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the prefectural capital, for more advanced studies. During the last quarter of the 19th century, when deliberate efforts to prepare for the civil examinations began to fade, there still existed within the village some of these special small classes taught by the more prestigious teachers in their own homes. This practice continued even after the abolition of the civil examinations. Liao Chung-nan [Liu Chung-nam], a siu-tsai of the late Ch'ing, taught a small class of about ten at his own house at and after the turn of the century, charging a higher fee than the normal school fees paid for classes held in the study halls. His classes remained as prestigious classes for the rich well into this century.
The curriculum and method of teaching both in the study halls and in the private classes were typical of Chinese traditional education. There was no division of classes by academic standard. Instruction was given individually or in groups of four or five by rotation. Progress depended largely on the individual or the liking of the teacher. Normally teaching would start with the well-known primers, the San-tzu-ching,70 Ch'in-tzu-wen* and Pai-chia-hsing‡. Two other popular primers were the Hsiao-ching and the Yu hsueh ku-shih ch'iung-lin****. Brighter students would proceed to the Four Books and even the Five Classics after a year or two. There was also much emphasis on teaching the students rhymed couplets, other simple poetic forms, and the correct way of writing polite letters and other formal documents. Books for this kind of teaching, some printed but most hand-written, have been found in several villages alongside the standard primers used in the village schools. Rhymed couplets were useful, we were told, to reinforce recognition of characters for their sound and meaning and also for teaching students to compose couplets, this being a form of literary activity popular in the villages of the region.
Shortly after the setting up of British rule in 1898, a government officer described Sheung Shui as "a village of scholarship and agriculture”.11 Perhaps he was impressed by the grand looking ancestral hall and the number of study halls in the village. The many wooden boards hung in these halls recording
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the prefectural capital, for more advanced studies. During the last quarter of the 19th century, when deliberate efforts to prepare for the civil examinations began to fade, there still existed within the village some of these special small classes taught by the more prestigious teachers in their own homes. This practice continued even after the abolition of the civil examinations. Liao Chung- nan [Liu Chung-nam], a siu-tsai of the late
+ Ch'ing, taught a small class of about ten at his own house at and after the turn of the century, charging a higher fee than the normal school fees paid for classes held in the study halls. His classes remained as prestigious classes for the rich well into this century.
+
The curriculum and method of teaching both in the study halls and in the private classes were typical of Chinese traditional education. There was no division of classes by academic standard. Instruction was given individually or in groups of four or five by rotation. Progress depended largely on the individual or the liking of the teacher. Normally teaching would start with the well-known primers, the San-tzu-ching 70 Ch'in-tzu-wen * and Pai-chia-hsing HRE. Two other popular
X
百家姓 • primers were the Hsiao-ching and the Yu hsueh ku-shih ch'iung-lin****. Brighter students would proceed to the Four Books and even the Five Classics after a year or two. There was also much emphasis on teaching the students rhymed couplets, other simple poetic forms, and the correct way of writing polite letters and other formal documents. Books for this kind of teaching, some printed but most hand-written, have been found in several villages alongside the standard primers used in the village schools. Rhymed couplets were useful, we were told, to reinforce recognition of characters for their sound and meaning and also for teaching students to compose couplets, this being a form of literary activity popular in the villages of the region.
Shortly after the setting up of British rule in 1898, a government officer described Sheung Shui as "a village of scholar- ship and agriculture”.11 Perhaps he was impressed by the grand looking ancestral hall and the number of study halls in the village. The many wooden boards hung in these halls recording
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