character 141 
 
 School discipline and government 144 
 
 The financing of the new educational system 146 
 
 Universal education 149 
 
 Training of teachers 151 
 
 Relating education to life 161 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Summary and Conclusions 
 
 Education and national progress 163 
 
 Education and government service 164 
 
 V Centralization versus decentralization 164 
 
 Curriculum 165 
 
 Method of education 167 
 
 Education of women 168 
 
 Training of teachers 169 
 
 General outlook 170 
 
 Appendix 173 
 
 Bibliography 177 
 
 Index 179 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The intellectual classes among Oriental peoples are keenly con- 
 scious of the need of the Orient for Western learning. There 
 is a corresponding need, not so keenly felt however, of a knowl- 
 edge of Eastern learning and of Eastern aspirations and accom- 
 plishment on the part of the "Western world. This volume by 
 Dr. Kuo portrays the recent efforts of the largest and in many 
 respects the greatest of Oriental peoples to obtain such a famili- 
 arity with Western learning. At the same time it places in 
 a clear light the stages in the long evolution of the native culture 
 and of the educational system of the Chinese. In doing this 
 the author has made a contribution of great importance to the 
 Western knowledge of Eastern conditions. 
 
 Sympathetic Western observers who have been long in con- 
 tact with the Chinese give as their impression that, while there 
 are differences between these people and the Occidentals in 
 point of view and in method of approach, there is no funda- 
 mental difference in intellectual character, certainly no infer- 
 iority. The ethnologist and the sociologist re-enforce the opinion 
 of the empirical observer. Their judgment is that the distinc- 
 tion between the Oriental and the Occidental lies in technique 
 and in knowledge, not in intellectual caliber. It is because the 
 conception of life's values held by the Chinese is so different 
 from that of Western peoples, that they have failed to develop 
 modern technique and scientific knowledge. Now that they 
 have come to place a new value upon these, there can be no 
 doubt that rapid and fundamental changes will result. 
 
 Progress is largely the product of intelligence; while intelli- 
 gence is the product of intellect and knowledge, just as physical 
 force is the resultant of n^ass and momentum. The Chinese as 
 a people possess the mass but not the momentum. If modem 
 scientific knowledge be added to the intellectual qualities which 
 the Chinese possess, the result will be one which the Western 
 world cannot but respect and value. 
 
xii Introduction 
 
 The recent achievements of the Japanese in various lines of 
 endeavor, militant, commercial, scientific, are excellent illustra- 
 tions. It may be that these products of modern life are of no 
 more intrinsic value to the Oriental peoples than those traits of 
 character and products of social activity which they have held 
 from time immemorial to be of fundamental value. But the 
 Western world sets the higher value on these recent achieve- 
 ments, and the Orient is coming to the same opinion. 
 
 A nation that has preserved its identity by peaceful means 
 for three milleniums; that has made the soil produce subsistence 
 for a multitudinous population during that long period, while 
 Western peoples have worn out their soil in less than as many 
 centuries; that has produced many of the most influential 
 of modern inventions, such as printing, gunpowder, and the 
 compass; that has developed such mechanical ingenuity and 
 commercial ability as are shown in its everyday life, undoubtedly 
 possesses the ability to accomplish results by the use of methods 
 worked out by the Western world. When modern scientific 
 knowledge is added by the Chinese to the skill which they already 
 have in agriculture, in commerce, in industry, in government, and 
 in military affairs, results will be achieved on the basis of their 
 physical stamina and moral qualities, which will remove the 
 ignorance, the indifference, and the prejudice of the Western 
 world regarding things Chinese. 
 
 This volume by Dr. Kuo will add to the understanding which 
 his own people have of the task which is before them as well 
 as to the knowledge which the Western world has of these 
 changes now going on in the Orient — changes which are of con- 
 cern and, let us hope, of profit to both. 
 
 Teachers College, Paul MonROE. 
 
 Columbia University. 
 
THE CHINESE SYSTEM 
 
 PUBLIC EDUCATION 
 
 INTEODUCTION 
 
 The development of the educational system of China is a 
 subject full of deep and varied interest to all students, whether 
 of history, of politics, or of education. From it one might be 
 able to trace the causes operating at an early period of the world's 
 history to lead the people of China to so high a degree of civiliza- 
 tion and to hold in unity as a nation so many millions of people. 
 One might also be able to trace from it the method used to insure 
 the perpetuity of the government and the content of the people. 
 The way in which China's educational system has helped her 
 to mold the character of the people, giving them a cohesion and 
 a stability remarkable among the nations of the world, and the 
 manner in which she is now struggling to adapt herself to modern 
 conditions and to meet new demands, are also full of practical 
 lessons for statesmanlike educators of all nations. Indeed, a 
 record of even the mistakes and failures made by China would 
 be some contribution to the educational world, for it might 
 prevent other nations from falling into similar errors and warn 
 them to guard against similar mistakes. In a word, the story 
 of the development of education in China, like that of other 
 nations, possesses points of interest and lessons in management 
 valuable either positively as models for guidance or negatively 
 as experiments to be avoided. 
 
 In the following pages no attempt, however, has been made 
 to write a complete history of Chinese education, for to do so one 
 would have to include in its vast development the record of 
 the intellectual and moral culture of the Chinese people, or a 
 resum^ of their life in its diverse manifestations, literary and 
 
 1 
 
2 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 scientific, religious and political. He must, moreover, de- 
 termine the causes, so numerous and so diverse, which have 
 acted upon their character and shaped their educational in- 
 stitutions. What we have attempted to do is merely to make 
 a critical survey of the development of the Chinese public ed- 
 ucational system from the earliest time to the present period of 
 rapid and startling transition. By the term "public educa- 
 tional system" is meant the system of schools maintained and 
 controlled by the government for the education of the people. 
 Strictly speaking, it does not include the civil service examination 
 system, with which education in China is often identified, al- 
 though the development of the one has been closely bound up 
 with the development of the other. By the nature of the term, 
 it does not even include the system of schools controlled by pri- 
 vate individuals, which has played an important part in the de- 
 velopment of Chinese education, for education in China has been, 
 to a great extent, left to private initiative. Such being the limi- 
 tation, the civil service examination system and the system of 
 schools maintained by private individuals are therefore given a 
 subordinate place in the course of this study. Indeed, they 
 are mentioned only as they help to explain the evolution of the 
 Chinese public educational system. Although the field of this 
 investigation is so limited, the character of the study is never- 
 theless general rather than specific, extensive rather than in- 
 tensive. This plan is adopted deliberately for the simple reason 
 that at present the need for a work giving a comprehensive 
 view of Chinese educational history is much greater than for one 
 embodying the result of an intensive study of some single stage 
 of the Chinese educational development. 
 
 Students of the history of education must have been struck 
 by the fact that among the many influences which have shaped 
 the destiny of education in Europe and America none have 
 been so strong as those of religion and government. These 
 two factors have also been the dominant influences in shaping 
 the destiny of Chinese education. In the course of our inquiry 
 we shall see that Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and in recent 
 years Christianity, have all directly or indirectly exerted their 
 share of influence upon the educational system throughout 
 its course of development. We shall also note that the polit- 
 ical consideration has been strong from the very beginning of 
 
Introduction 3 
 
 China's history. Indeed, it may be said that the safety and 
 perpetuity of the state have been the motives at the back of 
 almost every educational effort put forth by the government. 
 The fact is that the educational system is a political institution 
 maintained by the state for the cultivation and promulgation 
 of national ideals in order that safety and stability might be 
 secured. Every school has been likened to a machine deliberate- 
 ly contrived by the state for the manufacture of the kind of 
 citizens which it wishes to have. In democratic states future 
 rulers must be trained; in military states future soldiers. Thus 
 each country brings forth through its educational institutions 
 a type of men and women characteristic of itself. 
 
 In addition to religion and government, we must mention 
 at least one other dominant factor which has influenced the 
 development of Chinese education, namely, the reverence for 
 antiquity. This high respect for the past, characteristic of 
 the Chinese people, fixed the gaze of ages upon past glory in- 
 stead of upon future progress. Two causes may be assigned 
 for this state of affairs. The first is unfamiliarity with the law 
 of progress. For thousands of years the people labored in such 
 a way as to give the impression that the older the civilization 
 the better it is, and that everything will be achieved when the 
 condition of antiquity is once restored. The second cause is 
 undue respect for the ancient sages, who were held in such a 
 high degree of veneration that people had the idea that they 
 must imitate their example in everything they do or say, other- 
 wise their sin would be indeed great. The three factors here 
 suggested, viz., religion, government, and reverence for antiquity, 
 have sometimes hastened the progress of education and some- 
 times impeded its progress. They have in one way or another 
 shaped the destiny of Chinese education. 
 
 Chinese institutions are an expression of Chinese character 
 and, in turn, Chinese character is reflected in Chinese institu- 
 tions, especially those of education. Thus the people of China 
 have been democratic in spirit; so has been their educational 
 system. Under the traditional system, persons of almost every 
 rank or class of society could become candidates for degrees. 
 It often happened that the humblest subject in the land climbed, 
 by sheer ability, to the highest round of the official ladder. This 
 same democratic spirit is now being manifested in the modern 
 
4 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 educational system. The new schools provided by the govern- 
 ment, as well as those provided by the people, are intended 
 for all and are being utilized by all classes of society. At least 
 there are as yet no sharp and well-defined schools intended 
 for sharply defined classes of people, such as we find in Germany 
 and, to some extent, in England and France. Indeed, in this 
 respect China is rather more advanced than America, for even 
 here the tendency of the upper classes of society to send their 
 children to special schools, under one pretext or another, is still 
 evident, especially in the East. 
 
 Again, the Chinese, like the English and the Germans, are 
 known as highly conservative, and their educational system 
 has also been conservative in character. The conservative 
 element in the national character of the Chinese is well illustrated 
 by the fact that the examination system, the Imperial Academy, 
 and several other educational institutions had an almost un- 
 broken existence for many centuries. The conservatism of 
 the Chinese, however, has its limits. The important changes 
 which the examination system and other educational institutions 
 have undergone prove that they are by no means so fettered 
 by tradition as to be incapable of welcoming improvements. 
 They may be slow in making a new departure, but once the truth 
 strikes home and its practicability is demonstrated, they do not 
 hesitate at the radical nature of the change, nor are they dis- 
 couraged by the difficulties and obstructions in the way. The 
 two characteristics here suggested will be fully illustrated in 
 the course of our present study. 
 
 In estimating the worth of the system of education of a foreign 
 country, one naturally and unconsciously is led to compare 
 it with the system of one's own country. Here we may raise 
 the question: What is to be the standard of comparison? What- 
 ever may be the answer, it seems certain that in making com- 
 parisons between two systems of education our judgment does 
 not depend upon an a priori set of conditions, but upon the 
 suitability of each to its environment. For the question is not 
 which is the better system, but which system is better suited 
 to its social and political background. It is only through keep- 
 ing in mind the setting of a system that one is enabled to give a 
 true estimate of its worth. Without weighing the environment 
 one is apt to judge a system according to ideal standards which 
 
Introduction 5 
 
 can be applied only to a system existing under ideal conditions. 
 In judging China's modern educational system one has also to 
 bear in mind that the policy of providing modern education upon 
 a national basis was not adopted till a few years ago, and that she 
 has not had as much time to develop it to a high degree of per- 
 fection as have the other nations. When due allowance is 
 made for this it will be seen that China compares favorably 
 with the best record found in the educational history of the 
 world. 
 
 But when all allowances are made, there still remains doubt 
 as to whether the systems of education are after all really com- 
 parable. Indeed, it has been declared by more than one writer 
 on comparative education that the really vital elements of two 
 systems of education cannot be directly compared. To quote 
 Hughes, "We can place in juxtaposition tables and statistics 
 showing the comparative costs of schoolhouses, payments of 
 teachers and other officers, the relative amounts paid for ed- 
 ucational purposes by each citizen, the amount spent on each 
 child's training in the school, the regularity with which the chil- 
 dren attend, the relative efficiency of the school laws, the rel- 
 ative facilities for higher training, and many other items; but 
 the really vital question is not touched by such figures. For 
 the question is, "Which of these systems of national training 
 makes the best citizen?" and when the question is put thus one 
 sees that its answer depends entirely upon what the phrase "best 
 citizen" may connote. The phrase in France or Germany 
 certainly does not imply the same attributes as in England or 
 America, so that it is immediately evident how difficult, if not 
 impossible, it is to answer such a question as " Which is the better 
 educational system, — that of Germany or of England?"^ Our 
 consideration then leads to some such conclusion as this: that 
 unless one takes extreme precautions, it is safer to let the system 
 of China stand upon its own merits, remembering that any na- 
 tional system of training to be successful must meet national 
 needs. 
 
 The question may be reasonably raised as to why China 
 has been behind other nations in adopting a modern system of 
 education providing training for all her citizens. The answer 
 is, there was no necessity for it. For centuries China, secluded 
 
 > Hugbes: The Making of Citizens, p. 4. 
 
6 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 by sea, mountain, and desert, was prevented from coming into 
 contact with western nations. With no railways or steamboats, 
 telegraph or telephone, and few, if any, newspapers, life was 
 simple and limited. Each community was a world by itself. 
 The traditional system of education was sufficient to insure 
 the safety of the nation and the content of the people. The 
 introduction of mechanical inventions of steam power and rail- 
 way which came with the advent of merchants and missionaries 
 from western countries made the Chinese see the possibility 
 of a fuller and richer life. Moreover, the forced contact with 
 the outside nations, the humiliations which China suffered, and 
 the birth of a new nationalism, made it necessary to change all 
 her social, political, and educational institutions, in order to 
 enable her to withstand troubles from within and foes from 
 without. ' 
 
 It is perhaps not out of place to recall here that the movement 
 for national training is a comparatively recent one even in west- 
 ern countries, and that it did not attain any considerable growth 
 until the nineteenth century. It is true that national systems 
 of education had existed in some countries long before the 
 modern era, but they were not comprehensive and national 
 in any such sense as they are to-day. However, the necessity 
 for such a training had long before been recognized by great 
 minds, such as Luther, Knox, Mulcaster, and a score of other 
 great educators. 
 
 Finally it must be observed that while China has been slow 
 in introducing reforms in her educational system she has always 
 regarded education as of the highest importance. Writers 
 on China's recent zeal for modern education have often spoken 
 as though a great change had taken place in the attitude of the 
 Chinese people toward education. This desire for western 
 learning, however, does not represent quite such a change as 
 at first appears. The spirit shown is really the same old spirit 
 which has characterized China for many centuries, namely, 
 high respect for learning. The change is not in the essence of 
 the spirit, but in the character of the learning which that spirit 
 admires. It used to admire the literary and ethical excellencies 
 of the ancient Chinese classics; it now extends its admiration 
 to the practical realities and usefulness of western science, 
 because it recognizes therein the instruments for the realization 
 of its new national and patriotic ideals. 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 ORIGIN OF THE ANCIENT EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 
 (2367-1122 B.C.) 
 
 Beginnings of Educational Effort 
 
 The beginnings of education in China can be traced as far 
 back as the very beginning of her civilization, to a time when 
 her social and political organizations were just emerging from 
 the earliest stages of development. At that epoch, that which 
 constituted the education of the people was general in character, 
 simple in form, and devoid of the complex organization charac- 
 teristic of education in more highly developed stages of culture 
 and civilization. People were then either still passing through 
 the period of hunting and nomadic life or in the first period of 
 settled life, and the training they gave to the young was chiefly 
 in the acquisition of various means for satisfying the bodily 
 wants, such as hunting, fishing, the keeping of flocks, and the 
 cultivation of the fields. The individual received such tiaining 
 through his daily experience, through the experience of his 
 family, and that of his tribe or clan. The aim of education, 
 conscious or otherwise, was to devise means for the profitable 
 use of the environment and for increasing the productivity of 
 the material resources. 
 
 The earliest authentic record of educational institutions of a 
 consciously organized character dates as far back as the time of 
 the two ancient rulers, Yao and Shun (2357-2205 B.C.), whose 
 reigns not only mark an advanced stage in the development 
 of the political, social, and intellectual life of the ancient Chinese, 
 but are considered as one of the most brilliant and perfect epochs 
 in Chinese history, resembling the period of the Antonines in 
 the history of the Roman Empire. During these reigns and in 
 the two dynasties which immediately follow, namely those of 
 Hsia (2205-1766 B.C.) and Shang (1766-1122 B.C.), we see not 
 only the origin of the civil service examination system, which 
 plays an important part in the history of Chinese education, 
 
 7 
 
8 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 but also the origin of state educational offices and the begin- 
 nings of schools and colleges which soon developed into a com- 
 plete system of schools the like of which one can scarcely find 
 in the long history of Chinese education until we come to our 
 own day. 
 
 Institution of the Examination System 
 
 The ancient educational system of China is closely bound 
 up with the competitive examination system whose object was 
 to provide men of ability for the service of the state. The 
 latter system, however, originally started with testing the ability 
 of those already in office and runs back in its essential features 
 to the earliest period of recorded history.' The germ from which 
 it sprang was a maxim of the ancient sages which is expressed 
 in the following words, "Employ the able and promote the 
 worthy," and examinations were resorted to as affording the 
 best test of ability and worth. Of the Great Shun, that model 
 emperor of remote antiquity, it is recorded that he examined 
 his officers every third year, and after three examinations 
 either gave them promotion or dismissed them from service.' On 
 what subjects he examined them at a time when letters were 
 but newly invented and when books were as yet rare,* we are 
 not told, neither are we told whether he subjected candidates 
 to any test previous to appointment; yet the mere holding of 
 such a periodical examination established a precedent which 
 continued to be observed even to modern times. 
 
 Creation of Offices of Public Education 
 
 To the ancient sovereign Shun, the "Book of History" has 
 also given the credit of having created among the nine admin- 
 istrative offices of the realm at least three offices of an educa- 
 tional character.* He appointed Hsieh as minister of education 
 (Sstitu), to teach the people the duties of the five human rela- 
 
 ' The examinations are of two kinds, whicli have been distinguished as pre-offlclal 
 and post-ofacial; the former is the offspring of the latter, wliich it has outgrown and 
 overshadowed. 
 
 • Legge: The Chinese Classics, Vol. Ill, Part I, p. 50. 
 
 ■ The books of this early period are made of tablets of bamboo upon which char- 
 acters are traced with a stylus. Some Chinese historians are wont to claim that a 
 large number of books recording the events of and belonging to dynasties preceding 
 the period of Yao and Shun were in existence, but such claims are unsupported 
 by any trustworthy evidences. 
 
 < Legge: The Chinese Classics, Vol. Ill, Part I, pp. 47-48. 
 
Origin of the Ancient Educational System 9 
 
 tionships, namely, the relationships between sovereign and sub- 
 ject, parent and child, husband and wife, elder and younger 
 brother, and between friends. He also appointed Baron I as 
 minister of religion to direct the three religious ceremonies' and 
 Kwei as director of music. These state offices of education 
 having their origin in the time of Yao and Shun were also found 
 during the time of the first two dynasties, Hsia and Shang, 
 not only in the capital of the kingdom but also in the capitals 
 of the various feudal states, at least in the larger ones.' This 
 record of public educational offices existing alongside of other 
 ministries of the state is significant in that it reveals the fact 
 that from the earliest time education or the provision for educa- 
 tion was recognized in China as a function of the government. 
 This explains in part why China had some sort of consciously 
 organized system of education long before any other Asiatic 
 or European people. 
 
 Earliest Schools and Colleges on Record 
 
 During the reigns of Yao and Shun there were in existence 
 near the Imperial Palace at least two kinds of educational 
 institutions, one called Shang Hsiang, and the other Hsia Hsi- 
 ang. The former was a college devoted to higher education 
 or Ta Hsiieh, and the latter was a college for lower education 
 or Siao Hsiieh. These institutions also existed during the 
 dynasties of Hsia and Shang, but were then known by different 
 names. During the Hsia dynasty they were known respectively 
 as Tung Hsii, or College of the East, and Hsi Hsii, or College 
 of the West. The College of the East was situated, as the 
 name indicates, at the east of the Imperial Palace, and the 
 College of the West was in the western precincts of the capital. 
 During the Shang dynasty they were respectively known as 
 Yu Hsiieh, or College of the Right, and Tso Hsueh, or College 
 of the Left, the former situated in the western precincts of the 
 capital, and the latter to the east of the Imperial Palace, hold- 
 ing positions the reverse of those held by the same institutions 
 during the preceding dynasty. These two kinds of institutions 
 
 » The three religious ceremonies are all the observances in the worship of the spirit 
 of Heaven, the spirit of the earth, and the spirits of the dead. Legge: The Chmese 
 Classics, Vol. Ill, Part I, p. 47. 
 
 • Legge: The Chinese Classics, Vol. IV, Part II, p. 301. 
 
10 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 were devoted to the education of the princes and the sons of 
 nobles and officials, as well as the promising youths of the com- 
 mon people. A custom was in vogue during those early dy- 
 nasties of supporting or entertaining with feasts the aged of 
 the state in the college for higher education and the aged of the 
 •people in the college for lower education.'' The sovereign made 
 regular visits to these institutions to pay his respects to the 
 aged men gathered there, and to discuss with them the problems 
 of the state. Certain ceremonies were performed during those 
 visits and these gave rise to a system of dances and music. 
 One finds, also, a record of the existence of other kinds of 
 educational institutions during that early antiquity, such as 
 Hsiao, Hsu, Hsiang Hstieh, and Ku Tsung. Hsiao, meaning 
 teaching, is a name given to the schools existing during the Hsia 
 dynasty for the education of the children of the common people. 
 Hsti, meaning archery, is the name used to designate the same 
 kind of schools existing during the Shang dynasty. Hsiang 
 Hstieh is the name given to a kind of educational institution 
 that was in existence in the departments (hsiang) of the feudal 
 states. The last mentioned institution, Ku Tsung, had its 
 origin also in the Shang dynasty. The word Ku, originally 
 meaning blind, is generally understood to mean musician, and 
 the word Tsung signifies honor. Ku Tsung then means the 
 hall where one renders honor to the blind, that is, the music- 
 ians. This institution was situated near the Imperial Palace 
 and in it music and ceremonies were at first taught. 
 
 Content of Ancient Education 
 
 The character of the ancient educational offices and of the 
 earliest schools and colleges reveals the fact that the content 
 of education in early antiquity consisted chiefly of rituals (li), 
 music, and lessons on the duties of the five human relationships 
 or the Five Humanities (Wu-lun). Rituals originally included 
 only the observances in the worship of the spirit of Heaven, 
 the spirit of the earth, and the spirits of the dead. They enabled 
 the individual to become familiar with forms of worship, which 
 
 ' The aged of the state (or Kuo-lau) included ofHclals and others distinguished by 
 their virtues, while the aged of the people (or Shu-lau) included fathers and grand- 
 fathers of those who died lu public service, as well as those whose only claim was 
 
Origin of the Ancient Educational System 11 
 
 played an important part in the public and private life of the 
 ancient people, since they believed that their happiness and 
 prosperity depended greatly upon the sustaining of a right 
 relationship with the spirits of the dead and that this right 
 relationship was dependent upon proper forms of worship. In 
 course of time, however, the term li came to include all religious 
 and social usages, manners, customs, as well as laws of the land, 
 such as we find embodied in the Book of Rites (Li-chi), Cere- 
 monial Rites of Chou (Chou-li), and Decorum Ritual (I-li). 
 The word ceremony, often regarded as the equivalent of the 
 word li, does not at all convey the true import of the word, for 
 li includes not only the external conduct, but also involves the 
 right principles from which all true etiquette and politeness 
 spring. The policy of the government, the organization of the 
 family, and the rules of society, are all founded on the true li. 
 In explanation of the importance of the three works on the sub- 
 ject of li or ritual, M. Gallery shows in a few words what a wide 
 field is covered : "Li epitomizes the entire Chinese mind, and, 
 in my opinion, the Li-chi is per se the most exact and complete 
 monograph that China has been able to give of itself to other 
 nations. Its affections, if it has any, are satisfied by li; its 
 duties are fulfilled by li; its virtues and vices are referred to li; 
 the natural relations of created beings essentially link them- 
 selves in li — in a word, to that people li is man as a moral, polit- 
 ical, and religious being in his multiplied relations with family, 
 country, society, morality, and religion."* 
 
 Next to li or rituals comes music, which includes poetry and 
 songs as well as dancing and instrumental music. The book 
 of odes (Shi-ching), which is a collection of rhymed ballads in 
 various metres, composed between the reign of the Great Yu, 
 the founder of the Hsia dynasty, and the beginning of the sixth 
 century B.C., throws much light upon the character of music 
 in the period under consideration. A number of musical in- 
 struments are mentioned in the odes. Among them are the 
 flute, the drum, the bell, the lute, and the Pandean pipes. The 
 ballads or odes are arranged under the following heads: (a) 
 ballads commonly sung by the people in the various feudal 
 states and forwarded periodically by the nobles to their suzerain, 
 
 8 Legge: The Chinese Classics, Vol. Ill, Part I, p. 47. 
 
12 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 the Son of Heaven'; (b) odes sung at ordinary entertainments 
 given by the suzerain; (c) odes sung on grand occasions when 
 the feudal nobles were gathered together; (d) panegyrics and 
 sacrificial odes. Many of the ballads and odes deal with war- 
 fare, and with the separation of wives from husbands; others, 
 with agriculture and the chase, with marriage and feasting. 
 To these may be added those containing complaints against 
 the harshness of officials, as well as against the ordinary sorrows 
 •of life. Of dancing, the Book of Rites mentions at least four 
 kinds which had to be performed in the great ceremonies. They 
 are called dances with the shield, with the lance, with the plume, 
 and with the flute, each named after the nature of the object 
 which the dancer holds in his hand.'" 
 
 The function of music was to mold the temper and the char- 
 acter of the individual, enabling him to be in harmony with his 
 fellow-beings and with the spirits." Thus in the appointment 
 'of Kwei as director of music. Shun is recorded to have enjoined 
 him to teach music to the youth of the land, so that "the straight- 
 forward may yet be mild, the gentle may yet be dignified, 
 the strong not tyrannical, and the impetuous not arrogant." 
 To the same ruler is credited the following conception of the 
 function of music: "Poetry is the expression of earnest thought; 
 singing is the prolonged utterance of that expression. The 
 notes accompany that utterance, and they are harmonized by 
 the pitch pipes. In this way the eight different kinds of in- 
 struments can all be adjusted so that one shall not take from 
 or interfere with another, and spirits and men will theieby be 
 brought into harmony."" 
 
 The Five Humanities as already observed deal with the duties 
 belonging to the relationships between parent and child, sov- 
 ereign and subject, husband and wife, elder brother and younger 
 brother, friend and friend. These relationships, according 
 
 • The ballads so forwarded were then submitted to the imperial musicians, who 
 were able to judge from the nature of such compositions what would be the manners 
 and customs prevailing in the state, and to advise the suzerain accordingly as to the 
 good or bad administration of each vassal ruler. 
 
 " Li CM Chu Shu, Vol. XX, p. 5. 
 
 " Gfitslaflt, in his history of China, speaking of music as a means of Inspiring the 
 softer feelings of nature, and of promoting harmony amongst the nations , suggests that 
 "the music of the ancient Chinese must have been far superior to that of their posterity, 
 for the Chinese music of modem times is not productive of the effect which it seems 
 once to having exercised. 
 
 "Legge: The Chinese Classics, Vol. Ill, Part I, p. 48. 
 
Origin of the Ancient Educational System 13 
 
 "to Mencius, should be guided respectively by the principles of 
 love, righteousness, propriety, deference, and sincerity." The 
 belief was that with these principles inculcated in the minds 
 of the people they would live at peace with one another and social 
 stability would thus be secured. 
 
 It seems clear that the content of education during the time 
 of Yao and Shun and the first two dynasties, Hsia and Shang, 
 was essentially moral and religious in character, dealing as it 
 does with the relationship between man and man and between 
 man and spirits. The existence of the institution known as 
 Hsii, where archery was practiced and taught, seems to indicate 
 that some form of physical or military training was also given. 
 Literary education, as we understand it to-day, hardly existed 
 at that early epoch, when the art of printing was not yet dis- 
 covered. It is recorded, however, that in the Shang Hsiang, 
 or college for higher education, the study of bamboo books 
 and the tracing of characters on bamboo tablets were among the 
 ■occupations of its students." 
 
 Method of Ancient Education 
 
 The method of education of the ancient Chinese, like that 
 used by the ancients of other nations, was simple in character. 
 As yet there was no large body of knowledge or organized sub- 
 jects of study through which the aims of education could be 
 realized. Although bamboo books are recorded to have existed 
 at that time, their use was confined, as we have seen, to the 
 Shang Hsiang, or college of higher education, and their number 
 must have been very small, owing to the difficulties involved 
 in their preparation. The moral training and the training in 
 ceremonials and music were given chiefly in two ways, by word 
 of mouth and by example. In the description of the training of 
 a boy given in the Regulations of the Interior, in the Book of 
 Rites, we read that in the performance of ceremonials and 
 usages of the school the master commences and the children 
 follow his movements. Again, history conveys to us the idea 
 that the ancient rulers and teachers ruled and influenced the 
 people not so much by their teachings as by their personal 
 character and conduct. It appears from these instances that 
 
 « Mencius, Book IV, Pt. I, Chap. 4, Sec. 8. 
 i« Li Chi Chu Shu, Vol. XX, p. S. 
 
14 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 the method of teaching by example received great emphasis 
 and that imitation, which is one of the effective methods of 
 acquisition, played an important part in the education of the 
 ancient people. Experience and observation somehow taught 
 those ancient Chinese the psychological principle that man 
 naturally and unconsciously molds his life according to the models 
 he admires, and hence that personal example, especially in re- 
 gard to morals and manners, is often superior to advice and 
 orders, because the model given often tells the individual more 
 clearly what to do, or makes him more inclined to do it, than 
 mere words could possibly do. 
 
 Aims of Ancient Education 
 
 We have observed that at the dawn of civilization the aim 
 of education, whether conscious or otherwise, was merely to 
 devise means for the profitable use of environment and for 
 increasing the productivity of material resources. By the time 
 of Yao and Shun and the dynasties of Hsia and Shang, how- 
 ever, society had reached a high degree of development which 
 caused a change in the motives of educational efforts. The 
 aim of education, now clearly conceived and definitely for- 
 mulated, was to enable the individual to live peaceably with 
 his fellow-beings and to maintain the stability of the state. 
 This twofold aim of education is embodied in the familiar 
 Chinese expression "Hsiu Chi Chih Jen," meaning to cultivate 
 one's self and to govern others. To cultivate one's self involves 
 the application of the principles of the five human relationships 
 in one's daily life, and to govern others consists in making rit- 
 uals and music effective in the control of public and private 
 life." Stated in more general terms the aim of education was 
 to develop the individual into a man of virtue and culture, and 
 to secure social control through raising up leaders with ability 
 and character to influence the lives of others. These aims have 
 continued to be the motives of Chinese education throughout 
 China's history of many centuries. 
 
 » Chiao Yu SUh, p. 1; Cha Na CMao Yu Shlh, p. 2. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 ANCIENT EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND ITS 
 DECADENCE 
 
 Dynasties of Chou (1122-255 B.C.) and Chin (255-206 B.C.) 
 
 Under the benign influence of the founders of the Chou dy- 
 nasty, "Wen Wang, Wu Wang, and Chou Kung, whose erudition, 
 integrity, patriotism, and inventions place them among the 
 most distinguished men of antiquity, Chinese institutions, both 
 social and political, made rapid advance, and by the time the 
 Chou dynasty was at its period of greatest prosperity, China 
 had already reached the zenith of her civilization. Great pro- 
 gress had been made in government, science, education, and 
 philosophy, and an era of great refinement and culture, bearing 
 resemblance to the Periclean age of the Grecian history, had 
 been ushered in. In the meantime, the ancient educational 
 system, the beginnings of which we have already traced, had 
 developed along with other institutions to such a stage of per- 
 fection that it actually provided popular as well as higher edu- 
 cation. This system, being regarded as the best educational 
 system China ever had, has always been referred to with pas- 
 sionate admiration by the Chinese people of after generations. 
 Such being the case, the system deserves to be considered some- 
 what in detail. We shall first examine the system at its best 
 and then notice the change during its stages of decadence and 
 transition. 
 
 Name, Location, and Character of Schools 
 
 Speaking generally, there were in existence during the time 
 of the Chou dynasty two sets of schools, one of which was found 
 in the capital of the king and in the capital cities of the feudal 
 states, and the other in the feudal states at large. Those which 
 come under the former category were five in number, namely, 
 Shang Hsiang, Tung Hsii, Ku Tsung, Cheng Chun, and Pi 
 Yung. Shang Hsiang derived its name from the college for 
 
 15 
 
16 The Chinese System of Public Edv,cation 
 
 higher education, established during the reign of Shun. During; 
 the Chou dynasty this institution was situated in the western 
 suburb of the Palace in the northern part of the capital. It 
 was a school devoted to lower education, which included read- 
 ing and writing. This institution is sometimes called Mi-lin, 
 or granary of rice, because it was used to store the supplies of" 
 grain dedicated to sacrifice. In this institution the aged of 
 the people were entertained by the sovereign. Tung Hsu, or 
 College of the East, derived its name from the college for higher 
 education, of the Hsia dynasty, and was sometimes called Tung 
 Chiao. It was situated in the eastern suburb of the capital, 
 to the right of the Palace, and was an institution devoted to 
 higher education, or Ta Hsiieh, where rituals and various kinds 
 of dances were taught. In this college the aged of the state 
 were entertained by the sovereign. We recognize Ku Tsung as. 
 having originated in the dynasty of Shang, it being a musical, 
 gymnasium where the students were taught to sing songs, to 
 play musical instruments, and to perform the various rituals. 
 Cheng Chun, or College of Perfection and Equalization, had its 
 origin in the Chou dynasty, and was devoted to higher ed- 
 ucation. It received its name because it perfected that which 
 was lacking in the students, and equalized that which was ex- 
 cessive or defective in them. This college was situated in the 
 southern part of the capital. The last named institution, Pi 
 Yung, was situated in the center of the capital. Regarding, 
 the exact nature of this institution there is much uncertainty. 
 Some regard it as merely a field of military exercise, like the field 
 of Mars of ancient Rome; others think it was a kind of quasi- 
 educational institution where the sovereign met the ministers 
 of state for conference concerning the affairs of the state.* 
 According to Li-chou, a work published in 1092 under the Sung, 
 dynasty and cited by Ma-tuan-lin, Pi Yung was identified with 
 the College of Perfection and Equalization which we have men- 
 tioned as an institution devoted to higher education. In the 
 section Wen Wang Shih Chih of the Book of Rites, the name- 
 Cheng Chun first appears to designate a school of higher learn- 
 ing; later the name Pi Yung was employed for a similar purpose,. 
 
 1 The two words Pi and Yung are represented by two different sets of characters : 
 in the Boole of Poetry and the Book of Bites, and can thus admit different interpre- 
 tations. 
 
Ancient Educational System and its Decadence 17 
 
 and the name Cheng Chun ceased to be used. It is quite possi- 
 ble then that the two names representing the same institution for 
 higher learning existed during different times of the same dynasty. 
 However, most writers seem to favor the interpretation making 
 Cheng Chun and Pi Yung two distinct institutions. Thus the 
 imperial edition of the Book of Rites gives a chart illustrating 
 the position of each of the five institutions. Pi Yung is repre- 
 sented as being in the center of the capital; Cheng Chun in the 
 south; Shang Hsiang in the north; Tung Hsii in the east; and 
 Ku Tsung in the west. The name Pi Yung was reserved to 
 designate the college in the imperial capital, and the corre- 
 sponding institution found in the capital cities of feudal states 
 was known as Pan Kung. 
 
 Regarding schools existing in the feudal states during the 
 Chou dynasty, we are told that each hamlet (lli) had halls of 
 study called Shu; each village (tang) had a school called Hsiang 
 or Hsii; each district (chou) had a school called Hsii; each de- 
 partment of a state (hsiang) had a college called Hsiang.' Shu 
 refers to the two halls of study which were found on the sides 
 of a gate situated at the entrance of the street composing the 
 little village lii. According to the usage of the people of the time 
 of Chou, each day, after the opening of the work of the spring, 
 all the inhabitants of each village, men and women, in going 
 out to the fields in the morning and in returning home in the 
 evening, received instruction in the halls of study. The instruc- 
 tion was given by men of strong moral character chosen from 
 the former officers of the state, who retired from public service 
 upon reaching the age of seventy. The village school is some- 
 times called Hsiang, and sometimes called Hsu. Both of these 
 names were carried over from the schools of former dynasties. 
 The district school called Hsii also derived its name from the 
 dynasty of Hsia when it represented a kind of gymnasium for 
 instruction and practice of archery. The name Hsiang, given 
 to the college of each department of each feudal state, had its 
 origin in the time of Shun, when it was a college of higher ed- 
 ucation. 
 
 'According to the system adopted by the Chou dynasty for the division of the 
 people, every twenty-five families make one lu; every 500 families make one tang; 
 five tang, or 2,500 families, make one chou; five chou, or 120,000 families, make one 
 hsiang; and a number of hsiang make up one principaUty or feudal state. The 
 number of hsiang which make up each principality changes from time to time. 
 
18 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 Content of Education 
 
 In the description of the various schools of the imperial cap- 
 ital and those of the capital cities of the feudal states, we have 
 observed that reading and writing were taught in Shang Hsiang, 
 dancing was taught in Tung Hsii, rituals were taught in Ku 
 Tsung, and music in Cheng Chun. These represent merely 
 special subjects taught to princes and to sons of nobles and 
 officers. In addition, students were given training in ethical 
 ideas and in personal morality, as well as poetry, mathematics, 
 archery, charioteering, and various other arts useful in the life 
 of the time. The whole curriculum of the time of the Chou 
 dynasty, according to the section on Department of Earth 
 (Ti-kuan) of the Book of Rites, is expressed in the following 
 terms: the six virtues, the six praiseworthy actions, and the 
 six arts. The six virtues are wisdom, benevolence, goodness, 
 righteousness, loyalty, and harmony. The six praiseworthy 
 actions are honoring one's parents, being friendly to one's 
 brothers, being neighborly, maintaining cordial relationships 
 with relatives through marriages, being trustful, and being 
 sympathetic. The six arts, which correspond to the Trivium 
 and Quadrivium of the medieval schools, consist of rituals, 
 music, archery, charioteering, writing, and mathematics. A 
 liberal education includes five kinds of ritual, five kinds of 
 music, five ways of archery, five ways of directing a chariot, 
 six kinds of writings, and nine operations of mathematics. 
 Judged from the modern point of view the training was moral, 
 physical, and intellectual in character, and closely related to 
 life, preparing, as it did, the individual to participate in the 
 daily activities of life. The ideal of education of the time of 
 Chou seems to have been the harmonious and symmetrical 
 development of the body and mind, and may be said to repre- 
 sent a combination of Spartan and Athenian ideals of education, 
 which called for a training at once intellectual and moral, as 
 well as physical and military. 
 
 The chapter entitled Regulations of the Interior (Nei-tse) 
 of the Book of Rites contains a description of the life of a boy 
 and a girl in ancient times, which not only gives a more vivid 
 picture of the exact nature of education, but also shows the dif- 
 ference between the training of a boy and that of a girl. This 
 description when translated reads as follows : 
 
Ancient Educational System and its Decadence 19 
 
 Career of a Boy 
 
 At six years of age the child is taught the numbers (1, 10, 
 100, 1000, 10,000) and the names of the points of the compass. 
 At seven years of age the boys and the girls do not sit on the 
 same mat; they do not eat together. At eight years of age, 
 children should follow the older persons in entering and going 
 out of the gate of the house, in sitting upon the mat, and in drink- 
 ing and eating. They begin to be taught to show deference, 
 that is, to give precedence to others. 
 
 At nine years the youth is taught to distinguish days (the 
 first day of the month, the day of the full moon, and the names 
 of the days in the cycle of sixty). At ten years the youths go 
 out, and commence to engage in occupations outside the house. 
 They dwell for a certain time away from home to study writing 
 and mathematics. For their clothing, they do not wear pure 
 silk. In the performance of ceremonial rites and in the usages 
 of the school the master commences and the children follow his 
 movements. In the morning and in the evening they study 
 the practices and habits of children of ten years. They ask 
 questions of those who are older; they trace characters upon 
 tablets of bamboo and learn to pronounce them. 
 
 At thirteen years of age they study music; they read aloud 
 songs in verse. They dance the dance "Cho." When they 
 have completed fifteen years, they dance the dance "Siang." 
 They learn archery and charioteering. 
 
 At twenty years the young man becomes of age. He com- 
 mences to study the rituals. He can wear clothing made of 
 fur and of pure silk; he executes the dance of Ta-hia (instituted 
 by Yu). He practices sincerely filial piety and fraternal love; 
 he extends his acquaintances, but he teaches not (because he 
 fears that his ideas may not yet be sufficiently pure). He keeps 
 to himself, and does not push himself forward. 
 
 At thirty years he marries; he commences to perform the 
 duties of the man (i.e., he receives a field to cultivate, and 
 fulfills the duties toward the state). He extends his studies, 
 but not regularly (if he has a subject which pleases him, then 
 he studies). He enters into league with his friends and com- 
 pares the purity of their intentions. 
 
 At forty years of age he commences to enter into public offices 
 of the second order; according to the nature of affairs, he ex- 
 
20 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 presses his opinions, he produces his observations; if the orders 
 of superiors are conformable to good rules, then he fulfills 
 his duty and obeys; if they are not, then he withdraws himself 
 from public service. 
 
 At fifty years of age he receives the higher insignia, becomes- 
 a prefect, and enters into the offices of the first order. At 
 sixty years of age he withdraws from public affairs. 
 
 Career of a Girl 
 
 The girl, at the age of ten, no longer goes out of the house;* 
 as soon as she reaches this age, she remains at home. The 
 instructress teaches her to be polite and modest, to listen and 
 obey. The girl occupies herself with roping the hemp and silk, 
 and in weaving. She learns to do the work of women, such as 
 the making of clothing. She supervises the family sacrifices; 
 she brings the wine, the extracted juices, the baskets and earthen 
 vessels, the macerated plants, and the minced meats. In the 
 performance of rites, she helps to place the objects to be offered. 
 
 At fifteen years of age she pins up her hair (if she is betrothed) ; 
 at twenty years she marries. If she loses her father or mother 
 at this age, she marries at twenty-three years of age. If it is 
 a regular marriage she becomes a legitimate wife; if it is a 
 marriage without formalities, she becomes a concubine. 
 
 The descriptions just given indicate plainly the separation 
 of the studies of boys and girls after the age of ten. The girls 
 were then obliged to remain inside the house, occupying them- 
 selves only with the duties usually assigned to women;* and judg- 
 ing from the silence of the Book of Rites, they learned neither 
 reading and writing nor mathematics. In fact, this kind of knowl- 
 edge is mentioned only in the studies of male children, and is 
 given to them only after they have reached the age of ten years. 
 These facts are sufficient to show that during the Chou, dynasty 
 there was little opportunity provided for the intellectual train- 
 ing of women. This is not to be taken, however, to mean that 
 the people of ancient China did not realize the importance of 
 
 ' This usage no doubt refers to girls of the upper class, for in connection with the 
 village schools we have observed that it was customary in the time of Chou for men 
 and women to go out into the fields to work after the opening of the spring season. 
 
 4 This statement is borne out by other documentary evidences. For example, 
 one reads in the Book of Odes that a girl learns how to prepare the wine and how to 
 cook food, and that she endeavors not to be burdensome to her parents. 
 
Ancient Educational System and its Decadence 21 
 
 women's education, but rather to indicate that intellectual train- 
 ing was not regarded as an essential part of women's education 
 because their sphere of duty is limited to the home. In the 
 education of women great emphasis was laid on the up-build- 
 ing of moral conduct and on the inculcation of feminine virtues. 
 It is recorded in the Ceremonial Rites of Chou that the imperial 
 wives systematized the laws for educating females in order 
 that the ladies of the Palace might be instructed in morals, 
 conversation, manners, and work, and that in the good old 
 times of Chou, the virtuous women set such an excellent ex- 
 ample that it influenced the customs not only of that time, 
 but also of later generations/ This moral ideal of education 
 for women has persisted throughout the long centuries of China's 
 history and has been influential in molding the lives of her 
 women and in elevating them to the high position which they 
 hold in the family and in society. 
 
 Method of Education 
 
 In accordance with the chapters Hsiieh Chi and Nei-tse of 
 the Book of Rites, which contain numerous passages touching 
 upon education, the principles of instruction held by the ancient 
 Chinese are extremely modern in character, revealing a keen 
 insight into the true nature of the human mind. Mere memory 
 work, characteristic of Chinese education in later generations, 
 was strongly condemned. Education was not regarded as an 
 artificial procedure by which one comes into possession of for- 
 mal knowledge of some sort, but as the process of development 
 of the individual from within. We are told that learning should 
 proceed from the easy to the difficult, from the coarse to 
 the fine; that transition from one step to another should be 
 gradual rather than sudden; and that great things should be 
 accomplished through the accumulation of many small things. 
 Again, one should concentrate his attention upon one thing at 
 a time, and should not scatter his thoughts. In the effort 
 to learn, the student should be left to exert his own powers, so that 
 his brain will not be injured and his spirit of independence may 
 not fail to be fully developed. 
 
 In addition to the information found in the Book of Rites, 
 many of the aphorisms of Confucius also reveal something of 
 
 'Of. Burton: The Education of Women, pp. 11-33. 
 
22 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 the educational method of his time. On the importance of 
 reasoning in the learning process, Confucius says, "Learning 
 without thought is labor lost, and if one learns only by memory 
 and does not think, all remains dark." On self-activity, he says, 
 "I shall not teach until the scholars desire to know something, 
 and I do not help until the scholars need my help; if of the four 
 corners of a thing I have shown and explained one corner and 
 the scholars do not find for themselves the other three, I do 
 not explain further." Confucius also seems to beheve in the 
 principle of leading upward from easy things to the difficult 
 ones. Thus Yen Yu, speaking of the way in which he is taught 
 by Confucius, says, "The kind master leads me step by step." 
 The sayings of Mencius also contain much that is suggestive 
 of the early methods of education^ "The moral man," he says, 
 "teaches in five ways. 1, There are some he influences, like 
 a timely rain; 2, with some he perfects their virtue; 3, with 
 some he brings out their talents; 4, of some he answers the ques- 
 tions; 5, some he teaches privately. These are the five methods 
 which the moral man uses in teaching." In other words, every 
 teacher should teach his pupils in various ways, according to 
 their individuality. Of these five classes of students, the first, 
 thoroughly awake to instruction, receive it eagerly and joy- 
 ously; the second have more aptitude for the ethical and yield 
 themselves to right guidance; the third have a special inclin- 
 ation for this or that theoretical or practical department and 
 press on in that direction; the fourth are intellectual, critical 
 natures whose questions should be answered lest, through sup- 
 pressed doubts, they should end in uncertainty; the fifth are 
 tnose who specially attach themselves to the master and allow 
 themselves to be urged on by him. 
 
 Admission, Examination, Promotion 
 
 According to the Book of Rites the colleges in the Imperial 
 Palace and in the capitals of feudal states were open not only 
 to the hereditary princes and other sons of the sovereign and the 
 eldest sons of different princes of the court, but also to the eldest 
 sons of the ministers, eldest sons of officers called Ta-fu and Yuen- 
 shih, as well as to the ^ons_ofjthe^ common people^xhosen from_ 
 the^ ingdom at large upon the b asis of theirmerit irrespective 
 of their _birtb^_. Admission to the colleges was based upon merit 
 
 " Giles, H. A. : The Work of Mencius. 
 
Ancient Educational System and its Decadence 23 
 
 determined througlL_exaBaina±ion. The qualifications looked 
 for in such ei^aminations were virtue, ability in managing pub- 
 lic affairs, and ease of expression. Students of the college for 
 lower education who distinguished themselves were admitted 
 to the College of Perfection and Equalization where they received 
 one glass of wine from the hands of the sovereign as a token of 
 distinction. On the other hand, those who failed to meet the 
 requirements of the examination must continue to study for 
 further examinations. It sometimes happened, however, that 
 candidates who distinguished themselves in one of the required 
 qualifications were also given admission to the college for higher 
 learning. 
 
 According to the chapter Hsiieh Chi of the Book of Rites 
 the students were examined every second year. In the first 
 year an examination was given to test the ability of the student 
 in analyzing ancient classics and in choosing the aim of life. 
 In the third year an examination was given to test his per- 
 severance in the pursuance of studies and his sociability among 
 friends. In the fifth year the examination tested the extent 
 of his learning and the intimacy of his acquaintance with his 
 teacher. In the seventh year he was tested as to his way of treat- 
 ing knowledge and of choosing friends. By the time a student 
 had satisfactorily met all the above requirements he was said to 
 have reached "small perfection" (Siao Ch'€ng). In the ninth 
 year an examination was again given to see whether the student 
 was able to classify things under their proper categories, whether 
 he understood things thoroughly, was able to be independent, 
 and was strong enough to withstand all evil influences. If he 
 fulfilled the requirements of this last examination he was said 
 to have reached "great perfection" (TaCh'Ing). 
 
 A system of promotion from one grade of educational insti- 
 tution to another seems to have been in operation during the 
 Chou dynasty. We are told that the students who distinguish 
 themselves in the village schools are sent to the schools in the 
 district; and those who distinguish themselves in the district 
 schools are sent to the colleges in the department; finally, those 
 who distinguish themselves in the departmental colleges are 
 sent to the colleges in the capital city of the feudal prince, and 
 the best of them to the colleges of the imperial capital. Fitting 
 rank is given to the students as they advance from one institu- 
 
24 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 tion to another as a badge of honor and distinction. The 
 most worthy of the students in the colleges are given official 
 rank and are chosen to fill administrative posts either in the 
 departments and districts or in the capitals of the feudal states 
 or the kingdom. 
 
 School Age, Term, and Year 
 
 There is a certain degree of uncertainty as to the age at which 
 students were admitted into schools and colleges. Thus, ac- 
 cording to Peh-huo-t'ung, a work of the first century of the Chris- 
 tian era, and several other works of equal importance, the he- 
 reditary prince enters the Siao Hsiieh or college for lower edu- 
 cation at eight years of age, and the Ta Hsiieh or college for 
 higher education at fifteen. According to Shang-shu-ta-chuen 
 of Ma Yung, a work of the same epoch, the eldest sons of the 
 imperial councillors and ministers as well as the eldest sons of 
 certain classes of officers enter the Siao Hsiieh at the age of 
 eighteen, and the Ta Hsiieh at the age of twenty. Biot con- 
 cludes that the age of admission varies according to the social 
 rank of the parents and that the reason why the sons of sov- 
 ereigns and princes were admitted at an earlier age than the 
 sons of officers is because the former surpassed the latter in 
 intelligence. Most Chinese writers, however, believe that the 
 age given in Peh-huo-t'ung is the correct one, that is, children 
 enter the institution for lower education at eight and the in- 
 stitution for higher education at fifteen. 
 
 The exact length of each school term and year is not known, 
 but there is much evidence to show that the four seasons were 
 taken as units of the school year, and that due care was taken 
 to see that the studies and occupations were adapted to the par- 
 ticular seasons in which they were placed. We learn, for ex- 
 ample, that in spring and summer students practiced archery 
 and various kinds of dances in Tung Hsii and recited songs in 
 Ku Tsung; in autumn they gathered in Ku Tsung to learn rit- 
 uals; in winter they learned to read and write in Shang Hsiang. 
 A passage depicting the educational usage of the time of Chou, 
 found in Shang-shu-ta-chuen of Ma Yung, furnishes further 
 information concerning the point in question. The passage 
 reads "When the plow has been placed under shelter, when the 
 harvest has been taken in and the work of the year finished 
 
Ancient Educational System and its Decadence 25 
 
 all the young men not yet married enter school. At the winter 
 solstice, they withdraw from the school for forty-five days to 
 prepare for the work of agriculture." 
 
 School Offices 
 
 In the description of public officers of the Chou dynasty found 
 in the Ceremonial Rites of Chou,' one finds mention of special 
 officers charged with the duty of conducting the educational 
 institutions at public expense and of teaching therein. Thus 
 we are told that the teaching of rituals and dances was under 
 the supervision of the directors of music; that reading and writ- 
 ing were given under the supervision of the director of study; 
 that rituals were taught under the direction of the director of 
 rituals and his assistants. According to the same authority, 
 the director of music had also the duty of overseeing the studies 
 in the kingdom, of gathering together students in schools, and 
 of taking charge of the College of Perfection and Equalization. 
 He and his assistant taught not only musical harmony, but 
 also virtue, reading, and dancing. Other educational officers 
 are also mentioned, including the Grand Instructor (Shih-chih) 
 who taught the children of the state virtues and good conduct 
 and the Conservator (Pao-chih) who taught the six arts. Both 
 the Ceremonial Rites of Chou and the Book of Rites mention 
 another officer attached to the ministry of war, known as Chou- 
 tzii, whose duty was to gather together students in the proper 
 schools according to the seasons of the year, to regulate their 
 places in the dances which they perform, to direct them in their 
 studies, and also to teach them paternal affection and brotherly 
 love. This officer was thus a kind of preceptor charged with 
 the task of guiding the pupils in their studies, and of exercising 
 a direct inspection over them. Special officers engaged in teach- 
 ing or conducting schools and colleges in the departments, dis- 
 tricts, and villages are also mentioned, including departmental 
 teacher (Hsiang-shih), father teacher (Fu-shih), and junior 
 teacher (Shao-shih). Most of these were chosen among the 
 virtuous old men who had retired from public service. 
 
 Number of Schools 
 
 Statistics concerning schools of that remote antiquity are 
 naturally incomplete, but there are sufficient data to indicate 
 
 7 Ceremonial Eltes of Chou: Chapter Chou-kuan. 
 
26 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 something of their extent in this golden age of Chinese ed- 
 ucational history. According to Chou-li a certain feudal state 
 alone had the following schools and colleges: six departmental 
 colleges, thirty district schools, one hundred and fifty village 
 schools, and three thousand schools found in small villages 
 and hamlets.^ When one multiplies these figures by the num- 
 ber of feudal states, one can get a rough estimate of the number 
 of schools and colleges that were once in existence, provided 
 that one takes into account the size of the various classes of 
 feudal "States. Exact statistics regarding feudal states are, 
 however, not available. In T'ung Chien Kang Mu, the re- 
 vised version of the famous historical work by Ssii Ma Kuang, 
 known as T'ung Chien or Mirror of History, it is estimated that 
 the number of feudal states after the ascension of Wu Wang, 
 the first sovereign of the Chou dynasty, was seventy, and that 
 the number continued to grow till it reached the eighteen hun- 
 dred which are found in the official petitions made at the time 
 of Han dynasty. This second figure, which reduces feudal 
 states to the dimensions of mere districts, refers probably to 
 the latter part of the Chou dynasty, when the great feudal 
 states had been divided, as generations passed, into small states. 
 
 Administration of Education 
 
 The administration of education during the time of Chou 
 was in the hands of the regular administrative officers of the 
 government. The state of Chou, which was the representative 
 state of the dynasty, had six departments for administrative 
 purposes, namely. Celestial Department, Terrestrial Depart- 
 ment, Department of Spring, Department of Summer, De- 
 partment of Autumn, and Department of Winter.' The min- 
 ister at the head of the Terrestrial Department, called Ta- 
 ssu-tu, had charge of the supervision of public instruction in 
 addition to other duties attached to the office, such as commerce, 
 agriculture, and police. The minister of the Terrestrial Depart- 
 ment accomplished his task through the various administrative 
 heads of all the territorial divisions, who were required not 
 only to administer laws but also to have general direction of 
 
 « Cf. Ho, Y. S.: Chinese Education, p. 18; Book of Kites, Chapter Wang Ohlh. 
 • The head of the Celestial Department, known as the Prime Minister (Ta-tsung- 
 tsal), exercised a general control over the other five departments. 
 
Ancient Educational System and its Decadence 27 
 
 public instruction in their respective jurisdictions. It was cus- 
 tomary for the head of the village and that of the district to 
 gather the people together on certain days of the year to read 
 the laws for their instruction. These officers also examined 
 the moral conduct of the people, and their ability in the arts 
 of war, for the purpose of encouragement and for the selection 
 of men of ability to be sent to college for a higher education. 
 
 The Examination or Selective System {Hman Chu) 
 
 By the time of the Chou dynasty the system of selecting 
 able men for public service had developed, along with the school 
 system, to a higher degree of organization, including the ex- 
 amination of candidates as well as those already in office. Every 
 three years an examination was held in each department, under 
 the direction of officers and men who had reached old age, for 
 the purpose of selecting capable and virtuous men to be pre- 
 pared to assume the responsibilities of the government. The 
 administrative head of each department, called Hsiang-ta-fu, 
 recommended the successful candidates to the Ta-ssfi-tu, the 
 minister of the Terrestrial Department, who, after examining 
 them, sent them to the college of the department or that of the 
 capital. Those who distinguished themselves in the college of 
 the department were called Siu-shih, meaning flourishing schol- 
 ars who became officers in the department and district. They 
 were under the control of the head of the department, and their 
 ranking in the official ladder was determined by the Ta-ssu-tu. 
 Those who distinguished themselves in the college of the capital 
 were called Chin Shih, meaning promoted scholar, and were ad- 
 mitted to the higher offices of the kingdom, such as hou, ching, 
 ta-fu, and ssu. Candidates for higher offices came under the 
 control of the Great Director of Music, and their ranking in 
 the official ladder was determined by the Minister of War (Ta- 
 ssii-ma) through the insufficient test of archery. All the ap- 
 pointments were confirmed by the sovereign, who received 
 periodical reports of the selection of men of merit and of aU 
 official appointments. 
 
 Those who were already in office were also tested periodically. 
 The higher officers were required to record the deeds of their 
 subordinates, to retain in office only those who were worthy, 
 and to report to the prince the names of those so retained. The 
 
28 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 latter, after summoning these officers and examining them him- 
 self, put them to a test of public opinion. When a man had 
 passed all the tests satisfactorily, he was promoted to a higher 
 rank in his official career. There were then three stages of 
 selection, first, selection by the heads of departments and dis- 
 tricts; second, selection by higher officers; third, selection 
 by the prince himself. Every third year the prince of each 
 feudal state also presented a few selected men to the sovereign 
 to fill positions in the imperial court. The number of men 
 sent was determined by the rank of the state. The kingdoms 
 of the first class were entitled to present three candidates, the 
 kingdoms of the second class two, and the kingdoms of the third 
 class one candidate. 
 
 This sj'stem of selecting able men for office reveals at least 
 four points of great significance. First, it shows that the sys- 
 tem was democratic in spirit in that it was open to all those 
 who possessed the necessary qualifications, irrespective of their 
 birth, their position in society, or the amount of wealth they 
 possessed. Next, it shows that the educational system, like 
 the system of government, had a high degree of centralization, 
 to which policy the Chou dynasty committed itself. Further- 
 more, it indicates clearly that the tests to which the candidate for 
 office was put were based on real ability and moral character, 
 and not on mere literary skill, as in the system of later gener- 
 ations. Finally, the record reveals the fact that during the 
 period under consideration all officers were chosen from the col- 
 leges, and that the school system was not merely a stepping stone 
 to the examination system as was the case in later generations. 
 This last fact explains in part the reason why the school system 
 during the Chou dynasty flourished and developed to such a 
 high state of completeness that it occupied a position of great 
 importance in the life of the nation. 
 
 Ancient School System in its Stages of Decadence and 
 Transition 
 
 Beginning with the eighth century before the Christian era, 
 there came a long period of decadence during which the bases 
 of the feudal system of Chou with their institutions became 
 obliterated in the midst of general insubordination of the feudal 
 princes. The imperial supremacy was no longer respected, 
 
Ancient Educational System and its Decadence 29 
 
 Mgher and lower education were totally neglected, and the 
 princes, divided by continual wars, no Jonger occupied them- 
 gelves with the education of the people. The administrative 
 posts were transmitt¥d~ by inheritance in the families of those 
 who held office, and were no longer the prizes of open compe- 
 tition by merit. The period in many respects may be compared 
 to the Middle Ages of Western Europe. Finally during the 
 «ixtb.,i2eatii^ before the Christian era, the memory of the an- 
 cient institutions was revived by Confucius, who attempted to 
 restore them to his contemporaries. He collected all the authen- 
 tic documents containing evidences of China's ancient institutions, 
 and from them compiled four special works which have since been 
 universally known as the Book of Odes, the Book of History, 
 the Book of Changes, and the Book of Rites. The four books 
 which this great sage edited, together with the two works 
 written by him, known as the Book of Filial Piety and the 1 
 Spring and Autumn Annals, and the "Four Books" written 
 by his disciples, became in time the foundation of the moral, 
 historical, and scientific education of the Chinese for many 
 generations." The triumph of the school of Confucianism was, 
 however, not accomplished immediately and without obstacle. 
 In fact, he himself met with little success in attempting to lead 
 the princes of his generation back to the ancient institutions, 
 although after his death several of his disciples succeeded in 
 introducing themselves into the courts of the kingdoms which 
 then divided China. In the middle of the ^urth century ^of- 
 the Christian era, Mencius, who like Confucius was born in the 
 eastern part of China, renewed the exhortations of the master, 
 demanded from the kings the re-establishment of higher and 
 lower colleges, and fought strongly against the inheritance of 
 offices, declaring that this abusive practice of handing down 
 public office by heredity was responsible for the disorgani- 
 zation of the government of his time. Mencius also had little 
 success with the princes whom he visited, but he was better 
 heeded by the common people, who were far from satisfied 
 with existing conditions. The new school increased in strength, 
 the number of its followers growing with surprising rapidity, 
 and in spite of the meagre documents which the history of 
 these troubled times offers us, we find that in the middle of 
 
 10 A description of these various works will be found in Giles' Chinese Literature. 
 
30 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 the third century before the Christian era there was already 
 a powerful body of men devoted to the cause of education. At 
 this time a prince of the western kingdom of China subjugated 
 all the other kingdoms and became the emperor under the name 
 of Ch'in Shih Huang. We find also that literature containing 
 the doctrine of Confucius was esteemed by the people, and lit- 
 erary men formed a body sufficiently strong to dare to oppose 
 the innovations of the conquerer and urge him to observe the 
 ancient usages described in the classics. Ch'in Shih Huang, 
 who wished that Chinese civilization should date from his reign, 
 rejected these representations and became angry at seeing his 
 edicts constantly criticised in the schools of literary men. In 
 the year 213 B.C., upon the recommendations of his minister 
 Li-ssu, he gave the order that all the copies of the works of 
 Confucius scattered through the empire should be burned in > 
 order to reduce their tiresome admirers to silence. The decree 
 was executed with vigor and four hundred and sixty literary 
 men, convicted of the crime of having preserved the works of 
 Confucius, were put to death. 
 
 It does not follow from what has been said that during the 
 period of decadence there were no schools in China. On the 
 contrary, evidences are not wanting to prove that schools of 
 one kind or another were in existence. The biographers of 
 the great sage Confucius (551-449 B.C.) all agree that Con- 
 fucius distinguished himself among his fellow pupils, even as 
 a child, and that he studied in school until the age of seventeen, 
 when he was called to the public service. In the later years 
 of his life, he himself established a school on the bank of Chu 
 river, and gathered around him no fewer than three thousand 
 pupils, seventy-two of whom became distinguished scholars, 
 some being later canonized. Again, biographers of Mencius 
 (371-288 B.C.) record that the mother of Mencius once changed 
 her dwelling and went to live in the city, opposite a school, 
 where her sons found examples most worthy of imitation and 
 soon began to profit by them. It appears, however, that 
 although schools of some kind were in existence during the 
 time of these two philosophers, they were no longer conducted 
 under government supervision and financial aid, but had be- 
 come private enterprises. It was this neglect on the part 
 of the government to maintain the public schools and colleges 
 previously found in districts and departments, as well as in 
 
Ancient Educational System and its Decadence 31 
 
 the capital, which led Mencius to make the plea that the govern- 
 ment should reestablish the ancient educational institutions 
 and should supervise the instruction given therein." 
 
 The period of' decadence is thus at the same time a period of 
 transition during which the ancient educational system under- 
 went a radical change. We have seen that during this period 
 a new body of knowledge, as contained in the works of Con- 
 fucius "anST his disciples, came into existence to form the basis 
 of the education of later generations and to mark the begin- 
 ning of influences which made Chinese education purely literary 
 in character and narrowly confined to the study of classics. 
 We have also seen that popular education once supported and 
 supervised by the state became the work of private enterprise 
 and continued thus throughout the ages. But these are by no 
 means the^ohTy changes of significance in this period of transi- 
 tion. The epoch is also significant for the birth of numerous 
 philosophers who distinguished themselves for the boldness of 
 their theories and the freedom of their utterance. Among the 
 more important of these philosophers who have exerted an 
 influence upon the development of education, are Confucius, 
 Laotse, Mutse, Yang Chu, Hsun Kuang, and Kwei Ku Tsu. 
 Of these Confucius represents by far the greatest of them all, 
 for this great sage, besides being a philosopher, was also a great 
 moralist and statesman, as well as a matchless teacher. His 
 educational principles and methods together with those of his 
 disciple Mencius are remarkable for their modernity of tone 
 and for their depth of insight into the character and workings of 
 human nature." The moral, social, and political principles 
 embodied in his works and those of his disciples became in time 
 the foundation of the competitive examination system, as well 
 as the content of Chinese education. 
 
 In addition to the influence of philosophical schools, one 
 must note a new discovery that had great significance in the 
 ■development of education, namely, the art of writing Chinese 
 with a brush dipped in ink. This discovery, attributed to a 
 general of Ch'in Shih Huang named Meng T'ien, caused the 
 abandonment of the bamboo tablet and stylus and the general 
 introduction of strips of cloth or silk as materials of writing. 
 
 " Mencius, Book I, Chap. I, Art. 13; Chap. V, Art. 14. 
 
 "Cf. Eudem, H: Confucius and his Educational Ideals. In Proc. N. E. A., 1893, 
 pp. 308-313; Faber: The Mind of Mencius. 
 
32 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 greatly facilitating the communication of ideas and the prop- 
 agation of general knowledge. No less important than this 
 discovery was the introduction of a new system of writing Chinese 
 characters which was much easier than the one hitherto in 
 existence. These innovations represent successive steps of pro- 
 gress in the art of education. They would have insured for Ch'in 
 Shih Huang a great place in the educational history of China 
 had not his memory been tarnished by the aversion he showed 
 to the school of Confucius and to the literary men who were 
 the devotees of higher education. 
 
 It remains to be observed that there is nothing in Chinese 
 history which proves that education, speaking in a broad sense, 
 was totally destroyed under the reign of Ch'in Shih Huang as 
 it is often represented to have been. The acts of the monarch 
 and his ministers, such as the burning of books and the perse- 
 cution of literary men, represent merely the attempt to suppress 
 a particular school of education and not education as such. 
 It is generally known that Liu Pu Wei, who was the minister 
 of Ch'in Shih Huang until the year 335 B. C, incurred great, 
 expense in the search for ancient documents, and composed 
 from them a celebrated collection of works known as Liu Chih 
 Ts'un Ch'iu. Again, we find there was attached to the imperial 
 court a body of scholars known as Po-shih, who had the custody 
 of all the ancient books in the imperial library (Pu-shih-kuan)^ 
 and were thoroughly familiar with their contents. According 
 to Ma-tuan-lin, Ch'in Shih Huang authorized the study of these 
 ancient books under the direction of the Po-shih, who had many 
 pupils. Furthermore, we are told that he preserved from de- 
 struction books on medicine and books of divination, treatises 
 on agriculture and other works which did not contain principles: 
 contrary to the established order. What Ch'in Shih Huang 
 and his ministers did, then, was simply to prohibit the literary 
 men from discussing in their schools the merits of the edicts,, 
 and it was this discussion that they wished to stop by taking, 
 away the ancient books which furnish the basis of comparison 
 and criticism. Nevertheless, it is a sad fact that the ancient 
 system of popular and higher education had passed away 
 beyond return. In order to trace the further development of 
 education we must pass on to the dynasty of Han, which has 
 left an indelible mark upon the civilization of the world, as. 
 well as upon the recorded history of China. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 BRIEF SURVEY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCA- 
 TION UNDER SUBSEQUENT DYNASTIES* 
 (B.C. 206-A.D. 1842) 
 
 In the preceding chapter the statement was made that the 
 decadence of the ancient educational system marks the passing 
 of the best educational system China ever had". This is not to 
 be taken to mean that the ancient system is superior to the 
 system of later generations in every detail, for all that is claimed 
 is that the education of early antiquity was better than that of 
 later dynasties in that the former provided popular education 
 at public expense; the training it provided was practical in char- 
 a^eter~an3~cIo sely r el ated to the^hfe of the times; the school 
 system proper, although forming the only avenue to public, 
 office, was in itself sufficient to provide candidates for the pur- 
 pose; and the different parts of the system were well co- 
 ordinated, providing a regular promotion from the lowest form 
 of school to the highest. But in many matters regarding the 
 organization of schools, the curriculum, the method of teaching, 
 and many other school problems, the systems of later dynasties 
 were in advance of the ancient educational system. In this 
 survey, however, we can trace only the general trend of devel- 
 opment which is necessary to the full appreciation of the- 
 development of education in modern times. 
 
 Development of Education under the Han Dynasty. 
 {B.C. 206-A.D. 221) 
 
 One of the remarkable events connected with the Han dynasty" 
 was the extended revi.Yal, of learning which took place soon, 
 after the emprfe'had settled^downto comparative peace. Liu- 
 
 ■ The data of this chapter, unless otherwise stated, are derived from the following 
 works: WenHsien T'ung K'ao: Sections on School and Examination System, Chiaa 
 Yu Shlh, Chih Na Chiao Yu Shih, Wan Kuo Chiao Yu Shih; and Biot: Histoire da 
 riastruction publlQue en Chine. 
 
 >Seep. 15. 
 
 33 
 
34 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 pang, the founder of the dynasty, treated with consideration 
 the literati who were once more commencing to lift up their 
 heads. Upon their incessant demands his successor, Hui-ti, 
 revoked in the year 191 A. D. the edict of Ch'in Shih Huang 
 which prohibited the reading of Confucian classics. In the 
 year 136 A. D. a special commission was named to search for 
 manuscripts of these classics with a view to restoring their 
 texts. Great zeal was displayed by scholars in searching 
 for the lost writings. Texts of the Confucian Canon were rescued 
 from hiding-places in which they had been concealed; editing 
 committees were appointed; and great efforts were put forth to 
 repair the injury sustained by literature and education at the 
 hands of Ch'in Shih Huang. The scholars of the day expounded 
 the teachings of Confucius as set forth in these texts; and al- 
 though their explanations were set aside in the twelfth century 
 when an entirely new set of interpretations became the accepted 
 standard of students, it is due mostly to those early efforts that 
 the Confucian Canon has exercised such a deep and lasting 
 influence over the minds of the Chinese people. In the midst 
 of this great renaissance, the art of making paper from the inner 
 bark of trees was discovered by Tsai Lun. This new invention, 
 together with the art of writing characters with the camel's 
 hair brush discovered under the reign of Ch'in Shih Huang, gave 
 an extra impetus to the new intellectual movement. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Confucian principles, or the principles em- 
 bodied in the Confucian classics, became the state philosophy 
 for the determination of the policy of the government, as well 
 as the standard of the moral and intellectual examinations, 
 which had been re-established for the purpose of selecting men 
 for the service of the government.' So great was the respect 
 paid to the Great Sage, that perpetual hereditary rank was 
 conferred upon his senior descendants in the male line, which 
 has continued in unbroken succession down to the present day. 
 This high veneration for Confucius and the principles repre- 
 sented by him had an important bearing upon the subsequent 
 history of Chinese education, for from this time on Chinese 
 education became less liberal than it once was, and the content 
 of education became narrowly confined to the Confucian classics. 
 
 » The estabUshiueut of the examination system during the Han dynasty is generally 
 attributed to Wu Wang. 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 35 
 
 So long as the content of the classics is emphasized, they are 
 effective in molding the lives of the student class; but the moment 
 the form receives the chief attention, as it later did, Confucian- 
 ism becomes comparable to "Ciceronianism" in the history of 
 European education. 
 
 From a larger point of view the over-emphasis upon the 
 teachings of one school of thought to the exclusion of other 
 systems originating during preceding dynasties must be regarded 
 as being extremely unfortunate for the progress of Chinese 
 civilization, for the study of Confucian classics became a habit 
 of the student class who thenceforth held tenaciously to the 
 sayings of ancient sages and were afraid to advance new thoughts 
 of their own. They made no attempt to supersede the civiliza- 
 tion of early antiquity, and all they wished was not to fall too 
 far away from it. As a result the thoughts of the scholar class 
 continued to run in the beaten paths of the ancients, and no 
 longer enjoyed the freedom necessary for all true advancement 
 in civilization. 
 
 After this brief survey of the general intellectual background 
 of the Han dynasty, we are ready to proceed to inquire into the 
 development of the two phases of the Chinese educational 
 system, namely, the method of selecting men for public oflEice, 
 and the school system. During the Han dynasty, candidates 
 for public office were not all selected from colleges, as they were 
 during the age of Feudalism, the selection being made in various 
 ways at different periods. Sometimes candidates for public 
 office continued to come from colleges; sometimes they were 
 selected and recommended by magistrates and prefects'; and 
 not infrequently candidates for higher office were selected from 
 officers holding lower official positions. Local officials were 
 usually given power to select their own assistants and sub- 
 ordinates. Candidates selected and recommended by the 
 magistrate and prefect usually had to submit themselves to an 
 intellectual examination, but under special circumstances they 
 were admitted into office without this examination. During 
 
 • Under Ch'in Shlh Huang a new territorial division was made, according to which 
 China was divided into thirty-six prefectures called chiin, each of which had a pre- 
 fect at its head. Each Chun was subdivided into a number of districts called hsien. 
 Each hsien had a magistrate at its head. During the reign of Wu-ti a new vmit was 
 created known under the name chou or department, which in size stands between 
 the chOn and hsien. In all, twelve cUou were created by Wu-ti. 
 
36 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 the later Han dynasty, the practice of selecting candidates for 
 office assumed two forms, in one of which candidates were se- 
 lected by magistrates and recommended by prefects, while in 
 the other they were recommended directly by magistrates to 
 the emperor without the necessity of prefectoral approval. 
 Candidates selected by the second method were usually men of 
 well-recognized ability possessing great reputation. The whole 
 system of selecting men for public office came to be known under 
 the general term Hsuan Chti, but under different reigns it as- 
 sumed various names, usually derived from the qualifications 
 looked for in the candidates to be selected, such as "Hsien Liang^ 
 Fang Cheng," meaning "the good and upright"; "Hsiao Lien,"' 
 meaning "the filial and honest"; and "Po Shih Ti Chih," mean- 
 ing "learned professors and scholars." It is said that all those^ 
 who possessed virtue and ability found no difficulty in obtain- 
 ing office and in making use of the special ability with which 
 they were endowed. So complete was the method used that 
 the system of selecting men for public office has never been 
 surpassed by later generations. 
 
 It would be interesting to inquire into the history and method 
 of the various systems used, but such inquiry would carry us 
 far beyond the sphere of our investigation. It is sufficient to 
 note here the important fact that during the Han dynasty col- 
 leges no longer formed the only avenue to official life. _This- 
 accounts for the gradual decadence of public educational institu- 
 tions, since they were no longer in great need. 
 
 The regular reorganization of educational institutions dates 
 from the reign of Wu-ti (140-86 B.C.). Acting under the 
 proposal of a literary man, Tung Chung Shu, who boldly con- 
 demned the inheritance of offices, Wu-ti built in his capital, in 
 the year 124 B. C, a college of higher education (Ta Hsiieh) for 
 the training of men capable of filling administrative offices.. 
 He also created professors of the five classics (Wu Ching Po- 
 Shih) in order to encourage the study of the classics. Local 
 officials were asked to search for men of good morals, well- 
 informed in the knowledge of rituals, and send them to the 
 Ministry of Rites so that they might be appointed pupils of the 
 college. A few years previous to this time, a certain prefect 
 by the name of Wen Wen had organized colleges in his pre- 
 fecture, created professors, examined the pupils, and encouraged 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 37 
 
 the study of the classics. Wu-ti, having learned of this, ordered 
 that his example be followed and similar efforts be made in 
 other prefectures. During the reign of Kuang Wu, of later 
 Han dynasty, the college was rebuilt; and during the reigns of 
 his successor Ming-ti (A. D. 58-76) and Shun-ti, it was enlarged. 
 By the time of the reigns of Chih-ti and Huan-ti the college had 
 become so flourishing that the number of students was over 
 30,000. During the reigns of Kuang Wu and his son Ming-ti, 
 China was filled with private schools for higher and lower educa- 
 tion. In these institutions students engaged in the study of 
 the classics, in the practice of ritual, and in rendering homage to 
 the memory of Confucius. But finally, in the reign of Huan-ti 
 and his successor Ling-ti, the literary men were once more 
 pushed out of public service through the intrigues of eunuchs 
 and Taoists or followers of Laotze, and under one pretext or 
 another the persecution of scholars was started anew. Educa- 
 tion and civil service examinations fell to pieces in the midst 
 of these troubles, and the glorious dynasty of Han came to an 
 end. 
 
 Before passing to the next period, it is worth while to note a 
 method of education, similar to the monitorial system of Bell 
 and Lancaster, which was adopted by educators of the Han 
 dynasty, notably Tung Chung Shu, Ma Yung, and Cheng 
 Hsiian. Professors sat in the lecture hall to interpret the mean- 
 ing of the classics to the most advanced students. These stu- 
 dents, in turn, instructed those who were less advanced. The 
 process went on thus till the most immature of the students 
 were reached. In this way the most advanced students had the 
 opportunity of personally listening to the interpretation of the 
 teacher, but the less advanced students were often unable even 
 to see the face of the teacher. It is recorded that Cheng Hsiian 
 was a pupil in the school of Ma Yung for three years, but during 
 all that period he never once saw the teacher's face. 
 
 Development of Education from the Han to the Tang Dynasty. 
 {221-557 A. D.) 
 
 The period extending from the close of the Han dynasty to 
 the year 589 was marked by constant wars and internal troubles. 
 China was at first divided into three kingdoms, which were 
 reunited into one single empire under Tsin. Later, after hav- 
 
38 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 ing been invaded in the North by the Tartars, the nation was 
 split into two empires, the North and the South, finally becom- 
 ing one empire under the Sui dynasty. At the beginning of the 
 West Tsin dynasty, there were created in the capital at least two 
 national schools known as T'ai Hsiieh, or National College, and 
 Kuo Tzfi Hsiieh, or College for the Sons of the State, which 
 latter had a student body numbering between three to seven 
 thousand; but the invasion of the Tartars from the North soon 
 brought these schools to ruin. During the East Tsin, the na- 
 tional college T'ai Hsiieh was re-established and professors of 
 the classics were appointed, but the instability of the govern- 
 ment made their existence precarious. Under the Sung dynasty 
 of the Southern Empire, four colleges of special learning were 
 founded in the capital, namely, Jou Hsiieh, meaning College of 
 Scholars; Hsuan Hsiieh, meaning College of Philosophy; Shih 
 Hsiieh, meaning College of History; and Wen Hsiieh, meaning 
 College of Literature. In addition, there were established in the 
 capital a Kuo Tzii Hsiieh, or College for the Sons of the State, 
 and also an academy of graduate scholars called Hsiieh Shih 
 Kuan. These institutions were, however, short-lived. Under 
 the Northern empire. Emperor Tao Wu created in the capital a 
 college with professors of the five classics. Later, Emperor 
 Hsien Wen made provision in each prefecture for two professors 
 of classics, two assistant professors, and sixty students. Accord- 
 ing to a decree, the number of professors and students was later 
 determined according to the size of the prefecture. The largest 
 prefectures had two professors, four assistant professors, and 
 one hundred students. Those second in size had two profes- 
 sors, two assistant professors, and eighty students. Prefectures 
 of medium size provided for one professor, two assistant pro- 
 fessors, and sixty students. The smallest had one professor, 
 one assistant professor, and forty students. Emperor Hsiao 
 Wen established in his capital a college for the Sons of the 
 State and a school for lower education, called Ssii Men Siao 
 Hsiieh, meaning small school of four gates. In this way the 
 study of the classics was encouraged, and the scholar class once 
 more began to flourish. Under the Sui dynasty, colleges in the 
 capital and schools in the prefectures and districts were re- 
 peatedly brought into existence, and were as frequently closed, 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 39 
 
 with the exception of the T'ai Hsiieh and Kuo Tzii Hstieh,' 
 which were in existence for the greater part of the period. The 
 former had only two professors and seventy-two students. 
 There were in existence during this dynasty, however, numerous 
 private schools established by scholars, who, because of their 
 failure to find favor with the government, determined to devote 
 their lives to the pursuit of teaching. Many of these have 
 made themselves famous in history as great educators through 
 their writings and method of teaching, or through their great 
 devotion to education. The most important of these educators 
 are Liu Ch'uo, Liu Hsiian, and Wang T'ung. 
 
 The history of education during those three centuries and a 
 half of revolution may be summarized in a few words. The 
 principles of the Confucian classics were not followed regularly 
 in the determinatioii of government policy; and the system of 
 education based on the study of the classics was counteracted 
 by the hostile influence of eunuchs, Taoists, and the followers 
 of Buddhism, which had made great progress in China since the 
 first century of the Christian era. The system of selecting men 
 to fill administrative posts in the government varied likewise 
 in an irregular manner, and the right of selecting and recommend- 
 ing candidates to office was always given to some special officers 
 known as Chung Cheng, who often fulfilled their duty unsatis- 
 factorily. At last all important offices were always given to 
 the sons of high officers, and in time the system of inheriting 
 offices was practically restored. 
 
 Development of Education under the T'ang Dynasty. 
 {620-907 A. D.) 
 
 In the beginning of the seventh century the dynasty of T'ang 
 entered upon its glorious course of three centuries in duration. 
 Under a strong but dissolute ruler immediately preceding, 
 China had once more become a united empire; and although 
 wars and rebellions were not wanting to disturb the even tenor 
 of its way, the general picture presented to us under the new 
 dynasty of the T'ang is one ol national peace, prosperity, and 
 progress. This dynasty is usually associated in Chinese minds 
 wiffi much romance of love, with wealth, culture, and refine- 
 
 ' Toward the close of the dynasty the name Kuo Tzu Hsueh was changed into 
 Kuo Tza Chien. 
 
40 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 ment, with frivolity, extravagance, and dissipation, but most 
 of all with history, literature, and poetry. « Under the reign of 
 its first emperors, especially T'ai Tsung, education was fostered 
 and institutions of learning witnessed a rapid development. It 
 was during this period that Japan and Korea, as well as several 
 other neighboring countries, began to send students to China 
 to receive an education. 
 
 The_ system of schools organized during the T'ang dynasty 
 was quite complete. In the Imperial capital there were six 
 colleges, namely, Kuo TzQ Hsiieh, T'ai Hsiieh, SsG Men Hstieh, 
 Lii Hstieh, Shu Hsiieh, and Suan Hsiieh. Kuo TzQ Hsiieh was 
 open to the sons and grandsons of civil and military officials 
 above the third rank and the great grandsons of officials of the 
 second rank. The number of students was limited to three 
 hundred. The T'ai Hsiieh was devoted to the instruction of 
 sons and grandsons of officials above the fifth rank and the 
 great grandsons of the officials of the third rank, the number 
 being limited to five hundred. The Ssii Men Hsiieh, meaning 
 college of four gates or four branches of studies, had room for 
 one thousand three hundred students. Five hundred of these 
 places were filled by the sons and grandsons of officials above 
 the seventh rank, and the remaining eight hundred by promis- 
 ing youths of the common people. The Lu Hsiieh, meaning 
 college of law, provided for only fifty students. Shu Hsiieh, 
 meaning the college of calligraphy, had thirty students. Suan 
 Hsiieh, meaning the college of mathematics, also had thirty 
 students. These six colleges all came under the control of Kuo 
 Tzii Chien, which was the national university. There were also 
 in the capital two institutions known as Hung Wen Kuan and 
 Chung Wen Kuan, for the education of young nobles and the 
 sons of prime ministers and of officials of great merit possessing 
 the first official rank. In addition to the university and schools 
 for nobles, there was also in the capital one school named Kuang 
 Wen Kuan, established for those who aspired to become pro- 
 
 • "Poetry," says a modern Chinese critic, "came into being with the Odes, developed 
 with the Li Sao, burst forth and reached perfection under the T'angs. Some good 
 work was indeed done under the Han and Wei dynasties; the writers of those days 
 seemed to have material in abundance, but language inadequate to its expression." 
 The complete collection of the poetry of the T'ang dynasty, published in 1707, con- 
 tains 48,900 poems of aU kinds, arranged in 900 books, and fllliug thirty good-sized 
 volimies. See Giles's Chinese Literature, section on poetry, for further description 
 of the poetry of the T'ang dynasty. 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 41 
 
 moted scholars or Chin Shih, and also a school called Ching Tu 
 Hstieh, for the special teaching of the five classics. 
 
 Outside of the imperial capital there was maintained a public 
 school in each prefecture, department, and district, as well as 
 in each village. Schools in prefectures of largest and medium 
 size provided accommodations for sixty students; in those of 
 small size they numbered only fifty students. The number of 
 students in the schools of the departments varied from sixty to 
 forty, and that in district schools of various classes ranged from 
 twenty to fifty. In all these public schools as well as in private 
 schools, the five classics of Confucius formed the chief item of 
 the curriculum. 
 
 The sections on schools in the Wen Hsien T'ung K'ao of 
 Ma-tuan-lin and those in Yu Han give detailed information 
 concerning the method of teaching and the different works 
 studied in the institutions of the capital, as well as in those of 
 the districts. The same works show the regulation of examina- 
 tions and the order of promotion of pupils, whether in the same 
 college or from one college to another. They inform us that the 
 prefects sent to the colleges in the capital both the good pupils 
 of their schools and others outside of the school selected by com- 
 petitive examinations. There were thus two distinct paths by 
 which one could enter the colleges of the imperial court. 
 
 The system of selecting candidates for office existing during 
 the T'ang dynasty assumed three forms, namely, Sheng Tu, 
 Kung Chii, and Chih Chii, representing three ways of entering 
 official life. Graduates of the six colleges and two noble schools 
 in the capital and those of departmental and district schools 
 sent to the central government for examination were called 
 Sheng-tu. Non-students sent to the central authority for 
 further examination, after having successfully passed the ex- 
 amination in the district and department, were called Kung 
 Chii. Persons of great ability selected for examination under 
 the personal supervision of the sovereign were called Chih Chii. 
 In other words, there were three avenues by which one could 
 take the examination which led to public service; namely, grad- 
 uating from the colleges, passing the competitive examination 
 in the district and department, and passing the special examina- 
 tion given by the sovereign. Ma-tuan-lin gives a table of 
 numerous literary degrees instituted by the T'ang dynasty and 
 
42 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 the conditions of obtaining them. Candidates for the degree 
 of Siu T'sai and Ming Ching had to interpret the meaning of 
 some passages of the classics, and to write a composition on 
 some political subject relative to current events. After the 
 year 680 candidates for the degree of Chin Shih were required to 
 write a piece of poetry, but they were examined less severely 
 than the Siu T'sai upon classics and political questions. Can- 
 didates for the degree in law, called Ming Fa, had to analyze 
 some articles on law and passages from imperial decrees. Those 
 for the degree of mathematics, called Ming Suan, were in like 
 manner questioned upon the special treatises of the science of 
 mathematics. However, some of these degrees had only a small 
 number of successful candidates. The degree of Siu T'sai was 
 abandoned in 742 for want of candidates. 
 
 The regulations governing the system of schools and the com- 
 petitive examination established by the early emperors of the 
 T'ang dynasty, as described above, experienced under the reign 
 of their successors some modifications which would be too long 
 to mention in this survey. Toward the year 740 we note the 
 birth of the celebrated Hanlin Yuan or imperial academy at- 
 tached to the court of the emperor for the explanation of difficult 
 literature. It was this academy which later furnished prac- 
 tically all the imperial historians, inspectors, and directors of 
 public education in the provinces, as well as examiners dele- 
 gated to preside at the competitive examinations. 
 
 In the meantime the scholars were not left in peace; for be- 
 tween the years 730 and 756 the Taoists returned to favor at the 
 court of Hsiian Tsung, who honored their doctrines as much as 
 those of Confucius. In the year 740 the emperor established 
 some colleges named Chung Huan Hstieh, specially devoted to the 
 study of the works of four great philosophers of the sect of Taoism, 
 namely, Laotze, Chuang Tzii, Wen Tzu, and Lich Tz<i. He gave 
 the professors of Taoism a rank equal to that of professors of the 
 imperial college Kuo Tzil Hsiieh; he instituted examinations and 
 degrees for Taoism similar to the literary degrees. These in- 
 novations did not outlive Hsiian Tsung, for the revolt of a 
 Tartar whom he had protected threw the provinces of the North 
 into the greatest disorder. The imperial capital was ransacked 
 in 759, and it was only in 763 that a new emperor, Tai Tsung, 
 could restore the educational institutions and reorganize the 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 43 
 
 studies upon the foundation laid by his predecessors. Several 
 men attest the fact that the reorganization was poorly effected. 
 The professors of the higher colleges were irregularly paid, and 
 those of the lower colleges were often compelled to till the soil 
 in order to live. Through the influence of the eunuchs, who 
 surrounded Tai Tsung and his weak successors, a number of 
 abuses crept into the examinations of the higher colleges. A 
 decree of the year 807 reorganized the six colleges in the two 
 capitals, western and eastern, Chang An and Lo Yang, but 
 this decree did not do away with the abuses which persisted 
 during the decadence of the T'ang dynasty. 
 
 In the year 736 an important change in the control of the 
 competitive examinations took place. The management of the 
 examinations, which up to that time had been entrusted to the 
 Ministry of Civil Offices, was transferred to the Ministry of 
 Rites. The return of this power to the Ministry of Rites was 
 natural enough, since the knowledge of rituals (li) was for cen- 
 turies the foundation of competitive examination; but as the 
 Ministry of Civil Offices was specially invested with the right 
 of presenting candidates to vacant offices of administration, 
 there resulted from it a perpetual conflict of powers between the 
 ministries. There were thus, on the one hand, the lists of suc- 
 cessful candidates from competitive examinations drawn up by 
 the Ministry of Rites, and, on the other, the lists drawn up by 
 the Ministry of Civil Offices selected on the basis of merit. 
 These two administrative departments did not work harmoni- 
 ously, so that some men chosen by the Ministry of Rites were 
 never admitted to administer public offices, while others whom 
 it had not accepted were invested with positions by the Min- 
 istry of Civil Offices. Among those officers appointed without 
 the sanction of the Ministry of Rites were officers of lower rank 
 rewarded for their services; but the majority of them were sons 
 of high officers who could, since the time of Tsin (260-420 
 A. D.), enter into administrative offices through the influence of 
 their fathers. These sons of officers had, moreover, great 
 facility in entering the imperial college, the natural nursery of 
 high functionaries. The privilege had been defended by the 
 eunuchs since the reign of Tai Tsung, and ever after that time 
 successful candidates in literary examinations encountered no 
 small difficulty in obtaining office. Indeed, so difficult did it 
 
44 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 afterwards become that among the successful candidates of 
 examinations whose names appeared on the list of the Ministry 
 of Rites, not one in ten succeeded in receiving appointment by 
 the Ministry of Civil Offices. It appears, then, that during the 
 dynasties of Hsia, Shang, Chou, and Han, the selection of 
 scholars and the selection of officers were combined in one 
 system. Scholars who succeeded in passing the examinations 
 were all admitted into public office. But during the T'ang 
 dynasty, the examination of scholars being in the hands of the 
 Ministry of Rites and the appointment of candidates for office 
 in those of the Ministry of Civil Offices, the selection of scholars 
 and of officers became two different things. 
 
 Before passing on to the next period, let us note a few more 
 facts connected with the education of this dynasty. Beginning 
 with the eighth century, special calls for men who could enlighten 
 the sovereign were repeatedly made, as under the Han dynasty, 
 and such men were sent to the sovereign by the high officers 
 in the capital and in the prefectures. We find that competitive 
 examinations were instituted for precocious youths and for the 
 selection of officers to be appointed in each prefecture and dis- 
 trict to supervise morality. We also find that military examin- 
 ations were instituted in the year 702 by a decree which deter- 
 mined their tests and degrees, and classified their successful 
 candidates as Ming Ching and Chin Shih. These military ex- 
 aminations were suppressed in the year 800 and re-established 
 in 808. And finally we note that under the same dynasty 
 special schools of medicine were established in the prefectures 
 and districts, and examinations and degrees similar to those for 
 promoted scholars and licentiates were instituted for the en- 
 couragement of the study of medicine. 
 
 Such in brief was the development of education during the 
 T'ang dynasty, which ended with the year 907. We then pass 
 the stormy reigns of the five dynasties (907-960 A. D.) which 
 contended for China for almost a half century. They present 
 to us no stable educational institutions worthy of consideration. 
 We therefore consider next the great dynasty Sung, which 
 distinguishes itself among all the Chinese dynasties for its un- 
 usual zeal for literature and for education. 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 45 
 
 Development of Education During the Sung Dynasty. 
 {A. D. 960-1280) 
 
 With the advent of the Sung dynasty we pass to another 
 period of great intellectual activity. During this period the 
 art of. block printing, generally attributed to Feng Tao (881- 
 954), was applied to the production of books and greatly facili- 
 tated the spread of knowledge. The departments of history, 
 ■classical scholarship, general literature, lexicography, and poetry 
 were again filled with enthusiastic workers, eagerly encouraged 
 by a succession of enlightened rulers. And although there was 
 a falling off consequent upon the invasion of the Golden Tartars 
 in 1125-1127, nevertheless the Sungs managed to create a great 
 ■epoch in the history of Chinese education, and are justly placed 
 in the very first rank among all the builders of Chinese dynasties. 
 
 With the accession of T'ai Tsu, the founder of this dynasty, 
 the national university in the capital, called Kuo Tzfi Chien, 
 was restored. It was open to the sons of officials above the 
 seventh rank. The College of Four Gates was re-established in 
 the year 1043 under Jen Tsung; it admitted as students sons of 
 officials as well as those of the common people. In the follow- 
 ing year the director of the national university obtained 
 permission to re-establish the T'ai Hsueh, or national college, 
 which had produced such good results under the dynasties of 
 Han and T'ang. The students were at first poorly lodged for 
 want of sufficient accommodations. By the year 1068, however, 
 the college, having built quarters of suitable dimensions, was 
 able to receive 900 students. The general reorganization of 
 colleges outside the capital also dates from the reign of Jen Tsung, 
 who in 1044 established schools at public expense in all the 
 prefectures and districts. In 1044 the same emperor issued a 
 decree reproaching the officers of the prefectures and depart- 
 ments for not having been careful in the choice of teachers to 
 direct the schools. Later, under the influence of Wang An Shih, 
 a school for the study of law was built near the imperial palace, 
 and a competitive examination for the learned in law (Ming Fa) 
 displaced the examination for the learned in classics (MingChing). 
 A military school was also founded and provided with instruct- 
 ors. In the year 1079, a new system, called "Three Halls," 
 was adopted, which classified the students of T'ai Hsueh into 
 
46 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 three grades, namely, students of the front hall, students of the 
 rear hall, and students of the upper hall. The number of 
 students of the first class was 2,000, that of the second, 300, 
 and that of the third, 100. The three classes represent three 
 degrees of merit; the students pass by successive examinations 
 from the first to the second, from the second to the third, the 
 last leading directly to administrative offices or to the enjoy- 
 ment of certain privileges. This system of division and of pro- 
 motion of students of the national college appears to have been 
 devised to exalt the college and to induce candidates for literary 
 degrees to follow its course of study instead of following the 
 usual method of presenting themselves for the competitive 
 examinations. There were then, as under the T'ang dy- 
 nasty, two ways of entering official life, one through examina- 
 tion in the colleges, the other through passing the competitive 
 examinations of the provinces. Abandoned in 1086, this sys- 
 tem of classifying students into three grades by halls was re- 
 established in 1094, and was kept up for a long time. A decree 
 of the year 1099 extended the system to all the colleges of the 
 empire, and gave to their professors the right to grant degrees 
 of the same rank as those of the competitive examinations of 
 the provinces A decree of the year 1103 suspended even these 
 public examinations. Then the professors, who were no longer 
 appointed by the Ministry of Rites, but by the local prefects,, 
 proved themselves to be in general less capable of choosing grad- 
 uates. Thereupon the scholars made complaints, and in the 
 year 1121 the system of "three halls" was abandoned in the 
 provinces. It was, however, re-established later in 1142 after 
 the emperors Sung had been driven away from their capital by 
 the Chins, and had fixed their residence in Hangchow Fu, the- 
 principal city of the present province of Chekiang. 
 
 Toward the year 1104 we find mention of schools created by 
 Hui Tsung for instruction in four special sciences: mathe- 
 matics, medicine, painting, and calligraphy. Ma-tuan-lin and 
 Yu Han have preserved for us the programs of studies followed 
 in these four kinds of schools, which existed at the court and 
 even in the provinces, appearing to have been established in the 
 latter upon the model of the ancient schools of the district, de- 
 voted to moral and literary education. But these new institu- 
 tions had only a precarious existence; they disappeared whea 
 
Development of Education Under Suhseqent Dynasties 47 
 
 Tsai Ching was driven from the ministry and reappeared when 
 he was recalled. After the invasion of the Tartars, Kao Tsung 
 issued different decrees between the years 1132 and 1145 to 
 reorganize the literary colleges in his new capital and in the 
 provinces which remained loyal to him. A decree of the year 
 1151 informs us that there were then high inspectors of studies 
 attached to each province as well as each district, and that 
 special lands were appropriated for the maintenance of colleges. 
 But, generally speaking, the resources that were allowed to these 
 institutions in territorial grants or financial subsidy were by 
 no means proportionate to the needs of the great number of 
 students admitted there. The professors no longer had the 
 right to nominate graduates for office and the promotions were 
 made regularly by the path of competitive examinations. 
 
 Although the school system did not receive much attention 
 from the first emperors of the Sung dynasty, the system of 
 competitive examination was certainly greatly developed be- 
 cause it was considered useful and necessary for the purpose of 
 obtaining good officers for the state. There was, therefore, 
 besides the practice of recommending candidates by the govern- 
 ors of the provinces, a great variety of higher examinations and 
 of degrees for classics, for law, and other special subjects. The 
 control of these examinations was always in the hands of the 
 Ministry of Rites, which fixed the different conditions of the 
 examination of Chin Shih and other high degrees. The require- 
 ments as set forth by Ma-tuan-lin are similar to those of the 
 T'ang dynasty, with the exception that more importance was 
 given to poetry in the examination of Chin Shih. These Chin 
 Shih, or promoted scholars, were thus better prepared to enter 
 the literary work of the Hanlin Academy than to hold offices 
 in the civil administration. 
 
 Generally speaking, the scholars of the Sung dynasty were 
 more inclined toward the competitive examination system than 
 toward the colleges, for through the former they could reach 
 administrative positions. It was during this dynasty that the 
 system of examinations was unified, and more stringent rules 
 were adopted to prevent frauds in its management, which rules 
 continued to be maintained until very recent times. We have 
 already observed that toward the close of the eleventh century 
 college professors were given the right to nominate candidates 
 
48 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 for degrees similar to those given through the competitive exami- 
 nation system, and that a decree of the year 1103 even suspended 
 the system itself. However, after the invasion of the Tartars, 
 professors no longer had the right to nominate candidates for 
 degrees, and promotions were also made entirely through the' 
 competitive examination system; but the high importance 
 accorded to poetry in the examinations had altered the originaF 
 purpose of this institution, so that it furnished few subjects- 
 capable of becoming good and honest administrators. The- 
 studies had turned away from the aim which Confucius and 
 his early disciples had proposed. "The government," says: 
 Ma-tuan-lin, "no longer occupies itself sufficiently to perfect 
 the morality of the people through the knowledge of the ancient 
 rituals (li)." 
 
 This survey of the development of education of the Sung 
 dynasty would not be complete without a brief mention of the 
 growth of philosophy which exerted so great an influence over 
 the subsequent history of Chinese education. Ever since the 
 Han dynasty the scholars of China had occupied themselves 
 with the study of the ancient classics that were restored ta 
 them at that time. The work first assumed the form of com- 
 menting upon the meaning of the texts, each scholar holding 
 tenaciously to his own views and handing down the same to his- 
 pupils. In time these views were held as sacred and no one 
 dared to deviate from them. Special schools of interpretation 
 were thus established. During the later Han dynasty, scholars- 
 like Ma Yung, Cheng Hsiian, and others, gathered together the 
 various commentaries, and, having interpreted the classics anew, 
 succeeded in destroying the particular schools themselves. 
 Later, during the T'ang dynasty, the scholars took pains to 
 unify the commentaries of the Han dynasty, often going inta 
 great detail. But all the discussions during the Han and T'ang 
 dynasties were confined to the principles of the ancients, and no 
 one dared to search for new truths of universal significance. 
 The work consisted chiefly of committing classics to memory 
 and of writing essays upon them. But during the Sung dynasty, 
 through the influence of Buddhism which had developed in 
 China, a number of great thinkers arose who succeeded in es- 
 tablishing new schools of philosophy, thus changing the educa- 
 tional theory and practice of the T'ang and Han dynasties. To^ 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 49 
 
 trace their views concerning philosophy and define the province 
 of each does not belong to our present theme. Suffice it to 
 say that most of them were Confucian scholars, but evidences 
 are not wanting to show that their mental activity was stimulated 
 and its direction determined by the speculations of Buddhist 
 and Taoist writers. However, they took care to follow neither, 
 betraying the influence of these sectarians chiefly by the pains 
 taken to steer a middle course between the two. To the one 
 school, mind is the only entity, and matter a deceptive figment 
 of the imagination; to the other, matter is the sole essence, and 
 mind one of its products. Each inculcated a species of monism. 
 The thinkers of the Sung dynasty, combining these one-sided 
 conceptions, boldly asserted a dualism in nature, and fixed on 
 "li and ch'i" force and matter, as the seminal principles of the 
 universe.' Those who have made a special study of Chinese 
 philosophy assert that the speculations of the Chinese have in 
 more than one instance anticipated the teachings of modern 
 science, making generalizations which to us appear as among 
 the late results of modern science. 
 
 Among the philosophers of this period are the following: Chou 
 Tun I, Shao Yung, Cheng Hao, Cheng I, Chang Tsai, Liu Chiu 
 Yuan, and Chu Hsi. Of these, the last named exerted the 
 greatest influence over education, and is by far the most cele- 
 brated. He was a voluminous writer. In addition to his 
 revision of the history of Ssfl Ma Kuang, which, under the title 
 of T'ung Chien Kang Mu, is still regarded as the standard history 
 of China, he placed himself in the first rank of all commentators 
 on the Confucian Canon. "He introduced interpretations 
 either wholly or partly at variance with those which had been 
 put forth by the scholars of the Han dynasty and hitherto re- 
 ceived as infallible, thus modifying to a certain extent the pre- 
 vailing standards of political and social morality. His guiding 
 priuciple was merely one of consistency. He refused to inter- 
 pret words in a given passage in one sense, and the same words 
 occurring elsewhere in another sense. The effect of this ap- 
 parently obvious method was magical; and from that date the 
 teachings of Confucius have been universally understood in the 
 way in which Chu Hsi said they ought to be understood."' 
 
 ' Martin: The Lore of Cathay, p. 37. 
 "GUes: Chinese Civilization, pp. 94-95. 
 
50 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 In marked contrast with the philosophers stands the great 
 reformer and economist Wang An Shih (1021-1086) whose 
 public career also exerted a great influence over the development 
 of education during the Sung dynasty. He made a new inter- 
 pretation of parts of the Confucian Canon in order to justify 
 some of his radical reform measures. He also attempted to 
 reform the examination system, requiring from the candidates 
 not so much grace of style as a wide acquaintance with practical 
 subjects. "Accordingly," says one Chinese author, "even the 
 pupils at the village school threw away their text-books of 
 rhetoiic and began to study primers of history, geography, and 
 political economy." "I have been myself," he tells us, "an 
 omnivorous reader of books of all kinds, even, for example, of 
 ancient medical and botanical works. I have, moreover, dipped 
 into treatises on agriculture and on needlework, all of which I 
 have found very profitable in aiding me to seize the great scheme 
 of the great Canon itself." But like many other great men, he 
 was too far in advance of his age. He fell into disfavor at 
 court and was dismissed to a provincial post; and although 
 he was soon recalled, he returned to private life, shortly after- 
 wards to die, though not before he had seen the whole of his 
 policy reversed and his commentary on the great Confucian 
 Canon suppressed. 
 
 Before leaving the Sung dynasty we must notice briefly the 
 educational condition among the Liaos and the Chins, two of 
 the Tartar tribes who occupied in turn a portion of the terri- 
 tory in the northern part of China. The Liaos, in imitation 
 of the Sungs in the south, established colleges and examination 
 systems in Liao-tung and other parts of North China. The 
 Chins, who succeeded the Liaos, followed their footsteps in this 
 respect. They restored the competitive examinations in Chinese 
 literature for the selection of men to fill the vacant posts in the 
 conquered provinces. They translated the Chinese classics into 
 their native language, printing them in both Chinese and Chins, 
 and using them in the schools for the education of the children 
 of the conquered race. They also held competitive examina- 
 tions in their own language, and thus at one time gave degrees 
 of Chu Jen and Chin Shih in both Chinese and Chins. Further- 
 more, they instituted examinations in law and for precocious 
 youths, and also founded numerous colleges of medicine scat- 
 tered throughout their own kingdom. 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 51 
 
 The mention of the presence of the Tartars in the north 
 reminds us of one other fact which should not be left unre- 
 corded. The Chinese court in the south in the presence of the 
 Tartar tribes in the north, who were always threatening the 
 rest of China, remembered from time to time that military skill 
 fihould not be entirely neglected. Thus Kao Tsung in 1135 
 founded a competitive examination in archery, and in 1157 
 sanctioned the establishment of a military school in the capital. 
 In 1169 military degrees, similar to the literary degrees, were 
 given in the Chinese army then defending the frontier. 
 
 Development of Education under the Yuan or Mongol Dynasty. 
 {A. D. 1280-1368) 
 
 At the beginning of the thirteenth century, the Mongols 
 appeared upon the scene, and the Chinese formed an alliance 
 with them to attack the kingdom of Chin; but aftei its downfall, 
 which happened in the year 1235, the Mongols turned their 
 armies against the emperor Sung, who thought that these 
 nomads were returning to their desert homes with their booty. 
 One can easily imagine the distress of the Sung dynasty which 
 made one appeal after another for men to fight in its defense, 
 but finally fell and left the Mongols the peaceful possessors of 
 all China. 
 
 The conquerors, who at first showed little taste for the civil- 
 ization of the Chinese, were not much inclined to give the latter 
 a part in the government, and consequently they were not at all 
 in a hurry to re-establish the competitive examination system 
 and the colleges. However, several of their enlightened rulers 
 were steady patrons of literature and education. Thus, in the 
 year 1269, Kublai, the first Mongol emperor, caused Bashpa, 
 a Tibetan priest, to construct an alphabet for the Mongol 
 language; in 1280 he caused the Chinese calendar to be revised; 
 and in 1287 the national university (Kuo Tzfi Chien) was opened. 
 Under his sway public schools in the provinces also multiplied. 
 During the reign of Jen Tsung, the examination system was re- 
 established in the capital as well as in the provinces. The can- 
 didates were examined by writing essays on the classics and on 
 political subjects. As the classics had by that time been trans- 
 lated into the Mongol language, the candidates were divided 
 into two groups, the Mongols having two tests in their own 
 
52 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 language, the Chinese having three in theirs. As many Chinese 
 as Mongols were admitted to the high civil offices, and in order 
 not to displease the latter the number of offices was immediately 
 doubled in each of the administrative branches. This equal 
 distribution of offices lasted until the ascent of Chun Ti, who 
 suppressed (1335) the literary competitive examinations and 
 gave all the offices to the Mongols. In 1340 the same emperor, 
 in order to appease the discontented of the conquered race, was 
 forced to re-establish the examination system and to maintain 
 it during the remainder of his stormy reign, which terminated 
 with the expulsion of the Mongols into Tartary. 
 
 Kublai and his successors encouraged the three sciences which 
 they considered to be useful, namely, medicine, divination, and 
 astronomy. Under their reign China had in all its provinces 
 special schools for the study of these sciences. Regular com- 
 petitive examinations were open to graduates in medicine who 
 could enter thereby the medical college of the court (T'ai I 
 Yuan), while the graduates of the school of astronomy could, 
 through examination, become assistants in the imperial observa- 
 tory (Chin T'ien Chien). 
 
 When the public school system of the Mongol dynasty was at 
 its best it had two series of schools, one in the capital and the 
 other in the provinces. In the capital there were three national 
 universities (Kuo Tzii Chien), one for the Chinese, one for the 
 Mongols, and one for the Mohammedans. In the provinces' 
 the following educational institutions were maintained at public 
 expense: a provincial college (Shu Yiian) in each province; a 
 circuit school (Lu Hstieh) in each circuit; a prefectural school 
 (Fu Hsiieh) in each prefecture; and a district school (Hsien 
 Hstieh) in each district. , In addition, there were also found, in 
 the different circuits, schools for the study of the Mongol lan- 
 guage, as well as schools of medicine and of divination. A report 
 dating about the middle of the dynasty gives the number of 
 schools in the country as having reached 24,000. According to 
 the records, however, many of the educational institutions of the 
 Mongol dynasty had merely a nominal existence, and the decrees 
 
 •Under the Mongol dynasty China was divided into thirteen provinces. This 
 number was increased to fifteen by the Mings, and diiring the reign of K'ang Hsl, 
 of the Manchu dynasty, a rearrangement of the empire was made by which the num- 
 ber of provinces was increased to eighteen. 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 53 
 
 of Kublai and his successors were not completely carried out. 
 This state of affairs is due to the fact that, generally speaking, 
 the educational policy of the Mongol dynasty was adopted not 
 from a real desire for education, nor from a firm belief in the 
 importance and efficacy of education, but merely from the de- 
 sire to please the Chinese in order to gain their confidence and 
 support. 
 
 Under such circumstances the Mongol dynasty gave birth to 
 few, if any, educators of reputation and achievement in the 
 history of Chinese education. There is, however, at least one 
 man who will long be remembered for his contribution to educa- 
 tion. We refer to Wang Ying Lin, the author of a small primer 
 for school boys known as "Three-Character Classic." For six 
 or seven hundred years this primer was the first book put into 
 the hand of every child throughout the empire. It is an epi- 
 tome of all knowledge, dealing with philosophy, classical litera- 
 ture, history, biography, and common objects. It has been 
 called a pocket edition of the Mirror of History. Written in 
 lines of three characters each, and being in doggerel, it is easily 
 committed to memory, and every Chinese who has learned to 
 read knows it by heart. 
 
 Development of Education under the Ming Dynasty. 
 U. D. 1368-1644) 
 
 As a whole the emperors of the Ming dynasty were liberal 
 patrons of literature and education. T'ai Tsu, the founder of 
 the dynasty, issued during the first years of his reign several 
 decrees to organize the national university (Kuo Tzii Chien), 
 the colleges and schools in the provinces, and the examination 
 system. In these decrees he determined the titles of profes- 
 sors, the number of students to be admitted in each kind of 
 college, the subsidy to be given to students, the course of study, 
 the daily program, and the kind of examinations, as well as many 
 other details relating to school organization and management. 
 Being a fond admirer of ancient usages and institutions of 
 learning, he added to the usual classical curriculum the study 
 of military arts and mathematics. He also included military 
 arts and mathematics in the competitive examinations of the 
 province, as well as those of the capital. This plan of combin- 
 ing military and literary studies, however, did not produce 
 
54 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 very good results, and in the course of a short time the college 
 courses as well as the tests of the examination system became 
 once more purely literary in character. In 1392 he still wished 
 to compel the students of the imperial college to practice archery, 
 and refused to create colleges for the instruction of military 
 men on the ground that he could conceive of only one system 
 of education applicable to all men. A later emperor, Hung 
 Wu, also established schools in the prefectures and districts for 
 the encouragement of education and the training of scholars. 
 During his reign students are said to have been sent to China 
 for education by the governments of Korea, Japan, Siam, and 
 other neighboring countries, and special quarters were provided 
 for them in the imperial college. He also ordered the schools 
 in the provinces to recommend graduates for entrance to the 
 college in the capital. Later, Emperor Yung Lo appointed 
 special officers to supervise education in the provinces and also 
 established military schools in the two capitals of Peking and 
 Nanking and in the garrisons of the frontier. This emperor 
 also succeeded in bringing about the achievement of the most 
 gigantic literary task that the world has ever seen, namely, the 
 compilation of an encyclopedia which contains within the com- 
 pass of a single work all that had ever been written in the four 
 departments of: 1, the Confucian Canon; 2, history; 3, philoso- 
 phy; and 4, general literature, including astronomy, geography, 
 cosmogony, medicine, divination. Buddhism, Taoism, handi- 
 crafts, and arts." 
 
 When the public school system of the Ming dynasty was at 
 its best, it included the following schools: in the capital one 
 national university (Kuo Tzii Chien) and a school for the educa- 
 tion of young nobles, called Tsung Hsueh; in the provinces, a 
 
 " The completed work, on wMch a small army of scholars — more than two thou- 
 sand in all — ^had spent five years, ran to no fewer than 22,877 sections, to which 
 must be added an index occupying 60 sections. The whole was bound up (in Chinese 
 style) in 11,000 volumes, averaging over half an inch in thickness, and measuring 
 one foot eight Inches In length by one foot in breadth. Professor Giles calculates 
 that if all these were laid flat one upon another, the column so formed would rise 
 considerably higher than the very top of St. Paul's. Further, each section contains 
 about twenty leaves, making a total of 917,480 pages for the whole work, with a 
 grand total of 366,000,000 words. Taking 100 OUuese words as the equivalent of 130 
 EngUsh, owing to the greater condensation of Chinese literary style, it wiU be found 
 that even the mighty river of the Encyclopedia Brittanica "shrinks to a rill" when 
 compared with this overwhelming specimen of Chinese Industry. Giles: Chinese 
 Civilization, pp. 202-203. 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 55 
 
 prefectural school (Fu Hsiieh) in each prefecture; a depart- 
 mental school (Chou Hsiieh) in each department; a district 
 school (Hsien Hsiieh) in each district; and a village school 
 (Shu Hsiieh) in each village. There were also in the provinces 
 a number of schools for the education of the sons of military 
 officers, such as Tu Ssii Ju Hsiieh, Tu Chuan Yuen Ssii Ju 
 Hsiieh, and Ching Wei Wu Hsiieh. 
 
 According to the decree of the year 1368 the national uni- 
 versity Kuo Tzii Chien was organized in such a way as to take 
 the place of the two ancient colleges, Siao Hsueh and Ta Hsiieh. 
 Its students included the sons of officers, foreign students, and 
 successful candidates of the competitive examinations in the 
 provinces, as well as students sent from provincial colleges. 
 The university was divided into six departments. The students 
 had to remain there for ten years and had to pass from one de- 
 partment to another through successive examinations of in- 
 creasing difficulty. Upon leaving the last department they 
 received a degree equal in rank to the degree of licentiates of 
 the competitive examinations of the provinces, and were then 
 permitted to enter the service of the government. As the 
 competitive examinations at first did not furnish a sufficient 
 number of successful candidates, the students of the university 
 did not have much difficulty in obtaining offices in the provinces. 
 Students who had fulfilled certain requirements were placed in 
 the bureaus of the ministries to get experience, and thirty-eight 
 of them were attached to the Hanlin Academy as translators of 
 foreign languages. Beginning with the second half of the 
 15th century, admission to the bureaus of the ministries was 
 given more or less irregularly. The selection of candidates was 
 made in accordance with the length of time which the student 
 spent in the university instead of the ability shown in the ex- 
 aminations. In this way many of the students who failed to 
 complete the course at the university still were allowed their 
 novitiate in the bureaus. 
 
 The colleges and schools in the provinces had four kinds of 
 students, two of which were subsidized and two non-subsidized. 
 The non-subsidized students, according to the edicts promul- 
 gated in the years 1426 and 1447, were admitted to the subsidized 
 list if they succeeded in passing certain periodical examinations. 
 From the middle of the 15th century the choice of students for 
 
56 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 colleges was delegated to special officers who were also responsible 
 for the inspection of colleges and the classification of students 
 into three groups, namely, those qualified to take the compet- 
 itive examinations for the degree of licentiate, those who 
 ought to continue their studies, and finally those who ought to 
 be punished and dismissed. 
 
 The organization of the competitive examinations likewise 
 received some modifications during the Ming dynasty. On 
 several occasions the licentiates who had failed in the competitive 
 examinations for the doctorate (Chin Shih) were called to a 
 second examination less difficult than the first. The number 
 of licentiates admissible in each province was fixed by a decree 
 of 1370; it was successively increased in the different provinces. 
 The number of doctors or Chin Shih to be admitted also became 
 fixed. The candidates of the general competitive examinations 
 were divided into two series of North and South in order to com- 
 pensate for the inferiority of the candidates of the northern 
 provinces. The separation was removed in 1454. The presi- 
 dency of the competitive examinations of the province, at first 
 left to local officers, was now delegated to special examiners 
 chosen among the officers of the court and the members of the 
 Hanlin Academy. The general competitive examinations of 
 the imperial capital were presided over by ministers or grand 
 councillors, with the assistance of members of the Hanlin Acad- 
 emy. 
 
 The military examinations, which the Mongols regarded as 
 useless, were re-established by the founder of the Ming dynasty. 
 In imitation of the literary examinations, they were divided 
 into provincial examinations and general examinations. They 
 were presided over by the high deputies of the ministry of war. 
 The system, however, was not conducted with much regularity 
 until the year 1506, when it was systematized by a new official 
 program. The examinations included tests in written composi- 
 tion, in archery, and in horsemanship. 
 
 The Ming emperors were fairly favorable to the sciences 
 which the Mongols encouraged, namely, medicine, divination, 
 and astronomy. The imperial observatory had a special De- 
 partment whose members were at first chosen from the country 
 at large; afterwards their offices became hereditary. In a sim- 
 ilar way, the vacant places in the Medical Department were 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 57 
 
 generally accorded to the sons of the physicians of the court. 
 Sometimes they were open to competitive examinations, but 
 when that was done the competitors usually came from families 
 which had practiced medicine for generations. 
 
 The educational thought at the beginning of the Ming dynasty 
 was, like that of the Mongol dynasty, dominated by the schools 
 of Chu Hsi and the Cheng brothers of the Sung dynasty. Later 
 a new school sprang into existence which was soon able to rival 
 the older school for supremacy and to modify the educational 
 theory and practice of later generations. This new school was 
 founded by Wang Yang Ming, who has been called the "prag- 
 matist before William James." "The thought of Wang Yang 
 Ming contains two cardinal principles: one, the theory that 
 knowledge and practice must not be divorced; the other, that 
 every man should strive to investigate with his individual mind 
 the principles of things in themselves. His practical philosophy 
 is, therefore, a combination of what later became known in the 
 West as Positivism and Pragmatism. Wang Yang Ming stands 
 for individuality in reasoning, for the application of an individual 
 criterion to the phenomena of life. Each mind is to work out 
 its*problems on the basis of its own nature; trueness of life and 
 to*one's self is what he insisted upon. But the knowledge thus 
 acquired must be subjected to the test of action; only thus can 
 it be proved to have more than a subjective validity. The life 
 of contemplation must be supplemented by the life of action."" 
 
 The educational principles of Wang Yang Ming, which grew 
 out of his philosophy, are similar to those advocated by Pest- 
 alozzi and his followers. He conceives education as harmon- 
 ious development of the powers of the individual. In order to 
 insure this development the child should be given as much 
 freedom as possible and all restrictions should be removed. To 
 translate his own words: "Child nature enjoys freedom and fears 
 restriction. It may be likened to a plant in its stage of germina- 
 tion; left to itself, it will grow, but interfered with, it will wither 
 and decay. In instructing the child, if his natural inclinations 
 are stimulated, and his innermost self is made happy, there will 
 be no end to his growth. Again, when a plant receives timely 
 rain and the breezes of the spring, then it bestirs itself and begins 
 
 11 Eeinsch, Pool S.: Intellectual and Political Currents in the Far East, pp. 133-134. 
 
58 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 to grow, but when it suffers hard knocks and frost, then it shriv- 
 els and decays. Similarly, when a child is induced to sing 
 songs, it not only enables him to give expression to his ideas 
 and sentiments, but also animates and arouses that which is. 
 hidden in the soul. When a child is led to learn rituals, a pro- 
 cess which calls for movements of the body, it not only regulates 
 his demeanor, but also helps the circulation of blood and streng- 
 thens the body. When he is exhorted to learning, it not only 
 opens up his understanding, but also helps him to express his 
 own thoughts." 
 
 Development of Education under the Ching or Manchu Dynasty.. 
 (A. D. 16U-1842) 
 
 We have now reached the dynasty in which the modern educa- 
 tional movement finds its origin and receives its greatest impetus. 
 Of the ten emperors of this dynasty more than half are known in 
 history as having in one way or another fostered education. 
 Thus T'ai Tsung is known as being responsible for bringing into 
 existence the written Manchu language, and for translating 
 Chinese books into Manchu. He required all the sons of princes 
 and of officers below the age of fifteen to go to school. His 
 successor. Shun Chih, is recorded as having restored the national 
 university (Kuo TzQ Chien) and having established schools for 
 the children of the eight bannermen," as well as schools for the 
 education of the sons of nobles. Emperor K'ang Hsi is known 
 as one of the greatest - patrons of letters China has ever had.^ 
 With the aid of the leading scholars of the day, he initiated and 
 carried out several of the greatest literary enterprises recorded 
 in the history of the world. The chief of these are (1) the K'ang^ 
 Hsi TzG Tien, the great standard dictionary of the Chinese 
 language; (2) the P'ei Wen Yun Fu, a huge concordance of all 
 literature, bound up in forty-four large closely printed volumes; 
 (3) the P'ien Tzil Lei P'ien, a similar work, with a different, 
 arrangement, bound up in thirty-six large volumes; (4) the 
 Yuan Chien Lei Han, an encyclopedia bound up in forty-four 
 volumes; and (5) the T'u Shu Chi Ch'eng, a profusely illustrated 
 encyclopedia, in 1628 volumes of about 200 pages each. Dur- 
 ing the reign of this monarch students were received from the 
 
 »Baimenuan Is applied to all Manchus in reference to their organization under 
 one or other of eight banners of different color ajid design. 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 59 
 
 Liu Chiu Islands and were admitted into the national university 
 under the cart of special professors. He also established public 
 schools (Kuan Hsiieh) near the palace, in which courses in read- 
 ing, writing, and archery were offered. In addition, he encour- 
 aged the establishment of village schools (Shu Hstieh) and 
 public charitable schools (I Hsiieh) in the provinces. Yung 
 Cheng, the successor of K'ang Hsi, also fostered education 
 through the establishment of colleges (Shu Yiian) in the prov- 
 inces. He himself appropriated 100 taels to each of the prov- 
 inces toward the building funds. Under his reign Russia sent 
 students to study in the national university under specially 
 designated Chinese and Manchu professors. Chien Lung, who 
 was the grandson of K'ang Hsi, was a worthy rival of his grand- 
 father as a patron of letters and of education. From the long 
 list of works, mostly on a very extensive scale, produced under 
 his supervision, may be mentioned the new and revised editions 
 of the Thirteen Classics of Confucianism and of the Twenty- 
 four Dynastic Histories. In 1772 a search was instituted under 
 imperial orders for all literary works worthy of preservation, 
 and the result was the great descriptive Catalogue of the Im- 
 perial Library, containing 3460 works arranged under the four 
 heads of Classics, History, Philosophy, and General Literature, 
 in which all the facts known about each work are set forth, 
 coupled with judicious critical remarks — an achievement which 
 hardly has a parallel in any literature in the world. During 
 the reign of this sovereign, the establishment of provincial 
 colleges was greatly encouraged. 
 
 The early emperors of the Manchu dynasty, in assuming the 
 reins of government, left Chinese officials in control of the civil 
 administration, keeping closely to the lines of development 
 which had obtained under the system of the preceding dynasty. 
 The task of providing the new dynasty with an educational 
 system was, therefore, accomplished by accepting as a basis the 
 system of the preceding rulers, and making such changes as 
 were demanded by the spirit of the times. The public school 
 system consisted of three series of schools: 1, schools for nobles 
 (Tsung Hsiieh); 2, national schools (Kuo Hsiieh); and 3, pro- 
 vincial schools (Shing Hsiieh). Nobles' schools were estab- 
 lished in the capital and were of three kinds. One of them, 
 called Tsung Hsiieh, was for the education of the sons of princes 
 
60 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 and nobles. There were two such schools, one for the Chinese 
 and the other for the Manchus. The age limit of the students 
 was between ten and eighteen. The course included Chinese 
 and Manchu languages, horsemanship, and archery. The 
 second kind, called Chio Lo Hsiieh, was for the education of 
 the sons of certain Manchu nobles, known as Chio Lo. There 
 were eight such schools, one for each banner. Their course of 
 study was similar to that of the Tsung Hsiieh. The third kind, 
 known as the Shengking Tsung She Chueh Lo Kuan Hsiieh, 
 was a combination of the other two schools, specially organized 
 for the education of the nobles and Chio Lo residing in the 
 province of Shengking. National schools included all forms of 
 schools for the education of the children of the sons of officers, 
 ordinary Manchu Bannermen, and Mongols, as well as the 
 descendants of those Chinese who helped the Manchus to fight 
 against the Mings. They included schools for the teaching of 
 the Mongol and Manchu languages, and also schools for the 
 teaching of mathematics. These schools were found in the 
 provinces of Shengking and Heilungkiang and especially in the 
 capital. At the head of the national schools must be placed 
 the national university (Kuo Tzii Chien) which had a well- 
 organized corps of officers and professors. All the offices of 
 this institution were equally divided between the Chinese and 
 Manchus. The students admitted included Bachelors or Siu 
 T'sai, candidates recommended for the examination of the 
 second degree or Kung Sheng, sons of deceased officers of merit 
 or Ing Sheng, students of the imperial academy or Chien Sheng, 
 foreign students, sons of officers of merit, both Chinese and 
 Manchu, and descendants of Confucius and other great sages. 
 The university provided two general courses of study, one class- 
 ical and the other in government administration. Students 
 taking the classical course were permitted to specialize in one 
 classic or take several classics together. Those who chose the 
 course in government administration were offered the follow- 
 ing subjects: Public Rites, Taxation, Laws, Frontier Defence, 
 Waterways, and Mathematics. They were permitted to spe- 
 cialize in one subject or take several subjects at the same time. 
 In addition to the schools already mentioned, we find the ex- 
 istence of other national institutions of an educational char- 
 acter, such as the Hanlin Academy, the Imperial Observatory 
 
Development of Education Under Subsequent Dynasties 61 
 
 <Chin T'ien Chien) and the Imperial Medical Academy 
 (T'ai I Yiian). 
 
 Provincial schools maintained by the government included 
 the following: a college (Shu Yiian) in each province, a pre- 
 fectural school (Fu Hsiieh) in each prefecture, a departmental 
 school (Chou Hsiieh) in each department, a district school 
 (Hsien Hsiieh) in each district, and also village schools (Shu 
 Hsiieh) and charitable schools (I Hsiieh) in cities and villages. 
 Village and charitable schools maintained at public expense 
 were meant for the children of the poor who could not afford 
 to go to private schools. The provincial schools or Shu Yiian 
 were provided for advanced students possessing at least the Siu 
 T'sai degree. The prefectural, departmental, and district 
 schools had four kinds of students, as follows: subsidized 
 students (Ling Shan Sheng), those who made the best record 
 in the annual examination (Cheng Kuang Sheng), those who 
 made the second best record in the annual examination (Fu 
 Hsiieh Sheng), and those who had newly passed the district 
 examination and received the degree of Siu T'sai or Wu Sheng. 
 In all these institutions examinations were held monthly, quar- 
 terly, and annually, as well as in special years. Successful 
 candidates from the annual and special examinations were 
 recommended to take examinations for higher degrees. At the 
 beginning of the modern period these provincial schools were 
 in a stage of decadence. In most of them professors and stu- 
 dents had merely a nominal existence. No regular classes were 
 conducted in these schools, and all that was required of the 
 .students was to appear at the periodical examinations. This 
 state of affairs was brought about through the discovery on the 
 part of the students that their promotion was dependent upon 
 examinations given by the director of studies on his tour of 
 inspection, and not upon their attendance in the school. Con- 
 sequently they went to school only when the director was mak- 
 ing his visits and giving his examinations and remained at 
 iome during the rest of the time. Thus the education of pro- 
 vincial schools was ruined by the system of inspection and of 
 periodical examinations. 
 
 The gradual decadence of the school system was counter- 
 balanced by the growing importance of the competitive examina- 
 tion system, which had by this time developed into a colossal 
 
62 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 machine, with ramifications extending to every nook and corner 
 of the great country. True it is that during the Manchu dynasty 
 entrance to official life might be gained through the purchase of 
 rank, through recommendation of higher officers, and through 
 special appointment by the sovereign; yet it is also true that the 
 competitive examination continued to be the method used to 
 ascertain the qualifications of candidates for government em- 
 ployment. Since the mode of operation of this system as we 
 find it at the beginning of the modern period is not an unfamil- 
 iar, though by no means an exhausted, subject, we shall merely 
 enumerate the successive examinations which constituted the 
 rungs of the ladder leading to the official life: 
 
 1. Matriculation examination in the districts and prefectures. 
 
 2. Examination for the first degree, Siu T'sai, which takes 
 place in the chief city of the district. 
 
 3. Provincial examination for the second degree, Chii Jen, 
 held in the capital of the province under the supervision of the 
 literary chancellor. It is open to those possessing the first 
 degree. 
 
 4. National examination, held every three years in the capital 
 for those possessing the second degree. Successful candidates 
 for this examination are given the degree of Chin Shih. 
 
 5. Palace examination, open to those possessing the degree 
 of Chin Shih. Successful candidates become members of the 
 Hanlin Academy. 
 
 6. Examination in the presence of the emperor. It is open 
 to those possessing at least the second degree. Successful 
 candidates after having been given official rank are admitted into 
 public service. 
 
 The educational situation in China at the beginning of the 
 modern era can be stated in a few words. Higher education is 
 fostered by the government, but rather as a means to an end 
 than for its own sake. The great end is the repose of the state; 
 the instruments for securing it are able officers, and education 
 is the means for preparing them for the discharge of their duties. 
 An adequate supply of trained candidates once secured, the 
 education of the people ceases to be an object, although theo- 
 retically the importance of education as moral training is not 
 only still recognized but often emphasized. This attitude of 
 the government is reflected in the attitude of the people. To 
 
Development of Education Under Subseqiient Dynasties 63 
 
 many of them education has come to mean nothing more than 
 preparation for official life. Those who have no ambition to 
 enter the official career regard as unnecessary all intellectual 
 effort beyond the securing of a training for business and daily 
 life. The kind of educational institutions found in the country 
 also seems to support this conclusion. Most of the schools in 
 the capital are intended for the education of nobles and other 
 privileged classes. In the provinces schools have merely a 
 nominal existence, and, at their best, are intended only for the 
 most promising of the student class. There is nothing approach- 
 ing a system of common schools maintained by the state and 
 designed to diffuse among the masses the blessings of a popular 
 education. Indeed, it may be said that popular education is 
 almost entirely left to private enterprise and public charity, 
 the government contenting itself with gathering the choicest 
 fruits and encouraging their production by rewards in the way 
 of degrees, official titles, and other public recognition. Such 
 in brief is the condition of public education in China on the eve 
 of a new educational era. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 TRANSITION FROM TRADITIONAL TO MODERN 
 
 EDUCATION 
 
 (A. D. 1842-1905) 
 
 Beginnings of Modern Schools 
 
 The beginning of modern schools may be said to date from 
 1842, the year which marks the opening of the five Chinese 
 ports to foreign trade and commerce. The pioneers of the 
 movement were the missionaries who had been waiting at the 
 door for an opportunity to come into China. They lost no time 
 in establishing schools as an instrument for the dissemination 
 of Christian knowledge and faith. The schools thus founded,,, 
 though not strictly confined to the children of the Christians,, 
 remained chiefly as the place where new converts were educated 
 and preserved from too intimate contact with the unbelieving 
 world. At all events the work of those pioneer missionaries 
 did not have the scope and character which it has assumed in 
 recent years. They had no well-established educational policy. 
 Each school was opened as the exigency of the occasion demanded 
 and the funds of the home board permitted. Their schools 
 were, moreover, confined to the children of the humbler classes. 
 The few who acquired a western education therein had little- 
 prospect of employment in the government. In spite of these 
 and other shortcomings, it must be admitted that for some time 
 the schools of the missionaries were practically the only institu- 
 tions where some form of modern knowledge was taught and 
 for this reason they may justly claim to have been the first 
 modern educational institutions in China. 
 
 The treaty of Tientsin, ratified in 1860, called into being the 
 Tsungli Yamen or Foreign Office. With its establishment there 
 was at once felt an urgent need of men familiar with both the 
 written and the spoken languages of the several treaty Powers, 
 in order to carry on diplomatic relations with them. To be 
 
 64 
 
Transition from Traditional to Modern Education 65 
 
 sure, the treaty in question contains a clause requiring that all 
 despatches should be accompanied by a Chinese translation, 
 but this arrangement was to last only for a period of three years, 
 and was made to allow the Chinese government time to provide 
 her own interpreters. In order to meet this demand, the govern- 
 ment established, in 1862, through the recommendation of the 
 Tsungli Yamen, a school in Peking, until recently known as 
 the T'ung Wen Kuan, for the training of oflBcial interpreters.* 
 This school, though connected with the Foreign Office, was 
 placed under the direction of the late Sir Robert Hart who was 
 then Inspector General of Maritime Customs. In 1866 it was 
 raised to the rank of a college. Before that time only foreign 
 languages were taught; then a scientific department was added. 
 In 1868 Dr. W. A. P. Martin was called to the professorship of 
 international law, and in 1869 he was appointed the first presi- 
 dent of the college. 
 
 Soon after the establishment of the T'ung Wen Kuan, the 
 Tsungli Yamen established two auxiliary schools, one of which 
 was located at Shanghai and the other at Canton. At differ- 
 ent times graduates of these schools were sent to the T'ung 
 Wen Kuan at Peking for further study, the latter being the 
 higher school and offering a more advanced course of study. 
 As the years went by and occasion demanded, departments 
 of foreign languages, such as English, French, Russian, and 
 Japanese, were added one after another to these schools. 
 
 Besides the T'ung Wen Kuan and its auxiliary schools, several 
 other institutions of learning came into existence and these in 
 turn became the forerunners of the modern school system. In 
 1867 Viceroy Tseng Kuo Fan, through the persuasion of Yung 
 Wing, established a mechanical school as an annex to the Kiang- 
 nan Arsenal at Shanghai in order to teach the theory as well 
 as the practice of mechanical engineering, with a view to en- 
 abling China in time to dispense with the emplojmient of foreign 
 mechanical engineers and machinists, and thus to be perfectly 
 independent. In the same year two naval schools, one French 
 and the other English, were established in Foochow. The 
 Northern Government Telegraph College was established at 
 Tientsin in the year 1879. In 1887 Li Hung Chang formulated 
 
 I The T'ung Wen Kuan was in 1903 amalgamated vrith another school known as 
 1 HsUeh Kuan (school of the science of translation). 
 
66 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 the plan of establishing a university at Tientsin. With funds 
 contributed by both Chinese and Europeans a spacious build- 
 ing was constructed. Dr. Charles D. Tenny was called to the 
 presidency of the proposed university, but for some reason no 
 further steps were taken to carry out the plan until after the 
 war with Japan. In 1890 the Chinese Imperial Naval College 
 was established at Nanking, and two years later the govern- 
 ment Mining and Engineering College of the Hupeh Board of 
 Mines was established at Wuchang. One year later, in 1893, 
 the medical college for the army was established in Tientsin. 
 At Wuchang Viceroy Chang Chih Tung also attempted to in- 
 stitute reforms by introducing western education. Colleges of 
 agriculture, languages, mechanics, mining, and military science 
 were organized. Professors were invited from America, Bel- 
 gium, England, Germany, and Russia. 
 
 Early Attempts to Modernize the Examination System 
 
 Meanwhile, attempts were made to introduce reforms in the 
 time-honored examination system itself. As early as the year 
 1869 the viceroy of the Fukien province memorialized the 
 throne suggesting that a knowledge of mathematics should be 
 required of candidates competing for degrees in the examina- 
 tions. In 1875 Li Hung Chang, then viceroy of Chili, presented 
 a similar memorial recommending the introduction of physical 
 science as well as mathematics among the subjects of examina- 
 tion. Both of these recommendations, however, failed to re- 
 ceive the royal sanction, showing that the time was not yet ripe 
 for the change. But while the central government was so re- 
 luctant to modify the examination system, the new learning was 
 all the time gaining in popularity with the more progressive 
 literati of the country. Finally, in 1887, two years after the 
 close of the war with France, the government, now fully con- 
 vinced of the necessity of reforming the educational system, 
 decreed that mathematics and science be introduced in the 
 government examinations, and for the first time in Chinese 
 history modern sciences were placed on a par with classical 
 learning. This official recognition of the parity between science 
 and linguistics, indicating the coming victory of realism over 
 humanism, is remarkable in that it preceded similar events in 
 most of the modern nations; for example, this did not happen 
 
Transition from Traditional to Modern Education 67 
 
 in Germany until the adoption of the reform program of 1901, 
 and in France not until the adoption of the reform program of 
 1902. Owing to the fact, however, that the literary chancellors 
 who presided over the examinations were themselves unfamiliar 
 with the new subjects, very little was actually accomplished in 
 the way of modifying the old stereotyped classical examinations. 
 Nevertheless, the step taken was of great significance, and its 
 importance in the history of Chinese education cannot be over- 
 estimated. A writer of the time, commenting upon the reform 
 thus introduced, remarks that the thin edge of the wedge has 
 been driven into the competitive examination system which in 
 the end will rive asunder the old wall of Chinese conservatism, 
 liberalizing the minds of the literati and setting them forward 
 in the path of progress and reform. 
 
 Educational Commissions to Western Countries 
 
 The educational commissions of this early period played no 
 less important part in the development of modern education 
 in China. One of these commissions was brought about by the 
 late Dr. Yung Wing, who was a Chinese graduate of Yale Col- 
 lege.' In 1868 he proposed to the high authorities in China a 
 scheme for sending picked students to America to be thoroughly 
 educated for government service. As an experiment one hun- 
 dred and twenty students were to be selected and divided into 
 four groups of thirty students each, one group to be sent out 
 each year. They were to have fifteen years to finish their 
 education. Their average age was to be from twelve to four- 
 teen years. If the first and second years' work proved to be 
 successful, the scheme was to be continued indefinitely. Chin- 
 ese teachers were to be provided to keep up their knowledge of 
 Chinese while in the United States. Over the whole enterprise 
 two commissioners were to be appointed, and the government 
 was to appropriate a certain percentage of the Shanghai cus- 
 toms revenue to maintain the mission. Largely through the 
 influence of Tseng Kuo Fan, Ting Yi Chang, and others high in 
 authority, the scheme received the sanction of the emperor soon 
 after the Tientsin massacre (1870) and Yung Wing and Chin 
 Lan Pin, the latter a member of the Hanlin Academy, were 
 
 « Cf. Yung Wing: My Life in China and America. 
 
68 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 appointed to take charge of the newly created commission. In 
 1871 a preparatory school for the training of students to be sent 
 abroad was established in Shanghai under the supervision of 
 Liu Kai Sing, who for a number of years was one of the secre- 
 taries of Viceroy Tseng Kuo Fan. In the latter part of the sum- 
 mer of 1872, the first thirty students were sent over to the 
 United States, and by the fall of 1875 the last group of students 
 had arrived in America. The youths were distributed by twos, 
 or by fours in New England families, where they were cared 
 for and instructed until they were able to join classes in graded 
 schools. In course of time, they proved themselves almost 
 without exception to be capable and active in the tasks set 
 before them, and as their hold upon the English language in- 
 creased, they began even to outrank the brightest of their 
 American classmates. The Commission made its permanent 
 headquarters in Hartford, Connecticut, where, at the recom- 
 mendation of the commission, and with the approval of Li 
 Hung Chang, who had assumed charge of the Commission upon 
 the death of Tseng Kuo Fan, a handsome and substantial 
 building was erected in 1874 and occupied at the beginning of 
 the following year. 
 
 To the great disappointment of the thoughtful men of the 
 time, the scheme, so auspiciously inaugurated, did not live long. 
 The complexion of this educational enterprise began to change 
 with the installation of Wu Tzu Tung as head of the Commis- 
 sion in 1876. No sooner was this man placed in office than he 
 began to make misrepresentations to the Chinese government 
 regarding the intellectual and moral character of the students 
 and the general result of the Commission. These false reports 
 continued for some time till a censor from the ranks of the re- 
 actionary party came forward and, taking advantage of the 
 strong anti-Chinese prejudice in America, memorialized the 
 government to break up the mission and have all the students 
 recalled. This proved the death-knell of the enterprise, for 
 in 1881 we see the actual break-up of the Commission and the 
 recall of all the students, numbering one hundred in all. The- 
 real motive which prompted the government to withdraw the; 
 students when they were about to gather in the most important 
 advantages from their studies, and the humiliations to which 
 these young students were subjected upon their return to the 
 
Transition from Traditional to Modern Education 69 
 
 land of their birth, form an interesting chapter in the history 
 of modern education in China. 
 
 A less known but no less important educational enterprise 
 was undertaken by the Foochow Arsenal. In 1876 it sent forty- 
 six students abroad to study ship-building and navigation. 
 These students met a better fate than those of the other mission, 
 although even they did not receive so warm a welcome upon 
 their return as they deserved. It must be remembered, however, 
 that these schemes of sending students abroad can in no wise 
 be considered failures, for with the passing of years a larger 
 and larger number of those pioneer students have become men 
 of influence in the promotion of progress and reform in their 
 native land. Indeed, not a few of them have risen to positions 
 of great importance and have achieved sufficient distinction to 
 prove their worthiness of the effort bestowed upon them, thus 
 going far toward justifying the educational experiment which 
 is now being repeated on a much larger scale. 
 
 Effect of the Chino-Japanese War upon Educational Reform 
 
 The disastrous war with Japan (1894-1895) and the general 
 foreign aggression which followed it, humiliating though they 
 were to the national honor of China, gave a new impetus to the 
 cause of educational reform. Many people were convinced for 
 the first time that further reforms in education were necessary 
 in order to place China upon a firmer basis. This conviction 
 became so prevalent that many of the literary men, some of 
 whom were quite advanced in age, sought western learning by 
 attending missionary schools and colleges, by employing private 
 tutors, by forming reform clubs, and by reading such translations 
 of western books as were available. The emperor, Kuang Hsii, 
 himself became so interested in western science and learning 
 that he ordered his eunuchs to search out and bring to him all 
 the translations of books on western learning that could be 
 found. The demand for the new learning became so great that 
 by 1896 all schools where western language and science were 
 taught were overcrowded with pupils. Even young and inex- 
 perienced students found it easy to obtain lucrative positions 
 as private teachers. In the midst of this zeal for western learn- 
 ing, several important institutions came into existence. Two 
 of these need special mention: One is the university in Tientsin, 
 
70 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 now known as the Peiyang University. The real beginning 
 of this institution dates as early as 1887, but the actual organi- 
 zation of the university did not take place until after the war 
 with Japan, when arrangements were made to finance the 
 institution with funds from the telegraph administration, the 
 China Merchants Steamiship Navigation Company, and the 
 Office of the Superintendent of Customs or the Taotai's Yamen. 
 The other important educational institution is the Nanyang 
 College, which was established in Shanghai in 1897, mainly 
 through the influence of Sheng Hsiian Huai. Both of these 
 institutions, although their character has been changed con- 
 siderably since their first establishment, have, nevertheless, 
 withstood all the political storms which have been raging over 
 China during the last fifteen years, and are now ranked as among 
 the best of the institutions for higher learning which China 
 possesses. 
 
 The Book of Chang Chih Tung and his Recommendations Con- 
 cerning Educational Reform 
 
 Soon after the war with Japan, Chang Chih Tung, then vice- 
 roy of the Hupeh and Hunan provinces, published a remarkable 
 book known as Ch'uan Hsiieh P'ien or An Exhortation to Learn- 
 ing.' In this now famous book the viceroy advocated the 
 establishment of modern schools in every province, circuit, 
 prefecture, department, and district. He outlined a system of 
 schools as follows: universities in the provincial capitals and at 
 Peking, colleges in the prefectural cities, and high schools in the 
 districts, all planned out on a graded system, with the lower 
 institutions co-ordinated with the higher ones. The curriculum 
 of the high schools was to be the "Four Books," Chinese geo- 
 graphy and history (abridged), arithmetic, geometry, and the 
 elements of science; that of colleges, the higher branches of 
 science, the "Five Classics," the T'ung Chien (a history), 
 government, foreign languages and literatures; and the cur- 
 riculum of the universities was to include subjects of still higher 
 grade. One of the ways of putting his scheme into practice 
 which he suggested was to convert temples and monasteries of the 
 Buddhists and Taoists into schools, and to appropriate temple 
 
 " The book has been translated into English by Samuel I. Woodbridge and is known 
 under the title "China's Only Hope." 
 
Transition from Traditional to Modern Education 71 
 
 lands and incomes for educational purposes. The courageous 
 viceroy also urged the necessity of abolishing the use of the so- 
 called "eight-legged essay "^ in the examinations and of making 
 the new learning the test of scholarship through the introduction 
 into the examinations of practical subjects, such as history, 
 geography, and Chinese government, in addition to the com- 
 monly used classics. 
 
 The book, dealing with issues so live and so exciting and com- 
 ing from the pen of one so influential both in action and in intel- 
 lect, naturally attracted much attention. By the order of the em- 
 peror it was handed to the Grand Council of the State and copies 
 of it were distributed to the viceroys, governors, and literary 
 examiners of China in order that it might be extensively pub- 
 lished and widely circulated in the provinces. As a result the 
 book was devoured with the greatest avidity by the scholars 
 throughout the country, and so enthusiastic was the reception 
 accorded to it that within a short time millions of copies were 
 distributed. In this way the seed of a far-reaching intellectual 
 awakening was scattered broadcast in the minds of the people, 
 preparing them for reform measures even more drastic and 
 radical than those already introduced. 
 
 Reforms and Counter-Reforms of 1898 
 
 In the memorable year of 1898 the young emperor Kuang 
 Hsii, backed by a host of reformers, including the well-known 
 K'ang Yu Wei and Liang Chi Chao, issued a series of decrees 
 in which were embodied some of the most sweeping reforms 
 China has ever known.' The reforms introduced include the 
 establishment of a system of modern schools, the abolition of 
 the "eight-legged essay" in the examinations, the introduction 
 of short, practical essays upon subjects suitable to modern 
 needs and conditions, and the sending of young Manchus abroad 
 for a western education. These innovations and others touch- 
 ing upon the reform of the military examination system, the 
 encouragement of the translation of foreign books, and the 
 establishment of newspapers, literally shook the empire from 
 
 « These essays were so called because they were divided into eight heads in an 
 artificial maimer. The style was stilted, sentences of four or six characters alter- 
 nated, and each set of ten characters had to be antithetical. 
 
 « Cf. Emperor Kuang Hsu's Reform Decrees, 1898. Reprinted from the North 
 China Daily News. 
 
72 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 one end to another. For a time the reform movement promised 
 to become national in character and its spirit to permeate the 
 provinces and to move the minds of the great nation. 
 
 But unfortunately a reactionary movement as radical and 
 drastic as that of reform, arose and finally gained full sway. 
 At the back of the reform movement was a small band of 
 earnest men whose excessive zeal led to premature action. A 
 plot was conceived, under which the Empress Dowager was to 
 be arrested and imprisoned; but this being made known to 
 that resourceful woman, she turned the tables by suddenly 
 arresting and imprisoning the Emperor, and promptly decapit- 
 ating all the conspirators, with the exception of a few who 
 succeeded in making their escape. All prospect of reform 
 now disappeared from the imperial program; the edicts which 
 had raised premature hope in this direction were annulled and 
 the old regime was to prevail once more. All newspapers were 
 suppressed; schools projected in prefectural, sub-prefectural, 
 and district cities were held in abeyance; the right to use temples, 
 monasteries, and nunneries for school purposes was revoked; 
 and the use of the eight-legged essay in the examinations and 
 the old order of conducting military examinations were once 
 more restored. Of all the educational reforms of that year, the 
 imperial university alone withstood the storm of reaction. 
 
 Effect of the Boxer and the Russo-Japanese War upon the Progress 
 of Modern Education 
 
 The retrograde policy of which we have been speaking lasted 
 till 1900, when the Boxer outbreak once more changed the state 
 of things. During those days of storm and fury almost all of 
 the modern schools and colleges in northern China were tem- 
 porarily abandoned; some of them, including the Peiyang 
 University, were even completely destroyed. Fortunately 
 the outbreak, through the refusal of the viceroys in the southern 
 provinces to join the movement, was confined to the North, 
 else the same sad fate would have befallen the schools in the 
 South. But although the immediate effect of the political up- 
 rising was detrimental to the cause of the new learning, its 
 ultimate influence was helpful; for after China had been humbled 
 and peace once more restored, the program of educational re- 
 form was again adopted and the Empress Dowager, having 
 
Transition from Traditional to Modern Education 73 
 
 learned a dearly bought lesson, began to advocate the very- 
 measures she had so vigorously resisted only a short time before. 
 She not only re-enacted many of Kuang Hsii's edicts, but made 
 the influence of some of them even more far-reaching than 
 before. From this time on modern education progressed by 
 leaps and bounds. 
 
 Among the immediate results of the Boxer uprising was the 
 establishment of the Shantung Provincial College with Dr. 
 W. M. Hayes as its president, and the University of Shansi 
 with Dr. Timothy Richard at its head. The latter institution 
 has a singular history. During the Boxer uprising a number 
 of missionaries were killed in the province of Shansi. When 
 the trouble was over, compensation was demanded by the 
 Powers both for the buildings that were destroyed, and for the 
 missionaries that were killed. A certain number ot the mission- 
 ary bodies refused absolutely to take any compensation. Ani- 
 mated by the spirit of the early Christian church, they were 
 not willing that the blood which had been shed for the sacred 
 cause should be paid for in money. At this juncture a dead- 
 lock was threatened. The western governments were insisting 
 on compensation, but were uncertain as to how that compensa- 
 tion should be made. At this crisis, the Chinese authorities in 
 charge of the matter sent for Dr. Timothy Richard, one of the 
 Protestant missionaries in whom they had confidence, to 
 help them settle the case. Thereupon Dr. Richard made a 
 recommendation which appealed at once to all parties con- 
 cerned, namely, that the money should be devoted to the founding 
 of a great university in Shansi. Under such peculiar terms the 
 university was founded. It was under the government of China, 
 and yet not completely so, for according to the terms of arrange- 
 ment. Dr. Richard was to have the control of the western side 
 of the education at least for ten years. At the end of that 
 period it was to return to the ordinary status of a government 
 university.* 
 
 In the midst of attractive promises of reform came the Russo- 
 Japanese War, with all its surprises. Among the causes to which 
 the Manchu court ascribed the success of the Japanese, western 
 learning took a high rank, and this led to renewed efforts and 
 
 «Cf. Gascoyne-Cecil: Changing CMna, pp. 274-275. 
 
74 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 more firm determination to carry out the reform policy. The 
 cry of the time was that what Japan has done, China by adopt- 
 ing similar reforms and taking similar steps can and will do. 
 Indeed, so astounded were the Chinese by the prowess displayed 
 by Japan that many were willing to sit at the feet of the Japan- 
 ese, their one-time pupils, in order to learn the secret of success. 
 For a time students poured into the island empire and Tokio 
 became the Mecca of western learning to the Chinese. It is 
 estimated that the number of Chinese students in Japan reached 
 as many as 15,000. In the course of a few years returned 
 students from Japan were found throughout the length and 
 breadth of the great country taking an active part in the cause 
 of progress and reform. Those who remained in Japan de- 
 voted a large part of their time to the editing of magazines and 
 the translation of books, a veritable flood of literature thus 
 pouring back to their fatherland, and reaching every nook and 
 corner of the empire. Some of this literature, flowing from the 
 pens of young men flushed with the new learning and burning 
 with patriotism, was naturally somewhat violent in tone and 
 made sensational reading, but it produced its effect on the 
 people, who needed something unusual to wake them out of 
 their lethargy. 
 
 Recognition by the Government of the Graduates of Modern Schools 
 
 Another important and far-seeing step in the educational 
 reform was taken when Yuan Shih Kai recommended to the 
 throne that some form of official recognition be given to the 
 graduates of modern schools as it was given to the successful can- 
 didates of the competitive examinations. On December fifth of 
 that eventful year, 1901, a decree was promulgated according 
 to which the new learning was given proper recognition.' The 
 provisions of this decree are as follows : " Graduates of the lower 
 schools of promise and ability are to be sent to the middle schools 
 to complete a course of higher studies, and graduates from the 
 latter selected for their talents and ability are to be sent to the 
 colleges of their native provinces to go through another course 
 of study. After these have graduated from their respective 
 colleges they are to be styled "students of the superior class." 
 
 ' Cf. King, H. E.: The Educational System of China as Recently Reconstructed, 
 p. 32; and Lewis, R. B.: The Educational Conquest of the Far East, p. 181. 
 
Transition from Traditional to Modern Education 75 
 
 They are then to be thoroughly examined by their own viceroys 
 or governors and literary chancellors and the most promising are 
 to be granted passports to go to Peking for re-examination at the 
 Peking University, after which they are to await an imperial 
 decree bestowing upon them the literary degrees of Chii Jen or 
 Promoted Scholar, and Kung Shen or Senior Licentiate. The 
 latter are then to remain and again compete at the next examina- 
 tions for the said Chii Jen degree. Those who have obtained 
 their Chii Jen degree are again to undergo another strict examina- 
 tion at the Peking University, and the most promising are to be 
 sent by the said university authorities to the Board of Rites. 
 The said board will then memorialize the Throne asking that 
 some high Ministers of the Court be appointed to hold a special 
 examination of these Chii Jen candidates and a recommendation 
 will then be presented to the Throne asking for the granting of 
 the Chin Shih or Doctor's degree to the successful students. An 
 examination of the latter will then be held in one of the throne 
 halls, after which the successful candidates are to be introduced 
 to the Throne, when the grade of Hanlin, or Secretary of the 
 Six Boards, or Secretary of the Grand Secretariat will be be- 
 stowed upon them. 
 
 Effort to Modernize the Traditional Schools 
 
 One of the educational reforms was the attempt to modernize 
 the traditional schools. Here is a notable instance. In 1901 a 
 memorial was presented to the Throne by Sun Chia Nan, the 
 President of the Hanlin Academy, in which he made known the 
 fact that the members of the said academy, instead of studying 
 such subjects as would prepare them for appointments in diplo- 
 matic, consular, and other departments of the government 
 service, spent their time in trivial occupations, such as compos- 
 ing poetry, which were perfectly useless for the needs of the 
 time. He suggested that they be required to devote themselves 
 to the study of the principles of government, mathematics, 
 chemistry, and other special subjects which they might desire 
 to study. The memorialist further recommended that the 
 members of the academy be allowed to enter the Peiyang Uni- 
 versity or Nanyang College for a course of training if they were 
 so inclined. The memorial in question was approved and Sun 
 Chia Nan was ordered to draw up a list of subjects to be pur- 
 
76 The Chinese System of Pvblic Education 
 
 sued by the members of the academy. In 1902 a decree was 
 issued commanding the members of the Academy to study 
 diligently ancient and modern history, politics, and western learn- 
 ing, with a view to preparing themselves to render service to 
 the government. The chancellor of the academy was ordered 
 to examine the progress of their studies every five months and 
 report the results to the Throne. 
 
 New Provisions for the Encouragement of Study Abroad 
 
 In the meantime the experiment of sending students abroad 
 was resumed on a much larger scale. In 1901 a decree was 
 issued by the Empress Dowager commanding her diplomatic 
 representatives abroad to search for those Chinese youths who 
 had shown special talent while studying in the schools and 
 colleges in foreign countries, those who had graduated with 
 honor, and those who possessed diplomas in their various pro- 
 fessions. Such men were to be sent to China to undergo an 
 examination, and upon the basis of merit shown in the examina- 
 tion proper degrees were to be conferred upon them. Later 
 in the year another edict was issued in which the viceroys and 
 governors throughout the country were asked to follow the 
 good example of viceroys Liu K'un I, Chang Chih Tung, and 
 Kwei Chun by sending young men of scholastic promise abroad 
 to study those branches of western science or art best suited to 
 their abilities and tastes, so that in time they might return to 
 China and place the fruits of their knowledge at the service of 
 the country. The same edict made special provision regarding 
 the giving of official recognition to returned students and the 
 financial support of the students. A Chinese student returning 
 from abroad with his diploma proving the completion of his 
 studies could present himself before the viceroy or the governor 
 and the literary chancellor of his native province for examina- 
 tion, and if found satisfactory he would be recommended to the 
 Ministry of Foreign Affairs for appointment. The expenses of 
 the students while studying abroad were to be paid by the 
 provinces to which they belonged. Any student desiring to 
 go abroad to study at his own expense could obtain an 
 official dispatch from the viceroy or governor of his province 
 introducing him to the Chinese minister accredited to the 
 country where he wished to obtain his education and request- 
 
Transition from Traditional to Modern Education 77 
 
 ing the minister to take care of him and render him any need- 
 ful help. Private students, if they so desired, could have the 
 same privileges accorded to those sent under government expense, 
 and, like the government students, would be granted literary 
 degrees of the proper kind, should they be able to meet the 
 required tests. 
 
 Shortly after the proclamation of the above decrees, an im- 
 portant memorial signed by Chang Chih Tung, Chang Pai Hsi, 
 and Jung Ching, was presented to the Throne, in which the mem- 
 -orialists declared that the sending of young and inexperienced 
 students to foreign countries had not been altogether a success, 
 and recommended that older and better educated men, such 
 as Hanlins and princes of high rank, be sent abroad so that the 
 country might receive more benefit from their experience and 
 study. As a means of encouragement they proposed the follow- 
 ing scheme of reward based on the length of time spent abroad: 
 first class reward to those who spent at least three years in for- 
 eign countries, second class to those who spent at least two years 
 in Europe and America; and third class for those who traveled 
 in Japan over one year. In addition to the special reward, all 
 officials traveling abroad were to receive their regular salary. 
 The object of sending such men abroad was to examine the 
 methods of foreign government, especially their diplomatic 
 policy, their military and naval regulations, and their educa- 
 tional systems. Those who traveled abroad were expected to 
 take notes of their observations, which upon their return to 
 ■China were to be handed to an imperial inspector and rewards 
 were to be given only to those who had made valuable notes. 
 
 In 1905 another edict relative to sending students abroad 
 was issued, which throws further light upon the attitude of the 
 government toward the education of students in foreign coun- 
 tries. In this decree the Throne expressed its deepest pleasure 
 at the fact that the viceroys and governors had obeyed the com- 
 mand to send students abroad, and suggested that since there 
 were already many Chinese students in Japan a large number 
 should now be sent to Europe and America. Highest com- 
 mendation was given to those who were willing to cross the 
 wide ocean in order to gain substantial knowledge for the bene- 
 fit of their mother country. The ministers abroad were asked 
 to take special care of the students under their charge and to 
 
78 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 treat them like their own children and relatives. They were 
 also asked to see that students lived orderly lives and were 
 diligent in their studies. In case any student should be found 
 to be ill or in want of money to prosecute his studies, the ministers 
 were expected to give him pecuniary and other necessary assist- 
 ance. The decree concluded by exhorting the government 
 officials, on one hand, not to look slightingly on such students, 
 but to assist the Throne in every way to raise up men of ability 
 for the betterment of the country; and by reminding the stu- 
 dents, on the other hand, of the importance of their mission 
 and urging them to choose those subjects of study for which 
 they were best fitted, so that upon their retiu-n they might be 
 qualified to shoulder positions of responsibility. 
 
 The First Modern School System 
 
 The matter of establishing a modern school system upon a 
 national basis was taken up with all seriousness. During 1901 
 an edict was issued commanding that all provincial colleges 
 (Shu Ytian) in the capital cities of provinces be turned into 
 modern universities or colleges modeled after the Imperial 
 University at Peking; that middle schools be established in every 
 prefecture and department; that elementary (higher primary) 
 schools be established in every district, and lower primary schools 
 in the country at large. The course of study was to include 
 Chinese classics, history, principles of government, and western 
 sciences. In 1903 a special commission, consisting of Sun Chia 
 Nan, Chang Pai Hsi, and Chang Chih Tung, was appointed to 
 draw up a detailed plan for a national public school system. The 
 report of the Commission, including regulations as to discipline 
 and curricula, and suggestions as to the method of establishing 
 schools, when printed consisted of four volumes. Receiving 
 the sanction of the imperial government, this plan became the 
 authorized program for educational changes throughout the 
 empire. 
 
 The following chart embodies the system of education pro- 
 posed by the Commission: 
 
Transition from Traditional to Modern Education 79 
 
 CHin 3mH 
 
 KUAM 
 
 3 Years 
 
 riRST MODfRn EDUCATIOrlAL SYSTEM 
 1903 
 
 School OF 
 
 ReSEARCH 
 
 5 Years 
 
 Higher 
 
 InOUSTRWL 
 
 School or 
 
 Lamguage 
 
 X 
 
 University 
 3*4 Years 
 
 X 
 
 Higher 
 
 UmVERSITY 
 
 Higher 
 
 HDUSTRIAL 
 
 AppRcnricE 
 School 
 
 •yWlYEARS 
 
 3°'-dYEAR5 
 lYEARPREr 
 
 Middle 
 imdu5trml 
 3 Years 
 2 Years' 
 
 Prep 
 
 5 Years 
 
 School 
 3' Years 
 
 =^= 
 
 Middle 
 School 
 5 Years 
 
 FncR5cnooL 
 3 Years 
 
 PRINARr 
 
 imiusrfiiAL 
 Shears 
 
 iHOUSTfrTAL 
 
 'ytimifissm 
 3 Years 
 
 ^ 
 
 riORMAL 
 
 '3 Years 
 
 LOWER 
 MORMAL 
 
 "5 Years 
 
 TEACHERS 
 TRAininS 
 
 Higher 
 Primary 
 
 rt 
 
 4 Years 
 
 3: 
 
 Lower 
 
 PRIMARY 
 
 5 YCAR5 
 
 X 
 
 HlNDER- 
 
 Gartew 
 
 N. B. Industrial supplementary schools also admit those already in 
 industrial pursuits. 
 
80 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 Kindergarten 
 
 Kindergartens are designed for the care and instruction of 
 children between three and seven years of age. They are es- 
 tablished in or near the existing orphanages and " homes of vir- 
 tuous widows" in the various districts. Children are allowed 
 to remain in the kindergarten not longer than four hours a day. 
 Tuition is free. 
 
 Lower Primary School 
 
 The aim of the lower primary school is to give to children 
 above seven years of age the knowledge necessary for life, to 
 establish in them the foundation of morality and patriotism, 
 and to promote their physical welfare. The government is to 
 establish model schools, at least two in each small district, three in 
 each large district, and one in each large village. The curric- 
 ulum includes the following eight subjects of study: morals, 
 Chinese classics, Chinese language, mathematics, history, geog- 
 raphy, nature study, and physical culture. Drawing, hand 
 work, and music may be added. The course of study extends 
 over a period of five years, and the number of hours of recitation 
 per week is limited to thirty, twelve of which are given to the 
 study of Chinese classics. No tuition is to be charged in the 
 schools established by the government. 
 
 Higher Primary School 
 
 The purpose of the higher primary school is to cultivate the 
 moral nature of the young citizen, to enlarge his knowledge, and 
 to strengthen his body. These schools are to be established 
 in cities, towns, and villages. At least one such school is to 
 be maintained by the government in each of these territorial 
 divisions. Graduates of the lower primary school and children 
 below the age of fifteen having equivalent preparation are ad- 
 mitted. The curriculum includes the following nine subjects 
 of study: morals, Chinese classics, Chinese language, math- 
 ematics, history, geography, nature study, drawing, and 
 physical culture. Courses in hand work, agriculture, and com- 
 merce may be added. The course extends over a period of 
 four years, with thirty-six hours of recitations per week, twelve 
 of which are given to Chinese classics. Higher primary schools 
 established by the government are to charge for tuition, the 
 
Transition from Traditional to Modern Education 81 
 
 amount to be determined by local conditions and the financial 
 ability of the community. 
 
 Middle School 
 
 The middle school corresponds very closely to the American 
 high school. Its aim is to provide higher general education 
 for children between the ages of fifteen and nineteen, so as to 
 prepare them to enter political and industrial life or the various 
 higher institutions of learning. The middle school is to be lim- 
 ited to graduates of the higher primary school, but in case the 
 number of graduates from the primary schools exceeds the number 
 of vacancies in the middle school, an examination is to be given 
 to eliminate the less desirable ones. A tuition fee is charged 
 according to local conditions. The course of study is five years 
 and includes the following twelve subjects: morals, Chinese 
 classics, Chinese literature, foreign languages, history, geog- 
 raphy, mathematics, biology, physics and chemistry, civics 
 and economics, drawing, and physical culture. The number 
 of recitations per week is thirty-six throughout the course. 
 Chinese classics and literature continue to receive emphasis, 
 occupying thirteen hours per week for the first two years, four- 
 teen hours for the third, and twelve for the fourth and fifth. 
 
 Higher School or Provincial College 
 
 The higher school corresponds to the last years of the German 
 gymnasium, or the French lyc6e, and to the first years of the 
 American college. Its aim is to prepare students to take up 
 work in the colleges of the university. Such a school is to be 
 established in the capital city of each province and to be main- 
 tained by the province in which it is situated. Graduates of 
 middle schools are to be admitted. Tuition is charged. The 
 curriculum requires three years of thirty-six hours per week. 
 It provides for three courses of study: Course A preparing 
 students to enter the university colleges of Chinese classics, 
 political science and law, literature, and commerce; Course B 
 preparing for the colleges of science, agriculture, and engineer- 
 ing; Course C for the college of medicine. The curriculum 
 lays great stress on modern languages, with the object of pre- 
 paring students to read foreign books with ease. 
 
82 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 University 
 
 Universities are to be established in Peking and in the prov- 
 inces. Graduates of provincial colleges are admitted. Tuition 
 is charged. The university is to have the following colleges: 
 1, Chinese classics; 2, law; 3, literature; 4, medicine; 5, science; 
 6, agriculture; 7, engineering; and 8, commerce. All the courses 
 outlined for the colleges cover three years except the two par- 
 allel courses in the law college and the course for physicians 
 in the college of medicine, ' which require four years' work. 
 The college of Chinese classics has eleven courses each requiring 
 four hours per week. The college of law has two courses, polit- 
 ical science and law, each requiring twenty-four hours per week. 
 The college in literature has nine courses, each requiring twenty- 
 four hours. In the medical college two courses are outlined: 
 the course for physicians, and the course in pharmacy. The 
 college of science has six courses of study: mathematics, as- 
 tronomy, physics, chemistry, zoology and botany, and geology. 
 The college of agriculture has four courses: agriculture, agricul- 
 tural chemistry, forestry, and veterinary medicine. The college 
 of engineering has the following courses: architecture, mechanical 
 engineering, naval architecture, technology of arms, electrical 
 engineering, civil engineering, chemical engineering, technology 
 of explosives, mining and metallurgy. The college of commerce 
 has three courses: banking and insurance, trade and trafl&c, 
 and taxes and customs. The number of hours for the different 
 courses varies widely. 
 
 School of Research 
 
 This is to be a graduate school, admitting graduates of the 
 university colleges and other applicants who can pass the exam- 
 ination for admission. The work covers a period of five years, 
 two of which must be passed in residence. Satisfactory com- 
 pletion of a thesis, embodying the result of an investigation, is 
 required of all students for graduation. 
 
 Normal Schools 
 Normal schools are of three kinds: the higher normal, the 
 lower normal, and the industrial training school. The law 
 requires that all expenses of a normal-school student be paid 
 by the local authorities, unless the student prefers to be self- 
 supporting. 
 
Transition from Traditional to Modern Education 83 
 
 Lower Normal School 
 
 The aim of the lower normal school is to train teachers for 
 the lower and higher primary schools. Each prefecture is to 
 maintain at least one such school capable of receiving one hun- 
 dred and fifty students or more, and each provincial capital is 
 to have one to accommodate three hundred students. Under 
 special circumstances two or three prefectures are allowed to 
 establish one school in common, in which case the capacity of 
 the school must be three hundred instead of one hundred and 
 fifty. The curriculum of the lower normal school consists 
 of twelve subjects: ethics, Chinese classics, Chinese litera- 
 ture, education, history, geography, mathematics, nature study, 
 physics and chemistry, penmanship, drawing, and physical 
 culture. Two courses of study are outlined, a long course and 
 a short course. The long course covers five years of forty-four 
 weeks each, having thirty-six hours per week. The short course, 
 consisting of one year's work of thirty-six hours a week, is offered 
 to meet the immediate need of teachers. 
 
 Higher Normal School 
 
 The higher normal school is to train men to fill teaching and 
 administrative positions in lower normal and middle schools. 
 The plan was to establish in each provincial capital one higher 
 normal school large enough to accommodate at least two hun- 
 dred and forty-eight students. The curriculum provides for 
 three kinds of courses, general, special, and graduate. The 
 general course, taken by all students, requires one year of 
 thirty-six hours a week, distributed among eight subjects: 
 ethics, Chinese classics, Chinese literature, Japanese language, 
 English language, logic, mathematics, and physical culture. 
 There are four special courses of three years each, and requir- 
 ing thirty-six hours per week. They are designed to prepare 
 teachers of special subjects, as follows: Course A emphasizes 
 Chinese literature and foreign languages; Course B emphasizes 
 geography and history; Course C emphasizes mathematics, 
 physics, and chemistry; and Course D emphasizes botany, 
 zoology, bacteriology, and physiology. The following sub- 
 jects are common to all four courses: ethics, classics, education, 
 psychology, and physical culture. The graduate course offers 
 ten subjects, of which the student must elect five. After com- 
 
84 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 pleting his course of study, he is required to write a thesis. The 
 course is one year in length, and the number of hours is left to 
 the discretion of the faculty. 
 
 Industrial Teachers' Training School 
 
 The purpose of industrial teachers' training schools is to train 
 teachers for industrial schools and for apprentice schools. They 
 admit graduates of middle schools and lower normal schools. 
 There are three kinds of industrial training schools, namely, 
 the agricultural, the commercial, and the mechanical. They 
 are usually established as subordinate departments in higher 
 and middle schools, although they may be established inde- 
 pendently, especially in provinces where industrial colleges 
 and high schools are not yet in existence. 
 
 The curriculum for both agricultural and commercial depart- 
 ments extends through a period of two years, while the mechan- 
 ical department offers a full course of three years and a short 
 course of one year. The agricultural curriculum covers twenty- 
 three subjects of study; the commercial, fifteen. Both the full 
 and the short course of the mechanical department consist of 
 six parallel courses. Each of the parallel courses for three years' 
 work covers from fourteen to nineteen subjects, and each parallel 
 course for the one year's work covers from eight to eleven sub- 
 jects. The subjects are either essential or supplementary to 
 the particular subject which the student chooses for special- 
 ization. 
 
 Industrial Schools 
 
 The system of industrial schools consists of the following: 
 apprentice school, primary industrial, industrial supplementary, 
 middle industrial, and higher industrial. The higher industrial 
 admits graduates of the middle schools, the middle industrial 
 admits graduates of the higher primary, and the primary indus- 
 trial admits graduates of the lower primary. The industrial sup- 
 plementary school admits those students who have been in a 
 higher primary school for two years and those already in indus- 
 trial pursuits who wish to improve their knowledge. The ap- 
 prentice school admits graduates of lower primary. In all 
 cases an entrance examination is required of the students. 
 Tuition is charged according to the financial ability of the local 
 community in which the schools are established. The course 
 
Transition from Traditional to Modern Education 85 
 
 of study of the primary industrial school varies from two to 
 three years; the middle industrial school has a two-year prepar- 
 atory and a three-year regular course; and the higher indus- 
 trial has a preparatory course of one year and a regular course 
 of three or four years. The course of study in the industrial 
 supplementary school is three years, while the length of time 
 required to finish the different courses in the apprentice school 
 varies from six months to four years. 
 
 Special Schools 
 
 Two kinds of special schools are also provided, namely, I 
 Hsiieh Kuan, the school of languages, and Chin Shih Kuan, 
 or the school of doctors. The former is to train interpreters, 
 and admits graduates of middle schools. The course is five 
 years, of thirty-six hours per week. English, French, Russian, 
 German, and Japanese are taught, and each student is required 
 to specialize in one of these languages. The Chin Shih Kuan 
 is to give the Chin Shih and the Hanlin, graduates of the old 
 system of examinations, an opportunity to study western learn- 
 ing, believing that a general education is necessary to prepare 
 them for their future official duties. The course is three years, 
 having class-room work amounting to four hours per week. 
 Eleven subjects of study are prescribed. 
 
 Abandonment of the Examination System 
 
 During these years of educational reform the question of 
 how to improve the examination system has not escaped the 
 attention of the Empress Dowager and her followers. In 1901 
 an edict was issued abolishing for the second time the use of 
 the "eight-legged essay" in the examinations for literary de- 
 grees, and substituting in its place short and practical essays 
 on current topics. It also abolished once more the military 
 examination system. These reform measures, however radical 
 they may have appeared at the time, were soon found to be 
 insufficient; for it was discovered that as long as the examin- 
 ation system was in force little time was given to modern learn- 
 ing, and students would continue to follow the beaten track 
 in their studies. Although modern education had been encour- 
 aged for some time, still few modern schools had been establish- 
 ed, and men of means hesitated to make voluntary contributions 
 
86 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 toward their establishment. The leaders of reform now became 
 convinced that in order to give the modern educational sys- 
 tem a fair chance of development the old examination system 
 must be entirely abolished. But to abolish without previous 
 notice a system that had practically become the very bone and 
 sinew of the Chinese body politic was too revolutionary a step 
 for even the most radical of the leaders of reform. \ln 1903 a 
 memorial was presented to the Throne by three of China's 
 greatest statesmen, Chang Chih Tung, Chang Pai Hsi, and 
 Jung Ching, in which was embodied an elaborate system for 
 gradually abolishing the examination system. In this memorial 
 they expressed the belief that if the modern system of schools 
 as had been outlined were fostered and supervised by the vice- 
 roys and governors, the modern colleges would be able in ten 
 years to furnish a sufficient number of young men capable of 
 rendering efficient service to the country, but this result could 
 not be secured unless it were made known that the examination 
 system was to be aboUshed. However, ere long this gradual 
 way of abolishing the system appeared to be too slow in the minds 
 of those seriously interested in the progress of educational re- 
 form. In 1905 Yuan Shih Kai and others once more memor- 
 ialized the Throne, declaring that the act of abolishing the 
 examination system would not be violating ancient custom, 
 but rather following it, for in early antiquity candidates for 
 public office were all selected from public schools. The me- 
 morialists pointed out the fact that the wealth and power of 
 Japan and of the countries of the west had their foundation 
 in nothing else than their own schools, and that as China was 
 just then passing through a crisis fraught with difficulties she 
 was in immediate need of men of talent with a modern training. 
 They asserted that unless these old-style examinations were 
 abohshed at once the people would hesitate to enter the modern 
 schools, and that if China wished to see the spread of modern 
 knowledge, she must first do away with the old way of studying 
 for the examinations. This plea for the new education on the 
 part of one of the most experienced statesmen was effective; 
 for in 1905 an edict was issued abolishing at once the system 
 of examinations which had its origin in the very dawn of history. 
 With its disappearance the transition from the traditional edu- 
 cation to modern education was practically complete. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MODERN EDUCATIONAL 
 
 SYSTEM' 
 
 (1905-1911) 
 
 The short time extending between 1905 and the end of the 
 Manchu dynasty (1911) constitutes the period during which 
 the modern educational system outlined by the special Com- 
 mission in 1903 was actually carried out. Readjustments had 
 to be made in every direction, not only to the educational agen- 
 cies of the system that had been abolished, but also to the polit- 
 ical and social changes that were being rapidly introduced. At 
 the same time the movement to introduce modern learning 
 witnessed a rapid expansion and growth, the like of which China 
 had never seen. Memorials, edicts, and regulations, relating 
 to different phases of the new educational system, which ap- 
 peared during these eventful years, fill no fewer than twelve 
 volumes. To consider minutely the different problems dealt 
 with would be out of proportion to the plan of this study, but 
 it is necessary for us to trace the leading steps that were taken 
 in the construction of the modern educational system in order 
 to appreciate the work of reorganization now engaging the at- 
 tention of the new republic. 
 
 The Ministry of Education 
 
 The first step in the up-building of the new system of ed- 
 ucation was taken in December, 1905, when the Throne, in re- 
 sponse to a joint recommendation of the Department of the 
 State (Cheng Wu Ch'u) and the Department of Education 
 (Hsiieh Wu Ch'u) created a ministry of education charged with 
 the duty of superintending and controlling the new educational 
 system and of furthering the cause of the new education through- 
 
 » The data of this chapter are taken mamly from " Ta Chtog Chlao Yu Fa Ling,' ' 
 or Educational Laws of the Manchu Dynasty. 
 
 87- 
 
88 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 out the Empire. The new ministry took precedence of the Min- 
 istry of Rites, which had been in charge of educational affairs. 
 By the same decree the ancient national university, known 
 as Kuo Tzii Chien in later dynasties, but as Cheng Chun in 
 early antiquity, was amalgamated with the new ministry, and 
 Jung Ching, the assistant grand secretary and chancellor of 
 the Hanlin Academy, was appointed the first president of the 
 new ministry. During the period under consideration, the 
 Ministry of Education was one of the eleven great executive 
 departments of the state: viz., the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 
 the Ministry of Civil Offices, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the 
 Ministry of Finance and Paymaster General's Department, 
 the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of 
 Judicature, the Ministry of Agriculture, Works, and Commerce, 
 the Ministry of Dependencies, the Ministry of Education, and 
 the Ministry of Communication. 
 
 According to the plan approved by the Throne in 1906, the 
 Ministry of Education was organized as follows: It had at its 
 head a president, two vice-presidents, two first-class assistants, 
 two second-class assistants, and four third-class assistants. 
 These oQicers were assisted by five departments into which the 
 Ministry was divided, namely, the department of general super- 
 vision, the department of technical or special education, the 
 department of publication, the department of industrial education, 
 and the department of finance. Three of the five departments 
 were sub-divided into three bureaus each, the others each consist- 
 ing of two bureaus. Each department had a senior secretary 
 in charge, and each bureau had a second-class secretary and one 
 or two third-class secretaries. Provision was also made for 
 the creation of a number of national inspectors, four kinds of 
 advisers, a bureau for the preparation and publication of text- 
 books, and a set of officers to take special charge of the duties 
 formerly belonging to the National University (Kuo Tzii Chien) 
 which had been amalgamated with the Ministry of Education. 
 The Ministry of Education so constituted codified educational 
 laws, appointed national inspectors (twelve in number), had 
 the power to remove from office any educational officers found 
 inefficient, nominated provincial commissioners of education, 
 and, in short, had absolute control of all educational matters in 
 the country, save those special phases of education which were 
 
The Constitution of a Modern Educational System 89 
 
 under the immediate direction of minor and subsidiary central 
 authorities.' 
 
 Aim of the Modern Educational System 
 
 Early in 1906, in response to a memorial of the Ministry of 
 Education, a decree was issued in which the aim of the modern 
 educational system was set forth as to develop in the minds of 
 the young generation the following virtues: loyalty to the em- 
 peror, reverence for Confucius, devotion to pubhc welfare, ad- 
 miration for the martial spirit, and respect for industrial pur- 
 suits. The same decree declares that the first virtue is needed 
 for the development of patriotism, the second to uphold mor- 
 ality, the third to foster a co-operative spirit, the fourth to make 
 possible a strong nation capable of maintaining her own ex- 
 istence and freeing herself from foreign aggression, and the 
 fifth to make possible the full utilization of China's natural 
 resources for the benefit of the country as well as the life of the 
 people. Here, as in the traditional system, the aim of educa- 
 tion is to promote the welfare of the state as a collection of in- 
 dividuals in themselves unimportant, rather than to develop 
 the individual into a dignified and integral member of the state 
 as in the Old Greek education. It is not within our province 
 
 'The subsidiary central authorities and their educational duties are as follows: 
 The Metropolitan Board of Education has charge of all the normal, middle, and 
 pi-imary education in the capital. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in partial con- 
 trol of Tsing Hua College, the preparatory school established ■vrith the surplus 
 of the indemnity fund returned by the government of the United States. The Min- 
 istry of War Is In charge of the military schools scattered throughout the country 
 and of the naval academies at Foochow, Tientsin, Chefoo, and Nanking. The Min- 
 istry of Rites continues to have charge of unfinished matters relating to successful 
 ■candidates of the old examination system already abolished. It has also taken part 
 In legislation relating to student uniforms, school holidays, and o^her matters that 
 have to do with public ceremonies. The Ministry of Dependencies has some con- 
 trol over the education of the outlying provinces, such as Tibet, Mongolia, and Man- 
 churia. Schools of telegraphy, for the training of employees for the telegraph ad- 
 ministration, are under the charge of the Ministry of Conununications. The Min- 
 istry of Agriculture, Works, and Commerce has supervision of a certain number 
 ■of special industrial and apprentice schools in the coimtry. The Ministry of Civil 
 Offices has charge of the awarding of degrees and official appointments to graduates 
 of higher schools. In 1908 imperial permission was given to the Ministry of Finance 
 to establish a school of finance in Peking, which is still under the charge of this min- 
 ■istry. For a number of years the T 'ung Wen Kuan (a school of languages) in Peking 
 and the T'ung Wen Kuan in Canton were in the hands of the educational depart- 
 ment of the Chinese Maritime Customs. The former was amalgamated with the 
 Imperial University in 1902, but the latter survived untU the period under consider- 
 ation. In 1908 a school for the training of men to fill positions In the customs service 
 was established In Peking by the Controller of Customs, and remains in his charge. 
 
90 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 to raise here the oft-repeated question whether man exists for 
 the state or the state for man. Shall the man educate himself 
 that the state may endure, or shall the state educate man that 
 he may prosper? Suffice it to say that these opposing aims of 
 education, both represented in the history of education, are 
 dependent upon opposite conceptions of the State.' 
 
 Official Regulations of 1906 
 
 From the standpoint of the educational historian who wishes 
 to make a close study of China's attempt to make her own the 
 educational experience and the newest methods of the mod- 
 ern world, the year 1906 will be considered as one of vital im- 
 portance. For in this year several regulations drawn up by 
 the new Ministry of Education, relating to the organization 
 and administration of the educational system, were put into 
 practice after receiving the sanction of the Throne. One of 
 these official regulations had for its purpose the unification 
 and regulation of the educational associations T^hich were being^ 
 rapidly developed throughout the country. Another set of 
 regulations had to do with the detailed organization of th& 
 national system of educational administration, including the 
 Ministry of Education and a system of national inspection. 
 A third set of regulations dealt with the system of educational 
 administration in the provinces and in smaller local areas, in- 
 cluding the provincial boards of education, a system of provincial 
 inspection, and the organization of local boards for the pro- 
 motion of education. Through these regulations the new pub- 
 lic educational system, outlined in the previous period, was 
 developed to a high degree of theoretical completeness though 
 it may have fallen short in practice. 
 
 National Educational Survey 
 
 A really statesmanlike step in the administration of education 
 was taken in 1907, when the Ministry of Education instructed 
 the provincial commissioners of education to require the local 
 authorities of each prefecture, sub-prefecture, department, and 
 district, to make a careful investigation of the conditions ex- 
 isting in their respective areas, and to report the result of their 
 
 »Cf. Perry: Outlines of School Administration, pp. 14-15. 
 
The Construction of a Modern Educational System 91 
 
 findings for the purpose of obtaining some kind of basis or guide 
 in the determination of future educational policy. The in- 
 formation called for in the investigation included the following 
 topics: the characteristics of the physical environment; the cen- 
 sus; the racial, intellectual, moral, and religious characteristics 
 of the population; their customs, modes of life, and state of 
 culture; their financial ability, including the total amount of 
 taxes collected and the various forms of local taxes available; 
 and the status of education, such as the number of pupils, the 
 method of support, and the amount of funds available for 
 educational purposes. The investigation thus called for and 
 carried out amounted to no less than a national survey of the 
 educational possibilities of the country and of the thousand 
 and one factors which must be taken into consideration in the 
 installation of a system of national and popular education. 
 
 Educational Programs to Prepare the People for Constitutional 
 
 Government 
 
 Along with the development of modern education there has 
 been going on a movement toward the adoption of a representa- 
 tive government. By an imperial decree of 1908 a constitu- 
 tional form of government was promised and steps were taken 
 to prepare for its adoption. The Ministry of Education, rec- 
 ognizing the fact that the success of a popular government is 
 greatly dependent upon a high degree of intelligence and mor- 
 ality in the people, prepared a special educational program for 
 the purpose of hastening the development of the new system of 
 popular education. The program, setting forth the various 
 steps to be taken by the Ministry as well as the provinces, 
 covers a period of eight years beginning with 1909 and ending 
 in 1916, the time appointed for the establishment of the con- 
 stitutional form of government. The program is indeed an 
 imposing one, and if it had been carried out there would have 
 been developed in China by the end of 1916 an educational 
 system comparing favorably with the most highly developed 
 systems of the world. The program in question, though duly 
 sanctioned by the Throne and immediately put into practice, 
 had to be cast aside, for the Throne, in answer to frequent mem- 
 orials, soon brought down the date of adopting the constitu- 
 tional government from 1917 to 1913. This shortening of the 
 
92 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 period of preparation by four years necessitated the adoption 
 of a shorter program than the one previously proposed. As a 
 result, a new general program giving the steps of greatest im- 
 portance and those of secondary importance was adopted at 
 the close of 1910, and at the beginning of 1911 another program 
 for the following two years was submitted by the Ministry of 
 Education and sanctioned by the Throne. No one suspected 
 then that even these programs would be cast aside by the polit- 
 ical upheaval which resulted in the downfall of the Manchu 
 dynasty. 
 
 System of National Inspection 
 
 The system of national inspection of education outlined in 
 one of the official regulations of 1906 was not put into practice 
 until a more detailed plan had been drawn up in connection 
 with the program for the preparation of constitutional govern- 
 ment. During the latter part of 1909, immediately after the 
 adoption of the detailed plan, the first group of inspectors was 
 sent out to the provinces of Honan, Kiangning, Kiangsu, An- 
 hui, Kiangsi, Hupeh, and Chekiang, and in the following year 
 the second group was sent out to other provinces. The memor- 
 ials of the Ministry of Education reporting the completion of 
 these inspections, though general in character, throw much 
 light on the status of education during that period, inasmuch 
 as they contain not only accounts of merits and shortcomings 
 but also recommendations as to how improvements and read- 
 justments ought to be made. Since this first system of inspec- 
 tion has been revised under the republic, no description of it 
 will be given here except a few general statements which may 
 help us to understand the system newly introduced. 
 
 The national inspection of education represents the field 
 work of the Ministry of Education. According to the plan of 
 1909 the country was divided into twelve inspectorial divisions, 
 each consisting of two or three provinces. Each division had 
 two inspectors, appointed annually, but each year only four 
 of the twelve divisions were inspected. Thus every three years 
 completed one round, and each division had an inspection every 
 third year. The plan provided that at least one of the two 
 inspectors of every division must be a man thoroughly familiar 
 with one or more modern languages and the various sciences, 
 
The Construction of a Modern Educational System 93 
 
 in order that he might be qualified to judge the work done in and 
 -above the middle school. The other qualifications required 
 -of inspectors were broadmindedness and familiarity with edu- 
 cational principles. The duties of the inspector were twofold; 
 -first, to keep the Ministry of Education well informed as to the 
 progress of education in the provinces to which he is assigned, 
 and second, to encourage and help the provinces in their attempt 
 to carry out the various educational policies. 
 
 First Central Educational Conference, 1911 
 
 In 1911 the Ministry of Education, with the sanction of 
 ihe Throne, brought into existence an auxiliary educational 
 agency of great importance known as the Central Educational 
 Council (Tsung Yang Chiao Yu Hui). This council is an 
 adaptation of the Higher Educational Council of the Japanese 
 •educational system, and the duties of the council are similar 
 to those of the Consultative Committee of the English Board of 
 Education and those of its prototype, the Comit6 Consultatif 
 in France. It is an advisory council and was called into ex- 
 istence for the purpose of obtaining the knowledge, the exper- 
 ience, and the results of the deliberation of the educators of 
 the country with a view to promoting the cause of education 
 .and hastening its progress by helping the Ministry of Education 
 to adopt a sound educational policy. The council was to be 
 established in Peking and to hold its session of thirty days dur- 
 ing the summer vacation. The discussions of the council while 
 in session were to be confined to problems relating to schools 
 of the rank of the middle school and those below it. The mem- 
 bers of the council included representatives of the Ministry of Ed- 
 ucation, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Army and 
 Navy, the Metropolitan Board of Education, provincial boards 
 of education, provincial inspectors, provincial educational as- 
 .sociations, retired national inspectors, heads of schools under 
 the immediate supervision of the Ministry of Education, and 
 heads of normal, middle, and elementary schools. The term 
 of office was three years. 
 
 The first conference of the Central Educational Council was 
 held in Peking in the summer of 1911. Over one hundred dele- 
 gates from the provinces were present. Among the problems 
 discussed were the following: compulsory education, cessation 
 
94 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 of the granting of official degrees to graduates of modern schools^, 
 training for military citizenship, government subsidy to primary 
 education, supervision of lower normal schools by the pro- 
 vincial government, removing classics from the primary school 
 and making hand work compulsory, unification of the mother- 
 tongue, government subsidy to primary school teachers, and 
 co-education in the lower primary school. Most of the meas- 
 ures recommended by the council were officially adopted by 
 the Ministry, although the outbreak of the revolution in the 
 fall of that year prevented their being put into operation. 
 
 Systems of Provincial and Local Administration of Education 
 
 The evolution of a system of provincial and local adminis- 
 tration of education constitutes an important phase of the de- 
 velopment of modern education in China. The system in ex- 
 istence prior to 1906 may be described in a few words. In 
 each province there was an educational officer known as Lit- 
 erary Chancellor (T'i-tu-hsueh-cheng) ; this office originated in 
 the reign of Yung Cheng (1725-1735 A.D.), and was itself an 
 adaptation of a similar office known as Superintendent of Learn- 
 ing (T'i-hsiieh-tao) created at the beginning of the Manchu 
 dynasty in imitation of the practice of the Ming dynasty. This 
 chancellor, through whom the Ministry of Rites came into 
 contact with the provinces, exercised immediate control over 
 the literary competitive examinations in the provinces. He 
 was assisted by a director of studies located in each prefecture 
 and a supervisor of studies in each district. In addition to these 
 officials who had to do with the old educational system, there 
 was found in most of the provinces a certain board of education 
 known as Hsueh Wu Ch'u, which had charge of all matters 
 relating to the new educational movement. 
 
 In 1906, upon the recommendation of the Ministry of Edu- 
 cation, a new administrative system was adopted to take the 
 place of the one just described. The new scheme brought into 
 existence as the head of the educational work of the province 
 an officer known as Commissioner of Education (T'i-hsiieh- 
 szii), who was appointed by the Throne upon the nomination of 
 the Ministry of Education. In rank he occupied a position 
 in the province similar to that occupied by the other two chief 
 executive heads of the province, namely, the treasurer and the 
 
The Construction of a Modern Educational System 95 
 
 justice, and like them he was placed under the control of the 
 viceroy or governor. The viceroy, in turn, was under the control 
 of the Ministry of Education in matters relating to education. 
 In ordinary matters, however, the Commissioner of Education 
 was really the chief. In place of the old board of education 
 (Hsueh Wu Ch'u), a new board, known as HsUeh Wu Kung So, 
 was created. This board had six bureaus, each of which had 
 one chairman and one vice-chairman at its head, who were 
 appointed by the Commissioner of Education. The board also 
 had one senior and five junior councillors whose duty was to 
 assist the Commissioner in devising ways and means to carry 
 out the educational program. The former was appointed by 
 the Minister of Education with the approval of the Throne, 
 and the latter by the Commissioner of Education himself. 
 The system of 1906 also provided for each province six pro- 
 vincial inspectors whose duty it was to supervise and direct 
 the educational work in the province. These inspectors were 
 appointed by the viceroy or governor upon the nomination 
 of the provincial commissioner. 
 
 In the smaller territorial divisions, such as prefectures, sub- 
 prefectures, departments, districts, and villages, the local civil 
 authorities were held responsible for carrying out the education- 
 al policy of the province,* their duties being supervisory and 
 
 « For the purpose of local government the provinces of China used to be divided Into 
 various administrative imits, the chief of which are six, namely, fu, tmg, chill ting, 
 chou, chill chou, and hslen. A fu is a large portion or department of a province, 
 under the general control of one civil officer Immediately subordinate to the heads 
 of the provincial government. A ting is a division of a province smaller than a fu 
 and, like it, governed by an officer immediately subject to the heads of provincial 
 government, or else forming a subordinate part of a fu. In the former case it is 
 called chin, i.e., under the direct nile of the provincial government; in the latter 
 case, it Is called simply ting. A chou is similar to a ting, and Uke it either indepen- 
 dent of any other division, or forming part of a fu. The difference between the two 
 is that the government of a ting resembles that of a fu more nearly than that of a 
 chou, that of the chou being simpler. The ting and chou of the class to which the 
 term chili is attached may be denominated, in common with the fu, departments 
 or prefectures; and the term chili may be rendered by the word independent. The 
 subordinate ting and chou may both be called districts. A hsien, which is also a 
 district, is a small division or subordinate part of a department, whether of a fu or 
 of an independent chou or ting. These administrative divisions were made by 
 the official regulations of 1906 into local units for the purpose of educational admin- 
 istration. Bach of these larger areas was, however, subdivided into small areas known 
 as hsfleh-ch'U, or school districts, beginning with the regions within and near the walled 
 city and extending toward the outlying districts, villages, and hamlets. Each 
 school district contains about three to four thousand families. Sometimes one dis- 
 trict includes two or three villages, and again more than ten villages are included in 
 a, single school district. 
 
96 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 judicial in character. In each sub-prefecture, department,, 
 and district there was created a local bureau of education known 
 as the Educational Exhorting Bureau (Ch'uan Hsiieh So) ta 
 take general charge of the educational work of the area. Each 
 of these bureaus had one district inspector (Hsien Shih Hsiieh) 
 who was its chief executive officer. He was appointed by the 
 Commissioner of Education. For each school district there 
 was also an officer responsible for the encouragement of educa- 
 tion, known as the educational promoter (Ch'uan Hsiieh Yiian). 
 He was appointed by the local authorities upon the recommen- 
 dation of the director of the Educational Exhorting Bureau, wha 
 selected his candidates from among the local gentry deeply" 
 interested in education. This officer was a kind of field agent 
 for the director of the bureau or for the bureau itself. Lowest 
 in the scale of local authorities were the school trustees who were 
 elected by the people to look after the interest of the school 
 in the village or district, and to see that funds were provided 
 for its maintenance. 
 
 Such in brief was the system of educational administration 
 introduced in 1906 and in full operation between that year and 
 1911. At the beginning of the latter year a change was made 
 in the local government through the introduction of a Coun- 
 cil for Self-Government, known as Tzii Chih Chih, provided 
 for in the program for the preparation of constitutional govern- 
 ment. This change in the form of local government neces- 
 sitated modifications in the educational administrative system.. 
 The educational work in the prefectures, departments, and dis- 
 tricts, was now handed over to the Council for Self-Govern- 
 ment, but in cities and villages it could be given to a new or- 
 ganization known as the Country School Union (Hsiang Hsiieh 
 Lien Ho Hui). These unions were formed by groups of dis- 
 tricts and villages which could not afford to support the neces- 
 sary schools singly and they were therefore different from the 
 schemes of consolidation found in the agricultural regions of the 
 United States and Canada, where the desire to secure greater 
 efficiency plays the leading part. These changes of administra- 
 tion were, however, introduced only in the more progressive 
 districts where the Council for Self-Government had already 
 been organized; elsewhere the system of 1906 continued in opera- 
 tion until the outbreak of the revolution, when further changes 
 were made necessary. 
 
The Construction of a Modern Educational System 97 
 
 Chinese Educational Missions Abroad^ 
 
 The movement to send students abroad, started in a more 
 or less haphazard way, soon developed so rapidly as to neces- 
 sitate the creation of a system of control and of examination. 
 Prior to 1907 Chinese students studying abroad were under 
 the care of China's diplomatic representatives. In 1907 a 
 special director was appointed to take charge of the students 
 in Europe. In the following year an educational bureau was 
 organized in the Chinese legation in Japan to take special 
 charge of the students in that country. Since it was found 
 difficult for one man to handle students scattered in different 
 countries, similar bureaus were organized in 1909, in France, 
 Germany, Russia, Belgium, and England,^ each bureau being 
 subject to the general supervision of the Chinese Minister. But 
 two years later these bureaus were abolished and Chinese stu- 
 dents in Europe are now under the direct control of the home 
 government. In America the Chinese Minister was relieved 
 in 1907 of the care of students by the Chinese Educational 
 Mission, created to take special charge of the students sent 
 out under the indemnity fund scholarships.' Beginning with 
 1913 all provincial students have also come under the care of 
 this mission. 
 
 Examinations instituted for students sent abroad are of two 
 kinds, those given to students before they leave China, for the 
 purpose of finding out whether they possess the required quali- 
 fications, and those given after they return, in order to test 
 their ability prior to giving them official appointments. The 
 qualifications required of those who go abroad are graduation 
 from the middle school or preparation equal to it, an under- 
 standing of the language of the country to which they are sent, 
 and ability to enter special higher schools. In the summer 
 of 1907 the Kiangsu Provincial Government held the first com- 
 petitive examination for the selection of students to go abroad. 
 This examination was unique in that it was the first one open 
 
 » Cf. King, H. E.: The Educational System of China as Eecently Eeconstructed.^ 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 • At first the director in charge of the educational bureau in Belgium also had 
 charge of the students in England. 
 
 ' Out of gratitude for the return to China by the United States of over SlO.OOO.OOa 
 of the Boxer indemnity, China pledged herself to send to the United States 100 stu- 
 dents each year for four years, and 50 students annually thereafter for twenty-eight 
 years, in all 1,800 students. 
 
98 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 to women. Out of six hundred students who made application, 
 only seventy-two young men and ten young women were deemed 
 qualified to enter the examination. After a three days' test, 
 ten male and three female students were chosen, all of whom 
 were qualified to do university work. In the following year 
 a similar examination was held in Hangchow by the Chekiang 
 Provincial Government. In 1909 the government selected by 
 competitive examinations held in Peking the first group of stu- 
 dents supported by indemnity fund to be sent to the United 
 States. Out of about six hundred applicants, forty-seven stu- 
 dents were chosen. Since then other examinations have been 
 held by provincial and central governments, but in the case of 
 those sent under the indemnity fund a preliminary course of 
 training in the Tsing-Hua College is required. The first ex- 
 amination for returned students was held in Peking in 1905 
 under the direction of the Ministry of Rites. Degrees of Chin 
 Shih, Hanlin, and Chii Jen were conferred upon successful 
 candidates. Similar examinations were held each year by the 
 Ministry of Education until 1911, when the system was abolish- 
 ed, along with the system of granting official degrees to college 
 graduates. 
 
 Separation of the Civil Service Examination System from the Ed- 
 ucational System 
 
 The abolishing of the system of granting official degrees 
 by the government to graduates of colleges marks the sep- 
 aration of the civil service examination system from the ed- 
 ucational system proper, and is of great significance in the his- 
 tory of education in China. In the course of our investigation 
 we have observed that prior to the time of the T'ang dynasty 
 all scholars chosen through competitive examinations became 
 public officials. Beginning with the T'ang dynasty, the suc- 
 cessful candidates of competitive examinations often failed to 
 receive appointments, owing to the separation of the functions 
 between the Board of Rites and the Board of Civil Ofiices. In 
 spite of this fact, entrance to official life continued to be re- 
 garded as the goal of all higher intellectual training. When 
 China first introduced the modern educational system, she 
 followed the practice of the old examination system in confer- 
 ring upon graduates of colleges official degrees, giving them 
 
The Construction of a Modern Educational System 99 
 
 the right to enter official life. But since the number of college 
 graduates far exceeded the number of vacant public offices, 
 many college graduates, though possessing official rank, neces- 
 sarily failed to receive appointment in the government service. 
 Aside from this state of affairs, which was in itself undesirable, 
 this custom made the student class continue to look upon official 
 life as the goal of education, while those who had no ambition 
 to enter public service regarded as unnecessary all intellectual 
 training beyond the mete rudimentary knowledge necessary for 
 daily life and business. Indeed, so deeply imbedded in the 
 constitution of the Chinese mind is this conception of educa- 
 tion that even the abolishment of the system did not entirely 
 succeed in removing it. 
 
 The immediate cause for abolishing the custom in question, 
 however, was the introduction in that year of a new civil ser- 
 vice system which made the examination of college graduates 
 and the awarding of official titles unnecessary. Since it was 
 realized, however, that doing away with degrees entirely would 
 be disastrous to the modern educational system, a new system 
 was adopted according to which graduation from the college 
 in itself confers a degree, but such degree is merely academic 
 in character and carries with it no privilege of official prefer- 
 ment. The various degrees provided for in the new system 
 are as follows: graduates of a college or university receive the 
 degree of Chin Shih; graduates of a higher school and other 
 schools equal to it in rank receive Kung Shen; and graduates 
 from a higher primary or a lower industrial school receive the 
 degree of Sheng Yuan. 
 
 Changes and Developments in the School Organization 
 
 From the time of the adoption of the modern educational 
 system (1903) to the close of the Manchu dynasty (1911), the 
 changes in the school organization were along at least three lines : 1, 
 in spreading modern education more widely; 2, in providing more 
 diversified courses to meet the varying needs of pupils and com- 
 munities; and 3, in cutting down the enormously overcharged 
 program. These tendencies were quite in keeping with the 
 spirit of the politics of the time, namely, the movement toward 
 the adoption of a more popular form of government. At the 
 same time the curricula of the various schools reveal the fact 
 
100 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 that the influence of the ancient classics still dominated the 
 educational system. Evidently the transition from the old 
 regime to the new had not yet been completed, at least not in 
 the ideal of an educated man, which, like the ideal of a nation,, 
 requires a long period to change; for no sooner had the new sys- 
 tem of education been adopted than there arose a loud outcry 
 for the preservation of the ancient classics and their teachings. 
 However, the dominance of the classics in the modem schools 
 of China lasted for a very short time compared with the struggle 
 against classics in the educational history of other nations. 
 This fact will become clear later. Meanwhile we shall proceed 
 to trace a few of the more important changes in the develop- 
 ment of the following phases of the educational system: popular 
 education, normal school education, industrial education, and 
 higher and special education. 
 
 Popular Educafion 
 Lower primary school 
 
 According to the original plan of 1903, the course of study of 
 the lower primary school was five years, and the number of 
 recitations thirty per week. In 1909 the number of hours was 
 increased to thirty-six per week owing to the addition of work in 
 the Chinese language, but at the same time two shorter courses, 
 one of four years and the other of three, were provided in order 
 to meet the varying needs of local communities. In the follow- 
 ing year, the four-year course having been found the most satis- 
 factory one, the system of having three courses was replaced 
 by a uniform course of four years. The number of hours was 
 reduced to twenty-four per week for the first two years and 
 thirty for the last two. In the revised curriculum Chinese 
 classics and language continued to claim the largest portion of 
 time, occupying fourteen hours per week during the first twO' 
 years and fifteen during the last two. 
 
 Higher primary school 
 
 In 1910, owing to the change effected in the status of the lower 
 primary school, the curriculum of the higher primary school 
 was also revised and rearranged. Music was introduced as one 
 of the optional studies. English was allowed in the third and 
 fourth years of schools situated in treaty ports. With a view 
 
The Constriction of a Modern Educational System 101 
 
 to unifying the mother-tongue, Mandarin was added to the 
 curriculum as an additional study. The new course of study, 
 however, remained four years in length with thirty-six hours 
 of recitation per week. 
 
 Girls' primary schools 
 
 Prior to 1907 the importance of women's education had often 
 been emphasized by governmental officials, and schools for girls 
 had been established in the provinces, but no official action 
 had been taken by the central government either to make 
 provision for such schools or to regulate them. During that 
 year imperial sanction was given to a set of regulations drawn 
 up by the Ministry of Education which provided three forms 
 of primary schools for girls similar to those for boys, namely: 
 girls' lower primary school, girls' higher primary school, and 
 girls' two-grade primary school, which last is a combination 
 of the other two kinds of primary schools. The aim of girls' 
 primary schools is similar to that of the boys' schools, namely, 
 to promote the moral, intellectual, and physical development 
 of the pupils. These girls' schools are established apart from 
 those of boys. The lower primary school is for girls between 
 the ages of seven and ten, and the higher for those of eleven to 
 fourteen. The course of the lower primary school is four years, 
 with a minimum of twenty-four hours per week and a max- 
 imum of twenty-eight. The higher primary school has a course 
 of four years, and the time spent in recitations may vary from 
 twenty-eight to thirty hours per week. The lower primary 
 school has five required subjects of study, namely: morals, 
 Chinese language, mathematics, sewing, and physical exercise. 
 Music and drawing are optional subjects. In the first two 
 years the Chinese language occupies twelve hours per week, 
 and in the second two years, fourteen hours. In the higher 
 primary school, in addition to the subjects found in the lower 
 primary, the following are taught: history, geography, and 
 science. The Chinese language occupies nine hours per week 
 throughout the course. Sewing comes next in importance, 
 with five hours per week in the first two years, and six in the 
 last two years. 
 
102 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 "Language-made-easy" school 
 
 In the educational program for the preparation of the con- 
 stitutional government, drawn up in 1909, provision was made 
 for the establishment of "language-made-easy" schools for 
 the purpose of supplementing the work of the primary schools, 
 whose number was not sufficient to meet the urgent demands 
 of popular education. The lack of funds and teachers on the 
 part of public authorities, and the want of money and time 
 to go to school on the part of parents and children, were the 
 factors which prompted the adoption of such a form of school. 
 They are intended for children of very poor families who could 
 not otherwise go to school at all, and also for illiterate adults. 
 In these schools tuition is free, and books and supplies are also 
 given free of charge. The session is from one to three hours 
 a day, and is offered in the morning, in the afternoon, and in 
 the evening. Graduates of the three years' course are admitted 
 into the fourth year of the regular primary school. In 1911 
 a uniform course of two years, with twelve hours per week, 
 was adopted. Graduates of the course are admitted to the third- 
 year class of the regular primary school. 
 
 Half-day school 
 
 The establishment of haK-day schools was sanctioned as 
 early as 1906 upon the request of Liu Hsiieh Chien, a certain 
 governmental official. The motives which called forth such 
 schools, as well as their aims, are similar to those of the "lan- 
 guage-made-easy' ' schools. 
 
 Beformed primte schools 
 
 The educational authorities, realizing that the financial 
 condition of the country would not permit for some time 
 to come the provision of a sufficient number of modern 
 schools for the masses, decided in 1910 to make use of the tra- 
 ditional schools that were found in great numbers throughout 
 the country, such as schools maintained by the public funds 
 for the education of the poor (I Hsiieh), schools established 
 in the ancestral temples or other public buildings for the educa- 
 tion of the children of the clan (Shu Shu), schools found in homes 
 of the pupils, and those opened by teachers in their own homes. 
 The plan was to reform these schools through the introduc- 
 
The Construction of a Modern Ediuxitional System 103 
 
 tion of modern text-books and other measures. To carry out 
 this purpose, special courses of study were drawn up for such 
 schools, and graduates of schools which had adopted these 
 courses of study were allowed to enter the schools of the reg- 
 ular system. An experiment was made in Peking in 1907 
 to test the practicability of the scheme. It was found that 
 the private schools that were able to comply with the require- 
 ments numbered only twelve with an enrollment of over three 
 hundred, whereas those not yet reformed were much more num- 
 erous. A scheme of inspectors and of reward was adopted 
 to encourage their improvement. The result was surprising. 
 During the first term of 1908 schools coming up to the stand- 
 ard numbered forty-two, with an attendance of over one thous- 
 and, and in the second term of the same year the number of these 
 schools increased to eighty-nine, with over twenty-two hundred 
 pupils. By the beginning of 1910 there were as many as one 
 hundred and seventy-two such schools, with an enrollment 
 of more than forty-three hundred pupils. The sum spent in 
 awards amounted to only one thousand three hundred and 
 seventy taels, but the result was one hundred and seventy-two 
 good schools with four thousand three hundred pupils. News 
 of the experiment spread throughout the country, and Peking's 
 example was followed by the provinces, but the statistical 
 result has not yet been made known owing to the outbreak 
 of the revolution. 
 
 Middle school 
 
 In 1909, in response to the memorial of the Ministry of Ed- 
 ucation, imperial sanction was given to the provision of two 
 parallel courses of study in the middle school, in order to meet 
 the varying needs of the pupils. One of the courses was indus- 
 trial, and the other literarj', the former emphasizing science 
 and the latter classics. The number of hours remained, as be- 
 fore, thirty-six per week throughout the course. In the begin- 
 ning of 1911, the two courses of study were made lower in stand- 
 ard and more general in character. This change was due partly 
 to the difficulty of securing qualified teachers and students, 
 and partly to the expense of providing the necessary equipment. 
 Moreover, there was also the desire to make secondary ed- 
 ucation less specialized, in the belief that the time had not yet 
 
104 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 come for China to provide such highly specialized courses in 
 her secondary schools as are found, for instance, in Germany. 
 
 Normal School Edtication 
 Lower and higher normal schooh 
 
 In 1906, under the instruction of the Ministry of Education, 
 the following courses were added to the normal school curriculum: 
 a one-year course in the lower normal school for the training 
 of teachers of primary schools; a two-year selective course in 
 the higher normal school to prepare teachers for prefectural 
 normal and middle schools; and a five months' special course 
 in physical culture for the training of teachers of this subject 
 in primary schools. The options in the selective course were : (1) 
 history and geography; (2) physics; (3) nature study; and (4) 
 mathematics. Beginning with 1910, the selective course was 
 abolished owing to the desire to improve the standard of teach- 
 ing, but a course of two years was established for the purpose 
 of preparing students to enter the general course of the higher 
 normal school. In the lower normal school the curriculum 
 was enriched by the addition of practice teaching in a one-room 
 school and in a part-time school. 
 
 Girls' normal schools 
 
 The year 1907 will ever be memorable in the development 
 of education for women, for in that year official provision was 
 made for the creation not only of primary schools for girls but 
 also of normal schools. The aim of these girls' normal schools 
 was to train teachers for girls' primary schools. The plan was 
 to establish eventually one government normal school in every 
 department and district, but for the time being one in each 
 prefecture and provincial capital was opened. Like the normal 
 school for men, no tuition was charged. Graduates of girls' 
 higher primary schools and those who had been in higher primary 
 school for two years were admitted. The latter must, however, 
 first enter the preparatory course for one year before taking 
 the regular course. The curriculum consisted of four years of 
 forty-five weeks each, with thirty-four hours of class work per 
 week. The subjects taught were as follows: ethics, education, 
 Chinese language, geography, history, mathematics, music,, and 
 physical culture. Where circumstances demanded, a prepar- 
 
The Construction of a Modern Ed/ucational System 105 
 
 atory course was added to the regular normal course, the sub- 
 jects studied there being similar to those of the last two years 
 of the girls' higher primary schools. 
 
 Industrial Educaiion 
 
 In 1910, owing to the scarcity of schools giving industrial 
 education, the alleged reason being that there were not enough 
 industrial teachers in the country, a new system was adopted 
 which provided for the establishment of industrial teachers' 
 training schools of an elementary type, corresponding to the 
 standard of the lower normal schools. Such institutions were 
 to be established in both the higher and the lower industrial 
 schools in the form of short courses. In the following year, 
 JBnding that the number of teachers' training departments in 
 industrial schools was very small, owing to financial difiiculties, 
 the Ministry of Education took further action, permitting 
 industrial schools to offer a normal course consisting of the 
 regular industrial course with the addition of principles and 
 methods of teaching, educational law, etc. This move was 
 made purely upon economic grounds, and was not intended 
 to be continued indefinitely. 
 
 Higher and Special Educaiion 
 
 In the field of higher and special education, changes and new 
 developments also took place. The university preparatory 
 school established in 1901 was abolished and its place taken 
 by the higher school which is the regular preparatory school of 
 the university. Many special schools came into existence and 
 regulations for their control were drawn up. Among such 
 special schools are the following: school of political science 
 and law, school of medicine, school for the study of Manchu 
 and Mongol languages, school for the preservation of an- 
 cient culture and literature, and Tsing Hua College for the pre- 
 paration of students to be sent to the United States. 
 
 Control of Text-Books 
 
 In the development of the public educational system in China 
 the importance of legislation directing the selection and desig- 
 nating the quality of tejct-books has not been overlooked. Prior 
 to the creation of the Ministry of Education, the preparation 
 
106 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 of text-books was left to private initiative. Publishing houses 
 wishing to insure their sales sent their books at times to the 
 educational authority (Hsiieh Wu Ta Chen) in Peking for 
 certification, but they were not required to do so. In the official 
 regulations of 1906, provision was made for the creation of a 
 special bureau in the Ministry of Education, charged with the 
 responsibility of publishing text-books for the school system. 
 By 1908 a series of readers for teaching Chinese characters 
 in an easy way was completed. In the same year a series 
 of citizens' readers made its appearance. These were soon fol- 
 lowed by text-books for primary schools and manuals for pri- 
 mary school teachers. All the books published by the text- 
 book bureau of the Ministry were distributed throughout the 
 provinces and arrangements were made with provincial au- 
 thorities to have them reprinted and used in public schools. 
 At the same time the Ministry of Education adopted a system 
 by which text-books published by individuals and publishing 
 houses were certified and their use in schools authorized. Thus 
 in the course of a few years a large number of text-books for 
 the use of primary, middle, and lower normal schools were ac- 
 cepted by the Ministry. Text-books not certified by the Min- 
 istry were, however, not condemned and prohibited unless they 
 were found to embody material contrary to the principles of 
 the established government. 
 
 Status of Education at the Close of the Manchu Dynasty 
 
 In describing China's early attempts to introduce modern 
 education a certain writer compared her to an inexperienced sea- 
 bather in the act of taking his first plunge, touching the water 
 and then running away, wading out and then tearing back; he 
 does not dare to succumb to the allurements of the fascinat- 
 ing element, and though the sight of experienced bathers frolick- 
 ing and playing hide and seek with the waves shoots an arrow of 
 envy through him, he himself never makes the attempt. This 
 comparison, no matter how true it was at the beginning, was cer- 
 tainly not true toward the close of the Manchu dynasty. At 
 that time China's attitude toward modern education was far 
 from the attitude of the timid sea-bather. She had taken not 
 only her first plunge, but also the second, and even the third, 
 and had fully determined to make modern education accessible 
 to her people at any cost. 
 
The Constructon of a Modern Educational System 107 
 
 According to the third annual report of the Ministry of Educa- 
 tion, published in 1911, there were in China during the year 1910, 
 52,650 modern schools of different types, including normal, 
 industrial, and technical schools, with a student body numbering 
 1,625,534, a teaching force numbering 89,766, and a corps of 
 administrative officers numbering 95,800. Aside from the 
 schools there also existed during that year 69 boards of education, 
 722 local, provincial, and national educational associations, 
 1,558 educational exhorting bureaus, and 3,867 public lecture 
 halls. The total income for educational purposes during that 
 year was taels 25,331,171, and the expenditure for the same year 
 was taels 24,444,309. The educational property possessed 
 by the government was valued at taels 70,367,882. To these 
 figures must be added those relating to Chinese students study- 
 ing abroad.^ In 1909 there were in Tokio 1,992 Chinese govern- 
 ment students in the collegiate schools, and 395 in the military 
 schools, making a total of 2,387 in that city alone. In addition 
 there were also at least 2,500 private students. It is estimated 
 that in 1910 there were not fewer than 5,000 private Chinese 
 students in Japan, 150 of whom were women. In the same year 
 there were in the United Kingdom some 140 Chinese government 
 scholarship students and about an equal number of students 
 supported by private funds. In Belgium there were about 
 70 government students; in France, 80; in Germany, 60; in 
 Austria, 10; and in Russia, about 15. No statistics are avail- 
 able regarding the private students in these countries, as they 
 were not under the direction of the Commissioner. In the 
 United States the number of Chinese students in 1910 was es- 
 timated to be no fewer than 600.' The four provinces sending 
 the largest number of students at that time were Kuangtung, 
 Kiangsu, Chekiang, and Chili. 
 
 The record of modern education represented by these figures 
 was made in the course of a few years. The following table 
 prepared from data gathered from reports of the Ministry of 
 Education gives some idea of the rate of increase in the number 
 of different types of schools: 
 
 ■King, H. B.: The Educational System of China as Kecently Reconstructed, p. 
 96. 
 • Chinese Students' Monthly: March, 1910. 
 
108 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 Increase in Ntjmbeb of Schools 
 
 Year Governmental Public Private Totals 
 
 1905 3,605 393 224 4,222 
 
 1906 2,770 4,829 678 8,477 
 
 1907 5,224 12,310 2,296 19,830 
 
 1908 11,546 20,321 4,046 35,913 
 
 1909 12,888 25,688 4,512 43,086 
 
 1910 14,301 32,254 5,793 52,348 
 
 It is to be noticed that during the interval between 1905 and 
 1910 the number of governmental schools increased from 3,605 
 to 14,301, that of public schools from 393 to 32,254, and that 
 of private schools from 224 to 5,793, making the average annual 
 increase in each case remarkably high." The number of stu- 
 dents in all the types of schools has gained in an equally rapid 
 manner. In 1903 there were only 1,274 students in the mod- 
 ern schools in China. Since then this small body has been 
 steadily growing in size until we had in 1910 a school population 
 of 1,625,534. The following table shows clearly the rapidity 
 with which the number of students has increased during the 
 eight years. 
 
 Increase in Numbeh of Students 
 Year Number of Students 
 
 1903 1,274 
 
 1904 31,378 
 
 1905 102,767 
 
 1906 200,401 
 
 1907 647,064 
 
 1908 921,020 
 
 1909 1,301,168 
 
 1910 1,625,534 
 
 The statistics contained in the reports of the Ministry of 
 Education show that different provinces were not in the same 
 stage of development in the matter of offering educational 
 opportunity to their people. Some have made rapid progress, 
 while others are far behind. For example, in 1910 there were 
 sixty-five educational associations in each of the two prov- 
 inces of Chili and Szechuan, four in Kansu and only one in 
 Heilungkiang. In the same year Chili and Szechuan had 152 
 and 145 educational exhorting bureaus respectively, while 
 
 '» Government schools are supported by funds appropriated by the government 
 treasury; public schools are those maintained by local public funds; and private 
 schools are those established by individuals and maintained by donations. 
 
The Construction of a Modern Educational System 109 
 
 Heilungkiang and Kirin had only 17 and 18 respectively. The 
 same marked difference is found in the number of lecture halls. 
 In that year Kweichow had 1,167 lecture halls; Szechuan, which 
 leads in other educational matters, had 392; and Heilungkiang, 
 which is the most backward province, had only 6. The same 
 great divergence is shown in the number of students and schools. 
 Among the factors which made this wide difference possible, 
 are the following: (1) the relative financial strength of the prov- 
 ince; (2) the size of the population; (3) the degree of intelligence 
 of the population; (4) the external pressure, such as the influence 
 "of foreigners, etc.; (5) environment, such as geographical loca- 
 tion; (6) the amount of effort put forth by the governmental 
 •ofl[icials and the people. 
 
 Some idea as to the quality of the work done in the schools 
 of that period may be gained from the educational exhibits 
 that were made in different parts of the country. At the 
 Nanking Industrial Exhibition, held in 1910, more than 34,- 
 OOO articles, including apparatus, text-books, charts, draw- 
 ings, specimens of handwriting, etc., all products of the schools, 
 were collected and exhibited, and the list of prizes awarded 
 .at the exhibition shows that no fewer than 900 prizes, which 
 is about half of the total number of prizes given out, were award- 
 ed to articles in the educational exhibit. Much highly favorable 
 comment was received from educators of the West who visited 
 the exhibit. A similar but smaller collection of educational 
 articles was sent to the exhibition held in Italy, and there again 
 many prizes were received owing to the high standard reached 
 both in skill and in content. 
 
 The status of education before the revolution is perhaps best 
 seen by the influence which modern education had exerted' upon 
 the intellectual or thought life of the people. It is the opinion 
 ■of many who are in a position to judge, that the schools and 
 colleges of China contributed a great share to the revolutionary 
 movement. Education evidently had created in the minds of 
 the students, both young and old, an intense dissatisfaction 
 "with things as they were, and an earnest desire to better the 
 ■condition of their country both socially and politically. In- 
 deed, it has been repeatedly declared by Sun Yat Sen and others 
 prominent in the revolutionary cause that education was the 
 chief factor in the successful overthrow of the Monarchy and 
 the establishment of the New Republic. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 REORGANIZATION OF EDUCATION UNDER THE 
 REPUBLIC 
 
 Revolution of 1911 and its Effect Upon Education 
 
 The political revolution which broke out in Wuchang on 
 October 10, 1911, resulting in the overthrow of the Manchu 
 dynasty and the establishment of the republican form of govern- 
 ment, turned the whole attention of the Chinese people for a 
 time to their struggle for liberty, and temporarily checked the 
 onward progress of modern education throughout the country. 
 This setback was but a natural consequence of civil war, ex- 
 amples of which may be easily found not only in the history 
 of China, but also in that of other nations. During the days 
 of storm and stress, the funds intended for the maintenance of 
 educational institutions had to be used for the support of the 
 armies. Many of the school buildings were used as soldiers' 
 quarters, and in not a few cases the entire school plant was 
 destroyed by mobs, the books and apparatus being looted 
 and scattered. In consequence, the activities of a large num- 
 ber of schools and colleges was either suspended or seriously 
 crippled, especially those situated near the centers of disturb- 
 ance, such as Chentu, Hankow, Wuchang, Nanking, and 
 Canton. Many students whose sympathy was with the rev- 
 olutionary movement volunteered for service in the field, either 
 forming themselves into separate regiments or joining the 
 regular army, some of them becoming influential leaders of the 
 revolution. An equally large number of students organized 
 associations for securing contributions of money toward the- 
 war fund. Still others volunteered to give lectures in public 
 to supply the people at large with the facts of the revolution 
 and to instruct them in the principles of the republic that was 
 being advocated by the revolutionists. Thus during the days 
 of revolution the cause of education received a blow from which, 
 it will require some time to recover. 
 
 110 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Re-public 111 
 
 Temporary Educational Policy of the Provisional Government 
 
 Soon after the Ministry of Education of the provisional govern- 
 ment was organized in Nanking (January 9, 1912), it issued a 
 dispatch^ to the 17 republican tutuhs or governors of the var- 
 ious provinces embodying a policy governing popular education 
 accompanied by a curriculum for middle school, primary school, 
 and normal school. The said policy and curriculum were in- 
 tended for temporary guidance and were eventually to be re- 
 placed by a complete new system drawn up after due consul- 
 tation with the educators of the country. The dispatch urged 
 the importance of promptly opening the schools which had been 
 closed on account of the revolution, especially the primary 
 schools. It demanded the use of only those text-books whose 
 contents were in harmony with the spirit of republicanism, 
 condemning the use of texts as well as works of reference pub- 
 lished under the Manchu dynasty and containing sentiments 
 and ideas inconsistent with the republican spirit, unless the 
 objectionable parts had been entirely eliminated. In addition, 
 it abolished the practice of awarding official degrees to grad- 
 uates of primary and middle schools, shortened the course of 
 study of both the middle school and the lower normal school 
 from five to four years, and required the middle school to offer 
 only one course in general culture instead of a literary and a 
 technical course. The same dispatch also called upon the school 
 authorities to put added emphasis upon manual work in primary 
 schools and upon military drill as a form of physical exercise 
 in schools above the higher primary, and to add the use of the 
 abacus to the teaching of arithmetic in and above the third 
 year of all lower primary schools. The most important and 
 significant measures urged were, first, to permit boys and girls 
 to attend the same lower primary school, and, second, to 
 eliminate the classics entirely from the curriculum of primary 
 schools. Both of these measures represented radical depar- 
 tures from the system in effect previous to the revolution, and 
 were initiated to meet new conditions created by the political 
 disturbances. 
 
 The temporary educational poUcy laid great emphasis upon 
 the importance of social education, i.e., the diffusion of knowl- 
 
 » The Chinese Educational Review: Vol. Ill, No. IV, Jan. 1912. 
 
112 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 edge through quasi-educational institutions, such as public- 
 lectures, newspapers, libraries, and moving pictures. This 
 movement was, no doubt, prompted by the belief that the- 
 stability of a repubhc depends largely upon the intelligence of 
 its citizens, and by a realization of the facts that there still were- 
 manifold difficulties in the way of making a formal education 
 accessible to all and that these quasi-educational institutions, 
 could be made to exert a strong educational influence upon the 
 uneducated men and women, as well as upon those young people 
 who were unable to go to school. Prompted by such convic- 
 tions, the Ministry of Education sent a telegraphic message 
 to the governors of the various provinces which had joined the, 
 republic, urging the importance of introducing, as a form of edu- 
 cation, public lectures and also moving pictures of the profitable 
 kind. They were asked to draw up provisional standards of 
 procedure, to select and compile material to be embodied in. 
 the lectures, and to put the scheme into practice through local 
 officials and enthusiasts for the cause. In addition, the dis- 
 patch urged that public funds should be appropriated for the- 
 purpose if necessary. Among the topics suggested for lectures, 
 were the following: the achievements of the revolution; the 
 duties and privileges of republican citizenship; the importance 
 of developing a military spirit; the importance of promoting, 
 the economic and industrial welfare of the country; and especial- 
 ly the importance of emphasizing public virtue. That the. 
 movement initiated by the Ministry of Education at this period 
 exerted a great influence is shown by the response which it, 
 received from the provincial authorities as well as the people. 
 The details of these activities, however, have no place in this 
 general treatment. Suffice it to say that the Ministry of Ed- 
 ucation later created a special bureau known as the bureau 
 of social education, the duty of which was to advance this 
 whole movement of making education widespread through, 
 quasi-educational institutions. 
 
 Upon the election of Yuan Shih Kai as President of China 
 (April 1, 1912), a new Ministry of Education was hastily formed,, 
 which instead of remaining in Nanking and representing only a 
 portion of China, now made its headquarters in Peking in. 
 buildings formerly occupied by the Ministry of Education of 
 the Manchu dynasty and represented the whole country, in- 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Republic 113 
 
 eluding its dependencies. Most of the activities of this Min- 
 istry during the early part of its existence were naturally of a 
 preliminary character. For example, it called for a thorough 
 investigation of all changes in educational matters that had 
 taken place since the outbreak of the revolution.'' It demanded 
 the return to the proper authority of all properties that had 
 been temporarily yielded up for military and other purposes 
 during the revolution and subsequent to it. It required those 
 who publish text-books for use below middle schools to submit 
 sample copies to the Ministry for decision as to their suitability. 
 It made new efforts to further the social educational movement 
 started by the preceding administration and urged provincial 
 authorities to organize a similar movement in the provinces, 
 describing the steps that had been taken by the Ministry itself 
 and by the Metropolitan Board of Education at Peking. There 
 was, however, at least one measure taken during the early part 
 of this period which was of great significance, and which merits 
 special attention, namely, the calling of the Emergency Central 
 Educational Conference. 
 
 Emergency Central Educational Conference, 1912 
 
 The conference which met in Peking (July 10th to August 
 10th) was called into existence for a purpose similar to that 
 which prompted the calling of the first central educational 
 conference in 1911, viz., to profit by the knowledge and exper- 
 ience of the educators of the country with a view to promoting 
 the cause of education and hastening its progress by helping 
 the government to adopt a sound educational policy. In order 
 to insure the best results from the conference, every effort was 
 made to secure fully qualified men, including graduates of 
 normal schools in China or abroad who had had at least three 
 years of experience in teaching, as well as educators of national 
 renown. The membership of the conference was distributed as 
 follows: two from each of the twenty-two provinces, including 
 Mongolia and Tibet; one representing Chinese residing abroad; 
 fifteen from the teachers and administrative officers of schools 
 under the direct control of the Ministry of Education; ten from 
 the Ministries of the Interior, of Finance, of Agriculture, Com- 
 
 1 This and other activities of the Ministry mentioned in this paragraph were all 
 reported by the current Issues of the Chinese Educational Review. 
 
114 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 merce, and Industry, of Army and Navy; and others specially 
 invited by the Ministry of Education. The conference was 
 conducted under the direction of the Minister. Among the 
 problems presented for discussion were the following: school 
 government; division between central control and local control 
 of schools; education of Mongols, Mohammedans, and Tibet- 
 ans; the giving of special privileges to elementary school teachers 
 and the certification of these teachers; the worshipping of Con- 
 fucius; the adoption of a national anthem; and the organization 
 of a higher educational conference. In all, ninety-two problems 
 were submitted to the conference for solution, but during the 
 nineteen regular meetings that were held, only twenty-three of 
 the more important of these were satisfactorily settled and 
 action upon them recommended to the Ministry of Education. 
 Although the body of educators forming the conference was 
 invested with no legislative power, the suggestions and recom- 
 mendations made after careful deliberation exerted a strong 
 influence upon the educational policy of the country, as can 
 easily be seen by comparing the resolutions of the conference 
 with the measures taken later by the Ministry for the reorgani- 
 zation of the educational system. 
 
 New Aim of Education 
 
 The next step of importance taken by the Ministry was the 
 promulgation of the aim of education, which shows a slight 
 change from the one published early in 1906. That was to in- 
 culcate in those who go to school the following virtues : loyalty 
 to the emperor, reverence for Confucius, devotion to public 
 welfare, admiration for the martial spirit, and respect for that 
 which is practical. Education is now conceived as a means of 
 cultivating virtuous or moral character in the young.' This 
 moral training is to be supplemented by an industrial and mil- 
 itary education and rounded out by an aesthetic education. 
 The chief emphasis, then, is placed on the cultivation of a moral 
 or virtuous character (tao teh). This is in keeping with the 
 old Confucian ideal, but just what is meant by "tao teh" is 
 left for each one to interpret for himself. It is sufficiently clear, 
 however, that it refers to public morality or virtues, for the 
 
 ■ See Educational Ordinance No. 2, September 2, 1912. 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Republic 115 
 
 chief interest in providing such an education is said to be the 
 welfare of the state,* so long as education does not impede 
 the progress of the world or interfere with the development of 
 the individual. Tsai Yiian Pei, the first Minister of Education, 
 defined this ethical education as that education which instills 
 into the minds of the people the right knowledge of Liberty, 
 Equality, and Fraternity.^ The conception of education here 
 given is voiced in the three personal messages of the Minister 
 of Education issued at this period to the educational administra- 
 tors, teachers, and students of the country.' 
 
 Reorganization of the Administrative System 
 
 The first step in the reorganization of the educational system 
 was taken when President Yiian Shih Kai issued the first educa- 
 tional ordinance' announcing the scheme for reorganizing the 
 Ministry of Education which had been passed by the National 
 Assembly. According to this new scheme, the Ministry has at 
 its head the Minister of Education, who has general charge of 
 all matters relating to education and general supervision of 
 all the schools of the country together with all public buildings 
 under the immediate control of the Ministry. The Minister is 
 assisted by many officers. Aside from those offices which are 
 common to all ministries, there are provided sixteen inspectors 
 and ten experts in art and science. The inspectors are appointed 
 by the President of the Republic on nomination of the Minister, 
 and the experts are appointed by the Minister himself. The 
 work of the Ministry is carried on by one general council and 
 three bureaus, instead of five bureaus as was the case before 
 the revolution. The general council has special charge of all 
 matters relating to schools under the direct control of the Min- 
 istry, teachers in public schools, educational associations, in- 
 vestigations and compilations, school hygiene, organization 
 and maintenance of school libraries, school museums, and 
 educational exhibits. The three bureaus^ are as follows: 1, 
 bureau of general education; 2, bureau of technical or profes- 
 
 « Consult Proceedings of the Central Educational Conference. 
 « China Mission Year Book, 1913, p. 254. 
 
 • For the full text of the messages consult Chinese Educational Review, September; 
 1912. 
 
 » Educational Ordinance No. 1. 
 
116 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 sional education; and 3, bureau of social education. The bureau 
 of general education is in charge of all matters relating to normal 
 schools, middle schools, primary schools, kindergartens, and 
 schools for all forms of defectives, including the deaf and the blind. 
 It also has charge of matters relating to school attendance and 
 the selection and certification of teachers. The bureau of tech- 
 nical or professional education has charge of all affairs relating 
 to universities and colleges, higher technical schools, the sending 
 of students abroad, the national observatory and the prepara- 
 tion of the governmental almanac, the society of doctors of 
 philosophy, the association for the unification of the mother 
 tongue, the association of examiners of medical doctors and 
 pharmacists. In addition, this bureau has control of all matters 
 relating to societies of arts and sciences, and to the conferring 
 of degrees. The bureau of social education is in charge of all 
 affairs relating to the regulation of public ceremonies, to museums 
 and exhibits, music, literature, and the stage, the investigation and 
 collection of relics, popular education and public lecture bureaus;, 
 public and circulating libraries, and last of all, the compilation, 
 the investigation, and the planning of popular education. 
 
 In 1913 a new scheme of national inspection of education was 
 adopted to replace the one introduced in 1906. This plan divides 
 the country into eight inspectorial divisions instead of twelve 
 as under the old system. The new divisions are as follows: 1, 
 Chili, Fengtien, Kirin, and Heilungkiang; 2, Shantung, Shansi, 
 and Honan; 3, Kiangsu, Anhui, and Chekiang; 4, Hupeh, Hunan, 
 and Kiangsi; 5, Shensi and Szechuan; 6, Kansu and Hsinkiang; 
 7, Fukien, Kuangtung, and Kuangsi; 8, Yunuan and Kwei- 
 chow. Mongolia and Tibet are temporarily made special 
 territorial divisions of inspection coming under special regula- 
 tions. Each territorial division is provided with two inspectors 
 of general and social education, who may secure assistance 
 from the Ministry of Education. The. regular period of inspec- 
 tion extends from August 20 to June 10 of the following year, 
 but special inspections may be conducted at any time under 
 special order from the Ministry of Education. The territory 
 to be inspected every year is to be determined by the Ministry 
 of Education on every occasion. Civil officials possessing one 
 of the following qualifications may be employed as inspectors.: 
 (1) graduation from a Chinese or foreign university or from a 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Republic 117 
 
 higher normal school, with one or more years' experience in 
 educational work; (2) three or more years of experience as the 
 head or instructor of a normal or middle school; (3) three or 
 more years' experience as an educational administrator. The 
 things which the inspector is expected to look into are as follows: 
 educational administration, educational conditions in schools, 
 school finance, school hygiene, conditions relating to the work 
 of educational officers, social education and its agencies, and 
 matters especially indicated by the Minister of Education. 
 The inspector may, however, also express his opinion to the 
 local educational authorities regarding the following matters, 
 violation of educational laws, matters decided upon by the 
 Ministry of Education, school instruction and management, 
 social education and agencies promoting it, as well as special 
 matters suggested by the Minister of Education. The office 
 of inspector is thus shorn of all the arbitrary powers it pos- 
 sessed under the old system, the duties left to the office being 
 merely advisory in character. This change is indicative of 
 the fact that under the new government the central author- 
 ity has become less arbitrary, while local authorities have as- 
 sumed more power of self government. 
 
 The system of provincial and local administration of edu- 
 cation, like the political administrative system now in force, 
 is as yet provisional in character, and is subject to radical changes. 
 The practice in vogue in the various provinces is moreover far 
 from being uniform. In most of the provinces there is a depart- 
 ment of education in place of the former bureau of education. 
 This department of education differs from the bureau of educa- 
 tion in that the former is an integral part of the provincial ad- 
 ministration, while the latter was an organ independent of 
 the provincial administration. At the head of the depart- 
 ment there is either the chief of the department or the com- 
 missioner of education, who is appointed by the president of 
 the republic and is responsible to him. The department has 
 also a number of provincial inspectors appointed by the gover- 
 nor of the province. In the districts' the local board of education, 
 known as Ch'uan Hsiieh So, has been abolished and its duties 
 
 « Since the establishment of the republic the territorial division known as " fu " has 
 been abolished. 
 
118 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 have been transferred to the bureau of education (Hsiieh Wu K'u) . 
 The latter differs from the former in the same way as the present 
 provincial department of education differs from the former 
 provincial bureau of education, namely, while the former is 
 an authority distinct from the local administration, the latter 
 was an integral part of the district administration. The new 
 bureau has a chief appointed by the magistrate of the district 
 (Ming Cheng Chang) and a district inspector appointed by 
 the same authority. In cities, towns, and villages, educa- 
 tional affairs are in the hands of certain of the local gen- 
 try (Tung Shih) who are selected by the people to look after 
 the welfare of the local community. This body of men employs 
 a special educational officer (Hsiieh Wu Chuan Yuan) to carry 
 on the educational work of the community. 
 
 Reorganization of the School System 
 
 The chart on page 119 embodies the system of schools that has 
 been introduced since the establishment of the republic. 
 
 The period of four years in the lower primary school is to 
 be one of compulsory education. After completing the course 
 therein, the pupils may enter a higher primary school or an in- 
 dustrial school. When a pupil has completed the three-year 
 course in a higher primary school, he may enter a middle school, 
 a normal school, or an industrial school of the A class. Sup- 
 plementary courses offering continuation work are provided 
 for those graduates of both the lower and the higher primary 
 schools who for one reason or another cannot go to the school 
 of a higher grade. Two years are required to complete these 
 courses. After graduation from a middle school, a pupil is 
 qualified to enter the preparatory department of a university, 
 of a professional school, or of a higher normal school. The 
 preparatory department of a university covers a period of three 
 years, and the collegiate department three or four years accord- 
 ing to the subject selected. The normal school requires one 
 year's preparatory work, and itself has a four-year course, 
 while the higher normal school course covers three years, fol- 
 lowing a year of preparatory work. Industrial schools are of 
 two kinds, A and B, each having a three-year course. The pro- 
 fessional school requires one year's preparatory work, and has a 
 three or four-year course according to the subject. The age-scale 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Republic 
 
 119 
 
 WOfJMdL 
 SCttOOl. 
 
 
 Organization 
 
 or THE 
 
 New School System 
 
 1912 
 
 SlPHEHCtiraiiT 
 COURSES 
 
 Middle 
 School 
 
 SOPPUHEtrBUir 
 COUKCS 
 
 MlSHER 
 
 PRIMARTf 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Research 
 
 HIGHER 
 
 
 UmVERSlTT 
 
 
 
 
 
 PROFESSIOIWt 
 
 Normal 
 
 
 SCHOOL 
 
 School 
 
 Frefaratort 
 
 Preparatory 
 
 FRErABATOm 
 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 1- 
 
 
 Lowcf? 
 
 Primary 
 
 Imdustrial 
 School 
 
 "a" 
 
 Industrial 
 School 
 
 Pupil's 
 
 AGE 
 
 24 
 
 23 
 
 22 
 
 Z\ 
 
 20 
 
 19 
 
 18 
 
 17 
 
 L6 
 14 
 
 [3 
 [2 
 I I 
 
 
 
 N. B. The higher nonnal school may also offer an elective course and 
 one providing for specialization, each lasting two or three years. 
 
120 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 to the right of the chart serves merely as a standard, and should 
 not be taken as fixed. The time occupied by the course of studies 
 may be extended or shortened according to the nature and local- 
 ity of the school. This organization of the new system of schools 
 differs from the one which existed before the revolution in the 
 following respects: the course of study of the higher primary 
 school is shortened from four years to three, that of the middle 
 school from five to four; the higher school is changed into college 
 preparatory, and the period of five years formerly set for 
 post-graduate work in the university has been made indefinite. 
 Thus the length of the period required to climb the entire ed- 
 ucational ladder is shortened by several years. This change 
 must be regarded as an improvement over the former system, 
 inasmuch as it makes it possible for a larger number of children 
 to graduate from the higher primary and middle schools. 
 
 With this general scheme in mind, we are now ready to 
 examine in a more detailed way the organization of the new 
 school system as well as the new curriculum introduced since 
 the establishment of the republic. 
 
 Primary Schools 
 
 The aims of primary education are as follows: (1) to secure 
 the physical and mental development of the child; (2) to lay 
 the foundation of the virtues of citizenship; and (3) to develop 
 in children the knowledge and ability necessary for them to 
 make their way in the world. The primary schools as before 
 are of two kinds, the lower primary school and the higher primary 
 school, although the two may be combined. 
 
 Whereas before the revolution the responsibility of establish- 
 ing primary schools was not placed upon any specific authority, 
 the new republic definitely assigns this duty to cities, towns, 
 and villages. Two or more villages may unite to establish 
 schools by forming a school union, in case their financial resources 
 do not enable them to support schools singly. Such school 
 unions may create territorial divisions 'for the establishment 
 of primary schools, and also special officers to manage their 
 educational affairs. Under special conditions, district officials 
 may designate certain schools established by private individuals 
 to take the place of city, town, or village schools. Higher 
 primary schools are established by districts. The number and the 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Repuhlic 121 
 
 location of higher primary schools are to be planned and deter- 
 mined by district officials after due consultation with the dis- 
 trict assembly. After having established a sufficient number 
 of lower primary schools to accommodate all the children of 
 school age in their respective jurisdictions, cities, towns, and 
 villages may also establish higher primary schools either singly 
 or conjointly, if they have financial resources beyond the amount 
 needed for the maintenance of lower primary schools, but before 
 so doing they must secure permission from the chief adminis- 
 trative officials of the district. The establishment, organization, 
 or abolition of any primary school must first receive the sanction 
 of the chief of the district officials. In case of higher primary 
 schools, the district administrative official should make due report 
 to the governor of the province. Kindergartens, schools for the 
 blind and dumb, and other schools corresponding to primary 
 schools are dealt with in the same way as the primary school. 
 The gentry of the city, town, or village, and the president 
 of the school union, under the direction of the chief of the dis- 
 trict administrative officials, control all the primary schools 
 within their respective jurisdictions. Higher primary schools 
 established by the revenue of the district are controlled by the 
 chief district administrative official. He may cause the chief 
 administrative official of the city, town, or village to render 
 assistance to the educational work of his territory, under the 
 direction of the gentry of the city, town,, or village, or the presi- 
 dent of the school union. All educational affairs entrusted to 
 the head and teachers of both grades of primary schools are to 
 be carried out under the supervision of the chief district admin- 
 istrative official. All private primary schools are conducted 
 under the supervision of the same district authority. 
 
 Middle Schools 
 
 The object of the middle school is to complete the general 
 education of the child and to produce efficient and all-round 
 citizens. For the first time in Chinese history, middle schools 
 for girls are specifically provided for, on the same basis as those 
 for boys.' The establishment of middle schools is left to the 
 provincial authorities. The governor of each province is ex- 
 
 • Middle schools for girls modeled after those for boys had existed before the revolu- 
 tion. 
 
122 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 pected to decide the location and number of such schools re- 
 quired in his province and to report the same to the Minister 
 of Education. The Minister of Education has, however, the 
 right to order the various provinces to increase the number 
 of middle schools whenever he deems it absolutely necessary. 
 Provincial middle schools are to be built and maintained by 
 the revenue of the provinces. In case the various districts,, 
 after having established the number of primary schools required 
 by law, find themselves possessing financial strength to do more, 
 they are permitted to establish, either singly or conjointly, middle 
 schools which shall be known as district middle schools to dis- 
 tinguish them from the provincial middle schools. Private 
 individuals or corporations are also allowed to establish middle 
 schools which shall be known as private middle schools. In 
 any case, the establishment, reorganization, or abolition of any 
 middle school must first receive the sanction of the Minister 
 of Education. Middle school teachers are to be chosen from 
 those who have been recognized as possessing the necessary 
 qualifications by the Association for the Examination and Cer- 
 tification of Teachers."" The salary of the principal and the 
 teachers in middle schools is to be determined by the governor, in 
 accordance with the standard established by the Ministry of 
 Education. The amount of tuition charged by the middle 
 school is to be determined by the head of the school concerned, 
 in accordance with the standard drawn up by the Ministry of 
 Education. If for some special reasons the required tuition is, 
 either to be reduced or to be entirely remitted, the sanction of 
 the provincial authorities must first be secured. The amount 
 of tuition charged by a private middle school is to be determined 
 by the organizers of the school concerned, but a report must 
 be made to the governor. 
 
 The University 
 
 The aim of the university is to impart higher learning with 
 a view to training men of great ability for the use of the nation. 
 The organization of the university differs from the one which 
 existed before the revolution in that it has seven faculties instead 
 of eight, having dropped the faculty of classics. The courses 
 
 " The date of enforcement of this requh-ement is to be fixed by separate ordinance. 
 See Bducatloual Ordinance No. 13, Art. 15, September 28, 1912. 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Republic 123 
 
 now offered cover the following subjects: arts, science, law, com- 
 merce, medicine, agriculture, and applied science. The pre- 
 paratory department has three groups of studies: the first is 
 for those who wish to enter the faculties of arts, law, and com- 
 merce; the second for those who wish to enter the faculties of 
 science, applied science, agriculture, and pharmacy; and the 
 third for those who wish to enter the faculty of medicine. The 
 period of post-graduate study is indefinite instead of limited 
 to five years as was the case under the old system. 
 
 The alternative courses of the three preparatory years in the 
 university are as follows: 
 
 First Group of Studies: 
 
 1. Foreign Languages 3. History 5. Psychology 
 
 2. Literature 4. Logic 6. Law 
 
 Elective studies: Political Economy, Mathematics, and Physics, to be 
 chosen according to the course to be followed later. 
 
 Second Group of Studies: 
 
 1. Foreign Languages 4. Physics 7. Mineralogy 
 
 2. Literature 5. Chemistry 8. Drawing 
 
 3. Mathematics 6. Geology 
 
 Elective studies: Zoology, Botany, Surveying, to be chosen according to- 
 the course to be followed later. 
 
 Third Group of Studies: 
 
 1. Foreign Languages 4. Mathematics 7. ZoSIogy 
 
 2. Literature 5. Physics 8. Botany 
 
 3. Latin 6. Chemistry 
 
 Two foreign languages are to be studied in each group. Those who expect 
 to take courses in Agriculture, Apphed Science, or Medicine, must study 
 German. 
 
 The courses for the different schools of the university are a& 
 follows : 
 
124 
 
 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 I. Arts: 
 
 IV. 
 
 COMMEBCE : 
 
 1. Chinese and Western 
 
 
 1. Banking 
 
 Philosophy 
 
 
 2. Insurance 
 
 2. Literature 
 
 a. Chinese 
 
 b. Sanscrit 
 
 
 3. Foreign Commerce 
 
 
 4. Consular System 
 
 
 5. Customs Revenue 
 
 c. English 
 
 
 6. International Law 
 
 d. French 
 
 
 
 e. German 
 
 V. 
 
 Medicine: 
 
 f . Russian 
 
 
 1. Medicine 
 
 g. Italian 
 
 
 2. Pharmacology 
 
 h. Philology 
 
 
 
 3. History 
 
 VI. 
 
 AGBICDIiTUKE: 
 
 a. Chinese and Oriental in 
 
 
 1. Agriculture 
 
 general 
 
 
 2. Agricultural Chemistry 
 
 b. Western 
 
 
 3. Forestry 
 
 4. Geography 
 
 
 4. Veterinary Science 
 
 n. Science: 
 
 
 
 1. Mathematics 
 
 VII. 
 
 AppT.rep Science: 
 
 2. Astronomy 
 
 
 1. Construction Materials 
 
 3. Theoretical Physios 
 
 
 2. Machinery 
 
 4. Experimental Physics 
 
 
 3. Machinery of Vessels 
 
 5. Zoology 
 
 
 4. Shipbuilding 
 
 6. Botany 
 
 
 5. Military Science 
 
 7. Geology 
 
 
 6. Electricity 
 
 8. Mineralogy 
 
 
 7. Building 
 
 II. Law: 
 
 
 8. Industrial Chemistry 
 
 1. Law 
 
 
 9. Explosives 
 
 2. Government 
 
 
 10. MiTiing 
 
 3. Political Economy 
 
 
 11. Minting 
 
 It is the plan of the government to found three new univer- 
 sities, one in Nanking, one in Wuchang, and one in Canton. 
 In the meantime the Peking University is being reorganized. 
 
 Professional Schools 
 
 The object of these schools is to train for some special profes- 
 sion or vocation. They may be established by the central govern- 
 ment, by the provincial authorities, or by private enterprise. 
 Graduates of the middle schools or those with equal qualifications 
 may be admitted. The classification of these schools is as 
 follows: 
 
 1. Law 
 
 2. Medicine 
 
 3. Pharmacology 
 
 4. Agriculture 
 
 5. Commerce 
 
 6. Mercantile Marine 
 
 7. Art 
 
 8. Music 
 
 9. Applied Science 
 
 10. Languages 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Republic 125 
 
 Normal Schools 
 
 Normal schools are divided into the following kinds: boys' 
 normal school, girls' normal school, and higher normal school. 
 The aim of the normal schools is to train elementary school 
 teachers; that of higher normal school is to train teachers for 
 the middle and normal schools. Normal schools, like middle 
 schools, are to be established by the provinces. It shall be the 
 ■duty of the governor to determine the location and number 
 of schools required, and after making due report to the Min- 
 istry of Education to establish the schools as planned. For 
 special reasons a district may, after receiving the sanction of 
 the Ministry of Education through the provincial authorities, 
 ■establish normal schools to be known as district normal schools. 
 Two or more districts may likewise establish normal schools 
 conjointly. Private individuals and corporations may also, 
 after receiving the sanction of the Ministry of Education through 
 the provincial authorities, establish normal schools. Higher 
 normal schools are to be regarded as national institutions, 
 and are to be established by the central government. The 
 Minister of Education shall after due consideration of the need 
 ■of the nation as a whole, determine the location and number of 
 higher normal schools and have them established. 
 
 The expenditure for normal schools is to be met by the revenue 
 ■of the provinces, and that for the provincial higher normal 
 schools by the national treasury." The salary schedule of nor- 
 mal school principals and teachers is determined by the gov- 
 ernor, in accordance with the standard drawn up by the Ministry 
 of Education." All students of normal and higher normal 
 schools shall be exempt from tuition. Each student shall also 
 receive from his school an allowance large enough to cover the 
 necessary expenses in the school. The normal schools are, how- 
 ever, permitted to receive students who prefer to be self-support- 
 ing. 
 
 An elementary school shall be attached to each normal school, 
 and each higher normal school shall have one elementary school 
 and one middle school attached to it. In the case of normal and 
 higher normal schools for girls, besides the necessary elementary 
 
 " The date for the enforcement of this rtile is yet to be deternuned by the Mhiistry. 
 :See Educational Ordinance No. 14, Art. 12, September 28, 1912. 
 " Ibid. 
 
126 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 school and middle school, kindergartens shall be attached to them. 
 Under special conditions a normal school may also conduct 
 teachers' institutes for those who possess certificates to teach 
 in elementary schools. In the case of girls' normal schools^ 
 special courses in practice' teaching may also be offered to those 
 who wish to become kindergarten teachers. Higher normal 
 schools, both for boys and for girls, are permitted to organize 
 special courses and also courses in investigation or research 
 work. 
 
 The teaching positions in normal schools are to be filled only 
 by those who have been recognized as possessing the necessary 
 qualifications by the Association for the Examination and Certi- 
 fication of Teachers. The date for the enforcement of this 
 rule has yet to be set by the Ministry. 
 
 Industrial Schools 
 
 It shall be the aim of the industrial school to impart the 
 knowledge and skill required in agriculture, trades, and com- 
 merce. There shall be two kinds of industrial schools, A and 
 B, the former giving a complete general industrial education, 
 and the latter an elementary industrial education or training- 
 in special trades as demanded by local circumstances. Indus- 
 trial schools include schools of agriculture, trades, and commerce, 
 industrial continuation schools, and the like. Apprentice schools 
 may be regarded either as trade schools of the elementary kind, 
 or as trade continuation schools. Girls' trade schools similar 
 to those for boys may be established if local conditions warrant. 
 
 Industrial schools of the A grade shall be established by the 
 governor of the province; those of the B grade by districts, 
 by cities, towns, or villages, or by bureaus of agriculture, trades, 
 or commerce, but these may also be allowed to establish indus- 
 trial schools of the A grade if local circumstances permit. The- 
 location of schools established by provinces and districts is 
 determined by the governor and the district official respectively. 
 Industrial schools are named by their source of support, such as- 
 provincial industrial schools, district industrial schools, and the 
 like. The establishment, alteration, or abolishing of provin- 
 cial industrial schools must be reported to the Minister of Edu- 
 cation, but in the case of district industrial schools must receive 
 the approval of the governor and then be reported by him to^ 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Republic 127 
 
 the Minister of Education. In the case of industrial continua- 
 tion schools the only requirement is that a report be made to the 
 governor. If local circumstances permit, the tuition required 
 of industrial students may be remitted. 
 
 The New Curriculum 
 
 With the reorganization of the school system a new curric- 
 ulum has been introduced which differs from that existing 
 before the revolution, involving in more than one respect radical 
 departures from the traditional standards. We shall make 
 a brief examination of the curricula of primary schools, middle 
 schools, and normal schools, noting a few of the more important 
 changes that have been effected. 
 
 Curriculum of the Primary Schools 
 
 The course of study for the lower primary school continues 
 to cover four years. The subjects required are as follows: 
 morals, mother tongue, mathematics, hand-work, drawing, sing- 
 ing, and physical culture. One or more of the three last men- 
 tioned subjects may be temporarily dropped, in case of absolute 
 necessity. Sewing is added to the program of girls. This 
 course of study differs from the old one in several ways. Chinese 
 -classics, history, geography, and nature study, found in the 
 old curriculum, have been left out. Hand-work is made compul- 
 sory instead of optional. The number of hours per week for 
 ihe first year has been reduced from twenty-foiir to twenty-two, 
 that for the second increased from twenty-four to twenty-six; 
 and the number of weekly recitations for the third and fourth 
 years has been reduced from thirty to twenty-eight for boys 
 and twenty-nine for girls." 
 
 The course of study for the higher primary school has been 
 reduced from four to three years. The subjects to be taught 
 are as follows: morals, mother tongue, mathematics, Chinese 
 history, geography, physical science, hand-work, drawing, sing- 
 ing, and physical culture. Agriculture is added to the studies 
 of boys, and sewing to those of girls. If local conditions demand, 
 agriculture may be left out or be replaced by commerce, and 
 English may be added to the curriculum. In case of absolute 
 necessity, hand-work and singing may also be temporarily left 
 
 " For full program of the lower primary school, see Appendix, Table I. 
 
128 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 out, and English may be replaced by another foreign language- 
 Special courses for making up deficiencies in school work may 
 be offered. If a child is found physically unable to pursue a 
 certain subject of study, he may be exempted from taking it. 
 With the sanction of the chief of the local administrative offi- 
 cials, the subject matter of the curriculum may be increased 
 or decreased to suit local conditions. This new course of study 
 is conspicuous by the absence of Chinese classics which used 
 to occupy one-third of the total number of school hours. It 
 is also marked by a decrease in the number of recitations. In- 
 stead of thirty-six hours per week throughout the course, the 
 first year now has only thirty hours and the second and third 
 thirty for boys and thirty-two for girls." 
 
 Curriculum of Boys' Middle Schools 
 
 The course of study for the middle school has been reduced 
 from five to four years. In place of the two courses of the 
 system introduced in 1909, only one course is now offered. This 
 must be regarded as a step backward in that it does not seem to 
 be in keeping with the modern tendency in secondary education, 
 namely, to provide more diversified courses of study to meet 
 the varying needs of pupils. The new curriculum prescribes 
 the following subjects of study: morals, Chinese language, 
 foreign language, history, geography, mathematics, nature 
 study, physics, chemistry, government, economics, drawing, 
 hand-work, music, and physical culture. This list differs from 
 the one existing before the revolution in the absence of Chinese 
 classics and the addition of hand-work, showing a victory of 
 the more practical subject over the linguistic or the classical. 
 The number of recitations per week is reduced from thirty- 
 six throughout the course to thirty-three for the first year, 
 thirty-four for the second, and thirty-five for the third and the 
 fourth." Under special circumstances the head of the boys' 
 or girls' middle school may increase or reduce the number 
 of hours for particular subjects in the various school years, 
 but the total number of hours in a week should in no case be 
 less than thirty-two, and in none more than thirty-six. 
 
 " For full program of the higher primary school, see Appendix, Table II. 
 " For full program of boys' middle schools, see Appendix, Table III. 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Republic 129 
 
 Curriculum of Girls' Middle Schools 
 
 In the girls' middle schools household arts, gardening, and 
 sewing are required, though gardening may be left out. Eng- 
 lish is used as the standard foreign language, but imder special 
 conditions one of the following languages may be selected in 
 its place: French, German, and Russian. The number of 
 recitations per week is thirty-two for the first year, thirty-three 
 for the second, thirty-four for the third and the fourth, one 
 hour less in each year being required than in the case of the 
 boys' middle school." 
 
 Curriculum of Boys' Normal Schools " 
 
 The new curriculum provides for the boys' normal school 
 two courses of study, A and B, the former including a prepara- 
 tory course of one year and a regular course of four years, the 
 latter lasting one year. Course A in the boys' normal school 
 requires the following subjects of study: ethics, education, 
 Chinese language, writing, English, history, geography, mathe- 
 matics, nature study, physics and chemistry, civics and eco- 
 nomics, drawing, hand-work, agriculture, music, and physical 
 culture. This list differs from the old one in the absence of 
 Chinese classics and the addition of the following subjects of 
 study: English, civics and economics, hand-work, agriculture, 
 and music. Instead of having thirty-six hours per week as 
 under the old system, the new curriculum prescribes for Course 
 A the following number of hours: in the preparatory course 
 thirty-two hours per week; in the regular course thirty-three 
 for the first year, and thirty-five for each of the remaining three 
 years. The subjects of study for Course B are as follows: 
 ethics, education, Chinese literature, mathematics, natiu-e 
 study, physics and chemistry, drawing, hand-work, agricul- 
 ture, music, and physical culture. The work occupies thirty- 
 five hours per week. 
 
 Curriculum of Girls' Normal Schools^ 
 
 The curriculum of the girls' normal school is similar to that 
 of the boys' in having two courses, A and B, the former requiring 
 four years following one preparatory year, and the latter being 
 
 " For full program of girls' middle schools, see Appendix, Table IV. 
 " For full program, see Appendix, Tables V and VI. 
 i» For full program, see Appendix, Tables VII and VIII. 
 
130 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 merely a short course of one year. The subjects of study in 
 Course A differ from those of the boys' normal school in the 
 omission of agriculture and the addition of household arts and 
 gardening, and sewing. The number of recitations required 
 is in each case slightly larger than that required in boys' nor- 
 mal schools, being thirty-three hours for the preparatory course, 
 thirty-five for the first year of the regular course, and thirty- 
 six for the second, the third, and the fourth year. However, 
 the subject of English, requiring three hours per week, may be 
 omitted if circumstances seem to warrant such action. When 
 that is done, the number of hours per week becomes a little less 
 than that required in the boys' normal schools, being thirty 
 hours for the preparatory course, thirty-two hours for the first 
 year of the regular course, and thirty-three hours for each of 
 the remaining three years. Course B of girls' normal schools 
 is the same as that of boys', with the exception that sewing is 
 introduced in the place of agriculture, and that the girls have 
 thirty-four hours per week, while the boys have thirty-five. 
 
 Curriculum of the Higher Normal Schools 
 
 The curriculum of the higher normal school is divided into 
 three courses: the preparatory course, the regular course, and 
 the research work. The preparatory course lasts one year, 
 the regular course three years, while the research work may 
 cover either one or two years. The subjects of study for the 
 preparatory course are as follows: ethics, Chinese language, 
 English, mathematics, drawing, singing, and physical culture. 
 The regular course is taken in one of the following departments: 
 (1) Chinese language; (2) English; (3) history and geography; 
 (4) mathematics and physics; (5) physics and chemistry; and 
 (6) nature study. Each department prescribes a number 
 of studies forming a group by itseK, but all the departments 
 have the following subjects in common: ethics, psychology, 
 education, English, and physical culture. The research course re- 
 quires the intensive study of two or three subjects chosen from 
 the departments of the regular course. Two other courses may 
 be offered by higher normal schools, one providing for special- 
 ization and one elective course, each lasting from two to three 
 years. The program of studies for the various courses of a 
 higher normal school is drawn up by the principal of that school, 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Republic 131 
 
 but must be reported to the Minister of Education. This new 
 curriculum of the higher normal school, like that of other schools, 
 is conspicuous by the disappearance of classics as one of the 
 required subjects of study, and by the presence of studies here- 
 tofore omitted. 
 
 Summary 
 
 Our examination of the new curricula reveals the fact 
 that the changes made have been along three general lines: the 
 elimination of Chinese classics as a subject in itself, the intro- 
 duction of new subjects of study having a social and industrial 
 significance, and the relief of the over-crowded program. The 
 first change reduces largely the time formerly allotted to Chinese 
 literature, thus making room for the more liberal introduction 
 of western subjects which require the use of the laboratory or 
 experimental method. The second change makes possible a 
 closer adjustment of the school work to the changing social 
 and industrial demands, and supplies the rising generation 
 with an opportunity for sense-training and for the acquisition 
 of skill through such studies as hand-work, drawing, domestic 
 science, and agriculture. The last change tends not only to 
 reduce superficiality in school work, but also to prevent an 
 over-taxing of the physical strength of school children. Unques- 
 tionably these moves, being in keeping with the progressive 
 ideas of modern education, are tending in the right direction 
 and should be encouraged. 
 
 New Rules and Regulations 
 
 That the reorganization of the educational system has been 
 most thorough in character is attested by the further fact that 
 there have been put into force during the first two years of 
 the life of the republic, various sets of new rules and regulations 
 governing one or another phase of the school system, including 
 those relating to school uniform, school ceremonies, transfer 
 of pupils from one school to another, school government, school 
 year, school term and vacations, school fees, student records, 
 and text-books. A summary of the more important of these 
 rules will be given here to complete the picture of the new school 
 system. 
 
132 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 School Govemmen^^ 
 
 The spirit of school government reflects the nature of the 
 political government. Under the monarchy, rules governing 
 the school and student life were minutely laid down by the 
 Ministry of Education and arbitrarily thrust upon the school 
 authorities for enforcement. Since the establishment of the 
 republic a more liberal spirit and policy have been introduced. 
 The detailed regulations governing schools and student life 
 are now left to be drawn up by heads of schools to accord with the 
 type of school and with local conditions, though such regulations' 
 must be reported to the Ministry of Education in case of nation- 
 al schools and to local authorities in case of schools established 
 by the local government or private individuals. The Ministry 
 of Education now satisfies itself by prescribing one general 
 rule that is required of all schools. No official provision is yet 
 made for student participation in school government, with the 
 exception of a statement to the effect that in case any student 
 has suggestions to make relating to the instruction or the manage- 
 ment of the school, he is allowed to present them to the proper 
 school authorities either in writing or in person. Students 
 are, however, permitted to organize clubs or societies to promote 
 the welfare of body and mind, such as amusement clubs, musical 
 clubs, physical culture clubs, and the like, but these organizations 
 must receive the approval of the head of the school and be con- 
 ducted under the supervision of the school authorities. One 
 of the ways to insure obedience to school rules is the provision 
 that students dismissed for violation of regulations are not 
 allowed to enter another school unless they provide proper 
 guarantee to show that they have really repented and reformed. 
 
 New School Year, Term, and Vacations^ 
 
 The adoption of the Western calendar by the Republic of 
 China naturally necessitated the creation of a new school calen- 
 dar, in order to avoid inconsistency or incongruity. The new 
 school year, which extends from August 1st to July 31st, is 
 divided into three terms, the first term extending from August 
 1st to December 31st, the second from January 1st to March 31st, 
 and the third from April 1st to July 31st. The summer vacation 
 
 i> Educational Ordinance No. 3, 1912. 
 
 " Educational Ordinance No. 6, September 3, 1912. 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Republic 133 
 
 may not be less than thirty days nor more than fifty days. 
 This rule, however, does not apply to colleges and higher techni- 
 cal schools. Each school determines for itself the best time for 
 its vacation after due consideration of the climatic conditions 
 of the community. The New Year vacation is between seven 
 and fourteen days in length. The length of the spring vacation 
 is fixed at seven days, April 1st to 7th. Primary schools in the 
 rural districts are free to shorten their New Year and summer 
 vacations, and to close in spring and autumn during the sowing 
 and harvesting seasons. In case they are obliged, for this 
 reason, to open school in the summer, they must shorten their 
 school hours. Schools situated in extremely cold regions are 
 free to give winter vacations and to shorten their summer and 
 spring vacations. All schools are closed on Sundays and mem- 
 orial days." 
 
 School Fees^ 
 
 According to the standard set up by the Ministry of Education, 
 the lower primary school should be free, but under special cir- 
 cumstances a monthly fee of thirty cents or less is permitted. 
 It should be stated here that Chinese money approximates 
 the Mexican standard, its dollar being about half the value 
 of the American dollar. The fee charged by higher primary 
 schools should not exceed one dollar a month, and that for 
 supplementary courses should not exceed sixty cents a month. 
 The fee of the elementary industrial school should never be high- 
 er than sixty cents per month. The monthly fee of the middle 
 school ranges from one to two dollars, and that of higher indus- 
 trial schools from eighty cents to one dollar and fifty cents. 
 Professional schools charge a fee of from two dollars to two 
 dollars and fifty cents a month. The tuition at the university 
 is three dollars per month. Normal and higher normal schools 
 both exempt students from paying any tuition, but at the time 
 of admission a deposit of ten dollars or less is collected, which is 
 returned at the time of graduation. The tuition of the lower 
 and higher primary schools and industrial schools is paid month- 
 ly, while the tuition of the middle, industrial, and professional 
 
 >i Memorial days include the anniversary of the establishment of the Kepublic, 
 the birthday of Confucius, any local memorial days, and the anniversary of the 
 school. Ibid. 
 
 » Educational Ordinance No. 15, 1913. 
 
134 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 schools and of the university is paid once in each school term. 
 School authorities have the right to remit either wholly or in 
 part the tuition fees of poor students and of those who make 
 the best record in school work, and to make other modifications, 
 provided permission is received from either the local govern- 
 ment or the Minister of Education. 
 
 School Records 
 
 All schools are required to keep at least two records of indivi- 
 dual students, one of conduct and one of scholarship. The 
 conduct record is to be kept under four grades: A, B, C, D. A 
 student making a record of C or above is regarded as having 
 reached the standard. To those meriting A the head of the 
 school may issue a certificate of commendation. The student's 
 records in conduct and scholarship are both taken into consid- 
 eration in the determination of promotion or graduation. Those 
 whose scholarship record falls below the standard by one-tenth 
 but whose record of conduct is A or B are entitled to promotion 
 or graduation. On the other hand, those whose record of con- 
 duct just meets the requirement and whose scholarship is ranked 
 as D may be denied promotion or graduation. Such cases, how- 
 ever, must be discussed at the teachers' meeting before action 
 is taken by the head of the school. Regulations relating to 
 students' conduct in special schools may be drawn up by the 
 head of the school in accordance with local conditions. 
 
 The scholarship record of the student is of two kinds, the 
 daily record and the examination record. The daily record is 
 based on the earnestness with which the student pursues his 
 studies as well as the quality of his work. The examinations 
 are of three kinds: term, annual, and graduation. In addition 
 to these, there are also examinations of admission, of promotion, 
 of enrollment, and of transfer from one school to another. In 
 determining the scholarship record, four grades are to be used, 
 A, B, C, D: 
 
 A signifies a grade above 80 per cent. 
 
 B 
 
 il 
 
 tl 
 
 70 
 
 C 
 
 li 
 
 tc 
 
 " " 60 
 
 D 
 
 tl 
 
 ti 
 
 " not up to 60 
 
 Grades above C are regarded as fulfilling the requirement; D 
 is regarded as failure. Those reaching the standard are pro- 
 
Reorganization of Education Under the Republic 135 
 
 moted or graduated; but those who do not reach the standard 
 are retained in the same grade or class. Those failing twice to 
 reach the standard are asked to withdraw from school. De- 
 tailed rules are laid down by the Ministry of Education as to 
 how to compute or determine the pupil's record for the term, 
 for the year, and for graduation. 
 
 Control of Text-Books 
 
 Under the new conditions the preparation and publication of 
 text-books and teachers' manuals are left entirely in the hands 
 of private individuals, but as in the pre-revolutionary days all 
 such books must receive the approval of the Ministry of Educa- 
 tion before they are allowed to be used in schools. In each 
 province there has been established a text-book commission 
 charged with the duty of selecting, from the approved list of 
 books drawn up by the Ministry of Education, such as are suit- 
 able to the conditions in the province and of recommending 
 these to the school authorities for adoption. Minute rules reg- 
 ulating the certification of text-books and the organization of 
 provincial text-book commissions have been promulgated and 
 are being rapidly put into practice.'^ 
 
 » Educational Ordinance No. IS, 1914. 
 
 >< For detailed Information see Educational Ordinances, Kos. 9 and 10, 1912. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 PRESENT-DAY EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS OF NA- 
 TIONAL IMPORTANCE 
 
 The story of the origin, development, and reconstruction of 
 the Chinese educational system, which we have attempted to 
 record briefly in the preceding pages, has given rise to many 
 problems of vital importance aside from those which have al- 
 ready received our attention. The factors involved in these 
 problems are so numerous and their interrelations are so com- 
 plex, that it is extremely difficult to suggest ways of solution 
 which would be entirely satisfactory. Nevertheless, there are 
 sufficient data at hand to warrant at least the mention of a few 
 of the more important problems and to indicate some possible 
 olutions. 
 
 Relation of Missionary Education to the Public Educational 
 
 System 
 
 One of the problems of growing importance has to do with 
 the educational work undertaken by missionaries from the West, 
 both Catholic and Protestant. This work, inspired by evan- 
 gelistic and philanthropic motives and begun in a humble way, 
 has in recent years so developed in scope and character that it 
 has come to exercise a considerable influence over the progress 
 of new education in China. In the year 1912 there were in 
 China under the various Protestant missions alone, 3,708 prim- 
 ary or day schools with 86,241 pupils enrolled and 5,537 inter- 
 mediate and high schools with an enrollment of 31,384 pupils.* 
 As many as thirty institutions have assumed the name of col- 
 lege, and nine of these have even adopted the name of univer- 
 sity. Statistics of the educational work of the Catholic mis- 
 sionaries are not available, but it is generally known that it is 
 not so highly developed as that of Protestants. The schools 
 which they have established are the "prayer-schools" in which 
 
 'Ohiaa Mission Year Book, 1912. 
 
 136 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 137 
 
 the Christian children learn to read; normal schools for the 
 training of catechists and Christians of higher standing; sem- 
 inaries for the education of the Chinese clergy; and convents 
 for the training of nuns. Certain missions in which there has 
 grown up a Christan 61ite have opened for its benefit colleges 
 which are nearly always under the direction of congregations 
 of teaching brothers. A few years ago twin universities were 
 created in Shanghai known respectively as the Dawn (Aurore) 
 and the Morning Star (Etoile du Matin). ^ Statistics showing 
 the combined educational force of the Protestant and Catholic 
 missionaries are also not available, except that it has been 
 roughly estimated that there are 100,000 pupils enrolled in the 
 mission schools of China.' 
 
 The strong desire of the Chinese people for modern learning 
 and the fact that the government of China has seriously under- 
 taken to provide this education on a national basis, have begun 
 to affect the status of missionary education in more than one 
 way. To say the least, they have convinced the missionary 
 body, as well as the home boards of foreign missions, of the neces- 
 sity of reconsidering their educational policy and of placing 
 their work on a firmer basis. As a result, various educational 
 organizations, commissions, and committees have come into 
 existence, and the subject of missionary education has received 
 special attention in most of the important religious conferences 
 and conventions held during the last few years. The aims of 
 missionary education have been more clearly formulated; its 
 results, defects, and causes of failure are being pointed out; 
 and recommendations to meet the new demands have been 
 strongly urged.^ The importance of union and cooperatipn 
 among the different denominations engaged in educational work, 
 the necessity of unifying and standardizing the work of the differ- 
 ent grades of schools, the need of avoiding wasteful overlapping 
 and competition, and the desirability of having better teachers 
 and other educational leaders, have been the cry of the day, 
 and already steps have been taken to put into effect some of 
 these timely and important suggestions. 
 
 ' The Chinese Recorder: October, 1913, pp. 624r-625. 
 " The International Review of Missions: October, 1912, p. 587. 
 ' Cf. Beport on Cbristian Education, American-Canadian Commission; Christian 
 Education: World Missionary Conference, Vol III. 
 
138 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 The question naturally arises: "What attitude should the 
 Chinese government take toward missionary education, which 
 is being strengthened and improved?" Under the Manchu 
 dynasty graduates of missionary schools were debarred from 
 receiving degrees and titles from the government, and the schools 
 were not even asked to register. When the franchise for the 
 election of representatives to the provincial assemblies was 
 given to certain classes of people the graduates of government 
 institutions were included, but not those of mission colleges. 
 This discrimination was made, no doubt, on account of the desire 
 of the government to preserve the national character of the new 
 educational movement, and was neither anti-Christian nor anti- 
 foreign, as it has sometimes been thought. The establishment 
 of the republic has changed the whole situation, though thus 
 far no definite action has been taken by the new government 
 regarding the relation of missionary education to the governmen- 
 tal system. It was reported, however, that the Ministry of 
 Education in 1912 sent a special deputy to Japan to study the 
 method adopted there for recognizing the work of mission schools. 
 
 The question before us seems to involve at least three con- 
 siderations: first, the sort of system of recognition and control 
 which the goveriunent should adopt; second, the probable 
 attitude of the missionary body toward such a system; and 
 last, the advantage to the government of having such a sys- 
 tem. In regard to the system of recognition and of control, 
 the situations in Japan and India throw some light on the 
 problem. In Japan there are three positions that a Christian 
 school may hold in relation to the government.^ The first 
 is that of merely having government sanction to carry on a 
 certain kind of educational work. This involves practically 
 no regulation or inspection of the schools, and of course imposes 
 no restriction on religious teaching. By the second form of 
 recognition a school is ranked as giving an education of a certain 
 government grade, and this recognition implies certain privileges 
 and imposes certain conditions, but permits full religious freedom. 
 The chief privileges are the postponement of military conscrip- 
 tion, admission to the higher government schools, transfer to 
 and from government middle schools, and the one-year volun- 
 
 » Tfte Chinese Recorder: September, 1912, pp. 525-528. 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 139 
 
 tary military service after graduation. The chief conditions 
 accompanying this form of recognition are that the curriculum 
 of the school must, in the main, conform to that of the govern- 
 ment middle schools; there must be two hundred and twenty 
 days of teaching exclusive of examinations and holidays; certain 
 records and examination papers must be kept for the inspec- 
 tion of the government; certain reports must be made; there 
 must be a certain proportion of licensed teachers; the school 
 buildings and grounds must conform to certain regulations; 
 and the work of the school must always be subject to govern- 
 mental inspection. The third form of recognition makes a 
 school an integral part of the government sytem, subject to 
 all the requirements and enjoying all the privileges of a regu- 
 lar government school. The advantage which this form of 
 recognition has over the second is that in the eyes of the public 
 it confers greater prestige. This form of recognition is given 
 on condition that the school submit to the government regu- 
 lation prohibiting religious teaching and religious services. 
 The prohibition against religious teaching is, however, carried 
 out with varying degrees of strictness, apparently according 
 to the attitude of local officials. In most schools voluntary 
 religious instruction classes are allowed at some time of the 
 day either in or outside of the school buildings. 
 
 In India, ^ where the educational system consists of institutions 
 organized by private initiative but aided by government grants, 
 missionary schools, like other private schools, receive grants- 
 in-aid if they are efficient in the secular instruction conveyed, 
 whatever may be the arrangements for religious instruction. 
 The provision, regarding this question, as embodied in the edu- 
 cational dispatch of 1854, is that the amount and continuance 
 of the assistance given will depend upon the periodical report 
 of the inspectors. In their regular inspections no notice what- 
 soever shall be taken of religious doctrines which may be taught 
 in any school, and their duty is strictly confined to ascertaining 
 whether the secular knowledge conveyed is such as to entitle it 
 to consideration in the distribution of the sum which will be 
 applied to grants-in-aid. 
 
 The present condition in China seems to warrant the adoption 
 of some system of recognition which requires the fulfilment of 
 
 • TJie International Review of Missions: July, 1912, pp. 393-411. 
 
140 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 certain educational standards, but takes no account whatsoever 
 of the rehgious teaching. In accordance with the expressed 
 sentiments of certain missionary bodies, the scheme here suggest- 
 ed would be considered fair and just by the missionary body 
 as a whole. Indeed, the attitude of some missionaries is that 
 even the third form of the Japanese system is desirable, for 
 it is claimed that a better class of students come to schools 
 that have this form of recognition, and that they receive relig- 
 ious instruction gladly and heartily when attendance is volun- 
 tary, so that though the direct results may be less, they are not 
 a forced, hot-house product, but are genuine and healthy. Ex- 
 perience also shows that the system does not interfere with re- 
 ligious influences, as the school can easily be kept Christian in 
 tone by other channels than the classroom. Furthermore, 
 ■whatever disadvantages may result from the restrictions that 
 come with this form of recognition are far outweighed by the 
 benefits which accompany it, such as increased efficiency, in- 
 creased public confidence, and an enlarged opportunity for 
 Christian education.' 
 
 The experience of Japan and India and the educational con- 
 ditions in China all point with favor to the introduction of a 
 system of recognition and control of missionary education. 
 Such a step would be beneficial to China in more than one way. 
 It would enable the government to exercise its legitimate con- 
 trol and supervision over the educational work of the mission- 
 aries as it does over other private educational institutions of 
 the country. Through this control the government can utilize 
 the schools and colleges supported by religious bodies to sup- 
 plement the national educational work, which for some time 
 to come will be handicapped by the lack of funds. It gives 
 the government also an opportunity to see that missionary ed- 
 ucation not only really educates but educates in such a way that 
 the graduates will be thoroughly Chinese in spirit, fully in 
 sympathy with the best thought and feeling of their own country, 
 and not creatures of a new kind, ill-adapted to the environment 
 in which they must by force of circumstances live and work.' 
 
 ' Christian Education: World Missionary Conference, Vol. III. 
 
 ' Some missionaries as well as Chinese claim that a number of missionary schools 
 have tended to denationalize the pupils. According to Reverend Timothy Richard, 
 the secondary schools have all been so Western as to make the students almost foreig- 
 ners in thought and habits and largely out of touch with native thought and feeling. 
 Cf. Christian Education: World Missionary Conference, Vol. III. The Chinese Recorder: 
 January, 1910, pp. 51-52. 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 141 
 
 Education and the Development of Moral Character 
 
 By far the most important of the present-day educational 
 problems of China is how to make use of the school as an agency 
 for the development of moral character in the rising generation 
 of the new republic. Under the old system of education the 
 classical literature formed the centre of the school curriculum. 
 Since this literature is a treasure house of some of the noblest 
 of human aspirations and since the themes around which it 
 centres have to do with man's personal, domestic, and civic 
 duties, the training which one receives in assimilating its con- 
 tent is highly moral in character. It is this training which has 
 produced in the Chinese people some of the fine and stable 
 quahfcies which have been the strength of the nation for many 
 ages. With the breaking down of the traditional system of 
 education and the introduction of new subjects of study into 
 the school curriculum, the old classic learning with its moral 
 teachings, though it has not been entirely cast aside, can no 
 longer exert the strong influence which it once had. Those 
 -who have not lost sight of the ancient ethical ideal and who at 
 the same time realize the present moral crisis, have been asking 
 the question: "Whence will come the morality of tomorrow?" 
 Is it possible to preserve under modern conditions, and in har- 
 mony with modern intellectual requirements, an ethical ideal, 
 not only as lofty as that which pervaded the old system, but 
 deepened and widened by the hidden moral foundations of 
 western civilization? Some of the more conservative thinkers 
 ■have become so alarmed as to advocate a return to the old 
 paths, and the restoration of classical learning to the supreme 
 place in the schools. Happily there are those who have the 
 vision to see that the old order of things can never be restored, 
 Taut that there are possibilities in the new educational system 
 which, if utilized, will produce results of far-reaching moral 
 influence. 
 
 Even during the period of transition, there was a manifest 
 determination to give ethical instruction a prominent place 
 in the curriculum. Series of text-books in ethics were produced, 
 and were put into general use. These not only registered an 
 enormous advance upon the old method of teaching even the 
 youngest students to memorize the classics, but also aimed 
 at holding up the ideal of the "superior man," as represented 
 
142 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 by Confucius, in pictures or parables suited to the grade of the 
 student. Although not beyond criticism in matter and ar- 
 rangement, these ethical text-books were on the whole admirable 
 and well adapted to their purpose. 
 
 With the dawn of the new era ushered in by the establishment 
 of the republic, there has come a renewed emphasis upon the 
 importance of moral education in the new school system. Our 
 attention has already been called to the fact that in accordance 
 with the ordinance of the Ministry of Education, the chief 
 aim of the new educational system is the development of mor- 
 als, and that instruction in ethics still occupies a prominent 
 place in the school curriculum. The one thing which Ytian 
 Shih Kai repeats and emphasizes in his inaugural speech is 
 morality (tao teh), which is understood by him to include 
 loyalty, faith, steadiness, and respectability.' This renewed 
 determination of the leaders of China to maintain an ethical 
 ideal by setting up moral character as the ultimate aim of edu- 
 cation, and by the retention of moral instruction as a specific 
 subject is indeed fortunate and will no doubt work for the best- 
 interests of China. 
 
 But it must be observed that the effort to develop moral char- 
 acter need not be confined to giving formal instruction in ethics 
 as a subject of the school curriculum. Other subjects of study 
 can also be used effectually to deepen and ennoble the sen- 
 timents and impulses which ethical instruction specifically in- 
 culcates. Chinese literature, including fiction, romance, biog- 
 raphy, and poetry, may have the highest value in forming the 
 moral life of the pupil, if it is used not only to reach the intellect, 
 but to touch the feeling and bring the pupil into sympathy 
 with ideal characters, deeds, and aspirations. History, like- 
 wise, affords ample opportunities for the appreciative treat- 
 ment of high ideals and motives at work in the affairs of men 
 and for the manifestation of the essential factors in the up- 
 building of character. In this way the teacher of history, as 
 well as of literature, can fill the mind of the pupil with examples 
 from which he may receive valuable influences for the for- 
 mation of right principles of thought and action. But the oppor- 
 
 • For an explanation of the four constituent parts of morality, see Inaugural speech. 
 of Yuan Shlh Kai, Journal of the American Asiatic Association: Vol. XIII, No. 11, 
 pp. 327-328. 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 143 
 
 tunity of exerting moral influence does not end with history 
 and literature, for if we allow moral ideals to permeate the 
 school, every subject of the curriculum may be made to con- 
 tribute its share of influence toward the moralization of the 
 pupil. 
 
 Mere instruction in principles of right conduct, indeed, is 
 by no means suflacient for the formation of a child's character, 
 however helpful it may be. It is generally believed that mor- 
 ality of precept is of little value, that morality cannot be taught 
 as a mere abstraction apart from real life. Other more effective 
 factors in character building must be utilized and their impor- 
 tance emphasized, if education in China is to accomplish the 
 task expected of it. One of these potent factors is the person- 
 ality of the teacher. Experience shows that the character of 
 the pupil can be greatly modified by the daily example and 
 inspiration of a leader, wise, generous, and just, who uncon- 
 sciously holds before each pupil an ideal self and points the 
 way to its realization. Teaching by example is more effective 
 than teaching by precept. Another factor is found in the in- 
 stincts and impulses of the pupil. A wise teacher will see that 
 they find expression in good conduct and in the formation of 
 desirable habits so that these may become permanent parts of 
 the child's character. It is said that direct ethical teaching, 
 tales of heroic deeds, soul-stirring fiction that awakens sym- 
 pathetic emotions, may accomplish but little unless in the 
 child's early life regard for the right, little acts of heroism, and 
 deeds of sympathy are cultivated, unless the ideas and feeling 
 find expression in action and so become a part of the child's 
 being. We learn to do, not by knowing alone, but by knowing 
 and doing. Educational leaders in China no doubt realize 
 the importance of the factors here suggested, and will in time 
 see that opportunities for the proper expression of right in- 
 stincts and impulses are amply provided for in the school. 
 Something has already been done in the way of encouraging 
 athletic sports as well as various school activities that have 
 a social significance. This is in the right direction, but such 
 efforts should be multiplied and their importance in the for- 
 mation of good habits and character must be more clearly 
 stated and more strongly emphasized. 
 
144 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 School Discipline and Government 
 
 Perhaps no phase of the Chinese modern educational system 
 has been more adversely criticised than that relating to school 
 discipline and government. For years after the adoption of 
 the new educational system the student body was noted for its 
 spirit of independence and unruliness. School riots and school* 
 strikes of one kind or another were of frequent occurrence. 
 This unwholesome tendency to insubordination on the part 
 of the students was sometimes attributed to their subverted 
 conception of liberty and equality and sometimes to the pecul- 
 iar nature of the student body, which often included persons- 
 quite advanced in age and thought. Such men came to school 
 with ideas more or less formed and with a certain sense of 
 personal pride which resented everything which they regarded 
 as either encroaching upon their liberty or lowering their dig- 
 nity. The fact that Chinese students as a class have been 
 intensely nationalistic in spirit and eager to make their influ- 
 ence felt has also been responsible for some of the troubles. 
 Moved by patriotism they seized every political crisis to hold- 
 mass meetings for the discussion of ways and means to meet, 
 the situation. Sometimes they sent telegraphic messages to- 
 the government counseling it as to how to solve particular pro- 
 blems of the state, often they went so far as to protest against, 
 the action of the government. Such behavior naturally was 
 not encouraged by the authorities and in the attempt to suppress 
 these outbursts of feeling, no small amount of friction was caused,, 
 and much trouble ensued. 
 
 This state of affairs was partly responsible for the poor dis- 
 cipline of the schools, but in many cases the cause of the troubles 
 lay not so much in the students as in the inability of the school 
 officials to cope with the situation through want of authority,, 
 lack of administrative ability, or unwillingness to use effective 
 means owing to personal or other reasons. 
 
 Not infrequently the source of trouble was in the teaching 
 body itself. Many of the teachers coming from the old school 
 were not very sympathetic in their dealings with the students. 
 They were too overbearing and haughty in spirit and presumed 
 upon their authority by riding roughshod over the opinions- 
 of the students. On the other hand there were others who were 
 too slack in establishing and maintaining discipline because- 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 145 
 
 they were either ignorant of their responsibility or indifferent 
 to it. In short, many of the teachers were unprepared both in 
 mind and in spirit for the work of teaching. 
 
 The problem of school discipline, however, is no longer so 
 serious as it used to be. The troubles seem to be largely trans- 
 itory in nature and characteristic of the period when necessary 
 readjustments must be made, new relationships formed, and new 
 standards of right and wrong set up. Indeed, a great change 
 for the better has taken place during the last few years. The 
 type of students now in school is much better than that of five 
 years ago. There is not only a general manifestation of good 
 discipline in the institutions, but the erroneous idea of liberty 
 and equality seems to be fast disappearing. The students 
 are now less inclined to dictate terms to the government in the 
 matter of politics. They seem to realize that students, after 
 all, are students, and that as students they are not full-fledged 
 citizens and have no voice in practical politics. This change 
 for the better is generally attributed to two causes: first, those 
 entrusted with the management of schools have been given 
 greater power in their sphere; and, second, there has been an 
 influx into the schools of a higher type of teachers and adminis- 
 trative officers, who have not only devoted years to the special 
 study of education, but who also possess truer and higher ideals 
 of life. There is every reason to believe, therefore, that the 
 problem in question will sooner or later be eliminated. 
 
 Meanwhile, something fundamental should be undertaken 
 in order to remedy the evil at an early date. Greater care should 
 be taken in placing men at the head of schools. Only men of 
 administrative ability and strong character should be secured 
 to act as principals. These should be given all the authority 
 rightly attached to the office. Better teachers should be trained 
 and their service utilized. In addition, the number of school 
 activities which tend to develop in students the virtue of self- 
 control and the habit of observing order should be multiplied. 
 Above all, a greater degree of cooperation should be developed 
 not only between the faculty and the higher authorities, but 
 also between students and school officers. Some form of self- 
 government which would give the students opportunity to 
 participate in all affairs affecting the order and government 
 of the school should be widely introduced. Care, however, 
 
146 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 must be taken to see that such attempts are not made in too 
 abrupt a manner. Experience in America shows that where 
 this method has been adopted as a remedy for the effects of 
 poor discipline, or unwise management, it has usually failed." 
 If the restraints of external control are too suddenly removed 
 and a school is thrown back upon itself without some preparation 
 for self-government, the strain is apt to be too great and disaster 
 ensues. This explains the reason why the transition from entire 
 control by the teacher to government by the students, must 
 be gradual and wisely directed to overcome the tendency to 
 license or anarchy. Success in introducing such schemes of 
 self-government is also dependent upon a clear recognition on 
 the part of the school authorities and the students of their 
 respective spheres of influence. The former should realize 
 the limit of their own dominion of control, and the latter should 
 be willing to respect and obey the legitimate authority of teachers 
 and administrative officers. 
 
 The Financing of the New Educational System 
 
 The problem of financing the new educational system has been 
 a matter of extreme difficulty. Under the old system of edu- 
 cation all that was needed was sufficient funds to defray the 
 expenses of the competitive examination system and to support 
 the few colleges that were found in large cities. With the in- 
 troduction of the modern system of education there was sud- 
 denly created a demand for an outlay greatly out of proportion 
 to the funds available under the old regime. In order to carry 
 out the new educational policy buildings had to be secured and 
 furnished, teaching materials and text-books provided, and 
 teachers who have had sufficient preparation employed. Under 
 the old system all the government needed to do was to provide 
 educational facilities for a few; now the plan is to extend 
 education to all. To meet the heavy expense which this changed 
 policy of education entails is therefore a difficulty well nigh 
 insurmountable . 
 
 The ways and means by which the government launched the 
 new system are full of interest to those who are concerned with 
 the administration of education. Briefly, the funds for the 
 
 '» Button and Snedden : Administration of Public Education in the United States, 
 p. 514. 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 147 
 
 maintenance of the educational policy were included as one of 
 the regular items of the national and provincial budgets. The 
 sources of revenue for educational purposes were various. The 
 statistical report of the Ministry of Education for 1910 classified 
 the various incomes under the following items: (1) Income 
 from public property; (2) interest from deposits; (3) govern- 
 mental appropriations; (4) public funds; (5) tuition and fees; 
 (6) compulsory contribution; (7) voluntary contributions; and 
 (8) miscellaneous sources of income." The ways by which some 
 of these items of money were raised are extremely interesting 
 and at times pathetic. In many instances the old colleges 
 were converted into modern schools. Oftentimes the money 
 formerly devoted to religious processions, theatrical exhibitions, 
 and clan ancestral halls was put into the school fund. For a 
 time temples and monasteries of the Buddhists and Taoists 
 were converted into schools, and temple lands and incomes were 
 appropriated to educational purposes. OfTicial recognition 
 was given to encourage private munificence. Frequently pri- 
 vate gifts of large amount were made even without the solic- 
 itation of officials or the hope of reward. The enthusiasm for 
 education also found expression in great personal sacrifices and 
 even in martyrdom. The cases of such heroic devotion and 
 self-sacrifice in the cause of education, if collected, would fill 
 volumes of pathetic reading, and would reflect the wonderful 
 devotion of the Chinese people to ideals. Some of the provinces 
 increased the rate of certain local taxes, but such increases are 
 said to have been generally small. In the Province of Hunan 
 alone has there been a considerable surplus of money derived 
 in this way at the disposal of the educational authorities.'^ Since 
 the establishment of the republic the practice of increasing 
 the rate of local taxes for educational purposes has become 
 more general, but as yet no system of general taxation has been 
 evolved. 
 
 The solution of the problem of financing the new educational 
 system is dependent upon the larger problem of the national 
 revenue system. Thus far the fiscal aspect of China's national 
 life has been far from satisfactory. Under the Manchu regime 
 financial matters were often controlled by unscrupulous officials, 
 
 It Eeinsch, Paul S. : Intellectual and Political Currents in the Far East, pp. 206-208. 
 " Statistical Beport of the Ministry of Education, 1910. 
 
148 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 and the markets of China were frequently swept by devastating 
 tides of financial insolvency which shook the foundation of many 
 colleges and schools and threatened collapse. The revolu- 
 tions which came in succession also played havoc with China's 
 finances, and some years must elapse before their effect upon 
 the balance of the government's revenue and expenditure ceases 
 to be felt. It has been estimated that the first revolution alone 
 cost China in additional public expenditures and private losses 
 a sum of about taels 230,000,000 aside from the complete ces- 
 sation of internal revenue for several months." It is no wonder 
 that during the last few years national deficits have been in- 
 curred and internal and foreign loans have been necessary. 
 The financial chaos has been intensified by the fact that the 
 financial system itself has been out of order owing to the in- 
 ability to discriminate between the government tax and local 
 tax and also to the conflict between the central and the provin- 
 cial government. The local government at times fails to send 
 its tax to the provincial government; while the provincial govern- 
 ment often tries to send to the central government as little as 
 possible of its collected taxes. Happily an earnest effort is 
 being made to reorganize the national as well as the provincial 
 system of finance with a view to placing them on a sounder 
 basis." 
 
 In the meantime the matter of financing the new educational 
 system remains as one of China's unsolved problems. Under 
 such circumstances two immediate steps might be taken. One 
 is to avoid all unnecessary expenditure. This would mean 
 that educational funds should be in no wise misappropriated; 
 that the number of non-teaching offices which are mere sine- 
 cures must be reduced, or better still, entirely eliminated; that 
 no expensive apparatus should be bought until the teacher 
 and students who can make use of it are secured; and that no 
 extravagance in the erection and furnishing of buildings should 
 be permitted. The second step is to encourage private init- 
 iative. This means that private schools should be encouraged, 
 that the old-style schools be reformed or improved through 
 a system of awards and other devices, and that every effort 
 put forth in China by the educators of the West should be given 
 
 13 China Year Book, 1913, p. 305. 
 
 " Republican Advocate, Vol. II, No. 16, p. 635; also Vol. I, No. 27, p. 1145. 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 149 
 
 some form of recognition and their work placed under the con- 
 trol of the Chinese government. By these means the financial 
 gap may be bridged over until China's revenue system is im- 
 proved and her natural resources are developed. There is no 
 occasion, however, for one to become discouraged at the seem- 
 ing hopelessness of the financial situation of the country, for 
 the natural resources of China are in no wise inferior to those 
 of the richest of the western nations. They are only waiting to be 
 developed. Yuan Shih K'ai in his inaugural speech compared 
 the condition in China to that of the rich man who has buried 
 his riches under the ground, and is complaining all the time 
 of poverty. The reasons given by him as to why the industries 
 of the country have not been developed are that the education 
 of the country is still in its infancy and that large capital is not 
 available. But with the development of modern education 
 in the sciences and with the growing utilization of foreign cap- 
 ital one can reasonably expect that in the course of a decade 
 the financial condition will be greatly improved. 
 
 Universal Education 
 
 The idea of education for all classes, the aim of all educators 
 and statesmen of western countries, scarcely entered the minds 
 of the leaders of China under the traditional system of education. 
 With the introduction of the new educational system, however, 
 the problem of universal education suddenly came into promi- 
 nence. Indeed, it is the stated goal of the new educational pol- 
 icy. Thus far the attempt to furnish educational facilities 
 for the masses has been only partially successful. In 1909, 
 only one person in two hundred, or about one fortieth of the 
 children of school age in the province of Chili, attended the gov- 
 ernment schools, while in Szechuan the proportion was one 
 person in two hundred and seventy-five or one-fiftieth of the 
 school population. Since then some advance has been made. 
 The educational report of Kuangtung for the year 1912 states 
 that forty per cent of the boys and thirteen per cent of the 
 girls between the ages of six and nine were in school that year. 
 
 This problem of education for China's millions is fraught with 
 difiBcuIties. To begin with, there is the difficulty of the lan- 
 guage, which is without an alphabet, so that learning to read 
 is a much harder task than in most countries. This trouble 
 
150 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 is intensified by the fact that the written language is not the 
 one spoken, and that the spoken language itself is not the same 
 all over the country. Owing to the cumbersome vehicle of ex- 
 pression which China has, the time required for gaining a thorough 
 education is lengthened by three to five years. During recent 
 years various means of overcoming this difficulty have been 
 proposed, the following being most significant: (1) to do away 
 with mechanical memorizing and to substitute in its place the 
 more rational process of teaching the meaning along with the 
 characters; (2) to publish books and papers in colloquial charac- 
 ters, which are specially adapted to the daily speech of the 
 people and easily understood; (3) to simplify words and methods 
 of expression; (4) to teach Mandarin, the most universally spoken 
 Chinese language, in the schools; (5) to use readers for teaching 
 the Chinese language; (6) to introduce a phonetic language. 
 Some of these have been tried out with varying degrees of success; 
 some are still under discussion. Besides the difficulty of language 
 there are the difficulties of supplying the system with a sufficient 
 number of trained teachers and providing the revenue to maintain 
 it. It is estimated that to make education anything like uni- 
 versal, China requires one miUion schools in place of fifty thou- 
 sand or more, which is the approximate number now, i. e., a 
 multiplication by twenty or an addition of some nine hundred 
 and fifty thousand schools having a staff of one million and a 
 half to two million of teachers, with all that is involved in the 
 preparation of these teachers and the financing of the scheme. 
 Since the establishment of the republic the problem of univer- 
 sal education has loomed large in the minds of Chinese states- 
 men and educators. Preliminary steps are being taken by the 
 Ministry of Education to enforce under penalty the compul- 
 sory education laws requiring all children between the ages of 
 seven and fourteen to attend school. Great emphasis is now 
 being laid on primary education, and some adjustments and 
 combinations are also being made in higher education, the money 
 saved in the latter instance to be devoted to the establishment 
 of more primary schools of both grades in order to hasten uni- 
 versal education. It has often been said that in introducing 
 modern educational institutions, China made the mistake of 
 starting at the top and building downwards, overlooking in 
 her anxiety for universities, high schools, and middle schools, 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 151 
 
 the great importance of primary schools. Assuming this charge 
 to be true, the mistake is now being remedied, and primary ed- 
 ucation is receiving the attention which it deserves. 
 
 Training of Teachers 
 
 The difficulty of finding a sufficient number of competent 
 teachers has been one of the greatest impediments to the pro- 
 gress of modern education in China. At the very outset the 
 government and the people adopted and created the material 
 forms and forces of modern education such as school houses, 
 apparatus, maps, and the like, which were often ample and im- 
 pressive, but the authorities were not able to supply these schools 
 with a sufficient number of properly trained teachers. This 
 condition of affairs does not mean that the government failed 
 to take proper account of the problem, leaping in the dark, as 
 it were, into the work of introducing modern education. It 
 is rather to be explained by the fact that it is easy to set up a 
 school but it is hard to train a teacher. Teachers cannot be 
 made on short notice, though a school house can. They must 
 be in a sense grown, and growth, unlike manufacturing, takes 
 much time. Consequently, while there were school houses 
 and pupils in abundance there was a dearth of teachers. The 
 guns were made and mounted, so to speak, but there were not 
 sufficient gunners to fire them. The rapid growth of the new 
 educational system since its inception has made the problem 
 of supplying the modern schools with competent teachers in- 
 creasingly more difficult to solve. 
 
 The facts that China went into this work of educating a 
 quarter of the population of the globe without a sufficient body 
 of teachers and that the growth of the new educational system 
 has been probably more rapid than was anticipated, would 
 not have made the problem of supplying teachers so ser- 
 ious had China been able to recruit teachers from the old schools. 
 This she has not been able to do, although many of the old teach- 
 ing staff did find their way into modern schools. Chinese 
 scholars there were, and many of them too, but they lacked the 
 knowledge and the skill demanded of the teachers of modern 
 schools. Under the old educational system any one could set 
 up as a school teacher, and a great many scholars who had 
 attained the first degree in the examination, to say nothing of 
 
152 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 the host of others who had failed, made this their chief means 
 of obtaining a living. No certificate was required for teaching, 
 and no book or curriculum was compulsory, except that which 
 was universally established by tradition or usage. The instruc- 
 tion was usually imparted either in the home of the children 
 or in that of the teacher. Such private schools seldom comprised 
 more than twenty children. The kind of teaching tended to 
 develop memory rather than reasoning power. Under the new 
 system of education, the situation which the teacher has to face 
 is entirely different. He must know more than mere Chinese 
 classics and composition. He has to teach students in classes 
 instead of individually. Again, the teacher in a modern school 
 is expected to develop in the pupils the power of reasoning in- 
 stead of only mere memory. And the old-style teacher does 
 not easily lend himself to the new order. He is by training 
 conservative, inclined to cling to the methods to which he is 
 accustomed. He is himself so wedded to the old that he con- 
 fesses to a sort of intellectual awkwardness when he tries to 
 use the new learning and new methods. In his fear of making 
 mistakes, he confines himself closely to text-books. Conscious- 
 ly or unconsciously he still over-emphasizes the value of memory. 
 He himself is not trained to think and of course is not inclined 
 to adopt methods which quicken thought in his student. Mod- 
 ern pedagogy is to him so new a science that either he has little 
 appreciation of its worth, or, if he is able to appreciate, he is 
 not able to use it with facility and efficiency. 
 
 Under such circumstances, the Chinese government and the 
 people lost no time in resorting to various means to secure 
 proper teachers to meet the urgent demand. The most avail- 
 able source of teachers able in a way to meet the new sit- 
 uation was the graduates of the missionary schools which we 
 have already mentioned as the pioneers of modern education in 
 China. At the time when the new education was coming in on a 
 large scale, some of the better higher institutions managed by 
 missionaries had turned out many graduates more or less fitted to 
 assume the responsibility of modern teaching. It was but natural 
 that they were sought by the governmental as well as the pri- 
 vate schools. But the supply of teachers furnished by mission- 
 ary schools and colleges was far from being adequate, as the 
 demand was not only unusually great but was also constantly 
 increasing in amount and in urgency. 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 153 
 
 The second source of recruiting teachers for modern schools 
 in China was the ranks of the literati, many of whom, aware of 
 their uselessness in the altered conditions of society, have tried 
 to keep abreast of the times by acquiring modern knowledge 
 through a more or less hasty perusal of books, but this method 
 can give at best only imperfect and superficial information. 
 To many of these men, modern education is a thing which can 
 be gained by a short-cut; specialization, a thing which can be 
 undertaken without the necessity of grasping the fundamental 
 principles of knowledge. This type of men, whom we may call 
 amateur educators, was attracted to the teacher's occupation 
 under various circumstances and with various motives. Some 
 entered it under purely philanthropic or patriotic impulse, and 
 others took it up from economic considerations. While these 
 amateurs represent as a whole a more desirable class than the 
 old-style school teachers, by reason of their more progressive 
 ideas and greater earnestness of purpose, yet it is plain that 
 it would be a hazardous thing to entrust children to such guid- 
 ance in the training which practically decides their life career. 
 
 When the system was first inaugurated it was necessary to 
 ■secure foreign teachers, especially for the higher institutions, 
 beginning with the middle and higher schools. The number 
 of such teachers has never been very large, partly because com- 
 paratively few higher institutions of learning have been opened, 
 and partly because the expense involved is much greater. The 
 total number of foreigners employed in 1911 in the schools and 
 colleges of all the provinces, including the metropolis, was 545." 
 There were twenty-one foreigners in the service of the College 
 of Law in Peking and the Peking University engaged five pro- 
 fessors of law, eight of science and engineering, three of agricul- 
 ture, one of commerce, and four teaching in preparatory 
 class of the university. The Tsing Hua College in Peking 
 had eighteen American teachers, of whom nine were women.i* 
 For a time teachers from Japan were preferred partly because of 
 their familiarity with the Chinese written language, and partly 
 on the ground of economy since the salary was usually smaller 
 and the necessary travelling expenses were also less; but this 
 condition is no longer true. 
 
 » CWna Year Book, 1913, p. 392. 
 
 " Tsing Hua College: Bulletin of Information, No. 1. 
 
154 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 The qualifications of foreign teachers have been varied. Some 
 of them had had wide experience in educational work in China 
 and were sincere in their desire to help China in her effort to 
 develop a new educational system. On the other hand, there 
 were men who not only had no love for teaching, but who were 
 entirely ignorant of the rudimentary principles of education. 
 These men found their way into the schools through the cas- 
 ualness or carelessness with which foreign teachers were once 
 picked up. For during the early years the employment of foreign 
 teachers was left entirely in the hands of individual institutions, 
 and no uniform method or policy was adopted. It often hap- 
 pened that teachers were employed solely on the recommendation 
 of some interested person or organization. They were employed 
 and dismissed frequently, as the management of the school 
 passed from one authority to another. Furthermore, it not 
 infrequently happened that foreign instructors were engaged 
 to teach special or advanced subjects which no students were 
 ready to undertake. The result was that those specially quali- 
 fied teachers had to spend a large portion of their time in teach- 
 ing foreign languages or elementary subjects of study, instead 
 of the subjects for which they were engaged. This state of 
 affairs was brought to an end in 1908, when the Ministry of 
 Education, with the approval of the Throne, put into force a 
 set of rules according to which no foreign teachers could be em- 
 ployed in any of the modern schools of China without the sanc- 
 tion of the Ministry of Education. In case of military instruc- 
 tors the approval of the Ministry of War was necessary in ad- 
 dition to that of the Ministry of Education. 
 
 The fourth source of teachers was the returned students 
 from abroad. The number of teachers so recruited has been 
 comparatively small; especially is this true with respect to stu- 
 dents returned from America and Europe. The chief reason for 
 this state of affairs is that such students were urgently demanded 
 in governmental and business positions which offer liberal remun- 
 eration. Even those who did find positions in schools rarely 
 expected to devote their lives to teaching, but regarded it sim- 
 ply as a stepping stone to more lucrative employment. Indeed, 
 it was observed a few years ago that even students especially 
 sent out to be prepared for the profession of teaching were often 
 drafted into other departments of the government instead of 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 155 
 
 remaining in the service for which they had spent years of pre- 
 paration. With a view to remedying this evil, the Ministry of 
 Education in 1908 passed a law which required all students 
 sent out by the Ministry of Education to teach at least five 
 years upon their return to China. Before the completion of 
 this required term of service no other department of the govern- 
 ment can take them away to fill other positions. The strict 
 enforcement of some such law, aided by sufficient remuneration 
 and reasonably long tenure of office, should enable China to 
 secure and retain permanently the services of men who have 
 received thorough training as administrators and teachers in 
 higher institutions of learning, as commissioners of education, 
 inspectors of schools, or members of the boards of education, 
 both national and provincial. 
 
 By far the largest number of teachers were found among 
 graduates of Chinese normal schools and teachers' training 
 schools. The new law requires, as did the old, that the gradu- 
 ates of normal schools should, after completing the course of 
 study, devote themselves for a number of years to the work of 
 teaching. The length of service varies according to the kind 
 of training received. Any graduate of a normal school refusing 
 to render such service is required to pay back as a fine the whole 
 or a part of the cost of his education.^' 
 
 Thus far the number of teachers trained has not equaled 
 the number of teachers needed in different types of schools. 
 The reason given by the Ministry of Education for this deficit 
 is that in order to anticipate the yearly need of teachers one 
 must know the statistics of the population, but such statistics 
 have not been available. Consequently, it is impossible for the 
 educational authorities to estimate the appoximate number of 
 children of school age for each year and plan to train the re- 
 quired number of teachers. In 1911 the Ministry of Education 
 informed the different provinces that the increase of the number 
 of normal students should correspond to the increase in the 
 number of elementary schools, and this was really the first 
 step toward ensuring the training of the required number of 
 normal students. Since the establishment of normal schools 
 there has been a large number of graduates, most of whom had 
 
 " For further information regarding the length of service required and the re- 
 payment of the cost of education, see Educational Ordinance No. 34. 
 
156 
 
 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 taken short and special courses, rather than full courses. In 
 spite of the fact that some are of the opinion that there is now 
 an excess of normal graduates, the facts given below prove that 
 the number of teachers who have received a professional train- 
 ing is far from being sufficient. 
 
 During 1910 there were in China, excluding the missionary 
 schools and those private schools which were not recognized 
 by the government, 415 normal and teachers' training schools 
 with 28,572 students enrolled. The following tables show the 
 geographical distribution of schools and students as well as 
 the number of students enrolled in the several courses of the 
 various schools. 
 
 Distribution Accoeding to Provinces 
 
 Province 
 
 Schools Students Province 
 
 Schools Students 
 
 ChiU 28 2,040 
 
 Mukden 33 1,894 
 
 Kirin 7 470 
 
 Heilungkiang 4 236 
 
 Shantung 16 1,283 
 
 Shansi 17 812 
 
 Shensi 10 580 
 
 Honan 62 3,818 
 
 Kiangning 19 2,000 
 
 Kiangsu 5 493 
 
 Anhui 19 1,093 
 
 Chekiang.. 13 1,219 
 
 17 
 
 Hupeh 17 
 
 Hunan 16 
 
 Szeohuan 38 
 
 Kuangtung 9 
 
 Kuangsi 13 
 
 Yunnan 18 
 
 Kweichow 9 
 
 Fukien 8 
 
 Kansu 36 
 
 Singkiang 1 
 
 Total 415 
 
 Distribution According to Courses 
 
 Higher Normal Schools 
 
 PuU course 8 
 
 Elective course 14 
 
 Special course 8 
 
 Lower Normal 
 
 Full course 91 
 
 Short course 112 
 
 Teachers' Training Schools 182 
 
 Total. 
 
 .415 
 
 887 
 
 1,702 
 
 1,961 
 
 2,173 
 
 1,003 
 
 1,467 
 
 1,140 
 
 726 
 
 641 
 
 791 
 
 143 
 
 28,572 
 
 Students 
 1,504 
 3,154 
 691 
 
 8,358 
 7,195 
 7,670 
 
 28,572 
 
 The number of students in normal and teachers' training 
 schools during the seven years 1903-1910, was as follows: 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 157 
 
 Ygg^ Higher Lower Teachers' Training 
 
 Normal Normal Schools 
 
 1903 80 
 
 1904 1,500 90 
 
 1905 974 2,234 2,113 
 
 1906 1,069 5,031 2,088 
 
 1907 2,389 18,253 10,041 
 
 1908 3,890 27,474 13,583 
 
 1909 5,817 19,383 12,819 
 
 1910 5,349 15,553 7,670 
 
 •It appears from the above table that the number of students in 
 lower normal and teachers' training schools reached its highest 
 point in 1908, and then began to decrease; but that the number of 
 students in the higher normal did not reach its highest till 
 one year later, and that the decrease thereafter is not marked 
 as in the case of the other schools. This phenomenon may 
 be attributed to two causes. The first is that many of the 
 schools established in a wave of enthusiasm were not fully pre- 
 pared to meet the expense involved, and the result was that 
 they soon went out of existence. Those which survived were 
 in most cases better situated, financially and otherwise. The 
 second cause is that in the course of the last few years there 
 have been graduated from these schools, especially from the 
 short and special courses, a sufficient number of teachers to 
 staff the schools already established, and hence the demand 
 for teachers of that type is not so urgent as in former years; 
 moreover, most of those who expect to teach now prefer to take 
 full courses instead of short and special courses, which were 
 very popular in the early years of the development of education 
 in China. In fact, the Ministry of Education issued orders to 
 the effect that beginning in 1910 no more students should be 
 admitted to the special course of the higher normal and the short 
 course of the lower normal schools, for the alleged reason that 
 there had already been a sufficient number of men graduated 
 to fill positions of teachers in elementary schools. However, 
 since the establishment of the republic short courses lasting one 
 or two years have been introduced in normal schools and the 
 establishment of special institutions offering similar courses 
 for the training of rural teachers, has been authorized. 
 
 In view of the heterogeneous training of the men from whom 
 the modern schools of China had to recruit their teachers, the 
 
158 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 necessity of providing some system to prevent the unqualified 
 from making their way into the teaching corps soon became man- 
 ifest. In 1909 the Ministry of Education issued regulations 
 governing the certification of teachers for elementary schools. 
 In the following year a system for the certification of teachers 
 in lower normal and middle schools was adopted. According 
 to the provisions of these two systems, the power of certifying 
 teachers was in the hands of the Metropolitan Board of Education 
 in case of Peking, or in the hands of the Commissioners of Ed- 
 ucation in case of the provinces. In order that teachers for 
 elementary schools in districts far away from the provincial 
 capital might be more conveniently certified, the Commissioner 
 of Education had the power to appoint special oflacers to repre- 
 sent him. It was specifically stated in the regulations that the 
 men appointed for the certification of teachers should be educa- 
 tional officers thoroughly familiar with the method and prin- 
 ciples of education and possessing a good education and high 
 respectability. For the certification of teachers for elementary 
 schools, the examiners had to be teachers of special subjects^ 
 graduates of complete courses in higher normal schools, or 
 graduates of institutions which have the standing of the high 
 school. Those appointed for the certification of teachers for 
 lower normal and middle schools had to be well-known and well- 
 educated teachers of higher normal schools and technical schools 
 of high rank, or graduates of Chinese and foreign high schools 
 and colleges, who had had some experience in educational 
 work. 
 
 Under the republic a new system of certifying teachers has 
 been adopted, although it has not yet been put into practice. 
 According to this new system all primary teachers must possess 
 a teaching certificate. To obtain this certificate one must 
 be a graduate of either a normal school or other schools desig- 
 nated by the Minister of Education or must be a person whose 
 qualification to teach has been recognized by an association 
 to be organized in the provinces known as Chien Ting Wei Yiian 
 Hui, meaning the association of officers charged with the duty 
 of selecting and certifying teachers. The new system also re- 
 quires that all teachers in normal schools should possess certifi- 
 cates showing recognition by the same association as being: 
 qualified to teach in such schools. 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 159 
 
 From what has been said it seems clear that the present 
 ieaching staff of China is a conglomerate class, consisting of 
 graduates of mission schools, graduates of governmental, public, 
 and private schools giving a general education, returned stu- 
 dents from abroad, teachers from the old Chinese schools, am- 
 ateur teachers, foreign teachers, and graduates of normal and 
 teachers' training schools. The statistical report of the Min- 
 istry of Education for the year 1910 indicates that during that 
 year there were in the modern schools of China 89,766 teachers, 
 as against 73,703 for 1909, and 63,566 for 1908, showing a marked 
 increase in the teaching staff. Of these teachers, 84,755 were 
 in schools of general culture, 2,712 in technical and vocational 
 schools, and 2,299 in normal and teachers' training schools. 
 
 The character of the qualification of this teaching body can 
 be gained from the following statistics:^' 
 
 1. Schools op Gbneeal Culture 
 
 a. MIDDLE SCHOOLS 
 
 Qualification Number Percentage 
 
 Graduates of normal schools 848 25 . 82 
 
 Graduates of schools other than normal 1,260 38.35 
 
 Foreigners 91 2.79 
 
 Non-graduates and those who have not attended modem 
 
 schools 1,087 33.04 
 
 Totals 3,286 100.00 
 
 6. HIGHEB PRIMARY 
 
 Graduates of normal schools 6,867 40.20 
 
 Graduates of schools other than normal 3,172 18.57 
 
 Non-graduates and those who have not attended mod- 
 ern schools 7,005 41.01 
 
 Foreigners 36 ' .22 
 
 Totals 17,080 100.00 
 
 C. LOWER PRIMARY KINDERGARTEN 
 
 Graduates of normal schools 33,348 51.90 
 
 Non-graduates of normal schools 30,978 48.10 
 
 Totals 64,326 100.00 
 
 M Statistical Report of the Ministry of Education, 1910. 
 
160 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 2. Normal Schools 
 
 a. HIGHER NORMAL 
 
 Qualification Number Percentage- 
 
 Graduates of modern Bchools in China 152 32.55 
 
 Graduates from schools abroad 144 30.84 
 
 Non-graduates and those who have not attended mod- 
 ern schools 80 17 . 13 
 
 Foreigners 91 19.48 
 
 Totals 467 100.00 
 
 6. LOWER NORMAL 
 
 Graduates of normal schools 523 41 . 80- 
 
 Graduates of courses other than normal 353 28 . 10 
 
 Non-graduates and those who have not attended mod- 
 em schools 349 27.90 
 
 Foreigners 27 2.20' 
 
 Totals 1,252 100.00 
 
 c. teachers' training 
 
 Graduates of normal schools 334 57.58 
 
 Graduates of courses other than normal 126 21 . 73- 
 
 Non-graduates and those who have not attended mod- 
 em schools 116 20.00 
 
 Foreigners 4 .69 
 
 Totals 580 100.00 
 
 3. Technical 
 
 Graduates of modern schools in China 397 32.30 
 
 Graduates from schools abroad 370 31 . 70 
 
 Non-graduates and those who have not attended mod- 
 em schools 297 25.50 
 
 Foreigners 122 10.50 
 
 Totals 1,168 100.00 
 
 4. Vocational 
 
 Graduates of modem schools 748 48.20 
 
 Graduates from schools abroad 243 15.50 
 
 Non-graduates and those who have not attended mod- 
 ern schools 445 28.95 
 
 Foreigners 108 7.35 
 
 Totals 1,544 100.00 
 
Educational Problems of National Importance 161 
 
 Several facts in regard to these figures need emphasis. First, 
 the percentage of foreign teachers is greater in higher institu- 
 tions than in lower; second, comparatively few of the graduates 
 of modern schools have had any professional training; third, 
 there is a large percentage of teachers who either have never 
 attended any modern schools themselves or who have not grad- 
 uated. This last class includes all sorts of unemployed men 
 who considered teaching in the schools as a bed of roses, an 
 attractive opportunity to do a few hours of work and draw 
 a large salary. These facts go to show that the teaching corps 
 of the modern schools of China was, in 1910, far from being 
 competent and professional in character. In consequence of 
 this state of affairs the incompetency of the teachers in some 
 schools was most glaring. Some leading educators in China 
 are of the opinion that even the earlier graduates of normal 
 schools in China have proved for the most part unsatisfactory. 
 This criticism, if true, is not surprising. Most of the young 
 men who attended the normal schools had not had the mental 
 training of primary and secondary schools as a basis for more 
 advanced work. Moreover a large number of subjects in the 
 normal schools were taught in a superficial manner owing to 
 the overcrowding of courses of study which necessarily led to 
 sham and cram and also to physical weakness or inefficiency. 
 Considering the facts that the full course is now becoming pop- 
 ular with normal students, that the number of recitations per 
 week is being reduced, and that more and more of those who 
 enter the normal school will be graduates of primary and middle 
 schools of the modern type, it is but reasonable to expect that 
 from now on a better class of normal graduates will be turned 
 out into the teaching service. 
 
 Relating Education to Life 
 
 There is at least one more educational problem of impor- 
 tance deserving special mention, namely, the problem of effect- 
 ively relating education to the life of those who receive it. In 
 the western countries the conflict so long waged between for- 
 mal book training and the newer, more practical forms of ed- 
 ucation centering in the social and industrial needs of children, 
 may be said to have been settled theoretically, at least, in favor 
 of the latter, but in China this conflict has only just begun. 
 
162 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 For not until recent years has there been felt the need of bring- 
 ing about a closer adjustment of school work to the changing 
 social and industrial demands of the time and of making the 
 curriculum a means of preparing the pupils to solve the prob- 
 lems of their daily life. True enough, most of the modern 
 school subjects such as geography, civics, and the like, have 
 been introduced into the regular course of study, but these 
 subjects are often taught without much reference to the daily 
 life of the pupil or that of the community. As a result, a ser- 
 ious doubt has arisen in the minds of many of the Chinese as 
 to the efficacy of modern education in solving the perplexing 
 problems of the country. There is a feeling on the part of some 
 that both the subjects taught in school and the method used 
 in teaching those subjects do little good to the children. In- 
 deed, a loud cry has already been raised against this form of 
 education as failing to do what is expected of it." The charge 
 is made that from the moment a child enters school, he begins 
 to alienate himself from the life of the family and that of the 
 community, and by the time he graduates he is fit neither to 
 be a farmer nor to be a merchant. This serious charge against 
 new education, although it is not true of all schools, is yet not 
 made without grounds. The root of the trouble lies, as already 
 suggested, in the fact that much of the school work consists of 
 merely imparting knowledge without reference either to the 
 purposes which brought the children to school, or to the needs 
 of the community in which they live. To remedy the evil 
 something fundamental needs to be done both in the selection 
 of material for the curriculum and in the method of teaching 
 the various subjects of study. Fortunate it is for the new re- 
 public that these two problems are beginning to receive the 
 serious attention of her more progressive leaders in education. 
 
 » Mr. Huang Yen Pel, the commissioner of education of the province of Klangsu, 
 published in the fall of 1913 a pamphlet in which he disclosed some startling facts 
 regarding the character of the work done in some schools, and made a strong plea 
 for a more practical form of education. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 
 
 The development of the Chinese system of public education 
 having been traced through its many vicissitudes, and a more or 
 less critical study of a few of the important educational problems 
 of to-day having been presented, there remains the need for a 
 summarized statement of some of those facts revealed by the 
 study which have a significant bearing upon the future progress 
 of education in China. 
 
 Education and National Progress^ 
 
 The history of Chinese education forms an excellent example 
 of the important relation of school training to national progress. 
 "For many centuries Chinese education was purely literary, 
 philosophical, and ethical in character. There was little that 
 could be called concrete or practical in the modern sense of the 
 word, neither was there anything requiring the knowledge of 
 the experimental method or of inductive reasoning. Education 
 strongly resembled the form of training which prevailed in Europe 
 for two centuries after the revival of Greek learning. This pecu- 
 liar quality of Chinese education produced a prodigious effect on 
 the career of the nation. It accounts for the present compar- 
 atively backward condition of China, explaining why the country 
 made little progress in the arts of modern life and in the modern 
 sciences until the last decade. Since her contact with the west- 
 ern nations, her educational system has undergone a radical 
 change through the introduction of modern subjects of study 
 and the education of many of her students in foreign lands. 
 The effect of this change upon her national life has been marvel- 
 ous. It set the country on the high road of progress and reform. 
 A great revolution, at once political, industrial, and social, 
 is taking place under our very eyes. Educational reform in 
 China now forms the very pivot around which all other reforms 
 
 « Cf. Eliot, Charles W., The Concrete and Practical in Modem Education, pp. 1-7. 
 
 163 
 
164 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 turn, for it is to education that China is looking for the men 
 to steer the ship of state into the haven of safety. This close 
 relationship between education and national progress should 
 be an argument for the introduction of a more practical train- 
 ing in the public schools of China. 
 
 Education and Government Service 
 
 As in the West education was at one time regarded as a 
 preparation only for the ministry, for medicine, and for law, 
 so in China education was regarded for many centuries as a 
 preparation not for practical, every-day life, but for the narrow 
 official career. The highest ideal that parents used to hold* 
 up to their sons was official life. This ideal so dominated the- 
 Chinese mind that industrial pursuits came to be looked upon 
 with disdain, as unworthy of a scholar. Even now many grad- 
 uates of modern schools consider government position as the 
 legitimate reward of their schooling. This partly accounts 
 for the fact that schools of political science existing in large 
 numbers are often filled to overflowing, while industrial schools- 
 find difficulty in securing a sufficient number of students. The 
 mistake of making education merely a means of training for 
 official life is one which China cannot afford to repeat under the 
 new educational system. The experience of India in this matter 
 should be a warning to China. In the former country a large 
 number of young men are educated to pass the civil service 
 examinations, with the result that the supply is in excess of the- 
 demand. The political agitators in India are found among 
 this class which education has rendered unfit for anything ex- 
 cept employment in the government. This conception of ed- 
 ucation as preparation for official life, though it is gradually 
 passing away, must be quickly and entirely taken out of the 
 constitution of the Chinese mind and be replaced by the broader 
 conception which regards education not only as a preparation 
 for government service, but also as a means for training men for 
 all phases of life. The sooner this is done, the better it will 
 be for China. 
 
 Centralization Versus Decentralization 
 
 The question as to what kind of educational administrative 
 system China should aim to develop is no less serious. The 
 general political situation, the necessity for removing provincial 
 
Summary and Conclusions 165 
 
 and sectional feeling and substituting in its place a national 
 consciousness, the need for a national language instead of the 
 present babel of tongues, the importance of having common 
 national ideals and habits of disciplined obedience to law and 
 authority, all seem to call for a centralized > system of admin- 
 istration. On the other hand, the extent of the territory, the 
 necessity of adapting education to local needs, and the desira- 
 bility of providing opportunity for local initiative and for the 
 participation of the various social organizations in the admin- 
 istration of education, all demand that a decentralized system 
 of education be developed. Although the advantages of one 
 system often prove to be the disadvantages of the other, it is 
 nevertheless not impossible to secure such a blending of the 
 two that the benefits of both may be retained without sacrifi- 
 cing the important advantages of either. The system now in 
 vogue in China seems to be tending in this direction. The 
 Ministry of Education prescribes a general course of study 
 for the nation as a whole, but certain changes are allowed in 
 order to adapt it to local needs. Books written by individuals 
 for use as text-books in schools require the approval of the Min- 
 istry of Education, but each province has a text-book commission 
 charged with the duty of selecting, among the list of certified 
 books, those suitable to the needs of the province. These and 
 other arrangements all reveal the fact that while uniformity is 
 sought for, sufiicient room is left for the exercise of local initiative. 
 This tendency to avoid the dangers of the two extremes is, 
 on the whole, a wise one, and should be even more carefully 
 worked out. 
 
 The policy introduced after the establishment of the republic, 
 of having the central government responsible for the maintenance 
 of higher education, the provincial government for secondary 
 education, and the local government for all forms of primary 
 education, is also an excellent feature of the present adminis- 
 trative system, for it places a definite responsibility upon a defi- 
 nite authority and does away with all conflicts of interest, as well 
 as the shirking of responsibility in the administration of edu- 
 cation. 
 
 Curriculum 
 
 The elimination of the classics as a regular subject of study, 
 the reduction of the over-crowded curriculum, and the introduc- 
 tion of more modem subjects of study are steps in the right 
 
166 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 direction to make the curriculum what it should be. For 
 further improvement the following suggestion may be made: a 
 smaller proportion of the average school time should be given 
 to memory studies, e. g., language and the like, and a larger pro- 
 portion to scientific studies, to the domestic arts, to music and 
 drawing, and in general to the acquisition of skills. The teach- 
 ing of Mandarin should be widely introduced, in spite of the 
 difficulties involved, in order to hasten the unification of the 
 spoken language of China. 
 
 In the eagerness to learn from the West there is a danger of 
 over-emphasizing the importance of western education at the 
 expense of all that is really vital in the Chinese national life. 
 This danger should by all means be carefully guarded against. 
 For to give the Chinese an education only along lines laid down 
 as the best for men in the West would not guarantee the draw- 
 ing out of the best for the Chinese. There must be a comming- 
 ling of the best the West has to offer with that which has been 
 proved unquestionably best for China through the centuries 
 of her wonderful history Dr. Paul Monroe, in his address 
 before the Kiangsu Educational Association, struck the same 
 keynote when he said: "The task before the Chinese educators 
 is to preserve the best — the essential, not the detail — of their 
 old culture, and to add to it the essential — not the detail — of 
 western culture. It should be a fusion, not a substitution, 
 and a fusion not too rapidly or too radically undertaken." 
 
 In connection with the question of selecting materials for 
 the curriculum, there is a demand for a wider introduction of 
 hand-work, eye-work, and sense-training into the schools. The 
 new generation should be given every chance to become ac- 
 quainted with the concrete and the practical, and to gain a 
 knowledge of experimental method and inductive reasoning, 
 for it is undoubtedly true that most of the occidental progress 
 in the arts and sciences, in morality, and in manufactures, 
 transportation, finance, commerce, and trade has been accom- 
 plished within the last century by the use of the inductive method 
 of accurate observation, exact record, and limited inference'. 
 At all hazards, the rising generation of China must be given 
 a training in elementary science, in exact observation and faith- 
 
 2 Chinese Students' Monthly, December, 1913, p. 129. 
 -< Of. EUot, Charles W., Some Boada towards Peace, pp. S-S. 
 
Summary and Conclusions 167 
 
 ful record, for upon this training depends largely the ultimate 
 success of the new republic. The practice existing in Chinese 
 schools, of having groups of teachers and pupils take occasional 
 "walks" into the country is an excellent feature of the new 
 school system and should be fully utilized, for on these walks 
 there is an opportunity to teach the children to observe closely 
 and accurately, and to study the actual natural objects and not 
 pictures only or, worse still, mere descriptions. 
 
 Method of Education 
 
 Professedly China has done away with the traditional meth- 
 od of education which places a premium upon memorizing. 
 But manifestly such a strong feature of the educational system 
 which was in force for centuries cannot be eliminated in a brief 
 period of time. It is not surprising, therefore, that one still 
 finds in the schools of China too great a stress upon memorizing 
 and too little upon active use of materials by the student. In 
 some schools the dominant method is lecturing by the teacher, 
 and memorizing by the student. Too often the change has 
 been in the subjects memorized and not in the method used. So 
 long as this procedure continues, very slight advance can be made 
 in the mastery of western learning, whether it be language, 
 literature, mathematics, or natural science. To remedy the 
 evil, training in observation and the acquisition of skills, should 
 be made to predominate over memory training. The teachers 
 as well as the pupils in China, like those of other nations, need 
 constantly to be reminded of the fact that while the ability 
 to memorize is a great asset in one's education, it is after all 
 only a means to an end, only a tool. For, to quote the words 
 of Dr. Monroe again, "the real purpose of studying a language 
 is to be able to use it, of studying mathematics to apply it to 
 one's daily problems, or of studying science to be able to use 
 the method developed in the control of natural phenomena 
 for the service of man."^ 
 
 One more defect in method needs to be remedied, namely, 
 too great a stress upon the external form of things, upon the 
 verbal phase of education. Instead of emphasizing the process 
 or the method of science that is of great value, both the teacher 
 
 * Chinese Students' Monthly, December, 1913, p. 130. 
 
168 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 and the pupil are often satisfied to accept the conclusions reached 
 by others. This evil can be remedied by training teachers to 
 teach natural and physical sciences in such a way as to strength- 
 en the powers of observation and develop the capacity for mak- 
 ing an exact record of the facts and then drawing the just, limited 
 inference from the facts observed and compared. Dr. Eliot 
 maintains that the best way to withdraw the Oriental mind 
 in part from the region of literary imagination and speculative 
 philosophy which is congenial to it, and to give it the means 
 of making independent progress in the region of fact and truth, 
 is to teach science, agriculture, trades, and economics in all 
 Eastern schools by the experimental, laboratory method which 
 within fifty years has come into vogue among the Western 
 peoples. ' Commercial, industrial, and social reform would 
 be greatly promoted by the diffusion of such instruction among 
 the rising generation. In his opinion, such instruction, actively 
 carried on for fifty years throughout the Eastern world, would 
 modify profoundly the main differences between the working 
 of the Occidental and the Oriental mind. 
 
 Education of Women 
 
 In the earlier chapters we have observed that both the ancient 
 and the traditional system of public education made little or 
 no provision for the intellectual education of women, although 
 great emphasis was placed upon their moral training. Under 
 the new system the education of women is receiving greater 
 and greater emphasis. The provisions made one after another 
 for primary, normal, and middle schools for girls, the facts that 
 the government intends soon to establish two higher normal 
 schools for women and that there are in China to-day scores of 
 girls' normal schools, all go to show that Chinese opinion in 
 regard to the education of women has been so liberal and so well 
 carried into effect that a new status of women is beginning to 
 develop in China. It will not be long before special provision 
 for women's colleges must be made in order to meet the demand 
 for higher education. That Chinese women, like their sisters in 
 other nations, will soon take a more prominent part in public 
 life is inevitable. 
 
 5 Cf. Eliot, Charles F., Some Koads towards Peace, p. 66. 
 
Summary and Conclusions 169 
 
 Training of Teachers 
 
 The ample provision for making a proper normal training 
 financially possible to students by remitting the tuition fees 
 and by defraying their living expenses while at school is one 
 of the best phases of the present system of Chinese education. 
 This provision which ensures a large number of normal school 
 graduates for the teaching service, together with the proposed 
 adoption of a system of pensions for teachers and a standard 
 scale of teachers' salaries, should be sufficient inducements 
 not only to keep a larger number of teachers in service, but 
 also to enlist those of better education, such as returned stu- 
 dents and the like, in the teaching ranks. 
 
 The great need in China to-day is for more and better normal 
 schools of the higher type to train teachers for secondary schools. 
 At present such schools are few in number and their work falls 
 below the desired standard. The fact that the government 
 intends to establish in the near future six higher normal schools 
 for men and two for women is a clear indication that it is coming 
 to appreciate the importance of secondary education and to 
 realize that professional training for teachers underlies the suc- 
 cess of any educational scheme. 
 
 The emphasis that is being placed upon the education of wom- 
 en and the fact that women in China are taking a more prom- 
 inent part in public life indicate that the time is approaching 
 when most of the primary school positions will be filled by wom- 
 en, as is the case in some of the modern nations. This reminds 
 one of the great need for more girls' normal schools, which are 
 fewer by far than those for boys. At present the percentage 
 of women in the total number of those who are teaching in the 
 modern schools is not available, but it is generally known to 
 be very small. This is due to two reasons: first, the social 
 condition in China has not been favorable to the employment 
 of women in public schools, except in those established exclus- 
 ively for girls; and second, the number of women who are com- 
 petent to teach is much smaller than that of men owing to the 
 fact already suggested that while the education of boys has 
 always been encouraged in China, the general popularity of 
 education for women is comparatively recent. Indeed, women 
 teachers have been so scarce that there were not even enough 
 
170 The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 to supply the demand of the girls' schools. To be sure, it is 
 not difficult to find women to give instruction in embroidery, 
 Chinese language, and the like, but women who are competent 
 to teach the other subjects of the modern curriculum have been 
 very rare. Under such circumstances the employment of 
 men teachers, foreign women, and those who had taken short 
 courses in normal schools became necessary. 
 
 The present condition in China demands that much more 
 should be accomplished in the direction of improving the knowl- 
 edge and efficiency of those in the teaching service. Agencies 
 for that purpose, such as teachers' institutes, summer schools, 
 extension teaching, correspondence study, local teachers' meet- 
 ings and conferences, teachers' associations, and reading circles, 
 so frequently found in Western countries, are still sadly wanting 
 in China, although a good beginning has already been made in 
 this direction. This insufficiency of the various forms of or- 
 ganized effort for aiding professional growth becomes all the 
 more deplorable when one recalls the fact that no efficient sup- 
 ervisory corps has yet been developed. To remedy this state 
 Of affairs, it seems necessary for the government to offer incen- 
 tives, such as subsidies and the like, for the encouragement of 
 all effort put forth for the betterment of the teaching staff. 
 
 General Outlook 
 
 This treatment of the present educational situation in China 
 is necessarily incomplete. Perhaps enough has been said to 
 indicate the fact that the work of reconstruction in education, 
 and other phases of China's national life, is already well started 
 and started with a great determination to win. The problem 
 of supplying educational facilities for China's millions is so 
 gigantic in its scope and so complicated in its character that 
 its successful solution calls for not only the highest professional 
 skill, but a great deal of enthusiasm, patriotism, and altruism. 
 The system existing to-day, being in its infancy, is naturally 
 full of imperfections, especially when it is compared with the 
 systems of other enlightened nations, which still show room for 
 improvement in spite of decades of adjustment and toil. The 
 defects of the schools are, in the main, only those which might 
 have been expected and were almost unavoidable in the early 
 stages of an educational effort made on so large a scale and 
 
Summary and Conclusions 171 
 
 involving so wide a departure from previous methods. Of one 
 thing there is not the slightest doubt, namely, China is now 
 confident that given sufficient time she will be able to work out 
 her salvation in spite of the fact that the problem is fraught 
 with difficulties. For the present she needs time to regain her 
 breath from the shock which she experienced in the transition 
 from monarchy to republic. She needs time to consider what 
 are the elements in western education best adapted to further 
 her vital interests, and what are the elements in her own system 
 which have proved most favorable through the centuries of 
 her history and which should be preserved with all vigor and 
 tenacity. In short, she needs time to readjust herself to the new 
 conditions which now surround her. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 TABLE I 
 CuEEicuLUM OP Lower Pkimabt School 
 
 Subjects 1st Year 2nd Year Srd Year ^th Year 
 
 Morals 2 2 2 2 
 
 •Chinese language 10 12 14 14 
 
 Arithmetic 5 6 6 5 
 
 Manual work 1 1 1 1 
 
 D'-^^^S 1 1 {gMs'i 
 
 ■S^&^S 1 4 4 P ^ 
 
 Physical culture J \3 3 
 
 ■Sewing (girls) . . . . 1 2 
 
 Totals hours per week 22 26 ^?^^^ ^^ ^vllll 
 
 Subjects 
 
 Morals 
 
 'Chinese language. 
 
 Arithmetic 
 
 Chinese history. . . 
 
 <3eography 
 
 Nature study 
 
 Manual work 
 
 Drawing . 
 
 .Singing 
 
 Physical cultiu-e. . . 
 Agriculture (boys) . 
 
 Sewing (girls) 
 
 English 
 
 Total hours per week . 
 
 TABLE II 
 
 
 
 
 
 Higher Primary School 
 
 
 
 1st Year 
 
 Snd Year 
 
 Srd Year 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 Boys 2 
 
 Boys 
 
 2 
 
 Boys 
 
 2 
 
 Girls 1 
 
 Girls 
 
 1 
 
 Girls 
 
 1 
 
 Boys 2 
 
 Boys 
 
 2 
 
 Boys 
 
 2 
 
 Girls 1 
 
 Girls 
 
 1 
 
 Girls 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 4 
 (3) 
 
 Boys 30 
 
 Boys 30 
 
 Boys 30 (33) 
 
 Girls 30 
 
 Girls 32 
 
 Girls 32 (35) 
 
 173 
 
174 
 
 Appendix 
 
 TABLE III 
 
 CTJRHICTTL'nM OF THE BOTS' MIDDLE ScHOOL 
 
 Subjects 1st Year Snd Year 3rd Year 4th Year 
 
 Ethics 1 1 1 1 
 
 Chinese language 7 7 5 5 
 
 Foreign language 7 8 8 8 
 
 History 2 2 2 2 
 
 Geography 2 2 2 2 
 
 Mathematics 5 5 6 4 
 
 Nature study 3 3 2 
 
 Physics and chemistry . . . . 4 4 
 
 Civics and economics . . . . . . 2 
 
 Drawing 1 1 1 2 
 
 Handwork 1 1 1 1 
 
 Music 1 1 1 1 
 
 Physical culture 3 3 3 3 
 
 Total hours per week 33 34 35 35 
 
 TABLE IV 
 
 CURBICULTTM OP THE GiBIiS' MiDDLB SCHOOL 
 
 Subjects 1st Year 2nd Year 3rd Year 4'h Year 
 
 Ethics 1 1 1 1 
 
 Chinese language 7 6 5 5 
 
 Foreign language 6 6 6 6 
 
 History 2 2 2 2 
 
 Geography 2 2 2 2 
 
 Mathematics 4 4 3 3 
 
 Nature study 3 3 2 
 
 Physics and chemistry .. .. 4 4 
 
 Civics and economics . . . . . . 2 
 
 Drawing 1 1 1 1 
 
 Manual work 1 1 1 1 
 
 Household arts and gardening. ... 2 2 2 
 
 Sewing 2 2 2 2 
 
 Music 1 1 1 1 
 
 Physical culture 2 2 2 2 
 
 Total hours per week 32 33 34 34 
 
The Chinese System of Public Education 
 
 175 
 
 TABLE V 
 
 FtTLL COUBSE OP THE BOTS' NOEMAL ScHOOL 
 
 Subjects 
 
 Ethics 
 
 Education 
 
 ■Chinese literature 
 
 Writing 
 
 English 
 
 History 
 
 'Geography , 
 
 Mathematics 
 
 Nature study 
 
 Physics and chemistry. 
 Civics and economics. . 
 
 Drawing 
 
 Manual work 
 
 Agriculture 
 
 Music 
 
 Physical exercise 
 
 Preparaiory Regular Course A 
 
 Course 1st Year 2nd Year Srd Year 4th Year 
 
 10 
 2 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 2 
 5 
 2 
 2 
 4 
 3 
 
 2 
 4 
 
 1 
 4 
 4 
 1 
 5 
 2 
 2 
 3 
 2 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 3 
 
 4 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 2 
 3 
 
 *4 
 
 3 
 1 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 11 
 2 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 *4 
 
 3 
 1 
 4 
 
 Total hours per week. . . 32 33 
 
 'History of art 1, Manual work 3. 
 
 35 
 
 35 
 
 35 
 
 TABLE VI 
 
 (Subjects 
 
 Short Course op the Boys' Normal School 
 Regular Course B 
 
 One Year 
 
 Ethics 1 
 
 Education — history and theory 7; practice 8 15 
 
 Chinese literature 2 
 
 Mathematics 2 
 
 Natme study 
 
 Physics and chemistry 
 
 Drawing 
 
 Manual work 
 
 Agriculture 4 
 
 Music 2 
 
 Physical culture 3 
 
 Total hours per week 35 
 
176 
 
 Appendix 
 
 TABLE VII 
 
 Full Cotjesb op the Girls' Normal School 
 
 Preparatory Regular Course A 
 Subjects Course 1st Year 2nd Year Srd Year Jith Year 
 
 Ethics 2 11 11 
 
 Education . . 4 4 11 
 
 Chinese literature 10 6 3 3 2. 
 
 Writing 2 2 1 
 
 History 2 2 2 
 
 Geography 2 2 2 
 
 Mathematics 5 3 3 2 2 
 
 Nature study 3 2 2 
 
 Physics and chemistry . . . . 2 3 3 
 
 Civics and economics . . . . . . 2" 
 
 Drawing 2 2 2 1 1 
 
 Manual work 2 2 2 3 
 
 Household arts and garden- 
 ing . . . . . . 3 3 
 
 Sewing 4 4 4 4 2- 
 
 Music 2 2 2 1 1 
 
 Physical culture 3 3 3 3 2 
 
 EngUsh (3) (3) (3) (3) (3). 
 
 Total hours per week. . 
 
 30 
 
 32 
 
 33 
 
 33 
 
 33 
 
 33) 
 
 (35) 
 
 (36) 
 
 (36) 
 
 (36) 
 
 Subjects 
 Ethics 
 
 TABLE VIII 
 
 Short Coxtrse of the Girls' Normal School 
 Regular Course B 
 
 One Year- 
 
 Education — history and theory 7; practice 8 15 
 
 Chinese literature 3 
 
 Mathematics 2 
 
 Nature study 
 
 Physics and chemistry 
 
 Drawing 
 
 Manual work. 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 Music 2 
 
 Physical culture 3. 
 
 Total hours per week 34- 
 
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 A. Omginal Souboes 
 
 Catalogues, reports, and periodicals of the various schools in China. 
 
 Chang Chih Tung. China's only hope. F. H. Revell Co., 1900. 
 
 Chiao Yu Tsa Ch'ih or Educational Miscellany. Ciirrent numbers. 
 
 Chou-li or Ceremonials of Chou: Chapters Tien-kuan, Ti-kuan, Chim-kuan, 
 Hsia-kuan, Chiu-kuan, and Tung-kuan. 
 
 Chung Hua Chiao Yu Chieh or Chinese Educational World. Current num- 
 bers. Shanghai. 
 
 Educational Laws of the Manchu dynasty. Vols. 1-8. Supplement. Vols. 
 1-4. 
 
 Educational Laws of the RepubUc. 1912, 1913. 
 
 Educational Laws of Kiangsu Province. 1912. 
 
 HsiJBH Pu Kttan Pag: Official bulletins of the Ministry of Education. 
 
 Kiangsu Educational Administration Monthly. 1913. 
 
 Li Chi or Book of Ceremony: Chapters Wen Wang Shih Tzu, Ming Tang 
 Hui, Wang Chih, Chi I, Hsiieh Chi, Nei Tse. 
 
 Proceedings of the Central Educational Conference. 1912. 
 
 Report on Christian Education. World Missionary Conference, Vol. III. 
 
 Shu Ching or Book of History: Chapter Chou-kuan or Officers of Chou. 
 
 Statistical report of the Ministry of Education: 1907, 1908, 1909. 
 
 Wen Hsien T'xtng K'ao : An encyclopedia by Ma-tuan-lin. Section on schools. 
 Vols. 46-49 and Supplement; section Hsuan-chii or The choice and pre- 
 sentation of officers. Vols. 28-39 and Supplement. 
 
 Yung Wing. My life in China and America. H. Holt & Co. 1909. 
 
 B. Secondary Soueces 
 
 BioT. Essai sur I'histoire de I'instruction publique on Chine et de la corporation 
 
 des lettres. 1847. 
 Blakeslee, George H. China and the Far East. T. Y. Crowell & Co., 1910. 
 Burton, Margaret. The education of women in China. F. H. Revell Co., 
 
 1911. 
 Chambbrlin, T. C. China's educational problem. Independent, September 
 
 22, 1910. 
 Chiao Yu Shih. History of Chinese education. 
 
 Chih Na Chiao Yu Shih Lueh. A general history of Chinese education. 
 China Mission Year Book. 1912 and 1913. 
 China Year Book. 1913. 
 Chinese Recorder. Current numbers. Shanghai. 
 
 177 
 
178 Bibliography 
 
 Chinese Students' Monthly. Current numbers. Boston. 
 
 Eliot, Charles W. Some roads towards peace. Carnegie Endowment for 
 International Peace, Washington, D.C. 1913. 
 
 EuDO, H. Confucius and his educational ideals. In Proc. N.E.A., 1893, 
 pp. 308-313. 
 
 Fbteb, John. Admission of Chinese students to American colleges. U. S. 
 Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 2, 1909. 
 Report to the regents of the University of California on the educational 
 reform in China. University of California Chronicle, July, 1910. 
 
 Gascoyn-Cecil. Changing China. The Macmillan Co., 1912. 
 
 Giles, H. A. Chinese literature. New York. 1901. 
 
 Giles, H. A. Chuang Tzu: mystic, moralist, and social reformer. London. 
 1889. 
 
 Gbaybill, H. B. The educational reform in China. Master's thesis. Teach- 
 ers College, Columbia University. 1907. 
 
 Headland, Isaac T. Education in China. In Cyclopedia of Education, ed. 
 by Paul Monroe. The Macmillan Co., 1911. 
 
 Ho, Yen Sun. Chinese education jrom the western viewpoint. Rand Mc- 
 NaUy & Co., 1911. 
 
 HipPESLBT, Alpbed E. National education in China. Health Exhibition 
 Literature. Vol. XIX. London. 1884. 
 
 Hutchinson. Faber's Mind of Meneius. Shanghai. 1897. 
 
 Intemaiional Review of Missions. Current numbers. 
 
 Journal of the American Asiastic Association. Current numbers. New York. 
 
 King, H. E. The educational system of China as recently reconstructed. 
 U. S. Bureau of Education, Bulletin, No. 15, 1911. 
 
 Kuo, P. W. The effect of the revolution upon the educational system of 
 China. Educational Review, May, 1913. 
 
 Kuo, P. W. The training of teachers in China. Master's thesis. Teachers 
 College, Columbia University, 1912. 
 
 Lee, Tenq Hwee. The problem of new education in China. Bruges (Bel- 
 gium) A. Moens-Patfoort. 1911. 
 
 Lewis, Robebt E. The educational conquest of the Far East. F. H. Revell 
 Co., 1903. 
 
 Mabtin, W. a. The Chinese; their education, philosophy, and letters. Har- 
 per Brothers, 1881. 
 
 Martin, W. A. The lore of Cathay. F. H. Revell Co., 1901. 
 
 Reinsch, Paul S. The intellectual and political currents in the Far East. 
 Houghton Mifflin Co. 1911. 
 
 Rbnan, Ebnest. Histoire de I'instruction publique en Chine. (In his 
 Melanges d'histoire et de voyages.) Paris. 1898. 
 
 Report on the system of public instruction in China. U. S. Bureau of Edu- 
 cation, Bulletin No. 1, 1877. 
 
 Republican Advocate. Current numbers. Shanghai. 
 
 Ross, E. A. The changing Chinese. The Century Co., 1911. 
 
 Williams, Samuel W. The Middle Kingdom. C. Scribner's Sons. 1899. 
 
 World's Chinese Students' Journal. Current numbers. Shanghai. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abacus, in primary schools, 111 
 Academy, imperial, see Hanlin Acad- 
 emy 
 Action, social, develops morality, 143 
 Actions, six praiseworthy (Book of 
 
 Rites), 18 
 Administration, educational: 
 
 Chou dynasty, 26; Han, 36; 
 intermediate, 38, 39; T'ang, 40; 
 Sung, 45-47; Mongol, 62; Ming, 
 54, 55; Manchu, 59, 61; new Min- 
 istry of Education, 87-89; sub- 
 sidiary authorities, 89, note; regu- 
 lations of 1906, 90; national educa- 
 tional survey, 90; national inspec- 
 tion, 92; provincial and local sys- 
 tems—before 1906, 94; 1906-11, 
 94-96; statistics (1911), 107-109; 
 control of text-books, 106; tempor- 
 ary policy of Republic, 111-113; 
 reorganization, 115-118; system 
 still provisional, 118;present status, 
 121-127, 133-135; suggestions for 
 future, 136-140, 144-162. See al- 
 w Age, school; Admission to 
 schools; Btireau, of education; 
 Bureau, educational; Centraliza- 
 tion; Conferences; Maintenance 
 of schools; Missions, educational, 
 Number of schools. 
 Admission to schools, Chou dynasty, 
 22-24: 
 
 first modern system: higher 
 primary, 80; middle and higher, 
 81; university and school of re- 
 search, 82; industrial schools, 84 
 system of 1912: primary, 102; 
 higher primary, middle, industrial, 
 normal, 118; girls' normal, 104; 
 
 preparatory department of higher 
 normal, professional school, univer- 
 sity, 118 
 Advisers, four kinds created by Min- 
 istry of Education, 88 
 Age, school, Chou dynasty, 24; Man- 
 chu, 60 
 Age-scale, system of 1912, 119 
 Aged, of the people, entertained in 
 college for lower education, 10, 
 and note, 16; of the state, in col- 
 lege for higher education, 10, and 
 note, 16 
 Agitators in India, a warning to 
 
 China, 164 
 Agricultural training schools, 84 
 Agriculture, treatises on, mentioned, 
 50; colleges of, 66; 
 
 first modem system : higher prim- 
 ary, 80; university, 82; industrial 
 teachers' training school, 84; 
 
 system of 1912: primary schools, 
 127, 173; normal, 129, 130, 174; 
 university, 123, 124; professional 
 school of, 124. See also Gardening 
 Aim of education, ancient, 14; in 
 Chou dynasty, 18; of primary 
 school, 80, 101 ; middle and higher, 
 81; normal, 83; industrial schools, 
 84; modern educational system of 
 China, 89; "language-made-easy" 
 school, 102; half -day school, 102; 
 as published in 1906 and in 1912, 
 114 
 Almanac, governmental, 116 
 Alphabet, Mongol, constructed, 51 
 America, number of Chinese students 
 (1910), 107. See also Missions, 
 educational; Students abroad. 
 
 179 
 
180 
 
 Index 
 
 Ancient education, aim, 14, 18; con- 
 tent, 10-13; method, 13-14; resem- 
 blance to that of the Renaissance, 
 163. See also Educational system 
 
 Ancient writings, burned, 30; sought 
 for, 32, 34 
 
 Anhui, inspected in 1909, 92; number 
 of modern schools and students 
 (1910), 156; in third inspectorial 
 division (1913), 116 
 
 Anthem, national, adoption discussed, 
 114 
 
 Appointments, official, of graduates 
 of higher schools, 89, note. See 
 also Degrees; Examination system. 
 
 Apprentice schools, 79, 84, 89, note, 
 119, 126 
 
 Archery, 13, 17; and a liberal educa- 
 tion, 18; studied in spring and 
 summer, 24; as preparation for 
 office, 27; examination in, 51, 56; 
 encouraged by T'ai Tsu, 54; in 
 school course, 59, 60 
 
 Architecture, in first modern school 
 system, 82; naval, 82 
 
 Arithmetic, use of abacus. 111; time 
 allotment in primary schools, 173. 
 See also Mathematics 
 
 Arms, technology of, in first modern 
 school system, 82. See also Arch- 
 ery; Military arts; MiUtary science 
 
 Art, experts in Ministry of Educa- 
 tion, 115; professional school of, 
 124 
 
 Arts, six, corresponding to Trivium 
 and Quadrivium, 18; in encyclo- 
 pedia, 54 
 
 Association for examination and 
 certification of teachers, origin 
 and growth, 168 ; for middle schools, 
 122; for normal schools, 126 
 
 Associations: 
 
 educational: unified and regu- 
 lated by Ministry of Education, 
 90; total number, 107; number in 
 certain provinces (1910), 108 
 teachers' : needed, 170 
 
 Astronomy, schools of, Mongol dyn- 
 
 asty, 52; Ming dynasty, 56; in 
 encyclopedia, 54; in first modem 
 school system, 82; in system of 
 1912, 124 
 Athletics, and moral character, 143 
 Attitude, past and present, toward 
 
 education, 6 
 Aurore, a Cathoho university, 137 
 Austria, number of Chinese students 
 (1910), 107. See also Missions, 
 educational; Students abroad 
 Authority, need for habits of sub- 
 mission to, 165 
 
 Bacteriology, in first modem school 
 system, 83 
 
 Bamboo books, 13 
 
 Banking, taught in first modem 
 school system, 82; in system of 
 1912, 124 
 
 Bannermen, 58, note; schools for 
 their children, 58, 60 
 
 Baron I, first minister of religion, 9 
 
 Bashpa, and Mongol alphabet, 51 
 
 Begiimings, of educational effort, 7; 
 of modem schools, 64-66 
 
 Belgium, educational biireau of Chi- 
 nese legation, 97; number of Chi- 
 nese students (1910), 107. See 
 also Missions, educational; Stu- 
 dents abroad 
 
 Bell, Chinese monitorial system re- 
 sembling that of, 37 
 
 Bibliography, 177-178. See oZso Data 
 
 Biology, in middle schools, 81; uni- 
 versity, 82; normal, 83. See also 
 Nature study 
 
 Biot, on school age in Chou dynasty, 
 24 
 
 Bhnd, administration of schools for, 
 121 
 
 Board of Civil Offices, 98 
 
 Board of Education, metropohtan, 
 duties, 89, note; 158; and social 
 education, 113 
 
 Boards, local, for the promotion of 
 education (1906), 90 
 
 Boards of Education, provincial, 
 
Index 
 
 181 
 
 before 1906, 94; in regulations of 
 1906, 90; organization and duties, 
 95; number (1910), 107 
 
 Board of Rites, and examinations, 
 75, 98. See also Ministry of Rites 
 
 Book of Rites, 11, 16, 17, 18-21; 
 on examinations, 23; on school 
 oflBcers, 25; silent on education of 
 women, 20 
 
 Books, form of earliest Chinese, 8, 
 note 
 
 Books in English on Chinese educa- 
 cation, v 
 
 Botanical works, spoken of, 50 
 
 Botany, 123, 124. See also Biology 
 
 Boxer outbreak, effect on modern 
 education, 72; indemnity fund and 
 Shansi University, 73; scholarships, 
 97; 98, note 
 
 Boy's training and man's life, Chou 
 dynasty, 19 
 
 Bureau, of education, district, re- 
 places board of education, (1913) 
 118; of general education, duties, 
 116; of social education, duties, 
 112, 116; of technical or profession- 
 al education, duties, 116; educa- 
 tional, of Chinese legations in 
 foreign countries, 97; educational 
 exhorting, 96: nimiber in certain 
 provinces and total number (1910), 
 108; of textbooks, 88. See also 
 Missions, educational; Students 
 abroad. 
 
 Bureaus (three) of Ministry of Edu- 
 cation under Republic, 115; duties 
 of each, 116 
 
 Buddhism, and education, Sung 
 dynasty, 48; and philosophy, 49; 
 in encyclopedia, 54 
 
 Buddhist temples, and modem schools 
 70, 72, 73, 147 
 
 Buddhists and classical education, 39 
 
 Building, course in, 124 
 
 Calendar, revised under Mongols, 51; 
 
 western, adopted by Republic, 132 
 Calligraphy, college of, 40; school 
 
 of, 46 
 
 Canton, school of languages, 89, note; 
 schools crippled by Revolution of 
 1911, 110 
 
 Career of boy and man, dynasty of 
 Chou, 19 
 
 Career of girl, dynasty of Chou, 20, 21 
 
 Catalog of Imperial Library, 59 
 
 Catholic missionary statistics (1912), 
 136, 137 
 
 Centralization, the policy of the 
 Chou dynasty, 28; discussed at 
 Emergency Conference, 114. See 
 also Decentralization 
 
 Ceremonial Rites of Chou, 11; on 
 education of women, 21; school 
 officers mentioned in, 25; on num- 
 ber of schools, 26 
 
 Certification of teachers, before and 
 after the Revolution, 158. See 
 also Teachers 
 
 Chang An, western capital, 43 
 
 Chancellor, hterary, his duties and 
 assistants, 94; supervises certain 
 examinations, 62 
 
 Chang Chih Tung, introduces West- 
 em education in Wuchang, 66; 
 his book advocating modem schools 
 • 70; sends students to study abroad, 
 76; advises sending older students 
 abroad, 77; member of Commis- 
 sion to plan national public school 
 system, 78; advocates gradual 
 abohtion of examination system, 86 
 
 Chang Pai Hsi, advises sending 
 older students abroad, 77; member 
 of Commission to plan national 
 pubUc school system, 78; advo- 
 cates gradual abohtion of examina- 
 tion system, 86 
 
 Chang Tsai, philosopher, 49 
 
 Character, Chinese, effect on insti- 
 tutions, 34; moral, school devel- 
 opment of, 141-143 
 
 Chart, showing first modem school 
 system, 70; showing school system 
 as reorganized in 1913, 119 
 
 Charioteering, and a liberal educa- 
 tion, 18 
 
182 
 
 Index 
 
 Chefoo Naval Academy, 89, note 
 
 Ghekiang, inspected in 1909, 92; 
 number of modem schools and 
 students, (1910), 156; in third 
 inspectorial division of 1913, 116; 
 sends many students abroad, 107 
 
 Chemistry, plea for its emphasis in 
 HanUn Academy, 75; in first 
 modem school system, 81-83; agri- 
 cultural, 82 
 
 under the RepubUc: in middle 
 schools, 128, 129, 174; in normal, 
 129, 130, 175, 76; in university, 
 123; agricultural, 124; industrial, 
 124 
 
 Chemical engineering, 82 
 
 Chen Kuang Sheng, students of 
 highest standing, 61 
 
 Cheng brothers of Sung djmasty, 49, 
 57 
 
 Cheng Chien, college of perfection 
 and equalization, 15, 16, 17; 
 amalgamated with new Ministry 
 of Education, 88. See also Kuo 
 Tzti Chien 
 
 Cheng Hao, philosopher, 49 
 
 Cheng Hsiian, on monitorial schools 
 of Han dynasty, 37; re-interprets 
 the classics, 48 
 
 Cheng I, philosopher, 49 
 
 Cheng Wu Ch'u, and creation of 
 Ministry of Education, 87 
 
 Chentu, schools crippled by Revolu- 
 tion of 1911, 110 
 
 Ch'i and li, matter and force, 49 
 
 Chien Sheng, students of Imperial 
 Academy, 60 
 
 Chien Sung, patron of letters, 59 
 
 Chien Ting Wei YUan Hui, certi- 
 ficating authority in provinces 
 under Republic, 158 
 
 Chih Chtt, form of selecting ofiScials, 
 41 
 
 Child life, dynasty of Chou, 19, 20 
 
 Chili, meaning as appUed to ting 
 and chou, 95 
 
 Chih, viceroy asks for physical 
 science in examinations, 66; sends 
 many students abroad, 107; educa- 
 
 tional progress, 108; proportion 
 of children of school age in school 
 (1909), 149; number of modem 
 schools and students (1910), 156; 
 in first inspection division of 
 1913, 116 
 
 Chin dynasty, 15-32 
 
 Chin Lan Pin, and first educational 
 commission to America (Yale), 67 
 
 Chin Shih, promoted scholar, quali- 
 fications for, 27, 42; conferred by 
 military examination, 44; qualifi- 
 cations for, under Sungs, 47; 
 given in Chin language, 50; re- 
 lation to other degrees, 62; awarded 
 to graduates of modem schools, 
 75; modem school for holders of, 
 85; conferred upon students return- 
 ed from abroad 98; its present 
 meaning, 99 
 
 Ch'in Shih Huang, becomes emperor, 
 30; orders burning of classics, 30; 
 his other acts, 32; his decrees 
 reversed, 34 
 
 Chin Shih Kuan, school of doctors, 
 79,85 
 
 Chin T'ien Chien, imperial obser- 
 vatory, 52, 61 
 
 Chinese, reason for long delay in 
 their development of science, xi; 
 summary of their achievements, xii 
 value of a history of their educa- 
 tion, 1; Chinese abroad, and Emer- 
 gency Educational Conference, 113 
 
 Chinese education, recent books in 
 English on, v 
 
 Chinese language, see Language 
 
 Chinese Maritime Customs, educa- 
 cational duties, 89, note 
 
 Ching, 27 
 
 Ching Tu Hsueh, dynasty of T'ang, 
 41 
 
 Ching Wei Wu Hsiieh, school for 
 sons of military oflicers, 55 
 
 Chino-Japanese war, effects upon 
 educational reform, 69 
 
 Chins, educational conditions among, 
 50 
 
 Chio Lo, Manchu nobles, 60 
 
Index 
 
 183 
 
 Chio Lo Hsueh, schools for Manchu 
 nobles, 60 
 
 Cho, dance, dynasty of Chou, 19 
 
 Chou, district, 17, and note; depart- 
 ment, instituted by Wu-ti, 35, 
 note; relation to other adminis- 
 trative vinits, 95, note 
 
 Chou dynasty, 15-32; examination 
 means appointment, 44 
 
 Chou Hsiieh, departmental schools, 
 55,61 
 
 Cho"u-li, see Ceremonial Rites of Chou 
 
 Chou Kung, one founder of Chou 
 dynasty, 15 
 
 Chou Tun I, philosopher, 49 
 
 Chou-tzQ, officer with educational 
 duties, 25 
 
 Chu Hsi, influence of, 49, 57 
 
 Chti Jen, relation to other degrees, 
 62; given in Chin language, 50; to 
 graduates of modem schools, 75; 
 to students returned from abroad, 
 98 
 
 Chu River, Confucius's school on, 30 
 
 Ch'uan Hsiieh P'ien, and its wonder- 
 ful effects, 70, 71 
 
 Ch'uan Hsiieh So, educational ex- 
 horting bureau, 96; district board 
 of education, abolished in 1913, 117 
 
 Ch'uan Hsiieh Yuan, educational 
 promoter, 96 
 
 Chuang Tzti, philosopher, 42 
 
 Chun, prefecture, 35, note 
 
 Chun Ti, emperor, 52 
 
 Chung Cheng, officers to select candi- 
 dates for office, 39 
 
 Chung Huan Hsiieh, Taoist colleges, 
 42 
 
 Chung Wen Kuan, educational insti- 
 tution, 40 
 
 Circuit schools, 52 
 
 Civics, in middle schools, 81, 128, 
 174; normal, 129, 130, 175, 176. 
 See also Civil government 
 
 Civil engineering, 82 
 
 Civil government, and earliest mod 
 em colleges, 70; and the examina- 
 
 tion system, 71; and Hanlin Acad- 
 emy, 75. See also Civics; Econo- 
 mics; Government, courses in; 
 Political economy; Pohtical science 
 
 Civil service examination system, 
 see Examination system 
 
 CiviUzation of China, zenith of, 15 
 
 Clan schools, 102 
 
 Classics, early admiration of, 6; 
 whole content of education, 31, 34; 
 and Ch'in Shih Huang, 30, 32; 
 professors of, 36; and the candi- 
 dacy for degrees, 42, 51; enthusias- 
 tically studied, 45; re-interpreted 
 and imified, 48; translated into 
 Chins, 50; translated into Mongol, 
 61 ; new edition of the thirteen Con- 
 fucian, 69; in first modem school 
 system, 80-83; in primary schools, 
 94, 100; still dominating in the edu- 
 cational system, 100; comparison 
 with western struggle against, 100; 
 emphasized in one course of middle 
 schools, 103; to be entirely elimi- 
 nated from primary schools, 111, 
 127, 128; time allotment in revised 
 curriculum, 100, 101, 175, 176; 
 moral effects of training in, 141 
 
 Co-education debated, 94 
 
 College, for lower'education, 9, 16-18, 
 36, 37, 55; for higher education, 
 9, 15-18, 36, 37, 55; of the 
 east, 9; of the west, 9; of the 
 left, 9; of the right, 9; of perfec- 
 tion and equalization, 15-18, 25; 
 Pau Kung, in capital cities, 17; 
 of philosophy, 38; of scholars, 38; 
 for sons of the state, 38; of history, 
 38; of graduate scholars, 38; of 
 hterature, 38; having professors 
 of the five classics, 38; national, 
 38, 45; Taoist, 42; imperial, the 
 nursery of high functionaries, 43; 
 professors poorly paid, 43; of 
 foin: gates re-established, 45; of 
 medicine, 52; medical, for the 
 army, 66; provincial, 52; of tele- 
 
184 
 
 Index 
 
 graphy, 65; of interpreters, 65; 
 imperial naval, at Nanking 66; 
 of mining and engineering at 
 Wuchang 66; Nanyang, estab- 
 lished in Shanghai, 70; Nanyang, 
 and the Hanlins, 75; Shantung 
 provincial, 73; degrees merely 
 academic, 99. See also Tsing Hua 
 College 
 
 Colleges, earUest on record, 9, 10; 
 of T'ang dynasty, 40; Taoist, 42; 
 reorganized, 43; their maintenance. 
 Sung dynasty, 47; of medicine 
 founded, 50; in the provinces, 59, 81 ; 
 of agriculture, of languages, of 
 mechanics, of military science, 
 and of mining, established, 66; 
 and the Boxer outbreak, 72; 
 provincial, 81; their share in the 
 revolutionary movement, 109; 
 number of Protestant missionary 
 (1912), 136; Catholic, 137; mis- 
 sionary, and the franchise, 138 
 
 Commerce, in first modem school 
 system, 80-82, 84; system of 1912, 
 127; foreign, 124; professional 
 school of, 124 
 
 Commission, to search for mss. of 
 the classics, 34; to draw up detailed 
 plan for national public school - 
 system, 78; chart embodjdng this 
 plan, 79; elucidation of the chart, 
 80-85. See also Missions abroad 
 
 Commissioner of Education, Ti 
 Hstieh Szti, 94; his relation to 
 other officials, 94, 95; appoints 
 district inspectors, 96; certifies 
 teachers, 158 
 
 Commissions, educational, see Mis- 
 sions abroad 
 
 Commissions, missionary educational, 
 137 
 
 Common people, ancient schools for, 
 10 
 
 Competitive examination system, see 
 Examination system 
 
 Compositions, written in examination, 
 56 
 
 Compulsory education, discussed by 
 first central educational conference, 
 93; in lower primary schools, 118; 
 its enforcement in China, 150 
 
 Conclusions drawn from this history, 
 163-171 
 
 Conduct records, 134 
 
 Conference, educational, first central 
 (1911), 93; problems discussed, 
 93, 94; 
 
 emergency central: membership, 
 113; purpose, 113; topics dis- 
 cussed, 114; influence, 114; pro- 
 posed organization of a higher, 114 
 
 Conferences, religious, and religious 
 education, 137; teachers', needed, 
 170 
 
 Confucian Canon, one reason for its 
 influence, 34; its chief commenta- 
 tor, 49; in the encyclopedia, 54 
 
 Confucianism comparable to Cicer- 
 onianism, 35 
 
 Confucius, on memorizing and self- 
 activity, 22; work and works, 29; 
 characteristics of, 30, 31; effect 
 of veneration for, 34; works ex- 
 pounded in second century, 34; 
 influence on philosophy, 49; de- 
 scendants in the national university 
 60; ideals appearing in aim of 
 modem education, 114; ideals 
 appearing in ethical text-books, 
 141; worship discussed by edu- 
 cational conference, 114 
 
 Conservator, school officer, Chou 
 dynasty, 25 
 
 Construction materials, course in, 124 
 
 Consular system, studied in universi- 
 ty, 124 
 
 Content of education, ancient, 10-13, 
 (summary, 13); Chou and Chin 
 djmasties, 18; Han dynasty, 37, 
 48; T'ang, 40, 41, 48; Sung, 45, 
 46; Mongol, 51, 52; Ming, 53, 54, 
 56; Manchu, 60. See also Course 
 of study; Curriculum 
 
 Continuation work, in system of 
 1912, 118 
 
Index 
 
 185 
 
 Controller of customs, educational 
 duties, 89, note 
 
 Convents, for training of Catholic 
 nuns, 137 
 
 Correspondence schools needed, 170 
 
 Cosmogony, in encyclopedia, 45 
 
 Council for self government, 96; cen- 
 tral educational, its purpose, meet- 
 ings, membership, 93; similar or- 
 ganizations in other countries, 93; 
 general, of the Ministry of Edu- 
 cation, its duties, 115 
 
 Councillors of provincial boards of 
 education after 1906, appointment 
 and duties, 95 
 
 Country school union, 96 
 
 Course of study, as illustrating the 
 blending of centralized and de- 
 centralized administration, 165. 
 See also Content of education; 
 Curriculum 
 
 Curriculum, as outlined in the Ch'uan 
 Hsueh P'ien, 70; suggested for 
 Hanlin Academy, 76; for first 
 modern school system, 78; primary, 
 80; middle, 81; higher school or 
 provincial college, 81; universities, 
 82; school of research, 82; normal, 
 S3; industrial, 84; changes in 
 primary, 100; of girls' primary, 101; 
 of private schools reformed, 103; 
 changes in middle schools, 103; 
 of newly established girls' normal, 
 104; changes in normal, 104; chang- 
 es in industrial, 105; temporary, 
 for middle, primary, and normal 
 schools, 111; of middle and lower 
 normal shortened (1912), 111; as 
 reorganized under the Repubhc, 
 127-131, (summary, 131); need 
 of adjusting to life needs, 162; re- 
 cent improvements in, 165; sug- 
 gestions for further improvements, 
 166; of modem schools in detail, 
 173-6. See also Content of edu- 
 cation; Course of study 
 
 Customs and taxes, in first modern 
 system, 82; in system of 1912, 124 
 
 Customs, controller of, educational 
 duties, 89, note; school training 
 for service in, 89, note 
 
 Data for this book, chief sources of, 
 v; complete list, 177, 8 
 
 Dawn, a CathoUc university, 137 
 
 Decadence of ancient educational 
 system, 15-32; of education in 
 later Han dynasty, 37 
 
 Decentralization in educational ad- 
 miaistration, reasons for, 165; 
 versus centralization, 164; a blend- 
 ing desirable, 165; instances of 
 this blending, 165. See also Cen- 
 tralization 
 
 Degree, of Chin Shih, 41, 42, 47, 
 50, 62, 75, 98, 99; Chu Jen, 
 75; Hanlin, highest reward for 
 graduates of modem school, 75, 
 98; Kung Shen, 75, 99; MLag Ching, 
 42, 44; Ming Fa, 42; Ming Suan, 
 42; Sheng Ytian, 99; Siu T'sai, 42 
 
 Degrees and their requirements, 
 T'ang dynasty, 41, 42; Sung dyn- 
 asty, 47; given by recommendation 
 of professors, 47; in charge of 
 minister of civil offices, 89, note; 
 in charge of bureau of technical or 
 professional education, 116 
 
 Degrees, mihtary, 51; to graduates 
 of modern schools, 75; for Chinese 
 who had studied abroad, 76, 98; 
 academic, carry no official prefer- 
 ment, 99; official, their abolition 
 discussed by first central educa- 
 tional conference, 94; official, abol- 
 ished for college graduates, 98, 
 and graduates of primary and 
 middle schools. 111 
 
 Department, relation to other ad- 
 ministrative units, 95; officers, 96; 
 educational work handed over to 
 the council for self-government, 96; 
 of education, and the creation of 
 ministry of education, 88; of edu- 
 cation, replaces bureau of edu- 
 cation, 117; of education (prov- 
 
186 
 
 Index 
 
 incial), its organization, 117; of 
 finance, 88; of general supervision, 
 88; of industrial education, 88; 
 of publication, 88; of state, and 
 the creation of ministry of educa- 
 tion, 87; of technical or special 
 education, 88 
 
 Development of education from 206 
 B. C. to 1842 A. D., 33-63: under 
 Han dynasty, 33-37; from Han to 
 T'ang dynasty, 37-39, (simmiary, 
 39); under T'ang dynasty, 39-44; 
 Sung dynasty, 45-51; Yiian or 
 Mongol dynasty, 51-53; Ming dyn- 
 asty, 53-58; Ching or Manchu 
 dynasty, 58-62; 106-109 
 
 Director, of music, his duties, Chou 
 dynasty, 25; of rituals, his duties, 
 25; of study, his duty, 25 
 
 Discipline, school, 132, 144-146; in 
 modern schools, adversely criti- 
 cised, explanation, 144, 145; rea- 
 sons for present decrease of diffi- 
 culty, 145; suggestions for further 
 improvement, 146 
 
 Discovery of brush writing, effect, 
 31; of easier system of writing 
 characters, 32; of paper making, 34 
 
 District, schools, 62; relation to 
 other administrative units, 95; 
 officers, 96; educational work hand- 
 ed over to the Council for Self- 
 government, 96 
 
 Divination, encouraged by Mongols, 
 52 — ^by Mings, 56; in encyclopedia, 
 54 
 
 Divisions of China, and alternating 
 unions, 37, 38; inspectorial, twelve 
 (1909), 92; eight (1913), 116 
 
 Doctors, school of (Chin Shih Kuan) 
 79,85 
 
 Drawing, in first modem school 
 system: 80, 81, 83; in girls' primary 
 school, 101; 
 
 in system of 1912: primary 127, 
 173; middle, 128, 129, 174; normal, 
 129, 130, 175, 176 
 
 Dualism, 49 
 
 Dumb, authorities charged with es- 
 tablishing schools for, 121 
 
 Dynastic histories, new editions of, 
 59 
 
 Dynasties not favorable to educa- 
 tion, 44 
 
 Dynasty, development of education 
 under each, see Development of 
 education 
 
 Economics, in middle schools, 81„ 
 
 128, 174; in normal schools, 81, 
 
 129, 175, 176. See also Civics; 
 Government, courses in; Political' 
 economy; Political science 
 
 Edicts of reform, see Reform edicts. 
 
 Education, attitude, past and present, 
 of Chinese toward, 6; early recog- 
 nition as function of government, 
 9; popular, actually provided in 
 Chu dynasty, 17 — in charge of 
 bureau of social education, 116; 
 military. Sung dynasty, 51; period 
 of transition from traditional to- 
 modern, 64-86; in curriculum of 
 first modem school system, 83, 104; 
 effect of Revolution of 1911 upon, 
 110; in system of 1912, 129, 130, 
 175, 176; and development of 
 moral character, 141-143; how to 
 relate it to life, 161, 162; and 
 national progress, 163; and govern- 
 ment service in China, 164 — in 
 India, 164; as preparatory only 
 for official life, a conception to 
 be eradicated, 164; need of adap- 
 tation to local needs, an argimient 
 for decentralized administration, 
 165; dangers of over-emphasis of 
 western, 166. See also Ancient 
 education; Development of edu- 
 cation; Missionary education; 
 Modern education; Public educa- 
 tion; Universal education 
 
 Educational changes, in harmony 
 with political spirit, 99; during^ 
 the Revolution thoroughly investi- 
 gated, 113 
 
Index 
 
 187 
 
 Educational commissions to Western 
 countries, see Missions, educational 
 
 Educational programs to prepare 
 the people for constitutional 
 government, 91, 92 
 
 Educational promoter, his selection 
 and duties, 96 
 
 Educational situation at beginning 
 of modem era, 62 
 
 Educational system, — meaning of 
 term as used in this work, 2 
 
 ancient: origin, 7-14; zenith and 
 decadence, 15-32; strong and weak 
 points, 33; reorganization, 36; 
 similarity to system of Bell and 
 Lancaster, 37; aim, compared with 
 modern, 89; small cost, 146; See also 
 Ancient education; Development 
 of education; Public education 
 
 modem, conservative yet pro- 
 gressive, 4; the construction of, 
 87-109; theoretical completeness, 
 90; separation from examination 
 system, 98; relation to missionary 
 education, 136-40; problem of 
 financing, 146-49; natural imper- 
 fections, 170. See also Modem ed- 
 ucation; Public schools; Schools; 
 Modem school system 
 
 Educational systems of different 
 countries not really comparable, 5 
 
 "Eight-legged" essay, defined, 71, 
 note; use in examination aboUshed, 
 71; restored, 72; abolished, 84 
 
 Electrical engineering, 82 
 
 Electricity, course in, 124 
 
 Elementary schools (higher pri- 
 mary), 78, 79. See ako Primary 
 education; Primary schools 
 
 EUot, C. F., and need of Oriental 
 mind for laboratory methods, 168 
 
 Empress Dowager, plot against, and 
 its results, 72; advocates measures 
 once resisted, 73; institutes search 
 for Chinese distinguished in foreign 
 schools, 76; abolishes eight-legged 
 essay and military examination 
 system, 85 
 
 Encyclopedia, compiled under Yung 
 So, 54, and note, 58 
 
 Engineering, 82 
 
 England, educational bureau of Chi- 
 nese legation, 97; nimiber of Chi- 
 nese students (1910), 107. See 
 also Missions, educational; Students 
 abroad 
 
 English, courses in, see Language; 
 Languages, school of 
 
 English literature, 124 
 
 Essays, modem, in examination sys- 
 tem, 71; thrown out, 72; reinstated, 
 85 
 
 Etoile du Matin, a Catholic universi- 
 ty, 137 
 
 Ethics, taught in normal schools, 83, 
 104, 129, 130; series of text-book& 
 on, 141. See also Morals 
 
 Ethnology, and Orientals vs. Occi- 
 dentals, xi 
 
 Eunuchs, opposed to classical educa- 
 tion, 39; defend privileges of offi- 
 cers' sons, 43; ordered to find all 
 existing translations of Western 
 books, 69 
 
 Europe, more students to be sent 
 to, 77. See oho Missions, educa- 
 tional; Students abroad 
 
 Examination system, not included in 
 term "pubhc educational system," 
 2; origin and object, 7, 8, and note; 
 in Hsia and Shang dynasties, 14, 44; 
 in Chou dynasty, 27, 44; advant- 
 ages, 28; relation to school system, 
 28; Han dynasty, 34-37, 44; T'ang 
 dynasty, 41; Sung dynasty, 46, 47; 
 rules to prevent fraud, 47; system 
 suspended, 48; reform attempted 
 by Wang An Shih, 50; among the 
 Liaos, 50; restored by Chins, 50; 
 re-established, Mongol dynasty, 
 51; in two languages, 51, 52; made 
 to include military arts and mathe- 
 matics, 53; became purely Uterary, 
 54; Ming dynasty, 55, 56; Manchu 
 djmasty, 61, 62; first attempts to 
 modernize, 66; miUtary, reformed, 
 
188 
 
 Index 
 
 71; old order restored, 72; abolished 
 85-86; reasons for this action, 86; 
 modem school for graduates of, 
 85; review of connection with the 
 educational system, 98; separation 
 from educational system, 98, 99; 
 depressing effect on popular educa- 
 cation, 99; immediate cause of 
 abolition, 99; unfinished matters 
 concerning it now in charge of 
 Ministry of Rites, 89, note; review 
 of its connection with school sys- 
 tem, 98. jSee also Official life 
 
 Examinations, of men already in 
 office, 27; management transferred 
 to Ministry of Rites, 43, 47; no 
 longer under control of the appoint- 
 ing power, 44; for precocious youths 
 and officers to supervise morals, 44; 
 for military officers, 44; in law 
 displace those in classics, 45; and 
 promotion of students, 46; held 
 in Chin language, 60; in law and 
 for precocious youths, 50; iu 
 archery, 51; in astronomy, 52; 
 in medicine, 52; suppressed and 
 re-estabUshed by Chun Ti, 52; for 
 graduates of modem schools, 74, 
 76; for students sent abroad, 97. 
 See also Examination system; Mili- 
 tary examinations 
 
 Examiners of teachers for certifica- 
 tion, their qualifications, 158 
 
 "Example better than precept," 
 ancient belief, 14 
 
 Exhibits, educational, at Nanking 
 Industrial Exhibition (1910) and 
 in Italy, 109 
 
 " Exhortation to Learning " pubhshed, 
 70,71 
 
 Exhorting bureau, see Educational 
 exhortiug bureau 
 
 Expenditure for educational purposes, 
 (1910), 107 
 
 Experimental method, larger intro- 
 duction advisable, 166 
 
 Explosives, technology of, in first 
 
 modern school system, 82; in sys- 
 tem of 1912, 124 
 Expulsion and readmission, 132 
 Extension teaching needed, 170 
 Eye-work, larger introduction advis- 
 able, 166 
 
 Fees, school, see Tuition 
 
 Feng Tao, invents block printing, 45 
 
 Fengtien, in first inspectorial division 
 of 1913, 116 
 
 Feudal states, number in Chou dyn- 
 asty, 26; schools in, 16, 16, 17, 18 
 
 Finances of new educational scheme, 
 146-149. See also Maintenance of 
 schools 
 
 "Five Classics" in first projected 
 colleges, 70. See also Classics 
 
 Five humanities or human relation- 
 ships, 8, 10, 12, 13 
 
 Foochow Arsenal sends students 
 abroad, 69 
 
 Foochow Naval Academy, 89, note 
 
 Foreign teachers, necessity of secur- 
 ing, 153; number in service (1911), 
 153; reasons for early preference 
 for Japanese, 153; diversity of 
 qualifications, 154; nmnber in 
 various schools (1910), 159, 160; 
 relative number in higher and 
 lower schools, 161 
 
 Forestry, course in, 82, 124 
 
 "Four Books" in projected high 
 schools, 70 
 
 France, educational bureau of Chi- 
 nese legation in, 97; number of 
 Chinese students (1910), 107 
 
 French literature, 124 
 
 Frontier defence, course in, 60 
 
 Fu, relation to other administrative 
 units, 96; abolished under Repub- 
 lic, 117, note 
 
 Fu Hsueh, prefectural school, 52, 
 55,61 
 
 Fu Hsueh Sheng, 61 
 
 Fu-shih, father teacher, Chou dynasty, 
 25 
 
 Fukien, in the seventh inspectorial 
 
Index 
 
 189 
 
 •division of 1913, 116; number of 
 modem schools and students (1910), 
 156; viceroy makes first attempts 
 to modernize examination system, 
 66 
 Tunds, educational, total for 1910, 
 107; used for war expenses, 110 
 
 -Gardening, in middle schools, 129, 
 174; normal schools, 130, 176 
 
 •Geography, in village schools, 50; 
 in encyclopedia, 54; in proposed 
 high schools, 70; plea for introduc- 
 tion into examination system, 71; 
 in first modem school system, 80, 
 81, 83; in girls' primary schools, 
 101 ; in normal schools, 104 
 
 in system of 1912: primary, 127, 
 173; middle, 128, 174; normal, 129, 
 130, 175, 176; university, 124 
 
 Geology, in first modem school sys- 
 tem, 82; under Republic, 123, 124 
 
 Geometry, in proposed high schools, 
 70 
 
 German, 123, 129; literature, 124. 
 See also Language 
 
 ■Germany, educational bureau of 
 Chinese legation in, 97; number 
 of Chinese students (1910), 107. 
 See also Missions, educational; 
 Students abi^oad 
 
 'Giles, H. A., on Chu Hsi, 49; on 
 Chinese encyclopedia, 54 
 
 Girls' life, Chou dynasty, 20, 21 
 
 Girls' primary school, first, 101 
 
 Girls' normal school, first, 104 
 
 'Government, courses in, 60, 124, 128; 
 should be studied in Hanlin Acad- 
 emy, 75 
 
 'Government, attitude toward study 
 abroad, 67, 71, 76, 77; constitu- 
 tional, promised in 1908, to take 
 effect in 1917, 91 — date changed to 
 1913, 91 — effected by revolution, 
 1911, 110; neglect of schools in 
 time of Mencius, 30; subsidy to 
 primary schools and teachers, 94; 
 
 provisional, temporary educational 
 poUcy, 1912, 111-113 
 
 Government of schools in the modem 
 system, 132, 144-146; discussed 
 by Emergency Central Education- 
 al Conference, 114 
 
 Government schools, distinguished 
 from public and private, 108, note 
 
 Governors of provinces, and social 
 education, 112 
 
 Graduation, dependent on conduct 
 as well as scholarship, 134 
 
 Grand instructor, school oflBcer, Chou 
 dynasty, 25 
 
 Half-day schools, 102 
 
 Han dynasty, development of educa- 
 tion under, 33-37; examination 
 implied appointment, 44 
 
 Hand work, in first modem school 
 system, 80, 84, 94; in system of 
 1912, 127, 128, 129; plea for larg- 
 er introduction, 166. See also 
 Manual work 
 
 Handicrafts, in encyclopedia, 54 
 
 Hangchow, competitive examination 
 for students abroad, 98 
 
 Hangchow Fu, becomes residence of 
 Sungs, 46 
 
 Hankow, schools crippled by Revo- 
 lution of 1911, 110 
 
 Hanlin, awarded to graduates of 
 modem schools, 75; to students 
 returned from abroad, 98. See also 
 
 Hanlin Yuan, Imperial Academy, 
 instituted, 42; preparation for, 47, 
 62; translators in, 55; and com- 
 petitive examination, 56; early 
 Manchu dynasty, 60; and educa- 
 tional missions, 67; effort to mod- 
 ernize, 75, 76; chancellor made 
 first president of Ministry of 
 Education, 88 
 
 Hanlins, to be sent abroad for study, 
 77; modern school for, 85 
 
 Hart, Sir Robert, and first school 
 for interpreters, 65 
 
190 
 
 Index 
 
 Hartford, Conn., headquarters of 
 first educational commission, 68. 
 See also Missions, educational; 
 Students abroad 
 
 Hayes, Dr. William, and Shantung 
 Provincial College, 73 
 
 Heilungkiang, Manchu schools in, 60; 
 educational progress, 108, 109; in 
 first inspectorial division of 1913, 
 116; number of modem schools 
 and students (1910), 156 
 
 Higher education, maintained by 
 central government, 165 
 
 Higher industrial schools, 79, 84, 85 
 
 Higher normal schools, in system of 
 1903, 79, 83, 84 
 
 Higher primary school, degree con- 
 ferred upon its graduates, 99; 
 course shortened, 120. See also 
 Elementary schools; Primary 
 schools 
 
 Higher schools, in first modem sys- 
 tem, 79, 81; tuition, 81; degrees 
 awarded to graduates, 99; regular 
 avenue of preparation for imiver- 
 sity, 105 
 
 Histories, new editions of dynastic, 
 59 
 
 History of Chinese education, its 
 value, 1 
 
 History, enthusiastically studied, 45; 
 in village schools, 50; in encyclo- 
 pedia, 54; in proposed high schools 
 and colleges, 70; plea for intro- 
 duction into examination system, 
 71; in Hanlin Academy, 76; in 
 first modem school system, 80-83; in 
 girls' primary school, 101; in nor- 
 mal schools, 104 
 
 in system of 1912: 123-4, 127-30; 
 and the teaching of moraUty, 142; 
 time allotment in primary school, 
 172; middle, 173; normal, 175, 176 
 
 Honan, inspected in 1909, 92; in 
 2d inspectorial division of 1913, 
 116; number of modern schools 
 and students (1910), 156 
 
 Horsemanship, in examinations, 56 
 
 Hou, 27 
 
 Hours of work per week in the vari- 
 ous grades, see Recitations, number 
 of, weekly 
 
 Household arts, in girls' middle 
 schools, 129, 173; in normal, 130, 
 176 
 
 Hsi Hsu, College of the West, 9 
 
 Hsia, schools for the common people,. 
 10 
 
 Hsia dynasty, educational develop- 
 ment, 7-14; colleges, 9; aim of 
 education, 14; examination implied 
 appointment, 44 
 
 Hsia Hsiang, college for lower edu- 
 cation, 9 
 
 Hsiang, department of a state, 17, 
 and note; school and college in 
 feudal states, 17 
 
 Hsiang Hsiieh, departmental schools,. 
 10 
 
 Hsiang Hsiieh Lien Ho Hui, country 
 school union, 96 
 
 Hsiang shih, departmental teacher, 
 Chou dynasty, 25 
 
 Hsiang-ta-fu, examinations, 27 
 
 Hsiao Lien, system of selecting offi- 
 cers, 36 
 
 Hsiao Wen, estabhshes schools, 38 
 
 Hsieh, first Minister of Education, 8 
 
 Hsien, district, 35, note; relation 
 to other administrative units, 95 
 
 Hsien Hsiieh, district school, 52, 61 
 
 Hsien Liang Fang Cheng, system 
 of selecting officers, 38 
 
 Hsien Shih Hsiieh, district inspector, 
 96 
 
 Hsien Wen, appoints professors in 
 each prefecture, 38 
 
 Hsinkiang, in 6th inspectorial 
 division of 1913, 116 
 
 Hsiu Chi Chih Jen, aim of ancient 
 education, 14 
 
 Hsu, schools for the common people, 
 10; in feudal states, 17 
 
 Hsiian Chu, system of selecting: 
 officers, 36 
 
Index 
 
 191 
 
 Hsuan Hsueh, college of philosophy, 
 
 38 
 -Hsuan Tsung, honors Taoists, 42 
 Hstieh Chi, on education, 21; on 
 
 examinations, 23 
 Hsueh Ch'tt, school district, defined, 
 
 95; its officers, 96 
 .Hsueh Shih Kuan, academy of 
 
 graduate scholars, 38 
 Hsueh Wu Ch'u, and Ministry of 
 Education, 87; provincial board 
 of education before 1906, 94 
 -Hsueh Wu Chuan, educational officer, 
 
 118 
 -Hsueh Wu K'u, district bureau of 
 
 education, 118 
 JHsueh Wu Kung Lo, provincial 
 
 board of education after 1906, 95 
 Hsueh Wu Ta Chen, and text books, 
 
 106 
 Hsun Kuang, philosopher, 31 
 Huan-ti and literati, 37 
 Huang Yen Pei, and a more practi- 
 cal education, 162 
 Hui-ti, removes ban from Chinese 
 
 classics, 34 
 Hui Tsung, establishes schools, 46 
 Humanities, five, 8, 10, 12, 13 
 -Hunan, its viceroy publishes "Ex- 
 hortation to Learning," 70; in 
 fourth inspectorial division of 1913, 
 116; taxes for educational purposes, 
 147; number of modem schools 
 and students (1910), 156 
 Hung Wen Kuan, educational insti- 
 tution, 40 
 Hung Wu, establishes schools, 64 
 Hupeh Board of Mines, its college 
 at Wuchang, 66; its viceroy pub- 
 lishes "Exhortation to Learning," 
 70; inspected in 1909, 92; in 
 fourth inspectorial division of 1913, 
 116; number of modem schools 
 and students (1910), 156 
 
 I Hsueh, public charitable schools, 
 
 59, 61, 102 
 I Hsueh Kuan, school of science 
 
 of translation, 65, note, 79, 85. 
 See also Languages, school of 
 
 I-li or Deconmi Ritual, 11 
 
 Ideals, devotion of Chinese to, 147; 
 national, importance of unifying 
 is one reason for centralization of 
 education, 165 
 
 Imperial Academy; see Hanlin Yuan 
 
 Indemnity fimd, Boxer, scholarships, 
 97 and note, 98 
 
 India, attitude of government to- 
 ward missionary schools, 139; ex- 
 perience in relating education to 
 pohtical life, 164 
 
 Industrial vs. literary courses in 
 middle schools, 103 
 
 Industrial schools, in system of 
 1903: 79, 84, 85; training schools 
 for teachers of, 79, 84; special, 
 supervision of, 89, note; lower, 
 degrees for graduates, 99; changes 
 in 1910, 105 
 
 under the Repubhc: relation to 
 other schools, 119; length of course, 
 118; aim, kinds, authorities estab- 
 lishing and locating, 126; tuition, 
 127, 133; one reason why not 
 niunerous and large, 164 
 
 Industries, formerly considered un- 
 worthy of the educated, 164 
 
 Influences dominant in Chinese edu- 
 cation, 2, 3 
 
 Ing Sheng, students of the Imperial 
 Academy, 60 
 
 Inheritance of office, 29, 36, 39, 43, 57 
 
 Initiative, local, necessity for devel- 
 oping argues for decentralization 
 of administration, 165 
 
 Inspection and reward, to encourage 
 the reform of private schools, 103 
 
 Inspection of schools, Manchu dyn- 
 asty, 61; system of 1903, 90, 92; 
 new scheme (1913), 116; regular 
 period for, 116; items to be con- 
 sidered, 117; special, at irregular 
 times, 116 
 
 Inspectors, created by Ministry of 
 Education, 88; niunber, qualifica- 
 
192 
 
 Index 
 
 cations, duties, 92, 93, 95; belong- 
 ing to Educational Exhorting Bur- 
 eau, 96; under the Republic, 115, 
 116, 117 
 Institutes, teachers', needed, 170 
 Institutions, Chinese, effect on na- 
 tional character, 3, 4; educational, 
 earliest authentic records of, 7 
 Instruction, given aU villagers, Chou 
 dynasty, 17. See also Content 
 of education; Curriculum 
 Insurance, course in, 82, 124 
 International law, course in, 124 
 Interpreters, school for training, see 
 
 Languages, school of 
 Italian literature, 124 
 Italy, educational exhibit from China 
 takes many prizes, 109 
 
 Japan, an illustration of Oriental 
 possibilities, xii; number of Chinese 
 students (1910), 107; attitude of 
 government toward missionary 
 schools, 138 
 
 Jen Tsung, and College of Eour 
 Gates, 45; and examination system, 
 51 
 
 Jen Hsiieh, College of Scholars, 38 
 
 Jung Ching, advises sending older 
 students abroad, 77; advocates 
 gradual aboUtion of examination 
 system, 86; first president of 
 Ministry of Education, 88 
 
 K'ang Hsi, patron of letters, 58 
 K'ang Hsi Tzti Tien, dictionary, 58 
 K'ang Yu Wei, reformer, 71 
 Kansu, educational progress, 108; 
 
 in sixth inspectorial division (1913), 
 
 116; number of modern schools 
 
 and students (1910), 156 
 Kao Tsung, reorganizes colleges, 47; 
 
 and military education, 51 
 Kiangnan Arsenal mechanical school, 
 
 65 
 Kiangning, inspected (1909), 92; 
 
 number of modem schools and 
 
 students (1910), 156 
 
 Kiangsi, inspected (1909), 92; im 
 fourth inspectorial division, 116;. 
 number of modem schools and 
 students (1910), 156 
 
 Kiangsu, inspected in 1909, 92; 
 competitive examination for stu- 
 dents to go abroad, 97; first prov- 
 ince to examine women, 97; one' 
 of the provinces sending most 
 students abroad (1910), 107; in 
 third inspectorial division (1913), 
 116; number of modem schools- 
 and students (1910), 156; pleads 
 for a more practical education, 162 
 
 Kindergartens, in system of 1903 : 79, 
 80 
 
 in system of 1912: authority 
 charged with their establishment,, 
 121; qualification of teachers, 159 
 
 Kirin, educational progress, 109; in 
 first inspectorial division (1913),. 
 116; number of modern schools- 
 and students (1910), 156 
 
 Ku Tsung, school of music and 
 ceremonies, 10, 15-18 
 
 Kuan Hsiieh, pubUc schools, 59 
 
 Kuang Hsii, his interest in Western- 
 learning, 69; reform decrees, 71; 
 edicts re-enacted by Empress Do- 
 wager, 73 
 
 Kuang Wen Kuan, school conferring 
 Chm Shih, 40 
 
 Kuang Wu, rebuilds college of higher 
 education, 37 
 
 Kuangsi, in seventh inspectorial 
 division (1913), 116; number of 
 modem schools and students (1910),, 
 156 
 
 Kuangtung, one of the provinces 
 sending most students abroad 
 (1910), 107; in seventh inspectorial 
 di-vision (1913), 116; proportion 
 of children of school age in school 
 (1912), 149; number of modem 
 schools and students (1910), 156 
 
 Kublai, fosters education, 61; educa- 
 tional schemes not aU carried out, 
 52 
 
Index 
 
 193 
 
 Kung Chu, form of selecting officials, 
 
 41 
 Kung Shen, holders admitted to 
 national university, 60;*given to 
 graduates of modem schools, 75; 
 to graduates of a higher school 
 or its equivalent, 99 
 Kuo Hsiieh, national schools, 59 
 Kuo-lau, see Aged, of the state 
 Kuo Tztt Chien, national university, 
 restored, 45; opened,|^^51; one for 
 Chinese, one for Mongols, and one 
 for Mohammedans, 52 ; reorganized, 
 53, 54; reorganized, 55; restored, 
 58; admission, courses, etc., 60; am- 
 algamated with Ministry of Educa- 
 tion, 88. See also Kuo Tzti Hsiieh; 
 University 
 Kuo Tzti Hsiieh, coUege for sons of 
 the state, 38, 39, 40; professors of 
 Taoism, 42; name changed to 
 Kuo Tzti Chien (q. v.), 39, note. 
 See also University 
 Kwei, &st director of music, 9 
 Kwei Chun, sends students to study 
 
 abroad, 76 
 Kwei Ku Tsu, philosopher, 31 
 Kweiehow, educational progress, 109; 
 in eighth iaspectorial division 
 (1913), 116; number of modern 
 schools and students (1910), 156 
 
 Language, Chinese: in primary 
 schools, 80, 100, 101, 127, 128; 
 normal schools, 104, 129, 130; in a 
 special school, 105; in middle 
 schools, 128, 129; its difficulties, 
 149, 150; recent steps to lighten 
 difficulties, 150; need of unifying, a 
 reason for centralized administra- 
 tion of schools, 165; time allot- 
 ment in primary schools, 173; 
 middle, 174 
 
 English: optional in schools of 
 treaty ports, 100; optional in 
 primary schools everywhere, 127; 
 taught in normal schools, 129, 130 
 
 Foreign: in first projected col- 
 leges, 70; in first modem school 
 system, 81, 83, 85, 100; in system 
 of 1912, 123-124, 128-130; time 
 allotment in middle schools, 174; 
 normal, 175, 176. See also Man- 
 darin; Mother tongue; Languages, 
 school of 
 
 Language-made-easy schools, 102 
 
 Languages, colleges of, 66; school of, 
 52, 65 and note, 79, 85, 89, note, 
 105, 124, 129 
 
 Laotse, philosopher, 31; college for 
 study of works, 42. See also 
 Taoism, Taoists 
 
 Latin, 123. See also Language, 
 foreign 
 
 Law, analyzed in examination for 
 Ming Fa, 42; school of, 45; ex- 
 aminations and degrees for, 47; 
 university course in, 60; in first 
 modem school sysem, 81, 82; 
 school of, established, 105, 124; 
 system of 1912, 123, 124 
 
 Laws, publicly read to the people, 27 
 
 Lecture bureaus, 112, 116. See also 
 Social education 
 
 Lecture halls, total number (1910), 
 107; number in certain provinces, 
 109 
 
 Lectures, public, governors urged to 
 introduce as educational agency, 
 112; subjects suggested for, 112 
 
 Lexicography flourishes, 45 
 
 Li and ch'i, force and matter, 49 
 
 Li or rituals, 10, 11 
 
 Li-chi, see Book of Rites 
 
 Li-chou, pubhshed in 1902, 16 
 
 Li Himg Chang, and the University 
 at Tientsin, 65, 66; on introduc- 
 tion of physical science and mathe- 
 matics into the examination sys- 
 tem, 66; in charge of educational 
 commission to America, 68 
 
 Li Sao, 40, note 
 
 Li Sstt, and the burning of works 
 of Confucius, 30 
 
 Liang Chi Chao, reformer, 71 
 
194 
 
 Index 
 
 Liao-tung, colleges and examination 
 systems established in, 50 
 
 Liaos, educational conditions among, 
 50 
 
 Xiberal education, Chou dynasty, 18 
 
 Libraries, as educational agency, 112 
 
 Lich Tza, Taoist philosopher, 42 
 
 Xife of boy, Chou dynasty, 19 
 
 Life of girl and woman, Chou dynasty 
 20,21 
 
 Ling Shan Sheng, subsidized students, 
 61 
 
 Ling-ti, drives literati out of public 
 service, 37 
 
 Literary vs. industrial courses in 
 middle schools, 103 
 
 Literati, a strong body, 30; perse- 
 cution of, 30, 32, 37; favor shown 
 to, 34, 38; estabUsh private schools, 
 39; not well trained for public 
 office, 47; seek western learning 
 66, 69; modern school for, 85; a 
 source of teachers of modem 
 schools, 144, 163. See also Schol- 
 ars 
 
 Literature, Chinese: in &st modem 
 school system, 81, 83, 100, 103: 
 special school for its preservation, 
 105 
 
 in system of 1912, 127-130, 
 124: time allotment, 175, 76; use 
 in teaching morality, 142 
 
 Literature, foreign: in proposed col- 
 leges, 70, 82; in university, 124 
 
 Liu Chih Ts'un Ch'iu, a collection of 
 ancient writings, 32 
 
 Liu Chiu Yuan, philosopher, 49 
 
 Liu Ch'uo, educator, 39 
 
 Liu Hsuan, educator, 39 
 
 Liu Hsueh Chien, sanctions half- 
 day schools, 102 
 
 Liu Kai Sing, trains students to be 
 sent abroad, 68 
 
 Liu K'un I, sends students abroad, 76 
 
 Liu-pang, founder of Han dynasty, 
 33 
 
 Liu Pu Wei, searches for ancient 
 writings, 32 
 
 Lo Yang, eastern capital, 43 
 
 Logic, in first modem school system, 
 
 83; in system of 1912, 123 
 La, hamlet, 17, and note 
 Lu Hsiieh, college of law, 40 
 Lu Hsiieh, circuit schools, 52 
 
 Martuan-lin, on the nature of Pi 
 Yung, 16; on Ch'in Shih Huang, 32; 
 on schools, 41, 46; on requirements 
 for degrees, 47; on government's 
 neglect of moral teaching, 48 
 
 Ma Yung, on school age and term, 
 24; monitorial educator, 37; rein- 
 terprets the classics, 48 
 
 Machinery, course in, 124; of vessels, 
 124 
 
 Magazines, edited by Clunese in 
 Japan, 74 
 
 MaiQtenance of schools, under Jen 
 Tsung, 45; vmder Kao Tsing, 47; 
 under T'ai Tsu, 53 ; under Mings, 65, 
 56; imder Manchus, 59, 61; mod- 
 ern, 73, 96, 107, 110, 125, 146-149, 
 165 
 
 Manchu dynasty, development of 
 education under, 58-63 ; overthrown, 
 110; its unscrupulous officials, 147 
 
 Manchu language, school for study 
 of, 105 
 
 Manchuria, control of its educational 
 affairs, 89, note 
 
 Mandarin, reasons for introduction 
 into schools, 101, 150, 166. See 
 also Language, Chinese; Mother 
 tongue 
 
 Manual work, in primary schools, 
 111; time allotment in primary 
 schools, 173; in middle schools, 
 174; normal, 175, 176. See also 
 Hand-work 
 
 Marine, mercantile, professional 
 school of, 124 
 
 Martin, Dr. W. A. P., first president 
 of T'ung Wen Kuan, 65 
 
 Mathematics, in ancient liberal edu- 
 cation, 18; in examinations, 42, 
 53; degree of, 42; school of, 46; 
 
Index 
 
 195 
 
 added to curriculum, 53; in course 
 in government administration, 60; 
 put into examination system, 66; 
 plea for its emphasis in Hanlin 
 Academy, 75; in first modem 
 school system, 80-85; in girls' 
 primary school, 101; in normal 
 schools, 104; in system of 1912, 
 123-24, 127-30; time allotment in 
 primary schools, 173, normal, 175, 
 176. See also Arithmetic 
 
 Matter vs. mind, 49 
 
 Mechanical engineering, 65 
 
 Mechanical teachers' training schools, 
 84 
 
 Mechanics, colleges of, 66 
 
 Medical academy, imperial, 52, 61 
 
 Medical books, 50 
 
 Medicine, schools of, 42, 44, 52, 105, 
 124; encouraged by Mongols, 52; 
 encouraged by Mings, 56, 57; in 
 encyclopedia, 54; in first modem 
 school system, 81, 82, 105; system 
 of 1912, 123, 124. See also Phar- 
 macy; Veterinary medicine 
 
 Memorizing, Confucius quoted on, 
 22; undue stress upon not yet 
 removed, 167 
 
 Mencius, quoted on education, 22; 
 disciple of Confucius, 29; charac- 
 teristics, 30, 31 
 
 Meng T'ien, discovers art of brush- 
 writing, 31 
 
 Mercantile marine, professional school 
 of, 124 
 
 Metallurgy, in first modem school 
 system, 82 
 
 Method, of ancient education, 13, 
 14; of Chou dynasty, very modem 
 in character, 21; experimental, 
 its larger introduction desirable, 
 166; of modem education, changes 
 advised by author, 167 
 
 Methods by which literati sought 
 western learning, 69 
 
 Mi-lin, 16. See also Shang Hsiang 
 
 Middle schools, in first modem sys- 
 tem, 79, 81; industrial, 79, 84, 85; 
 
 fees, 81; changes in 1909-1911, 
 103; required to offer only one 
 general course. 111; requirements 
 for entrance, 118; schools which 
 graduates may enter, 118 
 
 under Republic: relation to other 
 schools, 119; object, 121; for girls 
 on same basis as boys, 121; au- 
 thorities establishing and locating, 
 121, 122; kinds of, 122; teachers, 
 salary, tuition, 122, 133; curri- 
 culum, 128, 129, 174; qualification 
 of teachers, 159 
 
 Military citizenship, training for, and 
 First Central Educational Con- 
 gress, 94 
 
 MUitary conscription postponed for 
 Japanese students in approved 
 schools, 138 
 
 Mihtary education, 13, 18, 45, 51, 
 53, 54, 56 
 
 Mihtary arts in curriculum, 53, 54, 
 111, 124; in examinations, 53. 
 See also Archery; Mihtary science; 
 Technology of arms 
 
 Mihtary science, colleges of, 66; in 
 university, 124 
 
 Military drill to be emphasized in 
 higher schools. 111 
 
 Mihtary examinations, instituted, 
 44, 61, 53, 66; reform of system 
 decreed in 1898, 71 
 
 Mihtary service,, one year, volun- 
 tary for Japanese graduates of 
 approved schools, 138 
 
 Mind vs. matter, 49 
 
 Mineralogy, in system of 1912, 123, 
 124 
 
 Ming Cheng Chang, magistrate of 
 district, 1913, 118 
 
 Ming Ching, qualifications for, 42; 
 mUitary degree, 44; hterary degree, 
 45 
 
 Ming dynasty, development of edu- 
 cation under, 53-58 
 
 Ming Fa, qualifications for, 42; law 
 degree, 46 
 
 Ming Suan, qualifications for, 42 
 
196 
 
 Index 
 
 Ming-ti, eBlarges college of higher 
 education, 37 
 
 Mining, colleges of, 66; in first mod- 
 em school system, 82; in system 
 of 1912, 124 
 
 Minister of Education, duties of 
 first, 8; relation to middle schools, 
 122 
 
 Ministries, other than education, 
 represented in Emergency Central 
 Educational Conference, 113 
 
 Ministry, of agriculture, works and 
 commerce, 89, note; of civil oflBces, 
 of communications, of dependencies, 
 educational duties of each, 89, 
 note 
 
 of education: instituted, 87, 89; 
 one of the eleven great executive 
 departments of state, 88; its 
 bureaus, departments, duties, offi- 
 cers, organization, powers, 88; 
 assumes duties of ancient national 
 university, 88; orders an educa- 
 tional survey, 90; its regulations 
 of 1906, 90; prepares for constitu- 
 tional government, 91; field work, 
 92; creates central educational 
 coimcil, 93; nominates provincial 
 head of educational work, 94; 
 controls viceroy in educational 
 matters, 95; provides for girls' 
 primary schools (1907), 101; spe- 
 cial action to aid industrial educa- 
 tion, 105; publication of certified 
 books, 106; statistics of third an- 
 nual report, 107; of provincial 
 government organized in 1912, 111; 
 dispatch issued to the repubhcan 
 governors. 111; urges use of public 
 lectures and moving pictures, 112; 
 creates bureau of social education, 
 112; new, formed by the RepubUc, 
 112, 115, 116; location and juris- 
 diction changed, 112; announces 
 aim of education, 114, 142; early 
 activities, 113; and pupils' records, 
 135; studies relation of Japanese 
 government to mission schools. 
 
 138; assumes control of choice 
 of foreign teachers (1908), 154; 
 regulates number of normal school 
 students, 155; requires students- 
 educated abroad to teach at least 
 five years, 155; discontinues short 
 normal courses, 157; requires cer- 
 tification of teachers, 158; pre- 
 scribes general course of study, 165 
 of finance, educational duties, 
 89, note; of foreign affairs, educa- 
 tional duties, 89, note 
 
 of Rites, controls examinations,. 
 47; its offices for the provinces, 
 94; superseded by Ministry of 
 Education, 88; remnant of its' 
 educational duties, 89, note. See 
 also Board of Rites 
 
 of war, educational duties, 89, 
 note; approves each teacher of 
 military affairs, 154 
 
 Minting, course in, 124 
 
 Mirror of History, on number of 
 feudal states, 26 
 
 Missionaries, pioneers of modern 
 education, 64 
 
 Missionary education, in Japan, 138, 
 139; in India, 139; three consid- 
 erations involved in its relation 
 to government, 138; attitude of 
 Manchu government toward, 138; 
 relation to public education sys- 
 tem, 136-140; present needs, 137 
 
 Missionary schools, character of 
 earliest, 64; conditions of recogni- 
 tion by Japanese government, 138, 
 139; graduates become the first 
 teachers in modem schools, 152; 
 and denationalization of pupils, 
 140, note 
 
 Missions, educational, 67-69, 76-78; 
 care and direction of students 
 abroad, 97; qualifications of stu- 
 dents going abroad, 97, 98; num- 
 ber of students sent, 98; examina- 
 tions for returned students, 98. 
 See also Students abroad 
 
Index 
 
 197 
 
 Modem character of ancient educa- 
 tional priaciples, 21 
 
 Modern education, period of transi- 
 tion to, 64-86; effect of the Boxer 
 and the Russo-Japanese war upon, 
 72-74; influence on thought life 
 as shown by the Revolution, 69; 
 graduates recognized by govern- 
 ment, 74; abandonment urged by 
 some, 141; efficacy in solving 
 national problems doubted by 
 some, 162; ultimate success as- 
 siured, 171. See also Educational 
 system 
 
 Modem school system, decreed in 
 1898, 71; the first, 78-85; chart 
 embodying it, 79; changes and 
 development (1903-1911), 99-106; 
 statistics (1910), 107; xmder the 
 Republic, 115-127 
 
 Monasteries, used as schools, 70, 
 72, 73, 147 
 
 Money, Chinese, compared with 
 American and Mexican, 133 
 
 Mongol or Yuan dynasty, educational 
 conditions under, 61-63; motive 
 ia furthering education, 63 
 
 Mongol language, school of, 52, 105 
 
 MongoUa, control of its educational 
 affairs, 89, note; represented in 
 emergency central educational con- 
 ference (1912), 113; a temporary 
 special inspectorial division, 116 
 
 Mongols, help Chinese to defeat 
 Chins, 51; conquer China, 61; 
 expelled into Tartary, 52 
 
 Monism, 49 
 
 Monitorial system, resembling that 
 of BeU and Lancaster, 37 
 
 Monroe, Paul, introduction to this 
 volume, xi, xii; on the present 
 task of Chinese education, 166; 
 on the real purpose of study, 167 
 
 Moral character the aim of education, 
 114 
 
 Morality, officers to supervise, 44; 
 how modern schools may develop 
 it, 141-143 
 
 Morals, in first modem school system : 
 primary schools, 80, 104; middle, 
 81 
 
 in system of 1912: primary 
 schools, 127, 173; in middle schools, 
 128, 129, 174. See also Ethics 
 
 Morning Star, a Cathohc University, 
 137 
 
 Mother-tongue, its unification dis- 
 cussed by First Central Educa- 
 tional Conference, 94; society 
 for unification of, 116; in primary 
 schools, 127. See also Language, 
 Chinese; Mandarin 
 
 Moving pictures, as educational 
 agency, 112 
 
 Mukden, number of modern schools 
 and students (1910), 166 
 
 Museums, school, 116 
 
 Music and ceremonies, school of, 
 10 
 
 Music, first director of, 9; 
 
 in ancient schools, 11, 12; 16, 17, 
 18; music and a Hberal education, 
 18; duties of directors of, 25, 27 
 
 in first modern school system: 
 80; introduced as optional in 
 higher primary schools, 100; in 
 girls' primary schools, 101; in 
 girls' normal schools, 104; in 
 charge of bureau of social educa- 
 tion, 116; professional school of, 
 124 
 
 in system of 1912, 128, 129; 
 time allotment in primary schools, 
 172. See also Singing 
 
 Mutse, philosopher, 31 
 
 Nanking, Imperial Naval College, 
 66; industrial exhibit (1910), 109; 
 schools crippled by Revolution 
 of 1911, 110; Naval Academy, 89, 
 note 
 
 Nanyang College, established, 69; 
 and Hanlins, 76 
 
 National consciousness, and cen- 
 traUzed administration, 165 
 
198 
 
 Index 
 
 National life and Western learning, 
 
 166 
 National schools of Manchu dynasty, 
 
 classes of, 60 
 National University, see Kuo Tzil 
 
 Chien 
 Nature study in first modem school 
 system, 80, 83; in normal schools, 
 104; in system of 1912, 127-130; 
 173-176. See also Biology 
 Naval architecture, in first modem 
 school system, 82; in system of 
 1912, 124 
 Naval College, Imperial, 66 
 Naval schools, 65 
 Navigation, students sent abroad to 
 
 study, 69 
 Needlework, 170; treatises on, al- 
 luded to, 50. See also Sewing 
 Nei-tse, on life of boy and girl, 18-21; 
 
 on education, 21 
 New England, and Chinese students, 
 
 68 
 Newspapers, established, 71; sup- 
 pressed, 72; as educational agency, 
 112 
 Normal courses, (short) discontinued 
 in 1910, 157; re-established by 
 Republic, 157 
 Normal schools: 
 
 in first modem school system: 
 79, 82, 83; their supervision dis- 
 cussed by first central educational 
 conference, 94; aims, 104; changes, 
 (1906-1911), 104; girls', 104 
 
 under the Republic: length of 
 courses, 118; relation to other 
 courses, 119; kinds, aim, revenue, 
 practice courses, etc., 125; may 
 conduct teachers' institutes, 126; 
 extension and research work, 126; 
 qualifications of teachers, 126, 160 
 curriculum: of boys', 129, 131, 
 175; of girls', 129, 130, 176; of 
 higher, 130, 131 
 
 tuition, 125, 133; Catholic, 137; 
 graduates, the largest source of 
 modem teachers, 155; teaching 
 
 service of graduates compulsory, 
 155; number of each kind (1910), 
 156; number of students in each 
 course, 156; number of students in 
 each year, 1903-1910, 157; why 
 early graduates were not strong 
 teachers, 161; more schools to be 
 opened, 169. See also Training 
 schools 
 
 Number of schools — Chou dynasty, 
 25; in period of decadence, 30; 
 Han djmasty, 37; T'ang dynasty, 
 41; Mongol dynasty, 52; in first 
 modem system, 80-85; increase 
 (1905-10) 108; of Protestant mis- 
 sionary (1912), 136; required to 
 give China universal education, 
 150; sanctioned by government 
 (1910), 156 
 
 Nunneries, use as schools prohibited, 
 72 
 
 Object-study, iUiistration of its pro- 
 per use, 167 
 
 Observation, necessity for emphasiz- 
 ing training in, 166 
 
 Observatory, imperial, assistants 
 in, 52; in Ming dynasty, 56; in 
 Manchu dynasty, 60; in charge 
 of bureau of technical education, 
 116 
 
 Occidentals, different point of view 
 from Orientals, xi; need of a fuller 
 knowledge of the Orient, xi, xii 
 
 Officers, system of selecting, 35, 39, 
 41-42; T'ang, 43-44; Sung, 46-48; 
 Mongol, 51; number doubled, 52; 
 aU Mongols, imder Chun Ti, 52; 
 Manchu, 62; holding sinecures, 148 
 of public education: their origin, 
 8; Chou dynasty, 25; Ming dyn- 
 asty, 56; number in 1910, 107 
 
 Official hfe, colleges no longer the 
 only avenue to, 36. See also 
 Examination system 
 
 Organization of schools before and 
 after Republic compared, 140. 
 See also Administration of educa- 
 tion 
 
Index 
 
 199 
 
 Organizations, social, and education, 
 165 
 
 Orientals, consciousness of need of 
 western learning xi, xii; their 
 point of view different from Oc- 
 cidental, xi 
 
 Outlook, general, upon the educa- 
 tional situation, 170 
 
 Painting, instruction in, 46 
 
 Pan Kung, college in capital cities 
 of feudal states, dynasties of 
 Chou and Chin, 17 
 
 Pao-chih, school officer, dynasty of 
 Chou, 25 
 
 Past, causes of Chinese reverence 
 for, 3, 35; consequences of this 
 reverence, 35 
 
 Patriotism of students, as subverting 
 discipUne, 144 
 
 Peh-huo-t'ung, a work quoted on 
 school age in dynasty of Chou, 24 
 
 P'ei Wen Yun Fu, concordance of 
 hterature, 68 
 
 Pei Yang University, organized in 
 Tientsin, 70; destroyed during 
 Boxer outbreak, 72; and Hanhns, 
 75 
 
 Peking, school of interpreters, 65; 
 school of languages, 89, note; 
 first conference of central educa- 
 tional council, 93; experiment in 
 reforming schools, 103; text books 
 sent to, for certification, 106; 
 niunber of foreign teachers in its 
 higher schools in 1911, 153 
 
 Penmanship, in first modern school 
 system, 83; in system of 1912, 
 129, 130, 175, 176 
 
 Pension, for teachers, system pro- 
 posed, 169 
 
 Period, resembling that of the An- 
 tonines, 7; resembling Periclean 
 Age, 15; resembling European 
 Middle Ages, 29 
 
 Pestalozzi of the Chinese, 57 
 
 Pharmacy, in first modern school 
 system, 82; in system of 1912, 124; 
 professional school of, 124 
 
 Philology, 124 
 
 Philosophy, its growth tmder Sungs, 
 48; anticipates results of modem 
 science, 49; in encyclopedia, 54; 
 new school under Mings, 57; in 
 university, 124. See also Confu- 
 cius; Mencius 
 
 Physical culture, in first modem 
 school system: 80, 81, 83; in girls' 
 primary schools, 101; in girls' 
 normal schools, 104 
 
 under the Republic: primary 
 schools, 127, 173; in middle schools, 
 
 128, 129, 174; in normal schools, 
 
 129, 130, 175, 176 
 
 Physical science, put into examina- 
 tion system, 66; taught in primary 
 schools, 127. See also Chemistry; 
 Physics 
 
 Physics, in first modem school 
 system: 81-83; in normal schools, 
 104 
 
 imder the Republic: ia middle 
 schools, 128, 129, 174; in normal, 
 129, 130, 175, 176; ia university, 
 123, 124 
 
 Physiology, in first modem school 
 system, 83. See also Biology; 
 Physical culture 
 
 Pi, two sets of characters to represent, 
 16, note 
 
 P'ien Tzti Lei P'ien, concordance of 
 hterature, 58 
 
 Pi Yung, educational institution 
 whose exact natinre is doubtful, 15, 
 16, 17 
 
 Po-shih, body of scholars in custody 
 of ancient writings, 32 
 
 Po Shih Ti Chih, system of selecting 
 officers, dynasty of Han, 36 
 
 Poetry, taught, Chou dynasty, 18; 
 of T'ang dynasty, 40, note; written 
 by candidates for degrees, 42; 
 flourished under Sungs, 45; in 
 examination, 47, 48; protest against 
 its over-emphasis in Hanlin Acad- 
 emy, 75 
 
 Political economy, in village schools, 
 50; in tmiversity, 124. See also 
 
200 
 
 Index 
 
 Civics; Government, couraea in; 
 Political acience 
 
 Political questions, in examinations 
 for degrees, 42 
 
 Political science, in Hanlin Academy, 
 76; in first modern school system, 
 81, 82; school of, 105, 124; why 
 schools of are numerous and well 
 fiUed, 164. iSeeoZsoPoUtical econo- 
 my 
 
 Popular education, actually provided 
 in Chou dynasty, 15; changes and 
 developments in (1903-1911), 100- 
 104; temporary provision for, under 
 Repubhc, 111, 113; as a present 
 problem, 149-151 
 
 Ports, their opening to foreign trade, 
 64; treaty, EngUsh allowed in 
 schools of, 100 
 
 PositivLsm, Chinese form of 57 
 
 Post-official and pre-official examina- 
 tions, 8, note 
 
 Pragmatism, Chinese form of, 57 
 
 "Prayer-schools," 136 
 
 Prefectural schools, Mongol, 52 
 
 Prefectures, relation to other admin- 
 istrative units, 95; officers, 96; 
 educational work handed over to 
 the Coimcil for Self-government, 96 
 
 Pre-official and post-official examina- 
 ations, 8, note 
 
 Preparatory school, for the Universi- 
 ty, 79, 105; 119, 123 
 
 Pbesent-day educational prob- 
 lems OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE, 
 
 136-162 
 
 Primary education, government sub- 
 sidy to, discussed by first Central 
 Educational Conference, 94; the 
 emphasis now laid upon it, 150; 
 authority responsible for its main- 
 enance under Repubhc, 165. See 
 also Kindergartens ; Primary schools 
 
 Primary schools, in first modem 
 school system: 78-80; fees, 80; 
 industrial, 79, 84; discussed by 
 first Central Educational Con- 
 ference, 94; changes in 1909 and 
 .1910, 100; for girls authorized, 101 
 
 under the Republic: boya and 
 girls to attend same lower schools, 
 111; changes in curriculum. 111; 
 lower four-year course should be 
 compulsory, 118; relation to other 
 schools, 119; aim, 120; authority 
 establishing and locating, 120, 121; 
 controlling authority, 121; cur- 
 riculum under the Repubhc, 127, 
 173; compared with earlier cur- 
 ricula, 128, 131; fees, 133; qualifi- 
 cation of teachers, 159; and women 
 teachers, 169. See also Kinder- 
 gartens; Primary education 
 
 Principles of education, imconscious- 
 ly followed in ancient times, 14; 
 among ancient Chinese, very mod- 
 em in character, 21; of Confucius 
 and Mencius, 31; during Ming 
 dynasty 57. See also Education, 
 in curriculum 
 
 Printing by blocks appUed to books, 
 45 
 
 Private schools, 2; encouraged by 
 inspection and reward, 102; 103; 
 distinguished from pubUc and gov- 
 ernment, 108, note; advisabihty of 
 encouraging, 148 
 
 Privileges to approved missionary 
 schools, see Missionary education 
 
 Problems, present-day edtjcation- 
 
 AL, OF national IMPORTANCE, 
 
 136-162 
 
 Professional schools under the Repub- 
 hc, length of coiu-se, 118; object, 
 qualifications, etc., 124; fees, 133. 
 See also Schools, special; University 
 
 Professors, number in each prefec- 
 ture, 38 
 
 Programs, educational, to prepare for 
 conatitutional government, 91-2 
 
 Progress, the factors in, xi 
 
 "Promoted scholar," see Chii Jen 
 
 Promoter, educational, his selection 
 and duties, 96 
 
 Promotion, system of, in Chou dyn- 
 asty, 23; Sung, 48; under Repubhc 
 dependent on conduct as well as 
 
Index 
 
 201 
 
 scholarship, relative importance 
 of each, 134 
 
 Property, educational, owned by 
 government in 1910, 107 
 
 Protestant missionary statistics 
 (1912), 136, 137 
 
 Provinces, number at different times, 
 52, note; administrative units, 
 95; certain provinces compared 
 as to educational progress, 108; 
 causes for these differences, 109; 
 number of modem schools and 
 students in each (1910), 156 
 
 Provincial schools, Manchu dynasty, 
 59,61 
 
 Psychology, in first modem school 
 system, 83; imder the Republic, 
 123, 130 
 
 Pu-shih-kuan, imperial library, 32 
 
 PubUo ceremonies, in charge of 
 bureau of social education, 116 
 
 Public education, first offices of, 8; 
 one reason for decadence of ancient 
 system of, 36; condition on eve 
 of modem era, 62; See also 
 Educational system 
 
 Public rites, course in, 60 
 
 Pubho schools, used by aU the people, 
 4; lapsed, 30; under T'angs, 41; 
 inspected by Jen Tsimg, 45; imder 
 Mongols, 52; multiplied imder 
 Kublai, 51; under Manchus, 59, 
 61; distinguished from govern- 
 ment and private, 108, note. See 
 also Educational system; Schools 
 
 ^Readers, citizens' series, 106; for 
 
 teaching Chinese characters easily, 
 
 106 
 Reading circles, teachers', needed, 
 
 170 
 Readjustment, time for, needed by 
 
 China, 171 
 -Reasoning (inductive), its larger 
 
 introduction advisable, 166 
 .Recitation-hours, number per week 
 
 in each grade: kindergarten, 80; 
 
 lower primary, 80, 100, 127; higher 
 
 primary, 80, 101, 128; middle, 81, 
 128, 129; higher, 81; language- 
 made-easy, 102; imiversity, 82; 
 lower normal, 83, 129, 130; higher 
 normal, 83, 130; industrial teach- 
 er's training school, 84; industrial, 
 84; schools of languages, 85; school 
 of doctors, 85 
 
 Recognition by government, of grad- 
 uates of modem schools, 74; of 
 students on return from abroad, 76, 
 77 
 
 of missionary education: three 
 forms in Japan, 138; system in 
 India, 139; system advisable in 
 China, 140; its advantages, 140 
 
 Records, of scho larship and conduct, 
 134 
 
 Reform edicts, 71; annulled by Em- 
 press Dowager, 72; reissued, 73 
 
 Reforms, educational, effects of Chino- 
 Japanese war upon, 69; and 
 counter reforms (1898), 71-72; 
 effects of Boxer outbreak, 72; 
 the pivot of other reforms in China, 
 164 
 
 Rehcs, investigation and collection 
 of, 116 
 
 ReUgious ceremonies, the three, 
 named, 9, note 
 
 Reokganization op education 
 under the republic 110-135 
 
 Republic, proclaimed, 110; reorgani- 
 zation of education imder, 110-131; 
 its success ultimately dependent 
 upon the schools, 167 
 
 Research, school of, 79, 82; time- 
 limit removed from course, 123; 
 in higher normal school under 
 RepubUc, 119, 126, 130 
 
 Resources, natural, of China, 149 
 
 Revenue, educational, sources of 
 modem, 146-149; national, its dif- 
 ficulties, 147, 148 
 Revolution, of 1911 and its effect 
 on education, 110; political, indus- 
 trial, social, now in progress, 163 
 
202 
 
 Index 
 
 Revolutions, their effect on national 
 finances, 148 
 
 Rhetoric, in village schools, 60 
 
 Richard, Dr. Timothy, president of 
 the University of Shansi, 73; thinks 
 that missionary schools are too 
 Western, 140, note 
 
 Ritual and a hberal education, 18 
 
 Rituals or li, 10, 11; in examination, 
 43 
 
 Russia, educational bureau of the 
 Chinese legation, 97; number of 
 Chinese students (1910), 107. See 
 also Missions, educational; Stu- 
 dents abroad 
 
 Russian, language, 129; literature, 
 123 
 
 Russo-Japanese war, effect upon 
 modem education, 74 
 
 Salaries, teachers', standard scale 
 proposed, 169 
 
 Sanscrit, 124 
 
 Scholars, called on to enlighten the 
 sovereign, 44. See also Literati 
 
 Scholarship records, 134 
 
 Scholarships, Boxer indemnity fund, 
 97 and note, 98 
 
 School buildings and equipment 
 destroyed by mobs, 110 
 
 School properties, used for military 
 needs, returned after establishment 
 of Repubhc, 113 
 
 School system, earliest complete, 
 8-14; Chou dynasty, 15-17, 22-26; 
 relation to examination system, 
 Chou dynasty, 28; ancient, its 
 decadence, 28-32; comparison of 
 ancient with later systems, 33; 
 Han dynasty, 36, 37; T'sin dynasty 
 38, 39; T'ang dynasty, 40-44; 
 Sung dynasty, 45-47, 60; Mongol 
 dynasty 62-53; Ming djmasty, 
 54, 55; of Manchus, 59-61; out- 
 hned in the Ch'uan Hsueh P'ien, 
 70; modern school system decreed, 
 71; held in abeyance, 72; the first 
 modern, 78-85; chart (1906), 79; 
 
 changes and developments, 100- 
 106; reorganization under the 
 Republic, 118-127; chart (1912), 
 119; that of 1913 compared with 
 that of 1906, 120; new rules and 
 regulations, 131, 136; review of 
 connection with examination sys- 
 tem, 98. See also Administration, 
 educational 
 
 School union, country, compared 
 with unions in United States and 
 Canada, 96; for primary schools, 
 120; for middle schools, 122; for 
 normal schools, 126 
 
 School year, Chou dynasty, 24; 
 imder the Repubhc, 132 
 
 Schools, apprentice, 84, 89, note; 
 119, 126; of astronomy, 62, 66; 
 of calligraphy, 40, 46; circuit, 62," 
 of the clan, 102; and colleges, 
 their share in the revolutionary 
 movement, 109; for the common 
 people, 10; for the customs ser- 
 vice, 89, note; departmental, 10, 
 66, 61; district, 62, 61; of divina- 
 tion, 62, 66; of doctors, (Chin 
 Shih Kuan), 79, 85; earliest, 8-10; 
 in feudal states, 15, 16, 17, 18; 
 of finance, 89, note; of four gates, 
 40, 45; of four gates, small, 38; 
 government, public, and private 
 distinguished, 108, note; half-day, 
 102; higher schools or provincial 
 colleges, 81, 105; in homes of 
 pupils, 102; in homes of teachers, 
 102; of interpreters, 66; "language- 
 made-easy," 102; of languages, 
 79, 85, 89, note, 106, 124; of law, 
 45, 105, 124; for Manchu nobles, 
 60; for study of Manchu and Mon- 
 gol languages, 105; of mechanical 
 engineering, 66, 82; of medicine, 
 44, 46, 62, 106, 124; military, 45, 
 61, 64, 65; of Mongol language, 
 52, 105; of music and ceremonies, 
 10, 15-18; naval, 66, 66; of paint- 
 ing, 46; of pohtical science and 
 law, 105, 124; for the poor, see 
 
Index 
 
 20a 
 
 common people, I Hsfieh, half- 
 day schools, "language-made-easy 
 schools"; prefectural, 52; prepar- 
 atory, for students to be sent 
 abroad, 68 (See also Tsing Hua 
 College); for preservation of 
 ancient culture, 105; professional, 
 119, 124; of research, 79, 82, 119, 
 126, 130; special, 85, 105, 124; for 
 study of Manchu and Mongol 
 languages, 105; technical, 119, 124, 
 160; vocational, 119, 124, 160; of 
 telegraphy, 89, note; university 
 preparatory, 79, 105; of western 
 learning overcrowded, 69. See also 
 Elementary schools; Higher 
 schools; Industrial schools; Middle 
 schools; Missionary schools; Nor- 
 mal schools; Primary schools; 
 Public schools; Training schools 
 
 Schools of interpretation of classics, 
 48 
 
 Science, western, Chinese appre- 
 ciation of, 6; put on par with 
 classical learning earher than in 
 other countries, 66, 67; in pro- 
 jected schools and colleges, 70 
 in first modern school system: 
 80-85; in girls' primary schools, 
 101 
 
 in system of 1912: in university, 
 123, 124; professional school of 
 applied, 124; time allotment of 
 various branches, 173-176; ap- 
 phed, 123, 124; experts in science 
 attached to Ministry of Education, 
 115; training in science a supreme 
 necessity, 166; method not words 
 should be emphasized, 167. See 
 also Political science, and Bot- 
 any, Chemistry, etc. 
 
 Scope of this book, 2 
 
 Sea-bather (inexperienced), metaphor 
 expressing China's efforts to in- 
 troduce modem education, 106 
 
 Search for ancient writings, by Liu 
 Pu Wei, 32; by a special com- 
 mission, 34 
 
 Secondary education, maintained by 
 provincial g6vemment, 164. See 
 also Industrial schools; Middle 
 schools; Normal schools 
 
 Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, 
 75; of the Six Boards, 75 
 
 Selection of oflScials, triple system, 
 41; unitary system, 44; dual sys- 
 tem, 44, 46. See also Examina- 
 tion system 
 
 Self-activity, Confucius on, 22 
 
 Self-government, Council for, 96; 
 status under RepubUc, 132; needed 
 in modem schools, 145; conditions 
 for its successful introduction, 146 
 
 Seminaries, for Chinese Cathohc 
 clergy, 137 
 
 Sense-training, larger introduction 
 desirable, 166 
 
 Sewing, in primary schools, 101 ^ 
 127, 173; in middle schools, 129, 
 174; in normal schools, 130, 176. 
 See also Needlework 
 
 Shang dynasty, educational achieve- 
 ments, 7-14 
 
 Shang Hsiang, college for higher 
 education, in reigns of Yao and 
 Sun, 9; college for lower education, 
 Chou and Chin dynasties, 15, 17, 18- 
 
 Shang-shu-ta-chuen, on school age 
 and term, 24 
 
 Shanghai, auxiliary school of inter- 
 preters, 65; mechanical school, 65; 
 preparatory school for students 
 going abroad, 68; Nanyang Col- 
 lege, 70; Catholic imiversities, 137 
 
 Shansi, in second inspectorial divi- 
 sion, (1913), 116; number of mod- 
 ern schools and students 1910), 
 156; university of, and the Boxer 
 indemnity fund, 73 
 
 Shantung, in second inspectorial 
 division (1913), 116; mmiber of 
 modem schools and students (1910)^ 
 156; Provincial College, 73 
 
 Shao-shih, junior teacher, Chou 
 dynasty, 25 
 
 Shao Yung, philosopher, 49 
 
204 
 
 Index 
 
 Sheng Hsueh, provincial schools, 59 
 
 Sheng Hsiiaii Huai, and western 
 learning, 70 
 
 Sheng-tu, form of selecting officials, 
 41 
 
 Sheng Yuan, degree, 99 
 
 Shengking, schools in, 60 
 
 Shensi, in fifth inspectorial division 
 (1913), 116; number of modem 
 schools and students (1910), 156 
 
 Shih-chih, grand instructor, Chou 
 dynasty, 25 
 
 Shih Hsueh, college of history, 38 
 
 Ship-building, students sent abroad 
 to study, 69; course in, 82, 124 
 
 Shu, haUs of study, 17 
 
 Shu Hsueh, village schools, 65, 59, 
 61 ; college of calligraphy, 40 
 
 Shu-lau, see Aged of the people 
 
 Shu Shu, clan schools, 102 
 
 Shu Yuan, provincial college, 52, 
 59, 61; to be converted into modem 
 university, 78 
 
 Shun, brilliancy of his reign, 7, 14; 
 first sovereign to create educational 
 offices, 8 
 
 Shun Chih, fosters education, 58 
 
 Siang, dance, 19 
 
 Siao-Ch'Sng, or small perfection, 23 
 
 Siao Hsiieh, college for lower educa- 
 tion, 9; age of admission to, 24; re- 
 placed by the Kuo Tzti Chien, 55 
 
 Singing, in school system of 1912, 127, 
 130, 173. See also Music 
 
 Singkiang, number of modern schools 
 and students (1910), 156 
 
 Siu-shih, flourishing scholars, 27 
 
 Siu T'sai, qualifications for, 42 
 and the National University, 60 
 and the provincial schools, 61 
 first or bachelor's degree, 62 
 
 Skills, need for acquiring, 167 
 
 Social action, and morality, 143 
 
 Social education, defined, 111; em- 
 phasized, after the Revolution, 111; 
 reasons for this emphasis, 112; 
 agencies of, 112; urged by Yuan 
 Shih Kai, 113 
 
 Sociology, its verdict on intellec- 
 tual equahty of Orientals and Oc- 
 cidentals, xi 
 
 Sources, chief, of data for this book, 
 v; fuU list of, 177, 178 
 
 Special schools, 85, 105, 124 
 
 Ss&, 27 
 
 Sstt Ma Kuang, on the number of 
 feudal states, 26; his history re- 
 vised, 49 
 
 Ssii Men Hsueh, college of four 
 gates, 40, 45 
 
 Ssii Men Siao Hsiieh, small school 
 of four gates, 38 
 
 Sstttu or Minister of Education, 8 
 
 Stage, the, in charge of bureau of 
 social education, 116 
 
 Standard of comparison for systems 
 of education, 4 
 
 Statistics, third annual report of 
 Ministry of Education (1911), 107 
 
 Student self-government, its status 
 under the RepubUc, 132. See also 
 Government of schools 
 
 Students, from Korea, Japan, Siam 
 in China, 40, 54; from Liu Chiu 
 Islands, 58; from Russia, 59; 
 subsidized and non-subsidized, 55; 
 total number (1910), 107; increase 
 in munber of students (1903-1910), 
 108; number in modem schools 
 in each province (1910), 156, 157; 
 number in Protestant missionary 
 schools (1912), 136; students and 
 revolution of 1911, 110 
 
 Students abroad, sent by Kuang 
 Hsii, 71; permission withdrawn, 
 72; in Japan, 74; to be sent by 
 viceroys, 76; expense paid by 
 government, 76; further encourage- 
 ment, 76-78; relation to the Chi- 
 nese Minister, 76, 77, 78; older 
 men to be sent, 77; mmiber in 
 various foreign countries (1910), 
 107; provinces sending largest 
 number, 107; returned, teach in 
 modem schools, 154; why so few 
 
Index 
 
 205 
 
 teach, 154. See also Missions, edu- 
 cational 
 Suan Hsueh, college of mathematics, 
 
 40 
 Subsidy, debated for primary schools 
 and teachers 94; advocated for 
 improvement in service, 170 
 Sui dynasty, miites empires of North 
 and South China, 38; schools 
 repeatedly established and closed, 
 38; numerous private schools, 39 
 Summary and conclusions, 163-171 
 Summer schools needed, 170 
 Sun Chia Nan, on the Hanhn Acad- 
 emy, 75; member of commission 
 to plan national pubhc school 
 system, 78 
 Sun Yat Sen, and educational fac- 
 tors in overthrow of monarchy, 109 
 Sung djmasty, colleges established, 
 38; Uterature and education favored 
 45-61; Sung emperors driven from 
 capital by the Chins, 46 
 Superintendent of Learning, 94 
 Supervisory corps, very insufficient 
 
 as yet, 170 
 Supplementary courses, 118; fees, 133 
 Supplementary industrial schools, 
 
 79, 84, 85 
 Survey, national educational, 90, 91 
 System of education, see Educational 
 
 system 
 
 Systems of education in different 
 
 countries not reaUy comparable, 5 
 
 System of schools, see School system 
 
 Szechuan, educational progress, 108, 
 
 109; in fifth inspectorial division 
 
 (1913), 116; proportion of children 
 
 of school age in school (1909), 149; 
 
 nmnber of modem schools and 
 
 students (1910), 156 
 
 Ta Ch'eng or great perfection, 23 
 Ta Ching Chiao Yu Fa Ling, and 
 
 data for Chapter V, 87, note 
 Ta-fu, officers, 22, 27 
 Ta-hia, dance, 19 
 Ta Hsueh, college of higher education, 
 
 9, 16, 17,36,37,55 
 
 Ta-ssft-tu, 26; his duty in the examin- 
 ation system, 27 
 
 Ta-tsung-tsai, prime minister, 26, 
 note 
 
 T'ai Hsiieh, national college, es- 
 tabUshed, 38; closed at times, 39; 
 students, 40; re-estabhshed, 45; 
 students classified, 45 
 
 Tai I Yuan, medical college, 52, 61 
 
 T'ai Tsu, founder of Simg dynasty, 
 45 
 
 T'ai Tsu, founder of Ming dynasty, 
 63, 54 
 
 T'ai Tsung, T'ang dynasty, fosters 
 education, 40 
 
 T'ai Tsung, restores educational in- 
 dustries, 42; and the eunuchs, 43 
 
 T'ai Tsung, Manchu dynasty, and 
 Manchu language, 58 
 
 Tang, village, 17 and note 
 
 Tao teh, the aim of education, 114; 
 its definition by Yuan Shih Kai, 
 142 and note 
 
 Tao Wu, creates a college, 38 
 
 Taoism, in encyclopedia, 54. See 
 also Laotze 
 
 Taoists, push Uterati out of pubUc 
 service, 37; opposed to classical 
 education, 39; in favor with emper- 
 or, 42; influence on philosophy, 
 49; temples and monasteries to 
 be used as schools, 70; temples 
 and incomes appropriated for mod- 
 ern education, 147. See ako Laotze 
 
 Tartars, cause division into North 
 and South empires, 38; revolt in 
 North, 42; invasion by Golden 
 Tartars, 45; educational conditions 
 among, 50 
 
 Taxation, taught in Manchu school 
 system, 60; in first modem school 
 system, 82; in system of 1912, 124 
 
 Taxes, 91; provincial, conffict with 
 local, 148. See also Maintenance 
 of schools 
 
 Teacher, personahty, and the devel- 
 opment of morality, 143 
 
 Teachers, Chou dynasty, 17; Sung 
 dynasty, 45; certification of, 114; 
 
206 
 
 Index 
 
 source of first supply for modem 
 schools, 152; reasons for weak dis- 
 cipline, 144; reasons for improve- 
 ment now in progress, 145; former 
 and present requirements com- 
 pared, 151, 152; modem, young and 
 inexperienced, 69; of old regime, 
 diflBculties in entering new sys- 
 tem, 152; special privileges for 
 elementary, 114; elementary, certif- 
 ication of, required in 1909, 158; 
 training school for rural, 157; 
 qualifications of all employed 
 in each class of schools (1910), 159, 
 160; training of, summary and 
 forecast, 169; means proposed to 
 secure better qualification of, 169; 
 reasons why few women, in China, 
 169, 170; corps of modern, sum- 
 mary of sources, 159; in service, 
 need of agencies for improving, 
 170 
 
 number: of modern, (1910), 107; 
 in modern schools in 1908-1910, 
 159; in various classes of schools 
 (1910), 159; required to give 
 China universal education, 150; 
 problem of securing a sufficient 
 number, 151-161. See also Foreign 
 teachers 
 
 Technical schools, 119, 124; qualifi- 
 cation of teachers, 160 
 
 Technology or professional educa- 
 tion, bureau of, 116; courses in, 
 124 
 
 Technology, of arms, in first modern 
 school system, 82; of explosives, 
 82. See also Military science 
 
 Telegraphy, schools of, 89, note 
 
 Temples, use as schools, 70, 72, 73, 147 
 
 Tenny, Dr. Chas. D., president of 
 University of Tientsin, 66 
 
 Term, its length, Chou dynasty, 24; 
 under Repubhc, 132 
 
 Territorial divisions of China in 
 later Chun dynasty, 35, note 
 
 Territory, great extent a reason for 
 decentralized administration of ed- 
 ucation, 165 
 
 Text-book commission, its duties, 
 135 
 
 Text-books, control of, prior ta 
 1905, 106; uncertified may be used 
 under certain conditions, 106; 
 control of, under Manchu dynasty, 
 106; under Republic, 135; must 
 harmonize with repubhcan princi- 
 ples, 111; below middle schools 
 must be approved by Ministry 
 of Education, 113; as illustrating 
 the blending of centralized and 
 decentralized administration, 165 
 
 Thesis, graduates of higher normal 
 schools, 84 
 
 Three-character classic, 53 
 
 Three Halls, system of, 45, 46 
 
 T'i-hsueh-szii, commissioner of edu- 
 cation, 94 
 
 T'i-hsiieh-tao, superintendent of 
 learning, 94 
 
 Ti-kuan, on the curriculum, Chou 
 dynasty, 18 
 
 Ti-tu-hsiieh-cheng, literary chan- 
 cellor, his duties, 94 
 
 Tibet, control of its affairs, 89, note; 
 in Emergency Central Educa- 
 tional Conference, 113; temporary 
 special inspectorial division in 
 1913, 116 
 
 Tientsin, treaty of, 64; college of 
 telegraphy, 65; army medical col- 
 lege, 66; university projected, 66; 
 massacre, 67; university estab- 
 Ushed, 69; naval academy, control 
 of, 89, note 
 
 Ting, relation to other administrative 
 units, 95 
 
 Ting Yi Chang, favors sending stu- 
 dents abroad, 67 
 
 Tokio, Chinese Mecca of Western 
 learning, 74; number of Chinese 
 students, 107. See aho Missions, 
 educational 
 
 Trade, taught in first modem school 
 system, 82. See also Commerce 
 
 Traffic, taught in first modern 
 school system, 82. See also Com- 
 merce 
 
Index 
 
 207 
 
 Transition feom traditional to 
 modern education, 64-86 
 
 Traditional period showing decadence 
 of ancient educational system, 31 
 
 Training schools, industrial teachers', 
 79, 84, 105; qualification of teachers, 
 160. See also Normal schools 
 
 Translation, of foreign books en- 
 couraged, 71; of classics into Chin 
 language, 50; into Mongol, 59. 
 See also School of interpreters; 
 School of languages 
 
 Translations, of Western books made 
 by Chinese in Japan, 74 
 
 Treaty ports, English allowed in 
 schools of, 100 
 
 Trustees, school, election and duties, 
 96 
 
 Tsai Ching, minister, favors educa- 
 tion, 47 
 
 Tsai Lun, discovers art of making 
 paper, 34 
 
 Tsai Ytian Pei, his definition of 
 ethical education, 115 
 
 Tseng Kuo Fan, establishes school 
 of mechanical engineering, 65; 
 favors sending students abroad, 67; 
 succeeded by Li Hung Chang, 68 
 
 Tsin, unites three kingdoms of 
 China into one empire, 37; and 
 inheritance of office, 43 
 
 Tsing Hua College, its origin, 89, 
 note; for indemnity fund students, 
 98, 105; number of its American 
 teachers (1911), 153 
 
 Tso Hstieh, College of the Left, 9 
 
 Tsung Hsueh, schools for nobles, 54, 
 59, 60 
 
 Tu Chuan Yuen Ssti Ju Hsueh, 
 school for sons of miUtary officers, 
 55 
 
 T'u Shu Chi Ch'eng, encyclopedia, 
 58 
 
 Tu Ssii Ju Hsueh, school for sons 
 of military officers, 55 
 
 Tsungli Yamen, foreign office, cre- 
 ated, 64; recommends establish- 
 ment of school for interpreters, 
 65; establishes auxiliary schools, 65 
 
 T'ungWen Kuan, school of languages, 
 89, note. See also I Hsiieh Kuan 
 
 Tsung Yang Chiao Yu Hui, organ- 
 ized, 93 
 
 Tuition in first modem school sys- 
 tem, 80-85; in middle schools 
 under Repubhc, 122; its rates under 
 the Republic, 133-134; of normal 
 students remitted, 169 
 
 Tung Chiao. See Tung Hsii 
 
 T'ung Chien, on the number of 
 feudal states, 26; to be used as a 
 text-book, 70 
 
 T'lmg Chien Kang Mu, revision of 
 T'ung Chien, 26, 49 
 
 Tung Chung Shu, monitorial edu- 
 cator, 37; condemns inheritance 
 of offices, 36 
 
 Tung Hsii, College of the East, 9; 
 college for higher education, 15, 
 16, 17, 18 
 
 Timg Shih, local gentry selected to 
 look after educational affairs of 
 their community, 118 
 
 T'ung Wen Kuan, school for training 
 of interpreters, 65 and note; auxi- 
 liary schools established, 65. See 
 also Languages, school of 
 
 Tutuhs, provincial governors, 112 
 
 Tzti Chih Chih, coimcil for self- 
 government, 96 
 
 United Kingdom, number of Chinese 
 students (1910), 107. See also 
 Missions, educational; Students 
 abroad 
 
 Universal education, comparatively 
 recent in Occident, 5; why later 
 in China, 5; its present problems, 
 149-151 
 
 Universities, Catholic, 137; Protes- 
 tant missionary, 136 
 
 University, degree of Chin Shih, 99; 
 in Mongol dynasty, three, 52; 
 in Ming dynasty, one, 54; Shansi, 
 and the Boxer uprising, 73; Pei 
 Yang, 75. See also Kuo Tzti 
 Hsueh; Kuo Tzti Chien 
 
208 
 
 Index 
 
 of Peking: and examinations, 
 75; to serve as model for provin- 
 cial universities, 78; relation to 
 other schools, 79; faculties named, 
 82; preparatory schools abolished, 
 105; number of foreign teachers, 
 (1911), 153 
 
 under the Republic: aim, 132; 
 drops faculty of classics, 122; 
 faculties named, 123; length of 
 course, 118; relation to other 
 schools, 119; reorganized in Peking, 
 to be founded in three other cities, 
 124; studies of each school, 124; 
 studies of preparatory department, 
 123; fees, 133, 134 
 
 Vacations, time and length, Chou 
 dynasty, 25; under Republic, 133 
 
 Value, of a history of Chinese edu- 
 cation, 1; of a system of education 
 dependent upon suitability to 
 environment, 4 
 
 Veterinary medicine in first modern 
 school system, 82; in system of 
 1912, 124 
 
 Village schools, 17, 55, 59, 61 
 
 Virtues, six, according to Book of 
 Rites, 18 
 
 Virtuous character, the aim of edu- 
 cation, 114 
 
 Vocational schools, 119, 124; quali- 
 fication of teachers, 160 
 
 "Walks" into country, their advant- 
 ages, 167 
 
 Wang An Shih, builds schools of 
 law, 45; reformer and economist, 
 50 
 
 Wang T'ung, educator, 39 
 
 Wang Yang Ming, "pragmatist be- 
 fore WiUiam James," 67; Pestaloz- 
 zi of China, 57 
 
 Wang Ying Lin, writes 3-oharacter 
 classic, 53 
 
 Waterways, course in, 60 
 
 Wen Hsueh, college of hterature, 38 
 
 Wen Hsien T'ung K'ao, on education, 
 41 
 
 Wen Tzii, Taoist philosopher, 42 
 
 Wen Wang, one founder of Chou 
 dynasty, 15 
 
 Wen Wen, organizes colleges, 36 
 
 Western books, their translation 
 encouraged, 71; many translated 
 in Japan, 74 
 
 Western learning, to be studied in 
 HanUn Academy, 76 
 
 Women, training in Chou dynasty, 
 21; their education, past, present 
 and future, 168; likely soon to 
 take part in public affairs, 168 
 
 Writing and a liberal education, 18. 
 See also Penmanship 
 
 Wu Ching Po Shih, professors of 
 five classics, 36 
 
 Wu-lun, the five humanities. See 
 Five human relationships 
 
 Wu Sheng, degree, 61. See also 
 Siu T'sai 
 
 Wu-ti, creates new territorial unit, 
 35, note; reorganizes educational 
 institutions, 36 
 
 Wu Tzii Tung, head of educational 
 commission to America, misre- 
 presents results, 68 
 
 Wu Wang, one founder of Chou 
 dynasty, 15, 26; re-establishes 
 examination system, 34 
 
 Wuchang, Western education in- 
 troduced, 66; government mining 
 and engineering college established, 
 66; scene of outbreak of pohtical 
 revolution, 110; schools crippled, 
 110 
 
 Yamen, Taotai's, 70. SeeafeoTsung- 
 
 li Yamen 
 Yang Chu, philosopher, 31 
 Yao, brilliancy of his reign, 7, 14; 
 
 educational institutions, 9 
 Yen Yu, on methods of Confucius, 22 
 Yii, the Great, foimder of Hsia 
 
 dynasty, 11 
 Yu Han, on education, 41, 46 
 
Index 
 
 209 
 
 Ye Hsiieh, college ot the right, 9 
 Ytian or Mongol dynasty, 51, 53 
 Yuan Chien Lei Han, encyclopedia, 58 
 Yiian Shih Kai, advocates immediate 
 abolition of examination system, 
 86; elected president of China, 
 112; inaugural emphasizes moral- 
 ity, 142 and note; first educational 
 ordinance, 115; inaugural quoted 
 on financial conditions, 149 
 Yuen-shih, officers, 22 
 Yung, two sets of characters to rep- 
 resent, 16, note 
 Yung Cheng, fosters education, 59; 
 creates office of Uterary chancellor, 
 94 
 
 Yung Lo, his educational achieve- 
 ments, 54 
 
 Yung Wing, urges establishment of 
 schools of mechanical engineering, 
 65; instrumental in sending stu- 
 dents abroad, 67; shares charge of 
 first educational commission to 
 America, 67 
 
 Yunnan, in eighth inspectorial divi- 
 sion (1913), 116; its number of 
 modern schools and students (1910), 
 156 
 
 Zenith, of Chinese civilization, 15 
 Zoology, 123, 124. See aUo Biology