A NOTICE OF THE SANON DISTRICT
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the Four Books, and finally the Five Classics. All the boys however do not devote so much time to study; such as afterwards engage in trade or learn a handicraft usually only remain at school from two to four years, during which time they acquire sufficient knowledge of the characters to carry on business, write letters, and make out accounts, &c.
If a boy intends to devote himself entirely to study, he enters a higher school in which graduates train young men for the examinations. Such schools exist at Namtow, Sai-heong, Kap-shui-hau, San-keaou, and many other places. Kap-shui-hau ✯7k ¤, is famous for these schools, and, as the Chinese say, "diffuses the fragrance of pen and ink." Many youths repair thither to study; many inhabitants of the village itself have succeeded in obtaining a degree; and several flag-staffs in it bear witness to the rank of the person over against whose dwelling they are erected.
The method of teaching observed in these schools is the following: The student is made thoroughly acquainted with the contents of the Four Books and the Five Classics. The teacher explains each passage, and the pupils are required to repeat the explanations on the following day. As the knowledge of the student increases, he is instructed to write essays on a given theme. To acquire expertness and fluency of style, the student obtains a large number of essays, which he must read and commit to memory. He is also instructed in versification. Writing essays and making verses are the two principal requirements in the examinations at Canton for the degree Sew-tsai. Arithmetic, geography, astronomy, or other sciences, are not taught, and are not considered necessary in education.
The first examination, by which no degree is obtained, is held in the district city by the "Che yuen” ✯ ✯ — or district magistrate. About 300 young men attend this examination, and about one-half of these, who have some hope of obtaining a degree, proceed afterwards to Canton, to undergo the examination of the Foo under the superintendence of the Prefect. These examinations take place three times in two years. The number of graduates to be chosen at each examination from the applicants from the district of Sanon, amounts to ten persons, eight of whom must be Pun-ti, and two Hak-ka. There are in the district about 150 Seu-tsai† †, and the village of San-keaou boasts of having produced the largest number of them. There is a difference of