University of Nanking - Linguist Yearbook (Nanking, China)

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'THE TEN PERCENT 35 The pay of the teachers is very uncertain, even in the universitiesg several times it has been necessary for the teachers to strike in order to get their pay. The government schools employ, with a few exceptions in special courses in the universities, only native teachers. Those who contemplate teaching in China, would do well to consider the various mission schools. The latter offer opportunities for teaching of all kinds, from the kindergarten to the university. Though the government has begun to educate, the missions still have an immense and permanent educational work to do. There is an enthusiastic and progressive and ambitious spirit in all their workg they are attempting work often beyond their physical capacity. The Chinese, in many instances, find the mission schools much better than those established by the governmentg and this will be so until the government devotes more money to education. English is an essential subject, required of all students in the mission schools, from the higher primary grades to college. VVith few excep- tions the teachers of English are foreigners, whereas in the government schools the teachers of English are Chinese. But English is not the only subject taught by foreigners. Any one burning with the sacred hre will find a candle to light, no matter what the subject he teaches. To present an adequate idea of all the education in China, a few figures of mission schools will be necessaryg accurate Iigurcs are hard to get, for all the year books vary. The China Year Book for 1921, 2, p. 816, gives the following for China, including Manchuria and Mongolia: Primary Schools, 6617, students, 184,481g Middle Schools, 2913 students, 15,2l3. This authority lists some 56 colleges and universities with a membership of 12,494, but this tigure will also include students of Primary and Middle School grade, since a great many colleges and universities have students of all grades' In comparison witn the ligures of the government schools, what the mission schools lack in quantity they make up in quality and stability. Besides the government and mission schools there are many private elementary schools maintained by only one teacher or per- haps two. Many of my students were put into such schools before they went to the mission schoolg or else their fathers had private tutors for them, tutors that had only a few pupils. No fair notion of the extent of education in China and of her educational needs can be had until we remember that her population 15 conservatively estimated at 400,000,000. The number of students, 4.5oo,ooo, is but a small percentage of the whole, only one and one- fourth percent! Contrast this with the United States where the children between seven and thirteen years of age who go to school are fourteen per cent of the population. In the United States about six per cent are illiterate. I have been unable to get any figures on illiteracy in China, but I think a fair estimate is ninety percent. E. A. Ross states t The Changing Chinese, p.342j that not one woman in a thousand and not one man in ten can read. So much for the C13 See also Educational Directory 8: Year Book of China, 1921, p. 16. C V

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34 THE LINGUIST Fortunately, by lmperial Decree, this old education was abolished in September, 1905, and plans for universal governmental education were instituted. Primary education was to be made compulsoryg all the provincial governments . were to establish primary, high tmiddlej, and normal schoolsg and the national government was to es- tablish universities, technical colleges and higher normal schools. A good beginning has been made, but much of the tax money that should go to education goes to pay the army and government otiicials and sinecures in the school administration, so that there is little left for teaching. And the subjects of the new education are decidedly Occidental in nature and number. But so far, compulsory education exists in the edict only. Regarding government schools, since the report for the year ending july 31, 1916, no statistics have been issued by the minister of education. The iigures for that year are as follows: I Kind of School No. of Schools No. of Students Primary Schools- 1126, 71412 127,714 4,186,962 industrial 8 similar Schools of Primary Grade- l.7ll 531,10-l Middle Schools 444 69,770 Normal Schools, Secondary grade ,211 27,975 Industrial Sz other Schools of Secondary Grade- 455 28,710 Higher Normal Schools- 10 2,357 Colleges, Professional Schools 19-Us 76 25,373 Total. . . . . 130,621 4,294,251 Of course there has been much progress since 1916, but as the figures of that year are somewhat only on paper they may be taken as tairly accurate of conditions to-day. For the number of schools and students listed, there were 198,976 teachers and 130,799 adminis- trative officers: for every three teachers, two administrative oilicers! CU Educational Directory and Year Book of China -19.21, p. 76. C21 China Year Book -1921-2, p. 556, gives these Hgures. i I A vast Examination Hall accommodating 20,000 students.

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36 THE LINGUIST status of education in China, which status cries unto the Occident for remedy. China is intensely eager for Vtiestern culture and civilization, and she will get it in one way or another. lf we are anxious that she adopt the good and avoid the evil of our civilization we must give her our best ideals along with our culture. And our best ideals are embodied in 'Christianity-but Christianity considered as an active force in daily conduct rather than as doctrine or dogtna, for China has had the latter for more than twenty centuries with what results we all know. We must teach the Chinese our ideals through example rather than by precept, and this can be admirably done by young men and women teachers who live Christianity. It matters not what onewishes-to or can teach. Thersubjects- are the same as in America. There is great demand for English a11d Science and History and Political Science. English increases the earning power of the student and is a required subject in the mission schools. Science--biology, chemistry, physics, are desired be- cause they are at the basis of our material, our medical and our agri- cultural progress. Teachers of medicine and of its preparatory sub- jects will find their efforts compensated in untold ways, for China has never had a medical science based on sound analysis. Though the Chinese are a virile race, they do get sick - horribly sick-and if they get well from the severe treatment of the native doctors it is just by chance. lf a baby happens to become sick, for instance, it is exposed to wind and weatherg if it lives, well and goodg if it dies it was probably demon infested, anyway, and so might as well be dead. Scabby bodies, scrofulous heads, infected teeth, trachomatous eyes. and other gruesome ills need attentiong and the Chinese must be 'taught our medicine before the race as a whole will be healed. Sani- tary engineers are also needed, for the Chinese must betaught sanitary hygiene. A step in this direction has already been made in the Pro- vince of Kiangsu, under the auspices of the provincial civil police. Professor C. W. Woodworth, provincial entomologist, has organized a Sanitary police, whose duty it is to exterminate the breeding places of Hies and mosquitoes and other disease-spreading insects. I The Chinese Q .cs il Some of the cells still stand. ' l. The work of these police has been cinematographed and eventually will he shown in other provinces of China and in the United States.