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CHINA REPORT
roused to activity, and the result might be a Chinese artistic renaissance no less important and significant than the literary renaissance which is already transforming the world of Chinese letters.
There is one matter concerning the presence of Chinese students in this country to which we wish to draw the attention of the Com- mittee at this stage. It relates to Chinese, students in engineering and other technical subjects in which practical experience in work- shops, etc., is an essential part of the training. It was constantly impressed upon the members of the Delegation by prominent Chinese, and particularly by the President of the British Returned Students' Union at Shanghai, that Chinese technical students in this country are frequently denied experience in British workshops and factories, either from suspicion or from fear of competition, whereas in America such facilities are now for the most part freely given, to the great advantage of American trade in China. We also note that the " British Economic Mission in the Far East" emphasises the importance of attracting Chinese students to British universities and workshops' (page 127). We feel that in the interests of closer cultural relations between the two countries, no less than in that of promoting British trade with China, the influence of the Committee should be exerted wherever possible to remove the obstacles to workshop training in the case of properly accredited Chinese students in this country.
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With regard to the financial aspects of the scheme outlined in this sub-section, we recommend that out of the total annual income of approximately £9,000 which may be at the Committee's disposal, the sum of £2,100 should be set aside every year for the provision of Research Fellowships. The maximum value of each fellowship should be £700 a year, including travelling and all other expenses, but as in the case of the proposed Visiting Lectureships the amount payable should be reduced if a holder of a fellowship would in any case have visited Great Britain and would have drawn his travelling or other expenses from other sources. At the maximum rate, the available annual sum of £2,100 would allow for three fellowships to be held simultaneously. Of the three, two at least should be awarded to Chinese for purposes of study in Great Britain or in Canada, if the plan of Canadian co-operation suggested in the preceding sub- section is made applicable also to fellowships. In suitable cases a fellowship could be extended beyond one year, but no more than three fellowships could be provided for simultaneously unless surplus funds were available for the purpose.
We are convinced that both the lectureship and the fellowship schemes which we have outlined are in complete harmony with the
RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE DELEGATION
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principles underlying the Report of the Willingdon Delegation, and we therefore feel justified in expressing the confident hope that if the Board of Trustees finds itself in control of the necessary resources it will give financial support to both schemes and develop them on a much larger scale than is possible out of the meagre resources of the Universities' China Committee.
(c) The Promotion of Chinese Studies in Great Britain.
In the first Schedule to the Chinese Indemnity (Application) Act of 1931 it was laid down that one of the purposes for which a grant of money was made to the Universities' China Committee was the following:-
"To encourage and facilitate the teaching of the Chinese language and literature at the universities of the United Kingdom by the endowment for those purposes of professorships and lectureships, or otherwise."
In our discussions with Chinese academic authorities and others during our visit to China we found no enthusiasm whatever for the suggestion that a portion of the funds allotted under the Act of 1931 to the Universities' China Committee should be spent on financing the teaching of the Chinese language in the United Kingdom. Chinese opinion, as far as we could ascertain, was unanimously in favour of the establishment of the proposed lectureships and fellowships, and it was pointed out that through the lectures given and the researches carried out by the British and Chinese beneficiaries of those foundations the study of Chinese literature, and indirectly that of the Chinese language, would undoubtedly be fostered; for the interest in Chinese civilisation and culture which would be stimulated in Great Britain by the existence of the proposed lectureships and fellowships would But the necessarily lead to an increasing interest in the language. suggestion that chairs for the direct purpose of teaching the language should be provided for out of the funds of the Committee did not meet with a favourable response. It was considered that what was mainly wanted in England was not the leaming of the Chinese language by Englishmen, few of whom would ever have occasion to put their knowledge to practical use, but a deeper acquaintance with the conditions and problems of modern China, a clearer understanding of her social, scientific, economic and educational requirements, a sounder knowledge and appreciation of her art, and a more penetrating sympathy with the political and other difficulties which are confronting
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