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informed mo Unit not more than one1 nWivjii ft
hundred could write a lottorand that not more
than one in ten could understand a letter when
read to him. . , it . .
The object of I ho Hchools, such as they had,
was to cultlvato tho memory and to teach the
pupils to writo essays expounding tho doctrines
of tho Chinese sages. AH of the schools used tho
name text book, the primer .In universal uso
having been prepared over eight hundred years
ago. Education was limited in the number who
received it and limited In the amount provided,
and tho course of Instruction was fossilized.
None of tho students wero taught anything about
the outside world and but few of the people
wore students. It in sufficient ovidonco of tho
absolute foilure of their educational system to
compare this groat empire, containing approxi
mately one-fourth of tho population of the globe,
with oven tho smaller states of IDuropo in the
production of scientists, scholars and poets.
China has had diplomats and astuto statesmen,
but theso have been developed In the school of
experience rathor than in halls of learning. Con
sidering tho educational opportunities furnished,
It is astonishing, that she has produced any great
mon at all.
China has her religions and they have doubt
less oxorted a moulding influence upon tho peo
ple but tho influence has not been an unmixed
good. Take, for Instance, ancostor worship; it
contains a germ of good In that it teaches re
spoct and caro for parents, liut the spirit has
been lost in tho obsorvanco of the letter until
tho welfaro of tho living is neglected that sense
less sacrifices may' be' made to the dead. At
Canton wo visited c place called "The Place of
tn,q Dead." It is connected with a Buddhist
temple and is just outside the city wall. There
are somo four hundred rooms in tho group of
buildings and nearly every room contains a
qoflln. Hero tho well-to-do deposit the body of
an ancestor and keep Incense burning as long
as they can afford to pay for it. Rent must bo
paid for the rooms; the light must bo kept bright;
food and drink must be offered to the departed
erteh day and tho incense must be paid for. As
someono has roiriarked, it costs more to car.o for
a dead ancestor than a live one. We saw 6ho
coffin that had cost three thousand dollars fit
had been in the building for sixteen yeard and
had been moved from one apartment to another,
a cheaper ono being chosen each time as tho
resources of the family declined. In some cases
Jie families have become so poor that they can
neither pay rent nor buy a burying plot.
There Ib also at Canton an ancestral hall
where for a specified sum tho name of an an
cestor may bo inscribed on a, little Wooden'
tablet; incense is also burned here too. For
eign residents relate instances where servants
nave spent three years income in burying a
S f llQ money being borrowed and gradually
lepald from the earnings. Besides the first cost
of burial, there must be frequent pilgrimages
to vEV 1S wlthm th0 bounds V truth
UmnvL l th moly expended in elaborate
lunerals, n sacrifices to tho dead, and in period-
1,!, lgH magfS l2 tombs would ""ve gone far
toward the educating: and enlightening of each
tor fhf St,0n""n?d7 wlu Sfiy " respec
foi the dead can better be shown by formal
ceremonies than by a proper regard for tho wel
iaro of tho descendants?
Tho tombs of tho royal familv jlvp niwnva
objects of interest to the' toSrist The most
lamous of these tombs are north of Pekin and
so near to tho great wall that they are usuaSv
visited at the same time, three or tour days be-
gi2uirod f0r trlp' There are oer ton?te
of less renown still nearer to Pekin while tho
tombof tho first emperor ot the MlnJiiiLSS
s just outside the walls of Nanking & Some of
these tombs are more masses of masonrv now
but all were once richly carved. The avenuS
leading up to these tombs are lined vl5ilaS
stone figures of men and animals. These a?o
arranged in pairs, ono on either side of ho road
-two huge warriorstwo priests, two elephants
standing, two elephants kneeling, two camels
standing and two kneeling, two horses standi
and two kneeling, and lions, boai-s and othe?
A i, toinb tlmt the ruler mav bo qiinniin,i
wMtTT"? hiS PPs T"he
spirit world. And speaking of tombs, the worihln
SrawJa7f t now1 l maU 0&Z
n im i ' ' tls n,ow' graves cannot be disturbed
It will bo remembered that the Chinese coin
ment cautioned tho Russians and Japanese no
to trespass upon the graveyards it Mukden
where a number of Manchu emperors are biS'
The graves of tho masses aro as sacredly ?e
garded although distingulshed-merely, by n cone
shaped mound. In the neighborhood of the ?a?ge
t
Th?e Commoner.
cities the cemeteries cover many square miles,
and as they are constantly added to and never
diminished, they occupy an ever increasing area.
In the agricultural districts the burying grounds
aro scattered througli the fields, each family hav
ing its own plot. Sometimes when the family
has died out,, tho mound Is neglected and the
coffin Is exposed. At Shanghai and at Nanking
we saw a number of coffins in tho fields, ,neyer
having been covered.
Tho temples of China , are interesting, but
are gonerally in a state of decay. Tho Confucian
temple at Pekin Is visited once a year when
sacrifices are made to China's supreme sage.
The court of the temple Is filled with gnarled
and knotted cedars of great age, in which a
colony of crows was chanting a requiem when
we were there. There are also in the court
numerous tablets of marble, each resting on the
back of a stone turtle and bearing Inscriptions;
there are other tablets bearing quotations from
tho writings of Confucius.
At Canton our guide took us to the temple
of tho five hundred gods. They represent Bud
dhistic saints, are life size and each has an in
cense urn before him. Ono of the gods lias a
very lone arm, he being the one who puts tho
moon up at nights; another represents a saint
who cut open his br.east and exposed an image
of Buddha to prove his fidelity to the faith. -,
(Our guide at Canton was, Ah Cum, who ''has
conducted travellers through the city for more
than forty years and has brought up his 'sons !to
the same profession. I mention his name for the
benefit of any readers of these lines who may
chance to visit, as every tourist should, ' this
most Chinese of Chinese cities.)
There is in the vicinity of Pekin a temple
with several thousand images of Buddha but they
are small and made of clay, the original bronze
images having been carried away by the foreign ,
troops during the Boxer troubles.
Close to the walls of thp city of Pekin stands
what is called the Yellow Te,mple, a rare work
of art. The carved figures representing incidents
in the life of Buddha are very skillfully wrought
and one can not help feelirtg indignation at the
vandalism of the foreign soldiers who, during the
Boxer troubles, defaced this ,ancient monument.
By far the most impressive and elaborate re
ligious structure in China is the "Altar of
Heaven," not far from the city of Pekin. It '
was built under the Ming dynasty five hundred
years ago and is still visited twiqe each year by
the emperor, who here offers sacrifices to
heaven. The sacrificial altar is built entirely' of
white marble. It is a triple circular terrace, the
base being a little more than two hundred feet
In diameter, the middle terrace' one hundred and
fifty feet an'd the top terrace- nearly a hundred
feet, each terrace being enclosed by a beautiful
carved balustrade. It stands about eighteen feet
high, and the emperor ascending to it alone,
kneels at midnight and as the representative of
the whole people makes his offering to heaven.
A bullock without blemish is used as the offer
ing on these occasions. In architecture tho altar
reminds one of the Greek structures, while some
of the features of the ceremony recall the rites
of the Israelites as described in the Old Testa
ment. Near to this altar is a pagoda, standing upon
another triple but smaller marble terrace - it
is popularly known as the "Temple of Heaven."
Here on the first day of the Chinese year the
emperor offers his supplications to heaven for
a blessing upon the year. This is the most
graceful and symmetrical pagoda in the empire,
n,? in the Orient, and no one who visits tho
capital should fail to see it. Both the altar and
the temple are surrounded by a high wall ami
thG WuCL ta ha7by veferanaceda?sd
v-iJ of Bn??hIsmmha,s been regarded as the
eligion of China, Taoism has also influenced
the thought of the nation. It teaches the ex
istence of spirits but has degenerated into su
perstition and the attempted conciliation of evil
spirits. For instance, before each official resi
dence and before many private residences will
X?n?T2 T11' h,ghop and wItlGr tha the
lront door, tho purpose of which is to keep out
the evil spirits, which aro supposed to travel
only in a straight line. When a building is to
be made inore than two stories high, "bun&ies"
of leaves ""are often tied to the top of the noleJ
used for scaffolding to deceive the evil sKs
and make them believe that it is a forest n.
stead of a building, they being supposed to be
hostile to high buildings. After the roof is on
however, the building is safe, but the ridge pole
must curve up at the ends to keep the spirit!
from descending. Boys are very much at a
premium in China, because the duty of guard-
ing the grave devolves upon the oldest son if
a man loses a boy or two, he sometimes dresses
-v.
ttie,jiext boy like a girl in order to deceive tho
spirits; for a girl is, or at least used to be,
beneath the notice of even evil spirits.- A very
intelligent Chinaman explained the disinclina
tion of the ordinary Chinaman to rescue a
drowning man on the ground that if the evil
spirits were trying to drown the man, they would
resent and punish any attempt to save him.
But more potent than either" Buddhism or
Taoism has been the influence of Cpnfucius and
his commentators. This great philosopher was
born 551 B. 0., and Mencius, his greatest , dis
ciple, nearly two hundred years later. The moral
principles discussed by them were not presented
as original conceptions but rather urged as the
principles of previous emperors whose lives were
regarded as ideal. In another article, in the dis
cussion of China's awakening, I shall speak of
the ethical teachings of Confucius, but it " is
worth while to note at this time that his ut
terances with regard to government fall far shor,t
of the generally accepted doctrines of today.
While he insisted that rulers owed certain duties
to their subjects, and were good or bad in pro
portion as they set an example of virtue ana"
governed wisely,, he did not intimate that', tile
people have either the right to, or the capacity
for, self-government. His doctrines support the
idea that classes are necessary the "superior"
people governing and teaching, the rest doing
the manual labor.
Confucius taught that those who were not
in office need not concern themselves about tho
administration of the government a doctrine
which paralyzed the patriotism of the masses
and Invited abuses on, the part of the officials.
The system by which officials were chosen
was also calculated to breed selfishness and in
difference t6 the public weal, as well as to im
pede progress. The course of instruction, .as
before stated, contemplated merely the memoriz
ing of the Chinese classics, composed of the say
, ings of the sages, poetry and Chinese history.-,
The aspirants for honors were not required
to think for themselves, to wnderstani'i ilm nrnh.
lems of their generation or to. know anything of
the science of government. To compose a good
essay upon'what Confucius said," upon what Men-'
ciiis' thought, or upon what Shun, or Wan or Woo -"did
was sufficient. This naturally chained, each". ,
generation to the past and locked' the door",t'o'-"
advancement. , i-;.-i
'The successful candidate felt that his ap- -'
pointment was due to his own merit ana that
ho was under no obligation to 'anyone except the " '
members of; his family who had furnished the
money necessary to enable him to take the vari-
ous examinations. Neither the securing of the',
, rthe retaining of It restejJ up6ll-hjg
ability tp devise wise policies or upon his in- ""
terest in the people at large., The emperor with -"
unlimited power was above, him, and the people
with unlimited patience were below h'im
In later years the examinations have some- -times
become a farce and rank has been offered
to the highest bidder, bidding being .encouraged
by an Intimation that this might be the ".last -chance.
But even when hpnestly conducted ; the
civil service system of China was not calculated . '
to develop the official or to secure a good, wise "
and progressive government. . . ' '
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Copyright
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A FARCE FROM THE-BEGINNIM fa
From, the .beginning the proceedings with
r.espect .to , the beef trust have" been farcical -Commissioner
Garfield, sent 'to : investigate"
promised the packers immunity, and then 're- -'.-ported
that there was no beef trust. Garfield's
.promise of immunity was used by the packers
as a method, of escape before 'the federal judge
and now the federal authorities, must be content- -with
proceeding against two or three corporations ' ,i
named in fh'e indictments'. We are told that the" "
trial of these, corporations will last for a long '
time, and that at least two thousand witnesses
will be summoned.' In the event of a conviction
tho penalty would b a fine, and in the mean-
time the beef trust wilL continue to put unon
the consumers the same old impositions. ,
If Mr. Roosevelt really ameans business "in
-is antitrust campaign, he will do well to -iiS-
his administration of Commissioner Garfield wif
in the light of the court proceedings at Chlcaen
.he continues to hold Mr. Garfiold in office ffiS
president needvJiot fce surprised if many neoiilft
who have heretofore had confidence in his "trust -busting"
program concludo that ho is not after
all, sorious- itf the fair words ho speaks n'sarnV
I rust evils: tamst
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