CO129-343 - Public Offices & Foreign Office - 1907 — Page 581

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Since it is ordered in the above Edict to elevate Confucius to a higher position, it must necessarily follow that he will be made one of the principal objects of worship by the State and placed in the same rank as heaven,

Inclosure 2 in No. 1.

Extract from the "South China Daily Journal" of January 24, 1907.

IT is a little difficult to understand the meaning behind the above Edicts. Some regard it as an attempt on the part of the Peking Government to show the world that Confucianism is still a living force, and will shortly be adopted by the Throne as the State religion of China. They wish the world to understand that neither Western Christianity nor Japanese Buddhism, nor any imported creed, is desired in China, as Confucius is the coequal of Heaven, and his teachings have the force of heavenly doctrines. The step savours, some argue, of the spirit of "China for the Chinese,” and is mainly directed against foreigners and their religion.

But to our mind the step has different and for greater significance. It implies the triumph once more of conservatism and reaction over progress and reform.

It means the returning ascendency of the old, ignorant, and obstructive forces over those of enlightenment. liberty, and truth. It means a sop intended for the pacification of those old officials, scholars, and others who detest the introduction of Western education and civilization into this country, and are dissatisfied with the abolishment of the old system of literary examination, and the introduction of the new.

The proposal was originated from Chang Chih-tung, China's oldest and at heart the most Conservative Viceroy, and he has been ordered to revise and reprint the Confucian classics with a view to preventing young students from being misled by advanced foreign education and becoming unsuitable for Government service.

If the movement is all that appears on the surface, it need not cause any serious alarm to the friends of China, as it is quite natural and reasonable for the scholarly class to desire to preserve the classics in their pristine glory and perpetuate the memory of the great Confucius to all ages to come. But the elevation of an earthly being, however wise, excellent, and virtuous, into a coequal with Deity, and requiring the same sacrifice as that offered to heaven and earth, will hardly tend to convince the world of the enlightenment of those in power in Peking.

But we feel convinced that the step has been taken, not so much with the object of elevating and perpetuating Confucianism as the desire to stem the influence of Western learning in China. The Confucian scholars are becoming alarmed. The old system of examination, which was the only path to officialdom and fame and riches has been done away with, and a new system of examination in which Western learning and knowledge form the principal requirements has been substituted. No wonder these scholars have tried their best to belittle these examinations and nullify their effects. According to the old system, successful candidates at the exami- nation mean official preferment in the Government service and special privileges according to the rank of the literary licentiate. In the last examination the successful candidates were given honorary degrees which merely confirmed their status literary, legal, medical, or technical men, but no official appointments were conterred. We have heard that some of the successful candidates have been given posts in Peking, but not before they had purchased a Thotai rank. Mr. Chen Chin-tao, who obtained first honours at the recent examination, has been given posts in the Ministries of Educa- tion aud Finance, but he had to purchase a Taotai rank first, the degree he obtained at the recent examination being regarded of no official value whatever. Another of the recent successful candidates who obtained the degree of Chinshih has been given a high post in the Ministry of Posts and Communications, but it was because he was already in possession of a Taotai rank.

Thus it will be seen that the conservative forces at Peking evidently do not intend that Chinese of Western education and trainingshall step into the Government service unless they obtain the right to do so through purchase or by climbing up from the lowest rung of the official ladder. What educated men may expect is empty degrees, which confer on the bolder neither special honour nor substantial privileges.

We believe, therefore, that it was the spirit of protest and restlessness against Western education and learning which has prompted officials to recommend to their Majesties the issuance of the Decrees noted above,

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But the Conservatives, in the eagerness of their zeal to obstruct reform and pro- gress, are disregarding the teaching and policy of their master, the great Confucius. According to the ultra-Conservatives, the Confucian teachings are all-embracing and all- sufficing, and in the Confucian school that is to be established at Chu-fu, nothing else shall be taught. No foreign languages, no foreign education of any kind whatsoever, shall be allowed to pollute the pure, heavenly teaching of the wise Sage. Confucius himself, however, never regarded himself as omniscient, nor taught his disciples as such. He repeatedly taught his disciples that there were many things in philosophy and ethics, and even among the commonplaces of life, which he did not know, but in which he was willing to be taught by others. He travelled far and wide in search of infor- mation and of men who could impart to him information. Disappointed in one State in getting what he sought for, he travelled to another State, and so continued to teach and be taught all through his life. It devolves upon his so-called disciples of the twentieth century to proclaim and act upon the dogma that Confucius was all-wise and all-knowing, and consequently his teachings are all-sufficient for China.

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