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possession of this degree does not yet entitle the holder to a public office, but most of those who have secured it become teachers, physicians, lawyers, etc. Once in three years there is another examination for the second degree, called "Deserving of Promotion," conducted by an examiner sent from Pekin. A third examination is also held once every three years, in Pekin, and success in this is rewarded by the title "Fit for Office." Holders of the last two degrees are entitled to an appointment to some office, the highest aim of a Chinaman. All of these examinations are conducted with great strictness and fairness, no one being excluded. Thus every Chinese child of ability has the opportunity to reach the highest positions in the country.

There is a still higher degree called the "Forest of Pencils," which is open only to members of the Royal Academy, the Hanlin. The acquirement of this degree is the greatest honor to be attained; its possessor is highly esteemed, and may hold the highest offices in the country.

In 1905 an edict was promulgated abolishing the old system of examinations. This marks an epoch in Chinese educational history and will tend to place China in the line of modern political and industrial development.

Criticism of Chinese Education.—1. It is not under government control.

2. It has no interest beyond the boundaries of China, and regards no literature save the Chinese classics.

3. It is non-progressive, having made practically no improvement for many centuries.

4. It cultivates memory to the neglect of the other powers of the mind, and places more emphasis on the acquirement of knowledge than on the development of the human faculties.

5. It obtains its results through fear, not by awakening interest in or love for study.

6. Women are not embraced in the scheme of education.

7. It produces a conservative, untruthful, cunning, and non-progressive people.

8. It reaches practically all of the male sex, and there is opportunity for all to rise to the highest positions of honor, but its methods are so unnatural as to awaken little desire for education on the part of the young.

9. Its motive is debasing to the character.


CONFUCIUS (B.C. 550-478)

The name of Confucius is the one most revered among the Chinese. To him and his disciples are due not only the native religion, now supplanted by Buddhism, but also the language and literature. He began to teach in a private school at the age of twenty-two. He rejected no pupil of ability and ambition, but accepted none without these qualities. He said, "When I have presented one corner of a subject, and the pupil cannot make out the other three, I do not repeat the lesson." The following are extracts from the analects of Confucius:—

1. What you do not like when done to yourself, do not to others.

2. Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.

3. To see what is right and not do it is want of courage.

4. Worship as if the Deity were present.

5. Three friendships are advantageous: friendship with the upright, friendship with the sincere, and friendship with the man of observation. Three are injurious: friendship with a man of spurious airs, friendship with the insinuatingly soft, and friendship with the glib-tongued.

6. Shall I tell you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to confess your ignorance.

FOOTNOTES:

[2] Mrs. E. E. Baldwin, Foochow, China.

[3] Houghton, "Women of the Orient," p. 14.






CHAPTER III INDIA


Literature.Marshman, History of India; Ragozin, Vedic India; Spofford, Library of Historical Characters; Butler, Land of the Veda; Houghton, Women of the Orient; Clarke, Ten Great Religions; Johonnot, Geographical Reader; Macaulay, Essays; Ballou, Footprints of Travel; Stoddard's Lectures; Encyclopaedia Britannica; Arnold, Light of Asia; Chamberlain, Education in India.

Geography and History.—India lies between the sixth and thirty-sixth parallels of north latitude. It is bordered on the north by the Himalayas and on the south by the Indian ocean. The climate in general is hot, which makes the natives indolent and accounts for their lack of enterprise. The country is very rich, the chief products being wheat, cotton, rice, opium, and tea. The area is about one and a half million square miles, and the population two hundred millions.

The early history of India is obscure, as the Brahmans, from religious scruples, have ever been opposed to historical records. It is certain that there was an aboriginal race which occupied the country from an unknown period, and that a branch of the Aryan[4] or Indo-Germanic race came to India and struggled for supremacy. The Aryans succeeded in reducing the natives to subjection or in driving them into the mountains. The comparatively pure descendants of these races are about equal in number in India, their mixed progeny composing the great mass of the Hindu population. The Sanskrit was their classic language, and the Veda their Bible.

The Caste System.—There are four great castes in India:—

1. The Brahmans, or highest caste, who are the priests, scholars, lawyers, physicians, teachers, etc. This order is highly reverenced by the lower castes, and its members are dignified, abstemious, and sedate. Their highest ideal is to bring their desires and appetites under complete control. They exercise great influence in the land.[5]

2. The warriors, who comprise the army and the office holders.

3. The merchants, mechanics, and farmers, who constitute the bone and sinew of India.

4. The servants, who receive no education excepting in matters of politeness and other things connected with their station in life.

Each caste must pay respect to the higher castes, and association with persons of a lower caste is considered a degradation. The English government of India does not interfere with the caste system, but it is gradually breaking down.

Besides the above-mentioned castes, there are tradesmen's castes which have grown up as new occupations have been introduced. Thus there is a potters' caste, a weavers' caste, a carpenters' caste, etc., each son following his father's trade. This accounts for the marvelous skill of the craftsmen of India in weaving carpets and fine muslins, in metal work, and other arts,—workmanship not equaled anywhere else in the world.

Brahmanism and Mohammedanism are the chief religions. Buddhism overran the country in the fifth and sixth centuries B.C., but it did not seem to be suited to the Hindus, and now it is found in its purity only in Ceylon. Unlike the Chinese, the Hindus are a very religious people. The Shastas[6] declare that "when in the presence of her husband, a woman must keep her eyes upon her master, and be ready to receive his commands. When he speaks, she must be quiet and listen to nothing besides. When he calls, she must leave everything else and attend upon him alone. A woman's husband is her god, her priest, and her religion. The most excellent work that she can perform is to gratify him with the strictest obedience."[7] The system of sale of girls at birth, for wives, of early betrothal and marriage, of perpetual widowhood under most degrading circumstances,[8] and the practice of polygamy make the condition of woman in India still worse than in China.

The English now rule the country with such wisdom and justice that the people are generally contented and loyal. Reforms have been introduced, commerce has been established, improvements have been made, and new life has been awakened. They have also established schools and universities; but as the purpose here is to give a picture of the caste education, the English system will not be described.

The Home.—Woman has no educational advantages in India, and she is regarded more as the servant than as the equal of her husband. She may never appear uninvited in the presence of any man except her husband. This has worked great hardships for her, especially in cases of sickness, as she can have no medical attendance unless a female medical missionary can be reached. This fact has opened a fertile field for missionary enterprise which has been a great blessing to Hindu women.

A member of a caste may marry in his own or in a lower caste; thus the Brahman may have four wives, the warrior three, the farmer two, and the servant one.

Parents love their children, and expect of them unquestioning obedience. Children are taught to love and honor their teachers even more than their parents. They are taught to reverence and respect older persons under all circumstances. Contrary to the Chinese idea of education, which is to prepare for this life, the Hindu idea is to prepare for the future life, and children in the home, from their earliest years, are trained with reference to this idea.

The Elementary School.—All teachers belong to the Brahman caste. They receive no salary, depending upon gifts for their support. They are mild in discipline, and generally humane in their treatment of their pupils. The instruction is given under trees in the open air on pleasant days, and in a tent or shed when the weather is bad. Instruction is given in reading, writing, and arithmetic, though religion constitutes the principal theme. Memorizing the holy sayings of Brahma occupies a large portion of the time. While the Chinaman worships nature and his ancestors, the Hindu worships Brahma. The cultivation of the memory is considered important, but by no means so essential as in the Chinese system.

The reading lessons are from the Veda. In writing, the child begins by forming characters in sand with his finger or a stick, then he writes upon leaves, and finally upon paper, with ink. The work in arithmetic is very elementary, being only such as will fit the learners for practical life. Servants and girls are excluded from even this limited education.

M. Ida Dean says: "How amused you would be if you could take a peep at a school in India taught by a native teacher. The school is often held in an open shed, and no pains whatever is taken to keep it clean. Often the rafters are festooned with cobwebs and dirt. Of furniture, save the teacher's low desk, there is none. The teacher uses a grass mat, while the boys sit cross-legged on the earthen floor. The teacher, in a singsong voice, reads a sentence which the boys shout after him. Then another sentence is read, which the pupils likewise shout in a singsong voice, while their bodies sway to and fro. This goes on until sentence after sentence is memorized. No one knows nor cares what he is saying. The teacher never explains. Neither teacher nor pupil is ever bothered by that troublesome and inquisitive little word why."

The castes are taught separately, and especial attention is given to such instruction as will fit them for their station in life. The highest virtues to be cultivated are politeness, patience, modesty, and truthfulness. Morning, noon, and evening there are impressive religious ceremonies in the school, and the pupils must throw themselves at the feet of their teacher with reverential respect. There is no theory of education among the Hindus, each teacher instructing as he pleases, according to historic custom. This precludes any considerable improvement in method or advance in the art of education. There is no authority to decide upon qualifications of teachers, the only essential requisite being that they shall belong to the Brahman caste.

Higher Education.—The Brahmans are the only educated class, although warriors attend their schools for the purpose of such study as is necessary in connection with their calling. The farmer caste, too, may attend the Brahman schools to learn the studies pertaining to their caste. They pursue in

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