XXII
The Court and the New Education

Abolish the eight-legged essay. Let the new learning be the test
of scholarship, but include the classics, history, geography and

government of China in the examinations. The true essay will then
come out. If so desired, the eight-legged essay can be studied at

home; but why trouble the school with them, and at the same time
waste time and strength that can be expended in something more

profitable? --Chang Chih-tung in "Chinas Only Hope,"
XXII

THE COURT AND THE NEW EDUCATION
The changes in the attitude of the court towards a new

educationalsystem began, as do many great undertakings, in a
very simple way. We have already shown how the eunuchs secured

all kinds of foreign mechanical toys to entertain the baby
Emperor Kuang Hsu; how these were supplemented in his boyhood by

ingenious clocks and watches; how he became interested in the
telegraph, the telephone, steam cars, steamboats, electric light

and steam heat, and how he had them first brought into the palace
and then established throughout the empire: and how he had the

phonograph, graphophone, cinematograph, bicycle, and indeed all
the useful and unique inventions of modern times brought in for

his entertainment.
He then began the study of English. When in 1894 a New Testament

was sent to the Empress Dowager on the occasion of her sixtieth
birthday, he at once secured from the American Bible Society a

copy of the complete Bible for himself. He began studying the
Gospel of Luke. This gave him a taste for foreign literature and

he sent his eunuchs to the various book depositories and bought
every book that had been translated from the European languages

into the Chinese. To these he bent all his energies and it soon
became noised abroad that the Emperor was studying foreign books

and was about to embrace the Christian faith. This continued from
1894 till 1898, during which time his example was followed by

tens of thousands of young Chinese scholars throughout the
empire, and Chang Chih-tung wrote his epoch-making book "China's

Only Hope" which, being sent to the young Emperor, led him to
enter upon a universalreform, the chief feature of which may be

considered the adoption of a new educationalsystem.
But now let us notice the animus of Kuang Hsu. He has been

praised without stint for his leaning towards foreign affairs,
when in reality was it not simply an effort on the part of the

young man to make China strong enough to resist the incursions of
the European powers? Germany had taken Kiaochou, Russia had taken

Port Arthur, Japan had taken Formosa, Great Britain had taken
Weihaiwei, France had taken Kuangchouwan, and even Italy was

anxious to have a slice of his territory, while all the English
papers in the port cities were talking of China being divided up

amongst the Powers, and it was these things which led the Emperor
to enter upon his work of reform.

In the summer of 1898 therefore" target="_blank" title="ad.&conj.因此；所以">therefore he sent out an edict to the
effect that: "Our scholars are now without solid and practical

education; our artisans are without scientificinstructors; when
compared with other countries WE SOON SEE HOW WEAK WE ARE. DOES

ANY ONE THINK THAT OUR TROOPS ARE AS WELL DRILLED OR AS WELL LED
AS THOSE OF THE FOREIGN ARMIES? OR THAT WE CAN SUCCESSFULLY STAND

AGAINST THEM? Changes must be made to accord with the necessities
of the times. . . . Keeping in mind the morals of the sages and

wise men, we must make them the basis on which to build newer and
better structures. WE MUST SUBSTITUTE MODERN ARMS AND WESTERN

ORGANIZATION FOR OUR OLD REGIME; WE MUST SELECT OUR MILITARY
OFFICERS ACCORDING TO WESTERN METHODS OF MILITARY EDUCATION; we

must establish elementary and high schools, colleges and
universities, in accordance with those of foreign countries; we

must abolish the Wen-chang (literary essay) and obtain a
knowledge of ancient and modern world-history, a right conception

of the present-day state of affairs, with special reference to
the governments and institutions of the countries of the five

great continents; and we must understand their arts and
sciences."

The effect of this edict was to cause hundreds of thousands of
young aspirants for office to put aside the classics and unite in

establishing reform clubs in many of the provincial capitals,
open ports, and prefectural cities. Book depots were opened for

the sale of the same kind of literature the Emperor had been
studying, magazines and newspapers were issued and circulated in

great numbers, lectures were delivered and libraries established,
and students flocked to the mission schools ready to study

anything the course contained, literary, scientific or religious.
Christians and pastors were even invited into the palace by the

eunuchs to dine with and instruct them. But the matter that gave
the deepest concern to the boy in the palace was: "How can we so

strengthen ourselves that we will be able to resist the White
Peril from Europe?"

Among the important edicts issued in the establishment of the new
education was the one of June 11, 1898, in which he ordered that

"a great central university be established at Peking," the funds
for which were provided by the government. Among other things he

said: "Let all take advantage of the opportunities for the new
education thus open to them, so that in time we may have many who

will be competent to help us in the stupendous task of putting
our country on a level with the strongest of the western powers."

It was not wisdom the young man was after for the sake of wisdom,
but he wanted knowledge because knowledge was power, and at that

time it was the particular kind of power that was necessary to
save China from utter destruction.

On the 26th of the same month he censured the princes and
ministers who were lax in reporting upon this edict, and ordered

them to do so at once, and it was not long until a favourable
report was given and, for the first time in the history of the

empire, a great university was launched by the government,
destined, may we not hope, to accomplish the end the ambitious

boy Emperor had in view.
Kuang Hsu was aware that a single institution was not sufficient

to accomplish that end. On July 10th therefore" target="_blank" title="ad.&conj.因此；所以">therefore he ordered that
"schools and colleges be established in all the provincial

capitals, prefectoral, departmental and district cities, and
allowed the viceroys and governors but two months to report upon

the number of colleges and free schools within their provinces,"
saying that "all must be changed into practical schools for the

teaching of Chinese literature, and Western learning and become
feeders to the Peking Imperial University." He ordered further

that all memorial and other temples that had been erected by the
people but which were not recorded in the list of the Board of

Rites or of Sacrificial Worship, were to be turned into schools
and colleges for the propagation of Western learning, a thought

which was quite in harmony with that advocated by Chang Chih-
tung. The funds for carrying on this work, and the establishment

of these schools, were to be provided for by the China Merchants'
Steamship Company, the Telegraph Company and the Lottery at

Canton.
On August 4th he ordered that numerous preparatory schools be

established in Peking as special feeders to the university; and
on the 9th appointed Dr. W. A. P. Martin as Head of the Faculty

and approved the site suggested for the university by Sun
Chia-nai, the president. On the 16th he authorized the

establishment of a Bureau for "translating into Chinese Western