Directory_and_Chronicle_1842 — Page 358

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Morrison Education Society

Jexe.

The English schools are much better than the Chinese, because the English learn of inany useful things, such as astronomy, geometry, algebra, true religion, and many others that I cannot mention to you now; but the Chinese have no such things, and only study to be men who understand what the book's mean, and when they understand this, and advance in years, they have a literary examination, and get a great name. Now this is the most that they generally learn I think, but perhaps more, would be not of great use. My dear Sir, this is all that I can write to you, because I have not time enough to write a long letter, and I hope you will excuse this.

Your's with respect. A

Rev. E. C. Bridgman. n. n.

President of the M. E. Society.

Macao June 20th 1842.

My dear sir,-According to your request, I write this letter, but I have not. time to write a long one. The most of us in the first class have been here about two years and a half, but none of us can write a Chinese letter well, though we had been in Chinese schools for some years before we came here. Some of us have studied Chinese five times as many years as English, but we can know five times more when we study English, than when we study Chinese. The Chinese school-books never teach people about sci- ences and arts, but only about Confucius, how he acted in his lifetime, and his followers praised him. In the poetical classic I find many words which I never heard people speak in my life, and I believe they are seldom used through the Einoire, except when they want to make a dictionary. The difference between the English and the Chinese is this, the English school- books are made by gentlemen or ladies every year, and when the scholars study any art or science, they at the same time learn how to read, spell, explain, and many other things. But the Chinese turn their eyes to Con- fucius, who lived more than twenty centuries ago. The Chinese teachers very seldom explain the school-books to their scholars, and many of the school-books cannot be used at the present day, only at the literary examina- tions, I believe. If a Chinese scholar study his books for twenty years, he can do no more than learn how to read and write, and the Chinese say a learned man should never do anything that is laborious, as a coinmon man does.

But the great difference between the English and the Chinese is this; the Chinese look back into ancient times, but the English are always looking to the present, and the future, to discover the truth, therefore the Chinese are always about the same, while the English become better and better. I do not mention the Americans because they are decended from thein, and much like the English.

The Chinese have no Bible and they do not know Jesus Christ who creat- ed the universe. They are full of superstitions and ignorance; besides, their government rules them with injustice. How glad we ought to be when a light came from the other side of the world, not called here by our own coun- tryman, but sent by foreigners to enlighten our minds, and clear off the superstitions from us.

Now, the gentlemen and ladies of the Morrison Education Society have spent a great deal of money for the school, and have been kind to us, and we cannot recompense them as they have done to us, but with a thankful heart towards them, and by being diligent to improve our time as to please them.

Yours affectionately,

Rey E C Bridgman. D. n

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