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in Hong Kong. Legge set up schools for Chinese girls which were run by his wife and, later on, his two daughters. After arrival in Oxford in 1876, Legge also took up the cause of women's education. He was, for instance, on the initial committee which founded Somerville College at Oxford in 1879, helping to draft its "religious but not sectarian" rules.
A photograph provides us with a fitting symbol of Legge's life, love for Chinese, and his educational commitment. Students in his class during November, 1897, took a picture of his notes in Chinese left on the blackboard from the last class with the Professor. The picture one sees there manifests a startling simplicity: Professor Legge was still teaching a beginner's class in classical Chinese, and so had left there, in the very shaky hand of an octogenarian, situational phrases meant to prompt discussion. They began with, "On the top of the mountain there are three men" and went on describing animals on the mountainside and a river at the bottom. Somehow in the midst of this simple lesson religious issues arose, for in the bottom left-hand side of the board, in a portion where he may have been drilling students on specific characters, he wrote the two characters for "Jesus".
• 52
Thus Legge had a deeply thought-out programme of educational philosophy and scholarship. It is a misapprehension that Legge was simply portraying China for Western audiences. He was just as much involved with teaching Chinese, and promoting education generally.
IV. Legge's Sense of Mission and Duty
This sense of duty is central to Legge's intensity of study, his drive for excellence, and the unwavering convictions which were deeply embedded in his academic writings.
Dr Legge's academic approach to Chinese culture was prompted by the desire to make the Christian message known to Chinese people.
Although the young Legge had reacted against some aspects of the form of Calvinism brought to Scotland in the reformed theology of John Knox (which he learned by memory with his classmates through the medium of the Shorter Catechism), the adult James Legge gained a new appreciation for the sovereignty of the true God, especially
198
in Hong Kong. Legge set up schools for Chinese girls which were run by his wife and, later on, his two daughters. After arrival in Oxford in 1876, Legge also took up the cause of women's education. He was, for instance, on the initial committee which founded Somerville College at Oxford in 1879, helping to draft its "religious but not sectarian" rules.
A photograph provides us with a fitting symbol of Legge's life. love for Chinese, and his educational commitment. Students in his class during November, 1897, took a picture of his notes in Chinese left on the blackboard from the last class with the Professor. The picture one sees there manifests a startling simplicity: Professor Legge was still teaching a beginner's class in classical Chinese, and so had left there, in the very shaky hand of an octogenarian, situational phrases meant to prompt discussion. They began with, "On the top of the mountain there are three men and went on describing animals on the mountainside and a river at the bottom. Somehow in the midst of this simple lesson religious issues arose, for in the bottom left hand side of the board, in a portion where he may have been drilling students on specific characters, he wrote the two characters for "Jesus".
• 52
Thus Legge had a deeply thought out programme of educational philosophy and scholarship. It is a misapprehension that Legge was simply portraying China for Western audiences. He was just as much involved with teaching Chinese, and promoting education generally.
IV. Legge's Sense of Mission and Duty
This sense of duty is central to Legge's intensity of study, his drive for excellence, and the unwavering convictions which were deeply imbedded in his academic writings.
Dr Legge's academic approach to Chinese culture was prompted by the desire to make the Christian message known to Chinese people.
Although the young Legge had reacted against some aspects of the form of Calvinism brought to Scotland in the reformed theology of John Knox (which he learned by memory with his classmates through the medium of the Shorter Catechism)," the adult James Legge gained a new appreciation for the sovereignty of the true God, especially
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