酷兔英语
    当前位置:
  1. 首页
  2. 文章
  3. 娱乐英语
  4. 原版小说
  5. 正文

America Through the Spectacles of an Oriental Diplomat-Part6_TingFang Wu(1842-1922)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

0 收藏 0 分享 0 赞

章节正文
文章总共2页
but also cleaned my room. I was invited to a formalluncheon by a professor,



and to my astonishment his two daughters waited at the table.

This is not unlike what occurs in some parts of China in the interior.



The members of families, although in good circumstances,

do their own household work. In some towns, not far from Canton,



wealthy farmers and country gentlemen hire out their sons as menials,

so that these youngsters, when they have grown up,



shall know the value of money and not squander the family wealth.

I cite a typical case of a millionaire who had only one son.



In order to make him appreciate the worth of money he took his boy to Canton,

and allowed him to be hired out as an ordinary servant.



The boy was ordered by his master to look after a certain part of the house,

and also to take care of a little garden. One day he carelessly broke



a valuable gold-fish jar much prized by the family.

His master naturally became enraged and reproached him for his negligence.



The young man coolly told him that if he would come to his father's house

he could replace the broken vessel by making his own selection



from his father's collection of gold-fish jars. This irritated the master,

who thought that the lad was adding insult to injury. However, ultimately,



his master was persuaded to go with him to his father's house,

and to his great astonishment he found there many gold-fish jars



which were more precious than that which the lad had broken.

Household work, however mean it may be, is not considered degrading in China,



but the difference between China and America is that in America

the people are compelled to do it from necessity, while in China



it is resorted to as a matter of policy to make the young men

realize the value of money, and not spend it wastefully.



The curriculum prescribed in the schools covers a wide range of subjects,

and the graduates are well equipped to face the battle of life.



Not only are drawing, sketching and other fine arts taught,

but also carpentry and other trades. I was once shown a fairly made box



which was the product of a very small boy. I did not at first perceive

the use of teaching a boy to do such work in school, but I learned



that its object was to instruct the pupil how to think

and arrange his materials systematically.



With the exception of those schools established by Christian societies,

or endowed by religious sects, all educational institutions,



especially those established by the state authorities, are secular.

Religion is not taught. Neither the Bible nor any other religious work



is used in the schoolroom. The presidents, professors, and tutors

may be strict churchmen, or very religious people, but, as a rule,



they are not permitted to inculcate their religious views on the students.

The minds of the young are most susceptible, and if no moral principles



are impressed upon them at school or college they are apt to go astray.

It should be remembered that men of education without moral principles



are like a ship without an anchor. Ignorant and illiterate people

infringe the law because they do not know any better,



and their acts of depredation are clumsy and can be easily found out,

but when men of education commit crimes these are so skilfully



planned and executed that it is difficult for the police

to unravel and detect them. It has been known that frauds and forgeries



perpetrated by such unscrupulous persons were so cleverly designed

that they bore the evidence of superior education, and almost of genius.



The more a man is educated the more is it necessary, for the welfare

of the state, to instruct him how to make a proper use of his talents:



Education is like a double-edged sword. It may be turned to dangerous usages

if it is not properly handled.



As there is no established church in the United States,

and in view of the numberless different sects, it is not advisable



to permit any particular phase of religion to be taught.




文章总共2页
文章标签:名著  

章节正文
Copyright © 2023 Qeto All rights reserved.
商务合作 | 联系我们 | 关于我们 | 版权声明 | 隐私条款 | 如果智培

京ICP备05059198号-1 京公网安备 11011202003401号