HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1936.
THE GREAT WALLS OF CHINA
↑
Long before the advent of that remarkable Emperor of China tha foundations of another huge, In- tangible and almost impenetrable wall of books was being iald; and for nearly three thousand years the greatest intellects in the Ch.n- i ese nation were building a barrier of "words and philosophy that iso- lated their people from the rest mankind.
The Great Wax the Grand Canal and many other examples of practical work in China. carried
efore, the 14th century," causes us wonder why, for a the pomp
·I splendour of the Imperial setting, the country remained sta- tic for the next six centuries right up to our own times. It was as 1 some thick fog had settled over the intellects of the people.
(Continued From Page 4)
initiative: all ye who enter here," for entry was only possible to those made incapable of constructive | work.
THE INVENTIONS
States. In the whirligig of time the Chinese have copied this anti- social and vicious plan, now a part of our modern economic sya- tem which seera's unable to keep pace with the rapid increase in production caused by new inven- tions and the researches of eclenti- fic workers.
The Chinese inventions of paper. book-prinung, the compass, and gunpowder were filtering through to Europe where they inaugurated It is a barrier entirely antagonis- a new era helping, with Newton and tic to the ideals of other active searchers after truth,
a peaceful world civilisation. Its purpose is, to overcome bigotry and formalism. exclusion-this time the exclusion China was then the centre of a of goods from other countries. Its traffic that spreads web over the foundations are laid on the shift whole of the known world. But, ing sands of selfishness and greed. the deadly narcotte. influence of It presses most heavily upon the the abstract and almost mystical Industrious manual workers in any subjects for the State examina- country. It denies them the pro- tions and therefore the whole ducts of other parts of the earth: education system of China, was be-it restricts free commercial inter- ginning, to paralyse the originality course between people; it breeds of the people just when Europe antagonisms and hates, that finally awakening. These elever lead nations into the catastrophe
Ideal of the true Rotarian.
Was
ARTILLER GUN PRACTICE
Coast Defence Artillery Practice With ve ammunition. will be crried out from Moun Davis Battery, In the direction of the West Lamma Channel, on Tues- day. 24th March 1938. between. the hours of 9 am and 2 p.m.
If, for any reason, this practice cannot take place on the 24th it will be carried out on the 25th March, 1936.
STOLE FROM BENEFACTOR
Young Girl Gaoled
A 17-year-old giri's lapse was related to Mr. Q. A. A. Macfadyen at the Kawbon Magistracy yeater- tant amah, was sentenced to one day, when Ng Fung-ying. `assis-
month's hard labour for stealing $48.40 from her employer, Mr. E. L. Broadus, missionary, of No. 37 Kai Yan Road. Even the effects of an enervating peared for the
Inspector Chester-Woods
ap- climate.can be eliminated by air stated that defendant
prosecution and that is conditioned by machinery. "daughter of the omah employed was the Despodsm flourishes only when by the complainant. She attend- despair is produced by poverty. ed school and before and after. Let us therefore, in China, concen- her studies she assisted her conquest of poverty, struggle to March trate on this great Aght for the mother. On the morning of raise the standard of living, deve that a
11 complainant reported lop the natural resources of the mitted at his address, and a sum burglary had been com- country by the application of of money stolen.
"were not priest-philosophers, but ignorant officials and scholars as of war. It is opposed to every scientific knowledge, and so we
THE CHINESE INVENTORS. "The legendary Kings of China,"
an eminent Chin-sumed an intellectual arrogance;
that is, even to-day, an exaspera" ting complex of European, as well as Chinese, ultra-classical scholars. It was a complex of past local
cse scholar Dr. Hu Shih, s
He wr.tes "Our forefathers" "were quite right in defying the creators of tools. Man is a too!- making animal and it is tool-mak- ing which constitutes civilisation.” He states that Watt, and Stephen- son, and other faventors, deserve to be honoured as gods and en“ shrined with Prometheus and Cad-
mus. That is the outlook o the new intellectual leaders, and must have far-teaching results,
It was not unifi about the 14th century-that the awful intellec. tual miasma of the "eight-legged" essay paralysed the initiative of the educated Chinese. No More subtle revenge upon a peaceful people was ever taken in history by a Dictator than the creation, with the smug co-operation of the ultra-literary Cpinese scholars themselves, of that amended syl- abus for the State examination with Its memory-quotation essay that acted like a narcotic on the cleverest brains of the nation.
Chinese Classical scholars, in
their pride began to despise cratis- manship! their finger-nalls ad- vertised that fact. There was no patent aw, no protect.on for in- ventors and novel ideas of the workers were kept secret in fami- Ites and often est in floods and famines.
ex-
The Chinese Civil Service amination system was copied by
vice of
the British Government about eighty years ago, together with the an entirely competitive examination on a memory syllabus tor selection of Government of- cla's.
Directors of education who in the *past, converted prospective em- cient artigans into indifferent clerks, through our local schools. It even now is the root cause of the enthusiasm for literary sub- Jests in their universities when a great deal of the money devoted to 2 superficial higher education would be more efficiently spent in developing trade and technical schools in China.
Unlike charity, it blesses melther those that give, nor they who re- ceive, but injures all who stand on
either side, of it, as their susten- ance withers beneath the sinister shadow of the blighting economic, rampart.
China has followed the unfor- runate example of other peoples, "and with others, China, too, will suffer the inevitable results of that anti-social policy.
WHAT OF THE FUTURE?
The Great Wall of China re- mains. but the grass now grows over the giant structure where for centuries the tramp of soldiers wore the pavements smooth,
The fusion of Western science and ideals of justice, with some of the " democratic and axioms of the Confucian system peaceful should break down the barrier be- tween Eastern and Western thought and benefit all nations. But the tariff wall is a perll that must be destroyed.
shall obtain that great satisfaction
that only can be gained by del
work whose main object is to bene-
The defendent. absconded and. two days later returned to the house
when she was detained. Enquiries made revealed that she
at those less fortunate than our-stole the money.
selves.
VOTE OF THANKS
Rotarian. Dr. Wan in proposing a vote of thanks for the able ad- dress, said that, the speaker bad treated his subject in masterly manner. He said that he hoped the Intellectual and trade tariffa referred to by the speaker as de- trimental to th good of China would die, the death of the Great Wall of Chinal
h
His Worship in passing sentence dn the defendant stated that from the nature of the offence he could not overlook the matter, He fur- ther ordered that the $22.90 found on 'defendant's person be returned to the complainant.
GERMAN DIPLOMATIC
APPOINTMENTS
[Special to the "Hong Kong Daily Press (Copyright.)\
Berin, Mar. 16.
As sequel to agreements reached some time ago, the Fuchrer raised the following. Ministers to status of Ambassadors:
the
Dr. Schmidt-Elskop in Rio e Janeiro, Brazil, Baron Dr. von Thermann In Buenos Atres, Argentine, Baron Dr. von Schoen in Santiago, Chile,
during the course of the gathering Among the guests "introduced
were: Messi. T. T. Poon, (Can- R. H. Philips (Hong Kong), J. E. ton), H. Hutchin (Singapore), A. E.. Marchley, (Mason City, Iowa), J.; Leurguin, Consul of France, Ch. Renner, Vice-Consul of France, M. de Champeux, (Hong Kong), George H. K. Lee (Hong Kong). Into the vortex of the new civil-Kwok Chan (Hong Kong), and G. sation the Chinese have been van Wylick, (Hong Kong).
The Fuehrer also transferred the
forced so suddenly and so intimate-
Minister in Copenhagen, Baron Dr. A number of students from the von Richthofen to the Ministry at it is not surprising that Hong Kong University, were among Brusse's.-- they feel embarrassments and daily those who attended the gathering, Transocean News Serms. meet new difficulties. Yet they cannot remain exclusive in the age of flying, of radio and common world-wide dangers, such as the rapid spread of infectious disease, anti-social propaganda, and the cities and even nations. menace of war that may annihilate
i The scientific wonders of the ancient Mediterranean civilisation were also, curiously enough sub- merged, by a fog of philosophy and theology in the Dark Ages." We have recently discovered that the grafty priest of Egypt used a steam turbine to make the people believe that their Goda performed miracles. Archimedes had invent- ed the lever and the screw. But abstract and mystical arguments against progress, not only in Egypt, but in Greece and in Rome, throt
led Inventive genius. The silly supercilious attitude of Plato to- wards scientific investigation wasly that more fraught with evil for the next thousand years then the fanatic persecutions of any medieval, Bi- shop, although persecution was then rampart. In the year 1,600 Bruno was burnt at the Stake for teaching that our the earth is not the centre of universe. But his martyrdom helped to free us from the childish and fantastic nations, of our ancestors. Not an intel- geni man-to-day believes that the world was created In 4004 B.C. or that the sun stood still on Gibeon,
MENTAL BARRIER
China is now a member of the universal family. Thoughtful and Recently the system has
beer:
unselfish Chinese face the fact, but eformed and our future adminis-
they must be willing to hear the trators in the British Empire musi
burdens Imposed by the new civili- now learn in the Univers ty such
sation as well as to reap the ad- practical subjects AS surveying
China la in poverty and weak.vantages derived from it. agriculture, hygiene, etc. I can for she still depends primarily on
It is unfortunate that, in their only hope that the Hong Kong human labour as a source of power,
eagerness to emulate the west, the University and aft the Chinese due to the static and fatalistic out distinguish the good features from Chinese are in danger of falling to Universities will follow that EX-look on life caused by that ex- the bad. England has given to the cellent example.
amination syllabus. Year by year world priceless gifts, amongst them I would be unjust to criticise the that in-tangible, but effective weak points of the Confucian phi-mental barrier created by a life-
the practical demonstration that osophy without stating that tless scholasticism, grew higher and the forces of Nature can be utilised bad many fine feature which ac- higher. The Great Wall of Chin-to replace muscular energy. That count for its survival and the ese abstract literature, served only et. Progress in the production ex has placed power behind the work- strength of its position in China. one purpose, the isolation in
It created racial stamina and thought and in
material things since the beginning life of the in- racial vitality through 'ts phasis on the well-crganised and own personality. Confustanism is fight for food, for clothes and for em-dividual, a concentration upon this the use of steam has been al
most incomprensible. The age-old religiously conceived family, sys- essentially non-co-operative. The tem that enabled the Chinese na Taoist and Buddhist creeds, while shelter, should long ago have been
tion to survive political disasters and to absorb. barbarian conquer- ors into their social scheme
ITS CULTURED DEVELOPMENT
With all Its fauts. It produced periods in China of cultural de- velopment unrivaled in the par- ticular eras, in any part of the world.
they may have satisfed a religious instinct, were in China immense buttresses reinforcing the Great Wall of literature, which, especial- ly after about 1,300 AD, consisted of philosophy.
abstract mysticism and arid
ended by machines that have freed
man from animal toll...
WEAKNESS AND PARASITES ·
The greatest weakness in our Western civilisation is that there are so many parasites on society, who mainly exist on the credulity. The classical scholars set their ignorance and labours of more faces against any investigation into honest people, and manage to 13- the future, and the ways of Na- cape the punishment they so rich- ture, and so an insert resignation ly deserve. Promoting the sale of to the unknownable became a na- stock in worthless enterprise, fin- tonal characteristic. The only ancial manipulations, diluting me- practical people, in China were the dicines, and quackery in marketing uneducated manual workers, and in all its varied forms, in common all of their energy was used up in with picking pockets and forging
In about 800 A.D., before the time of Charles the Great, or of the Arabian Caliphate, Chinese civilisation had reached A far higher level than either of those Western renaissances. The Grand Canal was in construction; the 'method of appointing officials by the ceaseless struggle against star-cheques, are anti-social activities nomination was discarded in favourvation and poverty.
HONG KONG PROBLEMS. But what about our outlook in Hong Kong?. I yield to none in my admiration for this wonderful port
crime.
and deserve to rank as Yet in spite of our ingenuity with
we have been to unconcerned to tools, and our scientific triumphs, devise a system that will punish those who act in these dishonest
created by Anglo-Chinese, co-ways.
of a new examination "system that abolished the supremacy of aris- tocracy created by Emperors false to confucian, principles. The Arst syllabus included sciences, matho matics, history, and jurisprudence. Of course wealthy families could operation. China ceded to Britain We can, however, look forward pay for the best teachers for these a hill of granite and has received with hope to the future. Modern examinations. Gradually the in return a mountain of gold. But progress, planted firmly on me- syllabus changed in favour of the la there not to-day evidence of a chanical inventions and scientific. classics placing a premium
atatic even a retrograde-state of knowledge, will suffer no serious superficiality and formalism the altairs in Hong Kong in vivid con- check. These priceless, gifts to danger of all written examinations.trast to the dynamic spirit of pro- mankind have added infinitely to And so this State examination be- Eress, the bold enterprise, the the variety and interest of Ufe and came a kind of idol, hypnotising scientiae planning by those who lessened the hours of human telt. the intellectual life of whole gen-
saw the great natural advantages They have bred a larger humanity erations by fixing their gaze on that enabled them to create, in a and brought higher aims within one glorious goal-an official post few years, a flourishing emporium our vision and our ambitions. to be gained by a memory test. of commercs where once was an
You can see that the minds nf The imperial examination sys-anti-social pirate's lair.
millions of people in Asia have
tem was
on
an open door through
which any Chinese might pais
from poverty to power and fame.
THE LAST WALL
been inhibited or warped through
the combined effects of an en- That leads me to consider the ervating climate, despotism and But, over that door, should have tärin wäll, the modern design of miserable economic Conditions, been incribed the words "Abandon, which is attributed to the United But these conditions are changing.
BLACK WHITE
SCOTCH WHISKY
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