CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA JAMES B. WEBSTER i ✓ v ,J y JAN il l„j> S' OGJtiAL so*^ jIL Section / 34i r .\a1417 1^3 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/christianeducatiOOwebs CHRISTIAN EDUCATIO AND THE NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA BY JAMES B. WEBSTER, Ph.D. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, SHANGHAI COLLEGE, SHANGHAI, CHINA NEW YORK E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 681 FIFTH AVENUE Copyright, 1993 BY E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America. / TO CHINA AND TO Those Who Give Time, Money and Life in Her Service PREFACE The intimacy and increasing complexity of present and future international relations calls for fundamental changes in the thought and con¬ duct of individuals and the smaller social groups. The development of the international mind and its probable consequences appeal strongly to the imagination. Its appearance is founded on and is as certain as the laws of physical, mental and social development. Pessimism as to the out¬ come is rooted in a persistent narrow-group viewpoint of world-conditions. Knowledge of human achievements along these three lines seems to justify the formulation of a practical, comprehensive program for working out these changes, and a rational effective optimism as to the results. In the following pages, the writer seeks to de¬ fine the aims, ideals and practical values of Christian education in China in order to help secure the right adjustments in this intensely in¬ teresting contact of western and eastern nations in the Pacific Basin. These adjustments involve, vii PREFACE • • • vm primarily, mental attitudes and social forces with which missionary education deals directly. It is not necessary to eulogize or to apologize for Christian missions. As a sane method of racial and cultural cross-fertilization, mission work is a higher type of mental activity and very evidently has a greater survival value than the murderous and destructive conquest-methods which the race has hitherto employed, and has not yet entirely abandoned. This fact does not, however, obscure the mis¬ takes and the imperfections of mission work. No matter how justifiable the method may be from the standpoint of science, morals and re¬ ligion, it has been employed largely on man’s “trial and error” basis and with the usual de¬ fects. God and His natural laws are not respon¬ sible for all that men have done in His name. Christian missions, like all our social institu¬ tions, have been only dimly telic and strongly colored by the egoism and small-group interest of the times in which they arose. To correct these defects and to secure right adjustments in the definite, concrete and critical situation now developing in China, there is needed a compre¬ hensive program based on the fundamental laws of biology, psychology, sociology and economics so far as these are now revealed to the race. Right international adjustments in China now PREFACE ix will be far-reaching in their influence on the entire range of racial adjustments in this new era of internationalism. If Japan abandons the policy of military and political aggression in China, it seems safe to prophesy the early restor¬ ation of friendly relations between these two nations. Mutual understanding and respect, sympathy, confidence and co-operation are the only final solution of international relations. Any social devices or methods that do not contribute evi¬ dently and directly to this solution are primitive and lacking in survival value. These desired qualities may be secured between nations, as be¬ tween individuals and smaller groups, by the right kind of education. Such an education must satisfy the legitimate desires of the individual for self-realization in and through that social process which brings the highest race-realization. The author hopes to contribute to the working- out of such an educational policy and the achieve¬ ment of happier international adjustments be¬ tween China and the Western nations. Special acknowledgment is due Professor Ed¬ ward P. St. John and Professor George E. Daw¬ son for their personal interest in the preparation - of the manuscript and for introducing me to the vital relation between religious education and the fundamental principles of biology and psy- X PREFACE chology. Professor E. A. Kirkpatrick’s Funda¬ mentals of Sociology suggested the outline for the study of the cultural needs of the Chinese. Most of the historical data relating to education has been drawn from Professor Paul Monroe’s works. Professor John Dewey’s philosophy of education and social progress has been particu¬ larly helpful. Professor Richard T. Ely’s Evo - lution of Industrial Society , although dealing with western society, was very suggestive in the study of China’s economic needs as these are related to education. Helpful parallels for recre¬ ational needs were found in Education Through Play , by R. H. Edwards. Bishop Bashford’s in¬ terpretation, China >, has encouraged a more gen¬ erous valuation of China’s civilization. Our Task in India > by Bernard Lucas, was helpful in mak¬ ing a distinction between proselytism and real evangelism. The writer is indebted to other authors in the various fields considered, but the list is too long to incorporate. A number of indirect references and a few direct references have been dropped in publication, in order to avoid the annoyance of frequent foot-notes. Professor T. H. P. Sailer, Professor D. J. Fleming, Professor E. W. Capen, Miss Evelyn Dewey, and others who have kindly read the manuscript, have given valuable suggestions for PREFACE xi revision. Professor Sailer’s personal interest in China and in Christian education has made his suggestions particularly helpful. Mrs. Yvonne Watkins gave splendid voluntary assistance in putting the manuscript in final form for publication. My chief acknowledgment is due my wife for her sympathetic encouragement and the assis¬ tance she has given in the preparation of the manuscript. Jambs B. Webster. Atlantic City, New Jersey, March, 1923 . ( CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. A Survey of the Larger Task of Christian World-Missions. 1 II. The Motive Forces in Christian Missions 17 •m. Christian Education and Its Aims ... 27 * IY. The Classical Ideal in Education ... 61 ' Y. The Social Ideal in Education .... 81 YI. The Eelation between Western Educa¬ tion and Chinese Education .... 101 VII. The Problems and the Values .... 129 VIII. The Basal Factors—Bio-Psychological . 138 IX. The Needs—Economic .156 X. The Needs—Protective. 198 XI. The Needs—Recreational.205 XII. The Needs—Cultural.225 XIII. The Needs—Social.233 XIY. The Needs—Moral and Religious . . . 251 * XY. China’s Educational Task.281 XYI. China’s Distinctive Contributions to Ra¬ cial Development.294 Topical Bibliography .302 References .309 Index.317 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA Christian Education and the National Consciousness in China CHAPTER i A SURVEY OF THE LARGER TASK OF CHRISTIAN WORLD-MISSIONS A study of the particular field of China and the special task of Christian education must be pursued in all its essential relations to the larger task undertaken by Christian world-missions. This is necessary in order to secure the proper perspective for the observation and judgment of facts discovered in this field. The comparison of the data with that available from other coun¬ tries will be found to throw much light on per¬ plexing problems. International relationships have come so prom¬ inently to the front that it is impossible to dis¬ regard their bearing on every phase of life. Edu¬ cation for the world-society of this century must place these international factors in the fore¬ ground. Christian education must be able to see the trend in the various phases of this larger 1 2 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE life and, as these phases may require, to direct, control, or inspire these movements for the ad¬ vancement of social righteousness. Christian education must recognize and con¬ serve, alike, all material and spiritual factors and forces at work in this period of new rela¬ tionships upon which the world is now enter¬ ing. It must not allow itself to be prejudiced in its judgments by the over-emphasis of spe¬ cialists in any one of the various material or spiritual forces. Biological, sociological or eco¬ nomic factors do not comprehend the whole field of present and future social needs. No more do ethics, theology, pedagogy, or psychology solve the problems apart from the consideration of material factors. Education can make its proper contribution to society only by re-establishing and teaching the natural and essential relation¬ ship between the material and spiritual factors in life. The separation of these factors has been arbi¬ trary. The limitations of human knowledge have thrown them in opposition to each other. Modern education promises marvelously to broaden the limits of human knowledge. It is becoming more generally apparent that these two elements are not antagonistic but comple¬ mentary and mutually necessary to each other. Science needs more spiritual interpretation. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 3 Religion is being removed from the field of magic and superstition to the realm of reason and scientific justification. Any monistic interpre¬ tation of the development of human society is irreligious and unscientific, whether that inter¬ pretation be materialistic or spiritual. Honest consideration of these various factors which are set forward by their special advocates as explaining all human problems and curing, or making endurable, all human ills, makes one hesitate to decide that any single one of them is even a dominant factor. Not one has been able to ignore all the others and, at the same time, furnish a satisfactory explanation of human society, its history, and environment. Under the pressure of the realities of nature and human life, it seems as though the material factors have too often hidden or crowded out the spiritual factors. The education of this century will fail in its task if such a one-sided view of life dominates its ideals and methods. Christianity will go the way of other world-systems of religious philos¬ ophy if it fails to impress human society with the reality, permanence and increasing power of the spiritual factors in the development of human society. The success or failure of Christianity in the midst of a world-society will depend upon its 4 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE ability to re-focus its vision so that individuals and nations shall not disappear from its sight but shall appear in their proper perspective with relation to the interests of a human world-society. The Gospel of Jesus Christ needs no re-adjust¬ ment to meet this new situation. On the con¬ trary nominal Christianity, from the force of circumstances, needs a very radical readjustment of its angle of vision in order to see the coming needs of this century. It has seen the individual, the denominational, and national groups. It must now see international unity in relation to these and change its method accordingly. The justification for such a challenge of nom¬ inal Christianity lies in the fact that the world is challenging it in louder and more imperious tones than ever before. The criticisms come from within and from without its ranks. A moderate degree of satisfaction with the present achievements and influence of nominal Chris¬ tianity can be found only in a comparatively small group of individuals. The facts for judg¬ ment are open to all. They are sufficient grounds for the challenge and a partial list is as follows: 1. Nature and methods of appeals by leaders of missionary activities to churches. 2 . Problem of non-attendance of church services by communicants. 3. Acknowledged failure of church to reach almost NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 5 two-thirds of the population in the United States for even nominal church membership. 4. War between Christian nations that has shocked even the non-Christian nations of the Orient. Other equally striking facts might be cited. These facts should drive all those, Christians and non-Christians alike, who have had a real experience, to search earnestly for real values in the claims and methods of modern Christianity. Has it forces, ideals, and methods that will meet the changing needs of a new era of human rela¬ tionships? If it has these elements, what are they? The statement of these elements is essen¬ tial to right thinking and clear judgment in a special study of the work of Christian education in China, or in any other country. Christianity and Christian education must have clear-cut ideals that comprehend the needs of the entire human race as it rapidly passes into closer and more complex social contact. These ideals must be able to meet, not only the new racial contacts, but also new class contacts within the racial groups. They must provide for the control of or adjustment to the whole range of material and spiritual forces of the universe. Materialism limits the consideration of human phenomena to the field of world-relationships; due recognition of the spiritual, or non-material, forces extends the limits of such consideration 6 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE to include the larger cosmic-relationships. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has provided for both of these relationships in its ideal of the Kingdom of God. Nominal Christianity has had glimpses of this ideal and has undertaken its mission to the world; it needs the clear vision of Jesus Christ concerning the Kingdom of God. THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD A provincial viewpoint is an anachronism in this century. The world is demonstrating to itself, more clearly than ever before, its essential unity. Humanity is rapidly becoming conscious of its solidarity in nature, function, and final value. Human society, in its primitive states, recognizes spiritual or non-material forces in its environment, but obscures its thinking about them with a mass of crude superstition. If the primitive mind has vaguely perceived these spiritual forces and sought after them with in¬ creasing success down through the centuries of human history, it is not probable that the civ¬ ilized mind of this century will reach a place where it will dispense with the search for and recognition of spiritual values. The perspective in which Jesus looked upon humanity and its activities and set forth his teaching about the Kingdom of God, or the King¬ dom of Heaven, as an institution to be developed NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 7 on earth, meets the requirements of all of the various conditions of human society. It is the only perspective that does do it. It has taken nineteen hundred years for the human race to reach a point where any considerable number of individuals are able to get this perspective. The clearness with which the Man from Nazareth saw the possibilities of the human race and the principles by which the race should attain these possibilities, and his complete dedication of him¬ self to these principles, are the strongest proofs of his divinity. This vision and power the Church has designated as his divinity and has endeavoured to prove this divinity by appeal to miracles in the world of matter. With this perspective only, can Jesus Christ be called the “Saviour” of the world. With any other, he is the “Saviour” of a few “elect individuals,” cer¬ tain groups of society, and of “chosen nations.” The history of the thought and activity of the Christian religion is the history of the appear¬ ance of these narrower perspectives and their conflict with each other and with the larger out¬ look which Jesus actually revealed to the world. What are the essential characteristics of the Kingdom of God? These characteristics must be clearly defined and recognized in the begin¬ ning of a constructive study of Christian edu¬ cation in China. Many have written at length 8 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE on this subject of the Kingdom in its social im¬ plications. It is necessary here only to outline essentials. The cod gin of the conception of the Kingdom . It is not possible, here, to point out all the in¬ dividual glimpses of the idea as recorded in the Old Testament. Clearly, it had its beginning before the time of Jesus of Nazareth. The theoc¬ racy is probably the earliest form of the idea. The larger conception of the Kingdom does not appear with any marked emphasis until the Hebrew people had been forced out of their pro¬ vincialism, by their suffering at the hands of surrounding peoples. Then a few of the prophets caught the vision. The emphasis on the social implications of the Kingdom appears with the prophets, in the Eighth and Seventh centuries B.C. Beginning with Isaiah in the Eighth, the idea of the Kingdom as extending beyond the borders of Palestine appears with varying clear¬ ness down to the Fourth century. The Kingdom idea as it appears, even in its highest form, among the prophets, is so colored by Hebrew provincialism and the national the¬ ocracy of Jehovah, that it is of little value for this study. However, these earlier forms of the idea show its origin. They indicate that it was a growing conception; and that it started with and grew by means of the wider international ex- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 9 periences. The conception reached the climax of expression and interpretation in Jesus after the Hebrew traditions and ideas had been permeated and moulded by the last and greatest of interna¬ tional contacts, the Greek and Roman. With Jesus’ interpretation of the idea we have the last contribution of the Hebrew nation. His Galilean disciples were unable to grasp and hold the idea as he had presented it to them. Only a Jew who had been born and reared in the Gentile city of Tarsus could understand its international, world-wide message. It will, therefore, be more profitable to confine the search for essential characteristics of the Kingdom to the teaching of Jesus concerning it. The scope of the Kingdom. This includes the entire human race. The first sixteen verses of the Sermon on the Mount are world-wide in their bearing. “Ye are the salt of the earth,” (not simply of the Jews) ; “Ye are the light of the world,” (not simply of Palestine). “Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, . . . teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have com¬ manded you,” will stand the test of the spirit of Jesus’ teaching whether it will stand the test of textual criticism or not. The Kingdom includes the children, the women, even social and moral outcasts. It is not simply a spiritual kingdom in the hereafter. It comprehends the widest 10 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE boundaries of this earth and life. This seems to be the clear meaning of Jesus’ words when he taught his disciples to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth ” The 'principles of the Kingdom. These are the principles of a social democracy in which the in¬ dividual realizes his best self in advancing the welfare of humanity as a whole. The Scribes and Pharisees were found wanting because they had the notion that they were the privileged class to which was intrusted all wisdom and truth. The Jewish nation was scattered among the neighboring peoples to learn that, although they were “the chosen nation,” they had not been chosen to the exclusion of the other nations of the earth. Jesus says more about human rela¬ tionship in the Sermon on the Mount than he does about celestial affairs. The last judgment as described in Matthew xxv is based on the recognition and fulfillment of social obligations to the lowest classes rather than on metaphysical and theological statements accepted. The Fa¬ therhood of God receives more consideration from Jesus than does the theocratic and violent reign of God as the prophets had conceived His King¬ dom. The ideas of sonship, fellowship, co-opera¬ tion with God, the possibility of being perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect, these constitute the ideals and relations of a Christian social de- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 11 mocraey rather than of an autocracy. The value which Jesus places on every individual; his recog¬ nition of the solidarity of human society as one great family, regardless of class, nation or race; his identification of himself with these masses; his condemnation of narrow social, intellectual, and spiritual groups; his work independent of and in opposition to the established leaders of Jewish society; and the importance of service to human society as compared with words and pro¬ fessions, all these emphasize the principles of democracy as opposed to aristocracy. By these principles and in such service the individual achieves his highest and best self—is saved—and the Kingdom becomes a reality. The method of the Kingdom. The method is that of slow growth, by the process of develop¬ ment from within rather than by accretion. Jesus showed that he knew what was in the hearts of men too well for us to believe that he expected this ideal social and spiritual kingdom to be perfected in his own day, or in any single day. But that generation did see, in the work of the disciples and the Apostle Paul, the teach¬ ings of his Kingdom so thoroughly established that they have remained and steadily increased in influence. The Kingdom came with social and political catastrophe for the Jews. Jesus saw that this was the only way in which the Kingdom 12 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE could be rid of the onus of the privileged and ruling class in the nation. His Father had re¬ vealed all things to him and he knew the end toward which the human race was moving. His own bitter experience would teach any man that the working out of the principles of the Kingdom must be accomplished eventually by the slow, sure process of development. The agency by which the Kingdom is to be realized. This agency is education. The account of his temptation experiences and his reported words to Peter that he might call more than twelve legions of angels to his aid, his teaching of the principles of non-resistance, show that magic, miracles, human power, and military equipment were not to be the effective agencies in the establishment of the Kingdom. His re¬ fusal to be made king indicated that he doubted the use of political power as a successful agency. Jesus did not commit to his disciples a set of laws, a creed, a theology, or a philosophy. He did not teach them a prayer until they asked him to do so. His own observation taught him that the establishment of the Kingdom w r as not to be accomplished by memorizing and making commentaries on a system of classical writings. The teachings and commandments which he gave his disciples during his fellowship witli NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 13 them bore on the experiences of everyday life, and the right way to meet those experiences. “Whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matt. v:19, 20). In a sense he is referring to the old Jewish laws but his comparison with the Pharisees, in the next verse, and his interpreta¬ tion in the remainder of the chapter, show that he meant far more than teaching the Ten Com¬ mandments or the Levitical Laws. He taught his disciples and sent them forth to teach not a system of theology, but those things which are a vital part of the life experiences of individuals and society. The Holy Spirit was “to teach” and “guide” them “into all truth.” The educative process, free from the external and mechanical, not limited to the mere acquisition of knowledge but including the entire range of human experience, is the effective agency for the realization of the Kingdom. The value of the Kingdom. This lies in its program for the redemption of human society. Jesus substitutes expectance of moral and social development for the current Jewish expectancy of a divinely precipitated cataclysm that should bring redemption to the Jews. The value of the Kingdom is supreme. It is the first thing to be sought for in this life. It is the “hidden treas- 14 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE ure” and the “pearl of great price. 7 ’ Jesus gave himself for it and therein found his highest exaltation. The task of the Kingdom. This is the estab¬ lishment of a perfect social order. The Kingdom program, the perfect co-ordination of the highest development of the individual and the greatest benefit to human society, undertook the task in which Greek philosophy had failed. Jesus out¬ lined the Task, the Method, the Agency, the Value. He committed it to men to work out. He foretold that in working out this great task, they would accomplish greater things than he had done. The task is far from being completed, but it has at least entered the period when its world¬ wide meaning to mankind is coming to be more clearly understood than ever before. It is a task for work, for action rather than for wordy philos¬ ophies. (Matt, vii :21-27) It is a man’s task, and there is a place for every man. Jesus expressed his conception in terms of existing forms of social control. Democracies did not exist. Kingdoms were the order of the day. Man has known, as did the writer of Genesis, that he was created in the image of God and he has been pressing forward toward the realization of that likeness until democracies are now the order. It is no violation of the spirit of Jesus to call it the Democracy of God. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 15 His spirit and teaching have made the greatest contribution to the Democracy of God but he has not been the only contributor. God has not left himself without a witness among the other branches of the great human family. They have known, too, that they were working out a divine destiny. Jesus is coming to them today in the fullness of time. The “Democracy of God” emphasizes a fellow¬ ship and communion between God and man which is not implied in the kingly relation, but it does not deny nor destroy the sense of human depend¬ ence on God. Jesus made his appeal to the Jews on the basis of the idea of the Kingdom of God. Only a few responded with a permanent under¬ standing of his message. Wherever he touched the Gentiles, there was a surprising response. The Jewish leaders could not grasp the signifi¬ cance of the idea and so put him to death, but they were unable to destroy his message. Today, the world of young manhood and womanhood an¬ swers no other call as it does the call of a strong, fearless Christian democracy. This generation has no more use for kings and priests than had Jesus for the authorities of the Jewish religion and the Roman Empire, in formulating his moral, social, and religious ideas. The growth of Jesus’ influence in the world calls for a larger conception of the Kingdom than 16 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA we have had. We need to understand it as he understood it. Changing social, political and economic conditions are making it imperative that we get his vision of a Democracy of God; that we have a faith great enough to believe that it will become a reality as he expected it to do. We need a consecration in service that will enable us to achieve the divine destiny. CHAPTER II THE MOTIVE FORCES IN CHRISTIAN MISSIONS The preceding chapter presented the task of Christian missions in its broadest aspects. Social reconstruction in line with Jesus’ ideals of the “Kingdom of Heaven” must use, impartially, the material and the spiritual factors. Such a re¬ construction of human society calls for the fusing of class, national, and racial distinctions. It will be accomplished by education in the broadest sense of that word, and in accordance with God- given laws of mental and physical development. This study recognizes the educational value of the preaching function, church services and ordi¬ nances, but it concerns itself particularly with the schools as specialized educational agencies for the social reconstruction of China. The way in which these various schools function in the process of reconstruction will be determined somewhat by the attitude taken toward Chinese social development; it will be determined also by the motives behind this missionary activity. An analysis of the motives of Christian mis¬ sions, from their beginning, is pertinent to our 17 18 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE subject and has been made. It occupies too much space to be incorporated here. It is necessary, however, to present a few facts that underlie our future considerations. What impelling force has led the Christian Church to undertake this great task of educa¬ tion? What keeps individuals working at it in the face of ridicule, misunderstanding, opposi¬ tion, slow gain, failure, discouragements, and in¬ adequate means? Apparently insurmountable difficulties have failed to weaken this driving impulse, rather, they seem to have strengthened it. Is there one single motive, or are there sev¬ eral motives working together? Is it possible for us to place our fingers on life-motives that are responsible for this social phenomenon? Psychology, or even general knowledge of hu¬ man nature, is able to define the motives of the individual. Sociology is able to define the mo¬ tives behind social phenomena and institutions. We, then, should be able to analyze and classify the motives of this phenomenon which deals with the individual and society. It will be a distinct gain to find that these motives function accord¬ ing to definite and divine laws. We shall know better how to deal with them and apply them if they follow well-known biological and psycholog¬ ical laws. We shall then know what reactions to expect when certain emotions are stirred. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 19 At least a brief answer to the question of mo¬ tives is necessary because our ideals in education will be determined largely by our motives. Once the idea is grasped, the feelings will largely de¬ termine the force and method of activity em¬ ployed in realizing the ideal. The character of the underlying emotions will strongly affect the character of the work done. The recognition of our various motives, and the definite choice of the best motives is essential to the study of ideals and values. The history of missions shows that various motives have functioned in the spread of Chris¬ tianity. These may be classified under two heads. One class of motives is concerned chiefly with the advancement of the individual or his social group and is interested in self or in a limited group. The other class is concerned chiefly with the welfare of the entire human society, is inter¬ ested and acts for others, and is an instinctive, manifest tendency to disregard self and class associations and to act for others. In life, the first is illustrated by the child’s love for its parent which depends largely on what the child receives; the second is illustrated by the mother’s love for the child and depends more on what she gives than on what she receives. In Christian missions, the first is illustrated by the individual who seeks his own spiritual development or the advance- 20 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE ment of his sect in missionary activity; the sec¬ ond, by the one who engages in the work purely for what he can give. The former finds no wit¬ ness of God in the ethnic faiths of the world and regards Christianity as antagonistic to these faiths; the latter regards Christianity as comple¬ mentary to the truths which God has revealed in the development of those other religions. The difference between the two groups is the difference between an iconoclastic proselytizer who goes rough-shod over native ideas, and Paul at Athens, as he took men where they were, led them forward with a new outlook on life, and re¬ interpreted their past experiences. One makes an ardent sectarian and proselytizer only a few degrees removed from the Moslem fanatic; the other makes a helper who seeks to uplift the whole race. These two groups of motives may be described as egoistic and altruistic. They have existed and functioned side by side. It is impossible to separate them with scientific exactness, but the dominance by the one or the other is apparent in the methods employed, the results obtained, during different periods of the spread of Chris¬ tianity. The difference is apparent in the self- centered propaganda of early Roman, in contrast with the broad altruism of the apostolic, period, and the best of modern missions. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 21 There is still, perhaps of necessity, a puzzling mixture of these two groups of motives in mission policies. We cannot separate them but we can choose which group we shall cultivate and we can decide which should become dominant. We can discover which is more valuable and shape our ideals and methods accordingly. The following summary of characteristics in ten sharp, double contrasts, is subject to some modifications. These will help us to determine the values for which we are seeking. 1. One group is ego-centric; the other is alter-centric. 2. The first characterizes the development of the in¬ dividual up to adolescence; the second appears at ado¬ lescence but must be cultivated in order to overcome the egoistic feelings which also take on new vigor at that time. 3. The first has dominated the early development of the human race; the other has become increasingly evident during the last two or three hundred years but cannot yet be said to control racial behaviour. 4. (a) Monarchies, aristocracies, and despotisms have been at once, the soil and the fruit of the first group; the second appears strongly in democracies and its history is synchronous with the modern trend toward democracy. (b) The first is national and racial; the second is international. 5. With the first, education has been confined to a few who were to occupy positions of authority in gov¬ ernment or in religion; with the second has come public education of the masses for social and economic effi¬ ciency and better living. 22 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE 6. The first has shown little regard for the rights of men—might makes right; the second promises justice to all men, not simply charity for a few who are not too proud to beg. 7. The first regards the ordinary human being as “cannon fodder*’ to support individual, class or national ambition, and as of value only so long as he is economi¬ cally productive; the second makes such a demand for world-peace as the world has never heard before, pro¬ tects the working man, the child, the woman, and cares for the criminal and the defective. 8. The first rules by force through fear; the second rules by agreement and representation, through love. 9. The first is competitive and its love is selfish; the second is co-operative and its love is altruistic. 10. The interests of the first are selfish, sectarian, partisan; the interests of the second are unselfish, hu¬ manitarian, cosmopolitan. The contrasts might be carried further, but these are sufficient to give an idea of comparative values in the ideals and methods of Christian education. The frank choice of the altruistic motives as the dominating motive force in all missionary activity, particularly in Christian education, is essential to the achievement of the larger task of Christian world-missions. Some of the rea¬ sons for this choice are as follows: First —Belief that this century will see the development of this group of instincts to a de¬ gree of influence in human affairs hitherto gen¬ erally thought impossible. It will hardly see NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 23 their full development. They have dominated to an increasingly greater extent individuals within limited groups. This century finds na¬ tions and races drawing into a relationship as intimate as lias already been established in com¬ plex modern society between individuals. These instincts must function in these new interna¬ tional relations if peace and order are to prevail. Second —Conviction that this century will see a development in democracy that will make mon- archs and autocrats in any social institution evi¬ dent relics of the past and, if tolerated, will de¬ prive them of everything except the title. With this development, will come general education that will enable the individual to find his highest self-realization in the general welfare of society and his own free choice to serve God and his fel¬ low-man. This can be attained only by such frank faith in the power of these motives and by training in them through methods that are just coming into recognition. Here seems to be the only solution of the relation between the indi¬ vidual and society. Third —Faith in the Chinese human nature that puts it on an equality of possible attainment with any other branch of the great family of na¬ tions, and on a full acknowledgment of the moral and spiritual values which they have al¬ ready attained. There is reason to fear that 24 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE Christian education in China is forcing its own ideals into existing institutions as it finds them, without sufficient sympathetic study to discover the real value to the people. The discovery and use of these points of contact in the Chinese life and institutions is the only way to make it pos¬ sible for individuals to adapt and assimilate our contributions of truth. This choice is necessary in order to discover and indicate some of these points of contact that will relate the work of Christian education more closely to the life of the people. Fourth —Desire to protest against a spirit of religious authority and superiority in Christian education which results in proselytism rather than in evangelism, and against an authority in education that stifles independent thought and investigation; makes a nation of parrots and book-worms; fails to educate for the real tasks of life; lives in the past instead of the present and the future; puts a premium on selfishness, self¬ advancement, and social climbing; results in an intellectual aristocracy; ignores the signs of the times which show that the world is working along the lines of God’s purpose regardless of the hin¬ drances of social, religious, and intellectual caste, toward a truer recognition of the brotherhood of all races and the fatherhood of God as Jesus un- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 25 derstood and revealed them both in his life and teaching. Fifth —Our objective which is the realization of the Kingdom of God over all the earth. It is not ignoring God’s place in this new era if we call it the “democracy of God.” If our forecast of the future is right, the phrase “kingdom” of God will carry little significance to an age of world- democracy that knows kingdoms only through history. These motives are the only ones that can bring us to the realization of that objective. Sectarian, partisan, national and racial instincts will never attain it, however necessary they may be in the preliminary stages of the process. These motives are spiritual and are the only available religious sanctions that will function in the new world-society of this century with force sufficient for humanity to realize the “King¬ dom of God.” There must always be religious sanctions to give permanence and direction to social progress, but the ego-centric sanctions must give place to the cosmo-centric sanctions. Social motives must function in conscious rela¬ tion to the whole universe of God’s truth. Mo¬ tives shape ideals and determine relative values. Why, then, Christian missions in general? Why Christian education in particular? Such movements can be understood only in their mo- 26 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA live forces, and these lie back in primary in¬ stincts and feelings which are an essential part of God’s original endowment of the human race. The egoistic and small group instincts have played the dominant part in the spread of Chris¬ tianity. The altruistic instincts and the larger racial instincts have always been present, and have steadily gained in strength and influence, until they promise to become dominant in the program of Christian missions and Christian education in mission lands. CHAPTER III CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND ITS AIMS Christian or missionary educational work in China is small when compared with the nation’s great task of educating a school population of approximately 100,000,000. This task may be better grasped by comparing it with popular edu¬ cation in the United States where, according to the 1920 census, there are over 33,000,000 be¬ tween the ages of 5 and 20 years and only 21,000,000 enrolled in the schools. Christian education reports in the 1920 survey of the China Continuation Committee, approxi¬ mately 300,000 pupils, including the Roman Catholic schools. About 160,000 are in Protest¬ ant mission schools. The Chinese Ministry of Education (1916) reported approximately 4,000,- 000 enrolled out of the 100,000,000 school popula¬ tion. The number of pupils in mission schools is comparatively very small, but the influence of these schools has been and is very great. How long Christian education continues to hold this influential position, depends on the modification of its motives, aims, ideals, and methods. 27 28 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE What educational aims and ideals are essen¬ tial to Christian evangelism in contrast with Christian proselytisin? What ideals have been predominant under the impelling power of the egoistic group-instincts? What ideals of educa¬ tion are the product of the altruistic instincts? Western educational aims and ideals are under¬ going searching criticism and revision. There is already, in China, a critical problem of adjust¬ ment between missionary and government educa¬ tional ideals. Pressure from these two angles makes it impossible for Christian educational ideals to remain unchanged. The problem, as stated, opens a large field for study. The defini¬ tion of motives should guide in the definition as well as choice of aims and ideals. A clear, definite aim is a necessary step in the process by which the emotions change ideas into ideals. This definition of our aim is the first step in the solution of the problem before us. The aim is the standard by which we measure our educational activities and discover whether they are simply producing results or are actually achieving the ends we desire. The general “aim of education is to enable individuals to continue their education—or the object and reward of learning is continued ca¬ pacity for growth.” “In our search for aims in education, we are not concerned, therefore, with NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 29 finding an end outside of the educative process to which education is subordinate.” 1 These are considerations which belong to a democratic so¬ ciety and to the spirit of democracy that is grip¬ ping the Far East today. China is nominally a republic. From autocratic Japan there come very definite evidences of a strong democratic movement. Our objective is a Christian world- democracy. Our definition of aims for this cen¬ tury must have these important facts constantly in mind. In seeking to analyze, define and classify the aims of Christian education in China, it is neces¬ sary first to distinguish between educational effort which simply produces “results” and that which really accomplishes a definite “end.” What portion, if any, of the educational work that is now being done, or that has been done, is, after all, largely an exhibition of energy? Vis¬ ible results were achieved but what is the actual value of those results in the forward movement toward a definite goal ? This last question raises another regarding the continuity of the educa¬ tional work being done. Does the demand for results crowd out of mind the deliberate planning for comprehensive ends and the preservation of a continuity essential to the growth desired in the general purpose of education? 1 See Appendix for References. SO CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE To give point to these questions, the following quotations are pertinent and suggestive: To talk about an educational aim when approximately each act of the pupil is dictated by the teacher, when the only order in the sequence of his acts is that which comes from the assignment of lessons and the giving of directions by another, is to talk nonsense. It is equally fatal to an aim to permit capricious or discontinuous action in the name of spontaneous self- expression. An aim implies an orderly and ordered activity, one in which the order consists in the progressive complet¬ ing of a process . 2 This is not a surprising discovery nor an un¬ sympathetic criticism. The writer has been through the swirl of the machinery in all its phases, except in the girls’ schools. He succeeded in getting results but is certain that his aim had little of the real aim of modern education. The result was a tremendous waste of energy and possibilities. It is hard for the Christian edu¬ cator to see that his work has been aimless, but he cannot refuse to bring it to the test of modern educational aims. There is of necessity no per¬ sonal disgrace in the situation. The large major¬ ity of men engaged in educational work in China, like the writer, went to the field as preachers primarily. They had no special training for edu¬ cational work, having gone from theological semi¬ naries right to the field. A young man went fresh NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 31 from the study of theology, philosophy, Hebrew and Greek to establish a boys’ academy in China. Now, a theological course is not sufficient pro¬ fessional training for the principal of a high school in America—nothing short of a miracle would make it sufficient on the mission field. To the unbiased observer it suggests the question as to both the aim and the consequences of such practice. The facts must be faced sympathetic¬ ally and courageously, as well as in humility. Other phases of the situation are responsible for the charge that Christian education lacks the definite aim which is possible for modern educa¬ tion. Many men are forced into educational work who not only are not prepared for it but who do not wish to do it. They take it up feeling that they have made a great sacrifice in order to keep an established school running until some¬ one else can be secured. Men who are in charge of schools and colleges finished their education before the recent educational reformation began, and they are working along the line of the tradi¬ tional aims by which they were educated. The pressure of the work has made it impossible for such men to get more than a suggestion now and then as to methods or devices that help in the classroom. It is almost impossible for a man in active service to get at the fundamental principles of 32 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE modern education, in its moral and religious bear¬ ings. There was no perspective for a scientific definition of aims. The only alternative was the choice of aims which came from outside the edu¬ cative process. There has also been a temptation, not always resisted, for those who have acquired some proficiency of method through normal train¬ ing in the home-land, to force those methods or systems, unmodified, on the educational work in China, There seemed to be nothing else that they could do. The situation is changing and a gen¬ eral appreciation of these facts by critics on the one hand, and the frank acknowledgment of limitations and deficiencies by those who are now trying to do the work, will facilitate the attain¬ ment of greater unity of purpose and effort. In the light of these facts, there need be no surprise at nor resentment of the claim that Christian edu¬ cation in China lacks a clear, comprehensive aim. The way to remedy these conditions is important —the task belongs to those who select and train missionaries. An examination of ten catalogs of mission col¬ leges in China shows two without any statement of aims; eight give the following more or less direct statements which are probably not fully descriptive of the general attitude of those who formulated them. Of course, it is not absolutely necessary that those catalogs reveal the aim of NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA S3 the institutions, but if that aim is very clearly outlined in the minds of those promoting the work it is very likely to appear in the form of a definite statement. “The extension of the Kingdom of God by means of education.” “The spread and increase of the Redeemer’s Kingdom upon earth.” Do these express the idea of extension of boundary from West to East, or do they convey the idea of growth from within? “To send bright beams of light and truth throughout the length and breadth of the land and to prepare some of the picked young men of China for useful service in the Church and State.” “Furtherance of the cause of Christ in China; advance in education necessary to pro¬ vide trained leadership for Christian service, pro¬ motion of higher education under Christian influ¬ ence.” Are not these aims frankly external, from the viewpoint of the Chinese? “To help a sister nation in this transition pe¬ riod in her history.” “China’s benefit: harmony and liberty in religion and politics.” “To relieve China’s need, to aid in development of China’s various resources, material and spiritual, and to build up a permanent international friendship.” “To prepare students for the highest service to their own country; to secure the moral develop¬ ment of each student; to prepare young men for 34 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE a useful life; to teach them to look upon life as a service to others.” China’s welfare seems to be the primary consideration. No propaganda asks for returns, and growth from within seems to be the method. How many of these statements were formu¬ lated out of a thorough knowledge of modern educational aims? They were certainly formu¬ lated by earnest, faithful men. Piety and zeal are needed but thorough professional training in education is also needed if Christian educa¬ tion is to take its proper place beside public education. Definite statements from those engaged in pri¬ mary and elementary education are not available and would be found to vary, but would probably be in substantial agreement in regarding this great field as an adjunct to the church, a field from which to draw material for church mem¬ bers. The schools are often regarded as a means of building up the organized Church and, among those who so regard them, there is much differ¬ ence of opinion as to their real value even in this capacity. In some of the largest denominations working in China, there has been practically no uniform¬ ity or co-ordination among the schools until with¬ in the last eight years. There have been gaps NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 35 between the day schools and the academies and between the academies and the colleges. It was difficult to get even this degree of unity. The reports of conferences, the China Mission Year Books, and committee reports, throw light on the question of aims. The reports of the first general missionary conference held in Shanghai in 1890, show that some individuals saw clearly the important phases of education. Appeals were made for unity in method and terminology and for co-operation. That they were answered very slowly is apparent from thqir recurrence in the Centenary Conference held at Shanghai in 1907. Nothing in the records of either conference re¬ veals any attempt to formulate a comprehensive educational aim. If sympathy and helpful co¬ operation are to prevail, such a statement is needed and is possible. The China Mission Year Book was issued first in 1910. The space which it has given to the re¬ ports on Christian education is significant. Al¬ though there were reports of schools and of the educational work by the several missions, there was no special chapter on “General Education” until 1915, then it was separate from “Religious Education.” In the 1915 Year Book, page 381, we find the statement: “Through our schools and colleges 36 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE we have the opportunity of helping to develop Christian character in our students, and of pro¬ ducing men and women who will be of real serv¬ ice to their country. . . . They should be the ideals of education, especially of our missionary education.” This sounds like a primary aim and has much to commend it, but the explanatory ph rase, “who are to be of service in the Church,” reveals a secondary aim which comes from out¬ side of the educational process. There was much effort to secure some uni¬ formity of curricula in the various mission schools and, beginning with 1911, there was a strong movement to accomplish some degree of practical co-operation, but the reports and the minutes of the meeting show no comprehensive study and discussion of aims. This seems to be taken for granted. The National Conference of the China Continu¬ ation Committee held its first meeting at Shang¬ hai in 1913. It was a conference of missionary experts but not a general conference. There were good reasons why this should be the case. Mak¬ ing allowance for a certain amount of dissent from the findings of this conference, it is prob¬ ably the most representative and progressive statement secured from the missionary body in China, up to that time. The preamble to the section on Education says: NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 37 The aim of Christian education is the development of Christian character in all who come within its reach; the training of youths for lives of the highest usefulness; and the production of Christian scholars and of Chris¬ tian leaders in Church and State. To this end two things are essential: a thoroughly Christian atmosphere, and the highest educational efficiency in all our insti¬ tutions. We firmly believe that evangelistic and edu¬ cational work are both included in the great commis¬ sion, and that the success of evangelistic work largely depends on the efficiency of educational work, and that to secure such efficiency, union is highly desirable. The attitude expressed in the aim is more nearly that of a force working within the Chi¬ nese people than any previous statements have been. It is, at least, a movement toward definite¬ ness and co-ordination. There is a desire for these, and an effort to promote them, by some. That these desirable ends were not attained is evident in the findings of the committee in 1914, a year later. This Committee would call the attention of the Mis¬ sion Boards and the Missions on the field to the report of the Advisory Council of the Educational Association of China, and would strongly emphasize the importance of the proposed campaign for the improvement of Chris¬ tian elementary education in China. . . . To this end we would urge a careful investigation by each Mission into the present condition of its elementary school . 3 The report referred to contains a “constructive program for Elementary Schools Standardiza- 38 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE tion,” which was prepared by Dr. F. D. Game- well, Secretary of the China Christian Educa¬ tional Association and presented in May, 1914. The program recommends Uniform Courses of study, Teachers’ Training Classes, a Board of Control to deal with important detail of location, equipment, and administration. The 1916 Year Book, on page 393, reports the efforts made to secure a commission of educa¬ tional experts to make a thorough study of the higher educational institutions similar to the ef¬ forts already made in November, 1915. Until 1921, only one member of the commission sug¬ gested (Professor T. H. P. Sailer) was able to visit the field and report. (Professor Sailer, however, visited the field independently of this commission.) The Educational Association and the Continu¬ ation Committee united in urging that “as soon as possible, arrangements should be made for carrying out the general survey of the present status of Christian educational work in China.” 4 This survey was made in 1921-22 by the Educa¬ tional Commission under the leadership of Pro¬ fessor Ernest D. Burton and the report was pub¬ lished too recently to be incorporated in this study. Professor Sailer’s personal judgment of the condition of Christian education in China has NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 39 been given to the public through several publica¬ tions. He says: The first impression is that we have not yet come to a clear concensus of opinion as to the aims of our educational work. Aims immediate and aims ultimate are sometimes confused, and policies as a whole seem too opportunist . 5 The special commission appointed to study the middle schools reports that it received the impression that at least in details much missionary education is going more or less wide the mark. Many schools seem to be following traditional methods without sufficient reason, or are deliberately aiming at American models which were not devised to meet Chinese conditions. . . . Aims need to be more definite . 6 The aims as stated in the catalog, or by the principal, did not always agree with the type of curriculum. v It is evident that Christian education in China is just now entering upon a stage of self-investi¬ gation and reconstruction. Courage for the task comes when it is remembered that, in both Eng¬ land and America, educators are “with much hesitation but on the whole with successful adap¬ tation of existing agencies to new needs,” work¬ ing “toward a clearer definition of educational ends.” 7 What are the reasons for this condition of affairs in Christian education in China? There 40 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE are reasons that lie deeper than the personal con¬ siderations described above. The first reason is that the earlier conflict between religions education and general educa¬ tion in the West has been transferred to the mis¬ sion field. It is not to our purpose here to dis¬ cuss the elements of this conflict. 8 Its prejudices and misconceptions have been largely responsible for much of the present confusion. The second reason for the lack of definite, com¬ prehensive aim in Christian education is the lack of reliable data. The critical study of methods and results, with careful records of the same, the history and philosophy of education, comparative study of educational systems, are all very recent developments. It has become possible to formu¬ late our educational aims much more clearly and broadly only in the light of the facts which these studies have revealed. It is generally agreed that all education is, more or less, open to the criti¬ cism we are considering with relation to Chris¬ tian education in China. The third reason outweighs all other consider¬ ations. It is found in the place too generally assigned to education in the plan of Christian propaganda. It carries us back again to the self- centered group-instincts of denomination in con¬ flict with denomination, and to the larger group- antagonism between the Christian and the non- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 41 Christian civilizations. It is one thing to regard the schools as inducements to attract individuals within the reach of the evangelizing machinery ■—an adjunct to the church. It is quite another thing to regard the schools as themselves the ef¬ fective media of Christian evangelism. The aim of the first is not primarily education but prose- lytism; the aim of the second is evangelism and, therefore, educational in the sense of modern re¬ ligious education. For instance, in the Handbook for 1896, one denomination reports, “we had from one to four day schools but when interest lags or when they have served their purpose which is usually for the opening of a new station, they are given up.” A paper read before the Shanghai conference in 1890 describes the mission schools as “valuable auxiliaries” and tells how they open the way to reach the Chinese for more direct evangelistic effort through the English language. Another paper was read by one of the leading educators, Dr. C. W. Mateer, entitled “How May Educa- \ tional Work be Made Most to Advance the Cause of Christianity in China?” His answer is to edu¬ cate thoroughly, in the Chinese language and under Christian influence. He condemns as “vicious” the use of schools simply to teach Chris¬ tian doctrine, and his own educational work has been among the most influential in China. But 42 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE what he condemns has gone on to a greater or less degree in nearly all schools and it is not to be wondered at, when the objective is so plainly stated as in this title. Whatever was done, was done primarily for the propagation of Christian¬ ity. Is it not evident how greatly this differs from dealing with the life-problems of the Chi¬ nese people in the light of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ? A study of various reports, papers, and conferences on educational work, shows that both viewpoints have been within the range of vision of many leading missionaries, but the same study leaves one with the feeling that the verbal, symbolic interpretation of Christian¬ ity has been emphasized more than the vital, ex¬ perimental. “The New Educational Movement in China” is regarded as the “Great Opportunity for Christian Missions,” and the emphasis is placed on the “Value of Christian Education in Providing Leaders for Church and State.” 9 Con¬ sideration of the reaction of the Chinese to this program seems to be lacking in these statements of mission policy. There is no doubt that these references fail to express all that was in the minds of the authors. However, it is believed that they reveal an atti¬ tude of mind that has confused ultimate ends and real values in Christian education. That this attitude has been slowly undergoing a NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 43 change that will be completed in this century, through the influence of present ideals of re¬ ligious and general education, is also apparent. With all appreciation for the successes that have been won by Christian education, the change of emphasis will make it possible to do greater things and bring to the Chinese people even more abundantly of the abundant life which Jesus came to bring to all mankind. Recognition of the distinction which we have endeavored to make is evident in the observa¬ tions of Professor W. A. Brown during his visit to the Far East in 1916. There are two theories of the relation of missions to education. According to one theory education is simply an adjunct to evangelization. Schools are founded and hospitals and other helpful social agencies established because they provide a point of contact with individuals. Thfe direct benefits which they may render are only incidental. . . . According to the other theory the work of Christian missions consists not only in evangeliza¬ tion, but also in giving an example of the true nature of Christian civilization. 10 The first thinks of Christianity as something apart from human life; the second thinks of the Christian religion simply as a way of realizing life at its best. The first regards Christianity as an end in itself; the second regards it as a means to the more abundant life which is the objective. Dr. Brown cites illustrations of this 44 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE conflict of opinion between the missionaries and shows very wittily how it works out in medical missions, particularly with relation to the China Medical Board. Those who hold the former theory fear that if the medical work of the mission is to be subjected to the purely scientific standards of the (Rockefeller) Foundation, the evangelistic interest will suffer. If they must choose between a good doctor who is a poor Christian, and a good Christian who is a poor doctor, they believe it is our duty as Christians to choose the good Christian—that is to say, for the Chinese. 11 One cannot refrain from asking, why must it be a choice? What is the matter with our re¬ ligion or our judgment that makes it necessary to make a choice? Is it not possible to have doctors and teachers who are the best professionally as well as religiously? Professor Brown says that “the leaders of the missionary cause are committed to it (the latter theory). There is only one thing to be done: to recognize the new conditions as facts which have to be faced; to adjust our methods accordingly.” It is to be hoped that his judgment is correct but it means such an overhauling of aims and ideals as is not apparent at first thought. If underly¬ ing principles are not clearly grasped, there will be sinful waste in the process of transition. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 45 In the definition and choice of aims some valu¬ able considerations are to be found in Professor John Dewey’s chapter on “Aims in Education.” In the process of education, we are dealing with natural God-given traits, instincts, and feelings. Christian education must, therefore, keep close to a clear understanding of these natural psychic phenomena. The functions of the aim are three in number: 1. It involves careful observation of the given con¬ ditions to see what are the means available for reaching the end, and to discover the hindrances in the way. 2. It suggests the proper order of sequence in the use of means and facilitates an economical selection and arrangement. 3. It makes choice of alternative possible. 12 Professor Dewey suggests, also, three criteria of good aims: 1. The aim set up must be an outgrowth of existing conditions. 2. The aim must be flexible, and able to change con¬ ditions. ... A good aim surveys the present state of experience of pupils, and forming a tentative plan of treatment, keeps the plan constantly in view and yet modifies it as conditions develop. ... It is ex¬ perimental, and hence constantly growing as it is tested in action. 3. The aim must always represent a freeing of activ¬ ities. It should not be simply that activity is now necessary to achieve some distant desire though 46 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE that must be present also. But there must be an aim that includes the present activity. The course should provide for activities, step by step, that are satisfying and carry a reward in them¬ selves and which at the same time make for the ultimate goal. The characteristics of good educational aims: 1. Must be founded upon the intrinsic activities and needs (including original instincts and acquired habits) of the given individual to be educated. 2. Must be capable of co-operation with the activities of those undergoing instruction. . . . Until the dem¬ ocratic criterion of the intrinsic significance of every growing experience is recognized, we shall be intellec¬ tually confused by the demand for adaptation to ex¬ ternal aims. 3. Must not be so general or abstract that it becomes remote and throws us back, once more, upon teaching and learning as mere means of getting ready for an end disconnected from the means. . . . That educa¬ tion is literally and all the time its own reward means that no alleged study or discipline is educative unless it is worth while in its own immediate having. A truly general aim broadens the outlook; it stimulates one to take more consequences into account. This means a wider and more flexible observation of means. . . . The fuller one’s conception of possible achievements, the less his present activity is tied down to a small number of alternatives. Yet it must be “general or comprehensive in the sense of a broad survey of the field of present activities.” NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 47 These suggestions as to the functions, criteria, and characteristics of good educational aims, stimulate some practical questions concerning Christian education in China. To what extent have the various aims “involved the careful observation of the conditions” in China which advance and hinder? How much data from such observations is available? Is it not true that the concern has chiefly been to graft Western educational material on the existing conditions rather than carefully to study these for helps and hindrances? Why is it that some missionaries regard the educational work as wasteful and unfruitful? Allowing for certain predispositions of mind on their part, have these individuals been entirely wrong in their criti¬ cisms of the educational work? Is it not possible that the aims have failed to suggest proper order and sequence in the use of means? Have the se¬ lections and arrangement of subject matter, method, etc., been economical or have they been wasteful? Have the alternatives been apparent, or have there been simply one or two traditional methods that have been accepted as authority and obediently, if not,blindly, followed? Were the aims taken with us from the West, an out-growth of the developments in a nominally Christian civilization, or have they grown out of the conditions in China? There have been modi- 48 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE fications but have they been sufficiently flexible to meet the new conditions? Have they been as potent in changing these conditions as they should have been? Where would China be to¬ day, had there been only the influence of Chris¬ tian education at work? Have our aims made our education experimental and increasingly more useful, or have they tended to crystallize and take on orthodox forms of subject matter, curricula, and methods? Have they resulted in activities that, step by step, have been worth while to the pupils, or have they placed the reward of the daily activity far ahead in the future years under conditions which the majority of the pupils never can or do attain? How intimately does the average educationist know the original instincts and acquired habits of the given individual? The psychological studies of the last ten years have revealed to us how little we have really understood our own children. There has been no such study of the Chinese children that approximates the care and thoroughness, or the wide field covered by the studies of children in the West. How can it be claimed that our aims are founded on the in¬ trinsic activities and needs? The unrest of an unemployed student class in India ought to raise a doubt as to whether or not, education there was founded on intrinsic needs, and this unrest should NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 49 be a warning to Christian education in China. To what degree is there actual co-operation be¬ tween pupils and teachers and to what extent is education a process of enforced authority work¬ ing out adult ideals? To what extent is teaching and learning a mere means of getting ready for some general or abstract end? Is there a broad survey of present activities, or of future activi¬ ties, far removed from immediate interests? We may not accept all of Professor Dewey’s requirements for effective educational aims, but comparison suggests these and many other ques¬ tions. It is not to our purpose to answer these questions directly, but the majority of them will be answered indirectly. 13 It is evident that Professor Dewey is reluctant to commit himself to “some one final aim which subordinates all others to itself.” It is liable to be too narrow because it only represents the emphasis on a particular need at a certain time. Its values tend to become artificial. This judg¬ ment is due to his belief that education is the con¬ tinuous reconstruction of experience and so is an end in itself. It will be of advantage to summarize the vari¬ ous aims that have been functioning in our edu¬ cational activities in China. Professor T. H. P. Sailer has stated these admirably in two or three places. 14 50 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE Those who shape educational policy should therefore consider carefully upon which of the following or yet other points aim is most to be concentrated: (1) evan¬ gelization; (2) training for Christian service; (3) leavening non-Christians with Christian ideals; (4) in¬ fluencing the social institutions in China; (5) influ¬ encing the spirit and methods of government education; (6) preparing an educational system for the Chinese church to take over. It seems almost impossible to realize all these aims at once. We must choose or co-ordinate them in such a manner as to realize a larger end and stop conflict and waste. This can be done but it will call for reconstruction of our defini¬ tion of Christianity and of education. In both, the reconstruction must follow the line of a more practical distinction between proselytism and evangelism, and between the external spread or extension of the Kingdom and the inner growth of the Kingdom. It may throw light on our choice of aim to recall briefly the aim of non-Christian education in China. Education has been true to its tend¬ ency everywhere to become conservative. As far as it is conscious, the purpose of education is to maintain conditions as they have always been, and, by means of literary training of a most stereotyped order, to reduce to uniformity a numerous and heter¬ ogeneous people. It is not intended to advance the individual or social welfare of the people, but to enable NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 51 the pupils to pass examinations upon certain definite requirements fixed for centuries past. 15 The whole prospect is backward, not forward. We have only been yielding to a natural tendency, which history of education has only just taught us to realize, if we have carried a similar spirit of conservatism and retrospection with our Christian education in China. It is easier to select and teach by rote certain classics that we have inherited from our past, than it is to inter¬ pret the present and future needs of China. As we yield to this tendency we limit the educational values of our effort. The points in common be¬ come more apparent in a comparison of ideals of education to be discussed later. What statement of aim, then, will satisfy essen¬ tial religious and educational requirements of the present and future? In the light of what men have really desired, in spite of traditional ele¬ ments that have conflicted with these desires, in the light of the demands of modern genetic edu¬ cation, the answer may be formulated, the aim may be stated as “The growth of the Kingdom of God on the earth.” The “Kingdom of God” has been used with widely different meanings. Here the phrase means the development of a social order that achieves the standard of divine per¬ fection. Spirit and matter are vitally related, 52 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE but spirit must dominate. The present social in¬ terpretation of the Gospel of Jesus signifies a real religious revival of spiritual values. The present movement in education to relate itself to life, and to make its process an end in itself, is an essential part of this growth of a divine-human social order. Human nature and human insti¬ tutions are not static, but are dynamic and pro¬ gressive with divine life. Among the various aims that have received emphasis in different times and places, there are three which receive special consideration from Professor Dewey, in spite of his unwillingness to accept any one aim that is all-inclusive: natu¬ ral development, social efficiency, and culture, on democratic lines of growth. If the aim of Christian education in China is successfully to be adjusted to the requirements of modern genetic and social education, it will be necessary to consider the interpretation of these three aims in their relation to the “growth of the Kingdom of God on the earth.” What are we aiming to accomplish through Christian education in China? In answering this question, it must be remembered, first and always, that we are beginning our work far along in the development of the Chinese people. We need the broad survey of their development that will enable us to start in with the stage in which NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 53 we find them, and to sustain and guide their natu¬ ral development continuously and fruitfully. First, we must aim for the natural develop¬ ment of the Chinese along their own lines. There must be natural growth, directed but not forced, growth avoiding premature as well as arrested development. This does not mean that we shall leave nature to herself. It does mean that we shall see God working in and through the natural instincts and powers, that we shall seek to under¬ stand His purpose, and that we shall seek to co-operate with Him intelligently, rather than ignore or seek to arrest His processes of natural growth. We must see that these natural powers furnish the condition of all our work, but not the end. This aim calls for close attention to the conditions and needs of the entire human organism. We have known that we could not hold imbeciles morally responsible, but we have been able to recognize only the extreme forms of mental defect. Unequal natural endowment of individuals must be considered. The natural powers and instincts are God-given and are neither morally good nor morally evil, but they develop into the one or the other, according to the use which is made of them. It is no longer pos¬ sible to maintain the utter depravity of these in¬ stincts. Experience makes us reluctant to ac¬ knowledge with the Chinese classics that “Men, 54 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE at their birth, are by nature radically good.” 16 The evil consequences of these two extremes are apparent and generally recognized. Truer to fact of experience and a vital faith in God is the statement that “primitive impulses are of them¬ selves neither good nor evil, but become one or the other according to the objects for which they are employed. That neglect, suppression and premature forcing of some instincts at the ex¬ pense of others, are responsible for many avoid¬ able ills. But the moral is not to leave them alone to follow their own ‘spontaneous develop¬ ment/ but to provide an environment which shall organize them.” 17 This statement of Professor Dewey is not here taken to refer to the purpose of these instincts, but their moral nature. If we recognize them as God-given and see how they have served to advance man Godward, we must believe their purpose is good. Because they have been employed in evil conduct, men have formu¬ lated the theory that the instincts were neces¬ sarily morally evil. We have thus opened up the whole field of edu¬ cation that deals with physical, mental, moral and social hygiene and have given it new religious and new spiritual significance. These natural powers not only limit the educational process, but they are the agents through which it proceeds. Mental content depends upon physical mobility NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 55 —a fact which needs particular attention in deal¬ ing with Chinese children. Our aim has regard for the individual differences of children instead of pushing them all through the same mold. It notes the origin, the appearance and disappear¬ ance of preferences and interests among Chinese children about which we know practically noth¬ ing in a definite, comprehensive way. What we d.o know is derived from unscientific observation and not based on data gathered from careful tests. The aim brings education in touch with life, and its object is more abundant life for the indi¬ vidual and for the race. To obtain this life, the individual and his endowments is the first consid¬ eration; the subject-matter of education is a means and not an end in itself. In making this choice we are working with God instead of per¬ petuating simply what men have thought about Him and His universe. We no longer exalt man’s part as teacher in the educative process. We aim to give these God-given powers an environ¬ ment favorable to their development. We may prepare the ground and plant the seed, but it is God who giveth the increase. The growth may be irregular and unequal, but growth means life and “God is life.” These facts do not release us from effort, but demand more reverent, exact knowledge of the powers and their development 56 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE in the individual—of the seed and of the soil. Life in the plant and in the animal has been re¬ duced to a science and there have been wonder¬ ful results when man has understood and worked with God’s laws. He is making the same thing possible in the development of human life. Second, we must aim for adequate and effective expression of these natural powers in social rela¬ tions. These powers develop and have signifi¬ cance only in association with other men. The principles of the “Kingdom of God” call for a higher degree of “social efficiency” than has been attained even in nominally Christian countries. The first condition is the recognition of the worth of the individual in the degree and manner of Jesus. The individual finds his highest social efficiency through the utilization of his peculiar endowments for the general social welfare. So¬ ciety finds its highest efficiency in the recognition and development of the peculiar endowments of the individual, not in the suppression or the subordination of these endowments. Social con¬ trol becomes a matter of individual responsi¬ bility rather than of external authority in educa¬ tion and religion, and of autocracy or aristocracy in politics and society. More specifically, we must aim to increase China’s industrial competency, not by fixing the place of the individual, but by developing his NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 57 ability to choose and fill his own place. “Social efficiency” is as much opposed to a new industrial authority as to the old intellectual and social au¬ thority. The industrial conditions are changing rapidly. The change from a monarchy to a de¬ mocracy will place new emphasis on economic competency. Economic conditions and standards must not be regarded as ends, but as means to the development of more abundant life. It will be necessary to prepare for adjustment to and control of this rapidly changing industrial en¬ vironment. This fact opens the field of industrial and vocational education and of practical eco¬ nomics for China, and it gives moral and religious significance to all that is done in the spirit and larger aim of the Kingdom’s growth. Our aim will give to China greater “civic effic¬ iency” and new ideals of citizenship. Hitherto the people have had no voice in the making of their laws and so have had no direct interest in the enforcement of these laws. Under the new regime, great responsibilities of citizenship have fallen upon the people who, though somewhat prepared, are for the most part unprepared. There has been much of intellectual theory about citizenship. There is much impatience among the westerners with the slowness and political lethargy of the Chinese officials. Their “civic efficiency” has consisted in the ability to write 58 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE “eight-legged essays” on morals. In the future, it must consist in ability to do things in co-opera¬ tion with others. Our aim covers all that makes one’s own experience worthwhile to others, and all that enables one to participate more richly in the worthwhile experiences of others. Ability to produce and enjoy art, capacity for recreation, the significant utilization of leisure, are more important elements in it than elements conventionally associated oftentimes with citizenship . 18 It will aim to break down the indifference of « one individual to the interests of another which seems callousness to some observers from the? West, and will seek to build up intelligent sym¬ pathy and good wfill—and sympathy that “is a cultivated imagination for what men have in common and a rebellion at whatever unnecessar¬ ily divides them.” Third, the practical interpretations of our edu¬ cational aim do not preclude the cultural ele¬ ment. The cultural element is particularly needed in China where attention to whatever is unique in the individual is so sorely neglected and where so little attention has been given to the development of the personality. The fuller the development of the individual the greater is the gain of society. But it must be made clear that this culture is not an “inner perfection” of the individual which gives refinement and polish NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 59 to a few and denies the same opportunity to the majority, if it is to come within the aim of the “growth of the Kingdom of God on earth,” or even of a modern world-democracy. The Christian democracy toward which we are moving must have (1) a culture free from social distinctions of a divisive nature; (2) a culture that realizes itself in conscious helpfulness to others; (3) a culture that ends the antagonism between the idea of self-sacrifice and the idea of spiritual self-perfection and makes social ef¬ ficiency and personal culture synonymous. We may add Professor Dewey’s definition of culture: “There is perhaps no better definition of culture than that it is the capacity for constantly expand¬ ing in range and accuracy one’s perception of meanings.” The significance of this statement and inter¬ pretation of the aim of Christian education in China, appears in the following opinion of a leading expert in religious education: Social efficiency may be taken to mean something merely external and personal, development or culture may become too subjective, but, for the Christian, the ideal of the Kingdom of God may be conceived so as to fulfill Dewey’s requirements. It stands for social wel¬ fare, external and internal; it indicates that the best personal development is to be found in service; it finds a place for the freest use of intelligence and investiga¬ tion in dealing with its problems; it represents a goal 60 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA that is broad and may be considered as indefinitely pro¬ gressive; it . . . recognizes the highest possibilities of growth at every stage . 19 The way has been opened for a critical study of educational ideals that will achieve our choice of aim. CHAPTER IY THE CLASSICAL IDEAL IN EDUCATION The ideal is the broad view of education and has to do with the process. The aim fixes atten¬ tion on the objective. Any study of the history of education brings to light a large variety of minor phases of education which are described as “ideals” in education. History has shown, in most cases, that these ideals were too narrow to merit the name. Educational reforms have developed to a point, within the last twenty years, where two ideals stand out clearly. One or the other seems to comprehend all of the minor phases to which ref¬ erence has just been made. These may be de¬ scribed as the classical ideal and the social ideal. The classical ideal is the older and more firmly established. It is easily recognized and has dom¬ inated the curriculum, aim, and methods of West¬ ern education until within fifteen years. Its strength, today, cannot be exactly determined. Judging from the number of new books that are appearing and criticising its influence, there is reason to think that it still very largely dom- 61 62 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE mates Western education. In the elementary and secondary schools it has lost its strength. In higher education, except in a few institutions of comparatively recent origin, it still has its stronghold. It has crystallized sufficiently to produce a curriculum of studies that is prac¬ tically the same throughout Great Britain and the United States. There are modifications in the United States toward a more liberal educa¬ tion which make it inconvenient to change from one national system to the other but this does not alter the general fact of the dominant classical ideal. It is not necessary, here, to present the data to show that education in the United States has been strongly influenced by the British ideals. Any history of education makes this apparent. Attention is called to this fact, now, because of its bearing on education in China. Nearly all of the Christian educational institutions are under American or British control. The majority are under American direction. Between these two groups, there is a difference in method, but a unity in ideal which comes from their common origin and inheritance. Such investigations as have been made in China seem to make no na¬ tional distinctions in their reports. The reason for designating this general ideal as “classical” becomes more evident in a study of its origin, development, and characteristics. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 63 These are more adequately treated in reliable histories of education, but certain significant fea¬ tures need to be mentioned here. THE ORIGIN The origin of our educational ideals is easily traced back to the Greek ideals. The mass of men in the Greek world tended to lay stress on that acquaintance with the literature of by¬ gone generations, and that habit of cultivated speech, which has ever since been commonly spoken of as edu¬ cation. Our own comes by direct tradition from it. It set the fashion which until recently has uniformly prevailed over the entire civilized world . 20 This fact is often overlooked and American education regarded as indigenous. Some general considerations regarding educa¬ tion are pertinent at this point. Primitive edu¬ cation, in the savage state of human development, is practical and seeks to satisfy immediate wants. It tries to adapt to phases of environment which it cannot understand or control. In the second, or the barbaric stage of development, education adds the task of maintaining conditions as they have existed in the past. When these customs and traditions which have grown up largely from past experiences and the interpretation of those experiences, fall so far behind the social and bio¬ logical development that they cease to function in 64 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE social control, then education takes a very sig¬ nificant step forward. Up to this point, educa¬ tion had been almost entirely social. There had been no particular stimulus to the development of the individuality and no recognition of the in¬ dividual. Variation from custom and tradition, in some cases, cost the individual his life and his property because he endangered the welfare of the community. There were, of course, unusual individuals who successfully defied this general attitude. When traditional experience loses all touch with present experience, and this fact comes to be generally recognized or felt by the group, the individual takes a new position in the group through the demand for rational readjustments of the educative process. This stage in the de¬ velopment of the Greeks is of particular signifi¬ cance. It seems to be unique in the history of human education, at least, in its clear-cut ration¬ alism and in the effect of that rationalism on the educational ideals of the West. “To the Greeks we owe the first attempt to secure the develop¬ ment of the personality on the thought side. . . . They first formulated the conception of man as primarily a rational being.” 21 The transition in Greece followed new interna¬ tional contacts and went parallel to important NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 65 commercial and industrial changes. 22 These con¬ ditions are being paralleled in China. Like Greece, China has a wonderful civilization as the achievement of the old education; there have been new and stimulating, not to say provoking, inter¬ national contacts; important economic and indus¬ trial changes are now at work. Professor Mon¬ roe’s words about Greece exactly describe China’s present stage of development. “While the old education laid the foundation for these achieve¬ ments, it was insufficient to meet the demands of the times and altogether inadequate for future needs.” The growth of democracy is another im¬ portant parallel factor. The nature of the old Greek education differs radically from the nature of the old Chinese education. The former was objective and consisted in social customs chiefly; the latter was symbolic and consisted in Classics. Greece sought to solve the problem by*shifting the emphasis from the social to the individual interest. The new situation placed new demands on the individual. Old customs and traditions began to break down. Greater opportunities were open to the individual. “Chief emphasis was laid upon individual development rather than upon service to the city state.” The individual was no longer merged in the citi¬ zen. 23 66 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE THE DEVELOPMENT The development of this ideal can only be sketched. The Sophists were, in part, the cause and the product of this new individualism. The Theorists saw the grave danger to society in thus giving to the individual a place apart from and above his place as citizen. They sought to “pro¬ vide for institutional loyalty and social service, and at the same time permit or even necessitate the fullest development of personality.” What¬ ever was the intellectual gain, all their efforts failed to save the morality and political power of Greece. Then Rome, with little indigenous culture, took over the Greek ideal and its content as a short-cut to education. Later, barbarous central and western Europe did the same thing. So the elements of the Greek educational ideals have come down to us through the modifying influ¬ ences of European civilization. They have been further modified in the development of Ameri¬ can civilization. This process of change has been very slow and it is not always easy to distinguish the indigenous elements of American education from those which have been inherited from Great Britain and the Continent. To what extent has this ideal of education been modified in China? The answer to this question of the further NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 67 development of the ideal in China comes later. THE CHARACTERISTICS Through all this modification and re-interpre¬ tation, the essential elements have remained un¬ changed and this type of education is still desig¬ nated as the Classical education.” These per¬ sistent elements give the distinctive character to the ideal. It is best defined by saying that it is the educational ideal which has produced the course of study leading to the degree of bachelor of arts in the great majority of American and British colleges. A fuller description involves the mention of its distinctive characteristics which have per¬ sisted through all the modifications. Literature and language study dominate the curriculum. “Greece on one hand had lost po¬ litical power, and on the other hand possessed in her splendid literature an inalienable heritage. It was natural that she should turn to letters. It was natural also that the study of letters should be reflected upon speech.” 24 The Greeks studied literature rather than nature. Our line of descent, given under the head of “Development,” shows why we do the same thing to an extent that warrants the rather broad statement that we do it because they did. 25 68 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE The religious classics in the Greek, Hebrew and Latin have accentuated this original impulse. The task of improving European vernaculars, though antagonistic to emphasis on the original Greek and Latin, has resulted in persistent atten¬ tion to language and the production of native classics. Subject matter is symbolic rather than objec¬ tive. In the first place, this was due to the in¬ adequacy of primitive objective education and the reaction to an emphasis on ideas and their symbols. Language, literature, rhetoric, mathe¬ matics, art, all were essential to the intellect- ualism which displaced the crude empiricism of earlier types of education. It was natural that Rome and the West should take over the fea¬ tures which the Greeks had emphasized. Per¬ sonal influence and advantage also depended on the mastery of the spoken and written symbols. The limited number who received an education tended to emphasize'esoteric symbolism, to keep the knowledge within a select group—a common characteristic in all education up to the present world-wide movements toward popular educa¬ tion. The practical value of the symbol as a short cut to culture must not be lost sight of in China, but deliberate choice must follow the demonstration that the immediate gain is a per¬ manent gain. It is no longer possible to justify NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 69 the short cut on the ground that we have no other alternative. This fact is particularly true in China. Choice of subject matter is of first importance. Regard for the qualifications of the teacher and for the natural capacity and interest of the pupils has come very recently, though there were a few who saw dimly the importance of these factors. The first essential of a school was, and is, that certain highly esteemed subjects are given the largest place in the curriculum. The rating of a school depends upon the subject mat¬ ter taught. Privileged subject matter is reduced to stand¬ ard texts and textbooks. Literature, philosophy, mathematics, even natural and social sciences, in some cases, are embalmed in accepted symbolic expressions. These texts must be memorized and repeated in practically the exact form of the original. Certain sections are assigned each day, the contents of which must be mastered so that the student can give them back to the teacher. Of course, it is a far cry from the old Chinese teacher to the average Western teacher, but it is a difference of individuals and of methods rather than of educational ideal. Any careful listener will find that almost any group of students in any Western school are much more concerned about hitting on the right subject 70 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE matter to satisfy the teacher and his examina¬ tion questions, than they are in the subject itself and its practical bearing on their lives. With this devotion to textbook there is little stimulus to independent investigation, and orig¬ inal expression is discouraged. Saying the con¬ tents of the lesson in one’s own words may be, and usually is, a process of mental gymnastics that helps to an understanding of the text but must not be mistaken for original expression. Absolute conformity to accepted authorities is characteristic of the classical ideal. In some cases variation is regarded as a mark of dis¬ respect. One scarcely dares express an idea without reference to the authorities. American scholars acknowledge their dependence upon German and French authorities. High mental and moral disciplinary value is supposed to be derived through complete obedience to these authorities and conformity to traditional stand¬ ards. This tendency has its values, but it also has grave dangers that are not easily recognized. Dominance of authority in education has grown with the development of the ideal. The general viewpoint is retrospective. The Golden Age is behind us and is a drag, instead of lying before us as an inspiration to greater endeavor. Conservation of past standards and ideals is NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 71 the aim . The law of heredity is exalted above the law of variation in intellectual progress. Preservation of past values is allowed to obscure and retard the creation of new and greater values. The West can see the truth more clearly when it criticises Chinese classical education than when observing its own educational practice. Inherent 'provincialism dominated the spirit of the system in spite of its claims to liberal hu¬ manism. The exaggerated emphasis on symbols that constitute certain languages, the subser¬ vience to authorities, the esoteric tendency of educational specialists in various lines—most apparent, perhaps, in law and medicine—all these result in a provincialism that cannot com¬ prehend a similar ideal and system built upon a different set of symbols. Western education can see this defect in the exclusiveness and pro¬ vincialism of the old Chinese classical education more easily than it recognizes the same prin¬ ciple in its own slowness and reluctance to acknowledge the real values in the Chinese ideal. It is therefore a hindrance to the larger inter¬ nationalism into which the world is entering. Classical education has always been for the few a thin social stratum. It would be a very narrow one-sided observation to say that educa¬ tion of every kind is only now becoming avail¬ able for the many. Such a view ignores the 72 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE volume of social education that has been increas¬ ing steadily since the early primitive education failed, and regards simply the classical definition of education. There has been, in America, a steady deepening of that stratum but, even then, the number, approximately one per cent., who are able to go on for a complete classical educa¬ tion is so small that it constitutes one of the most acute phases of America’s educational prob¬ lem. Out of this recognized fact has arisen the determined movement to free elementary and secondary education, which is for the masses, from the limitations of an educational ideal and system that has been devised and has been val¬ uable for a comparatively small number of in¬ dividuals. The attempt to make the classical education entirely popular and to operate the ideal through the elementary education for the masses has forced American educators into the present significant reforms and into a revision of their definition of education. These considera¬ tions have very great significance in China. Individualism is the motive force. In the fundamental problem of individual development and social welfare, the classical ideal has exalted the individual and appealed, primarily, to self- interest. From the standpoint of our educa¬ tional aim, the growth of an ideal society, the fault does not lie in the emphasis on the in- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 7 3 dividual, but in limiting this emphasis to a small number of individuals. The fact that this dis¬ crimination was unavoidable does not remedy its evil consequences. The excuse for the dis¬ crimination is passing rapidly, with the upward push of the masses as seen in the present Russian revolution, the unrest in Germany, the persis¬ tent republican ideal in China, and the growth of the democratic spirit in Japan. Other characteristics might be mentioned, but a sufficient number have been given to identify the classical type of education. However, the motive force is so important that a brief his¬ torical sketch of the status of the individual is here introduced. Reference has already been made to the origin of the ideal in the so-called Greek new educa¬ tion. The Sophists contributed much to un¬ restricted individualism; according to Plato, Aristophanes and the conservatives, their con¬ tribution was mostly evil; from other sources, it is evident that the good about balances the evil. Particular attention was given to the cultivation of the intellectual, moral and aesthetic elements of the individual personality. The Theorists, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, saw the evil con¬ sequences in the trend of the new Greek educa¬ tion and suggested changes of methods, but in¬ creased the emphasis on the individual. They 74 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE saw the problem of adjustment between the in¬ dividual and society. “To Socrates and Plato the bond which was to serve as the aim of edu¬ cation was knowledge; to Aristotle this aim was happiness or goodness.” 26 Their failure to accomplish the union is apparent in the social and political decline of Greece. Rome found the ideals and elements of the Cosmopolitan Period, beginning about the middle of the third century B.C., congenial to her aspirations for individual power and world domination. The introduction of Greek individualism is contem¬ porary with, if not the explanation of Roman national expansion. The Gospel of Jesus emphasized the value of the individual from a different angle. Chris¬ tianity shifted the emphasis from the intellectual to the moral element in the individual. Mon- asticism was unsocial, individualistic. By sub¬ jecting the body to the spirit and putting the two in ascetic antagonism, monasticism was true to the original antagonism between intellectual- ism and empiricism, and was a part of the classi¬ cal ideal. This interpretation does not deny the social contributions of monasticism; it only re¬ veals more clearly the egoistic motives that functioned in these movements. Mysticism, emo¬ tional and symbolical, fixes thought on self and seeks the perfection of the soul of the individual NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 75 apart from, if not in opposition to, society. It made no attempt to serve society. Scholasticism then swung the pendulum back to intellectualism in support of religious faith. The emphasis was still individualistic rather than social. Its educational purpose was “to develop the power of disputation, to systematize knowledge, and to give the individual mastery of this system of knowledge.” 27 At the same time, absolute authority and dogmatism subordinated the individual to its requirements and suppressed those individuals who disagreed with it. “The essential feature of the Renaissance was indi¬ vidualism.” 28 It was, however, a victory for a larger group of individuals. Education and re¬ ligion, when they over-emphasize the idea of “the perfect man,” or “moral worth and fame,” show life centered around the individual, and regard a perfect society as the utopia of fools. The rational dominated the humanistic and ob¬ scured the natural and social elements of the Renaissance. The Reformation was strongly individualistic, particularly in religion, though more social than the Renaissance. So individualistic has been the dominant educational ideal ever since, that More’s “Utopia” and other books seeking to out¬ line a perfect society, have been regarded, until very recently, as literary curiosities. Of the 76 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE making of books on the perfect individual, apart from, even in opposition to, social welfare, there is no end. Individual perfection is supposed to be achieved by the education of the head and heart, not by the education of the body; by think¬ ing rather than by doing. It has not been many years since ethics were taught by men who were openly immoral. The physical development has been grudgingly given a place in educational ad¬ ministration. Some institutions have put the ban on athletics altogether. Only recently physical culture has broken through the ancient dualism of spirit and matter and received serious consideration. Even in athletics, extreme in¬ dividualism is present and is disastrous to team¬ work and good sportsmanship. This summary of the classical ideal in educa¬ tion does not deny or ignore the values that have come to society through its influence, direct and indirect. The purpose of the summary is to present some of the most evident features of the ideal for comparison and further study, and to discover its impelling motive. Clearly, this ideal gives first place to the interest of the individual, second place to the interest of society. The motive force of the whole system is the egoistic instinct. It has sought for the welfare of society through the highest development of the indi¬ vidual. It has not sought for the highest wel- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 77 fare of the individual in and through his iden¬ tification of himself with the greatest social welfare. What is the status of the classical ideal today? It is undergoing severe criticism and radical change. This is not the first time that it has been called on to pass through such an ex¬ perience. In the Kenaissance, it fought the lib¬ eral Greek humanism with which the movement started, captured it and crushed it back into the “narrow humanism”—a humanism so narrow that it had little or no humanity in it, if we may judge from the life of the times. Sense-realism, the lineal descendant of the liberal Greek humanism which scholasticism had crushed, arose “outside of the university, which had little sympathy with the new thought.” Classicism scorned it at first, then, seeing its vitality, captured it and crushed out the vitality in the mold of “disciplinary education.” Natural science and humanism were reduced to textbooks, and pushed again on a suffering humanity which is now struggling to free itself from its burden. Christian educators in China should be fa¬ miliar with the fight of the last fifteen years around the question of disciplinary values in education. The strength of the classical ideal lies in the fact that it is rooted in, and feeds upon human selfishness. Its power will not 78 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE be easily broken, but when that is accomplished there will be a revolution in society that will be comprehended only by Jesus’ ideal of the Kingdom of God on earth. All who are pray¬ ing and working for this end should see clearly the elements involved in this present movement for educational reform in America ; they should take warning from past failures and be on guard against them; they should be willing to sacrifice the traditions of men for the sake of the King¬ dom of God and humanity. Space will not permit the naming of the books and articles that voice this criticism and de¬ scribe the change that is going on. It cannot be denied that men of affairs, particularly in the field of production and distribution, persistently declare that the dominant ideal of education un¬ fits young men for the world’s work. They say that it gives only a smattering of a great mass of subject matter, and does not relate this subject matter to life experience. It fails to teach men and women to use their hands in effective pro¬ duction. There is bitter resentment of its domi- nation of the elementary and secondary curricula. It has fostered ideas of individualism and an indifference to social obligation that made it possible for the railroad brotherhoods and opera¬ tors to threaten to tie up the national traffic system when the nation was on the verge of war, NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 79 and when the high cost of foods had already become almost prohibitive in the cities. The classical ideal has been based on the principle of competition. The masses are learning the lesson and the teachers will be called to account for the consequences of this principle. If as much emphasis had been placed on social obligation and mutual co-operation as has been placed on the exaltation of the individual and the principle of competition—the essence of class rivalry— general conditions in Europe and industrial con¬ ditions in America would be different. “Even Nietzsche, with his doctrine that ‘might is right/ received far more inspiration from his classical studies than from any misinterpretation of Darwin.” 29 The classical ideal in relation to the Euro¬ pean war as seen by a recent writer, gives ex¬ pression to this same criticism. In intellectual processes I will confess that my sym¬ pathies are undisguisedly with the French; the English will never think nor talk clearly until they get clerical “Greek” and sham “humanities” out of their public schools and sincere study and genuine humanities in; our disingenuous Anglican compromise is like a cold in the English head, and higher education in England is a training in evasion . 30 The influence of the classical ideal in educa¬ tion is apparent in every Western social insti- 80 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA tution. The development of education in the West has progressed far enough so that, together with a sympathetic comparative study of edu¬ cation, similar to the study of comparative re¬ ligion, we should begin to estimate real values in education more accurately. The constructive side of the reform movement which is so strongly affecting the classical ideal will be discussed in the next chapter, under the title “The Social Ideal.” CHAPTER V THE SOCIAL IDEAL IN EDUCATION The choice of the term, “the social ideal,” is due to the fact that the ideal is variously and partially described as “naturalistic,” “humani¬ tarian,” “practical,” “utilitarian,” “sociological,” and with other names not so familiar. While having more or less of the elements of the social ideal, these so-called “ideals” are so narrow in the range of facts considered that they do not adequately express the social ideal demanded by the educational aim already stated—the growth of the Kingdom of God on the earth. Secondly, it is used because, as yet, the ideal has not been reduced to a standard curriculum, as in the case of the classical ideal. The social ideal is essentially Christian in that Jesus was the first to define clearly its objective, aim, and principles. Its objective is a perfect human society; its aim is the growth and the development of that society; its principles are comprehended in the worth of the individual and his natural development in and through society. This claim for the social ideal does not deny that 81 82 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE certain important elements of the ideal have been present in non-Christian educational systems, as will be shown later. The social ideal in educa¬ tion, based on the principles and teachings of Jesus, should, at least, receive equal considera¬ tion with the classical in a nominally Christian civilization and in Christian missions. The defi¬ nition of this ideal will appear more fully in the following study of its origin, development, and characteristics. THE ORIGIN It has been stated that the social ideal in edu¬ cation has its origin in the principles and teach¬ ings of Jesus. It is possible to find much in common between Jesus’ methods of teaching and the methods of the present educational reforms. The last ten years have produced a number of books which interpret and emphasize the social elements in Jesus’ teaching. These general social elements are to be traced back to the be¬ ginning of human education. Primitive educa¬ tion was a process of social interaction. It proved inadequate because of the limitations of its knowledge and its subordination of the in¬ dividual. Even with the changes in education which came with the development of language and literature and the growth of the classical ideal as already described, this process of social NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA S3 education has continued. It has not been hon¬ ored with recognition as an educative process until recently. It gives promise of working a revolution in world-education. THE DEVELOPMENT Rising from primitive education by the social contacts, the Greeks developed and emphasized the social elements from the Homeric period down into the Age of Pericles, The Golden Age of Greek history. Although there was more recognition of the individual than is generally thought to be apparent in Oriental systems, “the social aspect of the educational ideal was em¬ phasized.” The culmination of this ideal which placed the social welfare first, carried Greece to the height of her national power and glory, produced great individuals in politics, in art, in historical and dramatic writings, created her greatest contributions to human progress, and formulated ideals that constituted important, but neglected factors in the educational theories of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. The new edu¬ cation brought the overemphasis on the in¬ dividual. During this period Sparta furnishes a striking example of the abuse of the social elements in education. The individual was entirely subordi- 84 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE nate to the State, or to what was conceived to be the social welfare. “The Spartans continued this extreme emphasis on the social aspect of education and elaborated a scheme in which the entire society was organized for educational ends.” 31 The results of this abuse are apparent in Sparta’s provincialism, the static condition of her institutions and society, and her failure to make such contributions to human progress as were made by Athens. In spite of the social ideals of Jesus, later Greek individualism permeated the atmosphere in which Christianity developed to such an ex¬ tent that it dominated the interpretation of Jesus’ life and message, even when Greek in- tellectualism was repudiated. The Christian Church controlled education from the Sixth to the Thirteenth Centuries. The aim of this edu¬ cation was moral and disciplinary; its content was doctrine and training in Church ceremonial. It prepared the individual for a future state. There was a call for Christian love and charity but it was self-centered. Like the good works of the Buddhists these reacted to the spiritual advantage of the individual. The idea that the second coming of Jesus was near at hand, be¬ ginning with Paul’s ministry at Thessalonica down to the present day, has been anti-social in its consequences. Paul endeavored to explain it NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 85 and rebuke those who abused it. This belief was particularly strong all through the Middle Ages so that such manifestations as we find of the social ideal were temporary, and did not repre¬ sent any purposeful effort to reconstruct society on ideal lines. The Renaissance had only one element of the social ideal, namely, the effort to relate the in¬ dividual more closely to nature and to his entire environment. Although more social, or less in¬ tellectual, than the Renaissance, the Reforma¬ tion was too much concerned with partisan strife and with religious and theological controversies to have any place for a liberal social program. It is to be remembered that Luther’s idea of salvation was limited to the elect and never in¬ cluded the heathen peoples at all. The Reforma¬ tion had a social program but it was like that of Sparta. There appears to be sufficient ground for believing that the spirit and ideals of German education and social structure today, sprang from Luther’s ideas of education. The liberty which he claimed for himself, he found, later, to be difficult to grant to all individuals. Ger¬ many and Sparta stand out as effective warning against this abuse of the social ideal in educa¬ tion. The interest of the individual is subordi¬ nate to the interest of society and society con¬ sists in the nobility, and the military, intellectual 86 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE and social aristocracy. Benevolent paternalism takes good care of the masses because they are valuable as producers. If Italy, France, and Great Britain are the fruits of the classical ideal in contrast with Germany as the product of the social ideal, the unprejudiced mind will have no trouble rejecting this form of the social ideal, 'once and for all. It should be a warning to those who would reduce American and Chinese education to a system of efficient vocational training. Another phase of the social ideal remains to be traced. There is a distinct growth of this ideal in the “realism” of the Seventeenth Cen¬ tury; again, the nature element appears with greater strength than in the early Renaissance. “Social realism” exalts the social method of edu¬ cation, but was available only for the privileged classes in society. That Sir Thomas More could then imagine an ideal democratic society with many of the features which are just now being realized, even though described in satire, is very significant of the change of thought. Francis Bacon’s utopia, “The New Atlantis,” gives added weight to this interpretation of the period. Ex¬ cept in the case of pietistic schools of Francke, the educational reforms of “sense realism” were made subordinate in Germany to the social ideal already described. Classicism appropriated the NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 87 real values of this new growth and emasculated the movement. The social ideal appears again with renewed vigor in the Naturalistic Movement in the latter half of the Eighteenth Century, and expressed itself in social reforms. There was now intelli¬ gent and purposeful effort to build up an ideal society, to improve the condition and character of the masses of the people. Rousseau was the product and the personification of this move¬ ment. Out of this movement came the first defi¬ nite steps toward an ideal society based on a Christian social ideal, in the revolutions which resulted in the French Republic and the United States of America. The psychological, scientific and sociological tendencies, and the present educational reforms have been inspired by this same ideal. Although more or less restricted by the classical ideal, they constitute the direct line of development of the social ideal. Pestalozzi, Herbart, Froebel, and others have contributed to the development of this ideal. It draws more from Froebel than from the others but has made a broader and more practical application of his principles. THE CHARACTERISTICS The essential elements are just beginning to take definite form. It is not possible to define 88 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE the characteristics of the social ideal with the precision and the familiar terms which describe the classical ideal. In its fullest present develop¬ ment, it is found in the curricula of the Gary Schools; the Francis Parker Schools, Chicago; the Cottage School, Riverside, Ill.; Public School No. 45, Indianapolis, Ind.; The Elementary School connected with the University of Mis¬ souri ; the experimental school at Fairhope, Alabama; and a number of other experimental schools in different parts of the United States; 32 in higher education, in departments of political economy and political science in the University of Wisconsin. 33 The great model school pro¬ posed by the Rockefeller Foundation is the cli¬ max of these numerous local experiments. A study of the characteristics of the social ideal, running parallel to those of the classical, gives additional clearness. Activities dominate the curriculum. Litera¬ ture and language are simply the means of the educative process and are brought forward only as that process makes demand for them. Eng¬ lish grammar, composition and rhetoric, as special subjects for study, do not appear on the elementary and secondary curricula but are re¬ lated to the activities of the school in such a manner as to preserve their real values, clear¬ ness, accuracy, and grace in verbal self-expres- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 89 sion. 34 These activities are the normal reactions of the individual to his natural ^environment. The human race has not yet attained perfec¬ tion in the development and use of language symbols, but this is no longer its most important task. In this century of close international con¬ tacts human society begins *a larger co-operative effort for mastery of the forces of nature, or more successful adaptation to these forces, as the cir¬ cumstances determine. These are two phases of the same social process which now challenges anew the spiritual resourcefulness of the human race, not simply of the individual and the small group. The subject matter is objective rather than symbolic . Modern objective education differs greatly from the crude inadequacy of primitive education and that which we have described as having gone on beside the dominating classical ideal. The objective material is open to all. There is no chance for an esoteric monoply as in the case of symbols. Pestalozzi and Froebel gave us the new values and powers of objective subject matter and thereby removed the excuse for exclusive dependence on the symbols of language for a short cut to culture, which was * a real necessity in the case of Rome and Europe. The fact here involved is very significant in the present stage of education in China. 90 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE The choice of subject mattej' is still important, but in different way. The choice depends upon the interest and capacity of the child and his environment, not upon the weight of tradition. General terminology may be used to classify cer¬ tain kinds of subject matter but the actual material will depend upon the location of the school and no two communities furnish exactly the same material. It becomes impossible to rate a school on its subject matter. Its social value will be the standard. This does not mean that the classical subject matter is to be ignored and excluded. The atten¬ tion it receives will depend, not on reverence for its age, but on its present and future social value. The Mosaic symbolism will still be read in the synagogues of the chosen people, but the gospel of the social ideal is seen to be the force that produces new and abundant life in the Gentile masses. Chosen subject matter is not reduced to text¬ books which can be set up as comprehensive, authoritative, and final. The greater variety of subject matter will demand a greater variety of small textbooks which can be used more as reference books for suggestions to the pupil than as authorities to be memorized and recited to the teacher. It is no longer possible to assign a lesson, “Review today’s lesson and prepare five NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 91 pages in advance,” and then find a convenient stopping place on the fifth page. The teacher and the textbook are to help the pupil learn and not to be standards by the side of which his own immature limitations stand out as dismal fail¬ ures in spite of earnest effort. There is no cram¬ ming for examination, no guessing what the teacher is going to ask, no temptation to resort to dishonest methods to find out the questions or to smuggle in material that may help out of a difficulty. The process is an inner one with the child and knows no outer authority. It is a part of his present, everyday life. It has imme¬ diate interest and value to him. It calls for independent investigation and is a process of really original self-expression. His symbolic ex- pression is his own in form, and is descriptive of his own reactions to his environment. His own happiness and success in mastering his present and daily changing environment, or adapting himself to it, is his great concern and constitutes his continual review and examination test. The only final and accepted authorities are the fundamental laws of nature, and the individual and social experience which includes definite re¬ ligious experience. Every individual is re¬ sponsible for his -own reactions to these factors of life. The social ideal must recognize that 92 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE some individuals will react more correctly than others, as the classical has done, but it avoids the slavish dependence on such individuals which characterizes the mental attitude of so many students under the classical system. Mental and moral disciplinary values are obtained by the growth and direction of inherent powers of the child, not by obedience to external authorities and conformity to standards that fitted other times and places. The general viewpoint is prospective not retro¬ spective. The social ideal faces the future with faith, hope and enthusiasm in all human en¬ deavors. The Golden Age is something for which we can work intelligently rather than mourn over because it is past. It breaks entirely with early Christian misinterpretation of Hebrew apocalyp¬ tic literature and lays firm hold on the promises of the Gospel concerning Jesus, and on the prin¬ ciples of his Kingdom on earth. It expects and works for a perfect human society. The aim is primarily construction rather than conservation. The “law of variation” in intel¬ lectual development is the guiding principle in the building process. The social ideal conserves such real values as fit into the successive stages of the individual’s development and are useful to society. It lays foundations now and works for a better world-society; it plans and seeks in- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 93 telligently to build for an ideal society in the future. The spirit of the social ideal is cosmopolitan. It knows no national limitations of language, no East nor West, no North nor South, no sub¬ servience to a ruling class, nor interest of a particular group in opposition to the entire human society. It regards inorganic nature as well as the world of organic nature. This spirit is not even world-centric; it is cosmo-eentric, and, therefore, positively and strongly religious. Religion is “an essential part of human society because it is an essential part of human ex¬ perience,” in all times and among all peoples. It has the vital religious spirit of Froebel. Its philosophy is the idea of the “fundamental unity of existence of nature and of man in the absolute spirit,” which he describes in “The Education of Man.” The social ideal offers no place for the pro¬ vincialism that today characterizes and domi¬ nates, to such a large extent, all human institu¬ tions. This provincialism is rapidly breaking up, before our eyes, under the pressure of native instincts and forces that we have failed to recog¬ nize and effectively utilize. These forces, as in Russia, seem to be more the blind upward push of humanity toward its realization of self in fel¬ lowship with God, than of intelligent education. 94 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE The social ideal boldly undertakes the task of complete education for the masses. It is not a wholesale social movement that makes no allow¬ ance for the principle of individual variation. It does not seek to provide elementary and voca¬ tional training for the masses, and the higher, cultural education for those in more fortunate circumstances—the certain consequence of such differentiation is the present social unrest, class strife, and competition. It undertakes to pro¬ vide the masses with cultural material that will enrich their lives to the general good of society. It will require all classes to receive such prac¬ tical education as shall make them share in pro¬ duction, or at least have a first hand experience of the problems of production. It seeks to break down class distinctions, to equalize opportunity, and to accomplish by education what certain powerful factors in Western civilization have been threatening to do by force, with all its demoralizing consequences. It finds the solution of present problems and the attainment of its objective, a perfect society, in an education of all for the common social welfare. A genuine altruism is the motive force. The social ideal recognizes the evident fact that a perfect society is made up of perfect individuals. If it be maintained that there can be no perfect individual, then the fact remains that a society NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 95 which approximates perfection depends on the approximate perfection of all its individual members. It recognizes the worth of every in¬ dividual, not simply of a few fortunate ones. It takes account of the difference of natural endow¬ ment between individuals, and gives equal aid to each one for the highest development of his capabilities, whatever turn these may take. It honors, with impartial favor, the contribution of every individual, no matter how humble, if that service makes for mutual benefit in society. The opportunity for good to the individual is lim¬ ited only /by his talents and capacity for hard work. The motive which produces this effort is altruistic. The emphasis is social and the appeal is made to the native human instincts for co¬ operation which is just as real, if not so highly developed, as the egoistic and competitive in¬ stincts. The social ideal in education appeals to and cultivates the altruistic instincts of the indi¬ vidual, in the home, in the school, and in all his social relations. It takes account of the egoistic instincts of the pre-adolescent and conserves their values in character building. It plans in¬ telligently for the victory of the altruistic in¬ stincts in the awakening sympathies and the spirit of consecration and self-sacrificing .service of adolescence. It utilizes the legitimate religious 96 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE sanctions in advancing its appeals to the altru¬ istic instincts. This is the only appeal that can free modern education from crass materialism and utilitarianism such as has been dominant in Germany. The social ideal demands more than dissemina¬ tion of knowledge, more than a sense of social unity and interdependence of groups or genera¬ tions. It is more- than a means of fortifying nationalism as in Germany and Austria. It is more than a safeguard of democracy. The safety of a democracy depends not simply on education but on the kind of education. To state these limitations is not to detract from the sociological movement in education but to add as it were the “enacting clause/’ The open appeal to the altru¬ istic instincts, the effective cultivation of these instincts in all social relations in such a way as greatly to improve society, if not to produce a perfect society, is no more unthinkable than were the present advances at the time Rousseau gave them their initial impulse. He was not the creator so much as the creation of those im¬ pulses that were already working in many men. He crystallized these impulses into symbols. The altruistic instincts are gaining strength in all phases of life. The social ideal seeks to harness their power for the welfare of a divine-human society. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 97 What is the status of the social ideal today? In the United States it is growing steadily in strength and in breadth of influence. It is stronger in cities and in the Middle West. Its influence is apparent in the South. It is evident in the attempt to link up general, religious, and moral education. It is apparent in the strong movement to utilize the results of the best and latest studies in psychology, pedagogy, biology, and sociology in all phases of religious educa¬ tion. Proposed schemes for social service cur¬ ricula in the Sunday school, and the emphasis which Christian leadership is placing on the social interpretation of the Gospel, are an evi¬ dence of the penetrating influence of the ideal. The introduction of voluntary Bible study courses of this nature, in the colleges, is a part of the movement that is giving increasing defi¬ niteness to this type of education. This ideal meets with opposition from several quarters. Certain educational circles object be¬ cause it disrupts the classical and time-honored curricula, and introduces experimental methods. Some fear it means more work for teachers who are already overburdened and underpaid; this fear is justifiable when a compromise between the two ideals is attempted. Opposition comes from a political system that has regarded the various educational offices as 98 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE political plums for party support. The social education will dispel the ignorance and indiffer¬ ence to politico-social obligations that have made this political domination of education possible. The “educated man” will no longer be conspicu¬ ous by his absence from the polls and justify himself on the grounds that politics are so rotten that there is no use to vote, as has been notor¬ iously the case. Strong class opposition develops when ancient privileges and distinctions are endangered by the growth of the wider social ideal. This conflict is inevitable, but a reasonable adjustment is possible. In spite of indifference, misunderstanding and opposition, the ideal is steadily gaining in strength and effectiveness. It may show the Western world that, with all its boasted civ¬ ilization and development, it is now only passing from pre-adolescence to the adolescence of human social development, perhaps of intellectual and physical development. In the blood-red light of the recent world- conflagration and more recent racial strife, does this ideal seem visionary and impracticable? Purposive education has already shown to the race its power to work miracles, for good or evil. Two further considerations furnish sub- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 99 stantial ground for a rational hope and faith in returning a negative answer to the question. First, the tremendous world-wide surging of large masses of people onward and upward to¬ ward self-determination is the hope of the future. Self-control before self-determination would, doubtless, be our choice, but that does not seem to be the law of nature. Russia has revealed forces at work there that the world and human authorities have not understood or taken into account. The same spirit is at work in Germany, Japan, India, Latin America, Korea, and China. Underneath the diplomatic quarreling and selfish¬ ness, there is a remarkable spread of human sympathy among the masses all over the world. Second, there are strong religious sanctions for faith in the future achievements of the race. These have special meaning for the Christian educator and are seen in the prophetic visions of the Old and New Testament times, the prom¬ ised reign of peace, the expectation of the King¬ dom of God on earth. Jesus’ exhortation to men, to be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect, indicates his belief that there would be, on earth, an effective social organization composed of per¬ fect individuals. Individual perfection was made a reality in Jesus. He more clearly put this ideal within the range of human aspiration by 100 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA emphasizing the brotherhood of man and human¬ ity’s common inheritance as sons of God. There is assurance in the fact that God has not left Himself without a witness even among the non-Christian peoples of the earth. Finally, this fact justifies the belief that He has been working out His purpose in them as well as in nominal Christian nations. Jesus’ prayer for unity and human solidarity will be answered, not by the egoistic, classical ideal in education, but by the altruistic, social ideal. The history of education warns us of the probability that those who are leaders today in the movement for social education, have not ade¬ quately measured the forces with which they are dealing nor the full significance of the move¬ ment they have started. The actual results ob¬ tained in these schools and adequately described in various books bring the effectiveness of the social ideal in education into the realm of rea¬ sonable certainty. CHAPTER VI THE RELATION BETWEEN WESTERN EDUCATION AND CHINESE EDUCATION The consideration of the classical and social ideals was not intended to be complete. Their origin, development, and essential difference were pointed out. The two ideals are logically and vitally related to the previous definition of motives and aims. The classical ideal is pri¬ marily self- and group-centered; the egoistic motives function in its activities. The social ideal centers in human society; only the altru¬ istic motives can function successfully in its activities. Consideration of these ideals and choice between them is essential to a satisfac¬ tory adjustment of the relations between Chris¬ tian education and China’s national system of education. These relations are becoming in¬ creasingly complex and delicate. Education in China today is more complex and, perhaps, more significant in its bearing on human education for the future than is educa¬ tion in Europe or America. The same fact is true of Japan and to a certain extent of India. 101 102 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE Political elements in India make the problem there more confusing. In China, in the first place, it is evident that Western educators have followed largely the tra¬ ditional ideals, methods and subject matter of education in the countries from which they came. Many schools seem to be following traditional methods without sufficient reason, or are deliberately aiming at American models which were not devised to meet Chinese conditions. In too many cases the ideal seems to be to set up a curriculum and methods which would be considered creditable in America. 35 This quotation is from a report on middle schools, but it is equally true of colleges that agree to conform to American standards in order to secure the privilege of granting degrees. In fact, the older and higher curriculum is partly responsible for this condition in the elementary and secondary schools. It is equally evident from the many books and discussions of the last decade that, even in the United States where important modifications have been made, the classical ideal is dominant. The demand for a change is insistent and will win over the opposition of the traditionalists. If the change is not accomplished, there is much reason to fear that the United States will go the way of a free and classic Greece. Education in China is complex because of its NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 103 task of preserving the real traditional values of two systems, their own ancient and splendid civilization and the Western civilization; in the case of the latter, they have not only to pre¬ serve, but to assimilate and utilize the complex values of the more progressive civilization. Edu¬ cation, in the West now, is more nearly a unity because Greek and Roman ideals have so thor¬ oughly permeated the development of Western civilization. The West has not generally recognized that it has anything to learn from the East. When, through new international relations, this lesson is learned, the task of assimilation and utiliza¬ tion will not be as great as that which the East is now facing. The West has the abundant life which the Gospel of Jesus Christ has brought; the East has that to assimilate and interpret for itself. History does not present an exact analogy in cross-fertilization of civilizations. In Europe there was the merging of a classical civilization with barbarism, in Asia there is the merging of a classical civilization with an Eastern classical civilization. The world today is dissatisfied with both of the systems, and eagerly seeks for some¬ thing better. In the West there never was the problem of taking over Greek religion; in the East there is the problem of teaching the re- 104 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE ligious classics of the West which adds a third distinct factor. The early Christianity which Europe got from the East presented a vastly different problem in education from that which the West today offers China. Education in China is particularly significant because it involves, in clearer outline and exag¬ gerated form, almost all the problems that the West is so hotly discussing, particularly in Eng¬ land and the United States. For instance, there is the disputed question of the form, nature and quantity of subject mat¬ ter. The West is finding it impossible to teach, with thoroughness and efficiency, all the subject matter that is clamoring for admission to the curriculum. China has nearly all of this ma¬ terial and other subjects that are not yet worry¬ ing American educators. Japanese educators fear that they have so over-loaded their curricu¬ lum as to give only a smattering of any subject. The results are superficial and “cultural” in the artificial sense of that term. The same process is at work in China but is not quite so far along. The clamour of all this subject matter becomes unendurable. Some radical change in educa¬ tional ideals must come in sheer self-defence, if for no better reason. There are better reasons. If they prevail, the results of Christian educa- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 105 tion in China will be vastly more beneficial to humanity than Christian education in the West has been. Subject matter will be forced into a second place by sheer inability of its advocates to find room for it all. There must be a clear choice between instruc¬ tion in subject matter for personal culture, and the training and natural development of indi¬ vidual endowments for social efficiency. A com¬ parative study of education in China and Japan, and the practical demonstration there of the necessity and desirability of choosing the latter alternative may make the solution of the vexed question clearer to Western educators than it now appears to be. If it does this, we shall see one more place where foreign missionary work has reacted beneficially on our Western insti¬ tutions. It will be profitable, at this time, to place in parallel columns, specimens of the typical classi¬ cal curriculum in the United States, the typical curriculum of Christian schools in China of the corresponding grade and the socialized curricu¬ lum of the same grade. It is desirable to make the parallels for the entire systems but the speci¬ mens will probably serve, at least, to illustrate two points just mentioned: First, that Christian education in China is predominantly classical; 106 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE second, that the admission of subject matter has reached a crisis. The mission school curriculum cited was ap¬ proved by the Central China Educational Asso¬ ciation and published in the China Educational Review, July, 1916. Since that time there have been some improvements but no radical changes. The required number of hours per week has been reduced, but it is still considerably higher than in secondary and higher schools in the West. Any enrichment of the curriculum without radi¬ cal change of ideal and method only increases an already overloaded curriculum. In addition to present-day problems, China has also problems that have been left behind in the development of Western education. Particu¬ larly important is the question of the medium of imparting the subject matter. Shall it be Eng¬ lish, German, French, Classical Chinese, vernacu¬ lar or colloquial Mandarin, or a modified form of the old ideograph similar to the improvements the Japanese have made? It is necessary to consider more thoroughly those Chinese ideals in education with which Christian education comes in contact. We should clear our judgment, at first, by acknowledging that the present Chinese ideals in education are very different from the Chinese ideals of twenty- five years ago. 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A) TO •E 8 s a W 0 o & Js TO - ° o o 0g CO CO >> « O S? ‘3 g< o Sgs r-H O l_^ ooS »«s .« ** I CO ft. 4> 4) CO ■/: 4) 4) 0 S.S'S 0 0° ooS o i TO Px a ® 4) >* 0 2 0'S .a s§3 •3 g,- >..^bo 0 C 0 AhHAJ p o ~ ~ ~S «S 4 we: ^ o >■ *»x ^ Q O oO § S t>y C ^.9*1-2 ® » +j oi 2 ■• 2 53 0; 2 iWjfiS s. e 4) Ah 4) a 8 o £0 S- CO bfl 0 0 2 O C > ■H3 4) 2,+h .0 > 0 be bp co +j cs O r? S3 2 08 S' ^ § i CQ Ah O ■3 S-S « >* 3 S 0 Oj 0 bO 0 ’PH & aS •g OEOhJ^Q HS 6>h 04 o O O Csj V. Ah a o Ah -g >, •r-l P 5 '5*5- S' 0 O ' S wpq. o ' a> TO Ax § O 108 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE “Democratized Curriculum,” 88 Covering Primary and Secondary Period “Democratized Curriculum” “Production “Consumption” Language (vernacular) Practical Mathematics—portions of arithmetic, alge¬ bra, geometry. Elements of Manufacturing—materials, processes, mechanical drawing, manual training. Elements of Agriculture—soils, crops, animals, etc. Science's—productional phases of botany, physics, geology, mineralogy, chemistry, etc. Conservation of Wealth—sanitation, fire prevention, natural resources. Trades—choice of many current trades for boys and girls. “Distribution” Current Political Events Social Movements Economic History Distribution of Wealth War International Peace The Elective Franchise Comparative Government Direct Legislation Labor Organizations Socialism Money Graft Corporations The Middleman Banking Insurance Modern Business Constitutions Civics Slavery Feudalism Inheritance Taxation Political Parties Charity Old Age Relief Investment Frauds Cooperation Parliamentary Practice Sociology Law Literature History Music Painting Sculpture Architecture Ethics Foreign Languages Sciences—non- productional as¬ pects Recreations The Stage Travels Qualities of Goods Home and Personal Appointments Social Usage Grammar Elocution Logic Philosophy Floriculture Hygiene Vice Crime the Chinese would not expect them to break entirely with their past ideals in a single gen¬ eration. It is a very important transition period, but, with all the improvements that have been made, it is very evident from recent reports of government education that old ideals dominate and, in their conflict with the new social and economic demands, much confusion results. V\ China has had her own classical system of education. The subject matter has long been called “the classics.” All the characteristics of NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 109 the ideal, as discussed in a preceding chapter, are present. Education has been available only for a limited number of individuals; David Z. T. Yui says 97 per cent are illiterate; the Minister of Edu¬ cation, Chang Ih Ling, assumes more than 99 per cent of the population are illiterate. 39 The subject matter has been confined to sym¬ bols and consisted in the study of language, literature, and rhetoric. The original texts were the final authority. The very characters were holy. Paper was carefully saved and burned to avoid soiling or defiling the symbols. Perfect imitation was the desired end; deviation, even with the desire to improve, meant failure for the student in the examination. Memory, not origi¬ nality and inventiveness, was the means to the end. Chu Tzu (1130-1120 A.D.), in an essay, “On the Method of Study,” said: “You must not introduce any private opinion” (into the writing of the sages). 40 The mass of commentaries re¬ minds one of the cosmopolitan period of Greek education and numerous stereotyped commen¬ taries on the teachings of Jesus. The text was memorized and repeated orally. The explanation of the meaning of the characters followed several years later. This method is a little more evidently and honestly useless than most of the work done in Western schools with 110 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE the Greek and Latin classics. The Chinese clas¬ sics are at least the production of the Chinese people and constitute a national inheritance. The efficiency of the teacher and the capacity of the student were minor considerations. Such thought as came to them through belated ex¬ planations was retrospective and conservative rather than progressive and constructive. The authority of the ancestors and the authority of scholars determined everything in all relations of life. The provincialism and exclusiveness of China and Japan have been a by-word in the West. For a striking likeness between Chinese and Western classicism read almost any history of education for a description of Chinese educa¬ tion and then read the description of a European school by Diesterweg. The place of the individual in this system is as significant as in the study of Western classi¬ cism and the social ideal. It is not surprising to find that education and self-culture of the in¬ dividual is the first consideration, and the con¬ sequences are the same as in the West. “By giving the five teachings a foremost place, Chu Tzu would make clear the aim of learning and point out the important steps in the course from the stage of self-culture to the transaction of affairs and social duties.” 41 “The key-note to self-culture: Let your words be sincere and NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 111 truthful, and your actions honorable and care¬ ful; repress your anger, restrain your vicious desires, cleave to the good and correct your faults.” “The key-note of social duties: What you do not want done to yourself, do not to **• . others.” 42 “The promising sons of the people entered the university, where they were taught philosophy, the principles of morals, self-culture and the government of men.” 43 Chu Tzu gave his interpretation of the “Great Learning,” hop¬ ing that it might “not be without some help to the country in the advance of civilization and the correction of manners, and to the students as a guide to self-culture and the government of men.” 44 Practically, the desire for education and the effort to secure it, lies in the egoistic instincts. The family desires the emoluments, fame and power that a place in the scholar class gives, and great sacrifices are made in the hope of securing these private advantages. Not only is there gain of this character to the individual and his fam¬ ily, but also to his community—a limited group interest. The individual element is present in Chinese classical ideals of education but the ultra-indi¬ vidualism that has characterized Western classic¬ ism is not apparent. The other characteristics of the Western classical ideal have been paral- 112 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE leled in the Chinese. In the Chinese educational system there were elements other than those described. There is no desire, here, to show that the results of Chinese classicism were wholly bad. It is possible, even probable, that a more thorough study of Chinese literature for the de¬ velopment of their educational ideals and methods, will reveal protests and reform move¬ ments in the history of Chinese education that parallel in principle, if not in definiteness and strength, the reforms that have given the Western classical ideal its influence. Preparatory to a fuller consideration of the Social Ideal in Chinese education, we should note some of these other elements. We go back to Chu Tzu again as one of China’s leading edu¬ cators; he recognizes the value of performing the everyday duties as an essential part of a child’s education, and places these things first in “What Children Ought to Know.” 45 The duty of every office and the rule of every action, however small and minute they may be, may protect a child’s mind from becoming profligate, may nourish his virtuous nature and be the leading steps in his future progress and advancement. I wish those who are fathers and elder brothers would not regard these things as trifling knowledge, and would teach them strictly to the infants (or young children). 46 Students were not to be mere “bookworms” in the times of Mencius; the pupils did the jani- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 113 tor work; they also learned “the elements of carriage and deportment,” “the principles of eti¬ quette, music, archery, driving.” 47 “Experience which was gained in the ordinary affairs of life, in the five relationships” was the foundation of the education of early times. Criticism of the rote method and literary for¬ malism appears in the Twelfth Century A.D. “From that time (Fourth Century B.C.) to the present the vulgar scholars continued to learn by rote; they studied, wrote poems and essays, yet it was valueless.” 48 In the second clause, Chu Tzu is not necessarily inconsistent with what he said in the first. Some had rhymed over the classics but had not laid hold on their inner meaning; others had produced poems and essays that imitated form closely but had expressed in¬ dividual opinions which Chu Tzu did not approve. There was outright condemnation of the selfish and unsocial* “Further you have those who babble about military strategy, gaining glory by subtle arts (astrology), all which spring from selfish ambitions, and diabolical schemes.” 49 “What Children Ought to Know” is very re¬ pressive of the natural instincts of the child but no more so than the disciplinary education of the West; its attempt to make the child a minia¬ ture adult reminds us of the educational ideas against which Kousseau reacted so strongly. 114 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE The importance of the intuitive factors in edu¬ cation seems to appear : “Tell them that what they know from childhood on the love to parents, respect to elders, is the beginning of manhood, and the foundation of learning. Do not, on any account, destroy and confuse what he intuitively knows, by the popular saying, ‘The object of study is to get a degree.’ ” 50 “Extensive study; accurate inquiry; careful reflection; clear dis¬ crimination ; and earnest practice” 51 sound almost like the inductive method. The impor¬ tance of mental self-discipline and method is acknowledged. The principle of apperception is faintly recognized also. The importance of the social ideal is very evi¬ dent in the following quotations: Nothing is more important than an ideal in educa¬ tion. This all know. But the world generally means by ideal an ambition for honors and name: an aiming at wealth and emoluments. And every boy is misled by this when he starts his studies. Therefore, when people boast of good abilities, they really mean more than a wide reading of books and a liberal composing of essays, and have further knowledge of such a filial duty, brotherhood, loyalty and fidelity, and their impli¬ cation. Mr. Chu pointed out that when men had no true ideal it was owing to their seeking honor and riches rather than truth and justice by their studies. Men want position and a name rather than goodness and virtue. In teaching young men, this should be pointed out clearly to them. 52 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 11 5 I see that the exalted purpose of all the ancient sages in teaching people learning, was no other than to make them understand the truth and principle of all things in order to cultivate their persons and then extend this idea to others. It was not merely the wish that men might have a wide knowledge of books, or be able to compose nice essays, or acquire fame, honor and riches. 53 The italics are mine; one sees both the egoistic and social elements in this passage. But the laws of nature forbid you to put yourselves outside the sphere of human relationship. Mencius says: “Watch carefully over the teaching in the schools, spread abroad the feelings of filial piety and of brotherly love.” Again he says: “When our duty to humanity is emphasized by those in authority, love reigns amongst those beneath them. . . . The scholar and the agri¬ culturist have only one common destiny: for he is also a scholar who tills the ground with his hands, seeing that he applies himself to his duties and follows right principles.” 64 Education lies in the industries as well as in the literature. In addition to these fine sounding phrases, it is to be remembered that Confucius, who personi¬ fies them all, sacrificed home, comforts, and the favor of men for the sake of his ideals for social reform; many have sacrificed their lives by sui¬ cide in protest against unsocial and immoral con¬ duct on the part of those in positions of author¬ ity, particularly of the rulers. Chu Tzu tried the experiment of student re- 116 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE sponsibility and self-government in the White Deer Grotto College, in the Twelfth Century; he condemned school rules as lacking in dignity and tending to destroy self-reliance. 55 The moral and religious elements are very strong: Joy obtained through religion is an everlasting joy. Sorrow awaiteth the joy which comes through the satis¬ faction of the passions; but he who listens to religious words and rejects the desires, will have the joy of Yen Tzu and Mencius. Turn the body and you get it . 56 (The idea of nearness suggests also the thought that “the kingdom is within you.”) Why, with the recognition and reiteration of all these splendid moral and religious principles, is Chinese society in its present condition? The answer is found in Confucius’ doctrine of the “superior man.” It is the fundamental notion in the three books especially in the Analects. 57 “For all who are not holy by nature, the way of the superior man stands open.” The whole Confucian morale leads directly to this; the Chun-tzu (Superior Man) is the proper funda* mental idea of the whole system.” 58 Faber states the teaching of the “Great Learning” under eight heads. These seem to reveal the emphasis on intellectual, emotional, and moral self-cultiva¬ tion, and the expression of self-perfection in the social relations: “Distinction of things” and “completion of knowledge” relate to the intel- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 117 lectual development; “veracity of intention,” to the moral; “rectification of the heart,” to the emotional. “Cultivation of the whole person” relates to the conduct of the superior man, as do also, “management of the family,” “govern¬ ment of the state,” and “peace for the whole empire” which refer to “external efficiency in reference to other men.” “Self-perfection is humanity.” 59 The superior man “cultivates himself with reverential care and in this way gives rest to the people.” 60 “From the emperor down to the mass of the people, all must con¬ sider the cultivation of the person the root of everything besides.” 61 “Here is our elegant and accomplished prince! ... so has he cultivated himself.” 62 A recent Chinese scholar and states¬ man, speaking of the “aims of the Hunan modern school,” says: “Confucius acted on the principle that ‘to raise one’s self is to raise others.’ ” This principle is true but works only indirectly and, in both the West and the East, there are only too many examples which show that the benefit to others is not always apparent. This seems to be in the mind of the speaker when he goes on to quote the following from I Yin: “When I see one man or one woman in the country who has not gained any help from me, I feel as if I had pushed him or her into a ditch.” 63 The egoistic instincts make possible self-exaltation 118 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE and self-education; they are not the instincts that confer the same benefits on others. The selections, given above, show the splendid moral and spiritual values behind the formal, classical Chinese education. The failure of the classical ideal in China is a convex mirror in which we may see, in enlarged proportions, the failure of our own ideal. The final consequences when our system is as old as the Chinese may be forecast. It suggests what our education might be now but for the definite modifying influence of our economic, social and religious factors. The Confucian superior man and the Western ultra-individualism and superman, spiritual or physical, have more than a superficial relation; they are the same in motive, and in the method of education by which the ideal is perpetuated. Some might prefer Confucianism to “kultur.” The similarity between the two classical ideals may be summarized, briefly: (1) the nature of the subject matter is literary, symbolical; (2) the moral principles appear in the moral and religious exhortation of both Chinese classics and Hebrew religious classics; (3) the method emphasizes memory, dependence on textbook and authority, differing in degree rather than in quality. The fundamental problem is then a problem of motive that will vitalize this subject matter NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 119 and make these lofty ideals really function. It is impossible to make the Chinese believe that the Western world has realized and is domi¬ nated by the lofty ideals of Jesus Christ, when they compare what they have heard preached with what has recently happened in Europe. They will accept our interpretation easily enough and become nominal Christians when they recog¬ nize the essential common ground and the addi¬ tional advantage that Western Christianity offers. What can the Western classical ideal of education, founded on the egoistic instincts, reasonably be expected to accomplish in supply¬ ing the motive force which China needs, today, in order to realize the Kingdom of God? What has been said of the Chinese classical education does not ignore the educational re¬ forms since 1895. These reforms have been modeled chiefly after the educational methods of the United States and Germany as those werqf adapted by Japan. China is trying to break the grip of the “dead hand” in custom and tradition, but with difficulty and discouragement. When we first heard of the new schools, we believed that they embodied a healthy desire and an honest wish to benefit the educational system. . . . The cause of their (“the notables and literati”) sudden change appears more clearly at present. A look at the modern schools shows that they are founded chiefly through a desire for gain. 64 120 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE A few men and women are literally giving their lives in wonderful self-sacrifice to promote those movements which promise to break the bondage of the past. The Chinese are also conscious of the fact that their reformed education is failing to meet their present needs. There was held in Pekin, October, 1916, an educational conference under the au¬ spices of the Ministry of Education. During the conference it was pointed out that though many schools have been established, in this country, they are not meeting the needs of the times. We require our students to go from the primary school to the middle school and then to the university, without any effort to prepare them for their work in making a living after they leave school and without regard to their aptitude. The present system culminated in the university, but the percentage of students who go to the university is comparatively email. Another speaker said: The fruits of the middle school are not good and they are of no benefit to society. The causes are two. In the first place, the aim for our middle schools is mis¬ understood. The original aim was to give sufficient common education to our students, but this somehow has been changed to mean to prepare students for higher education. For this reason we have the pitiable spec¬ tacle of seeing so many graduates who do not go on to pursue a higher course and who cannot do anything to make a living. . . . According to the reports of NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 121 the delegates from different provinces, the number of middle school graduates who take the higher course is below 10 per cent. . . . So it is plain the duty of the school authorities is not to devote all their energies for the good of a few, but to make the course of the middle school so practical that the large number of graduates who must stop going to school will be quali¬ fied and equipped to make a living. . . . Because we have put a wrong interpretation to the aim of the middle school course and have merely tried to advance knowledge, our graduates are proud and are unwilling to accept humble positions. 65 These complaints have a strangely familiar sound. It is worth noting that it took the West longer to realize these facts than it has China. Japan has met the same result. The Chinese do not see their way out clearly. They are looking to industrial and vocational training as their salvation. Will they better their conditions by changing from a literary to an industrial autocracy? They are trying to hold to both types; this means class education. The Chinese see the practical problems in their task and are showing remarkable adaptability in solving them, as shown by the following recom¬ mendation : The committee hit upon two principles and one method for reforming the middle schools. The first principle is that the aim of the middle school is to give sufficient common education and to prepare stu¬ dents for their life work or to go to the university. 122 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE The second principle is that the middle school should aim to train young men to do the ordinary work of society and not to fit them for high positions. The method is that the middle school should, beginning with the third year, give courses in vocational training according to local conditions. But the courses are to be optional to students who wish to take a higher course. 66 This was confirmed by the National Educa¬ tional Association meeting in Canton in Novem¬ ber, 1921. The social ideal alone can meet this present situation and avoid the dangers of the literary and industrial types of class education. What share has Christian education in the responsibility for this present educational situa¬ tion in China? It has come with the best in¬ tentions and has introduced some influences that have been very helpful to the progress of the Chinese; today, Christian educational leaders are facing the greatest responsibility in making a choice between continuing the classical ideal and laboriously working out the new social ideal. China’s own task is great enough in breaking the bondage pf the long centuries of classical domination in education and its related social institutions. The history of education in the West throws a flood of light on the situation in China. Christian education must be careful not to in- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 123 crease the greatness of China’s task. It brings a new religious classic, the Bible, which must be taught in the Christian schools. It intro¬ duces a system of general education that is frankly classical, and is generally from ten to twenty years behind what is best in the West. The situation in the middle schools is par¬ ticularly serious, as shown by the report of the Committee appointed to investigate conditions in these schools. The first lack that impresses the Committee is that of a modern educational viewpoint on the part of many heads of middle schools. . . . With a few exceptions they were apparently not in close touch with the most recent educational theory and practice, although nearly all of them (the principals) were anxious to get new ideas. 67 It is highly important that this anxiety carry them beyond a few superficial methods, to such a complete over-hauling of their curricula as to meet the living conditions in China. There have been and are some educators who are trying to do this. It is unfortunate that the significance of their work is not more generally understood. The crux of the problem for Christian educa¬ tion in China lies in a clear, frank choice be¬ tween the classical and social ideals. This is not to deny that there are values in the classical ideal which can and should be conserved. To 124 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE grant this is only to assert the more strongly that there should be a clear choice of the social ideal and not a compromise between the two. To com¬ promise is only to lose those values eventually. No more temerity is necessary to recommend such absolute choice of the social ideal, now, than was needed to set up the classical ideal of the West as the model education for China. The charge that Christian education in China is predominantly of the classical type does not ignore the various efforts of individuals who are striving to crystallize the social ideal, nor the progress that lias been made since 1916, in middle school curricula for mission schools. It makes no exception in the case of those schools and colleges which continue to teach natural and social sciences by the deductive method, with unmodified Western textbooks and stereotyped laboratory experiments which have no relation to the life of the Chinese student, and which are performed under direction rather than in the spirit of investigation suitable to the develop¬ ment of the student. There is an increasing number of individual teachers who are trying to work out the “inductive-deductive” method with its various modifications and link the subject matter to the life-problems of the student. We must not deceive ourselves with super¬ ficial methods. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 125 The social spirit is applied to every phase of thought and action, and has come strongly to control education. This new spirit has to struggle with the traditions of a former day that are already beginning to disappear. Consequently, many who profess to hold the social view¬ point are failing to live out its implications in their schools. Educational missionaries have more reason than any other educators in the world for desiring to have their schools exercise a powerful social influence in the surrounding communities . 68 So far as schools still teach textbooks and rely upon the principle of authority and acquisition rather than upon that of discovery and inquiry, their methods are Scholastic—minus the logical accuracy and system of Scholasticism at its best. Aside from laxity of method and statement, the only difference is that geographies and histories and botanies and astronomies are now part of the authoritative literature which is to be mas¬ tered . 69 China is nominally a republic. Judging from her own history and from world-movements, to¬ day, the change is permanent. Western classical education has developed under monarchical and aristocratic social orders, except in the case of the United States. Where is the reasonable¬ ness or moral fitness in putting such an ideal on a new and growing democracy? Shall Christian education continue to be party to such an absurd anachronism? Shall we propagate the ideal of authority in education, or shall we turn courageously to the democratic ideal? Shall we encourage the Chinese to per- 126 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE gist in the “futile, never-finished effort to dom¬ inate one another,” which is the essential cor¬ relate of scholastic ideals, or shall we teach them to “engage in the co-operative task of dominating nature in the interest of humanity?” It seems that the issues involved in the late European war should decide our choice in favor of the latter task. Shall we deliberately support an ideal in education which creates and emphasizes class dis¬ tinctions instead of building up fundamental common interest? If we seek the social reconstruction of China, can anything short of selfish egotism prompt us to bring to China a system of education under which our Western society is not half Christian and from which we are now trying to escape? Is Christianity the religion of a select minority, or is it the religion of the masses? Did Jesus go to the rich, the learned, the powerful, or did he go to the common people? The classical ideal builds up an intellectual and social, if not re¬ ligious, aristocracy; the social ideal provides for all, with justice to all. Shall we continue to disregard the relation between the subject matter and the life of the students and teach European botany from a Western textbook in a land so rich in flora as China? A concrete instance of this disregard is recorded of a mission school in India. If this NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 127 instance cannot be duplicated in China, the principle is the same when the students are stuffed with textbooks of an alien civilization. As in Europe, this fact tends to accentuate the unfortunate dualism of mind and matter, science and religion, the intellectual and the natural. Western education still has before it the task of “overcoming this separation in education if society is to be truly democratic.” Physical and industrial education are contributing greatly to this end. How can we render our best service to China? Shall we encourage her to borrow her new civili¬ zation wholesale, by the short-cut of the classical system? Or shall we help her to construct it more slowly out of her own rapidly changing social, economic, moral, and religious conditions? Shall we perpetuate the older humanism which omits economic and industrial conditions from its purview? Shall we train a class for direct social control, or shall we have an educational ideal that brings abundant life to all classes? Leaders can be properly trained, with this larger objective in mind. The work we are doing makes leaders, but we need to consider what kind of leaders we are making and whither they are leading. The social ideal holds the promise of a more fruitful Christian education in China. Within the last two years (1921-22), there has 128 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA appeared in China a growing resentment of the manner in which Western civilization is being presented. This has crystallized in the anti- Christian movement that seems to have started in Shanghai, took definite form in Pekin Uni¬ versity, and swept over the country. The spirit of imperialistic classical “kultur” and prose- lytism is largely responsible for this new devel¬ opment. An educational and general missionary program that shares but does not impose its values, will remove the primary causes of this unfortunate development. The movement may or may not be serious in its consequences. It is, however, significant of the impressions that the Chinese are getting from Christian educa¬ tion, and of the relation between Christian and government education in China. CHAPTER YII THE PROBLEM AND THE VALUES Christian missions and Christian education are face to face with the new national conscious¬ ness in China. Political conditions are unsettled, but the awakening self-consciousness grows by leaps and bounds among the young Chinese. It has expressed itself in national politics, national education, international relations, and in the administration of mission schools and general mission work. It is evident in the present anti- Christian movement among the Chinese govern¬ ment students. There has grown up during 1920 and 1921 a spirit that is critical of everything old, whether it be Chinese or foreign. It is more critical of the foreign influence in China and believes it sees a subtle relation between Chris¬ tian missions, Western politics and gunboats. Christian missions have hoped for, and have con¬ tributed to this general situation. It has its dangers and difficult, unpleasant features. It need not be a crisis if Christian education and mission policy are able to make the necessary fundamental changes that should have been made 129 130 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE sooner but can no longer be delayed. Satisfac¬ tory and effective adjustment to the national con¬ sciousness, so as to correlate it with the growing international consciousness, is the great problem of Christian education. Christian missions as represented by the vari¬ ous mission societies are becoming conscious of this critical situation. The appointment of the Educational Commission that visited China re¬ cently gives reason to hope that steps will be taken to deal with the situation, before it is too late. The changes that will be required in order to save the situation will involve fundamental conceptions of motives, ideals, aims, and values. Changes of methods, alone, will soon demonstrate their superficiality and ineffectiveness. Can Christian education be radical? If Christianity goes to the roots of life and is able to make radical changes, Christian education can be radical and will have the courage and faith to go to the foundation of the structure it seeks to build. Christian education must have a distinctive value in the national development of the Chinese, if it is to continue to exist. The rapid develop¬ ment of nationalism in China, as in Japan and India, carries with it the consciousness that there is a national cultural heritage to preserve and that education is the means of preserving that NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 131 inheritance. Christian education must merge itself with this spirit of nationalism so as to avoid creating a hostile reaction from the leaders of national education, and still make a contribu¬ tion of such distinctness and value that these leaders will recognize it, welcome it, and leave it free to work. If Christian education only gives modern scien¬ tific knowledge, its days are numbered. The gov¬ ernment education will supply the knowledge of modern physical and social science without spe¬ cial consideration of spiritual interpretation and values. Christian education must be ready to supply the same wonderful mass of world-knowl¬ edge together with the spiritual interpretations and values which Christianity has to contribute to the redemption of society. This work can be accomplished only by concentrating all its forces at a few strategic centers, making its educational contributions of the very highest quality, keeping in advance of national education in distinct prac¬ tical and social values, and doing this in a spirit of co-operation that is entirely free from the spirit, or appearance of rivalry or proselytism. Christian education must trust its values to make their own appeal to the national conscience, so that leaders will come to its institutions as they seek certain popular institutions in the West which offer the best in educational theory and 132 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE application. Mission education has nothing in China, or elsewhere, that compares in efficiency and freedom of research with these institutions. These interpretations cannot be given effec¬ tively in schools that deal simply with abstract philosophies apart from the vital educative proc¬ ess, not even if that philosophy be the same as is given in that process. There are several good reasons why this is necessarily true. The trans¬ fer from the abstract truth to the concrete situa¬ tion has been unsatisfactory in classical educa¬ tion, in religion, and in ethics; the laboratory method is essential. The most important consid¬ eration is that a very few will deliberately enter a school which seems to the majority so remote from life-needs. The final test of Christian education, whether judging the value of motives, ideals and aims, or methods and devices, is the degree in which these elements help the Chinese in making their ad¬ justment to material and spiritual environment. This environment is not static but progressive, and the adjustments should be made in the light of probable developments in the next generation, but the main test lies in adequately meeting the present actual needs of society. The present situation offers an entirely differ¬ ent basis for the estimate of values from that which prevailed when education began in the NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA lS3 Christian schools of China. Our knowledge of the comparative development of the peoples of the earth has increased greatly, through compara¬ tive studies of philology, philosophy, anthropol¬ ogy, ethnology, religion, social control and edu¬ cation, within the last ten years. The recent studies in the history of education and philosophy of education have added much to the knowledge of the values of our own educational ideals and methods. Great political movements and the so¬ cial upheaval in Europe are producing serious reconsideration of all our social institutions, re¬ ligion and education included. It is no longer possible to believe in a static philosophy of life in any of its phases. The value of Christian education, then, de¬ pends on its close relation to the life-needs of human society and the degree in which it aids the race in developing and directing those in¬ stincts by which all its highest ideals may be carried out in the most complete manner. Chris¬ tian education has this fundamental relation to the Chinese as a part of human society. The value does not depend on the amount of knowl¬ edge imparted through the acquisition of facts, but in the training and development of instincts V which regulate the conduct of the individual in the interest of the race. The value depends upon the extent to which the human factors in educa- 134 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE tion work with, and not in opposition to, the di¬ vine factors. God’s purpose for the human race seems to be His ultimate purpose; His purpose for the individual is as important but it is contributory. The first consideration, then, in a search for the values of Christian education in China, is a thorough study of the whole range of the needs of Chinese society in vital relation with a world- society. Christian education there did not start ^ith any such study. It started with the idea that we had something they ought to have and, for various reasons already discussed, we have done our best to see that they got it, though we have not quite resorted to Mohammedan or Prus¬ sian methods. It took for granted that what had apparently satisfied our needs would meet the needs of the Chinese—a notion that no intelligent educator today will seek to support with serious argument. The attitude taken toward the several fields which cover the range of human needs, is im¬ portant. Each field covers a vast amount of new and old material. Each special field has a con¬ tribution to make, but the real value of the con¬ tribution depends on its availability in other fields. The specialist who regards his own field as the only one worthy of consideration and draws his conclusions accordingly, limits his NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 135 own usefulness and misses the spirit of the times. God is working out His purpose in these vari¬ ous fields, slowly but surely, in an orderly man¬ ner. The laws of the process He is continually revealing to humanity through the social inter¬ action of individuals as He has always done. The times make the individual as much as the indi¬ vidual makes the times, and humanity must come to see God working in it all. There is no place for a vague pantheism, a narrow atheism, nor a bigoted theism in such an attitude. The study of these fields in their relation to Christian education gives reality to Christian faith and reveals the spiritual significance of the material elements and natural processes which are such a large and essential part of life. No one of these fields is an end in itself; all are essen¬ tial factors in the growth of the ideal human so¬ ciety which the teaching of Jesus warrants us in expecting, and challenges us to work with God to realize. We may not work ahead of God, independently of God, and we must be very sure that we are not working in opposition to Him. The difficulty of knowing just how best to work with Him should restrain from dogmatism in any field and should cause us to keep an open mind for each new truth of God’s unfolding universe. It is only within the last hundred years that 136 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE we have come to realize that nothing is static. Even death itself is a process of change. What folly to seek to reduce this varied and abounding life to a nice system of human thought which pro¬ vides only for its own eternal self-perpetuation! When will men learn the evident lesson of the centuries preceding the Renaissance, particularly of the Thirteenth Century, when life was reduced to a unified, static condition such as the world had never seen before nor has attained since? What is involved in the divine ideal of a perfect society, in all its elements, is impossible for hu¬ man mind to conceive. Mankind is still so far away from that divine event that it may trust God, even if the growing process stop, to provide life sufficient to prevent stagnation and dead formalism. We are now concerned with that growing proc¬ ess and its characteristic needs as they appear in China. The unity of the race depends upon the realization of its common human needs and also on mutual intelligent, sympathetic co-operation as the one means of adequately meeting those needs. As this realization functions in family, larger social groups and nations, to give unity and to satisfy common needs, its application to the entire human society is but a logical and final step. It is probable that the God-given social instinct will contribute as largely to the unity NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 137 as will the conscious effort of men, though this does not excuse man from his obligation to use conscious and intelligent effort to accomplish this social unity. Under all the variety of individuals and groups, there are fundamental likenesses and common needs. Race and class distinction are not based on scientific exactness; Mongolians, studied from the standpoint of pigmentation, show such varia¬ tion that it is impossible to tell where the yellow race leaves off and the white race begins. The fundamental needs of the Chinese are based on the primary biological and psycholog¬ ical factors which constitute the basis of all life. They may be grouped under the following heads: Economic, Protective, Recreative, Cultural, So¬ cial—including family and community, Moral, Religious, and Educational. As Christian educa¬ tion interprets and meets these needs, its rela¬ tive value will become apparent to the Chinese. The degree in which Christian education appeals to and satisfies the growing national conscious¬ ness, will determine whether the present prob¬ lematic situation will become an opportunity or a fatal and final crisis. CHAPTER VIII BASAL FACTORS—BIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL The value of religion and education depends on the degree in which they are directly related to the entire field of life-phenomena. When either limits itself to a particular class of these phenomena it loses its perspective, becomes formal and steadily deteriorates in value or fails to achieve any great value. To say that there is no religion or education that is not in some way related to life, will probably meet with no serious objection; that they involve every phase of life, is not yet so generally recognized, though many are emphasizing the fact. Man is only one of the many species of animals struggling for existence and for more extensive and complete living. In general, he is subject to the same laws of life, growth, and evolution as the other animals. Like many other animals he is found in groups and this group life is one of the means of enabling him to survive as a species. His social instincts and his in¬ telligence make it possible for him to co-operate and thus to get more benefit from the group life than can almost any other animal. . . . He has gained supremacy through skill of hand, intelligence, and efficient group activity. . . . Man greatly modifies his environment; animals adapt themselves to it . 70 138 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 139 Individually and racially, the first interests are the instinctive interests of the animal. The characteristic functions of even the lowest forms of organic life, both plant and animal, are recep¬ tive, assimilative, and reproductive or active. The success of these fundamental life-processes rests on two considerations. It depends, first, on the extent to which the individual or the race masters the environing forces of nature. The second condition is satisfactory adjustment to the unmastered natural forces and to the spir¬ itual forces of the universe. There is significance in the fact that primitive man, even civilized man in some instances, regards many of the purely mechanical and material forces of nature as among the spiritual forces. In discovering his mistakes about some, man has jumped to the un¬ warranted conclusion that all these forces are purely material. It is one thing to deny the spiritual forces entirely; it is quite another thing to know those forces and understand their laws. There will be a distinct gain for humanity when it realizes that spiritual forces work according to definite laws; there will be still greater prog¬ ress when it learns and co-operates with those laws. It has happened that, wdien man could not mas¬ ter these environing forces, he sought to appease them and adapt himself to them to the best of 140 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE his ability. Mastery and adaptation have re¬ sulted in education; the efforts to appease have produced religion, and both education and re¬ ligion are very real in the complex process of life. BIOLOGICAL FACTORS Christian education can secure satisfactory and effective adjustment to the Chinese national consciousness only on the basis of the definite, comprehensive, and fundamental facts of biology, psychology and social heredity. It is not possible to separate these factors: biological heredity and social heredity are closely inter-related. Some of these facts that are related directly to the educational work are cited and loosely grouped on the basis of the three functions of the simplest forms of life, nutrition, assimilation, reproduction. The Chinese people have, for centuries, lived a quiet, settled life. They were probably an agri¬ cultural people from the beginning, rather than a nomadic race as some have supposed. They live close to nature; they cultivate the soil for their food and for the cotton which constitutes a large part of their clothing. Their houses are made from the clay in the form of bricks and tiles of varying quality. In the central and southern parts of the country the water furnishes much of NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 141 their food supply and is also used for irrigation. The animals are domesticated and make im¬ portant contributions to the food and clothing of the people. While the Chinese have acquired great skill in some forms of manufacture, they do this work largely by hand, or with the aid of crude ma¬ chines which are operated by hand or foot power. It is still a first-hand struggle with the forces of nature, none of which is successfully harnessed to help solve the problem of getting a living. This fact does not, however, put them more than a hundred years behind the West in this matter. The fine carving, embroidery, weaving, lacquer work, wood and metal work are evidence of the biological asset in their manual skill. There is no effective, rational mastery of dis¬ ease by knowledge of medicine and proper sanita¬ tion. This ignorance and helplessness has forced them to work out certain devices, characteristic of peoples living under these conditions, which have seemed to them to improve their possibilities of life and health. The great mass of the people is involved in these general biological conditions. Circum¬ stances have made them frugal and industrious. They work from early morning till late at night. There is a certain small part of the population 142 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE which social institutions have to a slight extent emancipated from this bondage, but not a suf¬ ficient number to affect our generalizations. The fact that the population which the coun¬ try supports averages over one hundred to the square mile and, in some provinces, numbers more than six hundred to the square mile, is con¬ vincing biological evidence that the Chinese pos¬ sess a high degree of intelligence. The problems that, of necessity, arise from such living condi¬ tions require also a considerable degree of effi¬ cient group activity. The Chinese have made important changes in the plant and animal life of the country. The water buffalo is an important factor in the cul¬ tivation of the soil; its habitat is India and Egypt, and it is not found elsewhere in the North Temperate Zone except where it has been im¬ ported. The Chinese, probably, introduced the buffalo for agricultural use. The cultivation of tobacco appears later in their history. The poppy was long known for medicinal purposes, but culti¬ vation of the plant on a large scale is a matter of comparatively recent history in international re¬ lations. Strawberries, pears, and apples have been introduced from the West, with varying success. Parts of China, as in the Yangtze Valley, quickly become a jungle when* left uncultivated. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 143 This fact indicates that the Chinese, in some early period, destroyed a heavy growth of timber to make room for their fields. The people have not, shown any particular abil¬ ity to improve the plants and animals by breed¬ ing and selection. The pears, which were intro¬ duced by a missionary, have deteriorated because of insufficient attention to selection and proper cross-fertilization. In the cultivation of the soil, the people are very industrious. They are careful to supply such fertilizing material as is available; straw, leaves, grass are burned, and the ashes, even the ashes from the cooking ranges, are saved and re¬ turned to the soil. The hills are burned off in order that the rains may wash the ashes down into the fields below, or into the small reservoirs. These are cleaned out frequently and the rich mud from the bottom is spread on the fields. They have found that certain crop rotation in¬ creases the productivity of the soil. If we broaden the scope of the biological fac¬ tors to include the law of diminishing returns and the Malthusian law, we shall discover some important elements for determining our educa¬ tional values. The data is as much a part of the economic considerations as of the biological. Agriculture has reached the point where the increase in labor does not result in a correspond- 144 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE ing increase in tlie product. There is needed a scientific study of the soil, the improvement of seeds, the use of land that is dormant under pres¬ ent limited knowledge of kinds of seeds. The in¬ troduction and intelligent use of improved tools will help to nullify the law of diminishing returns. China seems to stand today where Europe stood about a century ago, when Malthus ad¬ vanced his famous law. The increased number of human beings does not furnish food enough to maintain life. This is shown by the frequent and wide-spread famines and the large number of people who almost continually live on the verge of starvation, even in sections that are not directly affected by famines. The develop¬ ment of Western civilization has shown a de¬ creasing birth rate along with the rising intelli¬ gence of the masses. Malthus’s theory was dis¬ proved and the East may take hope for relief from the present crowded conditions. Closely related to these considerations are the results of the latest studies in eugenics and euthenics. Shall the change come in China as it has in the West, largely in ignorance and violation of the laws of life? Does the Christian God desire His children to be born and to live continually under the conditions that now exist in the dense, pov¬ erty-stricken countries of the East? If it is NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 145 wrong to take life, is it not as certainly wrong to put life where it is sure to be taken by slow and terrible suffering? Christian education has an opportunity to meet and answer these vital questions. The same forces that have worked to decrease the birth rate in the West are beginning to work in China. First, industrial conditions will repeat themselves; life interests will increase in number and complexity. The cost of living has been ris¬ ing steadily during the last ten or fifteen years. There must be a decrease of birth rate or an in¬ crease in infanticide and adult death rate, unless there is marked increase in food production. Second, China is on the road to democracy: this tendency will increase the emphasis on learning; the masses will steadily become more intelligent and better educated; the effect on the increase of population, probably, will be the same as it has been in the West. Third, modern scientific education is sweeping away the superstitions on which ancestor worship has rested so securely. Ancestor worship has been the chief cause of early marriages and large families; the Chinese are fond of their children, but the reproductive instinct is probably no stronger than in any other people. There is an organized movement on the part of educated young Chinese to break up the old custom of early marriages; the number of 146 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE generations to the century will decrease by half, if this movement accomplishes what it has set out to do. Fourth, modern medical and surgical science may be expected to decrease the death rate, particularly, the infant mortality; already it has stampd out the pneumonic plague and has made a decided impression on China’s old enemy, the cholera; dysentery yields to better food and sanitation; tuberculosis is receiving special atten¬ tion all over the country. A lower birth rate will meet the social and economic requirements. The forces of nature to be mastered are in¬ ternal as well as external, creative as well as en¬ vironmental. The forces of heredity and varia¬ tion function in China, as in the West, and if studied, understood, and obeyed, will preserve a good racial heritage and provide for better vari¬ ants; or, if ignored, will continue to perpetuate the mental and physical defects which are now so apparent. As compared with Western people, the Chinese have done very little recently to modify their en¬ vironment ; they are living as they have lived for centuries. As compared with the savage, in acquired productiveness of the soil and in the manufacture of the things needed in such a popu¬ lous community, there is evidence of a high de¬ gree of mastery over the forces of nature. The Chinese have not been successful in harnessing NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 147 such forces as water, steam, heat, electricity, and air. Superstition has prevented them from de¬ veloping resources, particularly the mineral re¬ sources, although they knew how to use these metals to their very great advantage. When the struggle shifts from survival to so¬ cial position, the harmony or the bitterness of that new struggle will depend on the kind of edu¬ cation we give in the time that intervenes. Class education will bring a repetition of the selfish individualism, uncurbed authority in politics, education and religion, which has produced the cruelty of the European war and of modern in¬ dustrial and commercial competition. Education in social co-operation will help to bring the peace and harmony of an ideal human society. The students of this generation must be prepared for the experiences of the next generation as far as possible. Christian education must face these biological factors, frankly and courageously, and recognize their value in its task of uplifting China. PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS The fundamental biological factors must be kept clearly in mind throughout the entire study of values. Equally fundamental are the psycho¬ logical factors which deal with man’s reactions to his entire environment, material and spiritual. 148 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE Man reacts to his environment, like animals, au¬ tomatically and instinctively; more than this, he reacts intelligently and volitionally, and here is the secret of his advance beyond the animal stage of development. It hardly needs to be demon¬ strated that the Chinese, in respect to the four general psychic processes—automatic, instinc¬ tive, intellectual, and volitional—are not essen¬ tially different from other races. The biological factors are essential to life; the psychological factors are essential to progress and progress is what concerns us in education and religion. It is evident that the attitude of the Chinese toward some of these biological fac¬ tors did not make for progress. Their failure to develop their mineral resources is due chiefly to the mental attitude of the people; they feared the spirits in the mountains would be offended. It is evident that only education can change these mental attitudes and reconstruct better ones. This educative process of reconstruction is going on independently of Christian education, and on an increasingly larger scale through government education. It is to be feared that the recon¬ structed mental attitudes will lack the Christian element. Christian education must reconstruct, not simply a part of the concept structure, but the entire structure; at least, it must work with this NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 149 clearly in mind if it hopes for a cordial reception and the right use of what it brings to China. The Chinese are aware that, like other nations, they are judged and ranked, first, by their mas¬ tery of the forces of nature. They are rapidly profiting by the progress that other nations have made; they do not have the chance to do even as much original, creative work as have the Jap¬ anese who started earlier and more nearly with the rest of the world in the modern mastery of natural forces. What will be the nature of the psychic factors that function in this progress? They must, of necessity, be different from any that the world has yet seen because the situation is unique in the history of the race. The nearest parallel is in the history of Japan. The psychic processes may not present any new phenomena but the psychic reactions and their consequences must present a new complex. This new mastery of the forces of nature will put into the hands of these Chinese the power to realize them¬ selves, physically, intellectually, morally, and religiously. Christian education must take these facts into consideration in its estimate of values. The type of self-consciousness which has pro¬ duced the Chinese nation is a second fundamental psychological factor. It is necessary to discover the type which has produced the present situa¬ tion; it will be the task of Christian education 150 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE to lift the Chinese self-consciousness to a higher level, consonant with the ideal of a perfect human society. We shall discover these types of self- consciousness in the number and nature of the interests which dominate their mental activities, and we may group them under three heads . 71 First, the interests of the mass of the people are few in number and are confined chiefly to the physical needs; securing food, clothing and shel¬ ter and providing for procreation, are the main interests about which they talk, and for which they plan and work. As compared with the lower races, the Chinese live in a greatly modified physical self-consciousness, but, with hunger so near, the physical is a very real and powerful in¬ fluence in their mental processes. However, it is seriously to be questioned if they are any more physio-centric than people who are living under similar conditions in the West. Secondly, in spite of these physical considera¬ tions, the mental activities of the Chinese are probably dominated by the social interests; con¬ siderations of social rank will drive a scholar to starvation before he will do the work of a coolie. Individual opinion counts for little; manners and customs determine nearly all their activities. There are said to be over three thousand rules of etiquette, covering every social situation, and one NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 151 is very often surprised at the punctilious observ¬ ance of these rules even by the coolie on the street. Of course, there are many infractions through ignorance and disregard. The social values have been standardized by the forms of government which have prevailed, by the classical education, and by their religion. There is no caste system but the social stratification is very apparent. Class-struggle for social position has not yet developed. A third type of self-consciousness has begun to appear with the establishment of the republic. The old static conditions are breaking up. New interests and new activities determine their mental processes. The style of dress has changed and Western styles have been adopted for formal occasions. The younger generation is in rebel¬ lion against old customs; the new woman is very evident. A new social idealism is questioning the inviolability of the authorities which prece¬ dent and practice have recognized; it is a part of the revolution by which China lias broken with the monarchical idea that has held her for twenty- one centuries. There is a growing assertion of individual personality, especially among stu¬ dents. This new spirit made it possible for large numbers of the Chinese laborers to go abroad and help in the munition factories of the Allies. 152 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE Many students are going abroad for travel and study. They are awakening to new intellectual, moral, and religious interests. Judging from their literature and religious customs, there has long been that Reeling after God if haply they may find Him” which Paul de¬ scribed in his address at Athens. Although they have been proud and provincial, they have not been without an international outlook. Had they received different treatment from the Christian nations four hundred years ago, their proverbs, “All beneath the heavens are one family” and “All within the four seas are brothers,” would doubtless have greater significance than they now have. While they have not expressed their altru¬ istic instincts in just the forms of philanthropy that have been developed by Western peoples, they have had a distinct consideration for others and a valuation of self in terms of social rela¬ tions, which are essential factors in the develop¬ ment of the altruistic instincts. For instance: “The man of perfect virtue, wishing to be estab¬ lished himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be acknowledged [or enlarged] him¬ self, he seeks to acknowledge [or enlarge] others also.” 72 We regard the growth of justice as a phase of social psychology. The reference just quoted shows a clear recognition of the principle: “Offer NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 153 first to friends what one requires of them ,” 73 and a number of other passages might be cited to show their high ideals. Their practice and ideals differ widely, but Western nations need a deal of “housecleaning” before they criticize China too severely on this score. Elementary social rights are quite generally recognized in theory, if not in practice. China has developed to this point largely through mental activities which have centered in the vital physical and social interests. Her fu¬ ture progress will be determined by the number and nature of these new international and cos¬ mic interests. Christian education finds here the basis of common psychic needs and the measure of its own values. It is necessary to analyze the forces behind this mental activity and its upward progress. They are identical with the forces that have worked out the progress of the Western nations; they bring us back again to a recognition of the com¬ mon interests and needs of the human race. These forces may be grouped under three heads which are pertinent to our present considera¬ tions. First, the divine, creative, cosmic intelli¬ gence, God, which is steadily working out and developing the human means of His own self- revelation. Second, the racial intelligence which is man’s unconscious co-operation with God in 154 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE working out the progress of the race. Third, the personal, volitional, self-conscious intelligence of individuals. These intelligent forces explain why man, though like the animal in his automatic and instinctive reactions to his environment, differs from the animal so greatly in his mastery of the forces of nature. “The human race is just at the beginning of racial self-consciousness,” and we must recog¬ nize that there has been a Divine Intelligence, at least, working in China in preparation for this new period of racial development. We mistake the Chinese type of self-consciousness and Chi¬ nese intelligence, if we think China needs to cover, step by step, the zigzag path of Western progress. The biological elements represent the physical needs and have a spiritual significance; the psychological elements represent the spiritual needs and have deep physical significance. The two cannot be separated and together they cover the whole range of human needs and human de¬ velopment. In them we find the explanation of the past and present and the hope for the future in the task of the social reconstruction of China. The physio-centric and the soeio-centric levels of racial self-consciousness were essential to the development of the wider cosmic viewpoint; China had the Confucian type; the West has had NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 155 a nominally Christian type of these levels of self- consciousness. It is the “fullness of time” for Christ to come to both East and West with the true world-consciousness. The World War and its after-effects make one dare to think that the Eastern mind is as nearly ready for the larger viewpoint as is the West. In these common physical and spiritual needs of the human race, are the basal factors through which Christian education must work out the desired values of the ideal human society. The educational ideal which accomplishes this task, is, in reality, a bio-psychological ideal. CHAPTER IX THE NEEDS—ECONOMIC It is necessary now to consider more carefully the complex physical and spiritual needs which grow out of the biological and psychological fac¬ tors. It is impossible to separate these further considerations from the fundamental processes just discussed. The social phenomena and their results are so complex in China that classification is difficult. The analysis is simplified if it is based on the in¬ stinctive, individual needs that are common to all members of society. The satisfaction of these needs is secured best by group action and co-op¬ eration between groups. All sociological phenomena, from blind action of the mob up to the most intelligent co-operative institutional activity of highly civilized man, constitute forms of action by means of which the needs of the group are satisfied. If, therefore, we classify social action and social products according to the ends served, we shall have a classification that is fundamentally the same for all grades of civilization and for permanent groups of all sizes . 74 156 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 157 We shall study Chinese life on a basis that lends itself to constant and fair comparison with conditions in Western civilizations. These needs will be discussed briefly in the following chapters as economic, protective, recre¬ ative, social, cultural, moral, religious, and edu¬ cational. It is impossible to discuss any one of them fully in a single chapter, but it is possible, and is our purpose, to draw attention to some conditions which involve vital human needs and which constitute crises that our present Christian education fails to meet or deal with adequately. A broad and comprehensive view is needed. Professor Kirkpatrick defines the economic needs and activities as those which are concerned, primarily, with securing food and gaining protection against climatic changes, and, sec¬ ondarily, with the production and distribution of material things that serve these and other purposes. The material of this study is grouped under three heads: Production, Distribution, and Con¬ sumption. It will be remembered that a specimen curriculum which grouped subject matter under these same heads has already been presented. It will be necessary for our purpose to consider not only the material objects and efficiency in their production, but also the producers and their rela¬ tion to these three economic processes. 158 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE PRODUCTION China has many of the economic characteristics of the mediaeval period but really belongs, eco¬ nomically, to the transition period in the West, which extends from the fifteenth to the nine¬ teenth centuries. She is rapidly developing the characteristics of industrialism in the West as it existed during the last century. From the stand¬ point of economic and industrial development China is just entering the stage of modern pro¬ duction; the modern phases of distribution and consumption are not so far advanced. Much has been written to show that China has abundant raw material for the production of wealth. She has developed only her agricultural resources to the point where they really produce wealth. It seems that already the “law of dimin¬ ishing returns” has become operative in agricul¬ ture. It will be necessary to find a use for lands that are now fallow and thought to be worked out. Analysis of the soil, seed selection, im¬ proved implements, more scientific irrigation and conservation of water supplies, utilization of other than human power in agricultural proc¬ esses, will largely increase the wealth-producing capacity of the Yangtze Valley, although it is already one of the richest and most populous dis¬ tricts. At first, with so much man power avail- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 159 able, the introduction of improved and expensive machinery may be expected to progress slowly. As the process of modern industrialization ad¬ vances, it is probable that the man power will flow to the industrial centers and produce a shortage of workers in the agricultural districts, with the probable result that many of the smaller fields will be joined and labor-saving machinery will be introduced. This change will not be pos¬ sible in all parts of China, however. It will neces¬ sarily increase the production and may tend to hold in check prices of agricultural products which have been steadily rising for fifteen years. The rising cost of agricultural products may be expected to stimulate agricultural development, as it did in England. The agricultural conditions in England in the beginning of the eighteenth century present some very suggestive analogies for the present agri¬ cultural conditions in China . 75 The small hold¬ ings, the irregularity and movability of boun¬ daries, the hindrances to improved methods in farming and stock raising, numerous footpaths and balks, little or no live stock, common graz¬ ing ground for such as there is, all issued in the appearance of “capitalistic farming.” The increase in the price of foodstuffs made agricul¬ ture, and especially improved cultivation, immensely profitable. . . . The enormous growth of manufactur- 160 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE ing consequent upon the utilization of machinery created a sudden demand for agricultural prod¬ ucts. ... It was the large landowner who appreci¬ ated the value of inclosures, and who took the lead in securing the redistribution of land, frequently “with little regard to the interests of the smaller tenants and freeholders, who, in fact, suffered greatly/’ Even if the re-allotment were just, the parliamentary and legal expenses involved, . . . placed a severe handicap upon the small farmers and yeomen which finally led to their extinction. In forty-five years, the inclosed acreage in¬ creased from 334,794 to 7,000,000. Is it possible that any one can think of these things and not see their tremendous significance to Christian education? There will be re-allot¬ ment of land divisions. Lands that are held by large owners today and rented to poorer people will be taken up by the owners and farmed by more economical and productive methods; the poor renters will become laborers, either on the farms or in the factories. It is the duty of Chris¬ tian education to train humanity-loving, public- spirited men to study these conditions and pro¬ vide opportunities for those who are cast out of their living by the inevitable industrial change. The students of today will be masters of this land as the change comes; they may be prepared in mind and heart to deal with this situation intelli¬ gently and humanely, instead of ignorantly and brutally as did the fortunate classes in England. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 161 One cannot study the economic development of England without deep resentment at the way in which one privileged class after another tramped roughshod over the less fortunate masses. Is there any relation between what people are taught to think, and what they do? If there is none, then what is the use of education? If there is, what kind of educational ideals domi¬ nated those times? The Puritans, with all their piety, do not escape the charges of inhumanity. 76 How much more is Christian education in China doing to prepare the Chinese actually to meet these conditions wisely and sympathetically, in the real spirit of Jesus Christ? Its answer to this question determines its value, far more than * does the ability to reproduce Western educational standards. The mineral resources are practically undevel¬ oped, for reasons already given. Production will increase greatly in this field, and will affect the mining and the manufacturing activities. Min¬ ing must change from the digging of little pockets in the mountainside where veins of coal and ore crop out, to deep underground workings, with power-machinery. The vast coal deposits which make it possible to count seven veins of pure coal cropping out in a 500-foot ledge, together with - the rich iron deposits which are equally well known to exist, are significant only in the light 162 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE of the history of the industrial development of the West. The resources are significant, however, for this study, not simply in the wealth that they will bring to China, but in the bio-psychological changes with their moral and religious implica¬ tions which they will produce. The industrial change that will put these agri¬ cultural and mineral products into usable form is already in progress. Only a few of the facts concerning this important process can be given here. There are a few plants for reduction and fin¬ ishing treatment of iron, copper, antimony, and tin. These are wholly inadequate, either to treat effectively the ore masses or to meet the demand of the consumers. The cost of the finished prod¬ uct is very low when compared with the cost in the West. Steel rails can be produced for $10.00 a ton, as compared with $47.00 in England, and $20.00 a ton in Germany* The effective harnessing of abundant natural power is an important element in the productive process. In the streets one hears the whir of modern machinery run by steam, electricity, or gasoline; in the same block the slow thump of manufacturing devices operated by human power may also be heard. The modern power spindles and looms turning the raw cotton, silk, and hemp into cloth are to be found, almost side by side, NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 163 with the old bamboo man-power looms. In 1920, 17 new cotton mills were started; they turn out cotton goods at 25 per cent, of the cost in Fall Kiver and Manchester. China’s water power and oil fields are great un¬ tapped sources of productive energy. There is so much available man power that machines and even the donkey are unsuccessful competitors. A few decades will reverse the situation. What mental and moral readjustments will this change bring? Very little time has been spent in the making of tools. The farmer uses a simple hoe or forked hook and a crooked tree root with a cast-iron nose for cultivating the soil. His most complicated farming implement is the device for lifting water from the small reservoirs into the rice fields. He harvests his grain with a sickle and threshes it by beating the heads into a box, or with a flail, or by rolling stones dragged over the threshing-floor by a cow or buffalo. The blacksmith depends en¬ tirely on his hammer and anvil. The carpenter’s best saw looks like a bucksaw; he rips his large timbers into planks by hand. The painter rubs on his paint with an old rag. Rough lathes for wood-turning are seen occasionally. Weaving is done on hand looms made of bamboo; the cloth is dyed in small vats and finished or polished by large rocking stones which are manipulated by 164 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE men standing on them and rocking them back and forth. Sometimes one sees a crude cotton gin, but the seeds are generally extracted by hand. This all seems very primitive but, in many re¬ spects, it is not a hundred years behind the indus¬ trial development of the United States. It is even nearer to the peasant farmer of Europe. The English farmers will not believe that Iowa farmers have a machine for raking and loading hay, all with a single forward movement of the team. It is to be noted that these implements are tools, not machines. Some of them require a great deal of skill and intelligence, of a certain kind, to use them. These tools are rapidly being exchanged for machinery, most of which requires little skill or intelligence except on the part of those who keep it in order. The West has come to this through a slow creative process; China is plunged into it, with little demand on her own inventiveness. The results will be apparent much more quickly; society will have less time to learn its lessons and adjust itself. Christian education is dealing indirectly and aimlessly with these conditions, as it did in the West? Is that all it can or should do? Efficiency is an essential element in produc¬ tion, yet it is said “the Chinese have never ac¬ cepted the principle of efficiency, which is that NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 165 the methods or means to be chosen for a given purpose should not be those which seem appropri¬ ate, but those which actually do produce most surely, promptly, and economically the coveted results. They fail to discriminate real from ap¬ parent fitness because they have never made the efficiency of agents and processes an object of inquiry.” 77 Related to this principle of efficiency is the consideration of the cost of this kind of labor. Professor Ross cites a concrete case in the pro¬ duction of bridge material which shows that, with labor five times as cheap, the Chinese government could not produce the material and construct a bridge as cheaply as Belgian contractors could do it, and import their workmen. This means that, in productiveness, one Belgian is equal to five unskilled Chinese; this comparison would vary from three to even more than five. That skilled Chinese labor, however, may be as efficient as any other labor is becoming very evident. In the West, “it was formerly thought profit¬ able to the manufacturer to employ men for as small wages as possible and for the greatest number of hours, and to assume no responsibility whatever for their health or freedom from acci¬ dents.” This is practically where China is today. There are some happy exceptions, in the case of a few humane and enlightened operators, but 166 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE competition with those who are not so humane, prevents them from doing much to relieve the conditions of the workers. In Shanghai, the op¬ eratives are mostly women and children: they work in the mills from twelve to fourteen hours, for from ten to thirty cents a day. In a coal mine near Ichang the coolie receives one cent for carrying a 400-lb. load of coal on his back down to the river a mile and a half away. He averages ten loads a day but must rest every other week. The miners get seven cents a day and a cent’s worth of rice and meal. They work eleven hours a day up to their knees in water, and all have swollen legs. 78 Can a system of education lay claim to the name Christian and ignore such inhumanity and such social economic waste? It can because it has. Ought it to do so? Christian education has a wonderful opportunity to consider these condi¬ tions and press home the problems in practical form, to open-minded, patriotic, young Chinese men and women. Many of these young people are Christians, or at least favorably disposed toward Christianity. The abstract moral principles of Christian education are good, as far as they go; religious education in America is realizing that they do not go far enough with the young. Re¬ form agitation will help some; it will be vastly NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 167 better to do the more fundamental educational work which will prevent the development of such industrial conditions as we have been trying to cure in the West. There is also a large unproductive class which decreases the wealth of the country and deprives some of the producers of advantages, to which they are justly entitled. Although the Chinese are an industrious people, there are many idlers. It is estimated that there are ten million depend¬ ents in America, or ten per cent, of our popula¬ tion. In China the percentage is considerably higher. Children are more numerous; public beggars are more numerous; disease, mental and physical defect, and economic inefficiency swell the numbers. Here, again, is a source of eco¬ nomic leakage which affects seriously the living conditions of the whole nation. What is Christian education doing to stop this leakage? There are a few industrial schools that are trying to increase the efficiency of the young people; there are some efforts to deal with these social problems; medical missions are trying to relieve the weight of disease and physical defect. These efforts are good, but inadequate. It is necessary to go to the source of the trouble and give the students who go out from our schools an attitude of mind that will make them feel re* 168 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE sponsible for dealing with these conditions. They must be specially prepared to deal intelli¬ gently with the causes as well as with the effects. To what extent does the classical ideal in educa¬ tion do this? The Chinese will adapt themselves to these new demands of production as readily as have Western people—perhaps more readily and successfully. The Chinese have a great lesson to learn from Ameri¬ can industrial workmen in continuing uninterruptedly at their work during hours of industry, in speed, and in eliminating all loss in movements. But even on these points the Hanyang iron workers are approaching Pittsburg workmen. 79 They have been essentially a sensory-motor peo¬ ple ; they have lived close to nature; their motor centers are more highly developed, possibly, than those of the modern educated Western individual. This constitutes a foundation for the reception and application of new tools and machinery that might not be suspected apart from the psychology and physiology of the people. Little study has been made along this line, but, there is consider¬ able warrant for the statement in the example of the Japanese. They have made wonderful progress in the use and even in the improvement of Western ideas and tools. If China fails to adapt' herself to the new methods of production, NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 169 it will be the fault of education, not of heredity and native ability. After a fine tribute to the Chinese adaptabil¬ ity, Bishop Bashford says: With such manifestation of adaptability, combined with cheerfulness. Western nations must reckon with the Chinese in determining what nation, what race, and what civilization will become dominant in the Pacific basin. It is to be hoped that it will not be a question of dominance, but a question'of'largest contribu¬ tion to the future civilization of the Pacific basin. With the production of modern machinery, there will come the economic waste of thousands who have lost their old employment and are un¬ able to adapt themselves to the new, but there will be ultimate gain because the common social needs will be more easily supplied and the amount of human energy expended for this end will be decreased. This latter will be a distinct aid in the general education of the masses, if they are trained to make right and intelligent use of this additional time. The introduction of machinery and use of natu¬ ral power will shift women from the drudgery of the field to the drudgery of the factory; the effect on the home may well give concern to Chris¬ tian educators. What could be of greater value in Christian education than to face these facts 170 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE and probabilities in our Christian schools, and work them out in the hopefulness, altruism and idealism of Tr outh? DISTRIBUTION Distribution is the second main factor in a study of the economic needs. Increased produc¬ tion calls for improved methods of distribution; improved methods of distribution will release from ten to fifteen per cent, of the population for increased production. 80 The two chief factors in the improvement of distribution are, first, the means of transportation, and second, the distrib¬ utors and their methods of exchange. What will happen to the majority of the ten or fifteen per cent, who will be affected by the change now in progress? It is one thing to re¬ lease them for production; it is quite another thing to change their whole life and thought so that they will become producers. It is an eco¬ nomic situation based on important biological and psychological considerations; its relation to education, morals, and religion is direct and not to be ignored. One illustration may be given here. Between 1861 and 1900 the immense junk traffic of China was largely displaced by steamboat traffic along the coasts and upon the large rivers. The throw¬ ing of an immense number of boatmen out of employ- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 171 ment, with no provision for their livelihood, has been one of the great economic causes of the Chinese distrust of foreigners, just as sudden destruction of junk, cart, and wheelbarrow traffic by the opening of the Pekin- Tientsin Railway was the economic occasion for the Boxer Uprising, though by no means the only reason for that struggle . 81 Is there any remedy for this sorry situation? Must Christian education leave China to.stumble through the riots, destruction of life and prop¬ erty, and all the misery of Western industrial evolution? Or has it now sufficient flexibility and resourcefulness to enable it to deal more helpfully and constructively with China’s needs? There is wealth of material for college and theological seminary curricula in the considera¬ tions involved in the following quotation : But while recognizing the imperative need of the introduction of steam and electricity for transportation, those who propose such improvements should bear in mind the danger of turning some ten to fifteen per cent of the laboring class suddenly out of employment with¬ out first providing other methods by which these people can earn a living. . . . Arrangements should be made for the employment of surplus labor in mining coal and in other industries immediately on the completion of the roads. . . . Surely statesmanship and a wise regard for permanent returns on investments, as well as humanitarian considerations, demand that the change in transportation in China should be inaugu¬ rated in a manner which will serve the immediate interests of the working classes, as well as the financial 172 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE interests of managers of corporations, and thus promote the interests of the nation as a whole. 82 The writer might have said, “and thus promote the interests of human society as a whole.” This one situation involves economic possibilities for good and for evil that far outweigh any national considerations of China or Western nations. Bishop Basliford'S suggestion for solution is simple, direct, and appears adequate. But how is it to be effected? In the context, he seems to offer no direction. Does any one expect a mys¬ terious atmosphere of moral righteousness and Christian insight to envelop these statesmen and business men and effect these desired results? The evidence that such a miracle will happen is pitifully lacking, in the face of unhumanitarian aspects of Western industrialism and commer¬ cialism. Old dogs do not easily learn new tricks. 'the minds of the young men who will be the statesmen and business men can be led to face the facts and reach moral decisions, before they get caught in the grip of this relentless industrial force; they have ideals to which appeals can be made. What would be more intensely interest¬ ing for college students than the chance to think about and discuss such problems? A group of young college men might reach a better solution than that suggested by our distinguished author, good as that is. How many Christian schools can NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 173 relate such things effectively to their course of study? How many can stop the eternal grind of textbooks, acquisition of a mass of facts, prepara¬ tion for examinations, long enough to think of these vital living conditions? Where is our sense for values? Official grafting has discouraged progress in railroad and other road building; individual or small group interests have outweighed the inter¬ ests of the whole community and made it possible for men to say, as did the head of an American railroad corporation when asked about the rela¬ tion of the interest and welfare of the public to a certain project, “The public be damned.” Is Christian education really as helpless to prevent such an anti-social mental attitude as it seems to have been in the West? How much did the school curriculum of forty years ago teach that railroad president about the needs of human society and his obligations to relieve those needs? Religion and morals were excluded from the public school curriculum; the churches and a few homes taught general moral truths but did not relate them to the larger social issues. Is that the best Chris¬ tian education can do for China? How much change has there been in the social emphasis in our curricula? The China Year Book (1914), reporting on the banking situation says, “These banks are legion.” 174 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE There are banking facilities; the people distrust them and have reason for so doing; there have been Morses and Lorimers in China. The more complex system of banking and credits into which China must certainly pass will multiply the opportunities for graft and dishonesty. The old simple devices which have existed for insur¬ ing the integrity of bank officers will soon be in¬ effective. Then what? Cannot Christian education prepare the minds of the young men who are going out into the banking business, give them a vision of the tre¬ mendous social significance of their profession, give them high ideals of honesty and general in¬ tegrity in their direct bearing on these problems? It is not enough to teach the abstract moral truth, “Thou shalt not steal .” It is hardly to be sup¬ posed that Morse and Loidmer had never received this teaching yet they did not hesitate to rob widows and orphans of their living, and they are only two out of many who have done and are doing the same thing in Christian America. They were taught morals and religion as morals and religion; they learned life in a different school. They probably had very little help in linking these together so that they could see the immedi¬ ate social significance of morals and religion. In the practical business reliability of the Chi¬ nese, there are points of contact with the ideals NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 175 of Jesus that will be more effective for teaching purposes than golden examples from the West, like George Washington who “never (?) told a lie.” The discussions following Lord Curzon’s 83 strictures on Asiatic honesty and his boast of Western honesty, make any fair-minded man a little less dogmatic in setting forth the West as a paragon of honesty, integrity, and fair dealing. Cannot the people be prepared to deal wisely and justly with those who violate their social obliga¬ tions in the use of large sums of money or large credits? Or, must they learn only by bitter ex¬ perience, so that while they are catching and pun¬ ishing the rascals on one trick these same indi¬ viduals are busy thinking out some new scheme of exploitation? Christian education can help stop this kind of thing if it will take the opportunity. The Chinese have discovered the economy of standardization of production; silk from certain sections has a definite, well-known value; like¬ wise, oil, tea, pottery, etc. This standardization saves much of the cost of advertising for which the Western consumer pays so dearly. Eight ad¬ vertising will be necessary and educative. New and better products must be made known. There are, however, already enough fraudulent medicine, food, drink, and tobacco advertisements appearing on the streets and in the papers to keep a college laboratory busy for several weeks in 176 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE analytical chemistry. What could be more inter¬ esting and of more practical value? Those stu¬ dents would go back to their villages prepared to defend themselves and their community against such parasites, who have in some cases, already made fortunes out of the ignorance of Western people. Some are native frauds; some are foreign. When is there a better time for the related moral and religious teaching than when the interest is keen? How many teachers are availing themselves of such splendid subject matter? Pure, unadulterated ignorance of the people, not their moral viciousness, has made possible, in the West, this whole wretched business of fraudu¬ lent advertising and patent medicines, from which we are only now struggling, with doubtful success, to extricate ourselves. The agent, the traveling salesman, and the billboard will be necessary evils in the distribution of China’s new industrial products. It would be a great saving to the world and China if she could learn at the beginning what Western advertisers have learned but slowly—that honest advertising is the best policy; that fair business methods are the most profitable in the end because they serve common human needs; that it does not pay to sell a cus¬ tomer something he does not want. This phase of the task and the value of Chris- "NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 177 tian education is not clearly and generally recog¬ nized. These details of business ethics could and should be intelligently presented in moral and religious education, and the economic principles should be laid bare in the schools. They should not be presented from textbooks alone, but from the every-day experience of Chinese life. When this is done, there will be plenty of need for the cultural subject matter if it has the spiritual value that is claimed for it. There will have to be a more careful sifting for those real spiritual values than has hitherto been necessary. The first step in industrial development of the West was marked by the idea that a man’s busi¬ ness was his own, to run as he pleased regardless of the community interest and welfare. It is tak¬ ing the public a long time to believe that it has a right to know how general business is being con¬ ducted. The school can determine the mental at¬ titude of the rising generation whether it shall be ultra-individual or social. Little can be done with the old men, but young men should be led to face.such problems from the moral standpoint, and to reach a conclusion of their own as to what ought to be done under these circumstances. It is not here claimed that all will do the right thing in this generation, but such young men will have a distinct advantage over the men of this generation in America. Our Americans were 178 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE grounded simply in the ethics of the Puritan pe¬ riod of development and had not the imagination, nor the help, needed to enable them to see what is honesty and righteousness under the changed eco¬ nomic and social conditions. China should profit by our experience. CONSUMPTION The problems of economic consumption are still comparatively unformulated; the life is sim¬ ple and localities are almost self-supporting. There are few comforts and fewer luxuries in the homes of the mass of the people. When the re¬ markable change of living conditions that has come in the United States within fifty years, is taken into consideration, it is reasonable to ex¬ pect a similar change in the nature and quantity of articles consumed in China. The homes of wealthy Chinese in the port cities are prophecies of future tendencies that will be much more gen¬ eral. Shall selfish commercialism be left to de¬ termine what these articles shall be, to exploit human ignorance and weakness for private gain? Shall Christian education be simply negative and prohibitive, or shall it recognize the whole range of human needs, throw the light of truth on these wretched practices, and cultivate selective sense and moral judgment in the consumptive process? NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 179 Surely Christian education can do more than say, “You must not do this,” “You must not do that.” It is time for the church and the school to teach men and women what can be done and how to do it so that men may have “more abun¬ dant life,” instead of reducing this life to its very lowest terms and leaving man to his own devices in supplying the neglected requirements of God- given, natural instincts. The Chinese have al¬ ready done fairly well with the prohibitive edu¬ cational work themselves; they seem, long ago, to have won their light in the prohibition of alco¬ holic liquors, and they have fought a splendidly successful fight with opium under the greatest difficulties. Jesus comes that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly in the reconstruction of their social conditions. Christian education, in this field, must train in receptive and selective judgments. The Chinese need to learn to seek and to use these new produc¬ tions, native and foreign, that will make more abundant the life of communities and of indi¬ viduals. Christianity has particular obligation in the selection, because of the bewildering mix¬ ture of good and evil productions that are com¬ ing to China from nominally Christian countries; and because the bad, as it is increasingly elim¬ inated from consumption in the West through in¬ creased popular knowledge of its consequences, 180 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE turns to prey on the East where the people are still in ignorance of these consequences. In their private consumption of wealth, the Chinese are like the majority of people, both wise and foolish. Many generations of frugality have woven into their etiquette the teaching that it is very bad manners to spill grains of rice around one’s bowl while eating, or to use salt wastefully; back of the etiquette is the economic law of self¬ protection. Not so wise is the expenditure of comparatively large sums of money in the burn¬ ing of incense, paper money, feasts to the idols and funeral offerings. These practices teach the people to rely on useless and unscientific means for securing better crops, better children, wealth, and happiness, instead of setting to work in an intelligent manner and in conscious co-operation with God, to obtain these things which are essen¬ tial to the abundant life. There is little of the vulgar display of wealth that characterizes cer¬ tain well-recognized classes in the West. But out of this industrial revolution, there will come the Chinese “new rich” who will build outlandish houses and fill them with furniture and decora¬ tions that represent neither intelligence nor good taste, and flaunt individual opulence in the face of community need. Is it not possible to teach young men and women who are to be the consumers of this new NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 181 wealth to scorn this vulgar wastefulness of a com¬ mon human inheritance? The idea of a common human inheritance probably bulks more largely in the Chinese mind as a result of long centuries of close social contacts, than it has ever done in the Western mind, and constitutes a splendid point of contact for the social principles of Jesus. The question of public expenditures is already a vexed problem in China; perhaps, to be fair, one should add, and it long has been. The method of collecting the taxes for local, provincial, and na¬ tional expenditures has carried with it many abuses, oppression, graft, false records, waste of funds. It is always to be remembered that the public affairs of the republic of the United States are not yet free from these evils. Not only are there these evils to eliminate, but it will be neces¬ sary to teach the people the value of this means of satisfying, co-operatively, their common needs. Professor Ely, describing Western conditions, states thus the situation in China: An older view than that which prevails at the present time looked upon public expenditures as not merely something unproductive, but as something extraneous to the economical life of the people. . . .We now look upon the federal government, state and city as agencies through which we co-operate for the accom¬ plishment of common purposes. These purposes are directly industrial in character, or they have industrial consequences. 84 182 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE The “law of increasing public expenditure” bears directly on this problem of public consump¬ tion, shows in outline the task of education, and raises the question as to the relative responsibil¬ ity of Christian education. Comparisons between different countries and different periods show regularly among progressive nations an extension of public activities. This manifests itself extensively and intensively. The state and its sub¬ ordinate political units continually undertake new func¬ tions, and they perform their duties, old and new, better and better. In this way, that is, through public agency, the needs of the population to an increasing extent, especially their common needs, are satisfied; and the public services for the satisfaction of needs continually improve in quality. 85 The attitude of the people toward public ex¬ penditure is a part of the whole question of social reconstruction. If China is to make progress the people must be given a right understanding of this co-operative method of achieving the common good. In view of the way their money has been appropriated for private use by grafting officials, or wasted in improperly constructed dikes and such other public works as they have undertaken, the Chinese can hardly be expected to see easily the economic value to themselves, even in prop¬ erly regulated public expenditures. The historical order in which the various ob¬ jects of public expenditure have appeared are: NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 183 (1) External security; (2) security within the community; (3) promotion of material interests; (4) benevolence; (5) education in its various phases; (6) labor. This outlines, in a very gen¬ eral way, the range of moral and intellectual problems that are involved in this field of China’s economic development. In this time of interna¬ tional conferences and of belief that a perma¬ nent world peace will be established, it would seem that the first item should be placed last in the list in China. “The modern nation has been spending an increasing proportion of its re¬ sources for education. . . . Expenditures which are distinctively for the promotion of labor are comparatively recent.” 86 We must note also the increased expenditures of Departments of Agri¬ culture and Interior and their value to the pub¬ lic, as in the case of forestry, food adulteration, botany, seed tests, pomology, entomology, soils, irrigation, drainage, roads, etc. It has been pointed out frequently in the West, that the more these objects are brought under public control, the better the service and the cheaper the cost. There are those who deny this, but the growth of this idea in popularity within the last twenty years is very significant of its probable correctness^. China already has a good start in this direction in the government control of railroads and telegraph. Large business en- 184 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE terprises are not often undertaken individually; the Chinese do things through the government partly from financial necessity and partly, it seems, from social experience. These problems must be worked out by men and methods that command the confidence of the people who are called on to produce the wealth. The wisdom, the unselfishness, the lack of par¬ tisanship, the clear vision of what is for the pub¬ lic good, that are so much needed, all depend on the character of the education and the nature of the moral and religious training which the leaders and the people have received. Is there any value in the Christian churches and schools beyond reiterating abstract moral, religious, and philosophical truths, many of which truths are already imbedded in China’s literature and ideals? Certainly there are other values, but it is to be questioned seriously if our present ideals and methods are releasing these values in China. THE BASIS OF ADJUSTMENT Professor Ely traces the historical develop¬ ment of Western industrial evolution through the three stages of Competition, Concentration, and Integration. Here seems to lie the crux of China’s adjustment to the industrial change, at the beginning of which she now stands; her choice NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 185 will determine whether social evolution or social revolution is in store for her. It must not be forgotten that what comes to China in the future will be of greater importance to the Western na¬ tions, probably, than all the events of her past history. There is not space to enter into a full discus¬ sion of the significance of competition in the de¬ velopment of the human race though it is very pertinent to the present consideration, and China will, consciously or unconsciously, feel the effects of competition. The principle has worked in biol- ogy, psychology, and in economics. There are those who believe that the very processes of competition psychologically lead to the cultiva¬ tion of altruism as well as egoism. There are others who believe that altruism and egoism are primary instincts and that the normal develop¬ ment of the latter is essential to that of the for¬ mer. Competition is a necessary economic dy¬ namic, doubtless, that raises some men to their highest degree of individual efficiency. It in¬ volves a certain amount of dependence, but noth¬ ing of conscious interdependence; it may be a necessary forerunner of the conscious co-opera¬ tion which is becoming steadily more apparent in various phases of society. Granting the neces¬ sity of competition in certain stages of the devel¬ opment of human society, there are still two pos- 186 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE sibilities open for consideration which have im¬ portant bearing on conditions in China. Granted that “competition is the foundation of our present social order/’ is that any scientific ground for believing that it is always to remain the foundation of social order? To believe that competition is the only foundation for our future social structure, binds us by the static philos¬ ophy of the preceding century, makes the con¬ ception of an ideal society on earth a mere dream, and turns repetition of the Lord’s Prayer into hollow mockery. Secondly, is there any reason for final decision that the Chinese have not passed through this necessary biological process in a degree that has prepared them for entrance with the Western nations into a larger, truer, co-operative social order? “Perhaps the one fact in the evolution of society that becomes clearer and clearer as time passes is that co-operation is the great law of social life growth.” 87 State the question posi¬ tively : Is it not highly probable that the social ideals of China will adapt themselves more easily to larger international co-operation of a world- society than will the individualistic ideals of the West? Which is China to have, competition or co-op¬ eration? Has China derived nothing from the NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 187 long centuries of social solidarity and the accu¬ mulated influences of a unified race heredity? No other independent nation with such a heritage has yet passed through this transition. Japan approximates but does not duplicate this phe¬ nomenon of social evolution. It must be ad¬ mitted that the United States, in its social and economic development, has new and unique fac¬ tors that give the impression of crudeness; neither Europe nor America has ever had the same degree of homogeneity and continuity. Does all this count for nothing to China in this new and trying stage of political and economic growth? Must China follow meekly after the learned young nations of the West? Has China nothing to teach the West in exchange for what all, herself included, agree she must receive from the West? It seems possible to open the question for frank consideration, even if it be impossible to answer it with finality here. On the other hand, if competition must pre¬ vail and become the foundation of the further development of China to the same plane as the Western nations, then it must be regulated so as to secure a maximum of benefit and a minimum of evil consequences. Its moral level must be raised. To do this we must see those evil con¬ sequences clearly, face them courageously, and 188 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE undertake the task of regulation, with faith that we can really do something more than has been done in the West. The momentous changes resulting from the industrial evolution have come about without the anticipation or express will of society; we could not (in the West) turn back to former conditions if we would; all that we can do is to attempt to control and take advantage of these new forces. 88 If this be true, we cannot say that we have made a remarkable success of regulating competi¬ tion in the West. In China, we can learn some¬ thing from these past experiences, if we are will¬ ing to learn and not to dogmatize on the assump¬ tion that all is as it should have been in the West and that China must travel the same road. If Western racial superiority is befuddling our ef¬ forts to reach an honest judgment as to what China really needs, and what the West has to give, let us remember the actual evils of compe¬ tition in spite of Christianity, education and all our conscious efforts to regulate it; the tremen¬ dous and needless sacrifice of human life to un¬ sanitary and dangerous working conditions; woman and child labor in mines and factories; sweatshops; food adulterations; unemployment; strikes and boycotts, with destruction of life and property; monopolies of food stuffs by individu- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 189 als, and these do not complete the list of fruits of the competitive system. China will have nearly all of the results and probably add some of her own. China’s future leads along the line of her economic development; she will emphasize competition or co-operation. She faces the age-long and universal social prob¬ lem, the adjustment of the relations between so¬ ciety and the individual, so as to give freedom for the highest development of the individual and the greatest common welfare of society. Is China ready to follow the call to fuller co-operation in all the social complex, as the West seems just now to be hearing that call ? If she is not, what is Christian education actually doing to pre¬ pare her to follow that call ? CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE ADJUSTMENT The answer from the elementary and middle schools may be discussed with a few quotations from the special report to which reference has previously been made. “The curricula, in gen¬ eral, are based on subject matter rather than on actual need.” “The curriculum should be reor¬ ganized on the basis of social service rather than the mastery of subjects,” which indicates that the social emphasis is not, at present, predominant, to say the least. “More time might well be spent in furnishing perspective and insight into the life 190 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE problems for which education is needed.” “More stress should be laid on courses preparing for vocational life, such as commercial courses, ele¬ mentary economics and business ethics; on courses preparing for community life, such as good citizenship, philanthropy, social service and practice in social co-operation.” The reported need reveals what these schools are actually do¬ ing in dealing with the problems discussed in this chapter. Nearly all of the colleges and universities un¬ der Christian control offer courses in economics and sociology, but they are a part of a very heav¬ ily loaded curriculum and are, probably, taught chiefly from textbooks, with about as much prac¬ tical value and appreciation of perspective and relative values as they are in the West. Most men cannot look back at their college courses in these subjects and speak enthusiastically and sincerely of their great value, except where they have sat under an exceptional teacher who broke with the limitations of the textbook and the ex¬ aminations. There are some teachers in China who do this; more are needed. What per cent, have this freedom and relate this valuable ma¬ terial directly to the live problems in China waits to be revealed by the commission of edu¬ cational experts to investigate and report on higher education in China as did the commission NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 191 on the middle schools. The recent publication of this report should help greatly in estimating the real values of Christian education in China. Probably the first comprehensive report on the manual and industrial phases of Christian edu¬ cation in China is quoted to show existing condi¬ tions. It covers all the larger Protestant mis¬ sions and some of the smaller ones; a few centers did not reply, which is pretty good evidence that they have nothing to report: Fully two-fifths of the missions have no signs what¬ ever of manual and industrial education; of the re¬ maining three-fifths, two-fifths carry on such work in only the simplest forms, such as sewing. In approxi¬ mately one-fifth of the missions there is at least one institution, and very often only one, where fairly earnest efforts are being put forth in this direction. A few re¬ plies indicated that there is not much zeal for such undertakings in their midst, but with these one or two exceptions, there seems to be a profound conviction that whether we are engaged in such undertakings or not, we are missing a rare opportunity in not developing these lines of work. The motive in the operation of these schools is significant. “Self help for poor boys is the pri¬ mary motive in establishing what a great many call ‘self-help departments. 7 77 This is philan¬ thropic but will almost inevitably result in an individualistic, non-social perspective in the stu¬ dents unless it is given a turn to community wel- 192 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE fare like road-making, as in the case of the Pingtu Christian institute. 89 Some appreciate the in¬ trinsic educational value of learning a trade. Some—it is not said how many—get the real value clearly in mind: A widening of the scope of the school curriculum, which is too traditional and formal, is sought. The Church to fulfill its function must train not only for the ministry, medicine, teaching, etc., but must train boys and girls to go back to the farm life of their com¬ munity, to the shops, to the home; in short to- the com¬ mon life of ninety-nine out of every hundred persons, and to fertilize the common life and task, with fresh knowledge and new ideals. It must be noted that those who do not have to go back to work will deal sympathetically with those who do, only as they understand, from per¬ sonal experience, something of the difficulties and limitations of the other group. The more fortu¬ nate class, economically, will be the more potent factor in determining China’s future economic career. Until such training is recognized for its full educational, social and economic value and desired by the wealthy students as such, and given as such by Christian educators, it will be regarded as a makeshift to help poor boys. Manual training is vastly more than such a makeshift and would be practicable, if we could break the bondage of traditional subject matter and custom in teaching. It is more possible than NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 193 we have believed even with the Chinese reverence for the scholar who does not have to work with his hands. The report says, and it is a splendid tribute to Chinese democracy: In no instance, does any one report that boys or girls are looked down upon because they labor. Many wealthier pupils apply to be allowed to do some form of manual work, which appeals to any normal youth. It is not fair to judge the attitude of the Chi¬ nese student toward work by his attitude to¬ ward school janitor work, the report assures us. Some have reported success even in this line. The report shows what Christian education is doing, and is not doing. Furthermore, it has shown us that there are indications that the introduction of manual and industrial training into the cur¬ riculum, is not attended with insuperable diffi¬ culties and has some really encouraging aspects. The subject matter of present Christian edu¬ cation is changing the economic conditions; it is placing tremendous economic advantages in fhe hands of a few individuals, without giving them the social training to lead them to use these advantages for the common good of their com¬ munities. It is greatly to be feared that these economic advantages will be used for selfish ends, with the same disregard for the welfare of so¬ ciety that has characterized the West. Nothing can be expected from a system of education that 194* CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE brands as a dolt the man who works with his hands and accredits as educated the man who can work only with his head. It is not simply educa¬ tion that will determine the good and the evil in China’s industrial evolution; the kind of edu¬ cation will determine whether the process may be called evolution or revolution. It is not a pleasant fact to face but it seems to be true that the present methods and ideals of Christian education on the mission field tend to decrease the number of producers and, conse¬ quently, to increase the number of idlers and non¬ producers, which means economic waste for any nation; this does not assume that material pro¬ ducers are the only producers. Christian educa¬ tion does not purpose any such consequences, but it has not investigated, sufficiently, the results of its methods and processes. It has “failed to discriminate real and apparent fitness” for life; its estimate of values has been from the stand¬ point of the individual and the propagation of the Christian religion of the West. Can we not frankly face some facts? What better explanation is there for the fact that many faithful and experienced missionaries question the value of educational work, particularly in India, where education has been dominated by the classical ideal? These men have good rea¬ sons for their criticisms but their opposition to NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 19 5 education puts them in a dilemma, with the present loud call for native Christian leaders. If Christian education seeks the undivided sup¬ port of the missionary body, it will have to pro¬ duce results that will show clearly its practical social value. Is this not one cause of India’s seething social unrest? The prevailing educational ideal has produced a large class of young men who are not needed in the present social structure, so they are unemployed. They have been trained for clerical and scholarly positions far beyond India’s pres¬ ent need in the backward state of her economic production and distribution. They have been educated through cultural and disciplinary studies that are colored by Western individual¬ ism, until they are unfitted, temperamentally and physiologically, to work with their hands—the service that the country really needs. Their re¬ flective nervous centers have long been developed at the expense of the motor centers, and Western education has continued the same old error in a different form. These young men are not achieving in life what they had hoped for and aspired to, and they have not been trained to see their social obligation in the perspective of service; their restlessness is the natural result. The same thing seems to have happened in Japan, though it has not progressed so far and 196 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE the situation has not become so acute. Other factors may prevent it from becoming so serious; the Japanese have larger liberty in choosing and remedying evils as they appear. Some Japanese leaders have seen that their high schools, which are of this type, are producing a great number of “high-class loafers” and drastic measures have been suggested, even to the abolition of these schools. 90 It must be remembered that indus¬ trial education, without its social implications, will produce much the same social condition as the classical education does, except that the product is not a parasite. China does not need an educational ideal or system that will send out its young men so poorly equipped for life that they can find no place to work with head and hand alike in the social re¬ construction of their country. The training that is given the head should be a training that does not decrease the usefulness of the hand. Neither China nor Christian missionary societies have money to w r aste in turning out young men who are so unfitted for life that the majority of lead¬ ers in industrial development prefer an intelli¬ gent, honest, uneducated young man for the nation’s work, whatever may be the case in the United States. We have said nothing, as yet, about the moral wreckage of the system; we NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 197 have considered the facts with the emphasis on the economic considerations. Economics is not simply a matter of material things. 91 Economic conditions produce mental, moral and religious reactions; and mental, moral and religious processes determine economic con¬ ditions. It is evident that these two facts are inseparable from the natural, fundamental in¬ stincts of human life. “To modify conduct one touches the heart. To modify judgments on con¬ duct one speaks to the intellect.” 92 The task of Christian education comprehends both; it should prepare in mental attitude and in moral judg¬ ment and conduct, beforehand, for these indus¬ trial and social changes. Murder should mean more than killing a man in cold blood with one’s own hand. Robbery should mean more than per¬ sonal and violent acquisition of the property of another. CHAPTER X THE NEEDS—PROTECTIVE The means of protection that have been fairly adequate in the past, like everything else, are proving inadequate under the changing condi¬ tions. With the family as the basis of social order, the chief protective functions have de¬ volved upon the father; all the members have a part in meeting the needs of protection against the elements, in providing shelter, food, and fuel. The walled cities, local police and watchmen illustrate the attempts that have been made to meet the common needs for protection against the anti-social elements in Chinese society. There are also the provincial and national troops, intended to be a protection against foreign ene¬ mies and large insurrections; they are almost as often a source of danger to the peaceful people as they are a source of protection. These common means of protection are not based on scientific principles; their fitness is more often apparent than real, and to a West¬ erner, there is not always even apparent fitness. The customs and laws are supported to a certain 198 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 199 extent by religion and superstition, as in the performance of certain ceremonies for the an¬ cestors to prevent disaster, idol processions to protect the community against drought, certain ceremonies and building plans to protect against evil spirits, the pictures by the doors and win¬ dows to frighten away the evil spirit of disease. The principle of social protection has been em¬ bodied in the Chinese system of law and rests on the divine right of the ruler and the father. There is much to be said in praise of the Chinese laws; although they have been indifferent, in a measure, to the rights of the individual, they have been social in bearing and application. This neglect of the individual has been neutral¬ ized by the protective functions of the family, local and guild customs and regulations, but these are now breaking down under the new in¬ dustrialism, as they did in the West. Not only will these old institutions lose their power to protect the rights of the individuals, but they will lose the power of social control which has been so effective for centuries, in spite of abuses and limitations. These facts introduce the problem of the pres¬ ent protective needs. Something larger is needed. The first factor appears in the change from a monarchical form of government to a democratic form. Hitherto the laws have been made for the 200 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE people by a governing class, ancl, although they have been administered in a surprisingly demo¬ cratic manner, the advantage has been with the governing class in the application of these laws. The mass of people had nothing to say about making the laws, and it is not to be expected that they would be concerned about enforcing them; the result was family, clan, and local co¬ operation in subterfuge and frequent violation. Under the new regime, the masses will have an increasingly greater voice in making the laws, as with the trend toward democracy in the West. A second factor appears in the change from the personal to the impersonal stage in industrial relations. Economists have pointed out, fre¬ quently and effectively, the evils which attended that stage in Western industrial evolution. The complexity of the problems arising out of this change has been touched upon in the preceding chapter. In view of the attitude of the old Chi¬ nese law toward the individual, the need will be even greater for the protection of the indi¬ vidual in these new conditions, than it has been in the West where the individual was recognized and emphasized. The solution of this far-reaching problem will be effected mainly through the law, but adequate laws will be promulgated and observed only through effective education of the entire people. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 201 We are brought face to face with the question, “What is Christian education doing with the task of social reconstruction in China from this angle?” This new law will concern itself less with protection against violence and more with protection against interference with property, health, and comfort. It will come to be a social discovery or invention which prescribes and enforces the kind of action that is most favorable to the group welfare. A successful law must be founded upon scientific knowledge and practical experience and must be adapted to the people and to the conditions so that with rare exceptions all will find it best to obey the law and to inflict punishment on the few who disobey it. 93 In addition to the industrial problems already mentioned, some other related problems are sug¬ gested by Professor Kirkpatrick’s study of con¬ ditions in the West as falling under the head of protective needs. The treatment of criminals calls for imme¬ diate consideration. The spirit of liberty is man¬ ifesting itself in all phases of Chinese life and it will be sure to be abused by some individuals and groups. The proportion of criminals to the population will doubtless increase and will in¬ clude some who would not, otherwise, have been found in the criminal class. Juvenile delin¬ quency will almost certainly increase, and the 202 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE larger freedom of women will introduce a new element. What shall be done with such cases? Shall China go ahead and dump them all, men, women, and children, into prisons which are conducted so that they are schools of crime and vice as has been so generally done in the West? Or shall we seek better protective devices for China than have been possible in the West, as it trav¬ eled this road for the first time, with no prece¬ dent to guide? We shall probably find, in the old ideals of administering law in China, a spirit that will be favorable to recent Western improve¬ ments in the treatment of criminals, as “inde¬ terminate sentences and shortened terms for good behaviour, provisions for remunerative and edu¬ cative employment while in prison, and parole and reinstatement in society.” The housing problem is vital, from the stand¬ point of protection as well as of economic con¬ siderations. It is notoriously neglected in China; large families, small houses, water from stagnant pools and canals, filthy cesspools al¬ lowed to accumulate for fertilization of the soil, etc., are indications of present needs. There is almost no protection against fire in the cities, and none in the country districts. The cities are already densely populated, but the industrial movement gives reason to believe that they will NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 203 grow in size and in density of population. Some one needs to be looking ahead to these conditions and planning for them. The people must be edu¬ cated and prepared for the changes, or China will be swept with disease epidemics for years to come. How much is Christian education doing toward this preparation? How much of the w r ork in the classroom bears on this work which must be done by the students of today, if it is to be done in time to count for much econom¬ ically? Necessary protection of the weak and helpless will require a great deal of intelligence and good moral judgment, to avoid pauperization and other abuses of modern philanthropy. The protection of children, which has only recently come to be of importance in the West, will be more neces¬ sary in China. Parental control, in its old form, will almost certainly be loosened; the parents will need to be taught new methods of training their children. The new industrialism, as in the West, will tempt parents to raise large families and put them out to work in the factories and live from their wages; this will call for wise legislation that will protect child labor, regulate age, hours and conditions of work, and provide for adequate education. Care of defectives will need the same attention it is beginning to re¬ ceive in the West. There must be provision for 204 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA the injured and for those who are dependent upon them; only the Chinese who know the life of their people intimately, can do this wisely; only those who approach the task with the true Christian viewpoint, can do it humanely and effectively. These problems will come in China with a rush that has not characterized their ap¬ pearance in the West. The most effective form of protection is prevention, and Christian edu¬ cation should be very effective in this method. This field furnishes a rich source of concrete teaching material with both immediate and fu¬ ture interests, closely related to the student’s apperceptive knowledge and experience. It fur¬ nishes another instructive test of the value of Christian education. CHAPTER XI THE NEEDS—RECREATIONAL Recreation is a fundamental biological and psychological need. It depends on leisure time and surplus energy which closely relate it to economic conditions. In reality, it is a protec¬ tive measure for the physical, mental, and moral welfare of the individual and for society. Man in common with the higher animals manifests the instinct of play. The broadest view of this subject considers as playful all activities beyond those necessary to maintain life. Play is the manifestation and the enjoyment of life after the means of living have been obtained . 93 Recreation is instinctive and educative; it ap¬ pears, in the passive form, in sleep, rest, change of surroundings, and amusement furnished by others: and, in the active form, in play, athletic exercise and change of employment. With adults, play is recreative; with children, play is educative. This means a difference in aim and result between adult play and child play; child play is really child work. These two facts have particular significance for the study of recreative 205 206 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE needs in China as they relate to Christian edu¬ cation. The two forms of play are found to overlap when ah analysis is undertaken; adults enjoy children’s games and obtain through them needed recreation; children who are obliged to do the work of adults need the recreation that comes from play and amusement. The human race seems to have learned the importance of work largely by the hard expe¬ rience of slavery and serfdom, and it forgot, tem¬ porarily and of necessity, much of its earlier playfulness as it appears in the negro. Only re¬ cently, is it seeking to regain that lost inheri¬ tance. The instinct for play has persisted in child life, but has been ignored or repressed. Only within the last twenty years, have any considerable number of men realized its educa¬ tive value. Adults have long had their amuse¬ ments and recreations, but we are only just be¬ ginning to recognize constructive and moral values in these play-activities. Recreation, in its various forms, has values which meet the physical, mental, and moral instinctive needs of the race. So great are these needs that, in the West, it is estimated that “one-fourth of all eco¬ nomic activity has for its end the entertainment of the people.” Christian education in China cannot longer neglect this tremendous force for progress or retardation. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 207 Many minds in many centuries have misunderstood or denied the importance of play and looked upon it as a more or less permissible sin, rather than as a natural, right, and beautiful expression of the human spirit. . . . Whatever one does for pure love of it, that is play. It is more instinctive than work and not a whit less important. . . . Play is for childhood the shining gate that opens wide to life, to sociability, endurance, co-operation, natural growth and subor¬ dination of one’s own desires to common ends. It leads out the youthful spirit through mysterious in¬ stinctive regions where no formal education can be its guide, and may indeed light up the meaning of gov¬ ernment, and the moral order. For maturity, the shining gate swings backward, restoring joyous mem¬ ories and the early freshness of boyhood’s mornings, recreating the body and soul, warding off nervous ex¬ haustion, maintaining balance and proportion in life, making work tolerable for the oppressed, and releasing the worker to increased efficiency. It is well to believe in play, for morality and play grow up together like joyous children, when play is spontaneous, unbought and clean.” 94 The Chinese have learned well the lessons of industry. Their educational ideals and social customs have tended to repress the play instinct in children, consequently in adults. The classi¬ cal ideal has fostered the notion that the child is a miniature adult. They wonder that the Westerner does not hire some one to perspire on the tennis court in his stead. The moderate slow-moving East, with its freedom from worry, probably does not yet need the recreation so 208 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE much as does the West, with its high-pressure conditions, but these conditions are coming to China in the not distant future, if the Western industrialism repeats itself there. The mass of the people need the chance to play and they need to be taught how to play. The play instinct is not entirely dead. The Chinese have the passive forms of recreation, as the theatre, magicians, gambling with cards and dice, resting in the tea-houses, feasts, flying pigeons, fighting birds and crickets, etc. In kite flying, recreation becomes more active and the adult play and child play overlap. The children are not actively playful, perhaps, as Western children yet they have a great many games, and are frequently to be seen playing in the streets. These games are usually competitive, which gives a chance for gambling, though they re¬ quire some skill; they are also imitative of adult life. During the recent revolution, the writer saw a group of ragged youngsters playing in the street and acting out the Red Cross stretcher service for wounded soldiers—promis¬ ing material for Boy Scouts. They w T ere enjoy¬ ing it greatly. The Chinese are not unresponsive when oppor¬ tunities are given them to play. The coolies fre¬ quently engage in horse-play among themselves while resting; sometimes the ricksha and wheel- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 209 barrow coolies run races a short distance along the road, just in fun. The children and students respond quite enthusiastically when led and shown how to play. In the home of the Western teacher, they enter heartily into games and con¬ tests that furnish play opportunities for young people and adults. They are entering athletic sports in spite of the scholarly traditions of their past that forbid them to run or hurry, or to engage in any physical exercise more strenuous than a dignified walk, or using a fan or earners hair pen. The records made in the various ath¬ letic meets show that they are capable of per¬ forming these play activities with increasing efficiency. A group of street urchins was gambling with coins in front of the little mission chapel; when invited to come in, they decided to go somewhere else and continue their game. After the Sunday school service closed, they returned and began their game. This time they were asked to join in another game, “drop-the-handkerchief”; they quickly gathered about thirty children, played for twenty minutes under direction and con¬ tinued for some time after the foreigner left them. It is claimed by experienced kindergart- ners that little teaching can be done until the children are aroused to mental activity by play, particularly through the co-operative games. 210 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE There is the native instinct and the responsive¬ ness to leadership; the incident just described shows the moral and religious implications of play. It is necessary to consider the change that is in progress and the resulting problems, pres¬ ent and future. As industrialism speeds up the East there will be increasing need for play and amusements. The school life is changing from its old easy discipline and long days to the strenuous dis¬ ciplinary ideals of Western education, with shorter hours in school and more time to loaf on the streets. There are two very important ques¬ tions involved in this change: What will be the physical and mental effect of the more repressive discipline of the Western school? What will be the moral effect of the idle time much of which ✓ will be spent on the streets? The physical condition of the Chinese students presents a very real recreational need. Measure¬ ments made in several schools, as well as general observations, show that the Chinese student is below the average Western student in physical strength and endurance. Professor N. Gist Gee, in the April number, 1915, of the China Educa¬ tional Review, gives the following report on the physical characteristics of the average Chinese student, based on the examination of over three NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 211 hundred and fifty students entered in Soochow University. THE AVERAGE STUDENT Age Weight Height Lung capacity Right arm Right thigh Figure slightly stooped Pulls-up 17.77 yrs. 97.8 lbs. 5 ft. 4 in. 155 cu. in. 9.1 in. 17.34 in. 3.28 times “Yale in China” physical report on one hun¬ dred and eighty-two students shows general aver¬ ages as follows: Age 19 yrs., height 5 ft. 3 in., 66 per cent, were below the British army test. The following table of comparison with American students in Yale is based on the measurements of twenty-three Chinese students. 95 Chinese American Age 18 18 Weight 104.1 lbs. 119 plus Height 5 ft. 3 in. plus Lung capacity 187.4 192 Right arm 9.9 10.7 Right thigh 17.4 19.4 Pulls-up 1 . 9 Total strength 628.8 1024.5 These figures are significant but not conclu¬ sive; racial characteristics in size might play 212 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE an important part in the comparison; the com¬ parison of the Chinese or the Americans with the Sikhs of India would show considerable dis¬ paragement in favor of the Sikhs in respect to height. The figures from the medical report are more significant of the need of attention to the athletic recreations of the Chinese students. s General appearance: Posture, stooping, 65 per cent; head forward, 73 per cent; shoulders, round, 67 per cent; chest, flat, 50 per cent; costal angle, narrow, 56 per cent; scoliosis, 32 per cent; feet, toes crowded, 60 per cent, arches weak, 72 per cent; circulation, good, 31 per cent, poor, 35 per cent; development, good, 20 per cent, fair, 41 per cent, poor, 39 per cent. These are striking figures from a longer list of physical defects. A more recent report on the physical condi¬ tions of the students in the Shanghai Baptist college, by Professor D. H. Kulp, states that 50 per cent, of their students have defective eyesight and substantiates the other reports on physical defects. The same report comments on the loss of play spirit under the old Chinese educational system and deplores the “hit-or-miss type” of the play activities in our Christian institutions, which are liable to do harm when only good was intended. 96 The economic considerations are, perhaps, the most important because they affect so largely NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 213 all the other factors. “Perhaps the greatest problem that lies before the play movement to¬ day is to introduce play elements into modern industry that there may be left still the joy of accomplishment to the worker.” 97 This state¬ ment is made with relation to Western condi¬ tions but is equally true of China. The West will take the lead in working out this problem, but it must be kept clearly in mind in the East. In¬ creased production by machinery will decrease the number of hours of labor and give more hours for leisure. What use will the Chinese make of that time? What is being done to prepare them to make the right use of it? The long hours and the high speed and pressure of industry use up the vitality of all except the most capable. An exhausted body craves rest, change and stimulus, but it responds only to coarse and strong stimulation. In all mill towns where the long work day is the rule, the night school, library and church languish, and the saloon and house of prostitution flourish. Drink and sexual vice are the ready pillows of an exhausted body, the only forms of play which degradation knows. 98 These same conditions are coming in China; first, the long hours until production catches up with the demand, then, the shortened hours and the speeding-up process. Christian educa¬ tion is seeking to establish night-schools, read¬ ing-rooms, and churches. Is there any reason to 214 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE expect better results there, than have been se¬ cured in Christian America? It seems that China won her fight against alcoholic intoxi¬ cants centuries ago, but she is still in the grip of the social evil, and she is not yet entirely free from the dangers of the opium vice. The ex¬ hausted Chinese body will not respond to the finer impulses and stimuli any more readily than will the tired Western body. What is the use of disregarding such powerful forces that run contrary to all that we are trying to do in Chris¬ tian education? Are we awake to the meaning of youth? Do we understand the spirit of youth and enrich it, or do we merely repress it with heavy hand until it is sadly broken, or until it breaks away from all control and guidance to seek expression in the exploiter’s house ? 99 This is what men are asking in America with increasing insistency; we must answer it in China. A detailed study of the growth of Chinese amusements, based on what is already begun and what is likely to develop, might be conducted on the following outline.* It is possible here only to suggest some of the data under these several heads. Dramatic amusements. The theatres are en- * The outline was suggested by Edwards’ “Popular Amuse¬ ments.” NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 215 dowed and are popular in China and include the characteristic features of the stage in the West. The part which theatricals have played in the development of Western civilization, even in re¬ ligion as in the miracle and morality plays, makes it impossible to deny their educational value. The old theatricals were largely histori¬ cal and tragic; the modern theatre has more of comedy and farce. There is practically no danc¬ ing; women are not allowed on the stage; men take the female parts and sing in falsetto. All this kind of entertainment is in the hands of professionals, but the students enter into ama¬ teur work with keen relish and remarkable free¬ dom from embarrassment and self-consciousness. Here is another vast field of possibilities for good or evil in education. Shall this native ability be trained and utilized as a means of play activity and education, or shall it be allowed to remain in the hands of professionals for commercial gain? The motion picture has already become very popular; its rapid growth in America is a warning of what is coming in China, and it should have careful attention from those who would educate the country. Social rendezvous. Tea-houses, guilds. The Chinese are fond of spending their leisure time, in these places, drinking tea. The athletic group of amusements. The Chi- 216 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE nese have not been fond of athletics for the sake of the play element; they have developed some remarkable acrobats, strong men, and jugglers for commercial gain. There is developing a new interest in athletics for sport, outside of the schools and colleges as well as within them. Of the specialized forms of play introduced in the schools, tennis is perhaps the most popular at present and seems better adapted to the physical condition of the majority of the students, though some prefer the more active forms. Special places of amusement. There is noth¬ ing exactly like the electric parks, and race¬ tracks of the West; the nearest approach is, per¬ haps, the gatherings at favorite temples on cer¬ tain feast days. An exact comparison of the moral consequences, if possible, might produce some startling facts not entirely to the credit of the Western places of amusement, and not com¬ mend idolatry either. Special events . Excursions, outings, circuses, county, state and world fairs, automobile races, aeroplane flights and balloon ascensions, etc., are still almost entirely lacking from Chinese amuse¬ ments. It is probable that commercialism will introduce them. Pageants and historic festivals would probably make a strong appeal to the Chi¬ nese and might have great educational and social value. At present there is none of the free social NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 217 mingling of the sexes, but it is rapidly coming as shown by the part which the girls took in the 1921 Far Eastern Olympics at Shanghai. The social traditions that have segregated the women and girls have, in one way, been a distinct pro¬ tection to the morality of the home and have prevented the saturnalian spirit which charac¬ terizes the ordinarily respectable crowd on New Year’s Eve, Hallowe’en, Mardi Gras, carnivals, etc., in the West. The present tendency of the contact with the West and with Christian ideals is to break down these old moral sanctions. It is highly important that Christian education should stand clear-eyed and ready to step into that break which has already begun to open in these old social defenses. They were important defenses of the old social order, but Christian education seeks a new order and must consider the probable factors involved in the present and future recreational needs of China. In view of the Chinese fondness for being amused rather than for amusing themselves with active recreation, it is highly probable that the traveling story-teller, the juggler and sleight-of- hand performer, the wandering picture-show man, even the Chinese theatre and sing-song girls of the old style, will be supplanted by new commercialized forms of amusement, some of which have come from the West. The instinct 218 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE for amusement and the desire for gain are both present—essential conditions for the commercial¬ ization of amusement, there as here. China has already, in the course of her own social evolu¬ tion, passed from spontaneous self-amusement to dependence on the professional, in singing, story- telling, and dramatic exhibitions. This change, in the West, together with the change to specialized forms of play with rules and special apparatus, such as baseball, foot¬ ball, tennis, etc., has made regulation of these amusements necessary. These have taken the form of license, censorship, and fines for com¬ mercialized amusements; management by public officials of playgrounds, parks, municipal thea¬ tres, public buildings, etc. This control of amusements will be accomplished in China by two kinds of regulation, restrictive and con¬ structive. The restrictive control comes through legisla¬ tion, which is in the hands of the Chinese and has already begun. They have undertaken the censorship of the motion picture films; women actors have again recently been ordered from the theatres in Shanghai, which promises well for the moral censorship that will be effected. The constructive control is the particular field where Christian education can best exert its in¬ fluence. It depends largely on the nature of NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 219 public opinion and that is determined by edu¬ cation. The task is tremendous. Professionalism kills the natural playful spontaneity and orig¬ inality and cultivates the habit of being amused; this is to be rooted out and the people must be taught to amuse themselves and find joy in it. Commercialized amusements are “always edging along toward the forbidden”; they break down community spirit by leading the individual to prefer the miscellaneous crowd to the neighborly group; they ignore the real needs of children; they produce thrills and satisfy curiosity on a purely financial basis. The depleted emotions, the stimulated lust, the crim¬ inal tendencies which they (certain financial interests) produce by their exploitations cannot be traced back to the source with the same deadly accuracy as bleak hillsides and slaughtered stump lots may be laid at the door of deforestation, but the methods and results are not essentially dissimilar. . . . In no phase of our whole great modern struggle against excessive profits for the few and in favor of human values for the many is the battle any keener than in this so-thought “super¬ ficial” question of popular amusements. 100 Immorality increases as the crowds tire of the cheap thrills that they have paid for. If these young people are to have their rightful share of high joy in life, morality must have the utmost reinforcement, for power of personal morality—the power of the individual to refuse the evil and choose 220 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE the good—is nowhere more needed than in the hodge¬ podge of confusions which characterize amusement offerings today, often making evil seem attractive and a good life repellent rather than beautiful. 101 What are the values of present Christian edu¬ cation in the face of such responsibility? What is being done to reinforce the moral power of the individual to choose the good because he knows it is good? Constructive public opinion offers more fundamental solutions; it strives to get at the deep-seated causes of the evils which have emerged and cut them off at their source. It seeks to discover the normal human desire which has been perverted in its expression, and to work for a natural wholesome expression of that desire. It maps out a progressive type (restrictive) to a prolonged campaign and the support of thorough¬ going solutions. 102 If this is the task before the Christian com¬ munity in the West with all its educational agencies, it is much more the task of all Christian educational agencies in China. Surely it is not necessary to demonstrate fur¬ ther the moral, religious and educational value of recreation; or to show exactly how, in its dif¬ ferent forms it promotes loyalty, honesty, self- control, quick and accurate judgment, courtesy, democracy, sex-morality by directing animal spirits into proper channels, a sense of justice NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 221 and fair-play, friendliness and social co-opera¬ tion. These are prime Christian virtues and we seek them by Christian education. We still have far to go before we achieve them in their desired fullness in the West, but we are working at the problem. In China, can we not look ahead and plan to teach the people at least, how to use their leisure time, how to regulate their recreations to obtain a maximum of good with a minimum of evil consequences? Or, must we leave them to blunder along helplessly and ignorantly? li Christian education is helpless, then think of what is ahead for China! For instance, the disgraceful debauches of the American Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, New Year’s Day, or even the regular Saturday night conditions in the cities from one end of the land to the other; police courts full the next day—and this does not begin to tell the tale of moral degradation and economic waste. Are the people to blame? Who taught them how to use this leisure time? Is it not true that the Church has condemned almost all amusements as sinful and only yielded slight concessions to the demands of nature when she saw the young people were breaking away entirely? Have our youth not been left largely to their own devices for amusement and recrea¬ tion? Is it not true that the schools have been so busy pouring information into the minds of 222 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE the pupils that they have, until this generation, neglected the other natural human needs? What have the church and the school done for the adults of this present generation in the way of teaching them a number of helpful, wholesome methods of employing leisure time and cultivat¬ ing the taste for these ways? Has it not hap¬ pened that these lives, swept clean of nearly all the play activities of the normal boy and girl, have been left to their own devices and to the mercy of the demon of commercialism, who has returned to claim the life that was left so barren of God-given joys of play and fill it with all the demons of immorality that rule Western amuse¬ ments? Instead of society developing and using the motion picture and the phonograph for the ends of general education, morals and religion, it has allowed a few individuals to develop and use them for personal gain. Western society has paid the price in the precious souls of young men and women and the paying has not stopped yet. The things are perfected now; the exploiter can be made to hand over a forged instrument to China. The promoter has made fortunes in spite of his financial risks. Shall he be allowed to gain more wealth from the souls of the Chinese young men and women because the church and the Christian schools, the agencies best fitted to NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 223 do the work, refuse to recognize these God-given instincts of human nature and provide for their legitimate satisfaction? Are we still bound by Seventeenth century moral and religious ideals and ignorance of natural truths? If this state¬ ment seems too strong, it is the heart cry of one, who, in spite of the best of Christian home ideals, sees what he was denied in childhood and youth and tries, at middle age and with poor success, to learn to play for the sake of over-worked nerves. The problem of play touches religion vitally in the matter of Sunday observance. Automo- biling, baseball, tennis, are forms of amusement that claim more participants on Sunday than do the church services. This happens in sections of the country where little over a hundred years ago it was a legal offense not to attend church. It is a condition that makes sick the heart of any earnest Christian man and lover of human¬ ity. Prohibitive legislation did not prevent the development of this condition. Is it not possible that society might have had its better wish had it, through its proper agencies of church and school, provided for and directed this instinct for recreation? Many amusements that were condemned and branded as iniquitous have been taken up, puri¬ fied, and used for the salvation of many young 224 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA men and women by the Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W. C. A. Where does the credit for this belong? What institutions have stood behind and pro¬ moted this kind of thing with whole-hearted co¬ operation? How can any one think of these con¬ ditions, face them honestly, trace the effects back to their natural causes and deny that a nom¬ inal Christian civilization has made a sickening failure in dealing with needed and legitimate recreation? There was the excuse of ignorance and inexperience; we were taken unawares. Such is not the case in China today. Cannot Christian education, there, more intelligently and effectually meet these recreational needs? It can, but its ideas of value and its methods of achieving these values must change as they are slowly changing in the West. CHAPTER XII THE NEEDS—CULTURAL Cultural needs are closely related to the recreational. They are predominantly intellect¬ ual and emotional, and are based on the educa¬ tive instinct of curiosity and on the aesthetic instincts. As such, they are fundamental life needs and cannot be ignored. The general satis¬ faction of these cultural needs depends, also, on the amount of surplus energy and leisure time left after the needs for food and shelter have been satisfied, though, with some individuals the cultural needs are so strong that they will go without food and comfortable clothing in order to satisfy them. The underlying instincts are common to all races, but mastery of the forces of nature have produced, in some races, condi¬ tions more favorable to the development of the instincts and the satisfaction of the needs. Cultural activity is of two types, productive and appreciative ; both of these are essentially social. Production of cultural material is thought, by some, to be due more largely to social stimuli than to natural endowment, though 225 226 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE they do not hold that social stimuli alone could produce the results. Appreciation is social be¬ cause it depends on the cultural activity of others almost entirely for its satisfaction. Production and appreciation are mutually helpful. Cultural activity is affected, more or less, by all phases of the social life of the race. Chinese life shows the instinctive need and the presence of considerable cultural activity, in the production of many fine paintings, in beau¬ tiful embroidery, lacquer, glass, pottery, brass, and wood-work for decorations, in the architec¬ ture and decoration of temples and public build¬ ings, in sculpture, in classic literary styles of prose and poetry, in story-telling, and, to a cer¬ tain extent, in music. The Chinese have thou¬ sands of volumes descriptive of their own cul¬ tural activity and ideals, but ceramics has been the chief field of interest and investigations among Europeans.* Little more need be said of the classic styles of Chinese literature. There are some thirty recognized styles; China cannot afford to ignore this rich inheritance but it cannot afford to be dominated by it as Chin Shih Huang well under¬ stood. This inheritance has been accumulated by a comparatively small number of individuals * For a fuller, sympathetic, and interesting description of Chinese cultural activities, see “Chinese Art,” two vols., by S. W. Bushell. Also “L’Art Chinois,” by M. Paleologue. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 227 and has been available for only a limited number, but, for those fortunate classes, it has been as truly a culture as have our literary classics in the West. The culture has been indigenous, not borrowed or superimposed to any great extent. While keeping herself free to meet her changing cultural needs in the rising generations, China must cultivate the best literary style, but it must be a style that is more flexible, democratic and serviceable. Chinese art has probably been more demo¬ cratic than has the literature because larger numbers have been engaged in the production of some of the forms and even the poorest could see, enjoy, and learn to appreciate the work of others; the literary art was open only to the scholars. The great number of Chinese books covering the various fields of their own art and antiquities, are testimony to their cultural in¬ terest,* and make possible the future study of their activities; it is difficult to refrain from giving at least a summary of the characteristic features of Chinese art.f Religion, particularly Buddhism, and literature have largely influenced Chinese painting. * For Chinese appreciation translated into English, see “A Monograph on Painting Portraits,” by Tseng Kuo Fan; Tr. by E. Morgan, “Wenli Styles and Chinese Ideals,” pp. 98, 99. t For such summary, see Anderson’s “British Museum Catalog” p. 491, quoted by S. W. Bushell, “Chinese Art” VoL 11, Chap. VI, p. 112. 228 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE For a suggestion as to the mental attitude which the Christian teacher, as well as the art connoisseur, should take, the following quota¬ tion is helpful: In the study of Chinese painting a recent critic, M. R. Marguerye, justly observes that to appreciate it properly the Westerner must forget his own mental preconceptions, and must throw over his artistic edu¬ cation, every critical tradition, and all the aesthetic baggage that has accumulated from the renaissance to our own days. If this is done, it will be found that the Chinese painters have had from the first a fine feeling for colour; . . . that they have treated in turn mythological, religious and historical subjects of every kind; they have painted scenes of daily familiar life, as well as those inspired by poetry and romance; sketched still life, landscape and portraits. Their highest achievements, perhaps, have been in the land¬ scapes, which reveal a passionate love for nature, and show with how delicate a charm, how sincere and lively a poetic feeling, they have interpreted its every aspect. 103 The fact is that Chinese cultural activities are much more numerous and of a much higher grade than many Westerners, perhaps the ma¬ jority, realize. China has not reached a stage where it can be said that “the struggle among human beings at the present time is not so much for necessities of life as for cultural materials and opportunities/’ but, with their past achieve¬ ments and the changing economic conditions, the NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 220 statement will some day be as true of them as it is of the Western nations today. Their past his¬ tory shows their capacity for the aesthetic; the Tang Dynasty (618-906 A.D.) was the “golden period of art, literature, belles-lettres, and poetry”; and the Song Dynasty (906-1279 A.D.) has been called the Augustan era, but there has been little progress since that time. China has possessed the common media for the transmission of culture, the written and spoken language, contact with other nations, ex¬ change of products; the media for diffusion of culture have been present but not effective on a large scale; there have been imperial museums and libraries but they were not available for the masses; there have been theatres, book and pic¬ ture publishing establishments, and schools. Much of the early painting was done by court artists, on the walls and ceilings of buildings long since destroyed. Professor Kirkpatrick says: “Next to the newspaper, no invention provides greater facili¬ ties for the diffusion of culture than the moving- picture films.” The Chinese have long had the newspaper and the motion picture has been in¬ troduced. China has these two powerful agencies for giving culture to the masses. “The general tendency in recent times, however, toward the development of democracy has greatly increased 230 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE the diffusion of all sorts of culture among all classes of people.” This fact, spoken with ref¬ erence to the West, is equally true, in fact if not in degree, of China and must be kept in mind in planning for the cultural development. What is the relation between Christian edu¬ cation and Chinese cultural needs and activities? They furnish a point of contact with Chinese life; they reveal the highest spiritual aspirations and the finest instincts of the Chinese; they tell much about the religious experience of the peo¬ ple; they furnish splendid data for a study of racial psychology; they constitute their own racial inheritance, in spite of the fact that they have received and absorbed certain foreign im¬ pulses. Christian education seeks to meet these cul¬ tural needs by the introduction of Western cul¬ ture, and largely ignores Chinese culture. It violates the pedagogical principle that the in¬ dividual should be permitted and encouraged to grow along the line of his own natural endow¬ ment, rather than forced into certain lines of development that are chosen by the parent or teacher. Giving this liberty for individual and natural development, does not preclude the need of teaching, or the presentation of cultural ma¬ terial to the child. If the process continues they will become a nation of imitators; if their own NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 231 culture is studied and their own activity and appreciation is cultivated, it may be possible to stir the springs of their own originality and pro¬ ductiveness, and China and the world will gain thereby. One of the faults of Japanese education has been “the little attention paid to mere culture”; it has already been pointed out that the Chinese government education is leaning strongly toward the vocational and technical and the danger has been mentioned. Would not Christian education in both these countries better meet the cultural needs of the people by starting frankly and sym¬ pathetically with their own cultural achieve¬ ments, quickening the interest in and the appre¬ ciation of these, and through this process lead them to the Western culture material? Is there any pedagogical sense in trying to introduce them to a cultural material so radically different, as shown by the quotations from M. K. Mar- guerye, except through the “known” of their own rich culture material. There is a great moral advantage in the freedom of Chinese art from the sensuality of Western art. Although, in the democracy, culture will become more and more the common possession of all the people, it is to be remembered that, for people of wealth and leisure, cultural activity is almost the only alter¬ native of dissipation and degradation. The same 232 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA principle works with all classes in a less degree because they have less leisure. Cannot Christian education influence the two chief media for the diffusion of culture, the news* paper and the motion picture films? It is pos¬ sible to link the Chinese course in college in a practical way with the Chinese newspapers, hay¬ ing particular consideration for the cultural needs. We need not stand helpless and see this cultural instinct and capacity commercialized and poisoned. We have a fair chance with the commercial interests before they get their grip on the situation; it would be possible to undertake the use of motion pictures on a large scale for educational purposes, if Christian and Chinese moral and educational interests would combine. No more consideration is due these exploiters of humanity than is due the seller of opium. Sys¬ tematic poisoning of the mind and deadening of the morals by vicious pictures is as serious for China as if it were done by opium. Educational values lie in the ability to deal intelligently and effectively with this vital human need. 4 CHAPTER XIII THE NEEDS—SOCIAL The social instinct, gregariousness or the desire to be with others for the pleasure it gives, is apparent in animals and men; it is closely re¬ lated to other important life functions, such as protection and reproduction, but exists where these do not figure largely at all. It is a complex or derived instinct and is essentially altruistic, but is often practically egoistic in its manifesta¬ tions ; it is essential to human progress and pro¬ duces a real social need that, as yet, even in West¬ ern society, is not adequately satisfied. Its activities do not appear apart from the or¬ dinary work and play activities of the commun¬ ity, and they represent a considerable degree of like-mindedness. The instinct must be satisfied and the good or bad results are a secondary con¬ sideration, particularly, if the individuals are untrained for right choices. Evidently, the social instinct functions as an influence to be reckoned with in any purpose of social recon¬ struction; ignorance of and indifference to the social instinct does not nullify its influence- 233 £34 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE knowledge of its nature and manifestations, and attention to its needs, may largely determine that its influence shall be good. This possibility con¬ stitutes another opportunity for education. The social instinct in the Chinese is strong. This is shown by the importance attached to the family life, by the fact that three or four genera¬ tions live together under one roof, and by the fact that they are very seldom found living alone separated by long distances from neighbors; they live in small villages or in large cities. In the family and community life, the Chinese have ex¬ pressed this instinct and satisfied its needs in much the same manner as Western peoples; the occasions and character of their social inter¬ course are not very different from those of some parts of the West. The Chinese are democratic and friendly; conversation is usually not diffi¬ cult though the topics of conversation are very limited and so stereotyped as to be reduced to formal and polite phraseology covering one’s name, age, family relations, and business inter¬ ests. In these small communities, the life is prac¬ tically a family life; the old and the young are closely associated in work and play and all are well known one to another; individual person¬ ality counts for more in such a group than in the larger groups. The intimacy of this social life is shown by the common practice of borrowing: NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 235 they will borrow anything that happens to be needed. There are instances where students in a theological seminary have borrowed garments without the consent of the owner and even pawned the goods, and told the owner later. There is evidently a strong community sense that might be developed and utilized, however much one might disapprove of such a manifestation. It is necessary to give special consideration to these two manifestations of the social instinct, the family and the community life, and indicate their development and utility, but it is impos¬ sible to discuss them in detail. The family is the basis and the unit of Chinese life and its ramifications are varied and far- reaching in its social institutions. Their his¬ tory shows that the family has been changing from period to period. A careful study would lead one to the belief that it has been a develop¬ ment, in spite of the fact that it is not yet ideal. There was progress when in 2700 B.C., marriage supplanted the capture of brides, although polyg¬ amy and concubinage were common. 104 Mar¬ riage within the family and clan was checked early in their development, but the attempt in the period from A.D. 221 to 589, to forbid the royal family, scholars, and common people to marry outside of their own class was unsuccess¬ ful, which is very significant of the right social 236 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE sense of the race and of their spirit of democracy. “The Chinese draw a clear distinction between concubinage (which is practically slavery) and polygamy; and we know of no condition save one ... in which polygamy is legal or socially approved.” 105 The family life seems to have been determined by circumstances, rather than to have determined them, and it is, therefore, those present and future changes arising from changing conditions of national life that have special significance. Old social ties are breaking up and new ones must be established. Shall they be intelligent and adequate for future adjustments, or shall they be the temporary makeshifts of ignorance and indifference? The position of woman is changing rapidly; Christianity has contributed largely to this change. Confucius taught that she was by nature inferior to man and her education con¬ sisted in learning submission; this principle is diametrically opposed to the rapidly growing spirit of democracy. But there is a change for the better, although, as is to be expected, the new liberty has, in some cases, been confused with license. The women must learn that their liber¬ ation does not mean that they are a law unto themselves, but that social obligations still hold them. Christian education has been one of the NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 237 most potent factors in this breaking down of old factors of social control through which China has for centuries preserved her racial solidarity. Have its constructive methods been as direct and effective as have been its destructive methods? Betrothal power has been almost entirely in the hands of the grandparents and parents; the custom was not without its social value; the West, in its democratic individualism, has largely broken with the same practice. Young China is breaking with it very rapidly, particu¬ larly the students from the Christian schools, and is treading a very narrow path which should lead to a higher plane of sex relation and family life, than has yet been attained in Western society. Is Christian education preparing these young men and women any more effectively to achieve this high plane than the church and schools did the young men and women as the change came in the West? Or is it necessary to let them blunder along, with no comprehensive, sympathetic study of their experiences, into a condition of family life and sex relations as pre¬ carious as the United States is now facing? This change is closely related to the question of monogamy, polygamy, concubinage, and divorce. As the belief that the spirits of the ancestors control the fortunes of everyday life, is broken down by modem science, the urgency 238 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE for marriage decreases. The women with a sex- inheritance of centuries of exceptional morality, and with new freedom within their grasp, will probably make a speedy end of polygamy and con¬ cubinage in their old forms, by refusing mar¬ riage and demanding better recognition of divorce rights. The new industries will open the way of economic independence for many women, as in the West. What will be the consequence? Theoretically divorce has been easy for men; practically it has been hard, and with the alter¬ native of concubinage and practical polygamy it has not been very common. The social and eco¬ nomic conditions that have automatically pro¬ tected the women are disappearing as their new liberty appears; the greater liberty brings greater responsibility. What will be the moral consequences of this change from polygamy and concubinage to a*greatly increased number of divorces? The conditions in Japan are signifi¬ cant of the answer. Although woman has long been accorded a higher place than in China, she has been “regarded as inferior, the plaything of man, rather than as his companion and equal.” 106 Japan has been changing under the same influ¬ ences and ideals that are now fermenting in China. “The result of this laxity in divorce laws was seen in 1891, when there were 345 divorces for every thousand marriages.” 107 “During the NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 239 last twenty years the proportion has diminished to a marked degree. Even now, in Japan, a civil or religious ceremony is not required for mar¬ riage. All that is necessary is for a couple to begin to live together.” 108 Such conditions could not have been entirely prevented but foresight and education might have ameliorated them. In judging the social value of the Chinese family institution, there are some facts relating to family life in the United States that we must ' take into consideration. There has been a free¬ dom of choice between the contracting parties, subject to parental consent, which has been abused for family and class considerations often enough to make it the object of jokes and witti¬ cisms. The chief regulation of marriage-life has been divorce and separation and the conditions of granting divorce have been similar to those rec¬ ognized in China. The attitude of the State and the Church has been restrictive and prohibitive; until very recently there has been no scientific, educative effort to deal with the complex prob¬ lems connected with this phase of the social in¬ stinct. These are the facts that we must face and from which we must judge the value of the methods we have used. Divorces are more common in Protestant than in Catholic countries. They are most common among the native whites where American individualistic ideas are 240 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE most dominant. . . . Statistics show that there were more divorces in the United States than in all the other civilized countries together, and that the propor¬ tion of divorces to marriages has more than doubled in thirty years, the ratio now being one in twelve . 109 In spite of the methods that have been used, divorce has increased; it might suggest that there is something wrong with the methods un¬ less one is convinced of the increasing moral de¬ generacy of the human race, which seems to dis¬ credit God’s purpose and power to redeem human society. “The real problem is not that of putting legal difficulties in the way of divorce, but in finding the causes of the failure of family life (which divorces reveal) and the remedy for such failure.” 110 It may be seriously questioned if concubinage, as it is practiced in China, is any more disas¬ trous, morally and socially, than the continuous polygamy through divorce and remarriage, which has been increasing so rapidly in the United States in violation of religious sanctions. Can we expect religious sanctions that have failed with our most cultured classes in a Christian civilization to work a miracle in this chaos of broken Chinese sanctions? This is not to ap¬ prove concubinage nor to condemn religious sanctions. It does mean that the religious sanc¬ tions must be based on sense rather than simply NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 241 on sentiment; that they must he interpretative and educative rather than prohibitive. We are bringing to China some grave family problems; we are seeking to develop individuality, origi¬ nality and initiative; our own experience in the United States shows the relation of these quali¬ ties to this social instinct. How many Christian teachers are facing this maze of complex in¬ fluences and trying to prepare the young feet to tread its paths intelligently, and how many are confining their teaching to moral generalities and trusting a miracle of divine grace, which has failed to materialize in the United States, to bring their students safely through? Family discipline and filial piety present an¬ other perplexing and critical change. Family life in China has not been ideal. The Chinese make fond parents and the boys are under no real dis¬ cipline. Only the ingrained feeling of filial piety, which is enforced upon each individual by all his education and by institutions and customs of society, prevents this lax family discipline from resulting in greater evil . 111 Filial piety is essentially religious, in so far as it is an attempt to get right with the spirit world. Christian education objects to ancestor worship which is directly rooted in filial piety and seeks to break down the institutions and customs that support it. Ancestor worship should and will certainly disappear in its primi- 242 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE tive and superstitious forms, but it has moral elements that Christianity wishes to foster. It must be realized that in destroying it we are destroying religious sanctions which have been essential to social control in China. Those who believe in the necessity of religious sanctions for right moral conduct, should be the first to realize the seriousness of the change that they are pro¬ moting. What equally powerful religious sanc¬ tions, what definite institutions that provide adequate school and home training, and what constructive social customs is Christian educa¬ tion offering? This question cannot be answered satisfac¬ torily by pointing to the few exceptional cases where work of this kind is being done. The challenge comes direct to the whole body of Christian educators in China. Some of the stu¬ dents in Christian schools have started the cus¬ tom of observing “Parents’ Day” in order to adapt their ideas on filial piety and ancestor worship to the changing conditions. A very little work is being done in training girls and women for home life; almost nothing is done to give the boys and young men right ideals of fatherhood. There is no systematic, thorough-going education in sex hygiene, parental functions and child study. “We have done other things. By bringing NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 243 commercial products, hospitals and educational institutions to China we have silently urged these things and fostered a change of sentiment. But one may question whether we have used our schools as teaching centers to alter the hygienic and sanitary conditions of large numbers.” In The China Medical Missionary Journal there is an interesting report of 200 investiga¬ tions made by Dr. Mills of Korea. As one of the by-products of this investigation he came to this conclusion: As yet the ideas of hygiene and sanitation and care of the home and family are practically the same whether heathen or Christian and will remain so to the great detriment of Church and race until the leaders of the faith, evangelistic and educational, as well as medical, unite to strengthen this plastic constituency by first reaching the home . 112 * These are only a few of the evident and critical questions of family life in China for which Chris¬ tian education seems to be finding very inade¬ quate answers. The social instinct is there, is partly developed, but almost entirely unused by Christian education. A student goes wrong and the incident is used to point a moral, but there is no frank facing of the underlying causes, and no attempt is made to lead the other students to reach right moral judgments of their own on the case. The authority from the classics and from 241 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE the Scriptures is given them. How much longer is it going to take us to learn that this is not sufficient in a world that is moving so rapidly toward democracy and the responsibility of each individual to God and to society? It is impos¬ sible to take time for the study of these practical problems of life, with volumes of classics and textbooks of higher mathematics and unrelated scientific data to master. Which is the more valuable from the standpoint of the Kingdom, these traditional subjects or the life-needs of these students? 113 As has been noted, in the small communities the community life is practically a family life; in the larger communities there are different manifestations of the social instinct. In these larger communities there is practically no social life as the term is understood in the West. There are such forms of recreation and festivity as have been mentioned. Then there are the formal po¬ lite calls which social customs make necessary. Certain exceptions to these generalizations might be cited, but for the mass of the people the gen¬ eral statement is probably correct. There are organizations for special classes and interests, such as the guilds and secret societies, but no one organization representing interests common to all and having the support of all. The self-improvement societies of later days NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 245 have enlisted the interest and co-operation of the whole community to a certain extent. The fact is that there has been little scientific study of the community life and activities from ; the standpoint of the “new humanities.” Only within the last five years have a few individuals who have come out from the United States with the sociological viewpoint, undertaken such studies. These investigations have been reported in the 'various missionary publications, but they have not yet affected the work in the schools to any marked degree. More surveys are needed; perhaps some other features should be added connecting the data more directly to education, rather than consider¬ ing the conditions from the somewhat isolated viewpoint of pure sociology. These surveys fur¬ nish splendid opportunities for practical work by the students in first-hand contact with these social problems. When it is realized how undeveloped is the social life in the rural districts and small towns of the United States, and what part this fact has played in driving the young people to the cities, and how the social conditions have deteriorated in these rural districts along with industrial de¬ velopment, it becomes apparent that the probable shift from an emphasis on agriculture to indus¬ trialism in China will be fraught with complex 246 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE problems. Something more must be done to meet the growing social demands of the young people than was done in America. True, the social in¬ stinct has, hitherto, been practically undeveloped and has been satisfied by semi-family relations, but this is no more likely to continue in China than in the West, The change came in the West and society was largely unprepared, with con¬ sequences that we are just now trying to correct. As their life now appears, what have the Chi¬ nese to talk and think about? Little more than crops, money, and general gossip. The narrow¬ ness of interest makes thoughtful social life im¬ possible; the comparison with certain communi¬ ties in the West will only reveal a difference in degree, not in kind, of the narrowness of interests. But there are important interests enough to en¬ list the thought and activity of the whole com¬ munity in helpful social intercourse, if they are utilized. If such efforts are to be successful, they must find something which all may do to¬ gether with different individual reactions, as working, eating or playing. There are commun¬ ity needs sufficient to furnish abundant material for building up the social life of the community, Christian and non-Christian alike. In the larger communities it is necessary to avoid unsocial group specialization and class distinction. In the United States the public schools and NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 247 colleges are doing much to promote democracy in the young people and to develop in their parents common interests. The schools are therefore the most promising social centers. This is probably true in China; the distinction between rich and poor appears much more clearly in the churches than in the schools. It is difficult to get the rich to come to the churches, not always because they object to the teaching but because they find so few of their own class there. On the other hand, in the schools, where the students are friends regardless of financial standing, the parents are brought together in public gatherings where they become acquainted and exchange views. The Christian schools need to profit by the trend in the United States and seek to minister more directly to the needs and interests of the com¬ munity, and so become the center of all its whole¬ some social activities. By so doing, the school will win a much larger support and co-operation from the Chinese. Tins requires leaders who know intimately the life of the people and who will put their life needs before sectarian in¬ terests. On the mission field, the relative desirability of the Church and the school, as social centers of the community life, is simpler than it is in the United States. There the Church and the Chris¬ tian school practically stand together. It is 248 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE possible for them to work together very effec¬ tively for the community welfare. If various de¬ nominations would unite in the larger cities, a more effective work could be accomplished. If the church ignores the demands of these social instincts, and persisting in its traditional course, remains ignorant of and indifferent to them, it will lose, first, to the Christian schools as com¬ munity centers, as it seems to be doing in the United States. This loss on the mission field will not be serious because it will be merely a shifting of emphasis and change of method in mission policy. The second and more serious danger appears in the possibility that Christian schools will imitate the attitude of the Church, and in a very short time the government schools will become the community centers. Some splendid opportunities to contribute directly to the “more abundant life” of the Chinese will, thus, have been lost. Some statements regarding the actual trend in the United States give point, again, to our inter¬ pretation of the social needs in China. In Montgomery County, Maryland, it was found that nearly half of the people were not in church; that there was a church to every two hundred and forty people; that 28 per cent of the churches were not growing; that 29 per cent had no organization except Sunday school; that 57 per cent had no organization for young people; that 94 per cent had no organization for men; and that NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 249 86 per cent were making no effort to serve their com¬ munities as social centers. In Ohio it was found that about half the churches with resident pastors . . . were growing. ... In Indiana, the attendance at church service . . . was a little over one-fifth the population and the attendance at Sunday school was a little less. Of churches giving attention to social and recreational life 65 per cent were growing, while of those not so doing only 12 per cent were growing. . . . It appears that not only do churches that make a feature of social life prosper, but that in rural places where other organizations supply that need, church interest is increased. This shows the close relation of social to religious life, notwithstanding the fact that many of its forms are believed to be directly opposed to the work of the churches. In rural communities the church and the school are the chief organizations supplying social life, and if they fail there is little but associations of individuals and families. 114 Honest, careful study of conditions in the ma¬ jority of the cities of the United States would reveal conditions so nearly like these cited that one would be compelled to ask what are the real aims and values in the methods that have pro¬ duced these conditions. If they have failed so seriously in a Christian civilization, can they rea¬ sonably be expected to do better in a non-Chris¬ tian civilization? Do these aims, methods and ideals represent the real values for which men and women are giving their lives in China? Persistence in the use of these methods in China means spiritual death to many Chinese 250 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA where they might have had life; it means the sur¬ render of the social instincts, which are resources as well as needs, to be monopolized and ex¬ ploited for selfish, commercial ends, by non- Christian or anti-Christian forces. Is there suf¬ ficient value in the traditional exclusiveness and sanctity of the Church and in the classical sub¬ ject matter of the prevailing curricula to pay this price? There seems to be occasion for some in¬ trospection on the part of the leaders of churches and schools in China and a willingness to try some new methods, when the results of the old are so evidently unsatisfactory. Some young Chinese are already asking how long it will be before China is Christianized at the present rate of growth. And already the Chinese government schools are improving in usefulness so that mis¬ sion schools are finding it hard to keep up to their standard. CHAPTER XIV THE NEEDS—MORAL AND RELIGIOUS The moral and religious needs of the Chinese are based on the considerations involved in the preceding study of the bio-psychological, eco¬ nomic, protective, recreative, cultural, and social needs. Further search for abstract moral and religious needs is unnecessary until those grow¬ ing out of the actual life of the race are more adequately met. These two phases of spiritual experience are closely related to each other and grow out of the feeling that man needs some in¬ fluence outside himself to help realize his better self; the influence of other members of his group, living and dead, constitute the moral influences; the belief that the “spirit of some ancestor or a power of nature or a deity approves or disap¬ proves of certain kinds of conduct,” constitutes the religious influence . 115 The moral and reli¬ gious activities of the Chinese may be easily clas¬ sified under these two heads. This practical basis of morality and religion reveals their true func¬ tion which is to supply the spirituality that gives balance to life, and the glowing fire of idealism 251 252 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE that will enable men to make their spiritual visions become realities in a divine-human society. The numerous tributes to Chinese moral standards and ideals, which have come in in¬ creasing number in recent years from writers who can speak with authority, make it seem that the time has come to acknowledge that, in the essential elements of morality, the Chinese de¬ serve favorable comparison with the Greek, Hebrew, and Christian moral standards of the West. Such writers as Legge, Faber, Giles, and others are appreciative of these values, but they seem to be checking themselves constantly lest they give the impression that there are some ideals and, perhaps, some customs that are as good as those in Western civilization. Dr. Faber steps aside to point out the defect in Confucius* attitude toward concubinage but he says nothing about Abraham, Jacob, and David, heroes of the Christian religion . 116 Bishop Bashford makes a distinction between reliability and honesty which is fair, so far as definition is concerned. He says: Probably they (the Chinese) furnish as many people who are honest from principle as any other non-Chris¬ tian country and as most so-called Christian nations. But, in the main, Chinese reliability in commerce has grown up from centuries of experience and rests upon sound business judgment . 117 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 253 He also points out the religious motive for honesty as well. In spite of this high tribute, there is left the impression that Western business men are on a higher plane; the comparison of ideals suggests a distinction without a difference, when one reads from an economist writing of Western business men, that honesty and a large credit system have been due to business expe¬ diency rather than to moral ideals.* These mental or verbal reservations appear in almost all writings about the Chinese, and they seem to have a very narrow claim to consideration even when the claim is true. It is not to the point to define superiority and inferiority under such circumstances, but to find the remedy for the inferiority in both civilizations. This situation presents a different problem from that which Christian education in China is supposed to face. It has been thought that the task of Christian education is to bring new moral and religious truth to China. One is forced to ask, a Just what constitutes that new moral truth? How shall it be illustrated? What is the exact difference between the new Western truth and the old Chinese truth ?” And when * See Ross, “Sin and Society” and “Changing America,” for a courageous painting of actual moral conditions in the United States, and the prefatory letter by Theodore Roose¬ velt. Our indictments of the West are moderate beside the facts given in these two books. 254 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE one starts to formulate answers to these ques¬ tions, if facts are faced and dealt with in a scien¬ tific manner, one is soon forced over on the de¬ fensive and apologetic side of the argument. In reality, the problem is to vitalize the moral and religious truths which the Chinese possess; this is the problem in the West as well as in the East. Our Western morals are still more ab¬ stract than practical. This statement does not deny that Christianity has new moral and re¬ ligious ideals; it simply seeks to avoid spending its energy and time teaching abstract moral and religious truths that are already imbedded in the life and literature of the Chinese people, and to avoid the folly and self-conceit of doing it as though we were bringing entirely new ideas from Western civilization. Such a frank, democratic attitude would make the w T ork easier, more ac¬ ceptable to the Chinese, and, consequently, more effective, on the safe supposition that human nature is essentially the same wherever it is found. Frankly, it does not seem possible or necessary to bring any new moral truth to the Chinese; it does seem possible to vitalize and reinterpret, in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, their old moral truths which are the common possession of humanity in its higher developments. The religious conceptions claim separate consideration. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 255 If comparison must be made, if invidious dis¬ tinctions must be drawn, then they must be made between Chinese ideals and Christian ideals, and between Chinese moral, religious, and social achievements and similar actual achievements of so-called Christian nations; it is not fair to judge Chinese achievements by the highest Christian ideals, and ignore the failure of the West to achieve those ideals. It is no longer possible to deceive ourselves or the Chinese, intentionally or unintentionally. Every missionary lias been painfully conscious of the disparagement be¬ tween the ideals he preaches and the examples the Chinese have had in Western achievement of those ideals in their relations with individuals and nations. The Chinese are studying other things than textbooks when they go to America and their practical common sense is making them, like the Japanese, keen seekers of the real values. Some already have begun to judge the achievements of the West by Chinese ideals; we object but we taught them the lesson, and turn about is fair play. Only smug self-satisfaction, ignorance, and indifference to the crying needs of Western society, can claim that Western Christian civilization furnishes a satisfactory example of the vitalization and genuine applica¬ tion of these universal moral truths. When this conclusion is reached and there is, 256 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE with it, the belief that better social conditions are possible of attainment, then, and then only, is it possible for the Westerner and the Chinese to co-operate, on a basis of mutual confidence and appreciation, for the solution of the problem of vitalizing these moral truths and applying them so as to meet the changing needs of society. Such a conclusion and such an attitude will remove many of the difficulties that now make it im¬ possible for the Chinese and the foreigner to work together without more or less friction, and will avoid the unfortunate experience of Chris¬ tianity in Japan. It is not possible here to work out in detail the data on which this conclusion is reached for it is based on many volumes of translation of Chinese literature, of Chinese history, life, and customs, some of which have been cited. Some of the essential data should be presented to make clearer the judgment just reached as to the pres¬ ent moral needs of China. It is probably fair to summarize Hebrew and Christian ethics under the requirements of the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ re-interpretation and application of them to social conditions. It is understood that morals have to do with the social relations of man with man. “Honor thy father and thy mother that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 257 God givetli thee.” There is a moral demand with an utilitarian appeal. The Chinese have devel¬ oped in a high degree this virtue of filial piety; true they have violated and abused it, but Jesus openly condemned the Jews for their violation and abuse of it in his time. The Chinese look with apprehension on the effect of Christian teaching and practice in relation to this moral requirement which is regarded alike by Chinese and Hebrews as the basis of national solidarity and existence. The Chinese know that they ought not to kill. This moral precept has been so thoroughly in¬ stilled into their national life that they are ridi¬ culed by certain classes of Western Christians because they lack the martial spirit. Homicide is not common; it is hardly necessary to inter¬ fere in a Chinese quarrel because it is reasonably sure that they will not hurt each other seriously. It is very doubtful if China has lynched 3300 within 22 years as against 2600 legally executed, which is the unenviable record of the United States; sixty-nine lynchings in 1915 and one of those for stealing meat; sixty-four in 1921, five were white victims. Even when martial law was established during the recent insurrection in China, the civil law was nominally, and in some cases, practically superior to the martial law. What can be more evident than their knowl- 258 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE edge and high esteem of the commandment that forbids adultery? Reference has already been made to Bishop Bashford’s fine tribute to the women of China; true, there is a double standard for the two sexes, but no one from the West dares criticize that without a blush of shame. Im¬ moral women were compelled to wear green hand¬ kerchiefs and licentious men were mutilated. 118 Shame or loss of “face” are strong influences for restraint in this as well as in other vices. The Chinese code of laws covers stealing, false witness, and covetousness. They have two kinds of law, the Li and the Lu, because of “their de¬ sire to reconcile abstract and ancient law with modern justice.” These Chinese legal mottoes are significant of their ideals; “If the law does not provide a remedy for injustice, one must be found.” “In all ages a person has been con¬ sidered more important than property.” Med- hurst says, “The laws of China are numerous, minute and circumstantial, and give the best idea of the people and their advance in civiliza¬ tion which could possibly be furnished.” 119 In regard to administration, the law is slow: The golden mean lies somewhere between the attempt to reach the national ideal of exact justice upon the one side, and, upon the other, promptness and certainty in the administration of the laws. Western statesmen have no more reached this golden mean than have NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 259 Chinese statesmen; and possibly Chinese laws are not more complex than is Western legislation . 120 It may still be insisted it is only the West that has risen to a spiritual understanding of these moral laws such as Jesus gave. This may be granted, but when Western civilization enters into consideration, it must be remembered that the West deserves no credit for the origination of this interpretation, and it is still a long way from having attained these ideals; and secondly, there is much in Chinese moral ideals that closely approximates the teachings of Jesus. “Except your righteousness exceed the right¬ eousness of tlie scribes and Pharisees” is an em¬ phasis which appears in Lu-tze (b. 1140 A.D.) when he opposed the critical philosophical erudi¬ tion of Chu-hsi and emphasized the rectification of heart and life as the chief aim of study. 121 Confucius’ emphasis on peaceful, friendly, help¬ ful relations with all men approximated Jesus’ refinement of the sixth commandment. Con¬ fucius speaks often against carnal lust and sen¬ sual pleasure; 122 the fact that it is very bad form to stare at a woman or turn around and look at her after she has passed shows their knowledge of the sins of the heart and mind and that they recognize the evil of violating the seventh com¬ mandment in thought as well as in deed. It is a well-known fact in business life that the better 260 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE class of Chinese keep their promises even when it means great personal loss. Grant the fine dis¬ tinction between reliability and honesty men : tioned above, the wide influence of Ben Frank¬ lin’s motto, “Honesty is the best policy,” on American business methods must also be granted. If we turn to love as the supreme Christian virtue in human relation, we find that Mo-Ti (600-500 B.C.) “in some measure anticipates the Christian doctrine of love.” 123 His idea of love was altruistic and utilitarian; it was, however, not sufficiently utilitarian to commend itself strongly to the practical Chinese at that time. Bishop Bashford emphasizes the utilitarian mo¬ tive when he credits Mo-Ti with believing, or at least arguing, that “Heaven is the source of love, and our duty on earth is to practice uni¬ versal benevolence”; that we should follow in the footsteps of the sages and make our conduct pleasing to Heaven, reverential toward the spirits, and benevolent toward the people”; “that the single cause of all wars and evils is selfishness. If any nation will love every other nation, and if any individual will love his neighbors, they will in turn love and help that nation and that individual”; “condemns concubinage and war”; “condemns fatalism as the enemy of energetic and hopeful action”; “argues for the existence of a supreme God, of intelligence, reason, and NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 261 love, and a Divine Providence ruling the affairs of men.” “His argument for theism anticipates by twenty-five hundred years the pragmatism of William James,” and yet it is denied that Mo-Ti is a “profound thinker because too often he makes superficial appeals to utility instead of sounding the depths of the soul or of appealing to God.” 124 Furthermore, the place of utilitar¬ ianism in all social progress is by no means a closed or tabooed question; the process of social¬ ization, and industrial and economic evolution show more clearly the actual influence of utili¬ tarianism in the nominal Christian civilization of the West than does the New Testament. This is no argument for utilitarianism but a plea for fair comparison of facts in order to find a com¬ mon ground for constructive effort along with the Chinese. One must ask further, “How did Mo-Ti get his conception of love and a supreme God if it were not the witness of that God in his heart?” To recognize with Paul at Lystra and Athens, that God revealed himself in the experiences of such men as Mo-Ti is not to deny nor detract from the revelations that came through Jesus Christ. The ignorance of the mass of Chinese con¬ cerning the writings of Mo-Ti opens an interest¬ ing field for comparison in view of amazing reve¬ lations of the ignorance o/ Western people of 262 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE their religious classics as shown by recent studies in religious education. Professor L. B. Paton says that he “has been teaching for twenty years in a theological seminary, and has observed a progressive deterioration in knowledge of the Bible in the students that enter each year.” But, further discussion is not to the point here. Mo-Ti is placed in favorable comparison with Plato, Aristotle and Socrates, but “we know no work in English upon him or his philosophy.” 125 Is it reasonable to suppose that, because he was discredited by the brilliant Mencius, he has had no influence on the ideals of his people? Else¬ where ideals are supposed to affect conduct and life. The discussion of Mo-Ti has been prolonged thus far to show that we have come to the time when we must define and locate the exact moral and religious values which Christian education has to offer to China. The distinctly new field of the intellectual and the philosophical is stead¬ ily' narrowing as the West becomes familiar with Chinese history and literature. Since the field of new moral and religious truths is circum¬ scribed, we ought to rejoice that the field of ap¬ perceptive moral and religious truth is much larger than we had thought; the task of vitaliz¬ ing this truth for the East and West and apply¬ ing it to the improvement of social conditions, NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 263 stands out more clearly as the first moral need to be met. This line of comparison seems to discredit Christianity; it only discredits the Western type of Christianity and holds a mirror to show us ourselves as others in the East are rapidly com¬ ing to see us. If we wish to hold our influence and contribute to the social reconstruction of China, save her from some of our mistakes, and enable her to profit by our successes, we must be absolutely honest and fair and lay our mo¬ tives, aims and values bare to the searchlight of modern science. We need have no fear for God’s own truth; we must prepare to readjust our own estimates of the values of His truth as He has revealed it to the human race, and remember that the time of the “chosen nation” is past in a world that is so rapidly moving toward democracy. Furthermore, it must be realized that we are in danger of wasting valuable energy and time carrying moral and philosophic if not religious, coals to a Chinese Newcastle. A study of these points of contact between Chinese moral ideals and Christian moral ideals, together with a fair comparison of achievement, is a subject for a large volume and when done—and it will be done—will furnish a valuable basis for moral and religious education in Christian schools and Sunday schools if properly used. The tremen- 264 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE dous psychological and pedagogical significance of this discovery is more easily apparent today than it was ten years ago. Yet, it has been seen and recognized by only a few; others have seen and recognized, seeing only a dangerous com¬ petitor instead of a powerful ally for the re¬ demption of China; others have dimly suspected its value but have been unable to familiarize themselves with these vital elements of the Chi¬ nese, so busy have they been with many other things; still others, it is to be feared, never dream of or will never acknowledge and use this rich moral and racial heritage of the Chinese. When we become too closely pressed in a com¬ parison of the moral ideals and values as they appear in Chinese life, it is common to take de¬ fense in the field of religious truth, behind the claim of our superior Western idea of God. We believe we are safe there. We point to China’s wonderful discoveries and inventions and her failure to use them adequately; we point to her helpless, childlike condition among the nations of the world today and we are sure that, in the West, there has been a power at work that has been absent from the life of China. Then it is discovered that there are some ideas of a su¬ preme, intelligent, reasonable, loving being called Shang-ti that have been current among the Chi¬ nese for centuries very like our idea of God; the NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 265 high monotheistic conception of this God prob¬ ably antedates the generally accepted time of Abraham. Polytheism has been closely inter¬ woven with these monotheistic ideas, but it is nec¬ essary also to recall the struggle that the Hebrew nation had with polytheism and what hard ex¬ periences were necessary to teach them the lesson, and also, that it is still necessary to warn Chris¬ tians against trying to worship God and Mam¬ mon. Confucius acknowledged this God but claimed to know little or nothing about Him and concerned himself chiefly about the affairs of men. One is interested to know just how far this parallel between Chinese and Christian ideas of God may fairly be traced. No better guide pre¬ sents itself among all the writers on Chinese religion than the splendid summary by Bishop Bashford. 126 One might start parallel columns of these current ideas and then, by cancellation of duplicate factors, discover exactly what con¬ stitutes the difference and our own superiority. Christianity and the West have emphasized the importance of the future life, immortality; “Taoism, whatever its superstitions, never took its eyes off the future life and the eternal world,” and “had the insight to choose as its founder the profoundest and most spiritual philosopher of the Chinese race, Lao-tze.” 127 “Buddhism . . . too 266 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE never lost sight of the spiritual and eternal in¬ terests of mankind,” as lias been frequently shown. Buddhism has consciously or uncon¬ sciously stood for religious liberty. “Confucian¬ ism never lost its vision of the moral duty of man. Like the law of the Old Testament, it yet serves as the divine preparation for the coming of the gospel.” 128 Christianity has the idea that God is a God of law and moral order; the Chinese have had the same idea for over two thousand years and have been in a “vague, indefinite and yet continuous struggle toward practical ideal¬ ism.” In the clear conception of moral order and the dim perception of a supreme governor of the world, the Chinese catch glimpses of the first commandment—the most vital conception of the Jewish people. In their almost universal belief in a future life of rewards and punishments based on conduct in the present life, we have recognition of a fundamental doctrine of the New Testament . 129 Particularly significant is their attitude to¬ ward prayer. When interpreting the significance of prayer in China, we must remember the variety of explanations and interpretations of prayer that characterize Western thought and belief, also the probable truth that nowhere in the world is there so little praying as in Christian coun¬ tries. The Chinese have the saying, “Heaven is NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 267 only three feet above your head”; the farmer begins his planting with prayer and offering, the boatmen start their trips and pass dangerous rapids only after prayer and offerings; all the activities of life are related to more or less elab¬ orate services of prayer and offerings. How many people in the West think of beginning these daily activities of life with prayer? For how many Western people is the consciousness of the spirit world brought within a radius of three feet? Of course, the conception of the deity ad¬ dressed, makes a great difference in the spiritual value of prayer; the difference is apparent in the images before w T hich prayers are offered as compared with the representations by which the West objectifies its ideas of God. But prayer for rain to a God who is supposed to hear and an¬ swer does not seem to be essentially different in China from what it is in America. Confucius says, in the “Doctrine of the Mean,” XIX 6, “By the ceremonies of the sacrifices to Heaven and earth, they served God (Shang- ti).” 130 Whatever may be the nature of this God to whom they prayed, Faber says that, in the many passages in the ancient classics which mention Shang-ti, there “is nothing at all that is offensive to the Christian idea of God.” 131 What are the essential differences from many a Christian prayer in this following prayer 268 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE offered by the Emperor of the Ming dynasty at the beautiful, simple Altar of Heaven, in 1538 A.D.? The service of song is completed, but our poor sin¬ cerity cannot be fully expressed. Thy sovereign good¬ ness is infinite. As a potter hast Thou made all living things. Great and small are curtained around by Thee from harm. As graven on the heart of Thy poor servant is the sense of Thy goodness, but my feeling cannot be fully displayed. With great kindness Thou dost bear with us, and, notwithstanding our demerits, dost grant us life and prosperity. . . . Spirits and men rejoice together praising Ti, the Lord. What limit, what measure can there be while we celebrate His great name? Forever He setteth fast the high heavens and establisheth the solid earth. His government is ever¬ lasting. His poor servant, I bow my head and lay it in the dust, bathed in His grace and glory. . . . All the ends of the earth look up to Him. All human beings, all things on the earth rejoice together in the Great Name . 132 Can it be said that this prayer does not touch the profoundest depths of the human soul or that there is no appeal to God? Does not the Chris¬ tian spirit respond to the beauty of its sentiment ? Their earnestness and sincerity in their moral and religious beliefs is shown in frequent self- sacrifice by suicide for causes which they con¬ sider moral and righteous, and also in the fact that they have spent large sums of money and much labor in building temples and pagodas. It NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHIN,. 269 is estimated that the Chinese spend $300,000,000 gold annually in religious worship. The process of cancellation might be continued but it has gone far enough to show that the field of really new religious ideas and truth, like the field of moral truths, is very small and difficult to define. It has brought us face to face with some vital problems of religious education and to a definite choice of values. If the moral and religious truths of the Old Testament are essentially the same as those found in the Chinese classics, as a matter of pedagogy should not the classics be used to teach these universal and eternal truths? If an over¬ loaded curriculum makes it impossible to teach both, and train the students in the practice of the truths, it would seem entirely Christian to emphasize the practice. This does not mean that the Old Testament should not be taught. It raises a question of relative values in connection with the passages used and the time spent on the Old Testament material. In the case of the New Testament, the question is different. Does that power lie in the verbal statements of truth, much of which the Chinese have already approximated, or in the life and personality of Jesus? If the parallel shifts from ideas and symbols to life and personality, we may find a clearer solution to the problem of 270 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE cancellation for final values. After all compari¬ sons, material, physical, mental and spiritual, are made, the unique and essentially different factor and value is the life and personality of Jesus Christ. It is not possible to deny the great personali¬ ties that founded Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism and still sway the lives of more millions of people than does the personality of Jesus. The difference in these personalities is apparent, not in the number of people influenced, but in the character of that influence, in the effect that the personality has had on the persons touched. In those societies which have been strongly influ¬ enced by the personality of Jesus, in spite of all violations of his spirit and ideals, the mass of people have interests that result in a more abun¬ dant life than have the masses in these other societies. The truth of this statement is wit¬ nessed by the eagerness with which the others are reaching out after this abundant life and the rapidity with which they are appropriating its interests. China’s great moral and religious need is the powerful personality of Jesus Christ. It needs more than a belief in that personality; it needs the vitalizing power of his life; it needs his un¬ derstanding of human nature and faith in hu- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 271 inanity, his vision for society, and his conscious, direct communion with God. Personality is most powerful in social con¬ tacts; for the majority of people, personal in¬ fluence is stronger than the printed page; the sermon that comes from a life that we have touched is more powerful than one from a per¬ sonality that we have never touched, other things being equal; the mystic uses many devices to make Christ real to himself so as to hold social intercourse with him. China needs the personal¬ ity of Jesus brought to her through social con¬ tacts. It is not to be denied that Christian mission¬ aries are working by this method. It is prob¬ able that the most potent factor in bringing the personality of Jesus to China is the devoted, self- sacrificing spirit of service, pure lives, and strong religious zeal of the individual missionaries. The lives they live rather than the symbols they teach is what brings to the Chinese the moral and spiritual power of Jesus Christ. This is not to say that the symbols, doctrines, and ordinances have no place. It is to say that these are of secondary value in the redemption of China and should not be mistaken for, nor stand in the way of, the primary value. If it is true that the personality of Jesus is 272 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE transmitted chiefly through the life and personal¬ ity of men, then China needs to have the social contacts multiplied. It is not enough for the preacher to touch the lives of his people in the prepared addresses and stated lessons; he must touch them in the everyday activities of life. It is not enough for the teacher to meet the students simply in his class-room and study; he must enter into their life-interests. The only objection to this method lies in the fact that the pressure of the kind of work we are doing makes it almost impossible for the preacher or teacher to have the more direct con¬ tacts and do that work according to present requirements. This has been the writer’s per¬ sonal experience and it is evident in the ex¬ perience of others. The only way out of the dilemma, it seems, is to make a very radical change of valuation and emphasis in our work; putting first things first, by studying to enlarge the social contacts, if need be at the expense of the symbolic and doctrinal. If we do the will of God as revealed in Jesus’ social relations and thereby inspire them to do it, the Chinese will soon learn whether the doctrine is of God or not, without reference to theological and philosophi¬ cal authorities of the West. It is a plain, frank choice of a social Christianity along with the social education. This does not mean a senti- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 273 mental, irrational, non-religious form of mis¬ sionary activity. Religion has probably been the greatest force, for good or evil, in the development of the human race. It is an essential part of human nature and not a mere adjunct, whether we regard it as an instinct or the complex result of various instincts. Religious sanctions are absolutely essential to a full view of life and to permanent progress and social welfare. This perspective must not be lost as some ardent advocates of social service and ethical culture seem to have done in the West. The power of religion does not lie in sentiment nor in creeds, but in its appeals to natural in¬ stincts and emotions and in its ability to satisfy those needs. The history and psychology of re- ligion show that different instincts and emotions have been appealed to, have functioned in various moral and religious beliefs and activities, and then have lost their power. It has been stated that these instincts have been chiefly egoistic, with a steady growth of the altruistic instincts, in the West. If Christianity is to exert its proper influence in China, it must appeal to the proper instincts and emotions and must be directly re¬ lated to the everyday life of the people. It is fair to raise the question whether the Chinese are ready for the direct religious appeal 274 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE to their altruistic, social instinct. There are signs of selfishness and conditions that might be be presented to show that they are not ready for this appeal, but there seems to be more evidence to show that they are ready for this social appeal to the altruistic instinct; this fact must be taken as evidence also that God has been working, in his own way according to definite laws of life, to prepare them for this appeal. It has been a source of wonder to some, and perhaps the cause of a little envy, that the Chi¬ nese have given so generously to some institu¬ tions and particular phases of the work, as the Canton Christian College and the Young Men’s Christian Association, and so little to sectarian, doctrinal, non-social missionary activities. This fact is due, not to the stiff-necked attitude of the Chinese toward Christian truth, but to the fact that the appeal which moves them to action must be genuinely altruistic, non-sectarian, and so¬ cially constructive. The China Christian Con¬ ference, May, 1922, substantiates this opinion. The probable socializing influence of the past centuries of Chinese development has already been noticed. If it is possible to see anything of God’s purpose in the present trend of world in¬ ternational relations, we may believe that He has brought China “to the Kingdom,” prepared for this time. Does it mean nothing that within NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 275 a decade China and Russia have burst forth into great democracies? Is this just an accident or coincidence? Greater faith may see in it the wise plan of God unfolding in a natural lawful manner, and may learn valuable lessons of how He really performs His miracles. Democracies are not cultivated and encouraged by autocrats and aristocracies; they are the re¬ sult of a powerful social instinct that comes from within the heart of man where some one tells us God is. They are not even produced by classical, cultural education, if we may judge by the illit¬ eracy of the masses of China and Russia. There is no longer any use of attributing them solely to geography, racial characteristics, economic conditions, or social institutions, though these, all together, constitute the means through which God works out the destiny of the race. In view of this great consideration it seems fair to be¬ lieve that the legitimate, rational and effective basis of moral and religious appeal in China to¬ day, is that which emphasizes the altruistic and social instincts. This is entirely different from a sentimental appeal for good works based on self-interest. Religious control of society has been frequently based on superstition, vagueness, other-worldli- ness, and has been split by schisms and conflicts that deny its claim to abounding rationality. Un- 276 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE til recently, this has affected its power very little. The present growth of education as a means of social control is crowding religion into the back¬ ground and will do so more and more, with loss to society, unless scientific education is spiritual¬ ized and its religious significance made plain, and unless religion frankly drops its superstitions and vague other-world objective and seeks God in His fulness in this present world. The im¬ portance of the other world is not to be denied or ignored, but as the race fully finds God here it will be fully prepared to dwell with Him in the other world. The mechanical and material forms of nature studied and interpreted by biol¬ ogists, psychologists, physiologists, economists, geographers, anthropologists and sociologists have their place. We have ignored them too long in an over-emphasis of what we have called spir¬ itual forces, but mechanism and determinism begin and end in themselves and offer nothing of inspiration. Chemistry, environment, hered¬ ity cannot satisfactorily account for the variants who have produced by their personality some of the greatest forward movements of the human race. But these factors have spiritual implica¬ tions and the Chinese need now their spiritual interpretations. China is just learning about them and takes hold of these subjects with the keenest interest. If she is to be saved from the NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 277 atheism and skepticism of Japan, and even of the West, she must be given this new scientific truth with a definite consciousness of its spir¬ itual significance and encouragement to dis¬ cover its spiritual values. The social interpre¬ tation of Christianity must be rational, as exact as modern education can make it, and positively and constructively religious in the sense of better adjusting the race to those spiritual forces of the universe which the Chinese have called Shang-ti and the West calls God. Can we not stir the highest human emotions and the social instincts as powerfully by the truth that God has revealed to us in biology, chemistry, psychology, anthropology, sociology, economics and related sciences, as by half-truths, metaphysics, old ceremonies and antiquated human philosophies, some of which are abso¬ lutely false in the light of modern knowledge? The West was unprepared to adjust accepted re¬ ligious beliefs to the discoveries of science from Galileo to Spencer and Huxley; China has her own antiquated religious beliefs and customs to struggle with, and we shall do well if we do not bring to her any outgrown Western beliefs which men have attached to the gospel of Jesus. The Christian leaders of the West know only too well the moral and religious shipwreck of many lives that has come from this lack of proper 278 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE adjustment, and this same adjustment is an essential element in China’s great task of vitaliz¬ ing and applying these eternal truths to the changing conditions. Can nothing be done in China to escape this disaster and waste? What has Christian education actually ac¬ complished in this task as outlined? In the first place, it is very dimly conscious of the task; the chief objective is to reproduce in China what has been done in the West, as the highest possible achievement. But every Chris¬ tian educator is more or less conscious of his inability to touch the lives of his students as he would like to do. Many Christian teachers rec¬ ognize the discrepancy and conflict between the doctrinal statement of Christianity which they are accustomed to give and the scientific truth their students are getting in their own class¬ room or in those of other teachers. There have been few great Christian leaders from among the Chinese. Many missionaries complain that their communicants are not spir¬ itually or mentally fit to be trained in theological seminaries for leadership, yet they also complain of the great need for native leaders in the Chris¬ tian church. Is there no explanation of this condition to be found in the preceding considera¬ tions? They may not be easy to face, but there are facts that seem to point out fundamental NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 279 difficulties. Why is it that, after one hundred years of Christian preaching and indoctrination, there is almost no missionary spirit in the Chi¬ nese church and we are striving to cultivate it by various mechanical devices? Is it not reason¬ able to believe that the individualistic, egoistic, and group appeal has been, and is, by God’s pur¬ pose and work, an anachronism in China after the centuries of its own process of socialization? We have reason to believe that there was a social emphasis in the personal contacts, undeveloped doctrinal systems, and social conditions of the apostolic period of Western Christianity that produced the wonderful missionary spirit of those early believers; this emphasis has been lost in later centuries of missionary activity and the difference accounts for these vexed problems of self-support and self-propagation? The strength and weakness of Christian education in dealing with vital social conditions have been discussed in the chapters devoted to these various life- needs. These are some of the facts and problems before us. They are so urgent and fundamental that we should take time to consider and esti¬ mate what and where are the real moral and religious values of our missionary activity. China needs to be taught to see sin and vice in all its manifestations, to report it and deal with it effectively. China needs the influence of 280 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA the divine personality of Jesus Christ in every phase of her national life, not simply in books, doctrine and intellectual belief. These latter factors are only means, not an end, and will be effective and valuable only as they touch and minister to the fundamental instinctive needs of the Chinese race in its relation to the entire human family. China needs life, the throbbing, abundant life which Jesus came to give to the whole human race. CHAPTER XV china’s educational task Popular education for 400,000,000 people— 100,000,000 of school age—as proposed by the Chinese republic, is the greatest educational un¬ dertaking in the history of the human race. The United States held the first place in school pop¬ ulation and in the scope and democratic freedom of popular education. When the Chinese repub¬ lic promulgated its educational program in 1912 for its vast territory and population, the United States fell into second place. China sees the task with remarkable clearness. Her leaders have shown fine judgment and discrimination in the modern program they have laid down. Theo¬ retically, at least, the Ministry of National Edu¬ cation is as important as the Ministry of Agri¬ culture or War. Serious consideration has been given to the problem of co-ordinating the national and local educational activities. In spite of the political disorders, representatives of the dif¬ ferent sections met at Canton in November 1921, to modify the original program so as to secure better social results in pre-vocational and voca¬ tional training. 281 282 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE China’s educational task is fascinating and inspiring. The program is filled with tremen¬ dous possibilities for China and for the other nations. Germany’s exhibition of the possibili¬ ties in a scientific national education is very significant. Japan’s achievements within a period of fifty years give a basis for estimating China’s probable achievements during this cen¬ tury. China has thrown the wealth of her own classic civilization into the melting pot, together with the best and the worst of Western civiliza¬ tions. She has shown a wonderful faith in the final survival of that which is true. China’s willingness to sacrifice, if need be, all her best intellectual and social achievements for vital truth, furnishes an example for Western nations that is worthy of more than passing attention. The history of the human race has some wonder¬ ful spectacles in the merging of great civiliza¬ tions of the past, but not one equals China’s educational venture, in the contrasting extremes of intellectual, social, and economic achievement, in the complexity of material and spiritual forces, and in the magnitude of territory and popula¬ tion involved. In terms of ordinary public school administra¬ tion, conservative estimates, on the basis of the educational reports of Western nations, give figures that are not easily grasped in their full NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 283 significance. There is a school population be¬ tween the ages of five and twenty of 100,000,000 approximately—almost equal to the entire popu¬ lation of the United States—and only 5,000,000 are now enrolled; of the total enrollment, only 200,000 are girls. With the generous average of forty pupils to the teacher, 2,500,000 teachers are needed; China has only 300,000, with 30,000 in normal training schools. 150,000 schools are now providing for 5,000,000 pupils; on this basis 3,750,000 schools are needed. The United States spends approximately thirty-five dollars a year for each pupil. Japan spends about ten yen a year for each pupil. China has been spending about ten Mexican dollars a year for each en¬ rolled pupil which calls for an annual expendi¬ ture of |1,000,000,000 (Mexican) for education. With a school population of 33,000,000 and only 21,000,000 enrolled, the United States is suffering from over-crowded schools; the tax-payers com¬ plain of the new demands for increased expendi¬ tures for education. In the face of political con¬ fusion, limited funds, the opposition of the tra¬ ditionalists and other discouragements the edu¬ cational leaders of China are to be commended for their faith and courage. The particular educational problems that fall within the range of China’s task are intensely interesting and stimulating to the imagination. 284 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE The outstanding problem is that of working out a system of education that will function effec¬ tively in the social process of changing from an autocracy to'a democracy. Only an educational system that is thoroughly socialized in subject matter, methods of teaching, and method of ad¬ ministration will meet the need. Out of this main problem there arise a host of problems of vital importance. China will need to continue sending educa¬ tional experts to study at first hand education in other countries. China took over Japanese adaptation of Western education with consider¬ able success, when their international relations were more cordial than they are at present. This short cut is unsatisfactory for two important reasons. Japan is still an autocracy and differs radically from China in its educational needs. Features that are adapted from the Western na¬ tions are liable to be out of date by the time they get to China. A Chinese teacher of education, trained in a Japanese normal school fifteen years ago, emphasizes an Herbartian philosophy and misses the present social emphasis. There is an increasing number of young men who have specialized in modern scientific education and are qualified to make the Chinese adaptation from Japan and the West. The training of teachers comes next in order NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 28 5 of importance. Japan’s high standard for all teachers furnishes a good example. China has made a promising start with the lower and higher normal schools and the new Teachers’ College at Nanking. It is not easy to train teachers along the lines of social and scientific education in an atmosphere that is so strongly classic. The best methods become wooden and ineffective w r hen they are introduced as a compromise be¬ tween the classic and social types of education. Eternal vigilance will be the price of China’s educational liberty. A wholesome professional spirit, a pride in the achievement of satisfactory results, a real joy in the service they are ren¬ dering to their own country and people, will greatly increase the effectiveness of the govern¬ ment education. The traditional requirement of high moral character in the teacher should prove an asset in the training of teachers. The problem of correlating the interests and activities of the schools and the communities is of vital interest to the Chinese. Out of this grow the questions of correlating the elementary and secondary schools, pre-vocational and voca¬ tional training, co-operation between the schools and the community activities so as to avoid rivalry and secure mutual benefit, night schools for adults, reading clubs and lectures. The proposed balance between a national or 286 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE centralized system, and decentralized or pro¬ vincial systems, will constitute a delicate but important problem to be worked out. Local initiative and enthusiastic support are essential to the success of this great undertaking. Much freedom must be given local administrators. Economy and the rapid working out of the na¬ tional program require an effective central or¬ ganization. Germany and the United States illustrate these two extremes of policy in ad¬ ministration of national education; there is room in both for improvement, China will do well to choose a middle ground in her administrative policy. The large extent of territory and diverse local interests will tend toward decentralization. Old traditions and habits will favor centraliza¬ tion. The people should get away from the habit of looking to a few rich men or the provincial and national treasuries for funds. They should come to feel that the schools are their own and that the support of these schools is a privilege and responsibility, not a burden. China is not yet so far removed from autocracy that the liberty of the masses will be entirely safe with a stand¬ ardized system of national culture. European education offers no attractive examples for the young Chinese republic though they furnish some valuable suggestions. Popular education depends on a considerable NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 287 modification of the written and spoken language. The present language of literature and philos¬ ophy for the few must become more flexible, more exact, and more easily acquired. The new pho¬ netic system is only a beginning but is an en¬ couraging step in advance. The experience of Western nations in the recognition and develop¬ ment of the vernacular as a legitimate field of education should be useful to China now. China need not experiment with successive emphasis on subject matter, method, teacher, and, finally, on the pupil, as has been done in the West. A suitable balance between these factors in education is sought in her present program but there are serious difficulties. After the long period of socialization that has submerged the individual, it will not be easy to keep the needs of the pupil in proper perspective. Tradition¬ ally, the teacher has held a position of great importance as compared with method or pupil. There is a mass of subject matter demanding attention. A satisfactory adjustment of em¬ phasis between these elements of the educative process will prove to be a complex problem. Scientific education has found the earlier methods of measuring mental achievement quite unsatisfactory. China, in 1905, discarded the old examination methods and substituted the West¬ ern methods. The need of more accurate methods 288 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE of measurement lias still been apparent. Ex¬ periment with and adaptation of the intelligence and educational standard measurements that have been developed in the West, have been use¬ ful. It is evident, however, that the intelligence standards will need to be based on Chinese ma¬ terial and contain more objective tests than have been used in Western research. The educational tests involve some problems that are not covered by the popular Western standards. In this greatest national program of educa¬ tion in the history of the human race, Christian education has an opportunity to take an impor¬ tant part. It will probably never enroll annually more than five per cent, of the student popula¬ tion. It will provide only a small number of the two and one-half million teachers needed. It will supply a small share of the billion dollar annual budget. These facts will not seriously affect the influence of Christian education if its contribution is properly adapted to the needs of the Chinese and is of the best quality. To dis¬ cover and vitalize the Chinese intellectual and social resources, to offer such social experiences from the West as may be useful, to help adjust the growing national consciousness to the re¬ quirements and possibilities of a new era in in¬ ternational relations, this is the part that Chris- NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 289 tian education may have in China's educational program. The majority of the Christian schools in China are supported by American societies. American ideals and standards will strongly influence the character of Christian education. It is fortunate that this influence comes from a people that has already experimented with democracy on a large scale and with sufficient success to give faith in the principle, in spite of evident weaknesses. It is surprising that American schools have so strongly emphasized class education, without seeing its social, economic and moral bearing. It is encouraging that the mistake has been recog¬ nized and that effort is being made to correct it in America and in China. Missionaries who expect to go into educational work should have at least one year of special work in educational theory and practice in a teachers' college of recognized standing before go¬ ing to the field. Two years should be given, if pre¬ vious under-graduate study has not included some introduction to modern educational problems. Missionaries who are engaged in educational work need to have access to the periodicals and the latest books on education. The Chinese are more or less pointedly suggesting that Christian teachers and administrators use their furlough 290 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE time to become familiar with the latest and best in educational changes in the West. An in¬ creasing number of returned Chinese students are more familiar with the trend of modern scientific education in the United States than are many Americans in charge of Christian schools. If such young Chinese are to be happy and useful in Christian education, the mission¬ ary educationists must become possessors of the same general ideas. Pointing to the deplorably low percentage of trained teachers in the United States will not save the situation in China. Japan claims a much higher percentage of trained teachers than does the United States and insists on more years of training. Not only is there urgent need for better trained missionary teachers but there is great need of a Christian teachers’ college, for research and ex¬ periment in the whole field of education and for training Chinese teachers in their own en¬ vironment. Emphasis on socialized types of edu¬ cation requires constant study of the changing social conditions. A school for research in social science should be closely connected with the school of educational research and experiment. These two institutions will be of real value to China in proportion as they co-operate closely with similar work conducted by the government. Normal schools or normal departments may be NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 291 needed in some important centers but they should be correlated with the main college of education. In some localities, there is already a consider¬ able degree of co-operation between Chinese and missionary educational leaders. This might be made more effective by the organization of a society for educational research among Chris¬ tian educationists, to co-operate with the Chi¬ nese organizations. Individual and local re¬ search will need to be encouraged in order to establish necessary extension work outside of the teachers’ college and normal schools. This kind of work will introduce many pertinent and interesting problems in education that are now overlooked. Mission schools should be specially useful for research in the teaching of English and in formulating standards and in recommend¬ ing special methods and devices. Some good beginnings have been made. A model system of education, complete from kindergarten up through higher and some phases of technical education, limited but effective in its full capacity, serving as an ideal and an object lesson, will save Christian education from competing with the government system and will make it possible for the Christian system, even¬ tually, to merge into China’s great educational system. In the field of religious education mission 292 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE schools have a unique opportunity. The Chinese will not lose sight of the importance of teaching practical ethics. Their present methods have something to commend them, but, like all text¬ book and lecture methods of teaching morals they fail to motivate conduct and actually to form correct habits of behavior. Chinese education will surely note the result of these methods and the growing consciousness, in the United States, at least, that religion has an important place in national education, even if that place is not yet clearly defined. They recognize the importance of the principle of religious liberty and they may find it difficult to correlate religion with popular education. Christian education may work out a well-rounded, practical religious training that will win the appreciation and the confidence of the Chinese people. The psychological, peda¬ gogical and social principles underlying re¬ ligious and general education are identical. Religion is, or should be, a vital factor in every experience of life. It works according to definite laws of mental reaction. Many of these laws are known to educational and social psy¬ chology. The application of these laws in the selection and presentation of the subject matter will greatly improve the present religious in¬ struction in mission schools. In this connection, Christianity has its greatest opportunity to NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 293 demonstrate its value as a purifying and vitaliz¬ ing social force. The more closely this work is related to the general training of teachers, the more effective it will be. The situation in Chris¬ tian schools in China, at present, differs from public schools in the West, since all the teachers are more or less responsible for religious instruc¬ tion in the mission schools. The present staff and equipment of Christian schools, perhaps without a single exception, are inadequate to carry on the quality of work that the Chinese are seeking. They are providing this quality themselves as rapidly as can be ex¬ pected with the unsettled political and economic conditions, but they have only made a beginning on their tremendous task of popular education for the nation. Just what method the various denominations will adopt to save Christian education in China remains to be seen. The practical solution in the face of financial inability is more effective co¬ operation among denominations and with the Chinese. The great opportunity for mission schools will soon be lost, unless some strenuous and effective measures are taken in the admin¬ istration of Christian education. If the neces¬ sary changes are made in its aim and method of administration, Christian education doubtless still has before it a long period of usefulness. CHAPTER XVI china’s distinctive contributions to racial DEVELOPMENT The most effective ideal that Christianity has to hold before the world in its new relations is the ideal of a perfect human society, conscious of its vital connection with all the spiritual forces of the universe—the Kingdom of God on the earth. In and through this perfect society, the individual may become perfect, as his Heavenly Father is perfect, in whatever meaning Jesus gave that exhortation or promise. The function of religion is to present this ideal and furnish this inspiration. There are two elements that will enable the world to meet successfully the changing needs of this new era of human relationships: First, the personality of Jesus expressed in a social Christianity; and second, the developing altru¬ istic or social instinct expressed in a social edu¬ cation. The altruistic instinct as a motive force in Christian activity was discussed particularly from the standpoint of the educator and the mis- 294 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 295 sionary, but it has also been made clear that probably the time has come when the altruistic or social instinct of the Chinese is to be the motive force in Christian education in China. The function, criteria, and characteristics of the educational aim, together with the compara¬ tive study of dominant educational ideals, have been discussed and they constitute the underly¬ ing principles of education. They were consid¬ ered in their general bearing and in their special relation to China. The comprehensive, if not thorough, study of the various needs of Chinese life, and the attempt to discover how far Christian education is meet¬ ing those needs, is the basis for estimating the real values for which the world is seeking as never before. The moral and religious needs con¬ stitute the climax, and we believe that we found the supreme and chief value in the personality of Jesus Christ and of those to whom he gave the power and privilege to become the sons of God. The value becomes effective through social contacts of natural human life. These studies of Christian education and its problems in China are a part of the great and eternal problem of human society which is the perfect adjustment between the individual and society, and between both of these human fac¬ tors and the divine spiritual force which lies 296 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE behind and controls all phenomena. The nature and permanence of this adjustment depend on moral and religious sanctions. The human means of effecting this adjustment is education; the divine means is the growth of the human instincts in their reaction, according to natural laws, to their material, social, and spiritual environment. The function of education is to utilize the racial inheritance of instinctive and acquired character¬ istics so as to produce the most helpful and pro¬ gressive variants in individual and social phe¬ nomena. This is accomplished according to natural, definite, and increasingly w T ell-known laws of individual and social development, and not by violation, defiance, or supervention of these laws. Education is coming to be the chief means of social control, not as a force from with¬ out, but as self-control from within. What will the Chinese contribute to the attain¬ ment of this goal of racial progress? There are two psychological factors that seem to be present in Chinese racial development which are fraught with great possibilities for the future of human society. These cannot be assumed with dog¬ matic assurance but they are worth reckoning with in a long, forward look for Christian edu¬ cation in China. First, the present emphasis on prolonging the period of childhood and youth, and allowing NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 297 growth during these periods to take as nearly a natural course as possible for the sake of the highest development of the individual, suggests a principle that may be expected to work in races and nations. Germany furnishes an example of the unnatural forcing of the laws of individual and racial development with moral and religious arrest as the result. China has been slow in her development, has lived close to the natural, in¬ stinctive life; she may prove to have developed powers that will eventually enable her to surpass the more precocious, but perhaps over-developed West, as is often the case in individuals. This may appear in different phases of future national development. As already pointed out, the Jap¬ anese have taken some Western inventions and surpassed the West in the technique of use. China may surpass in the application of the social principles of Jesus, as shown by the state¬ ments of Chinese leaders in the National Chinese Christian Conference held at Shanghai, in May, 1922. The Chinese openly decline to accept Western theology and denominational distinc¬ tions, express their preference for the social in¬ terpretation of Christianity, and are conscious that they have a national contribution to make to the common cause of humanity. The second factor that is of particular con¬ cern to Christian education appears in the 298 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE process of socializing the individual. That this process has been carried to a degree in the East which has almost submerged the individual can¬ not be questioned. This need not be regarded as a loss. On the contrary, from the standpoint of ordinary human nature, it will be easier to de¬ velop the socialized individual to his highest de¬ gree of development and fitness for the Kingdom of God, than it will be to curb the highly in¬ dividualized personality and bring it to subordi¬ nate self-interest to the welfare of the commun¬ ity. Concrete cases of the latter adjustment are familiar to the most casual observer of human nature. It seems to be a remarkable revelation of God’s plan for the redemption of the race and the es¬ tablishment of His Kingdom, that the world should be drawn into closer international con¬ tacts, just as the East has come to see the value of the individual, and just as the West begins to recognize its social obligations and possibili¬ ties. It is a movement of those spiritual forces that man has recognized but dimly, sometimes fought against, and worked with at other times, which gives foundation for a new and more pro¬ found faith in God and in Jesus Christ. The time has come when intelligence, foresight, and social instincts, are ready to be used in co-opera¬ tion with God, through education, for the more NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 299 rapid progress toward the divine goal of the human race. The goal must still be achieved by slow, natural growth, perhaps for centuries, but it will be a great gain for humanity to realize, as Jesus did, the possibility of being fellow-workers with God. The attainment of the goal depends, not on acquiring knowledge, primarily, but on building up right mental attitudes. Education is the process of building up, through selected experience, those mental attitudes which have this survival value. Important as is the function of education, the function of religion is equally important. Re¬ ligion supplies that factor in mental attitude by which the race orients itself to the spiritual forces of the universe. Religion has been the chief means of social control, but seems to be giving place to education in the present trend of social development. It is apparent, in the West and in the East, that old religious sanctions are losing their power. It is equally evident that man is not losing his instinctive desire to find God, es¬ tablish right relations and hold communion with Him. An increasing amount of education is carried on apart from direct religious control; education under the control of religion has been unsatisfactory, though not without beneficial results. Religion, then, finds its proper function in furnishing the orientation, idealism, and in- \ 300 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE spiration that will prevent education from becom¬ ing narrow, materialistic and self-sufficient. Both religion and education are coming to realize the fact that progress comes by the fullest development of the individual in harmony with his entire environment, and that the attempt to standardize the spiritual and mental processes and results is as senseless, cruel and fatal as was the practice of Procrustes. In this conception of religion and education, lies the adjustment be¬ tween the individual and society that will enable both to reach the goal of perfection which Jesus attained, revealed and set forth as a challenge to all mankind. The human race is only just rising rough- molded by the Divine Spirit from the dust of the earth. The physical form may or may not as yet be perfected; the spiritual creation will not be complete until the race reaches the divine perfection revealed in and by the Son of God. Ye therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 3 01 Jesus, as he sat by the sea, told his disciples that it was given to them to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but that the mass of the people did not understand. He said also, “Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see these things which ye see and have not seen them.” The two parables that followed indicate that he thought of the Kingdom as a growth under natural conditions. This century seems much nearer realizing the object of prophetic longing, the mysteries of the Kingdom, than were those disciples ; it may not see the full attainment of the perfect divine-human society, but that goal is so plainly in view now that it is evident to increasing thousands in a world where, hitherto, it has been discerned by but few and seen with clearness by but one, Jesus of Nazareth. In the clearness of his discernment and in his person¬ ality, life, and death, is the redemption of human society and the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. BIBLIOGRAPHY Missions Gustav Warneck, “History of Protestant Missions” (1901). John P. Jones, “The Modern Missionary Challenge” (1910). Bernard Lucas, “Our Task in India” (1914). E. W. Capen, “Sociological Progress in Mission Lands” (1914). W. H. P. Faunce, “Social Aspects of Foreign Missions” (1914). W. A. Brown, “Modern Missions in the Far East” (1917). Vilhjalmur Stefansson, “Harper’s Monthly Maga¬ zine” (1916), pp. 672-682. “Reports of Student Volunteer Conventions,” 1898- 1914. “China Mission Handbook,” 1896. “A Century of Missions in China,” report of the Cen¬ tenary Conference 1907, edited by D. MacGillavray. “International Review of Missions,” 1915-1917. William Carey, “An Enquiry Into Obligations of Christians”; “Form of Agreement at Serampore”; “Hints Relative to Native Schools.” Eustace Carey, “Memoir of Wm. Carey.” W. R. Lambuth, “Winning the World for Christ” (1915). Johannes L. Warneck, “The Living Forces of the Gospel” (1909). 302 NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 303 James S. Dennis, “Christian Missions and Social Progress.” Alfred E. Garvie, “The Missionary Obligation and Modern Thought” (1914). Robert Speer, “Missions and Modern History” (1904). “The World-Call to Men of Today,” edited addresses to Men’s Missionary Conference, Philadelphia, 1908. World Outlook, 1915-1917. China James Legge, “Translations of the Chinese Classics”; “Keligions of China.” Edward Biot, “Le Tschou-li” (1841). Ernst Faber, “Doctrines of Confucius”; “Die Grund- gedanken des alten chinesischen Socialismus oder die Lehre des Philosophen Micius” (1877). Evan Morgan, “Wenli Styles and Chinese Ideals” (1912). H. F. Rudd, “Chinese Moral Sentiments” (1914). Friedrich Hirth, “The Ancient History of China” (1911). F. L. H. Pott, “A Sketch of Chinese History” (1908). S. W. Bushell, “Chinese Art” (1910), 2 Yols. H. A. Giles, “Confucianism and Its Rivals” (1914); “The Civilization of China” (1911). Yan Phou Lee, “When I Was a Boy in China” (1887). I. T. Headland, “The Chinese Boy and Girl”; “Home Life in China” (1915). S. Wells Williams, “Middle Kingdom,” 2 Yols. Rowland R. Gibson, “Forces Mining and Under¬ mining China” (1914). J. F. Abbott, “Japanese Expansion and American Poli¬ cies” (1915). L. N. Tschou, “La Reforme en Chine” (1915). 304, CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE J. J. M. DeGroot, “The Eeligion of the Chinese” (1910). W. Gilbert Walshe, “Ways That are Dark.” Eichard’s Comprehensive Geography of the Chinese Empire (1905). Lewis Hodous, “The Chinese God of the Hearth,” American Journal of Eeligious Psychology and Education, Vol. Y, pp. 435-444. Berthold Laufer, “The Development of Ancestral Images in China,” American Journal of Eeligious Psychology and Education, Yol. YI, pp. 111-123 (1913). James Legge, “Christianity and Confucianism in Their Teaching of the Whole Duty of Man” (1895). James W. Bashford, “China: An Interpretation” (1916). E. A. Eoss, “Changing Chinese” (1911). Paul S. Eeinsch, “Intellectual and Political Currents in the Far East” (1911). Lord W. Gascoyne-Cecil, “Changing China” (1911). E. H. Parker, “Studies in Chinese Eeligion” (1910). Encyclopedia Britannica, article on China. The China Year Book, 1914. The China Mission Year Books, 1911-1916, 6 Yols. The Chinese Eecorder, 1915-1917. The China Educational Eeview, 1915-1917. Wilhelm Grube, “Eeligion and Kultus der Chinesen” (1910); “Die Chinesische Literatur” (1906); “Die Chinesische Philosophie” (1909). W. F. Mayers, “The Chinese Eeader’s Manual” (1874). Education John Dewey, “Democracy and Education” (1915); “Schools of Tomorrow” (1915); “The School and Society” (1900). NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA SO5 E. A. Kirkpatrick, “Fundamentals of Sociology” (1916); “Fundamentals of Child Study” (1903). E. P. St. John, “Child Nature and Child Nurture” (1911) ; “Stories and Story Telling” (1910). Paul Monroe, “History of Education” (1908). F. P. Graves, “History of Education” (1915). W. E. Chancellor, “Motives, Ideals and Values in Education” (1907). P. Sandieord, “The Mental and Physical Life of Children” (1913). W. C. Bagley, “The Educative Process” (1905). C. A. and F. M. McMurray, “The Method of the Kecitation” (1897). A. D. Weeks, “The Education of Tomorrow” (1913). David Snedden, “Problems of Secondary Education” (1917). W. F. Russell, “Economy in Secondary Education” (1916). L. M. Terman, “The Measurement of Intelligence” (1916). Binet, A., et. Simon, Th., “La Mesure du developpe- ment de Tintelligence chez les jeunes enfants” (1911). Yerkes-Bridges, “A Point Scale for Measuring Mental Ability” (1915). H. S. Curtis, “Education Through Play” (1915). R. H. Edwards, “Popular Amusements” (1915). G. E. Partridge, “Genetic Philosophy of Education” (1912). E. L. Thorndike, “The Psychology of Learning” (1913). Irving E. •Miller, “The Psychology of Thinking” (1909). Irving King, “The Psychology of Child Development” (1907). James Sully, “Studies in Childhood” (1895). 306 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE Hiram M. Stanley, “Evolution of the Psychology of Feeling” (1805). Religion E. S. Ames, “The Psychology of Religious Experience” (1910). G. M. Stratton, “The Psychology of the Religious Life” (1911). J. H. Leuba. “A Psychological Study of Religion” (1912). G. A. Coe, “The Psychology of Religion” (1916); “Education in Religion and Morals” (1904). George E. Dawson, “The Child and His Religion” (1909); “Study of the Religious Consciousness,” American Journal of Psychology and Education, Vol. YI, pp. 50-58. F. M. Davenport, “Primitive Traits in Religious Re¬ vivals” (1905). D. G. Brinton, “Religions of Primitive People” (1897). W. E. Hocking, “The Meaning of God in Human Experience” (1912). Durant Drake, “Problems of Religion” (1916). Charles F. Kent, “The Social Teachings of the Prophets and Jesus” (1917). Jean Du Buy, “Stages of Religious Development,” American Journal of Religious Psychology and Education, Vol. L, pp. 7-29 (1905). Carl Clemen, “Primitive Christianity and Its Non- Jewish Sources” (1908). G. Stanley Hall, “Jesus, The Christ, In the Light of Psychology” (1917). Gerald Leighton, “Scientific Christianity” (1910). NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 307 General H. E. Walter, “Genetics” (1913). J. M. Taylor, “Man in the Light of Evolution” (1908). A. Sutherland, “Origin and Development of Moral Instincts,” 2 Yols. (1898). Henri Bergson, “Creative Evolution” (1911). Donald C. MacFie, “Heredity, Evolution and Vi¬ talism”' (1912). E. L. Heermance, “The Unfolding Universe” (1915). Irving Fisher and E. L. Fisk, “How to Live” (1915). J. Dorsey Forrest, “The Development of Western Civilization” (1907). Carl Kelsey, “The Physical Basis of Life” (1916). W. H. Thomson, “What is Physical Life?” (1909). Bichard T. Ely, “The Evolution of Industrial Soci¬ ety” (1903). E. W. Burgess, “The Function of Socialization in Social Evolution” (1916). C. B. Henderson, “Social Programme in the West” (1913). E. A. Boss, “Social Control” (1901) ; “Sin and So¬ ciety” (1907); “Changing America” (1908). C. A. Ellwood, “The Social Problem” (1915). Albion W. Small, “General Sociology” (1905). Dealey and Ward, “Textbook of Sociology” (1905). E. B. A. Seligman, “Principles of Economics” (1914). Frank A. Fetter, “Economic Principles” (1915). George E. Dawson, “The Bight of the Child to be Well Born” (1912). G. W. Hunter, “A Civic Biology” (1914). Havelock Ellis, “Essays in War Time” (1917). H. G. Wells, “Italy, France and Britain at War” (1917). 308 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE Shailer Mathews, “The Spiritual Interpretation of History” (1916). Addenda Publications that have appeared since this manu¬ script was prepared: The Report of the China Educational Commission which visited China in 1921-1922, Title: “Chris¬ tian Education in China,” published by the For¬ eign Missions Conference of North America, 1922. “The Analysis of Christian Propaganda in Race-Con¬ tact,” by Maurice T. Price; examined in manu¬ script form. Deals with individual and group behaviour reactions of non-Christian peoples to the Protestant missionary enterprise; a significant study bearing on the problem of adjustment be¬ tween growing national and international con¬ sciousness, and the motives of Christian missions. “West and East,” E. C. Moore, Scribner’s, 1922. For the study of the motives and results of Christen¬ dom in contact with non-Christian nations. The official records of the National Christian Confer¬ ence, Shanghai, China, May, 1922; Mission Book Company, Shanghai. Shows Chinese reaction to Christian missions and the rapid development of tendencies pointed out in this study of conditions in China. REFERENCES 1. Dewey, “Democracy and Education” (1916), p. 117. 2. Dewey, ibid., p. 118. 3. Report of the China Continuation Committee (1914), pp. 20, 33, 34. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 309 4. China Mission Year Book (1916), p. 392. 5. Chinese Recorder, September (1916), p. 585. 6. China Mission Year Book (1916), p. 291; also p. 292. 7. China Mission Year Book (1915), p. 384, quoting Professor Michael Sadler. 8. See Coe, “Education in Religion and Morals,” Ch. VI, pp. 85, 86. 9. Centenary Conference Report (1907), p. 59. 10. W. A. Brown, “Modern Missions in the Far East,” pp. 31, 32, 33. 11. Brown, ibid., p. 33. 12. Dewey, “Democracy and Education,” p. 119. 13. It is worth while noting, here, that British and Continental educators assign Professor Dewey first place among those engaged in the recon¬ struction of American educational ideals. See China Educational Review, October, 1916, p. 354. 14. Chinese Recorder, September (1916), p. 586; also China Mission Year Book, in a Committee Re¬ port, p. 291. 15. Graves, “History of Education,” Yol. I, p. 63. 16. The Trimetrical Classics; Translations, see “China, an Interpretation,” James W. Bashford, p. 534. 17. Dewey, “Democracy and Education,” p. 134. 18. Dewey, ibid., p. 141. 19. T. H. P. Sailer, “China Educational Review,” October (1916), p. 361. 20. Hatch, “The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages Upon the Christian Church,” pp. 43, 44. Quoted by Dewey, “Democracy and Education,” p. 326. 21. Monroe, “Brief Course in the History of Educa¬ tion,” pp. 28, 29. 22. Monroe, ibid., p. 53. 310 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE 23. Monroe, “Brief Course in the History of Educa¬ tion/’ p. 53. 24. Hatch, “The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages Upon the Christian Church/’ pp. 43, 44. Quoted by Dewey, “Democracy and Education,” p. 326. 25. Hatch, ibid., p. 326. 26. Monroe, “Brief Course in the History of Educa¬ tion,” p. 68. 27. Monroe, ibid., p. 130. 28. Monroe, ibid., p. 160. 29. Ellwood, “The Social Problem,” pp. 65-6. 30. Wells, “Italy, France, and Britain at War,” p. 216. 31. Monroe, “Brief Course in the History of Edu¬ cation,” p. 78. 32. Dewey, “Schools of Tomorrow,” particularly Chapter IV. See Dewey, “The School and So¬ ciety” : Coe, “Education in Religion and Morals,” pp. 124-127. 33. Weeks, “The Education of Tomorrow,” p. 211. 34. Dewey, “Schools of Tomorrow,” pp. 57, 58, 86. 35. China Educational Review, April, 1916, pp. 104, 105. 36. Weeks, “The Education of Tomorrow,” p. 205. 37. China Educational Review, July, 1916. 38. Suggested by Weeks, “The Education of To¬ morrow,” pp. 213-4. 39. Chinese Recorder, February, 1917, p. 100. 40. Chu Tzu, “On the Method of Study,” translated by Evan Morgan, “Wenli Styles and Chinese Ideals,” p. 178. 41. Instructions of Master Chu, posted in the Pei Lu Tung College, preface by Hung Mao: Transla¬ tion by Evan Morgan, “Wenli Styles and Chi¬ nese Ideals,” p. 198. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 311 42. Instructions of Master Chu, op. cit. p. 170. 43. Chu Tzu, “Introduction to the Great Learning,” p. 144. 44. Chu Tzu, ibid p. 148. 45. Chu Tzu, “What Children Ought to Know,” Translation by Evan Morgan, ibid., p. 150-163. 46. Hung Mou, Preface to above, p. 142. 47. Chu Tzu, “Introduction to the Great Learning,” Translation, Evan Morgan, p. 142. 48. Chu Tzu, ibid., p. 146. 49. Chu Tzu, ibid., p. 146. 50. Hung Mao, Preface to “Instructions of Master Chu” posted in the White Deer Grotto College (1130-1200 A.D.), Translated by Evan Morgan, p. 168. 51. Chu Tzu, “Instructions to Students in the White Deer Grotto College,” Translated by Evan Mor¬ gan, p. 170. 52. Hung Mao, Preface to “Advice to Students” in Tsang Chow University by Chu Tzu; Transla¬ tion by Evan Morgan, p. 164. 53. Chu Tzu, “Instructions to Students in the White Deer Grotto College,” Translation by Evan Mor¬ gan, p. 172. 54. The Emperor Kang Hsi (1662-1723), “Foster Schools in Order to Promote Education”; Trans¬ lation by Evan Morgan, p. 210. 55. Chu Tzu, “Instructions to the Students of White Deer Grotto College,” Translation by Evan Mor¬ gan, p. 172. 56. “Maxims of the Pattern of Youth,” Translation by Evan Morgan, p. 200. 57. Ernst Faber, “Digest of Doctrines of Confucius,” p. 69. 58. Faber, ibid., p. 36. 312 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE 59. Confucius, “Doctrine of the Mean,” XXV, 3; for comparison in translation see Faber, p. 47, and Legge, Vol. I, p. 283. 60. Confucius, Analects, XIY, 45; Translation by Faber, p. 72. 61. Confucius, “Great Learning,” classical text of Confucius, 6; Legge, I, 223. 62. Confucius, ibid.. Ill, 4; Translation by Legge, I, p. 227. 63. Liang Ch’i Cii’iao, “The Aims of the Modern Hunan School”; Translation by Evan Morgan, p. 214. 64. National Herald (Pekin, China); quoted by Reinsch, “Intellectual and Political Currents in the Far East,” p. 202. 65. Dr. Fong F. Sec, China Educational Review, January, 1917, pp. 63-65. 66. Dr. Fong F. Sec, ibid., p. 65. 67. China Educational Review, April, 1916. 68. T. H. P. Sailer, China Educational Review, April, 1915, p. 155. 69. Dewey, “Democracy and Education,” p. 328. 70. Kirkpatrick, “Fundamentals of Sociology,” p. 19. 71. The suggestions for this grouping are derived from unpublished lectures of Professor G. E. Dawson, in “Racial Psychology.” 72. Analects, YI, 28; Compare translation by Legge with Faber, “Doctrines of Confucius,” p. 43. 73. “Doctrine of the Mean,” XIII, cf. ibid., X; Translation by Faber, p. 43. 74. Kirkpatrick, “Fundamentals of Sociology,” p. 38. 75. For fuller discussion of English conditions, see Burgess, “The Function of Socialization in Social Evolution,” pp. 137-174; also Porthero, in “Social England,” V, 99-105, from which Burgess quotes. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA SIS 76. Burgess, ibid., p. 130; quotes from Cunningham, Symes, Adam Smith. 77. Ross, “Changing Chinese,” pp. 119, 312. 78. Ross, ibid., p. 117. 79. Bashford, “China: An Interpretation,” p. 49. 80. Bashford, ibid., pp. 83-85. 81. Bashford, ibid., p. 78. 82. Bashford, ibid., p. 86. 83. Reinsch, “Intellectual and Political Currents in the Far East,” pp. 6-11. 84. Ely, “Evolution of Industrial Society,” p. 315. 85* Wagner, quoted by Ely, ibid., p. 320. 86. Ely, op. cit., p. 322. 87. Ely, op. cit., p. 89. 88. Ely, ibid,, p. 98. 89. China Mission Year Book, 1916, p. 276 et seq. 90. Tao-no-Hikari, January (1915). See also the “Japanese Evangelist” discussions. 91. Ely, “Evolution of Industrial Society,” pp. 69- 70; Elwood, “The Social Problem,” pp. 146- 152. 92. Ross, “Sin and Society,” preface. 93. Kirkpatrick, “Fundamentals of Sociology,” pp. 65, 66, 76. 94. Edwards, “Popular Amusements,” p. 164. 95. China Educational Review, July, 1915. 96. China Educational Review, October, 1916. 97. Curtis, “Education through Play,” p. 15. 98. Rauschenbusch, “Christianizing the Social Order,” p. 249; quoted by Edwards, “Popular Amusements,” p. 21. 99. Edwards, “Popular Amusements,” p. 23. 100. Edwards, ibid., pp. 135-144, particularly 140, 141. 101. Edwards, ibid., p. 143. 102. Edwards, ibid., p. 163. 103. Bushell, “Chinese Art,” Yol. I, pp. 15, 16. 314, CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND THE 104. Werner, E. T. C., “Descriptive Sociology of the Chinese,” p. 91, Col. 1. 105. Werner, ibid., Table YI, Cols. 3, 4. Quoted from Bashford, p. 126. 106. Capen, “Social Progress in Mission Lands,” p. 111 . 107. Dennis, J. S., ‘'Christian Missions and Social Progress,” Vol. I, p. 117; quoted by Capen, ibid., p. 113. 108. Capen, ibid., p. 113. 109. Kirkpatrick, “Fundamentals of Sociology,” p. 197. 110. Kirkpatrick, ibid., p. 196. 111. Capen, “Social Progress in Mission Lands,” p. 111 . 112. W. W. Peters, China Educational Review, April, 1915, p. 114. 113. XJong Gang Huo, China Educational Review, Jan¬ uary, 1917, pp. 14-17. 114. Kirkpatrick, ibid., pp. 256, 257. 115. Kirkpatrick, ibid., p. 101. 116. Faber, “Doctrines of Confucius,” p. 55. 117. Bashford, “China: An Interpretation,” pp. 93, 94. 118. Bashford, ibid., pp. 272, 273; quoted from Wer¬ ner, ibid., p. 95, Col. 1. 119. Bashford, ibid., p. 271; quoted from Medhurst, “China,” pp. 131, 132. 120. Bashford, ibid., pp. 275, 276. 121. Faber, “Doctrines of Confucius,” p. 22. 122. Faber, ibid., p. 55. 123. Bashford, “China: An Interpretation,” p. 176. 124. Bashford, ibid., pp. 188-190. 125. Bashford, ibid., pp. 190, 187. 126. Bashford, ibid., Ch. X. Cf. also articles by Frank Rawlinson in the Chinese Recorder, July, August, September, 1919. NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN CHINA 315 127. Bashford, “China: An Interpretation/’ p. 262. 128. Bashforjd, ibid ., p. 262. 129. Bashford, ibid ., p. 263. 130. Faber, “Doctrines of Confucius/’ p. 32. 131. Legge, “Religions of China/’ pp. 49, 50. 132. Legge, ibid ., pp. 49, 50. I INDEX Abundant Life, 43, 55, 90, 103, 127, 248, 270. Analects, 116. Ancestor-worship, 145, 241, 242, 251. Anti-Christian Movement, 128, 129, 130. Banks, 173, 174. Bashford, James W., 169, 172, 252, 258, 260, 265. Biological Factors, nutrition, assimilation, reproduc¬ tion, 140-147. Biology, 2, 18, 97. Bio-psychological, 138, 140, 251. Brown, W. A., 43, 44. Buddhism, 265, 266, 270. Burton, E. P., 38. Chang Ih Ling, 109. China Christian Educational Association, 38, 106. China Educational Commis¬ sion, 38, 130, 308. China, Life Needs—Biological, 140-147; psychological, 147-155; economic, 156- 197; protective, 198-204; recreational, 205-224; cultural, 225-232; social, 233-250; moral and reli¬ gious, 251-280; educa¬ tional, 281-293. Chinese—Adaptability, 169; amusements classified, 214-217; business reli¬ ability, 174, 175, 252, 253, 260; contributions to racial progress, 296- 298; cultural achieve- 317 ments, 225-229; gregari¬ ousness, 233-235; law, 200, 201, 202, 257, 258; moral standards, 251, 252, 256, 257 (homicide, 257; adultery, 258; stealing, false-witness, covetousness, 258; fra¬ ternal love, 260) ; play- instinct, 208, 209; physi¬ cal development, 210-212; socialization, 185, 186, 187; thrift and waste, 180, 181; sensory-motor type, 168. Chin Shih Huang, 226. Christian Mission—Motives, 17-26; compared, 21, 22; choice, 22; reasons for choice, 22-26. Chu Tzu, 109, 110, 111, 113, 115. Civilization, 252, 255, 258, 259, 261; cross-fertiliza¬ tion, 103; Eastern, 103, 104; Western, 103, 104. Colleges, 32, 190, 247. Community, 233-235, 244- 248. Comparative Education, 105. Competition, 79, 94, 184-189, 256. Concubinage, 235-238, 240, 260. Confucius — Superior Man, 116, 117, 118, 259; wom¬ an’s status, 236, 252; moral ideas, 259, 266; God, 265, 267; influence, 270. Co-operation, 58, 94, 131, 136, 184-189, 256. 318 INDEX Cultural, 225-232; activities classified, 225; brief sum¬ mary, 225-230; Christian education, 229-232; com¬ mercialization, 232; diffu¬ sion-media, 229, 232; moral significance, 232; needs defined, 225; relig¬ ious significance, 227; Western interpretations of, 227. Curriculum, 107, 108. Democracy of God defined, 14, 15, 16, 25, 29, 51, 59. Dewey, John, 28, 29, 45, 46, 49, 52, 54. Diminishing Returns, 143, 158. Divorce, 237, 238, 239, 240. Economic, 156-197. Needs defined , 157; Pro¬ duction, 158-170; agri¬ cultural, 158-161; min¬ eral, 161, 162; manufac¬ turing, 162, 163, 164; efficiency in, 164, 165, 166, 167; labor cost, 165, 166; non-producers, 167, 194; natural power, 162- 170; changes in condi¬ tion, 169; Distribution, 170-178; factors defined, 170; changes in and re¬ sults, 170, 171; educa¬ tion needed, 171, 172; railroads and religion, 173; banks, 173, 174; standardization, 175; ad¬ vertising, 175, 176; com¬ munity rights in private business, 177; Consump¬ tion, 178-184; needs de¬ fined, 178, 179; receptive and selective judgment, 179; public expenditures, 181; Adjustment, basis of, 184-189; Christian education and, 189-197. Education: General, meaning of, 299; aim, 28-30, 50-60, 131, 299; function, 296; ideals, 61-128 (esp. 61, 101), 155; factors—See “fac¬ tors” under Christian Education; Greek influ¬ ence in, 63, 73, 74; values, 132, 133* 134, 147, 155. Chinese, The Task —School population, 281, 283; teachers, 283; schools, 283; cost, 283; illiteracy, 109; Elements — Classi¬ cal, 108-118; social, 112- 114; Recent Changes , 119-128; basis of, 125; Special Problems —ad¬ justment to political change, 283, 284; expert adaptation from other nations, 284; teacher training, 285; correla¬ tion of schools and com¬ munities, 285; adminis¬ tration, 286; support, 286; language reform, 287; balance in educa¬ tional factors, 287; edu¬ cational measurements, 287, 288. Classical, The Ideal, 61-80; status, 61, 62, 77, 103; origin, 63-65; develop¬ ment, 66; characteristics, 67-73; curriculum, 67- 70; viewpoint, 70; aim, 71; method, 69; spirit, 71, 72; motive force, 72, 73; values, 76, 80; criti¬ cisms, 76-80; test of 168, 196. Greek, 63, 67, 73, 74, 77, 83, 84, 109. Social, The Ideal, 81-100; status, 81, 82, 97-100; origin, 82; development, INDEX 319 83-87; misuse, 83, 84; characteristics, 87-96; curriculum, 88-90; meth¬ od, 90-92; viewpoint, 92; aim, 92; spirit, 93; mo¬ tive force, 94, 95, 296; religious elements, 81- 85, 96, 99, 295, 296; criticism, 97, 98; social control by, 296. Christian , The , Task, 27, 130, 288, 293; Aims, 27- 60; indefinite and con¬ flicting, illustrations, rea¬ sons, 27-51; under inves¬ tigation and re-state¬ ment, 37-39, 45, 51, 123, 124; suggested lines of re-statement, 44-60; ba¬ sic principle, 42; func¬ tion, criteria, character¬ istics, 45-47; summar¬ ized, 49, 50; compared with government educa¬ tion, 50, 51, 118; social aim stated, 51,, 59; Elements — Classical, 61- 80 (for detail see Classi¬ cal Ideal) ; social, 81- 100 (for detail see Social Ideal) ; classical domi¬ nant, 105; motive force, 118, 119; Basal Factors —material and spiritual, 139, 154, 155, 197; bio- psycliological, 137, 138- 155 (for detail see Bio¬ logical and Psychologi¬ cal) ; economic, 156-197; protective, 198-204; rec¬ reational, 205-224; cul¬ tural, 225-232; social, 233-250; moral, 251-264; religious, 264-280; edu¬ cational, 281-295; Prob¬ lems — Primary: meet life needs, 132, 133, 134, 295, 300; Secondary: correlate national and interna¬ tional consciousness, 130; adjustment with Chinese education, 101-128; co¬ operation with Chinese, 290, 291; correlation with democratic move¬ ment, 125, 126, 284; class education, 121, 122; complexity, 102, 128; choice of subject-matter, 104, 105, 108, 126, 127; language, medium, 106; motive force, 118, 119; method, 34, 36; teacher training, 131, 289-291; research and experiment, 290, 291; religious edu¬ cation, 292, 293; Tests, Resdilts and Values — meeting life needs, 131, 132, 136, 137, 138, 153, 154, 155, 160, 166, 167, 170, 172, 178, 181, ISO- 197, 200, 203, 217, 221, 235, 236, 237, 244; Changes Needed — ideal, method, subject-matter, 101, 122, 130, 292, 293. Special Phases —industrial, 122, 146, 192; manual, 122, 192, 193; normal, 284, 285; pre-vocational, 281, 285; vocational, 281, 285. Edwards, R. H., 214. Elementary Schools—Curric¬ ula, 78, 104-108. Ely, R. T., 181, 184. Environment, 132, 139, 140, 146, 147, 148, 154. Evangelization vs. Prosely- tism, 40-44, 50. Faber, E., 252, 267. Family, 234-244; basis and unit, 235; development, 236, 237; determined by circumstances, 236; po¬ sition of women, 236; betrothal, 237; polyg¬ amy, 237; divorce, 238- 320 INDEX 241; morality of, 236; discipline in, 241; ances¬ tor worship, 241, 242. Filial Piety, 241, 242. Froebel, 87, 89, 93. Gamewell, F. D., 38. Gee, N. Gist, 210. Germany, 73, 96, 286, 297. Great Learning, 111, 116. Guilds, 244. Herbartian, 87, 220, 284. Heredity, 71, 140, 146. Honesty, 174, 175, 252, 260. Humanism, 77, 79. Hygiene and Sanitation, 243. Ideals, see “Classical” and “Social” under Educa¬ tion. India—Social unrest, 48, 195; sensory reflective, 195; subject-matter, 126. Individualism, 72-76, 110, 111, 116-118, 147. Individual Variation Recog¬ nized, 53, 56; Social cor¬ rective in China, 58. Industrialism—Basis of ad¬ justment, 184, 188; fruits of competitive, 188; change to imper¬ sonal, 200; and family life, 203, 236; and rec¬ reation, 210, 213, 214. Instincts—Altruistic, 94, 95, 96, 152, 154, 185; ego¬ istic instincts, 76, 95, 111, 117, 118, 185; grouped, 139, 140; re¬ productive, 145; play, 205-210; social, 233-250. Interdenominational, 36, 37, 293. Internationalism, 71, 151- 155, 185, 186, 187. I Yin, 117. Japan—High Schools, 196; cultural education, 231; family, 238; search for truth, 255; mastery of nature, 149, 297; influ¬ ence on Chinese educa¬ tion, 105, 119, 283, 284, 285; democratic move¬ ment, 29. Jesus—Attitude toward so¬ cial institutions, 10-16; the individual, 11, 74; social ideal, 81, 82; His gospel of an ideal world- society, see “Kingdom of God” and “Democracy”; His ideals and person¬ ality needed in China, 269-272, 294, 295, 301; principles and teachings, 10, 11, 81, 82, 92. Kingdom of God—Meaning, 6, 7; characteristics: origin of the idea, 8; scope, 9; principles, 10; method, 11; agency, 12; value, 13; task, 14; pres¬ ent interpretation of the phrase, 15, 51, 56, 57, 78, 81, 294, 301; realization of, 78, 99, 100, 204, 301; purposes, 51, 99, 134, 135, 154, 294; progressive 50, 59, 78, 135, 155, 294, 298; God and man co¬ operative, 53, 55, 135, 298; motive force 119, 294 295. Kirkpatrick, E. A.—157, 201, 229. Kulp, D. H., 212. Land Tenure, 159, 160. Lao-Tze, 265. Law of Diminishing Returns, 143, 158; Increasing public Expenditure, 182; INDEX 321 Chinese, 200, 218, 258; of variation, 53, 69. Lu-Tze, Emphasis on heart and life, 259. Machinery, farm, 159; tex¬ tile, 162; tools, 163, 164. Maguerye, M. R., 228, 231. Malthusian Law, 143. Marriage, 235-238. Mateer, C. W., 41. Mencius, Social Element in 115 262. Middle Schools, 120-123. Ming Dynasty, 268. Ministry of Education, 27, 109, 120. Mission Methods, intensive, 130; co-operative, 131, 293. Monasticism, 74. Monroe, Paul, 65. Moral Needs, Basis of, 251; fundamental, 295; ideals and achievements, 255; comparisons with West, 252-262; problem stated, 253; popular ignorance, 261; religious motives, 253, 254, 256, 260, 262. Mo-Ti, 260-262. Motion Pictures and recrea¬ tion, 215, 222; culture, 229, 232. Mysticism, 74. National China Christian Conference, 274, 297, 308. National Educational As¬ sociation, 122. Nationalism, Chinese, 129, 130; Japan, 130; India, 130. Naturalistic Movement, 87. Nietzsche, 79. Normal Schools, lower, 285, 291; higher, 285, 291; colleges, 285, 291. Parents’ Day, 242. Paton, L. B., 262. Pedagogy, 2, 97, 269, 292. Personality, of Jesus, 269, 270; human, 271. Pestalozzi, 87, 89. Philosophy, Static, 52, 132, 133, 136, 151; develop¬ mental, 52, 132, 136; monistic, 2; dualistic, 2; materialistic, 2, 52; spiritualistic, 2, 52. Protective, Earlier devices, 198; new devices needed, 199; government, 200; industry, 200, 201; crim¬ inals, 201, 202; housing, 202; dependents, 203; solution, 200; Christian education and, 201. Provincialism, 93. Psychological Factors, 147, 155; Mastery of nature, 149, 154; racial self-con¬ sciousness, 149, 150; phy¬ siocentric, 150; socia-cen- tric, 150; cosmo-centric, 151, 152; psychic forces, creative, 153, 154; racial, 154; contributions to race progress, 296-299. Psychology, 1, 2, 18, 97, 185, 277, 292, 296. Public Expenditures, 181; Laws of increasing, 182; various subjects, 183. Puritans, 161. Race-unity, 136, 137. Realism, 86. Recreation, Defined, 205; im¬ portance, 206, 210, 214, 292; activities, 208, 209; mentality and, 209; morals and religion, 210, 213-224; education, 220, 221; economic conditions and, 205, 213; classified, 214, 217; commercializa- 322 INDEX tion, 217, 218, 222; reg¬ ulation, 218, 219; public opinion and, 220. Reformation, 75, 85. Religion, Nature, 139, 153; value of, 3, 138. Religious Education, 292, 293. Renaissance, 75, 76, 77, 85, 136. Reports and Surveys, Educa¬ tion, 37, 38; middle schools, 123; elementary and middle schools, 38, 39, 189; industrial mis¬ sions, 191; medical, 243, 244. Rockefeller Foundation, 88. Roman Education, 66, 68, 74, 89. Ross, E. A., 165, 253. Rousseau, reaction against current classical educa¬ tion, 113. Russia, 93, 99, 275. Sailer, T. H. P., 38, 49, 59. Scholasticism, 75, 125. Sectarianism, 40. Self-Improvement Societies, 244. Social, Needs defined, 233; manifestations of social instinct, 234; Family , 234, 235; position of women, 236; betrothal, 237; marriage regula¬ tions, 235, 237, 238; comparison with West, 238, 239, 240, 244, 248, 249; Communities, 245, 246: morals and religion, 238-242, 247-250; Chris¬ tian education and, 236, 237, 239-244; 249; cen¬ ters, 247; commercial¬ ization of, 250. Social Control, 14, 56, 63, 237, 242, 276, 296, 299. Social Efficiency, 52, 56, 57, 59. Social Heredity, 140. Socialization, of the individ¬ ual, 297, 298. Social Realism, 64. Social Research, 224. Society, Problem of, 295, 299; adjustment of individual and society, 14, 298-300. Sociology, 1, 2, 18, 96, 190, 277, 292. Song Dynasty, 229. Statistics, Christian Schools, 27; industrial missions, 191; physical develop¬ ment, 211, 212. Superstition, 147. Tang Dynasty, 229. Taoism, 265, 270. Teacher Training, 34, 101; Normal schools, 284, 285; teachers’ colleges, 285, 290. Technical Schools, Provision for, 225; Manual training, 191, 192; industrial, 191; prevocational, 281, 285; vocational, 86, 217, 220. Theology, 1, 2, 12, 31, 85. United States, Educational administration, 286. Utilitarianism, 260, 261. Utopias, 75, 86. Variation, 146. Vernacular, 68, 106. Vocational, 281, 285; pre¬ vocational, 281, 285. Woman, Status of, 217, 235- 240. World Missions, The Task; factors, international re- INDEX 323 lations, material and spiritual forces, 1-16; challenge of present aims and method, 3-5, 43, 44; readjustment needed, 3, 4, 5, 15, 16; the perspec¬ tive of, 6, 7; objectives, 16; motive force, 17- 26. World Society, Education for, 1, 73, 133, 134, 136, 137, 188; Christianity and. 2, 9, 14, 15, 29, 294; social ideal, 91-93; China’s con¬ tribution, 296, 297. Yen, Tzu, 116. Yui, David Z. T., 109. Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library 1 1012 01056 4831 Date Due * . ■'In j : • ■ a • ■ • - > ■ i :M' • f >